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Archive for April, 2008

I spoke too soon!

April 30th, 2008 at 04:58 pm

I was bragging about not using the heat or a/c for two weeks, yesterday. Well, last night, the heat ran all night. We had a pretty good frost on the ground. I hope the hummingbirds did not freeze.
Yesterday was not a good day for the braves or the stock market, but I did win 6 mah jong games, so I will add that $6 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $8815.00
today 6.00
new total $8821.00

Still no heat or air!!

April 29th, 2008 at 09:54 pm

I have not run the heat or a/c for about 2 weeks now. I love that. Actually, it got pretty cool last night, but the house only got down to 64. I have it set (heat) at 63! I guess I need to start reading the meter every day like I use to and writing it down. I have been happy with my power bill all winter.
Yesterday, i won $4 games of mahjong, so I will add $4 to my challenge.
prev. total $8811.00
today 4.00
new total $8815.00

Today is bridge day!

April 28th, 2008 at 04:52 pm

Today is the day I play bridge so there will be no money spent today. The gals are coming over to my house and I am glad. One gal broke her leg 3 months ago and we have been playing at her house for a while. I am sure Holly (my puppy) will be thrilled to have company and not stay home all alone.
I did win 3 games of mahjong yesterday, so that is $3 to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $8808.00
today 3.00
new total $8811.00

Just a nice sunday!

April 27th, 2008 at 09:29 pm

Today was just a nice sunday! My dh took the day off to cut grass and wash cars. (and do house work) It rained a little, but that did not stop him.
Later, we went to a local home show for a while. Then we went out to look at the big house he is building. It is so impressive looking inside.
I love the rock they are putting up, but it is so expensive!
Tonight, we are going out for 50's night at our favorite restaurant!!
I played mah jong yesterday and won 6 times, so that is $6 to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $8802.00
today 6.00
new total $8808.00

spendy day!

April 26th, 2008 at 07:15 pm

Yesterday was a spendy day for me. I had to take my poodle, Holly to the groomers and he lives 14 miles away from me. Since I was close to Murphy. N.C. (about 10 miles) I decided to kill the 4 hours over there. So, I went to Wal Mart and bought stuff! I tried to also do my grocery shopping, but wound up going to Ingles also. I am glad I do not go to Wal Mart very often. They are going to be building one in our area soon and I will have to stay out of it!!
Well, the braves won last night, the stock market went up and I won one game of mahjong, so that is $3 to add to my challenge fund.
Prev. total $8799.00
today 3.00
new total $8802.00

smart head teller

April 25th, 2008 at 11:13 pm

I bought a jumbo c.d. at a new bank in a different town in January. They were advertising 4.8%
Of course, all the good rates are gone now and the highest I can find is 3.4% and I have a c.d. coming due next weeek.

Yesterday, I get a call from the head teller at the new bank. For a short time, they will be offering c.d.'s paying 4% and she wanted to let me know. You better believe that I will be there next Thursday when my c.d. matures.

The braves won last night, the stock market went up and I had a no spend day, plus won 2 games of mahjong, so $5 will be added to the challenge.
Prev. total $8794.00
today 5.00
new total $8799.00

I can't afford your husband!!

April 24th, 2008 at 02:24 pm

I hear that a lot, I would love to have your husband build me a house, but i can't afford him! Why?? They don't even know what my husband charges!!
He works by the hour, he does not ever give a contract price! He doesn't know what materials are going to cost 3 months from now.

I went to a picnic yesterday and a lady from Fla. was there. She had looked at a house my husband was building and said, "oh, the house is awesome, but I could never afford him to build me a house"

The last two people that he built a house for told him that he did not charge enough!! The one lady has built several spec houses and she paid the other builder twice what my husband was charging an hour.

