The economy is getting pretty bad in our area. I just noticed that a real estate company that has been here for ages, has closed down. No body is looking for real estate and no body is buying anything.
I have a friend who is experiencing some rough financial times right now. I know that this is depressing her right now but she is trying to work thru her depresssion by going shopping a lot.
I think we all should be saving as much money as possible right now.
When the going gets tough, the tough do NOT go shopping!!

I just came back from grocery shopping. I cannot believe the cost of food anymore!! We eat out almost everynight and I still spent about $80. I can't imagine what you must spend to feed children too.
Our local food bank is out of food so i am picking up some extra to donate.There is very little work here since our main industry is home building. There is none of that going on and so many new houses just sitting unsold!
I am so thankful that I have a good emergency fund to live on should we have too.
I did use a coupon and found hamburger on sale, so I have $6 to add to my challenge fund.
Prev. total $19,905.00
today 6.00
new total $19,911.00

I have been busy with going with my dh to doctor's visits for the past two days, so I have not put anything into my challenge account. The stock market went up, the braves won and I had a no use gas day today, so that is $4 more I have to add to my challenge!

Prev. total $19,901.00
today 4.00
new total $19,905.00

I mentioned yesterday that our medical fund (that I fund myself) took a big hit this week with about $750 in expenses the past two days.
We had medical insurance for years and never used a penny of it, although we spent $90,000 in premiums.
A few years ago, we dropped the insurance, but everyone has warned me how stupid that was.
Well, I decided when I was young, that I would never be sick! So far, that has worked out well for me!! I have only been to the doctor's twice in my life.

However, my dh does get sick once in a while. So, we went ahead and got medical insurance on him, but with a $10,000 deductible. It runs about $200 a month. I am holding on, waiting for medicare!! But I am putting away $400 a month in a medical fund!!

Our medical fund fund is taking a hit this week. We paid out $140 to find out that dh does NOT have to have a colonoscopy done this year and today, I took him to the oral surgeon. That bill was $695 but they knocked off $85 cause we don't have insurance.
Even tho he got put to sleep, he wanted to go back to work this afternoon. I made him stay home and rest. Just so glad that we have a medical fund when we need it. I put aside $100 a week for this.

dh went to the doctor last month for a check up. The doctor suggested that he needed a colonoscopy and stated that he no longer did them. Dr. set him up with a specialist, and we went there yesterday. It was $140 charge just to become a new patient.
We see the specialist who says that dh does NOT need a colonoscopy for another 3 years. He only does them once every ten years if no polyps were found the first time.
So, we paid out $140 for nothing plus lost at least 4 hours of work!! grrrr...

For the first time in months, I can hear the creek. I have lived in the mountains for almost 25 years and this is the lowest I have ever seen the creek. Finally yesterday and today, we got rain. I love it!!
Last night, we stayed home and had breakfast for dinner. I am sure I saved at least $10 for not eating out, so I am adding that to my challenge money!

Happy Rainy Day!!
Prev. total $19,891.00
today 10.00
new total $19,901.00

Yesterday, Gamecock asked me what I did with my challenge money tha I saved on the $20 challenge.
No, I do not have a separate account for just the challenge money, but it might be a good idea to see how much interest it earns.
Instead, I add it (challenge money) about once or twice a month to my regular local savings account that is payig 3.1% interest.
I keep track of how much I save on paper and put the actual cash and checks in a cash box each day. Then, every few weeks, I deposit it so it can earn interest.
This past week, I had 5 stay at home and use no gas days. It cost me about $2 to go to town and back, so that is $10 in gas money that I have saved. I will add that to my challenge money.
Prev. total $19,881.00
today 10.00
new total $19,891.00

This morning, I was figuring out how much I will owe on my credit card for the meals eaten out, that I charged this month.
I did this cause I get 3% back on restauant meals charged. Then I come home and put the cash in an envelope with the charge ticket.
The bill will be here in a few days, so I took out the cash that I will need to pay that bill. I have $8 left over because I rounded up everytime I put cash in that envelope. I will add that $8 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $19,873.00
today 8.00
new total $19,881.00

