Banker Gurl's More Bang For Your Buck!

Current Balance $22,885.00
+$85.00 to retirement hold account
+$70.00 to EF (DH work reimbursements)
+$100.00 to Anniversary Cruise
-$28.00 to ROTH IRA
+$8.00 Even Out Amount
-$1000.00 Home Improvements cash transferred to ING
+$1000.00 to ING Home Improvements
+$25.00 Menards rebate into Home Improvements Jar
New Balance $23,145.00

Bingo Money (cash) $1620.00
ING $19,250.00 ($4000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$120.00
HSBC $2,025.00
Total = $23,145.00

Bingo Money
Tips total - $2006.61
Wage total - $3617.32
Total Bingo Money - $5623.93

Current Balance $22,535.00
+$100.00 to September 2012
+$250.00 to Home Improvements
New Balance $22,885.00

Bingo Money (cash) $1620.00
ING $18,115.00 ($4000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$1095.00
HSBC $1,925.00
Total = $22,885.00

Bingo Money
Tips total - $2006.61
Wage total - $3617.32
Total Bingo Money - $5623.93

May 2012 Savings Update
As of May 1, 2012:

Regular Savings:
Bingo Money $4950
Home Maintanence $600
Mortgage Payoff Account (cash) $130
Cushion $2200
HSA $7750
New Patio Door(cash) $1620
September 2012 $1560
Emergency Fund $1355
New Car $3835 - Complete
Vacation - $2820 - Complete
Anniversary Cruise $1910 - Complete
Total Regular Savings = $28,730.00

Retirement Savings:
Retirement Hold Account $1770
Roth IRA $5300
Rollover IRA $890
401K $19,000
403B $13,600 (est)
Total Retirement Savings = $40,560.00

Total Savings = $69,290! So close to the $70K mark!

We took in our pop cans...30lbs at .50 per lb = $15.00. So we will put that $15 towards the mortgage principle for June.

DH brought a bunch of misc science supplies from his classroom that are outdated and no longer needed. I marked those up for the rummage sale. They were all little old things (thermometers, funnels etc.) so only marked for .10 to $1.00. DH is happy to be getting things cleaned out.

My Dad's wife gave me a bunch of clothes that she was planning on taking to goodwill and said I could mark them and keep the profit if I wanted. So I will try to get them marked sometime this week.

So with Friday's paycheck our HSA reached $8K! Wow! So I was sooo excited that we had $8K just sitting there....JUST IN CASE something happened we can be comfortable that between insurance and the money in the HSA we wouldn't have to pay anything OOP for medical expenses. I have been very diligently putting $125 every single paycheck into the HSA. I was so happy that I texted DH and my Mom that we had reached this great number. So that was Friday....Saturday night we were at a BBQ with some friends and DH ends up hurting his knee so bad that I have to take him to the ER! I was inside the house when it happened, so I didn't see it, but apparently he was joking around and pretended to kick something and when he planted his left foot and kicked with his right, he lost his balance and fell...only his left leg which was planted didn't give out...it was locked in place and so when he fell it didn't fall with him and got all twisted up. UGH. So his knee bone is literally poking out the side of his leg....not out of the skin, but it's a huge knob on the side of his leg where it shouldn't be. So we went to the ER and got xrays..nothing broken, but they want to do an MRI cause they think some of the tendons/ligaments are no longer attached. Tomorrow he goes in to see the orthopedic surgeon and see about the MRI, and then see about surgery. We are on a HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan) so we have to meet a $3K deductible before the plan kicks in...and with what we've heard so far sounds like we will meet the whole thing. SIGH....oh well that is what we saved for so I guess we just have to feel lucky it is there when we need it and hope DH feels better soon.

Got my last Bingo paycheck....made $5623.93 working there for about 7 months. Never spent a penny of it! All in savings for whatever we may need it for. I'm proud that I was able to do what I said I was gonna do with that money and not let that extra work go to waste. Sometime this week I will try to get the last $1620.00 ready to take to the bank and will transfer it to ING.
Also transferred enough extra to the New Car Account to get it to $5K! Yeah another goal met! New goal is the EF!

