I put up several listings on eBay for my son last Sunday. He has decided to sell his video games and GameCube. We'll see what happens - he wants to get some more Star Wars Legos. I'm trying to encourage him to sell things for a few reasons;

1) He can make his own money and clear out some things that aren't being used.

2) I just love stepping on Lego pieces when I walk across a room in the dark. Especially the pointy ones.

3) If there are things that he wants that cost more than his allowance, he needs to earn the money himself. We made the mistake of giving our daughter too much and that wasn't a good thing.

4) When he earns the money himself it (hopefully) will help him to develop responsible spending habits.

5) Yeah, right. As soon as that money is in his sweaty little palm it will be spent on Lego toys and ice cream. I did tell him that he needs to save some of this money. He plans to spend the first $50 of his garage sale/E-Bay money and save the rest. We'll see if that goes out the door when it actually happens. I have a feeling that I'm in for the 'It's MY money' argument next weekend.

We all pitched in and cleaned the garage Sunday in preperation for the garage sale we're having next weekend. You weren't there and all, so just try to imagine the joy of cleaning out the garage with a 12 year old and an 18 year old. I don't think we'll exactly look back on those moments of family togetherness and laugh, but at least the garage is clean now and my husband put out a lot of trash for pickup tomorrow. I'm sure the trash guys will hate us for the bed frame pieces, carpet padding, cracked aquarium, random pieces of wood, random pieces of metal, and so on. I tried to sneak as much wood as possible into the cans. My husband did put some items into the attic space.

Here's a question for you men on this forum. WHAT IS UP WITH SAVING WOOD? My dad did it. My FIL does it. My husband does it. He actually took the random pieces of wood that we've had in the garage and put them in the attic space. You know, because that's so handy to get to and all. It has been sitting around for the last I-don't-know-how-many years, patiently waiting to be formed into birdhouses or Adirondack chairs or a lifelike bust of Abraham Lincoln or something useful like that. Poor wood, all alone up there in the attic, waiting to get moldy or musty or dusty or something before it's thrown away in 10 years because it's then useless.

{ahem} Anyhow... now all I need to do is price all of our treasures and make the signs and get change from the bank and arrange everything on strategically placed tables and hang the clothes on the rolling racks and lug stuff up from the basement and all. Afterwards the remainder will go to the Salvation Army.

Most of the money needs to go towards bills. I would like to use some for a few things around the house. So, by the time Monday rolls around I'll be wealthy, have a clean house, and all of the bills will be completely paid off including our mortgage because people will be fighting over our things and a bidding frenzy will ensue, thus driving the prices insanely high.

It could happen.

If someone came along and wanted to take my dogs, I would seriously consider it. I don't think I've been this mad in a long time.

I went to a really great yard sale about a month ago. I found some new outside light fixtures, still in the boxes. One is for the front porch and the other two are for the garage. My husband went out fishing one day and there was a thunderstorn. One of the boxes was sitting on the stairs, and Shadow got her head through the gate, chewed throught the box, styrofoam, plastic, and the wiring of one of the fixtures. I was so pissed off! Now I either have to pay to get the thing rewired, or take a loss on all three. They're a matching set and the other two wouldn't make any sense without the third.

At the same sale I found a beautiful glass-fronted cabinet for the kids' bathroom. It can be hung on the wall and used to store all kinds of goodies. I had it downstairs in the living room, waiting for the day when I could get up there and paint and then hang it. I just love this cabinet.

Today I went out for a few hours and the dogs broke down the barrier to the living room, crapped on the NEW carpeting, went pee - also on the new carpet - and chewed a corner of this pretty little cabinet. It will be very hard to repair without leaving a noticeable flaw, if I can even fix it at all.

I am so angry right now! They knew exactly what they were doing, and that it was a bad thing to do. They were just upset and let us know.

My daughter applied for a job at a place that makes car parts. Not really a very fun job, but she has taken an apartment and could use something that pays better than what she makes now. I think this job would pay $10.90 or something like that. Anyhow, my brother works for the company as a buyer and I shamelessly called him last night to ask him to put in a good word for her. I'm crossing my fingers that it helps.

