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Archive for October, 2007

Am I the oldest?

October 31st, 2007 at 03:07 pm

Am I the oldest member of this forum that is going to dress up tonight and go out for Halloween?
Our little town has a big deal. They close off traffic on the square and about 60 people set up tables with candy for all the kids.
We dress up too and walk around with all the kids.
Then we go out for dinner in full costume. Last time, the president of the local bank looked at us like we were crazy!!

Happy Halloween.

I am still here

October 30th, 2007 at 08:45 pm

I am still around, I have just had a quiet no spend day. I have been working on the material I have to submit for my husband's state contractor license, so I have that all done. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Baker's cyst

October 29th, 2007 at 03:15 pm

My husband just got back from the doctor's office. He has had a lump in the back of his knee for about a month and we were worried about it.
It turns out it is something called a baker's cyst and it is harmless.
I sure am happy that is it not serious.
I got a $5 check from Pinecone and walked a mile to add another $1.
prev. total $23,655.00
today 6.00
new total $23,661.00

Got some good deals today.

October 28th, 2007 at 05:05 pm

I needed one of those one time cameras so I head to CVS this morning, they had them buy one get one free, so I saved $10.Then, I bought hamburger on sale and also ice cream. Saved another $3 there. That is $13 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $23,642.00
today 13.00
new total $23,655.00

No heat yet!

October 27th, 2007 at 06:08 pm

I have yet to turn on the heat in my house. It was 64 in here this morning. When my dh let my little dog get into bed, she went directly under the covers. I have a heating pad in the bed that she sleeps in. I did so well on my electric bill the past 6 months, but I don't control my heat as well. I budget $30 a week for heat all year long. so that is about $1500 a year that I allot for heating. I had 400 gallons of propane put in last month to the tune of $750. So that is half of my budgeted amount for the year. Hope we have a warm winter!

This is the nicest forum

October 26th, 2007 at 06:09 pm

I feel so lucky to be a member of this forum. All the members are so nice, just our own little family. I have been on other forums and there are many "not so nice" type of people on them.
I know we don't always agree with each other, but I love the encouragement on this forum!

I thought I lost my keys!

October 25th, 2007 at 09:39 pm

I thought I lost my car keys today. I always carry two sets luckily. They are on those keychains that unlock the doors and open the hatch (trunk) for you.
I alway use key chain #1 and I went grocery shopping. When I got into the car to come home, I could only find key #2. I dumped my purse, went back into the store, looked all around the ground, basket, etc.
Finally, I found the key when I was unpacking the groceries. The wind was blowing real hard and my purse tipped over a little. The key fell into a bag of groceries and it was the last thing I unpacked when I got home. I have never lost my car keys in my life.
The good news was that I saved $6 using my Ingles advantage card.
Prev. total $23,636.00
today 6.00
new total $23,642.00

2 more months til christmas!!

October 25th, 2007 at 03:32 pm

Yup, that is right!! Just two months from today is christmas day. Not a biggie for me, I have no family to buy for, except my darling husband. It is getting really hard to even find something to buy him. He has everything he wants, as do I!
Back to the challenge, the stock market went up on Monday and Tuesday, I had a no gas use day on Tuesday, I walked a mile yesterday and saved $1 using my bi-lo card; that makes $5.
Then I recieved a check for $538 and an nfomy survey check for $10, to I have $553 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $23,083.00
today 553.00
new total $23,636.00

car insurance

October 24th, 2007 at 09:27 pm

I just called to check on car insurance for our new car. The saleman said he would take care of it, but he didn't. So, I have just charged the first six months premium to my charge card. I will pay it off next month in full.
BTW, my insurance for the next 6 months is $450 which I did not think was too bad for a new corvette.
I have a great record, no accidents and no tickets in my life!!

Sending the mechanic a check

October 24th, 2007 at 06:17 pm

I decided to send the mechanic that fixed our car in Florida a check as a means of saying thank you. He did a great job of taking our car all apart and then getting it back together so we could go home the next day.
I called the dealership and got his name, so the check will be on the way soon today.

Lady bugs!

October 23rd, 2007 at 08:37 pm

Do you have lady bugs? As soon as it gets cool here, they start swarming in. Then we are stuck with them all winter. They manage to get inside the house thru the attic and come in thru the can lights. I spend all day vaccuming them up constantly!! I just wondered if anyone else has this problem? They seem to love light colored stucco houses.

