Layout:
Home > Archive: May, 2015

Archive for May, 2015

May Spending :( June Goals

May 31st, 2015 at 03:34 pm

So ... I spent about an hour entering all the transactions for May into YNAB. I hadn't entered anything since the 12th ... Let's just say it wasn't pretty at all.

The good: $207 in extra income (FB sales, SBs, Pact, Perk, etc.)
Sent 10% of net to EF + $37 ...

The bad: Only had $37 left after an extra $207 in income. Which means I came dangerously close to having to dip into my 10% deposit ... for no real reason.

The ugly: Spent roughly $360 on food/fast food/treats
The most I think I can ever remember spending in one month in those categories ...

-----
So ... June goals.

The past few months I have been doing an experiment where I did not set out any particular amounts in my flexible spending categories for my budget. For a few months this seemed to work okay ... May though has totally busted this idea. So for June I have decided to modify this approach - I have given myself budgeted amounts in certain categories (Groceries, Treats, Restaurants) and then left the rest unbudgeted (since it isn't the other categories tripping me up.)

My plan/goal for June and perhaps July is thus: 50% of the unbudgeted money will go towards my normal goal of the EF extra deposit (above the 10%.) The other 50% will be used in July (maybe August) to go somewhere for a few days - i.e. get out of town.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been feeling the travel bug. Feeling kind of restless, listless ... bored in a way. So my idea is that the less money I spend in June (and possibly July), the nicer my little out of town excursion will be.

I could say NO FAST FOOD in June - but I'm hoping that knowing that every time I get Fast Food or get some junky item that it is reducing the quality/length of my getaway, will work better for motivation.

We'll see. (Snafu - the cash thing might work, except I have a bunch of cash on hand right now thanks to the FB sales this month. Getting to the bank to deposit it is a major hassle. So if I did cash only for fast food, etc., I'd have a lot of leeway for it.)

--
I'm hoping to get a training shift for my part time job this coming week, so that money could definitely help the "extra" category - and help me also maybe to not be quite so bored ...restless.. listless. Hopefully.

Still Sick :( And Other Musings

May 30th, 2015 at 05:44 am

This is just the cough that won't go away.

The doctor said my lungs were clear, but sometimes it feels like something is pressing down on my chest or something.

The cough *may* be getting better ... not sure if it is wishful thinking or truth. Although now the cough medicine that was helping me sleep is not being effective, so 3 out of the last 4 nights have had very little/bad sleep.

My mom suggested coconut oil to kill off viruses/bacteria. Not sure if I believe it would help, but maybe if I can find a small amount for not too much ... worth a try I guess.

--
My little earphone/headset at work seems to be dying. I came back from my afternoon break and had ten dropped calls in 15 minutes. (New battery - put in a month ago.) So had to use the handset for the remainder. It's kind of funny because at first I really didn't like the headset, but now I am so used to it that the handset just feels SO awkward.

On Monday we're going to figure out where to order a new one (and I'm going to ask if we can get two - one for a backup - apparently these only last about a year or so ...)

---
I have been super frustrated with the Swagbuck video apps lately. Either they're having those stupid ads you have to interact with in order to move on, or they're crashing every time you blink. If this keeps up I may focus my video earnings on just Perk. Which stinks because Perk takes F O R E V E R to get to the $25 level.

---
My mom was telling me tonight how flooded it is in her area (she lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area) That the swimming pool/rec center in her complex is locked up because of it being flooded.

She said she was kind of feeling aimless after breaking up with latest guy ... so I gave her an assignment. She has to find her local library, GO to the local library, talk with a librarian to find out any volunteer opps, and check out any activities the library may offer -- by Tuesday. She liked my idea/assignment. Smile

---
Finances .... I haven't done any looking at my credit card balances in a couple weeks ... or updating in YNAB. I know it isn't going to be pretty. At all. I haven't been saying No to myself a lot .. more like a whole lot of , why not? and go ahead.

Tomorrow I will be working on getting this all updated so I can see how bad it is. My groceries and restaurant (face it, Fast Food) categories are going to ginormous. Since mom and brother aren't coming to visit in June, maybe I might make June a limited spending month. Will think about that more tomorrow and what it might mean.

