Ima Saver's Personal Finance Blog

I hope everyone has a great day today. Normally, we spend Thanksgiving day alone, but this time we are invited to a friend's house for dinner. They live in Florida but are up here in their vacation home for a week.
So, I hope you all have a wonderful day and don't eat too much!

I had a c.d. come due yesterday and I went to the bank and cashed it in today. If I had renewed it, they were only offering 8/10 of one percent. Gosh, even ING pays better than that on just a savings account. I have never seen interest rates this low. I have an old amortization book that I bought over 30 years ago, and the lowest rate in the book is 3%.

When I worked at a savings and loan place, we paid 6% interest on savings and 8% on C.D.'s. I had always hoped I could live on my interest when I got old. Now you can't even live on the interest of 2 million dollars.

So, I am loaning the money to a friend to buy a cabin. They will pay me 4% interest and I will add that to my $20 challenge fund each month.

That is what I had for my birthday dinner last night. It was sooooooooooo good and I brought home the leftovers for my lunch today.
I got a pinecone check in the mail today, I finally had a no use gas day Monday and the stock market is up today. That is $6 for the $20 challenge.

Prev. total $15,697.00
today 6.00
new total $15,703.00

Yesterday, my bridge buddies came over to play bridge and brought me a huge chocolate cake for my birthday.
Today, I gor a free turkey at Ingles and my social security check came in a day early. Tonight we are going to dinner with friends we only see occasionally, when they come up here from florida. So far, so good!

I will add the check to my $20 challenge;

Prev. total $15,697.00
today 486.00
new total $16,183.00

According to my On star subscription, the milage on my car is eligible for lower insurance. I called my insurance agent and reported the miles on my 2010 red corvette and also on my husband's 2008 corvette. His car has slightly over 10,000 miles (in 3 years) and my car has 2500 miles in 8 months.
Yesterday, I received 2 checks from state farm for a total of $130 in rebates.
That was very nice and will be added to the $20 challenge.

Prev. total $15,567.00
today 130.00
new total $15,697.00

There is a jewelry store in town that advertises that they buy gold and silver. I had never been in the store until Friday. I was surprised, cause it looked like a junk store inside.
I took in some old jewelry. I sold three old rings for $145. I had two old necklaces of my mother's, but I decided to keep them.
I also had a 1879 $10 gold piece that I bought over 30 years ago for $300. They offered me $350. When I left with the gold piece, they were offering me $450.

So, I am adding that $145 to my $20 challenge money.

Prev. total $15,422.00
today 145.00
new total $15,567.00

We went to a land sale this morning. We went to one a month ago and learned a valuable lesson. Make sure you get the early appointment. By the time we got there for our noon appointment, almost everything was sold.

This time we had an 10 am. appointment and we got there before 9 am. They did not let anyone look beforee 10 am, but we got to talk with our sales guy and tell him what we were looking for. He reccommended a property with a good mountain view.

This was in a new subdivision, but the bank had foreclosed on the unsold lots and had priced them a lot more reasonably.

The subdivision is gated, has a clubhouse, tennis courts and a swimming pool. Our lot was 2 acres with a very nice far off mountain view.

The original price was $119,000 but the bank had priced it at $42,000, so we bought it. We may build a spec house on it, but I wouldn't mine living there at all.

My birthday is in 3 days, so I told dh that this would be my birthday present!!

In yesterday's blog, I discussed that I was upset with a former customer of ours.
They hired dh to build them a cabin. The now have it up for sale for more than double what they paid for it. I certainly do believe that it is their right to make as much profit on the cabin as they can.

What I object to, they told the realtor that my husband charged them $188,000 to build the cabin, when in reality, he only charged them $65,000 for the cabin; everything, labor and materials.

It sounds like the cabin cost over $200 a square foot to build, when it actually cost $80 a square foot.
Realtors sell land too, and are often asked to reccommend a good builder. I don't think we would get many reccommendations if the realtor thought my husband was overcharging.

Actually, I have been told by the past 2 homes that we built, that my husband was very reasonable in his hourly wage. (I say we, cause I handle all the money; my dh handles the building) Works great!

