I don't know if there is a version for Android phones/tablets, but I discovered a new app which allows you to earn giftcards/paypal cash. It is called App Trailers. I downloaded it last night and already redeemed and received a $1 AGC! All you have to do is watch short videos advertising various phone apps, or tv show trailers, etc.

Nice I haven't seen a way to use / get a referral code, but I thought some of you might be interested.

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I have cashed in for my first 4 AGC's from Swagbucks. Tomorrow I'll get my 5th one, and probably a $25 one as well. That will give me $50 in AGC money just from SB this month. I'll have around 800 leftover towards April's giftcards.

I'd like to see if I can earn enough to get $40 of gift cards in April. (This month I was able to do a large deal, but I can't count on that happening too often.)

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Yesterday I went into town and spent $80 at Safeway. $23 of that was spent on Morningstar products. There was a deal - spend $20 on certain freezer aisle products, and get $5.00 coupon towards your next order. So, I got that, plus another $10 off coupon and a $.50 coupon for Stouffer's (I love their spinach souffle.) It wasn't all groceries, I also got asprin, cat food, and a birthday card.

I'm thinking of going back on Friday and if the same deal is still on, buying another $20 worth of Morningstar products (they have the corn dogs!!) which would only really cost me $5... Hmm... Will have to make sure I have enough freezer space.

The only reason I went to Safeway instead of Walmart is because I realized that the 5% grocery deal with Chase probably doesn't include Walmart... oops. I used 3 coupons I printed from SBs - asprin, cat food, and some snack food. I probably would have done better on some of these deals at Walmart, but I also wouldn't have gotten the corn dogs or the $15.50 in coupons!!

I also filled up my car - $3.39/gallon. According to my gas buddy app, my last tank gave me 32.9 miles/gallon. Not bad at all.

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I am so glad it is the weekend! It was a long week. I was kind of sad on Thursday afternoon because I had my last technology club session (I'll be in ABQ next Thursday, and then the following Thursday is PT Conferences .. and then no more after school activities.)

I'm mostly looking forward to the book seminar I'll be going to on Thursday. The seminar itself I'm majorly looking forward to, it's just all the lesson plans I'm going to have to leave for the assistants and wondering if they'll actually even do them!!

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I'm debating the wisdom of sending the $2000 from my refunds straight to my car loan. I'm thinking about holding it out as an emergency fund, which I could then use to send to the car loan in June or July if I see that everything appears to be stable here. I've just been hearing some unsettling rumors about the finances here ... I'm still going to do at least a double payment, but I think I'll be holding off on sending anymore huge extra payments. I'll still have the money to send if everything still looks good, but I think it would help me sleep a little better knowing I have a good stash in cash .. just in case.

Today after entering all the expenses from my recent Baltimore trip, I decided that for the remainder of February I will be under a spending freeze.

The only spending allowed will be submitting tithe/offering checks and possibly paying the registration fee for my NM license (if I have all the necessary paperwork together.)

Yikes! There were two just under $20 purchases that I could have easily done something different for much, much less. Being out of town should NOT have given me the excuse to make those purchases. What's done is done, and now I need to recoup and move on.

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Today we did have a snow day! YAY! I slept in and out most of the morning. It was wonderful.

When I finally got moving, I made a phone call to Vanguard to do something I'd procrastinated about for nearly 8 years.

In 1999 I had $2k left of a bit of a windfall. I was afraid that it would slip through my fingers (because at that time I was rather ... unfrugal to put it mildly.) So I socked it away in a traditional IRA. Sounds good so far, right? Not really ... I didn't put much time or thought into it - just went to my local bank I had an account with and opened an IRA. An IRA in the form of a 2-year CD. A CD that rolls over every other April 15 unless I tell them I want to do something else with it.

Since April 1999, the balance has grown by a whopping $657. I don't want to even do the depressing math on what kind of "growth" that is.

One way or the other though, I now have an IRA account open at Vangaurd and just need to print the paperwork and mail it to them. Then when the current IRA CD matures, it will be invested into the STAR fund. I plan on adding an additional $400 to it in order to be able to invest in the next level of fund.

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I checked my bank account today (the former ING) and saw that I'd received my tax refund already from NM. I also had a weird deposit that just said "Wire Deposit" and nothing else. It was for an amount that looked similar to my bi-weekly paycheck, so I'm guessing that is what it is. (Especially since today is payday.)

I put $500 of the NM refund to my car loan payment category for March, and $25 of it into my Vacation category. (That's the category I raided to pay for my stupid fee of $75 after missing my flight.)

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I have another out of town trip coming up soon (and I think the payment for the registration on that seminar is part of what is making my heart panic at my cc balance ... it will be reimbursed, but not til the end of March probably.) All my meals for that will be reimbursed, so I don't have to worry too much on that front.

I am looking at another conference though in November for school librarians. It's in Hartford, CT. Between registration, least expensive hotel and airfare it'll cost around $900. I am Uber excited about this conference and REALLY want to go. (If you remember, I was part of the group of people who got to evaluate the possible workshops for this conference.) I *really* hope that I can get this approved to be covered by the school, or at least mostly covered.... I can get the best price by registering by August - which means that I'd have to pay for it out of pocket, and then be reimbursed later... Maybe I can use part of my summer school money to pay for it, and then when I'm reimbursed, put the money into the various places I planned for the summer school money?? I *really* want to go to this thing!

Well, I'm back from Baltimore and the Americ@orps conference. Overall, I'm mostly glad I went, although I think maybe some of the younger, less experienced teachers here may have gotten more out of it.

We had three main speakers - Mark Shriver (brother to Maria Shriver, ex wife of Arnie "I'll be Back.") Sister Sissy (can't remember her real name, Sissy is her nickname) and Father Boyle (Homeboy Industries.) Of the three I got the most out of the second and third ones. Shriver was ... well, I felt at least, a bit pompous. Lots of name dropping, and during the Q&A he seemed really offended that some of the kids had Googled him to find out more about who he was .. some of the kids (most of the attendees were 27 or younger) didn't know who the Uncle Jack was that he kept referring to (JFK.)

In addition to the speakers, on Sunday and Monday we had our choice of 4 workshops to attend. I attended 3 because the fourth session the ones I wanted were already full by the time I had a chance to sign up. Two of the three I attended were okay, the third one I didn't really care for too much. Oh well.

The hotel tried to meet the needs of vegetarians, but like many non-vegetarians, they had the idea that vegetarians survive mostly on salads. Ugh. So ... I ate a lot of Subway, a few smoothies from the uber expensive Coffee shop in the hotel, and once at Jimmy Johns (my first time eating at one!)

On Wednesday last week I started to have really bad tooth pain. By Thursday when I went to ABQ to stay at the hotel before flying out, it had gotten much worse. So much worse that I left the hotel after dark to go to Walmart a few miles away. I decided to attack it from the angle of allergies, so I got some sinus meds OTC, but did not get any asprin. Which turned out to be a big mistake $$

The next day by the time we got to our layover in DFW, I had a headache that felt like it was going to split my head in half. So, I paid $7 for a soda and 3 2-capsule packets of aspirin. Those packets lasted til Saturday morning when I was again desperate ... so I paid $8 at the hotel coffee shop for ... a soda, and two packets of ONE-capsule aspirin!

Thankfully that afternoon my co-worker and I found a CVS a fw blocks away where I was able to get a 24 capsule bottle for $5.

I haven't totalled up how much I spent on food and medicine this trip, but I have a bad feeling about it. Much more than the amount I had generously allocated ...

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Of course it gets even better ...

Tuesday morning we arrive at the airport a few minutes before 8 a.m. thinking we were cutting it close for our 8:45 flight. Not even close. We had missed our 8:15!!! flight!!! Both of us for whatever reason had 8:45 stuck in our head, and had not bothered to double check the itinerary email. I've *never* missed a flight in my life, until now.

It cost $75 to book the next flight out ...at 1:45 p.m. My co-worker didn't have a credit card with him, nor did he have enough cash to cover the fee. So I paid for his fee. (He already paid me back this morning.) He was thoroughly embarrassed having me do this, although I really tried to be very non-nonchalant about it.

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By the time we got back to ABQ it was WAY past dark. I called the hotel I'd left my car at to come pick me up. The guy told me to take a taxi and they'd pay for it. Huh? Never been told that before ... so I went outside and found a taxi. The taxi driver knew what I was talking about, and took me to the hotel. I gave him my last $5 bill (the other $5 I'd left as a tip for the hotel maid in Baltimore.)

I needed to get a few groceries, but did NOT want to stop at little G on the way home after dark. So decided to go back to the same Walmart I'd been at on Thursday. Unfortunately, my GPS app had been updated with a HORRIBLE update, and it got me lost. Thankfully though I found a KMART. Well ... sort of thankfully.

While in KMART I ended up picking up a new purse (to replace the one whose strap broke this last summer in San Francisco), a set of full bed sheets, two HUGE stuffed animals on 75% discount, and a few groceries. No bananas though (which was one of the main things I wanted.) About $65 altogether.

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I finally made it into my town a bit before 10 p.m. Kari was SO glad to see me. I was actually glad to see her as well.

Today at work I felt a bit like a zombie. When my kinders were in class, I had to keep reminding myself they were babies and to keep my patience. Even my 3 year olds didn't help revitalize me like they tend to do.

Thankfully today wasn't one of my busier days, otherwise I don't know that I would've made it through. We might possibly have a snow day tomorrow - already have a minimum of a two-hour delay. I'd be so happy for a snow day right now ....

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I have nearly 4k Swagbucks now. I'm considering getting the $25 AGC, although I think I may wait til March, or at least until I have enough to get the $25 AND the March $25. Will see.

I would have made my 14 day streak for February, but the hotel in ABQ's WiFi was TERRIBLE - couldn't even do normal surfing using it. Oh well.

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So sleepy. Probably ought to hit the shower and then maybe watch an episode of Eureka (my latest Netflix addiction.) Speaking of tv ... I received my Person of Interest Season 1 DVDs. I might watch them tomorrow if we have a snow day.

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Oh, the co-worker who I barely tolerate .. this morning she sits across from me and says, "So, I hear you missed your flight. HA HA. I've NEVER (said in a haughty tone) missed a flight. I always get there at least two hours ahead of time." I felt like punching her in the face, but I thankfully restrained myself, and only said, "good for you."

Okay, trying yet again. It's what I get for not following my own advice of copying before submitting ...

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January spending:

Despite the stock ups in late December, I still managed to overspend the grocery category by nearly $50. This was due mainly to multiple trips to the mom and pop store for egg salad sandwiches or bananas +++. Bottom line -- I need to leave my wallet at home, and if I need bananas, take only enough cash for 5 (around $2.) Also, stop buying egg salad sandwiches.

Tithe, etc. --
I didn't have a pen with me the one time I actually made it to church in January. I now have two checks already filled out - one for Jan, and one for Feb. So, no excuses.

Overall, not too bad. Just need to reign in the groceries (namely, the junk food.)

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February Budget--

Fun Money-
I padded my fun money category due to the upcoming Baltimore trip. I'm hoping that I won't actually spend that much (I've been told the hotel we're staying at has vegie/vegan options) but I want to give myself the room/permission if something comes up.

