I am so glad today is Friday. After two weeks of juggling work, hospitals, grandbabies, garage cleaning, etc. I am worn out..and to top it off, I think I picked up a bug of some sort along the way- or else there really is an elephant sitting on my chest! My voice is toast. I sound like a pubescent teen boy.

BLEH!

The hub got home last night, but I just saw him for about two minutes this morning before heading off to work. The big bed was overflowing with little ones last night....



so the poor hub just slept on the couch.

On Sunday, I am hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the front door and we are going to have quiet time!!

SIL got out of the hospital today. We still dont have pathology results to know if he will be having chemo, but at least he is well enough to go home!

The hubs paycheck was $372 more than budgeted this week. In addition, the electricity bill was $80 less than budgeted...so I paid an extra $500 to CC4. I am on track to have that debt below $5k by year end!

Paying down debt really impacted my credit score. It has jumped 66 points in a little over 2 months! I am now what my credit union calls an A+ "borrower", although I have no plans to borrow!! (I started as a B)

My son's kids (ages 5 and 3) are in town. DD1 came and snatched them before I got off work so that they could play with their cousins. She is bringing them back in about an hour...I can't WAIT to see them!!

The tax checks cleared my account today. I paid the 2012 tax bill, plus my first quarter 2013 estimated taxes.

I am going to chat with the hub when he gets home about the long term finanial plan. The value on the city house is climbing back up, rather quickly. If it gets back to the price I paid for it, I may put it on the market. Saving that house payment would equal an earlier retirement- which somedays sounds very nice. When I add it up, my paychecks go towards the house and added expenses from it, the expedited debt repay, (which will be done by about year end), and the higher tax bracket we are in. Perhaps there is a better way if we think outside the box...look beyond what is comfortable and 'known' and consider the possiblities of "what if"...

Things will be changing at my job in June. I will finally get two extra employees to help with all that I am currently juggling., which should help with the stress. So I want to wait until at least then before making too many decisions, but the workload is just incredible, and if something doesnt give, I am ready to call 'Uncle".

SIL is getting better by the day. He still hasnt heard about the lymph nodes or whether chemo is in the future.

The hub will be home in three days. Its been 5 weeks..so ready to have him home for his two week break!!

I started on the garage today. Right now I am sorting through my parents things. At least all the things that were brought here.

My dad was an interesting man. He liked containers, and containers for his containers...and to put things in containers, which lived inside bigger containers. Papers in plastic files inside of accordian folders inside of containers. He really liked the faux leather zip pouches. They kept every piece of paper that ever entered their house. But it wasnt organized...except for some of the receipts that were in plastic things, inside of .....

So, I have had to touch every piece of paper. Boxes of paper. Junk mail, medical bills, birth and death certificates, family records all mixed together. It is quite a task, but I am halfway through their stuff and have a small box of keep papers, a bigger box of keepsakes and three huge boxes of shred, toss and donate.

Opening some of the envelopes was tough...Christmas cards they gave each other- those are in the keep pile. A reminder of the love they shared. Stacks and stacks of medical bills- my parents both had poor health the last few years...if you smoke, please consider quitting, it is not worth it. The bills are all in the shred pile.

COntainers and file folders and accordian folders, and tin boxes, and little glass containers, etc..etc..a BIG box of them are in the donate pile.

It is a bittersweet task, but I am committed to getting through this stuff so that I can declutter and clean the garage. So far, no creepy crawly things have challenged me..but I am wearing gloves and using caution with each new box.

I have a long ways to go, but the journey always starts with that first step.

You know that first day...after youve been sick...when you FINALLY feel human again. Yeah, today was so "that" day. Woo hoo!

Confession time. Earlier today, I was looking at the budget and looking at the hubs paycheck..and I had less than frugal thoughts. (you know those thoughts..) So, I quickly posted my previous post and updated my sidebar so that I was COMMITTED to sticking to my plan. Without knowing it..my SA friends helped hold me accountable today. Once it was posted, it was true and real and I had no option but to transfer the whole amount to the CC payment, which I did. Without blogging and tracking here, I know I wouldnt be as faithful to debt repayment. I simply cant believe the difference posting my sad, but honest truth on the sidebar has made. Any time I am tempted or unsure about the right thing, I remember the sidebar and the goal is crystal clear again. Seriously, it has been my eye opener, and what finally pulled my head out of..... the sand.