I've listed a few things on E-Bay to sell and am doing laundry. Today is a good day to stay in the house because it's HOT outside.

I returned some clothes last Thursday and had it credited back to my debit card. For some reason the money hasn't gone back into my account yet. I think four working days is plenty of time, don't you?

I went to Dave Ramsey's website last night to look around. Here are his 7 baby steps;

$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund

Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball

Three to six months of expenses in savings

Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement

College funding for children

Pay off home early

Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate

Well, so far I'm on step one and I have $525.60 to my name. That's not too good is it? That's the sum total of one savings bond and $25.60 in my bank. I went to the consignment shop today and they gave me $20.50 for selling three items.

The bill that I really want to pay off right now has a minimum due of $26.97 and a balance of $916.11 - it's due July 30.

I'm going to list some things on E-Bay today. Hopefully that will go well - I'll let you know!

I'm back after a long hiatus (word of the day) and ready to begin anew. It's late, but as I took a nap today I'm up finishing the last load of laundry. It's only blankets for the dogs but I wanted to get that last bit done.

I have a different job now. Someone I used to work with came to visit me and mentioned that she knew of a place that needed a manager. I applied and got the job last October. The money is not great but it keeps me alive. I've applied for financial aid and will be going to school again this fall. Wish me luck!

We are still feeling the financial pinch. I've been thoroughly fed up with DD for some time now. She is 17 and doesn't seem very motivated to get a job. I told her yesterday that I'm not getting her any new school clothes this year. None. The expensive things she has from Abercrombie, Hollister, and so on are strewn about all over her bedroom floor. She's not speaking to me, and DH disagrees with me too. He said "You got tons of new school clothes when you were her age." I fired right back at him, saying "Yeah, well my dad made enough money to pay for them." My husband says that we can find a couple of hundred for school clothes for her somehow. What a laugh. We are so tight right now we're barely making ends meet. I'm not doing it. I cut up my credit card for a reason, and the heck if I'm charging clothes for an ungrateful brat. That may sound harsh but I guess I'm feeling harsh right now.

I'm going back to school for sure. I'm taking accounting courses and the semester starts August 25th. This weekend my SIL is having a yard sale and I'm going to put any money I make towards school. Wish me luck.

I told my husband that things need to change, which he obviously knows. We looked through the course selection book together and he seemed really interested in Computer Forensics. I registered online and asked him when he will register. He said that he's decided to get another job instead of going back to school because we need money right now. He's been talking about this second job thing for months and has done nothing. I'm not holding out much hope for it happening anytime soon. If things are going to change I just need to take the plunge and do it myself.

Some good news, I sold a book on Amazon for $50.00! That's the most I've sold one for in a long time. I'll update my book totals another time. I feel so disenheartened with the $20 challenge thing right now. I had to close out my account to pay a big tax bill and am down to tucking stray dollars into my piggy bank at home. I won't give up, though.

We got hit with two tax bills right in a row. One was from a business I used to own and one was for our property taxes. The total amount was $4,200.00 and was a huge blow to the budget. I'm very frustrated and anxious about our finances right now. So, allow me to vent.

It seems like we owe everyone everything right now. The June mortgage payment was made Friday and it was late, but at least it got paid. DH picked up a minimum of groceries to last until next Friday.

I had to close out my $20 fund account. That just stunk but there was no getting around it. I know it helped to bail us out and all that, but it still makes me mad. It was a lot of hard work to get where I was and now I'm back to nothing.

When things get better I'm going to replace every penny I had to take out. Next month we have to pay the mortgage (hopefully on time) two home equity payments, the bank of dad (LOL) put gas in the cars, and so on and so on.

Right now DH and I don't make much money. We both have low-paying jobs. As we both work 40 hours, we make out somehow each month. My car is really old; his is OK for now. Our house is beautiful and we are happy here, but there is no way we can travel or afford extras.

