As is my custom, I'm behind. How embarassing! I will try to post later the money I deposited in my $20 Challenge so far this year. But, let's start where we're at today...

This a.m. cleaned off desk and vacumned keyboard and under, etc. and found .44 to take to the $20 Challenge.

$20 CHALLENGE
April 2010

$000.00 April balance
+000.44 desk cleanup
_______
$000.44 April MTD

2010 Challenge Total $000.94
Cumulative Challeng Total $2091.53

My part of the world was under snow for a long while. We normally get snow that lasts two or three days at most on the ground. Here it is day 27 with snow still piled around the yard! We were unable to attend any of the extended family Christmas events because we were snowed in!

The snow eventually ended up topping the backs of those chairs. Definitely a weird weather pattern for this portion of the country.

Today finds 50 cents on the keyboard. Adding it to the $20 Challenge.

$20 CHALLENGE

$0000.00 balance
+0000.50 keyboard change
________
$0000.50 Jan MTD

2010 Challenge Total $0000.50
Cumulative Challenge Total $2091.09

I went purse diving looking for something in a purse I'm not carrying at the moment and found $.78 cents in there. Taking it to the challenge.

$20 CHALLENGE

$20.25 balance
+00.78 pearls
______
$21.03 MTD

2009 Challenge Total $1036.83
Cumulative Challenge Total $2090.59

Well, I've been busy. Elsewhere.

But to keep ImaSaver company over there on the upper right $20 Challenge corner, I did manage to have that $20 left over at the end of the last month, so I'm adding it to this month's $20 challenge, plus I found a quarter the other day. Adding that in as well.

$20 Challenge

$0000.00 Dec balance
+0020.25 keeping good company
________
$0020.25 Dec MTD

2009 Challenge Total $1,036.05
Cumulative Challenge Total $2,089.81

It pays to dive deep! Oh the things you see when you scavenge all the way to the bottom.

Yesterday's purse cleanout found $1.82 in change at the bottom to put towards the $20 Challenge. There's also a $20 buried deep in the wallet that MIGHT make it over to begin December's $20 Challenge with if I can keep it whole! It's leftover from my $10 a week November allowance. (Can't we afford a bigger allowance? Yes - I've just got no stomach to blow money for no good reason.) There's $50 incoming allowance on Tuesday, so I might just make it.

$20 CHALLENGE

$020.63 balance
+001.82 deep diving
_______
$022.46 Nov MTD

2009 Challenge Total $1015.80
Cumulative Challenge Total $2069.56

I am thankful for all of you here at the Saving Advice dot com bloggerdom! All through the year you inspire me and help me stay focused. I do appreciate all of you so much. The differing perspectives of each of you are such a help to everyone. Here's hoping you all have very nice holidays with your families. I wish you all plenty of enough and MORE! Safe travels too!

In your honor I'm donating $8.03 to my $20 Challenge. Here's hoping it keeps me off the dole in my old age!!

Can somebody pass the turkey please?


$20 CHALLENGE UPDATE

$012.60 Nov balance
+008.03 turkey donation
_______
$020.63 Nov MTD

2009 Challenge Total $1013.98
Cumulative Challenge Total $2067.74

Steaming Past A Thousand! HIPPI-YIPPIE-YAH!

2006 Challenge $126.11 started late Aug
2007 Challenge $402.50
2008 Challenge $525.15
2009 Challenge +$1005.95 Nov YTD
------------------------
Cumulative Total $2059.71

This will be the first year I've been able to put back over $1,000.00 for the year in the $20 Challenge category! A goal has been reached. Perhaps next year I can get to $1500 or more. Watch out Ima Saver I'm picking up steam!


$0005.53 Nov balance
+0007.07 Steam booster additive
________
$0012.60 Nov MTD

2009 Challenge Total $1005.95
Cumulative Challenge Total $2059.71

Yesterday was a No-Spend-Day for me.

$000.10 Nov balance
+005.43 addition
_______
$005.53 Nov MTD

2009 Challenge Total $998.88
Cumulative Challenge Total $2052.64

MY $20 Challenge is to earn / save / find an extra $20 per month or MORE to put into my Roth IRA.

Today was a No-Spend Day!

Yesterday was spent working on a really detailed networth statement and cooking a fabulous Sunday dinner.

On the norm I just catch the various bank accounts & retirement funds, but yesterday went to zillow & edmunds and did a more in-depth look at where we are at starting Hubster's official "Golden Years" with ALL of our assets! Not too shabby. Could of been a lot better, but for us, it's looking better than expected and Hubster was quite pleased with the "If We Cashed in All of Our Chips" numbers. I am too!

One of the things I'd been forgetting to put into our networth calculations is our burial plots. Ours are paid for already but we might end up selling & replacing them in a different location. Depends on if we decide to downsize and where.

Today I've got a To-Do list that far outnumbers five - there are 45 things on my list! Boy, am I behind!!

The majors today will be:

{x}2/3rds - filler now drying - 1)Filler on twin bed veneer. It's outside and up on the working platform.