Tomorrow is Friday, which means date night with one of the grandkids. This week it is my little 4 year old granddaughter. I always look forward to date nights- there is just something special and irreplacable about one-on-one time. And the cool thing, its about spending TIME together, not about spending money.

And whoever said you cant teach an old dog new tricks hasnt seen this gramma MASTER the hubs truck. Ok, so it jerks after I shift into 2nd gear, and it takes forever to find reverse...I think I am doing GREAT, considering I was scared to death of the darn thing a week ago.

The hubs paycheck this week was a whopping $577 more than we planned, which went towards CC#4.

I woke up this morning to little Z patting my cheek, smiling at me and saying "ake up gma". Happy Easter to me! What a memory to treasure. He slept next to me last night and inched me right off the king sized bed during the night- but after I moved to the other side I got some sleep. (just a note to self...bio fam did not call Z this weekend. No attemp to wish him a happy Easter, whatsoever.)

DD1 had a houseful for brunch. There were 16 of us and we enjoyed a full spread of eggs, sausage, bisquits, gravy, hashbrowns, fruit and juice. After we ate, the adults hid eggs and I did dishes. Then, all the kids went and hunted eggs. Egg hunting is always such fun, no matter what age you are. Z found his share, and continued looking long after the originals were all found and everyone else was done. DD3 kept rehiding eggs behind him and he was entertained for a long time. The older kids had so much fun with each other. There is nothing quite like cousin time when you are young.

DD1 bought everything for breakfast- so I chipped in $40 towards the bill. I was so greatful that she hosted the morning that I didnt mind paying for lion's share of the food.

I came home to an empty house. DD3 went to visit a friend and will be gone a couple of days, so I have the house to myself. After a busy weekend, I was ready for a few hours to myself. I am still cleaning and decluttering, just not as fast today. I am putzing between reading, laundry and decluttering.

I made a big pot of black bean and chicken soup, which will be lunch and dinner for a couple of days. I still need to make oatmeal for breakfasts, but will do that after I get the soup cooled and put away.

I was channel surfing a little earlier and an Oprah Lifeclass show was on. Nick Vujicic was featured during the show. He is such an inspirational speaker. Each time I see him, I am inspired to be a better person.

Its been a beautiful day.

Today was a productive day.

After a fun date night with my 7 yo granddaughter last night, she woke up a little after 7am and we made some refrigerator cinnamon rolls- (a grandkid favorite- they were on sale, and at 10 minutes to bake, they were too easy to pass up after a long tiring week) Gramma had some much needed coffee too.

After her mom picked her up, I started cleaning the back patio. Last weekend I brought my vintage hutch in from out there and all the stuff that came out of it needed to either find a new home, be donated or tossed. (Most of it was tossed. I am very pleased with the results this afternoon! My patio is cleaned and swept, the patio furniture is scrubbed, toys are all organized and I am ready to spend some Spring time out there!

DD3 and I loaded up a big box and a bag full of Goodwill donations. Clothes, books, knicknacks, misc dishes, etc. We took the hubs truck (and I drove, to make sure I would be ok driving it). That went fine- Im not sure why I have always been intimidated by it. After dropping off the Goodwill stuff, we stopped by the dollar store and I got a few things to hand out to grandkids tomorrow. Just little stuff. Their moms are also starting their spring cleaning and have been donating/tossing as much as possible, so I didnt feel a need to buy more stuff. I spent $18, which was a candy, sidewalk chalk and a ball or bubbles each child. I also bought a new bucket to use for general cleaning and watering some of the plants here...(I noticed my old bucket had cracked and so it got tossed this morning).

We stopped for groceries that should last for most of the week ($58)- which is a big bag of chicken, some pasta, black bean soup fixins, milk, fruits and veggies.

DD2 asked if we (DD3 and I) could keep Z tonight. DD3 has missed him and wanted to spent time with him, not knowing how much longer we will have him..and so he has been here all afternoon. He is so stinking adorable. We watched "Wreck it Ralph"- a very cute movie, but at 2, Z is still pretty young to understand much of it...but he sat on my lap the whole movie laughed with gramma and kept telling me how funny it was. He conked out about an hour ago and is asleep in the big bed.

After Z wakes from his nap, DD3 will take over most of the babysitting tonight. I plan to read, finish laundry and tackle a closet or two.

I received the $208 check in the mail for the refund on the cabin reservation that I cancelled. I was hoping the refund would arrive without problem, and it did..Now to wait for the check to clear!

