So NE signed up for health insurance through the Nebraska state site in December. He went with the plan that had the best numbers - low deductible, low out of pocket and low premiums.

He went to the doctor today and found out that his right shoulder is dislocated, and then went for an MRI to see about his rotator cuff, etc. (He didn't finish the MRI, but will be going back to finish it in a different open machine.)

While he was at the doctor's he found out that his particular plan is going belly up as of Feb 15. So ... he's going to have to find a new plan.

I wonder if that would count as a life event where you would be able to get insurance past the open enrollment period?

So very frustrating.

-----
I talked to my boss today about the retirement stuff. I found out that I'll be vested 100% in 7 years. Also that there is something called early retirement and regular retirement - early means 25 years of service and at least 50 years old; regular is 25 years and 63 years old. She didn't know what exactly that meant though (and she was dismayed to find out it was 25 and not 20 years ... she's close to the 20 year mark.)

I wonder what the difference is between when you're vested and the early/regular retirement designations are? If I am ready to retire at 55, I'd be vested, but wouldn't qualify for early or regular retirement. If I work there 25 years, that would put me at 63 and regular retirement. (UGH! Cannot imagine doing this job for 25 years. DOUBLE UGH!)

I also found out that the retirement contributions used to be even sweeter - as in for every $1 the employee put in, the city put in $2 (up to a limit.) Some group got upset about it and so they changed the plan to what it is now. Can you imagine? Contribute $50 and the city matches $100?

---

For the first week of January I am down ... 5 lbs! I think a good bit of it is water weight, but I'm just glad to be heading the right direction again.

Although I have been tempted a time or two or three ... I have not stopped at a fast food place or at any other type of convenience store in January.

Tonight I watched episode 5 of POI while stepping for most of it (about 35 minutes, sat and rested for the rest of it.)

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I am thinking more and more about investing in dividend stocks. My discretionary funds are already stretched pretty thin with my various goals, but I'm just really itching to do something like that.

I do have a goodly sum in an old 403(b) plan that I want to move over to Vanguard. Maybe I could put it in a brokerage account and use that to buy dividend type stocks?

If anyone could point me to some good resources (i.e. simple language) to help me figure out what to do, I'd appreciate it. I know quite a few of you invest in DRIPS, which I *think* are dividend stocks, right?

Email notifications of post replies seemed to work for a short while ... however they aren't working again.
(to clarify - I am talking about notifications of responses to other people's posts - not my posts.)

---

So I tried baking a potato in the oven sans foil twice now. Ehh... it works, but I really don't like how dry the skin gets. Almost too tough to eat. It was saved by the juice from my baked beans I topped it with, but often I like to eat my sweet potato plain. I did top them both times with olive oil and cut slits in them.

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Five no spend days in January so far! Yesterday I squeaked by temptation just barely ...

Work had some stressful (majorly) elements to it and I WANTED chocolate. I resisted though.

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I got a package from my brother today that UPS "attempted to deliver" during the workday of course. :roll eyes: So I had to drive over there to get it this afternoon -- it was a framed photo of my brother and I the last summer I was out in CA with him. How sweet

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I did two really dumb things yesterday - thankfully no consequences from either one. First, I left my purse in my car when I went in to work. I only realized this at lunch time ... I had to sit on my phone for 20 minutes before it would turn on.

Then when I got home I left my keys in the door AGAIN! The only way I found out about this is when NE came over and found them in the door. UGH!

---
I watched episode 4 of POI season 3 tonight .. while stepping of course.

I also redeemed 2500 SBs for a $25 PayPal cash, and have received all $20 in AGC from SBs.

--
At work today I hauled a huge load of boxes up from the schedule room on a cart. I think I may have overdone it a bit ... my back is really protesting tonight. Ouch.

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Ok, off to catch up on blogs!

We got a good bit of snow last night (Saturday) so I wasn't really sure I wanted to go out shopping today or not. However, once I got out on the roads around 4pm they were all fairly clear.

If you would like to see a more detailed breakdown of my grocery trip, go to this link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11GJKzDizNZEKsSYZIS4CgdhNBmVXf2dqXIMyU19VHfE/edit#gid=0

I set out with the goal of not purchasing more than ten items. And I did it! (with one caveat - I made one purchase for NE which he'll reimburse me for later - he ended up not coming with me.)

The total of the ten items I purchased for myself is roughly $56.46. Of that, two items were not grocery category items.

So grocery spending today: ~$51.20
Spending Money - ~$1.28
Toiletries - ~$3.43

I also filled up with gas at Sam's for $1.93!!!
Total - $15.58 for 8.037 gallons.

---
I did laundry, dishes, cleaned the kitchen, did a trash run, and got my lunch ready for tomorrow.

I've also watched the first part of Labor Day ... wow, so not what I was expecting. I'm anxious to finish it.

---
I also posted a couple new items on eBay as well as relisting some.

When I got home from shopping though I had an awesome email from eBay -- I sold a DVD for the BIN price! $6.99. I've already got it packaged up ready to go tomorrow.

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NE will be coming over in a bit, so I'm going to enter my receipts into YNAB and then maybe read a bit on the forums - hopefully not getting lost in a rabbit hole like I did last night ...

OH! I forgot. I also did 30 minutes of stepping while watching Labor Day today. (I have a step I got from freecycle years ago.)

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Next time I go shopping I'm going to make sure I eat something before I go, even if I'm not really hungry. I got so hungry while shopping that I got a Payday bar - technically not chocolate. But still kind of stretching it a bit.

Today makes 3 days of January with no spending (other than bills.) Tomorrow will not be a no spending day. NE and I will be doing a Sam's and Walmart run.

Between the two stores I am going to try to keep my list to ten items (or perhaps less.)

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I decided to stop at my landlord's after church today to drop off my rent check rather than try to include it on my library walk. It would have been on the way - but the library is on one side of a busy road and their house is on the other side. It would have been a hassle.

It was funny because when I got there someone else had just come from their porch dropping off their rent check - must be from a different property though because I didn't recognize her.

---
When I got home I had a nice warm meal of toaster grilled cheese, tomato soup and a small piece of banana bread (bought a few weeks ago on sale - two loaves - put one in the freezer which is the one I'm eating now.)

Finally about 2 p.m. I worked my courage up to get bundled up and walk to the library. Last week I finally managed to remember to sync my iTunes music library onto my new phone - so I had music to listen to!

The walk was pretty chilly - at 5:30 it's 23 degrees, so I guess it was around 20 or so when I went out. We're supposed to get more snow tonight. (Low of 0degrees)

On my way back home I had a lady ask me about the bus schedule. LOL Even away from work I can't get away from work. I gave her an estimate of when the bus should be coming by (the outbound one had passed me ten minutes earlier, otherwise I'd have no idea other than the bus come once an hour on Saturday.)

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I've got a sweet potato in the oven right now while sipping on some hot chocolate ... yummy

I'm probably going to watch a couple episodes of POI tonight - one of the things I got from the library is Season 3 of POI - that way I can post my copy on eBay and if it sells then at least I can finish watching it! I want to get it on there (eBay) before everyone who's interested has already seen it.

I also do want to watch Labor Day - NE actually watched it on his own last week! Now he's anxious for me to see it so we can discuss it.

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The scale seems to be going down right now. Who knows if it will continue or not. Hope springs eternal and all that ... I'll do an "official" weight loss post on Thursdays - since I made my first weigh in on a Thursday. However I do weigh myself just about every day and record it on an app - mainly for the ten points it gets me on Achivemint (which I'm less than 900 points away from a $100 Visa card!!)

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I'm so glad to be getting notifications of responses to other posts now! I was able to find a few people responses to comments I'd made, but couldn't remember which post it was on.

Now if the photo issue could be fixed ...

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OH I almost forgot a question I was going to ask.

Are there alternative methods to wrapping a potato in aluminum foil for baking in the oven? I'm going through a lot of foil, even when I manage to reuse a piece.

On my way home from work today I saw gas for $1.99 at a local station! Sweet!

I plan on going to Walmart on Sunday and possibly Sam's for a largish shopping trip, and also to satisfy my curiosity about Sam's gas price.

