Honestly, the credit card rewards were way higher than I realized this year. I haven't been keeping as close track. I actually mentioned earlier in the year I shredded absolutely *everything* one-time credit card reward - the paperwork was getting to be too much! But I very quickly pieced all this together between my blog (for gift cards) and Quicken (cash deposits). In addition, I know I received a few $10 or $20 gift cards here and there, but I did not track those carefully and so did not add these to the total.

FINAL TOTAL:

2012 TALLY:

$532 cash Chase Sapphire
$420 cash Chase (Chase Sapphire double dip*)
$150 cash Flagstar
$500 Amazon gift cards (Citi double dip*)
$250 Amazon gift cards
-$125 annual fee (Citi)
+$115 annual fee refunded when closed card
-----------
$1842 TOTAL *ONE-TIME REWARDS*

+$ 600 deposit to ROTH (Fidelity Am Ex - 2% cash back)
+$ 25 cash back Fidelity Am Ex (bonus for some alternating category?)

+$ 95 Target rewards (5% discount Target purchases; mostly groceries)

+$ 68 Visa Rewards (1% cash back - for places that don't take AmEx - primarily dentist/insurance/utilities)

+$ 80 AmExRewards (6% cash back groceries/3% fuel - new card for 2 months only)
+$ 150 New AmEx (new card bonus)
-$75 annual fee on new AmEx
----------------------------
=$2785 Total CC REWARDS 2012
----------------------------

*double dips = rewards redeemed twice. We redeemed both these rewards in 2011 initially, and waited 12 months to redeem a second time, in 2012.

Year 2011 = $4164
Year 2012 = $2782

Total 2 Years = $6946
**Tax-Free Income!!**

Three more things:

1 - I have always always always utilized credit cards for rewards. No year in the past 20 years has come anywhere close to the years 2011 and 2012. I was maybe averaging $1000 cash back per year the few years prior.

2 - CAVEAT - I absolutely do not recommend utilizing credit card rewards in this manner, unless your credit is excellent, and you are in full control of your credit card spending. I can 100% honestly say I did not charge anything that I wouldn't have just paid for in cash otherwise. I am wired to treat my credit card as if it were a debit card, basically.

3 - The one-time rewards cards have all been cancelled and cut up. I generally close the cards right after I receive the reward.

Also, I suppose I should clarify that both my spouse and I have been utilizing these rewards, so have been able to double up significantly (versus if I were just single - we have both applied for several of the same offers. I also no doubt have many more expenses, supporting a household of 4 people versus just myself).

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

What have we been doing with all this money? We advanced several months of ROTH contributions so that we are maxing out by 12/31 this year (versus taking out time until next April). We have paid down an extra $6,000 to our mortgage, as well. We have certainly splurged some of the rewards too, but I have no doubt our financial goals have gone very well in otherwise financially trying times, due to these significant windfalls.

In fact, at the end of 2010, I was thinking about getting some part-time or temp work. The bottom line has really been, "Why bother?" when I can make all this money with barely lifting a finger!?! It's been totally great timing for my family. My motivation to find a second job was to start paying down the mortgage more rapidly.

**Before I forget, friend won a seat on the School District Board. Woot!! It took the county 30 days to count all the votes. We had a feeling for a while as votes rolled in, but nice to make it official.

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

**Dh mentioned the new "Walking with Dinosaurs" type show - this time is a "How to Train Your Dragon" theme. He was working the public TV station when they were giving out the really expensive tickets. (Bummer, because on occasion we have gotten free tickets leftover - but not this time!) Anyway, he bemoaned how expensive they were and I said, "Um, did you look?" Seems there are always some cheap seats. The arena is literally within walking distance from our home, so besides the tickets should be absolutely of no expense to us.

Me and my big mouth!! Should have just let him think they were all crazy expensive.

We were eyeing the $30 tickets (which I doubt were bad seats), but waiting for the credit card to close so we could charge them this month and pay next month.

In the meantime, I received a unexpected $50 birthday check from my mom, and so decided we could use toward tickets. Then I later remembered Florida grandpa usually sends us $100 every year. I checked, and that is what he *always* sends us. & then my mom told me she had sent us a Christmas check. (My guess is another $100 - might get it today). I had forgotten Florida Grandpa $$ when thinking about Christmas, and my folks I suppose more regularly give us cash these days, but I am not used to it. So I didn't think about it and certainly didn't count on it!

We reviewed the tickets again checking different days hoping for cheaper tickets or more availability in more off times. It took a while, but I finally found the perfect seats. We ended up paying $62.50/each with fees and everything. We are about 5 rows behind the $200 seats and right next to the $100 "hot seats." We figured that was probably the best value. Actually, I think that is what we almost bought, but then we realized if we moved over about 10 seats we could just take the front row of the second tier (& have no head in front of us!!). Which puts us sitting right next to the $200 seats. I figure being one seat over can't be that much worse - ha.

DH took BM to the Walking with Dinosaurs when he was 4 and BM remembers it very fondly. I suppose it's pretty neat - really life-like dragons. Breathing fire and everything.

Every time I see a show I keep meaning to look into it but never do. I've been to the arena a few times, but never with my family. Which is fine - seems this stuff adds up fast. "Once a decade" is probably just fine!

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

**When it rains it pours. Seems we have had lots of extra money trickle in the last week or so. I received a $15 insurance discount because my "rating" changed on my auto insurance policy, after renewal. I will take it - but for whatever reason I can not deposit it with my phone. This is the first check I have ever had a problem with. So I set it aside to deposit in person later.

**I redeemed $100 credit card reward to my ROTH this month. We have been averaging $50/month, but I suppose vacation and medical expenses pushed us over this month.

I got paid and made my regular ROTH contribution, and then double checked online what our contributions had been for the year. They were what I thought and as I planned, so, phew! My 1/1 paycheck will be advanced 12/31, and so I will make my final ROTH contribution at that time. Or I may do it sooner - with next paycheck. Knowing I will have that extra check and some Christmas money to pay the rest of the bills this month.

This may be the first time we ever maxed out by 12/31. I usually decide how much to put in with the tax returns, BUT, without a work retirement plan we are now focused on just maxing out - the sooner the better. Before the IRAs were more extra/gravy/tax breaks. & this way, if I feel tempted to move some over to a regular IRA for an immediate tax break - too bad. This way really makes sure we put it in our ROTHs and don't get tempted by a bigger tax break.

Next year we will work on maxing out even sooner in the year. As well as adding another $500/each with the higher contribution limits.

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

**The crazy has begun at work. So I haven't been too bloggy!

I am glad I had such a wonderful beach weekend last weekend, and T-Day, because I have paid since. What a crazy week at work. Next week won't be any better - big IRS audit. I am frustrated about it on many levels. & in addition, because it has been so time consuming, I am very behind on everything. Which is not the worst because I See lot of December overtime pay for me. Woohoo. It's starting a little early, but just means more money for the mortgage.

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I like the thankfulness posts that have been going around thanks to Paulette.

I think being thankful on a daily basis is a key practice to happiness and contentment. I practice this in my personal life, but feel it is kind of private. But wanted to chime in and share that.

I think people often think I am happy because I have a nice home and a good job and yadda yadda yadda. There is nothing special about having a nice home. I am every day grateful that I even have a home!! I am endlessly grateful for the opportunities we have and our kids have, that those before them didn't have. It's being grateful for the little things that keep us grounded.

No doubt that thankfulness also breeds contentedness. Our culture is so opposite though - it doesn't focus on gratefulness and contentedness. We all need more of this.

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

I suppose this is may annual Christmas post.

I used to pride myself by doing all things Christmas before December.

Over the years it has gotten kind of moot. All our friends and family have stepped back and said, "We have all we need and don't want to exchange gifts any more." The exception is dh's parents and grandma, but they don't expect much from us. Dh goes in with his sister and sorts out the details, so I generally just write SIL a check. In addition, the in-laws give us tons of crap and money, so they pay for their own gifts (we use some of the money, and often return some of the gifts - either way it doesn't cost us anything).

Of course, we obviously could spend our time focusing on gifts from the heart. BUT, with my current job I mostly choose to sit out the holidays. Work is busy this time of year and so we focus on keeping it simple instead.

If not for my job, I'd probably be baking a lot of cookies and donating more money in people's names. I like to focus on more consumable items than piling on more of the materialism. I am sure we would spend a lot more time and effort on charity if it were a slower time of year for us.

