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Archive for March, 2010

Last update before Mexico

March 19th, 2010 at 11:56 pm

Current Total = $9065
+$450 Bonus to Home Maintenance Fund
+$50.00 to EF from payday
+$50.00 to vacation from payday
New Total = $9615.00
Closing in on getting to 10K.....AGAIN!

M E X I C O !

March 19th, 2010 at 12:52 am

Well readers my Mexico trip is upon us! We leave in 2 days so I will be MIA for a week. We have $600 for spending money and are hoping to bring back $100-$200. I have never been to Mexico so it should e a lot of fun. I am ready for a margarita and some fun in the sun!

Happy Savings! Smile

Wisdom Teeth Claim - Finally Submiited

March 19th, 2010 at 12:44 am

When I had my wisdom teeth out they asked for the payment up front, and said medical would probably not cover it. (I do not have dental) So I paid the $1500 OOP and hoped that maybe some of it would be covered.....but even if some of it was "covered" I would still have to pay for it in full since I have a $3200 family deductible that has to be met before my insurance covers anything. I had to call and remind the oral surgery office to submit the claim, but finally a month later it got processed.....and they covered the whole amount towards my deductible! I am so pumped! I knew I would have to pay for the whole thing regardless, but since it went towards my deductible instead of being not covered that helps us a lot because we have a lot of medical expenses and we will meet our deductible, now we have $1500 less to meet. Now we are down to only $700 left on the deductible for the year. So instead of having to pay our $3200 deductible PLUS $1500 for my teeth, we only have to pay the $3200! So doing a happy dance today because in a weird way we saved $1500!

Home Maintenance #2

March 18th, 2010 at 10:34 pm

Seems my last post got cut off for some reason and I did not notice....so here is the rest of the previous post:

Next month is our last $25 payment on our 0% interest TV, so I set the Home Maintenance account up today and also set up a $25 a month auto deposit starting in April so we continue to have that $25 going to something and not disappearing. It's not much, but it's something, and that plus my bonus will be a good start. So that account will be used for when we need a new washer/dryer, new dish washer, bathroom remodel, and other home improvements.

Starting a new savings account : Home Maintenance

March 16th, 2010 at 10:31 pm

So since we had that "surprise" $2000 from the casino trip to put into the EF I decided to let DH decide what to do with my bonus from work. I will find out the exact amount tomorrow but I think it will be about $500 after taxes and 401K contributions. I told DH he can decide to put it wherever he wants....EF, remodel bathroom, future vacation, or buy a new laptop (his died a few months ago, so we have been sharing mine) were the options we talked about.
Last night he surprised me when he told me he had decided that we should set up a seperate ING account for Home Maintenance with my bonus. Smile He is so smart

$20K Challenge Big Boost!

March 16th, 2010 at 01:06 am

Current Total = $6860.00
+$1.00 King Mattress Interest
+$4.00 Even Out Amount
+$50.00 to EF from payday
+$50.00 to vacation from payday
+100.00 to Anniversary Cruise
+$2000.00 Casino Win!
New Total = $9065.00

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

March 15th, 2010 at 11:40 pm

We are back from our weekend trip to MN. It was soooo much fun.....and my husband was super lucky!
My aunts family goes every year to stay at the casino in Mahnomen and gets a block of rooms. We have gone the last few years and always have a great time. This year DH and myself brought one of his friends with to gamble with him and met a bunch of my family there. Right after we got to the casino I was up at the room getting ice for our cooler (cheaper for drinks!) and DH and his friend were gambling in the casino. Well they called me and told me to come down to the casino right away. So I run down there, thinking they must have won $100-$200......I get there and they are playing a penny machine(that is usually all we play) and betting .40 cents and they won $1064.00!!!!! WHAT! OMG! I was soooooo excited! I still can't believe they only bet .40 and they won so much. So I tell them don't touch that machine (it was called Virtual Golf) I want to go get the camera. I run (yes I was actually running) up to the room to get the camera and while I am doing that they start playing on the machine next to the one that they just won on (another Virtual Golf machine).....by the time I get back (maybe 5 min later)they have gotten the bonus on this game betting .40 cents and won another $200! So crazy! So in about 15 min they won $1200 which they split, so $600 for DH right after we get to the casino. Later that same night my husband was playing by himself betting .90 cents on a different penny machine (Black Knight) and won $400. So needless to say our trip was paid for and then some. We took $1200 out of savings to pay for room for 2 nights, gas, food and gamblng (we love to gamble!) and came home with $2000! WHOO HOO! So I put that whole $2000 into the EF. Very happy to come back ahead and had a wonderful trip!

Bonus Money!