So far no spending in 2015 (outside of bills)

I am having to pay a $.97 late fee on my last electric bill - I saw it and then totally forgot about it. Ooops! Now I have it set up on automatic payment to my credit card so I don't have to worry about it. My most recent bill was up about $10 from last month - still within my budgeted amount, but I'm going to be even more careful about keeping lights turned off.

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I redeemed for $20 worth of AGC yesterday and today from Swagbucks. Although I think I won't redeem for the 5th one tomorrow - I'll keep that for a $25 PayPal instead.

I'm mainly using my AGC credit for buying my pea protein powder for my breakfast smoothies, and I only need to get that ever other month. Plus I am earning AGCs from PerkPoints ... so I think I'd rather get cash when I can.

--
On Thursday I did 40 minutes of stepping while watching an episode of POI. I found out that I can still play Ptv while using the Pact app to track movement. Sweet. 3 things at once.

Today at lunch I was able to walk around the conference room for 15 minutes.

I weighed in this morning with a .1 lb loss.

--
Work was crazy busy today, but I did manage to finish my Shopaholic to the Stars book by Sophie Kinsella. I LOVE that series. So funny!

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I was looking at the union contract today, and saw that once I hit the 6 month mark, I'll have a required 7% retirement contribution with a 9% match from the city! Wow! I couldn't find anything that says what happens if you contribute more than 7% (i.e. will they match more? or is 9% the max match?)

I'm thinking that next week when our Payroll person is back I'm going to ask her about that.

Happy New Year everyone!

NE and I had a relaxing evening at my place. He picked up a pizza for us, and we had the final two slices of Rum cake. We also watched part of Armageddon - we didn't finish it because after stopping it to ring in midnight, we both realized we were ready to call it a night.

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So ... December spending.

I'll just highlight the non-fixed categories -

Spending:

Phone: 202.76 (Pro-rated December bill from ATT and final ETF bill)

Groceries - $148 out of $150

Auto Fuel: $23.51 (budgeted $30)

Spending Money: 90.80 (lots of room for improvement here - this is money spent on unnecessary food mainly and replacing a PO box key)

Restaurants - $15.81 (fast food - came from budgeted spending money)

Clothing - $3.20

Household goods: $21.17 (two chairs from goodwill, bundt cake pan, etc)

Kari - 22.70 - cat food, litter (bought several bags on sale with coupon)

Savings

Snowflakes and Windfalls! $279.35 (Swagbucks, Pinecone, GymPact, Class Action suit, Christmas money, etc.) This money was distributed to my other savings goals in my January budget.

EF: 200
Car Replacement/Repair: 200
Vacation: 150
ROTH: 200
Electronics: 79.77 (spent 5.30 on a new charging cable)


----
Other:
Received $50 in AGC from Swagbucks and PerkTv (not included in Windfalls amount)

Had a previous balance of $27

Spent: $26.37 on pea protein powder for morning smoothies and $1.99 on an ebook.
--------
January Budget
Tithe: 125
Giving: 25
Rent: 430
Phone: 0 (covered by Ting credit)
Internet: 65.60
Electricity: 40
Natural Gas: 45
Groceries: 150
Auto Fuel: 30
Spending Money: 95.80 (20 budgeted plus 20% December Windfall money)
Medical: 25
Kari: 30
Car Insurance: 45 (I think my 6 month premium is due in January)
Life Insurance: 16
EF: 150
Car Replace/Repair: 75
Vacation: 151.60 (budgeted plus windfall)
ROTH: 200
Electronics: 40
House: 163.67 (budgeted plus windfall)

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Per Patient Saver's Weight Loss Challenge ...

I plan to lose 15lbs by March 31. That averages out to about 1lb per week.

My plan is: Reducing my junkfood intake by only purchasing it one time per month.

Getting at least ten minutes of movement everyday outside of any other normal exercise.

Joining the weekly exercise class at my church starting on Jan 11 ($20 for 10 weeks)

Being more careful about logging what I *really* am eating on MFP.

Checking in here at SA once a week with my progress report.

I looked out my window at 7 and it was nice and clear - thought to myself - good! won't have to scrape my windows. Then at 7:40 I headed outside to find my car covered in snow!

It snowed pretty much all day today. The temp is supposed to go in the negative tonight/today. Brrr!!

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Last night NE and I went to Walmart and did some shopping for the week. I spent $14 on two bags of cat food for Kari (using 2 coupons) and $7 on groceries.

After that we happened across another area of town that was beautifully decorated, so of course we meandered around there for a bit.

---
I totally spaced on getting my eBay item out today. Will definitely have to do it tomorrow to keep within my two day turn around time. Oops.

I plan on taking workout clothes with me to work tomorrow and using the bus gym after work. I haven't been *quite* as exhausted lately, so maybe I'll actually be able to make myself do it.

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I stopped at the library today - had a book to return and a book to pick up.

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On FB today I saw someone in a YNAB group post say they managed to feed a family of 5 on $25/week!!! Um.... I can't even imagine. That's not even $1/day per person. I was feeling kind of good that I got my grocery spending (minus junk food) down to less than $150 for the month...

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I'm thinking of letting go of my crockpot and rice cooker/steamer. I bought them two? years ago and they both are still in their boxes.. I keep meaning to USE them but it just doesn't happen.

Can you cook sweet potatoes in a toaster oven? If so, then I could let go of my toaster too and get a toaster oven. It seems really silly to get my oven going for just one potato - but I just don't feel comfortable cooking more than one at a time (botulisim or whatever it's called that can happen in baked potatoes in the fridge ...)

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I'm wondering ... I'm getting emails about replies to my posts, but I'm not getting notices about responses to other people's posts. I've noticed a few posts with new responses by pure chance ...

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My hands and feet are SOOO cold!!

My first monthly bill with Ting ended yesterday - $21.00 +taxes. So that will be covered by my $50 credit. I don't forsee my January bill being any larger, so that will also be covered. Nice.

I need to log in to my ATT account to see if they've posted my final bill yet so I can get that sent off to Ting for the ETF fees reimbursement.

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I talked to my brother yesterday for a bit. He told me that he is preparing for a 40 mile race for the diabetes cure (bicycle) and has decided to stop drinking for at least four months starting Jan 1. Possibly for the entire year!! He wants to really focus in on getting as in shape as possible for the race.

I know how difficult this will be for him, so told him that I would do something equally difficult for me -- only purchase chocolate ONE time per month in 2015.

My diet is fairly healthy otherwise if you take away the chocolate ... so by doing this, I'll hopefully be able to lose some weight. Especially considering that as of this morning I'm now back to my highest weight ever.

We also talked about tentative plans for him and our mom to come out here in May as kind of a Mother's Day thing - the last time the three of us were together was nearly 4 years ago when I graduated with my Masters.

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I finally made a sale on eBay again! It's been at least two months since my last sale. Only $4.99 (roughly $2 profit after shipping and fees) but still, a sale! Just got the payment, so I can get it out in the mail tomorrow.

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I have $22 left in my grocery category for December. That is even with spending a good bit on Christmas dinner food (leftovers for two meals worth after ..) There are a few things I need for this week, and possibly doing a Chef Boyardee pizza for New Years. Otherwise, I think it's safe to say, I'll actually have underspent my grocery category for the first time in forever! (Of course, it has helped to take out the junk food spending and put it in my spending category ... hopefully that category will go down significantly in January.)

I'm going to wait til New Year's Day to do a definitive post on my December budget, but let's just say that I'm very happy with how much came in for my windfall category this month. I don't see the same for January, unless I can make some eBay sales (need to post some more items to help that along!)

Christmas Eve was very special. NE and I went together to a Christmas Eve program at my church. That was hugely special to me because it was the first time he's agreed to go to any kind of church function with me since the first time we dated in 2004.

Afterwards we drove around looking at Christmas lights for nearly 3 hours! There were some pretty amazing displays, and one particular neighborhood off a street that CreditCardFree mentioned that was really well done.

On Christmas Day NE came over around 5 and we worked together to make dinner - mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, vegetarian dinner roast, and crescents. It didn't take a lot of time, especially with both of us working together. We both ate too much and decided to make the cake on Friday night.

