I'm happy to say that I brought a lunch to work today and spent no money on lunch or snacks. There's a new Starbucks opening and they are training all of the workers, so we all got free drinks - whatever we wanted. I'm glad it was free because those prices sure are expensive. I got some kind of strawberry smoothie, and it was very good. I don't drink coffee, but even if I did I wouldn't spend that much money on a drink.

Everyone has their own weaknesses, though. I used to buy books fairly often, but buying all the time at the library, book sales, and the Salvation Army the way I do and selling online provides me with plenty to read.

The past couple of weeks were filled with unexpected expenses. DH had a formal work party, and I needed a dress and shoes. Then one of our dachshunds injured her back, so that set us back about $90. She's still a little sore but we're hoping for the best.

I haven't been able to put extra money towards my credit card bill lately. Looking on the bright side, we were able to use cash for these unexpected things. It feels luxurious to just pay cash instead of having to charge something. I keep chugging along and selling things on E-Bay that we have around the house. I'm really determined to get back on track and pay my Mastercard off!

One new thing I'm doing is selling on Half.com. That money also gets direct deposited into my bank account. Instead of me choosing when to transfer the funds over, it is automatically done on the 15th and 30th of each month. I just started doing this Thursday, and have already sold 8 things! The total so far is small (about $35), but every little bit counts. I sold DVD's that the kids have outgrown and a couple of books I'm no longer interested in.

Our bedroom is still clean and uncluttered. To you that may be no big deal, but for me it's really great! Also, the kitchen is getting less cluttered. I'm very slow but trying to move in the right direction. In one corner we had a canister set and a basket/wrought iron set, plus a plant and other random items. The canister set and basket set together fetched about $240 on E-Bay! I wiped the countertop perfectly clean and moved the microwave from it's awkward spot next to the fridge, to the now empty area. It looks much better, so streamlined and clean. The microwave is much more accessible and I don't miss the items I sold.

This week I'm selling another basket set; a wrought iron stand and basket that stood next to the entertainment center. As soon as I moved it out to take photos that area looked better.

I'm looking forward to using these funds to get control of my finances.

Nick's auctions that I put up last week ended, and he got $64 for five video games! For a 10 year old kid, that's pretty good. I'm going to try and talk him into depositing $10 of that money, and keeping the rest for himself. I'm glad to get a few more things out of the house, and hopefully he has already come up with more things he wants to sell. It doesn't make sense to keep toys around that aren't being played with.

Stephanie gave me three of her video games to list, so I did just that today. I have four items listed myself. One ends Wednesday and the rest next Sunday. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Here is something really strange that happened. I listed a Disney DVD that is new, still sealed, and retired. We expected to get around $30 for it. Guess what it ended at? $102.50. Wow! I'll be more excited when they actually send the payment. The purchaser has good feedback, so hopefully everything will be fine. That's a lot of money to go towards my credit card bill!

I'm still waiting for my jury duty pay. It should come to $135. Another auction fetched $6.50. So, hopefully by the end of this week I can pay down $244. Just another dollar more and I'll be below the $2,000 mark. That will feel really good.

Nothing much else going on. We ate out far too much this week. Some nights it's so easy to just pick up a $5 pizza from Little Caesar's. We all love that, and it's not TOO much more than what a home cooked meal would be. Yum!

I wish you all a good evening, and until next time-

{{hugs}}

The kids have another snow day! They had one yesterday too. We have a lot of snow piled up and the bus routes are still snow covered. So, I'm playing hooky from work. I've been fiddling around on the computer, but need to get up and do some housework. In a minute... LOL. Stephanie is crashed out on the sofa and Nick is cleaning his room.

DH came up with a new house rules/chore chart list last Sunday, and we started using it Monday. Monday we leave the TV and computer turned off. I thought Stephanie was going to have a heart attack; she stomped her feet a lot. I was able to peacefully read, and Nick played with his toys. It was very different for us and nice, but definitely quiet!

I'm planning to list a couple of things on E-Bay tonight. I'm putting the money towards my credit card bill. It has gone from $2,553.14 (February 1st) to $2,244.52 (March 1st). Over $300.00 is pretty good. I hope to beat that this month.

Our bedroom looks good. I've been trying to dispose of one bag for the Salvation Army a week (paper grocery bag size, or sometimes kitchen trash bag size), and one trash bag full of "stuff". You know, school papers that have been hanging around, etc. When I do laundry I've been putting clean, unwanted clothing into the Salvation Army bag. I've been losing weight and plan to reward myself with a new outfit just before Easter.

