Today, the interest was added to my money market account. I am adding the interest from that account and ING interest to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $16,376.00
today 159.00
new total $16,535.00

Finally, the braves won last night. They have hit a rough patch lately! They also won again this afternoon. Both games they came from behind.
Finally, the stock market went up yesterday. Yay!
And finally, I had a no use gas day today, so I am adding $5 to my challenge for the two games, the stock market and the no use gas day!

Prev. total $16,371.00
today 5.00
new total $16,376.00

Well, it is closse to the middle of the month. It is time to send in my estimated tax payment today and also to take the money out of the corvette envelope.

I paid the corvette off in February and my dh still does know it. We don't need a new car, that's for sure. My corvette has 6000 miles on it (2010) and his has 12,000 (2008).
I have $600 in the corvette envelope which I am adding to the $20 challenge.

Prev. total $15,771.00
today 600.00
new total $16,371.00

I just got back from my weekly grocery shopping. I found quite a few things on sale. The big savings was stocking up on 4- 12 packs of sprite. I also found chicken, bacon, mayo and several other things on sale. All in all, using my Ingles Advantage card I saved $17 which I will add to my challenge.

Prev. total $15,754.00
today 17.00
new total $15,771.00

My dh left at 5 a.m. this morning to go to a car show in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I stayed home to take car of our sickly dog, Holly.
It has been over 2 weeks since the specialist vet put her on this diet. She is on Hill's prescription diet. It is a canned food that she does not care for. (She has never liked dog food much.)
I have to hand feed it to her.I tried putting some on her plate and letting her eat by herself this afternoon, but so far she won't eat it. I hope I don't have to hand feed her the rest of my life! She does seem to be getting better, tho.

Well, I did get a check for $25 from the Tim Horton company, so I can add that to my challenge money.

Prev. total $15,724.00
today 25.00
new total $15,749.00

Finally, some money to add to the $20 challenge. I just received a $3 pinecone check in the mail and the braves won twice yesterday ($2) for a total of $5.

Prev. total $15,724.00
today 5.00
new total $15,729.00

My computer has been terrible for the past 10 days. It keeps shutting down and won't let me do anything. I call a computer fix it shop yesterday. This morning, I unplug it (again like I have done a million times the past 2 weeks) and it is working fine. Of course, the computer place calls and leaves a message to let them know when to come. What do I do now? It is not closing down and seems ok. I guess I will wait until tomorrow.
I did my grocery shopping today and saved $5 using my Ingles advantage card.

Prev. total $15,719.00
today 5.00
new total $15,724.00

I am having serious computer problems. My computer just closes down when ever it wants to. I will have to call someone to fix it. So, if I am missing for a while, that is why.
I earned $151 in interest in ING to add to my challenge money.

Prev. total $15,568.00
today 151.00
new total $15,719.00

The vet specialist that we went to last Friday has put my dog on a special diet. Hill's prescription diet. This dog has always been a very picky eater and does NOT like any dog food. She wants people food. So, of course, we are having to force feed her. I had to buy a whole case of it at the vets yesterday and it was the big cans. I am sure we will have to throw some of it away. A big can will probably go bad before she finishes it.
Today, I found some of the Hill's prescription treats and we bought those.
Of course, they are way too big for her (she is 4 pounds now) so we had to break them in pieces. She does like that. I sure hope this helps her get better cause I feel so sad when she cries and begs for our food.
I did do some grocery shopping yesterday and saved $9 buying sprite on sale. I will add that to my challenge money.

Prev. total $15,559.00
today 9.00
new total $15,568.00

I received another Chase check in the mail yesterday. This was not our sapphire new card, but our old business card. My husband buys a lot of stuff from home depot and it gives us 3 points for every dollar spent. So there is $50 more to my challenge account.

