It is about 85 here today, but I went ahead and ordered propane for tank today. Last year, I called all around and the cheapest I could find was $2.45 a gallon and I have 1000 gallon tank.
This year, I found it for $1.49 a gallon and because I own the tank, they will sell it to me for $1.39 a gallon!
I am excited that it will be a little cheaper to heat the house this winter. Actually, if I get 850 gallons (you cannot fill a tank to 100% capacity), I will save about $900. So that is really a LOT cheaper!

I have two young women who come once a week to clean my house. They work as a team and are very fast.
One of them is in the process of getting a divorce and has 3 children in school.
The other lady also has 3 children in school and a husband who does carpentry. Of course, nothing much is going on around here, so he is not working.
These hard working gals are the sole support of their families, but I do wish that they would handle their money more wisely.
Every day, they stop and buy their lunch and something to drink. They eat right before coming to my house. I want so much to tell them how much they would save if they would just brown bag it and take a few minutes to eat lunch here. Or stop at the park a few miles away.
But it is none of my business so I keep my mouth shut.

The braves won their last two games ($2), the stock market went up yesterday ($1) and I got a check from pinecone for doing a survey ($3), so I will add that to my $20 challenge money.
Prev. total $11,466.00
today 6.00
new total $11,472.00

Do you have a lot of foreclosures in your area? We seem to. The paper is filled with foreclosures notices every week. I am amazed at how many names I know or at least recognize in the paper. I feel so sorry for these people.

Sadly, our area has really grown in the past 10 years and everyone here became a builder. Our grading guys (both of them) became builders. Doctors and lawyers became builders. Everyone that could borrow money became a builder. Now, we have hundreds of spec homes in this area, just sitting empty, up for sale. I am afraid it is going to take a long time for our area to recover.
However, now that the state is requiring all builders to become licensed, we have a lot less builders in this area.
That is good, but I am afraid it came too late.

Hubby came home last night with a new washer, so I am back in business. It is amazing how much wash I do with a new puppy. Lucky for me, my husband is very handy. He was able to take the old washer out and install the new washer in less than 30 minutes. I am just lucky that he found a washer in stock and did not have to order it. I am also lucky that he knows how to do almost everything. (except electronics)

This past year has been a bad year for appliances for me. I had to replace the dishwasher, the refrigerator and last month, my dh installed a new cooktop. Today, while washing almost Every towel in the house, my washing machine quit on me! All I have left of my original appliances in my double oven and my dryer.
Last month, my dh had to have his windshield replaced and the two dogs have had over $1200 in vet bills, with 3 more appts. ( and possibly surgery) scheduled for next month.
Dh went to the dentist last week and was told to come back this month for a new crown.
We want to retile the front and back porches but keep putting it off because of all this expense.
I wish Murphy's law would go away for a while!

Well, I just read lizajane's blog about her dream of meeting me, so I will have to confess. I had an outstanding dream last night also.
I dreamed of Elvis. He was young and handsome and so was I. Best of all, he was my boyfriend!!
Now, I have been an Elvis fan since I was a kid and my first 45 was "Don't be cruel" I have an Elvis bedroom with all my old 45's and 33's decorating it, plus many other memoribila. Even Col. Parker's poem and signature and signed drumsticks from D.J. Fontana! (his drummer)
I have been an Elvis fan for over 50 years and this was my very first dream of elvis!!

I got an e mail from the IRS yesterday. It states that I have a refund coming and I need to fill out the form in the e mail and send it back to them.
Does that sound possible? I know I never gave them my e mail address and I have no intention of filling out a form!
What do you think? The refund was only for $247 and I don't want to take any chances!!

Ok, I have so far spent $441 on my new puppy. She still has an infection in both ears and now we found a lump on her back. She will have to go back again next month. In the meantime, my older dog has to go in for blood work so that she can have her teeth cleaned next month. I guess we are working for the dogs right now, but they are both worth it.
The stock market went up slightly yesterday, the braves won 2 games and I had a no use gas day, so $5 will be added to the $20 challenge.
prev. total $11,398.00
today 5.00
new total $11,403.00

It is a very happy day for us!! It is America's birthday and we are going to a party/cookout today! Well, tonight really. We have some friends that have a big blow out every 4th of July and they also set off great fireworks too!
So, I am really looking forward to being with a lot of friends tonight!!