I am definitely a "messie"! But, week by week I keep trying, and now our bedroom is showing the results.

I've been tracking our spending in a pretty journal that I have. It should be an eye opener at the end of the month.

I think I actually did hit my goal for 10 no spend days. Not because of my incredible frugality - because I got sick and had jury duty! I don't seem to be too inspired by the whole no spend day thing anyhow. For the month of March, I'm going to track our spending. That should be an eye-opener.

DD has found a new sport - rugby! You should see the release form I'm required to sign. {sigh} I think I liked it better when she was a cheerleader. The likelihood of getting whacked in the head was much less. But, cheerleading practice was 4 days a week, plus games every Saturday, plus travel, etc. etc. Rugby practice is twice a week, then one game a week. She takes dance now, so we're looking at rugby practice Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Friday games, and dance Wednesday nights. Good thing she'll be driving soon.

I have lost my lease for the toy store- the building owners got a better offer! A new ski shop is interested in taking over an empty space in the building plus my space. They want to knock out the adjoining wall and have one big ski shop. As we are only about 3 miles from a ski mountain, it's a good location for them. I have until this July to wrap things up and move out. DH and I have decided not to continue with the toy store for now. Stephanie will be heading to college before we know it, and I can bring more money home working for someone else. I have to admit, a break from all of the responsibility will be nice. Nick is disappointed because the store is named after him and he loves that. But, I'll be able to spend more time with both kids.

Hmm... what else? I have 8 things listed on E-Bay. Nick has decided to part with some of his video games, so I listed them for him. Never too young to make money on E-Bay! Last summer I bought things at yard sales and sold them on E-Bay. The best profit was on some Hallmark Christmas ornaments. I bought a set of 12 for $15, and the most valuable one sold for over $100! I think in total, I got about $250 for all of them. We used the extra money for our summer "slush" fund; movies, bowling, theme park admissions, etc. I'm already planning to hit the yard sales again this summer. Now I will have more time.

Today I'm cleaning our bedroom. DH is at the grocery store, and when he comes back he's going to steam clean our bedroom carpet. It should look really nice by tonight.

What's for dinner? I don't know! How about you?

OK, one of my goals today is to list some more items on E-Bay. I only have one auction going right now, and it ends tonight. So far my item is at about $20. Go,go,go! It's fun to watch when it gets to the end.

Time to get going on Mt. Laundry. We also need groceries. DH & DS are going to Outdoorama later. Then I'll be able to relax with my book. For now... time to get busy!

Whew! This has been some month. I felt something coming on, and then the flu hit. Fever, aches, exhaustion, and so on. I was completely useless for a week, and felt too tired even to read. For 3 or 4 days I probably slept 20 hours and spent the rest of the time huddled on the couch. Good thing the kids are older.

I had received a summons for jury duty, and was asked to show up this past Tuesday. Luckily that was also the first day I felt close to being normal. I go to the courthouse and wait with 50 or 60 other people. And wait. And wait. We sat for 1 1/2 hours until the judge finally came in, explained the process, and got started. Good thing I brought a book. There were lots of people complaining, and one interesting man that snored. For over an hour. Loudly.

Anyhow, they pulled numbers from a box, and my number came up. Two people were dismissed, and a young lady and I took their seats in the back row. Then the front row was dismissed, and the seven of us remaining were the jury.

Meanwhile, I had (again) been missing a lot of time at work and my poor mom was taking on a lot of hours for me to keep the store running. But, you can't blow off jury duty!

The case was about a car accident, and we had to decide how much money to award the plaintiff for pain and suffering. It was a challenge, but in the end I think we did OK. I would have liked to see her get more money, but I was just one voice among many.

We were kept seperate from everyone else in the courthouse, and had our own entrance. We ate lunch together every day at fairly nice restaurants, and didn't have to pay for a thing! The pay for jury duty isn't great, but at least it was something. The first day I got $25, the second day $60 (long day, we were there till 7 pm), and yesterday we were paid $20 for a half day. They also pay for mileage and that should be about $30. So for three days, I will receive a check for $135. As I consider this "extra" money, it will go directly to my credit card debt. Woohoo!

Today I get back to my normal life at the toy store.

