Did not find anyways of saving money on our trip, except for eating out cheaply which was no fun.
I did arrive home and received an unplanned check for $110.00.
That makes my challenge total $2661.00. Pretty good for one month. I don't expect that for February. The big check I got was a once a year event! It has been a good month!!

Boy I am glad to be home. We left early Friday morning determined to get to central Fla. before dark. That meant we had to eat our meals in the car.
We had Mcdonald's for breakfast and Wendy's for lunch.
We got in and were informed they had already had dinner. There is only one place to eat in the entrire town, McDonalds so we ate peanuts and candy for supper.
The next morning we were informed that they only eat one kind of cereal for breakfast, so we went to McDonalds.
We were told not to eat lunch, they were taking us out to a fancy place for dinner, but we cheated and Went to Wendy's for a few chicken nuggest.
Dinner was good but I am not used to eating at 4:30, we usually eat after 8 pm.
Breakfast the next morning was runny eggs which I cannot stand, so I ate more candy.
We went to the store for something for lunch and by then, I did not feel so good. For the first time in over 2 years, I bought an egg custard pie and 3 chocolate iced donuts. I had the pie for lunch.
We went to an anniversary party that afternoon and I ate cake.
When we got home at 5pm. we were informed that they were not hungry, they were eating ice cream bars for dinner.
So I had more pie and candy for dinner. Back in the car to come home, we stopped at Mcdonald's for breakfast and Krystal for lunch and ate while driving.
We both gained weight. I have not eaten so badly in all my life.
On top of that, we spent most of our time sitting in a house that was 85 degrees with the heat running.
It was 75 outside and we wore shorts.

It is true, there is no place like home, especially when you can control the food and the heat.

I started out tracking our money each day, but fell behind, but we spent about $200, most of that was for gas. I am looking forward to getting back to my financial challenge.

I did set the heat down to 50 when I left, so I know I saved a little money on heating the house for 4 days!! Time to look forward to the month of february!!!

Just got back from Ingles, they had a great deal on sprite. I only spent about $16 but with my advantage card and a coupon, I saved $9.76. so I am addding $10 to my challenge money.

Previous $2661.00
Add 10.00
new tot. $2671.00

Well I am back!! I sent a bill out for a small repair (floor) job that my husband did ages ago. I had forgetten it, but a check was sitting in my mail when I got home. It was for $110 so I will save it and add to my challenge money.

prev. bal. $2551.00
Today 110.00
New tot. $2661.00

Sitting here in Florida, wearing shorts for the first time in months. Haven't spent too much money on this trip, we are staying at my FIL's duplex and it is pretty nice. We have eaten every meal out, so it has been pretty much fast food for the last two days. This town is so small there are two places to eat, McDonald's and Pizza Hut. (I don't like pizza) I have probably spent less than $100 on this trip and most of that has been for gasoline. I paid $2.59 a gallon yesterday for premium. I will be glad to get back home and back to the challenge. Can't save money when on a trip. We are going home tomorrow.

We are getting ready for a trip to fla., one that I am dreading. It is a 12 hour drive, we will stay two days and drive another 12 hours back.
It is to go and visit my in laws who are in their 80's so we will most sit and sweat because they keep their heat on 90 degrees.
Today I packed and ran errands. I went to the grocery store so I would have a few things on hand when we got home on Monday night. With my Advantage card, I saved $4.04 so that brings my challenge amount to $2551.00
I don't think I will have any money saving days the next 4 days. I have agreed to stay there for 3 nights, rather than a motel like I prefer. So, in a way, I am saving money, but I am not too happy about it. I don't like staying with people at all, but it is hard to find a local motel that will take a small dog. I never travel without her.

Did some grocery shopping before we leave for fla. tomorrow. With my advantage card, I saved $4.04.

Prev. total $2546.96
today 4.04
New total $2551.00

Wow! I had a talk with the building supply place my husband does business with, about 2 weeks ago. I asked if we could get a rebate check once a year for all of his purchases.
They agreed to talk it over and let me know.
Today I got a call to pick up my check, it was for $1760.13.

So My challenge total now stands at $2546.96. I have impressed myself!!

