My calender says that today is Leap day. And it is leap year. My birthday was the day before Thanksgiving and I was looking forward to it being on Thanksgiving day this year. But because of leap year, my birthday will now be the day after Thanksgiving! Guess I will have to wait another few years.
I got a dollar bill in the mail today and yesterday the stock market went up, so I am adding $2 to the challenge.

Prev. total $3440.00
today 2.00
new total $3442.00

I received another chase rewards check today for $50. I have gotten a $50 check every month for the past several years. Sometimes, I get two checks a month. They pay 3% back on home improvement stores and dh does a lot of his buying at Home depot. It helps that he is a builder and needs a lot of material from home depot!
It is always fun to get a check in the mail. I will add it to the challenge money.

Prev. total $3390.00
today 50.00
new total $3440.00

That means just 10 more months until Christmas!! Ho Ho!!
I did not keep track of the stock market at all this week. I did have a no use gas day yesterday, so I am just going to add $5 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $3385.00
today 5.00
new total $3390.00

I had to go and get my cars tags today and it came to almost $700. Actually, I saved $70 by switching my two old cars over from antique tags to regular tags.
I did save $4 by using my Ingles advantage card and my social security check of $504 came into the bank today. I am adding that to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $2877.00
today 508.00
new total $3385.00

The price hit $3.95 per gallon today at the gas station that I use, just down the road! Of course, that is for premium, which I usually use because I drive a corvette. However, last time, I just got regular and saved 30 cents a gallon. The car ran fine, no pinging noises like I had in my old corvette when I tried regular. I guess I will stock to regular for a while.
I had a no use gas day both Sunday and Monday, so I have $4 to add to the challenge.

Prev. total $2873.00
today 4.00
new total $2877.00

Today is another memorable date for me. I wrote that Feb. 15th was the date that I got to see Elvis live in concert, 35 years ago, but just 3 days later, I met my dh; Feb. 18th, 1977.
It was a blind ate and a friend had set me up. Her youngest son was friends with dh's youngest brother.
So, we met at her house and we went out dancing. (I lived in another town.)
We went back to her house and sat up all night talking. I asked dh if he would like to go with me to a wine and cheese tasting party the next night, but he said he could not. (I found out later that he had another date that night.)

I went home the next morning, took the phone off the hook and went to sleep. When I got up and hung up the phone, my friend called me. She said that dh had been trying to call me all day. It turned out that he had broken the other date and he came over to tak me to the party. We have been together every night since that first night!
He proposed on April 2nd, and we got married on Friday, the 13th of May!

I had a no use gas day yesterday and a pinecone check came in, so $5 to add to the challenge.

Prev. total $2868.00
today 5.00
new total $2873.00

I got my electric bill today. It was $55 under budget so I am adding that to my challenge money. Today is a beautiful day; almost reminds me of spring time.

Prev. total $2813.00
today 55.00
new total $2868.00

35 years ago today, Feb. 15th, 1977, I went to see Elvis live in concert! I still have the ticket stub. The price of the ticket was $15 and I was seated on row 1. (I won't tell you what I did to get on the front row) The concert was great!

For years, I carried that ticket stub with me for good luck, but when we built this house, we created an Elvis bedroom. The ticket stub isnow framed with some of the 45 elvis record jackets.

After the superbowl, I went out and bought a giant chocolate chip cookie on sale. My dh really liked it so today, I went and got a giant valentines day chocolate chip cookie for him.

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

Prev. total $2811.00
today 2.00
new total $2813.00

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy valentine's day! We don't spend money on each other for this holiday. I like flowers, but I like the kind that don't die! We might go out to dinner tonight to celebrate!

The weatherman is calling for snow tonight, so I did some grocery shopping today. I play bridge on Mondays, so I usually wait til Tuesday to do the grocery shopping. But I thought I had better get a few things in case we are snowed in tomorrow.
According to my receipt, I saved $6 using my Ingles advantage card, so I will add that to the challenge money.

Prev. total $2805.00
today 6.00
new total $2811.00

Yesterday, I asked dh to please go and see how much propane we had left in our tank. (for heating)
Last year, I spent about $2000 on propane.
I know I have a big house, two story, plus we also heat one of the garages that has a bathroom and a bonus room above it.

