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Archive for September, 2011

Time for some Challenges!

September 29th, 2011 at 01:30 am

I am setting up 2 new challenges for DH and I!

October Discover Card Challenge

I am challenging DH and I to see how low we can get our Discover card for our Oct statement (Sept 28 - Oct 27). No "extra" purchases, limiting eating out, fast food and fuel as much as we can. Last month our statement $1900 and this month was $1600.....according to our "budget" we should be around $1200. Hmm. So I am challenging us to get it as close to the $1200 as we can. I would really like to see it under $1300.


CVS Giftcard Challenge

I cashed in $45 of our Discover card cashback rewards for a $50 CVS giftcard today. I am going to see how long I can make that last with EBs and how much merchandise I can get for FREE with this FREE $50 giftcard!

Week of 9/25/11 - CVS Deals - Continued

September 29th, 2011 at 12:57 am

1st Purchase
ThermaCare Heat Patch $3.79
Total OOP $3.79
Received $3.79 EB (FREE!)

2nd Purchase
Re-nu Contact Solution
Regular Price $9.99
-$1.00 Sale Price
-$2.00 mfr coupon
-$3.79 EB from last purchase
Total OOP $3.20
Received $7.00 EB

So I got both items for $6.99 OOP, and I still have a $7.00 EB, so I actually made .01 by purchasing these items in this way! Whoo hoo! Hope I can keep finding deals where CVS pays me to take their merchandise home. Smile

I will use the contact solution, but not the Therma Care Heat Patch. My Dad uses those, so I just gave it to him since it was free other then tax.

First tips from Bingo

September 29th, 2011 at 12:33 am

Well I only worked one shift for about 6 1/2 hours and I got to go pick my tips up on Monday. $23.69! Not bad! They are shared tips and then divided by the number of hours you work. With tips I am making a little over $11 an hour, which I am happy with for an easy part time job. Smile So for now I am just going to save that money seperate till I decide for sure what I want to do with it. I am only going to add this to the $20K Challenge in $5 increments so that it doesn't get confusing, so I just added $20 to that instead of $23.69.

Tips total - $23.69
Wage total - $0
Total Bingo Money - $23.69

Still can't decide if I want to save this for a snowblower or to the EF, or the mortgage savings account.....hmmm......oh well no hurry on what to decide.

$20K Update

September 29th, 2011 at 12:17 am

Current Balance $11,620.00
-$178.00 to Roth IRA
+$3.00 Even Out Amount
+$20.00 Bingo Tips
+$135.00 Cross Country Money
+$100.00 to September 2012 Savings
+$100.00 to EF
+$85.00 to Retirement Hold Account
New Balance $11,885.00

Bingo Money $20.00
ING $7430.00
Home Improvements(cash) $235.00
HSBC $4200.00
Total = $11,885.00.

Pop Rebate

September 26th, 2011 at 02:00 am

I sent in a rebate for pop today. Menards had 6 packs on sale for $1.50 with a rebate of .75 per pack. So I bought 4 that we can sell at the rummage sale, the end price will be .75 for a 6 pack, only 13 cents per can.

First day at Second Job

September 26th, 2011 at 12:22 am

Yesterday was my first day at my second job at the Bingo hall. It was super fun! It is definitely a crazy enviroment and I was beat when I got home, but I think the job will be a good fit because I like a fast paced enviroment.
I caught on very quickly, though Bingo is a lot more confusing then I thought it would be.....lots of different kinds of games and different packages you can buy for different costs.
Tomorrow I can pick up my first set of tips, probably won't be much at all as it is shared tips and then divided by the number of hours you worked, and I only worked 7 hours this week....but something is better then nothing and I am still trying to decide exactly what savings I want this going towards....

October 2011 Mortgage Payment

September 25th, 2011 at 09:29 pm

october 2011 Mortgage Payment

Balance $126,850.00
+$396.41 Interest
+$307.59 Escrow
-$1311.16 Regular Payment
-$577.84 Principle Payment ($35.00 in change)
New Balance $125,665.00


$125K = 125 months left = 10.42 years left

Next month we will meet our goal for the year (getting under $125K), I can't wait!! Smile

Week of 9/25/11 - CVS Deals

September 25th, 2011 at 06:35 pm

First Purchase
8ct Excedrin .99
8ct Excedrin .99
Total OOP $2.10
Received $1.98 EB

Second Purchase
4 cans Progresso Soup Regular $2.99 per can ($11.96)
On sale for 4 cans/$5
-$1.00 CVS coupon
-$1.98 EB from last purchase
Total OOP $2.02
Total saved $9.94

2 bottles of Excedrin and 4 cans of Pregresso for $4.12 OOP!