[X]DONE w/a snafu - 2)Buy paint for above project. - Got the paint, started on back side of headboard. More gray looking than the deep black. I tried to tell the guy in the store that it didn't look right - he was filling in from electronics - but he insisted that it was right based on how dark it looked when dry. It did look dark, but I've got to go back tomorrow now as it just looks like a funky gray on the bed. POOODLES & FARTZWAZZLES!!

[X]DONE - 3)Mail off tube.

[X]DONE - 4)Content placed on my other blog.

[X]DONE - 5)Write & mail off sympathy note to friend's family. Long time ill, she passed away this weekend.

6)Get those newly figured out categories into YouNeedABudget software. I upgraded my software this weekend and we're going to be starting a fresh new budget this month with some newly aligned goals and taking into consideration the different income sources we're firing up. Keeping spending in a tight line will be KEY!! A fine balancing act, if you will. Of course we want to put off withdrawing from our retirement accounts as long as possible.

[X]DONE - 7)Get these entries up on Saving Advice!

Yesterday was a No-Spend Day.

I have a dime on my keyboard to start off November's $20 Challenge.

$20 CHALLENGE

$000.00 beginning balance
+000.10 laundress pay
_______
$000.10 Nov MTD

2009 Challenge Total $993.45
Cumulative Challenge Total $2047.21

Sicily's baking inspired me and I grabbed out my sourdough starter yesterday and made some fantastic sourdough rolls and I also made a chocolate pie. My fellows thank you Sicily!

While I'm out today I'll be making a bank run and depositing October's $20 Challenge Money. Yes, Pigger squealed again when I violated his inner sanctum!

And, speaking of inner sanctums, remind me to tell ya'll later, but Hubster has a stalker - one of his old fellow employees now hopped up on meth!

Clearing out my purse - squeezed out a measley .25 cents to take to the challenge.

$30.82 Oct balance
+00.25 three nickles & a dime - hate to get caught too short in the wallet! :{ Looking mighty scary in there. Slim pickin's.
______
$31.07 Oct MTD

2009 Challenge Total $993.35
Cumulative Challenge Total $2047.11

Yesterday was a new day at the Frugalicious races...

Got up early and Hubster and FrugalSon loaded up the back of my pickup with wood for my Dad using the wheelbarrow as I was not venturing back into the muddy yard with my truck again after getting sunk and stuck the other night. I picked what appears like the last of my tomatoes for the year and took about half of them for Dad.

Then Frugalson & I loaded up and went to the bank and got my signature on Hubster's Carpenter's Pension notarized and then scooted on over to the post office and got it mailed off.

We took off on the backroads and drove the hour and half trip to my Dad's and he and FrugalSon unloaded the wood while his wife and I visited. They got through and I got to visit with my Dad for about 30 minutes and then we started heading back.

Dad had slipped me $40 for gas. He can well afford it and if he didn't get wood from me? ...he'd be buying it from someone. Nice. It takes about $50 to fill my truck and I can get one full trip to his town and back out of it, plus some other running around my town. Last trip was on me.

I needed to treat my helper to lunch so at his choice we stopped for a burger basket, frosty rootbeers and had the rare treat of fried pickles as an appetizer. Yummers. $17.23 + $3.00 tip.

After lunch we stopped at a good garage sale. I bought myself two nice little side-tables - they are very heavy, have a cute rustic style to them and are formica-ed on top. So useable with those tops & too Too TOO cute to pass up.

I don't know that I NEED them, but will try to work them into the house. If they don't work out I might sell one or both of them in my booth at a profit. Or maybe FrugalSon can use them downstairs in his apartment. They are sweet little tables & at $25 for the pair, I can easily double my money. The finish on the legs is a bit aged, but they could be really cutened up w/some beige or antique white paint on the legs! Or, even some barn red or a forest green for a bunkhouse or cabin look. Here's one of them before cleanup:





Also bought myself a cute new to me denim jacket for a $1.00, and the guy running the sale, who was flirting with me ended up giving me a paperback for free - wooo, a big spender type!

He was a nice man, but kind of overtly obvious with the compliments, thinking my son was my husband because obviously I couldn't P.O.S.S.I.B.L.Y. be that old, etc. Yeah, right. Nice to hear, but you know it's patently not true. I do look younger than my age, but not THAT young.

Also got two paintings in frames for $3 each. We'll probably paint over the canvases and have the frames to use for our creations. Cheap art material!!!

Then it was off to my Mom's house where they gave me a very nice metal patio table. They had three outdoor sets? I think one of them was from stepdad's Mom's estate. They are closing in their back patio and now have one inside that room and one set outside and this set just extra. Nice. I had given CashHappySon my old set when he moved away.



This patio set is black. My other outdoor set ALMOST matches it but is white/yellowish. The white set is 'chippy' and likely this coming spring, I'll wirebrush it down and paint it out black to match. I spot-shot the rusty areas the other day w/rustoleum to get it thru the winter. I nearly STOLE the white set late last year at a thrift store. All seven pieces for only $27.00! The other little table Hubster is using indoors for his printer stand.


