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Archive for December, 2007

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December 31st, 2007 at 03:42 pm

of 2007. I saved $5 using my Ingles advantage card yesterday, plus the stock market went up Friday and I had a no spend day. That is $7 more dollars to add to the challenge making my total for the year $26,271,00.
I am thrilled with that and hope I can do this well next year. My goal was to hit $20,000!
Prev. total $26,264.00
today 7.00
new total $26,271.00

2008 challenge, here I come!!!!!!!!!

What he is thinking????????????

December 30th, 2007 at 04:11 pm

Some of you may remember that my FIL approached us a few months back with the problem of needing a new roof put on his house.
He had given the house to my dh, and his other 2 sons 15 years ago when MIL passed away and now he does not have the money to have the roof fixed. He lives in Florida.

The cost was supposed to be $12,000. (It wound up costing less) Each son was to pay $4000. The problem was,the other two sons did not have $4000.
Their idea was for all 3 sons to take out a loan for the roof.
We decided to just deed our 1/3 of the duplex to the middle son with the lake front house and 6 horses. He could take our the loan and inherit the entire duplex someday. (FIL is 86)
So, that is what we did. We went to a lawyer and dh quit claimed deeded his share of the house.

Yesterday, we get paperwork from son #2 (BIL), the one that we quit claimed the house to. He is sending us loan papers to sign. Seems that he got a home equity loan for $50,000, due to be paid back in the year 2032!
He got the loan in all three of the brothers names, with my dh name being place first on the loan.
However, since dh knew nothing about this, he just sent us the papers to sign. What is he thinking? Does he really expect dh just to sign for a $50,000 loan on a duplex that he no longer has a share in?
I am really upset, but trying to stay calm. Dh is not upset, just says that he will not sign it. I really don't know what will happen, but I cannot believe BIL is trying to pull this over on us. He already got youngest brother to sign on the loan, but youngest brother has no assets at all, so the bank could never make him pay back anything.
I wish I knew what was really going on??

water problems again!

December 29th, 2007 at 04:39 pm

I think the break in the water main on christmas night has caused more problems. We noticed that the pressure was acting real strange!! Yesterday, I was carrying a laundry basket into our bedroom when I heard noises. It was water dripping out of the light fixture and onto our bed.
Turns out, the toilet upstairs had completely leaked all the water out. (That toilet is never used) What a mess it made.
Then we notice that we barely have any hot water. Upon checking the hot water heater, we find it was leaking also.
Thank goodness for handy man hubby, the hot water heater is now fixed.
We don't know yet how much damage has been done to our bedroom ceiling. It might need new sheetrock and repainting, so this might be an expensive project!!
Next week my dh plans on installing 4 brand new toilets.
Thank goodness for our emergency fund!

Got my credit card bill

December 28th, 2007 at 06:27 pm

I got my credit card bill in the mail yesterday. I signed up for a chase master card because they give back 3% of what you spend at home improvement stores and 1% on other purchases. My dh spends a lot of money at home depot, since he is a builder.
So, on this, my 2nd billing cycle, I have earned enough points to get a check. You only need 5000 points to get 50 dollars. I already have over 9000 points, so I requested my check and will be able to request another by the time I get the next bill.
Then I did a survey with nfo and that earned me another $10 check.

Ok, the checks are in the mail!!!

I am glad the year is ending!!

December 27th, 2007 at 03:30 pm

I am ready for 2008!! And i am looking forward to the new $20 challenge for 2008. I am proud of what I did for the challenge this year. I had a goal to hit the $20,000 savings in the challenge for the year and I surpassed that.
That does not include my regular weekly savings or any interest earned either.
Well, there is still a few days left of 2007. I used a dollar off coupon when I went to the store yesterday and the stock market went up 2 points, so that is $2 more to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $26,262.00
today 2.00
new total $26,264.00

Things turned out ok

December 26th, 2007 at 05:42 pm

Well, things turned out ok last night. We came home to discover that the water main in front of the house broke.
The crew came over about 7 last night to dig up our front yard. They also called the power company out to locate the power line.
I was sure we would be without water, electric and heat all night, but we were not. Only without water for a few hours and everything was fixed.
It was a nice christmas, just wish the poor guys did not have to work out in the cold on christmas night.
We had a honeybaked ham for dinner last night. With only the 2 of us, we will be eating ham for a loooooong time!!