This year is shaping up to be the most simple and least expensive Christmas I remember:

--Kids: Dh already bought a few gifts throughout the year. He will get free Scholastic books and has some "free" used games set aside for them. This year we did not get any spectacular gifts of any sort.

Teachers: Dh will get each teacher a $100 scholastic voucher. Free, in exchange for labor.

Gardener/Piano Teacher: I will bonus both $20.

Donations: We all choose a charity to donate $50 to every year. Last year was the first time the kids got to choose a charity - they LOVED it. (It doesn't have to be an official charity. If the kids wanted to hand $50 to a random person on the street or to a friend in need - anything that pulls at our heartstrings is fine).

Everyone else: If I see something for anyone in my family I just buy it for them, no matter what time of year. I bought my sister a few souvenirs in October. I actually bought my mom a couple of things in October. It is tradition to buy my dad almond roca every year. None of this stuff warrants a Christmas budget.

Work: My employer has gone the way of bah humbug over the years, like me! LOL. We used to do the Christmas party thing but it stopped at some point. We all prefer it that way. Phew!! We still do a gift exchange and a gift for the boss.

Boss will give me a $250 bonus, and I will contribute $50 towards his gift, from the bonus.

There is a woman in my office who is basically "me." LOL. I drew her name this year which means EASY to shop for. I was at Walgreens the other day waiting in line and saw Starbucks gift cards so picked up one for $15. My plan was to do that and maybe find a $5-ish gift on Etsy.

Reminds me, I don't regularly give gifts to anyone else, but can always find a uses for a regift. (Starbucks reminded me of that, because I don't drink coffee, but few people *get* that. That is something I always seem to have in my regift pile. & it sure makes people happy!)

So, to sum up, I have some Etsy shopping to do, and I am DONE!! & maybe an almond roca run at some point - easy to pick up anywhere and any time.

Budget? Christmas bonus covers boss gift and donations. Money/gifts from in-laws covers the $100-ish dh spends on them every year.

$60 total for co-worker, gardener and piano teacher. In-laws will basically cover this.

We bought some other gifts, but just absorbed in regular misc. budget items throughout the year.

Christmas Budget = $0.

**We always get a bazillion gift boxes to reuse, or use what we have around the house for wrapping, and we have a fake Christmas tree. Dh and I sometimes buy gifts for each other, but rarely. The fun has been kind of taken out of the "material gift giving" since he stopped working and all our accounts are joint. This year no gifts because we have gorged on credit card rewards heavily in recent years and don't want for anything in particular. The kids buy us and each other presents with their own money (since they have no expenses otherwise - to practice money management). 90% of our family's birthday is this month and next, so this covers most the gifts for the year, and could be why most the adults don't want MORE December gifts. We might enjoy all the gifting more if we could spread it out a bit! Kids excepted - they are rare summer babies.**

Finished the month with a respectable $381 in savings/other income:

http://monkeymama.savingadvice.com/little-savings-add-up.html

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*FINALLY* sold two old booster carseats. I am beyond annoyed at how many people asked how old the seats were, and then berated us for trying to sell them (manufactured 2007). Seriously? It annoys me from an environmental standpoint. It's a glorified phone book to sit on. I'd be a little less annoyed if these were more serious type baby seats - though I am sure the whole "Destroy it because it is 5 years old" idea is still pretty ridiculous, no matter what kind of seat it is. Secondarily, maybe if we lived in an extreme climate or somewhere it might matter -

Anyway, I think it's just a sign of the times. Usually these types wouldn't buy a used carseat in the first place. ?? Or booster seats are okay to settle for used, just not old? Or the carseat industry is pushing this "old deteriorating plastic" thing more than in the past. I don't remember it being an issue when we sold the baby seats - they must have been about as old.

Well, I am just relieved we got them sold! I couldn't have destroyed them based on principal. Would have had to find a way to recycle them. Glad I don't have to. HA!

Almost up to $300 in savings this month:

http://monkeymama.savingadvice.com/little-savings-add-up.html

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**I was trying to pay all my bills yesterday since the visa closed. Could not succeed. Time to renew IRS ID#, but the system was down. Time to renew home insurance, but I think they are still reprocessing it for a higher deductible. (Insurance agent just happened to call me about something else, and so I inquired. I made a split second decision to increase deductible to $5k. Really doesn't save a lot, BUT I would never make a claim for that little, so it seems I should take the savings no matter how piddly. I was going to call and ask, but he saved me the trouble).

I will try again today or tomorrow.

I also renewed my CPA license. Good for 2 more years. Employer already reimbursed me the fee. I am annoyed as it seems I have to pay by check. Next time I will ask employer to just make the check out to the Board. I am trying to go check-less, and have mostly been succeeding.

**Reminds me, HOA sent me the good news that I can now pay online, by credit card, etc.



If... I am willing to pay insane fees with every payment. I honestly don't even see why anyone would do so. Their fee to pay by bank account was just as absurd. I was dreaming of credit card rewards, but my hopes were quickly dashed...

**We are obviously back from our beach weekend. We didn't think about it until Monday, but abandoned plan to drive home and visit family on the way, when we started thinking about the traffic. So we instead went the way the GPS wanted us to go (was about the same mileage either way). About 100 miles through hills and vineyards, and old abandoned farmlands, etc., east, until we hit the interstate. It was just a beautiful beautiful drive. The other way may have been more green and beautiful in its own way, but I have probably seen that road a thousand plus times. So, it was a nice change of pace. In the end we got home around 6:30pm and didn't see ANY traffic for the whole 5 hours. I didn't expect that! I figured we'd hit some traffic once we reached civilization.

Total cost of beach weekend:

$400 for beach view hotel
$130 Food
$ 70 Gas
---------
$600

I had $500 in credit card rewards set aside for this. The rest of the gas and food will just come from regular food/gas budget.

**I'd probably never pay this much for 2 nights in a hotel. Verdict on the ocean view? I didn't find it any more spectacular than last time we went and got "partial ocean" view. So, was definitely not worth the extra. But we splurged, and now we know. Anyway, I don't remember the last time we actually paid anything for a night in a hotel, so that was my justification for the splurge. & technically I didn't pay for it anyway - Chase did.**

**We are planning next trip. Dh really really likes the weekend away/no kids thing, and so we are planning that for his birthday. We settled on a date and are thinking Carmel (short drive). It will be after January so will be a nice mid-tax-season kind of break. We will get a free room and not spend much money.

I do not believe we did any nights away without the kids this year. ??? I am just at a spot where I don't find it that exciting. The kids are old enough we get "plenty" of alone time and all that. Maybe means more to dh since he is stuck with the kids more. We obviously had a few other vacation priorities this year!

**Reminds me, our beach weekend was a huge hit with the kids. I thought they might be a little underwhelmed right after Florida. They had a blast and it is possible we will make it a tradition of sorts. We talked about going there every October when the kids get off school. Staying more days mid-week when it is cheaper. I LOVE this idea. Post Thanksgiving wasn't a bad time either. The hotel seemed pretty full Saturday night but then everyone left and we like had the place to ourselves Sunday and Monday. Pretty sweet!

**Totally switching the topic, but I swear my conversations at work any more are about how insane health insurance is. I talked to client whose spouse was quitting job - so their insurance would be about $1,000 per month. I said, "meh, could be MUCH worse" as she is my parents' age. Just to give her some perspective - we talked about that. Then another client told me his wife was losing her insurance and his was about $2k/month for the family. He is my age. OUCH! It's a sign of the times. How and when this all comes to a head, I don't know. Everyone I have had this conversation with has the means to deal with it. I am sure many many many don't.

I have some novel to read about taxes and Obamacare - I have a headache just thinking about it. Probably some Christmas reading for me. !! So far all I have gathered is my medical expenses will be less deductible. *sigh* I honestly am not stating a political opinion and don't know all the details - just that the only part I am aware of to-date is how I will be worse off in the year 2013. Will see... I hope to read some good news in that big old tax novel. I suppose "job security." Is that the good news???

I am SO Excited about our beach weekend.

It took "forever" to align our schedules, and my parents aren't very vacation-y, and so this is definitely the first fun vacation thing we have ever done with my kids and parents. (We might have done some camping with my dad, but not with my mom).

