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Archive for June, 2010

Last day of month and end of 2nd quarter

June 30th, 2010 at 09:12 pm

Today is the last day of the 2nd quarter of the year. The stock market has not done well, so most of our net worths have gone down.
I did save some money today. Bi Lo has steaks on sale. I bought 5 steaks (n.y. strip and rib eye) and a gallon of ice cream on sale for $15. That is 5 meals and dessert for only $3 each. According to the receipt, I saved over $12 at Bi Lo today. I am adding that money to the $20 challenge.

Prev. total $10,645.00
today 12.00
new total $10,657.00

No spend day!

June 29th, 2010 at 10:49 pm

I had a no spend day today and also used no gas. The braves won last night, so I have $3 to add to the $20 challenge. Also, I received 2 prilosec coupons in the mailing from a nice lady here at saving advice, so thank you very much.

Prev. total $10,642.00
today 3.00
new total $10,645.00

Paying the bills!

June 27th, 2010 at 09:27 pm

I sat down and paid all of the end of the month bills today. My electric bill is the highest it has been since last august, with the air conditioning running all the time. However, the electric bill still came in under the amount I budget each month, so I have $35 to add to the challenge today.
Prev. total $10,607.00
today 35.00
new total $10,642.00

Adding some one's to the challenge!

June 26th, 2010 at 10:51 pm

I finally had a no use gas day yesterday and the braves won last night. I have 4 one dollar bills left in my wallet, so I have a total of $7 to add to the challenge money.
Prev. total $10,600.00
today 7.00
new total $10,607.00

Just six more months!!

June 25th, 2010 at 07:02 pm

Until Christmas!! Can you believe that! Time goes so quickly the older you get. I turned in all my spare change at the bank this morning. I have $35 to add to my $20 challenge fund!
Prev. total $10,565,00
today 35,00
new total $10,600.00

4th Wednesday of the month

June 23rd, 2010 at 10:48 pm

I get a check the 4th Wednesday of every month. It is my social security check and it is for $486. I have never spent the first penny of it. I always add it to the $20 challenge.
This is a little know fact; you can start getting your social security check at age 62. When you turn 70, if you want to start getting the larger sum, you can turn in all the money you have recieved thus far, and receive the larger monthly payment. You get to keep all the interest on the money for the past eight years.

Prev. total $10,079.00
today 486.00
new total $10,565.00

Bogo deals!

June 22nd, 2010 at 09:04 pm

I did my grocery shopping today while my puppy, Molly was at the groomer's, getting even prettier!!
At Ingles, they had some bogo deals on a couple of things that I needed. The nice thing about Ingles is that if you only need one of the item, you get it for half price; so that is what I did. I had a few coupons and my receipt says that I saved $10 on my groceries.
I always take my grocery savings and add it to my $20 challenge, so that is what I will do today.

I spent almost as much on Molly as I did for my groceries for the week, but she looks so pretty!!

Prev. total $10,069.00
today 10.00
new total $10,079.00

Happy first day of Summer!!

June 21st, 2010 at 10:48 pm

And boy, is it hot!! The A/C is working overtime, especially upstairs where the computer is! Today is also the longest day of the year.
I got another dividend check in the mail today from tim Horton for $18, and the braves came from behind to win yesterday; so that is $19 going into the $20 challenge.

Prev. total $10,050.00
today 19.00
new total $10,069.00

Happy father's Day!

June 20th, 2010 at 10:28 pm

We are having a very frugal father's day. I got a free turkey a few months ago and dh has spent all day smoking it on the grill. That will give us dinner tonight and quite a few lunches until we all get sick of turkey.
We stayed home all day, so no money spent on gas either. Braves won last night so I am adding $3 to the challenge, $1 for the braves and $2 for the no use gas day.

Dh is lining up all his cars on the front lawn to take pictures of them. His motto is: Life is too short to drive an ugly car!
He has his red 1933 ford Victoria, then his yellow 2008 corvette, the tu tone blue 1978 corvette and finally my 2010 new red corvette.