Current Balance $22,020.00
+$265.00 Bingo Wages (last paycheck)
+$85.00 to Retirement Hold Account
+$30.00 School Reimbursement to New Car Account
+$135.00 to get New Car Account to $5K
New Balance $22,535.00

Bingo Money (cash) $1620.00
ING $18,015.00 ($4000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$845.00
HSBC $1,925.00
Total = $22,535.00

Added $265.35 to Bingo Wages
Tips total - $2006.61
Wage total - $3617.32
Total Bingo Money - $5623.93

Got a surprise refund from our previous mortgage carrier of $990! YEAH! So I rounded it up to $1000 and tossed it into the New Car fund...almost got that puppy up to $5K! Also got the Bingo money over $5K...I will get my last paycheck from Bingo on Friday and then I will transfer it all into ING.

Current Balance $20,305.00
+$155.00 Bingo Tips
+$255.00 Bingo Wages
+$35.00 Overtime pay to EF
+$30.00 Chase CC Rewards Check
+$1000.00 Mortgage Refund
+$100.00 ING Sept 2012
+$250.00 Home Maintenance
-$140.00 to ROTH IRA
+$9.39 ING Interest
+$22.61 Even Out Amount
New Balance $22,020.00

Bingo Money (cash) $1355.00
ING $17,765.00 ($4000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$845.00
HSBC $1,925.00
Total = $22,020.00

Added $252.42 to Bingo Wages, $69.50 and $87.25 to Bingo Tips
Tips total - $2006.61
Wage total - $3351.97
Total Bingo Money - $5358.58

Couple weeks behind on the BL....but I am doing awesome! Hope to be down 8 more lbs before we go on our cruise in mid June.

Spring 2012 Biggest Loser

Week Six - Weigh In
Pounds Lost this week = .2
Total pounds lost = 10
% weight loss = 5.95%
Place = 1st out of 5 people

Total weight lost since Sept 2011 = 25.4lbs

I am crushing the competition, so I should have an extra $50 in my pocket to enjoy on the cruise!

We are having a rummage sale in 2 weeks. My Mom came over and helped me clean up and sweep the garage today. Feels good to have it cleaned. Also got all of our aluminum cans bagged up and ready to take in for recycling. Tomorrow my Mom is going to spray out the garage and start bring boxes over. I think I have mostly everything of ours marked, I like to mark things as I find them so that I don't have a ton to mark at one time. I need to do an inventory of our snacks and drinks to see what we have for my little snack shack.
Should be interesting to see how all of the deals I have been getting at CVS, Menards and JCPenney sell at the sale. Hoping to make a nice profit.

Wow I can't believe it's May and I haven't posted any CVS deals in 2012! Now that I am done working at Bingo I should have lots more time to get back to posting the deals!

CVS Deals Week of 4/30/12

100 ct Puffs Kleenex (Bought 2)
Regular Price $3.98 ($1.99 each)
-$2.00 Sale Price ($1.00 each)
-$1.00 mfr coupon
Final Price .49 each!

Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap 9oz
Regular Price $1.99
-$1.00 Sale Price
-.50 mfr coupon
Final Price .49!

Special K Snacks (Bought 3) - I love these!
Regular Price $13.20 ($4.40 each)
-$2.40 Sale Price
*Received $3.00 EB
Final Price $2.34 each!

Colgate MaxClean SmartFoam 6.0oz
Regular Price $3.69
-$.70 Sale Price
-$1.00 mfr coupon
-$1.00 CVS coupon
(scanned my card and got a coupon for $1.00 off any toothpaste!)
*Received $2.49 EB
Final Price $1.50 Money Maker!!

Got such a good deal on the toothpaste that I did the same thing again with DH's CVS card!

CVS Deals Week of 5/6/12

Mitchum Clinical Performance Deoderant 2.5oz
Regular Price $4.99
-$3.00 Sale Price
-$1.00 mfr coupon
-$1.00 CVS coupon
(scanned my card and got a coupon for $1.00 off any deoderant!)
Final Price - .01 Money Maker!!

Mars Candy Bar
Regular Price $1.19
-.44 Sale Price
*Received $.75 EB
Final Price - FREE!

Menards

Sunglasses
Regular Price $29.99
-$25.50 Sale Price
-$4.00 Rebate
Final Price .49!!

I haven't decided yet if I want to keep these sunglasses or sell them. I don't need anymore sunglasses right now, but I tend to lose and or break sunglasses frequently, so I always but $10 - $20 pairs.....can't beat .49! But they still have the tag on them for $29.99, so I think I could sell them for $10 or so and make a nice profit.

