I literally lost sleep last night, worrying about retirement savings. (Did I ever mention that I have a somewhat obsessive analytical personality?) Dh and I need to put our heads together, look at our current situation and figure out once and for all what our exact retirement goals are, both in terms of time and money.

In mundane news there's been no spending on my part today. I thought about going out to lunch with DD after school but instead we came home and I made us grilled cheese sandwiches. It was the better choice, when all was said and done.

Our oranges survived all the cold weather and we have more than we can eat. Our church works with a community of homeless people that have a tent community set up. I'm going to take in a couple of bags of oranges to church to take over to them. Seems a small thing, but at least the oranges will be put to good use.

Not much going on around here these days. Halfway through the month, we've spent about $119 on groceries and about $25 on dining and entertainment (excluding Netflix). We went to a potluck on Saturday evening, and I pulled together a dish with things I had on hand. Brought home essentially an empty dish, so I'd say it was a success. We went out to breakfast last weekend using a gift certificate, so the three of us had a pleasant, sit-down breakfast for a total of a $12.

Our tile should be in next Monday. I think we're going to buy paint and start on the house this weekend. DD's birthday is in a couple of weeks, and it would be nice to have the painting outside done and the tiling in the bathroom done as well before family comes over to celebrate. If it isn't done, that's fine too, but it's a worthy goal to aim for.

When I first read Your Money or Your Life, I wanted to make a chart like they suggest showing income and expenses and the path towards becoming financially independent. I never did it. I created our savings spreadsheet, showing our savings balances each month, and that is helpful to me in providing feedback about how well we're meeting (or not meeting) our savings goals. It also helps me see how quickly we manage to rebound from big expenses (for example, our dog's surgeries). Now I'm thinking of making the income/expenses chart, as well as an investment income chart (or maybe show that as a separate line?). Might be interesting to see.

We ordered our tile this morning for the bathroom. It came in just under $700, and that includes a nice inset of 1"x1" glass tiles to give it a little extra something. We need to get grout, but other than that I think we're set. It wasn't as much as I thought it would be, which is nice.

DH is picking up some groceries right now, with a short list from me. We actually had more at home than I thought, but needed a few things to round out some meals. I spent about $17.50 yesterday on snacks. I'm tired of not bringing something to work and then being hungry, so I stocked up on things that can stay in the bottom drawer of my desk. It'll be handy for the days DD goes straight to ballet from school, too. I need to have food available. Not having it sets me up for weird scarcity/binging thoughts.

DH set up a couple of ING savings accounts for the money from his raise. One is a vacation account and one is a gifts account. So part of his raise is going towards those things, and part of it is going towards paying extra on the car loan. Seems like a good balance, to me.

DD and I browsed in the dancewear shop this morning while we're out, but left empty-handed. Sometimes it's juts fun to look. I still want to add a second class a week for myself but haven't taken any concrete steps towards finding out times, locations, etc. and then making a plan to make it happen. I enjoy my one class so much. I'm very glad I started taking it.

As part of my save money on food goal, I made some muffins yesterday. I used the Tightwad Gazette 'formula' and put together pretty good muffins from what I had on hand. I stocked up on a few different grains and such from the Bob's Red Mill line last time I was at the bread outlet, so I had some variety there to choose from, and for Christmas my grandparents sent us some dried fruits and nuts, so that gave me more to work with. I ended up using some white flour along with 7-grain cereal, with golden raisins mixed in. They turned out great. Between muffins, hot cereal and five or so boxes of cold cereal, plus pancakes and scones that I could make, breakfast is well-covered this month. I even have plenty of coffee on hand.

I talked to DH about really wanting to come in under budget this month on food, just to prove to ourselves that we really can do it if we et our minds to it, and he's in agreement. We've both been creative with dinners this week, and DD has been liking being in the kitchen more. She made popovers almost entirely by herself a couple of nights ago! We've spent about $57 so far this month on groceries, and none on dining out.

Our savings took a big hit last month with home repair stuff. It's hard to see those numbers go down so quickly and not really be able to enjoy the spending. We'll build the savings back up, though. We always seem to manage to get back to where we were.