So tonight (Friday) we made the rum cakes *before* eating leftovers. One cake we made according to the Pillsbury box directions and the other we made according to the Internet recipe directions.

The second cake had us pour rum into the actual batter. The other cake only had us pour the rum infused glaze mix on the cake.

Of the two, we both definitely preferred the one with only the rum infused glaze.

After we each had some of both cakes, we went to the local grocery store and picked up some meds for NE (pain meds dealing with his shoulders.) I had a coupon that was in the newspaper a few weeks ago -- it made one of his $42 prescription only $12!!!

Then we took a huge portion of the rum infused batter cake to his friend B and to his sister. Friend B talked for 30 minutes straight without hardly taking a breath ...

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I received a Christmas card from someone in Texas ... I have NO CLUE who they are. The card was addressed with my name, spelled correctly and everything ... Weird/neat/mysterious ....

--
Tomorrow I need to go to the library to pick up a few items on hold. Other than that though, I plan on being a homebody this weekend. Going nowhere and doing nothing (other than minimal grocery shopping.)

I hope everyone has a very good Christmas (or whichever holiday you celebrate.)

We had a pancake and egg breakfast at work today - they have a rotating grill that a couple of bus drivers were making made to order pancakes and eggs. I was so full that I didn't eat my lunch til 3 p.m.!

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Redeemed $9 from Pinecone and $17 from GymPact today. Will go into my Snowflakes fund.

Also got a Christmas card from my mom with $50! I'll put half of that into my spending money (for a treat) and the other half to my savings goals.

This afternoon I stopped by the Goodwill store that is almost directly across the street from me ... I was looking for a bundt cake pan to make the Rum cake in for Christmas dinner.

They had one for $2! It was the kind without a removable bottom - which a lady there told me was better than one with a removable bottom.

When I got home, NE was waiting for me. We headed out to another Goodwill - a larger one with furniture and more household goods. While there I saw a couch that I really liked for $40 - but it would need a lot of cleaning (I didn't buy it. I'm not sure what material it was made of, nor how difficult it would be to clean it.) I also found two chairs for my dining room table - $6 each. I'll take pictures of them later.

NE bought a bundt cake pan with a removable bottom and a can opener. (Hee decided we'll make two cakes ... and see which one turns out better. One with rum in the cake mix and one with it only in the frosting/sauce.)

Then we headed over to SuperSaver. The rum cost $15!!!!! It was the smallest bottle they had, but will be enough for four rum cakes ... Our total came out to $41.80 (we both got some other stuff too besides stuff for the dinner.) He gave me $20 cash (I paid with my card.)

I stopped at Russ's and picked up a bottle of soda for NE that was on sale so that I could get quarters for laundry. The lady could only give me three quarters though because they had forgotten to buy change?? Luckily with the two I had, and the 4 NE had, we had enough to wash and dry a load.

It sounds like NE might have made another Craigslist sale! He's happy because eBay has kind of been dead for a few weeks on sales.

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The last two days I've made a lot of SBs from the videos on the website alone. Somewhere close to 450!! I'm not complaining I just need 300 more for my 5 $5 AGCs in January.

---
I saw this neat video on FB showing all the different things you can do with a waffle maker besides just waffles. The two that caught my interest the most was making a brownie waffle (using brownie batter) and making an omelet. Kind of tempts me to get a waffle maker ... though I kind of doubt I'd really use it. Although maybe I would ... esp for making omelets ... probably taste a whole lot better than my usual microwave "omelet" concoction.

*are pictures not working anymore? I tried to upload one of Kari and it's not giving me the usual link to add.

I am happy that this coming week is a 4 day work week. (And so is the next week!!)

Christmas Eve NE and I will be going to a program at my local church. I was bowled over when he said he'd be willing to come with me ... He wants to come late and leave early - I told him that would be fine with me. Just having him there with me at a church event will be all the Christmas gifts I could ever want (well, ok, maybe one other thing could be as good or a little bit better ... )

Christmas Day we'll be cooking a meal together. He really wants to have Rum Cake which is something his mom made for Christmas when he was growing up. I've never had it - never even bought any kind of alcohol before in my life. It's going to feel really weird checking out with a bottle of rum ... (Yes, I know the alcohol cooks out .. still, it is out of my norm.)

We'll be going shopping for the missing ingredients tomorrow. One thing we're going to check the local Goodwills for is a bundt cake pan. For some reason he thought I had one already ... hopefully we can find a cheap one.

He'll have to stop by a local ABC store to pick up the dinner roast on Tuesday. It's only open Mon-Th from 8 to 5, so no way I can make it there before it closes. (It's the only store in town that I know sells the vegetarian dinner roast.)

The local paper has a running list of good places to look at Christmas lights. A running tradition in my family has been to go light looking on Christmas Eve. NE has accommodated me on this last year, and will again this year.

--
NE surprised me by getting me a birthday gift! I had told him that dinner and a movie of my choice was a great gift all by itself. He got me a pair of thermal socks all the way from England! (I'm always complaining about my feet being cold.)They are so nice and warm.

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I cashed out for a $25 AGC card from PerkPoints on Friday and had it in my email the same day! Sweet!

I also cashed out for a 500SBs code on Bing today and had it in my email two hours later. Sad though that it's gonna take a LONG time to build it back up at 25 points a day ...

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I had some good news today about one of my banking accounts - Barclay's has raised their interest rates to 1% and 1.05% (savings/dream account) So I decided to keep my money there and not move it like I was thinking about doing. I wonder if Cap one will be raising their rates soon too?

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I spent some time updating my YNAB ... oops. It looks like I spent $68!! on fast food/non-essential food already this month. That is totally ridiculous. I only got fast food 3 x, the rest of it was soda and junkfood (chocolate, banana bread, etc.)

I think I'm going to limit myself to one fast food treat stop per month, plus eating at a restaurant one time per month (if invited/asked.) I'm also putting a moratorium on going into Walgreen's, CVS, Family Dollar and SunMart unless there is a *specific* non-junkfood item I'm getting - if it is just a prescription, I'll go through the drive through!

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I walked to the library today to return a book (Switch) and checked out a couple more. When I got home I checked my email and saw that a book I'd put on hold had come in! It will still be there next Saturday, so I'll get it then (good excuse for a walk!)

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I started using my space heater again yesterday. I hadn't turned it on since I rented the room from the Craigslist landlord from double hockey stick. Kari was so funny - so afraid of it at first, then curious, then fell absolutely in love with it. She's barely moved from in front of it (as long as I have it on.) Guess my lap isn't as warm as in front of the heater!

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I watched a fabulous show recently - The Librarians on TNT. I'd loved the movie trilogy with Noah Wylie, and they brought him back for the tv series. I was sad though to find out that TNT website only let me watch the first one - after that I had to have a cable subscription to stream it.

http://www.savingadvice.com/blogs/image.php?blog=2071&id=12955

Today at lunch I called to find out the results of my bloodwork from Monday.

As expected, my TSH (thyroid) was not in the normal range. I asked what my number was .... 15!! Normal range is something like .03 - 5.0.

This is what happens when you are off your thyroid meds for nearly six months (I had *some* meds, but they were all over the place as far as mcg level, plus I only took those every other day to try to stretch them out as long as possible ...)

This news explains so much about how I've been feeling the past few months esp. Brain fog, fatigue, depression, anxiety, dry skin ... go on and on and check, check, check!

I picked up my new prescription after work today and will start taking it tomorrow morning. It'll take 5 or 6 weeks for the effect to really take place. I'm looking forward to it!! (It was $36! I wonder if I can up my FSA contribution ...)

==
Thanks again for all the moral support yesterday. I am feeling much better today about life, etc.

Today I actually managed to go through 3 boxes AND then took 3 boxes of stuff plus a trash bag of other stuff to Goodwill!

The stuff included a number of dolls/stuffed animals that I've been hauling around with me ever since I moved out on my own. Hanging on to it for future kids ... I kept one doll, my favorite, but the rest ... no point in holding on to them. I also let go of a bunch of books, a steamer thing I used once in six years, and quite a few odds and ends.

There's more I could and probably will let go of, although some things I think I may try listing on eBay. I did also relist some items on eBay.

---

I also stopped at the grocery store for bananas .. got a few more things than just bananas, but after putting a few things back, got out of there for only $13.

