Mind Games & Dining Out Treats



Yesterday I finished reading 'Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman' by Elizabeth Buchan which was pretty cute. This book was a gift. It's still in perfect shape so will be re-gifting for Christmas to someone else on my list. Currently reading 'A Random Walk Down Wall Street', which I picked up for a quarter at a garage sale this past week.

Yesterday FrugalSon went to work in his costume. He went as a Manager from his place of employment at burgercentral. The managers in this operation all wear a different color shirt and a tie. Funny thing is that everyone thought that he had been promoted which just blew a few of their lil' minds!

heheeheee!!

I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall in the break room. He hasn't been employed there all that long, maybe 6-8 months. Can't you hear their wheels spinning, "To think that newbie could have been promoted over me!" I loved that he came up with the idea all on his own. Too cool!

CashHappySon gave me $2.16 for Piggy. Plus he took me out to eat at a local chicken place yesterday for lunch and treated me to a $1.09 sausage biscuit from Braum's this morning as we were out running his errands.

$20 CHALLENGE
00.00 balance
+2.16 generous son
_____
$2.16 November Month To Date

Cummulative Total $72.70

It's Soooo Rewarding!



Just noting that today I requested online a $20.00 rewards check payout on my Discovercard. They said it will take 5 to 7 days to appear in my checking. Just wanting to note here when it was requested so I can count down the days to see how quick they are.

I bet they don't slow down on drawing my payment out of the checking though! This is the first time I've done an online request for this.

Anticipating money = good feeling as long as it doesn't take too long! I'll log it as inflow when the money clears my account.

Also of note today I made a payment on the mortage of 404.03. Will update on the right when it posts.

Deposited 20.45 today from the October Challenge - a mysterious .07 cents made it into Piggy this month as I only logged 20.38 as income. You gotta love a good mystery!

I spent about 4.00 today out of my allowance as I had already wiped out the October grocery budget and after yesterday's freezer fiasco I needed some hamburger for tonight's dinner and an onion, plus I got myself some Vitamin A&D (1.67) which really helps me along with Vitamin B6 & E to fight off the cold/runny nose/mucus/sore throat thing when it starts to creep up during the winter months. I had run out of A&D and I don't like to head into cold weather without it!

So, at first twinge I dose myself up w/2 B6's, 2A&D, and 2E's. By morning my head is 99% of the time cleared up. If not totally clear then a dose of one of each for the next few days usually zaps any crud that is trying to jump on me!

There you have it - L.L.Frugalis' cold remedy. Anything that gets past those vite-viti-vege-mums requires a dose of the Hot Toddy (hot whiskey, honey and lemon) and some Vicks Vapor Rub to the chest just for the Mom effect.

Go, and cough no more!

For The House-October Challenge Met

FrugalSon came up with .61 to add to the $20 Challenge. "For the house, Mom!" Thanks kiddo!



Yesterday I found a penny while I was out taking the last lap of my bean breaks (all five done yesterday as well, and two down today!) How did I step over that penny the other 9 times yesterday? I live on a road that gets about zero foot traffic and very very little road traffic!!

$20 CHALLENGE
19.76 balance
+0.01 walk penny
_____
19.77
+0.61 For the House
_____
20.38 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $70.47

Sticking Back Right Now



I'm taking $7.00 out of my wallet right NOW and feeding it to Piggy for the $20 Challenge. No way do I want to miss the mark on meeting the challenge. Surely the rest will come in by the 31st.

$20 CHALLENGE
12.76 balance
+7.00 NOW
_____
19.76 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $69.85

Hey Big Spender - How Consoling!!



The Hubster gave me a quarter out of his console this morning when I told him the month was near to closing out and it looked like I might not meet my challenge this month.

What a trooper!

$20 CHALLENGE
12.51 balance
+0.25 console
_____
12.76 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $62.85

Offer Accepted



CashHappy son brought me an offering of .08 cents.

$20 CHALLENGE
12.43 balance
+0.08 accepted
_____
12.51 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $62.60

Tidying Up


Photo Credit: DegnoDiAnima

Just clearing out the change section in my wallet.

