Um, you learn something new every day? Friend was fan shopping and learned all fans spin in 2 directions. One setting is for winter and one for summer. NEVER heard of this.

http://www.hansenwholesale.com/ceilingfans/fanfaqs.asp#ceil...

Is it just me?

Dh checked, and wouldn't you know, since our home was built in the winter, all our ceiling fans were set to "winter" mode. & heck, they work much better in SUMMER MODE (during summer). Doh!

Not sure I will bother with winter mode, during winter. But I am a little curious to test it.

May our fans be more efficient, now... (We don't use them much at all, but maybe will with the better performance).

---------------------------------------

It will always amaze me what things we do out of habit. IT feels like there are infinite ways to become more efficient at things.

Dh was going to make some simple burritos last night and stopped by the store for the usual "burrito seasonings" packet that we have used for eternity.

He paused because the price was $2. $2?????? For a pack of spices??

Decided to improvise. We cook a lot and have ALL the spices. So he found a recipe online and whipped up his own burrito seasoning.

$2 saved!

I've actually always made my own teriyaki sauce. I don't know why. I just make a batch and keep it in the fridge. Taste better and is cheaper? I told dh he should whip up a few servings of the burrito mix, and just keep it on hand. (IT was a mix of like 10 spices). I am afraid I wouldn't have the patience for that every time I made "quick burritos." But he seemed happy with it.

I might whip up some of my own ready-made seasoning mix for the rare times I cook.

-----------------------------------------
In other news, I got my vehicle back. YAY!!!!!!!!

Today is a busy driving day, so decided to take dh's car in tomorrow.

Grand total was $2200 -- new door and all. Ouch!

I would probably just transfer $2k from savings and send a payment to the credit card, and be done. But I will hold off in case dh's AC repair is also massive.

But, yeah. Ouch! I can literally only think of a small handful of items I ever shelled out more than $2k cash for!

I literally thought about it for hours and came up with this list. The list wasn't long so I brainstormed anything I paid $1k+ for, also:

$300k (2001) Current House
$260k (1999) Condo - sold for profit 2002
$12k Minivan (2006)
$ 8k Ford Subcompact (2002)
$ 6k Mustang Convertible (1999)
$ 5k Refi (2008) **only time paid points**
$ 2k Car Repair for stupidity!
$2k Dental Expenses for BM (2008)
$2k Fridge (2001)
$2k Closing costs (about 5 times?)
$1.5k Couch Sectional (2000)
$1.5k First TV (married) (2000)
$1.5k Various Electronics (pro-camcorder & a couple of projectors over the years) (2001-2005)
$ 1k My first Car (drove for 7 years) (1992)
$ 1k Per Semester of College (1990s)
$ 1k Wedding (2000) Our portion of the tab, anyway
$ 1k Wedding Ring (2000)
$ 1k Mattress on bed (2000)
$ 1k Per Semester of Grad School (2002)
$ 1k To Bird-Proof house (2003)
$ 1k Update Landscaping (2004)
$ 1k Washer/Dryer (2005)
$ 1k Wills/Trusts (2006)
$ 1k Big Screen HDTV (2007)
$ 1k Dh's high-end editing computer (2008)

Things forgotten but added:
$ 1k Wedding Ring (2000)
$ 1k Wills/Trusts (2006)
$10k Closing costs paid in cash over the years (estimating, but we bought twice and refied 3 times with cash. Around $2k/each). Worth every penny!! Current savings - $5k per year with 3.5% lower interest rate than the first mortgage we ever had.

Since everyone is adding homes:
$260k 1300 square feet, condo
$300k 2600 square feet, house

Since they are appreciating assets, overall, I didn't really count them. Everything else 100% LOSES MONEY. But sure, I will add them.

(& boy - I admit some of these are estimates. I doubt our fridge cost a full $2k, but I remember it being closer to $2k than $1k).

(Most our furniture is used or hand-me-down; or bought at deep discount for new, or gifted to us. The sectional is the only furniture we ever spent more than $1k on. & trust me -- our house is 5 bedrooms and FULLY furnished! Our vacations tend to be under the $1k range. Don't remember every spending more. Knock on wood, but we have literally never had more than a $1k auto repair before, old cars and all. I am sure I could have forgotten if we had though. This year is proving the exception -- as both our cars face large mechanical repairs).

& well, it's no surprise my dh loves TVs and movie projectors!

I am racking my brain wondering if I forgot something! I didn't include house purchase, for various reasons.

Let's face it, we have been bombarded with "stupid expenses" the last couple of years. There's not much in return for giving $2k to the dentist for fillings, or $2k spent because I hit a pole. It just sucks.

OR should I just feel lucky we haven't had more giant, unexpected expenses???

---

On the plus side, my van looks like a million bucks (gotta love body shops) AND whatever they did fixed the window too. (Power window only works intermittently).

I didn't really mean to post a "cliffhanger" post in my last post. I was a little depressed, true, but really, I couldn't make this post without pictures.

So, here is the scoop, complete with pictures.

The short answer is we were doing really well, had some extra money, and we were talking about Hawaii next year. BUT I was an idiot and I had a run in with a POLE! Now I need to repair my vehicle and it will obviously cost thousands.

Waaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!



---------------------------------------

Here is the long version, in true Monkey Mama Fashion.

First, in the forums there were discussions about how many accidents teens get into and if they need new cars. I pointed out that I had never particularly been in an accident and didn't know many who had. BUT when I was 16, 17, 18, I had a few run-ins with poles and such. Even my DH had a run-in with a pole at age 16 (he is a marvelous driver). Thus, I think a bit of a clunker is appropriate at that age.

I figured I outgrew that. It is true that my brain is mathematical, but not very mechanical. & it's iffy if I should operate heavy machinery - LOL. BUT I have been able to avoid stationary objects, and moving objects at that, for about 15 years. So I figured those days were over and I could drive nicer cars.

Yeah, right!

--------------------------------------

So it's a pole, get over it. Is that what you say?

The thing that REALLY pisses me off is this freaking van. The computer probably needs to be replaced and it will probably cost $1k. I was really pissed about this for a time. (It's only a 2005 with 60k miles - most every other car I ever owned was bought with 150k+ miles and never needed expensive repairs. So this is my perspective).

I did gain new perspective when I whined to a friend and she bragged about how she doesn't have car repairs because she brought a brand new $35k minivan.

Seriously? It was like the slap in the face I needed. We paid $12k for the van. So it needs a $1k repair. So it may be the most expensive car repair I ever had - in like 15 years. I got over it quickly. !! I think our van, all repairs included over the course of its life, will cost less in the end, than $35k! Geez.

In the interim there was this whole cash for clunkers thing and we discussed it. The sticking point for me was that it could be a good deal overall to trade in the van for a new Toyota subcompact. We could find one in the $12k range, we would drive it 20 years if we could, it would get better gas mileage, etc. BUT the sticking point is I don't want a second subcompact. We don't need a VAN, but we "need" something a little bigger than dh's car. So we have been going round and round. The thing about CARS is we didn't have to fix it. It's all moot anyway - though I have probably NEVER gotten better than 18mpg on the van, it's rated as getting better mileage and it doesn't qualify anyway. Which makes the whole thing moot - no more discussion there.

