JanH's Journey to Freedom

Today was almost a no spend day. I blew it when I suggested we get a treat at the bakery across the street from our walk. Hubby has used this weekend to crash, and his neck has been hurting. I thought we needed to get out of the house for a short while, but the walk around the same area sometimes makes me feel a little like a hamster on a wheel. I had this intense craving for a sweet treat, and the atmosphere at the bakery is conducive to chilling and talking. So, I decided that we should count LOW spend days. Any day that we spend less than 20 dollars. And, count LOW LOW spend days. Any day that we spend less than 10 dollars. Today was a 4 dollar day.

I finished up mowing the yard and mulching and collecting the leaves. Our front trees drop their leaves in the spring. When I first moved here, I had a hard time with washing the pollen off my car and raking the leaves in the same season. Weird.

I think that tomorrow I'll get Hubby out of the house by getting him to grill some steaks. Steaks will bite into the budget a bit; but the weather is so nice, and Hubby could use the change of scenery. And, we could admire the yardwork....

I was reviewing my Funds budget when I realized that I had way too much money in the Christmas Club. As in, I hadn't paid off Christmas with it yet. Huh? I've been paying the bills, but with the busyness of the last few months with medical issues, I hadn't followed up on some big things. Like paying off the credit card that contained the Christmas bills. Like the interest that was accruing on that card. Like the money was sitting there waiting. Oh good grief. Today, I transferred the money to checking and sent off the check to that card. Finally, I am moving forward a baby step or two....

I have gotten nothing else done today. Well, I did have a couple of conversations answering a question or two from my kids. I have to appreciate it that they like to bounce things off me from time to time. Makes me feel like I'm not too out to sea for them. When Hubby returned my call about his migraine meds, he apologized for being in a meeting. I realized that I had been in one, too. With the kids. Cool.

Hubby has tomorrow off. We'll be taking my car in for its annual inspection. And perhaps to buy a baby gift for the new grandson of the old friend who passed away a few months ago. They named the baby after him. How touching....

We had a great Easter weekend. Hope you all had a great one, too! We spent a bit of money, but got a lot of mileage out of it. We got in a birthday, an Easter dinner with DD's boyfriend's family, DS in a jazz performance, visit to the Grandbaby, dinner out with everyone, luncheon with the BF and crew....wow. All in all, I think we spent at least $500. We had to stay in a hotel, but I get a manager's rate there. They've been doing that for me since I stayed there so frequently when DS was an undergrad. And, we had to board the dogs. We had a birthday dinner we paid for and a portion of the big dinner out. But, the BF family paid for all the food they cooked for us. They also bought DD an Easter outfit to wear to the church service where DS and BF were playing music. They are really nice people, and we also got to finally meet Granny. Hubby has today off and we're vegetating.

I did have to return to the post office and talk to them about the hold mail situation again. We had the mail held, but it didn't work again. And, I had a package they delivered sitting on my doorstep the whole time. This is getting really frustrating. The postmaster is supposed to call me about it. I did get some more information though. Seems the automated mail (junk letters, I suppose) often get delivered anyway since they are handed out (to subs?) without sorting it really. Or something to that effect. Explains why sometimes I have some in the box and at the post office at the same time. This time, they just delivered it all. I am going to try to get all that junk mail stopped. They did say that it would be helpful to leave the hold mail card for my carrier to pick up himself. I sometimes wonder if it is not the regular guy that is doing this because we all agree he is pretty great. I wasn't sure which of my neighbors would be home to ask them to get my mail. I really would like to be able to have the service work. I called the number that is online and the lady was really helpful about it. But, she accidently hung up on me transferring me to someone else. So, I just went on down to see if any mail was actually at the post office to retrieve. Nope. Oh well, try, try again....

Hubby and I are determined to get back on budget. I had a concern that the spending the last three months would trigger a spree that I wouldn't realize at first. Hubby doesn't have that problem. But, I've done a lot better getting back on budget after all is done. I don't know what I could have saved and how much less debt we would have had if I'd just had a detailed spending plan all along.....

that they opened a branch of my favorite bakery the next highway over. I even thought about applying there when they were advertising for workers. I thought I would end up spending all my money there so it wouldn't work out. Not to mention gaining a ton of weight just being in the same room as the goodies. And the sandwiches are really good, too. Today, I was getting gas a block down the street, and I didn't/couldn't resist dropping in. Wow, I love that place. I ended up buying very little, but I saw things that I thought about on the way home. If I had stayed longer, I would have been in trouble. And, it is just around the corner. With the other stores 20 to 30 minutes away, I was okay. Now...this is not good....

Got an email from my bank (supposedly) telling me that due to excessive wrong logins, I needed to click on this link and reset my password. Instead, I logged onto the site directly and my account is not locked, nor had there been any alerts posted. I called the bank and got an abuse web address to which they wanted me to forward my email. They will investigate and shut down the site. They said they would NEVER have a link to click on in an email. The email people also picked the wrong time to send it to me. I have been out of town and not logged in for awhile. But, I can see where it might catch people who log on every day to check out their account. Good grief.

