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Man, I'm so slow these days! I was going to post an update on my 12 yearly goals last night but, surely enough, it's 9:34 pm, and it's the first time I'm here today. But here's the update:
1.Blog at least 15 times every month- DONE! I wrote here 26 times in March (including this post).
2. Have a "money meeting" at least once a month with my husband. - SO DONE!!! I finally had a LONG talk with Hubby about our finances, an hopefully, now we are on the same page. He actually created his own budget file, and he wants to track our expenses in April himself . I'll believe it when I see it but hey, it's a step forward, right?
3.Save enough to pay for Christmas with cash.- WORKING ON IT. I made extra $20 from a diaper cake, $6 from surveys and $14 from secret shopping . We will put all of it towards Xmas. So we now have $155.83 in this account.
4. Save as much as we can for a minivan.-Also working on it.- I only babysat 2 times this month, and she didn't pay me yet. And we haven't received our tax return yet but as soon as we receive it, we'll put $4000 towards it.
5. De-clutter 366 things this year. Getting there. I cleaned tons of stuff in the garage, and have a huge bag of clothes for our Church cloth swap next month. And we listed 3 things on KSL and sold 2 so far.Oh, and I cleaned more magazines in the living room ( 13 total. I'm a magazine junkie, especially cooking ones. I got all of them for free with different promotions but lately I don't even have time to read them!) I haven't really counted it all but it's at least 50 items altogether.
6.Keep track of our food waste. PASS. We only wasted $1.59 worth of food this month. I would love this number to be zero but I think, we still did really good.
7. Start putting again some money for retirement. Failed. Same as last month. Hubby is still looking for another job. Nothing new there :(
8. Have 1 date night every month with my husband. Failed :( We went out as a family twice but we were just too sick for anything else. Hubby is still fighting an ear infection and sinus infection, so not much romance here...
9. Lose 12 lbs in 2012. I lost two pounds. I start having a feeling that it will really take me all 12 months to shed those pounds. I exercise so sporadically right now, and my weight loss is going back and forth. I really need to get back on track.
10. Read 12 books this year. I read 4 books this month. First, I've read the Hunger Games sequel. I also picked up "The silent land" by Graham Joyce from the library but after just a couple of chapters I quickly took it back. It was WAY too much info about the personal life of the main characters. Let's put it this way- I felt like it's a porn movie written on a paper...Not my type of literature... And it was a Reader's choice book...So after that I really craved something tender, romantic, and ,well, discreet, really discreet. So I got a s novel "To love and to Cherish" by Kelly Irvin about an Amish family and the trials they are going through. It was sweet and a pleasure to read.
11. Write in my journal at least once a week. Kind of passed. I didn't write every week but I did write 4 times in it. I think, it counts...
12. Create mini-goals every month through out the year. I did OK. We achieved most of our goals but barely.
So here's where we stand. I think, we did pretty good this month but I can't wait for April to begin! I have some high expectations for it...
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
I'm alive
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I'm back. And we are OK. The things have been a bit crazy here, and I honestly didn't feel like blogging. Instead I cleaned, shopped for a bit, cleaned some more, cooked, babysat and read some books. I had a dear friend of mine from Russia staying with us for a day. I haven't seen her for 6 years, so it was nice to catch up.
Other than that there was nothing very exciting or worthy of blogging about this week. I realized that I never posted my food waste this week. So here it is:
We threw away two wilted carrots. I wanted to save the bigger one but it was just too mushy inside. We also had about a handful of red grapes. Does anyone have a good idea of what to do with older grapes? I cut around everything I could but it seems like grapes get bad so quickly. Total waste: about 70c.
I'm sorry for such a short post. I'll try to be back tonight with an update on my yearly goals.
Total spent this month: $230.31
Total saved: $438.96 (plus I will get ab. $30 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $19.69
YTD spending: $723.92
YTD savings: $507.93
YTD coupons used : 105
YTD waste: $28.77
Other than that there was nothing very exciting or worthy of blogging about this week. I realized that I never posted my food waste this week. So here it is:
We threw away two wilted carrots. I wanted to save the bigger one but it was just too mushy inside. We also had about a handful of red grapes. Does anyone have a good idea of what to do with older grapes? I cut around everything I could but it seems like grapes get bad so quickly. Total waste: about 70c.
I'm sorry for such a short post. I'll try to be back tonight with an update on my yearly goals.
Total spent this month: $230.31
Total saved: $438.96 (plus I will get ab. $30 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $19.69
YTD spending: $723.92
YTD savings: $507.93
YTD coupons used : 105
YTD waste: $28.77
Monday, March 26, 2012
I see the light at the end of the tunnel!
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So we finally did our taxes on Friday, and we are getting back more than we expected. Actually, a lot more! We are getting back $4800!!! It mostly came from child's credits and because Hubby went to school full time last year (some sort of a deduction that we qualified for, can't remember what it's called). We ended up owning to the state but only $29. So after some planning we decided to use $800 to pay to the state, pay estimated taxes for this year (so,hopefully, no owning next year), medical bills and some other expenses. And we put $4000 into our car savings fund. I'm beyond excited right now!!
We also talked about possible vacation/getaway this year. We want to go low-key because money is tight but we desperately need to do something together, just two of us. Our idea now is this:
It's about 6.5 hour drive from us, so we will stay overnight somewhere close there. But it looks so breathtaking that it's totally worth it! Now we just need to find a babysitter for 2 days. We also think of having a little family vacation, maybe, to a local resort or something. This one is still in a planning stage. Our goal is to spend less than $500 for everything, including gas. But it feels so nice to get a break and actually plan a VACATION!!
I'll be back later today with a menu for this week and some food waste (if I can find my camera...)
We also talked about possible vacation/getaway this year. We want to go low-key because money is tight but we desperately need to do something together, just two of us. Our idea now is this:
Antelope Canyon in AZ.
It's about 6.5 hour drive from us, so we will stay overnight somewhere close there. But it looks so breathtaking that it's totally worth it! Now we just need to find a babysitter for 2 days. We also think of having a little family vacation, maybe, to a local resort or something. This one is still in a planning stage. Our goal is to spend less than $500 for everything, including gas. But it feels so nice to get a break and actually plan a VACATION!!
I'll be back later today with a menu for this week and some food waste (if I can find my camera...)
Sunday, March 25, 2012
The Inspire Me Sundays
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Well, I was thinking a lot about it and I decided that I'm not going to post anything frugal or anything about money at all on Sundays. Sunday is a day of rest and spiritual worship for my family. So I think at least this year I will instead post a quote that inspires me. And if you have any quotes or stories that inspire you, please send them all my way, and you might be featured in the upcoming posts.
I'm going to call it The Inspire Me Sundays.
Today's quote was sent to me by my dear friend Rafiki at Upendilife (go check out his great blog!). I really appreciate it when you guys share thoughts that inspire you with me!!
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing- that's why we recommend it daily"
Zig Ziglar
Love it!!! Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!!!
I'm going to call it The Inspire Me Sundays.
Today's quote was sent to me by my dear friend Rafiki at Upendilife (go check out his great blog!). I really appreciate it when you guys share thoughts that inspire you with me!!
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing- that's why we recommend it daily"
Zig Ziglar
Love it!!! Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!!!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Shopping trips this week.
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On Monday I only had $59 left for the rest of the month, so I really tried to be frugal this week. I went to Walmart and Reams:
Walmart trip:
We actually went to Walmart twice this week but my husband did the first trip, and it was in the middle of all of us being sick, so I don't even remember what he bought other than rotisserie chicken and vanilla pound cake ( I was craving it!!) but total spent was $15.40, total saved-??? ( I just hope, there was something saved :))
Second trip:
As you can see from the picture, I REALLY needed some produce!! We have a bowl for fruit on our island, and I try to always have apples and pears there for kids. So here's what I bought:
1 salad-49c (price-matched to Rancho Market)
Roma tomatoes-2lbs/99c (price-matched to Rancho Market)
3 cukes- 6/99c (price-matched to Rancho Market)+ 50c
Fuji apples- 2lbs/99c (price-matched to Rancho Market)
1 bunch cilantro-33c (price-matched to Macey's)
Sarah Lee 24oz 10% whole bread, Hearty and Delicious-$2.68 plus used $1 off the package=$1.68
I also got 1lb baby carrots,red apples, pears and 1 green pepper and 1 greek yogurt.
Total spent: $10.22
Total saved: $5.81
Coupons used: 1
Reams trip:
Sorry, I don't have a picture :( I made it but for some reason I can't find it on my camera. I wonder if I accidentally deleted it. But here's what I bought:
Boneless chicken- $1.69/lb
2 16oz. Big Buy bacon- $1.89/ea
1 bunch bananas-49c/lb
1 package reduced green grapes-$1 (2.5 lbs)
Total spent: $12.72
Total saved: $ 4.20
No coupons used.
It's definitely a quite week here. We will have a couple of friends from Russia spend two days with us next week, so I bought chicken to make something quick.
Total spent this month: $230.31
Total saved: $438.96 (plus I will get $14.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $19.69
YTD spending: $723.92
YTD savings: $507.93
YTD coupons used : 105
YTD waste: $28.07
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
Walmart trip:
We actually went to Walmart twice this week but my husband did the first trip, and it was in the middle of all of us being sick, so I don't even remember what he bought other than rotisserie chicken and vanilla pound cake ( I was craving it!!) but total spent was $15.40, total saved-??? ( I just hope, there was something saved :))
Second trip:
As you can see from the picture, I REALLY needed some produce!! We have a bowl for fruit on our island, and I try to always have apples and pears there for kids. So here's what I bought:
1 salad-49c (price-matched to Rancho Market)
Roma tomatoes-2lbs/99c (price-matched to Rancho Market)
3 cukes- 6/99c (price-matched to Rancho Market)+ 50c
Fuji apples- 2lbs/99c (price-matched to Rancho Market)
1 bunch cilantro-33c (price-matched to Macey's)
Sarah Lee 24oz 10% whole bread, Hearty and Delicious-$2.68 plus used $1 off the package=$1.68
I also got 1lb baby carrots,red apples, pears and 1 green pepper and 1 greek yogurt.
