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Archive for July, 2017

Vegas Baby! Free flight, comped rooms, fun times ahead!

July 26th, 2017 at 06:07 pm

We leave for Vegas tomorrow! YEAH!!!!!

Due to previous trips, we have a lot of comps that will help us cover a lot of the costs.

-This trip is for my SIL's 21st BD, so my in-laws generously purchased the flight tickets for all of their kids and spouses as a Christmas present, so the flight is free!

-We are staying 4 nights at Harrah's properties which MO gets free nights at based on previous play. MO was able to get the rest of the family/friends discounts on their rooms at Harrah's. We are also staying 3 nights on Fremont St. and we have free rooms at several hotels there, so we were able to get the entire group free there!

-We are going to go to a BD dinner for SIL and we have $100 dinner voucher for that, so that should be close to free for me and MO(expensive restaurant, plus drinks + tips, we may have to pay a tiny bit OOP).

-We also have $100 worth of free food vouchers for Fremont St.

-We are bringing 2 $50 giftcards for Outback Steakhouse which we redeemed from our Discover Cashback Rewards (Free!), not sure if we will use both of those, but at least one as there is an Outback on the strip so that will cover another meal. We also got an extra $50 GC to give to my in-laws as a thank you for paying for the flights.

-The rest of our meals we will do a lot of slices of pizza or grabbing a sandwich at Subway or McDonalds or other cheap options. We are movers and shakers, so won't do too many sit down or expensive meals.

-All drinks are free while we gamble!

-Lastly we have a couple hundred in free slot play. When we get free play we always play it through, which is required, and as soon as we have played it through we cash it out and put it in our winner pocket to go home, so we should get at least a little something back from that, and maybe more!

So other then gambling, this should be a decently cheap vacation. We do both love to gamble (hence all of the comps), but we have a good strategy to always pocket our winners, so hopefully we have a little luck and come home with some good $$$!

$20K Update

July 24th, 2017 at 03:38 pm

Here is our last teeny tiny update before vacation!

Current Balance $19,205.00
+$5.00 FB Sales
+$12.00 Budweiser Rebate
+$3.00 Even Out Amount
Balance $19,225.00

Local Savings $7215.00
GC Savings $4055.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3155.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$2035.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$1265.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $19,225.00

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $892.00(We have paid weeks 1-28 and 44-52)

FB Sales Week of 7/16/17

July 24th, 2017 at 03:24 pm

I haven't been posting anything for sale on FB lately since we will be out of town for over a week. I did have one sale picked up though, and may have 1 or 2 more picked up tonight which is the last day I am offering pickup before we leave.

Sales for this week is $10.00.


Sale #711 (JF) $10.00
Curad Bandaids (5) - We paid .53 each
Sold for $1.00 each
Profit = $2.35

Total Girl Fringe Tank - We paid $1.43
Sold for $5.00
Profit = $3.57

$20K Update

July 21st, 2017 at 11:02 pm

We had to take some money out of savings to pay our Discover bill. Few more days till Vegas!

Current Balance $20,155.00
+$50.00 MO Payday to Our Savings
-$500.00 Truck Repair
-$200.00 Rental Landscaping
-$300.00 Overspending
Balance $19,205.00

Local Savings $7195.00
GC Savings $4055.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3155.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$2035.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$1265.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $19,205.00

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $892.00(We have paid weeks 1-28 and 44-52)

Debt Update as of 7/21/17

July 21st, 2017 at 10:39 pm

$1033.76 paid off in the last 2 weeks!

Celebrations for this update:
-$1033.76 paid off in the last 2 weeks!
-My Mortgage went under the next $1000 mark!
-Our Mortgage went under the next $1000 mark!
-Total debt went under the next $1000 mark for the 3rd update in a row!
-Payoff on Race #3 passed $35K

Student Loan $0
Payback Savings $0
David's Bridal $0
Scheel's Card $0
Total Rewards $0
LOC - US Bank $0
Ring Iddeal $0
Best Buy $0
HELOC $0
Store Loan $8,383.27
Mom Loan #2 $20,168.85
MO Mortgage $84,656.75
My Mortgage $151,750.00
Our Mortgage $248,643.70
Total = $513,602.57

Down $1033.76 in the last 2 weeks!!