On the plus side, DD called and her follow up appointment with the oral surgeon had good news. Healing up great. And no more migraines since. Wish we had gotten her wisdom teeth xrayed when I originally thought about it. I'm such a proscrastinator. Would have saved some money with the headache meds and the doc visits. Not to mention the pain she's dealt with. Sheesh.

Another proscratination is the tax forms that have been sitting and waiting since February. I just need to copy them and mail everything off. You'd think that I would buckle down and do this. Especially since we're not paying anything. This will be the first time I've tried direct depositing a refund.

I've made friends with the bread machine that my SIL gave me years ago. I really like the bread much better than the store kind. But, once again, it tastes so good that I eat too much of it. I see a theme here.....

Got back a couple of days ago from helping DD through oral surgery to remove a couple of pesky wisdom teeth that just might be the cause of the awful pain in her jaw and some of her migraines. We can only hope. At least it got rid of the things. One of them was pushing into her other teeth, so it was a good time to do it. Kinda ruined part of her spring break. We got to laughing...two years ago on spring break she got a nasty case of food poisoning at Disney World. Last year, she got a nasty sunburn (next time listen to mommy) learning to snow ski. This year, wisdom teeth. Oh well, at least she got to visit the Mouse, see snow, and get rid of headaches. There are good sides and bad sides to her spring breaks.

My bank account has been clobbered. I need to take stock. But, today, I am cleaning up stuff and awaiting the termite guy. I have rescheduled the inspection a couple of times now. Just hope he gets here before the nasty weather. Otherwise, he's on his own....

So far, my plan is this...I am using the house repair fund for Hubby's surgery bills. Then, I'll put the IRS refund and stimulus thingy in there and hopefully have enough to start back on the repair work. I used my challenge money and my savings for the first month of the year to pay for DD's booboo on the guy's truck. I'm using the dental fund and this last month's challenge money for her teeth and assorted expenses for traveling and keeping her in pudding and ice cream. I'm not netting anything so far this year, but I hope I'm holding steady. I need to reassess after I recover from forgetting one of my meds last night. I need a vacation.....

The other day, I made the Froggie give up his change and counted and rolled it while watching TV. It came to $49.50 plus a few seed coins that went back into Froggie. I put the money into the bank, rounded it up to $50 and sent it to the targeted credit card. I've been using cash much more and not keeping the change in my purse, so I hope that Froggie will fill up faster. Adding to it is the change we find on our walks. The doc in the Big City has mandated that Hubby still walk at least 40 minutes a day. So, we still go in the evening to walk and collect change. Our biggest haul in one day was $1.18 in coins. The weekends are the biggies. Up until Hubby got his neck brace off, we didn't go as much on the weekend because so many people were there. I tried to watch out for him, but it made him nervous not to be able to see people coming up on his blind sides. His hearing got pretty acute, and sometimes he could hear them before I even noticed them. But, the weekend crowds were confusion. Now, we can go on weekends and our haul is a lot more. The parking lot has been a big haul, too. I guess people don't like to stop and bend down amongst the cars. We don't have a problem with it. The coins are fed into Froggie when we get home. He may not be getting fatter, but he sure is getting heavier! I made the mistake of telling the kids about our game. They think we're nuts. I think that in partnership with Froggie, we might just get out of debt a tad sooner. I've been watching LuxLiving and her change adventures. Every little bit helps.....

We very rarely use bad language in our household. But, a recent event has caused me to resurrect a name that, surprisingly, my saintly mother gave to a fund. Last Wednesday, the doc in the Big City gave Hubby the go ahead to return to restricted duty at work. We were elated that things were healing. We left with all the paperwork that we would need to give to New Company, and I drove out of Big City in a big rainstorm and lots of traffic. Breathing a sigh of relief in many ways, including that we wouldn't have to stay on 60% pay! The very next morning, dear DD called very upset. She'd dinged a car in a parking lot. Poor thing. She's been really watching her finances. We decided to pay for it out of pocket. No need after our large deductible to put it on her driving record. And, we'd be paying the extra on her premiums, too. So, she took care of all the work that it took to get the final settlement amounts and his signed stuff and everything so I could send a check. So far, so good. Now, I just had to figure out from where to draw the funds. Hubby had just said to put a smidge of a seed in my long neglected laptop fund so we could evacuate from hurricanes much easier. But, there wasn't anything in there to use for the ding. I had drawn from the house repair fund to pay for Hubby's medical bills. I had planned to put the small tax refund and the whateverthatis that is coming toward repairing that fund. So, where to get it? Then, I remembered Mom's fund. The Damn It Fund. For those things that just cause you to say.....phooey, rats, darn it, etc. So, I sat down today and, on paper, separated my long-term emergency fund. I recreated a small portion of it into the Damn It Fund. I was going to use my Challenge Money to pay on debt, but I will divvy it up to include refunding the Damn It Fund. Just for those times in life that you need it. We were blessed. DD wasn't hurt. No one was in the car she dinged and so no one got hurt. The car she was driving wasn't damaged. And, so far, the young man has been helpful to finish it all up. We had much more problems when DS got hit in a parking lot from his dinger person. So, all in all, we're doing fine. Without the last year on Saving Advice, I wouldn't have had the funds in the first place. Once again, I am grateful to the good folks here....

we had one of those elusive things...a No Spend Day. We've had plenty of Low Spend Days, but I haven't really focused on a true no spend day. I'm going to put this down and track if I can get others and, hopefully, this will become a normal thing in our household. We actually came out ahead because we found seven cents on our walk today. It was deposited into Froggie. Tomorrow, I have to pay some bills and the next day contains some planned spending. Hopefully, we'll be able to accomplish another one of these Days again soon.