There were a few other things I wanted to get that were on good sale, but the coupons I need for them are at work, so I will try to get them tomorrow.

Payroll Lag

September 24th, 2011 at 03:37 am

My work is changing their payroll in March 2012. Currently we get paid for 1 week that we have worked and the next week that we have not worked yet.
The payroll is going to change to getting paid for the last 2 weeks that you worked. So for 1 paycheck in March we will only get paid for 1 week to make the adjustment. A lot of people are freaking out about it, but I don't think it will be a big deal since my paychecks are pretty small since I have taxes, 401K, HSA, medical premium and charitable donations taken out before I see any of it. So I will only be missing about $400 and I also get a bonus in March that should cover any missing pay.

Free Stuff and Donations

September 24th, 2011 at 03:31 am

My Mom's friend had brought a ton of stuff for the last rummage sale, and when it was over she said we could have what we wanted from her stuff and donate or toss what we didn't want.

I finished going through everything as well as weeding out our old stuff that wasn't selling. I ended up taking 4 boxes to donate. I also took 4 prom/bridesmaids dress and 2 graduation gowns and donated them to a local charity that helps homeless teams with normal teenage activities like prom etc.

I found several items that I wanted to keep for myself to wear.
4 Tanktops
2 T-shirts
1 Cardigan
4 Long Sleeve shirts
1 Sweater
1 Pair of shorts
2 Skirts
So I then went through my closet and picked out all the same items to get rid of of my own. A perfect exchange, I got 15 new items for FREE and got rid of 15 of my old clothes that I don't wear anymore. This is a great way to keep the clutter down in your closet when you get new clothes.

Then I went through everything she had left and marked them for the next rummage sale.
60 Shirts
35 Pairs of Pants
5 Dresses
3 Skirts
3 Coats

Should make a pretty nice profit on all of it at the next sale!

*ETA - Here is what I have sold so far from this stuff:

5/18/12 $7.50
6/23/12 $11.25
8/24/12 $20.50
9/7/12 $57.75
6/15/13 $9.00
Total made so far - $106.00 Free!!

Cereal Sale

September 19th, 2011 at 11:51 pm

One of our local grocery stores had a good sale on cereal, plus you got a free gallon of milk when you buy 3 boxes.
5 boxes of cereal plus a gallon of milk for $9!

Week of 9/18/11 - CVS Deals and more flipper floppers

September 18th, 2011 at 10:33 pm

I went back to JCP today and bought the rest of the flip flops.....another 15 flip flops for .17 per pair. They did not have the extra 15% off today. Total saved on this purchase was $147.45 and total spent was $2.70!

Then I went to CVS to pick up a few things.

4 boxes of Cheerios
-Regular $3.39 per box
-On sale for $2.50 per box
-Minus $1.00 off of 4 mfr coupon
-End price is $2.25 per box
-Savings of $4.56

Scanned our CVS card and got a BOGO Free coupon on 5 Gum
-Regular $1.57 per pack
-On sale for $1.00 per pack
-Minus $1.57 BOGO coupon
-End price of .21 cents per pack!!
-Savings of $2.71

3 cases JBT 24 pack of Bottled Water
-Regular price $3.99 per case
-On sale for $2.22
-Savings of $5.31

Then I used $3.69 EB I had from last week, so my total OOP was $12.40.

Total spent between CVS and JCP was $15.10 and total saved was $165.32!

All of this for just $15.10!

Amazing Deals!

September 18th, 2011 at 04:19 am

I made out like a bandit today at the mall.


Victoria Secret
-Free Lace bridal thong
-Paid $0
-Saved $14.50

JCPenney
Swim trunks for DH
-Regular Price $35.00
-Clearanced for $1.97
-Additional 15% off
-Paid $1.77
-Saved $33.33