Sometimes I get so tired of thinking about money. I'm seriously thinking about returning to school in the fall to complete my degree. The extra money that comes with having a college degree sure would help. Plus, I'm tired of looking at the same dead-end jobs I see in the paper week after week.

I make a little extra selling books and things. DH doesn't have the motivation to make changes in his own life and just between all of us it really bothers me. Mom always told me to make changes in myself if I want things to get better. That's good advice. So, I'm going to figure out what I can do to make things better and hope that DH follows suit.

I remember a couple of months ago, when I talked with him about this. I was feeling motivated about selling more items online, and told him that we each need to do something to improve our finances. As in, both of us. He is very child-like in his approach to finances. He expects me to take care of everything, all of the bill paying and all of the decision-making. One thing about having control is that you DO have all of the control, but also all of the burden. I mentioned that if I could make $200-$250 a month selling items online and he could find something to do that netted the same amount it would help a lot. He didn't respond. I stepped up my efforts and have hit my goal each month since then. I mention it when a book sells for an especially good price but he is just polite, nothing more.

I'm been feeling a growing unhappiness over the past year about how things are going and that scares me. DH works in a manufacturing atmosphere and it sounds terrible. He tells me things about his job, his co-workers and duties, and it's all I can do to sit still and listen.

It's not that I'm not interested or don't like to talk with him, but something has been really bothering me. It's this; why doesn't he get the heck out of there? Look around for something different? Develop some skills, get some education, something? Anything?

Well, I can't very well complain about something that I'm not doing myself, so that's when I decided to look into returning to finish my degree. I know that most campuses have job placement assistance, so that will be a great resource.

Organizing our garage is one of those projects that I've never wanted to do.

I can't watch TV as I organize.

It's dusty and dirty.

There are bulky things in there. I can't throw them away because they're too big. They're not worth donating (pieces of wood, old shelves, etc.)

A lot of it was expensive at one time. DS's battery operated car was $400. (My parents got him that when he was 4). But honestly, he is 11 now. It's been sitting for at least 5 years. The scooters for the kids. DD is 17 now and I can't picture her hopping on her little blue scooter and zooming around.

Getting to the point...

Today I decided to try & make a little money. It did NOT go well, in case you were wondering how I feel now that I'm a millionaire from all of these bright ideas.

I called a recycling place and asked if they purchase steel shelving. The guy said yes. So, DS and I sweated and grunted and threw 18 shelves into the trunk and backseat of the car. He banged his hand. I whacked my foot. We were very polite and pleasant to each other the whole time, of course. (Stop playing and get over here and help me before I get mad. I KNOW mom, etc.) We hopped into the blissful air-conditioned comfort of the car and set off. Good thing I brought the phone book, complete with the address and a mini map. I only turned around 3 times before finding this stupid recycling place and would you PLEASE STOP playing with the radio?! OKAAY MOM!

We pull up and the guy that came ambling out said that they only buy when there's a large quantity, but I was welcome to toss the shelves onto the pile'o'junk they had sitting there. He must have seen the pissed-off look on my face because he offered to help toss them on the pile. I went ahead and did it because the alternative was to drive home and unload these dumb things back into the garage and that wasn't happening. One good thing is that DS discovered the joy of throwing shelves as far as he could onto a pile of metal, making a loud crashing sound. At least one of us had fun.

We went to one of the local consignment shops next. I had called and she said she was going out of business, so while we were in the area I decided to stop and see if they owe me anything. Too late - empty store. Crap. I took a loss there.

I stopped by Kohl's and returned some jeans I had bought for DH. $14.83 credited to my debit card.

So, there you have it. I'm richer by $14.83.

There is an empty space in the garage where the shelves were leaning against the wall. All the rest of the stuff is still there and I feel guilty every time I look at it. Oh well.

Today is my day off, and I'm off to the local recycling place. I have some metal shelves and am going to see what they're worth. Wish me luck!