Today was a great day. Tomorrow we are all invited to DD1s for brunch. Then, I just plan to relax and enjoy the rest of the day here at home.

The hub's friend who is fixing my car called last night and said I could come and pick it up today. The new part wont be here for 5-7 days, but, since he is leaving on vacation, he put it back together and changed the steering fluid so it is drivable for short distances (back and forth to work). Either my SIL or the hub will replace the pump when it comes in. In the meantime, I will baby the car and use it only as necessary.

It is SO hard to be at work this afternoon. It is a gorgeous, sunny day. Unfortunately, my office gets too hot when the sun is out, so I have to keep the blinds closed- which means I cant even look out the window and enjoy the sunny-ness! I sure hope this weather carries over to tomorrow-.

Not much financial news this afternoon. Today was the hubs payday and everything went where it was planned to go.

I miss my car. I havent had time to try driving the hubs rig and have relied on DD3 taxi-ing me around. NOT fun.

The hub suggested last night that I should consider replacing my car so it doesnt start nickel and diming us. hmmm. This, from my mechanic husband... My car, a 2005 Kia Amanti, has only 85,000 miles on it. Ive owned it since 2007. I would hope there are still many good years left on it before we get to that point. However, I will definately track any problems with the car so that I we will know for sure. Aside from this week, the car is still in really good (cosmetic) condition and is very comfy to drive, so unless I really need to change, doing so is not on my near-future to do list. (Nor do I want it to be).

The hubs paycheck is $200 more than budgeted. However, he had a couple of charges on his visa that we payoff each month. The net extra is being absorbed into the food budget. Having DD3 living with me and not having a car have both added to convenience foods this week. Whatever is extra will go towards the car repair bill.

ZERO. CC#3 is finally at the magic number!

Now to work on the final debts. I was going to rebuild savings, but it stll does not make sense. The last unsecured debt I have is a visa at my job that is 100% accessible if there is an emergency...so I will apply all extra money there, until it is also PIF. Granted, putting everything towards this debt can give me a false negative (Christmas club $, vacation $, freedom acct $, etc..and the balance will vacillate accordingly...but every dollar saved there, means less interest charged to me in the long run.) It just means I have to TRACK every penny in and out of this account so that I stay on track.

While I am paying down this debt, normal payments will go towards the car...Speaking of the car, it will be about 8-10 days before I have it back and drive-able. Not having my car is no fun. The good news is that the bill to fix it will be under $200, which is well below what is in the car repair account, thank goodness!

11 hours, most of them in the car today. For a whole bunch of that time, radio was out of service area. What's a girl to do but solve all of lifes issues floating around in her brain.

My thinking theme today was the stress that clutter is putting my my life. I constantly shuffle and try to organize..only to do it all again and again. Its time to minimalize my possessions.

When I stopped for lunch, I made a starter list of all the things to go through and thin out:

Clothes
Books
DVDs
The toy closet
towels
vases
the garage
blankets and sheets
bathroom products that either didnt work, or I havent used
Kitchen gadgets

This is my starter list. Also on the side burner..the garage, old jewelry, miscellaneous storage drawers, old electronics and cords.

My goal is to end of with less of most of these items than I keep. Spring cleaning started tonight. I weeded through my dresser drawers and got rid of everything that doesnt work or that I dont use. Some was trash, some will go to goodwill. I succeeded on tossing more than I kept.

CC3 payment is pending...tomorrow I should have a nice ZERO balance. I havent heard anything about the car.

The coast was gorgeous again today. I had a late lunch with a beautiful ocean view. What a treat. However, after 11 hours, I was ready to be back home and in my jammies. (The ones that made the cut!)

Life is good!

I made reservations last week to stay in a 'rustic' cabin the first weekend in June. (Which is my birthday weekend) The hub had suggested it. We have never been to this lake and so I thought it would be fun.

Unfortunately, after I booked it, I started looking at reviews. Uh-oh. Complaint on top of complaint about the dirtiness (filthiness) of the cabins and the condition/broken-ness of the old furniture and appliances. And more complaints about the really bad service from the staff. To top it off, a friend said she camped there several years ago and the mosquitos were horrible. I really dont like mosquitoes...

So I called the hub back and asked why he suggested it. He said a co-worker fishes there...but has never stayed there. The hub wanted to watch a fishing derby that weekend. ACK. Not the birthday get-away I would have planned.

I called and cancelled the reservation today. They promise to return my deposit via check within 2 weeks. Hopefully, it will be that easy.
Note to self...check out the hubs suggestions from now on BEFORE booking.