On the way back home I checked my mail. I got my gas bill - $42.83. That is almost twice what last month's bill was - I need to turn my heat down I think.

I also got a birthday package from my mom. First of all let me say how much I appreciate her thinking of me and remembering me. However ... this gift demonstrates how over the top she can be.

In my wish list I'd put snow shoes/boots (not meaning both .. just kind of describing what I was thinking of), warm socks, iTunes gift cards, mani/pedi gift cards or a groupon haircut/highlights deal type thing.

She sent me a pair of snow shoes and a pair of snow boots. Both look really nice. PLUS she sent me three books. I hate to think how much she spent on all this (plus the postage) - she's not in the position to spend much! Now I feel kind of bad for what I got her (a groupon deal.) I would have been more than happy with JUST socks, but she asked for five items ...

When she calls me tomorrow I'll be sure to be appreciative of course ... just feels frustrating. I think maybe she's trying to match what I gave her for her birthday - a $50 gift certificate for one of her favorite high end stores -- I told her I didn't pay $50 for it! (groupon deal!)

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Tomorrow I have my doctor's appointment (finally!) in the morning. In the afternoon I am thinking about going to a movie - one that NE probably wouldn't enjoy, but I want to take advantage of matinee pricing. (I took the day off work.)

Then NE is making his spaghetti dinner for me and we'll watch a movie or play games. I might try to get through a few more boxes too.

I have been doing a lot more thinking the past two weeks about my Year 39 goals. As much as I'd like to save up for a house downpayment, I think it would be smarter to get a larger EF in place. I currently have roughly $5100, which I could stretch out for 4 or 5 months. I have decided to make my goal to be a 1 year EF - or $12,000. So that means trying to save around $7900 this year.

Partly how I'll do this is reduce the amount I put toward my car repair/replace fund. Instead of $150/month, I'm going to put $75/month. My car is a 2010 model, so I don't expect any big expenses beyond oil changes and tires, etc. for awhile. If something bigger comes up, then I'll use EF funds.

It is looking more and more likely that there is going to be a high school reunion. The place I graduated from in 1993! shut it's doors in 2006? I went to my ten year reunion, but that was the last one we had. Members of classes from 1992 - 2006 have been talking and organizing on FB about getting together. This is something I think I would really like to do.

Of course I also have my mom (TX) and my CA family clamoring for me to come visit them as soon as I have vacation days available (Feb 1!)It's highly likely that my CA family would probably pay for my ticket ... but I don't want to assume that. (Nor am I sure I really want to accept that ...)

So I'll have around 12 vacation days accumulated by next December. (I have 3 right now I think.

I really would like to go to CA - mainly because my grandma is getting on in years and I just hate to not see her as much as I can while she's still alive and lucid. But ... I haven't been back to TX since my mom got married Dec 2012, and I know she's feeling like I've kind of abandoned her.

May and July are probably the best months for me to go anywhere since I could tack my vacation days to paid holidays, thus helping to stretch them a bit.

I think I'll wait to make any final plans until I see how the plans for the reunion flesh out. In the meantime though, I need to put aside money for trip expenses.

---
The third goal is kind of related to the reunion I'd like to lose at least 30 lbs. By June would be nice.

Right now my weight fluctuates up and down two or three pounds for seemingly no reason at all ... So hopefully once I get my thyroid back under control, I can make progress again.

----
So for my two financial goals .... Windfalls/Snowflakes will be allocated like this:
60% to EF
20% to Spending Money
20% to HS Reunion/trips



---
My boss K lent me this fantastic book - Unbroken - it is a movie that is either coming out soon or has already come out. I finished it today. It's about Louie Lamperini(sp?) who was a 1936 Olympian, and then during WW2 was shot down, survived 40+days adrift on the ocean, and then was captured by the Japanese and terribly tortured. Amazing story!

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I have spent some of my spending money this week ... gave in to temptations. Chocolate ... BK ... banana bread. But not *too* bad.

---
I received my last Bubblews payment (from October earnings) $55.xx - that will be going into my Snowflake category

I also cashed out for another $25 PP payment from Swagbucks. When that comes, it'll also to to my Snowflake category.

By Tuesday I think I'll have enough Bing points again for a 500 SB reward (thanks to the double points weekend!) Might be able to do a second one this month too - especially if they have another double points weekend this month.

I'm at about 20k PerkPoints - need another 4500 to get a $25 AGC or iTunes card. Hoping I'll be there by Thursday.

I entered a 12 days of Wellness contest at work. Basically it's self reported - do one different activity from one of four categories daily. It ends on Dec 23rd. One of the items was "take the stairs twice." I laughed loudly at that one ... the first day of the contest I went up and down the stairs at least 7 times ...

I have started walking in circles for the last 10-15 minutes of my lunch each day. Once I finish the main portion of my lunch and just have my treat left (usually a granola bar) I can walk and read. It's adding around 2k steps to my day so far.

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Tomorrow I need to go to the library to pick up a hold (and return Switch.) That'll be a good 2.5 miles round trip.

NE and I *might* be making a trip to Independence, MO tomorrow if the speaker he's evening isn't sold by then. Since I'm taking Monday off, I can go with him on the road trip without worrying about being overtired for work. (His car is in good working order now, so I'm not worried about a breakdown. Also, no snow in the forecast!)

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I am thinking about couch/chairs again. NE would like to invite his friend and family to dinner. His place (NEs) isn't an option ... would take a LOT of work to get it company ready (a LOT LOT LOT.) My place ... need to finish unpacking/decluttering - but main issue is seating. I have my office chair, my bed and two decrepit wood chairs (one of which has a broken seat - can sit on it with a pillow on top of the seat.)

Last weekend I finished up my bathroom. Tommorrow/Monday I'd like to get at least three boxes unpacked / settled. Then have a goal of three boxes per week. Once that's done, then I'm going to look seriously again at Craigslist, etc for couches/chairs.

It isn't just for this one time dinner I'm thinking of ... it would be nice to just have my place in a state where I *could* invite people over if I wanted to. Right now I would not want to invite anyone over because there'd be nowhere for them to sit.

If you were not wanting to switch to Ting because you have a GSM phone ... great news! Early 2015 Ting will be adding a GSM network to their plan! (If I would've known this, I could have waited a few more months and kept my ATT phone. Oh well.)

If you are on the fence about switching - here's a sweet deal for this month (good til Jan 5.) Instead of just 25% of your ETF (up to $75) now Ting is paying 50% of your ETF up to $100!

Today I found out that my 6 month ETF with ATT is 181.81. So Ting will pay $90.91 (in Ting credit) of my ETF. My final bill for ATT is 21.24, and I have a $50 Ting credit so won't have any charges.

I budgeted $200 for phone charges this month so will need to add a little bit to it, but then the next 5 or 6 months at least I will have no phone bill due to the Ting credits on my account! That's money that can go to my savings goals!!

Sweet!

I didn't go into this week with the goal of not buying any chocolate, although I did really want to limit my sugar intake. Oddly enough, both times I went to a store this week, I totally and completely passed up on all the junkfood. My normal SOP is if I'm at a place that sells chocolate ... I'm getting some.

Maybe it is because if I buy it I'll have to take it out of my spending money category? Because that money is so finite and encompasses so many different categories, maybe that is what is stopping me from stopping for a coke and a bar or two. Whatever it is, I am liking it!

I'd been thinking of getting a candy bar today for a treat, but then Friday night when NE came over, he brought me a brownie. Nice surprise (better than flowers!)

So far in December I have spent less than $10 total (outside of regular bills) Tomorrow I do plan to go to Walmart and possibly Sams, so will have grocery and gas expenses.

--
Friday night I was feeling really stuffed up, so took two night time allergy relief pills. I went to bed shortly before 11 and woke up about 9a.m.!! Whoah Nelly! Kind of made up for waking up at 4 a.m. on Friday ....

---
My main goals for tomorrow are:

1. Completely finish the bathroom - that means all boxes/bags unpacked and organized. Floor swept, tub/sink cleaned. Pictures hung.