I wrote a check today for our lodging in Mammoth. DH's company sponsors a trip for employees and their friends and family. Lodging (three nights) and lift tickets (2 days) for the three of will be about $600. We'll bring food and eat at the condo or pack along a lunch. We learned the first year that eating out in Mammoth is expensive (obviously) and not all that tasty, either. Friends are coming with us this year, which will be fun. The trip isn't for a couple more months; we're hoping for some good snow between now and then! This has been our only real vacation the last two years. It's fun.

Dinner last night was a treat from our friends, so we got to enjoy a nice evening out with friends for free. We went to a restaurant with plenty of vegetarian and vegan offerings, along with other healthy meat-based entrees, so there was plenty to choose from for all of us.

Dinner tonight was pizza along with some fresh produce, and since the oven's already hot DD and I made some chocolate chip cookies too (they're in the oven as I type).

Tomorrow night is soup and some baked potatoes. I'm trying to use up fresh things before we go out of town for the holiday. I wonder if I could make oven fries and then freeze them. I bet I could, and I'll have an extra potato or two to deal with.

I made a trip to the bread thrift store today. For about $15, I got...

2 loaves of Milton's bread
8 whole wheat hamburger buns
8 egg hamburger buns
2 bags of Bob's Red Mill veggie soup mix
1 bag Bob's Red Mill 5 grain cereal
1 bag Bob's Red Mill polenta
1 Entenmann's butter loaf cake
4 blueberry mini-loaves
1 package of fig newton-type cookies

Three of the items were free (loyalty card plus spending at least $10) and all of the Bob's products are 10% off this month. A good haul when all is said and done.

Sometimes I think my blog must be incredibly boring because basically, there is no drama in my life when it comes to money. I have little challenges here and there, but by and large, things are in balance and we're moving forward on our goals. I guess I continue to write for my own weird satisfaction.

Anyway, not much to say really. Stopped for gas on the way home - spent about $22 on that. Haven't spent any other money so far. There's about $91 left for groceries and about $127 left for dining and entertainment. I know we're going out Saturday night, and I know we need milk for us and for DD. Trader Joe's still has the best price around on organic milk. They beat Vons' sale prices any day. Too bad Vons is a mile away and TJ's is across town. The convenience of Vons wins out too often. Planning - the key, as always, for me to stick to a budget.

My haul today:

1 loaf of Milton's bread
2 loaves of Orowheat bread
1 Boboli pizza crust
1 package of Bob's Red Mill pancake mix
1 package of Bob's Red Mill veggie soup mix
1 package of apple cinnamon English muffins
1 Ent. butter loaf cake

Total spent: $14.66

The last two items were freebies for spending over ten dollars. I also filled up my loyalty card (Mondays are double stamp days!) so I'll get something free next time. I'm so glad I've found this place to be worthwhile, as it does require a special trip to go there.

In other news, our library - for the third time - has said we didn't return a book when I know that we did. For the third time, I've gone there and found the book on the shelf. I think from now on I'm asking for some sort of receipt when I return books. It's irritating to go out of my way to clear up someone else's error. If there's one thing I'm diligent about, it's returning all books on time.

I got my cat/dog coupon prize package today. As a result, I also found Nutro's web site and signed up for their frequent buyer club and $20 in coupons: www.nutroproducts.com.

I emailed Fresh Express earlier in the week, as I had thrown out a bag of spinach in response to the current e. coli scare and wanted to find out what they were doing for customers. I received a very nice reply by email and a letter in the mail today with a coupon for a free item as well as a 55 cents off coupon. Good customer service.

I finished my online trffic school and now have to go to a UPS store to take the test. Please cross your fingers for me that I have not waited too long and that the test will get processed in time. Procrastination is a bad, bad thing.

Last night we had a tomato, basil and mozzarella salad with homegrown tomatoes and basil. It was excellent! I'm making pizza tonight and topping it with tomato and bell pepper from my garden. It is fun having a decent garden this year.

Yesterday was a no-spend day, aside from scheduling some bills to be paid. I need to go through my coupons and see what is expiring soon and check to see if there are any sales going on for any of those items. I do need to buy cat food and dog food this week - I think I'll try to use the coupons for free food from Nutro. I don't know if our local independent pet supply store will take them, but I'll bring them along just in case.

DD's bed gets delivered this Saturday. I'll paint it in the garage and then assemble it in her room. I'm not looking forward to doing that, but it will look nice once it's all done.