(note one of the little arched water spigot cubbie covers that Hubster made the other day over on the left)

Mom THINKS she knows where the umbrella and stand is at in her storage building.

I'm counting my parental units as Corporate Sponsors! They're members of the Golden Eagle Elite Club!! Thank God for our parents. They've all done so much for us through the years.

We visited with Mom about 15 minutes and admired stepdad's handiwork on the new patio room, then jumped back in the truck.

Stopped at vitamin store and spent about $30 there, needed more magnesium for routine maintenance and also Sambucol to keep the sore throat and flu bug away. Pricey stuff but needed for to the keeping away of the creeping crud & the blue funks!

Then we stopped at the Dollar store for FrugalSon to buy more minutes for his Tracphone.

Then we got home by about 3:15 and I crashed! Then I got back up and took vitamin herby stuff to keep from being sick as I felt achy, and ate the rest of the Tortilla Soup from the other day at about 5:00 p.m. and then laid back down.

FrugalSon stayed outside and unloaded all the new bunkN'junque off the back of the truck.

FrugalSon then went out and helped Hubster who was mowing on the rider, by pushmowing the garden area and then the top-yard for the last mow of the season and to run all the gas out of the mowers so they can be winterized.

Hubster spent the day yesterday raking up all the leaves and twigs and general messiness that the tree cutters left behind and trying to repair a cheap-o rake that kept breaking on him. The last rake we had lasted about 15 years. This one? Lasted less than one season! Come on folks lets manufacture something worthwhile could we????

Then they stayed outside till dark-thirty chainsawing and stacking the rest of the wood in the front part of the yard. We are racing trying to beat winter! I had made Hubster promise not to chainsaw until I got home. I rushed around as much as possible for this daytrip to get back so he had some daylight left to work in. Supposed to be cold and wet the rest of the week here.

After all that cutting & stacking they came in and FrugalSon heated up the Black Bean soup that was also in the frig and they had that and sandwiches and marble cake for supper while I was going thru a nice little sleep cycle on the couch.

Poor FrugalSon had quite a busy day off!
I am feeling much better this morning. Like a new woman. Bouncing up at 5:30 a.m. Hubster is still sawing logs. In bed, that is!

Taking the $8 I didn't blow at a garage sale to the $20 Challenge.

$022.82 balance
+008.00 garage sale leavings
_______
$030.82 Oct MTD

2009 Challenge Total $993.10 (think I'll beat a thousand this year? Who'll give me odds?)
Cumulative Challenge Total $2046.86


*Little known L.L.Frugalis factoid: I used to jockey as a pre-teen.

Evidently there is a hole in the bottom of my well as I was looking underneath my truck seat for a paper that had slipped away and I found two paper dollar bills and a nickle. Taking it to the $20 Challenge. How long it had been under there? Who knows! Look underneath your vehicle seats. It can be profitable.

About time old Nellie started paying off!

$20 CHALLENGE
$020.77 balance
+002.05 drip-dropped
_______
$022.82 MTD

2009 Challenge Total $985.10
Cumulative Challenge Total $2038.86

Not much going on here - except I spent a bunch of money buying frames for mine and FrugalSon's artwork at the 50% off sale. That took a load out of my wallet and now I'm nigh on to broke in the checking account department. But we got lots of frames for artwork we've had sitting around, as we say in my neck of the woods, nekkkkid.

Good news for FrugalSon as he sold an artwork this year. His first. Big doings, and he had prints made of it and has sold those as well! He's now a PRO. Momma Frugalis is sooooo proud.

The dog herd left this morning again after another round of sitting. Another tiny bit of inflow here for the dog-sitting, and I'm going to take $20 of it and put it toward this month's $20 Challenge as that seems to be lacking and the rest I'll put towards the RV Land Travel fund LATER, if I don't have to have it to run on later in the month.

That frame expenditure ran me close to empty and I do have an out of town trip to make later this month that will likely take cash.

Today will be a No Spend Day.

Housebudget spent yesterday $90ish for groceries, and I spent $15 for a name plaque to go on the bottom of one of my paintings that will be going to a museum later this month as well. So, all said and done, I'm experiencing a temporary cash flow problem! Oh well. I can always pull back out of savings if I had to, but I won't do that unless absolutely necessary and I can't see any upcoming expenses that I haven't already accounted for.

The tree guys are all gone and Hubster has much chainsawing left to do on some big pieces - the base of one tree stump sits at 37 inches before it flared out toward the roots! Our collective emergency fund said OUUUUUUUUCHHHHHH over that expenditure, but twas needful. Back to boosting that savings now.

BEFORE after death by FREAKISH ice-storm

AFTER very sad, it changes entire look of main approach to house:


These are only the corner on one side. There were about 8 more gigantorific trees that had to come down all together all around my house. The back of my house now feels naked and VERY exposed! They cut to 14 inch length & stacked most of it.

While Hubster was out trying to get the rest of it cut up his chainsaw stopped oiling itself, so it's back in the repair shop, and who knows what that'll cost.