Starting total was $587,351.27
$73,748.70 paid off since 6/19/15 (including downpayment on house)!!!!!

We have $2035 in a savings account to pay off the Mom Loan, so the amount we still owe that is $18,133.85.

Free Paper Towels at CVS!

July 17th, 2017 at 10:47 pm

A few grabs from last week:



JTB Paper Towel Roll (Bought 1)
Regular Price $1.99
-$1.99 ($2.00 CMC Coupon)
Final Price = Free!!
(Keeping these)

Scope Mouthwash 1L (Bought 1)
Regular Price $5.49
-.50 Sale Price
*Received $3.00 EB
Final Price After Tax = $2.31
(Marked $3.00 for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold for $3.00 on FB on 7/15/18
Profit = $.69

Barbasol Shave Foam (Bought 2)
Regular Price $2.37 Each
-.38 Sale Price Each
*Received $1.00 EB Each
Final Price After Tax = $1.12 Each
(Keeping these)

$20K Update

July 17th, 2017 at 04:12 pm

Just a little deposit for FB Sales, and we paid 2 more weeks on the 52 Week Challenge.

Current Balance $20,135.00
+$20.00 FB Sales
Balance $20,155.00

Local Savings $7195.00
GC Savings $5055.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3105.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$2035.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$1265.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $20,155.00

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $892.00(We have paid weeks 1-28 and 44-52)

FB Sales Week of 7/9/17

July 17th, 2017 at 02:21 pm

FB Sales this week were $32.00!

Sale #708 (PM) $24.00
Dishmatic Cleaning Wand Set (Me) - I paid .99 each
Sold for $4.00 each
Profit = $3.01

Star Wars Death Star Hot Wheels Set - We paid $5.81
Sold for $20.00
Profit = $14.19

Sale #709 (LQ) $5.00
Fischer Price Toy Tricycle - Curb Find - Free!
Sold for $5.00
Profit = $5.00

Sale #710 (CB) $3.00
Ice Cube Trays for my Mom (2) - $3.00


MO won a $1000 Giftcard!!

July 14th, 2017 at 09:34 pm

Recently MO got a VM that he had won something in a raffle and to call to claim his prize. I said "Oh I don't remember you telling me you bought a raffle ticket" and he said "Oh yeah I didn't tell you because it was a $100 raffle ticket". WHHHHHHAAAAAT!
LOL! Apparently his sister was raising funds as she is a coach and he bought a $100 raffle ticket to support her sports team.

So he calls to find out what he won and it was a $1000 giftcard for a historic tourist town near us! We can use the GC for golfing (they have a nationally ranked golf course), shopping, dining, horse back riding, lodging, and their big draw which is an outdoor musical. So free vacation!! Smile

I did call and check that there is no expiration date and no fees so good on that too. I don't think we will have a chance to go this summer as we are pretty booked up, maybe early fall or next year.

Gift Card Inactivity Fees - Grrrr

July 14th, 2017 at 04:38 pm

As part of his Christmas bonus MO got 2 $250 Visa Giftcards from his employer. We hadn't used them yet, I prefer to save things like that and use them for something special instead of just frittering them away. But I knew they assessed inactivity fees if the cards aren't used within 12 months, so we were going to make sure that we at least used them once by December of this year.

Yesterday MO was going to town to run some errands and our CC bill for the month is already pretty high due to car repairs, so I suggested he take one of the Visa Giftcards for the errands and that way they will be activated. He called the 800 number on the cards to confirm the balances and found out we had already been charged $14.50 per card in inactivity fees! Apparently the employer had purchased them many months before they were given to us! Which of course we hadn't thought about. So we lost $29 due to that. Frown MO did use some on each of the cards yesterday so we won't get any more fees for another 12 months at least.