I've been too caught up with other things to pay much attention to E-Bay. I have one thing listed right now, but will get some more going over the weekend. My credit card debt is now at $2,294.52.

Yesterday I put $15 towards my Mastercard debt, and today $81.09. The money is coming from E-Bay sales, the consignment shop, etc. We just got a small refund check from the insurance company, so I pitched that in too. Now my balance is $2,353.82. I'm expecting my Paypal transfer to go through tomorrow for another $75. I just love direct deposit! No postage costs or much time spent.

The next thing to do is get a copy of my credit report ((shudder)). We've had some late payments in the last few years.

It seems like the older I get, the worse the pain is at certain times of the month. A cold or flu has decided to invade my body as well. Yay!

Yesterday was my third no spend day. It was cold & rainy, but DH and I went out and got groceries - just the bare minimum. Now that I've given up sweets it saves money! We spent around $75 for milk, butter, meat, bread, etc. DH did get some Oreos for he and the kids, but that was about it. I had a hard time yesterday not giving in to temptation. I was hungry, and a package of delicious looking oatmeal cookies almost did me in!

The owner of the building my toy store is in approached me yesterday about my lease. I go from month to month, which is very generous of them. There's a vacant space available in the building and someone is interested in both that space and mine! He wanted to know what my intentions are as far as how long I'm planning to stay in the building. We'll see what develops here. I know it would be hard for him to turn down the opportunity to lease two spaces for, I would imagine, at least a couple of years. I'll have to wait and see what develops.

What next? Life has funny twists and turns at times.

One of my auctions is up to $22.49 and two have watchers but no bids. They end Saturday, so hopefully the other two will see some action.

I think that's enough random thoughts for now. Hugs to all of you-

Karen

Today I took a bag of discards to the Salvation Army. I'm still working on cleaning out my closet. I think the clothes reproduce in there- hangers too! This week I donated several shirts, a pair of pants that were too short, and some things DS has outgrown. The things that are in great shape go to the consignment shop, the rest get donated.

This is my second trip to the Salvation Army this month. It would have been three, but I put last week's box in the basement for this summer's yard sale instead. Can you tell that I have issues with giving things away? I always think about how much I can get for something. I have a casual get-rid-of-it system that goes like this;

E-Bay
consignment shop
yard sale
Salvation Army
trash

It all depends on the item. I would never put a Longaberger basket in the trash, or E-Bay a leaky pen. Actually, these days some really strange things sell on E-Bay. Who knows? Maybe I'll find a potato chip that looks like John Lennon. ;o)

Sunday I cleaned another kitchen junk drawer. Believe me, the term "junk drawer" was very fitting. I have a Longaberger basket set in the kitchen that has all of our bills and papers in it. I've decided to E-Bay it. Now,a normal person would empty it, photograph it, list on E-Bay and get on with their day.

Then there's me. {sigh}

First I decide to list my wrought iron rack, baskets and liners. But where to put the papers and bills? I know! The extra junk drawer. Perfect place...

I need to empty and clean out the junk drawer. Shuffle, shuffle. An hour later, a ton is thrown out, some is relocated, some put in the Salvation Army bag. Ahhh... nice, clean drawer.

Time to put the bills into their new home. Shuffle, shuffle. Another hour later, and a ton of old phone bills, etc are thrown out, some papers and receipts are relocated to the file cabinet upstairs, and random items are added to the Salvation Army bag. (Don't ask).

I'm now tired, and it's time to start dinner. Oh well, there's always next weekend to list my auction.

I used to think that the house would be much more organized when the kids move out. Now I realize that it will be much more organized if I was the one moving out! J/K

Days like today really test my motivation. Here's what happened;

I own a small business. Last week I had an asthma attack and DS got sick, so different employees covered for the days that I'm usually working. One young lady works every other Saturday. I have a casual work schedule set up for her, because she goes to school full time AND has another part time job. There are times she can't come in. Mom worked Thursday, and for some reason wrote this girl's name on the schedule for Saturday. When I called Friday to see how things were going, the employee there assured me that everything was fine and Saturday was covered. Guess what?

Yup. No one worked that day at all. The store was closed. On a Saturday. I'm SO upset, but it's not like I can do anything about it. Mom meant well, and when we figured out what happened and she realized what she had done, she felt just terrible. She just assumed that the one girl was coming in. I'm just trying to get over the big loss of income.