Car Loan -
I will be making a large payment to my car loan this month, which should put it close to $4k left. Depending on when I get my final tax documents and file, March should have a large payment as well.

Car Insurance --
My 6 month premium is due on the 9th. So that will be a good chunk going out.

FIRE (Financially Independent Retire Early) -
This will be my first installment into this category. Until my car loan is paid off, it will remain a small amount. (Like MMM says ... debt emergency!)

Professional -
If I can get all the documentation together, I will be sending in a check for $125 to get my NM certification. Must get this done so I can be rehired for next year!!

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Other --

Swagbucks/Amazon/Discover/TV stuff =

I managed to meet goal 31/31 days for January. It enabled me to trade in for $25 of AGCs in January, and I have enough for my first 4 in February (and after the 5th when I get the 300+daily bonuses bonus, I'll have enough for the 5th card.)

I spent about $60 on books for the library this month - used my AGC credits and the remaining balance of rewards from Discover. (You can only cash out at the $50 mark. I had $26 in rewards and no big purchases I could think of ... so decided to use them.) I'm considering canceling it (Discover) to trim down my card collection.

Normally I spend all of my AGCs on books for the library. However, I have decided to use February's for something for myself. The first season of Person of Interest. It is around $25 on Amazon. Once I finish the last 12 or so episodes I missed thanks to ABC stopping putting the full episodes on their website after getting me hooked .. then I can sell it to Second Spin for a possible $12.

I found out that Hulu+ has the second season of Once Upon a Time. I was SORELY tempted to renew my account for a month so I could watch that second season. I resisted, and instead started watching Jericho on Netflix for free. Eventually (hopefully!) Netflix will have OUAT's second season and I can watch it for no extra cost.

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Health/Food stuff

So, as I mentioned in my grocery section, I've been buying junk food. Way more of it than I should. And, unfortunately, it shows - both in my weight (gained back nearly ten of the twenty pounds I'd lost), and in my general overall health. I was doing so good there for a while. I'm really not sure what derailed me. It'd be even worse if I wasn't doing my nearly daily walks (although they're not THAT much in the good exercise department .. they are at least getting out and moving.)

I am really frustrated with myself. I am trying to get back to where I was with my eating .. Yesterday I did a grocery shop (which I counted for February) and bought some apples along with the bananas. I think where I lost ground is I was eating more sandwiches and less fruit/fiber. Not to mention soda and junkfood. Yeah - the soda I was going to give up. :arghh!:

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School -

I had my first formal teacher evaluation since 2005 on Wednesday. I think it went well overall. The kids participated and behaved well, and I was a little hyperactive due mostly to nerves I think. I was supposed to meet with my principal today to go over her observations, but due to feeling like carp warmed over this morning (thanks to my oh so healthy eating), I stayed home sick.

In other interesting (to me at least) news .. I'm teaching the second graders keyboarding. The maintenance guys managed to find ten defunct keyboards for me, which I had my assistant cut the cords off of. I'm using those for the kids to practice on so that I can have them all within easy eyesight as they are learning. I'm using the whole keyboard method - as in they are learning all the letters for the pinky finger, then the ring finger, then the middle finger, etc. They also are learning about home row and posture. So far they seem to be having fun with it especially when I ask them to practice -- Dog Chews Queen, or Queen Eats Zebra ... etc. (The word/letter/finger association seems to work really well.) They've learned the pinky, middle and pointer fingers so far - next week I'm going to have them work in Word so they can see what they're typing.

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Baltimore trip -

I found out that I'm going to have a roommate. A young thing in her mid-20s. Hope she doesn't think I'm too old fogiesh. (and I hope she's not a partier who stays up all hours of the night being loud ...)

They're having some kind of 3 hour walking historical tour that I can sign up for. I have to decide if I want to do this by the 5th. On one hand, the exercise probably would be good for me. On the other hand, I think I'd rather get my exercise in the hotel's fitness room where it is WARM! and I can listen to music. Hmmm... I probably really should do the tour. Embrace the experience ... (It's free - part of the whole trip. So that's not a factor.)

After the first payday in January when I saw that the 2% increase in SS was going to take approximately $35/mo from my net income, I decided that it was finally time to go ahead and change my W-4 withholding. So I changed it to 2.

Today was the first payday since I changed it, and changing the withholding added $60, or $120/mo. Nice. For February I think I will probably just put it towards Vacation/eating out/Baltimore trip expenses. But after that, then I'll put it all towards my car repayment. Then once my car is paid off, it all will go towards my ROTH, except maybe $25 - 30 of it which I'll add to my Fun Money or Groceries category, or perhaps my Vacation category.

In reality, it is about $85 extra a month than what I was getting in 2012. Still, it is a nice little boost which I prefer to get monthly rather than having to wait to file taxes in 2014.

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I received a 1099R for my rollover IRA. The form didn't show any taxes withheld or anything, so I'm assuming that I did it correctly and it isn't going to bite me in the shorts. I might try to add it into my Turbo Tax file tonight and make sure about it.

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I have received 4 of the 5 AGCs from Swagbucks for January. So far, I have managed to meet the daily goal every day. So I'll probably start February off with enough SBs to buy my first 3 cards. It'll be nice to be ahead of the game for awhile at least.

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I've been watching Life on Mars on Netflix instead of doing my classwork like I should be .. It is *really* good. I don't know how I missed it before.

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Both of my walking partners this week agreed to start doing the 4 mile walk again! The 2 miler we were doing most of this winter so far was barely keeping me maintained (weight wise), so I'm hoping the longer distance will help to get me moving in the right direction again. Of course it probably would help if I actually cut out soda and cut down on junk food like I keep saying I'm going to do....

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Since that one night of terrible sleep, I have been sleeping better. The occasional stabs and tingles, but nothing like that one night. I'm hoping the increased level of exercise will keep any re occurrences at bay.

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I made some progress today on getting a reciprocal NM teaching license. I need to go by the district office and pick up my fingerprint/background check from last summer. Then once I have all the other documentation together, write a check for $125 and send it all in. Guess it's worth it to make sure I get rehired for next year!

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Today I worked with my second group of second graders introducing keyboarding. The first group on Tuesday I only used the file folder computers (which they get to take with them to practice on.) Today I had five old keyboards which I let them use, along with the file folder keyboards. That went much better! AL our IT person told me that I should be able to find 3 - 4 more defunct keyboards around campus to use (so nobody has to share.)

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I have my formal evaluation scheduled for next Wednesday with my 5th grade group. We'll be doing the blogs for the first time and learning a little bit more about composition (photography.) I told my principal that we'd be learning a totally new concept (the blogs) so I had no idea how it'll go. But that the kids are easy to work with - I'm not too worried. She told me that she feels like she already has a good idea of how I do my classes from dropping in time to time, so not to worry.

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I received a new statement from the credit union that has my car loan. So far I have paid $14 in interest and $386 in principal (two payments.) I have my next check set to go on Feb 11 ($850). I'd send it right now, but I want to make sure I only send one payment a month so there's no room for confusion on their part.

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In the annals of bizzarity .. last night while I was watching an episode of Life on Mars, I heard an ambulance siren outside my house, and then the sounds of a vehicle backing up and parking. I wondered where it was going, so opened my door and poked my head out. It had stopped right in front of my house!! The EMT on the passenger side got out and asked me if we'd called for an ambulance. I told her that noone at my house had called for one. She just kind of shook her head and got back in.

This morning at breakfast I had several co-workers ask me about the ambulance. When I told them what happened, one of them told me I should have asked the lady what address they were looking for. Oops. At the time I wasn't thinking like that. Oh well. I hope they did find the actual person who called for them.

**This goes along with when I had the local sheriff pull up in my driveway and tell me that there'd been a noise complaint filed on my address. ?? I'd been sitting inside at my computer for the past few hours working on the computer - no music or anything. I have the feeling that it was also the case of not having the right address.

Today on the way into town for church, my gas indicator reached the final little cell and started blinking about 12 miles from the first exit with a good gas station. I got there, and filled up for $2.95/gallon (much better than the $3.09/gallon in my mini town, but NOT better than the $2.82/gallon I saw on the road to church later!!) ~$31.xx -- first fill up in January

After church I debated whether I should hold off on my grocery shopping til Sunday, or go ahead with it. I figured all I was going to pick up was some OJ and a few treats, so not worth making a second trip.

Umm.... $90 later .... Admittedly, $34 of that figure was replacement shoes for my good dress winter shoes which were falling apart .. but still ... that's a lot of OJ and treats. (OJ, bread, bananas, granola bars, junk food, sweet potatoes, etc...) This will of course be my only grocery trip for January, other than visiting the small mom and pop place in mini town for bananas (and egg salad sandwiches when they're in stock!)

Next up was Walgreen's to get my prescription. I contemplated going inside so I could pick up a jar of Nutella (something I wanted at Walmart, but the only small jar they had had a cracked lid - nope!) However, I decided I'd got enough junky food and did not need to spend any more money on food. So ... $24 for the prescription.

Then tonight I got an email from Choice Privileges which reminded me that I needed to decide whether I was going to stay in a hotel on the 14th before heading out to Baltimore, or hoof it out the morning of the 15th. Looking at the time of my morning flight -- 10:45, and thinking about leaving the house around 6 a.m. .... and then paying $24 to park my car.. I decided to see what I could come up with for a hotel.

I found a hotel with airport shuttle service, free Wi-Fi, a very good comp. breakfast, and Park & Fly service for a total of approximately $60. I think it's the same place I've stayed at before, but it has changed its name for whatever reason. This way I'll have a good nights sleep, a good breakfast, and not have to worry about parking in a tight space in one of those shuttle lots. (Parking was a nightmare last time - I had to have someone guide me into the space .. and I have a tiny car.)

If I leave right after my last class on Thursday, I can be in ABQ by 5 at the latest, and maybe enjoy a nice dinner somewhere (esp. somewhere that can't be found in big G!)

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I almost have enough SBs for my 5th $5 AGC this month. I have met the goal now 19/19 days. My plan is to hit the goal 31/31. This will give me ample SBs to go into Feb with, esp. since for 5 days the most I'll be able to get is with the mobile SBTV app and a few search wins.

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My $10 from GymPact hit my Paypal account. I've emailed them to ask for a way to add a referral link into blog posts rather than have to post it on a person's FB wall. So far, I haven't heard back.

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All of us teachers were given notice - get our NM certification transfers started or completed ... or no new contract. Gulp. I keep procrastinating on doing this .. but must stop! I doubt the NM ed dept. will be open on Monday. I've tried to figure out if I'll still have my TX licenses in addition, or if those will be gone? I don't see why I'd lose the TX licensees ... but stranger things do happen - esp. in education.

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I am GLAD for this 3 day weekend. I know we've only been back in school for two weeks (and not even that, with a snow day and two two-hour delays ...) but I am READY for the extra time off. (Of course, I *really* need to use that time wisely - i.e. working on my electives assignments and my final project ... time is moving fast!)

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Almost forgot!

