The older and wiser I get, the more I think being "weird" plays a large part in succeeding financially. Of course, one would not have to be "weird" if the culture was all about saving for a rainy day and living below one's means. But since we live in such a consumer society, all that stuff is just "weird."

4th of July is a day for us to be extra weird. We moved from a pretty anti-firework city to kind of the polar opposite. So to watch the firework culture feels almost as if we moved from an entirely different country. This year was extra interesting because we had the super fun block party (LOVE it - so simple and yet so fun!). But all I hear is how financially screwed everyone is. So I kid you not - I have never seen so many fireworks in my life. Seemed to me there was probably a lot of "putting on an image." Instead of maybe some, "I can't afford my house payment so maybe I shouldn't be blowing hundreds of dollars on fireworks."

Needless to say, we had quite a fireworks display. Though we of course spent $0.

{In fact, all I spent money on was a whopping $3 of corn on sale - to feed about 30. The rest we gathered from out pantry - I offered to bring things we already had on hand}.

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My second thought of the day on being weird? Both my sons' birthdays are within the week and the thought did not even cross my mind to buy them a birthday present. HA!

Dh brought it up, and I was just, "Oh - I hadn't thought about it."

IT's not that we don't buy our kids gifts. Frankly, it's really the only time we buy them much of anything. BUT, they get so spoiled rotten by their friends and family and such, that whatever we buy is hardly noticed. So, it's just kind of a *shrug.* Usually dh gets free books and free video games and all that jazz, and we made out pretty well the past year with credit card rewards. This year I think we will buy them a couple of bigger gifts. Actually, one is coming from credit card rewards. Dh already picked out a $50 gift for LM (pre-rewards). Well, I am glad dh thought of it because not sure when I would have.

Today is investment clean up day. Lots of portfolio adjustments.

In addition - I am consolidating down to:

--Dh has one ROTH
--I have one Regular IRA
--I have two ROTHs - one for mutual funds and one for cash and stocks (brokerage)

{We might have had 7 accounts or something at some point - don't ask me why!}

Of course, I still want to convert the regular IRA to a ROTH, so there is more consolidating in my future.

On the investment cleanup, I really thought that I was going more away from "Target Date" type funds, now that we have passed the six figure mark and can really start to diversify.

Funny thing? I am leaning more towards "less is more/simpler is better." SO I am cleaning things up but am ending up mostly with one mutual fund per account.

I don't know why I have been so resistant to simple index investing. At the end of the day it fits my personality and life strategy better. Keep it simple; don't over-think.

I have been picking a lot of smarter brains (smarter/older/more wise than me), and this is where I have ended up.

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Not much else to report. Haven't been spending *any* money and payday comes tomorrow with most of it going into savings.

Oh, and my kids turn 7 & 9 in the next couple of the weeks. How the heck did THAT happen? I swear I will blink and they will be adults.

I maxed out dh's ROTH and am well on the way to maxing out mine this calendar year. Since we have been maxing out by 4/15 the following year, that was my goal this year to do it by 12/31.

So, what next? Pat myself on the back and call it a day?

Hardly!!

I have two similar goals to improve on that.

1 - Max out by 1/1.

Will probably max out 2013 by June 2013, and then aim for 1/1 in the year 2014.

2 - ROTH conversions

I've got more ROTH conversions to do. Feeling comfortable with the idea now due to cash flow. Just in the "thinking about it" stage, though good to keep front of mind in case of a substantial stock market dip. (low values = low taxes on conversion).

3 - I suppose a third unrelated goal is my salivating over 15-year mortgage rates. Not quite ready to make that leap, as would like to pay down enough to keep a very low/reasonable mortgage payment. But it gets more tempting by the day. {Honestly, if we refied today it would be a pretty darn reasonable payment; just been spoiled with the three-figure mortgage payments of late).

I guess these goals are all kind of pressing due to circumstances. ROTH conversions should be done to take advantage of our low tax rates at current. Another refinance would take advantage of record low interest rates. So that is why I am thinking about these goals in particular. Seems the obvious next steps.

Back from camp. Weather ended up being pretty nice, and enjoyed views like these:









Now back to reality!

We did Family Camp in the Sierras, as always. It's really only about an hour drive from our house, so not too far from reality.

I think with all the trees it is hard to appreciate a good sunset. Don't remember catching many in the mountains, so was pleased to catch a bit of color in the sky one night.

**Just redeemed the last of our current one-time credit rewards. (& received that $500 check already).

I will have to tally them all up some time. Off the to of my head, I believe we are up to $1700. & the year is young...

I also received a $0.30 statement credit on my regular American Express - some reward - I have no idea why. I must have spent $6 on some rotating category that I didn't pay attention to (because I figured I wasn't spending in that category). ??? No idea what the category was.

**We did manage to take some nice family photos yesterday. Found a Japanese garden in San Jose that we didn't even know existed. My parents live next to some beautiful gardens, but the gardens were closed (???), so forced us to find another solution.

The place was just BEAUTIFUL! I haven't seen the pictures, but my dad will bring me a CD tomorrow. I am going to re-print their anniversary photo book with a few minor changes, a few asked-for pictures I could not find, and will close with one of these "family reunion" pictures.



**We went to the amusement park where dh and I met - probably the first time I've gone since I worked there (15+ years) and first time for the kids.

I am glad we scoped it out because they added a "second water park" - but to be frank they just threw in a couple of water slides and market it as "2 parks in one." I am less enthused to get season passes just for their water park, in the future, (so we could skip water park season passes at other places), but admittedly it would work. It is a nice addition.

Six Flags last year was such an awful experience. There was just a lot that annoyed us, and I thought it was a sign of the times. In the end, this park is just infinitely more laid back. I just looked up out of curiosity and the water raft ride that the kids could ride by themselves at 46 inches or so at this park had a 56 inch minimum requirement at Six Flags.

In fact, the kids could ride ALL of the water slides unsupervised. Even the 6 year old. LOVED it. This worked out because it was a beautiful day, but a bit of a chill in the air. Was not interested in getting wet. So we sent the kids alone on all the water stuff. Of course they did not mind the cold.