$20 CHALLENGE
12.31 balance
+0.12 tidy up
_____
12.43 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $62.52

Gratuitous Mentions In Movieland



CashHappySon was feeling rather generous yesterday and took me out to the movies where we saw 'Employee of the Month'. Slacker finds redeeming benefits of work in the quest to get the girl (Jessica Simpson).

It was 'cute' but there were WAY TOO MANY references to ahemmm....'men's testicular area'.

Well!

The movie would have been much better in my opinion without all of that. I'm no prude and I would have probably not thought too much of it if the words had been used once or even twice in the script. But come on people, after about the 10th or 12th time already - ENOUGH!!!

Oh and don't forget the 'MUST HAVE' for teen movies - the ubiquitous fart joke!

Please.

Afterwards CashHappy wanted a maltie thing w/M&M's in it. We went to Carls Jr.'s and got in their drive thru line but he only had $6.00 left and was going to buy for the group. Their malts w/additions were $2.89 each so after careful calculations on his part we bolted out of line and moved on down the street. In the end he bought The Hubster, myself and himself .99 cent Frostys from Wendy's ("After all Mom, you guys deserve some stuff sometimes." - the boy's quite the orator, eh??)and we added our own M&M's from home!

Then he gave me .11 cents of the change to add to Piggy.

FrugalSon was working during all this and missed the day's entertainment. He's the 'word police' around here and wouldn't of enjoyed it anyway. We did save him some 'Smoked Piggies In A Blanket' for a late night snack.

Shhhhh! Don't tell Piggy we're eating his relatives.

$20 CHALLENGE
12.20 balance
+0.11 entertainment droppings
_____
12.31 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $62.40

Treasure Chest

In cleaning out the sunroom in order to make the new recliner fit in (tiny room - BIG OL' HONKING CHAIR) I found a little treasure cask w/ $1.84 of mostly dimes.



$20 CHALLENGE
10.36 balance
+1.84 treasure cask
_____
12.20 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $62.29

Bowling for Dollars


Jesus was a Bowler??

CashHappySon went bowling with his grandparents and brought me home change of $1.96 to add to Piggy. S.T.R.I.K.E.!

Jesus was a Bowler?? Who knew?

FrugalSon helped me scrub the stove today and get the house ready to receive the new reading chair I bought for myself!

It's one I've been searching for - for about two years now. Bought it from my Mom! Ha! They'd only had it about a year when they decided to build a new house and it didn't fit in the new, so had been in storage. When I went to visit Sunday/Monday they were having a garage sale.

I had thought it would cost me about $600 to buy what I wanted, but got this recliner that looks like a great comfy club chair for 200.00. I've been saving up so I'm good with the purchase as it was well within my budget.

It is my new domicile. When you can't find me? I'm in the sunroom, reading! Do Not Disturb!


$20 CHALLENGE

$08.40 balance
+01.96 bowling for dollars
______
$10.36 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $60.50

Digging out the Winter Jackets



Well I dug out one of my winter jackets this weekend that I haven't worn in about two years. In the pocket was .60 cents.

$20 CHALLENGE
$7.80 balance
+0.60 pocketchange
_____
$8.40 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $58.54

OINK - Piggy Eats Roughage

To add to the $20 Challenge, CashHappySon brought me two dollar bills to feed Piggy. Piggy's happiest when he gets some folding money each month to eat! OINK!



$20 CHALLENGE
$5.80
+2.00 roughage
_____
$7.80 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $57.94

THREE DIGITS

CashHappySon brought me home 3 quarters, 2 dimes and a nickle for Piggy and the $20 Challenge.



$20 CHALLENGE
$4.80
+1.00 three digits
_____
$5.80

Cummulative Total $55.94

CashHappySon & Mystery Man Donate



There is a dime laying here on my keyboard that ???SOMEONE??? had hidden under a water bottle cap. The Man of Mystery has struck again!

Then CashHappySon just woke up kissed me on the forehead and told me that he fed Piggy last night with fifteen cents.

Ta-da - Up goes the $20 Challenge!