We've also talked about trading it in for some boring granny car. We could maybe profit on the deal, and still keep the size. Would make more sense than buying a new car. I've found many deals, the cars are just so UGLY. LOL. I am not terribly picky, but geez. I even researched other years on the Dodge Caravan - maybe we should just trade for an older/better year. I know so many people with older ones who LOVE them, but I can't find any decent overall reviews on any year in the last decade. 2005 maybe isn't even the worst (imagine that!)

So we have been in talks about getting rid of the van anyway, I am kind of annoyed by the thing, and now I go and do this. If it was a beloved car I would just fix it and shut up about it. !

I know your next question is if we have insurance. YEs, we have collision insurance on the minivan. IT's worth more than $5k, which is my general collision rule of thumb. Plus it's so new, I'd probably keep insurance a couple of more years, even though it's value is rapidly plummeting to the $5k range.

BUT, I have said many times, I insure for catastrophe. I honestly can not see using my insurance for this mishap. It was my fault 100% and would only increase my premiums, etc. Maybe my thoughts are misguided here. But I have the max deductible possible, and we easily have the cash to take care of it. So I don't intend to deal with the insurance. I don't have much experience with insurance. I just know our premiums are rock bottom because we've never had any tickets, accidents, or claims. So why mess with it? Obviously if I had a larger repair or "catastrophe" - I would prefer to save the insurance for that.

------------------------------------

So, that's the long and the short of it. I think it could be good that the damage is limited to the door. Not that it would be easy or cheap to replace the door, but I honestly think that is all that needs to be done. That's the silver lining.

We will take it to our mechanic (he has a body shop) Monday for a quote and will also take it down to the dealer for a quote, sometime this week. Mostly because we have been putting off the $1k computer repair and we need to take it to the dealer for that anyway. I am pretty anti-dealer, but sometimes in these situations they can offer cost savings over an independent shop. So we will see what our options are.

& I will cross my fingers that the van settles down and doesn't give us more grief for a while. (& that I can go another 15 years without hitting an object -please?)

Truth is the only problem we have ever had is with the computer - so maybe this would fix things. Is certainly cheaper than buying a new car, for the short run. Trading it in for a better, similarly priced, used vehicle is still a strong possibility, but it has to be fixed to do that! & if we put all this money into it, we will want to stick it out for a while.

I keep telling myself we have had such awesome experiences with our VERY used cars, that I just need to get over it. We are lucky this is the most expensive repair (the computer replacement) that we have ever had. Though I truly consider the wisdom of keeping a vehicle that cost so much to upkeep.

& if I have to get in an accident, a 5mph collision with a pole is probably preferred. No other cars, people, and no injuries were involved. Phew!

---------------------------------------

I had a car before that got rear ended more times than I can count. Usually when I wasn't even in the car. We fixed it a couple of times, and then I gave up. I stopped fixing the thing - it was jinxed. I've driven around less than stellar cars.

If the damage was minor enough I'd probably let it go. (The van got hit in a parking lot like the week after we got it and we never fixed it - terribly minor - barely noticeable - but about $1500 to fix). So I also had to point out I would be the first to let it go if it was minor damage. But I did some pretty serious damage to the door. I was shocked when I looked it over that the door still functions 100% (still slides open, locks, etc.). BUT yeah, I hit it enough that the van is no longer sealed, etc. Air was blowing through and no doubt water will in the rain. Which kind of sucks because the van is covered in mud - but no car wash for it until it is fixed! LOL.

But yeah - I guess I can't decide much until I know the cost. My personal guess is it will be in the $2k range to replace the door. If it's much more, we may consider going the insurance route. I don't know. We have lots to figure out this week.

------------------------------------------

We easily have $3k or so for car repairs, so that's okay. I told dh maybe we will spend our anniversary on a beach in California instead. We can still do something "nice." But I will mourn the loss of that money ("opportunity").

Other than that, we have the cash, and we will move on. This is precisely the kind of thing SAVINGS is for. & it's not even coming out of our emergency fund. This is not an emergency; these things happen all the time. This would come out of our "new car" fund (mid-term savings) since we have no plans to replace our cars in the near future.

I told dh we need a "July and August sucks" saving fund. We need to save about $3k per year for that. Last year we spent about as much on repairs around the house and mostly on BM's cavities. Thing was the dental expenses were tax-deductible, so this is worse on some level. No tax deduction for car repairs!

----------------------------------

P.S. I can't imagine how frustrating a situation like this is for people who owe substantial amounts on their vehicles. Paying cash for cars makes things like these a mere bump in the road, really. (I had to find the motivational, no-debt angle).

PG's blog about her Boulevard of Broken Dreams made me think I should do my own.

However, while I was looking up photos of our wasteland of empty retail spaces and unfinished (& barely started) housing developments, I also decided to check out the real estate prices in our neighborhood.

Bad Move. Eeks!!!!!

It's official. & just like that, real estate values have fallen below to what we paid back in 2001.

Wow!!!!!

I really didn't think it would happen.

What is scarier is that at this point it is spiraling downwards in such a viscous cycle.

As for us? Eh. We still have a solid $50k-$100k equity. Payments are still quite reasonable on our income. Even more important, we bought here because it was so considerably cheaper than where we come from. So while there may be panic in the streets I still feel better off where we are at - even if we have some pains to go through in the interim.

But it is scaring the hell out of me. Rates of foreclosures are already very high. This pretty much means few in our neighborhood can refi now. We bought the low of the low. Unless more people put a lot of cash down, I don't know. Somehow I doubt it! No more refi-ing. More lost jobs in the horizon. Which equals more foreclosures. And so it goes...

I worry how devastating this all could be for our neighborhood. We've been hanging on, but it's taken a wilder turn.

I still stand by it would be crazy for home values to fall to the $100k level again, in the area, for the long run. But I am starting to see that in the interim, it may come to fruition.

Maybe it's kind of sad because now everything we did right was for naught. We could have still been in our condo, sold it for $400k today, and swoop in an buy some $100k house in a year or something. Man! IF only I had my crystal ball!

I have also been rolling my eyes because a lot of VERY anti-owning friends and acquaintances have been jumping on the house purchase band wagon. THat just really annoys me. I was stupid to pay $300k for a house but suddenly you are running to spend $350k on the same house? They were clear how stupid they thought we were. So I find it ironic. Renting is only good until you change your mind I guess. (I guess they are worse off than us now. For today anyway).

Anyway, I guess we are still better off than if we had rented all these years. I mean heck, find me a house like ours we can rent for under $1k per month and stay in forever if we like. I guess I still am happy with our lot.

But I must admit today I am bummed to enter negative equity territory.

My net worth is also due for a serious adjustment. I had been using assessed value as a fair measure, but always said I would drop it lower if house prices went lower, because we would lose ground. (But I was not adjusting upward for such a volatile housing market). My net worth just went down a good $40k or so from assessed value. It's depressing. Now we aren't losing equity. WE are losing the cash we put into the house.