I hope to learn what is wrong with my car this afternoon. And I really hope it can be fixed this week.

Tomorrow, CC#3 will be PIF. I sooo enjoy logging into the accounts and seeing ZERO balance owed, but that will take another couple of days after the payment transfers.

I scheduled a transfer to payoff cc#3 yesterday. Within a couple hours, I was driving my car and the steering went kaput. Not sure what happened- but the steering wheel no longer aligns with the tire direction and it is really hard to turn. I checked the power steering fluid- looks ok. Of course, the hub wont be home for 3 weeks. So, my sil is coming over tomorrow to take a look- and hopefully, this isnt a hugely expensive problem. Until it is fixed, I will have to drive the hubs tank of a truck that I have never driven.

:/

I am still committed to paying CC3 as planned.

I currently have $350 in the car repair fund, and I have money in my allowance savings that I can use. I really hope the car repair fund will cover whatever is wrong.

blasted Murphy...talk to the hand.

I returned the magazines I checked out last week to the library. So far so good, no late fees!

Date night with Gs (age 4) was fun last night. At one point he came up to me and said "gramma, I need to tell you a secret"...then he whispered in my ear "I love you so much" and followed with a sweet little kiss on my cheek.

So funny story..I went to the mall with my girls and grandkids today. GD (age 7) rode with me. On the drive we were talking about her style sense (mismatched bright striped socks, a lion print hat, etc.) and I told her she was 'fashion forward' and that gramma used to mismatch her socks on purpose in high school. We got to talking about what she could be when she grows up..fashion designer sounded boring..and I told her she could do anything she wanted, so long as she paid attention in school and did her best. I asked her what she thought she wanted to do....and she said...
"well, I can count to one hunderd while jumping on one foot"...lol. Nuff said...we then discussed her new stuffed animal that was joining us for the day.

I love kids. They can say the darndest things.

I have been pondering cc#3 a LOT lately.

Why am I slowly paying off that debt, when I could pay it off with savings and then rebuild savings.

If I pay the cc off now, I will still have about $5k in the emergency fund, and I will have the savings repaid by year end by paying savings back with the payment schedule I had planned for paying the credit card.

So, I did it. The payment is all set for Tuesday.

Now, not to hyperventilate too much.

The hub called last night with his schedule for the next few months. He is ending his 4/2 rotation, but not until the end of May. This means he will work one week more than I had thought...which means 1. a little more pay than I had budgeted for and 2. the budget I worked for the rest of the year had to be tweaked. The way his pay works is he gets: a partial payday, followed by 2-3 full paydays, followed by a partial payday, followed by 1-2 weeks of no payday- depending on if he is 3/3 or if he is 4/2. It makes budgeting interesting. But the way it tweaked everything worked well. Of course, any extra goes towards CC#3.

Tomorrow night is date night with my grandson (age 4) who loves all things McDonalds. Hopefully, a plan B will sound better to him and we can forego the golden arches. If the weather is nice, I will suggest the park and a dinner picnic, follwed by an ice cream cone on the way home.

I didnt realize that our library only checks magazines out for one week, with no renewals- which means they are due Saturday AND I cant put them in the book drop. So, the library is on my to do list Saturday. I dont think I will check out more magazines, however.

I put my name on the reservation list for Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. I have read his books before and thought a refresher would be good. I am #2 out of 2...so it will be about 5-6 more weeks until I get it. One of the novels I reserved put me at #117...that one will be a while...lol.



Update on Z:

Tomorrow was Z's permanency court date. DD2 has been preparing herself for the outcome. Today they called to tell her court was delayed, once again, until June, which is past the two year mark that Z has been with her (us). I am grateful for the extra time with him- in the meantime, DD2 feels like she is on an emotional rollercoaster. It is like peeling a bandaid off super slow.

I picked up the taxes from our accountant yesterday. I will need to pay $6700 for 2012 taxes by tax day..and also pay $1630 in quarterly taxes for the rest of the year. *choke*..I plan to pay quarterlies in April and June and then sit down with the accountant again and see what we will really owe for the remainder of the year to pay accordingly.

CC#3 on my sidebar is still going to be paid in full by the end of the year, whether or not I have to pull from ING to do it. AND I will make a dent in the 2014 debt payoffs by the end of the year.

How?

I cancelled the cruise and eliminated the big vacation line from the budget altogether. Until debt is paid off, we wont take one. (I left the small vacation budget that provides a means of a long weekend getaway here and there...)