Plus, he saves people money cause he can do so many things. He does the plumbing and electrical. He does all the tile work. He can do rock work. He puts down, sands and paints all the hardwood floors. He does the paint and trim. He builds all the cabinets in place. He can do all the cabinets in a big house (labor and materials) for under $10,000. Go to a cabinet place and get an estimate for cabinets in 2 kitchens and 3 or 4 bathrooms!! Try $40,000 and up!!

I asked my husband last night why he thinks people tell me that they cannot afford to hire my husband to build their houses.
He said it is because we live in a big nice house and drive nice cars!! Do you think that is the reason?
I guess they don't know that I save like crazy and don't buy anything that I really don't need.

Oh well, yesterday I got a check for $551 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $8243.00
today 551.00
new total $8794.00

Clearing out the envelopes

April 23rd, 2008 at 02:57 pm

I sat down this morning and went over all my budget envelopes. My electric bill was under $90, so I had $70 left over for the challenge. Of course, I also had my ridge money and now I have extra money because I have paid my car off, but I continue to fund that envelope. I had several other envelopes that were very over funded, so i took that cash out to put in my challenge money also. It might as well be earning interest even if it is only 2.23%. All in all, I came up with $1335.00 to add to my challenge money. It has been a good day!!
Prev. total $6908.00
today 1335.00
new total $8243.00

Inbox dollars

April 22nd, 2008 at 02:44 pm

For the past two years, I have been a member of Inbox dollars. It took me a whole year of reading their ads, to earn my first $30. (And they keep $3 of that for s & h)
This past year, it took me 15 months to get to the $30 range. (you can't redeem any earlier) I requested a check on March 15th, but they will not send it until May 1st.
I have decided to drop out of Inbox dollars when my check arrives. It is just not worth having to read 1000 ads to get $27.
I like NFOmy survery very much and Pinecone also. I just did a pinecone survey yesterday. They send their checks out immediately.
I won 4 games of mahjong yesterday and the braves won last night, so that is $5 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $6903.00
today 5.00
new total $6908.00

Bridge day!

April 21st, 2008 at 05:30 pm

Gping to play bridge today. A good way to have a cheap afternoon. See you later!!

Ingles rant!

April 20th, 2008 at 04:57 pm

I don't like Ingles very much, but I haven't much of a choice. Our town has Ingles and Bi lo and Bi lo is fairly new. Ingles is cheaper, so that is where I shop.
They have been advertising the ice cream I like (low carb) at 2 for $6 all week. But they only had one flavor, and I like vanilla.
I have checked the store out every day, no vanilla.
I ran there this morning to make xerox copies and the sale ended last night. Now that the ice cream is regular price, they have plenty of vanilla. grrrrrrrrr!
Well, the stock market went up on Friday, the braves won and I won 6 games of mahjong, so that is $8 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $6895.00
today 8.00
new total $6903.00

This bank doesn't want me!!

April 19th, 2008 at 08:03 pm

We have 4 local banks in town, I try to have an account in all of them, but there is one that has given me a hard time.
I tried to open a c.d. for $100,000 last year. I went on a saturday and the customer rep. was busy. Finally, she waited on the lady ahead of me who was there to stop payment on a check. I waited for a while and then left. I opened a c.d. at another bank.
Yesterday, I decided to try again. I have a c.d. coming due and there are NO good local rates.
This bank has a checking account that pays 4% but you have to do a lot of little things to earn that rate. (online bill paying, direct deposit, debits) All things that I have never done.

So, I tried again. This bank needs to hire more customer reps. This time the lady was on the phone and after about 20 minutes, I walked out again.
I have a jumbo c.d. coming due the end of the month and no one seems to want my money!

Did I miss something?

April 18th, 2008 at 08:06 pm

Did the fed lower the rate again this week? If it did, I must have missed it.

Money for the challenge

April 18th, 2008 at 03:55 pm

I have a few more dollars for the challenge to add; the dow went up one point yesterday, the braves won a game, and I won 5 games of mahjong yesterday, so that is $7 to add to my challenge money. also, I notice that my pay off check for my car cleared the bank yesterday, so my car is officially paid off!!
Prev. total $6888.00
today 7.00
new total $6895.00

I hate waste!