Yesterday I took the CVS $25 prescription transfer coupon to Target and redeemed it there. Now I have a gift card to Target for $25. I'm going to try and find DH's Father's Day gift there. The prescription was actually for our dog, Shadow. It's a muscle relaxer that we give her when she moves around too much and is in pain. The prescription cost was $10.00 and it is very helpful. In fact, I gave her some 1/2 hour ago and she's snoozing in a warm patch of sunlight.

I have a big box of baby clothes that I need to do something with. E-Bay or consignment - I'm not sure what. I need to decide so they make some money for me!

More later. I'd better quit typing and get moving. I need to go to the post office. Someone bought a book from me and they live in Spain. I have to take it there and fill out the custom forms. The library is right there, so hopefully there will be some good books for sale.

Beautiful day today. The laundry is hanging on the line.

Try to control your excitement - I give you... the downstairs bathroom!

Today is very nice - not too hot, not too cold. I've been cleaning, and so have the kids. DH laid down the law and said NO activities until their rooms are clean! They are both working up there right now.

It's amazing how long one bathroom can take. I hung the rest of the border (been procrastinating on that big time), scrubbed the floor, scraped off some paint splatters that got on the grout, and got DH to hang the towel bar. I hung one of my favorite cross-stitch creations and it finally is complete!

Well, except for the spot in the wall that needs to be patched. And new curtains to buy. And knobs for the cabinet would look good. And...

Anyhow. DH is grocery shopping and I think I'll clean the fridge out before he gets back. It's as close to empty as it's going to get, so I may as well.

Off to scrub. Yay.

Yesterday DH, DS and I went to my parents' house to take them to dinner. They chose a very nice Polish restaurant and the food was terrific. I had city chicken, complete with mashed potatoes and corn. Very rich, but so good! We went back to their house and played cards for the next couple of hours, with the usual booing and heckling. We munched on a snack mix. A good time was had by all.

DH and I were both tired. I took a couple of Tylenol PM as soon as we got home and conked out.


Around 2:15 I woke up suddenly. I had been choking in my sleep. There was some kind of acid reflux thing going on and the burning in my throat and chest were distressing, to say the least. Choking and wheezing, I sat up and tried to clear my throat. No luck. My coughing woke up DH and he sat up and looked at me. He looked pretty freaked out so I staggered to the connecting bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were huge and tear-filled, and my face was a deep red. It felt like there was water in my lungs and acid in my throat and chest.

It was hard to catch my breath and I started to panic. Luckily DH was there to help calm me down. I struggled for about 15 minutes and he had me stand up while he just hugged me. That was comforting and my breathing slowed down a little, from panicked gasps to a more slow, normal pace.

I remembered a free sample (!) I had received and went downstairs to grab the Tums softchews that had been sent in the mail to me. I tell you what, one of those took the burning sensation away almost immediately. I was so grateful to have them! I fell asleep after another 45 minutes or so.

Right now it feels like my lungs hurt, like I inhaled something that isn't supposed to be there. I probably did.

So much for eating and going to sleep right away. Mistake. Big mistake.

How was your evening? ;0)

How to I get in touch with a fellow blogger? I feel like a dummy because I don't know how.

Help.

Well, today's the day that I've decided to get my shovel out and clean the house LOL. So far I've done the dishes, some laundry, and washed the dogs. They were both good this time and Honey didn't try to escape from the tub. I'm only a little damp instead of looking like a drowned rat.

They each react differently to getting a bath. Shadow is snoozing in the warm sunshine and Honey is literally running around in circles. A bath invigorates her. Ah, to be young and frisky like that again! In people years Shadow is 42 and Honey is 7. They both act their ages.

I sold more books today so I'll update the total soon. I've been really trying to focus on getting good items to sell. One that I got at a yard sale sold for over $11.00 - I was inspired by that to go to some sales tomorrow.

I need your feedback. I've been thinking about quitting my job and doing the yard sale thing. Here's where I would sell items;

E-Bay
Half.com
Amazon.com
a local housewares consignment shop
" " children's " "
" " woman's " "

What if I seriously got into couponing? I bet I could save a ton of money there, plus build up a nice stockpile. How about rebates? I've never really done that before. Is it worth it?