Total spent: $10.22
Total saved: $5.81
Coupons used: 1
Reams trip:
Sorry, I don't have a picture :( I made it but for some reason I can't find it on my camera. I wonder if I accidentally deleted it. But here's what I bought:
Boneless chicken- $1.69/lb
2 16oz. Big Buy bacon- $1.89/ea
1 bunch bananas-49c/lb
1 package reduced green grapes-$1 (2.5 lbs)
Total spent: $12.72
Total saved: $ 4.20
No coupons used.
It's definitely a quite week here. We will have a couple of friends from Russia spend two days with us next week, so I bought chicken to make something quick.
Total spent this month: $230.31
Total saved: $438.96 (plus I will get $14.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $19.69
YTD spending: $723.92
YTD savings: $507.93
YTD coupons used : 105
YTD waste: $28.07
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
Friday, March 23, 2012
March goals updates, week 3/16-3/23
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Time for another update on my monthly goals. Where did this week go?? I can't believe that next week is the last one in March. But I have high hopes for April, so I'm ready for this month to be over.So this is where we stand:
1.FINANCE.
a)Stay within a budget. Well,this one could definitely be better.. Our doc's appointment for the baby was only $7.52. We usually have a$20 co-pay but we had some sort of overpay from last time (don't know but I'll take it!!), so we only paid that. But they could only run a test for RSV at the hospital, so this bill will go towards deductible. We'll see how much that's gonna be...Sigh...On the other hand, we have about $35 left in a grocery budget but we do need fruits and vegetables, and possibly, more milk, so that will be gone, probably, this weekend. I don't think, we'll save anything this month but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for not a very significant damage to our EF.
b)Finally file our taxes. Today!!! I hope...Our appointment is at 4pm, and I hope all our papers are in order. I think, it's the first year since we got married that we file taxes at the end of March. Usually we would be among the first to file...
c)Put all our expenses in our Excel budget file and have weekly money meetings with my husband. Yeah, that's failed this week. Just too much going on here right now...
2.DECLUTTERING
a) List stuff on KSL and Craigslist Nah...and I'm not really concerned about it. There is no way I could do any of it this week!!
b) Go through kids' clothes and maternity stuff. I actually started working on it last night and I've done quite a bit. I put all the clothes we are keeping in big bins, labeled them, and they'll go to the garage. I still need to go through all of the summer clothes for the kids.
That's about half of what I've done!
1.FINANCE.
a)Stay within a budget. Well,this one could definitely be better.. Our doc's appointment for the baby was only $7.52. We usually have a$20 co-pay but we had some sort of overpay from last time (don't know but I'll take it!!), so we only paid that. But they could only run a test for RSV at the hospital, so this bill will go towards deductible. We'll see how much that's gonna be...Sigh...On the other hand, we have about $35 left in a grocery budget but we do need fruits and vegetables, and possibly, more milk, so that will be gone, probably, this weekend. I don't think, we'll save anything this month but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for not a very significant damage to our EF.
b)Finally file our taxes. Today!!! I hope...Our appointment is at 4pm, and I hope all our papers are in order. I think, it's the first year since we got married that we file taxes at the end of March. Usually we would be among the first to file...
c)Put all our expenses in our Excel budget file and have weekly money meetings with my husband. Yeah, that's failed this week. Just too much going on here right now...
2.DECLUTTERING
a) List stuff on KSL and Craigslist Nah...and I'm not really concerned about it. There is no way I could do any of it this week!!
b) Go through kids' clothes and maternity stuff. I actually started working on it last night and I've done quite a bit. I put all the clothes we are keeping in big bins, labeled them, and they'll go to the garage. I still need to go through all of the summer clothes for the kids.
c) Organize our closet. Especially Hubby's side. Nothing changed from last week...
3. PERSONAL
Fit in a dress(click on it to see the original post). And look good in it! Not a good week :( I was so exhausted this week that exercise was the last on my to-do list. I could barely keep up with the dishes...I actually gained about 1/2 pound. But I'm back on track, and I hope to reach my 4 lbs. loss goal by the end of the month.
How are you doing with your goals?
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A quick update...
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So we ended up going to a doctor with my kids. Their fever just wouldn't go down. They ran some tests, and both of them have RSV. No fun! On a good note, Baby's fever finally broke today, and he seems a lot happier now. They still have a terrible cough that keeps them up quite a bit at night but , at least, we are on the way to recovery. I'm going to spend a day with my babies but I'll be back tomorrow with a normal post.
I hope, everyone has a wonderful day!!
So we ended up going to a doctor with my kids. Their fever just wouldn't go down. They ran some tests, and both of them have RSV. No fun! On a good note, Baby's fever finally broke today, and he seems a lot happier now. They still have a terrible cough that keeps them up quite a bit at night but , at least, we are on the way to recovery. I'm going to spend a day with my babies but I'll be back tomorrow with a normal post.
I hope, everyone has a wonderful day!!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Brain dump, or don't listen to a sick girl...and a forgotten Food Waste post.
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Love it! So me... I never came back to post here yesterday. I think, we are all slowly getting what my baby has. My older Kid started coughing, and I have a headache, a runny nose and a sore throat. On the other hand, Baby finally slept better last night (and by better, I mean, I only had to go to him 3 times as opposed to the previous night when between 8pm and 4am he was up every 30 min, and from 4am to 7am he was up every hour). So I finally got some very needed sleep. And he did too. He still has a fever but we decided to wait another day and see if we have to take him to the doctor after all.
But I had a great day full of cuddles yesterday! Now that the kiddos are getting older and more independent, cuddles are slowly disappearing, so I really enjoyed having some Mommy-baby time. It breaks my heart to see him so miserable but I love the fact that he needs his Mama. We read some books, played with musical toys, sang songs, or he just slept on me while I was searching a web and typing one-handed. I stumbled upon some interesting and very non-related facts. Like the info that Panda POO TEA was sold for $3000...I'm not sure what to do with this knowledge other than being completely grossed out ! And talking about some wasted money...On the other hand, I've learned some interesting statistics. If 5% of American households switched to electronic bills, statements and payments, they would save 452,819 trees each year...Isn't this number impressive?? Most of our bills are electronic but now I feel even more inspired to get all of them paperless, and also some statements.
Anyway, I never posted my food waste yesterday. I thought I would have to throw away some frozen ground beef (from my deep freezer) but it turned out to be less old than I thought. It was at the very bottom of my chest freezer but I finally got it all out. We'll be using it some time next week. But here's what we wasted this week:
We had some cooked chicken from a freezer. We used most of it for chicken salad couple weeks ago (who knows, why we didn't use all of it!!!) but this baggie got pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten. There's about 4-5 spoons of chicken. And a can of mandarin oranges is not our fault. It's supposed to expire in 2014 but it got a little dented, and that's how it's seal might've been broken. It just tasted wrong and had a funky smell. I got mandarin oranges for 29c, and chicken...50c ( a pound is $1.69 here on sale this week)?
So these are my numbers so far:
Total spent this month: $191.97
Total saved: $238.95 (plus I will get $6.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $58.03
YTD spending: $685.58
YTD savings: $497.92
YTD coupons used : 104
YTD waste: $28.07
Well, I better go and do some stuff around the house while Baby is sleeping. Have a wonderful spring day, everyone!! In spite of the fact that it was snowing here the last two days, my tulips are still strong, and they give me hope that spring is somewhere around the corner!
Love it! So me... I never came back to post here yesterday. I think, we are all slowly getting what my baby has. My older Kid started coughing, and I have a headache, a runny nose and a sore throat. On the other hand, Baby finally slept better last night (and by better, I mean, I only had to go to him 3 times as opposed to the previous night when between 8pm and 4am he was up every 30 min, and from 4am to 7am he was up every hour). So I finally got some very needed sleep. And he did too. He still has a fever but we decided to wait another day and see if we have to take him to the doctor after all.
But I had a great day full of cuddles yesterday! Now that the kiddos are getting older and more independent, cuddles are slowly disappearing, so I really enjoyed having some Mommy-baby time. It breaks my heart to see him so miserable but I love the fact that he needs his Mama. We read some books, played with musical toys, sang songs, or he just slept on me while I was searching a web and typing one-handed. I stumbled upon some interesting and very non-related facts. Like the info that Panda POO TEA was sold for $3000...I'm not sure what to do with this knowledge other than being completely grossed out ! And talking about some wasted money...On the other hand, I've learned some interesting statistics. If 5% of American households switched to electronic bills, statements and payments, they would save 452,819 trees each year...Isn't this number impressive?? Most of our bills are electronic but now I feel even more inspired to get all of them paperless, and also some statements.
Anyway, I never posted my food waste yesterday. I thought I would have to throw away some frozen ground beef (from my deep freezer) but it turned out to be less old than I thought. It was at the very bottom of my chest freezer but I finally got it all out. We'll be using it some time next week. But here's what we wasted this week:
We had some cooked chicken from a freezer. We used most of it for chicken salad couple weeks ago (who knows, why we didn't use all of it!!!) but this baggie got pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten. There's about 4-5 spoons of chicken. And a can of mandarin oranges is not our fault. It's supposed to expire in 2014 but it got a little dented, and that's how it's seal might've been broken. It just tasted wrong and had a funky smell. I got mandarin oranges for 29c, and chicken...50c ( a pound is $1.69 here on sale this week)?
So these are my numbers so far:
Total spent this month: $191.97
Total saved: $238.95 (plus I will get $6.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $58.03
YTD spending: $685.58
YTD savings: $497.92
YTD coupons used : 104
YTD waste: $28.07
Well, I better go and do some stuff around the house while Baby is sleeping. Have a wonderful spring day, everyone!! In spite of the fact that it was snowing here the last two days, my tulips are still strong, and they give me hope that spring is somewhere around the corner!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sicky family continues...And a menu for this week. Yum!!
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Ugh, why is it always like this?? When it rains, it pours....As soon as we got over stomach flu, Baby got something else. He started coughing randomly Friday night, and it lasted through the weekend. But today he woke up with a fever. He's pretty miserable...I made some homemade cough syrup, gave him baby Tylenol to knock off a fever, cut bunch of onions and put it in the bowl in his room. He seems to be doing a little better but we might still go to the doctor tomorrow...Sigh...
