New Blog

My new consolidated blog, Mom's Many Projects, is now available.  It can be found at http://momsmanyprojects.blogspot.com!  This blog will still be available to view older posts.

Consolidation of Blogs

I am currently in the process of consolidating my blogs into one new blog.  As much as I enjoy each of my blogs, I'm afraid I don't have as much time as I would like to keep up with all of them separately.  Therefore, soon there will be a brand new blog that will encompass posts on my personal finance, genealogy, home and garden projects, and anything else I feel like posting.  I feel that at this time it will allow me more flexibility to post in times when there is more subject matter to discuss in one area over another.  I will post the website here as soon as I am ready to go live with it.

This blog has been extremely enjoyable for me to work on and I hope everyone that follows it will enjoy the new one!

InboxDollars

I finally got to the minimum amount to cash in on InboxDollars.com!  It's about time!  Now there's only a couple of problems.  

First, they are not sending the check ($30.15 minus $3.00 processing fee = $27.15) until January 2, 2009.  

Second, I have to remain an active user until the check is sent.  

Bummer!  That means I have to keep on clicking on their little email things and cannot cancel the account yet.  I really wanted to get rid of it, too!  *sigh*  I suppose a little longer won't bother me too much.  And I am still clicking away on the SendEarnings.com emails until I get enough to cash them out, too.

End of Month--October 2008

Wow!  Another month gone.  The holidays are coming up so fast!

I am amazed with the current gas prices!  Hubby stopped for gas the other day even though he wasn't totally empty yet because he saw it for $2.299!  It cost him $36 to fill up!  Let's hope the prices stay this low or lower.  At least for a little while!

I've updated the sidebar.  Not much to really update, but I did it.  I also updated the NetWorthIQ for October.

We finally ordered the tires for my husband's truck.  They were really needed.  I saved and transferred the money to the credit card and then used it to pay for the tires.  They should be here in a day or two, then we'll make an appointment to have them mounted.  The total cost for four tires was $675!  Ouch!  But it is a worthwhile expense.  His safety is more important than money.  We researched the tires on tirerack.com and were very pleased with the reviews.  These tires should last a lot longer than the ones that came with the truck.  

Other typical end of month tasks:

• I transferred $45.59 from my round up fund to my emergency fund
• I transferred my VA benefit to my emergency fund
• I added any interest given at the end of the month.  We earned $9.22 this month in the emergency fund!  

I also figured out that I should be at $5,000 in my emergency fund in 9 months or less.  If you remember that was the original amount I wanted to save, then I upped it to $10,000.  I'll just be happy to make it to the halfway point because that's where we were before my husband was out of work for 2 1/2 months last year.  It will make me a lot more comfortable knowing we have that money to pay the bills just in case.

I also paid two bills for next month in advance.  Well, I used billpay and set the date for after the next pay period.  At least I don't have to worry about paying them.  The first was a $65 cell phone bill (2 cell phones--family plan) and the second was our electric bill of $159, which just keeps going up no matter how many times I turn things off.  I think it may be because we are on the budget plan though.

How does your electric bill compare?  Do you find it always going up?  Or have you found a way to keep your electric costs low?  I cannot wait until we are debt free so we can afford to put in a solar system!  It is one of the first things I want to do!

Finally...

I have never been so happy to see a pay period get here!  OK...that's not exactly true because all pay periods are good...more money always helps!  But this time with DH's mistake I was really looking forward to this one.  

And there are NO BILLS due for these next 2 weeks!  I can really put some money aside for DH's tires and hopefully he'll be able to get them really soon!  I've already replaced all the money I've "borrowed" from the other accounts.  Plus the normal transfer of $442.60 into the savings account for our mortgage payment.  

Getting into the routine of transferring 1/2 the mortgage payment every two weeks into the savings account it automatically gets pulled from was a great idea!  The mortgage is the first thing I "pay" every pay period.  I have never made a late payment or missed a payment!  And I know the money is always in the account when it's time for it to come out.

I don't expect to have any problems paying my bills, but if I did I would pay my mortgage and heloc first because I would never want to lose my home.  Second, I would make the truck payment because DH needs to get to and from work (though if we were really that bad off we would probably sell the truck and get a cheap, reliable vehicle--unless it was already paid off).  Lastly, I would pay the credit card.  Of course mixed in all that would be buying food, prescriptions, and paying for utilities.  Those would also be before the credit card.  

Of course all of this really doesn't matter if you plan well.  That's why we have an emergency fund.  If DH loses his job we don't have to make decisions on what to pay and what to not pay.  

And someday our plan is to not ever worry about it at all!  Our plan to payoff all our debt including our mortgage is a long term one for now, but once I can go back to work that will turn into a short term plan.  

• Everything I make will go towards debt!  
• Anything over what we've been currently living on from DH's paycheck will go towards savings.  

Right now it's just send whatever we can to pay down or off our debt.  Living below our means definitely helps though we don't deny ourselves either.  I have 2 more years (Spring, Summer, and Fall terms) of college to complete my B.S. degree along with my double minor and 3 certificates.  Once that is done I'll volunteer for a few years to get my foot in the door of my new career and still be available for my youngest son, who will still be in elementary school.  I'll be able to get a job again when he gets into middle school (my oldest will be in high school by then).

I can't wait to see how fast the debt disappears once I'm working again!  I almost want to see about getting a job sooner because of it, but I know I have to concentrate on my schooling and children first. Though if the right opportunity came along that still allowed me to do all the things I do with my boys, then I would consider it.