Current Balance $20,245.00
+$60.00 Bingo Tips
New Balance $20,305.00

Bingo Money (cash) $945.00
ING $16,710.00 ($4000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$595.00
HSBC $1,925.00
Total = $20,305.00

Added $63.65 Bingo Tips
Tips total - $1849.86
Wage total - $3099.55
Total Bingo Money - $4949.41

Doing some cleaning today and found several giftcards in my coupon holder that I forgot about..

$5 to local pizza joint
$10 to Subway
$10 to Taco Johns
$20 to Lowes
$50 to Walmart

Also had $50 in there from one of the previous Biggest Loser competitions that I had won.

Luckily none of them had expired, but I will need to make sure I use them before I forget about them again!

Hate to see if go down that much in one swoop, but I am sooooo excited for our 5 Year Anniversary Cruise!! YEAH! We are gonna book our excursions today or tomorrow!

Current Balance $23,145.00
+$15.00 HSBC Interest
-$3000.00 to pay for Anniversary Cruise
New Balance $20,245.00

Bingo Money (cash) $885.00
ING $16,710.00 ($4000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$595.00
HSBC $1,925.00
Total = $20,245.00

Added $0 Bingo Tips
Tips total - $1786.21
Wage total - $3099.55
Total Bingo Money - $4885.76

Well I have been at bingo for about 7 months now and I put in my 2 weeks yesterday. I don't really want to get into too many details but basically I need to quit due to too much drama. You wouldn't think bingo halls would be drama full....but oh man they are! I said when I started the job if I didn't like it or it wasn't fun anymore then I would quit, cause we don't need the money. I do still like working there, but I'm feeling stressed at home because of things that are going on there so I needed to quit even though I didn't really want to....it will be for the best.

On the plus side, after these last 2 weeks I will have made over $5K extra money for me and my family and I never did spend a single dime of it! ALL still sitting in savings.

So now that I will have about 15-20 extra hours a week, I plan on making a fabulous garden this summer! I also am going to take advantage of the overtime offered at my full time job. Obviously I make way more on my OT then at bingo, so if I did about 8hrs a week of OT that would make up for about 18 hrs a week at Bingo...

Opening Balance 1/1/12 $16,483.20
My Contribution $550.00
Employer Contribution $550.00
Investment Gain $1,403.94
Closing Balance 3/31/12 $18,987.14


I put in $550 of my own dollars and I got an additional $1953.94 FREE! YEAH! I put in 6% which is the max my employer will match. The rest I of my retirement money is going into a ROTH IRA with ING.

I FINALLY finished putting away my 2011 paperwork. I have one of those plastic file boxes with a handle that I use through out the year and file all of our bills etc in and then at the end of the year I bundle and staple everything together in the different files, and transfer it and our tax return to a permanent file. Cleared out a huge pile of papers we don't need anymore and took them to work and put them in the recycling/shred and then moved everything else into the permanent file.
-Paid for DHs car registration for the year
-Paid AAA membership dues for the year (that thing has paid for itself so many times already!)
-Paid electric/heat bill (it was down $50 from last month...guess my frozen toes were worth it!)
-Transferred the cruise money from savings to checking and set up the payment for the cruise online.

I also bought some lotion at Menards, it is Vaseline Sheer Infusion 6.8oz bottles. They are free after $5 rebate. So I bought the limit of 5, sent in the rebate and marked them for $2 each for the rummage sale. So that would be $10 free dollars if we sell them all.

Better late then never......

April 2012 Savings Update
As of April 1, 2012:

Regular Savings:
Bingo Money $4380
Home Maintanence $610
Mortgage Payoff Account (cash) $130
Cushion $2120
HSA $7500
New Patio Door(cash) $1320
September 2012 $1355
Emergency Fund $1330
New Car $2065 - Complete
Vacation - $2405 - Complete
Anniversary Cruise $4810 - Complete
Total Regular Savings = $28,025.00

Retirement Savings:
Retirement Hold Account $1645.00
Roth IRA $5179.22
Rollover IRA $890
401K $18,948
403B $13,500 (est)
Total Retirement Savings = $40,152.22

Total Savings = $68,177.22 Up $5,847.22 in the last 2 months! Should hit $70K this month!