Oh well, lets talk about something more fun. Our menu for this week. I'm slowly working on going though my fridge and freezer, and deep freezer. I'' post my food waste a little later today (I do have some, unfortunately).
Actually, last night I spent a couple of hours going through different recipes that I pinned on Pinterest. I have about 250 recipes that I liked there, and surprisingly enough, I only tried about 10 of them!! So this week I have a mini-challenge for myself to try at least 5 different recipes (could be tweaked a little to fit our taste or what we have at home). I'll let you know the results. So here's my menu for this week (the names are actually links, if you want to try them too). These are actually fairly easy recipes which is helpful with a sick child:
Spark People spinach lasagna from last week. So good!!
Mon.- Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon & Cheese (need to use up some potatoes, and will add real bacon), steamed broccoli
Tues.- Honey Garlic pork chops, Summer vegetable gratin (will use dried oregano)
Wed.- Easy Chicken Enchiladas (I will cut amount of chicken and cream cheese in half-that's just all I have), salad
Thurs.- Coconut shrimps (from a box.) with Bajio sweet rice,
Fr.- Probably, go out. We will do our taxes this day, and the whole day will be crazy
Sat.- Grilled sandwiches, salad.
Sun.-Pasta with Alfredo Light sauce (will add some ham and broccoli, or spinach)/possible dinner with a family
Oh well, lets talk about something more fun. Our menu for this week. I'm slowly working on going though my fridge and freezer, and deep freezer. I'' post my food waste a little later today (I do have some, unfortunately).
Actually, last night I spent a couple of hours going through different recipes that I pinned on Pinterest. I have about 250 recipes that I liked there, and surprisingly enough, I only tried about 10 of them!! So this week I have a mini-challenge for myself to try at least 5 different recipes (could be tweaked a little to fit our taste or what we have at home). I'll let you know the results. So here's my menu for this week (the names are actually links, if you want to try them too). These are actually fairly easy recipes which is helpful with a sick child:
Mon.- Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon & Cheese (need to use up some potatoes, and will add real bacon), steamed broccoli
Tues.- Honey Garlic pork chops, Summer vegetable gratin (will use dried oregano)
Wed.- Easy Chicken Enchiladas (I will cut amount of chicken and cream cheese in half-that's just all I have), salad
Thurs.- Coconut shrimps (from a box.) with Bajio sweet rice,
Fr.- Probably, go out. We will do our taxes this day, and the whole day will be crazy
Sat.- Grilled sandwiches, salad.
Sun.-Pasta with Alfredo Light sauce (will add some ham and broccoli, or spinach)/possible dinner with a family
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The Inspire Me Sundays
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Well, I was thinking a lot about it and I decided that I'm not going to post anything frugal or anything about money at all on Sundays. Sunday is a day of rest and spiritual worship for my family. So I think at least this year I will instead post a quote that inspires me. And if you have any quotes or stories that inspire you, please send them all my way, and you might be featured in the upcoming posts.
I'm going to call it The Inspire Me Sundays.
"Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it."
Fyodor Dostoevsky
* * * * * * * * * * * *
That's something I need to remind myself more often!!
I'm going to call it The Inspire Me Sundays.
"Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it."
Fyodor Dostoevsky
* * * * * * * * * * * *
That's something I need to remind myself more often!!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Shopping trips this week...oh, a disaster!!
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Most of the people don't shop when they are sick. Apparently, not us!!! I swear, we went to every grocery store in the area this week. There is no way I could make pictures of my every shopping trip, so I only we'll post a couple.
My big Smiths shopping trip. We still had some discount from filling the prescription there, so we used this money to cover some of our expences. Some highlights of this trip:
4 Activia -49c ea after 50c sale discount and $1 coupon
2 Van de Kamps fish items- $2.99 after $1 coupon
2 packs of diapers- $5.99 ea after 50c sale discount and $3 peelies (from big boxes, my friend sent me a couple)
2 Lays chips(for future family get togethers)- $1.99 ea after 50c discount- I forgot a coupon for it at home but I will send my receipt for $4 back via beer MIR for $4/$4 on Salty snacks, so they will be free anyway.
Breyers ice-cream-$1.99 after $1 e-coupon.
Medium eggs-85c!!! No coupons used, that's their usual price, apparently. Even large eggs are only $1.10!! Now I know where I'm getting all my Easter eggs.
Anyway, total items purchased: 33
Total spent: $21.07 (after prescription discount, sales and coupons)
Total saved: $93.55!!- and will get $4 back after rebate
Coupons used: 16 (including 1 e-coupon)
I have another picture for you. This was my Winco trip. I got just a few items:
I love bulk area at Winco! I got some couscous, quinoa, old fashioned onions and onion powder. I really wanted to get some turmeric but they were out. I also got Parmesan for $1.78 and 1 cucumber for 49c. I didn't use any coupons but even without the use of coupons, I feel I still get great deals at Winco. Their spices' prices in bulk are unbeatable!!
Total spent : $5.99
I was also in Harmons at the beginning of the week for some more frozen veggies (75c steamfresh ones after sale and coupon), Smiths( 3 California pizzas, I'll tell you more about this particular purchase next week. You'll see why...) and bunch of trips to Walmart for gas drops, pedialyte, apples, more apples and some other fruits and veggies, 3 packs Bar-S bacon for $1.99!! (price-matched to Kmart) and zillion more little things that are supposed to help you better when everyone is sick in the household.
So total spent between all these trips: $43.86
Total saved: $15.60
Coupons used: 6
Total spent this month: $191.97
Total saved: $238.95 (plus I will get $6.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $58.03
YTD spending: $685.58
YTD savings: $497.92
YTD coupons used : 104
YTD waste: $27.18
Ouch, we have just a little over $50 left in our food budget! That will be tough...But at least, we have plenty of food. But that Smith prescription discount really helped...
4 Activia -49c ea after 50c sale discount and $1 coupon
2 Van de Kamps fish items- $2.99 after $1 coupon
2 packs of diapers- $5.99 ea after 50c sale discount and $3 peelies (from big boxes, my friend sent me a couple)
2 Lays chips(for future family get togethers)- $1.99 ea after 50c discount- I forgot a coupon for it at home but I will send my receipt for $4 back via beer MIR for $4/$4 on Salty snacks, so they will be free anyway.
Breyers ice-cream-$1.99 after $1 e-coupon.
Medium eggs-85c!!! No coupons used, that's their usual price, apparently. Even large eggs are only $1.10!! Now I know where I'm getting all my Easter eggs.
Anyway, total items purchased: 33
Total spent: $21.07 (after prescription discount, sales and coupons)
Total saved: $93.55!!- and will get $4 back after rebate
Coupons used: 16 (including 1 e-coupon)
I have another picture for you. This was my Winco trip. I got just a few items:
Total spent : $5.99
I was also in Harmons at the beginning of the week for some more frozen veggies (75c steamfresh ones after sale and coupon), Smiths( 3 California pizzas, I'll tell you more about this particular purchase next week. You'll see why...) and bunch of trips to Walmart for gas drops, pedialyte, apples, more apples and some other fruits and veggies, 3 packs Bar-S bacon for $1.99!! (price-matched to Kmart) and zillion more little things that are supposed to help you better when everyone is sick in the household.
So total spent between all these trips: $43.86
Total saved: $15.60
Coupons used: 6
Total spent this month: $191.97
Total saved: $238.95 (plus I will get $6.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $58.03
YTD spending: $685.58
YTD savings: $497.92
YTD coupons used : 104
YTD waste: $27.18
Ouch, we have just a little over $50 left in our food budget! That will be tough...But at least, we have plenty of food. But that Smith prescription discount really helped...
Friday, March 16, 2012
March goals updates
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Wow, I'm pretty terrible with updating on my goals, considering it's the 16th of March, and it's my first time to bring you an update. This stomach flu really messed up our lives...
But these are my updates:
1. FINANCE
a)Stay within a budget. We got an extra doctor's appointment with my Hubby this month (Instant Care visit) but it looks like the insurance should cover most of our bill...I really hope so. Other than that we seem to be doing OK so far. Our food budget is a little tight but I think we'll make it. We still need to pay a little over $400 of medical bills that are on our credit card right now. We want to pay it off this month, that's why money is super tight. I also only babysat once this month so far, so I'm not bringing much money in either. I do deliver my diaper cake order tonight and I also have my first secret shopping assignment tomorrow but it's nothing comparing with our needs right now :( I guess, I'm wrong, it's better than nothing. So I'm optimistic!
b)Finally file our taxes. Not yet :( We had an appointment last Friday but because of the whole thing with Wells Fargo we rescheduled for next Friday, the 23rd.
c)Put all our expenses in our Excel budget file and have weekly money meetings with my husband. Well, we are working on it but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
2.DECLUTTERING
a) List stuff on KSL and Craigslist. Nah...we barely talked about it. I made pictures of some things but the biggest thing we want to sell is Kid's old bed set,a hutch and a desk from his room. It's all sitting in the garage, and I can't move it around by myself. And Hubby is just always too busy. Or sick this week...
b) Go through kids' clothes and maternity stuff. Didn't even touch it...
But these are my updates:
1. FINANCE
a)Stay within a budget. We got an extra doctor's appointment with my Hubby this month (Instant Care visit) but it looks like the insurance should cover most of our bill...I really hope so. Other than that we seem to be doing OK so far. Our food budget is a little tight but I think we'll make it. We still need to pay a little over $400 of medical bills that are on our credit card right now. We want to pay it off this month, that's why money is super tight. I also only babysat once this month so far, so I'm not bringing much money in either. I do deliver my diaper cake order tonight and I also have my first secret shopping assignment tomorrow but it's nothing comparing with our needs right now :( I guess, I'm wrong, it's better than nothing. So I'm optimistic!
b)Finally file our taxes. Not yet :( We had an appointment last Friday but because of the whole thing with Wells Fargo we rescheduled for next Friday, the 23rd.
c)Put all our expenses in our Excel budget file and have weekly money meetings with my husband. Well, we are working on it but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
2.DECLUTTERING
a) List stuff on KSL and Craigslist. Nah...we barely talked about it. I made pictures of some things but the biggest thing we want to sell is Kid's old bed set,a hutch and a desk from his room. It's all sitting in the garage, and I can't move it around by myself. And Hubby is just always too busy. Or sick this week...
b) Go through kids' clothes and maternity stuff. Didn't even touch it...
c) Organize our closet. Especially Hubby's side. I organized my clothes but I'm sick and tired of cleaning my husband's messes, so he is not his own there...
