Ima Saver's Personal Finance Blog

I check my local bank accounts every day and discovered that they had already posted the interest for the month, today. I guess they do that because it is the weekend? Anyway, I earned $163 in interest for one account and $47 in the other, for a total of $210 this month. I will add that to the challenge.

Prev. total $18,879.00
today 210.00
new total $19,089.00

We were invited to have dinner at a c ouple's house, Brenda and Dick, that we had never met.
My bridge partners, Jim, Carol and Peg were all invited.
None of us have any family to spend Thanksgiving with, so this couple thought it would be nice if she invited over people who were going to be alone on Thanksgiving.
My friend, Carol is a friend of a lady named Cathy from Florida (originally). Cathy is a friend of Brenda's and they "cooked" up this idea to invite those of us who were spending Thanksgiving alone.
Surprisely, we actually knew a few of the people that attended.
There was about 20 of us and everyone brought something for the meal. I brought two homemade egg custard pies. (My husband makes great pies)
We had a wonderful time and met new people. A nice way to spend Thanksgiving!!

I received my social security check today. It is always on time. When they say the 4th Thursday of the month, that is exactly what they mean. I ask for Vanguard to deposit my check on the 20th of the month, and it did not get there until the 24th. Not complaining, but just happy that the government is on time. I will add it to the $20 challenge.

Prev. total $18,351.00
today 518.00
new total $18,869.00

Getting close to $20,000!

In case, anyone is a big fan of the movie "Gone with the Wind" like I am, it will be on Tv all day tomorrow. It is on the AMC channel!

I received a check in the mail today from Capital One credit card. It was for $16 and will be added to the challenge.

Prev. total $18,328.00
today 16.00
new total $18,344.00

Yes, just one more month til christmas. My husband started a tradition when we first got married, one gift for every year I was old. Of course, I had to get one for him and my daughter so they would get as many as I did. Wow, did we get a lot of gifts.
Thank goodness, that has slowed down. We still exchange gifts, but it is hard to find something we need. I give checks to ghe grandchildren and my great granddaughter. I remember how handy money was when I was in my 20's! (That is what my mother always gave me)

$20 challenge
I received a check from Chase credit card for $55 yesterday.

Prev. total $18,246.00
today 55.00
new total $18,301.00

My first check from my Vanguard IRA account was deposited into my checking account today. I asked for my withdrawals to start on the 20th of each month, but I guess they do not process checks on the weekend.
What do you think I am going to do with my first check? (It's $1000) If you know me well, you will probably guess that I am going to save it. Yes, it is going into another one of my mutual funds, actually more than one. Mutual funds are returning a pretty good rate of interest right now, much more than banks.

Today would have been my daughter's 45th birthday. She died in 2013. I remember how excited I was when they called me on my birthday, to say she was on the way. She was born at 2 a.m. the next morning. (She was adopted at birth)

It is a beautiful day today and I am very thankful.

In my immediate family, no one lived to be extremely old. My mother got cancer at 55. She died of lung cancer, just 2 months shy of her 71st birthday.
My sister had a brain tumor and died at age 59. My father died the youngest. He had a heart attack when he was only 55 and died. I was not quite 10.
Today is my birthday and I am 70! Just one more year to go and I will set the record of being the oldest in my family!
Wish me luck!


$20 challenge total $18,246.00

I checked my account with Vanguard. This is my IRA account and I am starting to take monthly withdrawals. I asked for my first $1000 withdrawal to come out on the 20th.
I checked my account Friday and it has been deducted from my account, but the deposit still has not hit my bank yet. I sure hope it gets there by tomorrow, which is Monday. Maybe the bank does not do automatic transfers on weekends?

I think this is going to be a pretty bad winter if this is any indication. It got to a high of 37 today with cold winds, and it is only the middle of November. Winter doesn't start for a month and a half. We had snow on Halloween night. The cold bothers me a whole lot more now that I taken medication for blood thinning because of my heart attack. I am wishing for spring!

It does not take much to get me excited. This is only the 4th time I have found change all year. My total for the year is now 85 cents!
I talked to Vanguard yesterday about my IRA mututl fund. I am supposed to start received a monthly pay off thru my bank on the 20th of this month. I am excited! I actually plan to put the money BACK into a mutual fund for as long as I can. Since hubby is still working, we still have his salary to live on, but this will be a nice bonus if I need it.

Happy Veterans day. I am so proud of all the men and women who have served our country. I was an "army brat". My father served during WWI and WWII. He lied about his age during WWI. (No birth certificates needed then, I guess) Sadly, I lost him when I was only 10 years old.

$20 challenge:

Prev. total $18,179.00
today 6.00
new total $18,185.00

I have decided to start taking funds from my IRA. I will be required to do so next year, so thought I would start now.
This is from my Vanguard fund that has been comprimised (by fraud) so I have to do everything by mail or over the phone. So far, I have filled out the bank consent form and send it in. I will let you know of my progress.
Received my first christmas card yesterday.
$20 challenge fund is doing great.

Prev. total $18,154.00
today 10.00
new total $18,164.00

I forgot to mention that they gave a prize for best costume at the Halloween party we attended on Friday night. My husband won first prize (I was mentioned too) It was for a $50 bill which he immediately gave to me for the $20 challenge.