I signed up with this presentation site a month or so ago thinking I might be able to use it as part of my final project. Tonight I got an email from them saying that if I create a presentation with certain details, that I will be given a $50 AGC!!!! It has to be made by 1/23rd. It is only for new users who receive the email, so I don't know if anyone else could get the same email, but if your interested in trying ... here's the website: presentation tube net

So ... I spent a good bit of money in December. Some of it was reimbursed, some of it was money I received for birthday/Christmas which I distributed to various categories. My biggest expenses were in the grocery and fun money categories - groceries - I did a large stockup at Costco -- fun money ... some of it probably could've been categorized as vacation, but I generally use the vacation budget for actual travel expenses such as airplane/train tickets. So this was eating out, movies, a few items I've been wanting that I treated myself to which didn't fall into any particular other category ... etc.

I already allocated the $1k I received back from the dealer - but since it hasn't completely cleared yet, I haven't sent the check yet. That's why I have a sizeable balance in my car loan category.



January hopefully will be a much less spendy month. I doubt that I'll have all my tax info in yet for me to do my taxes, but I did add a little extra to my other category to cover tax fees. I'm really hoping that groceries will be significantly less than what I've budgeted, but in case it isn't ... I made the room. I doubt that I'll spend much in the fun money category in January - especially with as much eating out and movies as I've done the past few weeks. Hopefully that's mostly out of my system for awhile.
We'll see.

I got into ABQ yesterday around 10 am and then after picking up my car ($24 parking for 6 days) I headed over to Costco. On the way I filled up my tank at $2.99/gal ($30.xx).

I spent around 2 hours in Costco. I picked up kitty litter, oatmeal, Amy's soups, Lentils, toilet paper, dishwasher pacs, brownie bites (cheaper than Walmarts), hummus, vegge patties, bananas, grape leaves, various veggies, cooking spray and a pair of gloves you can wear and still use your smartphone. All told .. $172. Ouch. The money comes from a variety of accounts though - groceries, household, Kari, and fun money.

Then I headed to Walmart (right next door to Costco )At Walmart I picked up floor mats for my car, a steering wheel cover, chair back massager (on sale), a dash mount for my phone (which I think I might return because I don't think it's gonna work), hand warmer (gift for next year - on sale), vegge corn dogs, various frozen meals, bread, a baking dish, cat food, OJ, some junkfood, sparkling cider (for NYE), auxiliary cable, etc. I can't find my receipt right now (must be in car) but I think it was around $130. Again, the spending will come from various categories - Kari, Fun Money, Groceries, Gifts, Car, etc.

**The groceries I picked up should give me a pretty good stash for a couple months. So I'm hoping that I can keep my grocery spending in January and February to $50 each or less. We'll see.

I received $250 in cash for birthday/Christmas money, so I used some of that to buy some things I'd been wanting (baking dish, aux cable, floor mats, massager, etc.) I also used some of it to do some major stocking up on food goods.

Kari definitely was glad for me to be home. She pretty much has not left my side since I got back.

In the mail I had the $1k check from the car dealership, which I photo deposited this morning. It won't be available until around the 7th. Once it's available, I'll send most of it to my car loan.

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I've been thinking about the advice I received on my last couple posts. I don't think I'd feel good about moving anywhere else as long as I still have debt. Plus I really would like to stick it out with the current group. So ... I think I'm going to give myself one more school year here. It would give me 3 years of experience, put me in a debt free situation again as well as give me time to build up a moving fund, and hopefully in 18 months or so I'll be on a more even emotional footing as well.

This coming ten days (including today) my goal is to focus on cleaning and decluttering my house/laundry/dishes/cooking ahead, (2 days worth of focused time), spend 2 focused days working on electives, spend 1 focused day working on final project, 2 focused days on work/school, and 3 days of just relaxation.

Next week I need to get Kari's nails clipped (sorely overdue!!), return the outfit I didn't wear, contact BofA about dad's estate, and possibly return the dash mount device.

Today I went over to teh PO to pick up my mail since I'll be heading out as soon as I can get packed and awake in the morning.

In the mail I had a birthday card from my aunt with a nice check in it, and a birthday gift from my mom/soon to be stepdad (book from Amazon.)

Tonight we had our Christmas program, an dit went pretty well I think. I made a video of it at the request of one of our staff members - although I don't know how good it is - there were multiple times where people walked in front of me, as well as just STOOD directly in the line of sight ... plus a portion where the people standing next to me started talking loudly about homework ... Should be an interesting video.

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Yesterday we had a snow day, which was really nice. I didn't get even half of the things done that I should've (like packing ...) but I did get some schoolwork done which was good.

I also received an interesting phone call (which actually relates to a piece of mail I received today which I didn't mention earlier.) The person who sold me my car called and asked me if I remembered how much I'd written my check for and how much I'd paid on my credit card. I told him the numbers, and he told me that they matched their accounting. However, the number I was given a loan for was $1k off! (This is because both the car salesman and I thought I was only charging $2k on my credit card, but the finance lady actually made a $3k charge.)

What this means is that instead of my loan being for $4,497 like I thought, it is actually for $5,497. I hadn't actually seen the full numbers/set up *until today* when I received my first loan statement from my credit union! I'm glad I got the call first, otherwise I might have freaked out a bit.

Car guy is going to send me a check for the overage amount.

I will put $650 of it straight towards the loan, and keep the remainder to pay Bofa if I have to (dad's estate stuff ... I used some of the money I inherited from his estate for the car down payment, so I'm not really using my own money to pay for the Bofa thing if I end up really having to do so.)If I end up not having to pay Bofa, then that money will also go directly to the car loan without hitting Go.


So, that is around 3 1/2 months of payments. Which will be quite helpful in my goal of paying off the loan in 12 months or less. (36 months term total) (My tax refund as well as 3 extra paycheck months will also be quite helpful.)

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I was buying some books for the library today on Amazon (using gift card money only!!) when I found out that my cash back rewards from my car purchase had posted. It showed I have a reward of over $75 available. Sweet. Guess what I'm going to do with that money? (No, it won't be spent on books for the library ... though I admit I was severely tempted ...)

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I am not really looking forward to either the drive to ABQ tomorrow, or to the flight tomorrow night. However, I am looking forward to eating at IHOP (only in ABQ not in either G town) and doing some shopping at the Schol Warehouse. I will *not* go over $125 in books (~$50 Schol Dollars, $50 approved purchase order + $25 coupon on $100 purchase.)

I'm also thinking that I might spend a little bit of my birthday money at Wal-mart and pick up floor mats for my car, and maybe one of those chair back massager units before they're stored away for another year. Something practical and something luxurious. Perfect combo I think.

So this morning I received two phone calls - one at 6 a.m. and one at 7:15 a.m. The first one confirmed what I already suspected - a two-hour delay. The second surprised me with -- Snow Day! Looking outside I saw maybe two inches at the most of snow on the ground - even though the forecast was calling for snow throughout the day.

I debated for a few minutes whether I should use this as an opportunity to sleep in a bit and do some housework/school work, or get all the stuff done that I was going to attempt to do after sunset tomorrow. It wasn't a difficult choice - especially when a co-worker agreed to go with me.

We started off by making our first foray ever into the local mall. I was actually quite surprised by the variety of shops in the mall. We checked both JCP and Beall's for an appropriate dress (royal blue for mom's wedding) and found absolutely nothing. Before leaving the mall though, I checked around to see if someone could put a new battery in my dad's train watch for me. The jeweler at JCP did it - $10.xx So now I have a working watch again.

My co-worker reminded me of the Cato's near Wal-Mart, so we went there to see what we could find. No dresses, but did find a very pretty blouse/tank combo and skirt in something pretty close to royal blue. $58.xx I sent a picture of it to my mom, and she liked it. I plan to look for alternatives when I get to ABQ next Friday, but at least I have something on hand in case nothing turns up there. (If I do find something, then I can return this outfit here.)

Next we went to the bowling alley. My friend had never been bowling before. I love to bowl, but am not very good at it. Unfortunately, the bowling alley was not open.

So we decided to go eat lunch. This was my first time eating at a sit down restaurant since this past summer, so that was very nice. I got a veggie burger w/swiss cheese and mushrooms, sweet potato fries, and a slice of cheesecake. Mmmm mmmm! The waitress put my friend and I's bills together for whatever reason - my friend already gave me $7 towards it, and will give me another $5 on Monday. Our total bill was $32.xx + a $5.67 tip. (I didn't ask my friend to pay tax or tip.) (This came out of my Fun Money budget and is my pre-birthday treat to myself.)

Next we headed to Wal-mart. My friend did her shopping for her students Christmas presents (using money donated for that purpose) and I did my grocery shopping. My first real grocery shop for December. I bought a few special things to celebrate my real birthday tomorrow. Sparkling grape juice and Russel's French Chocolate Mints. The total was around $40 - but included cat litter which had a $1.50 coupon on it. I need to crunch the numbers to figure out what the actual grocery cost was.

On the way back we saw gas for $2.98/gallon. I had filled up on Wednesday for $3.19/gallon. If I'd realized the huge price difference, I would have only gotten a couple gallons. Oh well.

We were planning on doing our walk tonight after getting everything put away, but the wind had gotten super bitter cold. So I'm hoping that tomorrow will be MUCH warmer. If not, I'll still have to walk in it in order to complete my pact for the week.

One thing I did not get taken care of today due to being out all day was calling my car loan credit union to figure out how to set up an account. I guess I will have to try them in the morning. (If they're open.)

When I checked my mail I had an envelope from my grandma - forwarding a piece of my dad's mail. I was kind of surprised I didn't have any birthday cards. When I saw the one from my grandma, that's what I thought it was. I think part of me was kind of expecting to see one from my dad... even though I *know* that won't happen.

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Throughout the day I kept getting alerts on my phone telling me the latest updates on the school shootings. I usually have my volume off, but had it turned on last night so I could hear when the phone rang for bad weather news. It just got worse and worse as the day wore on.

My heart is so heavy for the families who lost their little ones today, and for the families who lost a brother, sister, mother, father ... It is just totally senseless.

Today I filled my car up with gas for the second time since I bought it over Thanksgiving break. It was a little bit over 10 gallons and cost about $32. When I entered the information into gas Cubby I found out that my MPG was a bit over 33! Of coarse, when I told this to our nurse here she told me "You're going to cry. My car I regularly get 50+ miles per gallon." Oh well, I'm still very happy with my car.

I had to stop and buy some bananas again tonight. But I managed to get out of the small mom and pop store with only spending $3.86. So not as bad as it could've been.

I got my license plate in the mail today. So now I guess I have to go and find some bolts so that I can put the license plate on my car. The school nurse suggested I go to Napa and ask them if they have bolts. So I may just ask them if they'll put them on for me.

I still have not received my final account number for my credit union account where my car loan is. And I need that so I can set my account yet so I can make my first car payment ! I must give them a call tomorrow and figure out what's going on. I really don't want to have to worry about this when I go on vacation.

I'm doing really well was spending this month. I guess I needed the motivation of a real car loan to get me to finally stop doing all the extraneous spending. I just hope that I can keep up with that motivation.