Happy father's day!!!!!!!!!


Prev. total $$10,050.00
today 3.00
new total $10,053.00

Now you have seen my puppy!

June 18th, 2010 at 09:20 pm

If you have seen "Keeping it frugal in Texas" new puppy, then you have seen mine. Molly looked exactly like that when I got her, and still looks like that, just bigger. Even tho she was 15 months old this week, she is still a puppy to me. She still wants to get into everything, but she has the sweetest personality and loves to be held.

I have done well on the frugal fast this week, other than the $20 that I spent on steaks on sale, I have not purchased a thing. I also have had 0 lunches out this month and only 1 dinner out. (and we were invited for that.)

The braves won last night, the stock market went up and I got a check in the mail from Wendy's for $8 (dividend) so I am adding that to my challenge.

Prev. total $10,040.00
today 10.00
new total $10,050.00

Days 3 and 4 of the frugal week.

June 17th, 2010 at 09:04 pm

Day 3 went just great, I did not spend a dime. Three straight days of no spending. I did have to drive to town to cash dh's paycheck, so I could give him his allowance.
But on day 4, I caved! Bi Lo has steak on sale this week and we both love steak. I try and stock up on it whenever it is on sale. (That is the one meat that dh will eat even if I freeze it first.
So, yesterday, I spent $20 and got 2 rib eye steaks, 3 N.Y. strip steak, a large container of Hood low carb chocolate milk and regular milk. (We were all out)

I am back to being good today. According to my receipt, I saved $6 on the steaks; the braves won last night, so $7 goes to my challenge money.

Prev. total $10,033.00
today 7.00
new total $10,040.00

Day two

June 15th, 2010 at 07:45 pm

I did ok on day 2 of the frugal fast. Again, I stayed home all day, so I did not spend any money. we played bridge all afternoon and had some great snacks, but they were all purchased in the past few weeks. Plus, often my bridge ladies bring snacks for us to munch on.
I saved $2 by having a no use gas day and i have 3 ones left in my wallet, so a total of $5 to add to my $20 challnge.
Prev. total $$10,028.00
today 5.00
new total $10,033.00

Day one went well!

June 14th, 2010 at 10:33 pm

I started this week's frugal challenge yesterday; to spend no money all week long. (thru Saturday) Yesterday went very well since I stayed home all day. It is hard to spend money when you are at home. The Braves won two games in a row and I had a no use gasoline day, so I have $4 to add to my challenge money. (I did however pay my estimated tax bill today)
Prev. total $10,024,00
today 4.00
new total $10,028.00

How is your town doing in this economy?

June 13th, 2010 at 05:47 pm

My little town is really hurting. I live in a small mountain town in North Georgia. Most of the jobs around here use to revolve around construction. Now there is no building going on, at all. The newspaper is filled with foreclosure notices every week.

We have a guy laying rock on a chimney for us this week. He said that he has only worked 11 days so far this year. The year is almost half over.

DH stopped to get some blueprints made at the survey office on Thursday. We have know the owner for over 20 years. He is from a very well know family; his brother is our doctor. He has lost his home and is now living in his office. He has had to lay off all of his workers.

It saddens me to see so many people losing their jobs and their homes.

I got a $3 pinecone check to add to my $20 challenge.
Prev. total $10,021.00
today 3.00
new total $10,024.00

Preparing for the challenge.

June 12th, 2010 at 08:24 pm

The newest challenge is starting tomorrow. It is to try and go one entire week without spending any money. Of course you can pay bills. (the government would not like it if I did NOT send in my estimated income tax on June 15th.

So, today, I did my grocery shopping several days early. Our payday is Monday, so I usually shop near the beginning of the week.
The hardest part for me is that my dh does not like to eat frozen meat, so I bought no meat.
This started when we first moved here; we lived in a travel trailer for almost a year while he build our house all by himself.
We had a tiny refrigerator with no freezer, so I would drive the long drive to town and back every few days to get more food.

We do have some steaks and chicken that I bought yesterday on sale, but other than that, we will just have to come up with something or spend money! At least I made sure that the dogs will not starve.