March 11th, 2010 at 02:50 am

Found out today my 2009 4th quarter bonus is a little over $700. It will be paid out next week, so I will be sending that to the EF. It will probably be about $500 after taxes and 401K contribution is taken out. But that will be a nice boost to the EF.

DH got $250 from his parents/grandparents for his Birthday. He is taking some with on our mini vaca this weekend and he told me today if he brings some back he wants to put it towards the mortgage. I knew there was a reason I liked him! Smile LOL

Oh and also I got those FREE phones in the mail today. I am happy with them so far, they are cute and small. I put it on the "TO DO" list for DH to get them activated and ready to go.

Biggest Loser -- Finale!

March 10th, 2010 at 12:50 am

Week Sixteen
Pounds Lost this week = 0
Total pounds lost = 11
% weight loss = 6.08%
Place = 1st out of 6 people

YEAH! I won! I am so excited! The person that got 2nd lost 10lbs so it was very close with us two. I am proud of myself for keeping that weight loss from last week. So I won the prize then of $60. Normally I would do something responsible with my winnings like put it in savings. But we are going out of town this weekend for a casino weekend with family so I am going to treat myself for my hard work and take it with to play.

I checked with my coworkers and they want to do another BL starting next week already. This time 8 people have signed up instead of 6, so that will be $80 up for grabs. Guess I better enjoy my weekend off of BL before next week!

New Cell Phones

March 7th, 2010 at 05:37 pm

DH has been in need of a new phone for some time, his volume control doesn't work very well and it is all scratched up. But we hate to pay for phones when you can just wait and get your phone for cheap/free. So we waited it out. I called today and found out only DH's phone is eligible for the upgrade and I need to wait till the end of April. BUT when I talked to the rep he said that they had a sale today only and we could actually get 2 phones for FREE! We don't even have to do the rebate thing, they are instant rebate so we didn't have to pay anything at all. Plus we should get the phones in 3 days. I really don't NEED a new phone right now, but I figured I would just keep my phone which is still in good condition so we have an extra one in case one is lost or broken before our next upgrade. Of course this strategy only works if you are not obsessed with getting the newest/flashiest phone and you have to be patient till you are eligible. We have never paid more the $3 for a phone, as long as I can use it for phone calls, texting and taking pics I am good. Smile Love getting Free stuff!

$20K Challenge - Starting the uphill climb again

March 4th, 2010 at 01:59 am

Current Total = $6600.00
+$3.90 February savings interest
+$116.10 Even Out Amount
-$112.00 Transfer to ROTH IRA
+$50.00 to EF from payday(3/5)
+$50.00 to vacation from payday(3/5)
+$100.00 to Roth IRA hold account
+$50.00 Discover Cash back reward
+$2.00 Even out Amount
New Total = $6860.00

Wisdom Teeth Follow up Appt

March 4th, 2010 at 01:06 am

I went in to have my wisdom teeth check up appt today. Doc says everything looks good and got my stiches out. Smile Also no charge for the follow up so that was good too.

NSD and NEO - March

March 4th, 2010 at 01:03 am

So it is March 3 and we have had 0 NSDs. Frown Fuel on the 1st Bar on the 2nd and Groceris on the 3rd........gonna need to work on this more.
On the plus side we have 3 NEO days under our belt!

Steals and Deals

March 4th, 2010 at 01:00 am

Ran some quick errands today and got some amazing deals.
First I got bags of frozen chicken breast for 50% off, limit 2. Also Progresso soups $1 per can s got 10 of those. I see that sale frequently, but it really is a good deal for very yummy and healthy soup.
I had another free coupon for VS undies. This is the 2nd free pair i have gotten in a month and I NEVER shop there?! But free undies I will take, so picked those up for free, reg price $8.50.
Lastly DH got a coupon for $5 towards a $5 or more purchase from Famous Footwear. We have gotten these in the past also and try to find cheap shoes or socks that we can get for free since we have no need to spend any money with these coupons. Well we found some $5 shoes in the womens, but nothing that I would have wanted and could not find any sock packs for around $5-$6 so we ended up buying some boys sport cleets. They were regular $45, on clearance for $5, so we did not have to pay anything! We do not have any kids, but we can sell the cleet in our rummage sale. Brand new $45 cleets still in the box I am sure we can get at least $5 - $10. Feel like we did really good with the free shoes and free undies!

BIggest Loser Week Fifteen

March 4th, 2010 at 12:40 am

Week Fifteen
Pounds Lost this week = 6
Total pounds lost = 11
% weight loss = 6.08%
Place = 1st out of 6 people

YES! I have taken the lead with just one week to go! Having my wisdom teeth helped a LOT! So I am super excited. The person in 2nd is at 4% lost. So I think if I keep my weight loss at 11lbs or higher I will win. Have to try really hard to not pig out for a week.