Actually, we hadn't even planned to do the water park thing, but once we were inside there were several kiddie water play areas, and we realized they didn't need us for the big slides. I just happened to have swim suits, towels and flip flops in the car - mostly because we had planned to go to the beach last weekend and never made it. It really made the day - glad we had them!

**I found a coupon online that saved us $40 on admission. We somehow didn't even eat lunch in the park. ??? Don't ask me how. I still have what feels like a lifetime supply of cotton candy. The bags were just HUGE. Anyway, we really didn't spend much beyond admission - just ate dinner outside the park when we left.

**WE are home now, and I just noticed that salmon was on sale - about 30% off. Our grocery spending is so slim this month, too. So we will probably pick up some sushi and salmon fillets.

I told dh I would make meatballs today since we got home too late last night. He wanted some for leftovers the day we get back from camp. It's a simple recipe that uses frozen meatballs, so I get off pretty easy.

Dh is working Scholastic all day. Will work for books. (Gives most of them back to the school and teachers).

**Not overly looking forward to camp. We got a bit of a cold spell. It's going to be *Brrrrrrr.* I am sure regardless we will have fun. Just won't be a lot of lounging in the sun for me.

Going to hit the amusement park today.

Interestingly, at website, there is the option to buy all tickets and packages with just *three easy payments of...*

Interesting.

Needless to say, we won't be buying tix on a payment plan.

There was a good piece in the WSJ about renting or buying.

To Rent or to Buy? That Is Not the Question

**My parents' anniversary was wonderful and non-traditional. Didn't exactly start out planning it that way, but that is how it ended up. Accordingly, I don't even think we spent $100.

My folks took us on a train ride in the mountains. Everyone was tired and exhausted by the end of the day so we just ordered sandwiches in. We treated, but had been expecting to treat for a much more fancy dinner!

They LOVED the video dh made - we all did - a true gift from the heart.

Just another reminder that the good things in life don't cost money.

Everyone is being pretty resistant on the family photo idea. No one wants their picture taken, and "why on earth would you spend money on that?" Meanwhile, we are reminiscing and saying how much we love the one fancy photo we ever had done (30 years ago). So, they are frustrating me! Latest plan is for my dad to take some photos of us tomorrow. Will go to some gardens. My dad can set up the shots (he is an awesome photographer). Dh can push the button. Hopefully we end up with something. This is probably a fair compromise.

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**I don't think I will be whining about lack of vacation funds this summer (all reserved for Orlando in the fall).

Family Camp is next week (long ago paid for).

Then the kids' birthdays, and school starts back in August anyway.

I promised them time at that play place that I still haven't found time for. We've also been talking about going to the drive-in.

That said, dh and I decided to take the kids to the amusement park where we used to work (& incidentally where we met). Have never taken them and though it's a "vacation budget" kind of thing I just kind of felt like we should just do it while I had some days off, vacation budget or not. We've been talking about it so long, but always have so many other plans. I found tickets for $20/off, so will only cost about $140 for the day. I believe we can make them season passes at no extra cost.

Anyway, I hadn't thought much about it except we spent way less on my parents than we had earmarked. BUT, yesterday I got an e-mail that piano lessons were cancelled the month of July. Wala - $160 saved out of thin air. I actually pondered it briefly and thought, "I don't even know what to do with this money" - mortgage, Florida, donate it to the school (was a front runner for a bit), etc. "Eh, I probably will need it for bills this month." Then I realized that it was practically already spent on our trip to the amusement park. I am excited it works out that way! Might cover tickets and parking - will probably spend a fortune on food.

I am starting to think our summer is very busy and full! {A couple of weeks ago I was grumpy to put our entire vacation budget to ONE trip, in comparison}.

We barely bought any groceries this month, and so I think we can absorb most of the anniversary/sister visiting kind of costs with the grocery budget. Camp is next week and we generally spend $0 on that trip. All food provided, etc.

**Today is pay day - so I can pay off that final Citi card (opened solely for rewards). Woohoo! The balance is more than my paycheck, but I have money in my account already, and no more bills to pay this month.

**On the "refund after month end" deal, I think I will just pay the full 5/31 balance. The return was about $1,000 (it posted closer to 6/10), but I spent $1,000+ in airfare this month.

Anyway, our utilization was insane last month (finished two $3,000 spending rewards in May, plus one return did not process in time) and so I think it's probably best to just pre-pay most the airfare and knock down the balance a bit. I don't think it probably matters at all, but then I don't have to worry about the credit card company being difficult. Our utilization should be back to normal levels too.

Of course, I am relying on a $500 credit card reward to do this without having to move *any* money around. If the $500 doesn't come in time, doubt I will sweat it.

**Still waiting for that $500 check and about $25 in gift cards. As SOON as we get those we will cancel this round of credit cards. Hopefully this week.

I will e-mail Chase to close the cards, but dh can call Citi. Last time Citi kept offering him $100 to keep his account open for 5 more minutes. So I am keeping my fingers crossed for more offers like that!

**Got Orlando hotel booked. The place dh and family usually stays at was no longer offered with MIL's timeshare points, so we had to settle for luxury digs with tens of thousands of square feet of pools, waterfalls, water slides, etc. Oh, I guess we will survive! The room is 1200 square feet?!?

The quality of these places can really vary. Which usually I don't give a flip because it's FREE. But, it sounds like this will be a seriously luxurious hotel. Too bad we will probably not have much time to enjoy. Too much to see and do. But we do have 7 days, so can fit in some pool/hotel lounging time.

**Kids had A+++ report cards. Okay, maybe next school year we have nowhere to go but down. Maybe that is what I said last year, but our kids continue to be awesome. It's not just the grades and test scores - got lots of compliments on socialness, personality, emotional maturity, etc. I know they have brains (inherently) so am more impressed with the other compliments, personally.

