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Archive for April, 2013

May 2013 Mortgage Payment

April 28th, 2013 at 10:38 pm

May 2013 Mortgage Payment

Balance $110,700.00
+$253.69 Interest
-$1218.88 Regular Payment
-$334.81 Principle Payment
New Balance $109,400.00


Escrow Savings Account
$1505.00
+$350.00 April Deposit
=$1855.00

YEAH! Under $110K! Now on to the big milestone of getting under $100K!

Finished Hall Closet!

April 27th, 2013 at 06:46 pm

Alright, so alllll done with the hall closet! YIPEE!
In total I got rid of 32 items in there!

Here are the before, during and after pics...

Before - Whole Closet:


After - Whole Closet:


Before - Shoes


During - Shoes



After - Shoes! Can fit a lot in that shoe holder!!

SHOES oh and the coats too...

April 27th, 2013 at 06:36 pm

Last two sections of the hall closet

Coats (also DH keeps his hoodies and vests in there)
DH Keep - 17 Tossed - 1
Me Keep - 13 Sell - 5

Shoes....ooooohhh shoes. I love my shoes. I know I have way way too many. But I did my best. I haven't actually bought any shoes other then running shoes to replace worn out ones in at least 3 years. But I hace accumulated a lot over the years. I know I have at least a few prs from jr high and high school still. But when you find ones you like you gotta keep em!

Here is pics of them all out of the closet, before I picked out the ones to get rid of:




Please don't bother telling me that is a ridiculous amount of shoes...I know...LOL.
I had 57 to start with and got rid of 16! DH had 12 and got rid of 1. I put them all in a box for now to go through and clean them up, decide if they are worth selling, I know there were at least a few that were going to garbage. I will prob do that tonight or tomorrow and get them all cleaned up and boxed for the rummage sale.

$20K Update - Car Maintenance

April 26th, 2013 at 11:42 pm

Had to get new brake pads etc....I did have a coupon that gave me $50 off my total, so that was awesome!

Current Balance $28,625.00
-$300.00 Car Maintenance
+$100.00 to Retirement Hold Account
+$350.00 Escrow Account
New Balance $28,775.00

ING $25,750.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$1050.00
HSBC $1975.00
Total = $28,775.00

Went through all the purses and baseball caps

April 24th, 2013 at 10:40 pm

Cleaned out the purse bin and baseball cap bin. DH has lots more baseball caps downstairs, but I will get to those when I get done with the whole upstairs. I found a few items to get rid of (see lists below) but still have a lot. I haven't bought a new purse in over 3 years. I just like to keep my things nice and have them for a long time rather then get rid of them and then buy new ones. I was happy I found a few I could part with. Smile

Purse bin - all done

10 Purses
4 Wallets
4 Slingbags (love these for trips, especially Vegas)
5 Coin Purses

Put in rummage sale - 4 Purses and 1 Slingbag


Baseball cap bin - all done

10 Hats
2 Visors

Put in rummage sale - 1 Hat, 1 Visor

Started on the Hall Closet

April 21st, 2013 at 10:37 pm

The Coats


And Shoes


I started cleaning out the hall closet today. This is where we keep all of our coats, shoes, purses, hats and winter gloves, scarves etc.
I have waaaay to many of everything...hoping to get rid of at least a few items.
Today I went through the winter bin. Here is the inventory:
1 ear band
4 scarves
6 winter hats
10 pairs gloves/mittens

I found a few things to get rid of:
1 winter hat
1 golf glove (?)
1 pr gardening gloves - not selling these, just moving them to the correct closet

So I marked those items up and put them in the rummage sale box. Will try to do the purses and hats bin this week and then the coats and shoes next weekend.

Winter bin all done

CVS Deals Week of 4/21/13

April 21st, 2013 at 07:53 pm

Just a couple little things for me to grab this week.
There were a few more things that I may pick up if I get the coupons I need.



Palmolive Dishwashing Soap 10oz (Bought 2)
Regular Price $1.99
-$1.00 Sale Price
-.25 Coupon from CVS Coupon Machine
Final Price .74 each!