3.PERSONAL
Fit in a dress(click on it to see the original post). And look good in it! I'm getting there. I only lost 1/2 of a pound last week but the last few days I've been exercising for 20-40 minutes a day, and as of this morning, I lost another 2 pounds this week. I'm really excited!!! My Hubby actually fixed our exercise bike yesterday (it leaked battery acid inside, and he cleaned it), and after seeing how few calories I lost after 20 minutes on it, I will think twice next time I want a cookie...
So here it goes. How are your goals this month?
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wells Fargo, I can't stand you!
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Wells Fargo is the 4th biggest bank in the US with a revenue of 87.6 billion and a total assets of 1.313 trillion dollars, as of last year. So why would they care about the little guy?
Last year, when my husband switched positions at work, he also switched his employer (very complicated! He works for one company but another company pays his salary), so our pitiful few dollars that we paid in 401K distributions were supposed to be moved from Wells Fargo to the new company. Hubby requested a rollover of his 401k in a check directly to his new employer but a week or so later we received a check with money distributed to us. We called Wells Fargo about it, and they promised to fix it. We never cashed the check so it was void 90 days later.
The new company doesn't match contributions at all, and with us going through some hard times, we really couldn't contribute anyway. So we assumed that money was just sitting there until we got tax documents from Wells Fargo showing that we took money out (mind you, we only talk a few hundred dollars from a short period when he worked for the first place). Hubby called them and talked to a charming lady who acknowledged their mistake and promised to send us a new document with 3 business days.
That was a week ago. Because of that we had to reschedule an appointment with our tax guy. So today Hubby called Wells Fargo again. But this time they sang a different song. They told us that even though it was their mistake, they can't do anything about it because it all happened last year. They claimed that they called us and left a message (which never happened!!!) back in December. They said that we have to take the money now even though the original check was, first, void and, second, mailed back to them a week ago. And we have to pay a penalty for early withdrawal. So they will now send us a new check issued in 2012!! So they cannot fix the documents from last year but they surely can make us pay for their own mistake from last year.
I know that we only talk a few dollars here but these are the dollars that come out of our pockets, and not ofthe financial sharks that own Wells Fargo. We never banked with them before, and surely, will never do this in the future. Even if it was the only bank in the world left, I would rather keep our money in the sock under my pillow...
I really hate you, Wells Fargo, right now...Oh, will March ever end???
Wells Fargo is the 4th biggest bank in the US with a revenue of 87.6 billion and a total assets of 1.313 trillion dollars, as of last year. So why would they care about the little guy?
Last year, when my husband switched positions at work, he also switched his employer (very complicated! He works for one company but another company pays his salary), so our pitiful few dollars that we paid in 401K distributions were supposed to be moved from Wells Fargo to the new company. Hubby requested a rollover of his 401k in a check directly to his new employer but a week or so later we received a check with money distributed to us. We called Wells Fargo about it, and they promised to fix it. We never cashed the check so it was void 90 days later.
The new company doesn't match contributions at all, and with us going through some hard times, we really couldn't contribute anyway. So we assumed that money was just sitting there until we got tax documents from Wells Fargo showing that we took money out (mind you, we only talk a few hundred dollars from a short period when he worked for the first place). Hubby called them and talked to a charming lady who acknowledged their mistake and promised to send us a new document with 3 business days.
That was a week ago. Because of that we had to reschedule an appointment with our tax guy. So today Hubby called Wells Fargo again. But this time they sang a different song. They told us that even though it was their mistake, they can't do anything about it because it all happened last year. They claimed that they called us and left a message (which never happened!!!) back in December. They said that we have to take the money now even though the original check was, first, void and, second, mailed back to them a week ago. And we have to pay a penalty for early withdrawal. So they will now send us a new check issued in 2012!! So they cannot fix the documents from last year but they surely can make us pay for their own mistake from last year.
I know that we only talk a few dollars here but these are the dollars that come out of our pockets, and not ofthe financial sharks that own Wells Fargo. We never banked with them before, and surely, will never do this in the future. Even if it was the only bank in the world left, I would rather keep our money in the sock under my pillow...
I really hate you, Wells Fargo, right now...Oh, will March ever end???
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
One more order
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Thank you, all for stopping by yesterday and for all your sweet remarks. I really appreciate your friendship and support!!
Hubby feels much better today. He even worked full day. I'm still nauseated but I'm also hungry, so it's a good sign. Kids seem to be doing OK so far, so I keep my fingers crossed that they will not get this nasty stuff.
I've been busy all day today with another diaper cake order. I don't make much money from it but now every bit helps. Especially, because I don't babysit this week (and, maybe, next week too). Apparently, my kids' Dad is in the hospital right now but I'm not sure exactly what happened. Hopefully, he'll be better very soon.
But back to my order. Well, here's the "cake":
I've done quite a few pink-and-brown cakes but I it's the first "princess" cake I've ever made. I'm not much of a girlie-girlie type (that's what you get for living with 3 boys...duh!), so all-pink cake was a bit of a challenge. But I like challenges...diaper cake ones...
Thank you, all for stopping by yesterday and for all your sweet remarks. I really appreciate your friendship and support!!
Hubby feels much better today. He even worked full day. I'm still nauseated but I'm also hungry, so it's a good sign. Kids seem to be doing OK so far, so I keep my fingers crossed that they will not get this nasty stuff.
I've been busy all day today with another diaper cake order. I don't make much money from it but now every bit helps. Especially, because I don't babysit this week (and, maybe, next week too). Apparently, my kids' Dad is in the hospital right now but I'm not sure exactly what happened. Hopefully, he'll be better very soon.
But back to my order. Well, here's the "cake":
I've done quite a few pink-and-brown cakes but I it's the first "princess" cake I've ever made. I'm not much of a girlie-girlie type (that's what you get for living with 3 boys...duh!), so all-pink cake was a bit of a challenge. But I like challenges...diaper cake ones...
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Food waste, menu- sick Daddy-Mommy edition
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Sunday night my Hubby woke up with a strong urge to throw up. He ran to the bathroom and 4 hours later he puked 10 times and had almost non-stop diarrhea. He couldn't hold even a sip of water down, and eventually would just dry heave. So to the Instant Care he went...
I, on the other hand, have been feeling nauseous for the past two days but hasn't puked yet (kiddos seem to be OK so far but I'm just waiting for them to start some time in the middle of the night). We had the same thing back in November but that time it started Saturday night, so Hubby ended up in the hospital instead...Hence some of our medical bills that we try to pay off right now. We will have a small bill this time from Instant Care too but nothing as crazy as the hospital one...Still a big sigh...
We don't have any food waste this week but it's not because we don't have anything spoiled. I just really can't clean the fridge right now...I do know for a fact that we have some very old ground beef on the bottom of our freezer but it will have to wait until the end of the week. Our menu is variable too this week because I'm not sure how hungry will be at all... We did bump quite a few things from last week. We ended up going out for Pizza last Thursday( used a Groupon that I got last year), then Birthday party that I forgot about when I was working on my menu. Also Hubby's Dad took us out on Saturday.
So here's our menu for the week:
Mon.- tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches (kids)
Tues.-turkey shepherd's pie, salad
Wed.- spinach lasagna, broccoli
Thurs.- bean enchiladas, salad
Fr.-salmon, brown rice, frozen veggies
Sat.-leftovers/ Church chili cook-off
Sun.-some sort of soup/sandwiches
This week is not the best money-wise either. I'm not baby-sitting again. She sent me a message and told me that they have some family issues going on, and she will not need me for, possibly, two weeks. I do have a diaper cake order and a small secret shopping assignment (my first!!) but it's not much...March is just not a good month for us...Can I go back to February??
Sunday night my Hubby woke up with a strong urge to throw up. He ran to the bathroom and 4 hours later he puked 10 times and had almost non-stop diarrhea. He couldn't hold even a sip of water down, and eventually would just dry heave. So to the Instant Care he went...
I, on the other hand, have been feeling nauseous for the past two days but hasn't puked yet (kiddos seem to be OK so far but I'm just waiting for them to start some time in the middle of the night). We had the same thing back in November but that time it started Saturday night, so Hubby ended up in the hospital instead...Hence some of our medical bills that we try to pay off right now. We will have a small bill this time from Instant Care too but nothing as crazy as the hospital one...Still a big sigh...
We don't have any food waste this week but it's not because we don't have anything spoiled. I just really can't clean the fridge right now...I do know for a fact that we have some very old ground beef on the bottom of our freezer but it will have to wait until the end of the week. Our menu is variable too this week because I'm not sure how hungry will be at all... We did bump quite a few things from last week. We ended up going out for Pizza last Thursday( used a Groupon that I got last year), then Birthday party that I forgot about when I was working on my menu. Also Hubby's Dad took us out on Saturday.
So here's our menu for the week:
Mon.- tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches (kids)
Tues.-turkey shepherd's pie, salad
Wed.- spinach lasagna, broccoli
Thurs.- bean enchiladas, salad
Fr.-salmon, brown rice, frozen veggies
Sat.-leftovers/ Church chili cook-off
Sun.-some sort of soup/sandwiches
This week is not the best money-wise either. I'm not baby-sitting again. She sent me a message and told me that they have some family issues going on, and she will not need me for, possibly, two weeks. I do have a diaper cake order and a small secret shopping assignment (my first!!) but it's not much...March is just not a good month for us...Can I go back to February??
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The Inspire Me Sundays
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Well, I was thinking a lot about it and I decided that I'm not going to post anything frugal or anything about money at all on Sundays. Sunday is a day of rest and spiritual worship for my family. So I think at least this year I will instead post a quote that inspires me. And if you have any quotes or stories that inspire you, please send them all my way, and you might be featured in the upcoming posts.
I'm going to call it The Inspire Me Sundays.
* * * * * * * * *
"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing"
Phyllis Diller
I'm going to call it The Inspire Me Sundays.
