Viewing the 'RV Land Travel' Category
Stirring the Pot
October 30th, 2009 at 11:52 amAs I'm often likely to do towards the end of the month, I went online and rounded up these accounts, just to stir up a bit of the juice in the old interest pot and decrease the leftover flotsam in my personal checking!
RV Land Travel Fund - strictly in savings form
$232.34 10/9/2009 balance
+002.66 eye of Benjamin
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$235.00 new balance
Houseboat Fund - riding the waves of DOW
$407.54 10/9/2009
-019.70 investments down - hex on the WallStreet gurus & their Congressional familiars (not to worry I still have the shares in good stuff - think DCA, steady DRPs)
+002.16 root of Money Plant (come on, 7 come 11, baby needs a new pair of deck-shoes!)
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$390.00 new balance
I used to own one of these cool granny pots pictured above. I paid $80 for it and used it for years and years in my yard for Harvest parties & other picnics. We'd build our fire INSIDE of it and use it to roast weinnies & marshmellows and keep our backsides warm and our fingers de-iced! Great fun. I sold it a few years ago, but I wish I still had it - I think I'd like to hold our elected officials feet to the fire over the current economy!! And I'm sorry to say to all her fans, but Nancy Pelosi* is looking rather witchy to me lately!
*Might as well stir the political pot while I'm at it!
edited later to add:
Pelosi - Can't always get what you want
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28919.html
It's ALWAYS Something - Keep Vigilant!
October 17th, 2009 at 07:29 pmNot 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!
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$020.77 Oct MTD
2009 Challenge Total $983.05
Cumulative Challenge Total $2036.81
Updating RV Land Travel Fund
October 10th, 2009 at 12:37 amMaybe a VW Love Bus?
October 2nd, 2009 at 03:40 pmOR???
No, but close - I think I'd rather have a Westy - otherwise known as a VW Westfalia or maybe a Vanagon (I'm such a newbie to these vehicles to not know if they are one and the same or two different models) to travel about in. That is, in order to go stealth boondocking in my future travels. No way will I get anything close to new. A used one will have to do. New ones are wayyyyyy PRICEY! Ouch. No, I'd rather have some $$'s left to actually go some place in it!
Watch this great family's video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKxzQCpm__U
Their trip reminded me of my own two dalliances through Honduras. Fun & interesting (political) times! I met many soldiers during the Sandinista conflicts.
While we were gone to my Dad's the other day I finally deposited the $25 from the sale of the cooker. I love my local bank as it has branches all across my state and everywhere I go in state - there it is! Very helpful at times. Wouldn't work for long distance travel though if you're having to pay ATM fees. Before I took off, I'd have to get somewhere nationwide I suppose.
Since my other funds are coming along nicely for beginner funds, I think I'll boost the RV Land Travel fund for a bit. Taking the $25 and putting it in there.
$142.50 balance
+025.00 BBQ bye-bye
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$167.50 new total**
**{edited to add: I forgot about the $12.00 autodraft that went in yesterday and the interest that was posted, so let me add that in for a New New Total! Went and upgraded next month's & future autodrafts to $12.50. A nicer, rounder number. Maybe one day soon, I can swoop on up to $15! Remember what I tell all the beginners? INCH BY INCH baby!!
$167.50 new total
+000.15 9/31 interest
+012.00 Oct 1 autodraft
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$179.65 New NEW total! Yeah!}
for more info on Westy living:
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/~jag/vw/gen/living.html
and here:
http://cheaprvliving.com/Young_Sonja.html
~~~
LAST YEAR on LuxLivingFrugalis:
http://luxliving.savingadvice.com/2008/10/
Round Up Sunday - Not A Church Activity
September 27th, 2009 at 08:48 pmMany churches have a western wear day that they call Round Up Sunday where they make an effort to 'round up' members who've been absent for a long time by making a concentrated effort to invite them. This is NOT what I'm talking about.
But, this is...
After lunch today, I'm cruising into my online savings accounts just looking around, checking rates, etc. and decided to play Round Up. Do you ever do this?
Here's some for examples:
Driver's License Renewal Fund (for me & Hubster)sitting there with $45.05 in it and I made an online transfer of $4.95 to round it up to $50.
Clothes Fund for me (I could care less about clothes) was sitting at $10.01 so I sent off 2.49 to round it up to $12.50. One of these days I'll need a new pair of tennis shoes, and this is where the money will come from. Recently bought 'foundation garments' so it's rather low at the moment.
I rounded up the RV Land Travel Fund by $1.51 making it now have $142.50.
I rounded up the Houseboat Fund by $7.19 making it $375.00.
...and so on in various and assorted accounts.
Of course these numbers won't last as we're getting ready to end the month and interest will be added, and my automatic contributions will be going in too, but usually every couple of months I just go in and toss some random 'Round Up' number in there to keep it growing. I'm rather broke at the end of this particular month, so there's not much going, but every little bit counts.
These are all accounts that I make regular monthly contributions into anyway as they are part of my regular budgeting process. I know it makes for additional banking entries but it's not that big of a deal, ya' know?
Do you ever play Round Up into savings accounts? Why or why not? Are you doing this regularly or randomly?
Today is a No Spend Day.
Hubster sold an old stereo piece of equipment today on Craigslist for $15.
The Open Roads Are Calling ME!!!
September 24th, 2009 at 07:55 pmAre you guys watching the PBS series on the US's National Parks? Watched an episode or two last night about it and the lodges that are in them and am re-inspired for more land travel. As discussed in a previous post about having a houseboat I mentioned that I'd like to one day own a small Toyota type RV and I stated that this desire/goal was going unfunded.
Today while I was out on the web looking around rate shopping (still have money sitting in Money Market account earning diddly that needs moving) I looked at my ING account. You know I had a big hoo-ha with ING at one time, BUT, I've been having $12 a month autodrafted into there for a while now and it didn't really have a goal. So, today I went in and gave it a new nickname and goal - RV Land Travel.
Current balance is $140.99. It's earning 1.30% APY. Meaning about .15 a month right now. Ehhh, well. It now has a reason for being!
Going over to the sidebar to set up a new tracking section for it. I am ready to hit the National Parks trail.
Unfortunately my wallet isn't quite as ready as I am! Oh, and have you noticed? All my current goals have to do with travel or motion of some type? I, being gypsy-hearted like to go go go, yet Hubster could care less if he ever gets out of the yard!
Updating Houseboat Fund Numbers
September 16th, 2009 at 01:30 amHouseboat Fund-w/Sharebuilder
This money is invested and has been being added to at the rate of $5 a month. Because it's invested in can flucuate up and down. As of today 9/15/09 I'm upping the monthly automatic investments to $30 a month, so it might begin to grow a bit faster.
$250.36 12/31/08
$254.57 01/31/09
$260.37 02/31/09
$265.38 03/31/09
$294.34 04/30/09
$327.81 05/31/09
$313.39 06/30/09
$333.76 07/31/09
$342.58 08/31/09
$373.94 09/15/09 today's balance
edited to add picture for Land Travel Dream which is currently going unfunded!
Today and yesterday were no spend days - making up for all the spending done while my California relatives were here visiting!