It's always something. ;{

Took one load of the wood to my Dad's this week, there are about five or six more loads to go! He'll have wood to burn all winter and some for next year likely.

Our phone bill came and whatever special we had signed up under has now ended adding another $20 a month to that expense, and there was a 'CRAMMED on' charge for IDL - some kind of identity thingawhich that we did not ask for at $12.95 a month, and now have to wangle around to get taken back off the phone bill. Ought to be a law. The phone owner cannot ask for it to be removed, it has to come in the form of a credit from the CROOK who crammed it on there to begin with. They have you by the neck!! ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGG!




Did I mention? It's ALWAYS something. Vigiliance is key. Somebody always trying to play GOTCHA in the wallet department!!


$20 CHALLENGE
$000.77 balance
+020.00 Wooof-woof!
_______
$020.77 Oct MTD

2009 Challenge Total $983.05
Cumulative Challenge Total $2036.81

Got my thank you note to be mailed to the post office yesterday. YEAH for getting it done!

Got about 15 minutes done inside the stash-and-dash box yesterday. Yeah, a big box, huh? Not really, just a copy paper size box.

And it's all THAT stuff - you know, the 'I don't know what to do with it' S.T.U.F.F.

For instance, receipts. ...when to keep? when to throw away? I hate all those little pieces of paper!! Note to self - LESS money spent means less receipts! That would be good!!

And other stuff - like neat articles that I want to save, but don't really have a category for in my already 'stuffed' file cabinet.

And more stuff - magazines and booklets. Moved to read pile by the couch.

And even More Stuff - such as family member's papers that they conveniently stick on my side of the desk, as if I'm the paper fairy that will make it just suddenly go away??

Recycled that back to Hubster's side of the desk & in FrugalSon's case to the file-pile place which is the corner of the love-seat which lets him know those are his papers to file - with strict orders to either do something with it themselves, like filing or throwing it away, but under no circumstance was it to migrate itself back to my side of the desk! :{ Elsewise? The crabby Paper Fairy would probably rise up and smite them!!

Yet More Stuff - Got some thrown away like those darn grocery store ads from God Knows When! Got some things shredded.

The inside of the box is still not empty, but looking better. More time still needed here.

I found a penny in there! Taking it to the $20 Challenge.

$000.76 balance
+000.01 miserly pay for an inside job!
_______
$000.77 Oct MTD

2009 Challenge Total $963.05
Cumulative Challenge Total $2016.81

A Peach, a Bull*, An Eagle & Lincoln?

What do these things have in common?

They are all on the coins I pulled out of my wallet in an effort to get my October $20 Challenge off to a start. Here we go!

That's right boys and girls, three quarters and a penny. Seventy-six cents. 7 - 6. 76 centavos, 76 Cents.

Hello October Challenge.


...and A.WaY we go!

$20 Challenge
$000.00 beginning October balance
+000.76 interesting coinage mix
_______
$000.76 Oct MTD

2009 Challenge Total $963.04 (only $36.96 remaining to break that $1000 ceiling!)
Cumulative Challenge Total $2016.80

*The bull is the skeleton head of a bull on the Montana quarter. It caught my eye as I pulled it out of the wallet and thought it looked like a fake-o coin! They came out in 2007, but I think this must be the first one I've noticed.

Yesterday was a No Spend Day for me.

House-budget bought $40ish worth of lumber supplies for home updating. After Hubster finishes with putting up of crown molding** in living room, we are continuing into the dining area and putting some up in there as well. That's what those supplies are for. It would've been $50ish, but I had a nice coupon!

**If I had known that FREE (with purchase) crown-molding stuff was in my attic since we moved here? We'd of put it up week one, well maybe, week five. This has bugged me for ten years unnecessarily!!! Ratfinkus!

Right now we are waiting for some spackle to dry and then later today I will paint an area that had a 'dry-wall fall-apart' as Hubster went to nail some of the trim up the other day. Then, he'll get to finish his portion of the program. It looks AWESOME! Well, maybe not to everyone, but if you've been wanting something done nigh on to foreverish? What he's got done already? Looks SOOO gooooooooooooood!!!

FrugalSon bought himself a radiant oil-filled heater yesterday at Lowe's for $39. The same one at Walmart? $63!!!!! Pays to shop around.

Yesterday afternoon after I got back from the lumber yard, where I went while my carpenter took a nap, I went outside and spent about two hours sanding on the carcass of my chest of drawers. Hope to get some paint slapped on her today and get that finished so I can start on the bed. Want to get this stuff done before the snow flies this year. Or at least before cold weather sets in.

Worked Thursday to get Hubster's 401-K rolled over to Fidelity. Tried to do it online by ourselves. No luck. Tried to do it online while talking to a Fidelity rep. No luck. Forced to go the old fashioned paper route mainly because of where the 401-K is being held. Crossing fingers. That mail went out Thursday.