* * * * * * * * *
"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing"
Phyllis Diller
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Shopping trips this week.
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I really wanted to keep our spending low this week but it didn't happen. I did get some deals that I'm happy about, though. We went to Macey's, Walmart and Harmons.
Macey's trip:
My Hubby stopped by Macey's on Monday for their cheese sale. They had 2 lbs for $3.99. We got 2 Mozarella loaves and 1 Colby Jack. Hubby also grabbed some egg rolls for $1.99
Total spent: $14.38
Total saved: $13.30
No coupons used.
Then on Wednesday we had our usual trip. First we went to Harmons:
It's a frozen food month. And we love the convenience of steam bags but don't get them very often. So I got 5 bags of different veggies in Steam bags and 1 chopped spinach. I also got 2 frozen Langer's orange juice.
Total spent: $8.75
Total saved: $3.20
No coupons used
Last trip was Walmart:
I had a couple of coupons that were expiring, and I wanted to use them. Highlights of the trip:
8 cans corn-2/89c(price-matched to Rancho Market)
Bosc pears-3lbs/99c (price-matched to Rancho Market)
1 bunch radishes-5/99c (price-matched to Rancho)
3 Eggos waffles-99c ea (price-matched to Reams)
2 lbs bag carrots-89c (price-matched to Reams)
2 Jenni-O turkey sausages -$1.99 ea, used $1 off 2 coupon on a package
I also got free Suave product (from a Facebook promotion couple of months ago) and some baby wipes (had 2 $1 coupons of Huggies that I got from a manufacture last year and 1 75c of Pampers)
So total spent: $24.56
Total saved: $13.31
Coupons used: 5
I feel like everything is going up on price. I bought hardly anything and spent $24!!! Today is the 10th of March, and we already spent almost half of our food budget...sigh...
Total spent this month: $121.05
Total saved: $129.80 (plus I will get $6.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $128.45
YTD spending: $614.66
YTD savings: $388.77
YTD coupons used : 82
YTD waste: $27.18
Macey's trip:
My Hubby stopped by Macey's on Monday for their cheese sale. They had 2 lbs for $3.99. We got 2 Mozarella loaves and 1 Colby Jack. Hubby also grabbed some egg rolls for $1.99
Total spent: $14.38
Total saved: $13.30
No coupons used.
Then on Wednesday we had our usual trip. First we went to Harmons:
It's a frozen food month. And we love the convenience of steam bags but don't get them very often. So I got 5 bags of different veggies in Steam bags and 1 chopped spinach. I also got 2 frozen Langer's orange juice.
Total spent: $8.75
Total saved: $3.20
No coupons used
Last trip was Walmart:
I had a couple of coupons that were expiring, and I wanted to use them. Highlights of the trip:
8 cans corn-2/89c(price-matched to Rancho Market)
Bosc pears-3lbs/99c (price-matched to Rancho Market)
1 bunch radishes-5/99c (price-matched to Rancho)
3 Eggos waffles-99c ea (price-matched to Reams)
2 lbs bag carrots-89c (price-matched to Reams)
2 Jenni-O turkey sausages -$1.99 ea, used $1 off 2 coupon on a package
I also got free Suave product (from a Facebook promotion couple of months ago) and some baby wipes (had 2 $1 coupons of Huggies that I got from a manufacture last year and 1 75c of Pampers)
So total spent: $24.56
Total saved: $13.31
Coupons used: 5
I feel like everything is going up on price. I bought hardly anything and spent $24!!! Today is the 10th of March, and we already spent almost half of our food budget...sigh...
Total spent this month: $121.05
Total saved: $129.80 (plus I will get $6.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $128.45
YTD spending: $614.66
YTD savings: $388.77
YTD coupons used : 82
YTD waste: $27.18
Thursday, March 8, 2012
International Women's Day
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Today my country celebrates what's called International Women's Day. Surprisingly enough, this holiday originated from the US. In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate it on the last Sunday of that month through 1913.
Inspired by an American commemoration of working women, the German socialist Klara Zetkin organized International Women's Day (IWD) in 1911. On March 19, socialists from Germany, Austria, Denmark and other European countries held strikes and marches.Russian revolutionary and feminist Aleksandra Kollontai, who helped organize the event, described it as "one seething trembling sea of women." Both Zetkin and Kollontai took part in the most famous International Women's Day—the March 8, 1917, strike "for bread and peace" led by Russian women in St. Petersburg. During the Soviet Period in Russia the holiday "the heroic woman worker".
But years and changes in my country softened the meaning of the holiday. Now it is celebrated partially in a manner of Mother's Day but not exactly. Because on the 8th of March in Russia womanhood is celebrated. Every girl, woman, mother or not, is acknowledged. Men are trying to do their best, they give flowers and gifts. It's a holiday of spring, love and happiness.
And today I want to celebrate all of you, my amazing ladies friends. You all work hard whether at home or at your work places. Some of you have kids, some of you don't. Some are grandmothers, others are not. But all of you are full of love for people in your lives. You care, you support, you nourish, you kiss boo-boos, you give your best. You often forget about yourselves. You are amazing, strong and inspiring! I feel so blessed to know you and to learn from you!
May this day be productive, great and, most importantly, happy for you! Thank you for who you are!
Source of some info: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womensday1.html
Today my country celebrates what's called International Women's Day. Surprisingly enough, this holiday originated from the US. In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate it on the last Sunday of that month through 1913.
Inspired by an American commemoration of working women, the German socialist Klara Zetkin organized International Women's Day (IWD) in 1911. On March 19, socialists from Germany, Austria, Denmark and other European countries held strikes and marches.Russian revolutionary and feminist Aleksandra Kollontai, who helped organize the event, described it as "one seething trembling sea of women." Both Zetkin and Kollontai took part in the most famous International Women's Day—the March 8, 1917, strike "for bread and peace" led by Russian women in St. Petersburg. During the Soviet Period in Russia the holiday "the heroic woman worker".
But years and changes in my country softened the meaning of the holiday. Now it is celebrated partially in a manner of Mother's Day but not exactly. Because on the 8th of March in Russia womanhood is celebrated. Every girl, woman, mother or not, is acknowledged. Men are trying to do their best, they give flowers and gifts. It's a holiday of spring, love and happiness.
And today I want to celebrate all of you, my amazing ladies friends. You all work hard whether at home or at your work places. Some of you have kids, some of you don't. Some are grandmothers, others are not. But all of you are full of love for people in your lives. You care, you support, you nourish, you kiss boo-boos, you give your best. You often forget about yourselves. You are amazing, strong and inspiring! I feel so blessed to know you and to learn from you!
May this day be productive, great and, most importantly, happy for you! Thank you for who you are!
Source of some info: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womensday1.html
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Bits of this and that...Or I'm so tired today post.
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I don't know what's going on but the past two nights Baby wakes up literally every hour. He's obviously going through a growth spurt 'cause he eats non-stop during the day. I wonder if it bothers his tummy or something but I never thought that this whole wake-up-all-night thing happens after they turn two!!! I'm extremely exhausted and can't wait to get back to bed tonight ( and keep my fingers crossed that this night will be better than the last two...)
So today I'm only going to answer a few questions I received from you:
Who won our Save on Electricity Project ? Kid definitely won!! No surprise there, I guess:). He got 4 more points than his Dad:) What surprising is that he didn't even ask for any special candy and just ate one that we already had at home. I guess it's the competition that he enjoyed so much! But we are continuing this Project in March too, and so far I'm winning :)
Why do I never put real names of my family members here? This blog is a PF (Personal Finance) blog, and not just my personal blog. And I feel that I expose us enough here and I still want to maintain some privacy. If it was my personal blog, I would probably keep it private and write the real names there.
My spice rack. Somebody mentioned that on the pictures you sometimes can see partially my spice rack. I want to show you the picture of it.We had this space between the countertop and the fridge where food would always fall down and it was impossible to clean. I hated it. So my Hubby made this "rack" for me for our anniversary last year. The shelves are actually attached to a long piece of wood that sits between the fridge and the countertop. I love it. I cook at home pretty much every day, and now I use spices a lot more and I actually know what I have:
Have a nice day,everyone!! I'll be back tomorrow!
So today I'm only going to answer a few questions I received from you:
Who won our Save on Electricity Project ? Kid definitely won!! No surprise there, I guess:). He got 4 more points than his Dad:) What surprising is that he didn't even ask for any special candy and just ate one that we already had at home. I guess it's the competition that he enjoyed so much! But we are continuing this Project in March too, and so far I'm winning :)
Why do I never put real names of my family members here? This blog is a PF (Personal Finance) blog, and not just my personal blog. And I feel that I expose us enough here and I still want to maintain some privacy. If it was my personal blog, I would probably keep it private and write the real names there.
My spice rack. Somebody mentioned that on the pictures you sometimes can see partially my spice rack. I want to show you the picture of it.We had this space between the countertop and the fridge where food would always fall down and it was impossible to clean. I hated it. So my Hubby made this "rack" for me for our anniversary last year. The shelves are actually attached to a long piece of wood that sits between the fridge and the countertop. I love it. I cook at home pretty much every day, and now I use spices a lot more and I actually know what I have:
Have a nice day,everyone!! I'll be back tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Investing in your relationships.
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A couple of weeks ago Michelle at Making Sense of Cents asked a question about our biggest financial mistake in life. And it really made me think about what we HAVEN'T done with our money (and our time!) in the past few years. Last year was extremely hard on my husband and I. It was his last year of school, and he took classes every semester, even in summer. Every extra dollar, including tax returns, went towards tuition. We were struggling financially, so I started babysitting in March of 2011. The boys I babysit were 8 months and 3 years old at a time. Then my husband switched positions at work (not voluntarily) and, unfortunately, medical insurance, to something way worse with a higher deductible. We had some sickness going around and accumulated unexpected medical bills. All of this really hit us hard.
