Layout:
Home > Archive: April, 2010

Archive for April, 2010

May 2010 Mortgage

May 1st, 2010 at 12:55 am

Mortgage for May

Balance $134,300.00
+$545.59 Interest
+$345.57 Escrow
-$1286.00 Regular Payment
-$505.16 Principle Payment
New Balance $133,400.00

Additional Principle Payments 2010 = $2663.25
Current Position on Mortgage Amortization Schedule....April 2015...4 years and 11 months ahead of schedule!

Bound and Determined!

April 30th, 2010 at 02:09 am

Current Total = $7,430.00
+$50.00 EF from paycheck (me)
+$50.00 Vacation from paycheck (me)
+$50.00 EF from paycheck (DH)
+$50.00 Vacation from paycheck (DH)
+$100.00 Retirement Hold Account
+$5.00 HSBC Interest
New Total = $7,735.00

I am SICK of this back and forth/up and down with the savings and I just want it to go up, up, up! We have a new game plan in life for the next few years at least and want to save as much as we can in the interim.
We did really, really well at not eating out in April. We did eat out just a few times, but only 3 and this was a vast improvement over any normal months. We are planning on doing the same thing again for May.

Biggest Loser Week 5

April 29th, 2010 at 02:14 am

Week Five
Pounds Lost this week = 1
Total pounds lost = 2
% weight loss = 1.17%
Place = 7th out of 8 people
Total down since original BL = 4

A little less then a month left so I better get my tail in gear!

Emotional Spending 101

April 29th, 2010 at 02:11 am

Current Total = $9,655.00
-$28.00 To ROTH IRA
-$300.00 Casino (Emotional Spending)
-$1900.00 Checking
+$3.00 Even Out Amount
New Total = $7,430.00

UGH! Got some very upsetting news on the medical front yesterday. And to drown my sorrows DH and I went to the casino.....DUMB! Lost $300. Frown So irritated at us. Besides that I have been consistently transferring money from savings to checking when it was needed, and then as soon as I got paid I would transfer it right back to savings......well this was going ok for awhile as I was always putting the money back into savings. But each paycheck the amount going back and forth kept getting bigger and bigger. And now it is almost $2K (which is about what our paychecks are combined) so that is not working and was never a good plan to begin with. I always transfer little amounts here and there to savings to even out accounts, or to get to milestones, and pay as much as we can to the mortgage, and if we go to the bar or the casino or whatever I always take it out of checking and I never compensate that amount from savings. So I keep digging this hole in the checking account. Err.....really the resolution to this is simple = BUDGET. I am just bad with coming to terms with "No you can not put $20 more in savings, you do not have $20 more in checking" or "I am putting $400 extra to the mortgage, but if I pay $500 that will get us to the next $1000 mark" so I just do it and don't think about "where" exactly the money is going to come from, until my checking is a blackhole! We are not overdrawn because our major bills (Discover that we put all of our expenses on and pay in full each month, and our mortgage) coinside with paydays, so at the bank it does not look bad....only in my checkbook register. I always think about how the next paycheck will cover this, and then the next one and the next one.....but it caught up to me now, so I had to transfer the $1900 to checking just to get caught up.....still not much breathing room though.

Some Good Deals Shopping Today

April 27th, 2010 at 01:07 am

I had some coupons I snagged from the coupon box at work and think we did pretty darn good!

Target
$1.00 off Herbal Essences
-Bought the economy size bottle that is cheaper per ounce, plus used the coupon to save even more
Buy a 36-60ct Tampax, get a 18-20ct box FREE
-Bought the 54ct economy size box and got $3.99 20ct box FREE

JCPenney
DH has been needing new jeans for some time, he alwasy rips the butt pockets out from keeping his wallet in that pocket! I also have been trying to keep a pair of flipflops I have had since highschool....they are my FAVORITE....cause they are so comfy, but the heel of it is literally worn down to the ground so I have been looking for some that look comfy for a long time.
2 pr jeans
-Reg $30 each, on sale for "2 for $38", plus a $10 off coupon....Total came out to $13.16 a piece so really even better then if they were BOGO free
4 pr flipflops
-Reg $12 per set of 2 pr flip flops. On sale for $5.99 per 2 pr set, plus a $10 off coupon...came out to $1.97 total for 4 prs flipflops! .48 per pair!