Orbit Gum 14ct (Bought 4)
Regular Price $1.37
-.37 Sale Price
*Received $1.00 EB for each set of two
Price = $2.00 (.50 per pack x 4)
*Used $2.00 EB earned from Green Bag Tag
Final Price - 4 Packs for Free!!


CVS Deals Week of 4/14/13 - Menards too

April 20th, 2013 at 07:56 pm



Let me first say, I REALLY, REALLY wish that CVS would make sure that all of the employees know the correct way to enter their coupons and would all enter them the same. I don't care what is the correct way, as long as they are all doing it the same. Very frustrating to argue with the cashiers cause the last time you bought the same thing it was rang up differently then this time. Anyways....I did score some great deals again this week.
Due to the different ways cashiers were handling the coupons, some of the prices are different for the same items.
**I also got $2.00 this week for using my green bag tag and $5.00 from the Beauty Club!! So I will use those when I have higher purchase totals.**

Revlon Glitter Nail File (Bought 4)
Regular Price $2.27
-$2.27 CVS Coupon from Coupon Machine (4 coupons)
($3.00 off Revlon Item, cashier discounted the coupon down to $2.27)
Final Price 4 for Free!!
(Gave 1 away to a friend and marked the other 3 for $1.50 each for rummage sale)
I think these will sell great at the sale, they are all glittery and I think the shoppers will love them!
*ETA - Sold 1 for $1.50 at 6/15/13 rummage sale
*ETA - Sold 2 for $1.50 each at 9/5/13 rummage sale
*ETA - Gave 1 to friend
Profit = $4.50

Revlon Glitter Nail File (Bought 2)
Regular Price $2.27
-$3.00 CVS Coupon from Coupon Machine (2 coupons)
Final Price +.73 Money Maker Each!!
(Marked for $1.50 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $1.50 on 3/20/14 on FB
*ETA - Sold 1 for $1.50 at 9/4/14 rummage sale
Profit = $4.46

Revlon Crazy Shine Nail Buffer (Bought 1)
Regular Price $3.99
-$3.00 CVS Coupon from Coupon Machine
Final Price .99 - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $2.00 for rummage sale)

Puffs Plus Cubes (Bought 7)
Regular Price $1.77
-.78 Sale Price Each
-.25 Mfr coupon
Final Price .95 each! - Free on CVS GC
Plus on each both there is a $1.00 coupon for Charmin and they don't expire till 6/30/14!! So that was a great find as well. Smile

Menards

I haven't been going for the free Menards stuff lately cause of feeling so busy with OT, now that we don't have OT for awhile I may get back up there more.

Spic n Span Cleaning Wipes (Bought 4)
Sale Price .99 each
-.99 each mail in rebate
Free after rebate!!

Snowshovel (Not pictured)
Regular Price $9.99
-$2.00 Flyer I got in the mail
-$6.79 Yearly Rebate
Final Price $1.20!!

Misc Productive Odds n Ends

April 18th, 2013 at 02:45 pm

Got a few things done yesterday that made me feel productive.

As I was cleaning out that extra room, I was trying for the most part, to mark things for the rummage sale as I found them, so most things were already marked and put away when I got done. But I did end up with a small box of maybe 20 random items in the end that needed to be marked, so I marked them all yesterday and put them away in a box for the rummage sale.

Also when I was cleaning out that room I found a folder of checks I had ordered maybe a month or two ago and put in my desk. I had pulled them out when I was organizing and realized that even though I had requested no changes, they had for some reason taken my husband's name off of the check blanks. So I called the bank and reordered. We get free checks for our bank and I still have 2 pads left, so no big deal. Odd though, that they randomly removed him from the checks....

And lastly I finally got DH's CVS card signed up for the Beauty Club. I had been trying to do this for awhile, but was having trouble. You used to be able to activate it with the cashiers at CVS, but when I asked them to do that they said they can't anymore, you have to go online. I had trouble with DH's login info, so I finally just called CVS EB line and had them activate it that way. So now I can start earning extra rewards on his card.

