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Archive for May, 2013

Recycling Money

May 30th, 2013 at 02:29 am

We took our pop cans in yesterday, 53 lbs at .45 per pound = $23.85. I took the $23.85 and added $6.15 of my own and put that in the mortgage checking account for Julys payment.

$10.00 Mortgage Checking Balance
+$23.85 Recycling
+$6.15 Even Out Amount
=$40.00 New Balance

Living Room and Entryway Landing Are Done!

May 28th, 2013 at 03:20 pm

I made good use of the extra day off this Memorial Day Weekend, and DH was a huge help to me as well.

I used our furniture wash and leather conditioner on our leather furniture, vacuumed in the couch, vacuumed the floor and scheduled the carpet cleaning for this week. So the living room is all done with the purging/cleaning /organizing!

DH cleaned the kitchen counters, did the dishes, and cleaned the microwave for me! YEAH! He also filled the hot tub, did countless loads of laundry and helped me crush the pop cans for recycling. Such a good one I have.

Then I cleaned the small entryway landing, got all the extra shoes that collect down there put away in my nice clean shoe closet. Smile Got some junk put/thrown away and swept and mopped the floor. Then vacuumed the stairs so they are ready for the carpet cleaners.

All in all a very productive weekend. Very busy this week and going out of town this coming weekend, so won't be working on the purging/cleaning/organizing this week, but plan to start on the kitchen closet the week after and then move on to the kitchen. Once the kitchen is done I will have completed that whole floor of my house! Smile

June 2013 Mortgage Payment

May 26th, 2013 at 08:33 pm

June 2013 Mortgage Payment

Balance $109,400.00
+$250.71 Interest
-$1218.88 Regular Payment
-$431.83 Principle Payment
-$120.00 Mortgage Checking Principle Payment
New Balance $107,880.00

Escrow Savings Account
$1855.00
+$350.00 June Deposit
+$15.00 Interest/Even Out Amounts from last few months
=$2220.00

The mortgage checking account is working great for me so far. We had an extra $130 in there this month to add to the mortgage principle payment! I used $120 of it, and left $10 in there. I just don't want the balance to go to $0, that makes me uncomfortable. In June we should have a lot to put in there too, with a rummage sale in a few weeks, and also taking the pop cans in for recycling this week.

AMAZING REVLON DEALS!

May 25th, 2013 at 06:39 pm

This week at CVS they had a lot of their makeup marked 50%-75% off!! There was also a $2.00 off Revlon Eye, Lip or Face Makeup coupon printing at the CVS Coupon Machine. So that made a lot of items FREE, or less then .50 each! I went everday since Monday and used both my card and DHs card.



12 items
RETAIL COST = $101.68
MY COST = $1.42
98.7% Savings!

I used my CVS GC so the small amount I did pay was FREE! Not sure on the rummage sale prices yet, I did put estimates below on what I would mark them.

Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow (Bought 4)
Regular Price $7.99
-$6.00 Sale Price Each
-$2.00 CVS Coupon Machine Coupon (4)
Final Price - All 4 for FREE!
(Marked $3.50 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.50 at 8/23/13 rummage sale
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.50 at 9/5/13 rummage sale

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara
Regular Price $9.29
-$6.97 Sale Price
-$2.00 CVS Coupon Machine Coupon
Final Price .32!! (Free on CVS GC)
(Marked $4.00 for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold for $4.00 at 6/15/13 rummage sale
Profit = $4.00

Revlon Lipgloss (Bought 5)
Regular Price $8.49
-6.37 Sale Price Each
-$2.00 CVS Coupon Machine Coupon (5)
Final Price .12 Each!!
(Marked $3.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.00 at 9/4/14 rummage sale
*ETA - Kept 2 for myself
2 left to sell

Revlon Lipstick (Bought 2)
Regular Price $8.99
-$6.74 Sale Price Each
-$2.00 CVS Coupon Machine Coupon (2)
Final Price .25 each!!
(Marked $3.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $3.00 at 10/1/16 rummage sale

Errands - To Do List

May 25th, 2013 at 06:31 pm

Been pretty productive with the old "To Do" List this week.

-Scheduled the carpet cleaning for next week
-Got my bi-yearly ring cleaning and inspection done
-Exchanged a CD for DH that he got for his BD
-Took a bin of newspapers to the recycling
-Hit up CVS everyday for my free/cheap Revlon
-Opened a mortgage checking account
-Took change to the bank and put into new account
-Took back and got new library books
-Contacted Lawn Care service to start first treatment

Hoping to tackle the garage this weekend. Get it cleaned up, swept out, and take our aluminum cans in for recycling(more money for the mortgage!). Have to get it ready for rummage sale time, we are planning on having our first of the year in 3 weeks!