I have enjoyed reading the no spending for a week thread in the forums. Kind of inspiring.

The Toyota dealer called - a car will be in port on the 6th, which means it'll get to the dealer anywhere from three days to three weeks from then. We weren't picky about color - asked for anything but white or black. So by month's end, probably sooner, we;ll have our new car. Fun

The kitties both had good check-ups this morning. Our 19-pounder who had the bladder issues a couple of months back and has been on a diet since then (his weight being unrelated to the crystals in his urine, but something to take care of regardless) lost about a pound. Good news there! Our older kitty, however, has put on a pound in the last year, so we need to keep an eye on that. Got some more science diet food while we were there. Total bill: $142. The dog goes on Friday.

Spent about $100 at Trader Joe's today but feel well-stocked on many things. I paid attention to prices of organic milk there: $5.99 for a gallon and $3.19 for a half gallon. Much better than the grocery stores, Costco or Smart & Final. I thought that was true but hadn't paid close attention in a while, so it's good to verify that.

The kittens seem to be doing OK - it's a lot of work, but it's fun work. I've always loved kitties, and it's kind of nice to learn how to do this fostering and bottlefeeding routine. I've been getting up once at night to feed them. Once they're a bit bigger and eating more at one feeding, I'll stop doing the 1 a.m. feed. So far I've spent about $23 on food, extra nipples and hand sanitizer. I was given the first can of formula along with two bottles and nipples. I grabbed two bags of sample science diet kitten crunchies while at the vet today, for down the road.

Got a bit of a headache today. Need to sleep better and eat better.

Saved another $6 using coupons today, bringing my total up to $29.03

Saved another $5.20 with coupons today, bringing my net savings total up to $23.03. Vons had some things on special that I also had coupons for, which was good. In fact, I think all but one item that I used a coupon on was also on sale. They don't double coupons anymore, unfortunately.

Slowly I will get the hang of making the most of coupons, find coupons for the items I buy, and so forth. Today's purchases would have been about $76; I got out for about $56. A 6-pack of beer and two bottles of wine really impacted the overall total. Maybe they should go in the entertainment category instead of groceries, since it's for our dinner party this evening.

I emailed Vons/Safeay with a complaint today about a recipe I tried on the box of a store brand item. It was awful; truly, it was so bad that I felt compelled to write to them and see if there had been an error in printing the recipe! We'll see if I get a reply.

OK. I need to learn how to get more organized about using coupons.

How do you folks out there organize yours? What's your system for making lists, cross-referencing with store deals and so forth?

Edited to add I just read flash's recent post and will also go look at the grocery coupon site for help.

As it is, I had a decent trip to the store today. The original total was $107.31; I got out of the store for $68.40. Some of that was club card savings and some was from coupons. I managed to use some coupons on things that were also on special, and it felt good to combine the savings in that manner.

I spent $4.05 today mailing on the coupon train and saved $21.88 using coupons, for a net savings of $17.83 this time around. Might be interesting to track that sort of thing.

My $20 in Exxon Mobil gas cards arrived today, so I'll add that to my challenge total. I also received some coupons from Cascadian Farms after emailing them - I think I got five 50 cent off coupons.

I spent most of the day outside today, doing yardwork and gardening. I have a dwarf patio lemon tree that I thought was completely dead, but it shows signs of life! I dumped in a whole bunch of compost and some more potting soil, watered it and am hoping for the best. DD and I got our green bean and sugar snap pea seedlings transplanted and dressed them with some compost as well for good measure. I don't do much to my compost pile at all, so it is somewhat slow to breakdown, but there is incredibly awesome compost at the bottom of the pile. Absolutely great.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
$8.48 Rite Aid rebate (received)
Lowe's $20 gc (received - net $19)
Gas $20 gc (received - net $19)
total - $71.48

Longs rebate ($2?) (waiting)
Rite Aid rebate ($4.99) (waiting)
Survey $5 (waiting)
Survey $2 (waiting)
AdSense ($10+ ...figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

A long time ago I started making a price book, but it's been a while since I've looked at it, let alone used it. I started a new one in an Excel file this morning. I'm not going to try and list every single thing I might possibly buy, but rather am starting with some of the most common things I buy and going from there. The theme of my life's growth - it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Shades of gray are acceptable. Comparing some prices is a good start, even if I don't list every single thing I buy in a given shopping trip.