I would need to make/save about $300 a week to make it work, and pay the bills.

Any thoughts?

I was just thinking about Christmas in my last post, and decided to head over to the American Girl website. They have great sales sometimes. Well, they are having a terrific clearance sale going on and I found some books for my niece's daughter.

Here's what I ordered;

Hallie's Horrible Handwriting .49

Bright, Shiny Skylar .49

Thank You Logan! .49

Lindy's Happy Ending .49

The Fair-Share Pair .49

These are GREAT prices for American Girl books! The shipping cost was only .95 and the total cost for my order was $3.40 for five books. The retail value is $19.95 and I'm happy to say that I'm done shopping for one person.

They don't take very good care of things in that house. She's a sweet little girl and I like to get her nice things, but hate throwing my money out the window because her parents are too lazy to pick things up off the floor or read to their kids. She is 8 now and hopefully will get interested enough in these titles to read them independantly. If not at least I tried and it didn't cost much.

Here's the link to the American Girl website;

Ok, let me just say that I know it's June and thinking about cold weather, snow, Christmas crowds and spending money probably isn't your favorite topic right now.

With that being said, I've already been on the hunt for holiday bargains. When Target went to 90% off back in January I was able to get the "grab bag" gifts done for DH's family and also pick up quite a bit for my nieces' kids.

Lately I've been focusing on stocking stuffers for my own kids. I was shopping at Target the other day and found some excellent clearance deals on an end cap.

mascara for DD - .50

makeup sponges - .24 each

small hairbrushes for each kid - .86

shower gel for DS - .58 He will be 12 by next Christmas and it's a nice "manly" scent LOL

We picked names for Christmas and I have my MIL to buy for. That will be fun. She's a pleasure to shop for. It's nice knowing this far in advance so I can keep an eye out for bargains.

I figure that when the Halloween candy goes on sale in early November I can stock up for the Christmas stockings.

Does anyone else start shopping early? I even find nice unused items at garage sales to fill in around the edges for the kids. I like to get them books and will be actively looking for appropriate like-new ones as I hunt for things to sell online. It's expensive going to Border's and getting them there. Fun, but pricy.

Some things are impossible to buy this far in advance because the kids don't decide until November or December what they want. In the meantime I'm going to do my best to get the things I do every year. One is a box of books for each child, another is stocking stuffers - some useful and some candy and some toys, etc.

I'm going to keep saving points from MyPoints and redeem in the fall for a gift card for DH. That will be a nice addition to his Christmas stocking and won't cost a thing. Last year I got him Burger King gift coupons from MyPoints and he really liked that.

This will be a hard post to write, but I can't always talk about the good stuff. Well, I could but it wouldn't be a very honest blog.

I used to own my own business. Financially things went well, especially at Christmas and Easter. Money was plentiful but time with the kids was not. So what did I do? Bought them things. DS is 11 and doesn't ask for much of anything. He's the most low maintenance kid you could imagine. He doesn't care what he wears, eats, or has. An occasional treat is fine, other than that we seldom buy him things. He saves his allowance for what he wants and frequently gives or loans his money to his big sister.

Then there's the 17 year old. She wants me to buy her things all the time, constantly. She has no job and isn't actively searching. She's a junior in high school. We used to spend time together shopping or going to the book store or the movies. I frequently took her to Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bebe, Neiman Marcus, etc. My mom and sister buy her a lot too. Last February we went to a wedding in Minnesota and visited the Mall of America. I got her a couple of tee shirts. My sister got her shoes, a purse, a few outfits, and mom got her a Juicy outfit, some jewelry... you get the picture. They went off on their own and I didn't think it would be that much stuff.

Anyhow, it's not like I'm not to blame here. She is used to shopping expiditions where I would drop $400 to $500 with no problem.

We sold our business in 2005 and put the profits into an "untouchable" account. It is for the kids' college education. Right now DH and I both work at jobs that don't pay a spectacular amount. He was downsized in 2004 and makes less now. I enjoy my job for the most part but sure don't make much! The job hunt begins anew this week.