I am sure it will turn around in the long haul, don't get me wrong there.

I do feel lucky for one thing today. I feel lucky our development was completely built. Construction started in 2001 and finished in 2006 or so. I would always say we had advantage to get in the ground floor. Pffft, guess it doesn't matter any more.

Anyway, a lot of developments in the area with a handful of completed houses, a handful of unfinished houses, and a huge mess of empty house lots. Some people are living in those developments. UGH! How scary is that. I am relieved that we are at least not in that situation today. At least our neighborhood is whole.

----------------

Anyway, yeah - that house I Saw:

Bought $310k in 2002
Sold $580k in 2006
Foreclosed for $445k in 2007 (I assume this means they had actually put like 25% down - yeesh)

SOLD $279k by bank 2008

Our house is slightly smaller and price we paid to builder was $285k in 2001. We put some cash into landscaping and such and I am a rounder so in my mind we paid $300k. & clearly we have dropped below that - maybe to $250k territory.

A lot of houses still asking upwards of $300k, but also clearly sitting empty. One like our model just dropped its $370k price (bank owned) to $310k. You're thinking, "why not $299k and just get it over with?" Yeesh. So this one sale could be an anomally (it has sat bank-owned for over a year while many others sold) but who knows any more. The number of foreclosures are increasing and I think it is clear there will be more $2xxk sales.

Bah!!!!!

Hey, are you all sending me thoughts, prayer, vibes or whatever for my new car?

I think you may be, because everything else is falling apart. I always notice when something good happens, something bad happens, the yin and the yang.

So that is what I am holding out hope for. LOL.

Is it worth winning maybe one of the $1k prizes if I have to shell out $1k in repairs this week? Maybe not. Bah.

-----------------------------------

It started Saturday. I thought our HDTV was broken (barely a year new). I am QUITE relieved to say it was the TV station (CNBC and MSNBC). But holy cow, I almost had a heart attack. I was drifting off to sleep watching CNBC (Suze of course) when I noticed a missing square on the TV screen. I knew it was bigger than a pixel and seemed kind of odd, but the worst was running through my mind.

Changed the channel and looked at older episodes of Suze, and it was gone.

I told dh later and he knew exactly what I Was talking about. Said MSNBC had given him the same heart attack just the other day. But it was definitely not on our end. Phew!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, so, phew, saved by the bell.

But Sunday, dh got some ice cream out of the freezer and it was mushy. Freezer broken!

We ended up just calling Sears out. They tried to sell some extended warranty thing for $250 and I just rolled my eyes. The freezer was cutting in and out, I was sure it was probably something simple.

Anyway, dh was in a panic and I told him just to chill out and call Sears. Yeesh. He was convinced we needed a new fridge!

Wouldn't you know, it cost $250 to fix. Buggers. But it was just the filter had never been cleaned. They recommended once every 3 months and showed dh how to clean it. I think once a year will suffice. (It took over 6 years to give out). A fuse had also blown, so it was more than just the filter.

The guy tried to sell another extended warranty thing to dh. Dh said no and the guy said, "Yeah, I wouldn't bother. Kenmores never have problems."

Well, duh.

So my PSA of the day is clean the filter on your fridge...

(Also cost us a freezer full of food - luckily really not much in there. Some chicken butter, and veggies. & ice cream that was almost gone anyway).

Anyway, we were coming into our super frugal no-spend August, because the last few months have just been a little too spendy. & this is how it starts. !!!

All of this would be fine except dh calls me later and I don't hear anything. I tried to call back and he didn't answer. I wonder if the kids are playing with his cell phone or what. Or if he was in some terrible accident trying to reach me (I assume the worst of course).

What is going on??????????

I finally reach him and he is grumbling that his blue tooth is no longer working on his phone. (He realizes as he is trying to call me).

Okay, no biggie. He just bought it and he can take it back. But annoying all the same.

But the reason he called me is because his computer DIED. Dead as a doornail.

Ugh!

I am cursing myself for jinxing it. It is the computer we leave on most of the day and I Was quite adamant in the forums that we have never had a computer die on us. (We never have, we still have the computers we used in college - for the kids to use and other uses). But we have replaced the power supplies a million times, so I would much rather leave the computer on than turn it on and off too much. Personally.

Oh yeah, was that the jinx of the century. This computer is about 4 years old I would guess? One of our newer ones, for sure.

Dh bought a power supply because it wouldn't even start, and that is the usual repair - have done it a few times on our other computers.

BUT that wasn't it. He had told me when I got home it was fine unless it was the motherboard.

HE eventually diagnosed it as the motherboard. UGh!

Of course, he first postulated he could rebuild another computer for a mere $200 since he wasn't quite ready to upgrade all the other parts. He built this one. But then he remembers he needs buy an OS. Okay, maybe $350, For a new notherboard/processor and Windown Vista or whatever.

Last I heard he may spend $600. We'll see...

Of course, I looked at the bright side. I know he has been chomping at the bit to upgrade his big editing system. So I said, just upgrade it and move your old one down here. It's the logical choice. & he says, no, he's not ready to upgrade.

Whatever. Will save me six figures then. LOL. (It's all I hear about - I need a new computer!!!! But given the opportunity, no he doesn't want one. I don't understand).

Anyway, I know it's a PITA and has thwarted all my Craigslist selling indefinitely because that computer had my e-mail and Craigslist postings and pictures, etc. I feel jinxed on the Craigslist side. I knew I should have used one of my other e-mails. Bah! I had some interested e-mails that are lost in space. At least future ones will get through.

& yes, though it will be a huge PITA for dh to fix and all, he was just going on and on last night.

Seriously, we have 3 other up and running computers. I think he will survive. I kind of roll my eyes on some level. At least it wasn't our only working computer.

Anyway, Murphy has done a job over here, but it's hard to get too worked up. Dh has been making some decent side money, and for the first time since like 2005, I actually have a savings fund for this kind of stuff. I would prefer to move forward at a faster clip, to make up for lost time. But I have about $3200 in there now. Plenty to fix the fridge and replace a computer. We haven't really had anything give up on use since we had kids and cut our income way down. All I can think of is out washer which was 30years+ old anyway. So I think if this was one month sooner I'd be a bit more panicked. But I know we've had quite a lucky streak all the same.

I just hope Murphy is done for this round.

--------------------------------

Oh, the only other thing around here is I am not sure I shared the monster fight I had with dh. He actually hung up on me on the phone. LOL. Yeah, I Can laugh about it now. I honestly think that was a first.

He went to deposit the kids' birthday money in our account (as we always do) so we could transfer it (electronic transfer) into their mutual funds. This was like a month ago.

Anyway, dh called me to tell me they wouldn't take the checks ("third party") and that he was going to open accounts for them. I started griping that was ridiculous since they would charge fees and give miserable interest and I didn't like the idea. I just wanted to put it in their mutual fund.

Anyway, dh got all pissed like I didn't think he knew what he was doing and he hung up on me. !!!!!!!!!!