This is the week of the month that we try to eat out of the fridge, freezer, and pantry and not spend on groceries. I might have to get a box of cereal for Hubby since he's been home eating breakfasts for the last three weeks. I bought up some since they were on sale, but I didn't buy a big enough supply for No Grocery Week. I've thought about seeing if there is anything I can make muffins out of that he would like. He doesn't like too many different things for breakfast. Oh, well, this is just the second time. We'll get better at it....

this time with paint balls. I kept hearing something thwacking outside, but I couldn't place the sound. Hubby and I thought it sounded like a staple gun or something. Then, I took the doggies outside and was standing by the older neighbor's short wire fence when I heard a thwack behind me. I turned and looked at her house and it was yellow and orange polka-dotted! There were at least a dozen bright dots over the back of the house nearest me. I turned and looked into the yard behind her and saw a couple of little kiddoes heading back into their house. Carrying paint guns. Aha! That's the noise I heard all morning. They got tired of target practice in their own yard and tried out the range of their guns on the neighbor. I called her and had to explain just what paint guns were and what was going on. I wanted to help her remove the paint in case it stained her siding. We are going to paint our house soon, so it wouldn't be too bad on our old paint. I didn't happen to see any on our house, but I did find a paint ball outside my back door. I must be just out of range or the wind got it. At any rate, she must have called the backyard guy because the little rascals came and tried to wipe it off. Not the best job in the world. I was surprised that an adult didn't accompany them to make sure it was all gone. Well, at least they know it is wrong to shoot things other than their targets. I could have been hit while I was outside. I do know that my nephews played, but they use goggles and protective gear. I was just walking the dog. Yikes. Between the pellet guns, the paint guns, the sling shots, the ax tossing, and other sorts of activity, the backyard is getting scary. Time to call the fence guy. We need to use the money and get a BIG fence....

Hubby has to go for walks a couple of times a day as part of his healing process. So, I teasingly "take him for a walk" at least twice a day. With the weather and all, we've been going to the local mall which is mostly quiet during the week. During these walks, we started a sort of game. Hubby can't look side to side or down right at his feet. He can look forward and down ahead of us. I am trying to watch for people darting out of stores or coming up on the sides where he can't see them. And, I am trying not to look in store windows, so I am often looking down ahead of us. We find coins. That's the game. Of course, it isn't easy with not that many people during the day, but we often find a penny or two. Sometimes, a dime or a quarter. One day, we found a foreign coin. Not sure yet how much it is worth. Sometimes, the coins are in a crowd. We had to leave behind three pennies one day because of that. Yesterday, we saw a penny under a bench where a young man was sitting and eating. I left it alone because I was afraid he'd call security on "that looney woman crawling under my bench." But, he'd left by the final round of the walk and the penny was still there. On the way out, Hubby found a dime. We feed the froggie bank with the coins at the end of the day. I wish we'd kept track like LuxLiving and had a total at the end of the three weeks or so....

Hubby is required to walk a couple of times a day as part of his recovery from surgery. The only exercises he is allowed until the brace comes off is stationary bicycling and walking. We don't have a bike and the treadmill seemed a bit daunting. If he walks at his normal speed, he might be at risk of tripping on the treadmill. He can't look down. At first, he was told not to go to the mall or something, but now he is steadier on his feet and the mall nearest us is often pretty empty. I have to go with him to drive him there and also to watch for people rushing out of stores into him or around a corner. His peripheral vision is not so hot right now. So, off we go at least twice a day to walk laps around the mall. It is quiet and flat surfaced and climate controlled. The only problem is that I get bored a bit. Then, I start noticing things in the windows. Then, my brain kicks in that little button that says....hmmmm, shopping.....

I've been trying to curb the urge. Each time I see something, I try to recall something I already have. Recalling money doesn't always help because I know there are monies in some categories of the budget. But, I try to remind myself that I am going to be living on a lesser percentage of salary and every dime counts. The first day, I was hungry when we went, and I bought a pretzel. So, now, I make sure I've eaten or carry a snack with me. The next time, I bought something for the house. We've been looking for this for awhile. But, I have turned down the idea of replacing something else for the time being. Even though I pass it every day...twice a day. Yesterday, we stopped on the way out and bought some kitty food, but that was it. I forced myself to bypass all other things. This is hard. The best way to keep me from spending is just to not go there. But, I am using this as a desensitizing thing. I am confronting the shopping urge head on. I am forced to walk past these stores at least twice a day for several laps at a time. I keep saying to myself...I know I can, I know I can....