$20 CHALLENGE
4.55 balance
+.10 mysteryman
____
4.65
+.15 night-feeder
____
4.80 October MTD

Cummulative Total $54.94

Taco Bell Leftovers



Leftovers. Don't you just love them? I do when they're this kind of leftovers.

No. Not the kind you're thinking...

To the $20 Challenge I'm adding $2.30 that I had left from the $4.00 from FrugalSon's short-term loan payoff. I spent the other at Taco Bell yesterday!

$20 CHALLENGE
$2.25 balance
+2.30 leftovers
_____
$4.55 October MTD

Cummulative Total $54.69

Even I Don't Believe This One!!



True story! Okay yesterday I took CashHappySon to the ortho and found a penny right under the door when I got out of the car. That's beleivable enough, but today I found .10 outside in the dog food bowl. REALLY? Really! How did that get there one has to ask? I dunno.

Last night while I was in my nightie I set their bowls outside as they were attracting bugs and so outside they went. There are no pockets on the nightgown.

Filled the dog dishes this morning while still in said nightie.

Today, the painters came with their powerwasher. They moved everything away from the house to powerwash so MAYBE the dime fell out of one of their pockets?

After they left I let the dogs out and was wandering around the yard looking at the powerwashing handiwork and happened to glance down to see if I needed to put out more dogfood.

What do I see?? Said dime.

I just laughed and thought - nobody on the blog is gonna believe this one!

The dog dish! Imagine.

FUNNY!! Going to the $20 Challenge.


$20 CHALLENGE
2.14
+.01 Ortho penny
+.10 dog food dime
____
2.25 MTD

Cummulative Total $52.34

First National Bank of Frugalis



On Saturday I loaned FrugalSon 3.50 in quarters to wash and vacumn his truck. This morning he paid me back $4.00. When I asked him if he needed change back or would he like to contribute the .50 to the $20 Challenge he voted to feed Piggy today! YEAH FrugalSon.

Now this is the kind of interest I like earning on my money!

$20 CHALLENGE

1.64 balance
+.50 loan interest
____
2.14 MTD

Cummulative Total $52.23

Enticed Him With Those Cookies I Did!!



The Hubster is finally on board (at least temporarily) with the $20 Challenge and has made a very generous donation of .37 cents this afternoon! Must of been those cookies I made the other day! Soon I'm going to have to instigate Donor Levels.

Frugal-lite = donations under 50 cents
Frug Meister = donations 50 cents to 99,999.99
King Frugal = donations over 100,000.00

Oh well you get the picture. Those seeking to make a donation may write me privately off the board!

Today The Hunkster (I mean Hubster) even helped me clean out the hidey-hole room of the basement and set it up with tables so we can price some stuff for either a garage sale in the next week or so OR early next spring. This weekend we got 15+ (I stopped counting) bags of leaves & limbs bagged up {Ima - rethink that wooded property there is lots of upkeep on this kind of land too!}; rocks up against bases on one of the long fences; extra rocks and bricks stacked neatly; the banana trees taken up and stored away; holes they came out of filled in; the extension ladder put away for the winter, a siding tile down that was rotting so I can go try to find another before the painters come; the washer tubs put away and hoses coiled up (leaving them out til the painters get thru) and the outside is beginning to look 'winterized'. Phhheeewwweeee, we are tired now! What a man, What a MAN!! All that, good looks and money too!

He found and killed two snakes in all the leaf piles! MY HERO!

$20 CHALLENGE

1.27 balance
+.37 in-house donation
____
1.64 MTD

Cummulative Total $51.73

One Fourth of a Dollar



CashHappySon just donated .25 towards feeding Piggy. This is my Challenge money.

$20 CHALLENGE

1.02 balance
+.25 fourth of a dollar
____
1.27 MTD

Cummulative Total
$51.36

Bubble Up! FREEDOM



While FrugalSon and I were at the Car Wash yesterday morning before the Car Show I found two pennies. Adding them to the $20 Challenge.