Mens Flipfops - Bought 21 pairs
-Regular Price $10.00 a piece
-Clearanced for .17
-Additional 15% off
-Paid .14 a piece ($3.12 for 21 pairs)
-Saved $207.06
*ETA - Sold 2 pairs at the 8/24/12 rummage sale for $3.00 each = $5.72 profit
*ETA - Sold 5 pairs at the 9/7/12 rummage sale for $3.00 each = $14.30 profit
*ETA - Sold 1 pair at the 6/15/13 rummage sale for $3.00 = $2.86 profit
*ETA - Sold 1 pair at the 8/23/13 rummage sale for $3.00 = $2.86 profit
*ETA - Sold 2 pair at the 9/5/13 rummage sale for $3.00 = $5.72 profit
*ETA - Sold 1 pair on 3/17/14 to a coworker for $3.00 = $2.86 profit
*ETA - Sold 1 pair on 9/4/14 rummage sale for $3.00 = $2.86 profit
*ETA - Gave 1 to BFs sister
*ETA - Sold 1 pair on FB on 6/17/16 for $3.00 = $2.86 profit
*ETA - Sold 2 pair on FB on 7/24/16 for $3.00 = $2.86 profit
*ETA - Sold 3 pair at the 5/5/17 rummage sale for $2.00 each = $5.58 profit
*ETA - Sold 1 pair for $2.00 on FB on 10/1/17 = $1.86 profit
Profit = $50.34

Total for the day
Purchased 23 items for $4.89 and saved $254.89!!!!

WOW! The swimtrunks and 1 pair of flipflops went to DH. The rest of the flip flops I marked for $3.00 a piece for the rummage sale. When I sell all 20 pairs that would be a profit of $57.20!

I may stop back tomorrow if I have time and pick a few more pairs if there are any left.

$20K Update

September 16th, 2011 at 11:35 pm

Forgot to add this one on to the total yesterday.

Current Balance $11,535.00
+$85.00 to retirement hold account
New Balance $11,620.00

ING $7320.00
Home Improvements(cash) $100.00
HSBC $4200.00
Total = $11,620.00

$20K Update - Met Checking Cushion and HSA Goals!

September 16th, 2011 at 02:06 am

DH got his first paycheck for Cross Country. We thought that he would be getting it all at once, or at least in a few paychecks, but turns out it is spread out during the whole school year. So each paycheck it is an extra $275 per paycheck. I asked DH what he wants to do since it is his money. He wants to save 1/2 for home maintenance/improvements so we can get a new patio door, and 1/2 for saving for something fun. So the portion that is going to the new patio door I will show on the $20K Challenge, but the other half I am not going to track on here since it will be spent I suppose....but it's his extra work, so he gets to pick how it is done.
We also started the September 2012 savings account.

Current Balance $10,925.00
-$355.00 To checking
-$20.00 for new toilet sear and new shower handle
+$600.00 Rummage Sale Money
+$100.00 to September 2012 Savings Account
+$100.00 to Anniversary Cruise
+$25.00 to Mortgage Payoff Account
+$25.00 to Home Maintenance
+$135.00 to Home Maintenance from CC pay
New Balance $11,535.00

ING $7235.00
Home Improvements(cash) $100.00
HSBC $4200.00
Total = $11,535.00

Also met 2 more goals!
Checking Cushion $1800
HSA $5000

I don't track those numbers towards the $20K Challenge since they are not funds we can use for whatever we want. Super happy with how we are doing on our goals for the year! We have to go back and re-meet the EF goal since that was where we pulled from during the paycheck shortage, but everything else is going very well!

Cheap buys at Target for the next sale!

September 16th, 2011 at 01:45 am

I was at Target to buy some soup on sale and stopped by their little $1 section. A bunch of their $1 items were on 70% off. So I bought a ton of stuff for .30 that I know I can sell for $1 a piece at the rummage sale next year.




20 Small File Folders - All sold
11 Marker Boards - All sold
11 Flashcard Packs - 1 left to sell
5 Dictionaries - All sold
3 Large File Folders - All sold
1 Mini Journal - All sold

So if I sold each item for $1 a piece that would be a profit of $35.70! Smile

ETA - So far I sold these at the 5/18/12 sale:
6 File Folders for $1 each
4 Marker Boards for $1 each
2 Flashcard Packs for $1 each
1 Dictionary for $1 each

ETA - Sold at 6/23/12 Rummage Sale
4 Marker Boards for $1 each
3 Flashcard packs for $1 each

ETA - Sold at 8/24/12 Rummage Sale
7 File Folders for $1 each
1 Marker Board for $1 each
4 Flashcards for $1 each
4 Dictionaries for $1 each (these are all sold)

ETA - Sold at 9/7/12 Rummage Sale
8 File Folders for $1 each
2 Marker Boards for $1 each

ETA - Sold at 6/15/13 Rummage Sale
2 File Folders for $1 each
1 Mini Journal for $1
1 Flashcards for $1

Crazy Rummage Sale Weekend is over!

September 16th, 2011 at 01:41 am

The rummage sale was total insanity! DH and I did awesome, makeing $593! The most I have every made at a rummage sale by over $300!