I do kind of feel the travel bug though. I haven't really gone anywhere further than Kansas City (and that wasn't a "fun" trip) since moving out here a year ago. I'm used to at least one or two out of state flying trips each year.

So maybe I need to think about some kind of short trip I can take - maybe use one or two vacation days. Would have to go alone since NE couldn't take off that much time. This of course will have to wait until I'm feeling much, much better.

I withdrew $15 from Pact yesterday. Payouts this month were pretty low. I *might* be able to cashout $15 from Pinecone this month depending on how quickly todays survey credits. With the $97 I got from FB sales this month and $50 Swagbucks PayPal, I'd be close to $200 in extra money.

Seems like my headache has finally gone away ... so maybe I can sleep some.

Off to the haystacks! (hitting the hay ... catching some zzzz's ... sawing logs, etc., etc.) Smile

To the Doctor

May 27th, 2015 at 03:30 am

So I wasn't at work very long before I knew I had to do something else to get this cough gone. On multiple calls I erupted into a horrible coughing fit. One of which I wasn't able to get to the mute button .. I also was really feeling like I may soon be losing my voice - when talking on the phone I was having to strain to make myself heard.

So I left work early to go to the doctor. She also told me my lungs were clear, but did give me antibiotics for what is probably a sinus infection.

I've taken the first dose tonight ... hopefully it will start helping quickly.

I seriously don't know how much longer my voice will hold out if I keep coughing like this.

When I was in Walgreen's waiting for my prescription I had several nasty looks as I hacked out my lungs (covering my mouth with my elbow of course, even though I'm supposedly not contagious.)

So another $30 out of the FSA money .. I need to check that account soon and see how much is actually left for the year... For next year I plan to take out a much larger amount (had $50/month this year - next year I think I'd be safe at 75 or maybe 100/month.)

---
It is really warm and humid tonight. My A/C is set at 78 and has come on a couple times.

I feel for those in Texas and OKlahoma right now with all the flooding and tornadoes. I hope SCFR is okay - I think her home is in the vicinity of some of the recent flooding.

Bought a bookshelf, Cough Cough Cough ..

May 26th, 2015 at 02:54 am

The past few weeks I've made about $97 in sales of items from around my apartment. Tonight I will be spending $20 of it for a 3 shelf bookcase - the person is bringing it to me. (I told them I couldn't come get it til Thursday - they offered to bring it to me! Sweet!)

That extra bookshelf will help me to get my living room really starting to look more finished. I've put in some bids for hanging shelves (to put knicknacks on) but I haven't gotten to them quickly enough.

---
I am so freaking tired of coughing! Two weeks ago I went to the doctor and was told .. Oh, it's just allergies. Your lungs are perfectly clear. By the middle of next week you should feel much better.

So two weeks later I am NOT feeling better and the coughing is getting worse - deeper/harder. Of course my temperature is never over 98.6 (normal for me is more like 97.4 .. I'm taking the nasal steroid spray, the allegra D, the cough suppressent, drinking tons of water, eating oranges galore ... This weekend I slept a TON.

I plan on calling the doctor again tomorrow. I don't know how much good it will do, but there's gotta be something. The hard coughing is ... causing other issues. So annoying!

---
Cashed out for $25 PP from SBs and a $5 AGC from Bing

Part Time Job and FB Sales

May 22nd, 2015 at 12:53 pm

On Wednesday I got an email that was sent out to all city employees about a part time job opportunity. It is basically to be a parking ticket attendant for Farmer's Market events and Arena events. It pays $11/hour.

I sent an email indicating my availability and interest. Thursday morning I had a reply asking me for my phone number. The person called me during my lunch hour - apparently I have the job just by virtue of expressing interest and being already employed by the city!

So today I'm supposed to go and fill out payroll paperwork during lunch. That means that I'm going to have to drive rather than walk. (The place I'm going to would be at least a ten - 15 minute walk one way, versus a 3 - 5 minute drive - not to mention the sweat factor...)

I should get at least two 2 hour shifts each week, and possibly longer/more shifts. This is only for the summer season.

It will be kind of a boring job, but it means at least $200/month extra which of course will be going towards my savings goals! Smile

Sweet!

----
I sold two more items on Thursday - my ironing board($3) and a set of fleece Queen sheets ($10).