We live within our means right now and pay the bills with what we earn. That's just how it is.

DH and I have both talked to DD about how things are different now. She just can't seem to acknowledge that we're not willing or able to fund shopping trips, a car, money for the school yearbook ($75) $25 in lunch money every week, and on and on. When either of us brings this up she gets angry.

I told DH that we have to show some "tough love" and cut her off from any spending money. He agrees. We've been doing that for a while and she calls us mean. (Sigh)

I figure eventually the kid will get a job. Or, drive us crazy.

I was just reading a blog by Money Talk$ and it inspired me to add this entry to MY blog. I work at a retail store right now. Lately I'm becoming more disenchanted with my job. Good points;

The people I work with are great. Everyone, from the store manager to the newest employees, work hard. We all pitch in to get the job done and I enjoy what I do for the most part.

We are recognized for our hard work. Verbally and in writing, as well as free food items and meals at least several times a month for everyone.

We work hard at giving the customers a good impression and are successful in doing so. Our feedback scores are the best in the district.

With that being said, I'm ready to job-hunt again now.

I'm not being paid what I'm worth, and it is hard work. The paychecks aren't great. I'm doing OK, but I could be doing a lot better!

Now that I've learned what I need to know boredom has set in. The learning process was challenging and exciting, but I'm confident in what to do now. No challenge. (Yawn)

Anyhow, one of the things that's been bothering me the most probably wouldn't even occur to most people.

We are encouraged every day to talk customers into applying for the store credit card. By the time I left today nine people had applied for the card. When there are meetings at work to congratulate us on our progress, I always feel like cringing. I don't like to celebrate the fact that people are going into debt.

Sometimes when extra help is needed, I help check people out. I can't tell you how many talk about hiding their purchases from their husbands because they overspent. People spend $200-$300 and more easily, charge it, and talk about getting home first so their husband won't notice. Most of the time it's decorative items for the house.

Anyhow, it helps keep me on track in a strange way. I can't very well disagree with something but do the same thing myself. Seeing this stuff happen every day gives me the motivation to not give in to temptation.

How are all of you doing in receiving the free Coke coupons? I played the game back in March and won 13 times. So far I have received 9 free coupons in the mail. DH is very happy! I'm going to start redeeming them next week. So far we can get 45 2-liter bottles of soda. Hopefully the other four coupons will arrive as well. One of the envelopes had TWO coupons in it - all of the rest had one each so I think I got lucky.

I don't drink much pop. DH and DD do, and the savings for our family because of this promotion will add up.

I just noticed that the last few times I've gone to the library I've spent $8.00 on books. Maybe I should play 888 on the lottery.

Today the kids and I ran errands. I picked up a new flag and pole, a rug for inside the front door, and some impatients for the front porch. Tomorrow I'm going to pick up a small container of paint and do the wooden post on the front porch. It's peeling badly. We've lived here for 6 years and the paint the builder put on must have been the cheap stuff.

A couple of days ago I locked myself out of the house. In my pajamas. With the crippled dog and the excited puppy/dog. I had to go to the neighbors' house and call DH. He left work early to let me in. It was great! (NOT)

I told him this would happen! I've been working on the front porch/outside area, and bought a new lock set. It locks the opposite way of what I'm used to. I told DH this wasn't going to work, so when I locked myself out it was all his fault LOL. He just continued to laugh at me.

It's gorgeous outside today! We're off to run some errands and pick up a few things for the house. I need a new door mat, a flag, and some flowers. I've been meaning to take photos of the front - I'll try to do that today.

I really need to update the $20 saving account amount. I'll take care of that later. I went to the library and spent $8.00 on books. Several have sold lately.

SIL and I are planning a garage sale for the 2nd weekend in June. I've decided to put half of the money into the $20 savings/emergency fund account and spend half on things for the house. There are some areas that seriously need a new coat of paint around here.

Just a few minutes ago I caught the year old dog gnawing on the trim. We still need to work on that!