We talked it out but I realized there are certain things we will NEVER discuss again. I brought up his wonderful bank account with the crazy minimium and how he kept getting $50 fees for dropping under the minimum. He still to this day is annoyed we have a 0% checking account, and I roll my eyes at his 0.5% checking account that needed a $1 minimum and was routinely hit with $50 fees. So I brought that up and that was the hot button that caused him to hang up on me.

Yeah, something I will never mention again. Yeesh! (But I am right - you understand!!!)

Dh also tells me he is annoyed I locked up all the kids' money for college.

Huh? I told him it was in a UGMA mutual fund where it would actually GROW, but they could use it for whatever the hell they want. That's the point.

So, oh boy, we obviously have some communication issues. I guess he thought it was all locked up in a college fund. We rather see eye to eye on that one since neither of us spent much at all for college. But for whatever reason since I call it a "college fund" he thinks it can only be used for college. More just a term I use for their long-term savings. At this point, yeah, most of it is for college. What else are they going to need it for in the next few years????? But if they want to use it on a car or house, whatever. That's why I didn't put it in a 529.

So, there is a point to this story.

We tried to open these savings accounts for the kids multiple times and each time have had a brick wall. We need to bring x,y, and z. Oy vey. IT's easier to get a passport.

so dh made the trek yesterday for another attempt, BM in tow (thought he may enjoy the process).

Anyway, so dh called to tell me that the deed was done, and I log online to look at all those lovely accounts. After our fight dh had assured us there was NO FEES. Whatsoever. I said, yeah, they'll stick you somehow. & dh thought I was insulting him. I told him I would never argue with him over TV setup so why is he arguing with me in my area of expertise? LOL.

So I log on yesterday and their accounts have $44 instead of $45.

Dh failed to mention the fee they stuck him with. LOL.

So I am like, um, was there a $1 fee? He's like, "Yeah, yeah, I don't want to talk about it."

LOL.

It was just funny.

I was right, but I Can live with $1. It is a CU after all. The bank would be much worse.

But this is the point I tried to make to dh all along.

The nice thing is now we can transfer the money to our account, and then into their mutual fund.

Hallelujah. What a lot of PITA for that. Geez. But it's all set up now, the fee is paid, and life moves on. (Doesn't seem to be any other fees so we'll survive).

I don't care if BM wants to keep some money in there, but I think LM hardly needs $44. (He's 3 - what is he going to buy?) So I will try to convince dh to let me transfer that to his mutual fund. We still have some talking to do about it all.

But yeah, about the biggest fight we ever had - & what a stupid fight it was.

Thanks goodness for my Net Worth progress. Yeesh. It really helps to look at the big picture. BEcause the small picture is stressing me out. (Though the big picture looks good?)

I am just looking at the checkbook and feel in the red. I am in the red. I have no idea what my bonus will be today (probably not much) and no idea what my raise will be come Jan. 1. ??? It could make all the difference.

I have considered taking a few hundred from the emergency fund. Not much, and I could put it back soon enough. But, then I am thinking, I have to replace my windshield now. I have to get LM into the dentist (just dreading this in every way shape or form - he has an extra tooth - and I just don't want to go there with my baby. What could they possibly do that wouldn't hurt him? I've been through it all and so it is hard to put him through it. But he's 2, and if there is anything preventative we could do...)

So I am just like, how in the heck are we going to pay for all this stuff? Preschool in insane right now (though it will help me to work more overtime, which is the whole point).

I just feel cash poor and it stresses me out. Drained our short-term savings for all the bills, and it will be tight until April. Interestingly, there are no bills over the summer so the short term savings grows quite large in the summer and gives us wiggle room. We will also pull BM out of preschool in the summer, in prep for kindergarten, and I will also get my overtime bonus in may or so. So come summer it will all be looking rosy.

For now, I just feel bad because we got all this Christmas money and my checking account is in the red. Bah. I feel like I failed this year because I Was going to save all that extra money. Put it to retirement or something. Instead it is al bills bills bills.

But really, the worst of all, is the idea of touching the e-fund. I just have to breathe. I Was going to start funding our car fund with my overtime. I was going to get a hefty $5k start in the Spring. So if I have to take an advance on that to repair my windshield, the world will not end. IT's the only way I can look at it. & same for LM. If he needs some work, and it can't wait. I guess, emergency.

For the long run this is not the kind of stuff efund is for. But until we build up more cash, guess it will do. I just have to remember summer will be more favorable. & this time of year is crack down for us. (Save for this preschool thing). I am way to flipping busy to do anything or buy anything. So here's to the next few months).

I think I am just disappointed because I thought I was moving past these stressed out meltdowns. Guess not!

But yeah, I just feel stressed. I couldn't do credit card debt. I think I would have a coronary. I just get this way when my money moves backwards. & I am really stressed at work. So I guess the stress is just carrying over...

What a Day.

I paid a pile of bills.

There were a few things in the back of my mind that needed to be paid, and I totally forgot to bring a check for preschool today. For one I have hardly been home all month so I feel all in a tizzy. (Unusual to drop the ball).

But I did call for my insurance amount due (also lost that bill - also very unusual). My agent said I could just mail it over there, and gave me the reduced amount with the new deductible.

I am also going to a friend's boutique tomorrow. Figure I might find something nice for my mom and should put a blank check in my purse. BUT could not find a check. Then I remember why I have not paid anything. Ran through all my checks and super lazy. I finally pulled out the new box I bought like a YEAR ago when I was "about to run out." Since then I just don't write many checks!

So I had to dig those out.

Checks:
Preschool $600
IRS $300 (Final Roth conversion taxes)
Insurance $900
Property Taxes $2300
Gardener $100
MIL $60 for Christmas

Paid Online:
Health Ins. $500
Credit Card $1750
Mortgage $1300

Nothing like writing out $4200 in checks to make you feel stressed financially. Or $7800 with the online stuff. Yeesh.

These were all due in December, and on top of all the little regular stuff I already paid.

Anyway, as I went to update our short-term savings in excel, the file went kaput. I swear since having children I have this eery 6th sense and I just asked dh last week to back up some of that stuff to CD. Of course he hadn't. Bah. I did find a July backup, but was disappointed I had nothing more recent. Then again the only thing that is really screwy is my allocation to efund and short-term savings (glad at times like these I don't keep a pile of subaccounts. Just too lazy really. But it's mostly in my head).

So most of my historic data is in there and some of the little details are lost, but who cares. I backed everything important up while I was at it.

Anyway, I knew we were even $12k in efund, give or take a few. & short-term savings is easy enough to start over 1/1. I think I started with $1k last year and did just fine. So I added up all our cash in Quicken and subtracted all the balance transfers still due back. I was just about smack dab at $12k. I expected to have a little more in short-term savings. Then again, I paid all the monster bills. So I am "lucky" I guess I had just enough. I am expecting $1k for Christmas to kick start next year. Disappointed that I need it. But I'll survive.