2. Make something for work lunches - cottage cheese roast or quinoa vegge patties or bean/quinoa tortillas

3. Grocery shop - Fage (greek yogurt), bananas, carrots, frozen fruit, jelly, chocolate chips (for lunchbox treats - protein cookies), frozen veggies, sweet potatoes, allumn. foil, ground flaxseed, PB2 powder, pumpkin seeds, phone charger (from Family Dollar)

4. Take out trash

5. Scrub counters/sink in kitchen

6. Laundry (when NE gets here, I'll do both of ours. He pays for it and really only adds a few pieces - so it's mostly my laundry.)

7. Walk to the library (must start no later than 3:45 or else will be in the dark!)

---
Saturday I rested and relaxed - did a lot of reading (mostly MMM forums and soon may read a book on my Kindle app). Tomorrow I need to actually DO stuff.

---
NE made an interesting observation on Friday. He wondered why I was baking my sweet potatoes one at a time (one a day.) I know it would be much more energy (and time) efficient to bake 5 of them at one time, I just worry about properly keeping them until I'm ready to eat them. (food safety)

I *think* if I mashed it up and put it in a container (not in its foil wrapping from the oven) that it should be okay? Not grow any bacteria, etc.?

This morning as I opened my door to head to work, I heard a jangle. When I looked down on the ground .. there were my keys!!

I was deliriously happy to have my car fob back.

My boss wanted me to call my landlord right away and have him change my locks. I didn't have his number in my new phone ... and couldn't remember his last name. (I've been having a good bit of brain fog lately .. the key incident is just one of many ... NEED to get my thyroid medicine going again. Badly.)

I did call him when I got home from work. He had no problem with rekeying the doors at no charge to me. He's going to do it in the morning.

Last night a bit after 9 I heard someone messing with my door lock. It got both Kari's and I's attention, but both of us were way too comfy to get up. Now if the door had opened ... it would have been a different story.

NE tonight was really getting on my nerves telling me all about what he would have done if he'd heard someone turning a key in the lock... He couldn't understand why I didn't get up to look out the window or open the door .. Um yeah, that wasn't the thought running through my head at the time, thanks.

Anyway ...

I talked to my boss K about the 15 minute break thing. Apparently it is a hornet's nest and part of the drama drama drama ... I told her I would be fine either way - with or without. Oy vey.

I also had a day off approved .. the 15th. Make for a long birthday weekend.

Of course, it won't be all fun and games ... I finally called the doctor today. (forgot my phone yesterday at home .. yet another brain fogggggg) The first time they could get me in was --- the 15th!

---
I stopped at a local health food store today to see if they had anything papaya. No luck. I'm considering ordering seeds online - add them to my morning smoothies. I'd rather find a local source though.

While there I did pick up a container of Kale for $1.40. I've thought of trying Kale before, but it sounded like so much work. Will try it in my smoothie tomorrow.

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I got my gas bill for November - $30.41. I have $40 budgeted, so that means $8.59 goes into the savings categories.

So I ended November quite well ... by losing my keys! On the key ring is my car key fob, apartment key, mailbox key (x2 also for PO box), and laundry room key.
UGH!

They have to be in here somewhere. I had to have them to get into my apartment on Saturday afternoon when I came back from walking to the library. I didn't realize they were missing until Sunday afternoon when I was about to leave to go walk to my landlord's house and drop off my rent check. I looked everywhere! When NE came later, he helped me look again.

Nowhere to be found!

Thankfully I somehow found my spare car key - so I was able to drive to work this morning. However, I had to leave my apartment unlocked!

Tonight I called my landlord and explained what happened, and he had an extra key for my apartment - as well as ONE laundry room key (which he'll get tomorrow from me.)

I can't check my mail until I get the keys back - normally I wouldn't care too much .. but in a couple weeks I may have some cards and such coming ...

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I went to Russ's (grocery store) tonight. I spent $8.57 and NONE of it was junkfood. You have no idea how RARE it is for me to stop in a food store of any kind and NOT leave with some form of chocolate.

I felt really proud of myself.

However, while I was checking out, I had my arm resting on the top of my cart while I waited for my card to go through. All of a sudden the ?manager? jerked the cart away from me and left with it!! I only had two bags and I hadn't put them in the cart yet, but still!! It made it pretty difficult for me to get my gloves and hoodie back on for my walk home.

I thought about saying something to him after my startle was over, but decided to let it go.

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Today at work I found out that I should be able to take two fifteen minute breaks on top of my lunch break. I know it worked that way when I was at the oil and gas company in TX, but since my boss didn't mention anything about it ... I just kind of figured that the 30 minute lunch was it and then just use the bathroom when I needed to quickly. My boss will be back tomorrow, so I'll have to talk to her about it. I'd love to be able to go into the fitness room and walk on the treadmill or something twice a day! Great way to increase my steps.

---
I got a $25 windfall in my PayPal account today from Swagbucks. (Which I'll be adding to my tally page on my sidebar.)

I also cashed in for two $5 AGCs.

I cashed out for a 500 SB code on Bing on Saturday, and should have enough for another one by Thursday thanks to the double points weekend.

On PerkTV I have nearly 12,000 points and have made tons of entries for giftcard sweeps with my tokens.

I have 43,000 points on Yougov - a survey site. It's enough for a variety of $25 giftcards, but the best value I think is waiting til I have 100,000 points for a $100 AGC. That's the only one that is point per dollar value. (I have referral links to YouGov, Bing, Ting, Swagbucks all in my sidebar if you're interested. )

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I was going to call to set up a doctor's appointment today, but I forgot I had the number on my old phone. I'd only brought my new one with me to work today.

I'm a burping garlic and pumpkin seeds gal at the moment ...

So in about two weeks here I will be 39. That means that in 1 year and 2 weeks I'll be 40. It's really, really hard for me to see myself as a 40 year old ...

I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to get myself better set for life in ten - fifteen years - the time I'd really like to be at least Financially Independent if not able to kiss the 40 hour work week goodbye.

One thing I'm realizing will play heavily into my financial well being in the future is my health. If I continue the way I am now, my medical bills will more than likely prohibit my FI or early retirement. Plus it would more than likely make life not all that enjoyable.

Financial health and body health I think go hand in hand in the long run.

So thinking long and hard, I've come up with some long term savings goals. These are things that I hope will help me along the road to eventual Financial Independence.

I currently have a networth of approximately $200k. About 35% of that is in two taxable accounts, and the remainder is in ROTH, 403(b), IRA, etc. Included in that is also about $5100 in an EF that is pretty hard to access (earning .90% APR) I have no debt.

Starting in February I'll be able to contribute to my workplace retirement account. Once I see those numbers I'll have to figure out how much I'll continue sending to my ROTH, and how much I'll contribute to the 401k above the required amount.

So I'm going to borrow a term from CyNewbie of YNAB - Big Bodacious Goals for my 39th year of life:

1. Save $2,500 in Car Replacement/Repairs category
2. Save $3,000 in Taxable Account category
3. Save $3,000 in House Downpayment category
4. Save $500 to replace computer

I'll be adding the above goals to my sidebar soon.

Any Windfalls or Snowflakes will be handled like this:
1. Amazon gift cards - pays for protein powder for smoothies, or any ebooks I want, etc.

2. Non-gift cards: (i.e. cash, PayPal funds, tax refunds, 3rd paychecks, overtime)Leftover money from Utilities(gas, electric, phone), Fuel, Grocery categories. *Birthday/Christmas cash I might treat a little differently - maybe a 50/25/25 split.

***20% to Spending Money
***40% to Taxable Account
***40% to House Downpayment

Below is my budget. Pre-tax I have health insurance, health account (Fafa??) and dental insurance taken out right now.

So .. after those deductions, my net income is about $1647/month (until January 30, then I'll be getting a raise of 4-5%)

Tithe: 145
Giving: 25
Rent: 430
Internet: 66 (ugh!! wish I could get this lower)
Phone: 40
Electric: 50
Apt Gas: 40
Groceries: 150
Spending Money: 20
Medical: 25 (have 50/mo deducted pre-tax)
Kari (Cat): 40 (food, litter, vet)
Car Gas: 50

Savings/Rainy Day:
EF: 25
Car Ins: 45 (pay 2x a year)
Life Ins: 16 (pay 1x a year)
Car Replace/Repair/etc: 150
Vacation: 50
ROTH: 200
Computer/Electronics: 40
Taxable Investments: 25
House Downpayment: 25

Clothing, Restaurants/eating out, Household stuff, Entertainment, misc. all come from the Spending Money category.