Drove the new car for the first time

October 22nd, 2007 at 03:54 pm

I drove our new car for the first time today. It seems so different.
There is no keys. You just push a button to start the car and to shut off the car. You also push a button to open the doors.
When I first got in and pushed the button to start, nothing happened. But then the car "told" me to step on the brake. Then it started!
Well, I made it to the bank and back, safe and sound, thank goodness!
This car manuel told me to use premium gas only. In my red corvette, it says to use regular, but when I do, I hear a pinging noise. Guess I will use premium for both of the cars. The blue corvette (1978) requires premium and does the 1933 ford victoria.
The only vehicle that takes regular is my husband's work van.
Yes, you are reading right, 5 vehicles for 2 people!! Good thing dh has a very low maintenance type of wife!!
I turned in all of my change for the month and have $40 to add to the $20 challenge.
Prev. total $23,043.00
today 40.00
new total $23,083.00

Back to being frugal!!

October 21st, 2007 at 06:15 pm

Well, I have certainly had about 10 days of not being frugal at all.
First of all i went to my class reunion in Florida, so I stayed in a motel and we ate all of our meals out.
Then, the car broke down and it took $1800 to get the fuel pump replaced. We also spent $300 on a rental car while we were there.
We had ordered a new car in July and it was waiting for us when we finally got back, so I put down a BIG down payment.
I always have a car fund that I contribute to every week. That is just part of my budget. I actually have enough in my car fund to pay cash for the car but don't tell my husband. He is very good with money except for his weakness with cars.
At least he is better than his younger brother.
All that guy talks about is racing. He goes to the races every week somewhere and all he watches is speedtv. (I would not have been married to him very long)
He also has 6 horses, 2 dogs, 4 cats, 11 vehicles, a boat and 2 ATV's.
So, it is back to be frugal this week. I found steak at Bi Lo on sale so I saved $4 which I will add to the $20 challenge today.
Prev. total $23,039.00
today 4.00
new total $23,043.00

Free T shirts!

October 20th, 2007 at 11:13 pm

When we bought the new car yesterday, the salesman gave us 2 free t shirts. I love getting free t shirts for my husband. He is a builder and always looks the "part" with his stained and paint stained clothes. We also got a free tank of gas.
So, even tho we went to a party today for 800 people (called the "Bash"), I used none of my gas and had a no spend day.
We went to a party last night, so I got free dinner last night and free lunch today. Saving that money!!

New car!!

October 19th, 2007 at 10:20 pm

We just picked up our new car. We have had it ordered for several months. We wanted to take it to my class reunion, but it came in the day after we left.

Now, I know most of you do not believe in buying new cars, but it is my husband's passion. Bless his heart, he has worked 14 hour days, 7 days a week for as long as I have know him. So, he deserves a new car once in a while.

Plus, I am probably the oldest person on saving advice.com and we do tend to spend a little of what we have saved for so many years.

Anyway, it is a 2008 and is very sporty. Anyone want to guess what we bought? (It is american made)

The perfect time of year

October 19th, 2007 at 06:11 pm

This is just the nicest time of year. The leaves are turning beautiful colors. The temperature is about 70, just about perfect for me! No heat running and no air conditioning. We should have a nice power bill this month.
I just got back from grocery shopping and I saved $3 using my Ingles card.
Prev. total $23,036.00
today 3.00
new total $23,039.00

reunion was great!

October 19th, 2007 at 01:39 pm

I griped about our terrible car trip yesterday, but I did forget to mention that the class reunion was great. We had a good turn out and some folks were there that I had not seen in 45 years. Boy, did they look old! Even the weather was not too terrible. It cooled down at night (this was in florida) but the misquitoes were not very nice.

My terrible trip!

October 18th, 2007 at 06:11 pm

We left for my class reunion last Thursday morning and were supposed to be back home on Sunday night.
On Thursday night, after driving almost 600 miles, the car died, in a busy intersection, only 1 mile from our motel.
Luckily we had dh's cell phone (inside my suitcase) and called 911. After an hour, we got towed to the chevy place.

So there we were, carless, at our motel. We finally managed to rent a car late the next day.
It turns out, it was the fuel pump. (vettes have two, why I don't know)

In order to put in a new fuel pump, the whole car has to be taken apart, the rear end, the transmission, the wheels, etc. (That was a 12 hour job)

We thought we would get the car back late MOnday, but they ordered the wrong part and the right part did not come into the service dept til Tuesday noon.

We had a great mechanic and he managed to get the fuel pump in and the car back together by 5pm that day.

So, $2000 poorer, we managed to get back on the road early Wednesday morning and get home last night.