The sheets were an interesting item to sell ... The first person to express interest asked a ton of questions and then after saying she'd come by at a certain time, passed about an hour before! So I sent a message to the next person in line - she had just one question - Are these really fleece and not flannel? Once I reaffirmed what I had posted in my ad (roll eyes) she was at my place 30 minutes later.

Once she got here she told me she was so excited because she didn't even know fleece sheets existed. I told her that they'd been purchased at Costco around 6 years or so ago. I have a full sized bed, and these are Queen.

---
Heard from brother dear the other night ... apparently he and mom agreed to hold off on the trip here until September - around her birthday. Oh well ... gives me more time to get my place into shape.

A Shorter Entry :)

May 21st, 2015 at 12:35 am

I walked home again today from work. By taking a bit more direct route, I was able to shave off almost an 1/8th of a mile and nine minutes. So I made it in about 31 minutes.

I'm thinking about walking TO work the whole way in the morning. If I get there early enough, I can go into the bathroom and "freshen" up. Smile

Our local library is going to be offering Hoopla soon - which is a source of ebooks, audiobooks, movies and tv shows. So I'm planning on downloading an audio book to listen to, and of course there is Brian Harding's Daily Audio Bible podcast. So plenty to listen to while I walk. Smile

---
We had a Social Styles training today. Essentially it was a personality test and then everyone had to share their strongest results. My result was Amiable-Amiable. That just meant that almost all my answers fell into the Amiable category. I was the only one who had a double.

It was somewhat interesting, and the big bonus was it got me off the phone for 90 minutes! Smile

---
There's two movies I really want to see. Avengers 2 and Pitch Perfect 2. PP2 I think I'll wait for it to come out on DVD - but I'd really prefer to see Avengers 2 on the big screen. So .. I'll probably go see it Monday afternoon - a matinee. (I have Monday off! Sweet!)

Okay, so this wasn't SO short, but it was ... shorter. Smile

Experiment Day Two and More :)

May 20th, 2015 at 12:47 am

This morning I walked from 17th to 10th street (plus a little maneuvering due to some intersections being torn up.) I got to the spot I wanted to pick up the bus at about 7:27. The bus came by about 7:36.

When I got on and showed the driver my bus station id, he looked at me like I had two heads. I told him - I work at ..... this id is the same as a bus pass. He told me I should be wearing my uniform ... I told him I don't wear a uniform! He let me on ..

Later when I was getting off, he asked me my name and introduced himself. Must be new or something.

I got to the office (after walking another 3 1/2 blocks) about 7:47 a.m. That gave me time to freshen up in the bathroom, fill my water bottle and get settled before I had to start my day. I kind of liked it actually. Smile

--
After work I decided that I would just walk all the way home to see how long that would take me. I also wanted to see what the walking mileage would be.

Turns out it took me about 42 minutes to do 1.66 miles. There were a lot of busy streets I had to cross, so some of that time was spent standing at a corner waiting to cross.

I don't think I'd walk it every time (would have to do laundry more often ... only own two bras ..) but maybe once a week would be good.

----
I had misplaced my big medical bill from the ER visit and so was waiting for them to send it again. It came today ... and OH NO! They don't take American Express as a payment form!! I'm not sure how I'm going to do $1000 in 3 months on that card now ... will have to switch all my spending to it from now on. (Want the $250 cash back!)

I should have considered that possibility when I was thinking about getting the AE card. Ugh.

---
I've been asked to help out as a Sabbath School Secretary once every 8 weeks (collect the offering envelopes from the various classes) and to help out in the Kindergarten class once or twice a month. I have already accepted the SS Secretary job, but am going to ask some more questions about the Kinder job. It kind of sounds like I'd be the lead teacher?? I really don't want that much responsibility.

---
The last time I was at my doctor's office I asked them if I could have copies of my lab test results. So often when someone calls me with them, they run through the numbers like a bear is chasing them.

The ones that were off a bit I already knew, but I was happy to see that all the vitamins/minerals etc. were in the normal range. I guess the fruit smoothies most mornings is doing their job. Smile

---
I think I'll probably continue the bus riding, at least on days I don't have obligations/appointments after work. Especially since gas prices definitely don't seem to be falling!

