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Archive for December, 2009

Last contribution of the year, to the $20 challenge.

December 31st, 2009 at 04:09 pm

Well, today is New year's eve, so I am making my last contribution to the $20 challenge today. Yesterday, the stock market went up slightly, I saved $2 using my Ingles advantage card and I have some one dollars bills, for a total of $6 to add to the $20 challenge.
Prev. total $17,569.00
today 6.00
new total $17,575.00


Yes, I am very happy with my total of $17,575.00 for 2009!!

The last week of the decade!

December 29th, 2009 at 07:42 pm

This is the last week of the decade. In a few days it will be 2010. I hope it has been a good year for you; for many it has been a pretty tough year.
My dh is fortunate enough to still have work, but the work has been difficult. He is starting a brand new house right in the beginning of winter, which means he will be outside all winter long. (Starting the footers for the basement today)
He does have an inside house to work on, but the owner is insisting that he do much of the work himself,so dh is having a lot of time off. It seems the owner wants to use hubby's tools also. Even tho the heat can be turned on, the owner doesn't want to pay for propane, so it is very cold in the house. dh does have a kerosene heater, but the owner is always borrowing it and using it where he is working. All in all, it has been the very worst house he has ever taken on, to build. The owner is going to lay the tile next and has been asking dh how to do it. I hope he doesn't ask to borrow the tile wet saw!!(cost over $1000 new)
I guess we should just be grateful that he is bringing home a paycheck at all.

I stocked up on NT strip steak yesterday at Bi Lo and saved $11 according to the receipt. I will add that to a $3 pinecone check and $1 cause the stock market went up yesterday, for a total of $15 more to the challenge.
Prev. total $17,554.00
today 15.00
new total $17,569.00 I meant NY strip steak, sorry!

Just 12 more months til Christmas!

December 26th, 2009 at 02:18 pm

We had a very nice Christmas, just mem my dear husband and our two sweet puppies, Holly and Molly.
We do give gifts, but just to each other. I send my granddaughters each a check.
Our presents are not expensive; just things we need. Boring things mostly, like we give socks and underwear.
My husband did want a heavy duty DeWalt radio for the construction site. Plus we both felt like we needed some new cookwear.
We took a nice ride out to check out a house with some leak problems (dh did NOT build it, but is trying to fix all the problems) We took Molly with us to get her use to riding in the car.

For dinner, we did not have the usual Holiday fare. We just had turkey last week, so we had steak instead!!
Finally, my dh got to watch his favorite christmas movie, The Christmas Story.
He has been talking about it for about 2 weeks and we could never find it on tv until yesterday. TBS had it on all day, so he finally got to see it last night.

I don't usually care for television very much, but I enjoyed watching CNN's show, "Til Debt do us part" It was amazing how clueless those people are when it comes to money. One couple was spending more than $2000 a month on groceries and eating out. (A family of four, the two children were 5 and under)

I am ready for 2010 and a year of super savings!

Merry Christmas to all!

December 24th, 2009 at 09:01 pm

I had never used a computer until about 4 years ago. (still no very little about it) After my husband got me one as a christmas gift, I found a local site and met some people. Most of them were nice, a few were trouble makers.
I found saving advice about 3 years ago, and I must say, this is the nicest group of people ever!!
Even when the troublemaker from the other site would follow me here to cause trouble, the saving advice group always took up for me! I appreciated that.

I have learned that you should stay where your friends are, so I have not posted anything on the local site in over a year!

I wish for all you wonderful people, the best christmas ever! Here is for "super savings" in 2010 for all!! Merry Christmas!

The stock market went up 4 days in a row and I got a $13 check from Tim Horton.

Prev. total $17,537.00
today 17.00
new total $17,554.00

Monthly check

December 23rd, 2009 at 02:49 pm

My usual monthly check came into my checking account this morning. As usual, it got added to my $20 challenge.
This is my monthly social security check for $486.00!
I hope this is encouragement for all of you to save money for your retirement. It is impossible to live on $486.00 a month, I think!
Prev. total $17,051.00
today 486.00
new total $17,537.00

This is the way Christmas weather should be!!

December 22nd, 2009 at 05:28 pm

I don't really like winter, but if I had to choose what christmas weather should be like, today is the perfect day. It is cold (under 32 when I got up), frosty, but not a cloud in the sky. It is sunny and not a bit windy, so if you dress warmly, it seems nice outside.
I got my electric bill and it did go up a bit. However, we put up our outside decorations before Thanksgiving and have been turning the lights on every night. I love seeing Christmas lights! Many of our neighbors have outside lights too.
I am still $50 under budget for my electric bill, so I will add that to my $20 challenge.
Prev. total $17,001.00
today 50.00
new total $17,051.00

First day of winter!!

