Gramma Ray's Blog

DH is off on a golf tournament. He has been working lots of hours and is also salvaging wood from a huge construction site for our business. He is getting the wood FREE, just the gas to get there. We are estimating 15+ cords from this opportunity- which is consevatively $2000+ profit for us! woo-hoo

But DH is tired...I hope he enjoys his morning.

I am putting a roast in the crockpot for dinner..and am spending the day home alone.

This morning I will enjoy my coffee while surfing the net...and then off to clean and continue de-cluttering.

We received the new card on the old cc account yesterday...so our next purchase will be on this card to get the $20 bonus...and then the card will be paid back off. Might as well nab that $20 while we can!

Have a good one!

This is what my day consisted of today.

I had munchkins all day today- they just left it is 5:30. So a busy day with them.

I squeezed in quite a bit of laundry today...all lined dried.

I spent some time on the internet...I ordered a Christmas present for GD and the shipping ($8.29) will be refunded by my insiders club membership.

I also bought some facial clenser for DD3. It was normally $15 + 5 s/h The s/h is again, covered and I will get $10 back from insiders club as a bonus...so the total expense was just $5. DD3 will be excited...she has asked for some of this and it was just too expensive...but for $5 we can certainly try it.

Both purchases will add a few points to my points.

I figured I might as well take advantage of the insiders club to get any good deal on xmas presents now so that the shipping is reimbursed.

I did great on my shopping yesterday...I saved $73 and wrote a check for $61. (well over half)!!

I am waiting for the following:
$25 Pier One GC
2- $10 GC to Linens and Things

$21 in rebate checks
$13+ in reimbursements- Insiders club
$10 bonus- insiders club

all of the above, thanks to all of you providing the info to do it!!

Edit to add:
I also can request a $20 check for my rewards Visa next week that will go into the challenge account.

And, I will have enough points to do my first cash out at My Points in the next couple of weeks.

I went ahead and signed up for the insiders club...which earns me 250 MyPoints points plus $10 on my first purchase...which I was planning on making in the next few days, so mow I will save the shipping too!

I also signed up for Complete Home and will receive two $10 Linens & Things GCs for and another 200 My Points points...

Now to earmark July 1 for canceling offers...

(CHECKMARK)

I am running errands this afternoon.

I have to make a deposit for our pest business. (Its been a good week ) The kids are on a big 3-person termite job today.


I have to deposit DHs check. It is a smaller check because of vacation last week and no OT. So no extras this week!

Then I am going to the grocery store. I have a $10 off for spending $50 coupon, 4 double coupons, some great coupons from the train and that I printed off of the puter this am...and a shopping list. So I am armed and ready to strech that budget!!!

I opened an ING account for DH today...so my challenge account just grew $10!!!...and I will deposit the additional $25 bonus for his account next month.

I am going to close out the BofA account today.

I will also close the Wells fargo saving account today.

If I have time this afternoon, I will apply for a couple of the trial memberships.

A good, frugal kinda day!!

Fern- you are much on my mind.
{hug to you}

I can easily see how we can slide off the frugal wagon...and then have to work our way back on...because Ive lived it this week...

My goodness. We have ate out more this week than the last 6 months combined!

I got back from vacation and jumped into work and have just not been my usual self as far as thinking about dinner each morning and getting it ready. Which means, more money spent on yucky fast food.

Tonight we are having pork roast, which has been in the crockpot since 9am...but aside from a couple of bbq nights...i have just been outa the cooking groove...which is really odd for me.

But I have the food lined out for this weekend and know what Im fixing already- so hopefully, this slump is over.

Todays mail arrived and all I got was junk mail....

Then I took a second look at one of the pieces...Seems we are getting a new card for one of our cc's....and the first time we use it we get a $20 cash back bonus!

Sounds like a good deal to me!.....now to watch for the card so I can claim my $20!

And I thought it was all junk....

I sent off my rebates this morning. $22.31 in future rebate checks!!

I will use the oil in my car for my next oil change.

I am putting the Glade PlugIns fan and refills up for stocking stuffers...

and I will use the sticky tape.

Does it get any better than free?

Lunch and dinner with dear friends...what a nice day.

I had sometime between the two, so I headed to Walmart with coupons in hand.