With the last big balance transfer I have so much in savings that I just transferred over $1300 to pay the mortgage before the end of the month (usually wait to the 5th - grace period). Anyway, need the tax deduction, since I just started doing that this year. I just realized I would only pay 11 months otherwise, and would screw up my tax planning. So that is squared away too. Will repay savings with my paycheck on the 1st.

I also wrote out the big checks due on the 31st from savings. So the interest can keep earning until the last minute. That makes it really easy. It's all ready to go and I will pop in the mail after Christmas.

Anyway, after that exercise I felt really stressed. I couldn't really put my finger on why and that is when I told dh that paying out so much money at once is stressful. Regardless if it is all saved. It still takes a lot out of you to fork over so much money I guess. For me I usually just pay the bills as they come in. Saving it all up to pay at once is not my style I guess. I don't want to do that again for a while.

I also continually remind myself only 9 more months of this whole preschool thing (2 in preschool which is insane). I am sitting here wonder why I even need to put a dime into retirement on top of my given 10% anyway. I should just let it go until preschool days are over in September.

I also voiced some of that to dh. I told him I know we had wanted to put our birthday/christmas money to our respective allowances, but I think we should just put it to bills this year. At least most of it. We'll see. & I reminded him we have no money to spare until September. Just none. I don't want to hear about anything about anything until then.

We were discussing that though because I thought well, school probably does start in August. So how many months do we pay for 2? 8? 7? Dh seems keen in pulling BM out in July so they can have some extra time together before school takes much of his time. IT is an idea, particularly since he could always drop in with LM once in a while, but then we don't have to commit to the whole 2 days a week thing.

So I'll just have to take a deep breath. Just 6 more months. I've said it before, but I certainly would never commit to this kind of expense if it weren't so temporary. So I am counting down the days until I can divert that money to savings. Indeed! & if I am going to stress for 6 months, then what's the point. I just need to get over it. The decision was made, it's what we want, we'll make it work. My frugal self is hyperventilating though.

So yeah, that's all the crazy financial stuff running through my head.

In other news, tomorrow I have a class all day and will spend the night with my parents. This weekend we are also going to the Exploratorium in San Francisco (really cool science museum). With the kids. Funny enough, they are having some chef building some kind of Arctic landscape with desserts or something. The woman looked awfully familiar. Turns out the last few times I visited my parents we watched these really neat challenges on the food network where they build these elaborate cakes and such. I recognized this woman from one of the challenges. I am so excited to see her work in person. How cool is that? Not what I was expecting or why we were going, but certainly a bonus.

I doubt few people will fall into this exact situation. But a good exercise to help you think through some of these things. I think if you are healthy and single an HSA actually is a pretty good deal, especially if you are good at saving.

For a family with high medical expenses in a state that doesn't conform to federal rules. Blech. It gets a little better for us every year. But still not quite there. I don't think. I am trying to run through the #s though.

For starters, our medical expenses will be $10k this year. 7.5% of our income is about $5k. So everything we pay over that $5k (7.5% threshhold) is deductible on Schedule A. We also have a big mortgage and lots of state taxes. Obviously we itemize. So we get to itemize another $5k with our current plan. At a 20% tax rate between fed and state we save $1k on taxes. Our medical expenses are insane (mostly just insurance) but at least we get some tax break.

For 2008 you can put $5800 in an HSA, tax-free. For us that would only be a $870 saving. Because in California they do not recognize HSAs. We would lose the state tax benefit. & though we would put in more we would get a smaller tax break than we usually do.

OF course, our insurance premiums go down. But they go down about $3k/year if we take a $3k deductible. Basically if any one of the 4 of us goes to the emergency room this year, or breaks an arm, we're going to pay $3k out of pocket. I think the odds are very high. Which means we'll probably spend $10k on medical this year, as we usually do. Just happened this is the best deal offered to us this year (actually better than we were offered last year). Because our insurance plan is saying they are giving us more benefits and lowering our out-of-pocket max. So we'll take the lowered premiums, regardless. & save the difference for the deductible we likely will pay some point during the year.

We could put %$5800 in an HSA (which we could do if we put our saved premiums, vision, dental expenses, etc. Certainly don't have dental insurance and that is part of our $10k bill for the year). But we would get a smaller tax break than otherwise, and a more complicated tax return. (Which I prepare but it's a PITA, for sure!!!!! A factor that needs to be considered).

We could put the $5800 in throughout the year and earn the whopping 2%-3% returns most HSA offers (I certainly would not invest the money we would likely need in riskier mutual funds). & most the
HSas charge fees. $25/year at the minimum (which wipes out much of that 2% interest).

So in our case, since it looks like it is also a pain to pull money out of many of the HSAs (certainly not all - but the more convenience the more expensive the account is - keep in mind). If I am going to put in $5800 and use $5800 this year it makes little sense.

I would be far better off investing the money in our savings account, earning 4.5% and paying no fees. I am going to take it out as quickly as I put in, most likely. & still get to deduct $5k on my tax return and save $1k in fed & state taxes...

So this is my thinking here. There are a lot of factors at play here.

Now, if 12/31/08 comes around and we have not paid one dime of our deductible... (LEt me tell you, I am not holding my breath here). Then I would consider shifting the $3k deductible for '08 into an HSA. I am just not sure if it would do any good. We would not be able to deduct anything for itemizing then. So would I be better off keeping it in my bank account and deducting the $2k we did spend on dentists and such? (Itemize that deduction). At least I know I could grow the $3k easier, with less expenses. There is not a huge benefit there. The taxes saved on the $2k actual expense would be $400. Taxes saved on $3k would be $450. Plus it would greatly complicate things and we would pay STATE taxes on the interest it earned and pay fees to the HSA, etc., etc. We'd save $0 but increase complications GREATLY!!!!! I'd rather pull the money out of my savings account when I need it. No Hassle.

What if we go 2 years with no doctor visits and I could put $5800 into the HSA on 12/31/09?

In that case it might be a better deal. The more we save up the better deal it becomes.

It comes down to the fact that I expect the odds of that to be like 10%. Not in our favor. That deductible will get spent.

What if dh goes to work and suddenly our medical expenses are not more than 7.5%? Than the HSA would win hands down. We'd suddenly be in an atrocious tax bracket (as opposed to 15% state for now. If dh worked we'd be in AMT - you know the rich tax. Apparently the difference between 15% tax rate and "rich" is $20k income. In our case anyway...) So yeah, if he didn't have any decent benefits, then we can put away $5800/year easy, invest it, never touch it, take the stinking tax break. Pay our medical expenses out of pocket (wouldn't pay them out of the HSA because the whole point would be to take advantage of the tax-deferred. They are really not set up to let you easily spend it all every year. The point is to save for future).

Or if I get a huge raise and we start losing our ability to itemize. It might start to make more sense.

So yeah, that's what the situation is for us. There would definitely be some future down the road as I expect our income to rise.

For now all I see is a LOT of effort and PITA for a few pennies maybe saved. But we will definitely have to evaluate at the end of the year. The cool thing about HSAs is you have until 4/15, next year, to decide. I will probably do our tax return and play with it and if we come out ahead with the HSA I can fund it 4/15/09.