$20K Update

May 25th, 2013 at 06:17 pm

Current Balance $28,515.00
+$100.00 Retirement Hold Account
New Balance $28,615.00

ING $25,860.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$680.00
HSBC $2075.00
Total = $28,615.00

Free Revlon Items this week at CVS!

May 24th, 2013 at 02:49 am

CVS has marked a lot of their make-up 50%-75% off to make room for summer shades. So that makes a lot of items about $2.00 - $3.00 each.
If you scan your card at the CVS coupon machine you may get a coupon for $2.00 off any Revlon Lip, Eye or Face Makeup.
I got one on each of my cards everyday this week starting on Monday, so 8 so far. I found items that were $1.99-$2.30 each before the coupon, so have been getting everything for under .30. So far I have scored $64 worth of makeup for less then $1!
I don't wear makeup, but this will be great to add to my rummage sale inventory for this cheap!
Once I have gotten all my coupons for the week I will post my deals, but wanted to get this deal up while there was still time for everyone to cash in!

Opened a "Mortgage" Checking Account

May 24th, 2013 at 12:52 am

One of the reasons I think I am so good at savings, is because I can "nickel and dime" my savings and all those little bits really, really add up. If I have $5 bucks to put in there, I can transfer it to savings right away and it's out of sight out of mind. With paying down the mortgage, I only make payments once a month. If I have $5, or $30 or whatever I want to put towards it, it can seem to disappear in checking, at the bar or wherever before its time to put it on the loan.
So I came up with a new strategy that works with my savings style. I opened up a new, free checking account at the same bank as our mortgage, and now I can "nickle and dime" that account for the month, then withdrawl the balance each month and add it to our normal principle payment. I think this will really help me with dropping that balance more and more each month.
I opened the account yesterday with $70 that I had planned on adding to the mortgage principle, and then today I took in our change, $60, and added that to the account. So already $130 extra to add to the principle payment for June! This way if I have $5 or whatever I want to add it will be kept seperate and go to the right place, plus I can easily transfer from my regular checking to the mortgage checking with my internet banking.
Also just for opening the account I got to pick a free gift, I was excited/surprised by that, because I already have an account there, so I didn't think I would qualify for the free gift. I chose a Sunebeam Baking Pan, it also came with a lid. Smile

$20K Update

May 21st, 2013 at 03:06 pm

Well we were naughty....DH is approaching the end of the school year (4 more school days!) and has been very antsy (if you think your kids are bad, you should see the teachers!)...and it has been raining here for 5 days straight...I just had to get out of the house. We went to the casino, which we should not have done since we are going to Deadwood at the end of May...and we got our butts kicked. DOH! But in the interest of being honest and holding myself accountable, I gotta put the numbers out here. You know, I really do think my blog helps us save so much...cause all I was thinking when we were losing was "Oh man, I have to share this on my blog, how embarassing!" :P

Current Balance $28,885.00
-$370.00 Casino Losers
New Balance $28,515.00

ING $25,760.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$680.00
HSBC $2075.00
Total = $28,515.00

$20K Update

May 16th, 2013 at 02:41 pm

The Anniversary Cruise Fund is back over $2K! I wish we could hit $30K...that would be S W E E T! But Vegas is only a month and a half away...and DH gets his last school paycheck till Sept on May 31. So gonna be crawling along.

Found another $10 discrepancy in my ING totals...what is up with this lately....

Current Balance $28,795.00
+$100.00 Anniversary Cruise
-$10.00 ING Total
New Balance $28,885.00

ING $25,760.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$1050.00
HSBC $2075.00
Total = $28,885.00

Started the Cleaning/Purging/Organizing of the Living Room

May 13th, 2013 at 02:47 am

Our living room is pretty simple and not a lot of clutter in it, no wall shelving or anything to get packed with unneeded items. I do have 2 movie shelves, and a small entertainment center with our TV, some board games and gaming systems in the cabinets of it.

So not too much to do in this room. I started today with the movie shelves. I just went through all of the movies a few weeks ago and got rid of 18 of them. So I didn't need to go through them again, they just needed to be dusted and have the shelves dusted. I took care of that and also found 2 more movies to get rid of.

Hoping to find time this week to dust and clean out the entertainment system. I will also be getting out the furniture cleaner for our leather chairs and couch, and hiring a carpet cleaning company to clean the carpets. They have not been professionally cleaned since we moved in 5 1/2 years ago.