Oh .. the total time in the morning --- Left house at 7:15 arrived at work at 7:47. So 30 minutes.

Walking took about 42 minutes.

Taking the bus home took about 42 minutes (waiting for the bus to come by, then walking home)

Driving ... around 8 - 15 minutes depending on traffic.

---
Work was much better today.

Possible solution to issue was discussed.

An Experiment and More

May 19th, 2015 at 02:32 am

Last week I started thinking that I'd like to do an experiment. When NE and I went on our little road trip, we took my car. Which meant that my gas tank is much lower than it normally is for this time of month. I did go ahead and add $10 of gas to it on Sunday just in case I didn't like the results of my experiment.

So .. what was my experiment? Riding the bus to work and back home!

Today was day 1.

I caught the bus that goes within a few blocks of my home about 7:35 a.m. That's only ten minutes earlier than I usually leave in the car.

We got downtown at 7:49 ... according to the person I spoke with last week, the bus should have gone on to the bus garage. That person was wrong.

At 7:51 we left with new passengers .. at the first stop I checked to make sure he wasn't going to the garage. He wasn't.

So I got off and preceded to walk roughly 12 blocks to work. I arrived about 8 minutes late. Frown

After work I debated my options. I could catch the inbound bus at 5, go to the transfer center, catch the bus that goes within a few blocks of my house and then be home by 5:40 or so. Little walking involved.

Or I could catch the outbound bus two blocks away from work a bit after 4:45, take it for five or six minutes, get off and walk about ten blocks home.

I chose option two - and got home about 5:10.

Tomorrow I'm trying again - this time I'll start out with the bus that is about ten blocks away from me (nine blocks inbound) and will end up being early for work. However, I will be wearing my tennis shoes and carrying my heels in my bag!

I'll have to leave the apartment by 7:15, which is about 30 minutes earlier than my car time, but I'm also getting in a good bit of exercise. Two birds, one stone.

---
I am SO frustrated with the afternoon dispatcher at work. Today I had at least 3 people calling me asking me about a particular bus route. The bus wasn't showing up on the locator screen, so I tried calling dispatch to find out what was going on. It just kept ringing and ringing and ringing. So I had to tell the people that I didn't know what was going on. Ugh.

Finally a 4th person calls and I try again - get the dispatcher. I ask him if anything is going on with that route - he mumbles one word that sounds like yes, and then hangs up on me.

I get that he was probably uber inundated with the drivers calling in, etc., but I have to have information to work with to handle callers! It made me (and our company) sound idiotic to not have that info. This isn't the first time I've had this issue with this particular dispatcher.

I told the office manager what happened - making sure she knew I didn't want him to get into trouble, but that we have to figure out some way for me to be informed of accidents (which is what happened) and other disruptions on the routes fairly soon after they happen. Because people DO call!

--
I also had this one caller today whose phone kept cutting in and out and was difficult to understand. So I thought I figured out what he wanted, and gave him the info. Later he called me back and accused me of lying to him! I was flabbergasted! Told him that I hadn't lied to him, but had misunderstood what he was wanting.

Seriously!

---
I made a good number of sales on the FB garage page this weekend.

Crockpot - $5
Rice Cooker - $8
iPhone portable charger - $10
Inflatable couch/sleeper - $40

I think there was something else too ..

I also had my share of head shaking moments. One person who was "in line" for a friend - said her friend would be here by 2. Then by 3. At 3:40 I messaged her and told her the friend hadn't shown up. She messaged friend, and told me 'she passed." Ugh!

Then another item that had six people in line for it - first one passed *after* I agreed to lower the price. Then the next 4 ignored my PMs. The 6th one told me she was at a graduation and would get back to me - then did, and asked me my location. (which was posted in the ad - general location) When I told her it, she said she worked on the other side of town and so couldn't come get it. Come on! Reading comprehension, anyone???

I'm going to give the items another go on Tuesday (3 day waiting period to bump posts.) Hopefully some more go!

Went Home Early

May 15th, 2015 at 04:23 am

I ended up going home early from work today. I just was not feeling well at all. When I told my boss, she told me that she wasn't surprised because one of the other ladies in the office had told her it sounded like I was getting sick again.