We took them out for frozen yogurt the last day of school (like $10 with coupon) and I will take them to an out of the way play place some time next week. Will be $14. It might as well be Disneyland as far as they are concerned. I decided what the heck. They definitely earned it.

I am a proud mama!

**The week has been very busy with BBQs and pool parties. More to come.

Dh's aunt is visiting from Hong Kong. My sister is visiting from Ohio (she no longer lives in NC). So, busy busy busy. But definitely GOOD busy.

**Oh yes - last night we went to a concert in the Bay Area. We've been going to several lately because prices have actually been within some reason (after many years of no reason). This concert was not cheap, but a long-time favorite local band. So was worth it. We've been hitting more $10 concerts lately. This one was maybe closer to $20/each - lots of FEES. But worth it. I'd have to look up to see the total we paid. Probably $15 + $15 fees. Something like that!! Reliving youth and seeing an awesome band? Priceless!

**Hopefully today we can lock in our free timeshare stay in Orlando. I've never been to this condo, but the kids and dh have been there twice (with MIL). Dh says it is VERY nice!

**Today I redeemed a check for $530, from Chase. It's going towards the furniture. I was only expecting $500, and so I believe this extra $30 will bring the furniture purchase down to $495 Total (total cash outflow).

**Since the couch is already paid for, we are just depositing the $530 check into savings.

I hadn't mentioned that we just plan to spend the $500 amazon cards. I honestly didn't expect to get it so was thinking of it to spend. Plus, the Amazon is easiest to redeem with Chase (there is not a good cash back reward?). Anyway, I would like to try again for a nice sleeping mat for camping (I have 2 - gifts - not impressed by either). Probably a skateboard for BM for his birthday (probably won't cost much) and dh has a lot of camera accessories to buy for his new camera. I am primarily considering it "camera accessory" money.

Which reminds me, my dad had an extra license on his Adobe software, so once again we lucked out. I don't think we have ever paid more than $20 for the software - and it is really expensive. (I used to have a friend who worked for Adobe and could get us any software package for like $20). This time we got a FREE copy!

The huge amount of retail insanity this one camera purchase "gift" has wrought will probably be insane. This $500 Amazon gift card will make a very small dent in it. & most of it is really "need" to get any use out of the camera. On the plus side, it can lend to an income. The last camera we bought was very expensive at the time, but was paid for by doing wedding videos (like just one or two weddings paid for the darn thing).

But yeah, we are basically not planning to spend any more money this year. It's been totally insane this year. Most the camera accessories will have to wait to 2013. I am just not particularly happy about such a large "material" financial goal. & that is my parents who essentially put this financial pressure on us.

For example, my dh is whole heartedly writing a script right now. & working on a web show as well. BUT, he was not planning to film either of these with his own camera. So thought the gift/sentiment was VERY nice, it wasn't exactly the most useful for the immediate now. BUT maybe having a HD camera will lend itself to more paid work. So I will be positive.

It's not overly weighing on me by any means, but this is just kind of our thought process.

**In other news, LM has $2.50 left in his school lunch account. School is over. How is that for planning?? Phew!

BM is not as enamored with school lunch and has like $30-ish left.

Following online airline advice, I was able to lock in awesome tickets today for about $295/apiece.

Ironically, we ended up back with United. I never thought we would get full refunds on our Denver trip, and their Florida airfare was absurd when I looked last month. So it worked out for the best. Best to get a full refund and start over, though we ended up with the same airline.

I've been diligently checking flights every so often. Today was a marked decrease in airfare, just as predicted by the travel experts. In addition, we are flying directly to Orlando. (The gap between Tampa and Orlando airfare was closing drastically - that part was unexpected).

I didn't even look at other local airports. $295 to fly from my backyard to the Grandparent-in-laws' backyard? The other side of the U.S.? I am IN! I am so pleased how we got the most convenient flights. It's at the price point where I don't care what other options there are. Backyard to backyard it is. We also got a "red eye" on the way home. Sort of. We leave like at 7pm but get home at midnight due to the time change. Another reason I made our home airport a priority. Once we land we are all but HOME.

**I was still skeptical up until redemption, but the $500 gift card balance now sits in our Amazon account. I quickly applied them before Citi could change their mind.

The Double Dip was a success!!

I don't know if it made a difference that dh received a direct mail offer for this card (& oh yes, he will receive more - Citi sends him offers what seems like every freaking day). I am wondering now if I should try an unsolicited double dip.

Anyway, I redeem $500 cash tomorrow from Chase and $150 from another bank next week, and I think we will be done for a while. Not because there are no good offers out there or I am fatigued by this "barely lifting a finger" for a ton of tax-free cash. BUT, because our new mortgage is still not showing up on our credit reports and our FICO scores are diving a bit. I've always felt that the mortgage substantially inflated our FICO, and there is apparently much truth to that.

I think this works out well to take a breather in between deals. We will get these credit cards all closed before we entertain applying for a new one. Soon enough our mortgage will show back up and we can return to being far more carefree with the endless opening and closing of credit cards. But a little forced breather is nice.

I definitely see more rewards for 2012!

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Yesterday was busy and productive.

**Picked up a Father's Day gift (just something silly for $5 that we know dh will like).

**Picked up flowers for LM's teacher. Dh is going to manage a few Scholastic hours for her too (volunteered for set up this week).

Dh did a video for BM's teacher (to end his 3-years with the kids) and we had a good Craigslist sale run a couple of weeks back so I already handed $20 cash to room parent towards Amazon gift card.

It is possible I just deleted or missed the e-mail, but no requests from LM's room parent. Phew! Last year they wanted to get airfare for the teacher - ??? - I never heard an explanation why. It would be one thing if she said, "Teacher does a lot of travel" or "Really wants to see her family," or something along those lines. She has also taken to only listing the families who contribute when presenting gifts. Which is probably just a matter of personal preference, but I find it really tacky. Not all the kids can financially contribute, and I think a class gift should be a class gift. Actually, what it really strikes me as is immature. That is the word I am thinking of. It is possible I feel totally alone in my feelings. Just seems to me if we want individual credit we can do individual gifts.