We plan on taking at least one of the GCs with to Vegas to pay for eating out as that should be pretty much our only expense other then gambling.

So lesson learned! Don't assume GCs that you receive were just recently purchased!

$20K Update

July 14th, 2017 at 04:29 pm

Current Balance $20,010.00
+$50.00 My Payday to Our Savings
+$75.00 My Payday to Mom Loan Savings
Balance $20,135.00

Local Savings $7175.00
GC Savings $5055.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3105.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$2035.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$1265.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $20,135.00

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $819.00(We have paid weeks 1-27 and 45-52)

$20K Update

July 10th, 2017 at 03:36 pm

No FB Sales were picked up this week, so just a little update.

Current Balance $20,000.00
+$10.00 Mortgage Savings
Balance $20,010.00

Local Savings $7175.00
GC Savings $5055.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3055.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$1960.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$1265.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $20,010.00

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $819.00(We have paid weeks 1-27 and 45-52)

Couple Oral Care Grabs at CVS

July 9th, 2017 at 01:48 am

I had a $4 EB to use so stopped into CVS and got some good coupons from the coupon machine to get a few good grabs! Now I have all my EBs used until after Vegas Vaca, so I don't have to worry about any of them expiring while I am gone. Smile



Scope Mouthwash 1 Liter (Bought 1)
Regular Price $5.49
-.70 Sale Price
*Received $3.00 EB
Final Price after tax = $2.10
(Marked $3.00 for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.00 on FB on 7/15/18
Profit = $.90

Colgate MaxClean Toothpaste (Bought 1)
Regular Price $3.49
-.50 Sale Price
-$1.00 CVS CM Coupon
*Received $1.00 EB
Final Price after tax = $1.07
(Marked $2.50 for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold for $2.50 on FB on 1/21/18
Profit = $1.43

CVS Brand Basic Toothbrush (Bought 1)
Regular Price $1.57
-$1.00 CVS CM Coupon
Final Price after tax = $.64
(Marked $1.00 for rummage sale)

Debt Update - 7/7/17

July 7th, 2017 at 10:28 pm

$680.02 paid off in the last 2 weeks!

Celebrations for this update:
-Total debt went down $680.02 in the last 2 weeks!
-Bad Debt (Mom Loan and Store Loan combined) went under the next $1000 mark!
-Total Debt went under the next $1000 mark!


Student Loan $0
Payback Savings $0
David's Bridal $0
Scheel's Card $0
Total Rewards $0
LOC - US Bank $0
Ring Iddeal $0
Best Buy $0
HELOC $0
Store Loan $8,497.94
Mom Loan #2 $20,168.85
MO Mortgage $84,838.75
My Mortgage $152,100.00
Our Mortgage $249,030.79
Total = $514,636.33

Down $680.02 in the last 2 weeks!!

Starting total was $587,351.27
$72,714.94 paid off since 6/19/15 (including downpayment on house)!!!!!

We have $1960 in a savings account to pay off the Mom Loan, so the amount we still owe that is $18,208.85.

$20K Update - Back to $20K!!!!

July 7th, 2017 at 04:54 pm

After paying for the deck at Rental #2 we dipped below $20K for awhile, but we are back now! We are going to Vegas in 3 weeks, so we won't be doing any major deposits or withdrawals between then and now.

Current Balance $19,930.00
+$50.00 MO Payday to Our Savings (7/7)
+$20.00 To get to $20K!!!!
Balance $20,000.00

Local Savings $7175.00
GC Savings $5045.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3055.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$1960.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$1265.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $20,000.00

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $819.00(We have paid weeks 1-27 and 45-52)

Kohl's - Online Toy Clearance!

July 5th, 2017 at 04:00 pm

I have started to order more online deals when I see something we could make a few bucks on. I was so excited to find this amazing deal on this great clearance toys at Kohl's!