I decided to go to the doctor because some of what was being coughed up was colored ... She listened to my lungs and said they were clear - so just really bad allergies. I told her I'd been taking Allegra D for three weeks or so with little effect which was weird for me since it used to be really effective.

She asked me if I'd tried Flonase - I told her I had one time before but it gave me nosebleeds. She told me it was all in how you sprayed it ... So I agreed to try a nasal spray. (Which I found out tonight is $60!!! after insurance. It better me a miracle worker spray!)

I haven't gotten the prescriptions yet because by the time they were ready I just didn't feel like going back out again. (I called three times from 2 to 5, and they weren't ready til 6!)

---
I listed a bunch of things on the FB group yesterday, and had three items get picked up quickly .. supposedly. One person backed out of the purchase today completely, and another gave some excuse as to why they couldn't come today, but scheduled a time for tomorrow. ugh I could have taken a nice nap if I hadn't had to worry about being awake to hear their knock!

---
I was sitting and reading when I heard a strange gurgling sound. After checking around in the bathroom and kitchen, I noticed some very smelly water in the bottom of my garbage disposal. So I turned on the water and started the disposal thinking it was clogged up. To my dismay and disgust, brownish very stinky water started to come up on BOTH sides of my sink (divided sink) - roughly an inch of this nasty stuff on each side.

I called my landlord, and when he got back to me he told me he'd have someone come over tomorrow afternoon. He said it was probably the dishwasher drain plugged up, and not to use my dishwasher or kitchen sink.

I'm just glad it isn't sewer water or something like that which was my first thought - there were some horror stories in the paper last week after the flooding of problems with sewage flooding basement apartments in some areas of the city (of course I don't have a basement apartment ...)

---
I almost forgot! One of the email replies to my last blog was very weird. When I looked at it on my phone there was no written content, but some object that I was supposed to touch/click to download. I didn't click on it of course! I checked my blog for that person's response, and there was a normal looking comment from that person - no smiley's or anything that looked like it could cause a download thing. Kind of worrisome ... anyone else get anything like that?

Now Baby ... Poor NE

May 14th, 2015 at 02:58 am

So just as Riddles seems to maybe be coming out of the health woods, down to two visits a week for fluids, more bad news.

NE came out of his room tonight to give Riddles his potassium pill. As he walked out the door, he saw Baby, his second oldest cat, laying on the floor stretched out (on stomach) twitching and shaking and eyes all glazed. He ran through what might have happened and the only thing he could come up with is the flea meds he'd given the cats that morning when he got home from work.

None of the other cats seemed to be having any reaction.

On his way to the emergency vet he called me - I threw some clothes on (was in my comfies already) and rushed over. The vet agreed that it was the flea meds - it was some he'd gotten off of eBay that apparentally had a pesticide in it meant for the fleas, but that Baby somehow had gotten internally - which is what was causing the tremors/paralysis.

Baby is staying overnight at the emergency vet - they gave him two baths to get rid of the toxins and will be giving him fluids, etc overnight. $527 if all goes well.

NE was saying to me while we waited for the bloodwork to come back he told me that he is definitely not getting any more cats until he's down to one or two again (considering that the youngest is 4, that could be awhile.)

NE just called me ...
00 He stopped at home before going to work and rechecked his other cats - Munchkin, his favorite, seems to be having a slight reaction. He gave her a bath twice and then headed to work...

---
Question - do all vets/vet techs automatically call cats "her" or "she"? Both Riddles and Baby are male, yet they both keep getting referred to as females?? I never noticed that with Monkey (male cat) and with Kari (female) I wouldn't notice it.

Road Trip, Annoying Ad?, Sick and Thinking

May 13th, 2015 at 02:46 am

So NE and I did a road trip to Glenwood, Iowa on Sunday. It was really quite enjoyable. All the rain we've had recently has made everything really green up. We stopped at Mills Lake on the way there - a small, but pretty lake in the Loess Scenic Byway? We also ate at a Mexican restaurant El Portal. It was an awesome place because .... they had veggie fajitas!!!! Usually at a Mexican restaurant I have the option of enchiladas or quesedilas or .... It was SO nice to have something different to choose. It was really yummy too - they included a pineapple ring - so good that flavor plus the other veggies.