A wonderful christmas, except

December 25th, 2007 at 11:02 pm

We have had a wonderful christmas day, very laid back. Opened presents, went to waffle house for a late lunch, drove around looking at the houses my husband has been working on.
Then we came home and discovered the water main in front of our house has burst and there is water bubbling up from the ground and over our driveway. (This has happened twice before) They had to tear the yard up and even repave the driveway.
The power line is right next to the leak, so our guess is they will turn off the water and the electric.
Looks, like we might be without water, heat and power on christmas night.
Oh well, I've got my love to keep me warm. Merry Christmas!!

Happy christmas eve!

December 24th, 2007 at 08:21 pm

Just wanted to wish everyone a merry christmas. I am so fortunate to have my wonderful husband to spend christmas with. I am sorry for all the lonely people spending this holiday alone. Let's all count our blessings!

I scored on candy!!

December 23rd, 2007 at 07:38 pm

I go my favorite sugar free candy on sale yesterday, half price. So, I picked up 5 bags for dh to put in my stocking. Yes, I often buy my own gifts, he does not have the time to go shopping.
So, I saved $5 on candy, I walked a mile on my treadmill and the stock market closed up on Friday; $7 to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $26,255.00
today 7.00
new total $26,262.00

Shortest day of the year!

December 22nd, 2007 at 10:32 pm

Today is the shortest day of the year, daylight wise, that is. The nice thing about it, starting tomorrow, the days will start getting longer!! I hate it when it gets dark this early. 5:30 pm and it is dark outside.

Happy first day of winter!

December 22nd, 2007 at 02:41 pm

Today is the first full day of winter. I don't know about you, but it has seemed like winter for well over a month. We have had the heat running for aoout 2 months.
Winter is not my favorite season, so I am glad it is here and will be over in 3 months.
Yesterday, I seem to buy everything on sale at the grocery store. Using my advantage card, I saved $10 which I will add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $26,245.00
today 10.00
new total $26,255.00

A small check in the mail.

December 21st, 2007 at 09:56 pm

We sold an older couple one of our spec homes a few years ago. They called and asked if they could have copies of the house plans because they were planning on installing an elevator.
I sent them the plans and received a check for $15 yesterday. They said it was for blueprints and mailing fees. Great I will take it and add it to my challenge money.
Prev. total $26,230.00
today 15.00
new total $26,245.00

How long do people celebrate christmas?

December 21st, 2007 at 06:04 pm

I have already given out paychecks this morning. The framing crew decided at 11:30 that they would knock off work and not come back to work until Wednesday morning.
Everyone I know thinks that we are rich. My husband has worked 7 days a week for as long as I have known him. He generally takes Christmas day off. He works the rest of the time.
My framing crew workers can barely pay their bills, I know some get food stamps. But they can afford to take off 4 1/2 days to celebrate christmas??

I am not complaining,if you can afford it, do it!! My dh has never ever had a paid holiday, so he works!!

Gosh, I sound like a scrooge, don't I? I have to realize that I am married to a workaholic!! That is one reason I have been able to save money as well as I have.

Check engine light is ON!!

December 20th, 2007 at 07:56 pm

Last night, the check engine light on the car came on. Have any of you had this happen? But what was so upsetting is that is came ON, in the brand new corvette. This car only has 600 miles on it. I hope this is not a sign of bad things to com.
I took it to the dealership first thing this morning and after a few hours, it is fixed. Of course, it is under warrently, so no charge, but still a problem like that at 600 miles??

a small donation to the challenge

December 20th, 2007 at 07:54 pm

I had lunch out with my new friend. I have written about the $20 challenge in the other local forum that I am on. When she invited me to lunch, she said it was her treat and for me to put the money I had saved in my $20 challenge.
So thanks, sue, I am adding $6 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $26,224.00
today 6.00
new total $26,230.00

Invited a friend to join!