This started a very long time ago. A number of young men went to work for the chemical/refinery plants in this area. Fresh out of school, many co-op students, they got together for lunches to hash out how to deal with management and how to solve problems and just have fun. They got married, had kids, moved up in their jobs--some in management themselves--and moved on to other plants and some to other cities. They stayed in contact as much as possible. When their kids all got to teens, it was harder to see each other outside of work--like the softball league or basketball league or even nickel poker nights. Then, as work became more demanding and scattered among a number of sold and resold plants, they didn't get to eat lunch much either. Over the years, women had became involved with the group. Which I was glad to see happening. It meant that the plants were hiring more women! After all was said and done, the lunch group dwindled to three...Hubby and two women. One was a young engineer moving up into management that benefitted some from Hubby's knowledge and long trials and errors. The other was a close friend of the first and the wife of Hubby's boss at the time. I knew about the lunches and nicknamed the three of them...the Girlfriends. This went on for a long while. I realized how funny it must have looked, especially when DD saw them the first time at a place she was eating. She came home shocked and upset. I had to reassure her that I knew these women and what was going on. It still took some getting used to on her part. She forbade me to call them the Girlfriends in her presence. Now, she eats out with them when we run into them at lunchtime. Two years ago, they both were pregnant with their first children at the same time. Hubby got me tickled with the stories of lunches with two women with the topic mostly pregnancy. He's been through it with me, so he was just fine.

Fast forward to today. Hubby's boss moved with Girlfriend V. to Big City, but they keep in contact by email and sometimes phone calls. We were in big trouble when we didn't let her know about Hubby's condition, and we got a call and I explained it all to her. Girlfriend K.'s plant was sold and eventually Hubby left Old Company and went to work for the same company as Girlfriend K. They are now working for the same plant again. They take over each other's jobs when one is out, so Hubby just finished working her job while she was on vacation, and she is now working his job while he's out on medical leave. She's a bright cookie, and I appreciate it that Hubby can relax and know things are taken care of between her and the rest of his crew. We met with Girlfriend V. in Big City when we went for the first doctor appointment and bought her lunch. She regaled us with hilarious stories about surviving two year old twins. We met with Girlfriend K. the day we left for surgery. She had returned from vacation to find her house burglarized, and we bought her lunch and made sure she was doing okay. Hubby gave me three names of people to call after the surgery (outside of family). One was his boss, the other two was the Girlfriends. I made sure to update them all.

We met with Girlfriend K. yesterday for lunch so Hubby could see how things were going and so we could update her on how he is doing. She can update the rest of the crew for us. She bought our lunch. We received a HUGE basket of cookies, candies, and other goodies that I am sure was instigated by Girlfriend K. even if it was sent by someone else. We need to get some thank you cards and maybe even a gift for Girlfriend K. I have been eating with them and enjoying the fun. They are a funny bunch of people. I used to go eat lunch with Hubby once a week, but it peetered out when the kids were teenagers. Now that he has a Girlfriend Club, I might just want to join them at least once a week. We have a budget for lunches out with the Girlfriends. They tend to alternate paying, but I have an amount to cover at least a month's worth. When I suggested that I might join them once a week or so, Hubby thought it would be fun for us both. I have been initiated into the Girlfriend Club....

We're having trouble getting the complete package of paperwork from the doc in the Big City so that Hubby can start working from home next week. We've been working on this for a week. Without it, he goes to 60 percent pay next week. I've been working on ways to cut out things so that we can live on almost half our income. Of course, I won't be putting the almost 10 percent in savings this month. And there are several places where we can cut monies out. All our entertainment budget can be cut. We don't use much of our clothing allowance most months. The whole thing can be saved. And this month, I've saved almost a quarter of our food budget, so we can do that again. No gas, except for trip to Big City to see the doc in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, by that time we can take the papers with us and get his John Hancock right away. I don't want to worry DD, so I won't tell her and I'll keep her monies for school up to date. And pay the bills. If I hadn't been using everyone's advice from the blogs, I would be in a world of hurt. I panicked for a few hours. Then, I sat down and made a plan. Next, I'll make some menus. And turn off all the lights.....

When Hubby had surgery, we boarded the dogs once again at the vet's new place. They love it there. I knew they were happy campers. But, the kitty had never been boarded, and I was a bit worried about her since it was going to be for a good while. I ended up having to take her on a weekend and felt bad because she had to reside in a totally new place without people. The only people she would see until the week started were those who came to feed and care for them. Poor Kitty. We decided to rent a Cat Condo at the vet's for her so she could at least spend the following week watching what was going on. The lobby at the vet's has a huge floor to ceiling window beside the desk area. Often, there are three or more people working there, sometimes with little doggies playing around their feet. The condos are three story units that face the lobby area through this window. Each one has a sleeping area, an eating area, and a litter box area. The kitties can climb between the three levels of their own personal condo. I was afraid the price would be a problem, but I felt that she would enjoy the long stay better than in a cage alone. I found out that the condos were only about a dollar more per day than the other accommodations. So, kitty had a good stay and warmed up to the office gals and other personnel quite nicely. She stayed in cat luxury just the same as we did after the surgery. Puuuuuurrrrfect!