Right as we got our check the waiter brought out a desert and told me Happy Mother's Day. Big Grin Uh thanks ... maybe someday, but probably not.

I didn't end up getting to bed til nearly 11:30 .. on a work night. Still, it was so worth it. Smile

(NE paid for dinner - it was his turn. Smile )

----
Anyone else getting that super annoying ad covering the bottom of your screen for CoverGirl? I get it on the blogs and on the forums - it slows the forums down majorly, and when logging in I accidentally clicked on it twice!

I don't mind ads as long as they're not obtrusive like that!

---
So it seems my allergies are back at it in full force, even with taking Allegra D. Frown The last couple days not only have I been overtired, but I've also been miserable with sneezing and coughing and just feeling generally ill.

Ugh and double ugh.

---
I was reading on a blog or forum or something about how someone felt like their home finally looked like an "adult" lived there and not a college kid. It made me kind of think ... if someone were to come into my apartment, they probably would think "college kid" and not 39 year old.

There's not a whole lot I can do to change that look I think without spending money I don't want to spend. But ... I'm wondering if maybe getting rid of all my moving boxes which are currently stored in my bedroom - some under the bed and some next to it against the wall .. would help. When I move again I'd have to buy new boxes, but boxes aren't *that* expensive ...

I also am thinking I need to let go of my stereo. It was a college graduation gift (half from my dad, half from my pocketbook) which has definitely seen better days. Kari's claws definitely did not help its look.

Then there is the baby dresser which I have hauled around with me since I moved out on my own in 97. It was used for me and my brother ... I'm thinking maybe it's time to finally let it go.

There also is the portable dishwasher ... one of my last major gifts from my dad. I have it sitting next to my loveseat right now as sort of an end table ...

Getting another bookshelf or two, finishing hanging pictures, getting rid of the foldup table, etc., probably would also go a long ways toward "adultizing" my place.

Growing up all our houses were set up so nicely - decorated, good furniture, etc. So I know what it could/should be ... but for some reason I can't make it like that. Somehow the gene of dressing well, doing hair well, caring about makeup, creating a home instead of just a place I live in ... skipped me.

I don't know ... I guess I'm feeling like here I am almost 40 and I'm not married, I don't have kids, if it wasn't for inherited stocks I'd barely have any retirement money (they are 1/2+ of my assets ...) and my place looks like a college kids. This so isn't what I hoped my life would be like at this point.

Not to mention when I see articles say something like "on the low end of the scale are salaries of $35,000/year ..." and I'm thinking - I'd be jumping ecstatically if I made that much! (And at one time I actually made more than that .. had no idea how good I had it.)

And then there is the factor of not really having anyone to talk to/hang out with other than NE here ... and all the friends I've had over the years that I kept in touch with for the longest time .. have kids, have families, have way busy lives ..

Riddles Update (NE's cat), Flooding, Mom

May 9th, 2015 at 06:35 pm

Riddles is still in the land of the living. The past few weeks or so NE has been taking him to the Vet to have fluids and Vitamin B? injections. The first week it was nearly daily, the last two weeks was two or three times each. Each visit costs $50

The fluids definitely seem to be helping. Riddles is eating some again, and hasn't had another seizure since about two weeks ago. NE is very happy about that, although not so happy about how much this has cost. I suggested he ask about whether he could do the fluid injections himself at home (and that I'd be willing to assist) but he hasn't asked. Oh well ... it's his money. (I had a neighbor once who had to give her cat daily or weekly fluid injections, so I know it can be done at home.)

---
We had some major flooding here Wednesday/Thursday. Some have called it a 50 year flood. Thursday was incredibly crazy at work - so many bus routes had to have detours because of the flooding. Most people were understanding, but some were outright jerks. One person got mad when I told him that he'd have to walk eight blocks to catch the bus - "YOU are making me late for work!" Uh, yeah sure mister. We made the roads on the route get flooded and be closed, just so you could be late for work. Yepppers. A few others asked me to get out my crystal ball and predict whether or not the bus was going to be on time two hours from then or the next morning ... I'll get right on it buddy!

Thankfully by Friday morning the waters had gone down all over for the most part, and by noon all the flood related detours were done. Of course I had one caller complain about a bus that didn't arrive at the scheduled time after our office was closed and wanted to know why. I explained that since I wasn't there at the time I didn't know exactly why, but the best I could guess is that it was related to the voluntary evacuation of the area that bus route goes through!

