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Archive for September, 2011

Bogo items!

September 30th, 2011 at 09:05 pm

I didn't have much to buy at the grocery store today, but I did want to catch some of the Bogo deal.
I got ragu spagetti sauce and Hellman's mayonaisse, both buy one and get one free.The bread was on sale and so was the hamburger. The only thing I paid full price for was some sour cream. Total saved was over $6 which will be added to the challenge.

It was an expensive day today. I had to pay over $27,000 for the poured basement walls and then I had to pay out $1300 for liability builder's insurance.

Prev. total $17,042.00
today 6.00
new total $17,048.00

Adding one's!

September 29th, 2011 at 02:51 pm

I have $7 in one's in my wallet, so I am adding that to my challenge money.
I also got a new citi visa card last month. They offered $100 bonus money when you charged $500. I had to take my dog to a speciality vet, so $500 was the charge. I applied online to get a check for $100.

Prev. total $17,042.00
today 7.00
new total $17,049.00

Made my $17,000 goal!

September 28th, 2011 at 06:27 pm

Today my normal end of the month check came in (social security) so I have made my goal of saving $17,000 in the $20 challenge this year. Plus, I still have 3 more months to save! I have saved more than this in the previous challenge, but with interest rates so low and work so slow, I set my goal a little bit lower. I am still very pleased with this year's savings!

Prev. total $16,556.00
today 486.00
New total $17,042.00

Saving at Ingles!

September 27th, 2011 at 08:03 pm

I did my grocery shopping this morning. Ingles had some good deals. I try and stock up on things I buy regularly when they are on sale. Using my Ingles card I saved over $9, plus the stock market finally went up, so I will add $10 to my $20 challenge.

prev. total $16,556.00
today 10.00
new total $16,566.00

My goal for this year was to save at least $17,000 in the $20 challenge!

The first time!

September 25th, 2011 at 09:06 pm

Today, I paid my electric bill online. It is the very first time I have ever tried to pay anything online.
I am trying to spend $3000 on my new Chase sapphire card in order to get the $500 bonus. I paid off my husband's hospital bill, but that still was not enough. I don't need anything and don't just want to buy "things" so I thought I would charge things I normally pay cash for. I have never once charged food at the grocery store, but this week I think I am going to. I will just take the cash and put it in an envelope to pay the credit card when it comes due.
I have used the cash system all of my life, so this seems really strange to me.

Paid off a "stupid" loan

September 23rd, 2011 at 07:55 pm

I have been buying property this last 8 months. Land prices have really gone down and my dh is a builder. We have been looking for lots with a view or on the creek, to build spec houses on.
So far, we have bought five pieces of property.
I paid cash for the acre we are building on now, but I financed the other 4. The local bank is financing land at 2.99% which I thought was pretty good.

What I did not really notice was that the land I bought in North Carolina had a 6% interest rate.
OMG, when I made the first payment, it hit me how much interest I was paying every month.
I have the money in a money market paying me .008% (yes, that is 8/10th of one percent.)
It is stupid to earn 8/10th of one percent and be paying out 6%.

So, today, I drove over to the bank in North Carolina and completely paid off the loan. I feel a little less stupid now!!

Negotiated the hospital bill.

September 22nd, 2011 at 10:20 pm

My dh was in the hospital emergency room last August and ran up a bill of almost $8000. Since we have no medical insurance I told them I would pay cash and they gave me a discount of 15% off.

In February, he was in for one day for the same problem. (Kidney stones) This time the bill was for $7000 so I have been paying on the bill every month.
I have paid the bill down to less than $3000 and today I called to see if they would lower the bill if I paid it in full. They lowered the bill by 20%, so I saved $585. I guess that is why the bills are so high, so they can give discounts to those who pay.

I am charging this to my new sapphire chase account so I can earn my $500 bonus. Of course, I will pay it off right away next month when the bill comes due.

Electric bill went down!

September 21st, 2011 at 08:48 pm

I got my electric bill yesterday. It is about $40 cheaper than the one I got last month. That one was my highest electric bill ever. (they raised the rates this summer) The bill should be even lower next month. Of course, now I have to order propane. It is running $2.39 a gallon here. How much do you pay?
I had a no use gas day yesterday and the braves won with a rookie pitcher, so $3 to add to the challenge.

Prev. total $16,553.00
today 3.00
new total $16,556.00

Dividend check in the mail.

September 20th, 2011 at 07:17 pm

I got a dividend check in the mail yesterday from Wendy's. I am going to add that to the challenge. Normally, I re invested all my dividends thru the drip plan. (dividend reinvestment plan) but for some reason, I get checks in the mail from Wendy's and Tim Horton's, I think because Wendy's split off from Tim Horton and went with Arby's, my drip was stopped. Oh well, it is fun to get an unexpected check in the mail once in a while.

Prev. total $16,542.00
today 11.00
new total $16,553.00

A no use gas day here!

September 18th, 2011 at 11:22 pm

I had a no use gas day here, both car wise and propane wise. No heat, no air running. My older dog Holly has settled into a routine in her new diet. It has been 3 weeks now and I am still feeding her by hand. She will only eat the food off of my finger; she will not lick it off a plate. Spoiled puppy!
Adding $3 to the challenge for the no use gas day and the braves won yesterday. (But not today).

Prev. total 16,539.00
today 3.00
new total 16,542.00

Last weekend of summer!

September 17th, 2011 at 06:42 pm

This is the last weekend of summer, fall begins next week. I am not crazy about cold weather although I do enjoy the cool days of fall. The weather has already been cool here and the air has not run in over a week. That will help with the electric bill, but now I have to order propane. Propane is $2.39 a gallon here and I have 1000 gallon tank.
I usually keep the house set at 64 degrees in the winter and dress warm. It still cost over $2000 to heat the house last winter and propane was cheaper last year.
I had a no use gas day yesterday and the stock market went up 2 days in a row, so $4 to add to the challenge money.

Prev. total $16,535.00
today 4.00
new total $16,539.00

This month's interest.

September 16th, 2011 at 08:02 pm

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!!

September 14th, 2011 at 08:20 pm

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

Corvette envelope

September 14th, 2011 at 03:19 pm

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

Lots of things on sale!

September 13th, 2011 at 06:30 pm

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

Car show

September 10th, 2011 at 09:47 pm

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

$20 challenge

September 9th, 2011 at 10:36 pm

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

Chase sapphire card came in.

September 8th, 2011 at 10:44 pm

My sapphire card came in today. I wasn't sure if it would come or not cause I got one in hubby's name about 2 months ago. however, they sent me an invitation which I returned and my card arrived today. I am suppose to earn $500 back (bonus points) when I spend my first $3000. I already received the $500 check on hubby's account.
The main difference between our two accounts, his has a higher limit and the rate is lower. I have no idea why that is???

What is going on?

September 6th, 2011 at 10:09 pm

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

Computer problems

September 4th, 2011 at 03:11 pm

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