I don't have cable, and I am not currently paying for any subscription services. I have been using Bing to get free Hulu+, but am seriously considering stopping that. I just don't use it that much.

As part of my effort to improve both my physical health and my financial health, I am going to start doing this --- Any food "treats" (i.e junkfood) won't come out of the grocery category, but will come out of the spending money category. Since I would like to be able to use this for other things than food, I'm hoping it will help me to curb my impulse to purchase (and consume) this stuff.

I had my Ting capable phone for awhile now - been using it mainly as an extra device for PerkTv. I got my SIM card a couple weeks ago ...

Today though was the big day when I knew I'd have a good amount of time to work on making the switch from AT&T to Ting.

I ran into some issues when putting in the SIM card. The online instructions didn't say anything about needing to put the sim card in the little plastic piece that came out of the phone. So ... I got the SIM card stuck in the phone. Oops.

Thankfully there is a smartphone repair shop here - so I went over there and the guy had it fixed for me in five minutes. No charge!

I got home and started the activation process. Ran into a problem. I got a great customer service rep - named Clint. He helped me get my phone activated.

As soon as it was activated, I saw that it was going to have a much better connection in my apartment than ATT - so I decided to port my number.

Clint let me know all I needed was my ATT account number.

Another hiccup - I couldn't log in to my wireless account - it kept sending me to my defunct Internet account. So Clint told me he'd send me an email detailing what we'd done so far, and then once I had the info I needed, to email him. (He was willing to wait, but I didn't know how long it would take.)

Fifteen minutes later after a bunch of annoying stuff, I had my account info and emailed Clint.

He called me about five minutes later. He then started the porting process.

I was told it could take six - 24 hours - but during this time I could still use my number on my ATT phone.

--
About then is when NE came over and we went out to do some errands. We got back about two hours after I started the porting process.

I had an email telling me that the porting was finished!

I had a bit of trouble finishing the process - mainly because of user error (couldn't remember my Ting password and then forgot to do the final step to finish activating my phone.) Clint was so helpful the whole time.

Now I just have to wait to see what my final bill from ATT will be. I have a $50 credit on my account from the previous time I 'tested' Ting, so my first month at least will be free.

---
I would give major kudos to Ting's customer service!

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I wasn't able to do the other thing I wanted to do today - make a doctor's appointment. The place I want to try out was closed. So I'm going to call on Monday during my lunch break.

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Had a very different Thanksgiving. NE and I were invited over to his friend's house. I'd never met his wife and stepson before. His friend had done all the cooking (I brought my corn pudding a sparkling grape juice) His stepson barely even acknowledged our presence - he had his head in his phone 99% of the time. As did the mom ... We sat in the living room eating off tv trays while eating and watching tv .. the whole time.

So very different from what I'm used to.

Today marked the end of the 60 day no eating out challenge. I celebrated by getting a vegge burger from BK. Yum!!

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A couple weeks ago when I was in KC getting NE after his car troubles, my check engine light came on. I figured it was the oxygen sensor or something minor like that. That's what it always was with my Honda. Today I finally got by an Advanced Auto Parts store and had them do a reading to make sure.

Ugh. It doesn't sound as though it is a minor thing at all - something about a malfunction in the computer/engine connection. The guy told me I should get to a dealer pretty soon to get it figured out.

I have a 2010 Yaris that I bought used two years ago (hard to believe it's been that long!)

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Work has been ... stressful ... boring ... hair pulling outing ... Without wanting to, I seem to have been placed in square in the middle of a political (office politics) nightmare. The long and short of it is that some of the people in the office had someone else in mind for my job, who obviously didn't get it. They now gleefully point out every single mistake I make to my boss K. I'd love to say I don't make mistakes, but I can't. Thankfully K is an uber awesome boss and has told me not to worry - that she isn't worried.

I just keep repeating to myself that I have health benefits and in a bit over two months will have retirement benefits too and a raise ...

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For Thanksgiving NE and I have been invited over to a long time friend of his house. He and his wife and stepson will all be there - I've never met the wife or stepson so that will be interesting. I'll be making corn pudding so I can be sure to have something I can eat besides sweet potatoes and bread.

NE is back to working 20 hours a week at his job - although *both* of his shoulders are in terrible condition. His ribs at least seem to be healing. He is really looking forward to January when the Obamacare plan he is working on enrolling in will go into effect.. At least one of his shoulders will more than likely require surgery. (He had a bad shoulder already, but the car incident a few weeks ago made it ten times worse. Then the spinout last week tweaked the good shoulder.)

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I am SO looking forward to a short work week next week. 4 days off in a row will be heaven.

So on Thursday my already interesting week got even more interesting. This time thankfully it wasn't a scary experience. It was something I would never have thought to have put on a bucket list, but am glad to have experienced it.

What was this experience?

I got to attend my first ever press conference!

The bus company I work at was awarded a sizable money grant that they are going to use to buy 3 new buses and a driving simulator. The mayor, and some other major dignitaries were all there.

It was way cool. There were 4 tv stations covering it, and at least one newspaper reporter (who asked some questions at the end.)

My boss K told me I'll have the chance to attend many more. Whatever gets me away from the phones ...

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Today was very stressful at work. I think I'm just way overtired. I made a mistake this afternoon - a stupid one - that I'm sure to hear about on Monday. I've really been trying to be *uber* careful, and yet still did it (gave the wrong pass to someone basically.)

--
We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. It sure is cold enough for it!

Wednesday the heat wasn't working on my side of the office and I was *freezing* - Thursday it was working - today it was sort of working.

I brought my space heater to the office on Thursday, but haven't used it yet.

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If you haven't heard of PerksTV it is an iPhone (and Android too I think) app. you earn points by watching videos. I finally earned enough to cash out for a $5 AGC today. I wonder how long it will take to arrive?

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I think it is a good thing I got a new phone. My 4S has been having some weird battery issues this week.

I got my sim card in the mail on Wed but haven't had a chance to mess with it yet. I need to call ATT and find out what my ETF is going to be.
---

So I'm close to the end of my 60 day eating out challenge. Other than two exceptions I did it with no trouble. I m looking forward to allowing myself the option again, but I think the challenge has successfully reset my resisting eating out muscle so I won't go crazy with it.

I stayed up pretty late last night updating my YNAB budget.

Even though I haven't gone out to eat in 6? weeks (I think that's right?)I still have spent WAY too much money at grocery stores. That's the thing about credit card statements - it's there in your face how often you shopped at different places.

So my goal for November is to not grocery shop more than once per week - at any type of grocery store. I would really like to try out the vegan restaurant that Ceejay mentioned before the day after Thanksgiving - maybe can get NE to go with me - That'll be my reward for keeping to only once a week grocery shopping for November (and the end of my 60 day no eating out challenge)

So here is my basic budget. The phone cost will be changing soon (thankfully!) but the Internet can't be cut - believe me, I've looked for something cheaper. It boggles my mind that I paid half that in a boondock town in NM with no competition ...

Giving:
Tithe: $125
Offering/Charity: $20

Fixed:
Rent: 430
House Gas: 50
House Electric: 50
Phone: 75 (hopefully will be 30 soon)
Internet: 65 (ugh!)
Auto gas: 70 (usually more like $35, but like to have a buffer for months where I use more)

Not Fixed:
Groceries - 200 (would like to get to 150 or less)
Medical - 50 (monthly prescription, co-pays)

Spending Money - Funded only by outside sources such as Pinecone surveys, Bubblews, Swagbucks, etc.
Used for
Restaurants
Clothing
Household Goods
Entertainment
Gifts
Wants that don't fall into the other categories

Savings:
Car Fund (maintenance, repairs, replacement, etc): 200
Car Insurance: 42 (paid every six months)
Life Insurance: 16 (paid once a year)
Vacation: 25
Technology (i.e. computer - will need new one soon): 25
ROTH: 200

Slush Fund: Whatever is left after the above categories are funded. When this gets over $2500, it will go to:

60% House Fund
40% Emergency Fund (I have 4 months worth saved right now.)