When things happen and I take a big financial hit like that, it's hard to stay motivated because the small things I accomplish seem futile. Anyhow...

Today the kids' school was cancelled because of freezing rain. So the Valentine's party for Nick and candy/card swapping for Stephanie will take place tomorrow.

Nick needed a decorated box for school, so we found a shoebox and wrapped in in plain red gift wrap. I took one of his unused Valentines and carefully cut out the character (Bart Simpson) and glued it to the box. He liked that. No hearts or doilies for that boy!

During the after-Christmas sales I look for plain red, silver, or green gift wrap. You can use it for any time of the year (like now) and it's incredibly cheap. This large roll of plain red wrap was .17 at Target.

Today we received a check from the insurance company for $86.40 because the premium was reduced. More money to go towards my credit card debt. I was paid via Paypal for the auction that ended recently, so the two combined will come to about $150. Right now I have three auctions up on E-Bay and one item is at $9.99. Every little bit...

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day at work.

Well, here I am again. There's a nice fire in the fireplace and a few things got done today. So far I have only done three loads of laundry, but plan to work on that some more tonight and tomorrow. DH cleaned the family room and it looks very nice. Before DD is allowed to go out she has to do weekly chores. Stephanie cleans her bathroom, vacuums and mops the entry, kitchen and downstairs bath, and does the dishes. I've been doing the dishes lately because someone hit her in the arm with a door. Not a big deal, but the other things have to get done, one armed or not!

Tonight we had meatballs, baked potatoes and cooked baby carrots. The meatballs are called "porcupines" because I add rice to the mixture in order to stretch our meat budget. By the time I throw in an egg, breadcrumbs and rice, I can make a pound of meat into a good meal for the four of us. Plus, the kids love it!

Sometimes in the morning I just want something that's easy and quick to eat. I saved the leftover rice and will have that for breakfast. I add a small amount of butter and sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Mmmmm...

Tomorrow is Sunday and I will have myself a regular sugar fest! Hehe. Lent consists of 40 days of "fasting" excluding Sundays. Bwahaha...

I listed three more items on E-Bay this evening. It's fun to watch the auctions and see what develops.

My last auction ended at $61.xx! I was really pleased with that. Some of the money will go towards new makeup, and the rest to my Mastercard bill. Yesterday DS helped me empty my coin bank and roll the coins. As I also put dollars in when I can, it added up fast. The children's consignment shop gave me $10, and I found a money order for $9.53 near the computer. It was payment for an auction back in October! I guess cleaning really does have it's rewards LOL. Anyhow, when I added it all up and took it to the bank the total was $55.98. As soon as the money cleared I got on the credit card website and put it towards my bill.

The total due on my Mastercard right now is $2,449.91. I figure that if I put that out there, it will provide even more motivation to keep chipping away at that debt. The previous balance was $2,545.89 and I have paid $95.98 down so far. All of that has come from things around the house I've sold on E-Bay.

Today is a good laundry day. It's bright and sunny out and that always gets me moving. I already have another small Salvation Army pile of clothing going. If I don't wear it or it's getting raggedy, out it goes! When Lent is over I plan to reward myself with a new spring outfit. I should have dropped a few pounds by then because of not having any desserts. Last night I got hungry and had the worst cravings! I ended up having cheese and crackers. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack in the evening, and that's it. That's how it should be anyhow, but after dinner is when I go for the cookies, brownies, etc. Once I start, it's hard to stop with just one or two. Luckily I'm blessed with a pretty good metabolism. My mom, sister and daughter all look great! I wear a size 10 and am 5' 7". I wore a size 8 before Nick was born, but he was kid #2 and I just gradually got a little bigger as time went by.

I seem to be sharing all sorts of personal information today, right? Anyhow, time to get up and get moving.

I've been spending a lot more time at home than at work! I went in Tuesday and Wednesday, then Nick got sick with the flu. He was grumpy Wednesday night; you would think I would see it coming. Thursday a.m. he woke with a 101 fever, and was sick twice in the morning. Poor guy - that's the worst. Mom was able to cover for me yesterday, and another employee Jessie is working today. This will cost me. Mom works for a hug and a kiss, but of course I need to pay Jessie. Today Nick has a fever and is coughing and sneezing, but thank goodness no more sick stomach.