---

On Friday we sold a big old heavy iron smoker/BBQer for $25 using Craigslist. It would not fit into our plans to downsize some time in the future. It was rather gigantic and old, starting to have some rust out issues and I had gotten it for FREE years ago by being a willing Sanford & Son type hauler-away of 'almost' any good junq'ue. We used it for many years when we were hosting church picnics, but that need has fallen away as the church we belong to now is way far away. Haven't decided what to do with this $25 yet, probably divide it up between my various goals. Will make a followup post when I decide. Any condo or smaller house we may buy in the future? Ehhh, we can either get by without a cooker or we'll get a nicer propane one or maybe a nice George Foreman electric grill on a stand.
We're not that big of entertainers any more and we don't grill out often anyway. Yes, I probably could've bought some heat-resistant paint and painted this and got a bit more out of it, but the sides are rusting out, and most importantly I wanted it GONE! One less thing to move if we decide to later.
---

We are waiting until the September interest posts in our Money Market account to move some of it to Emigrant Direct where it will earn a bit more money. Leaving just enough in MM to cover a true CASH emergency. Haven't decided yet whether to stash the money moved in $1000 incremental CDs ladder, but that's the likely way it'll go. This is our Household Emergency Fund.

---

Today I deposited $100 in my pre-Roth account aka Grrls Just Wanna Have E-Funds, on my way to getting as much of next year's Roth IRA contributions together as I can. I did this by depositing a check by mail - this is the first time I've made a long-distance deposit of a check into Fidelity. Usually I just deposit locally and then go online and move it. We'll see how it goes. I always feel sketchy about trusting the mail! That envelope went out this a.m.

---

While I was out I cleaned out my wallet at the bank and deposited $52.02. This & the $100 will go towards my $20 Challenge and in the Grrls Just Wanna Have E-Funds because that's where it temporarily resides. I came home from the bank and moved it to Fidelity.

$106.17 balance
+152.02 check & wallet cleanout
_______
$258.19 Sep MTD

2009 Total = $962.28
Cumulative Total $2016.04

---

Passed one without stopping but did stop at another garage sale - bought nothing! Yeah me! So today likely to be a No Spend Day as I don't intend on going back out.

---

Early this a.m. FrugalSon and I hit the walking trail down by the river for a nice 30 minute walk before he had to report to work. Nice and quiet in the park at that time of the morning. Noticed one of our local hospital has installed free bicycles to be loaned out with a CC deposit in case the bikes aren't returned w/i 24 hours. Nicely done with a self-serve set-up! Might have to try that some time.

---

I'm working on painting crown molding trim's last coat today before it's ready for Hubster's installation portion of the program. This is for the living room.



---

Rehabbing an old deco 'bow front' chest of drawers that had veneer chipping off. I went to my small town art supply place and they were out of the 'goop' I needed to fill in those chipped out places w/o replacing the veneer. The lady there was nice enough (I am a GOOD regular customer) to loan me her giant tub of it. Came home and filled that stuff in. Chore for this afternoon is to sand it down and start painting it.



I'm also going to do my girlhood bed. I already fixed the veneer on it once with a costly $250 veneer job years and years ago and then all my kids used the bed and the veneer on it is now chipped again as well. So later today I'm planning on hauling it out and filling the chunks in on it as well. And then I'll be painting both these pieces out in a low-gloss black. More AFTER pics to follow later.

Yes, I checked and...by 3:00 p.m. yesterday the money had cleared out of our Money Market Account (more still needs to be removed from this low interest paying thing! GAAA!) and made it's way to the mortgage company. When I checked there late yesterday afternoon it hadn't shown up there, but I did take the time to go in and manually stop the automatic drafts that we'd been using for our house payments (this was Bank of America after all and we've all heard the horror stories! I don't need some nasty surprise EXTRA payment deducted from checking that I have to try and retrieve.). I printed out our bank's confirmation e-mail of the wire and put it in the folder.

Then, of course, I checked again before our celebratory dinner last night and yep, the balance did say ZERO!!! (AND, I printed out the completed amortization schedule to put in the file as well.)

Mortgage BURNED!

Woooooooooooooooooooooo-doggies!! The other side of the finish line looks good too!

Then before bed last night I went on Fidelity where we have most of our retirement monies stored and did one of their 'Retirement Assessment' tests and yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, I will outlive my money. IF I'm careful!

This is to reassure those of you who are getting a later start. You do need to start and keep your nose to the grindstone. Catching up is DIFFICULT, but can be done if you are disciplined!

If I can do it, so can you!

You just have to get in the race! And stay there!

P.S. Today is a No Spend Day! Added $100 to the $20 Challenge and $100 to the Grrls Just Wanna Have E-Funds!

P.P.S. Guess what? They didn't even write and say Thanks For Paying Along! What's up with that?

Who says pocket change doesn't add up?


Doing a wallet cleanout today.


$004.60 balance
+001.57 cleanout
_______
$006.17 MTD

2009=$710.26 YTD


2006 Challenge $126.11
2007 Challenge $402.50
2008 Challenge $525.15
2009 Challenge +$710.26
------------------------
Cumulative Total $1764.02

Adding 56 cents to the $20 Challenge

$004.04 Sep '09 balance
+000.56 addition
-------
$004.60 MTD


$614.55 YTD
$1617.33 Cumulative Total

This morning I am trying to find the top of my desk - and on it I find $4.04 in change and a lot of dog hair that the fan blows over here. How does the dog have any hair left? Isn't she living the dog's life? Completely spoiled!