In December of 2011 we started feeling like our family was falling apart. Husband was always tired and mad because of all the pressure at work and at school. He would come home and hide behind textbooks. I, on the other hand, would be stressed from an 11-hour day with 4 children under the age of 5 with 4 different schedules and meal preferences. We started fighting more. A week before Christmas we had our biggest fight ever. And I don't even remember how it started. It got so bad that I grabbed a bag and started packing to leave. While doing this, I half-prayed-half-screamed to heavens, asking why the heck I even married him??? And suddenly, as if somebody said it out loud, I heard in my head ," Answer it yourself. Why did you marry him?" And at that moment everything just clicked. I knew I married him for all the right reasons. I love this man with all my heart. We just got carried away with all the problems in the world. That night we talked till 4am in the morning. And we realized a few things that were missing in our relationships. I want to share them with you. I'm in no way trying to pose myself as any sort of family adviser. It's merely our own ideas based on personal experience.
Men love with their eyes, women love with their ears. Or not.
The scientists claim that it takes a man 8.2 seconds to fall in love. Forgive my language but I think it's a bunch of crap. To me, love is like a tree. You need to water and nourish it to make it grow, you need to get to know a person to actually fall in love with him, and not just develop a sexual attraction. I love when my husband tells me he loves me. But more so, I like it when he actually proves it. And I don't mean, by giving me diamonds. I couldn't care less about all the bling-bling in the world. It's by simple acts, like actually doing what I ask him to do, or play with the kids, so I can exercise, or giving me a massage, that he shows his true feelings. You get the picture. And it's the same with him. Yes, he likes it when I look all cute and pampered but I can name you tons of occasions when I looked far from my best, and I saw his eyes just filled with love. I talk about those very personal moments that we recognize in our own relationships. I believe, our moonlight talks brought us way closer than any new haircut I got.
Do silly little things.
When we first met in 2004 back in Russia, we were just friends for quite a few months. And when he went back home, we kept in touch. We sent letters to each other about once a week, and slowly our relationships turned into more romantic. But there were times when we were so busy with our lives that we couldn't actually write a letter. So we would buy cute silly lovey-dovey postcards and sent them. Those little tokens were the things that really helped our relationships to grow. When he came back and spent a few months with my family, we kept doing those little things. We put little notes under each others pillows, he gave me tiny bouquets of wild flowers, we danced at night without a music, we held hands. Things like that don't just belong to a period of courtship; keep them coming all the time! It's harder to do it when family grows, when your job keeps you busy. But they are extremely vital to any relationships. Be creative! A few weeks ago we sneaked out while kids were sleeping and went for a "walk" around the house looking at the stars. One of my friends made heart-shaped toasts for her husband for Valentine's Day. It really doesn't matter how old you are. We know a couple that have 5 children, 16 grand-children, and every time we see them together, it looks like that just fell in love. Heck, he still even playfully "spanks" her (not written to the eyes of the youngsters)!
Invest actual money in the relationships.
One of the mistakes that we made in the last year, and the actual reason for this post, was that we didn't "invest" money in us. We would always put our relationships last. We had too many bills to pay. We have two growing boys that need clothes and stuff. We had tuition.We had this, and that, and that. We haven't had a vacation in 6 years. Well, it's not exactly true. The past few summers we would go to a lake with our extended family and spent a few days there. But the last time we had a vacation, planned and paid for by us, was when I was pregnant with my older kid. Who is now 5.5. And I believe, it's important to put money aside for a getaway for two!! Or just doing something together. Even just a date night, eating out together, leaving kids home with a babysitter. In 6.5 years of our marriage we did two things that cost a lot of money but I do not regret it for a minute. First, we had a two-day getaway for our 5th anniversary. We ate out at an expensive Indian Restaurant (well, I had a coupon for it:)), and we stayed at the Anniversary Inn, a special and very expensive hotel with themed rooms. This experience was actually not as pleasant (the hotel itself) and we ended up getting our money back but the idea behind it, and just spending time together, was priceless. Second thing we did was a gift for my Hubby for his 30th Birthday. Kind of. We went to the U2 concert (It might've been just a gift for me...). The tickets were $350 for both of us but we never regretted it, even for a minute. It was an amazing experience, we had so much fun. The point is, set aside some "fun" money for the two of you. It will make a huge difference in your life!
Last but not least is Pray Together and hug each other.
It might not work for everyone. But we believe in God and His love for us. When we got married, somebody gave us an advice to never go to bed without praying together. We took it a step further. We try to not go to bed without hugging each other. Honestly, there were nights when we would say one of those prayers that don't go further than the ceiling but actually touching each other with care was a different story... And NEVER is a big word. Lots of people say not to go to bed when you are mad at each other. It works for us most of the time, but I believe that there are times when morning will actually help you clear out your head, and you'll understand that the argument you had was just silly. This said, it only worked for us once. And we feel that we would rather stick to our way-praying and hugging. And sometimes, staying up all night...
I know, this post is unusually long for me. But I believe in the relationships. I believe that we need to nourish them. Kevin Kelly said, " Since a relationship involves two members investing in it, its value increases twice as fast as one's investment." I believe, we can apply it to whatever relationships we are in- with a spouse, with a friend, with anyone else who is close and dear to our heart. Love and be loved, and have a wonderful day, all my dear friends!
A couple of weeks ago Michelle at Making Sense of Cents asked a question about our biggest financial mistake in life. And it really made me think about what we HAVEN'T done with our money (and our time!) in the past few years. Last year was extremely hard on my husband and I. It was his last year of school, and he took classes every semester, even in summer. Every extra dollar, including tax returns, went towards tuition. We were struggling financially, so I started babysitting in March of 2011. The boys I babysit were 8 months and 3 years old at a time. Then my husband switched positions at work (not voluntarily) and, unfortunately, medical insurance, to something way worse with a higher deductible. We had some sickness going around and accumulated unexpected medical bills. All of this really hit us hard.
In December of 2011 we started feeling like our family was falling apart. Husband was always tired and mad because of all the pressure at work and at school. He would come home and hide behind textbooks. I, on the other hand, would be stressed from an 11-hour day with 4 children under the age of 5 with 4 different schedules and meal preferences. We started fighting more. A week before Christmas we had our biggest fight ever. And I don't even remember how it started. It got so bad that I grabbed a bag and started packing to leave. While doing this, I half-prayed-half-screamed to heavens, asking why the heck I even married him??? And suddenly, as if somebody said it out loud, I heard in my head ," Answer it yourself. Why did you marry him?" And at that moment everything just clicked. I knew I married him for all the right reasons. I love this man with all my heart. We just got carried away with all the problems in the world. That night we talked till 4am in the morning. And we realized a few things that were missing in our relationships. I want to share them with you. I'm in no way trying to pose myself as any sort of family adviser. It's merely our own ideas based on personal experience.
Men love with their eyes, women love with their ears. Or not.
The scientists claim that it takes a man 8.2 seconds to fall in love. Forgive my language but I think it's a bunch of crap. To me, love is like a tree. You need to water and nourish it to make it grow, you need to get to know a person to actually fall in love with him, and not just develop a sexual attraction. I love when my husband tells me he loves me. But more so, I like it when he actually proves it. And I don't mean, by giving me diamonds. I couldn't care less about all the bling-bling in the world. It's by simple acts, like actually doing what I ask him to do, or play with the kids, so I can exercise, or giving me a massage, that he shows his true feelings. You get the picture. And it's the same with him. Yes, he likes it when I look all cute and pampered but I can name you tons of occasions when I looked far from my best, and I saw his eyes just filled with love. I talk about those very personal moments that we recognize in our own relationships. I believe, our moonlight talks brought us way closer than any new haircut I got.
Do silly little things.
When we first met in 2004 back in Russia, we were just friends for quite a few months. And when he went back home, we kept in touch. We sent letters to each other about once a week, and slowly our relationships turned into more romantic. But there were times when we were so busy with our lives that we couldn't actually write a letter. So we would buy cute silly lovey-dovey postcards and sent them. Those little tokens were the things that really helped our relationships to grow. When he came back and spent a few months with my family, we kept doing those little things. We put little notes under each others pillows, he gave me tiny bouquets of wild flowers, we danced at night without a music, we held hands. Things like that don't just belong to a period of courtship; keep them coming all the time! It's harder to do it when family grows, when your job keeps you busy. But they are extremely vital to any relationships. Be creative! A few weeks ago we sneaked out while kids were sleeping and went for a "walk" around the house looking at the stars. One of my friends made heart-shaped toasts for her husband for Valentine's Day. It really doesn't matter how old you are. We know a couple that have 5 children, 16 grand-children, and every time we see them together, it looks like that just fell in love. Heck, he still even playfully "spanks" her (not written to the eyes of the youngsters)!
Invest actual money in the relationships.
One of the mistakes that we made in the last year, and the actual reason for this post, was that we didn't "invest" money in us. We would always put our relationships last. We had too many bills to pay. We have two growing boys that need clothes and stuff. We had tuition.We had this, and that, and that. We haven't had a vacation in 6 years. Well, it's not exactly true. The past few summers we would go to a lake with our extended family and spent a few days there. But the last time we had a vacation, planned and paid for by us, was when I was pregnant with my older kid. Who is now 5.5. And I believe, it's important to put money aside for a getaway for two!! Or just doing something together. Even just a date night, eating out together, leaving kids home with a babysitter. In 6.5 years of our marriage we did two things that cost a lot of money but I do not regret it for a minute. First, we had a two-day getaway for our 5th anniversary. We ate out at an expensive Indian Restaurant (well, I had a coupon for it:)), and we stayed at the Anniversary Inn, a special and very expensive hotel with themed rooms. This experience was actually not as pleasant (the hotel itself) and we ended up getting our money back but the idea behind it, and just spending time together, was priceless. Second thing we did was a gift for my Hubby for his 30th Birthday. Kind of. We went to the U2 concert (It might've been just a gift for me...). The tickets were $350 for both of us but we never regretted it, even for a minute. It was an amazing experience, we had so much fun. The point is, set aside some "fun" money for the two of you. It will make a huge difference in your life!
Last but not least is Pray Together and hug each other.
It might not work for everyone. But we believe in God and His love for us. When we got married, somebody gave us an advice to never go to bed without praying together. We took it a step further. We try to not go to bed without hugging each other. Honestly, there were nights when we would say one of those prayers that don't go further than the ceiling but actually touching each other with care was a different story... And NEVER is a big word. Lots of people say not to go to bed when you are mad at each other. It works for us most of the time, but I believe that there are times when morning will actually help you clear out your head, and you'll understand that the argument you had was just silly. This said, it only worked for us once. And we feel that we would rather stick to our way-praying and hugging. And sometimes, staying up all night...