I had a rebate offer for motor oil...so I purchased that and will send it in tomorrow. 5 qt =$12.68

I used the Glade air freshener coupon/rebate and will mail that off tomorrow. $6.64

And finally the Scotch sticky tape rebate $2.99. (had to go to a different store as Walmart did not carry this)

I had other coupons that resulted in the following deals: ($10.98 saved total)

Cherry Pepsi 2 liter = Free
2- 2 liter Mug Rootbeer = $.63 each
Aussie Shampoo/conditioner = 1.70 each
Spray n Wash = 1.42
and several other things that I considered good deals.
total bill $42.83/ total spent $31.85

I had some $1 off coupons for several things, but I did alot of price comparisons and found that even with the coupon, the item(s) weren't always the best deal. So those coupons are back into the coupon pile waiting until I can find better deals.

When I got home, I had received the Nexxus shampoo/conditioner sample in the mail.

I know that you seasoned frugalites know this...but I am finding my cupboards becoming well stocked on free or nearly free deodorants, toothpastes, shampoos, air fresheners, sodas, breath mints, etc...etc... I LOVE the idea of not having to use our budget to pay full price anymore....AND I am more prepared to be able to wait and find 'it' on sale...as I have an ample supply until I do...

It is 9:45am and I have already sold $400 in jobs (yeah!)

DD1 is coming out today to run the phones...

I am having lunch with an old buddy from work...she and I treat each other for our birthdays...(mine was last weekend)

Then I have free time in town until about 5:30 when I am off to another dear friends house for dinner...(this is my momthly get together with two friends- last month they asked me to choose where I wanted to go for my b-day and I suggested a simple patio visit on one of their backyard decks with some wine nd cheese..) Frugal and fun.

So today is going to be a fun day. I think I will do some pre-season Christmas shopping. Thanks to all these blogs this morning, I am in the mood...'fa la la la la la la la la!!!

Have a good one!

DD3 has been asking for a new bathing suit for the summer...so off we went this afternoon looking for sales...

I had money in the clothing fund....so we ended up getting a tank top, 2 pair of shorts, a really cute (and thankfully modest) bathing suit- 1 piece! and a new purse....(she HAD to have it! lol)

$60 dollars for all...She doesn't ask for new clothes very often, and she had totally outgrown all of last years stuff...so this takes care of part of the summer.

Now I have to re-stock the clothing fund for all of those new clothes to start high school with...

As part of our budget, I earmark a certain amount each week for clothes...This makes buying clothes so simple...we either have the money...or we don't and we rarely step outside the line. The amount is pretty small for three people...

but I tried real hard to raise all of my kids NOT to care about labels and designer clothing. I am sure this has saved me a bundle over the years.

DH is the only one who has to have a certain brand. He prefers Carhartjeans and work shirts...swears they last longer and are 'better'. He is so low maintenance on anything else that we never worry about it...and he always tries to hit the sales.

It's bug season!

The phones are ringing off the hook today!!! Sure cuts into my blogging and site surfing time ...but I can't think of a better way to spend the day than to be making enough money to pay all these business bills!

I loaned the kids (DD1 and DS) the money for the business...and we are still very much in the red...but we have just entered into our 2nd year and we have several hundred customers now...so by next year, we hope to be turning at least a small profit!!

I enjoy the phone piece...especially on the days (like today) when DD1 doesn't come out and I am home alone.

Today I have sold.... $650 in services and it is only 1:30pm... 4 hours to go!
woo-hoo!

I know some pest companies give this business a bad name because of their deplorable ethics... You would be surprised (I know I am) at some of the horror stories elderly folks tell me about a couple of the companies...(For instance, a bid that we have of $400 vs a notorious bid of $3000 because of the "scary stuff that lives under the house')...gads.

I am always glad when these poor, trusting souls call us for a second opinion before having the work done.

Inspections and estimates are usually free...if so, it is always wise to get a couple of them to compare.

I just got a nice $22 surprise!!

The Parks system refunded $22 off of our reservation from vacation because we came home a day early!!

I had NO IDEA that this was even a possibility...We had to turn in our reservation ticket when we left...and I figured that last night was just a donation....but there was a $22 credit to our account!!!!

I will put that $22 back into the vacation pot for next time.

And a recap of how we did:

I had saved $320 for the trip in the vacation fund, DH made an extra $200 in OT on his last check before we left and I had turned in $5 in cans and we had two $10 gas cards for a total of $545 for vacation. I just paid the visa bill and it was $411.32!! $22 will go back to the vacation fund...so we came out $112 ahead. I am putting this money into the emergency fund.

In addition, I have almost reached $20 in rewards on the Visa that I charged the vacation on...THAT $20 gets to go into my challenge money!!!(I wont add it until I get the check so that update will come later.)

Great mail, great news on my visa, great totals for vaction, GREAT DAY!

I went up to my mom and dads for a visit and my mom handed me an envelope that came last week but fell between their seats in their car...