CVS Deals Week of 5/5/13

May 11th, 2013 at 04:48 pm

I got 2 new $50 CVS Gifcards from my Discover Rewards. Let's see how much stuff I can get for free with it!



Kleenex 100ct (Bought 2)
Regular Price $1.77
-.78 Sale Price
-.25 CVS Coupon Machine Coupon
Final Price .74 each!!

Kellogg's Cereal Bars and Granola (Bought 3)
Regular Price $3.69-$4.39
On sale for 3 for $9.00
*Received $3.00 EB on 3
Final Price $2.00 per box!!

CVS Deals Week of 4/28/13

May 11th, 2013 at 04:23 am

Here are my CVS Deals from a few weeks ago. I love it when you get a coupon from the coupon machine and can use it for free stuff!!



Just the Basics Toothbrush (Bought 2)
Regular Price .99 each
-$2.00 off any 2 Toothbrush, Toothpaste or Mouthwash from CVS Coupon Machine
Final Price - 2 Toothbrushes Free!!
(Marked $1.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 2 for $1.00 each at 9/5/13 rummage sale
=$2.00 Profit!!

Candy Bars (Bought 2)
Regular Price $1.19
-.20 Sale Price
-.99 CVS Coupon Machine Coupon
Final Price - 2 Free Candy Bars!!

Febreeze Stick and Refresh (Bought 5)
Regular Price $3.99
-$5.00 Extra Buck from Beauty Club
*Received $10.00 EB for spending $20.00 on Febreeze
Final Price - $4.95 for 5 Febreeze, or .99 each!!

$20K Update - $29K!!

May 7th, 2013 at 07:43 pm

May only be for a short time, but soooo excited to be at $29K!!

Current Balance $28,795.00
-$112.00 to Roth IRA
+$2.00 Even Out Amount
+$100.00 Retirement Hold Account
+$250.00 Home Improvements
New Balance $29,035.00

ING $25,760.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$1300.00
HSBC $1975.00
Total = $29,035.00

Bank is running Money Maker Promo Again

May 6th, 2013 at 09:17 pm

Our local bank that carries our checking account is offering a $5.00 deposit for using your debit card 5 times in May. I rarely use my debit card except for the ATM since we get cashback with Discover, but I will make sure I use it the 5 times this month, so I can get my FREE moolah! They actually ran this promotion in Sept 2012 as well and we made sure to cash in on it then as well. I heart free money!

No More Greenbag Tag at CVS

May 4th, 2013 at 05:15 pm

I stopped into CVS and was using my own bag, so showed my Greenbag Tag. (If you aren't familiar with the GBT, once a day at CVS you can have the GBT scanned if you are using your own bag, and then after 4 scans, the coupon machine prints you out a $1.00 EB) The cashier informed me that they are no longer using the GBTs and they would buy mine back from me for $2.00. Frown I really liked that program, I think it was awesome to do something to help the enviroment and loved the extra $1.00 I got every once in a while.
At least I got the $2.00 back.

$20K Update - ING Interest

May 1st, 2013 at 11:42 pm

Sadly I must have made an addition mistake at some time, because my ING total on here is $25 higher then the actual total on INGs website. Hmmm. So dang, that sucked up most of the amount that it went up for interest/even out amounts. Oh well, $20 higher then before.

Current Balance $28,775.00
+$15.23 Interest
+$29.77 Even Out Amount
-$25.00 Math Mistake
New Balance $28,795.00

ING $25,770.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$1050.00
HSBC $1975.00
Total = $28,795.00

May 2013 Savings Update

May 1st, 2013 at 11:32 pm

May 2013 Savings Update

Regular Savings:
Home Maintanence ING $6025
Cushion $2740
HSA $8425
New Patio Door(cash) $1050
Escrow - $1860
September 2013 $1815 - Complete
Short Term Emergency Fund $1025 - Complete
Long Term Emergency Fund $1070 - Complete
New Car $10,075 - Complete
Vacation - $2840 - Complete
Anniversary Cruise $1975
Total Regular Savings = $38,900.00

Retirement Savings:
Retirement Hold Account $1050
Roth IRA $7070
Rollover IRA $800
401K $26,300
403B $18,600 (est)
Total Retirement Savings = $53,820.00

Total Savings - $92,720.00


Up $1935.00 from last month!

May will probably be the last month we go up until the summer is over. Hopefully can sock another grand into savings this month to help the cushion for the summer!