I think I will keep my $20 to $5000 challenge on this blog, also. I started with $20 on Jan. 1st and as of yesterday, Jan 24th, my total is $786.23.

I am saving all my changes. Anytime I get grocery store savings using my advantage card, I take that cash and put it with my savings. I use the budget envelope method and if I over budget, I take that money out and add to my challenge money.

I have sold a few things and plan to have a garage sale when it gets warmer.
If my husband takes on an extra "fix it job" I count that because he does not do that often and it is just extra money.

I have debated if I should count interest that I receive on my checking and savings account? Your feedback would be welcome!

Well I have never done a blog before. Not even sure what that is?? I am brand new to computers and at my age, I don't learn real quickly. I should take computer lessons. thanks to Jeffrey for helping me out!
Today should be a no spending day except for dinner out. We spent about $18 for dinner out and I really did not enjoy it so much because we had a guy sit with us most of our meal. He does that about once a week. I can't be rude cause he wants us to build his new house, but he has been talking about this for over a year.
We are going to Florida on Friday, so we should be spending quite a bit this week, plus my husband can't seem to get this house started, so we are going to have to draw money out of savings. I hate doing that, it will be the first time in ages that I have done that.

Well it has been a good day. About 2 weeks ago, i went and talked to the office manager where my husband buys all his building supplies and has for over 20 years. I mentioned that now we have a home depot, that sends us 10% off coupons 5 or 6 times a year and we stock up on stuff we use in the homes he builds.

I mentioned that he is staying pretty loyal to this building material company and still buying most of his materials there. I asked shouldn't we get a rebate for spending so much money there every year.

She said she would take it up with the owners!!

Today she called and said she had a check for me! It was for $1760.13 for last year's purchases!! Again, I am doing the dance of JOY!!

Prev. total $786,83
Today $1760.13
new total $2546.96

It is a beautiful day today, so I made my "liquor run" to Murphy, N.C. We live in a "dry" area, you can't even buy beer. The funny thing is you can buy liquor and wine in Murphy, but you can't buy beer! You have to go to a different county for that.
Oh well, my husband is feeling better. He is coming home early and we are going to go meet some people who are interested in building a house.
Dinner was pretty cheap last night. Even tho we ate out, we only spent $10. all dh wanted was chicken soup.Then, I spent $1.93 at the grocery store buying TP and a notebook. I keep a notebook for every job my husband takes and he took a new house to build last night.
I am very please with my $20 challenge and I have build my total from $20 to $786.83 in just 24 days. I got $611.13 in interest credited to my checking account yesterday. I was going to count that because when this 1st house (our spec) gets started, we will use the money that is drawing interest, and there won't be much interest paid on this checking acct.
It is a money market acct. and I can only do 3 checks a month, plus I have to keep a high balance. Once the balance goes down, I will lose the high rate it pays.
What do you think?
Should I use the interest I get every month in my checking and add it to me challenge money?
I am not going to count the interest in my savings.

I will do what you all think! I don't want to look like I am cheating.

Is anyone counting the interest in accounts that they already have?

Another $2.00 coupon. Plus I paid my end of the month bills and had overbudged $20 in on catagory, so I will add $22 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $764.83
Today 22.00
New total $786.83

My hubby felt no better, so headed to the dr. this morning.(He will work you in) Spent $45 there and got $67 worth of prescriptions. He went to work for a few hours but came home early and is laying down now. So, that has been an expensive day because he works for himself, by the hour. No work-no pay!!
I cashed the paycheck today but did not spend anything except for my tp stockpile. Going to use that $2 coupon everytime I am near the store.
We are going to leave for fla. on Friday, I am dreading it cause it is a long 12 hour drive and I hate Florida.
We are going to visit my dh father who is 85. This is going to be an expensive week with a trip to Florida and about 5 days of lost pay when we go.Oh well, at least we have the money.
It as rained all day so I did not visit the consignment shop like I wanted to. I felt very guilty getting my nice clean car all dirty in the rain.

Well I used my $2 off coupon again today, so I will add that to my total. I am also adding to my hoard of toilet paper.