I had to follow up on a third charge for a membership that should have been cancelled. Very, very irritating. I'm still trying to get esticker to reverse a charge, to little avail. I may have to initiate a chargeback with my credit card instead.

Our seedlings continue to grow, and I continue to battle the snails. Much as I hate to do it, I may need to put out some Sluggo. I don't want to compete with snails for food. The strawberries look great when snails aren't getting to them first.

I took a huge pile of coupons to the natural food store today. I think that may have been a first for the cashier there. She asked me how I managed to get so many - I told her I still had a huge pile I wasn't using today. The store had a coupon too for basically 10% off your total purchase, so it was a good trip. I spent a decent amount of money for really healthy food that I can feel good about.

I signed up for a couple of newsletters today from Organic Valley and Seventh Generation - hoping for some good offers from both of those companies.

I had enough points accrued at the old credit card to cash out for a gift card, so I took care of that today. I have to keep the credit card open if we're going to use the hotel or car vouchers that I have, but other than that I'm not using that card anymore.

I took advantage of a free shipping offer at drugstore.com and got points for my shopping there through mypoints at the same time. I needed more of one of my supplements, and then they had Luna bars on sale so I bought a box of them. At less than a dollar a bar it was cheaper than the grocery store.

I have to drive to DD's school twice today - I drove this morning for the carpool, an then I have to go back again this evening for a parents meeting. Thank goodness for carpooling - it has really helped with time and money this year.

We took our neighbors out to dinner last night, to thank them for the times they've done pet-sitting for us. It's nice to have good neighbors to rely on.

Wow - what a great set of coupons! These guys get a thumbs up from me.

Out of curiosity, I called our locally owned health food/grocery to see if they accept coupons (thinking they didn't) and THEY DO! Woo hoo! One simple phone call and now I know.

Thank you flash for the tip about this coupon offer.

I sent off another complimentary email to a company whose cereal I love, asking to see if they publish coupons. We'll see what the response is. I have gotten favorable and pleasant replies from everyone except Newman's Own Organics.

No big plans for the day. I'm taking DD shopping after school for gifts for her grandmothers and for DH for his birthday. I have $20 in Bed Bath and Beyond gc's to use, so we'll go there and see if anything strikes our fancy for the grandmas. I think they sometimes publish percent off coupons as well - I'll look through the paper and see if I see one. Anyone know about that?

No word back from the tutoring student. Think he thought I was a free service?? Oh well.

DD and I got our seeds planted - basil, chives, sugar snap peas, green beans, chamomile and spearmint. Hopefully we'll start seeing some seedlings in the next 7-10 days for most of them.

I need to do something about our snails. They're eating the peppers, bell peppers and basil. They also eat my strawberries, I've learned.

5 of my 6 tomatoes are looking pretty good, and the raspberries continue to look healthy too. No berries yet, but hopefully sooner than later...

Now I need to make sure I water regularly and get these transplanted when the time comes so that we can have some nearly free food later this spring/summer.

Oh and the watermelon? My dog decided to play with the plastic pot it came in....with the seedling still in it. Oh well.

I'm heading to the grocery store (with coupons!) today, along with a list of what I need for three new recipes I want to try. Since I hate Vons, I've decided to try and get as much as I can for as little money as possible there, reserving the rest of my shopping for Trader Joe's and a local health food store.

New recipes:
Vegetable Stew with Herb Dumplings
Slow Cooker Cuban Black Beans and Rice
Lentil Vegetable Soup

I also need to get more food from the vet for our kitty who's on a special diet now. Speaking of kitties - I have one purring on my lap and one stretched out next to my laptop. Life is good.

Aside from paying a bunch of bills yesterday, I didn't spend any money. I'm not planning on spending any unnecessarily today, either - just groceries and cat food.

When I joined one of flash's coupon trains, she sent a whole pile of coupons in my welcome pack. I was surprised to see quite a few that I could definitely use. My view on coupons is that they aren't any good if I wouldn't have bought the product anyway, or if I can buy the same thing in a generic form for less.

I did some shopping this evening, and with coupons I saved about $13. It was great having coupons for Vons' organics brand, as well as some other organic/natural things I buy anyway.