Really happy with the shopping today! How can you beat .48 cents a pair for cute flipflops!
Total cash savings today = $60.81
and we only spent $43.80!

Free Gift

April 22nd, 2010 at 11:32 pm

I referred my little bro to my bank a few months ago so was eligible for a free gift. They didn't have any gifts that I wanted at the time, so I hung on to the coupon till now. They had an 18 piece barbeque set that I picked up and am really happy with it! It came with the cleaning brush, tongs, large barbaque knife and fork, corn on the cob holders, cabob skewers, basting brush, and spatula, they all have nice wooden handles and came in a plastic case with a handle.
We were waiting to pick up a cleaning brush and some utensils for a grill, so I am happy we got something so useful for free!

Starting our new auto deposit

April 22nd, 2010 at 11:24 pm

Current Total = $9,630.00
+25.00 Home Improvement Fund
New Total = $9,655.00

Now that our TV is paid off we are moving the $25 a month we were paying to the TV to savings for Home Improvements. It's not a lot, but at least it's something.

Home Improvements - Past and Future

April 21st, 2010 at 02:35 am

We bought our home in 2007 and very slowly are working and adding little improvements, some are actual improvements to the home, and some are just comforts to us, but I still consider them improvements.

2007
New Roof
New Living Room couch and 2 recliners
King Mattress
Flat sceen TV and Stand
Patio Furniture

2008
Grill
New patio door blinds

2009
New hot tub cover

2010
New blinds for living room and bedroom
Remodeled downstairs bathroom...working on it!

We are trying to do projects slowly as we save up for them. No "KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES" for us!
We should be 100% done with the bathroom remodel within a few weeks at the longest. We are trying to decide what to tackle next.....here are some of our proposed projects:
Underground sprinkler system
New lawn mower
New washer/dryer
New dishwasher
New bedroom set
New family room furniture (downstairs)
Fix fireplace
Fix doorbell
Fix porchstep
Fix and paint lattice under deck
Put plastic under rock beds
Guess we have our work cut out for us!

Bathroom Remodel Shopping

April 21st, 2010 at 01:53 am

Well I think we are finally done with all of the purchasing for our bathroom remodel. Had to buy a ton of "little" items to get this done!
So I went to Menards with my Dad (he is super cheap too, yeah!) and he helped me get everything I need.
Toilet Cap $1.49
Wood Putty $2.98
Black Shower Curtain $3.49
Putty Knife $3.98
Trowels (3) $5.34
Shower Hooks $5.96
Shower Rod $7.98
Glue for glassboard $9.97
Orange Peel $12.74
Toilet Seat $12.99
Linoleum Glue $13.75
Floor Fill $14.87
Sheet Rock (2 pieces) $16.58
Glass Board $24.97
Shower Head and Fixture $109.00
Total at Menards with tax is $259.08
+Shower $200(got last year)
+Linoleum $45
+Bathroom Decor Free (gift)
= $504.08
So I am already over my bathroom budget of $500. Frown Good news about the above purchases was I applied for a Menards card, I was approved for $7500 by myself! WOW, who needs that much credit at Menards?? Anyways.....for applying I got a $2 coupon in the mail, and also a $10 giftcard to Menards, so that was cool that I did get $12 back on my purchases. (Aleady logged on to Menards website and paid the balance off). Also the new shower head/fixture set were on sale $30 off, and I had a toilet seat in my cart that was $25, then found one for $12.99, so did get some sales/saving there. I still need to pay for meals for my Dad and bro while they do the work and will need to go buy bathroom rugs. Hopefully that is all that is left to buy! We started work by getting the old shower torn out and are working on scraping up the old limoleum and glue now. Saturday is the big day to start the real work, I am so excited!