So Wednesday I chose the books I wanted out of the two boxes of librarian candy that came shortly before Thanksgiving break and added them to our collection. 28 books for approximately $500. Gulp.

I showed my 5th graders the stack of books and told them that they cost about $500 and that the money for them came from the book fair. They were duly impressed. The main books that were competed for (had to choose numbers between 1 and 25) were the two cookbooks, the origami books, and the drawing books.

I think I've done my duty adding to our non-fiction collection and updating the average age for this year. With the bit of money left I'm going to work on adding more graphic novels (which the kids *really* go for) and other good fiction. I still will add more non-fiction as kids or teachers express interest - just won't be so focused on it.

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Yesterday I was showing my second grade group how to do various things in PowerPoint. I was using the Smartboard (touchscreen) to show them how to do different things. At one point as I was looking around the room to see if the kids were following/understanding, I noticed one of the new boys touching his screen in the same spot he was supposed to click. I quietly went over and told him that they didn't have touchscreens, but that he had to use the mouse. It was just so cute and sweet.

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Yesterday and today most of the staff at our school worked on setting up for the Christmas Dinner. Today we had teacher inservice in the morning (which included a presentation on suicide prevention - white youth led in % of attempted/completed suicide per year, while Native American youth came in a close second! Sad.) The afternoon was working on setup. In Santa's workshop we have 3 huge boxes full of beanie babies. It was really cute/funny - one of the beanie babies had a sign "Prom of 1988" or something like that. The 5th grade teacher assistant jokingly asked the 5th grade teacher when his prom was - and then when he saw the year, he said that he hadn't even been born then! Yikes, that sure made me feel old! (It was funny how into beanie babies two of the teachers seemed to be - they were making a game out of seeing how many of them they could correctly name - and were getting LOTS right.)

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So, it looks like I might be making a trip out to the D.C. area President's Day weekend. All expenses paid. It is for the Ameri Corp program. Since this is my second year in the program, it is also my last chance to go. I wasn't planning on going due to my class I'm taking, but my principal talked to me today and sounded like she *really* wanted me to go. She told me that she thought I'd "be a really good representative for our school." So, I guess I'm going - will just have to make sure to find time to work on my class work while I'm there!

I also will have to see if a good friend of mine from high-school who lives near there can come see me. I haven't seen her since ... 1994? Yikes.

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I'll also have an overnight trip into ABQ in March for that same seminar on good children's books I went to last year (only for 2013 books.) That will also be all expenses paid.

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I talked to my mom tonight and it sounds like I'm going to have some crazy days when I get to TX. For the wedding I'll be getting a mani/pedi, haircut/highlights and my makeup done. (I don't even own hardly any makeup anymore since I rarely wear lipstick and even more rarely mascara ... so for formal pics, I guess I should go for having my makeup done.) Then Saturday late afternoon my soon to be stepdad is taking me and the other out of town guests out to Olive Garden. (Yum!!!) Sunday will be the whirlwind of getting ready for the wedding. Then Monday I'll be taking one of the guests to the airport and returning a bunch of rentals ... and hopefully have time to work on classwork (if I can get an extended deadline for the previous week's work.)

I'm thinking of going to ABQ as soon as the Christmas program is over and staying in a hotel -- that would get me in to ABQ around 9:30 p.m. Then the next morning I would need to find my dress and if time, stop at the Schol Book Warehouse (Winter Sale - have about $60 in Schol dollars to spend.) That way I'd also be able to park my car at the hotel while I'm in TX for just $15. If I can't find a suitable dress here in big G next weekend, then I'll probably have to go this route. If I can, then I'll just go in the morning and hit the warehouse sale before my flight. (and then also need to check to see if I could still park my car at that hotel ...)

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I stopped by the local mom and pop store this afternoon to pick up bananas and bread. If it was just bananas I needed, I would have made myself wait. But I needed bread to make my lunches for the next week ... I managed to get out for less than $15! I bought bananas, bread, two brownie mixes, 3 orange juice bottles (the 15oz kind - biggest they have), and a few other junky food stuff which will count towards my fun money. They didn't have egg salad sandwiches, otherwise I would have spent a good bit more.

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I finally got the paperwork from the place that owns my car loan today. In it, it says that you can have a deductible of $1k on comprehensive/collision. So I called my car insurance and changed my deductibles, thus saving me $30/6 months. I have to wait for the letter with my customer number before I can set up my online account with the credit union. I understand why they do it that way, but it is annoying. (I wanted to get it done and setup!!)

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It's supposed to get really chilly here the next couple nights ... lows of 5 degrees or less. Brrr!!! But no snow in the forecast for the near future.

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I finally watched my training video for the evaluating breakout session proposals this afternoon. It isn't too hard, and I'm looking forward to seeing what topics might possibly be included at the 2013 librarian conference.

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I received a $5 AGC from Swagbucks yesterday. So right now have about $60. I'm really going to try not to spend it for awhile. We have lots of new books in the library, so the money can just rest for awhile.

So ... November was a spendy month. The largest expense of course was the purchase of my new to me car + associated expenses. (Car, extra gas expenses, Carfax purchases, and $8 of Fun Money towards treating friend to drink during road trip)

Although the groceries did end up going over the $100 goal mark, it was definitely MUCH better. I think in December I will be able to stay well *under* the goal mark.

Tithe and Offering were higher this month due to a 3rd paycheck, although I did take a portion of that back towards gas money due to taking care of the pastor's dogs. (Although considering that they lent me their car during that time period ... I'm not sure whether I should give that back or not. I did overfill their gas before returning their car (had just at 1/2 gallon when I got it - returned it with a bit more than 1/2 gallon.)

This month due to the car purchase, I had a negative savings rate. But that will change in December.

I had several sources of extra income this month. Sold my Honda - $200, 2 $5 AGCs from Swagbucks, 1 $5 AGC from Irazoo, $50 AGC from MyPoints, $30 babysitting money, $44.46 from Credit Card Rewards. Probably a few things I'm forgetting too.


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I upped my Fun Money spending amount for December due to my birthday coming up and not knowing what I'll need while back in TX over the holidays. (What with my mom getting married and all.)

You might notice that some categories have red balances in them. For all but one of them I just had the amount withdrawn from the available to budget amount for December, and one (Fun Money) I had subtracted from that category balance.

I did some major playing around with the numbers to find the extra $1000 I ended up putting down on my car that I hadn't meant to do. But, I was able to make it work AND still pay a $200 first payment (whenever I get the payment info set up!)

I've agreed to be an usherette at my mom's wedding which means I have to buy a new dress in the color of the bridesmaids dresses. Luckily it's a color I like, but I'm really not sure when or where I'll be able to find one!! (She has said she'll pay for it for me - but it's still a matter of finding one!)

A few months ago I opened up a new Citi card in order to take advantage of the Netflix free for a year promo. This made it so I had two Citi cards (I'd opened the first one a few years ago while in graduate school for some offer I can't remember now.)

So in an effort to reduce the number of open credit cards, I decided that I should go ahead and close that one. (Especially since I signed up for a PenFed credit card last night .... 5% gas.)

When I called about transferring my Thank You points to my new card and closing the old one, I was told that the points could not be transferred. So I had enough points for a $5 Starbucks card which did not excite me at all ... so the customer service agent added enough points for me to get a $10 gift card - Amazon unfortunately wasn't one of the choices, so I got a Macy's card which I'll probably give to my mom.

After that was taken care of, I was sent to the account specialist. I explained that I wanted to close my card and just stay with my new one. Short story -- I was offered 3,000 TYpoints if I spend $300 in the next 3 months. $300 in 3 months is something I could do - even if I take gas and groceries out of the equation. Maybe pay my car insurance and some other things that don't qualify for any of the 2 pts or 5% deals.

Now I guess I'll have to actually put the card back in my wallet!

So last night I was taking a look at all my CCs and bank balances as I updated YNAB 4 when I noticed a pending charge on my Discover Card ...

I was expecting a $2k pending charge for the car, but it showed $3k!! What?

I looked through my purse and found my receipt from the auto dealership, and sure enough, it was for $3k, not 2k. After realizing this, I checked the numbers and realized that neither I nor the co-owner/salesman had noticed this during the transaction. The car loan is for the correct amount (I double checked!)

I'd been told that they could only take up to $2k on a credit card, so I based my check amount + cash amount off of a total down payment of $6k - 2k on the card.

Now though, it appears my total down payment was $7k! It's okay, I can manage to scrounge up that extra $1k before the CC bill hits, I'm just having to do a bit of whack a mole (emptying out various rainy day funds) to do so.

So my gift fund is zeroed out. I took 50% of my medical fund (enough left for my monthly prescription next month.) I hit up Kari's fund (her shots can wait til January ..) I reduced my next Roth contribution to the minimum, and eliminated my EF contribution for December. I also decided to reduce my first payment from $200 to $160, and took money from a couple other rainy funds.. All that plus cleaning out the last little bit of money in the source I didn't want to touch, will pay off the entire $3k on the CC. Whooh! I still have a small EF so if anything were to happen, I'd still be ok.

(I was thinking I might have to dip a bit into my ROTH to do this, but thankfully was able to do it without dipping into anything already put in to it!)

I guess I should have double checked the numbers!!

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In an effort to rebuild my cash reserves as fast as possible ... anyone think that I could get $75 for my Asus EE PC netbook? I bought it for $300 in 2008 I think. It still works perfectly, just the software is kind of out of date. (It would include a carrying case, mini mouse, and protective sleeve.) Or would that be way more than what it's worth now? (There isn't a Craigslist for our area .. not unless the person was willing to drive 50+ miles to meet me halfway somewhere ...)

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Btw - drove my car to church yesterday. LOVE IT!

Yep, although my preference on a Black Friday is to be snug and warm at home, today I braved the shopping frenzy and headed out to the big ABQ.

My co-worker NC and I left shortly after 8 and arrived at our destination a bit after 10.


What was our destination?


A car dealership!

Yep, I bought a car today. Gulp.

I test drove and looked at two - a 2011 Nissan Versa ($10,900, 35k miles) and a 2010 Toyota Yaris (47k miles, same price.)

When it came down to it, I managed to force myself to ask - 10,500 including tax, license, etc? When told nope - not even 10,900 including those ... my friend and I actually walked off the property. Nobody followed us or tried to stop us.

We went to a Jack in the Box a few streets down and had a drink. 30 minutes later we went back, and I bought the .... Yaris!

The big differences between it and the Versa: power windows, power locks, keyless entry, nicer radio/stereo, more get up and go, and THE most important of all ... it is Blue!

I put down $6,000. $2k on my credit card (offering 2% cash back for Black Friday spending), $285 cash (from sale of Honda, babysitting money, etc.), and the rest in a check.

The remainder is being financed at 1.99% for 36 months with no early payment penalties. After signing the paperwork, the co-owner/salesman said that it was the lowest finance charge he'd ever seen ($170 something.) I told him that I don't plan on paying most of it (the finance charge.)

