So, last night (on a whim), I ordered an iPod nano. It'll be my very first iPod (first MP3 player in general -- I'm quite behind on the times). (Did you know it has a built in video recorder (yay!), but not a still camera (whathuh)? Seems like an oversight to me.) Oh, and it'll be purple. Annie's decision. Actually, her first choice was the hot pink, but I made her pick between blue, purple and black.
I also ordered the Hypnobabies Home Study Course (which I will load the CD's tracks onto my brand new iPod, of course), to help me prepare for birth and hopefully relax and unwind enough to stop waking up several times during the night for no apparent reason. (I hate pregnancy insomnia). I was on a bit of an online shopping spree last night.
All of this frivolous spending was due to a fairly decent sized tax return. Most of the money has now been earmarked for the shed of Greg's dreams, the last small stretch of fence needed to corral our children in the backyard, and a sandbox for the kids. But, this was my share of it. And I'm pretty excited . . . I've spent a nice chunk of my morning organizing things on iTunes, in preparation for my iPod's arrival (sometime next week or later, though.) It should be fun.
(Although, really, why am I thanking the government . . . I'm just getting back money I overpaid them in the first place. So, instead, Thank you Hilary and Greg, for not adjusting your withholdings accordingly, and getting a nice chunk of your own money back, after it's been held interest free all year for you!)
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, October 5, 2009
Shrimpy McBaby & The (Unrelated) Bad Day
So, our day was a lot of fun. We always spend General Conference Sunday morning at Greg's parents house where an amazing breakfast is prepared and enjoyed, then we watch the first session of the day together. The kids are more entertained than they are at our own home, what with Grandparents and a variety of not-our-everyday toys. So, I actually get to listen to the speakers more than when we're home by ourselves with the crazy kids for Saturday's sessions.
Then we head to my Aunt Judy & Uncle Jerry's house, where we have a BBQ followed by a birthday celebration for my cousin Makayla. (Happy 21st Birthday Kayla!) Then we (attempt) to watch the second session as a large extended family (while eating cake), but usually end up needing to rewatch it on DVR later that evening.
These are tried and true family traditions, and I love them. I'm lucky to have so much family so close by to go and visit.
That was all great. But then we got home.
Only to find that several of our basement walls are seeping water, and the whole place smells like mildew, the carpets are drenched in two rooms, and we don't know when the leaking even started (we have since found the culprit though -- stupid ice maker hose sprang a leak, apparently sometime this week, and has been shooting water down through the wall into our basement ever since.) With our busy weekend, we haven't been downstairs in days, so didn't notice the problem 'til it had become a bit out of hand. We now have ceilings in two rooms, walls, molding, as well as a door frame, that need to be repaired (have I ever told y'all how much I hate painting. Sigh.) And we don't know what the damage is to the floor. My Dad and Greg took the wet vacs to it, then ripped it up and got fans on it, but we won't know what the full extent is 'til the insurance company comes and takes a look. When we get to find out how much this'll cost us, and debate amongst ourselves whether it's worth it to file a claim. And start figuring out where we want to pull money from. As Greg put it, "This is definitely the downside of homeownership."
I was so frustrated, and so upset by our torn apart basement that I was near tears and, honestly, starting to feel a little too much self-pity. I started to think about what a crappy month I'd had all the while trying to calculate the cost of sheetrock, and I have to admit, I was feeling a little sorry for myself. Earlier fun, enlightening, amusing, profound and touching moments from the day were weighed down by the dripping, stinky carpets pads in the basement. My basement is ripped apart and unusable for the kids. And my whole house kinda reeks now that we've put all the fans my parents own on full blast in our basement, circulating the rank air. I also had two fussy kids, apparently very miffed by their parents ignoring them while we hurridely tried to move everything out of the spare bedroom in the basement to the corner where it wouldn't get ruined. Meaning they were getting pissed and loudly letting us know. I was getting really emotionaly worked up.