April 17th, 2008 at 03:35 pm

I am taking a new route to town now, because the bridge is out for two weeks. (repairs) Now, everyday I pass a very dumpy old mobile home and every time I pass it, the outside light is on. Day or night, that light is on!
Dh knows the guy that lives there; he has done siding work for dh. Dh says he is always complaining about not having much money, but he won't work more than about 4 hours a day.
Apparently, he is not very motivated to work or turn off his lights to save money.
Well, yesterday the stock market went up and I saved $2 using my bi lo card, so I will add $3 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $6885.00
today 3.00
new total $6888.00

checked propane tank this morning.

April 16th, 2008 at 04:11 pm

I went out to read the meter on the propane tank this morning. I still have 18% left, or 180 gallons. That should be plenty to get me thru til it warms up. During the dead of winter, we were using 5.45 gallons of propane per day. Right now, we are using 1.75 gallons per day. We start using the heat in mid October and usually continue til about May. Thank goodness it is cheaper to ust the a/c than the heat.
I keep the heat set on 63, but i can not stand warm weather, so I keep the a/c pretty low, about 70.
The braves lost, but the dow went up and I won 4 games of Mahjong yesterday, so $5 gets added to the challenge.

Prev. total $6880.00
today 5.00
new total $6885.00

Good deal on a telephone!

April 15th, 2008 at 08:44 pm

I just got a good deal on a new telephone. My upstairs phone quit working a while back. (It was an elvis phone) I have to go up and down stairs every time the phone rings.
They had a sale on at rite aid. The $14.99 phone was on sale for $7.99, plus it has a $3 rebate, so i will get the phone for $4.99.
I guess the only bad thing is that I won't be getting all that exercise!

It snowed!!

April 15th, 2008 at 04:29 pm

Everything is blooming and it snowed yesterday! The heat is back on and running. We are all so ready for spring.
I hate all the doom and gloom that I am hearing on CNN right now.
Everything is going up in price. We have someone call us every day looking for work, it is getting scary.
I did have a no spend day yesterday and won two games of mahjong, so that is $3 to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $6877.00
today 3.00
new total $6880.00

Mailed my check

April 14th, 2008 at 03:40 pm

I mailed my checks off today to pay my federal income tax and my state income tax. I was actually pleased that I did not owe as much as I thought.
I had a lot of capital gains this year, but apparently the rate is pretty low right now. I have had H and R block due my taxes for the past 25 years!

On the challenge front, I had a no spend day yesterday, walked a mile and won 4 games of Mahjong, so that is $6 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $6871.00
today 6.00
new total $6877.00

No shorts today!!

April 13th, 2008 at 03:43 pm

For the past two days, I have been wearing shorts. Now they are calling for snow flurries tonight!! Brrr. The heat has not run in several days, but I am sure it will kick in today. It is set at 63 degrees.
The braves won their last 2 games, I walked a mile and won two games of mahjong yesterday. That is $5 to add to the challenge today.
Prev. total $6866.00
today 5.00
new total $6871.00

focus on the challenge!!

April 12th, 2008 at 04:20 pm

This past week has been so hectic. I have been trying to help my husband out with all the changes he needs to make to the house he is building; also picking out stone, paint, tile, etc. etc. On top of that, we have been buying a work van. I feel so behind, but I am catching up.
Today, I got up real early and did all the errands that I have put off. I got my banking done, picked up prescriptions that have been sitting, grocery shopped, hit the dollar store for some needed mailing supplies. etc.
I also turned in all my change so I have $40 to add to the challenge. I saved $5 using my Ingles card. I tried a new drug prescription card that I got at the library for free. It saved me $3 off my $22 prescription, so i will add that money to the challenge also.
Prev. total $6818.00
today 48.00
new total $6866.00

New van!!