A big part of it was our snacks. I got out my little snowcone machine that my husband got me when we were dating about 8 years ago and made snowcones. I sold them for a $1 a piece......I made over 250!! WOWOWOW!
The snowcones had virtually no cost, just snowcone cups and syrup, ice was free from my ice maker....about $20 for the cups and syrup.
We also bought 2 cases of bottled water for about $7 and sold every bottle of water for $1 a piece, another great money maker!

Here is my little snack shack



Here is a rough breakdown of what we made
$250 Snowcones
$50 Bottled Water
$20 Pop
$15 Juice, Brownies and Cupcakes
$110 DH Sports Cards
$55 FREE stuff from my friend
$100 Misc rummage sale stuff (clothes, books etc)

Here is a picture of how busy the rummage sale was around 10am on Friday morning.


The rummage sale as a whole made over $3700!!!!!! YEAH!

September 2012

September 13th, 2011 at 03:19 am

I renamed one of my ING accounts to "September 2012" and set up an auto transfer of $100 everytime DH gets paid, starting 9/15/11. No more coming up short every September! Smile

Week of 9/11/11 - CVS Deals

September 13th, 2011 at 02:07 am

1st purchase:
18 pack Brilliant PH tampons $6.79
Used free giftcard from last week -$4.98
$2.24 paid OOP
Got $6.79 EB

2nd purchase:
(3) 24 pack cases of JTB Water $2.22 per case (raincheck from last week)
Total $6.66
-$6.79 EB from last purchase
$0 paid OOP

3rd purchase
Scanned our CVS card and got a coupon for a FREE box of Newtons Fruit Thins - Cranberry Citrus Oat.
Total $2.50
-$2.50 CVS coupon
$0 paid OOP

$16.26 saved today and only $2.24 paid OOP

We don't drink bottled water, but we can sell the bottles at the rummage sale for $1 a piece, which would be a profit of $66 - last weekend we did that with 2 cases of water, sold every single bottles we had for a profit of $45!!

Rainchecks:
St Josephs Aspirin - Free after sale, coupon and EB
CVS brand Allergy Medicine - Free after EB

Second Job!

September 9th, 2011 at 05:02 am

It's time to get really serious about meeting the $20K challenge and bringing us one step closer to paying off our mortgage. So I got a second job today!
I wanted something easy, non-stressful, flexible hours, close to my home, and I didn't want to dress up for work. Soooo.....I am going to be a cashier at a Bingo Hall. The pay is not great, but you do make tips so that will increase the hourly wage. Also we get to pick up the cash tips once a week, so that will be nice to see our total increasing everyweek. I am hoping to work about 20 hours a week. I figured while DH was gone with cross country this would be a good thing to keep me busy and help us meet our goals. EVERY PENNY IS GOING TO SAVINGS OR THE MORTGAGE! Smile
Tomorrow I have to go pick up my gaming license from the police station which will cost me $25, but if I stay at the job for 90 days I will get reimbursed that fee. My hours will normally be 5:30 - 9:00 when I work week nights. I think it will be easy and fun, and I am looking forward to hitting $20K!!

$20K Update

September 9th, 2011 at 04:44 am

Current Balance $12,765.00
-$1840.00 to checking to cover no paycheck for DH for a month
New Balance $10,925.00

ING $6705.00
Home Improvements(cash) $120.00
HSBC $4100.00
Total = $10,925.00

This should cover the gap from DH having no paycheck for a month....and believe me....I will be setting up an autodeposit this coming week when DH gets paid so that we never have that gap problem again!

We have our crazy rummage sale this weekend, DH and I both get paid this coming week, plus the cross country pay, and I got a bonus that will get paid out this week too. So we should be able to put a decent amount of that money back very soon!

Another trip to CVS and marking more stuff for the rummage sale

September 6th, 2011 at 12:55 am

Stopped at CVS, they had a deal for Carefree 20 pack panty liners.

Regular Price $1.56
-On sale for $1.00
-Earned $1.00 EB on purchase
-Cost after tax .06 ($1.06 OOP, but earned $1.00 EB)

I don't use this product, but since it was virtually free I did purchase it and marked it for $1.50 for the rummage sale.

**ETA** I did sell this for $1.50 at our rummage sale the next weekend, so got it for free and made $1.50 on it!


The also had Progresso soup on sale for BOGO free. I bought 4 cans of soup.

Regular Price $2.99 per can
-On sale BOGO Free
-Minus $1.00 Extra Buck
-Minus $1.00 mfr coupon
Final Price = $3.98, .99 per can
Saved $7.98

Plus I used the gift card I earned last week so didn't have to actually pay anything OOP.