DH took half a day off yesterday from work and we went furniture shopping. We need a new table/chairs for the breakfast room and 2 new chairs for our bedroom.
We went to 9 different furniture stores in two different states and could not find a thing even close to what we wanted. (we want something like we already have)
So, I felt like it was a wasted day, plus we lost 5 hours pay.
I did come home to find a check from american express in the mail box. It was for $6. I think it was from a reward when we last used the card, months ago. I will add it to the challenge money.
Prev. total $19,867.00
today 6.00
new total $19,873.00

DH brought home a big bag of corn the other night. We put it out for the wildlife to eat. We have a couple of groundhogs that live somewhere near our creek.
On Wednesday night, we noticed a deer eating it. Poor deer, it looks so skinny. We have not rained in ages so there is no grass. This morning, I woke up and there was a deer, eating it again. I just put out another big batch.
It is so neat to have wildlife right in your back yard.
Yesterday, I played mahjong almost all day and won 5 games. also, the stock market went up, so there is $6 to add to the challenge money.
Prev. total $19,861.00
today 6.00
new total $19,867.00

My old water distiller gave out on me last November. I ordered a new one, just like it and was told it was back ordered til february. Obviously, it is no longer being made since I have never received it.
DH and I drink a lot of water. That is all we drink all day long and I am getting tired of buying bottled water. It is not the cost so much as I hate all those plastic bottles being thrown away.

So, I bit the bullet and ordered a new water distiller yesterday. It was $169 but my last one lasted me 11 years, so it will pay for itself. I am so excited to get to start distilling my own water again.
I also checked on my Chase reward master card and I have earned another $50 check. so I will put that in my challenge when it gets here. Life is good!!

Have you seen how much lighter fluid is lately? Here, it runs between $4-5. We pretty much only cook out on the grill; very seldom do we cook in the kitchen.
I am just not going to pay $5 to get the charcoal started on the grill.
Instead, we went to Ace Hardware and bought one of those plug in type charcoal starters.
We used it last night and it worked great.
We buy a lot of our paint for the customer's homes at Ace hardware. They send us gift cards all the time. We had $55 in gift cards, so we got the charcoal starter, plus a new bird feeder, stake, birdseed and cracked corn to feed "wild critters" just about for free. Hey, you can't beat FREE! And now we are saving money when we cook on the grill.

I stayed home yesterday and used no gas, so that saved $2, plus I won 2 games of mah jong, but another $2 to add to my challenge money.

Prev. total $19,857.00
today 4.00
new total $19,861.00

My business checking account was credited today with $86 in interest for the month.
I am going to remove that interest every month and put it in my savings and add it to the challenge money.
I am so happy with this new high interest checking account that I opened two months ago.
Prev. total $19,771,00
today 86.00
new total $19,857.00

We usually have 4 bird feeders going all the time. 3 of them have sunflower seeds in them, and the other one is a hummmingbird feeder.
Well, dh brought home another hummingbird feeder. He thought is he had two of them set apart, it would keep the hummingbirds from fighting. (it didn't work)
So, now we have 5 feeders going and they have to be filled almost everyday!!
Dh brought home a 50 pound bag of sunflower seeds last night and MORE hummingbird food. The seed has gone from $15 a bag to $29!!
I told dh that he is working for the birds!!

For a month now, I have been keeping track of how much we spend eating out almost every night.
I have decided to start charging it, cause our Chase credit card will give us 3% back on all restaurnant charges. So, I charge the bill, then I come home and put that much cash in an envelope. Then, when the bill comes in, I have the cash to pay it all off.
This past month, we spent $322 eating out almost every night. We usually have enough left overs for lunch at home every day.
To us, eating out is just not a way to get a quick meal.
To us, it is a date out every night. We are allowed to brown bag it, so we have cocktails and just talk for about an hour before we order our meal. Of course, my dh is very careful to make his drinks very very mild since he is always the designated driver.
I guess it is worth $322 a month to enjoy every night out; at least it is to us.