Spring/Summer To Do List

April 19th, 2010 at 11:38 pm

Some progress made this weekend!
1) Get patio furniture out of the shed - DONE 4/17/10
2) Clean out garage
3) Repair lattice
4) Paint lattice
5) Take old hot tub cover to curb for clean up week - DONE 4/19/10
6) Clean out garden
7) Plant garden
8) Clean hot tub and put in new filter
9) Rake yard
10) Fix porchstep
11) Weed rockbeds
12) Weed driveway
13) Install new shower
14) Install new linoleum - Currently working on getting the old linoleum all pulled up and the floor prepped for new linoleum
15) Leather wash furniture
16) Put up blinds - DONE 4/18/10
17) Clean off grill - DONE 4/17/10
18) Clean out and wash my car
19) Clean out and wash DH's car
20) Get out our bikes and get tires fixed etc

:( Doh!

April 17th, 2010 at 08:48 pm

Current Total = $9,925.00
-$300.00 Dumb overspending Frown
+$1.11 King Mattress CD Interest
+$3.89 Even out amount
New Total = $9,630.00
Unnecessary overspending went on this weekend. Normally I could cover $300 from checking.....but lately we have been more "cash poor" in our checking then usual. I tend to throw everything into savings or to the mortgage.....probably to a fault.....ok, not probably, it is to a fault. When ever we spend more then planned, whether it is a need or not, I always cover it from checking, and don't change our normal savings contributions.....this works ok for awhile, till it starts catching up with me and pretty soon we are scraping the bottom of the barrel in checking. I need to work on finding a happy medium between putting money to savings/mortgage and keeping enough in checking to not be stressed about it.

$20K Challenge

April 16th, 2010 at 02:46 am

Current Total = $9,755.00
-$230.00 Used for Bathroom Remodel
+$50.00 EF from paycheck (me)
+$50.00 Vacation from paycheck (me)
+$50.00 EF from paycheck (DH)
+$50.00 Vacation from paycheck (DH)
+$100.00 Anniversary Cruise account
+$100.00 Retirement Hold Account
New Total = $9,925.00

Biggest Loser Week 4

April 16th, 2010 at 02:30 am

Week Four
Pounds Lost this week = 0
Total pounds lost = 1
% weight loss = .56%
Place = 4th out of 8 people
Total down since original BL = 3

No change from last week. On the plus side softball practice started this week, so that gets me out and moving. One day DH and I walked to softball and that is about 3.5 miles. Also today I FINALLY got off my butt and went to the gym. (How embarassing I have not gone since February) I did the ellytical for an hour, felt really good!

Ok, that was a little out of control

April 11th, 2010 at 08:31 pm

DH and I have been slowly converting all of our VHS movies to DVD. Usually we watch for them at Walmart for $5 or less or rummage sales, if we see a movie we have on VHS then we buy the DVD and put the VHS tape in our rummage sale box. Since we have just been doing this one movie at a time it has been a slow process and have not noticed the $ since it is only $5 or so at a time. Well I think we may have gone a little overboard......one of our local video stores is having a going out of business sale. We went to check it out, all of their DVDs were on sale for $5, and we found 20 movies we have been wanting to switch to DVD, 2 movies for Christmas gifts, and 19 new movies that we wanted.....that's right.....we bought 41 movies and spent $210 on movies yesterday. Frown I know that was a good price for DVDs, but we really went too crazy....should not have bought so many! Guess we are done buying movies for the next few years! Well there are no returns so buyers remorse will not help me now and either way I am happy with the movies I got, just a shot in the gut to spend so much on movies at once. I have already wiped them all down and put them on the DVD rack. I also took all the VHS we had replaced off the rack, wiped them down, marked them for the rummage sale, and boxed them up and put in the closet.

Paying off our TV

April 11th, 2010 at 04:17 am

We had gotten a new TV and TV Stand in 2008 for 18 months 0% interest. So we have been holding the money in savings until now to make a little interest. The 18 months is up in May so I am paying the bill now to make sure we don't get hit with the 18 months of interest.