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So now that I have replaced my car, I need to do three things:

1. Pay back the loan
2. Save money for car repairs/next car
3. Get aggressive with saving for EF

My monthly payment is $154 something. I plan to pay $200/month on normal months. Months where I have a big boost in income (3 paychecks, tax refund) half that big boost will go towards the loan. I think I should have it paid off in 18 months or less.

I plan on putting the next $100/mo in the car repair/replace fund. This is a 3 year old car. I have to be ready and prepared for any maintenance items that might come along sooner than later.

The remainder of my savings quotient will go towards the EF, as well as 1/2 of any big income boost months.

This is the plan until I have the loan paid off. After that, I have an idea of what my plan will be.

This morning I woke up to the first snow of the season. It is still snowing right now - I expect we'll have 4 inches or so by the time it's done.

I went to big G yesterday afternoon to do my grocery shopping. The store (Walmart) was really crowded - I expect partly due to the impending storm, as well as possibly getting ready for Thanksgiving. One thing I don't mind about stores putting out holiday stuff early ... Terry's Chocolate Oranges! Yahoo! I treated myself to one.

After spending nearly $60 on grocery only stuff yesterday, I think I've decided that a budget of $100/month just is not going to cut it. It is just stressing me out to have that budget and then not meet it. So, I think I'm going to make it $175/mo and then try to keep it well below that. If I do, then it'll go to savings. If not, then no big deal.

I bought some de-icer yesterday at Walmart. If I wanted to go anywhere today, I could test it out and see if it really works. One of my co-workers swears by it. I'll wait til I really *have* to go somewhere though.

The storm hitting the West Coast is called Brutus. I texted my brother about it, and he laughed. Why? Our family had two dogs named Brutus - Brutus 1 and Brutus 2. Both of them were really great dogs.

I am glad for this long weekend. This past week at work wasn't a bad one, it just felt *really* long. I had a surprise visit by my principal on Tuesday morning when I had my 7th grade boys. Thankfully they were on good behavior! This was the initial observation visit. The next official one will be arranged. I plan on asking for her to come observe me with the 4th grade girls. She'll see plenty of interaction with that group.

We had several different groups of donors come by the school this week, dropping off boxes of donated books. It kept my assistant busy going through the boxes and seeing which ones were worth keeping. One of the donors asked me what books I would really like, and I told him *current* non-fiction. In the boxes of books there were two non-fiction books - one from 1958! and one from 1988. Ummmmm....

I want to let you know about a great tv show I ran across this past week on Netflix streaming. Warning - it is very saccharine and heartfelt - may be nauseating to some. 18 to Life - about two 18 year old next door neighbor kids who get married. There are only 24 episodes (2 seasons) but every 24 minute episode left me with a smile at the end.

My big bad spending categories - groceries and "Fun Money" i.e. eating out. Can't believe I spent this much on food this month. Maybe $30 of it was for the book fair treats, cupcakes for Halloween Festival, and candy for trick or treating .. the rest .. no justification. It's like I see that I'm trying to keep under $100 in groceries and my inner self goes NO WAY.

I have about $60 in cash right now, and will be getting another $30 or so tonight from a babysitting job. I'm going to use that money this month for cash. 2% back on my card isn't worth spending 2x my budget. Maybe I can actually keep in budget this month. (I will say that most of the groceries from my last shopping trip will keep me for a good week or more from now. Still though~!)

(Professional spending was also up there - that included books I bought at the bookfair, the iPad cover, and some books I bought on Amazon for the library.)

The bright side is that even with the overspending in some categories, I was still able to send $286 to my car savings account (about 22% of my net income.)

I would have made it with just one fill up if I hadn't had to run into big G on Tuesday to return some videos to the G-M District Library. They HAD to have them back to send out Wednesday morning. When I got to big G, I was running on fumes, so had to get gas and decided to just fill up ($3.45/gall) because it was a pretty good price comparatively.



In November I will get 3 paychecks. I budgeted the one I got on Thursday for November, and the other two will be for December. I was thinking about making a trip to ABQ during Thanksgiving break, but I think I won't do that. I will probably do a movie and go out to eat during that week though, but I do have fun money available for it.

I need to buy textbooks for my 3 electives, so I will have to take that out of the $1000 I have budgeted towards my car replacement category. Hopefully they won't cost too much, and hopefully I'll eventually be able to sell them again for close to the amount I pay. Then those funds would go back into the car category.

**I know I said I didn't want to talk about October's spending ... but I decided I needed to post it publicly. Otherwise I haven't really acknowledged the problem.

*I can't remember if I mentioned it or not. But I decided to cancel Ting for now. I just could not deal with the Android after having an iPhone for over 3 years. If they ever support the iPhone, then I'll be more than happy to switch over. Until then, I guess I'll pay the premium to keep my same plan. (I have looked and looked to see if there is anything else out there that would be cheaper AND assure me of not getting cut off if one month I use more data than usual. I've not seen anything in my area which gives me enough assurance to quit my grandfathered unlimited plan.)

Monday at school went relatively well for a Monday. Even the group I have to pump myself up about (PMA PMA PMA!) was pretty manageable.

Then I got home and found out that the new module for my online course had opened up. Oy vey! There are probably a good 5 hours worth of articles we have to read and respond/reflect on, plus the ever so dreaded group project. The group project requires FOUR members - there is a total of SIX students. Yeah, um... how's that gonna work??

Not to mention that the completed project is due by Saturday night, and we are just now forming groups... This IS NOT how I like to work. Not at all.

Give me all my assignments for the class and the due dates. Then I can work on them at my own pace when I have the most junkets of time. Not like this!

Yesterday I had tons of time in which I could've completed all the readings and the reflections. But since I had no access to them nor any idea what they were, I instead spent a lot of time watching "Make It or Break It" on Hulu (free version.)

The really "good" news is that from what I can tell, there are a lot of group projects throughout the course. Oh joy.

I have all the articles open in another window, but just getting through the "interactive text" put my brain to mush after a long day. So, I'll read the articles tomorrow. I really hope this isn't going to be as bad as I think it is....

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I stopped and got a sub tonight. My first one since August. The lady there remembered me and my sandwich. $5.33 (footlong - two meals)

Saturday night I managed to snag another AGC from Swagbucks - by using my Android phone to "watch" videos while reading MMM blogs.

I just logged into my Citi Forward account and saw that I had been charged for Netflix for October, and on the same day received a refund. So, net total of $0.00. I did not make any other charges.

So, it looks like I'll be having Netflix for the next 12 months free and clear.

Overall I didn't do too badly in September. I did not curb the eating out too much, except for not getting any Blimpie subs - instead I only got egg salad sandwiches, which I can get a sandwich, chips and drink for the same cost as a foot long sub. So ...

I bought a plane ticket home for Christmas, which I was refunded by soon to be stepdad. I wish I could've waited til October to buy it, because then there'd be the 5% back deal on Chase ... but it may have cost more by then too. Who knows.

In the medical category I had two fillings and my regular subscription.

In technology I bought a phone to try out the Ting service here (using a $25 discount from Lucky Robin )

I earned two $5 AGCs from Swagbucks, as well as $30 doing a babysitting job.

I upped my ROTH contribution to $200 this month, and still was able to put 41% of my income into my car replacement fund. So those two combined equal approximately a 47% savings rate. Not bad, but I'd like it to be higher.

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Going into October .. I am going into it with the mindset of keeping my grocery budget to $100 or less, and also keeping my gas/fuel to less than $50. In September I did manage to lower my food/grocery spending slightly (a good bit actually, considering I included my egg salad stops in it and not in fun money ...) So, I think I may be able to do it.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to cancel my cell phone plan by the end of October - so it wouldn't be a savings this month, but it would be a definite savings by November!! (which of course will go towards the car fund!)

I'm really hoping to get on the ball and get some books listed on half.com or perhaps Amazon and see if I can get anything for them. (books I bought with my money for the library/summer school which ended up not being used, so in brand new condition - multiple copies...)

So anyway ... onwards to October!

So ... I ended up not going anywhere at all yesterday and spent most of the day reading Mr. Money Mustache. I barely got through two months worth of blog entries/comments. Yikes.

I've mentioned previously that some of what I've read there has gotten me to do some hard thinking. My reading yesterday just increased the hard thinking triply.

I've been pondering the possibility of riding my bike to big G for grocery/errand trips. It's 35+ miles one-way, and the majority of that distance is a major freeway with very few exits and little population - but LOTS of semi-trucks. It is definitely not something I'm physically capable of doing right now - it is something I would need to work up to doing.

So ... what can I do in the meantime? Try to limit my car trips into town. I've already been trying to do that, but I think I may be able to do even better. I think I will start going to church purposefully only 3 x a month. That would eliminate 1 - 2 trips. Then I think I will also talk to the other staff here and see if any of them are interested in doing a rotating carpool to town for grocery shopping 2x a month. I would then limit my grocery shopping to those trips. Depending on how many people I can get to do this - it would mean that I might only drive my car 1x every other month for a shopping trip.

Also, I need to check into getting my monthly prescription through mail-order. That would eliminate my Wal-greens stop, and possibly save a few dollars on the prescription.

All of the above I think would make it possible for me to only fill up my gas 1x a month. Some months I'm already able to come pretty close to that - but if I reduce my driving, I definitely will.

Also, I think I'm going to ask the 8th grade homeroom teacher who is really into biking to teach me the basic maintenance/care of my bike and how to shift gears properly. Then I may start riding my bike to school and back each day. The school is less than a mile from my house, so I could technically walk it easily - but there are a lot of stray/loose dogs - I'd feel safer (somewhat) on a bike.

*I'm really debating on the above though - I don't have a raincoat or rain pants, so if it was raining I'd be a mess by the time I got to school. I could just do it on days when it is not raining or wet/muddy out. Of course that eliminates a lot of days ..

My grocery category .. although I have managed to reduce it from where it was most of last year, it is still way too high. Part of the problem is that I'm still buying convenience type items, as well as buying things that I think I should buy, but end up going to rot. By reducing my grocery budget to $100/mo (from it's current $160) as well as reducing my Fun Money budget to $20 (from $40), and then putting that money directly into my Car Replacement fund, it grows exponentially faster.

My first step towards reducing the grocery budget is that I'm going to eat ONLY what I already have in the house for the remainder of September. No stops for Blimpies or for egg salad sandwiches at the local grocers/gas station. No more soda. I have lots of food in my pantry and freezer - it's just not food that is easy peasy heat and eat - which is why it has sat in the freezer/pantry.

My second step will be getting my slow cooker cleaned up and making sure it is still in good working condition. (If you remember, it was on the floor of my storage unit in TX which got partially flooded.)
If I'm able to get that working, then I will be able to use it to cook up a big batch of pinto beans - and make up a bunch of burritos to freeze, and also make refried beans - which I could use on my salads/lunch.
If I can't get it to work, then I do have a pressure cooker you can use in the microwave - so I would need to figure out how to use that.

I think sticking with canned or frozen veggies for the most part is most cost effective for me. The salad bar at school has started to have spinach as well as lettuce - so as long as that holds true, I have no need to purchase my own salad greens.