Then, I decided to snap out of it. Seriously. It's just some water. Right now some smelly, costly water, but just water nonetheless. Nobody was hurt, not that much damage had been done, and our lives haven't really been affected. It's all repairable. The rest of our house, the parts we use the most, are perfectly livable.
So what, it was a bad day. But really, only the last couple hours of it. I'd had a great time for the majority of the day, and that should count for something. And most importantly, my family is healthy, happy and together. And at least we have a home. A mildly stinky one right now, but a home nonetheless. Sure, this'll be an unexpected and unwanted additional expense, but we are blessed with the means to scrap together the money and take care of it without it being a major financial disaster in our lives.
On the bright side, this is totally gonna force me to clean out that basement spare bedroom. And our carpets will get cleaned. Hey, we may even get new carpet out of this. While quickly chucking boxes into the corner of the room, away from the spreading wet puddle, I found a case of wipes down there! That's worth like fifteen bucks!
See, things aren't really that bad. :-)
And this all reminded me (in a roundabout way), that Ellie is freakishly teeny tiny. See, the spare bedroom houses all the totes full of 'clothing my children don't currently wear'. Which, is something I've been meaning to get downstairs and check out (would've been nice if I'd done this a few days ago when I'd been thinking about it, I may have caught the leak before it had done so much damage. Procrastination - 1, Hilary - 0.) Anyway, we don't have much that fits Ellie and is appropriate for the sudden and freakish cold weather. So today I dragged out some warmer clothes and sweaters that'll fit her from our flooded room. From the SIX TO NINE MONTH tote I put away LAST YEAR. That's right, my nearly 17 month old is wearing the same winter clothes she wore last year. The same stuff she started wearing at six months old. Most of them fit her really well, which isn't too surprising, as she is barely tipping the scales at 19 lbs, and most 6-9 month stuff is for up to 20 or 21 pounds. (She wore a 3-6 month dress to Church last Sunday . . . it still fits her so cute!) This shouldn't be too odd to me, as Annie totally wore the same stuff for a whole year at this age too, but it's still just weird to get out baby clothes I packed away last year for the same baby!
Ellie riding the tricycle, Annie cheesing it up in the background trying to get into the picture. I have no idea where this kid gets that from :-)
My girls dancing and singing together:
Then we head to my Aunt Judy & Uncle Jerry's house, where we have a BBQ followed by a birthday celebration for my cousin Makayla. (Happy 21st Birthday Kayla!) Then we (attempt) to watch the second session as a large extended family (while eating cake), but usually end up needing to rewatch it on DVR later that evening.
These are tried and true family traditions, and I love them. I'm lucky to have so much family so close by to go and visit.
That was all great. But then we got home.
Only to find that several of our basement walls are seeping water, and the whole place smells like mildew, the carpets are drenched in two rooms, and we don't know when the leaking even started (we have since found the culprit though -- stupid ice maker hose sprang a leak, apparently sometime this week, and has been shooting water down through the wall into our basement ever since.) With our busy weekend, we haven't been downstairs in days, so didn't notice the problem 'til it had become a bit out of hand. We now have ceilings in two rooms, walls, molding, as well as a door frame, that need to be repaired (have I ever told y'all how much I hate painting. Sigh.) And we don't know what the damage is to the floor. My Dad and Greg took the wet vacs to it, then ripped it up and got fans on it, but we won't know what the full extent is 'til the insurance company comes and takes a look. When we get to find out how much this'll cost us, and debate amongst ourselves whether it's worth it to file a claim. And start figuring out where we want to pull money from. As Greg put it, "This is definitely the downside of homeownership."
I was so frustrated, and so upset by our torn apart basement that I was near tears and, honestly, starting to feel a little too much self-pity. I started to think about what a crappy month I'd had all the while trying to calculate the cost of sheetrock, and I have to admit, I was feeling a little sorry for myself. Earlier fun, enlightening, amusing, profound and touching moments from the day were weighed down by the dripping, stinky carpets pads in the basement. My basement is ripped apart and unusable for the kids. And my whole house kinda reeks now that we've put all the fans my parents own on full blast in our basement, circulating the rank air. I also had two fussy kids, apparently very miffed by their parents ignoring them while we hurridely tried to move everything out of the spare bedroom in the basement to the corner where it wouldn't get ruined. Meaning they were getting pissed and loudly letting us know. I was getting really emotionaly worked up.