Oh, I need to add the aarp money to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $19,711.00
today 60.00
new total $19,771.00

My dh took the day off today. Now, that the house is so nice and clean, he has decided to "bleach" the white carpet in the living room. This is something he does every 6 months or so, but today he is doing it up right.
He has moved all the furniture in the living room, so he can get the entire carpet bleached.
Of course, that means that everything on top of the furniture had to be moved also. I pretty much have an all white house, which I like.
White walls, white carpet and a huge sectional white sofa with muliticolored cushions along the back of the sofa.

You can tell I have no children living here.

I stayed home all day on Friday, so i used no gas and that will add $2 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $19,709.00
today 2.00
new total $19,711.00

I have had my house being cleaned for the past two days. They even took down the glass from the chandliers and washed them. Everything in this house has been scrubbed clean and the house looks so nice. I have been having trouble with my knees the past few years, so getting up and down from the floor has been getting harder for me.
So, I spent a few hundred dollars, but the house really needed a good cleaning.

The stock market went up two days in a row and i saved $3 with coupons at the grocery store. So that is $5 more to add to the challenge money.

Prev. total $19,704.00
today 5.00
new total $19,709.00

Yesterday, I had some young ladies come to clean my house. Sort of a spring type cleaning. So, I did a lot of reading and forgot to see what the stock market did yesterday. Did anyone watch?? Did it go up or go down??

They are coming back today. Yesterday they cleaned all of the upstairs, today they are doing the downstairs. It will cost me some money, but I will have a very clean house!! Next to rent a pressure washer and clean the outside!!

Yesterday, someone mentioned that they were surprised that earning $12.97 in interest on my personal checking account made me so happy!
Yes it does!
When I moved here, the only job I could get was as a waitress. Back then, minimum was $3.15 an hour, but we only got paid $2.01 and hour and we really had to work. Besides waitressing, we had to do all the cleaning and that was very hard work.
Sunday was the day we made the worst tips and everyone hated to work on Sundays. But it was our busiest day, so we all had to work.
The most I ever made in tips on a Sunday was 12!! Big tables would come in, parties of 8-10-12. Sometimes they would not tip at all. I will never forget my first table of 18 people. I ran my legs off getting them more drinks, bread, etc.
They left a total of 87 cents!!
I never came home with more than $12!! $12 for waiting on hundreds of people all day long.

Yes, a free $12.87 is just like a Sunday off and it does make me happy!!

I won 2 games of mah jong yesterday, so i will add that to my challenge money.

Prev. total $19,702.00
today 2.00
new total $19,704.00

I opened up a new personal checking account last month. I don't keep much money in my personal checking because I put in just enough to pay the bills.
However, this new checking account pays 3.1% interest, so I am keeping all of my weekly budgeted money for property taxes, car insurance and house insurance in this account.
Yesterday, this account paid me $12.98 in interest; the first time I have ever earned interest on a personal account in my life!! This is great. The only requirement is that I must keep $1000 in the account in order to be paid interest.
I love it!!

Everyone here is so kind and supportive. I guess it is because we all have something in common. It is our interest in saving money for retirement someday.
I am on a couple of other forums. I get jumped on constantly, made fun of and ridiculed. Yesterday, someone used my user name (there are no rules on this forum) to say unkind things about a friend of mine. I was playing bridge at the time and did not know until 2 friends sent me an e mail to see if that was me.
It is very unpopular to talk about saving money. I was even accused of hating people who live in trailers and do not drive corvettes!
That is so far from the truth!! When I met my husband, he had a trailer. When my best friend moved to Knoxville, I encouraged her to buy a used trailer to build up some equity.

As for cars, what do I care what anybody drives. Most people have kids, corvettes do not work when you have kids! Drive what you want. I happened to marry a "car" guy. So what??

What do people find it so interesting to follow me from site to site? They even told people on the forum to follow me over here and read my "stupid" advice. Why would they want to do that? They have no interest in saving money or living a frugal, happy life!!