Unfortunately, both kids seem a little sick so I am stocking up on cough drops and packing the inhaler. I was really worried yesterday, but they seem okay today. They never particularly get sick, so I am not surprised they seem pretty okay today. BUT, it's been so hard to align our schedules and they are probably due for some big illness. ??? For example, LM has 3.5 years perfect attendance. He just never gets "sick." Though they are both a little allergy and asthma prone. So when LM was sick - you see why I think he might be due for something bigger than just a sniffle.

Anyway, I think our biggest worry this weekend will be that I will probably want to let them swim and run in the ocean and dh might have a cow. But, will see. (I don't see the point in taking them and telling them not to do anything fun - they have pretty tough immune systems).

Oh, and the weather looks to be GORGEOUS the next 2 days. Don't know how we lucked into that - but will see. Which is funny, because we got odd comments about going to the beach. I think California beach weather is the same pretty year-round. Cold and foggy. More sun in the fall. I know we are pushing winter, but I also didn't think it would likely be any different than July. Crossing my fingers that weather forecast is right on. Sunny and warm!! I don't know how we could pull that off - it was so gorgeous last we went a couple of years back. I am skeptical until we actually get there. (Any other memory I have of the place is cold and fog).

We are going to Pismo Beach. About 6 hours drive for us. The long drive is a little prohibitive, but is a special place for my parents and I. We do need to find an inexpensive beach hotel closer to home. Many decades ago my dad just found this hotel on the beach and it's pretty reasonable, even to this day. (Like $80 per night?? Beach front!) I used to be in love with the area, but I no longer have friends there and it's such a long drive that I am a little bit over it. But going with my parents will be special.

We splurged on an ocean-view suite - paid for with credit card rewards. OF course!!

My To-Do List today is totally insane. I'd much rather be at work!

Tomorrow we host T-Day, but overall is not a biggie. We do more of a potluck thing. I Decided to change it up this year and cook everything ahead of time (I usually do the morning of - but makes for a long day - and I always end up exhausted).

I will boil the eggs tonight for deviled eggs - might give me an hour to sleep in or rest tomorrow. I will do my 5-minute fudge tonight. I still have bananas and pumpkin so will bake 3 more dozen muffins. I probably should have done that Monday or Tuesday... I just decided I needed to do so since I will have 20 people to help us eat the muffins, tomorrow.

Actually, the bathroom is shiny and the dining table is ready, so I don't have a TON to do on that front. BUT today I was also largely devoting to cat clean up. I need to shampoo the carpet around her litter box, scrub her old litter box, and clean a new box that I set up but she refused to use (at least that one needs little more than a rinse). FUN! Just chores I long put off, but I need to get rid of all the giant litter boxes from around the living area...

I should probably make sure that all the baths are decent. 20 guests might need 2 bathrooms used at once. Third bath in an emergency.

We did enough over the weekend that if we fell ill at the last minute I wouldn't have a heart attack. Also, I like to break everything out into smaller pieces, except I don't think I did any of my chores the last to days so am now feeling the pinch! Today wasn't supposed to be nearly as hectic.

On top of all that, the kids have two playdates.

On the flip side, dh is VERY helpful - and he is doing some other cooking. OF course he did all the groceries and such. This used to be a far bigger ordeal when the kids were small. It's a totally different ballgame when they don't need our full attention AND can help chip in. When they were babies we maybe had to take turns cleaning and cooking. Now, any cleaning seems to be done lightning fast with 8 hands and 4 heads. It frankly feels like magic at times. !!

So I better shut up and get to work.

Dh listed three video games on Amazon, and they sold right away (gross was over $100, I am estimating net $100 after fees). WE are already up to almost $300 extra income/savings for the month:

http://monkeymama.savingadvice.com/little-savings-add-up.html

I am not doing anything with the money as everything I listed is what we need to "survive" with our aggressive savings goals, and is how we keep our costs down. {Exception is that the $50 monthly credit card reward we get is directly deposited into our ROTH}.

I am trying to get into a better habit of using coupons, and may consider putting all coupon savings to the mortgage. (Coupons that I am not accustomed to using anyway, to get into a better habit). I am trying to remember to "never buy anything" without checking out the coupons first. I am improving... I would probably never buy anything online or at kohls (or dine out or get a haircut) without a coupon, but in other instances where it isn't a habit I just mind-space.

I'd maybe consider throwing this $100 at the mortgage, but we have been requested about $60 for school-related expenses recently, so I figure it is a wash. ($40 for two t-shirts, $10 for a coach gift, some eating out at competition, etc. With the holidays, I am sure there will be more).

Reminds me, my MIL and mom both gave me Kohls coupons they were sure I could enjoy. "GET 20% OFF if you open a credit card (fine print)." No thanks! I was ecstatic that my mom gave me a $10-free-at-Kohls coupon, but the minimum purchase requirement was $30. I haven't gotten the "free $10/no strings attached" in a while. Their loss - I rarely actually stuck to the $10. HA! Anyway, I know they shared because usually they are able to give me really nice coupons this time of year - I think they just didn't read the fine print. At this rate, I don't see going to Kohls any time soon.

I did buy some Kohls items deeply discounted a couple of weeks ago. At about $5/each the kids agreed they were great gifts for each other. So, DONE!! They both owe me $5 and that is done. We will probably go in one some wish list item for dh (movie or CD or video game).

One of the Kohls items was a Mario Kart lunch box. I probably didn't mention that LM found his lunch box after all. It disappeared for a couple of months, and ended up in the lost and found after that time. !!

Things I can not imagine buying for years:

--shampoo
--laundry detergent
--razors (Stocked up with amazon gift cards)
--soap (got tons free with smart phones reward)
--school lunch boxes (have 3 extras now)
--TP (dh stocked up on to get an awesome grocery reward - another $16 off our next gas purchase!)

What's funny is we are generally not stocker-uppers. I more believe in using things sparingly. I bought a giant container of shampoo not knowing I had one already, so I think "well that is going to last YEARS!" We have determined a large container of laundry detergent lasts exactly one year. I am sure we could save money going the coupon/stock-up route, and we certainly have the room. But the savings to be had just doesn't seem to be worth the effort, for us. All that said, we are definitely getting into a habit of stocking up for the year ahead - getting into the habit of buying things ahead of time off-season, etc. I'd say it just wasn't a luxury we had when our income was significantly lower. But once you get in the habit, it's hard to get out of it. You are then always well-stocked and buying ahead for next year. I've got all year to find laundry detergent on deep discount - when it is we will jump. Stuff like that.

This weekend marks the end of extra-curricular activities for the kids. Phew!!

Supposedly there was a soccer game today though it rained all night and morning. I doubt enough people showed up. We skipped it for other commitments. It hadn't even occurred to me the game might be cancelled except I got an e-mail that it was still on. HA! We picked a good day to skip it. If they make them play in the rain (mud) - what a mess!!

We skipped it because BM has his final robot competition today.

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I've got some mushy bananas, and dh got a giant can of free pumpkin as a grocery store reward. So I decided to bake to heat the house again (though it is not as cold this weekend).

I baked pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

I had scored some dirt cheap cupcake type wrappers at Michaels. They were pretty and like 50 cents for a pack.

Well, my pumpkin muffins burned on the bottom. In fact, there was all sorts of burning smells coming from the oven, which was worrying me. I saw why when the pumpkins came out.

I don't know if it is just this recipe, how hot the oven was, or if the paper is meant more for cake than muffins. What a bummer!!

I thankfully had enough plain old paper wrappers for the banana muffins. Just trying random recipes off the internet. I had the idea to add pumpkin spice to the banana muffins, but checked online before I ruined the batch. Apparently I was not the first to think of it. I still have 15 oz of pumpkin left, so might try one of the banana pumpkin muffin or bread recipes. Sounds divine! I've still got several mushy bananas. As is, I just made banana muffins with some pumpkin spice - it sure SMELLS good - haven't tried them yet - cooling off.

I have never made banana bread before. Seriously. Don't ask me why not! (We usually eat our bananas pretty well, or freeze them for smoothies later). But, since I had 6 mushy bananas... I also don't throw things away very lightly.

P.S. I turn 36 in a couple of weeks, and today someone told me she thought I Was in my early 20s (was shocked I had a 7yo child - more shocked when I told her I also had a 9yo). HA! I usually find the young comments annoying - as I get condescending comments a lot professionally. BUT I haven't got that so much lately and thought my age was showing more. I am getting more grey hairs... So today I enjoyed it as a compliment.