Then, I decided to snap out of it. Seriously. It's just some water. Right now some smelly, costly water, but just water nonetheless. Nobody was hurt, not that much damage had been done, and our lives haven't really been affected. It's all repairable. The rest of our house, the parts we use the most, are perfectly livable.
So what, it was a bad day. But really, only the last couple hours of it. I'd had a great time for the majority of the day, and that should count for something. And most importantly, my family is healthy, happy and together. And at least we have a home. A mildly stinky one right now, but a home nonetheless. Sure, this'll be an unexpected and unwanted additional expense, but we are blessed with the means to scrap together the money and take care of it without it being a major financial disaster in our lives.
On the bright side, this is totally gonna force me to clean out that basement spare bedroom. And our carpets will get cleaned. Hey, we may even get new carpet out of this. While quickly chucking boxes into the corner of the room, away from the spreading wet puddle, I found a case of wipes down there! That's worth like fifteen bucks!
See, things aren't really that bad. :-)
And this all reminded me (in a roundabout way), that Ellie is freakishly teeny tiny. See, the spare bedroom houses all the totes full of 'clothing my children don't currently wear'. Which, is something I've been meaning to get downstairs and check out (would've been nice if I'd done this a few days ago when I'd been thinking about it, I may have caught the leak before it had done so much damage. Procrastination - 1, Hilary - 0.) Anyway, we don't have much that fits Ellie and is appropriate for the sudden and freakish cold weather. So today I dragged out some warmer clothes and sweaters that'll fit her from our flooded room. From the SIX TO NINE MONTH tote I put away LAST YEAR. That's right, my nearly 17 month old is wearing the same winter clothes she wore last year. The same stuff she started wearing at six months old. Most of them fit her really well, which isn't too surprising, as she is barely tipping the scales at 19 lbs, and most 6-9 month stuff is for up to 20 or 21 pounds. (She wore a 3-6 month dress to Church last Sunday . . . it still fits her so cute!) This shouldn't be too odd to me, as Annie totally wore the same stuff for a whole year at this age too, but it's still just weird to get out baby clothes I packed away last year for the same baby!
Later, right before bed, both kids decided to be freakishly cute. As if just willing me to forget all my troubles and just bask in the adorableness of my children. Not too much in life can't be wrong when you have a one year old propelling herself around the room on a tricycle way too big for her, all while wearing no pants:
Annie showing off her mad scootering skills:
She's such a little scooter dare devil :-)
Annie showing off her mad scootering skills:
She's such a little scooter dare devil :-)
Ellie riding the tricycle, Annie cheesing it up in the background trying to get into the picture. I have no idea where this kid gets that from :-)
My girls dancing and singing together:Friday, October 24, 2008
Good Friends & Good Deals
My very kind, sweet, amazing, thoughtful, friend Steph dropped by with an out-of-the-blue present for me today. Lorna Doone snack packs! I've mentioned before my new found obsession with Lorna Doone cookies since hoarding them while in the hospital for Ellie's birth. Turns out, these 'crisps' are even better than the regular cookies. And far fewer calories! Thanks Steph!