December 19th, 2007 at 07:56 pm

I invited a new friend to join this site. I had lunch with her today and found out that she is very frugal like I am. She is living on the interest from her savings and that is my goal in life. She does live very simply; a lifestyle my husband is not ready for yet, but some day, I hope to be just like her.

Lunch out today!

December 19th, 2007 at 03:23 pm

I am having lunch out today with a new friend. She just recently moved here and is on the local forum once in a while. I am excited to go and have lunch with her and learn more about her life. I know she just moved here and lives all alone. I think that is very brave. I have been married all of my adult life. Even though I got a divorce, I met my dh right away and I was only single for about 5 weeks. So, I have never lived alone.
Yesterday, I saved $3 using my Advantage card and also the stock market went up, so that is $4 to add to the challenge.
Prev. total $26,220.00
today 4.00
new total $26,224.00

One week to go!

December 18th, 2007 at 03:54 pm

Just one week until it is christmas day. Since joining this forum, I find I am not the only one cutting down on christmas. Many of you do not spend a lot of money on gifts. I use to, but I have stopped that over the years.
My dh and I do exchange gifts, but they are just little things. I do send checks to my granddaughters so they can buy what they want.
I am going to give my three favorite waitresses, $50 each this week. They take such good care of us during the year!
I am adding my ridge money into my challenge money today, cause I want to make a deposit to my savings on Friday.
Prev. total $25,890.00
today 330.00
new total $26,220.00

Frosty morning!!

December 17th, 2007 at 03:48 pm

It is pretty cool this morning, below freezing. I have to keep my house a little warmer today cause my bridge group is coming over. I have had 2 no spend days in a row and today promises to be #3. I made a roast in the crock pot last night and it was so good. There is enough for at least 3 lunches.
I saved $5 the other day using my Ingles card, so I need to add that to my challenge money.
Prev. total $25,885.00
today 5.00
new total $25,890.00

Things I wish I had known when I was younger!

December 16th, 2007 at 06:42 pm

Stuff! I wish I had known that I don't need so much stuff!
I watch everyone around me running around like crazy, shopping, shopping, buy more stuff to give to everyone on their list!
At what age do you finally realize that you really don't need any more "stuff"? I know people that are even my age, but still spend all their free time shopping and buy more stuff.
Do you remember what you get for christmas? Most people don't, cause they get stuff that they really don't want.

I did some collecting of things when I was younger and now I am stuck with all this stuff!

If and when I ever move again to a new house, I am getting rid of most of this stuff!!

I think I have finally learned my lesson, but I wish I had learned it a long time ago!

Christmas party!

December 16th, 2007 at 06:36 pm

We went to a christmas party last night. The food was soooooo good! I wonder how much weight I gained?
The only bad thing about the party was the location. These people live at the very top of Georgia, i swear.
It was on a road so steep it was scary. Many time we were in the clouds and could not even see the road.
We did NOT go out to dinner last night, so we saved $20 which I will add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $25,865.00
today 20.00
new total $25,885.00

Thinking about moving my money!

December 15th, 2007 at 07:13 pm

I have a lot of cash sitting in a local bank. However, they have lowered their rate from 5.25% to 4.16% That is a pretty big difference. so, I have been thinking about putting some money in one of those online banks that are still paying 5%.
I did open a small account at ING, but they are not paying great.
Do any of you have any advice about a good online banking service that you like? Remember, the account has to be preety simple for me to open.

I checked my propane tank

December 14th, 2007 at 08:21 pm

I just went and checked my propane tank to see how I was doing. I had 100 gallons left over from last winter and I put 400 gallons in the tank in mid October.
I have a 1000 gallon buried tank, so I had approx. 50% worth of propane.
Well, it has been almost 2 months and I still have 42% worth of propane left. Iam very pleased with that.
I keep the temp. in my house set at 63. If I worked all day, I would keep it even lower. My little dog gets cold easily, but she has a heating pad to sleep on.
Well, yesterday, I walked a mile on my treadmill. I have done 34 flights of stairs in the past 2 days. The stock market went up. I had a no spend day and I never used any gas at all. So, I am adding $5 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $25,860.00
today 5.00
new total $25,865.00

I wish I had know when i was younger

December 14th, 2007 at 02:37 pm

About the power of compound interest!! I once attended a financial seminar. The question was posed like this. "Lisa saved $2000 a year from age 20 to 30 and then stopped. Susan, however started at age 30 and saved $2000 a year from age 30 to age 65. They both earned the same percentage of interest. Who had the most money at age 65?" Every woman in the group said that Susan had the most money cause she had saved for 35 years.