**Went to the dentist this week. Only the second time at this one - oh how I LOVE:

--a dentist in the same city
--I am not sure my teeth ever been so clean?
--the cost of a local dentist (much cheaper; much lower overhead - esp. rent)

We were traveling 200 miles round trip for our dentist for my "forever dentist" about a decade after experiencing some horrible highly-recommended scammy local dentists. UGH! Yeah, I Could have tried harder, but gave up until my "forever dentist" retired. & then I was dreading that whole process, but am just so happy and relieved that we ended up in a better spot. Change can sometimes be good.

There is also no doubt that local dentist has considerably cheaper overhead and so it is nice to see that savings passed onto us as well. That should be one of the benefits of moving somewhere considerably lower cost.

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**Today is payday so I will pay off all the credit cards and pay the property taxes. A couple of weeks early - but I am moving past the desparate need for interest. {I generally wait to the last minute to pay bigger bills and squeexe out every drop of interest that I can from our savings}. More to the point - I have the cash flow and don't need to move any money around, so might as well pay it a few weeks early.

This is the downside of rising home values. Our taxes will likely go up $1k next year - or about $100/month. Ouch! BUT, I appreciate the lower taxes in recent years, all the same.

**Reminds me, I just got a note that our HOA bill remain unchanged this year. WOOHOO! Our HOA has been excellent - no price increases even though a large percentage of homeowners here are foreclosed and/or in default of dues. I have a strong sense of what to look for when we buy our next home - which will be a condo or a townhome - will probably never experience home ownership without an HOA. But we have only had positive experiences. This could have been SO bad considering the timing of when we bought. Thankfully our HOA has always been very fiscally conservative. We pay less now than we did 10 years ago.

**General plan for the rest of the year?

To fund:

--$500 beach vacation (charged this month - pay Dec.)
--$700 ER bill (charged this month - pay December)
--??? taking car into shop next week - nothing wrong with it but expecting maybe brake work or something since hasn't needed anything in "forever." Wanted to get it looked over before our long drive/vacation.

--$650 to mortgage - will be more principal than interest for the year
--Max out ROTHs in December - just regular contribution, nothing extra.
--With those goals set, hoard as much cash as possible. Not sure it will be much with all of the above, but will see...

--Charge all insurance bills to pay off in January (Homeowners, umbrella, flood, etc.) We bought our home in December - can you tell?

--Jan. 1 will be a time of reckoning. I think it's likely the first time *ever* I will not get a raise. Health insurance went up as always. Our internet bill is still insane though we have tried threatening to leave - still working on that one - I put off to Jan. to figure out. Property taxes will go up. Payroll tax holiday will likely be lost - other taxes will likely go up. Might even owe AMT for 2012!?! AMT would be a huge tax increase for us (we generally don't have enough income to pay income taxes of any note).

What's funny is that I have 100% saved the tax holiday for the past 2 years. I under-estimated how much I would mourn the loss of that money. I got really used to the savings boost. I am going to have a tough time losing that. I know it was smart to save it, but under-estimated how "used to it" I would get.

2013 looks pretty sucky.

On the plus side, I am seeing signs of economic improvement at work. It's interesting because the economic slowdown was VERY slow to affect us. But over time it no doubt has. I now see signs of things really improving. I don't know if I am now seeing the early signs, or if it is just a fluke. But crossing my fingers. I am just now looking at the books for July, Aug, Sep for several clients, and my jaw is dropping at their dramatic profit increases. & the bank balances for some of the others who never did too poorly. I am nagging a lot of people about the $250k FDIC limit, all of a sudden. Good signs - more money is flowing to small business owners again. & it's not a slow trickle - it's a big/sudden/dramatic boost.

**Our grocery store is changing around their rewards system, which is really annoying. Ch-ch-ch-changes.

BUT, they happen to be running a promo this next week where if you spend $100 you get $1/off per gallon. Dh just happened to shop yesterday (did not know about promo) and couldn't quite believe his eyes when he got the receipt.

I redeemed it today because the van was out of gas. If we can get gas in the van at same price as the gas sipper ($40 for a 350-mile trip) then we will reconsider driving the van to Southern California next weekend. Since we are vacationing with my parents and can cut down car trips. Plan A was to just be cheap and worry about ourselves. (We could all squeeze into my parents' car if we went out to dinner or something - you can only fit 4.5 people in our gas sipper - my parent have a new vehicle that might even have a middle shoulder belt).

So anyway - I paid $2.59 per gallon for gas today - 16 gallons.

The promo ends T-Day and we can't really stock up on fridge/freezer food next week with T-day at our house (we always try hard to empty the fridge on the days leading up to Turkey day). BUT dh thinks he can hit the goal with cat food, TP and such. Will see...

We still are a long way from figuring the best way to maximize new rewards (or if we should switch stores, etc.), but we keep getting random free stuff in the interim. Free loaves of bread (score!) and dh noticed that cases of bottled water were free yesterday - the kids like those for school.

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I am considering another credit card reward. $500 in Amazon gift cards. We have kind of missed the endless supply of gift cards. I'd rather have cash, but Amazon gift cards are the next best thing.

Actually, I am totally saturated on them - I even stocked up on household goods with prior rewards - things like that. So I am pretty much out of ideas - but I know dh will find something. It will pay for his toys and keep extra peace in our marriage.

**I suppose I was incorrect. I mentioned that the boys could live in an igloo and I could sleep in an igloo. (I am mostly a cold weather whimp - but prefer to sleep in the cold - all bundled up of course).

This is mostly correct, except dh seems to be developing a "cold feet" problem with age. He has always had bad circulation to his hands - I suppose the same for his feet.

Last year he was really whimping out at night though we have *never* turned on the heat at night. I put a knit blanket at the foot of his side of the bed, because he kept complaining that his feet were cold. Wala - problem solved!

This year he got out the blanket, but it doesn't seem to be helping. So I got out a heating pad for tonight. He thinks he just needs to warm his feet before bed, and the blanket will keep them warm all night. In the interim, he may go wool sock shopping - something like that.

It's tough getting older!

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In other news, today was lining up to be the *worst* possible day for jury duty (for many many reasons).

I was regretting saying it would be no big deal. HA!!

Somehow we dodged that bullet. I figured there was no way in heck dh would be called in tomorrow because it is a perfect day for it. What do you know - he got called. How did we get THAT lucky!?!

I have a web-based seminar from home tomorrow - and it's one that I don't need the full 8 hours credit for. (If I miss some time picking up kids and such). Granted, we also have a parent-teacher conference tomorrow which dh might have to miss. I guess there was something jury duty had to muck up!

Will see how it pans out...

{Oh - one thing we forgot was the kids get out of school at 1:00 all week. HA!}.

**While in San Jose over the weekend I went to the Target right by my folks' house to look for a specific jacket. They didn't have it, but the kids section was very large and I found piles of school uniform shorts on sale for $3.88 (70%-off). Score!! I bought 4 pairs and saved a fortune. I did not look at anything else, which was apparently wise since the kids don't need anything else. But, I need to make a mental note to frequent that Target for clearance items. The selection was huge. (I had to pay a higher sales tax, but still came out ahead).

I found a jacket "close enough" for $20. BM is set clothes-wise for the foreseeable future.

It's funny to me how little in clothing I usually buy for BM, and yet how much ends up tricking down to LM. I was chuckling to myself when I cleaned out their drawers this weekend. I am sure I come across as the big cheapskate who barely has a budget even for the kids' clothing. But somehow I am dumping a giant bag of clothes with every season.

I could not believe how much of their clothes I had to go through, since I did the same already in the spring. I think I held onto a lot of the very small sized clothing that still fit, but liberally tossed it this time because I was running out of room for bigger sized clothing.

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**Oh, and I lucked out, because a charity came by for pickup today. So, I cleared/moved clothes around over the weekend, and today it's all long gone. Woohoo!

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**Paid a ton of bills today.

$700 ER bill
$145 AAA renewal

Gave some money to the school and to the Red Cross

Did some birthday/Christmas shopping for myself (Etsy)

I had so many charges to "paypal" for the donations and Etsy that I am sure my card will be put on hold for suspicious activity. It happened when I paid for the kids' school stuff this year since they had to do it in 6 different transactions.

Will see!

Dh stocked up on groceries for the first time with our new credit card - will get 6% back on the purchase.