Our local mail service has basically been pretty awesome. A couple of times, substitute carriers got the street mixed up, and we all went around redistributing the mail. I appreciate the fact that stuff I mail gets to where I need it to go for very little cost. I couldn't drive it there for that price. But, recently, we've hit a snag. A couple of weeks ago, I tried to hold the mail. Once or twice, I've used the online service, but the mail came one of the days I designated, so I went physically this time to fill out a little card. I went on a Thursday to stop the mail from Friday through Monday. We left on Friday morning and returned on Sunday. There was mail in the mailbox. Monday was Martin Luther King Day so no mail. Tuesday, I was preparing to go restart the mail when the mail arrived at the house. Hmmmmm. Not supposed to be coming without my authorization. I figured that it hadn't stopped at all, so I just stayed home. Wednesday and Thursday there was no mail delivered. I got suspicious because I was supposed to get something on those days. I went down and sure enough, NOW the mail was stopped. Oh well, a fluke. But, I needed to stop the mail for Hubby's surgery the next week. So, I got the same guy I had used before and filled out another card, giving an earlier starting date than I needed so that I could see if it stopped this time. He highlighted it in pink and wrote initials and everything. It worked. The mail stopped. After we returned home, I went on the last day to restart it and pick up the accummulated mail. I got home and nearly met the mail person delivering some mail to my house. Now, that mail shouldn't have been on the truck. It should have still been at the post office. Drat. Didn't totally work. I am frustrated because of all the identity thefts and the papers I got in the mail were important ones. I really didn't want them to arrive while I was gone. I am not sure what to do about this. I am going to mail a box in the next day or so to my Dad. The post office still does a great job of getting my boxes there in one piece. So, I'll continue to use the mail. I'm just frustrated because this isn't a very big place, and I should be able to get this service. I miss my regular mail guy. Wonder where he went.....

Hubby's surgery went really well. We went to the Big City on Monday and stayed overnight in a fancy hotel near the hospital. Most of the people there were connected in some way to a medical issue so the place was really quiet. And we needed a real comfy place to reside. Hubby's surgery was Tuesday before dawn. We got good news that things went well, then waited for his long recovery time period and to the hospital room for one night. His parents had flown in so that his dad was able to stay with him overnight. Which I thought was much better for the gentleman sharing his room. I got a good night's rest and then we brought Hubby to the hotel to stay for two more nights so we could make sure everything was okay before we transported him two hours to home. Never knew there were so many potholes on the way home until we drove him through them or around as many as we could.

We've paid the estimated hospital portion. The medicines were generic so that only made us pay 10 dollar co-pays. The hotel had a humongous breakfast every morning. We had brought some food supplies, and Hubby's parents bought several dinners for us. We had to buy some extra pillows to support his neck and head, but we'll use those at home, too. The biggest other expenses will be the hotel and the boarding of the pets. Between those two things, we've got to pay about 1000 dollars. Gas wasn't too bad since we used the smaller rental the parents had so that we could get into and out of the small parking spaces. We had driven Hubby's truck since he can get into and out of it easier. So only half a tank of gas for us. We did have to buy some supplies for bandaging to supplement the hospital stuff. And, we broke down the night before the surgery and shopped at a HUGE used bookstore and picked up something just in case he was down and out a little more. We will also have the bills from the docs and stuff.

Hubby is walking around and getting the hang of wearing the collar around his neck. If the paperwork shows up early next week, he probably will be working from home and then I can drive him in whenever he feels he is steady enough and has the energy.

Boomeyers, I totally forgot to let you know when it was. Thanks for offering your thoughts and prayers. After about five hours of surgery, we called the kids, but I totally forgot to call my own mother! I think my mind has been sorta fritzing lately! The recovery time was a couple more hours, then I fed him dinner, and we settled him in. We were pretty wiped out but really happy. Right before bed, Dad-in-law called me to tell me he was already walking laps around the corridors. He was determined to get out! I suspect it will all catch up to him after the weekend and beloved DD goes back to school. She is keeping him company for a couple of days now. Those two are real buddies.

I'm going to get my financial file for the surgery caught up and see the totals. The bills for the MRIs and other stuff are coming in. It will take a bit to see the total outcome. We are going to use the house money for it. We'll take stock after that and see where we are. Before this last year or so on this site, we probably wouldn't have had the money in hand. To say I'm grateful would be an understatement.....

Wow, it is really pouring here. It has been raining for days and nights. I had to get out to get my hair cut, and now I'm sitting in front of the little heater to dry out my jeans. Once they are warm again, I'm going to make me another cup of tea. I'm resisting upping the central heat and just staying in place til I thaw. I don't think it's going to warm up much outside today. And I've cancelled the doggie vet appointment. That would be a crazy exercise today. I've needed to get to the grocery for a couple of days, but I am digging into the freezer/pantry for a supper again tonight. So spending today has been limited to hair. But, I did have to buy some products. I don't use fancy shampoo, but my hair hates most styling products. I have one or two that work, and I pay a little more for them. I think my toiletries budget is shot for the month.