Current Total = $10,230.00
-$475.00 Payoff TV and TV Stand
New Total = $9,755.00

Spring/Summer To Do List

April 10th, 2010 at 04:41 pm

1) Get patio furniture out of the shed
2) Clean out garage
3) Repair lattice
4) Paint lattice
5) Take old hot tub cover to curb for clean up week
6) Clean out garden
7) Plant garden
8) Clean hot tub and put in new filter
9) Rake yard
10) Fix porchstep
11) Weed rockbeds
12) Weed driveway
13) Install new shower
14) Install new linoleum
15) Leather wash furniture
16) Put up blinds
17) Clean off grill
18) Clean out and wash my car
19) Clean out and wash DH's car
Whoo that is a lot! I will be getting started today by going to pick out linoleum.

Prepping for Bathroom Remodel

April 10th, 2010 at 06:42 am

Well we are FINALLY getting around to putting a new shower in our second bathroom. We have been in our house since Sept 07 and have never used that shower because it is sooooo yucky and has needed to be replaced since forever. So my Dad and brother came over today to see what would need to be done (DH is not as handy as my family). We only planned on replacing the shower, but the new shower is a little smaller then the old shower, so we will also have to replace the linoleum. Frown Did not anticipate that. Dad said it should not be too much for that though cause we should be able to get some remnants since it is not a huge bathroom. So I made our shopping list and will go with my Dad on Sunday to by supplies. Here is what we are looking at so far:
Sheet rock
Spray on Texture
Glass board
New toilet seat
New shower head and control set
Shower Rod
Shower Curtain
Linoleum
Linoleum Glue
Round Lightbulbs
My Dad and brother will do the work for free, minus food and assistance. Then DH and I will help when my bro builds his new garage in a couple years and my Dad always has stuff for us to do for him since he owns a bunch of rental properties. Happy we do not have to play a plumber for the shower and a carpenter for the flooring. DH and I are not handy at all, but my Dad and bro can pretty much do anything....love having handy people in the family! Smile
Also my Mom gave me all the bathroom decor for Christmas, so I have decorative towels, toothbrush holder, soap dispenser etc already.

Going to the movies = Empty your pockets

April 10th, 2010 at 06:31 am

Wow. I have not been living in a cave of anything but OMG I still can not get over how expensive it is to go to a movie! We went to Clash of the Titans today and it was $8.75 per person! Plus $5.30 for one pop and $6.00 for one popcorn......we snuck in the candy. So that comes to a grand total of $28.80 plus $3 for the 3 boxes of candy we brought from the grocery store = $31.80!!!!! Makes me bummed out that I even went to the movie when I think about spending that much....grrrrr....
Good thing we brought candy, that saved us $2.75 per box, so $8.25 saved there. I just can't go to a movie with out a drink and DH needs popcorn. But that would be why we only go to movies about 5 times a year or less. I would hate to be a teenage boy right now, I don't know how you could afford dates!!
Guess I will stick with my Netflix, $18.01 per month for unlimited movies, we usually get through about 20 movies a month. If you don't already have Netflix I would recommed checking it out, we love it!

Biggest Loser Week 3

April 8th, 2010 at 12:06 am

Week Two
Pounds Lost this week = +2
Total pounds lost = 1
% weight loss = .56%
Place = 4th out of 8 people
Total down since original BL = 3 Frown
My scale died so I went and got a new one, we use my scale for the "official" weighins. Apparently my old scale was a little off cause it showed all 8 of us had gained this week. Part of it could be Easter, but I really think that the scale was off before and now this one if probably more accurate. Either way, not a good week. I am bummed I have not been able to maintain my weight loss from last round of BL. At least it is nice outside now, DH and I have gone for walks every day this week. But I really need to get back into the gym........

NCAA Basketball Tourney Pool - I won!

April 7th, 2010 at 01:08 am

So I put $5 into a NCAA bracket pool and some how I won! I don't really even like basketball and don't know anything about the teams, but apparently I picked good cause I won the whole thing so I won $60! Yeah! I also got the remainder of our Mexico money back today. We only spent $350 out of the $600 we brought so had $250 left over. Stuck all of that in savings for now.