Next week probably we will take dh's car into the shop for a safety check. Initially we always drove really old cars and it seems like they were in the shop often enough that we never had to take them in for any additional maintenance. Of course we keep up oil changes on our cars, but that is about it. It's been 2 years since the older car has needed *any* work (aside from tires, batteries, oil change), and so I think it's best to get the brakes and fluid levels checked before our beach weekend (coming up!!). I'd love to wait one more month and put off paying that until 2013. & who knows - they may not find anything to work on. But, since we are going on a long car drive I think it is prudent. I have a couple of concerns about brakes and a weird noise the car makes when you turn the wheels left. Anyway, we tend to do safety checks once a year but haven't done one in a while. Maybe we did one last fall - maybe they didn't find anything since I don't see any repair charges last year - maybe we just had them check everything over when we replaced the tires last year. I won't bother with the van because it seems in tip top order and don't plan to drive it more than 100 miles any time soon.

Oops - the site ate my post!! I usually copy and paste and all that but wasn't thinking. Grrr...

I added a page to my side bar.

http://monkeymama.savingadvice.com/little-savings-add-up.html

I don't know if I will keep up with it, but trying to remember to share all the little savings.

Surprisingly, I've been able to come up with something every day. Saved almost $100 this month, already.

Most of it is pretty usual.

Of note, I had to do some back to school type shopping for BM. The kids rarely wear pants, but I guess BM's new school campus is on the cold side. Considering it's like pulling teeth to get them to wear pants in January (when it's often 30 degrees when they walk to school), it must be really COLD!

So, usually I don't buy a whole school wardrobe, and try to hit the thrift shops or wait for a sale. But it was rather last minute and I couldn't remember the last time I bought any school clothes. So I hit Target for that yesterday.

They also had some really nice jackets at Target, but none in his size. They weren't online at all. I will be in San Jose today so crossing my fingers that the closest Target to my folks house has some jackets in his size!

While perusing online for school pants, I found some clearance items at Kohls. They might be good items for the kids to give each other for Christmas - so they might reimburse me for those. If not - presents or stocking stuffers.

Reminds me, I am not doing any Christmas preparations because I am mostly *out* of the Christmas spending. Dh's family goes big, but they also give us cash - so they just pay for their own presents and dh takes care of all that. IT's not just us - no one else we know is just into the materialism. So it's been a pretty mutual thing over the years with the rest of our friends and relatives.

Anyway, I asked dh yesterday what he was thinking about the kids for Christmas, because I was thinking the $20 I spent yesterday was probably enough. (Dh will get free books and games, and already bought them a few things throughout the year). Thankfully, he was totally on the same page. Phew! We both agreed they were WAY spoiled last year and for their birthdays, and so we look forward to an uber modest Christmas under our own roof. Dh is into having the kids buy us and each other gifts to teach them money management skills, which is fair enough, but I am not even into that so much any more. I think I am just so over the materialism of it all. I don't remember the last time dh and I regularly bought each other gifts. I have no gifts in mind for dh - he is spoiled too.

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P.S. I really like creditcardfree's snowflake posts. I suppose I wanted to share as a reminder that there are probably 1 million ways to snowflake. I know we all do it a little differently. I think my snowflakes are heavy on the credit card rewards (which have been more like giant snowballs the last couple of years - yeesh!)

All the little savings aside, last month we actually pocketed $578 cash from other income sources:

$85 focus group
$10 sold costume
$8 ATT settlement
$470 credit card rewards
$5 sold old cellphone to Sprint

I will include all this stuff in my "Little Things Add Up" page - going forward.

**Whoa! Only 3 weeks until Thanksgiving!?! How did that happen?

I will let you know when I enter the "no heat" challenge. Ha! It is still hot here - the leaves aren't even changing. Completely unusual. Oh, but I was thinking about T-Day because usually it is a challenge to keep the heat off until then. As of right now the house is 75 degrees, and the forecast is for 80 next week. Yeah...

I am extra lucky because I believe I have three online courses to take at home in November (3 week days). Usually the only reason no one turns on the heat is because all the boys in the house can live in an igloo, I Can sleep in an igloo, and I get free heat at work. I can tough out the weekends and keep busy and active, but "sitting at the computer for 8 hours" was going to be a sure recipe for turning on the heat way early. But obviously not when it is 80 degrees outside...

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**Oh yeah, literally due to the Hurricane/Cyclone, our recent rain was postponed until 8pm Halloween night. How nice was that? Seriously, the kids lucked out. (I saw on the news that the storm was pushing some storm systems out of our way - more west).

**It's funny because I am so moderate in most things. I always say, if I have a religion, it's "Moderation."

Anyway, I think I mostly get moderation on the financial front. Heck, it's probably my strength in many ways. BUT, there is some part of me that is always "Go Big or Go Home." So I am trying to recognize this in myself and re-program. (Which is not all bad because keeps it interesting. Moderation *all the time* is probably pretty boring! )

I never give to charities in $10 denominations. When I hear people need money, I think $50 or $100. Maybe even $25. But, even that is unlikely. So, I share because I bet we could all spare $5 for the Red Cross and the recovery efforts back east. & you know this is so unlike me. I am always first to say, "Forget the money - help with your time!" But, I am telling myself just to send $10 now and regroup at the end of the year when we do our usual donations (& we can probably send much more at that time). & I think we all need to hear this. I think we can ALL do something to help. No matter how little it is.

Giving blood is another helpful deed for those who can.

**Aside from that, I was reading the blog posts today, and thought, "It's November? Crap - I forgot to pay the bills." LOL. There is nothing due today or tomorrow or anything, but a few bills are due around the first week of the month and take a few days to get sent in online bill pay. (I am way too much of an "accountant" to do auto bill pay). Anyway, what happened was I didn't get my paycheck until way late the last 2 months due to vacations and holidays and such. But in those cases I looked at my bills ahead of time and paid them. This month I suffer from, "What, It's November!?!" I was well aware yesterday was the 31st, but time is just flying and I totally spaced.

So I better go pay my bills... My paycheck is deposited already, BUT I didn't need it to pay anything. DOH!!

Boy, people really do wait for the last minute!!

We sold a nice costume yesterday for $10. (Craigslist). Could have sold the other, but dh didn't check his e-mail in time. I think we could have sold them on Amazon, so am kind of annoyed dh didn't try that route (could probably get a lot more for them). But, who knows, maybe the other one will sell today.

I am kind of bummed with this experience because these are really nice costumes, and usually my experience with more baby stuff is to sell it for what I paid for it. In this case, not even close. I am surprised how little interest we have ever gotten for these costumes. Well, Amazon may be a better audience. I think at this point since it is too late for the Amazon route, will just offer up to relatives and close friends. If no one wants it, will keep to sell on Amazon next fall. (Though we can set the price on Amazon, so maybe we should see if it sells in the interim. For $10 it might sell in the off season).

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Oh, and the total Emergency room for BM last month seems to be about $1200. I just got a $700 bill for the rest of it. (I thought I'd owe $900, but I had forgotten that we paid $200 at time of admission).

Which in the end is rather "meh" because they never charged anywhere near what they usually charge ($1200) for dh's annual MRI. I think it kind of evens out. Unless they change their mind. BUT, they will have to change their minds quickly if it is going to impact us this year at all. So, phew!! (I am sure it's likely we will get some MRI bill at some future date).

{At some point last week I thought I would owe $2600 between this and the flood insurance, and so glad $2600 turned into $1000. Phew!!}.

First off, of course hoping everyone is safe on the east coast (& mid-west and everywhere the storms are affecting). What a mess!!

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I've mentioned before here that the flood ratings here are SO political. (As is everything?) So, I got a note from FEMA while we were on vacation how we had to get a letter from a public official stating where our property was on the flood maps? Something like that. ??? I sent it to my insurance agent who is pretty awesome and said he would take care of it. I had no doubt he would. (Um, okay FEMA why don't you tell me where I am on the flood map?!? What the heck am I supposed to know about this? Public official? Because public officials have nothing better to do?)

Usually our flood insurance is $300-ish (because initially zoned as basically "not a flood zone" - I think this is the cheapest it can be). So then I get a bill for $1600. Ouch! I look it up in the local news and stuff and no one mentions it. No one's complaining about all this insanity because no one even has flood insurance. (They can't afford their homes, they certainly have not bought flood insurance. Though I think you'd be insane not to - low lying area protected by levees. Plus, the insurance has been mandatory for a while).

I finally find some news blurb that our flood insurance is supposed to go up 20% per year to ease into the higher rates, which frankly I thought were more like $3k. This also makes no sense whatsoever. Because $300 increased 20% per year gets you nowhere near $1600 or $3k or whatever it is supposed to end up at. But, whatever! It's clearly not supposed to be $1600 for this year.