HSAs are getting better though. The first year I looked at these I think we would have saved $5k/year on premiums BUT they would only let you put $3k into the HSA AND our hospital had like a $10k out-of-pocket. It was lose-lose-lose. Couldn't even take tax advantage of the savings, and likely would get slammed with a $10k bill if any one of us broke an arm or went to emergency.

This year they say we'll save $3k on our premiums, can put $5800 into an HSA, and our max out of pocket is $3k. $5800 is about our out of pocket for all medical expenses besides the insurance so it seems pretty fair. It's getting better... But then you can see when you look closely there isn't a lot there on the HSA side. I am relieved our insurance is offering a better plan though this year. A much more affordable one. It benefits savers who have $3k in the bank and say sure. I know plenty of people who would think it's a great deal but don't have a dime in the bank and wouldn't save a dime. They'd sink fast. For us, it just may work.

& when dh returns to work we need more tax advantaged accounts. I'll take my IRA any day. But it works for people trying to limit income tax, who have a lot of disposable income. I think we will probably fund some of an HSA going forward, as my income grows or if we go to a 2-income household. We'll see...

I hope with time more banks offer HSAs and they get more competitive. I think that is my biggest peeve right now. Very few financial institutions seem to be offering them. They are expensive and the returns look lousy. But they also have far more choices today than they did 2 years ago. So basically for now I figure I have until 4/15/09 to fund it and I am going to hold out for some better deals.

Well, today is the day I dread every year. Got our new insurance premiums for 2008.

Um yeah, surprise surprise, up 12%. You know part of me was really wishing for a dull year. Could we have ONE freaking year of like a 5% increase? 2%? Is that too much to ask? Instead it was same old, same old...

Holy Hell.

Our old plan went up to $1k/month (the one we dropped last year. YIKES!!!!!

Ours went from $673 to $744 and is set to go up some ungodly amount when we turn 35 in 4 years. This will top our mortgage in no time. & I always thought housing was all we had to worry about out here. (Of course interestingly I have been perusing the ORegon plans and they aren't any cheaper. So much for moving to cut costs...).

Yeah, we can swing it. We've had much worse years. But forward thinking, it scares the crap out of me.

So I started looking at all the HSA/HDHP plans and such.

They actually have good options for once. I am wary if I am missing something. I researched those in 2006 and it was like our annual max would be $10k, but we could only put $3k in the HSA even though we would save FAR more in premiums. It just left us way over exposed and unable to save the difference and get any real tax advantage. The odds were very high we would pay more with the HDHP/HSA than with the insane premiums. So we stuck with the insane premiums.

Last year was about the same, though they made it a lot easier to contribute more to a HSA. But the plan really sucked.

They totally changed it this year. If we switch to a $1500 HSHP that qualifies for HSA, then all of our expenses will be down. Slam dunk.

Premiums go down just over $3k/year.

Our out of pocket goes down too. We didn't have deductibles before, but our out of pocket was something like $10k for the fam. All routine stuff covered with small copays, but emergency and hospital stays were astronomical (thank you emergency fund).

They seem to be saying on the other hand, that if we take the deductible, which is $3k for the fam, we will never pay a dime for anything else. We also get prescription coverage back. The most we would ever have to pay is the $3k deductible which they just skimmed off the premium.

Well, okay, then I am sold.

The HSA is just PERFECT. We can put in $5800 in 2008. $3k saved premiums. Around $1k for dental. & $600 I had budgeted for copays anyway. So, um, yeah, we'll just max it out. Pay all our dental and vision & drugs out of there too.

We really won't save much in the way of taxes. We already pay so much in insurance premiums that we get a tax deduction of around $4k - $5k anyway. So it won't make a huge difference. But a little one, for sure. Any wage increase lowers the tax deductiblity of our regular medical expenses anyway. So with higher wages there is probably a slight tax benefit. (Before we took it as an itemized deduction - portion over 7.5% income - which yes was around $5k last year).

Which pretty much means it is all a wash for us except that we will get to put away $3k every year that *if* we don't use, can grow tax deferred. I mean if we have ONE year where we don't use our deductible, we should come out ahead. Right?

So I have been pretty down on HSAs. I thought they REALLY sucked. But if you have a little money in the bank, and you get a deal like this... It's good. Sure as hell beats forking $750/month to the insurance company. Eeks. With 4 of us I wouldn't be surprised if we hit that deductible every year (broken arm? Car accident? Sick kid? Lord knows...). But, yeah. This is the first time the odds have been for the HSA. {This particular insurance company is obviously phasing out it's co-pay plans. They offer less and they cost more every year}.

Oh yeah, these premiums do not go up at 35 either. For now anyway. Which gives us some breathing room.

I have to figure out how/where I want to invest. Decision, Decisions. Starting with cash though eventually I Would like to put some in a balanced fund at Vanguard (if we build up any). I am not sure what the rules are, if we can have 2 accounts or what. More to look up. & I am trying to decide if I should divert a little of the efund to prefund it a bit Jan. 1. I don't know. LEt the money grow tax free and replenish the efund quickly. ??? IT's an idea. In case we end up using our deductible Jan. 1 or something. ANything can happen.

Well, much more to research.

ETA: Well, um the investment selections REALLY suck. I am thinking of just starting with State Farm since I already have some accounts with them. Looks like the best option thus far. $25 annual fee & 2%-3% interest. Yikes! Will do for now I guess. Not so enthused any longer. But if we start to build up some balances over the years I'd switch to one that offers mutual funds. I don't see much better in the way of interest rates except crappier banks and higher fees. lose-lose. Hopefully more banks will start to jump on the HSA bandwagon.

Seems some of them have you submit reimbursement forms for every expense (that is horrid since we would have them OFTEN). But State Farm at least gives you checks. Many give you debit cards but I wouldn't use. Not my thing. I'd probably put it on my card for the rebate and see if I could pay the card then directly from the HSA. Or if I have to write a check and use a stamp. Pricey all around... Yeah, not so happy now. I just don't want it to be a huge PITA to pay my medical bills. So no matter how you slice it, this really complicates things... Much research to do...

2nd Edit: Oh yeah and I forgot the stupid HSAa are NOT tax deductible in Cali. It really leaves us with little tax benefit here. I mean my 2% earnings will be tax free (Federal), but the fees will take a chunk. I am getting more annoyed by the minute. *sigh* I guess that means my earnings will be taxable in Cali as well. Not that Cali has huge taxes, but the bookkeeping for the difference is atrocious..

I guess since I put dh on preschool duty so I could work more, I haven't needed gas so much. I finally went today and about fainted - OMG. $3.05/gallon for unleaded. Last time I filled up I thought it was $2.60 or something Yikes!

What a shocker.

A little bummed because my friend invites me to this festival in the Bay Area every year and it is always a saturday during tax season - no way. But this year I think I can make it. However, I have second thoughs looking at the gas pump today. blech. If we could take the BART, all the better, but this is somewhere in the southwest side of the Bay where public transport is much more scarce and expensive. Bummer.