Woohoo!

DH paid $2.799/gallon for gas this morning and I paid the same at a different station this afternoon!  Usually we've been paying up to $65.00 to fill up DH's truck and about $40.00 to fill up my car.  But today it was $44.50 and $27.02!  I am so happy!  I know it would be better if it went even lower, but for now this is exciting to me!

On another note...DH made a mistake and bought something using the debit card instead of using the credit card that I told him to use to replace a piece of important computer equipment that died on us.  It totally threw off my entire budget for these two weeks.  Especially since things were already tight because it was a 2-week period where it seems all the bills decided to be due.  In the next 2-week period coming up there are absolutely no bills due!  So I've had to borrow from our blow money "accounts" and will replace it when we get paid later this week.

Cheaper Gas

I actually paid $3.459 for gas this morning!  It was 20¢ cheaper than the last time I filled up.  If it could go down just a little bit more now I'll be happy!

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping

Earlier this week I decided to finally do the meal planning I had been talking about.  I went through the Kraft Foods website and picked out a bunch of meals that sounded good, then made a grocery list of what was needed to make them.  This was new for me. Usually I end up buying a lot of the same things and we get into a food rut!

For the next two weeks, I'll be making these for dinner:

• "BLT" Pasta
• Cheesy Chicken Tostadas
• Crisp-and-Creamy Baked Chicken
• Easy Bistro Chicken
• Easy Layered Taco Pie
• One-Pan Chicken and Potato Bake
• Polynesian-Glazed Meatballs
• Portabello Mushroom Sandwich
• Quick 'n Easy Pasta
• Shrimp, Tortellini, & Spinach
• Slow-Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

We also have some other quick meal things that I picked up because we have a few days where we get home late.

I went grocery shopping on Friday night and I started cooking these dinners Saturday night.  So far I've made the "BLT" Pasta and Polynesian-Glazed Meatballs.  They were both very easy to make and delicious.  They are going to be "keepers" for future meals.

The only thing I have an issue with in all this is how much food costs these days.  I spent $180.98 on two weeks worth of food (not including the mini trips I'll have to take to replace milk, bread, etc.).  We don't buy a lot of meats and use generic and/or sales whenever possible.  I admit there are a few items where I've tried the generic and didn't like it so I stick to the brand name food.  I didn't like the generic frozen chicken tenderloins so I buy Tyson. It's only about $1.00 more and the taste and texture is much better quality.  

Here is the breakdown of some of what I bought:

• 24 of the items I bought were generic/grocery store brand
  
• Only 9 items could be considered meat (including precooked meats, lunchmeat, frozen, etc.)
• 11 items were fresh fruits and vegetables
• I saved $22.22 in sales and "buy one, get one free" offers
• I did buy two subs for dinner since I didn't get home from shopping until past 8PM

The only upside to all of this is that buying groceries and cooking dinner at home costs less than going out to a restaurant.  Now THAT'S expensive!

Advanced Payments are GOOD!

Thank goodness for the truck loan being paid in advance!  My husband desperately needs new tires on his truck because he drives 570 miles a week and the tires the truck came with are crap!  

Anyway...

Since I haven't had the time to start saving up for Auto Maintenance, which this lovely issue brought to my attention, I am planning to use the money I would have used to make the 2 extra payments to the truck loan to buy the new tires.  Because honestly it makes no sense to use the money to pay down the truck early instead of buying new tires so hubby doesn't go out of control on the highway when a tire blows.  Plus I would probably have to pay for massive hospital bills, if not a funeral.  That would be bad!

The tires are actually going to cost $568.00 plus delivery, installation charges, taxes. I'm expecting it will cost quite a bit by the time this is all said and done.  But it is a necessary expense with how much he drives.

We've already researched the tires on tirerack.com and found some that have a very high rating.  His original ones are there, too, and confirmed how crappy they really are, though the dealership told him they were top of the line when they tried to sell them to him when he got his oil changed.  They had no idea we already researched the tires. Nice try, but no thank you.

So the plan now is:

• Use one, possibly two, months of extra truck loan payments to pay for tires for the truck.
• Use any extra money such as bonuses and tax refunds to "catch up" to where I wanted to be with these missed extra payments.

Hopefully that will all work out the way I would like it to, but if it doesn't that's alright. I still see the truck loan being paid off early even with skipping a couple of months.

September Update

I finally got around to taking care of end of month activities.  Phew!  This year is just flying by!

I've updated my sidebar including NetWorth IQ.  Did you notice the truck payment?  I'm now under $7,000!  My last two payments have posted and the remaining balance is at $6,697.32!  I AM SO EXCITED!!!!  Sorry for screaming, but I just cannot contain myself.

My emergency fund is trickling along, but at least it's moving up.  It's now at $3,273.04 and I earned a whopping $8.65 in interest last month!  This is the most I've ever made in interest.

I earned a measly $0.29 interest in my checking account, which I promptly put in my round up fund, and $0.71 interest in my "mortgage" savings account.

I've already paid most of my bills for this month.  The credit card, cell phones, water/sewer/garbage, and the electric bill (which was horribly high for us at $153 and some change) have now been paid.  I only have two bills left for the month--other than the mortgage, which is automatically taken out in a couple of days.

I seriously need to go through our food and set up a menu plan so I can use all the food we have efficiently.  I know I'll be running out of a few items soon, but for the most part we have a lot of food to eat if I would only start writing it down!  That will help me save money on running out for food I don't really need yet.