It's not due for several weeks, and so I figured stuff crossed in the mail and it would work itself out. Figured maybe I'd wait a few days before I bug insurance agent again. I was sure he took care of it. & I was pretty sure the bill was wrong.

So, phew! I got another FEMA bill today and it was more like $360. No explanation - no mention to ignore the other bill. But I can figure it out and I will keep a copy of both bills just in case there are any issues.

So, I am feeling relieved I am off the hook for $1300-ish dollars I was not expecting.

Actually, a while ago FEMA decided to cut out the insurance middlemen and just started billing us directly. I wonder if this "public official flood map" thing is the kind of thing they would usually communicate to the insurance agents. It doesn't make any sense. I wonder how many people don't understand the gobbedly-gook or don't have an insurance agent willing to deal with the extra work. Makes me wonder how many people blindly play too much.

This weekend is the polar opposite of last weekend. Mellow and chore-filled.

I am lucking out on the Halloween front. The kids had asked for some Halloween decorations, and I said "Heck no." No need to spend money on useless crap, and even worse to accumulate worthless crap. I am kind of "out" of the holiday decorating thing. But I was at Target for whatever reason a couple of weeks back and saw a bunch of decorations in their $1 bins. I figured "whatever," and spent $2. The kids were delighted, so win-win.

I have been having so much fun at Michael's lately (it is seriously better than the dollar store) that I figured I might stop by there sometime too. I just didn't have any coupons printed out so wanted to do that first. I am sure they have some super cheap decorations that will appease the kids and won't make me too cranky (won't take up a lot of storage space).

Glad I waited, because apparently we could use some foam board. Never even heard of it, but sounds very useful for costume making.

Anyway, dh lent the kids' Mario & Luigi costumes to a relative in another city. I was kind of annoyed because though the kids did wear them the past two years, I had already told them I wasn't going to buy them any new costumes this year.

Never fear. Today we decided we better get our act together (very unlike us to wait so last minute).

LM settled on a spider man costume we have - it fits like it was made for him. He is 7, and I think BM wore it when he was 5 or 6 (it was a little large at the time). Perfect!!

BM is making his own Minecraft costume. It's a video game with blocky characters, so we are just printing out the blocky graphics onto a cardboard box to wear over his head. Dh told me he needed some nylons for the eye holes (such a good idea!!). The pickaxe he needs was recommended to glue onto some foam board. They already have some foam swords, so may just be able to tape over the swords they already have. Will see what we can find.

When the kids were younger I was way too exhausted to go the DIY route. Maybe it's easier because they can do most the work now.

So, I am pleased, I think I got off pretty easy. We already got Halloween candy free at CVS a while back.

I suppose I put it out of my mind, but it's *that* time of year. Got our health insurance renewal yesterday. It went up 10%, which is about what I expected. Anyway, I think it is pretty official that in 2014 we will be paying more for health insurance than our mortgage. More than out CALIFORNIA mortgage. Just grateful we can continue to afford in the nearer future. I keep figuring it has to slow down at some point. "When" is the question. It can't go on like this forever. ???

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I figured this year I was going to read up on investing and all that (it's just one area I don't have a ton of experience or confidence). Ha! I signed up for this class early in the year - "Investing in Turbulent Times." As the year progressed I decided I already knew everything I needed to know, and that in the same way I approach just about everything, "Simpler is better." So I pretty much abandoned this plan. Or, more to the point, realized I already know everything I need to know and everything that is useful to me.

As my "Investing in Turbulent Times" class approached I decided it would probably annoy me. I was thinking, "Why is investing in turbulent times any different than other times? Aren't times always turbulent, on some level, anyway?" Ha! I nailed it on the head. The whole class was a broad investing class and that was the whole point of the class: There is nothing unique or different about now. Asset diversification/rebalancing, and "keeping costs low" are proven investing strategies.

**I applied for a new credit card, and so will have a 4-card system. I am sure I passed on it before because it has an annual fee, and because I don't want a 4-card system. But the 3-card system has been working well, so decided to give it a go.

New system:

-New Amex with 6% back on groceries and 3% back on gas. This is most of our spending, anyway.

-Old AmEx with 2% back on *everything.* Will keep this for insurance, utilities, misc. (Good thing is I don't have to change anything around - new card can just be swiped when used. This card is already set up to pay utilities and insurance).

-Credit union visa for 1% back on everywhere that does not take AmEx. (Mostly some utilities and insurance).

-Target card for 5% back on Target (used for groceries)

I am sure I would never consider this plan, but not for Quicken. With Quicken, I can download all the charges, and I just pay everything off the first of every month. It hasn't been a big deal, which is why I decided to bite this bullet. (I don't wait for statements - I just pay everything off when the month is over).

Oh, and the kicker is there is a one-time cash back bonus that would pay the annual fee for two years. I doubt this would be the best card in 2 years time - so will probably cover the fee for the life of the card. It seems we change our cards around every few years as rewards get changed.

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**I may also take a backseat with the one-time credit card rewards for a while. Nothing about the credit card activity (open, reward, close) seems to have affected our credit score much but this year all sorts of inquiries are showing up on our credit reports. The inquiries = ouch. (I don't know why none particularly showed up last year. We've been applying for the same cards over and over - same card issuers, etc.).

So, I am sure I can be enticed, but in the meantime there isn't anything spectacular and I think we will just work on this 4-card strategy for a while. At least until next spring? Let the credit scores bounce back a bit. Our scores are still A or A-, but rather keep them that way then get to the point where I literally can't get any credit I apply for. (If nothing else, we may want to refinance down to a 15-year loan in the near future). So, I guess we quit (or take a break) while ahead.

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**I am probably going to abandon mortgage payoff plan for the next year. I feel great relief about this decision. I am feeling much more pressure to build up cash reserves (personal circumstances, crappy economy). But also feel like we need to focus on the mortgage. & of course there are always too many competing financial goals. If we could always do everything we wanted, these blogs would not exist.

Anyway, the lightbulb moment for me is that I probably have about 1/2 our HongKong airfare saved up (was going to put to mortgage before year-end) and should have the rest by spring. I decided this was a good reason to hoarde up some cash.

So, yesterday I paid off our recent Florida vacation (had the money, but just waited for payday to not have to move anything around). For next vacation, hoping to have the money saved up a solid year ahead of time. Phew!

It's not quite so simple that I am overlooking mortgage for vacation. I think I am just changing the order of things. In fact, I am pondering using the money to max out our ROTHs in spring, and hoarding up money the rest of the year for Hong Kong. Hong Kong is not a new goal, so just means more can go to the mortgage later.

I like this idea because I can focus on cash a little more, and because HK kept getting pushed up so I Was unsure if I could come up with the money. Yesterday I looked at airfare to get a ballpark - it was much better than I expected. Though I can't buy airfare for another year, so will see!! Will save up far more as a cushion (whatever we don't need will go to the mortgage).

I was initially thinking maybe saving up $3k per year, for 3 years, for this trip. But, we have been talking more seriously about summer 2014, which was stressing me out! Less than 2 years away...

The kids will be spoiled. Grandma wants to take them both on a "once in a lifetime - anywhere in the world" trip when they turn 10. So, that covers 2013 and 2015. That leaves us 2014. We are going to visit a relative who isn't getting any younger and who will likely retire in the states. So, I think it is probably best to aim for 2014.

I may change my mind 100 more times in the next year, but don't be surprised if I abandon mortgage plans in the interim.

There is always more to the story. The plan to do 15-year mortgage isn't panning out so much (I really don't want to give up liquidity we have gotten this year - and there are only downward pressures on income and upward pressures on expenses - for forseeable future). Home value went up $50k+ over summer, so I am no longer scrambling to hang on to 20% equity. Rising interest rates and falling home values could alter my goals again.

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ETA: I updated the sidebar to reflect this change of goals. Total savings goal is the same, but just shifted some of it away from the mortgage. I also put down 2013 goals for future reference.

Yikes, today is such a Monday!! Actually, I usually like Mondays because I am so refreshed. But today has been such the typical Monday. Good thing the day is FLYING by. {I did a couple of REALLY stupid things, so I am keeping all the "stupid" to myself for the rest of the day - trying to avoid all human contact, which isn't too hard}.