Inside was my Coke Coupon!!! I have been patiently waiting- reading all your posts about the coupons and wondering where my one litte winning was...and now I know!!

So all in all, a fantastic day for mail here! (even if one was slightly delayed!)

Yippeekiya!

A couple of months ago I (now I can say unfairly) stated that Complete Home had failed to send me my $20 in GCs....Before I left on vacation I was cleaning out my inbox and noticed an old email that I had needed to respond to in order for my GCs to be sent...and I obvioulsy had missed it.

So I opened it and clicked on the link...and figured that since my membership had been closed for a couple of weeks, I was SOL....but low and behold, I received the GCs in todays mail!!! Woo-hoo!

I also received a free sample of Dove Energy Glow as well as three $1 off coupons!

I also received a card for unlimited $2.99 rentals at Blockbuster for the month of June.

...GREAT mail day today!

I can now state that EVERY offer I have signed up for has come through and I have had no 'odd' charges on any of my credit cards.

woo-hoo!!!

I have added my stair money, my rebate $ ($2.47) my BofA bonus $50! and now have a grand total of $330.29 in my challenge account!!!

My original goal, set in March, was to save $500 by the end of the year...I am very pleased with how fast this little account is growing...and am hoping to have reached the $500 by the end of July now.

That means if the account keeps growing at this speed, I will make DOUBLE my original goal or $1000 by the end of the year!!!!! Oh-yeah-- happy dance in Oregon!

For the first time in a couple of weeks I am haning my laundry tonight.

Because of all our rain as of late, line drying has not really been an option.

However, the skies have cleared (the weatherman says 'temporarily') and it stays light here until past 9pm....so there is a good hour left for hanging tonight...so I am taking advatage of the opportunity and getting our vacation laundry and linens all done.

Oh, the lovely smell of line dried clothes....and the joy of not paying for the electricity to dry them! A double hitter if ever there was one!

I have received a "God of Wealth" coin from Jeffrey. (It has come all the way from Japan to Oregon!!)

This is a purely fun project and one that we hope to keep circulating until the end of this year.

I am ready to forward it on to the next participant...and our goal is to have it circulate until December, when it will go back to Jeffrey..and end up at the God of Wealth shrine in 2007 along with all of the wishes!!!

If you are interested in being the next person on the coin's journey, please let me know...this is first come first served!!!

Again, this is purely for fun. I do not need to receive any information on redemption!! lol.

Let me know if you would like to get this coin next!

Ok.

Call it the last day of vacation...

Call it extremely tired after having GS over last night (how can sideways-sleeping 2 yo take up enough room on a KING SIZE BED to keep two adults awake more than asleep at night and WHY is he so rested today??)

Call it LAZINESS...

But it was definately TOTALLY UNFRUGAL...

DH: "Hey Ray, what's for dinner"
Ray: "Sonic Burger"
DH: "Sounds good to me"....

So DH went to town (26 miles RT) and bought Sonic Burger for dinner....

I had chicken defrosted...
I had veggies and potatoes....
I even had bread....

But we had yummy, juicy Sonic Burgers instead...

No cooking...
no cleaning...
and I am happy as a lark...

Tomorrow, back to the routine...but tonight...

Hello Everyone!
Greetings from the wet state of Oregon!

We are back a DAY EARLY from vacation. We spent the last two days cooped up in the trailer due to rain, RAIN and MORE RAIN...today was so bad, we couldn't even see the ocean it was so foggy/rainy... so we decided to head home and enjoy the comforts of our home and our own bed.

Dont misunderstand...We had a a GREAT time...lots of talking and just unwinding and relaxing...I got to do all the knitting and movie watching I wanted. DH slept alot. (He needed it)

We stayed fairly close to budget...but we also splurged a couple of times...and enjoyed doing so! DH took me to Outback for dinner tonight...(tomorrow is my 45th...and the kids have planned a 'surprise' bbq here at my house.) ...so tonight was 'our time'.

I am eager to catch up on all of your blogs to see what you've been up to!

Oh, while I was gone, I got an apology email from Wells Fargo-- remember that $25 GC I had all but given up on??? Well, they finally discovered they had emailed the WRONG certificate number...and I did receive a good number and have redeemed it already...so my internet savings account bonuses have all come through!! (yeah!)

Now I am going to open DH a couple and see if we can be as lucky a second time!

I also received the last of my expected rebate checks..$2.47 colgate...which will go into my $20 challenge...I am anxious to deposit all of my bonus money and update that total!

Good to be home!
Will enjoy your posts over coffee in the am!