I reduced our allowance budget by 25%. I eliminated all but a small deposit to savings each month, since we have our emergency fund already. I shaved from just about every line item possible to come up with the $530 per month needed to pay the extra quarterly taxes. And, I am continuing the original snowball payment amount on the debt.

Thankfully, our original budget had wiggle room in it and it wasnt too financially painful. I am so grateful that we did. AND...I am extremely happy that I used all the added income last month to pay down debt BEFORE learning about the taxes. Otherwise, I am afraid I would have used this as a convenient excuse to use the money for taxes.

So...there is the plan.

I am so glad it is Friday. Tonight is date night and it is Z's turn. I am very much looking forward to one on one time with him. Gramma needs to enjoy him while I can...

I had my appointment this morning with the financial counselor. He is also a trusted co-worker, so I have full confidence in his review and evaluation.

The short version is that I explained our debt and repayment plan, he looked at the social security, 401k and pension statements and used his fancy program to come up with a plan.

Of course, life doesnt always go as planned on paper- but he had really good news. He said that if we keep doing what we are doing (he felt we live fairly frugally for our income- yay!) that my goal of retiring at 60 is very much possible. AND he said that, again if all goes as planned, the hub could retire by 60-62 if he wanted to!!! Hurray! We have to stay focused and frugal...but he was very encouraging that it can work.

He was conservative in projections- did not include any equity growth in the homes. Although at 60, we will need to rent the home in town for either close to the payment, or sell it. Which hopefully by then should not be a problem.

He suggested considering upping our 401k contributions to lower our taxable income this year..AND then after debt is paid off, opening and contributing to Roth IRAs.

He did recommend looking into a good disability insurance plan for the hub.

Anyway... THAT is good news!!

The hub is on his way back to Alaska tonight. He got a nice surprise at the airport when he was upgraded to first class- since he flies so much he is on stand by for first class (upgrade free) and every once in a while he gets lucky!

Several weeks (a couple of months?) ago I decided to harvest my own green onions in a glass of water on the window sill. They are doing great. I have clipped them several times and I ALWAYS have fresh, organic green onions. However, once in a while I have to clean them off and out..and there is nothing worse than slimy green onions that have gone bad...yucky mess. Thankfully, I usually catch them before this point, but because I was gone last week, I had some past- that-point tonight when I weeded through them. Yuck. However, the rest are very happy and heathly and will produce lots more for my cooking and garnishments! Such an easy thing to do...and no more forgetting them at the store!!

There isnt much financial news to post about. All bills are set to payout on time between now and the end of the month. I have $5400 of the $6500 tax payment set aside for April 15th (and not a day sooner!) The rest will come out of our April 5th paychecks.

Update on Z

We got news today that there is a high likelihood that Z will be leaving us soon. His biological grand-mother, who lives several states away, will most likely get custody. My heart is broken for him, my daughter and her kids. But if the courts feel this is in his best interest, there is nothing else to do. We learn the final decision on the 22nd if not before. I hope and pray that he adjusts well to the change. Since we got back from California, he doesnt want DD2 out of his sight. So I cant imagine what losing her and the kids permanently and swiftly will do to him short and long term. Heartbreaking for one family...hopefully joyful news for another.

DD3 arrives home tomorrow at 6:30pm. I am excited to see her!!

I finaggled the budget, pulled the cruise savings out of ING (I refuse to call it the other name), and figured out how to payoff the tax bill by April 15th. And, I wont have to touch savings. $6500. poo. But, since there is no getting around it, I am grateful we have the means to pay it by the deadline.

I am not sure what the quarterly bill will look like, but I am hoping that I can squeeze the first quarter payment out of the budget...then we should be ok budget-wise. I was able to tweak things on paper and save $700 a month for a new quarterly tax bill. Next winter, when the hub is making extra in OT, I will be sure to set aside enough to cover this expense.

The good news is that I ddnt have to change much of the debt repayment plan. Vacation savings took a hit, as did extra savings for a few months..but I have a plan we can live with.

In May, I get to work over on the coast for 5 days, training staff. This means 4 nights at the condo!! When Im not training, I will get to work at the condo, enjoying that wonderful view. What's not to LOVE about that? My work will require at least 1-2 days a month there otherwise.

The hub leaves for Alaska on Wed for another 4 week rotation. On Thur, DD3 arrives home from hers. It will be nice to see her again!