I want to keep my Slush fund at $2500, so if it goes below that, then I will just go back to funding it again until it's back there. You could call it kind of my Buffer fund between my regular budget and my actual EF.

The Slush Fund would be used in case I have a larger expense in one of my budgeted categories than I have funds for. Also to be used for any cat expenses above cat litter and cat food (those are included in groceries category.)

ETA - With the exception of Spending Money, Charitable, and Savings - any leftover money on the last day of the month will be swept into the Slush Fund.

ETA 2 - I wanted to mention that my phone purchase was totally funded by the Spending Money category - earnings from surveys, Bubblews, etc. When I sell my 4S, the proceeds will go back into the Spending Money category to kind of repay myself. Also the difference between my 75 phone bill and my new bill will also go into my spending Money category until I've "repaid" myself.

So Thursday night around 6:15 I get a call from NE. He had gone to Kansas City, MO to pick up some electronics for his eBay business. Before he got to where he was going, his car broke down! Not only that though - as he tried messing with it, he majorly wrenched his bad shoulder and also landed on his back very hard.

So there was no question in my mind but that I had to go get him. (He didn't ask, but I know that is what he was hoping I would do.)

I called my boss K and told her that I might be a little late to work because of a short night. After she heard why, she told me that if I needed to, I could use one of my PCH days even though I wasn't arranging it a day ahead of time. I am SO glad she was willing to let me do that.

I managed to find NE about 9:30 - about the same time the tow truck driver arrived. He was in *such* pain. He got in my car and we followed the tow truck over to the nearest Wal-mart. I was kind of baffled at why we were taking it to a Wal-mart - I was pretty sure all they did was oil changes/batteries and tires.

Turned out I was right. Just after the car was unloaded, a police officer drove by and let us know that Wal-mart wouldn't be able to do anything for his car. Thankfully the tow truck driver didn't charge to rehook the car.

I found a car garage nearby and we took the car there. (about 4 miles) In all, it cost about $120 for hooking the car up and towing. Ouch.

By the time we had dropped the key and note in the garage drop box and was ready to head out, it was nearly 11:30.

I was totally beat, but managed to drive back. NE needed some stuff from the store, so we stopped in there, and then I dropped him off at home. It was about 2:43 a.m. by the time I walked in my door.

I used up a full tank of gas plus more - need to fill up again.

NE was supposed to work tonight and tomorrow night - but with his arm the way it is, there is no way. He doesn't have health insurance which is why he's just basically lived with a bad shoulder for five+ years. He told me last night that his arm pain was worse than the pain he was in after a car accident about six years ago.

This definitely was not how I planned on using one of my two PCH days, however I am sure glad I had it available and had such an understanding boss! If I would have tried going in to work today, I would have been pretty beat.

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I got an email that my $9 payment from Pinecone came through just fine to my PayPal account, and I also have the $90.xx echeck from Bubblews in my PayPal account.

Today I cashed out for another $55.xx from Bubblews. I'm going to take a break from Bubblews until at least December while I work on my NaNoWriMo project. Hopefully I won't lose all my connections.

So I got an email today from Pinecone telling me that my recent cashout of $9 had been denied - from PayPal. This prompted me to ask to leave work early on Wednesday - one hour early. I figured that I would have to do that in order to get ahold of a human being.

Tonight I decided to look up the number for PayPal so I'd have it ready to go tomorrow. Color me shocked when I saw their customer service hours = 4 a.m. to 10pm PT!

Of course I went ahead and called. I explained my utter frustration with my account being limited and how I hadn't been able to purchase postage for my eBay sale a few weeks ago and then now not being able to receive payment!

The CS rep was very patient with me and told me that all he needed was my birthdate to possibly verify my identity. So, I gave him it. IT still wouldn't verify me!! Ugh!

But he told me to go ahead and try to withdraw money from my account - he didn't see why I couldn't do that. So I did - and it worked!

He wasn't sure why my Pinecone payment didn't go through or why I couldn't purchase postage on eBay. So he transferred me to eBay.

The eBay rep basically told me that he couldn't really help me unless it was happening right then - he told me where/how to find the customer service number for the shipping issue if it were to happen again.

I wrote Pinecone and asked them to try resending the payment. Hopefully it goes through because I'm expecting a Bubblews payment in about ten days or so (of 90 something dollars.)

I've got $33.xx in my Pact app that I've been waiting to withdraw until I figured out the PayPal mess - so maybe I can withdraw that too now - see if it works.

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I wrote the majority of the outline for the book I think I'm going to write. Although as I outlined it, I realized that writing it at work might not be such a good thing. It could be kind of ... emotional ... writing it out. I'm still going to try though.

50,000 words divided by 30 equals 1,666 words a day. There are five weekends in November, so let's say I do 5,000 words each weekend - that would be 25,000 words. That would give me about 1,200 words a day to write during the week. Yikes, that still seems daunting. I'm going to try though.

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I canceled my Amazon Prime membership yesterday. So as of now the only entertainment type thing I'm paying for is Internet (and that is expensive enough!)

I get Hulu+ for "free" through Bing rewards. I do a month of Hulu reward and then a 500 SBs reward each month. The last few days they were letting me do 60 points a day, plus there were a LOT of extra points. Swoon... I'm halfway towards my next 500 SBs reward thanks to the 60+ point days.

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I saw my paycheck for this Thursday - health insurance and dental were taken out. I liked last paycheck so much better ... But I'm not complaining about having health insurance, no sirree!

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I took a walk around the neighborhood today - about 32 minutes of walking. It was a little bit chilly for yoga pants and sandals, but I didn't want to chance my old tennies and didn't feel like wearing long pants or a jacket - not *that* cold yet.

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Did any of you see the article on soda aging people as badly as smoking?? Yikes! Yet reason #50003939393938271 to stop drinking soda. I needed to see that since I've been slipping ...

I have done some spending this weekend (other than groceries and gas) -

1. I bought an iPhone 5S from Glyde for $348. It is listed as in excellent condition and should be here in a week. Once it is here and I can verify that it works well, then I'll be listing my current iPhone 4S on Glyde and see what I can get for it.

Then I can also fully switch to Ting and tell ATT goodbye forever!

2. I bought a year's membership to Sam's Club via a Living Social deal. $45 - you get the membership, a $20 gift card and 4 free food items (2 of which I'll probably let NE have since it's meat items) So the membership will really cost $25 for the year.

I can get cat litter there so much more cheaply, as well as some other food staples (rice milk, quinoa, lentils, etc.)

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I'm still going fairly strong with the no eating out challenge. Five weeks down, and on week six. Sunday I did stop at DQ with NE -- it was the last day they were open for the season and everything was half-price. So .. we splurged a bit as part of an actual outing date. (We don't have too many actual outing dates - most "dates" are stay at home.)

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I think I'm going to slow way down on Bubblews. It was taking way too much of my time ... and with the recent changes, it really isn't worth it anymore. In a few days I'll be able to redeem for another $55 payment. So, all in all I made around $300 something since June with it. Not too shabby.

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I'm debating if I really need a couch. I don't really spend anytime in my living room - all my time is either in my bedroom/computer area or kitchen. Even in NM when I had a couch and loveseat (the missions) I think I can count on two hands the number of times I sat on them or others sat on them - other than when I had company overnight and slept on the couch. If I need a sleeping couch, I've got something for that. (inflatable)

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On Saturday I walked 1.1 miles to my local library branch to pick up something that was on hold. The walk was great, except ... I decided to wear a brand new pair of tennis shoes (bought for $15 on sale a few months ago.) By the time I got to the library, one of my heels had developed a large blister and had that blister pop. The other heel had a small one do the same thing.

Thank goodness the librarian had band aids!

It's nice to know that I can easily walk to the library here. In NM I could walk to the PO, but I can't here. I'd much rather be able to walk to the library.

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I start my belly dancing class on Wednesday night!! I am a little nervous about doing it in front of other people - in front of my mirror is one thing ... but I hope I'll have fun.

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I'm getting seriously bored at work. There is a LOT of downtime. I just have to keep reminding myself that it pays decent and has really good benefits. Especially health insurance which starts on Nov 1!!