Bless you people! I never hear an unkind word on this forum.

I have $5 to add to my challenge money. the braves won 2 games in a row and I won three games of Mah jone.
Prev. total $19,697.00
today 5.00
new total $19,702.00

Once a month or so I get a nice check in the mail. When this challenge started, I went to the building supply place and asked for a "rebate" At home depot, I often get coupons for 10% off, but I am pretty local to the same building supply place that we have used for 25 years.
So, I asked and they said yes!
I use to get the checks 3 or 4 times a year, but now they come once a month. I have never spent a penny, I just add it to my challenge money.
Prev. total $19,189.00
today 508.00
new total $19,697.00

Getting close to my goal!!

I just got back from grocery shopping. I cannot believe how much prices have gone up. The 16 slice kraft cheese that used to be $1.99 is now $2.99. We needed liter fluid but I did not buy any. It has gone up to $4.99.
I did however have quite a few coupons so I did manage to save $8 with those. I will add this to my challenge money today.
Prev. total $19,181.00
today 8.00
new total $19,189.00

We had a yard sale this morning to help a needy single mom get ready for school and band!! We had a dollar amount in mind, and we made it!! I am so happy! It was worth getting up at 6:15 am and standing up for 5 hours!! Plus we got rid of a lot of "stuff" I am taking the leftover new toys to toys for tots!! (Plus I am resting my feet)

Well, 08-08-08 turned out to be a lucky day not only for the chinese but for the stock market today also. The dow went up over 300 points, so maybe our net worth will look a little better tomorrow.

That is today's date. You won't see that again anytime soon. I walked a mile yesterday and the braves won, so I have $2 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $19,179.00
today 2.00
new total $19,181.00

We have been invited to a free lunch today. It is being given by the local building supply place and will be held at a local park. of course, we are going, even tho I do not like bar b que. I have been getting behind in my $20 challenge lately. Finally on tuesday, the stock market went up, the braves won and I used a $1 off coupon on a pie. That is $3 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $19,176.00
today 3.00
new total $19,179.00

We decided to eat at home last night and save money.
I bought hamburger on sale for $3, polish sausage on sale for $3, buns for $1, potatoes and onion for $2. Then i bought an apple pie with a dollar off coupon for $4. We used about $2 worth of charcoal.
Plus, we had to run the oven for a hour for the potatoes and another hour for the pie.
Then dh had to fix up the lettuce, tomato, onion, meat, etc. Afterward we had to clean up and run the dish washer. Total cost with counting the things we already had on hand, $15.
We eat out at our usual place and get our usual meal for $16!! And someone else does all the cooking and cleaning!

hmmmm?????

I had this talk with my dh Sunday night. We went to a party/cookout on saturday night. Every man there makes a nice 6 figure income. There was an engineer, a sciencetist, a ceo of a bank, the head of trade and tourism for the state of Georgia, a owner of a travel bureau in Naples, etc., etc.

My husband was the only blue collar worker there. He builds houses and since he actually does most of the work himself, you will have to call him a carpenter. (and plumber and electrician, and tile guy and cabinet maker; well you get the picture)

No, he says, it does not bother him at all that everyone makes more money than he does.

The women were dressed so nicely. Believe me, I was the only person in $20 QVC jeans and my newest shirt that I got 6 months ago on sale at Wal mart for $5.
I was also the only one with $30 sneakers that I bought 8 years ago. They all had on fancy matching outfits and cute sandels. Their toes were painted, their nails were done, their hair was perfect. One lady was even telling about the two face lifts and one neck lift she had had done this year.

Yes, it does bother me. But, I just have to be me. I have never been one to spend a lot to look good. I wear my hair long and straight. I color it myself. I don't use nail polish. My face isn't ever going to get lifted!!

Hey, I am just not a high maintaintence woman, but my dh loves me anyway!!

Well, I am going to add $20 to my challenge money cause we did NOT go out to eat on Saturday night. We ate at the party.

Prev. total $19,156.00
today 20.00
new total $19,176.00