Which is maybe precisely what was decided this year...

**Got out invites for LM's party. I am kind of having a personal issue with the bowling alley he chose, because they say "no party decorations or cake" without a reserved party. So, me bringing 5 kids to go bowling (quite some business, but not enough to make a party) means I can't celebrate in a birthday way. Really??? Reminds me when I checked with McDonalds on their policy many moons ago and their manager looked at me like I Was crazy and said, "It is a free country!" Yes, it is, but private businesses have their rules. Put McDonalds (or at least this particular manager) on one end of the spectrum. Bowling alley on the other end. Dh said maybe we could just get birthday jerky. LOL! We will figure something out. I Wasn't going to bring decorations, and we can celebrate without a cake, for sure. I think we can think of something (probably not jerky).

No Cake for You!!

Seriously, I should check if they even allow outside food. Could be they just don't. Though it's funny they mention only the cake then.

**I am trying to wing BM's birthday with like a one-week notice, as this is the only way to take advantage of free play time at his favorite play place. I am not sure how well this plan will ever work. Planning anything short notice just does not work for the people I know. Actually, his best friend's family is pretty chill, but they are on vacation. Summer just adds that element of impossibility. Which was why we were trying to do it THIS week, before everyone went off on their vacation and day camp ways. Will figure it out... I am thinking we should just arrange a day with his best friend - because that will be far easier.

**I got a $200 MRI bill. I have the feeling this is not all of it. I initially got a $5,000 bill (it was glaringly incorrect; billed as if dh was uninsured). Reality is probably somewhere in the middle. They told him $1100 at time of service, which is more what they usually charge. In the meantime, it's the parade of random bills...

I guess some days it pours. It's been so *yawn* on the financial front recently. But certainly not today...

**I was *finally* approved for an insurance increase with my professional association "annually renewing" term life insurance. IT's kind of mid-way between a longer term and a 1-year-term, because I do not need to report any health changes to keep it, etc.

The plan was to get this going while I search out more long-term insurance. I already have a 30-year-term insurance, but it seems inadequate considering where life has headed. We bought it for the kids, not each other. But dh has been unemployed for 10 years, so it seems prudent to add more coverage.

My other life insurance policy is dirt cheap and I will be keeping it. So I am just looking to supplement it. It was 10 times income a decade ago. I was just approved for another 10 times current income. About 50% more. It took forever because of my recent thyroid surgery, which thankfully had no effect on my coverage. Basically it amounts to 13 times income + a paid off mortgage. This is more than ample for my family.

This policy will be about $330 per year. The other one is $240 per year. If I can lock in a reasonable 20-year-term and drop this temporary ($330) policy, I will. I will make that a goal to figure out this year. For the long run rather get a longer term policy that I am not ineligible for if x, y, or z happens. I have to ponder it though, because as a supplement, maybe it works well in that regard. Dh is still wanting to get back into the workforce, etc. So this still could just be a temporary need.

The motivation to lock in another 20-year term is because my spouse is no longer eligible for life insurance. Ouch! I know anything can happen tomorrow to put me in the same boat.

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**Electric company

Electric company sent me an offer to get a free state-of-the art programmable thermostat if we participate in a study. They want to see is cooling the house down "before it gets hot" saves energy.

I am fairly confident that it won't save energy, so let's just say I am not interested (Not interested in wasting electricity and bigger bills during the study). We already have very nice thermostats and we have never used the program function. Which I totally understand makes sense in some case. But we use FAR less energy by only turning it on when we really need it. & of course we have experimented a bit over the years.

I think one problem is if you just cool the house ahead of time, then you get used that that. & from experience, cooling off the house first doesn't do much on a 110 degree day. You turn it off and the house heats up FAST! (OR leave it on - and it is running ALL day, for sure).

Some days it is 80 degrees inside and it is hotter than hades. & other days it's gotten up to 85 and you haven't even noticed. So, this is why we don't use a program. Why we don't cool things ahead of time. I think a lot of it is just where the thermostat is, etc. In the winter we regularly leave our house at 60 degrees. BUT other days I feel like I am freezing my butt off at 70. Just depends how much chill is in the air. One thermostat in the middle of the house doesn't always measure very accurately.

I threw together a photo book for my parent's anniversary. To be fair, I've actually been looking for photos for YEARS, but only spent the past weekend actually scanning and photo booking.

I lucked out. For Father's Day, the photo books were 30% off, and I found a $10-off coupon to add to that. Saved about $30. Which was why I kind of rushed it. Figured I'd get it done and get the 30% off!

The photo book will pale into comparison to dh's documentary on their 40 years. But it is something a little more tangible.

Financially, I believe we are just taking them to dinner. I will just pay for this photo book and not ask my broke sister to go in. Will say it is from us. She traveled; we can pay for dinner.

I had talked to my parents about wanting to do a professional family photo when my sister is here, but they refuse to let me pay for that. BUT, they have a lot of photographer friends, so we might do something.

I was saving up all this money to do stuff, but in the end I might not spend more than $100-$200 (mostly dinner). Oh well! My parents are low key like that - shouldn't be surprised they refuse to let me spend any more. Heck, they probably won't let us pay for dinner. But we will insist!

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I basically have the next month off of work. There are days that I will be working but a lot of time off in there. Particularly the next 2 weeks with an out-of-town concert, sister visiting for week, and annual Family Camp trip.

I guess I am saturated on the personal finance front because I really haven't had anything to say. *shrugs*

Has it all been said? Oh, I am sure there will be more to say. Just nothing new this week.

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I am waiting for $1000 in credit card rewards - should redeem half on Monday and half on Wednesday?

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This week is all about BBQs and lazy days at the pool. One down, two to go. Today we are meeting friends at the pool (no BBQ).

Oh, dh and I are working fast and furiously on my parents' anniversary gifts. I am scanning photos (for a photo book?) and dh is doing a little documentary about their married life. Their anniversary is next weekend.