I was the only woman that knew that Lisa had the most money cause Lisa started saving 10 years earlier than Susan.

Be smart, start saving your money when you are very young!! I started working at age 12, but I used my money to buy clothes, school supplies, candy, etc. I wish I had saved some of that money when I was a young teen.

Start early!! Save early!!

Interest rates are down again!

December 13th, 2007 at 07:11 pm

Darn, the fed lowered the interest rate again and my bank has already lowered theirs too.
Because my dh is a builder, I keep a large amount of liquid cash in local banks. I was getting a decent 5.25% return on my money without any risk. The rate has gone down 3 times in the past few months, and now the rate is down to 4.16%.

Now, we certainly don't live on the interest, but it sure would be nice to, someday.
However, even with this terrible slow down, if nothing comes along for him to build, he is going to build a spec house to keep himself busy! So the cash has to stay liquid!!
I figure that this rate cut is going to cost me $5,450 in interest next year and that is if they don't lower the rate any more!!

Seniors with mortgages

December 13th, 2007 at 04:48 pm

A few years ago we talked to some senior citizens about building them a new house. I was surprised when they talked about getting a mortage!
I just read a short article what stated that 40% of all seniors age 62 to 75 will retire with mortgages and some of them never expect to pay it off.
Boy, I hope they get a lot bigger social security check than I do. I could never pay a mortgage on $538 a month.
Glad I paid mine off many years ago!

A no spend day!!

December 13th, 2007 at 03:43 pm

Yesterday, I had a no spend day. I did go to my computer class, but that was free. I don't think I am really catching on to this class. Yesterday, we did something with "words" but when I came home to practice, I found that I do not have that icon on my computer.
Oh well, the stock market went up yesterday and I had a no spend day, so I have $2 to add to the challenge money.
Prev. total $25,858.00
today 2.00
new total $25,860.00

Things I wish I had know when I was younger!

December 12th, 2007 at 04:21 pm

I wish I had know about mutual funds when I was younger. My family knew nothing about money matters except that they were frugal and paid cash for everything.
I started work at a young age and always saved at least 10% of what I made, but I always put my money in a savings account.

If only someone would have turned me onto mutual funds back then, what a head start I would have gotten.
although there were not a lot of mutual funds in the 50's and 60's there were some. One, called twentieth century back then, (now American century) would take deposits of any size, so anyone could own a mutual fund.
I wanted to learn about investing, but had no one to give me advice.
I looked in my tiny library, but there were no books on finances.
I finally bought a copy of money magazine and have been reading it for over 20 years.
I read everything they said about mutual funds and sent off for about 50 prospectus!
I read everyone of them and decided on the Twenthieth Century because I could open a mutual fund with only $50. That $50 has turned into $50,000.

Now, I tell every young person I meet about the smart thing to do, open a mutual fund account when you are young!!

Candy on sale

December 11th, 2007 at 08:34 pm

They had kissables on sale today, so I bought two bags on sale today and saved $2. Have you all tried them, they are like m and m's but even better. My bridge group just loves them. (and they don't melt in your hands either)
The stock market went up yesterday, so that is $3 more to add to my challenge money.
prev. total $25,855.00
today 3.00
new total $25,858.00

I got a raise!!

December 11th, 2007 at 02:55 pm

This year was the 1st year that I got a social security check. It started in January. Since this is new, unexpected money for me, I have added it to my challenge money every month and never spent a penny of it. I get a whopping $538 a month. I am not making fun of it, I have never made very much money. My highest year of working full time, I made a little over $8000 that year.

In the mail yesterday, I got notice that I am getting a cost of living raise. I am sure I have told everyone that my lucky number is 13. (I got married on Friday the 13th) Well, my raise is going to be $13 a month. So, as of January, I will be getting $551 a month! I wonder how anyone can actually live on social security?? I am glad I have always been a saver!!


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