Prev. total $15,509.00
today 50.00
new total $15,559.00

I spent $500 at the vets today. I already spent $150 on Holly last Tuesday. Hopefully, by Monday all the tests will be back and we will know what is wrong with her. I hope I don't have to go back there. This vet was towards Atlanta and the traffic was terrible.
The braves won yesterday, the stock market was up today and I got a dollar bill in the mail. That is $3 more to the challenge.

Prev. total $15,506.00
today 3.00
new total $15,509.00

That means it is just 4 more months until Christmas. I see that momma23 has started her christmas shopping already. So have I. I just buy for dh, the granddaughters get money!

I had a no use gas day yesterday, so $2 to the challenge.

Plus I got my s/s deposited yesterday and I always add that to the challenge, $486.00.

Prev. total $15,078.00
today 488.00
new total $15,566.00

I took my older dog back to the vets today. She is just not getting any better, so now I am going to have to take her to a vet that specializes in internal medicine. I take her this Friday. It is about 100 miles from here, so my husband will take off from work. I sure hope they can find out what is wrong with her.

I saved $4 using my advantage card at the grocery store and the braves won again, so $5 to the challenge.

Prev. total $15,073.00
today 5.00
new total $15,078.00

I have spent the last few days in my library. Ever since the mid 70's I have had a library in my home. Whenever, I have to move, the library is the most work. I don't read that much any more and I have decided to donate all my books to the local library. They have a book store and they sell most of the books.
I finally got the project finished and all of the books delivered to the library today! Whew, that is
hardest I have worked in 20 years. I had to carry all the books from upstairs.

The braves won last night and again today, so $2 more to the challenge.

Prev. total $15,071.00
today 2.00
new total $15,073.00

I am planning on making a bank deposit on Monday, so I am adding the money from my corvette envelope to the challenge money today.

Prev. total $14,446.00
today 625.00
new total $15,071.00

Yes, I did, I found 7 one dollar bills in my dryer. Of course, I know they DID belong to dh, but it is finder's keepers around here. The braves won last night, so I am donating the 7 plus 1 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $14,438.00
today 8.00
new total $14,446.00

I got another rewards check in the mail. This time for $25 which I will add to the challenge.

Prev. total $14,413.00
today 25.00
new total $14,438.00

I got my $500 Chase rewards check in the mail today. My dh never believed I would get it, so he is quite shocked. The braves won, so $501 will be added to the challange.

Prev. total $13,912.00
today 501.00
new total $14,413.00

lucky 13!

I got my highest electric bill ever, today. It is for $204. Of course, I have a big house, 3200 sq. feet and it has been terrible hot this summer. I only budget $160 a month. It looks like I need to redo my budget.
I got the interest on my local money market account credited today. That was $129 to add to my challenge money.

Prev. total $13,783.00
today 129.00
new total $13,912.00

Today, August 16th is the day that Elvis died in 1977. Most of you know I am an Elvis fan. I have an Elvis bedroom with a lot of souveniers including all my old Elvis 45 record (with covers) that I bought when I was just a kid.
I was lucky enough to see him in person at a concert before his death. It was one of the greatest nights I have ever had!
Did you know that there is a radio station located across the street from Graceland, that plays nothing but Elvis songs all the time? I have that on my corvette, so I can listen all the time.
He died 34 years ago today. I am adding that amount of dollars ( Plus $1 cause the braves won in the 9th inning) to the challenge money.

Prev. total $13,748.00
today 35.00
new total $13,783.00

For the stock market that is! I have watched my mutual funds go down, down, down. At least the market went up yesterday and the Braves won, so I will add $2 to the challenge.