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The theme this weekend is "starving artist." I read a really good memoir about the daughter of a writer. I was then watching some profile of artists on Netflix.

I now have a deep appreciation that my husband is not a starving artist. He may come across that way, but he is far too practical, and not near insane enough.

I appreciate his willingness to pursue his dreams, while keeping a firm hold on reality.

I just paid off $2500 Chase bill and about $1300 on regular credit card (furniture).

I still need to pay off the $2500 citi next payday.

ANYWAY...

Whenever I have a return after the end of the month, I just pay it. I am uber conservative, don't want to pay a cent of interest, and rarely (never?) return more than $50 anyway.

So I am really annoyed that dh's camera return has not showed up yet on the regular credit card. IT will probably show up today, but the credit card cycle closed yesterday.

The return will obviously be credited to last month, right??? Credited to the time period in which it was charged?

Seems logical, but you never know with credit card companies.

I suppose this was a $600 room makeover, when all was said and done:

BEFORE

AFTER

I think, for the first time as a homeowner, that I have no furniture or decor on my wish list. How awesome is that!

Old couch was actually a nice piece we bought new when first married. Probably the most expensive furniture we ever bought. BUT, I think I just compromised too much on the color - never really liked it. Has particularly annoyed me the last several years.

I suppose you can throw that in as one more reason to not just fully furnish a home (new) the second you get married or move into your own place. We've had a much more slow and steady approach, mostly making do with what we have, hand-me-downs, etc. Living with empty rooms each time we bought more space, and slowly filling them in. That kind of thing.

The new sectional actually takes up less space (with that right angle) but feels about twice as big. LOVE it! Is just perfect as our kids are only growing bigger. We were getting crowded on the old sectional.

& for the first time, dh and I actually readily agreed on things. We probably haven't done much furniture shopping over the years. Mostly just picking up nice pieces when we happen upon them at deep discount. Kind of like LM's bed that we just bought. When we bought BM's bed (MANY years ago) we found some nice furniture for our house, too.

Oh - and one reason we went with the old couch was we lived in a condo and never thought we would own much more space. So the sofa sleeper was really important to us at the time. We've since grown tired of it - moving into a larger home and all. We have never used it. IT wasn't very comfortable, and guests tend to just sleep elsewhere now that we have so much furniture and room.

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I read rather recently some article (can't find it), that the happiness from material things wears off VERY quickly. Maybe a few months. These things are always cited as an excuse to spend a ton of money on vacation or something. Anyway, I always feel odd when it comes to those studies. I can relate to the idea that something bought on a whim probably won't make one happy for very long. BUT, the way we shop, thinking carefully about every purchase, biding our time, and saving up for years... We tend to enjoy our purchases for years or decades. There isn't that steep decline or quick boredom.

I think this is true more than ever in recent years. Where maybe we have had a little money to buy some nice things, but we had to be pretty careful in narrowing down that which was most important. In earlier years we couldn't afford squat. At other times we had more income and didn't appreciate so much what we had. Living on one decent income has forced us into that sweet spot, I guess. I think this is compounded with an attitude that "Home is our Haven" and with dh unemployed and without extra money to splurge on other activities, we are both HOME such much more than ever before. Life through college and pre-kids was so go go go with so much work. Slowing down, gives us more time to enjoy our things.

I saw this blog post today and could totally relate:

When Things are More than Things

**Half the time I forget it is payday. I don't have everything on automatic pilot, but most my bills are paid enough ahead of time that it is a rather non-event. I rather *get to it when I get to it* than trip over myself every payday, I guess what it comes down to.

But, I am very happy that today is payday, because boy do I have some BILLS to pay.

I will pay off the Chase Sapphire card and our regular credit card (basically just furniture purchases). I already funded ROTH for June (had some cash) and paid off the other reward credit card (a whopping $20).

NEXT payday I can pay off the Citi.

The non-credit-card bills are already set to pay - there aren't that many. Just glad to get all those red negatives out of Quicken (red negative = credit card balance).

Now we just wait for rewards. Should be $1200 to redeem this month!

I think the second we get our rewards, we will just close them all. DONE! Then it is done and over and I don't have to ever think about any of these credit cards again. I like it simple. There are no new cards on the horizon, so I expect by 6/30 to have all cards paid, all rewards redeemed, and all cards cut up and closed. Rewards can be slow sometimes, but here is to hoping.

**So dh FINALLY got his MRI results. He is so far out from surgery that they just don't bother to call you back if there is anything to report. VERY frustrating. So, no, did not forget to mention the results - just took like a whole month to get them. In the meantime, we figured it had to be hardly worth calling us for. Phew!

No change - next MRI in one year. Yay for some GOOD news!!

**They moved the Scholastic book sale to after school is out. We usually fall back on that for GREAT teacher gifts. Which I suppose we still could. BUT both the kids' teachers this year are just plain awesome. BM ends 3 years with his teacher, and LM got a really good one this year. I might actually think about buying them a gift. Saying, "You were the most awesome teachers ever, but we will get back to you in a couple of weeks with a gift," just doesn't jive with me. Especially since it is the same old thing we always give them.

**Kids' birthdays are also coming up. I am thinking that we will go really low key this year. Like, maybe invite a couple of friends out for laser tag. But not sure we really need to do much else. We usually go big because the kids are only a few days apart, and we combine. & dh's family is huge and it's always a big deal to them. But with a 9yo, I think he is getting old enough to do the casual friend thing. Anyway, we also try to plan the party before school gets out so we can get the invitations out, but I don't think we need to do that this year. So I feel relief that I don't have to figure it all out NOW! Laser Tag with a couple of friends is the front runner for now.

I was thinking pool party at our community pool, but it will cost $185. Ouch! I was thinking of that route for cheap and easy. So much for cheap! Any other time of year it could maybe work. It is only $60 for the pool area. But since it is always 110 degrees whenever their party is, I would like access to the air-conditioned clubhouse, kitchen/fridge/freezer, etc. So, nevermind!

**Just signed up BM for soccer. It's really the only extra-curricular he is doing this year. IT's only like $100 for the season.