$20 CHALLENGE
$000.00 beginning September
+004.04 fur-ball change
_______
$004.04 Sep MTD

$613.99 YTD
Cumulative $20 Challenge Total $1616.77

Tried four times now to add an entry.

Gaaa! It keeps evaporating into thin air.

Anybody else having troubles?

====
I missed my blogoversary yesterday!
Well!!!!!!!!

I added $367.00 this month to my retirement account from gar. s.
Taking it to the $20 Challenge. Ran it to the bank this a.m. & moved it to retirement account as soon as I got home.

$20 Challenge
$014.71 August balance
+367.00 g.sa.
_______
$381.71 August MTD

In thinking about moving this becomes important to me:

Improve America's Walkability:

http://www.walkscore.com/transportation-bill.shtml

No, not a dumpster! (not yet at least)

I went yesterday on the way to the bank to deposit my $14.71 and stopped in at a place I've been wanting to get to for some time.

In my town there is a lady financial planner (referred to her by my Dad's friendly banker friend). We had a nice visit and if she passes a few more of the Frugalis Frustration Level Tests (ha - I won't turn over my money for someone else to manage nor will I just follow all the advice just because someone tells me it's a good idea).

I mean...

...if I don't frustrate HER too much, we might just be hooking up to let her assist Hubster and I with so many of the issues we have right now with facing retirement, downsizing, making a large financial contribution to a charitable 'entity', a possible trust to insure one of my sons is always taken care of, etc., etc., etc. plus all those icky 'end of life' estate planning issues that will likely be soon forthcoming? I need help. I want to hear educated pro/con arguments based on OUR financial picture, not the universal 'average'.

So, looks like I may be diving into the deep end with the big boys.

So far: PRO-
1)She's appears to be - not a snob. Important to me.

2)Hourly fee based.

CON-
1)She ???might??? be really tuned into annuities and maybe even sells them, I'm not sure, but it'll be a hard sell if that's the case as I'm very leary of them.

Nothing is firm yet. Hubster has yet to meet her. He'll have to come away with the same positive feelings (his spidey sense) or it'll be a no go.

We live in a small town. There is another planner in town, but he's a he. heheehee! Anyway, since I'm projected to be the longer liver, I want to start and stay with some one for the long haul (fingers crossed) of my future financial lifetime. I'd rather go with a female who understands finances from a woman's security point of view.

Okay, folks that's all the news that's fit to print so far today.

No-spending has transpired today.

I did come home yesterday and moved that $14.71 out to earn interest and just now updated the $20 Challenge log (a bit - I'm still not done) over to the left.

Thanks to all of you at Saving Advice dot com I was very comfortable in my discussion with her and she was impressed with my knowledge base. She doesn't know I have all of you smarties in my back pocket!!

Would you ever use a financial planner? When?

I checked Pigger and find $14.71 to add to the $20 Challenge. Will have to come back in later to do totals & updates. Wanting to go to bank now and get it moved to interest bearing account this afternoon!

Let me pump up the volume, at least slightly by adding $5.27 to the $20 Challenge. While I'm not so good at stimulating the economy as President Obama - I did do my part today and spent online a bit on some new acrylic paints - I'll offset the price of these by selling some of my older (perfectly fine & usable) ones to FrugalSon who is in need of some. I just prefer this other brand when I can get them. A win-win situation. I get to upgrade for about $2.00 in price difference and he gets good servicable paint.

$20 CHALLENGE
$016.82 balance
+005.27 addition
_______
$022.09 Feb MTD

2009 Challenge Total $43.24
Cumulative Challenge Total $1046.02


Listed five items today on ebay - 4 books and a t-shirt. I did not spend any gas today, and am staying in for supper - cooking chicken and mashed potatoes w/gravy.

Spent about 45 minutes in the basement cleaning and re-arranging today! Yeah ME!!! Trying to get myself in gear so FrugalSon can move down there and use the bigger room. Must be cleared of FIL's estate stuff and we just piled it in there at the time of his passing. There is much to be done to make this room usable, but it's doable. Just too easy for it to be - out of sight, out of mind! FrugalSon and I have been spending at least 30 minutes a day for the last week working down there.

I've got to go get my truck tag today. It's not horrible and I've saved for it, so wave bye-bye to $62.50 outgoing. I could mail it off but they charge an additional $2 fee for that, so instead I'll combine it with a trip to the post-office to mail off two items that sold on ebay, totalling $14.85 minus $1.03 paypal fee = $13.82 incoming. Lucky for me my little tag office has a post office window in it. Nope - no vanity pl8s 4ME!

Think I'll add the $13.82 to the $20 Challenge:

$003.00 balance
+013.82 ebay sales
_______
$016.82 Feb MTD

2009 Challenge Total $37.97
Cumulative Challenge Total $1040.75

I added $1000 of the $1300 truck accident money...