Prev. total $13,746.00
today 2.00
new total $13,748.00

I have had a busy week so far this week. On Mondays, I play bridge with friends here at my house. We all took lessons together, so we try and play once a week.
On Tuesday, I got my little poodle, Holly groomed. When I picked her up at the vets, I asked for something to give her cause she has been throwing up. I had to see the vet and I was there all afternoon, so they could work me in. $170 later, I have medication to help her problem.
On Wednesday, I went with my husband to the doctor. It was nothing serious, thank goodness, just hemorroids. Painful, but not serious. That visit was only $50, plus $15 for medication.
I did some grocery shopping today and saved $4 using my bi lo card, plus the braves have won 3 games in a row. ($3) I am adding the $7 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $13,739.00
today 7.00
new total $13,746.00

I got a pinecone check in the mail today. I have noticed that if you don't do the survey right away, the next day they are not available. I need to check my e mail more often.
I also had a no use gas day yesterday so a total of $6 ($3 from pinecone) to add to the challenge.

Prev. total $13,733.00
today 6.00
new total $13,739.00

I opened both a Lowes and a Sears card last month. They both offer a 5% discount when you use their card. Since I only use my credit cards when purchasing things for the spec houses, it seem smart that I save 5% when possible.
I bought the appliances for the house last month and saved 5%. Of course, I planned to pay the entire sears bill in full, so I already had the check made out.
I was surprised when i opened the bill to see that they had given me $15 off my purchase to welcome me as a new customer. I wrote a new check and will add thet $15 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $13,718.00
today 15.00
new total $13,733.00

The last time I looked at it today, the stock market was down over 300 points.
I am having a no use gas day today; the braves finally won yesterday, so I am adding $4 to the challenge today.

Prev. total $13,715.00
today 3.00
new total $13,718.00

I am adding my ING and my money market interest to the challenge every month. I am NOT adding the interest that my Melrose c.d.'s earn, which is only paaid quarterly.
In this case my ING orange checking account paid me $149 for the month of July.

Prev. total $13,566.00
today 149.00
new total $13,715.00

I got a dollar bill in the mail the other day. It is from nfomysurvey. I use to do surveys for them all the time, but it took so long to accumulate enough points to ever cash out, so I stopped the surveys.
They still send me this booklet once in a while. You have to keep track of all your expenses for a month and write them down in a journal that they send you.

At the end of the month, they send you a pre paid envelope to send the journal back, and another dollar bill. It seems like a lot of work for just $2 but I don't really mind recording my expenses.

I stopped to pick up a few things at Bi Lo today and saved $3 with my bi lo card, so that is $4 to add to the challenge.

Prev. total $13,562.00
today 4.00
new total $13,566.00

Happy August 1st. Last year, I spent most of this date and about $7500 on the emergency room with my dh. He was having a gall bladder attack, but it took them about 12 hours to figure out what it was.
Today, he is doing fine after having surgery last august.
I did my net worth today. It has gone down quite a bit due to the stock market. But the big thing is all the land we have been buying. We have bought 5 pieces of land since last December. I have paid cash for 2 of them and financed the other 3 at 2.99%
So, that has made our debt go up. However, we will be building on the lots, so eventually the debt will go down once we sell.
Today is bridge day, but I managed to do my grocery shopping and saved $5 using my advantage card. I also had a no use gas yesterday.

Prev. total $13,555.00
today 7.00
new total $13,562.00

Boy, this month went fast! The braves won their last two games and I had a no use gas day yesterday, so I am adding $4 to my challenge money! My goal is to save $17,000 in the challenge this year and I am doing pretty well with it.

Prev. total $13,551.00
today 4.00
new total $13,555.00

Yesterday, we had a real estate closing on the house that we sold. (our spec house)
The real estate ladies were both there; the one that I listed with and the lady that sold it.
My realtor gave us a gift. I swear I don't know what it is.
It was like a wide vase with the lid standing up all sealed up. Inside was a beanie baby bunny (no tag), a candle and a bottle stopper. There was a card with a one hundred dollar bill too!
When we took out the bunny, candle and bottle stopper and put the lid back, the gift looked like a huge urn that you put ashes in (from cremation)
Anyway, I am very grateful for the $100 bill. The ladies got to split $16,000 in commission. (And didn't even have to advertise as the first couple that looked at it bought it that day)
I am adding the $100 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $13,451.00
today 100.00
new total $13,551.00