This is hilarious! How many of these have you done?

I have this weekend off, but it's been raining and cold. I need to put a second coat of paint on the front door but it looks like that won't happen until later next week. I'll try to take photos then.

A bunch more books have sold and I'll ship them tomorrow and update then.

For mother's day we got MIL some pistachios (her favorite) and "The Notebook" DVD. For my mom, DH got her "Monster In Law" LOL and I got her a frame and some B&BW shower gel - Magnolia. It's one of her favorite scents. We stayed frugal this year.

The kids gave me some lotion I've been wanting and DS made me a trivet at school. The lotion was on sale for $8.00 and DD made me a card. DH made me breakfast in bed - it was very good except for the eggs. He overcooks things. I tried, but he noticed I didn't eat them all. DD also gave me a rose.

One place I worked, the ladies would compare notes on sweetest day, mother's day, etc. I would feel bad if I got less than others. Now I'm older, wiser, and don't really care what other people do. We don't buy cards too often anymore, because it wastes money. Once you get out of the habit of buying a card for every occasion, it seems silly to ever get one.

Here's an update on my recent book sales;


Clean Your Clothes With Cheez Whiz - $1.33 profit

The Extended Phenotype - $7.68 profit

Mutant Message Down Under - $2.08 profit

1916 - $2.49 profit

Actually, I need to update these totals later. My computer isn't working and I'm upstairs using DD's. Her room sure is a mess!

Yesterday I painted the front door and garage door. I'm going to take photos to see the difference. I've been sick with something the past couple of days. I'm not sure if it's stress, lack of sleep, or some kind of flu. My lymph nodes are swollen and I just feel tired and blah. Sometimes I'm hot and then I get the chills.

I've been spending money lately. First on paint, then on a new lock set for the front door. The old one was so junky looking.

Today I need to go into work and get my review. I'm not expecting much in the way of a raise. I work hard, but my attendance has been terrible lately. Today is my day off.

I hope all of you are having a good day today. I feel like taking a nap, and I already slept in. I think I'll rouse myself and try to do something useful.

This post is realy boring.

Do you want to see the "after photo" of the painting?

I finally took the time to edit the $20 total amount - it stands at $576.43 right now.

My savings account is at 5th Third, and also the checking account where my online sales money is direct deposited. The checking account is the one that I used when I had my store. I've been hanging on to it for sentimental reasons, mostly. The debit card has my name and the name of my store - a link to the time when I was the boss.

Yesterday, I left work at 5:40 and raced to the closest 5th Third. I got stuck behind a farm tractor and it was slow going. As I pulled up to the bank, I noticed with dismay that it was 5:58. I raced up to the door as another customer was leaving. A man (employee) grabbed the door from the inside and pulled it closed as I was pushing it open to go in. I asked him what was up and he said "WE"RE CLOSED". I just wanted to deposit some of my paycheck into the $20 challenge account, something I've vowed to do for the last 2 pay periods. Unfortunately, 5th Third is open 9 to 5 M-T and 9-6 Fridays, and I work. It was so rude and I was really angry.

I got to thinking on my disgruntled way home.

1) Why am I even using this bank? The locations are no longer convenient for me.

2) I need to let go of the past. I don't own a store any more. I don't need a business account.

3) TCF bank is just across the parking lot from where I work. It doesn't get any more convenient. Plus, they are open late weekdays and also on Sundays.

My next day off isn't until the middle of next week, but I know what I'll be doing when I run my errands.

5th Third, you suck.

OK, I vented. Whew!

Shadow our dachshund is having another rough day. I think I'm going to take her to the vet and see what they can do. I know the next step is to give her a shot and a prescription for Valium. Yes, dogs take that too!

DH is being a grouch today. He can be such an idiot at times.

Today I worked, and tomorrow the same. The money is nice, but spending time at home on the weekends is nice too.

I asked DS what he ate today and he told me popsicles. Great.

The house is a mess.