Current Total = $10,025.00
+$60.00 NCAA pool
+$250.00 Leftover Mexico money
-$112.00 Transferred to ROTH IRA
+$7.00 Even out amount
New Total = $10,230.00

No Eating out in April

April 5th, 2010 at 12:41 am

So in March we tried to do "No spend days" and "No eating out" for most days. We did horrible. Frown We ate out a ton and while we did not overspend on other items we did not focus on "no spend days" like we had wanted to. So we are trying again this month. We are NOT eating out in April and we are NOT going to the casino either. We have put DH in charge of the eating out and me in charge of the casino. It is day 4 and so far so good. I know we can go ONE month! That will really help our cash flow. We can do it!!!

First day of can season

April 5th, 2010 at 12:27 am

Today was the 1st day of can season! It was finally nice enough out for DH and I to go for a walk outside. We go for walks a lot when the weather is nice enough, and we always bring a grocery bag with and collect aluminum cans as we go. I know some people may find this "below them" or gross or whatever. But I actually look forward to it. I am getting excercise, helping the enviroment, and also getting a little more money for savings. It's like an enviromental scavenger hunt! Smile We don't get a lot of money for cans, but it is still free money. Anyways today we got a lot of cans since the snow has been melting here and uncovering them. DH also found 2 pennies, so they went straight into our piggy bank for the mortgage principle! Feed the Pig!

Matron of Honor

April 3rd, 2010 at 10:25 pm

I have been asked to be the MOH for a good friends wedding! I am excited and it should be a great time! Of course this kind of responsibility has financial obligations as well. Between the dress, the hair, bridal shower, bachelorette party, and gifts for each party/shower/actual wedding I am estimating a $500 budget will be needed. I don't know anything about the dress yet, so maybe it will cheaper, but will have to see. The wedding is not until May 2011 so we have over a year to budget and save up. I already started a new savings account with ING for it and want to put at least $50 a month in there until it gets to $500 so I am ready well in advance. Good news is the wedding is in town so no travel costs.....but the bride currently lives in a different city so may have to travel (3hr drive each way) to see her to help with plans. I am so excited! I am always up for a good P A R T Y !!!!!

April Savings Update

April 3rd, 2010 at 10:16 pm

Regular Savings:
Emergency Fund $3600
Anniversary Cruise $2300
Home Maintanence $260
Cushion $880
Vacation 2010 $1525
HSA $315
Big Screen TV $475
King Mattress $750 - Complete
Total Regular Savings = $10,105.00

Retirement Savings:
Roth IRA $2400
Rollover IRA $1425
401K $8900
403B $8000
Total Retirement Savings = $20,725.00

Total Savings = $30,830

I accidentally erased this update when I made my May 2010 savings update....I tried to remember the number and recreate the best I could....darn I wish I didn't do that!

Current Goal - EF $5000

Saved up and Spent:
$600 Mexico Trip
$1200 MN Trip
$1500 Wisdom Teeth
$1700 from HSA
Total Saved and Spent = $5,000

Update on 2010 Goals

April 3rd, 2010 at 03:57 am

First quarter of the year is over - here is how we are doing on 2010 Goals:
2010 Goals

Debt
-Continue to live debt free other then mortgage (So far so good)
-Pay mortgage down from $138K to $130K or less (Now at $134,300)

Savings
*Emergency Fund
-Go from $2775 to $5000 (Now at $3655)
*Vacation Fund
-Go from $820 to $2600 (Now at $1535)
*Anniversary Cruise
-Go from $2000 to $3000 (Now at $2300)
*MN trip
-Go from $50 to $1000 (Goal Met $1000 - Spent)
*Checking Cushion
-$750 to $1300 (Now at $870)
*HSA
-Go from $0 to $3000 (Contributions of $1700, most spent as we continue to have medical expenses)