**Just signed up LM for swim lessons - his only extra-curricular. I was too cheap last year, which is fair enough because I have more cash this year. It's not like riding a bicycle though - he needs some refresher - has forgotten some skills. BM is a very strong swimmer, and LM is not too far behind, once he re-learns some basics. I look forward to having TWO strong swimmers!

{Last year I tried the practice, practice, practice route, but the kids have had some pretty excellent swim teachers, so I see they are worth the bucks. I have definitely failed on my own. He's very comfortable in the pool, but totally forgot how to float. It will take a good teacher one day to refresh him. HE's got 10 lessons lined up, which I am sure is more than ample.}.

**Dh saw one of our favorite local bands has come out of "retirement" to play a gig in San Jose. It's like a Thursday night, so I took the Friday after off of work. I am excited about this!

We got our couch sold today - $200.

Woohoo!

This puts the effective purchase price of our new living room furniture at $525. $525 out of my pocket...

**Got the piano tuned/cleaned/fixed, and it sounds really good. I actually noticed a difference... Maybe we will do it again in 2-3 years, instead of 5. Maybe sooner with two dedicated piano students now. {I've been meaning to do this about 18 months - how sad is that! I am in "get it done" mode, that is for sure}.

**$100**

**Our gardener fixed the irrigation leak, which was UNDER the driveway. I supposed it would be doable, but was fretting about the worst case. It's not 100%, but is 90% better. He said he would come out later and finish the job, thinks some dirt got in a pipe.

**$75**

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**Supposedly someone will pick up our old couch for $200, tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!

It will be a sweet victory to get the effective cost of our new furniture down to $525. I am at $725, with fierce shopping and credit card rewards. Proceeds from selling old couch will make the effective cost even lower.

**Redeemed $250 from Citi this year (one-time), will be $250 ($50/month) for Fidelity card, as of next week. Earned $500 from Chase, but they haven't given it to us yet. Probably around the 10th of next month.

Guess we are easily up to $1000!!

**Got the "make one purchase, get $150" card. I have no idea when I will make a purchase. Maybe will pay for lunch date this week (If *I* remember to pay!). I am thinking of just giving the $150 to the kids' school.

**On the double dip, we are probably done with the card. Dh bought a $2000 camera with it, today. (Crossing fingers for no returns, but medical bills/insurance will easily add up to $2000 if that doesn't work). I charged $500 today for continuing education (employer will reimburse). We had already ran up $500 in groceries, gas, utilities, home repairs, etc.

I think that took a whopping 8 days! Now we wait for our $500 reward.

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Dh returned camera #1. HE finally found some online resources that said the camera was a dog (as opposed to "the best thing out there."). So, there is HOPE!

This new camera is more what my parents had in mind, but will cost me another $1200, and does not include any accessories. Oh well!!

{If you missed it, my parents gave him $1,000 to put towards a $2,000 camera}.

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I suppose we need to get going on this rather impromptu Florida thing. Since the camera is going to cost *us* money in the end, I asked dh if we couldn't put off Florida to next summer. He doesn't want to, and I understand. But it was worth asking. I understand that we don't want our second trip of the year *to visit grandparents* to be rendered moot by a death. This is a very rare "Throw caution to the wind/live life" kind of move, for us. On the flip side, we are in an infinitely better financial position to handle this, than any year prior (since having kids). I am of course CAUTIOUS with the economy and all. In a perfect world I'd wait until next summer and get another overtime check - just use that money. A year or so to plan "the biggest vacation we've taken on, ever" would have been preferred! So big because it involves airfare for FOUR. & I won't be able to find $200/person...

But, by the same token, I think we will survive. It's obvious that speeding up the trip by 6-9 months won't make or break us. Which is why I am okay with it. It seems like a fitting celebration for making so many financial goals this year.

The plan?

Airfare: I think I can get airfare for around $1300 - $1500. Though we are going to Orlando, we will fly into Tampa to save a significant sum. Thankfully our home airport is on the cheap side, for flights to Florida. I'd much rather fly from our city, though would be flexible with many regional airports to save a bit. But, anyway, I am pleased I have found both cheap and convenient. A bit of a drive on the Florida side doesn't bother us... We will probably lock this down in a couple of weeks.

I will skip extra mortgage payments for 4-5 months to cover this.

Hotel: You guessed it - free room with MIL's endless timeshare points. But we have to get this booked!!

Rental Car, Disney Parks, Food, etc.: Will just use our meager vacation budget. It might be enough. Unfortunately means we probably can't do much else this year. I usually spread out this $1500-ish throughout the year for a lot more staycation-y/within driving distance kind of things. I'll just have to get over it, but it might make me cranky and remind me why I hate big vacations! !! I really do not enjoy condensing all that *fun* into *only one week out of the year.* Most people like vacations - it just makes me cranky! We will be feeling the pain all summer when we can't go to any amusement parks, camping trips, and such... {Sure, there were many years we had $0 vacation budget, but how quickly we forget!}

We have PLENTY of free things to do, so will get over it.

So, all in all, I am hoping not to touch savings at all for this trip. Though it will slow our mortgage payoff very temporarily. I think this is pretty darn optimistic, but worth a shot!

Dh got his new Citi card in the mail yesterday. If I had any inkling, we could have put off our furniture purchase by a few hours (or a day or two, or whatever).

We don't need any big purchases to make our goal, so we will survive. This just would have been a lot *simpler.*

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Life is CRAZY and I can't quite put my finger on it. We try so hard to keep things "simple," that I feel like I am failing a bit, but am too busy to sit down and think about what is going on. I think it is just LIFE. It has been one thing after the other. end to this, tend to that, fix this, do this favor, on and on and on. Usually my To-Do list is not so crazy. These days it feels like it never ends.

& I cringe thinking about June, because we have so much going on (Family celebrations, vacations, etc.). I am hoping things will slow down in July??