Careful planning and I still managed to goof up. I brought my lunch today...all the makings for a roast beef sandwich...cept I forgot the bread. Today is a 9 hour work day, so not a good day to forgo lunch.

Then, out of the blue, I received a message from a co-worker that she had brought something for me to try today. She is Filipino, and boy can she cook! Every once in a while she will bring a little something for me to try...and today was awesome timing. It was a recipe she created- like an enchilada only not with tortillas, but with..well, egg roll wraps? filled with spicy ground pork, bell pepper, onion and potato..Whatever it was, it was super yummy...and free...and much appreciated-

but it was also breakfast AND lunch because I ...also failed to bring the oatmeal. Must be Monday.

I am on hour 9 of my workday, because I didnt take a lunch hour...and I am planning to work another hour. So, my 15 minute mental break is reading some blogs and writing this post.

I have to stop by the store on my way home to pick up a prescription...I have a prepaid medi card..so the stop shouldnt interfere with another no spend day...but then again, I will be at the store and...

I guess time will tell.

Ok, back to work for me.

Today was payday for the hub and I. I decided to move money from ING.... *ugh* I mean Capital One, to go ahead and payoff CC#2 today. I will transfer that money back to Capital One on the 8th and save whatever interest would have accumulated on the debt. I updated the sidebar. Total debt payoff in Feb is an all time one-month record for us... $11,264!!



I am eager to see what all of this does to our credit scores!

Now, on to cc#3!

The investment counselor gave me a to-do list before our meeting. I need to get the hubs most recent pension projection, our social security statements, current 401k information and investment options, and an idea of what our tax advisor suggests for Roth vs Traditional as far as tax bracket calcs.

The hub will be going to see our accountant while he is home to get our taxes done. Last year, we received a good sized refund- I anticipate that being the case again- potentially even more, since the hub was in Alaska more than half time and may not have to pay Oregon taxes??? Not sure, but I am eager to find out. I didnt calculate a refund into the debt payments, so whatever we get will go towards cc#3.

Tonight is my date night with my oldest GS (8). He is my carnivore who will want steak for dinner..so today will not be a no-spender.

A week from today we leave for our Cali/Disney trip. So much to do between now and then!!!

One of my (long?) term goals....my BHAG actually... is to retire at 60, if not sooner.

I currently contribute 8% to my 401k, which is the max that my job matches. (I love that they contribute this much, so nice!) I plan to raise my contribution amount once debt is paid off...In the meantime, I am embarrassed to admit that I set my investment options up years ago and have never changed them. This is primarily because I dont understand them. However, our job allows each employee a few hours a year to talk to an investment counselor for this very purpose. I have just never taken advantage of it.

So today, I emailed my investment profile to the counselor and set up an appointment for next month to get a solid plan in place. He briefly looked over my current investments and let me know that they need updating... since they currently conflict with each other. At least he didnt laugh.

He asked a few questions and pointed out that with the hubs pension (he is fully vested from the union job he left to go to the slope), what I currently have invested plus an additional 8 years of investing...plus 15-20 years left for the hub to work and invest (the hub is 7 years younger than me), we are in a good position to meet our goals. (yay!)

So, debts are being paid and I am getting the financial house in order to achieve the retirement goal. 8 years feels like a long time, but I know it will go quicker than I expect...and I very much want to be prepared.

Feels good to face the financial details head on and learn that it very well could work as planned.

BHAG = Big hairy a$$ goal...

Today was a no spend day. Actually, the last several days have been no spenders with the exception of Monday when I ordered the ironing board, which arrived this afternoon! How bad is it that you get excited about an ironging board--but I have gone without one for so long that it feels like a real treat to have one again.

I spent my lunch hour today working on our budget for the rest of the year. Because I am salary, my paychecks are the same every other week.

I budget the lowest amount that the hub has brought home each week to calculate his pay. The tough part is making sure I add the correct number of paychecks for the month, because he works 4/2 in the winter and 3/3 the rest of the year...which means every month is different.

I keep our budget on an excel spreadsheet with a different tab for each montn. Until today, I had projected through August, but now I have it through the end of the year. It is reassuring to see the budget for the whole year and to know the ebbs and flows for those months depending on how many weeks he actually gets a paycheck.

As I was working through it, I realized that I messed up in March and we will actually get a week of pay I hadnt budgeted for. That one week will pay for 3 of his airline tickets. Those tickets would have slowed down repayment of CC#3, but now that money will go there instead.