(see back story: http://luxliving.savingadvice.com/2009/01/04/she-did-a-costl...)

...to my Grrls Just Wanna Have E-Funds account. It had been sitting in my checkbook earning zip, so moving it to there at least temporarily. I have some other household plans for it, but meanwhile it should be working and earning some interest. The $300 went else-where.

Slave on Money, Slave On!!


GRRLS JUST WANNA HAVE E-FUNDS
$0386.50 1/20/09 balance
- 5.00 contribution to the Playing For Change Foundation 1/21
________
$0381.50
+0000.06 interest income 1/31
+0010.00 Feb Savings Allocation 2/1
________
$0391.56
+1000.00 Truck accident - temp. parking 2/18
________
$1391.56

See 1/22/09 blog post for more about this worthwhile organization.

http://luxliving.savingadvice.com/2009/01/22/crash-boom-life...

For the best explanation of wanting your money out slaving & earning children $'s & grandchildren $$'s & great-grandchildren $$$'s for you, take the time to read George Clason's "The Richest Man in Babylon".

This particular account is not the most aggressive that I have for interest bearing but is the only one I have that has a checking feature built in and I want these particular dollars quickly accessible.

I started this account in April of 2008 as an experiment on Fidelity's Smart-Cash balancing feature (so I'd be familiar with it when we begin withdrawals in our retirement accounts) and this $5 check to this foundation was the first time I've written a check. So far it hasn't cleared and I'm uncertain now if the $1000 deposit hasn't defaulted my rebalancing setpoints that I originally set.

I think I set them relatively low (maybe $250??) as I don't keep a lot of cash in my other local checking account and didn't want the auto-leveling feature of an expenditure to take my local checking to the point of an overdraft.

Adding to the $20 Challenge:

$20 CHALLENGE
$000.75 Feb balance
+002.25 wallet cleanout
_______
$003.00 Feb MTD

2009 Challenge Total $24.15
Cumulative Challenge Total $1026.93

I'm off this morning to take FrugalSon to the hospital where we applied for him a job online about a week ago. They called yesterday and set up an appointment for him today. Weeee-dogs! I hope he gets it! Fingers crossed & prayers up! His Arches of Gold job's hours have been cut back drastically and he needs more income if he's going to date and plan on moving out someday.

I got up early and balanced checkbooks and decided against buying a large lot of acrylic paint that was tempting me on ebay. I would use it but can't really afford it right now - maybe it'll be relisted???? Hope so! I mean, I have the money, but it would run me close to my edge and I don't wanna play that game, you know? Spent time shredding papers this morning and filing, and just general paperwork & desk cleanup.

Adding to the $20 Challenge from what was found under the keyboard.

$20 CHALLENGE

$000.00 Feb balance
+000.75 keyboard change
_______
$000.75 Feb MTD

2009 Challenge Total $021.90
Cumulative Challenge Total $1024.68

Of other note, CashHappySon got fired from his job day before yesterday. This boy is in a downward spiral! Five jobs since he started working at 18 - five jobs that he's been terminated from. He's 20 now. He just doesn't get it. No car, no job, no prospects. Gaaahhh! These two boys couldn't be more different.

Yesterday was a no spend day. I updated the sidebar over on the left yesterday evening. Added the Dream Car Fund category over there. I owned the Sunbeam convertible back when I was in high school and wish I had never sold it. Ahhh, Foolish youth!

$480.42 what I'm starting it out with - Have been saving that little bit of money for awhile and just yesterday decided to give it a goal. I've got a picture of mine actually here ?somewhere? that I'll post sometime if I ever find it.

I've been working on my ebay listings today (14 new items listed), so there's that for future income. I've also priced a couple of old fashioned outside metal chairs and an enamel bucket for sale in my junque booth. I go on Monday to install them in the booth and pick up my January sales check.

Adding to the $20 Challenge

$015.91 balance
+005.24
_______
$021.15 Jan MTD

2009 Challenge Total $21.15
Cumulative Challenge Total $1023.93

CashHappySon called today wanting to pick up his W-2 so he can go do an instant refund thingawhichie. Thing is he can't really afford the fees for a fast back refund. Not sure if he'll even get a refund since he cashed in part of his retirement (401-K & IRA) this year to pay off his car loan to us.

He did go buy himself a Go-Phone (something like a pay as you go Trac-Phone) blaming me saying that I complained that I couldn't reach him. I explained to him that my statement of fact did not constitute a complaint nor a need for him to spend money he doesn't really have! Oh well. He WANTS a phone.

I hope he can use it in jail when he gets to court on Monday. That's a whole 'nuther story about the $1000 clunker car he signed for from his side-job boss (against Mom & Dad's advice) and got stopped by Johnny-Law and it got impounded because he had no insurance on it nor did it have a tag.

Tickets for that little part of this fun-tasmagoric saga equal $788.00.

Since the car was not offically in his name yet the impound lot hasn't dunned him - YET! The boss says to forget about the car and just let it set there as he doesn't want it or the title back.

