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Archive for February, 2010

Trying to do No Spend Days and No Eating Out Days in March

March 1st, 2010 at 01:52 am

We have 2 vacations this month but in between those we are going to try to not eat out and also have no spend days. We tried to not eat out in Feb and we did HORRIBLE...so trying again!

We want to do 19 NEO days (that would be everyday we are not on vacation) and 14 NSDs.

A start to spring cleaning

March 1st, 2010 at 01:28 am

We put our heated blanket away today. We keep our heat VERY low all winter (around 55 degrees) and use the heated blanket to help at night. I love it! Smile It's a lot cheaper to use the electricity of keeping the blanket on for about 8 hrs then to keep an entire house heated to an "optimum level" 24/7. According to the weather report we should only have a few more really cold nights so should be able to wear warm enough clothes and cuddle enough to keep cozy!
I also cleaned my bedroom (4 socks under the bed, guess it's been awhile since I cleaned under there!) I pulled 3 pairs of pants, 1 skirt and 1 jean skirt and marked them and put them in the rummage sale box. I have so much more that I could put in the rummage sale because a lot of my clothes are too small....but since I am working on losing weight I am not ready to part with them all yet. But the items I pulled I would probably not want to wear even if they did fit. So at least my closet is a little lighter!

March 2010 Savings Update

February 26th, 2010 at 07:15 pm

Regular Savings:
Emergency Fund $1280
Anniversary Cruise $2200
Cushion $820
Vacation 2010 $1230
HSA $520
MN Trip $1200 - Complete
Mexico $600 - Complete
King Mattress $750 - Complete
Big Screen TV $425 - Complete
Total Regular Savings = $9025

Retirement Savings:
Roth IRA $2010
Rollover IRA $1490
401K $8900
403B $7850
Total Retirement Savings = $20250

Total Savings = $29,275
Down $325 from last month due to medical/dental expenses.

Current Goal - EF $5000

Spent:
$655 from HSA
$1500 Wisdom Teeth

March 2010 Mortgage

February 26th, 2010 at 05:45 pm

Mortgage for March

Balance $136,150.00
+$553.11 Interest
+$345.57 Escrow
-$1286.00 Regular Payment
-$487.68 Principle Payment
New Balance $135,275.00

Additional Principle Payments 2010 = $1573.97
Current Position on Mortgage Amortization Schedule....September 2014...4 years and 6 months ahead of schedule!

$20K Challenge - taking a hard hit, but getting back up!

February 26th, 2010 at 01:43 am

Current Total = $10250.00
+$3.97 EF CD Interest
+$1.03 Even out amount
+$45.00 To get to next $100 level
+$50.00 to EF from payday
+$50.00 to vacation from payday
-$140.00 to ROTH IRA
-$1500.00 Wisdom Teeth
-$1000.00 Cover larger then usual CC bill
-$1160.00 MN Trip
New Total = $6600.00

Frown Soooooo suddenly the halfway mark is far away. Bummer!! Spending got out of control the last month and so we had a larger then usual CC bill (we pay our balance in full each month), and then of course the wisdom teeth. I took the money for the MN trip out already as well, but the trip is not for a few more weeks, just getting my ducks in a row for that. So full steam ahead again....hopefully this time we will be able to go up, up, up instead of up, up, down!

Biggest Loser Week 14

February 25th, 2010 at 07:39 pm

Week Fourteen
Pounds Lost this week = +1
Total pounds lost = 5
% weight loss = 2.76%
Place = 2nd out of 6 people

2 weeks to go! Today at home I was down 8lbs.....I am hoping by the time we way in next week I will be down a total of 10-11.

Wisdom Teeth Follow Up

February 25th, 2010 at 03:24 pm

To answer some of the questions regarding the wisdom teeth removal.
Yes I did go to an oral surgeon. They put in an IV for anesthesia, then said ok in about a minute you will fall asleep, I said Ok, and then I woke up in recovery! It was crazy how fast and effective the anesthesia was!

Here is how the bill broke down:
Evaluation $70
Extraction - Surgical $750 (3 teeth)
Extraction - Partial Bony $335 (1 tooth)
Antibiotics $45
Anesthesia $375
Pain Pills $6
Subtotal $1581
5% Discount for paying cash $79
Total $1507

So because 3 of the teeth were already out of the gum line that saved me some money because that was only $250 per tooth instead of $335 a tooth for teeth that are still under the gum line. Plus a little discount for paying cash.
Unfortunately I do not have dental insurance. I did ask them to submit it to my medical, I think the one tooth that was bony impacted, and possibly the anesthesia may be covered by medical.....I still would not get any money back because it would be going to my deductible, but at least that would reduce our deductible some. Will have to wait and see what happens with that part of it.
For now I am just making sure to keep up with the icing of the face and taking my meds. I would say the pain is minimal, more annoying then painful. Just happy to be done with it because they were REALLY killing me the last 2 weeks before I had them out!

Wisdom Teeth are gone!

February 24th, 2010 at 06:36 pm

So I am sitting here with the ice packs on my face.....I am so glad this is over! The total came to $1507 - with any luck my medical will cover some since one of the teeth was bony impacted. I will post for the $20K Challenge when I am more coherent to do the math!

Mortgage PMI

February 21st, 2010 at 11:24 pm

We are getting very close to getting the PMI removed from our mortgage, which would give us an extra $67.20 a month to throw at the mortgage principle. I am trying to decide the best way to remove the PMI, here are the options:

1) LTV 80% - Estimated date we will reach is 9/1/10. We will have to send a request letter to our mortgage lender, and then pay for a new appraisal showing the value of the home has not gone down. Last time we had our home appraised for our refinance we had to pay $400 for the appraisal, so I would estimate the same cost for that.