I need to make sure I take a copy of the breakfast/lunch menu for each month home with me so I can see what free foods from there I can make work for me.
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I'm reducing my fun money to an amount where I can still go to a movie/out to eat once a month, if I really want to. Or I can use it for something else I might really want.
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By reducing my grocery, auto fuel, and fun money categories, I will have an approximate 55% net savings of my income. In the savings categories of course is Car Replacement, ROTH, Vacation, and EF. The largest percentage going to Car Replacement right now.

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Taxes

The stock fund which I have a sizable amount of in a non-tax sheltered account has again swung near the point it was on June 6. I am thinking that I would like to set a sell option if it reaches $.50 less than that price point - enough to get $3,000. Then I would put that money in my brokerage IRA account, and when the price point reached $.25 less than my selling point, I would purchase as much as I could. (With the way this stock has been going up and down within a few dollars, I think it is highly likely this could happen.)

If I understand how this all works correctly ...
a. I would be able to claim a capital gains loss of $.50/per stock from my initial sale.

b. Then, because I place $3,000 into a brokerage/traditional IRA account, I would get a portion of that back in taxes.

c. Plus, since my income is well below the level for receiving a tax savers credit for contributing to any IRA fund, I would get a portion of the money contributed to both my ROTH and Traditional back as a refund.

Or, would b and c be essentially the same thing? I'm just remembering what happened in 1998 when I put $2k in a Traditional IRA (a bank CD really, but I didn't know what I was doing back then ...) I got a refund of $500 *just* from that. My income that year was quite a bit higher as well.

I don't plan on *really* selling any of the stocks I own right now anytime soon, but I'm just thinking that I should take advantage of selling some at a small loss and moving them into a tax-sheltered vehicle - which will at the same time help me to actually have my IRA fully funded this year.

Does this all make sense, or am I missing something really big? (The taxable stock account is an inherited account if that makes any difference. This is also why I want to repurchase the same stock with the funds - to keep the money invested the same way, but just moved into a place that is more tax advantaged.)

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I earned another $5 AGC from SBs yesterday. That makes 2 for September.

This afternoon I went to the dentist for my second of two fillings. It went quickly, and when I went up front to pay, I got a nice surprise. I was fully expecting to pay upwards of $90. I was charged only $35! When I asked about it, I was told that I actually had a credit from my first filling. So .. I guess the new dental plan (which our school switched to this year) is pretty good for fillings.

I moved the extra money from my Medical category to groceries and to car repayment. After the dentist, I went grocery shopping - I spent $38.xx. Some of what I got was stocking up type things - such as 3 cartons of Rice Dream (Enriched), which my other Walmart in big G had been completely out of last week - and 2 boxes of my after school snack granola bars, which for whatever odd reason were $.25 cheaper in small G's Walmart. I forgot to get more hummus (which I've been using in my salads this week - makes salad SO much more palatable!) and orange juice. I'm going to try to make what I have just last til next Friday.

I also did my first fill-up today for September - $3.65/gallon - total of $32.88 (not a full tank's worth ~8 gallons.)

I signed up for the Citi Forward Netflix deal. I had planned on cancelling Netflix at the end of September because I didn't think I'd use it enough to justify the expense in the next 6 months. But if I am getting it essentially for free ... well then it sure will be nice to still have available for when I need a break from studying. Plus, once my course is finished, it will equal roughly $51 extra to my savings (6 months @ $8.53.) Every little bit helps. (I noticed that their 5% rewards are geared towards restaurants - since I don't eat out very often, that probably won't be much use for me.)

**I just have to make sure I don't start ANY tv series on Netflix until my course is over. Movies are a one-time thing, tv series I have this obsessive need to watch episode after episode to see *everything* in as short a time as possible ...)

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When I decided to *not* upgrade my iPhone 3GS, I moved the majority of the tech fund money to my car replacement fund. (I left enough to get a good case/cover for the iPad.) I also decided to up my ROTH savings to $200/mo, and reduce my Fun Money fund to $20/mo (for most months, except my birthday month. )

I also realized today that even though my ed award money (which is paying for my 6 month course/iPad) is taxable income, I *may* qualify for the Hope tax credit (I think that's the one.) So .. it may not be such a big bite after all.

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Ok, off to watch more episodes of Ocean Girl. (about 6 left I think)

After posting in one of the retirement savings threads on the forum, it got me rethinking some things.

There aren't a lot of ways I can cut back on expenses, but I think there are some things I can do to cut back a little as well as help myself if for some reason I become unemployed again.

So .... I think I have decided to stick with my current phone and not upgrade. I had found a good case for the 4S on amazon for $6, so the total cost of upgrading would be $106. However, that would lock me in to a new two-year contract. That's not something that would bother me generally, but with the iffy situation here with the sewer system ... as much as I'd absolutely HATE to do it, I probably should keep the option open of downgrading from my current phone plan to a prepaid plan. (I'm not sure that a prepaid would really save me all that much, but even $20/mo if I have no income coming in would be better than nothing.)

If my current phone really starts acting up on me, then I might look into seeing about buying an unlocked phone from Ebay, etc., or ... see if my brother would sell me his phone (he has to wait til March to upgrade.) Either way, I'd still not have to get locked into a new contract, so if the worst happens, I could downgrade my plan.

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I've also decided that I'm NOT going to pay for Hulu +. I waste enough time as it is with Netflix streaming, and the one main show I'd like to watch on Hulu (DWTS) will be available for free at some point. I just will have to be patient. Also, once I start the 6 month program, I'll probably go ahead and cancel Netflix until the program is over at least. My free time will be focused on classes and stuff for school/work.

---

I was thinking about selling enough of the stocks I have in the taxable account to finish out maxing my IRA (traditional, so I could rebuy the same stock, only in the non-taxable for now account) for this year, and then saving what I'd normally put in to add next year. This was of course when the particular stock was down nearly $3 below what it was June 6 (when my dad died.) So it would have been a capital loss (which would have netted me some extra tax refund money, which could have also been put back into Roth/Trad IRA's next year ...) But I waited too long to do more than think about doing this. If I sold now, it would be a small capital gain instead.
(If I even know what I'm talking about here ...)

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Today was very cold. When I finally got up around 10:30 a.m. it was 39 degrees out. It warmed up some by the afternoon, but not much. I have the feeling that I'll be putting my sandals away very soon, and we'll have our first frost, if not first snow shortly.

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Looking on Amazon for iPhone/iPad stuff is very very dangerous. I found a $40 case/stand which I think will be quite good for the iPad (which I'm getting with the 6 month course) especially since I'm planning on letting the students in the library use it (for educational purposes of course!) I also found an awesome portable projector unit which can be used with either iPhone or iPad ...droollllll.... ($200) It would be so nice to have a way to do presentations without *having* to be in the computer lab ... Like I said, dangerous surfing.

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Today is my grandma's 91st birthday. She and her daughter are in Hawaii (they got there on Thursday and will stay for two weeks - staying at a timeshare unit owned by one of her sons and his wife.) I talked with her today and she sounded like she was having a good time - lots of walking.

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I really need to work on cutting my grocery costs. That could be one area that I could use to add more to my savings (for new to me car.) Spending $55 on Friday was really ridiculous - unless I can make it two weeks (other than fruit ...) And of course if I actually *use* everything I bought *before* it goes bad. (I bought fresh asparagus, humus, spinach mix, bag of pre-cut butternut squash ... have a history of fresh asparagus rotting before being used --- quick easy ways to prepare would be great...) It of course didn't help that the store brand OJ was all out, so I had to go with the name brand (extra $1.25.)

Buying frozen fruit is also quite expensive ... but with only the freezer above my fridge, I don't know that I could freeze enough fruit in season to really offset the amount of frozen fruit I'd want for smoothies.... Maybe I should look into getting a smallish free standing freezer?

--
I need to get pro-active about listing some books on Ebay (maybe half.com??) to see if I can get back any of the money I spent this past summer on books for summer school. Most of them were not even used ... Some of the teacher resource books might sell too .. eventually.

Tomorrow I need to make sure I have everything lined up for the coming week at school, and then maybe get myself to do some much needed housework - possibly even make a casserole or something.

Btw - I've asked this before (and googled it as well) but ... if I cook 4 or 5 sweet potatoes in foil in the oven, what/how can I do to keep them good over a period of 4 or 5 days?? I've heard that bacteria grows fast in wrapped cooked potatoes - but that there is a way to prevent it - just haven't been able to figure out what that is yet. Any suggestions??

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Since I rode with people yesterday, and ended up skipping church today, I am probably going to end up with excess gas budget money this month. I'll put the first $20 of it back to tithe (since I took it out of tithe to cover my extra gas from last month for taking care of pastor's dog/cat) and then whatever's left will need to go to the medical category (to help cover the second filling I'll be getting on Thursday.)

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Ok, enough rambling about .. better go hit some zzzz's.

After posting in one of the retirement savings threads on the forum, it got me rethinking some things.

There aren't a lot of ways I can cut back on expenses, but I think there are some things I can do to cut back a little as well as help myself if for some reason I become unemployed again.

So .... I think I have decided to stick with my current phone and not upgrade. I had found a good case for the 4S on amazon for $6, so the total cost of upgrading would be $106. However, that would lock me in to a new two-year contract. That's not something that would bother me generally, but with the iffy situation here with the sewer system ... as much as I'd absolutely HATE to do it, I probably should keep the option open of downgrading from my current phone plan to a prepaid plan. (I'm not sure that a prepaid would really save me all that much, but even $20/mo if I have no income coming in would be better than nothing.)

If my current phone really starts acting up on me, then I might look into seeing about buying an unlocked phone from Ebay, etc., or ... see if my brother would sell me his phone (he has to wait til March to upgrade.) Either way, I'd still not have to get locked into a new contract, so if the worst happens, I could downgrade my plan.

----
I've also decided that I'm NOT going to pay for Hulu +. I waste enough time as it is with Netflix streaming, and the one main show I'd like to watch on Hulu (DWTS) will be available for free at some point. I just will have to be patient. Also, once I start the 6 month program, I'll probably go ahead and cancel Netflix until the program is over at least. My free time will be focused on classes and stuff for school/work.

---

I was thinking about selling enough of the stocks I have in the taxable account to finish out maxing my IRA (traditional, so I could rebuy the same stock, only in the non-taxable for now account) for this year, and then saving what I'd normally put in to add next year. This was of course when the particular stock was down nearly $3 below what it was June 6 (when my dad died.) So it would have been a capital loss (which would have netted me some extra tax refund money, which could have also been put back into Roth/Trad IRA's next year ...) But I waited too long to do more than think about doing this. If I sold now, it would be a small capital gain instead.
(If I even know what I'm talking about here ...)

--
Today was very cold. When I finally got up around 10:30 a.m. it was 39 degrees out. It warmed up some by the afternoon, but not much. I have the feeling that I'll be putting my sandals away very soon, and we'll have our first frost, if not first snow shortly.

---
Looking on Amazon for iPhone/iPad stuff is very very dangerous. I found a $40 case/stand which I think will be quite good for the iPad (which I'm getting with the 6 month course) especially since I'm planning on letting the students in the library use it (for educational purposes of course!) I also found an awesome portable projector unit which can be used with either iPhone or iPad ...droollllll.... ($200) It would be so nice to have a way to do presentations without *having* to be in the computer lab ... Like I said, dangerous surfing.