Oh yes, he also mentioned that the apartment managment is fining him $100 for having a pet in the apartment without having come and put up the proper pet deposit. All of which was carefully explained to him when he went to rent the apartment. I know it was because I was there when the guy laid out all the rules for him. Ho-Hum!

You breakie the rules - you pay-ee!! He'll learn I suppose.

On sale at the local grocery this weekend was our favorite big-name brand pop at 69 cents a liter. We bought a bunch! We bought 30 bottles! Since it's hard anymore to find them on sale for the normal 99 cents and usually priced at $1.25 this seemed like a great offer. Of course I fell for it and bought a couple of other things - like the slicing tomatoes & cream cheese I went in after! I didn't know they were having the sale so it was a happy surprise.

On ebay one of my books sold this week and Hubster sold one of the computers & monitors laying around the house extra (he's got a bad habit of upgrading REPEATEDLY) for more than we had in it so we're up. And, better - that money ($525 minus ebay & paypal fees) has gone back into the emergency kitty. And nice too - it's out from underfoot where we really had no place to store it so it's been decoratively sitting at the end of my bed.

Also this week FrugalSon paid the kitty back $100 on his remaining balance for his new motor - so he's still down to us to the tune of about $600.

Yesterday Hubster braved the 2009 ice storm to ship out the computer ($35.77) which was covered by the buyer and got the tag renewed for his car which cost $83.50.

A small bit of financial smiles came forth when Hubster reminded me that the checks we are out of will be replaced FREE because of the type of 'Old-Timer' account we have at the bank. Yeah FREE! I'm calling them today to order up.

FrugalSon although not on the schedule (when is he ever on the schedule any more??? They've cut his hours at Burger Arches quite harshly) yesterday got called in for four hours worth of work unloading the truck. When the ice storm lets up we are going into the metro area to see if we can get him on at one of the several major hospitals in our area.

CashHappySon called a night or two ago wanting to know if his W-2s had showed up yet or one of the two checks he's got coming is in. 'Nope' to all three, but I'm fine thanks for asking!! :< He's so self-centered these days - I didn't talk to him but his Dad did - the boy did not even say good-bye but just hung up when he had his answer. GAAAAA! What kind of child have I raised?

I tried to reach him the other day to take him with us when we went to see the new baby, but his cell phone has been cut off - Not a big surprise. I don't know if he's going to work or not - supposedly some girl he works with was going to be giving him a ride. Hopefully he is more polite to her than he's been to us. Fact is, he told me the other day he doesn't care if he keeps his job or not! Exactly the problem I tell him.

Really, does this bald spot on my head show where I've torn the hair out?? I've tried that colored hair spray paint but I'm not sure it's going to work for such a major balding!!! How much is this 'coverage' going to cost me??????


To the $20 Challenge I've got:

$005.54 balance
+010.37 in a purse cleanout
_______
$015.91 MTD

2009 Challenge Total $15.91
Cumulative Challenge Total $1018.69

I listed three more books yesterday and will try to get some more done today. There are scads and scads of them that need to go!

Yesterday was a NSD for me as the only time I left the house was to drive FrugalSon in the ice ruts to work.

FrugalSon found a nickel in the laundry to add to the challenge.

$20 CHALLENGE

$005.49 balance
+000.05 laundry donation
_______
$005.54 Jan MTD

2009 Challenge Total $005.54
Cumulative Challenge Total $1008.32

No, he's not in the doghouse. I start the clothes to washing and he moves them to the dryer and folds and puts away as part of his daily chores that come along with still living at home. He also does dishes on his nights off and every morning puts away the dried dishes from the night before. He's 22. For those of you just tuning in he also pays a small Room & Board stipend to the First National Bank of Mom Frugalis.

I am feeling some better. Yesterday I was dressed to shoes, with makeup done and everything and think I'll be able to get to the same level of alertness today. I do like the newish mucus relieving medication - sorry, this is gross, but it does thin the gunk so you can rid yourself of it. 3 Thumbs Up! Uhhh, yeah, well, I didn't say it doesn't make you loopy! So....ummm yeah, Two Thumbs Up!

Yesterday I was feeling so much better that I got about 10 items listed on ebay. And woke up this morning to see that one of Hubster's computer peripheals did sell and he's busy packing it up now for shipping tomorrow. It was one of four sets he had bought for resale, so at least he's on his way to paying back the CC.

And a few of the things he had listed on Craigslist have sold as well. YEAH HUBSTER. My deal with this is not that we don't have room, but that technology moves at such a fast pace that it's better to move it along while it is still viable!

FrugalSon is down with this creeping-crud now. CashHappySon came by to pick up his **OMG $968 OMG** cell phone bill & several letters from the bank on overdraft charges!! Did I say OMG? O.M.G.!!!

The boychild is one stubborn kiddo and will only learn his lessons the hard way. Of course the cell phone company cut your phone off! What the holy-heck do you do to rack up a $968 phone bill???????

Yesterday was a No Spend Day!