I've figured out how much interest I'd be paying if I stayed at the same level of debt until Hubby retires. WOW. That hurts. I was looking at what Broken Arrow saved in interest and that got me thinking on those lines. Definitely would make a person want to up the debt repayment plan. If nothing else, filing all these debts every month or so should drive me crazy enough to want to get rid of them.....

We went to the Big City to check in with the hospital where Hubby will be having his operation. We were floored when the anesthesiologist we were meeting with was trying to confirm what surgery he was having. He told us a completely different surgery. Same body part, different procedure entirely. We just kept saying, No, we aren't....So, he thought maybe the procedure hadn't been updated in the computers. He checked with the office staff of the doctor. Nope, they had the same surgery on file as he did. Now, we're really confused. Fortunately, we had gotten in early so that the nurse from the doc's office was still in. They leave early on Fridays. So, she came down and explained the procedure that the doc had changed it to. The question we had was if it was going to solve Hubby's problem because that was the reason this procedure had been rejected the first time. The only thing we can think of is that the better MRI we had done there showed something different than the doc had expected. The crazy thing is that no one had told US that the procedure was totally different. It will be a much better surgery for Hubby to endure and recover from. We've got a call into the doc today, and he's supposed to call after he gets out of surgery today. We need to find out what is truly going on. Our doc here says he is awesome, so we are comfortable that he knows what he is doing. We just need to confirm things before we agree to do this. All in all, it is going to be much easier and hopefully solve the problems. And will be much cheaper and Hubby will most likely be able to return to work much earlier. This guy's success rate is really, really good and they really care about their patients. We've been impressed with just about all of it. Except we kinda need to know just what Hubby is going to have done. It will all be explained in the long run. But, it was a shocker at the moment.....

I read in the past year about people in more parched areas collecting rainfall and others collecting water inside. We have a sorta box-shaped house--longer one way than the other. Of course, the hot water heater is on one end and the master bath on the other. Water pipes run through the attic, and since we haven't gotten all the old insulation out and new put in yet, the water is COLD this time of year. I grew up on spring water so I should be used to it. But, over the years, I've enjoyed it hotter and hotter. I watched the water run one day while I was waiting for hot water to show up and realized that I was wasting a ton of water each week. So, I found a clean bucket and started collecting the cold water. Then, I had to figure out what to do with it every day. One day, I watered the outside porch plants that don't get rain. Then, I figured I could use it to fill the dogs' water dispenser. Then, I watered the inside plants. Today, I have another thing of water. I think I will put it into the washer this afternoon with a load of cold wash that I need to do. I'm finding out that I have to come up with ideas to use up this water. Wow, how much have I used over the years letting it run just for one shower? Multiply that by all of us for years and, whoa...that's a lot of water. I haven't told Hubby what I'm doing yet. I wanted to see what I found out. He's probably really wondering what the bucket in the shower is for. I'll have to have some facts ready or he's liable to up my medicine this time.....

I took the expense check down to the bank and deposited it. It was about 300 dollars. Then, I took a deep breath and told the teller to pay off the auto loan. So, 952 dollars later.....it is a big fat ZERO! One more down.....

I called the credit card with the highest interest rate and asked for it to be lowered. I pay on time and always more than the minimum. Most of my credit cards have rates that are far and away less than this card. I haven't transferred the balance because I wanted to work with less percentage on each card. I missed one payment during DS's wedding month when he was sick and getting married and graduating all at the same time. Two of our bills got misplaced. They didn't even put it on my credit report, but the interest went up. Almost three years later, I've asked twice to lower it. They only lowered it this time and for a miniscule amount. I was floored when he wanted me to transfer a balance for a lower rate on the balance transfer. Why would I do that if he wouldn't help me with the balance I already have? Then, he told me I could pay this one off and then transfer a balance and save money. Sure I could. It would be feasible. But, why would I want to continue with a card that didn't want to take care of me as a customer NOW? He made some sense, but it was the principle of the thing. Now, if he had lowered it to a rate that is the average rate for my other cards, that might have made me feel better and they would keep me as a customer. So, I got a secured loan with the credit union at a very good rate and will be paying this goofy card off. The interest rate I am receiving on the money it is secured to and the interest I am paying on the loan will be close to balancing out. So, goodbyes will be said really soon to a big interest debt. Then, the money I put on that card each month goes to pay a bigger portion on the loan. Yay!

I also redistributed the monies from the auto loan payment. Some went into the charity column. Some went as additional principle on the truck loan. A bunch went toward additional credit card payments. And I took advice from here and put the last into a new fund for a replacement car. All our vehicles are getting up there. I'm hoping that we will have at least another couple years on each. That will allow that fund to build up a little.

Well, year 2008....it's a start....