I had decided to work on my appearance a little this month. My teeth look good from the Crest Whitestrips, and the new haircut is a definite plus. Lent has begun, so no sweets for me for quite a while. I've been doing this the past couple of years to help maintain my weight. I'm not overweight, and would like to keep it that way. Besides, this is a good time to reflect on repentance and what I'm grateful for. So far it's been a challenge to combat sugar cravings. Popcorn helps for when I get the munchies at night.

This month I deposited $55 into our checking account from E-Bay sales. I have another auction that is ending tonight that is at $41.xx so far. Direct deposit is a great thing! The money goes into my Paypal account, into Standard Federal, and then over to my credit card bill. So far I've put $40.00 on my credit card bill. Not much, but after paying for my little cosmetic items that's what is available so far. (I used some of my money jar money to pay for the whitestrips). With the funds from my next auction, I'm buying myself some makeup and putting the rest towards - you guessed it - the credit card bill.

It was really nice to get back to work again. The day went smoothly and I got a lot done. Today is fat Tuesday, so I need to finish off the last of the cheesecake in the fridge. No more sweets for me!

Time to get on track financially. Tomorrow will be a no spend day.

This month I had set a goal for ten no spend days. I just pulled a number out of thin air, thinking that it would be easy. Ha! Time to think again. Sunday DH went to visit his parents, which used up quite a bit of gas from the car. Does that count for spending money? I would be really interested in hearing opinions on that.

Today DD forgot some papers that needed to be turned in today, so I drove to the school and brought it to her. She's going to be a big sister for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, but it requires parental permission and a reference. Good thing I'm home today. School was just about over (20 minutes left) so she turned them in and came home with me instead of taking the bus. She had her completed first sewing class project with her; a pillowcase. I have to say she did a beautiful job.

Stephanie commented that she needed the materials for her next three projects sometime this week. As I needed to get gas and go to the bank anyhow and we were in the car already, I decided to take her to Joanne Fabrics. I don't go there often, and as Stephanie was being helped I walked around and admired all of the fabrics - I found something just perfect for living room curtains hehe - and craft items.

The woman in the sewing notions department was extremely helpful and nice. Usually I'm on the other side of the cash register, and work hard to make people leave my store happy. It's such a nice feeling to be on the receiving end of such kindness. She took a lot of time with Stephanie choosing just the right materials, and selected items to help save us money.

The total cost was around $32. The projects are for a beach bag, a windshield visor CD holder, and a pillow. Stephanie loves this class and is already looking forward to next quarter when she will be in advanced sewing. Who knew? She was very pleased to get these goodies and we had a nice time. I went to Arby's and got her a chicken quesidilla, which she proclaimed to be the best sandwich she had ever had in her life LOL.

Today was definitely a "spend" day. Each Monday I have been pulling out $100 from the toy store for gas, groceries, and allowances. Good thing we are still OK on groceries for a little while. Gas was $35 (!), her quesidilla meal and sewing notions was a tad under $40, and I gave her $10 for school lunches. Sheesh. I can only imagine what college expenses for that girl will set us back. Thank goodness for savings bonds.

Stephanie is a sophomore this year, and as she informs us every day, is something like 63 days from her 16th birthday. Do you remember how it was to be excited about a birthday? Me too! I thought I would explode waiting to be 16.

Tomorrow I return to work, afer a definitely unexpected absence. To bad I wasn't somewhere fun, like Hawaii. Taking 6 days off in a row is completely unheard of. I'm looking forward to getting back to the store. I stopped by Saturday to see how things were going and realized how much I miss being there. My breathing is almost under control but I do use the inhaler religiously.

Is this post long enought for you yet? But wait - there's more! OK, now my late-night TV viewing habits are at last revealed.

Today I cleaned out one junk drawer in the kitchen and also got rid of some old papers. I read something Sunday that really affected me about clutter. Instead of focusing on what you're going to get rid of, it's better to figure out what you want to have in a particular space. Then get rid of everything else. That advice helped me to let go of, or relocate, a lot of stuff.

Now our drawer has tape, scissors, lint roller, pens, pencils, one pad of paper, and a caddy with the batteries, paper clips and rubberbands nicely organized. That's all. I tell you what, the drawer looks nekkid.

Gone are the floating Uno cards, the electronic games sans batteries, the mini fan, and random sticker sheets. That and more went into the donation box I have sitting by the front door.

Thrown away are the dried up markers, developed film rolls, sticky Chapstick, and crumpled papers.

Relocated are the random tools, metal top to DD's lava lamp, DS's small toys, etc.