We aren't leaving until tomorrow morning, but I am going to have Colton over for a slumber party tonight...so I know I will be busy, busy.

We are pretty much packed an ready to go.

Im ready to go RELAXXXX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next time I blog, I will be a year older...45! Thanks to Retire @ 50, I can enjoy a Red Robin burger when I get back .

Boomeyer...keep that DH informed of all the stay at home mom virtues!

Ima and Kitty..keep climbing those stairs!

Kashi- take care of your poor head.

miclasason- Keep enjoying that car!

Contrary1 - you're on the downhill side! (June is almost here-which means July is just around the corner!!!)

Fern- good luck with those decisions...I vote for the the telecommuting idea.

flash- I could say have a relaxing week yourself, but I know better...you will continue to take care of all of us!

lrjohsnon- I am going to use your challenge as an inspiration to keep on track this week!

Money Talks...I am going to watch for Donald and Mickey!

Lucky Robin...I hope you keep finding money!

Sarah...your big month is almosthere!

Princess Perky- enjoy those picnics by the pool!

Kyles- I hope you figure out the add image thing so we can see those Communion pics!

Markio26- again, Happy Anniversary!

and Divajen and robex and stressless and mjrube....

*GS SHOWED UP EARLY and it is now Monday and we are getting ready to leave. So anyone I didn't mention, please have a fantastic week...I am looking forward to catching up when I get home!

Have a good one!

Yep, the entire vacation will be going on the credit card.

The rewards card that currently has no balance on it.

We will stick to our budget and when we get home, the money will be pulled from the ING account earmarked for vacations to payoff the card again.

Not only will we earn $$ on the rewards card, we will continue to earn interest on the vacation account until we need to pull it out to pay off the cc!!

(A couple of years ago, I would have stopped at the end of the first sentence up there and dealt with the consequenses for a couple of years).

Life is so much more enjoyable this way.

Baby love....that is my Grace's motto.
(12 yo blind yellow lab)

One day, when GD- Kaitlyn was just a newborn, she and her mom came to visit. kaitlyn was fussing...which turned into crying and then to hysterics...as babies often do.

Mom was still nursing...and Grace, who couldnt see the baby, certainly heard the baby.

So Grace sat by moms legs and NUDGED the baby up against moms chest...while mom started to nurse. And Grace held her head against the baby for the longest time, making sure she was snuggly being fed.

Now, that baby is 8 months old and sitting up. Grace is so patient with her. Kaitlyn pulls hair, screams and pounds (well, as hard as those little fists can, which is not much)...and Grace sits there, nudges forward to get closer and contently allows the baby to play for as long as she wants. Then Grace licks the baby and wags her tail.

Grace has true baby love. I guess she knows she is in the 'Gramma' stage of her life too.

Grace's wounds are healing nicely. She is not as willing to venture outside...and when she does, she stays close to home.

She is napping at my feet as I write this. Her favorite spot in life is where she feels the safest....chuckle...which is often in my lap...my 90 lb- baby loving lap dog.

I made a new friend today. A delightful lady with such a positive outlook on life. She has fibromyalgia and is unable to work.

She receives a small amount in food stamps, but that is all. So she depends on her family for a place to live.

In return, she cleans their homes, cooks, and takes care of their children when she is feeling well enough.

She and I just had a nice long visit and she was showing off her 'new' sketchers tennis shoes. She was just tickled with her shoes...they look brand new and they are very cute.

They were a hand-me-downs from a niece who no longer wanted them. The niece also gave her some sandals, which my new friend proudly wears to church (and gets compliments on) with her thift store dress.(again, that she is very proud of).

I am looking forward to getting to know her much better. She is frugal-wise in ways I won't pretend to understand.

I gained a new perspective today...I have always looked at frugal finds as a 'cool thing that saved me a little money'...but today I saw how a frugal find is a necessity for some to even have the basics.

I know, pretty naive and nearsighted of me.

I am already trying to come up with small ways to make a difference for her....I can't do alot, but I can (and will) do something(s).

A nice, surprise blessing to my day.

Friday has finally arrived!

I took three more HUGE- {couldn't fit another thing in if I tried}- bags of clothes to Goodwill this week. DD3 has been growing this year, so many of the items were those she has outgrown.

Yesterday was a no-spend day for us.

Putting the final touches on the house and trailer for vacation. This is literally the first time I will come home to a nice, tidy CLEAN home after vacation...usually we are so disorganized it was like a bomb went off---no so fun to come home to.

WFB - still no word back from them...I am ready to write off the darn $25 and close the account, just to be DONE. I will make one final attempt today...

Have a good one!