Rummage Sale Items
I looked up the Gillete Plus Razors that we had to sell on Walmarts website. They were selling the specific ones we had for 10 razors for $18.59. I had 3 sets of 13. I marked them for $10.00 for 13, so if we sold all of them that would be $30.00. Plus whoever buys them would get a really good deal.

Saving money by being organized and making money on our walk today

September 5th, 2011 at 01:38 am

Recently DH informed me that he had found a large hole in the bedsheet on his side of the bed. I was bummed as bedsheets can be expensive, especially on our King size bed. I was planning on picking up a new set the next time I was at the mall.
Today I finished cleaning out the linen closet. Organized all of the towels, washclothes, handtowels and rags. Lastly went through tableclothes, extra pillow cases, Christmas linens etc....and lo and behold what do I find way in the back....a BRAND NEW set of King sheets! I must have gotten a deal on 2 sets when I purchased them last time so still had a set left! YEAH! So I was pumped that I wouldn't have to spend money on another set now. I also found a BRAND NEW set of Queen sheets that would fit the bed in our extra bedroom. That bed currently has sheets, but they have laundry detergent stains on them so look kinda junky. I haven't switched those yet, but am glad I know about the extra set for whenever I decide to switch those out.

Later in the afternoon we went for a walk. We went to the mall to get one of those little plastic pieces card holder pieces for Dh's wallet as his plastic piece was in shreds. We were able to get that piece for free! Smile We stopped by CVS on our walk and swiped our EB card and got a coupon for a free candy bar. We had to pay tax (I was confused on that cause 6% of $0 is $0..???) which was .05. Then on the way home DH found .11 cents on the ground, so that covered the tax on the candybar. Plus a .06 gain on the day. Smile

Inventoried and Organized the stockpile

September 3rd, 2011 at 03:12 am

I cleaned out our linen closet where I keep most of our stockpile of bathroom supplies. I found a few more things to add to the rummage sale and got everything organized again and inventoried so we know what we have.


Here is what I found for the rummage sale^^^^^

**ETA** I sold everything in this picture at the rummage sale except for the razors, so I will just save those for next years rummage sale.

I think we can probably get a lot of money for the razors, there are almost 50 in the pack...FIL gave us those, but DH prefers to use his electric razor.





And here is what my beautiful closet looks like now ^^^^^^^ and the current inventory of our stockpile:
8 Jar Candles
8 Bottles of Shampoo
18 Bottles of Conditioner
1 Bottle of Liquid Hand Soap
30 Bar Soaps
2 Bottles of Febreeze
4 Bottles of Dawn
2 Body Washes
3 Bath'n'Body Hand Soaps
3 Gilette Shaving Gels (DH)
2 Skintamit Shaving Foams
1 Hairspray
1 Curling Gel
2 Body Sprays
7 Bath'n'Body Lotions
3 Speed Stick Deoderants (DH)
6 Secret Deoderants
18 Venus Refill Razors
5 Boxes Kleenex

Nearly every item on that list was either FREE from FIL or purchased on sale and with coupons. Smile

We also have a ton of hotel size products that DH uses, so we never have to buy shampoo, conditioner, body wash or lotion for him.
28 bar soaps
26 lotions
7 body washes
41 shampoo/conditioners

September 2011 Savings Update

September 3rd, 2011 at 02:32 am

September 2011 Savings update
As of September 1, 2011:

Regular Savings:
Home Maintanence $410
Mortgage Payoff Account $70
Cushion $1750
HSA $4950
New Patio Door(cash) $160
Cash $300.00
Emergency Fund $1240
Laptop $520 - Complete
New Car $2030 - Complete
Vacation - $2565 - Complete
Anniversary Cruise $4100 - Complete
Total Regular Savings = $18,095.00

Retirement Savings:
Retirement Hold Account $1360
Roth IRA $3900
Rollover IRA $1380
401K $15,200
403B $13,200 (est)
Total Retirement Savings = $35,040.00

Total Savings = $53,135.00

Up $1395.00 from last month, pretty much all due to getting an updated statement for DH's retirement. Hoping to stay close to even for Octobers update....but it's gonna be S C A R Y the next few weeks.

$20K Update

September 3rd, 2011 at 02:22 am

Current Balance $12,675.00
-$28.00 To Roth IRA
+$85.00 to retirement hold account
+$6.38 ING Interest
+$26.62 Even Out Amount
New Balance $12,765.00

ING $8205.00
Home Improvements(cash) $160.00
Cash $300.00
HSBC $4100.00
Total = $12,765.00