How can one clean drawer give me such pleasure? It doesn't take much these days!

Today I am working on cleaning one surface at a time. DH and Nick have gone to visit his parents, and Stephanie is conked out on the couch. She had a busy weekend. I'm not feeling very motivated but the house is a wreck. It helps me to visit websites like Organized home.com and read the discussions. I have another box that is slowly filling with Salvation Army discards. This month if I shoot for one box a week I can reach that goal. As Flylady says, baby steps!

I only have one item up for sale on E-Bay. Here is something that has helped me to let go of extra things around the house. I check it's value on E-Bay to see what others are getting for an item. I have a hard time letting go of books, especially "old friends", and I think about how much each one cost me. It's easier to donate them when I see that they really have very little monetary value. My tastes have changed and there's no reason to keep books that I no longer enjoy- but I was holding on to them. Some went last week and more are in the donation box. It's not easy but I just keep plugging away.

It became more and more of a struggle to breathe as the hours went by. I tried using an air filter, taking a long bath, hot tea, Vicks and a warm towel, and running a hot shower for the steam. Last night was pretty bad, as I struggled and gasped. The best way to describe it is like being a fish out of water. DH stayed up with me and kept an eye on me. That was nice. However, when he gets stressed, he yells. So finally around noon today he groused "This is stupid - I don't want to deal with this all d*** day. You need to go to urgent care". Can you feel the love? He sat there next to me looking completely pissed off, until finally I tried talking him into going home, and I would call him when I was done (we live 5 minutes from the health center). Unfortunately I was called back right then so he stayed. I would have rather been by myself then deal with him when he's in a mood. Like I don't know how expensive it will be for all of those tests?

Anyhow. It seems that I was having an asthma attack, and my airways were constricted. I still feel funky, but the inhaler the doctor prescribed has helped a lot. When I was done, I went out to the waiting room and explained what was wrong with me. DH turned into a different guy and was much more pleasant. I wish he wouldn't get so angry when he's upset. I had enough to deal with already.

This was SO not a no spend day! Urgent care was at least $40 for the co-pay, if we're lucky. I'm trying not to think about the bill. Prescription was $23. Breathing easily? That's priceless.

Yesterday was the kids' allowance day, so on the way home DH and I took a detour and bought the rubber chicken. You should see this thing. It's the most pathetic looking cheapo rubber chicken ever. Nick waited for his chicken all week and when we gave it to him he just beamed. He threw it like a football, made it dance, measured it, and just got out of the tub after a long bath with - you guessed it- the rubber chicken. In case you were wondering, it floats. DH says I'm nuts, but I told him that we'll remember this fondly when Nick has kids of his own.

I'll be fairly inactive for the next couple of days, and will return to work Tuesday. Lots of reading and cross-stitch to work on as we watch the Superbowl. It should be easy to have no spend days.

I'm having a hard time breathing today. We're having some high levels of pollution here; very unusual for this time of the year. I woke up around 5:30 this morning gasping. After turning the shower on and sitting in the steam things loosened up a little and I was able to drop off to sleep again. Now I'm pretty uncomfortable, kind of like a fish out of water. I haven't felt this way since my late teens! The forecasters are saying that the pollution in the air will be gone by the weekend. Anyone else experiencing this today?

DH got an unexpected check today. As we owe taxes on the house, that will take care of that money. He was owed vacation money from a previous job, and it was direct deposited into our account today. Too bad about the taxes - it would be nice to pay down some credit card debt!

Yesterday I did go work out for about an hour. I dropped some things off at the Salvation Army and went to the bank. Tonight I really do need to sell a few more things on E-Bay. This time of year is a good time to organize. It's cold outside and I can't garden or get outside. I have a hard time giving up things, so yesterday's Salvation Army trip was an accomplishment. I finally donated the dress I wore when DH and I fell in love. I have pictures and it doesn't fit anymore. Even if it did fit it's out of style. Some other things that went were ugly Christmas ornaments and a bunch of books. I hope someone can make good use of the dress. My next goal is to have things in the closet that are actually useful and frequently worn. I've been hoarding Home Depot gift cards and when the closet is clean I'm getting an organizer/storage system.

Hopefully today will be another no spend day. Fast food for dinner sounds really good right now.