We have tried a new strategy in the menu/grocery department. We have gotten the grocery bill down and holding steady. The next thing was to figure out how to manage what we have bought and stashed. Enter new idea. We designated the third week of each month as eat out of the freezer/pantry/fridge week. And no cheating by buying up a lot of stuff the week before. The idea is to use our heads and be creative with what we have left from the other weeks. When I proposed it to Hubby and outlined the first week's menus, he thought it was a good idea. And true to form, he caught me off guard with a funny. He said it was a good idea--Roadkill week! I had to laugh. The menus are going to be much better than that. But, this way it sounds much more fun....

Dang it, got the gloomies today. I've been working on house cleaning. And done some exercising. That always helps some. But, I've been trying to stay out of the fridge. I've been doing pretty well lately. But, sometimes things just grind to a halt. I would love to just sit and read, but too many things need to be done in too few days. So, I just need to push through just a little. And, maybe tonight I can just let it go. I think part of it might be that I'm trying to be a good little mommie and not stress over DD starting another semester. This time she is off some of her meds and using a very good therapist. So, I guess I just have to stay back and let her run with it. She'll do just fine. I'm just such a mom sometimes.

I have checked on the auto loan and now the payment has gone through. I still haven't deposited the two checks I hold yet. Especially, since I talked to DS and one of the checks is from them. They are having a tough time until he finds a job. DIL's adamant about paying me back, but her paychecks are growing smaller with the increases in gasoline and food. They won't let me give them money, so I will send a couple of packages of diapers for the little one. Maybe that will be okay and will help some. So, I will deposit one check and apply it to the auto loan. This is one time that something ending is really cool.

Maybe I'll go find some chocolate.....

Hubby hates seafood. Even the smell. So, we don't go to a seafood restaurant with him. I try to have a good one on hand for when the relatives comes because they all like to try the seafood. Especially since we live near the coast. Since Hurricane Rita, there have been changes in the seafood restaurant selections. Some places have closed. One burned after the storm. There are a couple of Cajun style seafood places nearby, but I'm not too big on Cajun seasoning, although it is pretty terrific in fried turkeys. And I can eat a toned-down version in ettoufee, etc. But not really on my fish. There is a place we pass by every time we go visit the kids. It's not too far from where we live. I checked online to see if they offered something Hubby could eat. Hubby wanted me to practice driving the truck, since I'll be driving him home from the Big City after surgery. The truck is so much easier for him to get in and out of when he's all banged up. So, off we went to eat fishy stuff.

Not bad. I liked the selection of things you could order and the fact that you can order them something other than fried. I've run into that problem at other places around here. In addition, I substituted grilled veggies for the potato. Most of the time that means a couple of vegetables barely cooked. This time there was a big variety of vegetables grilled and filling half the plate. I pigged out on those. The place was in a little town and the patrons knew everyone there. They went all around the restaurant greeting neighbors and chatting. It was quite the atmosphere. I think that I can bring the folks here for a good meal. Not sure that Hubby will ever go again. But, at least he gave it a try. Did I mention he hates seafood.....

I have a bit of a question mark in my head today. I received two checks that I need to deposit. One is an expense check from Hubby's work and the other is a reimbursement check from DIL. I have one more coming from my mother. But, I hate to hold on to DIL's check too long, because it messes up their checkbook with it still in there. Their finances are pretty tight, and they don't like to have outstanding stuff. So, I need to deposit these two. I am stuck at what to do with them. The expense check is for more than the gasoline we put in Hubby's truck for those trips for work. They go by mileage. So, I don't need the whole amount for gasoline. I keep thinking I should put them on an extra credit card payment, but I have an exciting thing happening. I am almost through paying for the big auto loan. The next payment will be taken out this weekend and then we'll owe less than two payments. I was thinking of paying it off, even though the interest rate on it is miniscule compared to other things we have. But, the thought of paying something off is just too exciting. I am so very tempted to put this money on that loan. Between this deposit and the payment, we can cut a fair chunk out of the remainder. Then, I can see about paying the last of it off. What to do....what to do......

We finally caught up with DD this weekend and had our third Christmas. It was a fun time of relaxing and catching up. Hubby and I got back Sunday evening. And I've still got to go pick up our mail. Actually, it has been sorta fun not getting any mail--most of which I have to shred anyway. Got to get on those do not mail lists.

We called and finally got all our ducks in a row. Hubby has to have major surgery, and we needed to get all his tests and stuff all planned out. And to get all his down time planned out. I think his parents are coming so that will help with extra hands. I think we'll have to use a big chunk of our house repair fund to pay for the medical costs. We had saved his bonus for the house repairs, now we'll need it for Hubby repairs.

DD's tuition is due again. It costs about 1000 more each semester than DS's because of all the building the college has been doing. I hope she is there long enough to benefit from all the buildings we are helping to pay for! But she seems to be settling into this college thing. And that's good. And worth it.

I finally finished repainting the hallway. And I've got samples for the living room. But, I think I might start on Hubby's office next. Then, I can close the door on the fumes while he recovers. And it will keep me busy so I don't do him in. He suggested that he might change his will so that if he doesn't survive his time at home--I get nothing. I think he knows he will be going stir crazy, and I might be tempted to cash in his life insurance....