We got a call the other day from a guy looking for a builder. He said he heard about my dh on the internet. Since dh does NOT know how to use a computer and I barely do, I typed his name in on google. Well, the internet did show pictures of a cabin that he built for a couple back in 2003.

They are asking $188,000 for an 800 square foot cabin with no garage or basement for storage.

I e mailed the realtor, asking why the house was priced so high.
She mailed me back, saying that that is what the couple told her they had in the house. Since it was built by my husband, I know exactly how much they had in the cabin.
We built the cabin next door to it and sold it for $115,000. It was 1200 square feet with a walk in crawl space for storage.
We agreed to build this cabin for $64,000 or $80 a square foot. They bought the lot for about $20,000, so they have less than $90,000 in the house.

They are really wanting to make a killing on this cabin. The realtor said that since it was a (insert husbands name) built house, she assumed they were telling the truth! Now my husband is the best builder anywhere cause he does all the work himself, but he sure does NOT overcharge anyone.

They wanted to make $100,000 profit on this little cabin! We would never build for these people again.

I saw that movie on tv yesterday. It is the first time I saw it since I was a kid in 1978. I use to go to the movies 3 times a week, every time the movie changed. Back then, it cost 14 cents to get into a movie and a box of candy was a nickle.
What I did not remember was that "The Blob" was the first movie that Steve McQueen starred in. He played a 17 year old teen, even tho he was 28. He made a grand total of $3000 to make that movie.
His girlfriend in the movie surprised me too. Do You remember Andy of Mayberry's girlfriend, Miss Crump? Well, she was the girlfriend. Her name is Aneta Corsaut!

Opps! I goofed, the movie was in 1958!!

On the money front, I did my grocery shopping this morning and really stocked up on several items that I use, that were on sale. If it was on sale, I bought double of everything.
Using my advantage card, I managed to bring my bill down from $92 to $68. That is the best I have ever done at the grocery store. I will add that $24 to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $15,398
today 24
new total $15,422.00

I am out of the contest. It is getting below freezing every night, so I have to run the heat at night now. Little Holly has a heating pad to sleep on but Molly, the puppy does not. I am sure Molly is very happy!

A big thank you to all the men and women who have served our country.

I am very proud of my father. He served in both WWI and WWII. Apparently,as a teenager, he lied about his age and joined the army. ( not many birth certificates back then) He was born in 1899.

I am sorry I don't know any of his war stories but I do know he was stationed in France and Germany during world war II. He made the army his career although I think he came out of the army after WWI for a while.

Sadly, he died the week before my 10th birthday, so I don't know much about his youth. I just know that I am very proud of him.

I have had a very expensive two weeks. We talked to the hospital administrator about dh's emergency room bill. (It helps that we built his house) The hospital sent us an itemized bill. Gosh, I could not believe that a cat scan was $3750.00 They lowered the bill some and then offered us 15% off if we paid the balance completely.

So, I paid them $6000, then I paid the vet visits and surgery of about $1000 and sent $2000 to my FIL to pay his house taxes.

All this, with no income coming in. Dh is starting a spec house, but so far they are just putting in a septic tank.

I did save a little by buying some items on sale at Bi Lo, yesterday, so I will be adding $6 to my challenge money.

Prev. total $15,392.00
today 6.00
new total $15,398.00

It has been an expensive 2 weeks. We talked to one of the administrators at the hospital about the emergency room bill and got an itemized bill. (It helped that dh built his house)They charged $3750 for a cat scan. Gosh, I did not want to buy the machine!

Anyway, they lowered the bill some and also offered me a 15% discount if I would pay it all at once.
So I paid off the hospital to the tune of $6000, my vet visits and surgery came to $1000 and I sent $2000 to my FIL so he could pay his house taxes.

All this, with no money coming in. Dh is trying to get a spec house started and they are putting in the septic tank right now.

I picked up a couple of things on sale at Bi Lo yesterday and saved $6, so I will add that to my challenge money.

Prev. total $15,392.00
today 6.00
new total $15,398.00

I haven't been on here for a few days. I have been busy taking care of my sick little poodle, Holly. I took her to a new vet last week and she had to have ememergency surgery. The surgery went well, but she just will not eat. She has gone from 6 1/2 pounds to 4 pounds, 2 ounces.