---
Today is my grandma's 91st birthday. She and her daughter are in Hawaii (they got there on Thursday and will stay for two weeks - staying at a timeshare unit owned by one of her sons and his wife.) I talked with her today and she sounded like she was having a good time - lots of walking.

---
I really need to work on cutting my grocery costs. That could be one area that I could use to add more to my savings (for new to me car.) Spending $55 on Friday was really ridiculous - unless I can make it two weeks (other than fruit ...) And of course if I actually *use* everything I bought *before* it goes bad. (I bought fresh asparagus, humus, spinach mix, bag of pre-cut butternut squash ... have a history of fresh asparagus rotting before being used --- quick easy ways to prepare would be great...) It of course didn't help that the store brand OJ was all out, so I had to go with the name brand (extra $1.25.)

Buying frozen fruit is also quite expensive ... but with only the freezer above my fridge, I don't know that I could freeze enough fruit in season to really offset the amount of frozen fruit I'd want for smoothies.... Maybe I should look into getting a smallish free standing freezer?

--
I need to get pro-active about listing some books on Ebay (maybe half.com??) to see if I can get back any of the money I spent this past summer on books for summer school. Most of them were not even used ... Some of the teacher resource books might sell too .. eventually.

Tomorrow I need to make sure I have everything lined up for the coming week at school, and then maybe get myself to do some much needed housework - possibly even make a casserole or something.

Btw - I've asked this before (and googled it as well) but ... if I cook 4 or 5 sweet potatoes in foil in the oven, what/how can I do to keep them good over a period of 4 or 5 days?? I've heard that bacteria grows fast in wrapped cooked potatoes - but that there is a way to prevent it - just haven't been able to figure out what that is yet. Any suggestions??

This past week went pretty well. Mainly I think because I decided to make all my lesson plans NOT internet focused. I am also finally starting to feel better - I think it was allergies that felled me, because they are still bothering me, just not so bad.

The past 4 nights I've gone on a walk with several+ teachers/staff from our school. My moderate walking pace is much faster than theirs ... Tonight I did a GPS of it to see how long it actually was - 2 miles. Not bad really.

I'm planning on starting back with my regular routine at the school gym on Monday. Although I'll probably limit it to very fast walking for the first week.

Oh ... I am less than 1 lb away from the 20's. I'm trying to decide what I'd like to do to reward myself for losing 20lbs .. at least after I get into the 20's and stay there for at least two weeks... I'd been thinking of doing a pedi/mani, but I have the feeling that sandal season is going to be over sooner than later here. So, maybe just a manicure. Or maybe go see a movie. I feel like I should do *something* nice, because the last time I saw the 20's was ... ummmm 2007??

But ... I've also been reading a lot of Mr. Money Mustache this weekend. His posts got me thinking ... Is it frivolous to spend $9 - 15 on a treat just for losing (and keeping off) 20 lbs? Would it be better to add that same amount to my Roth account or perhaps to my car replacement savings???

I'm also reconsidering getting the iPhone5 when it comes out. I have the money already saved and set aside for it (since last year!!) But... would I be just as well off going with the 4 which will likely be free (only 8gb, but if I only put the apps I *really* use on it ...) That way I'd still be upgrading to a newer phone (and maybe my brother would give me his phone's case with the stand, since he's planning on getting the 5) but not be out any money.

I'm also rethinking my position on wanting a brand new car to replace my Honda. I did some forecasting, and by December, 2013 I *might* have around $9k saved, not including EF or Dads money (and not counting whatever I get in tax refund for '12.) I'd really rather not use Dads money if I don't absolutely have to, and my other big goal is to get my EF up to snuff. (Especially considering the fact that if the sewer system here fails, I will not only be out of a job due to the school closing, but I will also be out of a home. This is thanks to the hail storm / flood we had here about a month ago. It is a *very* old and fragile lift/sewer system being kept together by Macguyveristic tactics.)

So.. I'm thinking of when it gets closer to the time I want to definitely replace my car, I'll start looking to see what I can find within 200 miles for $8k or less. Then pick the best of the lot (newest, least miles, most amenities.) That would leave me with money to add into the EF, and my insurance wouldn't go up so much as with a brand new car.

The car thing is still far away, so I may change my mind a dozen times between now and then.

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I wasn't planning on going anywhere until summer time - both to refund my vacation budget and because of the 6 month course I'm (hopefully) going to be taking. However, when I told my mom that she spoke to her bf, and he offered to pay for my ticket to TX. Mom also said she'd make sure I had a computer/time/space to do whatever school work I needed to while there. So ... I agreed and told her dates/times I could come. .... Then I got a text from her bf asking if he could call me. When he did, he told me he's planning on asking her the big question on her birthday (18th) and wants to do the deed on the afternoon of the day I planned to fly in. Could I please come earlier? So, I'll be getting in Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon.

All I'll say is I hope it lasts. One more thing... he wants to have the ceremony in my very favorite place in the DFW metroplex - the same place I had always had in mind for if I ever got married. Kind of bittersweet. (The Botanical Gardens - many, many good memories there.)

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My yard had gotten really, really, really, really bad. There were so many weeds you almost could not see any empty space - anywhere. I'd been trying to find someone to do something with it since last spring. Finally someone suggested to me that I ask one of our maintenance guys at the school -- I did. He and his children came over this afternoon and did a MAJOR cleanup job. I had told him $40 for the job, but when I realized that the job was much bigger than I'd figured, I decided to give him $60. (I would have done $50, but I only had 20s.) Now that I have someone I know can do a good job, I'll have it done more often (2 - 3x a year should suffice) and can pay less (since the job won't be so huge.) He's also fixing my screen door which has been broken (the screen part) since I moved in here.

I would do this myself (take care of the yard) but I have NO equipment and my allergies are atrocious (allergic to tumbleweeds, etc. big time - would probably be out sick for a week if I attempted it.)

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I went to the dentist on Thursday and had a filling done. $85 instead of the $98 first quoted me. It turned out that it wasn't a cavity, but a filling that had fallen out. So that made it a pretty fast drill and fill.

I'll be going back for the other tooth on the 20th. (Directly opposite the tooth I just had filled!)

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I've been watching Elephant Princess on Netflix this past week (partly why I haven't blogged this week ) The first season was really good, and I got addicted a little bit. The second season I don't like so much, but in my usual way, I have a hard time stopping once I'm into a show. I love the Aussie accents of the actors.

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I'm waiting to hear back from the person in charge of registration for the 6 month cohort on how to register and how to pay with my Education credit money. She had told me to send her my award certificate and the name of the person to contact ... but they didn't send me an award certificate - only a link to my account showing my Ed credit (and a link on that page to request funds payment.) I really hope this all works out. If the sewer goes bust, I may really need the extra certification this program offers (to secure a new job somewhere ...)

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I ordered a bunch of books for the library (using library budget money - not mine!!) on Friday. Most of them will arrive by Tuesday. I'm excited to catalog them and get them out to the kids. (greek mythology books, Lizzie McGuire (had a kid asking for those), gymnastics (many girls requested), several new graphic novels, etc.)

On Wednesday I had my first meeting of First Reads Group with 7th/8th. It was a bit of a circus. In the end, I had 1 7th and 1 8th grader attend. They both chose two books. (First Reads Group is where the kids meet with me at lunch time and get the chance to be the first person at school to read new library books. If they give the book(s) their seal of approval, then they will have a name label saying "First Read by.....") This coming Wednesday I'm going to have the 6th graders meet with me (up to 5 of them.)

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Last night I was on Swagbucks and got the popup for the 2 SB videos. I started on them around 9:30 p.m., and it kept going until 12:37 p.m.!! I caught up on the SA blogs while playing the videos ... Overall I think I earned around 120 SBs from them!!

I have enough to cash out for a $5 AGC.

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Eating Out Challenge:

7/8 days I did great. The day I went to the dentist, I did stop and get a milkshake at McDonald's because I was really hungry (hadn't had a great lunch) and my mouth was numb.

I'm going to plan better for my next appointment so I won't be so hungry.

August Spending:



Overspending:

Groceries - This really wasn't too far off the budgeted amount, and considering that it encompassed 5 grocery weeks, I'm actually okay with this amount of spending. In September, I should be able to keep it within the budgeted amount. (I'd really like to keep it to under $120/month, but I'm trying to be realistic.)

Fun Money - This mostly is getting subs at Blimpies, and a couple of egg salad sandwiches. What put it over was the balance of paying for the book tape (after using Amazon gift cards.) In September I plan to NOT do Blimpies or the occasional egg salad from the store, as I am participating in the No Eating Out Challenge. So ... hopefully I'll have a nice cushion in this fund for November and December.

Fuel: Had to do an extra fill up due to a lot of extra driving to take care of the pastor's family's animals. I *might* have been able to make it home on what was left in the tank on Friday, but I decided to not take my chances.

Within category amounts:

Car Replacement - I had some maintenance work done on my car which should hopefully help it last another year.

Professional - I purchased a subscription to an online lesson plan book which meets my needs beautifully. I also bought some organizational baskets which I'm going to use in the library.

Medical - Pd for monthly prescription and for a balance owed from a previous visit (after insurance paid.)

Savings - I did put $50 into my EF, but the car replacement account money was used for maintenance costs (plus some.)

September Budget:


Medical - I will have a minimum $100 outlay in this category for a filling, plus my normal prescription. I have enough to cover both.

Fuel - My August overspend is forwarded into September. So I actually have a category balance of $80 for September.

ROTH - I am increasing my ROTH contribution to $150 (from $100.) I do not have a 401k plan available to me.

**Technology -- If I go with the 6 month cohort/18 credit plan and receive the iPad, I am considering holding off on replacing my phone. One of the big reasons I would like to replace my phone is to have the video calling capability. With the iPad, I'd have that - so it would make it a lot easier to wait longer. I would however need to get a protective case for the iPad, etc., which would not be covered with my AmCorps money (as far as I know.) So I may use some of the money I've saved for the iPhone5 to purchase those accessories.

This was a long week for me. Tuesday and Thursday night we had parent meetings starting at 6 and not finishing til 8. Then I also was driving 20 miles one way to take care of my pastor's dog/cat. It was also my first week back with a full load of classes. Other than Monday's classes, most of the rest of the week's groups were fine ... just kept me on my toes!

I *loved* seeing my baskets of new/newish books nearly completely decimated by Friday, although I kind of felt bad for the 4th graders who were my very last group Friday afternoon. There were slim pickings in the new book baskets. I also *loved* how excited my 5th graders were at being able to checkout 3 books. Both groups had their 3 books picked out and checked out in record breaking time.

The internet was being all wonky this week, so when I had my first intensive keyboarding class on Wednesday with the 3rd graders, I had to use Word and dictation. That was ... interesting. On Thursday I did the same with my 4th graders, but the internet was working - so we used Typing Club. Unfortunately all the web browsing history on all the computers had been cleared over the summer, so the teacher assistant and I ran around the room helping 21 4th graders get to the media center website, and then to the TC site. About 15 of them managed to actually get logged on, and one completed the first lesson, before it was time to run to lunch. Chaos!