Also found while there a punch card for a FREE hot dog at the local Coney place which already has some punches on it! I think it's 10 purchases for a FREE hotdog and it's a place I already spend at but no one's ever offered me a punchcard there, so future FREE food, gotta love it.

CashHappySon gave me a gamepiece for an Instant Win FREE Breakfast Sandwich at his place of employment!

Had forgotten that the Block Party would have FREE food. So the four of us had FREE hotdogs, nachos and pop yesterday while there.

I did spend yesterday - $2.61 at Taco Bueno for myself a supper. Fixed everybody else french bread pizzas.

$20 CHALLENGE

1.00 balance forward
+.02 car wash
____
1.02 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $51.11

Bottom's Up!



Turned the purse inside out and upside down and found .31 cents for the $20 Challenge!

$20 CHALLENGE
0.69 total
+.31 Bottom's Up
____
1.00 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $51.09

Dime Dime Do-diddy De-Dime Dime!


Change leftover from a burger run AFTER son's employee discount left me with a dime to add to the $20 Challenge.


Photo Credit: Bee

$20 CHALLENGE

00.59 balance
+0.10 Do-diddy Dime
_____
$0.69 Oct MTD

Cummulative Total $50.78

More Ground Pickin's


CashHappySon gave me .58 cents to feed Piggy for the challenge. Also from ground pickin's!! Did you hear Piggy squeal? It's been a day or two since we fed him anything!!

$20.00 Challenge

0.01 seed money
+.58 ground pickin's
____
0.59 Oct MTD

Brownie Magic

Picture Credit: Palmer Cox

Does anyone besides me remember the neat Brownie pictures that were in the old Junior Great Books and The Book House? Neat illustrations of the Brownies by Palmer Cox. I enjoyed looking at those pictures for hours as a kid. So many details...similar to (but far better than) the Where's Waldo type pics. Those Brownies were such busy little creatures.

This morning I was counting Piggy's gluttony and ending the September books on the $20 Challenge. Looks like somebody mysteriously stuck .06 into piggy during the month of September!

Bookie did you sneak in here??? Bookie as a Brownie! Ha!

Anyway those six coppers boosted the September $20 Challenge to $28.04 total. Cummulative total for the $20 Challenge is now $50.09 and off we go towards October. Left .01 cent in Piggy for seed money!

So little Brownies feel free to feed Piggy every night! A Piggy gets awfully hungry long about midnight and four a.m., don't ya know?!!?

And Bookie while you're here, the silver sure could stand a good polishing!

Read The Brownies Canoeing here:
http://members.tripod.com/box_of_delights/canoe.html

!!!EXCITEMENT!!!New Amortization Feature



Well, that certainly isn't a very exciting title, but I can tell you what is exciting...IF you are a Countrywide mortgagee like myself and The Hubster.

While checking to make sure that our payment had posted correctly (yes, anal - so what!! You guys are too! That's why I love you so much!!) I noticed something I hadn't earlier.

Countrywide has recently (when??) added a new feature. Calculators that let you play around with the actual numbers to see what your results would be if you made additional payments on a one time basis, or on a monthly basis, etc. and it projects out your earlier payoff dates.

I LOVE THAT!!

Especially as The Hubster and I would love to enter our 'golden years' mortgage free and smiling!

I have routinely added extra to our mortgage from day one. Yes, literally day one. Immediately upon closing I made out a check and gave it to the closer to be applied! They hated me on sight!

Well, actually they respected me, but still...the envy / confused / hate looks were there. Why not just add extra to the down payment? Read John Avanzini (sp?) book on debt reduction.

Anyway...back to today, we've always added a bit extra on each payment which wasn't always easy, but we've done it.

Usually it's only been in the $12-25 range as that was truly all we could afford (back then there was too much car & CC debt) but it has helped.

If we continue w/my minimum current extra principal buydown rate we'll have the mortgage paid off by May 2013.

If I double that (may be relatively easy with my still-new $20 Challenge money) it will payoff in December of 2012.

BUT IF I can continue paying the same amount of interest money thrown off by the Money Market account, plus my challenge money, plus the extra we've always done it should fall away in Sept of 2011. Eleven months before our projected retirement date of August 2012. YEAH TEAM FRUGALIS!!!