Dh got summoned for jury duty. It's the kind of thing I think he would enjoy. & I think maybe the first time he can actually participate. (Our county is easy to get out of if you are sole breadwinner or stay-home small kid watcher - which of course we could not afford to do jury duty so glad they are so lenient. I hear surrounding counties are not near as nice). So, anyway, no small kids at home, so jury duty it is.

I saw today that Mrs. Money Mustache had a recent jury duty experience and was bemoaning all the commuting and inconvenience. I suppose this burst my bubble a bit, but was talking about it with dh, and we decided it really shouldn't be that big of a deal. For one, we have always lived very close to downtown. There won't be any commuting (not any more than it is to get the kids to school, which can also be a real pain). So maybe erasing the whole commuting aspect will make it a lot easier. I personally don't think it will affect the kids or I very much - not planning to use any daycare or help. & I think dh will enjoy the change of scenery.

Will see!

I will say that this recipe wasn't the best ever (maybe we could use some practice), but I would make it again just for the smell. I came home last night and it smelled like an Indian household. YUM!

**ETA: Scratch that. Apparently dh forgot the salt the first time. He made it again and it was just divine. Who knew a little salt could make such a difference?**

Crockpot Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-chicken-mak...

I am also wondering if this one will taste better reheated.

Don't get me wrong - it was good! It's just I am used to the real thing, so our version was a little lacking.

Reminds me, we also got a new Indian grocery store just down the street. OMG. We haven't checked it out yet - what are we waiting for? (They also have food "to go" there - will have to try it out some time this month).

& also, this is another crockpot recipe we have been using a lot:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/10/indian-spiced-lentil...

The thing about Indian food is that it tends to be so complex and time-consuming to make. So I LOVE these crockpot recipes.

**Relieved to have such a low-spend week after such a spendy month and spendy vacation. Last month was just insane with the neverending last minute stuff.

According to the credit card online, only $100 was spent this week. Groceries. Phew! Won't need gas until next week. (No spending plans for the weekend). When I read about record high gas prices, I decided to leave the minivan parked. Dh has been driving it to school (less than 1 mile?). Soccer practice and all that was canceled, which helped a bit. It helps to be out of town and not driving anywhere when gas is at a record high locally.

Today I decided to grab a dollar-menu item from BK. I was thinking I was sick of leftovers (beef beef beef - dh has only cooked 2 meals since we got back?) and then BM told me at 7:40 that he had to get to school by 7:45 today. HA! That sealed the deal - went out for lunch. But $1 is barely a blip on the radar. In fact, I used toll quarters left over from vacation, which have already been accounted for as vacation expense.

**I am doing tax stuff for a friend. Well, trying. She said she would take me out to lunch Monday to thank me. I am "trying" because I don't have any information yet. This tax return will be down to the wire!

I generally do not do taxes for anyone, especially friends. A little more generous with family (especially my parents). But, anyway, this is a one-time thing (a death). & though it's kind of complex, I think I can whip it out in under an hour. So basically, not a biggie to me. {Plus, if it was more complex, she would have paid me for the help. It's just I offered to do it for free once I saw the what I was working with}.

**A neighbor is selling entertainment books for $15/each. Not a neighbor I know, but a friend of a friend.

MIL usually buys them for us, but we pretty much never use it. We just don't go out and consume that much (or we find better coupons elsewhere!!). We try to remember to look through the book when things come up.

So, anyway, not a terribly enticing offer to me (doubt we would ever save $15 using the enterainment book). But I asked MIL if she wanted any. Because I know, for one, she always buys for us. So, I bought her a few copies. If the other people use it, then what a deal! & I saved her some money on our copy.

Fiscal Doings:

**Finally redeemed old cell phone for $5 credit. Sprint had offered larger credit for accessories, but somehow we did the *big* cell phone changeover with no need for accessories. Dh was dragging his feet because wanted to pick out an accessory. I am glad he finally settled on the $5.

**Dh has some costumes listed on Craigslist. Also 2 old carseats. If all this sells, I might be willing to buy costumes this year, but sounds like the kids have a good DIY plan. More on that later, when decisions are made!

**Received my $420 Chase reward. After I cash it I will close that card. Saving that for our Pismo Beach vacation next month.


Food Doings:

Dinner last night was YUM!!

Sweet & Savory Slow-Cooked Beef

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Sweet---Savory-Slow-Cooke...

Cost = $1.66 per serving.

Plus, we had a salad pre-mix. I usually make our own salads, but they were on sale, and the salad was very good too.

*This* is what I missed on vacation. Cheap and yummy.

Will have to remember this recipe for future potlucks - so very easy and feeds a lot!


Other Doings:

Tonight we have a big concert. Lumineers. Interesting find - dh has already seen them twice, but apparently they went *BIG* in the interim. Lucky to get tickets - very small venue - hoping it is not too crowded.

**Vacation couldn't have been better! Only Snafu is that teenaged neighbor (cat sitter) lost the key to our house. So we learned to keep an extra copy a little closer to home. Lesson learned!

**Thumbs up to Dollar Rental car and United for *excellent* service. I Was so not looking forward to flying in this environment, but it actually went pretty well. I thought there would be fighting for more overhead space, etc., with the nickel and diming for baggage. On the flight there it was not bad at all. On the flight home it seemed a little more crowded in the overhead bins, but we got in the plane early. We left a few minutes early to get ahead of a big storm - phew!! We really don't fly *that much* - maybe once every year or two - but I don't remember the last time all our flights were so smooth. No delays, no issues whatsoever. Dollar was cheap, and I actually had a pretty bad experience with them once, but this time was an A+ experience.

**It ended up being fairly easy to pack light. I think all these digital toys have made travel so easy in that regard. I remember being impressed how lightly we were able to pack last we went to HAwaii, but I remember carrying a lot of books. This time, just the e-readers, which freed up a lot of room. We ended up with 2 carry-on suitcases, but one was pretty much just for the carseat I had bought. Next time we can travel *much* lighter. The kids are just so small - and we knew we would have laundry in our room so packed for only 3-4 days of light clothing.

**Weather was pretty good. We bought ponchos at WalMart for something like 90-cents each (you could pay 10-20 times as much in the parks). IT was generally not too hot or too wet all week. Oh, and there was absolutely no lines for anything. I had seen all of D-world in 2 days before - was kind of the same as before except we didn't even bother with a couple of the parks this time.

**I suppose we didn't need all those quarters, because the tolls all had attendants giving change. That had changed since 2009. We just used the quarters anyway - but I have a roll left. We easily spent $20 in tolls, but had accumulated so much other change - might have used some dollar bills early in the week when I Wasn't sure $20 would be enough.

**Reminds me, dh found a giant pile of change on one of the big rides at Universal. It was so bizarre - about $4.25 in loose change. He told me there were a couple of dollar coins in there so I didn't think much about it but had to laugh when he emptied his pockets end of night. HA!! It was just this HUGE pile of coins. Yeesh. It was like the biggest roller coaster there, so very odd.

**The only reason I am so happy is because the bed we had was really comfortable. Another A+. I usually never sleep well anywhere else - spoiled by our own ultra-comfortable mattress.

**Happy to be home. Today we just recover and adjust to the time change. I don't have much else to do. I'll do a post on the financial side later. I pretty much already did all the work, so don't have much to do today. We decided to order pizza in. Haven't gotten the mail yet - so see what surprises we get (still waiting for various medical bills).

I had estimated to make a $3k credit card payment next payday to cover September expenses + vacation. I ended up about $3100, but some of that is gas and groceries (which can use October budget for), so I think I will just pay the $3,000. How is that for some good estimating?? I also think I did a good balance of keeping track of the finances without thinking about it too much. More on my method, later.

**I generally do not like to travel much at all. I pondered on how flight home what it was that I so enjoyed about these last two trips. Dh and I had a GREAT trip to Hawaii in 2010 - about exactly 2 years ago. That is two "big" vacations, with flying and everything, that I *Really* enjoyed. {I am usually perfectly happy to do a road trip and to keep it much more simple - just more my style}.

I think there was a huge element of just packing light, and getting on and off the planes. I think electronics has a lot to do with it. That said, dh and I have not traveled much together, so I was pondering that maybe I like traveling with him more than otherwise. In recent years we have done a lot of family trips without each other. In the more distant past we would do more trips for business or with friends, without each other. I realized, we just haven't traveled a whole lot together. Without a big crowd of family. Traveling with a big crowd always sucks, of course. So hey, maybe I'd be willing to be a little more adventurous in the future, with a great travel companion like dh.