Well, we'll see... I might just have to work anyway. Kind of looking forward to freedom, freedom from work, soon enough, only to be holed up in home because gas is so pricey... Figures. Gas this price in March scares the heck out of me. What will summer bring? Around here public transportation is for the most part prhobitively expensive. But if it gets worse in the summer, I will certainly evaluate once again...

This also means our trip to So Cal will no doubt be in dh's little Escort again. Well, I won't knock it, nice to have a car that gets 40mpg. But it is kind of ridiculous to get the van for big trips, and be too cost averse to use it. Should have held out for a hybrid or something. I Feel like an idiot using it as a commuter car with these prices. Dh is adverse to me driving his car but I think he better get over it - fast! His adversity means every mile I drive costs twice as much and I am the one that drives every day to work. Grrr...

Just a quickie because craziness abounds over here.

But I got the heat/gas bill and it was $116. Considering we had record low temps for well over a week, I am impressed. We have had worse.

& hopefully this does it. It has been warming up and I look forward to 3-5 months of slim gas or electric bills - it will get mild and we will rarely run the heat, until May or June when the heat wave hits and we start cranking the air. Woohoo. I am a little over budget this month with all the health costs, extra daycare, car repairs, etc., etc. But I decided to forge ahead with all my full savings goals. I know in the future months when our gas/electric bill goes down we will catch up. Right now I pay everything so early I will just push things a little later in payment until I catch up. No biggie. It's about how I usually do things. I know if I just save the full amount I intended to, the rest will work out.

If I have 5 more months like this though, I can't say. LOL. I even lost track of how much money we spent these last few days, and with how hectic it is, easy to pull up the cc and look overall, but I Am just going to start my spend updates over Feb. 1. Here's to a better February!!

Oh yeah, still no word from the last electric bill (have received 2 gas bills in the meantime- have separate companies). Logged onto my account last night - no bills, $0 balance. Well okay then. Something else I am not sure I really have the money for. In the meantime I think I have to start paying the preschool 1st of the month instead of before. Oh well. It is nice something so simple balances the budget - that is why I pay everything so darn early, so if I have a bad month, I can pay everything when due and not get behind - woohoo. Either that or my personal loan which has no due date. Hmmmm. Or the mortgage, or the utilities, or the cc payment. Many options, just don't want to screw up my system - since I divide each paycheck into the bills due.

I had wanted to build up a bit of a slush fund for this purpose with budget underages (is that a word? LOL) and intended to put aside $50 every month for car maintenance which is very reasonable. But having $250 in car bills in month 1 is not helping me!

Frankly my only real problem is being too aggressive in the savings, which really isn't a problem if you ask me.

Well I have my first tax appointment today. & so it begins...

Jan. 11 - $59.00 Daycare & Toddler Class
Jan. 10 - $77.00 Health copay, drugs, fast food
Jan. 9 - $00.00
Jan. 8 - $16.30 Groceries
Week 1 total: $374.24

**2 no spend days**

Items bought new in 2007:
Nintendo DS accessories (2) (dh)
Underwear(dh)

Items bought used in 2007:
Nada

-------------------------------------

For whatever reason I am in a good mood which is good because this has been a REALLY crappy week. The funny thing is I remember last year starting out REALLY crappy. Luckily it improved greatly, I remember it being a pretty good year overall, but it seems to be the same phenomenom.

Today was a very spendy day and tomorrow isn't looking better. $50 to go to the doc, some vertigo medication, and about $12 for Carls Jr. Dinner. & oh my gosh!!!!! I don't remember the last time I bought a soda at a fast food place, but I wanted fries and the meal was really cheap so I figured I'd just get the meal - cheaper than just getting the fries too. So they gave me this big huge monster soda. I put in the straw and it got swallowed up by the cup - LOL. Then I realized they had given me a super long straw for that one. I drank about 1/3 of the soda (too much) and tossed the rest. Dh's reaction when he saw it was pretty funny too. He is like what in the heck is THAT? It could feed a small village... But I got the jalapeno burger and it was REALLY good. Got my veggies...

When I got home I realized I had a flat tire though - going along with the whole crappy week thing. The worst is my last car was in a constant state of flat tire and I was just discussing flat tires with my co-worker, must have been Monday. & of course I open my big mouth - oh yeah my Saturn attracted flat tires and I haven't had any since getting rid of it - phew. Could I have jinxed myself any better??? I don't even know how long it has been flat. That is the worst. To make a very long story short I think I will call AAA Friday to come change the tire ("free") and have dh either get it plugged or get a new used tire at the cheapo place- depends how bad off it is - I have no idea. But it seemed to be sudden, so I am thinking maybe the tire is shot. A plug would maybe be $10, used tire maybe $50. Nothing huge either way, but still a PITA. I was going to change the tire myself but dh talked me out of it. I feel kind of silly calling AAA to my house but dh said he had done it before to change his tire - LOL. What the heck - might as well get my money's worth from AAA. I haven't used them in 5 years.

The other expensive thing this week is preschool. IT is already expensive but Big Monkey will probably go Thursday & Friday to cut dh some slack and she even had an opening for Little Monkey Friday. I don't know how necessary it is, but if dh could rest a little more would be great to do a trial run. Certainly when he turns 2 he can go in on a drop-in basis for emergencies and dh being sick and such. I think to some extent we will have to evaluate the cost-benefit for those times dh is sick for 1 day. But it would probably be good for him and for us, and nice to have more options. Ah, it is nice when they get older. Well we'll see how it goes. If he is miserable I Won't put him through that. HE is funny because he is shy but some places he just feels "at home" right away. So when we picked the big one up Monday he looked terrified and freaked out when the teacher, frankly the nicest lady I have ever met in my life, said "hi." He just started bawling. "Okay," I think, "not good!". So today we pick up big Monkey and he acts like he owns the place. So if he is in that kind of mood friday he will probably have a blast. IF not, I will save some money I guess and turn around and take him home. I guess my spending (& ability to work) friday will come down to the mood of a toddler. So be it!

Oh yeah but my mom who is having back problems insisted she will drive 2 hours to watch the kids tomorrow. She is crazy! So at least I get some free babysitting tomorrow (told her I'd send the older one off to make it easier on her) and a few hours in at work - phew. Though I am not holding my breath, as she may rethink this idea in the morning. But man, what would we do without family!!!

I got my raise!!!!!! $4k!!!!

(Can you believe this is one of my smallest raises ever? The industry is crazy...).

Anyway, yeah a measly $4k raise and a promotion to more management. I have gotten $6k raises without promotion, but whatever. I was VERY pleased and doing a dance of joy until I sat down to really think about this.

That is the good for sure.

The bad, if I had not lowered my health insurance plan, my raise would have been completely eaten up by health insurance. For now we pay less monthly but are open to more out-of-pocket costs. We'll see how it pans out.

As I started to realize this and think ahead my next year's raise will probably be eaten up by increases in premiuns (& maybe this year's eaten up by out-of-pocket expenses) then I Wasn't to thrilled.

though the bright side is definitely that I have enough raises to cover these - geez louise.