Today I spent a few hours at school, and managed to figure out a way to save a shortcut to both the media center website and the TC website in a way that it won't be lost as soon as a person logs off the computer. Hallelujah! I also figured out that I could download/save an internet safety game for my 7th/8th graders in that same server/folder, and not have to download it on 15 different computers.

When I got home from school/taking care of the animals, I made my breakfast and lunch for the whole school week. Go me! All I'll have to do for my breakfasts is to add the Rice Dream the night before - hopefully I can manage to remember to do that!

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I got a call from the pastor today telling me they'd be home tomorrow!!!! Yay!!! It's funny, I was talking to my grandma yesterday and mentioned about taking care of the animals. She asked me if they were paying me anything, and I told her that I didn't think so or expect anything. I also told her how far their place was from me ... she told me that I should take the extra gas money out of my tithe for next month!! What was so funny about that was that I'd been thinking along the same lines, and wishing that I could ask my dad for his opinion on it. I'm taking my grandma suggesting it out of the blue like that, as kind of a backwards nod from my dad. (maybe I'm rationalizing a bit here, but I like to think of it that way ...)

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I've overspent my grocery budget a bit this month. Once I manage to remember to take back the car charger to WM and get the money back, I can move that money into the grocery budget, and it will balance out fine. Actually, I have a few dollars left, but there is still one more grocery shopping day this month ... will just need spinach and bananas probably though.

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I had $35.xx in Discover rewards after this last statement posted. So ... I spent it on Amazon. :shrug: I bought the new Dork Diary 4, another book (can't remember right now) and pre-ordered DD5 and Wimpy Kid 7. I bought two of each. We have 2-3 each of the others, and they are currently ALL checked out.

I moved all the books that were similar to Wimpy Kid on a shelf under the Dear America journals. Two or three of the Dear America journals got checked out this week too!! (last year we had some Royal Diaries get checked out - but that was by a teacher.) I also had quite a few more of the Juvenile fiction books get checked out than normal - so I think moving all the Wimpy Kid like books where I did was a great move.

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I got a notice on Friday that my Hulu Plus subscription would be going off hold today (Sunday.) So since I hadn't included it in my August budget, and didn't have any Fun Money left for August, I went to go cancel it. Guess what? They offered me a free month!!! Seeeee-weeeet!! So I'll probably cancel it before they charge me at the end of September, then start it up again in October. (Anyone know when DWTS starts?? That's mainly what I'll use Hulu+ for.)

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Like I made my breakfast/lunches ahead of time for the week, I'd like to see if I could make the most time consuming portion of my dinners ahead of time ...
baked sweet potatoes! Prep time isn't long of course, but baking time is 2 hours!!

What I'd like to be able to do is bake 5 of them at one time, and then put 4 in the fridge. Then I would microwave them each day to warm up. Anyone know what the best way would be to do this? Should I take them out the foil wrap when in the fridge? i.e. What is the best way to avoid growing bacteria??

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My car is troubling me. I don't know if it is my imagination or not, but ever since I had the timing belt/driveshaft changed out, it doesn't seem to have as much get up and go. I especially notice this on hills ... I do most of my long distance driving on the freeway where the limit is 75 and the real speed is 80 - 85. There've been a number of times this week where I entered the freeway going 55 with my RPMs passing 4 ... and it took me a good two or more minutes to get up to speed (75+). I don't remember it doing this before .. it never has been great on hills, but I just don't remember having to rev it so hard to get up to speed.

Any ideas?

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I cashed out for a $5 AGC on SBs last night. I'm also getting pretty close to cashing out on irazoo.

Yesterday afternoon I noticed that my cat Kari's perch which hangs from the door and that she LOVES to sleep in the top section of, had started separating. There was one large hole, and another smaller one. I was worried that she might fall through the larger hole while sleeping, or the remainder would tear out.

I checked the weight limit, and it was 20lbs. Kari is roughly 9lbs. Someone on FB suggested that I could use fishing line to reinforce/fix it.

Today though I decided to take it with me to church, and stop by WM afterwards and see if the customer service could do anything for me - seeing as though I no longer had the receipt. That's what I did. The CS person told me that if I could find one in stock, that I could exchange my old one for a new one. There was one in stock! Yay!

Kari is sleeping right now in the top section. This one actually appears to better made than the other one. The top section seems to have some kind of reinforcement --- I wonder if they had the same problem I had with the other one, and so made this fix to newer versions?? Oh well, Kari is happy and safe, and I am happy, and no money was spent for either!

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Yesterday I was talking with the preschool director who is the person I share my assistants time with each week. (She is split - 20 hrs with me, 15 hours with the pre-school.) The ps director told me that my assistant had told her that "all she's doing is putting stickers on books," and that I'd been doing it too. Oh brother! I thought I'd explained to her WHY I was having her do that - putting spine labels on books and taping them. If she truly doesn't get it yet, she will be very happy for it once it's time to start re-shelving books!! I don't know if she thinks I'm just creating things for her to do, or what. But I hope she realizes eventually that these are all things that will help the library run more efficiently and having her do some of the more time consuming/tedious work, frees me to put together some more fun activities, etc. I warned her at the beginning that a lot of what I might ask her to do will be time consuming/tedious, but are things that *must* be done one way or the other - either by me or by someone else. Exactly why I desperately needed a second person!!

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I didn't get to do my grocery shopping Friday afternoon before the small group meeting like I'd wanted to do. (Speaking of which, I think I probably won't continue to go to the small group. Last night's was made up of 3 married couples and me... plus I didn't get home til nearly 11pm!)

So, I did my grocery shopping today. Normally I would *never* grocery shop on Sabbath, but I was out of a number of items and did not relish the thought of trying to fit in a two-hour trip on Sunday plus doing all the finishing touches to prepare for my first day of classes on Monday!

Of course, as luck would have it, I ran into 3 of my students there. :roll eyes: They were so happy to see me, it was cute. I just hope that my principal doesn't wonder why I was out shopping when everyone else was at the school taking a required CPR class. (I'm going to take it on my own, because I am required to recertify, but I'd begged out of it due to Saturday being my church day.)

I spent approximately $40 - a bag of apples (looked better than the loose apples!), spinach, baby carrots, bananas, Fiber One brownies, Kashi Cereal, Kashi frozen meal, Amy's frozen meal, Stouffer's Spinach souflee, a candybar (my one real treat for the week), sweet potatoes, a bag of frozen raspberries (for smoothies), etc.

Of course, I again forgot to get more cat treats. I also forgot to get Rice Dream - but I do have one more container of that left which should be enough for this week. I think seeing the students threw me off track a bit.

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I took today off from exercise - boy does it feel good! Tomorrow I plan to do an hour run, both in commiseration with my brother (who'll be doing his first tri-athalon) and because I'll be skipping my morning run on Monday due to a dentist appt.

I stepped on my scale this a.m. ... 236.8! Down 13.2 lbs since June. I know I have a tape measure around here somewhere. I really need to take some measurements soon so I can see the inches+ the lbs.

Speaking of my brother's tri-athalon tomorrow - I found out today that our Aunt is traveling from San Jose to the town where it's being held to cheer him on. I'm so glad he'll have family there to support him. If I had the newer iPhone, and the new operating system was out, then my brother and I could Face Time each other (the new operating system is supposed to let you do FT over 3g!!)

I hope the September 15 rumors are true ... even so, I probably won't get it (iPhone5) til January - give it a bit of time for all the kinks to work out.

All in all with labor, parts and tax, it cost 616.xx to change the timing belt, replace the pulley, and replace the drive shaft. I was without a car for 3 days which was interesting .. I had planned on going into the library/school today after my car was finished .. but it wasn't finished until nearly 4 p.m. I'm just glad to have it done.

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I did my grocery shopping today.

I bought:

Groceries = $34.70
large container of baby spinach
7 bananas
3 oranges
6 apples
a bunch (is that the proper term?) of asparagus
a frozen Kashi meal of whole wheat pasta/spinach/artichoke/beans
a bag of milled flaxseed
a box of Kashi Go-Lean cereal
a 12 pk of Fiber One brownies
a bag of green grapes
a tub of Smart Balance Omega 3 butter

Kari budget --- $13.71
a door hanging scratching post
a bag of cat food

Misc. budget -- $23.76
Car charger (will probably return - just want to test the cig lighter to see if it works or not)
A pack of colored pens

My grocery budget for this week doesn't have much left (I'm trying to keep it to $40 or less per week) but as long as I actually eat what I purchased before it goes bad, I'm okay with that.

I am considering taking any desert type purchases out of my fun money category instead of groceries. If the bulk of my grocery money is spent on produce, then I won't have much left over for the non-healthy stuff, so that may work out fine.

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Tonight for supper I steamed half the bag of spinach I purchased on Monday. I hadn't opened it all week ... ooops! I also microwaved the bag of cut up butternut squash. Then I microwaved the Kashi dinner and mixed all of it in one large dish. It was really pretty good (and helped to not let the spinach or squash go to waste!!)

I'll probably steam the remainder of the spinach for supper tomorrow night (and maybe have an eggplant patty with it from my freezer.) MMMM....

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I really don't like the medical clinic here. I don't know that going to someplace in big G would be any better, at least not better enough to make a 35+ one way drive worth it. I was supposed to *just* get bloodwork done today (checking thyroid.) When I was taken back they weighed me as usual (down 5lbs since last doctor visit) and then the NP took me into one of the doctor's exam rooms. ??? She took my blood-pressure (which was on the rather high-side, rather unusual for me) and then told me the doctor would be with me in a few minutes, then she'd take my blood.

Remember, all I was supposed to be there for was bloodwork!! The doctor comes in and asks me if this was the first time she was seeing me. Mouth drop. This is the same lady I saw back in February, and then the office denied refilling my prescription a few weeks later because I hadn't been seen by this doctor. Ugh!!

She asks me some various questions, and then tells me that she's going to have my blood tested for diabetes as well - due to my weight. I can understand where she is coming from, and probably not a bad idea to check that again -- but not one word of acknowledgement that I had *lost weight* since my last visit? I don't know, I guess it just rubbed me the wrong way.

So I got my blood drawn (first time stuck, thankfully!) Then I went to the receptionist to pay - but apparently there was no co-pay (or they just didn't charge me one?) I had to tell her that I had a balance due (I'd gone in to pay it before leaving for CA, but no one was in the office.)

So ... $13.17 Medical

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Kari was attacking my feet again today. I got really fed up, and decided to see what options there are in big G. I called several places, and made an appointment for Monday afternoon with the one that actually had a live person answer. I told them that I needed to find someone who could trim Kari's claws *without* putting her under. If they can do that, then they'll have my business probably once every six weeks or so. (They charge $10 + tax.) It's worth every penny of that to me if they can do it.

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I was thinking of going to see a movie on Sunday (Wimpy Kid probably ...) but since I didn't get into the library/school today, I should do that on Sunday. It'll save gas money and maybe a better movie will come out that I can use my fun money for this month.

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August NSD's - 2/3