Last year I filled my tank in October and then I had to get 300 gallons more in February. My tank is 1000 gallons, so it is quite expensive to fill.
He came back in the house to tell me that the tank is still 50% full!!! What a nice surprise! I had filled it in October and expected to have to order more this week. It looks like I can get by the rest of the winter with what I have!

I had a no use gas day on Wednesday and the stock market went up a little yesterday, so $3 more to the challenge.

Prev. total $2805,00
today 3.00
new total $2808.00

I got a check from Edward Jones company today. I have some stocks there and some of them pay dividends. Every once in a while, when I get a statement, I notice that I have some money in my cash account. They probably pay interest, but I am sure it is very low. So I generally request a check once or twice a year.
Today I got a check for $137 which I will add to my $20 challenge fund.

Prev. total $2668.00
today 137.00
new total $2805.00

I did my grocery shopping today. According to my receipt, I saved about $5 using my Ingles advantage card.
However, I got a great bargain on a giant cookie! It was one of those huge chocolate chip cookies that people buy for special occasions. I got one for my birthday years ago in Florida!
It was normally $8.99 and I got it for $3. I don't care a bit that it has footballs on it; it was a bargain to me! But, since I didn't really NEED the giant cookie, I am not going to count that in my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $2663.00
today 5.00
new total $2668.00

I just noticed on my blog today, that I have had over 2 million visits, so far!
Nothing monetary going on today. I had a no spend day and played bridge all afternoon. Tomorrow, I plan to do my grocery shopping and I hope to save a few dollars using my Ingles card.
I had hoped to have a no use gas day, but my dh really needs his allowance money today. I give him $100 a week which he mostly uses to put gas in his work van. He also buys food for the deer every week. It is fun to watch them come and eat every night.

Today is super bowl sunday. That is about all the news stations are talking about. Yesterday, I heard that 60% of the American people do NOT watch the superbowl. Count me in as one of the 60% who never watches the superbowl, not that there is anything wrong with those who do.

My first husband was a big sports nut! Especially football and basketball. Not only did he watch every game that came on tv, he became a Pop Warner football head coach. He spent all his time at practice or at games.
He was a licensed builder, but he never did any of the work himself. He hired his brother and other workers. I did all the payroll and bookkeeping.

After we divorced, he built a house or two, but with no one to do the bookeeping, he found house building was getting in the way of being a football coach, so he gave up building. (Maybe it's true, behind every good man, stands a good woman)

Of course, being a football coach meant no pay, so his standard of living with down pretty quickly. He did remarry, which helped. Then he could live with his in laws! Which he did, for years!

All that, just for football! Oh well, every one enjoy the game!

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

Prev. total $2661.00
today 2.00
new total $2663.00

I got a very nice rebate check in the mail today. It is from a building supply place. We spend a lot of money there, and once in a while, we get a rebate! As usual, the check will be added to my $20 challenge!

Prev. total $1890.00
today 771.00
new total $2661.00

The market is up over 100 points today with just 20 minutes to go until the close.
I had a no use gas day yesterday, so that is a total of $3 to add to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $1887.00
today 3.00
new total $1890.00

I updated our net worth yesterday. Although our cash balance went down, our real estate investments went way up. (Because of all the money we are putting into the spec house)
The stock market went up last month, so did all my mutual funds and stocks, except one. Wendy's!!
I had a no use gas day yesterday ($2) and I got a dollar bill in the mail from a survey place.

Prev. total $1884.00
today 3.00
new total $1887.00

I did my grocery shopping yesterday. I stocked up on sprite zero which was on sale. I got the price down from 42 cents a can to .25 cents a can. Then I saved $4 buying a 12 pack of toilet paper.
According to my receipt, I saved a total of $16 using my Ingles advantage card and I spent less than $60 for the week.
I had a no use gas day on Monday, so that is a total of $18 for the challenge.

Prev. total $1866.00
today 18.00
new total $1884.00

I am adding the interest I received on my ING checking account to the $20 challenge today.

Prev. total $1738.00
today 128.00
new total $1866.00

A new month is here! That means we are rid of one month of winter! This month has an extra day cause it is leap year. My birthday was the day before Thanksgiving last year. This year, it will be the day after Thanksgiving because we are adding a day!
My grandfather was born on Feb. 29th, so he only had a birthday every 4 years.