Sometimes we have what I call "scrounge night". In other words, mom and dad don't feel like cooking. Stephanie will graze, going back and forth with random things in her hand. Baby carrots. A dinner roll. Cheese and crackers. If I'm not watching carefully, pull & peel licorice. Last time, I decided on a grilled cheese sandwich for myself. Nick had one. Then another. Then a third. For a kid, he sure can pack it in.

Anyhow, DH has a tried and true quickie meal that is fast and tastes great! I buy bagels when they go on sale, and I use coupons. Same with Pizza Quick sauce and mozzerella cheese. He simply spreads the sauce on the bagel, adds mozzerella and toppings (small pieces of lunchmeat are quite good in a pinch) and bakes at 350. With some salad, it's a great meal. I'm trying very hard to resist the pull of fast food. Sometimes I'm outvoted 3 to 1 and McDonald's it is. Most of the time I can sway DH's vote and pull him from the dark side LOL. Sometimes I give in and happily munch fries. If I set a goal of no spend days that will really help. This month I'm shooting for 10. Yesterday was the first one - 9 to go! This should be interesting.

Time to quit stalling and go work out.

If anyone would be willing to give me some guidelines I would really appreciate it. How do you define a no-spend day? I'm very interested in giving this a try!

Thanks!

Nick loves tricks and practical jokes of any kind. I can't tell you how many times the fake doggie doo has tricked me! He got me with his hand buzzer last week too. I'm not sure why, but he has his heart set on a rubber chicken. I called Gags & Gifts and it costs $7.99. Not very much, right? In the past we would have gone to pick up the rubber chicken, but now I hesitate. It's not the big expenses that zap us, but all of the little ones. Stephanie has been after me for new jeans and shoes as well. She has quite the wardrobe, but runs the dryer too long and has shrunk her jeans. Her shoes are dirty.

I'm usually the pushover, but am slowly realizing that the kids will survive without these things. I remember something I read in the Tightwad Gazette. Amy said that having extra "space" around possesions makes them more special.

Stephanie will have to wait until April (her birthday) for new things.

Nick gets his next allowance Friday. He'll have enough money saved up to get his rubber chicken.

I have such a hard time saying no! I try to remember how hard my DH works to earn money. Sometimes I pull money out of the toy store for extra expenses. I spent way too much this past Christmas, and have promised myself not to do any more "owner draws" until April.

I'm coming up on 3 years of owning the store, and have just started to pay myself recently. I pull out $100 a week for groceries, gas and allowance for the kids. DH pays the bills, still. Hopefully as time goes by I'll be able to contribute more. It's been a challenge to keep up with the bills on his salary alone. We have credit card debt that we never did before!

OK... rambling again. What is the biggest "hole" in your budget? For me it is the credit card debt and spending too much on the kids.

With the money I made on E-Bay, I have purchased two things for myself. One is a tooth-whitening kit from CVS. I signed up for UPromise and the CVS care card while I was at it. I've been meaning to do that for months... but I digress. Today is the third day of using the tooth whitening strips. I see a slight difference; we'll see how I look at the end of the week. I got a cute new haircut today. What a difference!

Now, I know that this month's goal has nothing to do with saving money (althought the change DOES go into my bank, if that counts.) I put my appearance on the low end of my priorities, and that's not a good habit. I interact with customers and sales reps every day, and it's not a good feeling to be embarassed about my hair or smile. An added benefit is that healthful eating is cheaper!


Here is another way I have decided to take care of myself; I'm asking Nick to take more responsibility for himself. He's my youngest, but just turned 10. I usually pack his lunch every morning and get his morning snack and water bottle ready as well (his school has healthy snack time every day). Starting last week, he does this himself the night before and puts it in the fridge. I'm not a morning person and it's wonderful to not have to deal with this! He's doing homework more independently, and ran his bath, washed body and hair, drained the tub, cleaned up and got ready for bed. Nick does just fine on his own. It was ME that was doing the hovering and helping. I need to realize that he's just not a little kid anymore {sigh} but can handle this easily on his own.

Hmm... what else can I find to sell? What should I do next to help my appearance? Stay tuned!

It's amazing how the little things add up! I have sold a few things on E-Bay this past week and made about $50. I sold a Bionicle toy, two Christmas ornaments, a PartyLite candle, and a small train. These things were sitting on the floor near the computer, and it's nice to get them out of the house.