My local bank lowered the rate on their accounts yesterday. They went from 3.14 to 2%. This is money I keep in savings for the day when building starts picking up and we start building spec houses again. I guess I should shop around for some short term C.D.'s.

I heard on the news that the savings rate is finally going up after more than 20 years. People are finally saving again. I remember when my parents saved and paid cash when they wanted to buy something new. What a concept!!

It is June 25th today. Just 6 more months til christmas!

I have had a good day so far. The braves finally won a game ($1). The stock market went up. ($1) I had a no use gasoline day. ($2) And I got a check in the mail from wendy's for $8. (dividend) That is $12 for the challenge.
Prev. total $10,146.00
today 12.00
new total $10,158.00

I went to put an ad in the local paper for a round table and 4 chairs that I have. The lady taking the ad, asked if she could come and see the furniture. I told her sure and she came on her lunch hour and bought it. She got a good deal for $100 and I got $100 to add to my challenge money!
Prev. total $8542.00
today 100.00
today $8642.00


ps, and I didn't have to pay for the ad!

My rite aid rebate check finally came in. It was for $6 plus the braves won last night, so I will add another $1 to the $20 challenge.
Prev. total 8535.00
today 7.00
new total $ 8542.00

Yesterday, I found a quarter. I know some of you keep track of the change that you find, so I think I will do the same. I very seldom find any coins on the ground, they are usually in the coin holder at newspaper stands. I stop to look at the headlines and coins catch my eye. I never tell dh, he thinks I should let someone else get the change.
I picked up a few things at the grocery store and saved $4 on a few things. I will add that to my challenge.
Prev. total $8531.00
today 4.00
new total $8535.00

I saw a stand in place fence in one of my catalogs. It seperates one room from the other thus keeping the puppy off of the carpet. (we had been using a make shift fence, but it was a real pain.
My husband came home early last night and built the same fence for about $20. It was $150 in the catalog and that does not include the shipping.
The spindles in the catalog fence were only 3 1/2" apart. But, my husband decided that was not far enough apart, so he made them 2 1/2" apart.
Do, you know that puppy was able to squeeze right thru that? (She has a lot of hair and looks much bigger)
However, an hour later and a trip to Home Depot, we now have a nice, step over fence and we can confine the dog.
I am so glad I did NOT order that fence and we certainly saved money.
Good thing too. I took the puppy in for her third puppy shot and by the time I got out of the vets, I had spent $132 and I have to go back in 10 days. Dogs are expensive but they are worth it for all the happiness they bring you!

I generally keep a tally of my net worth the first of every month. This month, I did look up the figures on my mutual funds and stocks on the first, but I did not get around to tallying the total til yesterday. I forgot how time consuming it is to have a new puppy.
My net worth is back up. It is not as high as it was the first part of September, but it has come back a lot, thank goodness.
Hope you all have had an improved net worth this month also!

Today is my anniversary. I have been married to my wonderful husband since May 13, 1977! Gosh, time flies when you are having fun!

Most of you know I am an Elvis fan and I have an elvis bedroom filled with elvis "stuff" For Christmas, I bought myself and dh an elvis dash figurine to pick in our cars.
Dh refuses to let Elvis be stuck to the red and yellow vette's dashboards, so elvis is forced to stand near the cupholder. However, he falls over a lot and then his feet come out of the stand and we have two pieces.
After constantly putting "Elvis " back together, my dh superglued him into his stand! In both cars!!
So, it is nice to have elvis in just one piece, while I drive down the road!! (I still wish I could stick him on my dash)
I also keep a large Elvis throw blanket in the back hatch area of the car. Everyone knows the red vette is mine when they see elvis inside.

Premium gas is now $2.35 a gallon for premium. I hate seeing it going up again. However, I have really cut down on my driving and I think a lot of americans have.