Thanks to all of you who posted on my budget/money post . . . and if anyone else has anything to add, it's always appreciated. Last night, while grocery shopping, I ended up making two seperate trips up to the customer service counter at Albertson's getting refunds. Reminding me of my number one grocery savings tip. Always, always, always, pay attention as they're ringing you up at the grocery store (any store, really.) For me this means having all coupons, shoppers cards and money/credit cards ready to go, and Ellie usually back into her carseat, so that I can pay attention. I race to get everything up on the belt before they are actually checking me out, 'cause I like to be watching the check out process from the beginning. No exaggeration, I think I catch a mistake at least one out of every three shopping trips. (Especially if you go the first night of a sale . . . you're more likely to be able to get the items you want and not need a raincheck for the super cool deals, but they haven't worked all of the bugs out of the system). Last night's mistakes at Albertsons totaled fifteen dollars. In one transaction. Had I not been watching or paying attention to what I was buying, and what the offers were, I would have been out all that money. And for me, that's a chunk of the grocery budget I can't spare. One of my purchases tonight was a chunk of money off if you bought ten of one item. Which I did. But, apparently, one variety of the product that I bought wasn't coming up in the system as part of the same promotion (even though it should have been), so when the sale totalled, it didn't take the discount off any of the items. The other 'mistake' I came across tonight was on Albertson's buy two, get two promotion. I'd bought my four items, and it wasn't until I got out to the car that I realized the purchase price of two of those items hadn't been taken off. So, I went back inside to have it fixed. I was informed that those items weren't listed in the ad. I walked the service desk lady to the display where the item was not only marked with the promotion, but the sign had a picture of the actual item on it. She still seemed wary of giving me the deal, saying again, "Well, it's not supposed to be on sale, it's not on the ad." To which I responded sweetly, "Yeah, but it is on this sign. You can take the sign down so you guys don't run into this again, but it's pretty obvious what's being advertised here, so I'd like my refund on these two items." Sometimes you have to nicely tell them what you expect from them. Usually, they'll see things your way. If not, a manager will. As long as you're being polite and reasonable.
Make a mental note of what things should cost, especially clearance items. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten something like a lipstick that was marked down to like two bucks on the shelf, and it rang it at regular price at the checkstand. If you're not watching these things (or at least checking your receipt closely when you get back to your car), you're just throwing money away (and if you're me, probably ending up with a lipstick that you would've never paid full price for . . . what is it about something being marked two bucks that makes me think I can pull off 'pink stardust' lipgloss).
So, anyway, long story short (too late), paying attention at the checkstand, knowing what you're buying and what it should cost, can save you a ton of money in the long run.
And speaking of saving money, right now at Albertson's they're running a pretty cool deal. We don't drink much soda at our house, but for the occassional root beer floats or for parties, we like to keep a couple two liter A&Ws around. Well, this week at Albertson's, buy ten 7-Up, A&W Root Beer or Sunkist two liters for ten dollars, and they'll print a ten dollar rebate form for you at the checkstand. Yep, making ten bottles of soda completely free. Not necessarily the healthiest food storage items around, but can't beat free!
Thanks to all of you who posted on my budget/money post . . . and if anyone else has anything to add, it's always appreciated. Last night, while grocery shopping, I ended up making two seperate trips up to the customer service counter at Albertson's getting refunds. Reminding me of my number one grocery savings tip. Always, always, always, pay attention as they're ringing you up at the grocery store (any store, really.) For me this means having all coupons, shoppers cards and money/credit cards ready to go, and Ellie usually back into her carseat, so that I can pay attention. I race to get everything up on the belt before they are actually checking me out, 'cause I like to be watching the check out process from the beginning. No exaggeration, I think I catch a mistake at least one out of every three shopping trips. (Especially if you go the first night of a sale . . . you're more likely to be able to get the items you want and not need a raincheck for the super cool deals, but they haven't worked all of the bugs out of the system). Last night's mistakes at Albertsons totaled fifteen dollars. In one transaction. Had I not been watching or paying attention to what I was buying, and what the offers were, I would have been out all that money. And for me, that's a chunk of the grocery budget I can't spare. One of my purchases tonight was a chunk of money off if you bought ten of one item. Which I did. But, apparently, one variety of the product that I bought wasn't coming up in the system as part of the same promotion (even though it should have been), so when the sale totalled, it didn't take the discount off any of the items. The other 'mistake' I came across tonight was on Albertson's buy two, get two promotion. I'd bought my four items, and it wasn't until I got out to the car that I realized the purchase price of two of those items hadn't been taken off. So, I went back inside to have it fixed. I was informed that those items weren't listed in the ad. I walked the service desk lady to the display where the item was not only marked with the promotion, but the sign had a picture of the actual item on it. She still seemed wary of giving me the deal, saying again, "Well, it's not supposed to be on sale, it's not on the ad." To which I responded sweetly, "Yeah, but it is on this sign. You can take the sign down so you guys don't run into this again, but it's pretty obvious what's being advertised here, so I'd like my refund on these two items." Sometimes you have to nicely tell them what you expect from them. Usually, they'll see things your way. If not, a manager will. As long as you're being polite and reasonable.