What!!?!! A $300 date!!

Yep, our little boy Bear is off on his first $300 date tonight...

That is what we will be paid if all goes well...

Bear is a registered Chocolate Lab...and he is off to make an honest living..

Our fee: $300
What we paid for Bear: $300

from here on out, it's profit!

Go Bear Go!!! lol (forgive the quirky sense of humor!...it's been one of those days!)

I have set a goal to go 3 times to the bottle/can return before vacation to give us some extra gas money for vacation. I made trip #1 last night and I took primarily bottles... threw a bunch in the car on my way out to pick up DD3 from the library...

I made a whopping $5.50...LOL
ok, so that is....about 1 1/2 gallons of gas...or about 25-30 miles in my husbands truck..LOL Ok, albiet slow, it is progress...I will try to take MORE CANS AND BOTTLES this time...maybe I can make a full 2 gallons...

aicheewawa

How many hours does it take to collect a $25 gift card you received (or should have anyway) for opening a new account online?

So far, it is (conservatively) 2. Two hours of trying the website, getting a 'not found' message, emailing both WFB and Gift Certs.com, receiving back emails that were no help (call WFB, no contact GC.com)...

days in between calls back and emails....

lots of e l e v a t o r m u s i c........

GC.com has given up and put it all back on WFB....and WFB just put me back to where I was last Thursday [monotone deep voice here] "Well, ma'am, I can forward this to the department...blah, blah, blah...and someone will call you back with a new certificate number"

All I can say is that SONIC BURGER BETTER BE WORTH ALL THIS *(&*#&*&$#(_&*$&#(*&$*&#*(&$# FRUSTRATION!!!

(that is if the mysterious department ever contacts me)

I am doing much planning to help keep our vacation as frugal as possible.

I saved $300 for this trip, plus the bottle return money, plus the gas cards, plus the OT that DH worked last week. This is the first vacation that I have stuck hard and true to a budget on.

The main expenses are GAS and the cost of the site $90.

Groceries would have been purchased anyway, so that will come out of our weekly budget rather than the vacation budget.

I am making a grocery list for all meals. We will cook them all except DH loves this little breakfast diner over there and has requested one breakfast out and one dinner out (tbd).

We are borrowing some DVDs to watch, just in case.

I have checked out some books from the library to take.

I have gathered a couple of new knitting projects from my craft room.

I have the 2 $10 gas cards from Great Fun. A small amount compared to the actual cost, but it is still FREE GAS!

I will be turning in some of the bottles/cans this afternoon. My goal is to make three trips by Sunday.

And DH is taking his quad and we will spend one day on the dunes. (a fun, frugal day)

DH bought 2 new pairs of shorts for the trip...but otherwise, we aren't buying any special 'vacation' clothes.

I hope we get in lots of 'ocean watching' time and that DH gets rested up. He has been working some long hours lately and the wood business will be picking up as soon as we get home. So our time will be packed for the next few months.

I am getting excited for the trip (can you tell?)....6 more days...

Lesson #1= Teenagers often lose track of time. Especially when no one is home to remind them....

Lesson #2= Teenagers will postpone to the very last second chores that you ask them to do when you are not home.

Lesson #3 = Teenagers will hide the evidence if lesson #1 and Lesson #2 result in disaster..

Lesson #4 - If lesson #s 1,2 &3 have anything to do with a pork roast in the crockpot on Saturday, that should have been taken out and refridgerated so it was all ready for dinner on Monday, DO NOT WAIT until dinner time to confirm that roast was indeed removed at the prescribed time.

Lesson #5 - If mom fails on lesson #4, fast food may be the only option when the roast turns out to be drier than the Sahara Desert.

Lesson #6 - Dogs will eat and enjoy dry roast.

Lesson # 7...Taco Bell is ugh

I went to lunch with the soon to be CEO at my former job today.

I decided on the way I would run errands and save on gas.

I mailed the Pacific Coupon Train off (I missed the post office Friday night, so I mailed them Express Delivery today)

I dropped off three HUGE bags of clothes etc to Goodwill and got a receipt for tax time.

I took those movies back to Blockbuster that I rented last week.

and I deposited my paycheck in the ATM.

Then I met my lunchdate and we visited for about an hour and a half. Wonderful person, he is going to make a great CEO (he takes over at the first of the year). It was fun hearing his excitement and catching up on everyone.

Now I am home and getting my to-do list made for this week. I want to have everything ready when we leave Monday morning for vacation.

I have a goal of 3 trips to the bottle/can return this week to make some extra $$ for our trip.

I sure enjoy productive days like this!!