Finding Dory Creativity Kit (Bought 13)
Regular Price $29.99 Each
-$24.00 Clearance Price Each
-.53 Each ($10 off $30 Purchase)
Final Price After Tax = $5.81 Each
(Marked $12.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 2 for $12.00 each on FB on 8/13/17
*ETA - Sold 1 for $12.00 on FB on 11/5/17
*ETA - Sold 1 for $12.00 on FB on 11/26/17
*ETA - Sold 1 for $12.00 on FB on 12/4/17
*ETA - Sold 1 for $12.00 on FB on 12/17/17
*ETA - Donated 2 sets to the grandkids of one of my customers that passed away.
*ETA - Sold 1 for $12.00 on FB on 6/3/18
*ETA - Sold 2 for $12.00 each on FB on 7/30/18
*ETA - Sold 1 for $12.00 at 9/22/18 rummage sale
*ETA - Sold 1 for $10.00 on FB on 12/2/18
Profit = $66.09

Star Wars Death Star Hot Wheels Set (Bought 6)
Regular Price $59.99
-$54.00 Clearance Price Each
-.53 Each ($10 off $30 Purchase)
Final Price After Tax = $5.81 Each
(Marked $20.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $20.00 on FB on 7/9/17
*ETA - Sold 1 for $17.00 on FB on 12/10/17
*ETA - Sold 1 for $20.00 on FB on 12/16/18

Plus I earned $20 Kohl's cash for making the purchase, score!

CVS Clearance Lipbalm Deals

July 5th, 2017 at 03:23 pm

I had a $10EB that I needed to use before we go on vacation at the end of July so I popped into CVS while we were in town this weekend. I didn't find any spectacular deals, but I did find these lipbalms on clearance, plus I had a $10 off of $50 purchase coupon so I used that too and got a decent deal on items that are easy to store and usually a quick resell. The big incentive here was to use the $10EB and not lose money on it, sometimes it is hard to use such big amounts!



EOS Lipbalm Pods (Bought 11)
Regular Price $4.19
-$2.10 Clearance Price Each
-.43 ($10 off $50 CVS Coupon)
Final Price Plus Tax = $1.78 Each
(Marked $2.50 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 2 for $2.50 each on FB on 9/3/17
*ETA - Sold 1 for $2.50 on FB on 12/10/17
*ETA - Sold 3 for $2.00 each on FB on 5/6/18 (Sold to a friend for cost)
*ETA - Gave 1 to a friend
*ETA - Sold 1 for $2.50 on FB on 9/20/20

Softlips Cube Lipbalm (Bought 10)
Regular Price $3.99
-$2.00 Clearance Price Each
-.43 ($10 off $50 CVS Coupon)
Final Price Plus Tax = $1.68 Each
(Marked $2.50 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 2 for $2.50 on FB on 9/3/17
*ETA - Gave 1 to a friend
*ETA - Sold 6 for $2.00 each on FB on 12/2/18

Burt's Bees Lipbalm 2pks (Bought 2)
Regular Price $5.99
-$3.00 Clearance Price Each
-.43 ($10 off $50 CVS Coupon)
Final Price Plus Tax = $2.68 Each
(Marked $4.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $4.00 on FB on 8/13/17
*ETA - Sold 1 for $4.00 on FB on 10/7/18
Profit = $2.64

$20K Update

July 5th, 2017 at 03:12 pm

Current Balance $18,610.00
+$5.00 FB Sales
+$1300.00 July Rent for Rental #2
+.15 GC Savings Interest
+$4.85 Even Out Amount
+$2.87 Cap360 Interest
+$7.13 Even Out Amount
Balance $19,930.00

Local Savings $7175.00
GC Savings $5025.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3005.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$1960.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$1265.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $19,930.00

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $819.00(We have paid weeks 1-27 and 45-52)

FB Sales Week of 6/25/17

July 5th, 2017 at 02:49 pm

Only one little sale picked up this week. Sales were $5.00.

Sale #707 (PM) $5.00
Fruit of the Loom Socks (Me) - I paid .99 each
Sold for $5.00 each
Profit = $4.01