**I've decided after the last month or so that the extra $400 per *year* we are paying on our smart phones is DEFINITELY worth it. IT was invaluable in the hospital (which we seem to spend lots of time in, in recent years). On vacation, it was so great for communicating back home with the time change. I could have wasted to much time on the phone with the whole cat sitter snafu. But a few quick texts resolved that. I Called my mom to grovel a bit, to deliver a spare key 100 miles away. But, other than that... Thirdly, I do not do *work* on vacation. I can think of nothing less appealing than being constantly reachable. BUT, I did have to check on a couple of payroll things. The caveat is it depends who you give your info to. I did not give my personal e-mail to a rude manager who would call and bug me about the stupidest stuff on vacation. My employer/boss is polar opposite - he would never bug me about anything - there have been many times I said, "You should have called me!" because something or other came up. I did give one client and one co-worker my personal e-mail. IT was DIVINE. I had to crunch some numbers mid-week and it was so nice just to know when the info was ready for me. Co-worker e-mailed me a quick question - again - I didn't have to keep checking. So that was a perk I did not expect. I'd be likely to be grumpy that I had to take work on vacation with me - something I generally never do - but it just worked out well. IT just is what it is when you are involved with payroll - the payroll must go on.

**Anyway, usually I am just SO HAPPY to be home from a vacation. !! This time, I am kind of "meh." I guess that is the sign of a good vacation.

**I can say the grand total for our trip was right about $3,000. That was absolutely everything, for 7 full days in Orlando, 4 people. I think we did good. Airfare and parks was $2200 of that.

I was just looking at my gas bill, and was so confused:



I thought, surely they couldn't make such a math error on the actual bill. Looks like they added the payment to the balance and subtracted the bill. Wha???

So I looked at the invoice, and it made a little more sense:



Glad I didn't have to sit on the phone straightening that out.

We turn down our hot water heater in the summer. But since it's still 100 degrees here, I guess it will be kept low a while. Summer started out pretty mild, like last year. But yeesh. I had wanted to turn off the AC and irrigation and all that while we are on vacation. Hadn't really thought about it since it is *October.* But, will have to leave it all on - it's been really hot.

Thus, with September and October so exceptionally hot, our balance is probably more negative than usual. Will use up that balance in the winter months when we turn on the gas heat, turn up the hot water, etc.

Success!! *barely*

& thank you to the very patient CVS checkout person who helped us get this stupid thing to work. !! {See my last post}.

We went to CVS today and dh had the grand idea to buy gift cards. I think we settled on $25 Amazon GCs and $20 BK GCs (because not much came in less than $25, and we weren't sure if there would be tax. Probably not - but why risk going over $50 - because then it would definitely not work).

I grabbed a couple of candy bars to round it out and the google wallet would not work. Cashier told us they needed last 4 digits of credit card to buy gift cards electronically. I imagine there was probably some rule about buying gift cards. IT could even be more of a CVS rule than a google rule. Dh was pretty peeved.

Plus, this is like the third time in recent weeks I ran some errands in the middle of the day and it was really crowded. You should have seen the backup we caused. !! {Mental note: Never go shopping in my neighborhood in the middle of the day - nights and weekends are WAY preferable - if nothing else more cash registers open. Maybe that is a lot of it}.

So, back to square one. Since it mostly seemed to be working, gift cards aside, we decided to give it a go. So, we shop shop shopped. OF course, then it wouldn't go through. We tried about 5 or 6 times, and the last time it decided to go through.

MEanwhile, the people behind us are like, "WOW - that is COOL!" Dh, me and the cashier were like - "Um no - this is not cool." LOL. It's cool if it would work.

The CVS is not too close to us, but I was impressed with the prices. Should hit it up more - it is on the way to the gym, to piano lessons, to soccer, etc. So can be utilized without going out of the way.

We scored:

-2 liter of pepsi
-Halloween Candy (5 bags)
-lifetime supply of soap, so it seemed (16 bars?), because were "buy one get one free"
-2 deoderants
-4 candy bars (for airplane)
-Travel-sized Toothpaste
-Several hair things (plastic clips) - some "buy one get one free"

Total was $46 - so we have $4 left. Also got a $3 coupon - "extra bucks" - for later. I don't know if it will make sense, but technically gives us $7 total to use in Florida. Might be nice to buy sunblock (is all I have on my list so far - to buy there - aside from hitting up a grocery store. IT will have to be on the way though. Because who knows if the google wallet will even work).

So, I think we did well for how little thought we put into it. Got some practical things.

Which reminds me, the "travel size" section was really cracking me up. & I probably didn't need the travel sized toothpaste, but I am picky about my toothpaste, it was free, and will free up some space. Some of that stuff is just silly! Razors in packages of two? Because you can't buy a bigger package and pull out 2 razors? I really don't get it!

When we got our new phones, one of the perks was getting a free $50 balance on google wallet. Woohoo!

*Woohoo,* except it has *never* actually worked.

So yesterday I was talking to my mom and she mentioned how my dad liked to pay things with his phone. I said, "Really? Is he using google wallet?" Yes, he was. "Where the heck did it even work?"

CVS!

So dh and I have a mid-day CVS date. HA! I told him I would gladly help spend that money. I have no idea on what.

I am trying not to get too excited because odds are it will not work. My mom was kind of like, "Gee - I wouldn't give up on a free $50 like that!" I was like, "you don't even know." You don't even know how many stored we tried. & then it's frustrating because you planned things around the "free" purchase but maybe you needed it anyway and didn't want to not just pay for the stuff and move on. A lot of the places are food places. Dh went to a food place and it didn't work. But you still want to pay for the food. On and on and on. Which as why at some point we just gave up.

I know the whole point of the free stuff is to get you to like it and use it - but this is something that has really backfired.

Oh, and apparently dh's balance expires like next week - so it's use it or lose it time! Glad I had that random conversation.

**I was recalling that it must be getting close to that time of year. Several have calculated that the IRA contribution limits will be $5,500 next year. ($17,500 for 401k). It's not "official," but looks to be certain.

I think that is awesome, because we can max out. It will have been 5 years since it increased.

On the flip side, I am wary of how much we will have for any mortgage pay-down, this year or next. I'd rather put it to the ROTH/tax shelter, so I am okay with that.

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**In other news, Grandma is finally home from the hospital. & she is good as new! Dh spent the weekend with his family, and it was well needed. They apparently go insane when family crisis hits. I didn't expect that. I figured they were insane with dh because it was dh, and his surgery was so super serious. But, apparently that is just how they are. Dh gave me an earful when I got home and I knew precisely what he was talking about - they totally drove me *insane* when he was in the hospital. I think it's possible Grandma was able to go home because he brought some calmness and sanity to her hospital room for a couple of days. I can only hope they take it down a notch now that she is home. *crossing fingers.*

For one, they are just so negative. They whispered to dh how they were concerned she will *never* recover from this. Meanwhile all the hospital staff says is that they have never seen anyone recover so fast. For the record, the first thing she did when she got home was clean her apartment. Obviously she is totally fine. Not bed ridden or brain damaged, in the least.

So, dh is a SAINT.

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Dh and I went out to dinner Monday to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. Wooohoo!

Among our peer group, this is basically unheard of. Especially among our like-minded friends, which is hard to wrap our brains around. (Why are our like-minded friends so marriage-phobic or have so many failed marriages - the failed ones failied VERY quickly). Anyway, so every year that passes I feel like we have been married like 50 years or something, any more. We are hands down the "old married" ones. I just know we are blessed and have something rare. & since we met so young and waited a while to marry (wanted to finish college first, etc.), it's more of a "17 year" celebration. How am I even that old???

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P.S. Almost forgot the GOOD news! Got an ER bill for $250. This was knocked down from an estimate of $900. I can not be sure this is all of it, but apparently the estimate I did get was rather useless. (I had a feeling - I just had no idea if it was high or low).

I have been checking, because waiting for the first billing cycle to close on my latest Chase card. Today I logged in and it hadn't closed yet, but I happened to notice my reward points already posted. !! That is the first time I have seen points post before a statement, though it is possible the statement is there now. Maybe they were processing it when I peeked.

Whatever the reason - woohoo! I can redeem my $420!
We are using it for a hotel stay in November, on the beach.

This means I will seriously think about more double dips. We already did a Citi double dip.

On to the triple dips!!