Wednesday night I was walking through my hallway in my bare feet and stepped on a wet spot. At first I was worried that maybe Kari was having bathroom issues (never has before) but after smelling it, I knew that wasn't the issue. I found quite a few more areas of carpet that were quite wet.

As I was trying to figure out how this happened, I realized that the dripping sound I'd been hearing off and on the past few days might have had something to do with it. So I called my landlord. He said he'd send somebody by the next day.

Of course with all the rain/flooding issues on Wednesday/Thursday it wasn't til nearly 6 p.m. that somebody came by (I shut Kari in the bathroom in case they came by while I was out) The problem was the condensation pipe? for the a/c units in the apartments above me being blocked. (I haven't turned my a/c on yet, but apparently my upstairs neighbors have.) The guy that came by couldn't get it unblocked.

So I had to shut Kari in the bathroom again on Friday. The A/C guy came again and the carpet cleaners came while I was gone at work - so Kari didn't have to be shut in the bathroom the whole day. I think she actually didn't mind it too much because I gave her canned food both days ... Smile

The carpet is pretty much all dry now - although now I need to figure out how I'm going to move my dresser back - don't know if NE will be able to help me with his shoulder issues.

We're supposed to have another major storm come through tonight. Our creeks and lakes can't take too much ...

---
Tomorrow NE and I are doing a little roadtrip to Greenwood Iowa for our anniversary. We'll probably go out to eat somewhere around there. He was in that area a couple years ago for some speakers and thought it was really beautiful. It will be nice to get out of the apartment and do something together (doesn't happen often ...)

---
Texting with my mom last night I found out she'd been in a fairly major car wreck three weeks! ago. It was her fault -- she and a friend were traveling to San Antonio and had gotten off the highway for gas or something. As they went along the frontage road there was some construction and hard to figure out how to get back on the highway. Her friend spotted a way and told her to go ... there was another road that criscrossed the pathway and a car coming - which my mom did not see. The car clipped the front passenger side of my mom's car.

Nobody was seriously hurt - banged up knees, elbows and wrists. But my mom found out she only has liability insurance - apparently someone talked her into changing her insurance plan a few months ago to save a bunch of money and didn't explain HOW she was saving that money. (As she's telling me this, I'm wondering HOW IN THE WORLD did she not know this???)

So ... her insurance company told her that her 6 month premium was going up to $5k! She's had a number of not-fault and at-fault accidents in the last six years or so, and is now considered high-risk. She kept looking and now has insurance through USAA for $165/MONTH!!!! She also has been without her car for the last 3 weeks.

It sounds like it's going to be around $2500 to fix it (and that is a long time family friend who has fixed our cars many multiple times over the years - the shop her car was towed to estimated $5k+ to fix.)

She just last night got a letter from an attorney for the person who hit her suing her for damages.

She's in a mess.

----
I finally got my $25 AGC from PerkTV.

I was really craving delivery pizza last night ... and gave in to it. $17 for the pizza, $5 for my "Zone", plus delivery charge and tip ... $28 .... Ouch! The pizza was good at least.

It's been a week, and it's only Wednesday ...

May 7th, 2015 at 04:40 am

Monday was one of those days you can be so glad to not have to repeat.

Work was awful. People calling in very crabby and impatient ... getting told that the cash was $19 off over a 4 day period last week (person who reconciles it was out sick for 4 days ..)

Then I go to the gas station to get gas. First pump doesn't have the cheap gas, so I cancel my card and go to a different pump. Put my card in, and my rewards card ($.42/gallon off) and it shows that I lost the $.42/gallon. I go inside ...by the time I get back to the pump my card has been canceled. I redo it, and my card is rejected. Am about ready to scream like a banshee.

Go inside again, guy runs my credit card and my rewards card. Both work! I fill up for $2.09/gallon.

Then I go to Walgreens to use my $50 cashback. What an ordeal it was to use that money! I'd tried over the weekend in store and online with no luck. Then Monday I decided to see if I could buy ink - of course they were out of the ink I needed. Finally did end up buying a huge thing of cough syrup and a huge container of extra strength pain meds, plus a few miscellaneous items.