Seriously, we have to get some legal papers fixed up. I never thought of a medical power of attorney. And our outdated will only names DS and "other children" which makes DD feel kinda funny. And they don't need a guardian anymore. We've gotten assigned a new lawyer through New Company's new program with local attorneys. We just might need to do that since our last lawyer was arrested for trading legal services to prostitutes for sexual favors. Can we pick them or what....

over my house most of the evening were quite entertaining. I know there is a city ban on fireworks, but it never seems to deter the folks in the neighborhood. I always have a free show. In fact, I often wonder how much they spend on all those things. I felt like Fort Sumter last night with fairly large fireworks going off both in front of and in back of my house. No matter where I sat, I could watch the show. I usually stay up and watch and make sure nothing catches fire. One year, we had one run up under our car. But, with early mornings the next few days, this was one year I didn't make it all the way to midnight. What amazes me is that I slept through the rest of the barrage. I guess it got to be background noise after five hours.

I hope everyone had an awesome New Year's Eve. And here's to all of us and our financial and physical health for 2008!

Earlier in the year, we were picked as a Nielsen family for a week, then the government in its infinite wisdom picked us for a census thingy. They sent us a pamphlet during the middle of the holiday/birthday/graduation extravaganza and wanted us to fill out some information on our household. Oh, good grief, we didn't even have time to slap a stamp on a single Christmas card! But after a postcard with dire warnings that it is illegal not to fill it out and a second set of papers arriving just in case we misplaced the first ones, we decided we'd better take care of it. We looked it over carefully to see if the stuff was even legitimate. No giving out info for us if we can help it. Then, Hubby sat down to fill out a sheaf of papers on his medical history for his upcoming doc appointment and then filled out this bunch of questions. We were stumped on a couple. What do you answer if they ask your ethnic origin? We are basically mutts. I put down the major one or two that I knew, but Hubby had to just guess. Then, there was the question if our fire/flood insurance was paid for with our mortgage payment. Well.....yes, fire....no, flood and wind. So what do you put. Both? And what on earth does that have to do with anything, anyway? I'm sure there were reasons for them. Especially since the government is where the flood comes from anyway. And the state is where the wind stuff comes from. So, I guess there is a need to know. A couple even made us chuckle. I would just like to know who thought that sending this in the middle of a holiday season would get our attention. Sheesh, I'm still trying to catch up on filing our bills and shredding our regular junk....

Hubby got a $50 gift card from New Company for a grocery chain in this area. We could have used it for holiday groceries, but we had a plan. We drove to a bigger city nearby that had one of their stores, but it is a megastore. With all kinds of departments including books, music, videos, some housewares, and about ten meat departments. We studied it when it opened and found that some groceries were cheaper, but others weren't. That was the last time we went there. However, Hubby wanted to buy some new music to listen to in his truck since he rarely listens to radio. So, we took the card and went off to the megastore to redeem it in the music department. They have a really well laid out department with the latest and then some. Hubby has a hard time spending money on himself, and this gift card was the best way to get him to spend some. He spent it just about dead-on. And he was a happy camper. Thanks New Company!

My goal last year was to find a budget that worked for us and stick with it. And to learn to save money for emergencies and those pesky things like tires. Debt reduction was a half-hearted effort last year. We've almost paid off the big car loan, and we've not charged much. Except that we do put DD's tuition on the cards, and I don't have an effective system set up for tuition payments yet. So, we've gone round and round with the same numbers as the final tally. Bummer.

This year is definitely the one in which we're going to concentrate on debt. We've made up our minds, which is half the battle. Now, to a plan of action. I have a couple of ideas to start with that ties into the budget. And I have a couple of charts set up. One has the debt sorted by balance. The other by interest rates. We will have a couple of issues like the tuition and Hubby's probable surgery. But, we just have to stick with our resolve. We've given ourselves a timetable of two years. Seeing the results so many here have been having this year, we are inspired. Now, we just need to roll up our sleeves, apply the elbow grease, firm our convictions, and plow into it. I'll be excited to have totals coming ANYWHERE near what some of blogs have been posting. Great job, guys and gals! Perhaps we'll join the land of the free or nearly free by this time next year....

In the interest of not heating the oven up more often, I asked for and received a new toaster from DD and Boyfriend a year ago. I have not had the best relationship with toasters. My requirements were that it toast all kinds of things and that, hopefully, it would do it without being persnickity about the settings. I didn't want to throw out perfectly good bread anymore because of burnt stuff. I like things very toasted, but not dead. And, I hoped that I would get one that would actually pop up where I could reach the item and not have to turn the toaster upside down to get it out. I have had to get into the habit of using the toaster, so it has resided a bunch of the time in the cabinet under the stovetop. I decided in the interest of saving money, to bring it out onto the counter and actually use it. Then, something happened that I've only seen in movies. I was toasting only one piece this time and it was a smaller sized piece toward the end of the loaf. And, wow, the toaster popped up and flung the piece clear out of the toaster and across the counter. I wasn't as smooth as the movies and didn't catch it. This is too cool. I am going to watch and see if this ever happens again and practice on my movie moves....