Anyway, planning ahead I decided to get my boss's insurance rates. I am looking at them right now, $730/month for a family of 4, boss would pay $250, $480 out of my pocket, for a plan with a high deductible, but not high enough to be a eligible for a HSA. I think my current insurance is around that for a HSA-qualified plan. *sigh* Just the writing on the wall that we will likely switch to high-deductible next year, or soon, and so I am feeling down about it. I can not believe still my boss's plan does not offer much benefit - I guess his rates have raised accordingly over the last years.

So anyway, I am super stoked that I am looking to set aside $300/month EASY and $500/month when the car is paid off (soon) and that is super duper awesome, brings me to about 10% savings rate. & I told dh I would not be bugging him to get a paying job this year - 1 more year to work on his movie ventures and strike it big (with no pay). This is all very well and good, and great and awesome, but the whole health insurance thing still stresses me out. *sigh* All this cash will be needed perhaps if we switch to high-deductible plan later. Well, at least we'll have it. I did not feel comfrotable switching with so little cash right now. So overall is a step up. & dh is pleased!

Anyway, if I ever come across bitter, just had to say I am not. LOL. I am not bitter at all. It is so funny how we come across over the computer sometimes. When I am PMSy yes I can be a pain, but most of the time I Am pretty happy, if you didn't notice. Just a side note. I Cirnge that I would come across bitter I guess because I am no NOT a bitter person.

Oh yeah - so though I am going to save my entire raise going forward and pretend like it is not there (too bad no direct deposit - would make it so much easier but I Am discilplined enough - it's okay). But we decided to eat out tonight to celebrate. Nice to splurge once in a while. The funny thing it has been SO LONG since we ate out really we weren't really sure what to do. Decided to order in greek.

The other thing today is that I changed my investment portfolio. I am feeling very bearish on the market and moved more over to bonds. BEfore I had cash and stocks and I Was fine, but I noticed recently that my portfolio did semi-decent in the 2000-2003 years because my bond fund was making some really big returns. I Decided I made some nice stock gains these last few months, but with this bearish feeling it was good to move some back over to bonds. My old 401k had a new PIMCO bond fund that was actually pretty decent, easiest way to move to bonds and avoid fees (401k has no fees no matter how little I put in each fund). So I exchanged my stock market index, which is the worst performing, but cheapest (13% of funds in my control) over to the bond. Dh has about 35% of our money in a total stock market index now, so was a good move, and the rest in other stock mutual funds, so it works out well I think. IT was hard to see how bonds were helping us in the short-term but I See the bigger picture now... So we're at 15% cash, Around 15% bonds overall (in all mutual funds) and 70% stock. Good enough for me. I am a safe person, but I See the value in the stock for the long-term, I have already ridden 1 bad wave and came out ahead. But at the same time I like to have a little cash just in case - at least it is not under my mattress.

I really still have no idea how bonds work and probably why I shy away. But my conclusion is they do good when the market is otherwise bad. This may be a bad assumption, but cash rates were low and market was way down, and bonds were pulling 10% in the early 2000s. For now I put some in, and a loger-term goal for me is to really understand the bond market better. One of these days. I should look for a "bond market for dummies" book...

Anyway, I have to rework my budget now!!!! WIll get cracking tonight... See where this puts us. In the green at least for this year - phew!

This is what I get in the mail today:

Disability Insurance - $200
Due Jan. 1

I did not foresee that one was due in january since I purchased it originally in april. Guess I only paid for partial year? From $100 to $200. Yes, most of the increase was due to turning 30. Ack!!!!

My $200 surprise.

Then I got the $375 or so bills for our increased home insurance - Due Jan. 1. Ready for that one - phew.

December is not pretty in the least.

I've been really lazy but have renewed commitment to clean house this weekend. A few baby items to sell on craigslist, the wii on ebay, and a few things to freecycle. I just told dh I Would clean up everything tonight and start posting. Need it sooner rather than later.

& I am off right this second to help my neighbor with her quickbooks again. More money too- helps. Phew.

I really dislike the end of the year.

$3000 to IRS
$1200 to estate lawyer
$1100 to house insurance, which BTW is undervalued - will probably pay more - have an appointment to review next week - BAH!
$2200 property tax
$500 car insurance
$150 bird poop cleanup
& then there is Christmas!

Yes, not all of the end of the year bills - just the ugly and unusual ones. I am sick of Bills!

I REALLY like spring. I work like mad but generally we don't have much in the way of big bills due and I get paid overtime. So yeah I work my ass off a few months, but around may I am generally rewarded with a slight tax refund and a nice overtime bonus. Then summer is super slow - no big bills - and then fall hits and it feels like it will never end.

Oh well, just a few more weeks of this. This was my third try to pay all the big bills, keep getting interrupted - so I just wrote them all. While I Was at it paid all the bills for the month. Still think I can save $500 by Dec. 31. Wow, imagine what I can do without all these big bills coming due!!

Oh the IRS & estate lawyer are just one time things, but it is giving me a hernia - such a chunk of change. *sigh*

I also wrapped a few christmas presents and dh ordered our older son's gift. I think he just has to find something for his dad and leaves December to pay for all the potlucks and gift exchanges. Cash for boss, gardener, etc. Christmas has hardly made a dent in our budget so that is the upside I guess. With a lot of planning anyway!!

Dh got $100 cash for the guitar and we are getting $130 cash for that bounced check today. I took the check out of the equation when paying the bills so that is $230 cash. We are going on a little road trip to San Francisco this weekend so with the cash I think we will splurge a little. Certainly not all of it - plenty left for savings too. Woohoo.

Frankly I hate cash because I can't just transfer it to the E-fund, or track very easily where it all ends up. Was thinking of having dh use it for grocery shopping or something but then we would lose our 3% cash back.

Oh yeah - paid all the bills but also got a $100 cash rebate from our old card. Just a matter of time before we earn $250 on our new one though. I love getting "interest" on our purchases!! Now that is the best!


In the realm of "free entertainment", dh is taking the kids to a tour of the police department today. Think the toddler will like it - planned through the parents' group. They have library storytime thursday too. The world is not ending without preschool - LOL.

& oh my gosh, the baby is starting to talk - so CUTE! He was sitting next to me and kept saying "Ball-y" or something like that when I realized he was saying "Belly." He just kept saying it over and over last night and lifting up our shirts to look at our bellies - so CUTE!!! LOL. This is the time I feel horrible as a parent because I could never pick up on what my kids were saying 1/2 the time - I feel this is a huge disadvantage as a working parent. You know it's bad when other people understand your kid more than you - LOL. & I wasn't sure if my older son would be ruined because the only thing worse was dh was even worse than I and he was the caregiver. BUT my older son turned out okay, in fact he kind of just started out talking in full sentences and everyone says he speaks extremely clear for his age. Probably because that is the only way we could understand what the hell he was trying to say - LOL. He seriosuly completely skipped baby talk for the most part. So I feel less panicky this time around, but it stresses me out not knowing what else I am not picking up on, all the same. I am sure he is saying way more than I can grasp right now. For now, I do a lot of smiling and nodding. Whatever you say - baby!