Finished Extra Room #1!!! YEAH for snowday!

April 15th, 2013 at 02:48 am

I am so happy I finally finished Extra Room #1! That was by far the worst/craziest room in the house, so I am so excited! Got rid of countless items, some to garbage, some to rummage sale, including a vacuum, 3 printers (Yes, 3?!), tons of old papers, books, binders, notebooks, college textbooks, and numerous trinkets, random junk and bobbles. It is amazing how big that room feels now! Check out my before and after photos!

Whole Room Before


Whole Room After



Bookshelf Before


Bookshelf After


Desk Before


Desk After


Storage Shelf Before


Storage Shelf After


Printer Area

Mega Blizzard

April 14th, 2013 at 10:24 pm

I live in ND and we are currently getting out butts KICKED by a blizzard. We got 13 inches already today and its not slowing down. Sounds like we will get another 7-8 inches before it passes.....20 inches of snow in April. Frown BOOOOO!
I am hoping for a snowday tomorrow because we don't have a snowblower and our driveway is completely drifted over. I have to be at work at 6:55am and I don't even think it will be done snowing by then, much less able to be dug out.
So today of course we are home all day. Which really doesn't bother me. Between my library book, Netflix and the internet I am content all day. Mostly been alternating between bopping around online and working on the extra room. I got quite far in there the last few days and hope to finish today!

No More Overtime :(

April 14th, 2013 at 05:07 pm

I have been working voluntary OT since Octoberish. I try to put in about 5-10hrs a week and have been doing very good at making myself get in those extra hrs. This really helps my paycheck, it has been $200-$300 more then usual each payday. Well finally got the email Friday that they are no longer offering OT. I know it will be back again as special projects always come up or other depts need help, but for now no more OT for me. Just another reason to reign in spending! Now I will be getting off of work everyday at 3:25, so plan to hit the gym everyday since I will have plenty of time for that without the OT hours.

$20K Update - Payday!

April 11th, 2013 at 07:49 pm

Another good update. Smile However, the checking account is going to be pretty bare after this, between all the savings deposits, the extra payment on the mortgage and a seriously too high monthly Discover bill.....we are scraping the bottom of checking. Need to really focus on reigning in the overspending, eating out is OUT OF CONTROL. Gonna talk to DH tonight about not eating out for the next 2 weeks to get us back on track.

Current Balance $27,975.00
+$100.00 HSBC Anniversary Cruise
+$100.00 ING Retirement Hold Account
+$200.00 ING Las Vegas
+$250.00 Home Improvements
New Balance $28,625.00

ING $25,300.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$1350.00
HSBC $1975.00
Total = $28,625.00

Vehicle Registration and AAA Dues

April 11th, 2013 at 02:34 am

Got some yearly vehicle bills in the mail today...so fun to get them both at once.... Frown

DH's Vehicle Registration $69.00
AAA Yearly Membership Dues $57.00

The AAA has been so worth it over the years. It includes up to 4 roadside assistance calls per year which include:
-Prepaid Towing
-Battery, lockout and tire service
-Fuel Delivery Service
-Vehicle Locksmith Reimbursement

Plus numerous different discounts at hotels, retailers, etc. Last year DH had a horrible day where he broke his cell phone AND locked his keys in his car....he was very happy to have AAA that day! Usually the only thing we ever have to use it for is locking the keys in the car, but have used it before for a towing as well and obviously using it only once a year is worth the $57, plus the piece of mind it gives to know someone will come get you anywhere, anytime. Smile

CVS Deals Week of 4/7/13

April 9th, 2013 at 01:48 am



Xtra Laundry Detergent 45oz (Bought 2)
Regular Price $2.67
-.68 Sale Price
-$1.00 CVS Coupon from Coupon Machine
Final Price .99 each!

There were some bags of mini chocolate that I had gotten for free a different week, but my CVS didn't get them this time. I will have to check back later this week and see if they ever got any in.