I'm considering trying to write a book or something on my downtime (between spurts of phone calls and people buying passes.) I haven't quite figured out what it would be about yet though. Maybe a fictionalized version of some of my family's story. It would be something to keep keep my brain busy at least. (and probably look better to be typing away at something on the computer rather than reading the newspaper or a book --- reading the newspaper - or at least scanning it, is actually one of my tasks .. I just extend it to thoroughly reading it.)

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3 months and one week til I get a pay raise and am eligible to take vacation and sick days. I can hardly wait!

This past week I haven't felt the greatest. I powered through the last 3 days of work ... then got in a good nap before NE came over Friday night. But Saturday and most of today ... I vegetated. lots of sleep, lots of doing nothing.

Well, not totally nothing. I did *finally* get the cheese cleaned out from my oven so that I can use it again. That stuff was pretty hard encased on the oven bottom. I didn't get it all off, but after testing it, it was enough so I won't get to test out my smoke alarm anytime soon.

I also did a load of dishes. (Can I say how much I love having a full sized dishwasher again?)

I thought about doing laundry, but then realized that if I washed out a couple bras, I could get by another week. This would be my 4th week - all clean tops, reusing a couple skirts and jeans. Can you say - she has too many clothes?

NE will be coming by tonight and we'll be making pizza from a Chef Boyrdee kit. I need to get cheese and pineapple. He's bringing the hamburger for his half. (pineapple only goes on my half) Maybe we'll watch Edge of Tomorrow - rent it off Amazon.

With all the rest I've had this weekend, I am feeling much better than I have in awhile. Here's hoping it'll last. I need to get a flu shot soon, but don't want to get it when I'm feeling sick.

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I am starting on my 4th week of the no eating out challenge. Overall I think it is saving me money (at least from what I'd been doing since living here.)

NE's stepsister that we went out to dinner with on Tuesday night (first time ever meeting each other - NE and stepsister) posted some photos she took of us on FB. The one with NE and I looked fine, but the one with NE, her and I ... I guess I don't see myself standing next to skinny people too often. Ugh.

So I am thinking of adding something new to this challenge. Not only no eating out, but no spending more than $5 on junk food per week. I would eliminate it completely, but I think that would backfire.

I also feel like I'm spending way too much time on the Internet (Bubblews esp.) So when I get home from work I am going to do 30 minutes of piano, 30 minutes of some form of exercise, 15 minutes of language practice and 15 minutes of cleaning/organizing.
Then I can get on the computer.

On the nights NE isn't here, I'm going to limit my computer time to 2 hours. Outside of that I'm going to read books or magazines! (Not surf Internet!)

I haven't quite figured out how to regulate the weekend days better yet ... Maybe 15 minutes of Internet time for every 30 minutes doing something else (piano, reading, cleaning, making something, exercise, etc)

Like I said, I spend WAY too much time on the Internet.

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I have been watching this awesome new show on Hulu+ called A to Z - it's the story of a relationship. Two episodes so far and I absolutely love it. I also have been watching Selfie - not as good as A to Z, but it has plenty of LOL moments. Plus I love how it's playing on the My Fair Lady storyline.

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I am still thinking about my goals. This month I have an extra paycheck, so if I used that money, I could wipe out several wants - couch, printer, remote start on car in one fell swoop. And have some left over to put into general savings.

I love YNAB and have used it off and on for years and years. But ... I am starting to think that a different approach might work better for me. Since I'm not attacking a debt monster, and I don't have any big huge things to save up for other than retirement ...

Maybe something like this - still live off of last month's income (per YNAB)

Put the amount needed into the Must Have categories. Then the remainder goes into a non-tracked category - kind of a whatever it's needed for without having to be tracked.

Must haves would be: tithe/offering, rent, utilities, Internet, phone, auto fuel, insurances, ROTH contributions, car savings, general savings, emergency savings,

Groceries, clothing, household goods, hair care, etc., etc., etc. would come out of whatever is left and not be tracked explicitly.

So for example, I go to Walmart and I spend $70 on grocery items, cat food, makeup, and maybe a new pair of shoes. Instead of painstakingly splitting all those items out, I'd just track it as "Walmart:Non-Tracked"

My reasoning is that I can do pretty good for a few months tracking minutia, but then it stops working for me ... I miss a receipt or two or three .. This way I will still be tracking it, but it won't have to be detailed - so if I miss entering a receipt or two or three, I can just get the info from my CC site and not worry about the details.

I would want the amount in this category to build up so I have money available for bigger things (vacations, couches, etc. ...) Maybe put a minimum amount that has to be left in there if making a bigger spend/purchase. (This is what would keep me from willy nilly spending everything just because it's there - I'd want to be careful with the spending so I have it for other bigger things.)

Whatever extra monies I get (like from Bubblews, etc.) would automatically go into the Non-Tracked category. Extra paychecks or amounts larger than say $500 would be figured out as it happens.

Anyway ... haven't figured it all out yet.

I am still going strong on my 60 day no eating out challenge.

NE came over last night and we made spaghetti - he brought the noodles and a mango for dessert. I had the rest of what we needed. (Although I had to search high and low for my strainer!)

Today I did go shopping - supposedly *just* for bananas and something to scrub my stove with and something to clean my new pan that got burned sauce ... Of course ended up with more .. but not too bad.

On Sunday I shopped at Walmart and tried the savings catcher app again - this time it worked! I got $1.02 back.

I cashed out on Bubblews on Tuesday for $91 (September earnings). I am now up to $7 for October. I won't be spending as much time on it this month, so my goal is just to get to $50 so I can cash out again on the 31st.

I also cashed out $9 in Pinecone payments.

In September I cashed out for two $25 Paypal payments from SBs, so I'm a little behind for October. I was able to cash out for 3 $5 AGCs and am working on the other two.

On the YouGov survey site I have enough points to cash out for a $25 movie certificate. I'm debating if that is what I want to do or not - not sure which one to get - Regal or AMC theaters. It would be enough for NE and I to see a movie together (he and I saw Guardians of the Galaxy on Sunday - his treat. Loved it!)

I found out how much my health insurance is going to cost me - it's taken out pretax. $33/month. Not too bad at all. Next paycheck my dental will come out, but that won't be much at all.

This weekend I have two goals - get my pictures hung and sit down and figure out my budget and new goals.
Now that I have a job and I have a place to live AND I have a good idea of my monthly income ... it is time!

In February when I can start contributing to my retirement plan, things will change again (along with a pay raise.) But will check those eggs when they hatch.

So I'm now five full days into my no eating out challenge. And the news is ... I have been successful at it so far! The really interesting thing though is that other than needing to buy bananas on Wednesday, I have managed to do it with just food I already had on hand.

On Friday I picked up a couple quick/easy/fast vegetarian cookbooks that I plan to look over and pick out a few things from for this week. Then I'll be making my meal plan and doing whatever shopping needs to be done.

I think I have saved at least $30 this week from not eating out or stopping somewhere for a soda/candy/etc. Probably more. It was getting pretty bad. (Especially since when I would stop in for a soda/candy, etc. I would get something else so it wouldn't look like I only came in there for the junk ...)

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I had an interesting Friday night with NE - towed my first car! You can read more about it here if you want to:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8128150-friday-night-towing-adv...

We also had an interesting situation happen here with regards to tailgating last Saturday - I've been hearing some sirens today, and am hoping it is not part of the fallout; http://www.bubblews.com/news/8078503-tailgating-woes

I have now been at my new job for 8 weeks. Most of the time I really like it. I definitely like my boss K. She is such a fun person to work with. I've had the office manager C tell me she's really glad I'm there - that I have such a good attitude. This definitely is not something I want to do for 25 years, but if it is what makes it possible to retire in 10 - 15 years, I think I can handle it.

Oh, I was wondering if anyone has tried Bing Rewards today. What do you think? {url]http://www.bubblews.com/news/8130036-what039s-happened-to-bing[/url]

My first sewing class is on Tuesday! A needle and thread will be on my shopping list tomorrow.

What is the price of gas where you guys are? I was reading about how prices are expected to fall below $3! It's around $3.20 here right now. Do you think they'll really fall that low?