The past month is one of those times I could not fathom dh working. At all. I don't know how the working folk do it!! But, I remind myself it could be worse, and we are pretty spoiled. Life has just been a second full-time job, of late.

**New Furniture Ordered...

All NEW! Boy, what a change for us. We bought new - matching furniture. I believe that is a FIRST. We've bought new pieces before, but never any kind of set.

My poor kids and family - I know I will be some insane "Don't touch my couch!" type for a while. I will get over it, with time.

I met dh at the store today, to put in our order. Will get it tomorrow. We got a sectional, ottoman and a matching recliner.

I was incorrect about the rent-a-center. The stuff we were looking at was actually *brand new.* We just happened to drive by this place a while ago - and never made it over there because they only had weekday hours. We just didn't expect much from the place. Boy - you never know!! We saved about $200 going here. $200 less than we were able to negotiate anywhere else... & we didn't have to haggle. They wouldn't, and we were fine with that. Good price!

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Anyway, the most joyful part of all is that dh and I actually agreed on something - rather quickly and easily. I can't get over it.

I am probably pushing it, but I want to take down this painting we have and put up my dad's framed prints (which we have not agreed where to hang). I think it would make for a nice and complete room remodel. Will see. At the least this would be a good time to "see how it looks." *crossing fingers*

Regardless, I will share before and after pictures. I will tell you we lived a long time with a hodge podge of hand-me-downs and the like. Of course, if "appearances" were more of a priority, there is tons we could have done. But we just didn't care. I think this is one of those things that turn people off to frugality. But, I often say, "It's not forever." This is the end of the road. It was not forever. We now own a very nice looking family room. {Probably nicer than it should be - with rambuctious kids around - that part I may regret}.

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I think we are done with the big purchases. Phew!!

"Appearances" are very ugly, but reality is not so bad.

New living room furniture:

$1,250 with taxes and delivery
- 200 {hoping to sell old furniture}
- 500 Chase cash reward (already earned)
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$ 550

I think dh is optimistic on selling the old couch, but WHO KNOWS!

$550 cash out? $750? Either way - thank you Chase!

I'll pat myself on the back for this one. Usually dh is a little more handy. BUT, a plastic piece broke on the main attachment to our vacuum cleaner. I said, "Can't we just duct tape it?" I think he was skeptical at first...

Problem is, we couldn't find the duct tape. So, yesterday dh picked some up for me. Plus, hey, it was black with flames:



Before we went the super lazy/cheap route, I peeked online to be sure. I immediately saw new replacement parts for over $200. Um, NO THANKS!

Dh just put it together for me and moved the couch for me so I could vacuum and dust behind/under the couch, in case it gets replaced tomorrow. Worked like a charm!! It was workable before, but very frustrating. Like "bend over, hold it at a weird angle, and curse every time it pops off anyway." Which I only did this long because we had no duct tape, and we have been so busy with other things.

Anyway, this was a HUGE improvement. Like new! & I think it will hold for a long time. Will see...

Which is extra good because our front door lock just broke. I know we are delaying the inevitable on a few things around the house, but it really is "every little thing is freaking breaking" year. So, a little thinking outside the box slows the bleed a bit. Phew!

Next week we need to get our irrigation and lock fixed. Those are a little more pressing.

Did you get your free 8 x 10?

Coupon Code: FREE4ME

Today was a VERY accomplished day.

First, we FINALLY got around to our very first geocache. We did two that were right by our house. The first location wasn't quite so pretty (abandoned home lots), but the other location was very nice. It was basically down the street from our home - an area we frequently bike ride.

I can think of several great locations by us to leave one. We will have to think about that, and come up with something. Just chalk it up to one more reason it is so nice to live in both the city and the country. VERY unique. Any geocahce we put out will receive a TON of visitors, but there is so much in our backyard that is so distant from civilization. I've got several locations in mind!!

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Accomplishments of the Day:

**Took first week-day off since December. Because I COULD. I was admittedly very busy today, but a quiet 2-day weekend sounds divine, in addition to my busy Friday.

**1st graders had a Mother's Day Tea. VERY sweet, as these things always are. BTW, LM brought home a Mother's Day gift a few days ago, from art class. TOO cute and precious. A ceramic kind of wall hanging thing, but the pictures he used to wrap it were so cute. The kind of thing that would melt any mom's heart.

**Dh and I did some furniture shopping today. True to our history, we are heavily leaning towards the "First thing we saw." {With ANY big purchase - though I don't think we have ever agreed on any furniture before, ever, so this is new!!} I don't know why it always plays out like that, with big purchases though. We will look at 10 options to be on the safe side, but it's always like the first thing we see and like. I want to hit a big warehouse tomorrow to be totally sure, but mostly plan to order it from the first place, tomorrow (we didn't ask them how long on delivery). With our $500 cash credit reward (can redeem tomorrow, I hope!), I doubt we will spend much more than $500 of our own money on furniture.

I mostly feel like, "We should have done this AGES ago." I thought the furniture I wanted would cost a LOT more, but in the end it is cheaper than what we already own. I think it is mostly the economy. We stopped at a couple of other places today that we remembered being WAY over-priced before. At one I found a bed for LM. We might go order that tomorrow, too. Poor kid is seven and doesn't have a bed (just a mattress), so both of these things have been in the works forever. This was the first decent bed we saw - but JUST what we wanted, and a decent price. I didn't really want to spend the money in 2010 with all our medical expenses, etc. & we bought him a mattress sometime, and wanted to spread out the bed purchase a bit. But yeah, it's been a while.

Craigslist was a big dud. Inquired about two items but never heard back from either, though posters continually re-listed. Maybe they should check their e-mail or voice mails. Or do we sound big, bad and menacing? The new prices were comparable to used, anyway. Though we will have to pay for shipping and tax. Well, will try to haggle some of it down. Will also get 3% credit reward, so that helps.

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Today I also:

**Tackled many fiscal chores in my side bar (was actually able to do most of it online, so saved a lot of time - guess I could have done all this stuff sooner).