They also had a lot of Easter items and Easter Candy for 75% off. I got a couple small things for myself (Cadbury Egg!) cause no one got my any Easter candy this year. Frown

90% off bin at CVS!

April 9th, 2013 at 01:37 am

Found some amazing deals at CVS last week! Plus they were all on my CVS Giftcard I got for Christmas, so it was all FREE!


First the deals of the week:

Clear Mens Shampoo 12.9oz (Bought 2)
Regular Price $6.99
-$2.00 Sale Price
-$4.99 CVS Coupon from the coupon machine
Final Price - 2 Bottles Free!!
(Keeping this)

Bach Rescue Pearls and Sleep Pearls (Bought 2)
Regular Price $9.99
-$1.00 Sale Price
*Received $8.99 EB
Final Price - 2 Packs Free!!
(Keeping this)

And now the 90% off bin!!!!!

Faith Hill Perfume 1oz (Bought 2)
Regular Price $23.99
-$21.65 Marked Down Price
Final Price $2.34 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $10.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold for $5.00 each on 6/16/14 on FB
Profit = $10.00

Shakira Perfume .5oz (Bought 2)
Regular Price $17.49
-$15.74 Marked Down Price
Final Price $1.75 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $5.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 2 for $5.00 each at 6/15/13 rummage sale
Profit = $10.00

Curve Appeal Perfume
Regular Price $23.99
-$21.65 Marked Down Price
Final Price $2.34 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $4.00 for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold for $4.00 at 6/15/13 rummage sale
Profit = $4.00

Sally Hansen Dry and Go Drops( Bought 2)
Regular Price $9.29
-$8.36 Marked Down Price
Final Price $.93 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $3.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.00 at 8/23/13 rummage sale
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.00 at 9/5/13 rummage sale
=$6.00 Profit!!

Body Mist and Lotion Set (Bought 2)
Regular Price $4.99
-$4.49 Marked Down Price
Final Price $.50 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $2.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 2 for $2.00 each at 8/23/13 rummage sale
=$4.00 Profit!!

Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow (Bought 4)
Regular Price $6.99
-$6.29 Marked Down Price
Final Price $.70 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $2.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $2.00 at 6/15/13 rummage sale
*ETA - Sold 2 for $2.00 each at 9/5/13 rummage sale
*ETA - Sold 1 for $2.50 on FB on 9/27/14
Profit = $8.50

Maybelline Eyestudio Eyeshadow Sea Sprite (Bought 2)
Regular Price $9.99
-$8.99 Marked Down Price
Final Price $1.00 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $3.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.00 at 6/15/13 rummage sale
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.00 at 8/23/13 rummage sale

Milani Coverup
Regular Price $4.99
-$4.49 Marked Down Price
Final Price $.50 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $2.00 for rummage sale)

Broadway Nails Pedicure Set
Regular Price $7.99
-$7.19 Marked Down Price
Final Price $.80 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Marked for $3.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold for $3.00 at 9/5/13 rummage sale

Skinnygirl Lipscrub
Regular Price $5.99
-$5.39 Marked Down Price
Final Price $.60 Each!! - Free on CVS GC
(Keeping this)

Sooooo very excited about all of these deals! I got over $250 worth of items for $18.94 on my free giftcard!! If I sold everything it would be $64.00!! And that is not counting the 5 items I kept for the house!

$20K Update

April 8th, 2013 at 02:48 pm

Just a little change...also I noticed this morning my Roth IRA hit $7K! Smile

Current Balance $28,045.00
-$112.00 to Roth IRA
+$2.00 Even Out Amount
+$40.00 to LT EF to keep ING above $25K
New Balance $27,975.00

ING $25,000.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$1100.00
HSBC $1875.00
Total = $27,975.00

Awesome Shopping Day, Plus Some Free Samples I got in March

April 7th, 2013 at 10:10 pm



First I went to CVS and got this sweet deal on laundry detergent:

Purex Laundry Detergent 50oz
Regular Price $6.29
-$3.41 Sale Price
-$1.00 Mfr Coupon
-$1.00 CVS Coupon Machine Coupon
Final Price .88!!