For the month, we have about $123 left in our grocery budget and $9 left in our dining budget. We'll see how the rest of the month plays out. We're over in many of our other categories.

Oh - I forgot that I used the new dividend card for tonight's purchase, so that's 5% back.

Today's been a fun day. Spent $65 to renew our zoo membership while we were there, and then went to the natural history museum as well (our pass is still good there until late summer). DD made a list of some of her favorite animals and drew a little sketch of one of the bald eagles. Spent $1.50 on a churro.

Dinner tonight will be Thai food. We have a frozen Thai mix from Trader Joe's, and I'm going to try a recipe for peanut dipping sauce I found yesterday while flipping through Real Simple in the ballet waiting area. I'll make some grilled or baked tofu to go with it, and maybe some roasted bell pepper, too. Add some rice and it should be good. DH ought to like it - he's a big fan of Thai food.

Tomorrow night we're being treated to dinner at a place we enjoy. Ought to be a good time!

My $2 rebate check was mailed out yesterday, according to Rite Aid's web site. That will go to my challenge total once I get it.

I got a free half gallon of milk today, using the coupon that Vons sent me to try

I love free plants. Today I planted 18 free plants - 3 chiles, 6 tomatoes and 9 grasses (the clumping, landscaping kind, not the kind you grow a lawn out of). I still have three more tomatoes and two false heathers. The tomatoes and chiles were from neighbors who bought more than their garden could hold. The grasses are from friends of my parents who divided up clumps of grass they had growing in their own garden.

My mom also sent me off with a couple of quarts of homemade spaghetti sauce and a jar of marmalade made with blood oranges (among other kind of oranges). The blood oranges give it a beautiful color. She bought me two bags of the pasta she likes to use when making rice pilaf, so I have that now, too.

Having dinners planned while on vacation made evenings nice and smooth. I don't do this nearly enough at home, but I've got some planned now. Reading about flash having taco salad made me want some too, so that's on the schedule for tonight. I've got a soy ground beef substitute that works well in these types of meals.

I had breakfast and lunch at home but spent 50 cents at Starbucks (used up what was left on a gift card and owed an additional 50 cents). I've been using my new travel mug (birthday gift) and saving 10 cents on every drink. That's good for the environment too - no more cups to throw away.

I really need to get past this Thin Mint craving. I think I might have been better off not buying any in the first place.

The Lowe's cards we will definitely be able to use. The Bed Bath & Beyond cards can be used too. The Circuit City cards? I decided to list them on eBay. Even if I only get 50% of their face value and PayPal fees, I still come out ahead over $8 for the deal, and shipping for this auction is a piece of cake.

If the cards sell, the net proceeds will go into my challenge account.

Other financial plans for the day:
*Buy cat litter and dog food (if needed) done
*Cancel three trial memberships done
*Set up savings at Affinity Bank for DD done

The applesauce cake turned out great! My muffins stuck to their paper wrappers, so I'm going to need to spray the muffin cups and skip the paper cups next time. I can't believe how easy it is to make tasty baked tofu. Slice, blot out excess water, marinate it in some soy sauce, sprinkle on some ground ginger and garlic, bake for about 20-30 minutes on each side. Easy!

We spent about $48 today on groceries to take with us when we go skiing. We still have a few things left to buy, but that is most of what we'll need, given we already had some things at home we can bring. I'm going to make a few things before we go - applesauce cake (recipe was given to me in the forums - thank you!), baked tofu (it's been marinating in soy sauce), and possibly some chocolate chip cookies.

Blew $4 today on a box of Thin Mint cookies. I wish those things weren't so good!!

I set up some online bill payments earlier today, just to make sure that nothing gets overlooked while we're gone. We are only going to be gone for a few days, but I'd hate for something to be late.

I'll take the car in for an oil change this week, and I need to make vet appointments for all of our pets sometime in the next few weeks. I'm also long overdue for a dental check-up, and DD is due next month. Lots of spending coming up. Oh, I need to go get more cat litter tomorrow, too. And we owe the deposit on next year's tuition. I think that's due by the third week of this month. I need to loook over those forms and fill things out.

Bills, bills, bills. I'm glad we are able to swing two days of skiing - we can all use some R&R around here.

One more thing - I did 5 more reviews at InsiderPages, so hoepfully that will be another $5 for Target.