Make a mental note of what things should cost, especially clearance items. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten something like a lipstick that was marked down to like two bucks on the shelf, and it rang it at regular price at the checkstand. If you're not watching these things (or at least checking your receipt closely when you get back to your car), you're just throwing money away (and if you're me, probably ending up with a lipstick that you would've never paid full price for . . . what is it about something being marked two bucks that makes me think I can pull off 'pink stardust' lipgloss).
So, anyway, long story short (too late), paying attention at the checkstand, knowing what you're buying and what it should cost, can save you a ton of money in the long run.
And speaking of saving money, right now at Albertson's they're running a pretty cool deal. We don't drink much soda at our house, but for the occassional root beer floats or for parties, we like to keep a couple two liter A&Ws around. Well, this week at Albertson's, buy ten 7-Up, A&W Root Beer or Sunkist two liters for ten dollars, and they'll print a ten dollar rebate form for you at the checkstand. Yep, making ten bottles of soda completely free. Not necessarily the healthiest food storage items around, but can't beat free!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Money, Money, Money
Since I'm grounded from watching financial news (it's now a self-imposed grounding, I get too worked up, it ain't good for me.) I've turned to my friend the internet to help me plan for the possibly-bleak financial days ahead. Mainly, I'm looking at budgeting. But then I've just found there's sooooo many sites with so many different plans, and I get bored easily . . . so I decided to just ask you guys your opinion.
I have some things I know are important to me: no credit card or other debts, make more than our recommended mortgage payment, keep spending to a minimum and keep saving money, especially in our mutual funds/401Ks, 'cause we're getting KILLER deals right now in this market.
But I know I could be doing better. Earlier this year I attempted my first 'budget'. I know, I know, as a homeowner for the past 9 years I should probably have had a budget before this year, but I didn't. And I've never used a check registry. My Mom's pretty convinced she somehow went horribly wrong in her raising of me. But this year I really wrote it down, figured out what our actual bills are each month (shocking, I know), and made a plan. Our bills are all taken out of our checking account on certain days, gas is just put on the debit card and I just keep track of how much we're spending there, and everything else is done in cash. Each month I get a certain amount of cash from our checking account, and divide that cash up into my multi-pocketed purse. There's a pocket for groceries, a pocket for the girls (diapers, wipes, clothes), a pocket for spending money and a pocket for date money.
I'm really loving the cash system, since I've never been so aware of where my money is going. (I'm spending less than I used to . . . Greg loves it, 'cause with cash handed to him each and every month, he's spending more than he ever has before. It's like Christmas every month now for him.) The problem is the 'miscellaneous.' We leave an extra amount of money in the checking account to use, but I find when I end up putting 'extra' stuff on the debit card (like where does a new humidifier come from in the budget?!), I might just pick up some new mascara and some tortillas at the same time I buy that humidifier with our miscellaneous debit monies. I guess I need to keep myself more honest. I also tend to be a little too liberal with the grocery budget, 'cause if I run outta grocery money I know I'll just use the debit card; if I run out of my 'fun' money, I can't bring myself to charge a meal at Chick-fil-A, since that's obviously against our financial plan. So, I end up eating up our grocery budget too early in the month by grabbing a new pair of jeans for Annie and baby wipes or something while grocery shopping.