I think in Feburary the thing that I will work on is me. I focus on the kids' wants and needs, especially my 15 y.o. She has a great wardrobe, but mine is sadly lacking. Whatever I sell on E-Bay for the month of February will go towards me! This will be a new experience; something I'm not used to! I've decided to be my own Valentine...


Looking back over the month of January, for the most part I'm pleased with my progress. I've eaten out a few times at work, I think 4 or 5. We have sometimes cranked the heat up. For the most part though, I've diligently packed a lunch and kept the temperature down.

I pay for the groceries and gas in cash, now. It's much more obvious how much I spend when I don't use the debit card. Of course, all change goes into the money jar.

My daughter just came downstairs and told me that something is moving around in her wall. "Go to BED" I said impatiently. I've already worked, cooked dinner, helped with homework, supervised Nick's bath, and so on. It's supposed to be Mom time now. "SERIOUSLY Mom!" She did look pretty freaked out, so I went up to investigate.

There is something scrabbling around in her wall! Ew Ew Ew... It sounds like some kind of rodent had babies and they are all making noise and scritch-scratching around. Sigh.

My list for today is things that are TOO frugal;


Sleep three in a bed to share warmth LOL

The heck with doing laundry! Wear the same socks all week until your mother notices; put them back on after your bath. (DS is 10, need I say more?)

Tell your parents that you're not hungry. Go to visit Grandma & Papa. Eat everything in sight. Grandma wonders why we aren't feeding her grandchildren.

Who needs dog food when your two little doxie dogs can just sneak next door and eat the bread and rolls that the neighbors throw out for the birds and squirrels? We don't have fences in this subdivision, and the back yards are all woods.


Anyhow, time to get serious here. My goal is to do something each day to be frugal, and so far it's going well. I did install the thermostat with the timer, and that will save quite a bit on heating costs. I'll be able to compare the bills over the next couple of months to see what the savings are.

I own a toy store, and yesterday I talked to the phone company about reducing costs. I have three phone lines - one for the telephone, one for the credit card machine, and a third for the fax machine. Did you know that you can get junk mail through a fax machine? I'm not sure how, but I get advertisements and sales pitches that are faxed to me fairly often. When I meet with a sales rep and place an order, they write it out on an order form. When they get back to their office, they enter the order into their computer, place the order, and then fax me a copy for my records. I have asked that they put these in the mail from now on. The cost savings is $34 per month for the extra phone line I got rid of, plus the cost of fax film, paper, and so on.

I went over my monthly bills and noticed a $3.50 charge from my credit card machine company for "equipment warranty". They removed it when I requested. They didn't sell me my machine, why the heck would they warranty it? Savings monthly at work - about $37.50 per month.

I have stopped eating out for lunch. There are many restaurants within walking distance, and it's too easy to spend a few dollars each day. I've been packing a lunch for the last 12 days. At $3 - $4 dollars a day, that helps a lot. In fact, today the owner of the deli next door came in and asked if they had done anything to upset me, because I suddenly stopped dropping by! Sheesh.

I called Kohl's today, because we had been assesed a $25 late fee. I had overlooked a balance of $1.34. So, this month's bill was for $26.34. They were very nice and dropped the fee. Did you know that most times if you ask, credit card companies and stores will drop late fees? Trust me, I know from personal experience. Don't be shy about calling and asking. Hopefully as time goes by, I won't need to do that anymore, because I won't HAVE credit card bills. I also cancelled my Kohl's charge account. Who needs a bunch of cards anyhow? Less temptation.

I seem to be writing a novel tonight. Even if no one else is interested, it helps to keep me on track. Each small accomplishment is a good feeling, like the feeling you get when you do something nice for someone else. We are doing something nice for ourselves, and it feels good, doesn't it?

Like everyone else, I've made a resolution to get in good financial shape this year. Hopefully next December I'll look over my entries and see how much I've accomplished! With that in mind, my goals are to step things up month by month. In January I'm doing something money-saving every day, no matter how small. These little things add up, as you know, and it will get me in the right frame of mind. February I'll continue with that and add something else as well.

Today I have lowered the heat way down because it's a sunny day. We have a thermostat timer that has been sitting around in the box for ages. My goal for today is to install it. This should be interesting. Whenever I install or put together something I'm one that does things backwards/wrong etc. More on this next time!

Well, I smell something suspicious in the hallway and Shadow (dachshund dog) is now dragging her butt across the carpet. I just let her out, too. Good thing I love her.

Back to my glamorous life.