I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, but dinner tomorrow night will have to be creative. Perhaps a PB&J sandwich...but I bet I can stretch out at least one more no spend day..or two. Hmm...

I was playing with the budget today and realized that if all goes as planned, I will send the final payment for CC#2 on March 28th. (I am paying $500 this week and will have the final $2300 by end of March)

That means that in two months, we have paid just shy of $10,000 in debt off. WOW. We have primarily accomplished this with bonus money and over time- so this pace of repayment won't be sustainable all year, but boy, this is a jump start in the right direction.

The payments from those three debts equals $470 per month, which will snowball into the CC#3 starting in April. By the end of the year on that trajectory, CC#3 will be down to about $2500. Factoring similar overtime and bonus money next year, we could potentially pay it all off sometime next year- which is my stretch goal. (yay!)

Since yesterday was a Holiday, this is a four day work week. I may work either Sat or Sun this weekend so that I can take next Friday (1st) off to leave for our California trip. DD2 got it off, and an extra day to travel that far with the two grandkids sounds like a great idea! I have four big report-type projects due right after I get back, so I am in high gear this week and next to get them done before I leave. Working on a weekend would mean less interruptions and better focus- and I dont really have any plans this weekend.

I used this past long weekend productively. I cooked oatmeal and chicken for most of the weeks meals. Today will be another no spender. Preparation sure helps stay on a food budget. I also cleaned house and caught back up at home- since I am leaving the day after the hub gets home, I want to leave the house nice and tidy so that he can fully enjoy his home alone time.

Guess its time to double check the a to-do list to make sure I get it all done...

This is post #1200. WOW.

I actually wrote a nice long post this morning, but forgot to copy before submitting and poof...it was gone.



Yesterday afternoon I got to work from home. I needed to be here when UPS delivered our Disney package containing the tickets, etc. I left the office at lunch time and stopped by the store on the way home to pick up some groceries. While I was there, I noticed that they had cut flowers discounted (since it was the day after V-Day). I picked up two bundles of tulips at 1/2 off.. one pink and one white. I just love this combo. Even though they are a 'day old' they were perfectly fine and look beautiful. The photo above is not mine, but resembled my the color of my tulips perfectly!)

I don't buy cut flowers often..maybe twice a year. Since the hub wasnt here for V-day, I decided to treat myself.

DD3, who is working in Alaska, has a friend here that is a single mom- which means she is a young, single mom..just 21. Her son's first birthday was today. She and DD3 have been friends since they were 12, so she is like family- although this is one of the kids friends that Im not too close to. DD2, Z and I went to the party.

First, I was surprised by how much she spent on this party. She lives on next to nothing..and barely makes ends meet...often not having food at the end of the month. She used at least $175 on this party..she told us that the location, a kids activity center, cost $130 for a birthday room for an hour and the children attendees have free entry to the facility for the day. (the money came from her tax refund)..She bought trays of meat/cheese, veggies and dips, cupcakes, etc...aside from her mom and grandma, ONE other girlfriend showed up. Z and the birthday boy were the only kids there. I felt so bad for her. SHe was very disappointed...and must have regretted spending so lavishly.

I have DD1s kiddos over tonight. Her and SIL are having a date night. My gs has been asleep for an hour or so, and my gd is watching Hotel Transylvania and snacking on girl scout cookies (that SHE sold me )....expensive little cookies too.

Update on Z

There are a couple of important court dates coming this month. The first is for his mother. They are adding more charges- and she may be going back to jail.

The other is the first permanency hearing. This could go two ways- 1- they could extend moms time to rehab 3 more months..and 2- they could start permanency placement proceedings, which will kick his file to a committee to determine where he will live permanently. If 2 happens, it is highly likely, now that Z is past age 2, that he will stay with DD2 and she will get to eventually adopt. But there are no guarantees.

My wish is that no matter what happens Z has a chance to grow up in a loving, nurturing environment. He is such a sweet little boy.

The hub has been working a lot of OT lately. His paycheck tomorrow, is the biggest since he started working at this job almost 18 months ago..$959 more than budgeted. This will go to CC#2 and put us a FULL MONTH ahead on our debt repayment plan! I scheduled a payment for tomorrow for $1000.

Lunch ended up being free today. A team met at lunch time and there were leftover subway sandwiches up for grabs, so I took one and ate at my desk and read.

Tonight is my 'date' with the hubs aunt. It should be a fun night.