He was so funny. He was a fat, overweight, hillbilly, with Bubba teeth and real Billy beer (which we have had for over 30 years) hanging from his belt. I wish I could show a picture!

$20 challenge
Prev. total $18,093.00
today 50.00
new total $18,143.00


I was dressed as an old overweight lady who can not find her puppy. I put "lost puppy" signs everywhere. The costume is based on a far side cartoon. The "puppy" is stuck in the back of the old lady's dress. She sat on it! (no real puppies were hurt during this contest; it was a stuffed puppy)

It snowed Halloween night. We has lived here 30 years and I have never seen snow in October. When we got up the next morning, there was snow on the rooftops and on the lawn. You can still see it on top of the mountains in the distance.

$20 challenge
Prev. total $18,088.00
today 5.00
new total $18,093.00

I don't keep much money in this account anymore. It is only paying.0075% and I can get 1% on my money market account.

$20 challenge

Prev. total $18,070.00
today 10.00
new total $18,080.00

I earned $88 in my business money market. This is the money we uses to build a spec house.

$20 challenge:

Prev. total $17,982.00
today 88.00
new total $18,070.00

Today is the first of November, Interest day at the banks. First I earned $190 on one of my money market accounts. It will be added to the challenge.

Prev. total $17,792.00
today 190.00
new total $17,982.00

Hope you all have fun. We are invited to a halloween party tonight, costumes are optional. But we always wear costumes, there is too much of the "kid" in us!
We even wore costumes out to eat a couple of Halloweens when nothing was going on. (no parties)
There is even a cash prize tonight!

$20 challenge:

Prev. total $17,785.00
today 7.00
new total $17,792.00

I received a dividend from EMC stock this week. I have learned how to transfer the money from my Edward Jones account to my checking account. I like to reinvest my stock dividends, but some stocks do not allow this, so they pay it out. I am adding $48 to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $17,725.00
today 48.00
new total $17,773.00

Christmas!! I would have to remind you, right! I just give cash for christmas except to my hubby!
It is a beautiful day here; feels like spring.

I received the amount of $41 for my cisco stock divident. The amount is always reinvested, so I now own 1.7 more shares of stock.

My $20 challenge:

Prev. total $17,694.00
new total 10.00
new total $17,704.00

Today is social security day which means that $518 will be added to my $20 challenge.
The good news is that hubby is feeling much better. It must have been food poisioning. He scared me on Sunday night. He was white as a ghost and did not seem to know where he was. I was dressed and ready to take him to the hospital. Gosh, I am too old for this!

$20 challenge:

Prev. total $17,169.00
today 518.00
new total $17,687.00

Remember that old song! Well, he's back!!! Hubby got home from Florida. Sadly, he is very sick. He thinks he might have gotten food poisioning. He was so sick last night, I thought I was going to have to take him to the hospital Emergency room. He is still not feeling well today. I was up with him all night long.
I got a check from capital one for credit card rewards. I will add it to my $20 challenge:

Prev. total $17,094.00
today 61.00
new total $17,155.00

It has been a very lonesome week for me. My husband went to Florida for 5 days to visit with his dad. His dad just celebrated his 93rd birthday.
We have been married for almost 38 years and the only time we have been apart was when he had to make these trips.
Twice, someone rang the doorbell while I was here alone; once at night. That slways upsets me, even tho I have my fur babie for protection. However, Molly only weighs 14 pounds and Abbey weighs 8 pounds, so I doubt that they could do more than bark.
To top it all off, my double oven went out!!
It is the last of my original appliances to go. It is 20 years old!

Maybe this is a good excuse to stop cooking, you think?
He is coming home tonight and I can hardly wait. I will put a big "welcome Home sign" on the door.

$20 challenge:

Previous $17,087.00
today 7.00
new total $17,094.00

I hope everyone with the day off today, is enjoying themselves! I know the banks and post office is closed today.

I found a quarter at Ingles the other day. That is only the 3rd time that I have found money (change) all year.
I think it is strange that I only earned 6 cents on my checking account for the entire month and I had $8000 sitting in it. I guess I am better off looking for change! I sure wish these interest rates were pick up. I am getting 1/10 of 1 percent on my business and personal checking accounts. I have found a money market account that is paying over 1%, but it is only good for 6 months.

My computer has been idle a few days because we had a storm. I thought I was going to have to hire someone to look at it, or even get a new one, but I fixed the p roblem myself today. I turned the circuit breaker to this room on and off and that did the trick. Everything else in this room was working perfectly, so who knows?

My $20 challenge stands at $17,063.00

I woke up to frost on the lawn this morning. There is no telling how cold it got. We use to have a contest here to see who could go the longest without turning on the heat. I never won, but I did pretty well. (Usually someone from Florida won)
In January I had a heart attack and I have been on blood thinners ever since. That makes me cold all the time, so My heat was turned on this morning. I paid $1.99 per gallon for propane this year.
What did you pay?

I am adding $13 to my challenge today.

Prev. total $17,011.00
today 13.00
new total $17,024.00

I sent in for 2 different paint rebates last month. For some reason, Home depot rejected my submission even tho we spent $125.00 on Behr paint. I did receive a check for cabot stain that hubby bought at Ace hardware. It was for $37 which will be added to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $16,974.00
today 37.00
new total $17,011.00