I saved $7 at Bi Lo yesterday buying steaks and ice cream on sale, so I will add that to my challenge money.

Prev. total $10,021.00
today 7.00
new total $10,028.00

Lunch tally!

June 11th, 2010 at 04:54 pm

So far, after the first 10 days of the month, I have not eaten out even one time. I know it is easier for me since I do not work, but believe me, I use to eat lunch out a lot; a cheap lunch, but still lunch. I use to get a small plain burger at Burger King with water for a grand total of about 83 cents.

I have had two 2 use gas days in a row, the stock market went up yesterday (finally) and the braves won yesterday. That plus my extra one's in my wallet, give me a grand total of $14 to add to the challenge money.

Prev. total $10,007.00
today 14.00
new total $10,021.00

( I meant to say NO USE gas days)

Triplets

June 8th, 2010 at 07:05 pm

As I have mentioned, we have a lot of critters in our back yard. We have had the bear visit twice this month. We have deer every day and evening. We have wild ducks and wild turkeys. (The ducks live in the creek)

We have had a ground hog who lives in tunnel near our deck over the creek. I looked up ground hogs and found out that they hibernate all winter. They have their babies in April or May and within 6 weeks, the babies are out on their own.
A few weeks ago, mama ground hog came out with her baby. Last week, I realized that she had 2 babies. On Saturday, mama showed up with all 3 babies. I think they are so cute but dh thinks they look like rats. (They don't)

I did my grocery shopping yesterday and saved $4 with my advantage card, so I am adding that to the challenge money.

Prev. total $10,003.00
today 4.00
new total $10,007.00

water main break and the bear, again!

June 6th, 2010 at 07:14 pm

Well, we woke up yesterdday morning to find water sprewing all down our driveway and our front yard. I called the closed water department, but they gave no emergency number. This has happened to us many times, so luckily, I had written down the emergency number in an old phone book.
Last night, the bear came again and again tore down the bird feeders,
So, that was enough excitement for one day. The bear is gone and the water is fixed and back on. The braves won last night and I had a no use gas day yesterday, so that is $3 more to add to the challenge.

Prev. total $10,000.00
today 3.00
new total $10,003.00

10,000!!!!

June 4th, 2010 at 08:49 pm

I hit the big $10,000 in the $20 challenge for myself today.
The braves are doing so well and have won 9 games in a row! For that I am adding $10 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $ 9990.00
today 10.00
new total $10000.00

Look out $20,000, here i come!!!!!!!!!

My first check!

June 3rd, 2010 at 06:12 pm

I made a loan to nice couple that we are friends with. Actually, I made them two loans last month. One had the first payment come due on June 5th and the other will have the first payment due on July 5.
I am charging them 4% interest, which is better than either of us could get at the bank.

I got my first payment yesterday and I am going to add the interest payment to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $ 9860.00
today(interest) 130.00
new total $ 9990.00

Almost to $10,000!!!!!!!

Nice Memorial Day!

June 2nd, 2010 at 09:00 pm

We had a very nice and thrifty Memorial Day. DH did work, but came home early so we could attend a bar b que at a friend's house.
The only money I spent that day was on a memorial day decorated cake. I bought it early Monday morning, never expecting it to be on sale til the next day. I got a $6.99 cake, marked down to $1.50 and boy was it good!
The hosts of the cook out actually live in Florida, so they gave us a bunch of leftovers to bring home. That gave us another free dinner last night, plus we have more for another meal.

I am so proud of the braves. They went from last place in their division to first. They have won all three of their last 3 games, so that is $3 for the challenge. I also have 8 more one dollar bills in my wallet, so a total of $11 going to my $20 challenge.
Prev. total $9849.00
today 11.00
new total $9860.00

Net worth is down.

June 2nd, 2010 at 04:36 pm

I always figure my net worth on the first day of the month. It turns out that my net worth went down about $26,000, mostly because of the stock market. In case you don't watch the market, it went down 1000 points in May. I hope things are better this month.