2) LTV 78% - Estimated date we will reach is 01/1/11. If we wait till this date the PMI is supposed to automatically come off and so then we will not need to pay for the appraisal. But we would have to pay the $67.20 for 4 extra months ($268.80), and would lose a little ground on the mortage going down since we would not have the $67.20 to put towards principle for that 4 months.

I know it probably seems no brainer......#2 would save us about $130 since we wouldn't have to pay for the appraisal.....I think it is just a mental thing that I want that PMI gone asap! We will probabaly go with #2, but just seeing if there are any other thoughts out there. Also for anyone that is past the PMI, did it really come off automatically or did you have to call and make sure they got it done. Just thinking of past history, nothing seems to be as automatic as it is supposed to be..

Once the PMI is gone our "normal" extra payment will be over $500! It is so fun to watch it go down!

Minny Update

February 19th, 2010 at 01:24 am

Current Total = $10150.00
+$50.00 to EF from payday
+$50.00 to vacation from payday
New Total = $10250.00

Trying to stay above $10K in the $20K Challenge

February 17th, 2010 at 03:09 am

Current Total = $10530
+$50.00 to EF from payday
+$50.00 to vacation from payday
+100.00 to cruise account
+$1.11 King Mattress CD interest
+18.89 Even out deposit
-$600.00 MEXICO!
New Total = $10150.00

We don't leave for Mexico for another 4 weeks but I took the money out early because my Mom is actually going down to Mexico next week and she will take our money and exchange it at her bank in Mexico because you get a better exchange rate then at a US bank.
We are barely hanging above the $10K mark. Sadly we won't be above the $10K for long since we have our MN trip next month and that will be over $1000 coming out of savings....BUT we are hoping to bring some money home from both the Mexico and MN trips. Anything we bring back will go towards the EF, or towards the wisdom teeth depending on what shakes out with that.

Wisdom Teeth

February 17th, 2010 at 02:47 am

I may have to have my wisdom teeth out.
Frown I don't have dental insurance......so I am hoping that I will be able to file it under medical (usually if they are bony impacted then they are covered under medical) but I won't know the severity until tomorrow. I have to go in for an xray to find out exactly what is the verdict. I think I only need one out (it is cracked) but I guess I should just get them all out now......ugh.......

Biggest Loser Week 13

February 17th, 2010 at 02:43 am

Week Thirteen
Pounds Lost this week = 2
Total pounds lost = 6
% weight loss = 3.31%
Place = 2nd out of 6 people

Only 3 weeks left! I really need to start pushing it now! The person that is in 1st is at 4.46% so it is going to be difficult to pull in front of them.

Biggest Loser Week 12

February 10th, 2010 at 03:08 am

Week Twelve
Pounds Lost this week = 1
Total pounds lost = 4
% weight loss = 2.21%
Place = 2nd out of 6 people

So on Saurday I was down 7lbs at home.......then today I was only down 4 at work.....WTF..... I am happy that the numbers are still going slowly down at the "official" weigh ins.....but I was soooo excited to show off the 7lbs at work....still working hard on it, hitting the gym, shoveling etc.....Exactly one month till the end of the BL!

Fun Free Day!

February 6th, 2010 at 05:10 am

Had a crummy day at work, and was sooooo happy it was finally Friday. I planned on going home and relaxing. But then I remembered that DH and I both had coupons for free appetizers at a local resteraunt. So we went and had our free appetizers, and only had to pay for drinks. While out to eat I remember I had a coupon for a free pair of underwear (the lacey thong.....oooohhh aawwwww!) from Victoria Secret, so I went and picked those up for nothing OOP. Then a friend called me and said she had free tickets to our local (AAA I think?) basketball teams game tonight....so I went to the game with her and only paid for a drink and an ice cream. So very fun evening, free meal, free underwear, and free entertainment! Sweet Deal!

$20K Challenge - HALF WAY HOME!

February 6th, 2010 at 05:05 am

Current Total = $9430.00
+$1100.00 Federal Refund
New Total = $10530.00

YEAH! We are over $10K! Normally I would not update this twice in 2 days, but since we got our federal today I wanteed to celebrate! So happy to be over half way. It will be short lived since we are going on 2 vacations next month and the funds for both are in savings. But will try to keep the discretionary spending to a minimum. Anything that we bring home will be going right into the EF.

Biggest Loser Week 9, 10, 11

February 5th, 2010 at 01:58 am

Wow I have been really slacking on posting my BL updates......Week 9 and 10 I think I stayed the same.......Here is the current update for week 11.

Week Eleven
Pounds Lost this week = 3
Total pounds lost = 3
% weight loss = 1.67%
Place = 2nd out of 6 people

This is the weigh in from 2 days ago at work. As of today at home weigh in I was down 6lbs (but I weigh in at home sans clothes.....don't think work would appreciate that too much!). I am pumped to be down 6 and feel like I really have some momentum going. The one person at my work who is currently beating my is super hardcore right now and they have been doing REALLY good with their food. So I have been working hard and hitting the gym A LOT! Also I have cut my pop intake drastically, that has always been a major downfall of mine, so I am proud of that too.

$20K Challenge

February 5th, 2010 at 01:35 am

Current Total = $8915.00
+$4.55 January Savings Interest
+$35.45 Even Out Amounts
+$5.00 Random deposit
+$270.00 State Refund
+$50.00 to EF from paycheck
+$50.00 to Vacation Fund from paycheck
+$100.00 to ROTH IRA hold account
New Total = $9430.00

Got my state refund! WHoo hoo! Sooooo close to half way!