--
Tuesday was ok at work. Had a different project to work on along with my usual. Balanced cash box myself to reassure myself. (Can I just say how I think the cash box is almost worse than the crabby callers?)

Came home just so tired and didn't accomplish anything.

I take that back ... I stopped at Goodwill and bought something I can use as a bean masher for my black bean burgers (it's actually a pastry cutter I think) and ... a 3rd chair for my dining table! (I didn't have any cash on me, and hated to charge just $.99 for the pastry cutter ... so was very happy to find a chair that worked for $6.99!)

Oh, I also voted in the city elections.

I also got $25 PayPal from Swagbucks
---
Wednesday was good at work. Was given another different project (after finishing the other one.) One that will be ongoing. Also got away from the office for the last 2 1/2 hours making a presentation to the public librarians - actually got up front and talked a little without totally losing it. Impressed myself.

Was heading out to the grocery store when I noticed a wet spot on the carpet. At first I was worried maybe Kari was being naughty ... but then after moving a chair I realized that the furnace was leaking ... Called my landlord and they'll send someone out in the morning to fix it and clean the carpet. (said something about something or other being blocked)

Tonight we're having heavy rain, lots of thunder and lightning and I've gotten an Emergency Alert on my phone about flash flooding. NE is out delivering tonight ...

---
I've been reading up a storm the last few weeks. Last week I read a series of 9 books by Marta Perry (Amish stories) and this week I've read around 4 or 5 various books. Instead of getting anything really done with my extra time (while NE is working 5 nights a week ... ) I seem to be spending most of that time reading. Smile

--
I better hit the ol' bed soon otherwise I'll be way tired tomorrow!

---
Sunday is NEs and I two year anniversary. Hard to believe it's been that long. A few weeks after that and it'll have been one year since I moved here to NE. Wow. (And I still haven't gotten the necessary stuff to put my front license plate on my car ... thankfully no cop has decided to pull me over )

AE and Sam's Club Deal!

May 2nd, 2015 at 09:35 pm

I had seen this mentioned on the YNAB forums but when I looked at my AmEx account I couldn't find it. But today I was looking at my account and decided to browse the offers, and there it was!

The deal - Spend $20 at Sam's Club and get $20 cash back on AmEx card.

(You do have to be a Sam's Club member already.)

So I thought about what I could get - it had to be something online - not store pickup.

Everything I was thinking about was either store pickup or would have shipping added. Then it hit me - gift cards! I checked their gift cards and they have a good selection.

I chatted with an AmEx CS person to make sure that a gift card purchase would work for the deal. She said it would.

One deal I could've done would be to purchase two $10 Sam's Club gift cards. That would've meant no money spent, and $20 in items I could purchase at the store.

However, I decided to go with something else. NE loves to go to Chinese restaurants, and the Hu Hong place here is one of his favorites. There was a deal where you get two $25 gift cards for $39.98. So ... after the $20 is taken off, you get $50 of food for 19.98!

Big Grin That will be almost 3 meals out for NE and I.

(Plus it counts towards the spend $1k in 3 months for $250 cash back.)

April Accounting

May 2nd, 2015 at 05:06 pm

I spent a lot of money in April. Mostly medical, some overspending in groceries and treats. Bought a couch.

Thank goodness for a 3 paycheck month! I barely squeaked by with putting my 10% of net (of 3 paychecks) into my EF this month. But it got there!

--
Must Spends:
Giving: 10% + 30.00
Rent: 430
Gym: 41.73

Flexible:
Groceries - 160.66
Internet - 65.75
Natural Gas - 23.57
Electricity - 26.93
Auto fuel - 24.26
Restaurants - 14.47
Medical - 877.59
Clothing - 13.48
Household Goods - 113.56
Treats - 52.40
Entertainment - 15.00
Misc. - 26.00

Savings:
EF - 10%
ROTH - $200.00

Extra Monies:
$25 - Swagbucks
3rd Paycheck
$17 Pact
$5 AGC from Bing

Savings Percentage - 17% Gross to Employer Pension, 10% to EF (3 paycheck Net), $200 to ROTH
Roughly 40%

Total EF - 7,992.77

-- $4,007.23 to go to make goal!