I know, this post is unusually long for me. But I believe in the relationships. I believe that we need to nourish them. Kevin Kelly said, " Since a relationship involves two members investing in it, its value increases twice as fast as one's investment." I believe, we can apply it to whatever relationships we are in- with a spouse, with a friend, with anyone else who is close and dear to our heart. Love and be loved, and have a wonderful day, all my dear friends!
Monday, March 5, 2012
And finally I'm ready with my March goals...
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I know, it's already the 5th of March, and I'm yet to post my March goals. The thing is -I wanted to discuss some of them with my Hubby. It's still a very long and painful process to try to get him involved in our financial situation but we are getting there with some baby steps. For this month I decided to combine challenges from two of my friends. First, Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily has a "TAKE THREE" challenge. It's sounds perfect to me! So these are our goals:
1. FINANCE
a) Our main goal is to stay within a budget and pay off as much of medical bills as possible with the least amount of damage to our EF. We have 3 different doctor's appointments this month, a bill from last month and a bill from November of last year. Oh, man...
b) Finally file our taxes. We pretty much got all papers ready and we have an appointment with a tax guy (girl) on Friday.
c)Put all our expenses in our Excel budget file and have weekly money meetings with my husband.
2. DECLUTTERING
a) List stuff on KSL and Craigslist. I can't believe I post this goal again here but yeah, 3rd month in a row we are "planning" to sell some of our things.
b) Go through kids' clothes and maternity stuff. I need to get summer stuff ready and see what we need. Also one of our local churches has a baby sale where you can buy and sell stuff, so I want to try to sell there.
c) Organize our closet. Especially Hubby's side. Enough said...
3.PERSONAL.
And here's where my biggest challenge comes in. I joined my dear friend at Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard with her EAT RIGHT CHALLENGE. I want to try to make better choices, take my vitamins daily and drastically reduce the consumption of sugary treats...I also want to exercise more. I have a reason for it. My Hubby and I were invited to a semi-formal occasion on March, 30. It's a dress occasion and I own plenty of Church dresses but not a single formal one. At least, I didn't until last Friday. But now I do. I got one from Target last time I was there. I tried to get a picture but my camera truly sucks:
It was on clearance. It's beautiful burgundy color and they even had it in my size. Or so I thought. The thing is-it runs a size smaller, and even though I can fit in it, well, it doesn't fit exactly how I would love it to look on me. So I need to get into a better shape and lose at least 4 lbs and an inch on my waist. In 25 days. I really took a leap here by purchasing it (with Hubby cheering me by my side...) but they didn't have any sizes that I could wear, and it was 80% off. I know I can do it. I know I can...(breathing heavily here)... Oh, wish me luck!
1. FINANCE
a) Our main goal is to stay within a budget and pay off as much of medical bills as possible with the least amount of damage to our EF. We have 3 different doctor's appointments this month, a bill from last month and a bill from November of last year. Oh, man...
b) Finally file our taxes. We pretty much got all papers ready and we have an appointment with a tax guy (girl) on Friday.
c)Put all our expenses in our Excel budget file and have weekly money meetings with my husband.
2. DECLUTTERING
a) List stuff on KSL and Craigslist. I can't believe I post this goal again here but yeah, 3rd month in a row we are "planning" to sell some of our things.
b) Go through kids' clothes and maternity stuff. I need to get summer stuff ready and see what we need. Also one of our local churches has a baby sale where you can buy and sell stuff, so I want to try to sell there.
c) Organize our closet. Especially Hubby's side. Enough said...
3.PERSONAL.
And here's where my biggest challenge comes in. I joined my dear friend at Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard with her EAT RIGHT CHALLENGE. I want to try to make better choices, take my vitamins daily and drastically reduce the consumption of sugary treats...I also want to exercise more. I have a reason for it. My Hubby and I were invited to a semi-formal occasion on March, 30. It's a dress occasion and I own plenty of Church dresses but not a single formal one. At least, I didn't until last Friday. But now I do. I got one from Target last time I was there. I tried to get a picture but my camera truly sucks:
Food waste Monday and a menu, week 3/5-3/11
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See me doing my happy dance???Wohoo, wohoo!! I don't have any food waste to report this week. I guess, it's not that surprising considering how bare our fridge was. But I'm still very excited!
Our menu for this week is somewhat healthy. I need to lose some weight by the end of this month (more on this later today), so I'm going to eat LOTS of veggies.
Roasted veggies from last week's menu
Mon.- Ham, whole-wheat pasta, roasted asparagus
Tues.- potato-ham bake, green salad
Wed.- Spinach lasagna, steamed broccoli
Thurs.- pork vegetable stir fry, brown rice
Fr.- baked salmon, leftover brown rice, green beans
Sat.- Ceaser chicken salad/ sandwiches
Sun.- soup/ turkey shepherd's pie.
Baked swai with brown rice and veggies from last week
See me doing my happy dance???Wohoo, wohoo!! I don't have any food waste to report this week. I guess, it's not that surprising considering how bare our fridge was. But I'm still very excited!
Our menu for this week is somewhat healthy. I need to lose some weight by the end of this month (more on this later today), so I'm going to eat LOTS of veggies.
Roasted veggies from last week's menu
Mon.- Ham, whole-wheat pasta, roasted asparagus
Tues.- potato-ham bake, green salad
Wed.- Spinach lasagna, steamed broccoli
Thurs.- pork vegetable stir fry, brown rice
Fr.- baked salmon, leftover brown rice, green beans
Sat.- Ceaser chicken salad/ sandwiches
Sun.- soup/ turkey shepherd's pie.
Baked swai with brown rice and veggies from last week
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The Inspire Me Sundays
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Well, I was thinking a lot about it and I decided that I'm not going to post anything frugal or anything about money at all on Sundays. Sunday is a day of rest and spiritual worship for my family. So I think at least this year I will instead post a quote that inspires me. And if you have any quotes or stories that inspire you, please send them all my way, and you might be featured in the upcoming posts.
I'm going to call it The Inspire Me Sundays.
"A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water"
Eleanor Roosevelt.
I'm going to call it The Inspire Me Sundays.
"A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water"
Eleanor Roosevelt.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Shopping trips this week.
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This week we spent a lot more than I wanted but our refrigerator was completely bare. And we need to eat!! I hope, everything we bought will last us for two weeks. I went to Walmart, Target ,Smiths, bread store and Reams this week.
My Walmart trip #1:
Highlights of this trip:
2 Eggo waffles-99c ea (price-matched to Maceys)
1 SeaPak jumbo coconut shrimp(BIG box, they are our favorite)-$5.99- price-matched to Maceys
broccoli-3lbs/99c-price-matched to Rancho Market
cucumbers-7/99c (got 5)- price-matched to Rancho Market
pork chops-$1.49/lb- price-matched to Rancho Market.
3 Activia-$1.98 plus used $1 coupons
I also bought lots of other produce, especially apples. Apples are fairly cheap right now, and my kids love them. So I try to buy as much as we can. I also realized that I NEED to organize my coupons. There were a few out there(like SeaPak) that would work for what I bought. I just couldn't find it...
So total spent: $38.69
Total saved: $19.82
Coupons used: 4
My Target trip:
Well, first I have some cheese on the picture that is not from Target(obviously!!) . Hubby stopped by Walmart before work and grabbed it for me. There is a 3-day sale in Fresh Market with 2lbs loaf of cheese for $4.50 ea. We are completely out of cheese, so we got two.
Total spent: $9.27
Total saved: $ 8.98
No coupons used.
And now to my Target trip. I rarely go to Target but I had a doctor's appointment that was close to our store, and I had some really nice coupons that I wanted to use.So here's what I got:
1 box envelopes- cleranced to 68c (cheaper than a Dollar store)
2 Activia (more yogurt for us!!)- used $2/2 Target coupon plus $1/1 Manufacture coupons= 19c ea
1 pack Pampers and 1 pack wipes- used $3 off Target coupon if you buy diapers and wipes (came with a sample), $2 off Pampers (from P&G homemailer) and 75c of wipes printable.
Total spent: $7.25
Total saved: $10.06!!!
Coupons used: 6
And on today I made an even bigger trip. I had a $25 credit at Smiths for filling in the prescription, and there were a few things I wanted to pick up there. I also stopped by Reams and grabbed a couple more things in Walmart. I have 1 picture of all my trips today (minus a bag of potatoes):
Reams trip:
I got some veggies, more bananas,3 1 lb Norbest ground Turkey-$1.69/ea, a bag of potatoes for $1.79.
Total spent: $12.08 but I will send for $3/$6 beer rebate for potatoes and ground meat
Total saved:$3.65(plus $3 in rebate)
No coupons used
Walmart trip #3(yuck...)
Whole milk for the Baby- $1.99 (price-matched with Rancho Market, Saturday deal)
2 Challenge Tuscan butter-$1.98, used 2 $2 off printable coupons
Oxy clean dishwasher booster- $3.97 (had a try-me-free rebate on it)
5 20c seed coupons (yeah, they are back!!)
Total spent: $7.44
Total saved: $4.44 (plus $3.97 in TMF rebate)
Coupons used: 2
And I had a pretty big trip at Smiths. The highlights of this trip:
grapes-$1.29/lb
2.5 bag of salmon- on sale for $9.99 plus used $1 coupon (homemailer)
3 lbs Bag of apples, clearanced to $1
Tide -on sale for $4.99, plus used $2.50 e-coupon
Kroger salad-clearanced to 50c, used 50c coupon (homemailer)
I also got bunch of canned fruit salad discounted 50-60% and some other stuff.
Total spent: $4.28
Total saved(including $25 credit): $50.02!!!
Coupons used: 6
And at the bread store I bought some bread (duh...) and whole wheat cinnamon mini-bagels. I really need to start baking my own bread again...