I am very thankful that we got home safely and have a great line of credit on our credit card!! That is why I pay it off every month!

A $1200 surprise!!

October 18th, 2007 at 03:54 pm

Well, after a terrible vacation and trip, it was a nice surprise to find a $1200 check in the mail waiting.
When I started this challenge last year, I asked the local building supply about giving us a rebate.
I told them that often we get coupons from Home Depot for 10% off, but we stay pretty local to the local company.
So, they agreed to send us a rebate check once in a while, depending on what we spend.
I don't ever know when I am going to get it or how much, but I sure do enjoy it when it comes. I will add this to my $20 challenge.
Prev. total $21,836.00
today 1,200.00
new total $23,036.00

Ima saver did not die!!

October 18th, 2007 at 01:06 pm

I am back. I went for a 4 day reunion and it turned out terrible!! I will give details later, but let it be known that I am alive and well!!

class reunion

October 10th, 2007 at 11:19 pm

I will be going to my class reunion soon. I have saved up the money over the months, so i won't have to take any out of my savings.
My dh is very disappointed because he wanted a new car to take to Florida.
We were told the end of Sept., that it would be here in a few days, but somebody told us a fib I think!
I don't use write down what I spend on a trip. do you?
I just know how much money I take with me and count what I have left when I get home.

reasonable attorney

October 10th, 2007 at 10:39 pm

I use to do a lot of land closing dueing to the fact that we bought land and built spec houses. I was so glad that when we bought our first lot, we used the seller's attorney.
She was really nice, knew what she was doing and very reasonable in price.
Well, she retired a few years earlier, so I have been going to more expensive attorneys.
She recently reopened her office and we just got back from doing a quit claim deed. She only charged me $40!

Missing Holly

October 10th, 2007 at 07:35 pm

I don't know how anyone can live without a pet?? I dropped Holly off to be groomed at 10 am. and I missed her so much. No wonder I haven't taken a vacation without my dog in about 25 year!
So, that was $32 spent today, but she sure looks pretty!
While she was gone I colored my own hair , so that was certainly saving money. Dh is coming home early today so we can go to the attorney's office and get the quit claim.

quit claim

October 10th, 2007 at 05:34 pm

Well, we went to an attorney this morning to have a quit claim drawn up. My dh is giving his 1/3 of the Florida duplex to his middle brother.
then middle brother can go get a loan and fix the house back up.
That is one financial burden that I am glad to be rid of!

rite aid card

October 9th, 2007 at 05:43 pm

I used my 10% off on Tuesday card at rite aid today and saved almost $2. I also used no gas yesterday for another $1. Then there is the ridge money of $165 for a total of $168.
I want to get this in the bank tomorrow, so I am going to get a deposit ready this afternoon.
Prev. total $21,668.00
today 168.00
new total $21,836.00

switched back to premium

October 9th, 2007 at 04:23 pm

Well, to save money I decided to start using regular gas in my car. The owner's manuel says I can and the cost is 25-30 cents a gallon difference.
Well, things went fine the first two weeks, but last week I could hear a pinging sound when accelerating.
So, I let the car get as empty as possible and just filled back up with premium. I spent over $41, the most I have ever spent in my life.
I can remember when gas was 17 cents a gallon and there were gas wars!

2 in a row

October 9th, 2007 at 02:26 pm

I had 2 no spend days in a row. Now it is time to go to the bank. I think the only thing that closed yesterday was the banks, post office and the government. The stock market was open for the day, but went down.

No spend day

October 8th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

I had a no spend day today, make that two in a row. I also have not used any gas for the past two days.
Today the banks are closed so that is one of the reasons I did not make it to town.
We played bridge all day and had some very good cards. It is always a lot more fun to win than lose.

Happy columbus Day!

October 8th, 2007 at 04:16 pm

Happy columbus day, everyone. I kind of wish they would go back to having the Holiday on the correct date, which in this case, would be Oct. 12th.
I am having the ladies over for bridge this afternoon, so looking forward to that.
The stock market finished up on Friday, I walked a mile yesterday and I had a no use gas day also.
So, I will add $3 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $21,665.00
today 3.00
new total $21,668.00

To celebrate!!

October 7th, 2007 at 04:36 pm

Because I learned that my American Century fund returned over 53% over the past 12 months, I am adding $5 to my $20 challenge fund.
Plus I have not added the ridge money for two weeks, so that is another $330 to add.
Prev. total $21,330.00
today 335.00
new total $21,665.00


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