Tomorrow is Friday, but I dont have a date with a grandchild..instead, I am keeping DD1's two kiddos Saturday night so mom and dad can go out. This is a three day weekend, which I am looking forward to. I have some housework and laundry to catch up on since I was gone last weekend.

I received a notice today that the city house mortgage is being sold....to Ch#se. Ironically, the country house loan was orginally taken out at Ch#se. A few months back, one of the credit card accounts we have was assumed by Ch#se. I can't help but feel Ch#se is slowly gobbling up all things debt in my life. Thankfully, my goal is to rid my life of Ch#se for good- :/ Someday.

After a beautiful weekend, and a couple of long work days on the coast, I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. No matter how great the view and how wonderful the experience, there is simply no place like home.

Today was another no spend day. I just love those anymore!!

Some crazy demented woman set up my calendar for work tomorrow. I have appointments booked that will take up most of my first day back in the office. WTH was I thinking when I did that? ugh. Oh well, hopefully it will make the day go by fast..

Its good to be home...in spite of Ch#se.

Tonight is my final night at the condo. My co-worker arrived this morning and we visited two of our larger locations, which took most of the day and then came back here- she had to leave home at 6am to get here for our first meeting, so she relaxed...and I summarized our findings and emailed them off. Tomorrow we will pack up and go visit our three smaller locations and then head home. I will sure miss this beautiful place, the sound of the ocean and the beautiful sunsets! I have 100% enjoyed this stay.

I spent $10.99 on a bottle of red wine for us to share tonight- but otherwise, I havent spent any money this weekend. I am so so blessed. The job paid for our lunch and dinner (uh, prime rib?) And tomorrow's lunch. We will be home in time for dinner.

Our jobs will ensure that we are back over here at least quarterly for a day or two..which is something I REALLY look forward to!!!

No other money news tonight. Just a quiet night with the door open, a cool breeze blowing in, a wonderful glass of wine and some great memories for this gramma.

Here is a picture of tonight's sunset. Another amazing freebie from mother nature:



Today was wonderful. I didnt fall asleep until about 4 this morning..just being in a new house, different bed- my mind was not wanting to shut down. So I caught up on the blogs, read news, looked at pinterest, read...and finally dozed off. I woke at 9, was up for an hour or so and then took a 3 hour nap. The rest of the day I have enjoyed the ocean view, read, and just tried to relax. At home, relaxing is combined with housework, laundry, drop in visitors, projects, etc. Relaxing today was interesting--I kept feeling like I needed to do something. But tonight, I do feel rested and am ready to tackle the week ahead.

Yesterday and today were no spend days.

Tomorrow a co-worker is joining me at the condo and we will visit locations together. Lunch and dinner will be paid for by the job and then we will stay here tomorrow night and visit the rest of the locations on Tuesday- then head home.

The hub has an aunt a few years older than me that lost her son (23) and then her husband 4 months apart- this was about 10 years ago. Since, she has struggled with depression and reclusiveness. But lately, she has reached out to me for friendship. Her financial situation is bad- she lives on a very tight budget. So I asked her out for Valentines. One of our mom and pop restaurants is having a special- prime rib and a special desert for $29. It should be a fun evening and something for her to look forward to.

I sure have enjoyed my free getaway this weekend...I will have to see if any upcoming weekends are available here. No need for this place to go unused if its not reserved!!

ARGH. I forgot to save first. *hand to head* Dang it.

DD2 received her tax return and paid us back yesterday. Between her payback, DD3s payback and my bonus money, we have paid back over $7800 this past month. YAY. We are working on paying cc#2 and instead of the normal $150 payment, we will snowball the other paid off payments and paying $500 each month (at least). I have projected all debt beside mortgage to be paid by summer 2015, but my stretch goal is to have it paid by the end of 2014.

Last night was my four year old granddaughters date night with gramma. She is all things disney, so we have played disney games and watched the disney channel. I give each of the kids a choice to sleep in the spare room, or to sleep in hte big bed with gramma. All but one opt for grammas bed. It never ceases to amaze me how little people can quickly take over a king sized bed and edge gramma out. After a quick adjustment to sleeping beauty at 3am, we were both back alseep in no time.

I plan to leave for the coast at 9:30, which should put me at the condo around 1. I am packing chicken, rice and quinoa to fix while there. I am also taking a couple of chick flicks, my kindle and my tennis shoes for walking. Should be a wonderful weekend.


Feeling pretty blessed this morning...life is wonderful!