Prev. $762.83
today 2.00
new tot$764.83

My husband never sits around watching tv in the daytime, so I know he is really feeling sick today.I worked on cleaning out a closet and checked on the consignment place. They say to call first for an appointment. Then we rode to Home Depot and I took back a large recessed bulb. My husband buys them in packs and says there is always one or two that don't work. Those bulbs are $3.33 each and too expensive to just throw away like he has been doing. I got a new one instead.
Had a coupon to take $2 off the toilet paper, so stopped there then went to drug store for throat drops. I can tell this is going to be a long day. Plus I have to cook supper tonight too. At least we had a dinner by ourselves out last night. That is always nice. I told my husband I was going to print up a sign that say, "If you are going to sit with us, you have to pay for our meal"!! Think that will work?? (Of course he told me not too and I won't but I can wish, can't I)
I also cleaned out his van and came up with over $10 in change for my change jar, so I feel like I have had a productive day, money wise.

I guess I have used the envelope method for so long (40 years) that I never think about using the money I put away. I have never been a coupon person,cause we don't get a newspaper, so I rarely have coupons, but I am watching out for them now. I did have a store coupon for $2 off of toilet paper (regular price $2.88) so I went and got that today. The nice thing is, when you self check out, nothing takes your coupon, so I can use it again til it expires. I also took back a recessed light bulb that did not work and got a new one. Hey those durn things cost $3.33 each and my husband has been throwing away the ones that don't work (brand new)!

Prev. Total $760.83
Today 2.00
New total $762.83

Well I have not added any money to my challange today, but I did go and check out my husbands van. He said he didn't think he had much change cause he does not go to fast food places anymore, but I found $10.60 in change that I can add to my change jar.

Total: still at $760.33

Well we had a nice dinner out with drinks last night. Then home to fill the tub, light the candles and soak and sip on our drinks.
I did my grocery shopping today and really paid attention to what things cost. We spend a lot on diet sprite which is usually about $4 a 12 pack. (We take it out to supper so our drinks are free) I am going to try the store's equivalent of diet sprite cause it is $2.50 for a 12 pack. Rather than get stuck with something we hate, I just bought the large bottle for 88 cents to try it out.
I really watched what I bought today and my grocery total was only $38, plus I had over $4 in savings on my advantage card. I got a store coupon giving me $2 off my next pack of cottonelle aloe toilet paper, so I will get my next pack of double toilet paper for only 88 cents. That reminds me of the "good old days"
I am happy that in the first 3 weeks of this year, I have added $760 to my challenge money!
Have a wonderful day and night!!

i saved $4.42 at the grocery store and 20 cents by making copies at the library instead of Ingles. I really comparison shopped today at Ingles. I added the $4.61 to my challenge money.

Prev. bal. $755.71
today 4.62
New tot $760.33

Well I have spent the whole day waiting for the sears man to come fix a dishwasher in a house we built. I am just doing this to be nice, but it makes me mad to have to stay in the house and wait all day. The people that bought the house live out of town, oh well.
Went out to dinner last night and spent about $17. Got stuck with a couple sitting with us for a while, AGAIN!
Don't people know it is rude to push themselves off on other people all the time? This couple has done this over and over again. I know we should change restaurants, but it is the only one in town we like. And we really don't like driving out of town at night anymore.
Went to Ingles to buy prilosec and saved $4, with my advantage card and a $2 coupon. I discussed moving my money from local bank paying 3.59% to ING paying 4.75 til 4/15 with my husband. He is worried with my poor computer skills, that I will goof up and something will happen to the money. I accidently deleted everyone's address in my Inbox and I did not have them written down.
I think he is afraid that I will accidently delete all our money!
I have enjoyed the $5000 challange and am constantly trying to think of ways to make money. (other than getting a job)(the only place I could get a job is at a fast food place)

Had to buy prilosec last night for dh. With my advantage card, I got $2 off, plus I had a coupon for $2 off, so I saved $4. I stay home all day yesterday so that saved $1 in gas money for a total of $5 added to my challenge money.