December 21st, 2009 at 09:29 pm

Today is the first day of winter. It is also the shortest day of the year which is good news! It means that the days will start getting longer, starting tomorrow.
It is almost time for this year's $20 challenge to come to an end. I saved $6 using my bi lo card yesterday, so I will add that to my challenge.
I had hoped to have saved $20,000 in my challenge this year, but it just didn't happen. However, I am happy that today I hit the $18,000 mark. That is really not too shabby an amount to come up with.
None of this money came out of my husband's paycheck; this is just extra money I have earned and saved during the year.

Prev. total $16,995.00
today 6.00
new total $17,001.00

NOT snowed in!

December 20th, 2009 at 09:38 pm

The weatherman has predicted snow for all of Friday, Saturday and today. We got a lot of rain, but thankfully, no snow. We got so bored sitting home, waiting for the snow to come, that we went out to dinner last night.
Finally, the snow came in during the evening, but did not really stick to the ground. So, we were able to get out today and do a lot of errands.
It is still snowing lightly but I hope this goes away soon.
It is not even winter yet and we have seen snow 3 times this month in Georgia!
I have 3 one dollar bills to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $16,992.00
today 3.00
new total $16,995.00

What miserable weather!

December 18th, 2009 at 09:59 pm

We are having terrible weather. My dh is trying so hard to get a new house started, but the weather just won't cooperate.
It has rained hard all day and the weathermen are predicting rain, sleet and snow for the next 4 days! So far, all I can see is rain, rain, rain. The creek is almost out of it's banks.
Today, the property tax was due, so I had to take the check down to the courthouse. Tonight I am planning on staying home and staying warm and dry!
I have really had good luck with getting checks in the mail this month. Today, I got an $8 check from Wendy's. Of course, that will be added to the challenge.
Prev. total $16,984.00
today 8.00
new total $16,992.00

Another check!

December 17th, 2009 at 10:01 pm

I got another check, unexpected, in the mail today. This time, I went to www.invescofairfund.com to figure out why I was getting this second check. It turns out that the SEC fined Invesco funds and the money is being returned to the people that held shares in their funds. Dh and I have two of our mutual funds there. It is a nice time of year to get extra money and I will add that to my $20 challenge!
Prev. total $16,830.00
today 154.00
new total $16,984.00

Frugal dinner

December 16th, 2009 at 04:48 pm

I made a frugal dinner last night. I bought a turkey breast on sale for only $2 right after Thanksgiving. We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet pototoes and cranberry sauce, all for a cost of slightly over $5. My husband also has hot lunches from the leftover, for the next two days and I have turkey for sandwiches.
I did my grocery shopping yesterday and saved $8 using my Ingles advantage card. I will add that to my $20 challenge.
Prev. total $16,822.00
today 8.00
new total $16,830.00

What a shock!!

December 14th, 2009 at 10:28 pm

i just went to the mailbox after playing bridge all afternoon. In it was a check for $236 made payable to me! It is from the invesco fair fund.
I do have Invesco funds, but I don't know why I am getting a check. It says it is my "distribution" I think maybe there was a class action suit or something. Anyway, I will take it and Merry Christmas to me!!
Prev. total $16,586.00
today 236.00
new total $16,822.00

Party on the mountain top!!

December 13th, 2009 at 08:10 pm

We went to another christmas party last night. This time is was on top of the mountain.
The road to the subdivision is so steep that the county won't even maintain it; the homeowners have to. I don't know how anyone can stand to drive on this road daily. I guess the view is worth it.
The weather people were calling for rain mixed with sleet last night.
On our drive up there, it started snowing!
The party was great. There were about 50 people there and I swear the hostess fixed enough food to feed 200.
However, we kept a close watch on the weather to make sure the snow did not stick to the road. I guess if it did, we would have had a giant slumber party!
Thankfully, the snow did not stick and we made it home safely.
It sure does seem awful cold to not even be winter yet (Dec.21st)

I will be adding my $1's to the challenge today.
Prev. total $16,583.00
today 3.00
new total $16,586.00

Christmas party!

December 12th, 2009 at 06:48 pm

We went to a very nice christmas party last night. When I was much younger, we had a lot of parties. The parties usually started about 7:30 or 8 pm.
Now, the parties start about 6 pm, before you have even eaten dinner! So, they really put out a lot of food to fill you up.
There were serving dishes of food placed all over the housse. The hostess was thoughtful enough to label what was in each dish! Since I am such a "funny" eater, this was very helpful to me.
She set up the bar, outside on the back deck. Since it was below freezing, no one lingered too long around the bar.

Well, the stock market went up two days in a row and I saved $4 at Bi lo this morning buying a BOGO, so $6 to the challenge.

Prev. total $16,577.00
today 6.00
new total $16,583.00

Eating at home more!

December 10th, 2009 at 10:01 pm

We use to go out to dinner almost every night. We did not spend a lot of money. Most dinners were under $20 for two, plus a good tip. However, I can see that we are really saving money by eating at home more often. Lucky for me, my husband likes to cook, cause I really don't.
I had a no use gas day yesterday and the stock market went up, so $3 more to the challenge.
Prev. total $16,574.00
today 3.00
new total $16,577.00

Fewer christmas cards??