Well, I better get going and work on some laundry. I stopped by my first yard sale today and picked up a couple of books. I'm off to check the web to see if they're worth anything. I also found some books at the Salvation Army. Total spent - $2.55, and two other books have sold. I'll update the challenge amount when I have time.

I went to the library the other day and spent $8 on books. My new challenge total is $455.40.

I read constantly, and one nice bonus about selling books is that I have a ready supply of reading material on hand all the time. So many books, so little time...

Shadow, our Dachshund, isn't doing well. She is in a lot of pain from her back troubles. The only position that she can find comfort in is flat on her back. When DH and I are at work we put her in her kennel. I hate doing that. I leave for work as late as possible and he leaves after work as soon as possible. Even so she's in her kennel for almost 7 hours. I know it's what we need to do to help her heal, but I wish I could be with her! The weekend is coming up and I work the late shift Monday, so tomorrow will be her last time to spend that long in the kennel for a few days. We can't risk leaving her out because if the dogs see or hear anything, they bark and run. Shadow can't run right now - she would really mess herself up!

The kennel is nice-sized and I give her a pain pill just before I leave in the morning. I know she will sleep for at least a few hours. She's been sleeping with us every night lately. It seems to give her comfort to know we are near. I know it gives me comfort to be able to watch her sleep.

Anyhow...

Tomorrow is payday! I need to transfer some money into my $20 challenge savings account. I never did do that last payday, so now I'll add just over $100 to the challenge amount on my next day off. It's nice to see that savings account slowly build into something. Right now I plan to have it as an emergengy fund. I cut up my credit card, so I need some source of funds if the car breaks down, unexpected dental bill, or who knows what.

If I don't get off of the computer soon this beautiful day will go to waste! I've decided to put this out there and then get out of my chair.

Here goes;

List my books on Half.com and Amazon.

I'll be back...

Done

Next - DD and I have some errands to run. She needs new shoes and I'm going to order mulch for the front yard. I'm also going to the bank to transfer money into my (secret) savings. It's for the $20 challenge.

I'll be back...

Done. I drove out and ordered our mulch - it will be delivered Thursday. Would anyone like to see before/after photos of the house? Mulch always looks so nice when you first lay it down. I went to the bank and transferred money. We went to the mall, where I returned some shoes and got DD some spring/summer clothing. She's been feeling down about a boy lately, so we went out and had some retail therapy. I didn't go crazy - no credit card debt. I used my Paypal card that has some E-Bay money available. I need to make some time and list on E-Bay - I haven't done that in weeks.

OK guys. I read the responses to my last entry and you are right. I have my credit card in my hand. Extra sharp scissors in front of me. Here goes...

I JUST CUT UP my credit card. Oh my gosh! I threw some (tiny) pieces down the toilet and flushed them. The rest is sitting in the garbage. It doesn't expire until 2009 so the won't send me a new one until then.

Even though it's been sitting in a drawer, I feel weird without it.

No more impulsive online purchases. The cabinet is in the same room as my computer.

No more vacation spending. You know, if you're on vacation and having fun it's easy to charge things.

I can't buy things for the house and charge them. My reasoning is that I'm adding value to our biggest investment. The truth is that I just want it.

If one of the dogs gets sick I can no longer charge it. I need to be more serious about having an emergency fund.

No more taking DD to the mall and charging her clothes. She is always so happy and "loves me so much" LOL. But, I am the one left paying off those clothes and the interest charges. The next week I'm back to being "mean" LOL. She is 17.

I've had this credit card for years and years. I feel kind of strange, like a safety net is gone. I guess I need to build my own safety net, out of savings and not borrowing.

Thank you to those that commented on my last post. You are a good influence!

Dad approached us a few weeks ago with an offer to loan us some money in order to pay off our high-interest credit cards. We gratefully accepted and now I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. No more late fees! No more high interest! Now we just make payments to the Bank of Dad. One of my paychecks will go towards paying him back, and the other will be for bills (gas, electric, cable, etc.) and savings. DH will cover the mortgage and groceries. It feels good to get out from under those fees and charges, and have a set plan finally.