Total spent: $3.35
Total saved :appr. $3
No coupons used.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total spent this month: $82.36
Total saved: $99.99 (plus I will get $6.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $167.64
YTD spending: $567.47
YTD savings: $358.96
YTD coupons used : 77
YTD waste: $27.18
My Walmart trip #1:
2 Eggo waffles-99c ea (price-matched to Maceys)
1 SeaPak jumbo coconut shrimp(BIG box, they are our favorite)-$5.99- price-matched to Maceys
broccoli-3lbs/99c-price-matched to Rancho Market
cucumbers-7/99c (got 5)- price-matched to Rancho Market
pork chops-$1.49/lb- price-matched to Rancho Market.
3 Activia-$1.98 plus used $1 coupons
I also bought lots of other produce, especially apples. Apples are fairly cheap right now, and my kids love them. So I try to buy as much as we can. I also realized that I NEED to organize my coupons. There were a few out there(like SeaPak) that would work for what I bought. I just couldn't find it...
So total spent: $38.69
Total saved: $19.82
Coupons used: 4
My Target trip:
Total spent: $9.27
Total saved: $ 8.98
No coupons used.
And now to my Target trip. I rarely go to Target but I had a doctor's appointment that was close to our store, and I had some really nice coupons that I wanted to use.So here's what I got:
1 box envelopes- cleranced to 68c (cheaper than a Dollar store)
2 Activia (more yogurt for us!!)- used $2/2 Target coupon plus $1/1 Manufacture coupons= 19c ea
1 pack Pampers and 1 pack wipes- used $3 off Target coupon if you buy diapers and wipes (came with a sample), $2 off Pampers (from P&G homemailer) and 75c of wipes printable.
Total spent: $7.25
Total saved: $10.06!!!
Coupons used: 6
And on today I made an even bigger trip. I had a $25 credit at Smiths for filling in the prescription, and there were a few things I wanted to pick up there. I also stopped by Reams and grabbed a couple more things in Walmart. I have 1 picture of all my trips today (minus a bag of potatoes):
I got some veggies, more bananas,3 1 lb Norbest ground Turkey-$1.69/ea, a bag of potatoes for $1.79.
Total spent: $12.08 but I will send for $3/$6 beer rebate for potatoes and ground meat
Total saved:$3.65(plus $3 in rebate)
No coupons used
Walmart trip #3(yuck...)
Whole milk for the Baby- $1.99 (price-matched with Rancho Market, Saturday deal)
2 Challenge Tuscan butter-$1.98, used 2 $2 off printable coupons
Oxy clean dishwasher booster- $3.97 (had a try-me-free rebate on it)
5 20c seed coupons (yeah, they are back!!)
Total spent: $7.44
Total saved: $4.44 (plus $3.97 in TMF rebate)
Coupons used: 2
And I had a pretty big trip at Smiths. The highlights of this trip:
grapes-$1.29/lb
2.5 bag of salmon- on sale for $9.99 plus used $1 coupon (homemailer)
3 lbs Bag of apples, clearanced to $1
Tide -on sale for $4.99, plus used $2.50 e-coupon
Kroger salad-clearanced to 50c, used 50c coupon (homemailer)
I also got bunch of canned fruit salad discounted 50-60% and some other stuff.
Total spent: $4.28
Total saved(including $25 credit): $50.02!!!
Coupons used: 6
And at the bread store I bought some bread (duh...) and whole wheat cinnamon mini-bagels. I really need to start baking my own bread again...
Total spent: $3.35
Total saved :appr. $3
No coupons used.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total spent this month: $82.36
Total saved: $99.99 (plus I will get $6.97 in rebates)
Left to spend this month: $167.64
YTD spending: $567.47
YTD savings: $358.96
YTD coupons used : 77
YTD waste: $27.18
Friday, March 2, 2012
My mini-goals for February update
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Months truly fly by right now. I feel like February barely started and here were, on the second day of March. February was a great month for us- we spent some wonderful time with my parents, we achieved our savings goal and had a lowest ever spending on miscellaneous. Unfortunately, I didn't do much about our mini-goals.
This is where we stand:
1. Enjoy time with my parents!!! This one goal we definitely achieved. We spent two amazing weeks with them and I already miss having them here so much.
2. Write in my journal at least 4 times this month. Fail but not completely. I wrote 3 times, so it's definitely something doable next month. I love reading journals. My Grandpa left a few journals, some dating back at 1940s. it's amazing to read what he went through, and about his love for his people and his country. I want to leave at least some sort of a legacy like this for my children and their children's children.
3. List stuff on KSL. Fail :( Didn't even start it! We really need to tryto sell some of our stuff in the garage.
4. Figure out our 401K. Fail again :( Didn't even start!...Sigh...
5. Get our taxes done and check our credit score. Fail and fail :( But we did get our tax documents together and have an appointment for next Friday. So it should be all done within a week.
So, yeah, it's all sad... I was going to post my new goals for March (they are inspired by Carla's new challenge) but there were a few things that I wanted to discuss with my Hubby. I really want him to be involved and support me in them. So I'll be back tomorrow... Now I really need some sleep...Sweet dreams, everyone!
This is where we stand:
1. Enjoy time with my parents!!! This one goal we definitely achieved. We spent two amazing weeks with them and I already miss having them here so much.
2. Write in my journal at least 4 times this month. Fail but not completely. I wrote 3 times, so it's definitely something doable next month. I love reading journals. My Grandpa left a few journals, some dating back at 1940s. it's amazing to read what he went through, and about his love for his people and his country. I want to leave at least some sort of a legacy like this for my children and their children's children.
3. List stuff on KSL. Fail :( Didn't even start it! We really need to tryto sell some of our stuff in the garage.
4. Figure out our 401K. Fail again :( Didn't even start!...Sigh...
5. Get our taxes done and check our credit score. Fail and fail :( But we did get our tax documents together and have an appointment for next Friday. So it should be all done within a week.
So, yeah, it's all sad... I was going to post my new goals for March (they are inspired by Carla's new challenge) but there were a few things that I wanted to discuss with my Hubby. I really want him to be involved and support me in them. So I'll be back tomorrow... Now I really need some sleep...Sweet dreams, everyone!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
February update on my yearly goals
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It's this time again to bring you an update on my 12 yearly goals:
1.Blog at least 15 times every -I totally nailed it!!- I've blogged 33 times this month.
2. Have a "money meeting" at least once a month with my husband. PASS- We finally sat down with my Hubby and talked about our financial situation and a budget for March. It's a little step in getting him involved but it's a step forward.
3.Save enough to pay for Christmas with cash. Working on it!- I think, we are doing great. We put another monthly $20 into our ING account and we got $34.45 cash back that went to the same account. I also made $9 from surveys. So we have $115.83 in our account at the moment.
4. Save as much as we can for a minivan.-Also working on it. I haven't updated my progress bar in a while but we saved $3561 so far.
6.Keep track of our food waste PASS. So far we "wasted" $27.18 in food waste, and I kept track every week.
7. Start putting again some money for retirement. Failed again:( We again haven't done anything about it :( Right now my Hubby is trying to find another job too, so we might wait and see about it for now.
8. Have 1 date night every month with my husband. WE DID IT. Read about our date here
9. Lose 12 lbs in 2012. EPIC FAIL:( And I don't really have an excuse...Last month I lost 2 pounds but when my parents were here we ate out, had lots of sweets and had a huge Birthday party...So I gained 3.5 pounds back. By now I lost 1.5 of them again which basically puts me at the point where I was on the 1st of January. Plus I hardly exercised at all in February. Sad...
10. Read 12 books this year. Oh yeah! In the month of February I've read 3 books- The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (astonishing and raw feelings in it. Amazing!), Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner ( interesting...I just couldn't pass by a book with a character that has my name but it's not exactly my first choice of a book) and Persuasion by Rebecca Jamison (beautiful sensitive and romantic novel with a very clean language, nice plot, deeply religious. Rebecca is actually my friend and it was a great debut for her!!)
11. Write in my journal at least once a week. NOT THERE YET. But I can't say I failed it either. I wrote in my journal 3 times , and it's definitely a progress for me.
12. Create mini-goals every month through out the year. I did create them in February but achieving them is a whole different story, so I have to say I failed it :(
So here is where we stand so far. It's not perfect but we are working on it! Tomorrow I'll post an update on my February mini-goals and the new goals for March.
1.Blog at least 15 times every -I totally nailed it!!- I've blogged 33 times this month.
2. Have a "money meeting" at least once a month with my husband. PASS- We finally sat down with my Hubby and talked about our financial situation and a budget for March. It's a little step in getting him involved but it's a step forward.
3.Save enough to pay for Christmas with cash. Working on it!- I think, we are doing great. We put another monthly $20 into our ING account and we got $34.45 cash back that went to the same account. I also made $9 from surveys. So we have $115.83 in our account at the moment.
4. Save as much as we can for a minivan.-Also working on it. I haven't updated my progress bar in a while but we saved $3561 so far.
5. De-clutter 366 things this year. Kind of passed.We got rid of 87 things so far but we still never put up for sale on KSL or Craigslist.
7. Start putting again some money for retirement. Failed again:( We again haven't done anything about it :( Right now my Hubby is trying to find another job too, so we might wait and see about it for now.
8. Have 1 date night every month with my husband. WE DID IT. Read about our date here
9. Lose 12 lbs in 2012. EPIC FAIL:( And I don't really have an excuse...Last month I lost 2 pounds but when my parents were here we ate out, had lots of sweets and had a huge Birthday party...So I gained 3.5 pounds back. By now I lost 1.5 of them again which basically puts me at the point where I was on the 1st of January. Plus I hardly exercised at all in February. Sad...
10. Read 12 books this year. Oh yeah! In the month of February I've read 3 books- The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (astonishing and raw feelings in it. Amazing!), Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner ( interesting...I just couldn't pass by a book with a character that has my name but it's not exactly my first choice of a book) and Persuasion by Rebecca Jamison (beautiful sensitive and romantic novel with a very clean language, nice plot, deeply religious. Rebecca is actually my friend and it was a great debut for her!!)
11. Write in my journal at least once a week. NOT THERE YET. But I can't say I failed it either. I wrote in my journal 3 times , and it's definitely a progress for me.
12. Create mini-goals every month through out the year. I did create them in February but achieving them is a whole different story, so I have to say I failed it :(
So here is where we stand so far. It's not perfect but we are working on it! Tomorrow I'll post an update on my February mini-goals and the new goals for March.
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