There was a story in the local paper about a young cat, this week. A fisherman found the poor cat, inside a locked birdcage and thrown out by the lake. It is no telling how long that cat laid in it's own urine, with no food and water. One eye was covered with ulcers and will have to be removed. There is no telling yet if he will be able to see out of the other one. I sure wish they could catch the person that did this.
A group called castaway critters had the poor young cat and are asking for donations for his surgery. You better believe that I am mailing off a check tomorrow.

I had 2 C.D.'s come due this week, one on Friday and one today. I have called around to all the local banks and the highest rate I can find is 2.6% I was getting 4% and I would settle for 3% if I could find it.
I do have a checking account that is paying 3.1% until June 30th, then I am sure that rate will disappear.
Gosh, I can remember when just saving accounts were pay 5-6% and C.D.'s were paying 8% back in the 70's. I guess those were the good old days!

I found 2 quarters today. I never have much luck finding a penny on the ground, but I have pretty good luck spotting change in the newspaper vending machines. Of course, I save all my change and turn it into the bank for the $20 challenge every month or so. Do you save your change?

I live in a very nice house, tax appraised at about 1/2 million. I have quite a bit of cash in local banks, sitting in jumbo certificate of deposits.
Yesterday, I got a renewal master card in the mail, my GM mastercard.
I have not used it in a while and they lowered my crdit limit to $300. What can you do with a $300 limit?
My fico score is over 800, so I feel kind of insulted! Would you?

Well, yesterday, I admitted to stealing a puppy when I was 3 years old.
I will have to admit, that is not the only puppy I ever stole.
I owned a small rental home that was not in the best neighborhood. The neighbors next door, who were renting, got them selves a puppy.
They both worked, so they kept the puppy tied up outside all day. It was tied up with shoelaces, so it could only move around about a foot in distance. Of course, it constantly knocked over it's water bowl.
The puppy cried all day.
I would go and fill it's water bowl and pet it several times a day.
The puppy was crawling with fleas. I mean a million of them.
Finally, I could stand it no longer. I couldn't call the humane society because the neighbors would know it was me, so I cut the shoe strings and took that puppy home with me.
The first thing I did was fill the tub with warm water and give that puppy a bath. The water was black with fleas floating off of him. I then took the puppy to the vets to get his shots. Later, I was able to find him a very good home.
Some people just should NOT own pets.

I was remembering my first dog this morning. I am a dog lover, as was my grandmother.
I was over at her house with my mother one day. I was a little over the age of 3. The neighbor's dog had had a litter of puppies and all but one (the runt)had found new homes. My grandmother was upset cause the neighbor's kids were dragging that puppy all over the neighborhood and it was cold outside.
My grandmother told me to go and "Take" that puppy and then take it home with me.

I can still remember finding the puppy in the garage and putting the little thing in my coat pocket. I got in the back seat of the car and would not get out til my mother drove us home.
My mother did not discover that I had that puppy til we got home then she called the neighbor to apologize. They said for me to keep the puppy and lucky for me, my father agreed.
I had that sweet dog until I was a teenager. But I was a very young thief!

Well, it is April the 18th and the heat is still turning on every day. It did warm up yesterday to about 70, but it is still getting in the 30's at night. The dogwoods are blooming and it is getting pretty here, but I am ready for spring. We filled up our propane tank in October, which was a mistake since the price has come down since then. I am thinking about filling up this summer when, I hope, prices are lower. We have 1000 gallon tank, so it is pretty expensive to fill up.

I am very happy with my electric bill. When I moved into this house 13 years ago, I set a budget of $160 per month cause that was the highest bill I have ever had. Even tho the price of a kilowatt has risen, I have never gone over $160 in one month. I think that is pretty good, cause I am home all day and I have a pretty good size house. (3200 sq. ft. plus garage apartment)
I got my bill yesterday and it was $98. Of course, I know it will go up when the air conditioning goes on, but I am still pretty happy with it.

Well, there really isn't anything happy about it! I am just glad my taxes are done and are mailed in. I owed again this year, both federal and state. I sent in my estimated tax today also. I am just glad it is all over for another year!!