But I think all of you, like us, who've paid off our credit card debt will agree that as you see that light broadening at the end of the tunnel, that things ramp up and somehow money comes from out of the blue and it just MIGHT go quicker than that! Here's hoping!!

Crossing my fingers! Because the more months ahead of retirement we pay it off -- the more we'll have to stick back for those early transition days from paycheck income to retirement income.

Anywho...if you're a Countrywide customer run on over online and check out their new calculators right there w/your own account information. I think you might get happy if you can find some extra dollars to throw at the mortgage!

Polka Everybody!!



Updating the mortage balance over on the right as October's payment has now posted.

On the 29th of September I was able to apply $253.04 extra to my principal in addition to my regular payment of 353.96. Part of this extra - $22.04 came from the August $20 Challenge Money and part from some of August & September's interest on the Money Market account.

August balance 24,882.58
September balance 24,630.49
October balance now 24,162.04! OH YEAH!!

Belly up to the bar folks, as it's time to roll back that balance!! Root beer for everyone!!

Nifty Fifty PLUS!!



Take a good look at that picture and tell me why you wouldn't want to keep up with it? Some people think change is useless. Well, I beg to differ with them!

So, who would think that they could come up with more than fifty dollars in two months time just from loose change that floats by?? Not me! But it's happened.

I mean, I knew that little bits of change add up, but $50 smackers?

CashHappySon handed me .68 cents last night from his 'drive-thru' change found on the ground collections. That put me over the $50 mark. Well, I'm happy to be the recipient!! Thank ye! Thank ye!!! Wheee-doggies, I like FREE money! Don't you???

$20 CHALLENGE

27.30 balance
+0.68 ground pickin's
_____
27.98 Sept MTD

$50.03 Cummulative Total

Mystery Money


Allrighty who put this 3 cents on the ironing board??? Anyone? Nobody knows where it came from??? Really???? You're joshing me right? Going Going GONE! Sold to the Lady with the Piggybank!

I've asked all three of the gentlemen that I live with and none of them claims to being the culprit. Pretty sure the dogs didn't do it.

Must of been The Hubster. I keep asking him if he wants to contribute any of his change to Piggy to fuel the $20 Challenge for accelerated mortgage payoff. So far he has been unwilling to part with any of his change. We are both on a pretty tight allowance so I can understand his reluctance.

BUT-I think he put the change there but doesn't want to be 'SEEN' contributing as I would want him to do it again!!! Ha! He knows me so well.

Okay, I asked and nobody else claimed it so off to Piggy it goes.

$20 CHALLENGE
27.27 balance
+0.03 Mystery Contribution
_____
27.30 Sept MTD

Cummulative total $49.35

I think I'll just artfully arrange Piggy a place to sit on the ironing board, just in case anyone else feels like mysteriously slipping in some gold coins or folding money!!

Or just maybe I should plant some ideas with seed bills on the inside laundry line?? Marked bills of course, just in case somebody got the wrong idea!

I'm High Stepping Now!!



Just now got on the phone with my mortgage company and got a little booboo on their part straightened out (it only took 3 of them to figure out their loverly accounting and be able to explain it to my satisfaction -- and they wonder why I'm confused!! HA!!!) and while there I finally made the extra principal payment from our money market interest that The Hubster finally agreed to release all to the tune of 253.04 extra to principal. YEAH TEAM FRUGALIS!!

This includes August's 22.05 - 22.04 = .01 left in piggy as seed money from the $20 Challenge. It won't post until the 29th when I'll get back online and update the totals over at the side.

The sound of wonderful.

"WOOPEEDEE!!!"


And before you ask -- the answer is...

Nope. Definitely not. Although that does kind of look like the reform school (I mean jr. high) I busted out of!

Lockbox Gives Up


Found .39 cents in the lockbox. Who put change in there?? Moving it to the $20 Challenge!

26.88 balance
+0.39 lockbox
_____
27.27 Sept. MTD

Total $20 Challenge $49.32