Retirement
*401K (3%)
-Go from $8200 to $9000 (Now at $8700)
*ROTH IRA (10%)
-Go from $1620 to $4000 (Now at $2370)
*403B (10%) ($2400 est)
-Not sure on amounts, but continue to contribute 10% of DH income

To Do List of Bills

April 3rd, 2010 at 03:47 am

To Do list of bills:
1) Hot tub repair bill $750 - Paid off
2) Wisdom teeth removal(DH, just one tooth)$143.60 -PD
3) Dr bill #1 $141.10 - Paid off
4) Dr bill #2 $59.40 - Paid off
5) Dr bill #3 $94.50 - Paid off

I had not posted an update on these for awhile. But got the hot tub repair bill paid off and that was the last one we were working on. We have been getting a LOT of medical bills in 2010 (already met $2500 on our medical deductible for 2010) but we have been paying them right away with our HSA account. I am really happy to have that it is working good for us. Now if we could just get that darn mortgage paid off! Smile

$20K Challenge - Over $10K......for a minute!

April 3rd, 2010 at 03:36 am

Current Total = $9615.00
+$50.00 to EF from payday (DH)
+$50.00 to vacation from payday (DH)
+$50.00 to EF from payday (me)
+$50.00 to vacation from payday (me)
+$100.00 to ROTH IRA hold account
+$3.44 ING monthly interest Frown
+$106.56 Even Out deposit
New Total = $10,025.00
Made it back to $10K! Yeah! It sadly will be short lived as we will be paying off our TV in the next few weeks....that is $500 at 0% interest. It is due in May and the money is in savings so we will pay it off this month so that we don't have to pay the accrued interest. Also we are planning a trip to Deadwood at the end of May and that will come out of savings too. I am bummed that we will only be at $10K for a minute......but DH said it is better to be there for a minute then not at all! I will be happy once we get to $11K and then hopefully we will be far enough away from $10K to stay above for good!

New Biggest Loser Week 1 and 2

April 3rd, 2010 at 03:15 am

Week Two
Pounds Lost this week = 3
Total pounds lost = 3
% weight loss = 1.68%
Place = 4th out of 8 people
Total down since original BL = 5

The week 1 weigh in was while I was in Mexico so this was my first weight in for this BL. This round will end May 24th. There are more people this time, and they also seem a lot more motivated. The first week everyone lost and one person lost 6lbs! I went up since the last BL had ended but am still down overall. I need to get my act together now that we are back from vaca. We are going grocery shopping tomorrow so going to get lots of fruits and veggies! Have to watch out for those chocolate bunnies and cadberry eggs though!
Also we are NOT eating out in April. We have been trying to do a month with no eating out for some time now and been very, very bad about it. But DH is in charge of no eating out for the month, 2 days down!
I found out today I am going to be the Matron of Honor in a wedding in May 2011 so gotta get looking sexy! Smile

April 2010 Mortgage

April 3rd, 2010 at 03:00 am

Mortgage for April

Balance $135,275.00
+$549.55 Interest
+$345.57 Escrow
-$1286.00 Regular Payment
-$584.12 Principle Payment
New Balance $134,300.00

Additional Principle Payments 2010 = $2158.09
Current Position on Mortgage Amortization Schedule....January 2015...4 years and 9 months ahead of schedule!

Little bit of shopping

April 3rd, 2010 at 02:50 am

I went through the big pile of mail we aquired while we were in Mexico. Paid all the bills and threw away all the junk.....sometimes I wonder how much garbage would be saved if we would just stop getting so much junk mail! Anyways....got everything squared away and I got ANOTHER coupon for a free pair of undies at Victoria Secret!? That is the 3rd free pair in as many months....so about $30 in free undies....and I absolutley never ever shop there so I don't get it. But if they want to restock my underwear drawer I am cool with that! Smile
I also went to get a BD present for my little bro. He wanted a season of Scrubs on DVD. At first I could only find the newest season which was $35 - ouch! But we kept looking and found a value pack of season 1 and 2 together for $29! All right!


<< Newer EntriesOlder Entries >>