Spring 2012 Biggest Loser

Week Two - Weigh In
Pounds Lost this week = 1.8
Total pounds lost = 4
% weight loss = 2.38%
Place = 1st out of 5 people


Week Three - Weigh In
Pounds Lost this week = .6
Total pounds lost = 4.6
% weight loss = 2.74%
Place = 1st out of 5 people

Total weight lost since Sept 2011 = 19.6lbs

Got Bingo tips and threw an extra $20 in the EF just because. So now that we had met the $20K challenge we were going to throw our extra money (recycling, rummage sale, gifts ect) at the mortgage. But after talking it over with DH he would prefer to keep putting money in the New Car Fund for awhile. Both of our cars have over 100K miles on them, so that is probably the best plan. We have over $3K marked for a new car, plus the Bingo Money is almost to $5K and has no set purpose yet. HAPPY SAVINGS!

Current Balance $23,145.00
+$20.00 ING EF
+$65.00 Bingo Tips
+/-$1000.00 from Bingo Money (cash) to ING Bingo
New Balance $23,230.00

Bingo Money (cash) $885.00
ING $16,710.00 ($4000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$595.00
HSBC $4,910.00
Total = $23,230.00

Added $61.55 Bingo Tips
Tips total - $1786.21
Wage total - $3099.55
Total Bingo Money - $4885.76

Today was payday for my full time job, DH's full time job, Bingo, track and cross country! DH gets to do what he wants with his track and CC money so should have some more to add once he lets me know how much I can use from his money for savings.


Current Balance $21,940.00
+$50.00 Bingo Tips
+$85.00 Retirement Hold Account
+$195.00 Bingo Wages
+$100.00 September 2012 Savings
+$100.00 Anniversary Cruise
+$275.00 Home Improvements
+$200.00 Casino Win to Vegas Fund
+$200.00 Casino Win to New Car Fund
New Balance $23,145.00

Bingo Money (cash) $1,820.00
ING $15,690.00 ($3000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$595.00
HSBC $4,910.00
Total = $23,145.00

Added $195.90 to Bingo Wages and $48.75 to Bingo Tips
Tips total - $1724.66
Wage total - $3099.55
Total Bingo Money - $4824.21

We finished our refinance! We are officially in our loan for 10 years, 2.75%! We don't have to pay the mortgage for April or May, so that is $1500 each month that we can use for what we need. I put Aprils $1500 in savings for a new car. We may use some of Mays for fun, and then the rest into the new car savings...we will see closer to the end of April. We also got $1700 back from closing costs being over estimated. For now I have left that in checking because DH is going on a little trip in May, and we make significantly less in the summer, so it will be good to go into the summer with some extra cushion in checking.
We didn't pay the closing costs this time, just rolled them into the mortgage so our new balance is $127,550.00. Can't wait till June 1, so we can start taking that baby DOWN!

Spring 2012 Biggest Loser

Week One - Weigh In
Pounds Lost this week = 2.2
Total pounds lost = 2.2
% weight loss = 1.31%
Place = 2nd out of 5 people

Off to a good start! My total weight loss since I started trying to lose is 17.2lbs. I think I did really good over Easter, so I am hoping that the others in the BL overate over the holiday.

Whoo hoo, lot of deposits! Our refinance is finally done, and we don't have to pay the mortgage for April or May. So we put Aprils mortgage payment into our car savings. We also went out of town for Easter and stopped at a casino for a few hrs. Came home $300 ahead, so I stuck $200 in the Vegas fund for next time we go.

Current Balance $20,000.00
-$111.00 to Roth IRA
+$125.00 to Patio Door Savings (cash)
+$125.00 Bingo Payday
+$70.00 Bingo Tips
+$5.48 ING Interest
+$25.52 Even Out Deposit
+1500.00 April Mortgage Payment - to New Car Account
+$200.00 Casino win - to Vegas Fund
+/-$1000.00 Moved Bingo cash to ING
+/-$1000.00 Moved Patio Door cash to ING
New Balance $21,940.00

Bingo Money (cash) $1,575.00
ING $15,105.00 ($3000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash)$320.00
HSBC $4,810.00
Total = $21,940.00

Added $126.66 to Bingo Wages and $70.75 to Bingo Tips
Tips total - $1675.91
Wage total - $2903.65
Total Bingo Money - $4579.56

We made our goal of $20K!!!! YEAH! Plus I get paid from Bingo on Friday (won't be much since we were gone in Vegas) so that will get added in there too. This is so crazy that we made it already!
Don't have a definite plan for our next financial move, but will be talking it over soon.
Also tomorrow we finally sign for our refi...everything is falling into place!