I have been back to the vets several times and have gotten a lot of medicine to help her little tummy. We are having to feed her by hand. We get a little food down her and then she throws it all up.
I finally got some medicine yesterday that is supposed to stop the throwing up.

She threw up several times yesterday, but so far today, the food has stayed down. We are giving her baby food and putting it in her mouth with a syringe.

I don't think she will ever eat dog food again! I think she is feeling better today. I take her back to the vets on Tuesday.

Molly, the puppy, can't understand why her big (but half her size) sister is so quiet and gets so much attention. I am so glad that Molly is so healthy.

I am taking the interest that I earn every month on a personal loan and adding that to my challenge money.
Yesterday in the mail, I received this month's payment. The interest I earned was $173.

Prev. total $15,219.00
today 173.00
new total $15,392.00

Change does add up! I try not to spend any of my change except for pennies. I throw it all in a jar and every once in a while, I turn it in at my bank. They have a machine that counts it and it is at no cost to me.
Today I have $37 dollars more to add to my challenge money.

Prev. total $15,182.00
today 37.00
new total $15,219.00

I put out my Halloween decorations, filled a bowl with candy, turned on the porch light, and waited last night. No trick or treaters showed up. We were kind of disappointed. I mean, they did have a big block party down on the square Saturday night, but last night was Halloween, and no one showed!
I guess the parents did not want to go out two nights in a row.
I got a great deal on a Halloween cake yesterday. It was $8.99 marked down to $1.50. I served it to the women in my bridge group today.
We still had a good time. One of our favorite movies was on last night, Forrest Gump.

I got a $50 chase rewards check in the mail today and I am adding that to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $15,132.00
today 50.00
new total $15,182.00

I love dressing up for Halloween. Sometimes we dress up for parties, other times, we just dress up for Halloween and go out to eat.
Our little town has a big Halloween thing going down on the square (which is round) on Halloween.
Some good friends of ours usually have a party for Halloween. Last year, my dh won first prize. Year before that, I won 2nd prize. The year before that, dh won first prize again.
There was no party this year because of health reasons, so for the first time in years, we are staying home to pass out candy!

I saved $3 on Halloween candy on sale plus yesterday was a no use gas day, so I have $5 to add to my challenge money.

Prev. total $15,127.00
today 5.00
new total $15,132.00

Because of my little Holly's unplanned surgery this week, I forgot all about my monthly check that comes the 4th Wednesday of the week. Since I never spend any of it, I always add it to my challenge money.
(BTW, Holly is doing fine, but refusing to eat anything but people food since she is sick.)

Prev. total $14,641.00
today 486.00
new total $15,127.00

i was able to get a new pet bed for Molly today, for 1/2 price. Molly is my younger dog. She is a Malta poo. (her mother was pure bred poodle (black) and her father was pure bred maltese (white) She is all white. Even tho she is a year and a half old, I still call her a puppy. She sure acts like one.

She has ruined her last two beds by pulling all the stuffing out of them. So, I am going to try again with a brand new bed, hoping she will leave this one alone. The beds usually run $10 but I got it for $5.
I will take the $5 I saved plus a $3 pinecone check to add to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $14,633.00
today 8.00
new total $14,641.00

I picked up Holly this morning. She had emergency surgery late yesterday afternoon. She had pyometra. That is an infected uterus. It is often fatal so I was quite lucky that I had taken her into the vet for an unrelated problem.
The vet did some blood work for an uncoming surgery (to remove a turmor) and discovered a problem, The x ray showed the problem with the uterus. The vet reccommended immediate surgery and when they touched the uterus, it exploded. She probably would not have lived much longer than a day or two.
This was a new vet that I tried and she will certainly become my all time vet.
I do reccomend when you get a new puppy, get her spayed to prevent this problem. Holly was so little, I was afraid to have it done. I do regret that.
So, it was a very expensive day for me, but so worth it. Holly is worth a million dollars to us.
She is home now, resting and so far, so good!

I did come in under budget on my electric bill, so I have $40 to add to the challenge.