Prev. bal $750.71
Today 5.00
new tot. $755.71

It is a sunny but boring day. I have stayed home all day and done very little. We ate dinner out last night, that was $17. At least it was a peaceful dinner, no one had to come and talk to us or sit with us. I don't mind it for a few minutes, but we get these people that drop in and stay an hour.
Then we stopped and filled up my car, that ran $28.75. I got a wedding dress out to take to a consignment shop today, but just have not gone out yet. I guess I want to go and check out the consignment shop first and see if they even want the dress. I have got to go thru some of these closets and throw things away.
I even have the jumpsuit that I wore to an elvis concert on Feb. 15, 1977. ( I still have the ticket stub in my "elvis" room)

I didn't know what to do today, but my electric bill came. I had alloted $260 in my electric bill account, but my bill was only $100, so I am putting the other $160 in my challenge account.

Pre. bal $590.71
Today 160.00
new tot. $750.71

I made my weekly trip to N.C. to buy liquor today. We spent about $26 dollars for dinner out last night, but had enough left over for my dh lunch. I spent about $20 on a prescription and some vitamins. Wound up going over to my husband's job to see the basement he is finishing and then he rode with me to N.C. He had to go and order some carpet, so we wound up going to Wendy's for lunch and spending $6. (something we never do)
Still have to fill up my car with gas tonight, so it has been an expensive day! I was annoyed last night at this guy from Miami. He bought a house here and is fixing it up and every time we see him, he annoys us for at least a half hour talking about his "wonderful" house. We want to go out and be together, not stuck with Mr. Rude!
Hope he is not there tonight!

I saved $12 today by not buying something that I buy every week on my trip to the liquor store, plus my husband found a quarter on the floor of the restaurant.

Prev. bal. $578.46
Today 12.25
New bal. $590.71

Today the weather is terrible. It is rainy and windy and cold. All I did was drive to the drive in window of the bank to cash my husband's paycheck and right back home. Took my dog, Holly with me to get her a dog bone. She loves to hide them. Then I have to find them in the car.
I have done my budget and besides my regular savings, I have an extra $60 to put with my challange money. We spent $16 on our dinner out last night, I usually make a trip once a week to the liquor store in North Carolina, but it is too ucky to go today.
I am planning on having my first garage sale in 10 years this spring. Today I cleared out a big cupboard in my kitchen so I can put lots of the stuff in there that I am planning to sell. I was going to lug everything upstairs to one of the spare rooms, but that is a lot of climbing. Then I have to bring everything back down the stairs. I threw away a bunch of junk, so that is handy.
No spending money for me today until we go out for supper tonight!! Guess I will walk on my treadmill.

Today was payday and I have put all the money away in the envelopes. Even after saving my 10%, I have $60 left, so I am adding that to my challange money.

Pre. bal. $518.46
Today 60.00
new bal. $578.46

We had a nice steak dinner in the dining room last night, by candlelight, and listening to music. That was very nice. I also cooked a meat loaf so dh can take his lunches all week. He never eats out thank goodness.
I did go to the grocery store to get a few things we needed and spend $9.16 cents. I buy dh shampoo and conditioner there, he likes the VO kind for 97 cents.
Today is normally my pay day and budget day, but the banks of closed for Martin Luther King day. I will have to borrow $20 from my misc. envelope to go out tonight, since my allowance day won't be til tomorrow. I probably have enough money in my wallet for dinner, but just in case , I like to carry a little extra. I don't like to charge food to my credit card.
I discovered e bay today and tried to sign up for pay pal. I don't know anything about it. Maybe that is a good thing, I really don't need to be buying anything more.

I have spent most of this weekend watching the 35th anniversary of "All in the Family" reruns. We went out last night and spent $23 on our dinner. Today, to celebrate our winning the law suit, dh wanted to cook steaks out on the grill.
I went to Bi lo and found porterhouse steaks on sale for $5.99 a pound. Also found some betty Crocker potatoes, buy one get one free.Got a few more things and spent $16.55, but I saved $5.22 using my store card, so I added that to my $20 challange money.
Since diet sprite is a big expense for us, I am looking for something cheaper.
DH did the dance of Joy in the doorway of the bedroom, before he left for work this morning!! It has been a good weekend.
BTY, when I watch tv, I walk on my treadmill, so I am not totally wasting my time, I am getting exercise too.