Current Balance $19,680.00
+$85.00 to retirement hold account
-$28.00 to Roth IRA
+$3.00 Even Out Amount
+$40.00 Bingo Tips
+$100.00 Sept 2012 Savings
+$55.00 to Correct ING Balance
+$65.00 to get to $20K!!!!!!
New Balance $20,000.00

Bingo Money $2,380.00
ING $11,485.00 ($2000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash) $1,195.00
HSBC $4,810.00
Total = $20,000.00

Added $37.30 to Bingo Tips
Tips total - $1605.16
Wage total - $2776.99
Total Bingo Money - $4382.15

Once all of my deposits clear I will have to go back and make sure all the numbers match up. It is so hard to keep straight when I don't update it on a regular basis. The $20K goal is soooo close! We don't have to pay the mortgage for April, so I'm hoping we will get over the goal....until we have to pay for our cruise.

Also I did get that check from the Chase Freedom Credit Card for $300.00, all I had to do was use the credit card once and they sent me a check for $300.00. No fees, no annual charge, no strings!

Current Balance $19,235.00
+$6.18 March ING Interest
+$30.82 March Even Out Amount
+$420.00 Bingo Payday (3/2/12 and 3/16/12)
+$30.00 Bingo Tips (3/19/12)
-$112.00 to Roth IRA
+$85.00 to retirement hold account (3/6/12)
+$85.00 to retirement hold account (3/20/12)
-$2600.00 Vegas
+$2000.00 Brought back from Vegas
+$300.00 Free check from Chase credit card
+$100.00 to Anniversary Cruise
+$100.00 to Sept 2012
New Balance $19,680.00

Bingo Money $2,340.00
ING $11,205.00 ($2000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash) $1,195.00
HSBC $4,810.00
Total = $19,680.00

Added $244.53 and $167.81 to Bingo Wages and $38.00 to Bingo Tips
Tips total - $1567.86
Wage total - $2776.99
Total Bingo Money - $4344.85

I have continued to do good on my weightloss after the Biggest Loser contest ended a few weeks ago. Right now I am down 20lbs!! YEAH! My goal is to lose 15 more lbs before our cruise in June. We are starting another BL at work this week. Wish me luck!

Our refi papers were supposed to be signed and finished on March 23rd, but when we got back from Vegas we found out that the appraisor had been sick, so our appraisal had been delayed. So now our closing date was moved back to March 29th.
But we did get our appraisal numbers.....our house appraised at $195K! Last time we refinanced it was at $175K, and when we bought our house in 2007 it appraised at $160K. So it went up $35K in less then 5 years! AWESOME! That was some great and surprising news. Now to just wait a few more days to finally get this done. We won't have to make any payment for April and then in May we will start on our new 10 year loan.

We are back from Vegas! We took $2K for gambling....and brought $2K back! Whoo hoo! We had a ton of fun and kept spending on food/souvenirs pretty reined in. So since we brought the $2K back we will put that right back in the Vegas fund for the next time we go.


When we got back from Vegas DH booked a cruise for us for our 5 year anniversary (and my 28th BD) in June. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon and we loved it so much we decided we wanted to go on a cruise for every 5 year anniversary. So we have been saving $100 a month every month since we got married, specifically for the cruise. This time we are going to several islands, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Gran Caymen. We are traveling with Carnival, that is who we cruised with before and they were AMAZING! We have almost $5K saved up, and for the 7 day cruise and the flight there and back it is $3K, so we will have $2K for excursions, shopping and gambling. So excited!

I am super far behind on my blog! Been so busy and we leave for Vegas on Saturday, so no entires next week either. If I have time Saturday before we leave I will try to get some more entires up.

Current Balance $19,140.00
+$45.00 Last weeks Bingo Tips
+$50.00 This weeks Bingo Tips
New Balance $19,235.00

Bingo Money $1,890.00
ING $11,310.00 ($2000.00 Bingo Money)
Mortgage Payoff $130.00
Home Improvements(cash) $1,195.00
HSBC $4,710.00
Total = $19,235.00

Added $97.75 to Bingo Tips
Tips total - $1529.86
Wage total - $2364.65
Total Bingo Money - $3894.51

Week Eight - Finale Weigh In
Pounds Lost this week = 1.8
Total pounds lost = 6.8
% weight loss = 3.86%
Place = 2nd out of 4 people


I lost by 1.4lb! I'm really happy with my weight loss, but so bummed that I just barely lost. Oh well I lost a total of 6.8lb. And total I am down 14lbs since I started really trying to lose weight. Keep going in the right direction! Not sure if we are doing another BL right away or gonna wait for awhile.