April 11th, 2008 at 10:49 pm

We finally picked up the new van this afternoon!! Now I don't have to worry about dh breaking down on his way back and forth to North Carolina!!
But now we have 6 vehicles! They would only give dh $3000 for the old van, so dh is keeping it for right now.
He plans to keep some of his larger tools (big table saws) locked in the old van and leave it at the job.
That way he won't have to load and unload the van every time he wants to pick up a load of wood.
I also got a real good interest rate on the van financing, 2.9%. I will keep my money in the bank earning 4.8% and pay the 2.9%!!
Then maybe I will open a used car lot!!

Problem solved!!

April 11th, 2008 at 04:35 pm

I have not been on here much the past two days. Dh brought home a sample of hardiboard that he is having painted on the house he is building. The shingles are brown, but the paint color was gray. I just realized that he must be a bit colorblind. So I have been driving back and forth the past two days trying to pick out colors for the paint, the soffits, the rock, and the porch tiles.
Thanks goodness, the painters had not gone too far with the house. They have the new paint on the house now and it looks great!! Dh says I will pick out the colors from now on!!

Ordered a new van

April 10th, 2008 at 03:20 pm

Dh ordered a new work van today. He did what I told him to do. Yesterday, he called the sales manager at the Ford place and told him he was not happy with the salesman that waited on him. The manager apologized to him and gave him a new salesman. The new guy located the vehicle he wanted and called him right back. Dh went over to sign the paperwork this morning and we should be able to get the van by tomorrow!!
BTW, he drove the new yellow corvette over to sign the papers, but still had on his old work clothes. (This is in another state, we have no ford place here)

Don't turn on QVC

April 9th, 2008 at 07:25 pm

Wow, I switched the channel to QVC and five minutes later I had spent $60 on something for the yard. It is spring fever for sure. Now, I remember why I never turn it on that channel!! I won 3 games of mahjong yesterday, so that is $3 to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $6815.00
today 3.00
new total $6818.00

picnic today!

April 8th, 2008 at 10:29 pm

I went on a picnic today with some of the gals on the other forum!! We had a lot of fun, but it was a little on the cool side! I should have been frugal and brought a sandwich like the others, but I had no fresh bread. (we don't use much bread) So, I spent $4 to get a blimpie sandwich. I only ate half, so I have lunch for tomorrow!! You can't always be frugal all the time, but I do try usually.

listening to the creek!

April 7th, 2008 at 02:40 pm

We sat outside last night, on the deck (porch) and listened to the creek. We also had a fire in the fire pit. It was so nice!! I had a no spend day yesterday and the braves won, so $2 gets added to the challenge.
Prev. total $6813.00
today 2.00
new total $6815.00

Holly met her first "dog"

April 6th, 2008 at 07:54 pm

I have a little 5 pound, black poodle, named Holly. She is the boss of this house! We are thinking of getting a new puppy, but Holly has never been around dogs. When she sees one out the window (we have really low windows,) she screams and barks at them.
My new neighbors have 2 small white dogs, brother and sister.
So, I just took Holly over to meet them (her on a leash, of course, in case she tried to bit them)
She was pretty good, real excited, but not one growl. On the other hand, they both growled at her. Hopefully, she will be ok with a new puppy!

Yesterday, I won 7 games of mahjong and the braves won. (even got a grand slam)
Prev. total $6805.00
today 8.00
new total $6813.00

First car show

April 5th, 2008 at 09:43 pm

Dh just came home to get his hot rod to take to the car show on the square. (which is round BTW)
This is the first car show of the year. Unfortunately, it is raining, so I doubt they will get a very good turn out. I usually go, but, I MIGHT melt!!

Mahjong!

April 5th, 2008 at 09:24 pm

Braves didn't win, stock market went down, but I did win 5 games of mahjong. I will add $5 to my challenge money today!!
Prev. total $6800.00
today 5.00
new total $6805.00


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