**Got my tetanus shot (overdue, but never see my primary physician, which is where I needed to get the shot. I did go to optometry, OB, and surgeon last year, but never able to get a shot during those appointments). Feels good to get that done!

I told the nurse that was *easy,* like my husband said it would be. She acted like I was CRAZY. Admittedly, arm is very sore now. But easy easy shot. Glad to be done with it though.

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Oh, my HMO sent me a $5,000 bill for dh's MRI. Not even worth getting upset over. He called today just to be sure. They obviously treated him like he was "uninsured" again. ??? Seems they should get that straightened out - very annoying!! {They told us $1100 - and that is in the ballpark of what they usually charge}.

Oh, and he gets his results in like 2 weeks. ??? All we can figure is "No news is good news." Admittedly, dh did not e-mail his doctor. I certainly would have. I think this is bull crap. It's never taken more than a couple of days for them to get back to us- even on the last few MRIs which showed absolutely nothing. On the flip side, it is quite obvious they have nothing to report, if they can't bother to send him any results for 2-3 weeks. So, all we can figure is that no news is good news.

File this under *It never hurts to ask.*

Dh requested airline refund just a couple of days ago?? Refund has already been approved. !! For full amount!

Since I expected *nothing,* this is beyond awesome. Will still believe when I see it.

Will most likely apply to a Florida trip somewhere down the road. (More grandparents to visit...)

Only minor downside is refund is going to reward card we just finished. Will delay $500 reward for one month. Obviously better in the end.

I often seem to luck out with these things. I once missed a super cheapie flight (no refunds/options) and was able to work it out - no prob. This reminds me of that time. Even though all the fine print says *no refunds ever.* Phew!

Gah, what a crazy crazy week!

**Not a lot of funeral type experience here. Most our relatives live in the Mid-West - never went to any Grandparent funeral, etc. Anyway, so I keep reading in the forums how the bereaved are often bombarded with ridiculous amounts of flowers. So when my mom started mentioning all the flowers that people wanted to send her or to Granmda (who passed), I told her I would like to give to a charity, instead. Which I think I already mentioned.

BUT, I went to be with my mom on the day they scattered Grandma's ashes. (My mom just isn't up to traveling, and so my dad went in her place to pick up some things and help sort out affairs). I felt very compelled to bring her some flowers. I just got her the beautiful $5 mini roses they have at our grocer. They just really have the best flowers around. I was SO surprised (& relieved?) when I showed up and she had no flowers. I said, "I thought everyone was sending you flowers." She said, "No - I requested everyone make a donation instead, after I talked to you. That was such a great idea!" So, I was very pleased to hear that. & then didn't feel so silly for being compelled to bring *some* flowers in the end.

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**It's hard to keep up with the closing restaurants around here. I don't think it's overly economy-specific. Restaurants are a tough business!

So, the boss's wife took me out to lunch yesterday. Told me to meet her at this crappy Thai restaurant. But the name was different, but I was sure that was the location.

OMG - it was SO GOOD. New ownership - still Thai food. Great lunch specials with huge portions. This will be a great lunch spot for dh and I (where lunch for 2 won't break the bank).

**Reminds me: some how; some way I got reservations at the cooking school next week. I am meeting my friend there - I ditched her for dh last time. IT seems we have been jinxed in that every time we try, the school is closed, there is a private party, or something. She has never been. So, fingers crossed! {Though, maybe this is one of those things that should be kept secret - I am starting to think. It seems to be harder and harder to get reservations}.

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**Cell Phone News:

--I got several coupons set up that are phone-only. So am VERY pleased about that. For example, we were getting a lot of $5-off coupons from Round Table, but literally in the last few months, those are suddenly only available if you have a smart phone. Certainly won't make up the cost of the monthly service, but will help. I am hoping a lot of small savings will start to add up.

So happy to get that $5-off coupon back. Woohoo!

--My favorite by far is the online deposits. My CU has had online scan deposits for a long time. BUT, our scanner is on a separate computer, and it really takes a while to scan. Since I have a windows phone, it doesn't work for me. BUT, dh downloaded the app on his phone. I got paid the other day so tried it out. I actually had 2 checks to deposit - VERY awesome. I think it took about 10 seconds, and I had no idea what I was doing. It was just like, "Let me try this out." Okay - that was EASY!

--I am going to have to work on a good balance. It's a big adjustment going from a phone "for emergency use primarily" to a device that does so much. It is going to take me a while, I am sure, to find a good balance. Obviously I am not going to keep it set aside and never use it. But, I don't want to be attached to my phone 24/7. So I will have to work on finding the right balance.

--Oh yeah - no accessories needed. By some miracle, the new phone fits perfectly in my ancient cell case. & I like that the case is so unassuming. It doesn't scream "expensive toy in here!!! Take me!!" Also, the receiver (in car - plays over radio frequency) has been working out nice for MP3 player, and I tested it out with the phone today. So I can get music, navigation, and even texts/e-mails read to me through car speakers. I just happened to get the receiver a few months ago - was like $10 or $15! I think I am good. I am always a believer in a nice case to prolong the life of my electronics, but am glad I don't have to spend more $$ in this case. {Though I would have used our Amazon credit}.

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**Getting caught up:

--Just paid all the credit cards off (April charges). Dh can close the Citi at any time - it's paid and we got the reward already.

--Redeemed $50 credit card reward to ROTH (Fidelity rewards card). Was almost there, but needed just a few more charges. Since we are done with Citi and Chase, we had enough charges on this one this month (like $200??? - Was all I needed to redeem another $50).

--Reminds me, made first 2012 ROTH contribution. Well, first non-$50-reward contribution. Might be up to $1000 for 2012. ($750 + 50 + 50 + 50...)

--Cleaned old things off old phone, getting ready to turn off Verizon tonight.

--I am hoping today will be a really slow/quiet "catch up" kind of day at work. The last 4 days have just been INSANE on many levels. {Not to mention how behind I am on many things after 4 months of tax season}.

So, Phew!!

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ETA: Dh got $50 for signing up for some financial app that I can't get. Woohoo!