Prev. total $14,593.00
today 40.00
new total $14,633.00

I took my little Holly (poodle) to a new vet today. She has had problems for years with a "sick tummy"
I got some new food and medicine for her tummy. But, while doing some blood work and an x ray, they discovered fluid leaking from her uterus inside of her. Believing it to be very dangerous, they reccommended emergency surgery and are doing it after the office closes. Please keep Holly in your thoughts!

Christmas. Yes, just two months from day!! Dh and I only buy for each other and I give the grandchildren cash to buy what they want.
I finally got the first gift for DH. It is two tee shirts with pictures of his beloved cars on the front of them. I call it "three vettes and a vicky" (Ford Victoria, 1933)

We had a grest weekend. On Saturday, we went to a big bar b que for over 700 people. This one couple has been throwing this party in October, for 29 straight years.

That night, we went to a mexican themed party with a full supper served and even live music.

I have been getting behind of the challenge, but I know I had 3 no use gas days last week, so that is $6 more to add to the challenge.

Prev. total $14,587.00
today 6.00
new total $14,593.00

My dh went to visit his father in florida last week. He came home with some unusual news. BIL is now broke! (That would be his younger brother)
BIL started a very sucessful business about 30 years ago. He made great money and had about 12 employees.

He and his wife built a new house on the lake. They bought vacant lots on the lake. His wife and oldest daughter went into their hobby with a passion, horses! They acquired 6 of them, along with all the trailers used to haul them to horse shows and the heavy trucks required to pull the trailers. They bought vehicle after vehicle and went on costly vacations constantly.

Now, that things have slowed down in the economy, his work has slowed down too. He has no employees. He admitted to his father that they are broke, have 3 car payments and are $50,000 in credit card debt.

Not that we have ever counted on getting anything from my FIL when he passes on, but dh was surprised to find that he has been written out of the will and everything will go to the broke son, because "he needs it". I am sure that has hurt his feelings and I feel so sorry for him.

I saved $9 today using my bi lo bonus card today and of course, they will be added to the $20 challenge.

Prev. total $14,578.00
today 9.00
new total $14,587.00

For the first time in about 20 years, I am home alone.
Dh left early (6 am) this morning to go and visit his father in Florida. Today is his 89th birthday.
We have never traveled with 2 dogs in a corvette, so I decided that I would stay home. The older dog, Holly has traveled a lot, but the puppy, Molly has not.
Plus, my FIL and his girlfriend now have a new dog, so I think 3 dogs together would be too much!!

So, I am all alone here with my two little buddies!They are very good for protection too. You can rest assure that Molly won't let a squirrel get within 4 feet of this house.

I have not kept up with the stock market this week; the braves are no longer playing, but I did have a no use gas day this week, so I will add $2 to my challenge. (Ugh, gas is now $3.05 a gallon here. I use premium and need to fill up today.)

Prev. bal. $14,576.00
today 2.00
new total $14,578.00

My dh is planning on taking a trip and he asked me to wash some clothes he had not worn in a while. While unloading the dryer last night, I came across 7 , well washed and dried, bills. Two 5 dollar bills and 5 $1 bills, for a total of $15!! Finders , Keepers! I will add that to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $14,561.00
today 15.00
new total $14,576.00

I received my last $10 check from nfo mysurvey today. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you have to earn 1000 points in order to receive a check. The survey company has lowered the points they give you for taking a survey from 10 points to 5. In some cases, they ask you to take the survey for NO points!
I also did not like the fact that this time, they charged me 150 points ( $1.50) for sending me a check.

So, I am happy to get my final checkand add it to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $14,551.00
today 10.00
new total $14,561.00

One plus to my husband not having much work (or a house to build)is that he is keeping up with our house. He does have some part time jobs, but he can't work on them til next week.
Today, he was home most of the day so he washed all of the windows. We have lots and lots of really big windows in our house, so he stayed busy all day. The house looks really good now.

I had a no use gas day and the braves won, so $3 will be added to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $14,548.00
today 3.00
new total $14,551.00

We live in a beautiful subdivision. There are only about 20 houses here. We have lived here (in this house) for 15 years, but our subdivision has never had a sign, with it's name on it.
Finally, a couple of the people close to the entrance of the subdivision had a nice big sign made. Today, they asked dh if he could put the sign up. He was very happy to do it and the sign really looks good in front of the stone gate entrance. Now, we are finally ON the map!!