Oh, and the single smartest financial decision I've made? We direct deposit the least possible amount we can live off of, plus one hundred dollars, into our checking account each month. The rest goes automatically into a savings account. At a whole 'nother bank. I have a tendency to spend whatever is available, so no available money works out best for me. Plus, if I run out of money by the end of the month, even for a legitimate reason, it's a big deal to transfer money from one bank to another, making me think twice. Whereas any money in the our savings account at the same bank as our checking just gets transferred and spent before I even stop to think about it.
So, what are your guys' suggestions for financial bliss? Sure fire budgeting software? Any budgeting tips or financial words of wisdom to share with those of us less money-wise?
Edited to add: Thanks for the advice so far! Keep it coming! I forgot to mention this, another financial tip on my end is I actually have all of our tithing and fast offerings automatically deposited to an account other than our main checking account, so that that money never makes it into the 'budget', but is set aside from the get go. I tend to be more of a 'once a month or so' type of tithing payer, so to have the money sitting in our checking account for an extra few weeks would send me into a unconscious spending spree. So, it never factors into our regular budget, making it easier for me to make sure I've never spent the money when it sits there for awhile.
I have some things I know are important to me: no credit card or other debts, make more than our recommended mortgage payment, keep spending to a minimum and keep saving money, especially in our mutual funds/401Ks, 'cause we're getting KILLER deals right now in this market.
But I know I could be doing better. Earlier this year I attempted my first 'budget'. I know, I know, as a homeowner for the past 9 years I should probably have had a budget before this year, but I didn't. And I've never used a check registry. My Mom's pretty convinced she somehow went horribly wrong in her raising of me. But this year I really wrote it down, figured out what our actual bills are each month (shocking, I know), and made a plan. Our bills are all taken out of our checking account on certain days, gas is just put on the debit card and I just keep track of how much we're spending there, and everything else is done in cash. Each month I get a certain amount of cash from our checking account, and divide that cash up into my multi-pocketed purse. There's a pocket for groceries, a pocket for the girls (diapers, wipes, clothes), a pocket for spending money and a pocket for date money.
I'm really loving the cash system, since I've never been so aware of where my money is going. (I'm spending less than I used to . . . Greg loves it, 'cause with cash handed to him each and every month, he's spending more than he ever has before. It's like Christmas every month now for him.) The problem is the 'miscellaneous.' We leave an extra amount of money in the checking account to use, but I find when I end up putting 'extra' stuff on the debit card (like where does a new humidifier come from in the budget?!), I might just pick up some new mascara and some tortillas at the same time I buy that humidifier with our miscellaneous debit monies. I guess I need to keep myself more honest. I also tend to be a little too liberal with the grocery budget, 'cause if I run outta grocery money I know I'll just use the debit card; if I run out of my 'fun' money, I can't bring myself to charge a meal at Chick-fil-A, since that's obviously against our financial plan. So, I end up eating up our grocery budget too early in the month by grabbing a new pair of jeans for Annie and baby wipes or something while grocery shopping.
Oh, and the single smartest financial decision I've made? We direct deposit the least possible amount we can live off of, plus one hundred dollars, into our checking account each month. The rest goes automatically into a savings account. At a whole 'nother bank. I have a tendency to spend whatever is available, so no available money works out best for me. Plus, if I run out of money by the end of the month, even for a legitimate reason, it's a big deal to transfer money from one bank to another, making me think twice. Whereas any money in the our savings account at the same bank as our checking just gets transferred and spent before I even stop to think about it.
So, what are your guys' suggestions for financial bliss? Sure fire budgeting software? Any budgeting tips or financial words of wisdom to share with those of us less money-wise?
Edited to add: Thanks for the advice so far! Keep it coming! I forgot to mention this, another financial tip on my end is I actually have all of our tithing and fast offerings automatically deposited to an account other than our main checking account, so that that money never makes it into the 'budget', but is set aside from the get go. I tend to be more of a 'once a month or so' type of tithing payer, so to have the money sitting in our checking account for an extra few weeks would send me into a unconscious spending spree. So, it never factors into our regular budget, making it easier for me to make sure I've never spent the money when it sits there for awhile.
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