Plus if you bought any Easter Candy you got this free little Easter package for Free! So I bought a .67 candy egg for myself and gave the little Easter pack with candy and toys in it to my Godson for Easter. Smile

Then I went to JCP and got an amazing price on some boxers for DH!

Stanford 3pk Boxers
Regular Price $24.00
Marked down to $15.00
-$3.75 Sale Price (25% off)
-$10.00 off a $10 purchase coupon I got in the mail
Final Price $1.25!!
That's just .42 per pair, regular price was $8.00 per pair!!

Then on the way home I stopped at Taco Johns and used a $10 Certificate we got for being secret shoppers there, so free lunch!!

Love those kind of days!

Also pictured is some free samples I got in the mail in March:
Fekkai Technician Color Care Shampoo .3oz
Fekkai Technician Color Care 3-Minute Mask .3oz
Eucerin Professional Repair Extremely Dry Skin Lotion

Coupon Book Update

April 6th, 2013 at 03:08 pm

Coupon Book Update

10/9/12 Brunos Pizza - Free Calzone $6.99
10/9/12 Brunos Pizza - Free Pop $2.29
10/16/12 Pita Pit - BOGO Free Pita $6.79
10/24/12 Gloria Jeans - BOGO Free Drink $5.09
10/27/12 Bonanza - Discount on meal $3.00
10/27/12 Cold Stone Creamery - Discount on 2 $3.34
10/30/12 Brunos Pizza - Free Med Pizza $10.99
11/2/12 Bonanza - Discount on meal $3.00
11/2/12 Bowling - BOGO Free Game of Bowling $4.50
11/19/12 Space Aliens - Free cup of soup $2.99
11/28/12 Brunos Pizza - Free dessert $3.99
12/19/12 Simonsons - .05 off per gallon .55
12/19/12 Simonsons - Free Fountain Pop $1.49
01/15/13 Rock'n 50's - BOGO Free meal $8.50
02/20/13 Space Aliens - BOGO Free Wrap $8.00
03/09/13 Rock'n 50's - BOGO Free meal $8.50
04/05/13 Box Office Video - BOGO Free Slushie $1.50
04/05/13 Box Office Video - Free Small Popcorn $2.00
04/05/13 Burger Time - BOGO Free Combo $7.49
_________________________________
Total Saved $91.36

Finally made some progress on the extra room

April 3rd, 2013 at 01:06 am

I have been really bad at avoiding the extra room the last 2 months or so....finally got in there and got some work done. I got my bookshelf cleaned off and dusted. Got rid of 13 books for the rummage sale. Also got all my CDs together so I can get them put on my MP3 player. I boxed up a bunch of my college books that I still want to keep and will be putting those in the attic for now.
Now the desk, closet, bookshelf and stockpile shelf are all organized and everything is gone through. All that is left is the junk on the floor. Progress!!

April 2013 Monthly Savings Update

April 3rd, 2013 at 12:55 am

April 2013 Savings Update

Regular Savings:
Home Maintanence ING $6020
Cushion $2700
HSA $8035
New Patio Door(cash) $1100
Escrow - $1505
September 2013 $1810 - Complete
Short Term Emergency Fund $1020 - Complete
Long Term Emergency Fund $1025 - Complete
New Car $10,065 - Complete
Vacation - $2635 - Complete
Anniversary Cruise $1875
Total Regular Savings = $37,790.00

Retirement Savings:
Retirement Hold Account $980
Roth IRA $6900
Rollover IRA $800
401K $25,815
403B $18,500 (est)
Total Retirement Savings = $52,995.00

Total Savings - $90,785.00

Up $2345 from last month!

$20K Update - Vegas Flights

April 3rd, 2013 at 12:47 am

Current Balance $28,600.00
+$15.21 ING Interest
+$29.79 ING Even Out Amount
-$600.00 Vegas Flights
New Balance $28,045.00

ING $25,070.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$1100.00
HSBC $1875.00
Total = $28,045.00