December 9th, 2009 at 09:21 pm

I think we are getting fewer christmas cards this year. It use to be that everyone you did business with, sent you a christmas card, a big nice one! So far, we have not received one single christmas card from a business. I guess everyone is tightening their belt.

I did my grocery shopping yesterday and managed to save $5 with my Ingles advantage card. I will add that to the $20 challenge.
Prev. total $16,569.00
today 5.00
new total $16,574.00

What goes around, comes around!

December 8th, 2009 at 08:52 pm

I firmly believe that.
This is my 3rd year of doing the $20 challenge. When I started the challenge, I asked my local building supply store if they would consider giving me a small rebate each month, if I used them instead of home depot. After all, I often have home depot coupons offering 10% off plus I get a rewards check when I charge there. (I can't charge at the local building supply store)
The local store agree and sent me rebate checks every few months.
Well, this year the store is doing badly. It has let most of its employees go and hardly carries any stock at all, so if you want something, you usually have to order it. Last summer, they sent me a small check and that was the last they have sent. I figured that they could not afford the rebate any more.

Last week, I helped a friend with her rent to the tune of $400. Today, in the mail, I got a check for $461 from this store.

You see what I mean when I say, "what goes around, comes around"?
Prev. total $16,108.00
today 461.00
new total $16,569.00

Love those small checks!

December 8th, 2009 at 02:45 pm

I got two small checks in the mail yesterday. A $6 rebate check from rite aid and a $3 pinecone survey check. I had a no use gas day yesterday ($2), so I have $11 to add to the $20 challenge.
Prev. total $16,097.00
today 11.00
new total $16,108.00

Met my new neighbor!

December 7th, 2009 at 05:26 pm

We met our new neighbor yesterday. He came over and introduced himself.
We live in a very nice subdivision, 15 homes on 29 lots. In good times, the few homes that have gone up for sale, sell quickly.
As far as we know, none of our neighbors are in trouble with their homes. We built 8 of the homes, mostly for people older than 50.
However, it turns out our new neighbor bought the only house in here to be foreclosed on. A young man lived in it with his girlfriend. It was the smallest house in the subdivision, only having 2 bedrooms.
The new neighbor got a steal on the house for only $150,000. The reason I say it was a steal, was that the creekfront lot it was on sold for over $80,000 before the house was built.
The new people plan to fix it up and even add onto it, so it might be future work for dh. I hope so.

Christmas parade was nice!

December 5th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

The parade was nice, but I am frozen. It was about 34 degrees, but it was windy, so that made it seem so much colder! We stopped by the cowboy store (that's the name) to get some corn for the deer, and dh found a pair of shoes to get me for christmas. He is so happy over that!!

It snowed!

December 5th, 2009 at 04:27 pm

We got snow this morning. It is the first time my puppy has seen snow and all she wanted to do is eat it. She loves ice.
It is the kind of snow I like. It covered the trees and grass but did NOT stick to the road. Looks like the Christmas parade is on for this afternoon!! I am so glad about that!!

We might get snow!

December 4th, 2009 at 05:34 pm

They are calling for snow to come in after midnight tonight. I stocked up on a few things in case we cannot get out tomorrow. I never keep meat on hand, cause my husband does not like it frozen. So, I got something for dinner and I stocked up on dog food. (My 2 little dogs eat so much food!)
I kind of hope it does not snow cause the christmas parade and the tree lighting on the square, is tomorrow afternoon.
I had a no use gas day yesterday ($2) and I saved $3 using my advantage card today. This will be added to the $20 challenge.
Prev. total $16,092.00
today 5.00
new total $16,097.00

He's driving me crazy!!

December 2nd, 2009 at 07:49 pm

My husband is home for this entire week. In the almost 33 years we have been married, he has worked all the time. 7 days a week, weekends, holidays.

This is the first time that work has been slow. He got a lot down around the house the past few months. (BTW, he is a builder, but specs are not selling here)
He has a house, but the owner wants to do a lot of the work to save money. So dh is out of work until all the painting is done.

He is driving me crazy trying to find something to do. A few months ago, he retiled both the front and back porches. (BIG JOB) He laid rock. He has replaced light fixtures! Last week he replaced all the plumbing on the kitchen sink.
Right now he is replacing the baseboard in the pantry. Our house is staying in tip top shape, that's for sure!!

I sure hope he never retires! Anybody need a handy man??

I have 5 one dollar bills to add to my challenge!
Prev. total $16,087.00
today 5.00
new total $16,092.00

Happy first day of December!

December 1st, 2009 at 08:49 pm

Happy December 1st!! It is hard to believe that Christmas is almost here. I did my grocery shopping at Ingles this morning and the store played christmas carols the whole time. I don't know how the cashiers can stand listening to christmas music for 8 straight hours a day! (I do like christmas music, don't get me wrong)
I had a no use gas day yesterday and the stock market went up, so $3 to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $16,084.00
today 3.00
new total $16,087.00