Feeling so stressed today.

Hubby has vertigo. What would we do without our moms, eh? She calls last night, talks to him, tells him to go to the doc ASAP - he has an inner ear infection. Since he's been sick I figure he is just sick. But he goes in today and he has vertigo - most likely brought on by virus. Cure is hopefully 2 days of lots of sleep. So wasn't inner ear but might as well be.

So I am home again. I made the mistake (or good choice) of checking my work e-mails and voice mails. Mind you I was at work until noon yesterday, so it had been less than 24 hours and it was like everything imploded. My office can not function without me (good and bad?) and client issues left and right. Plus my laptop was having technical difficulties and so I sat baby in front of the t.v. for over an hour and ignored him while I served him lunch - hoping being strapped down and fed would pacify him. Just to put out some of the fires. He is in his crib right now refusing to nap, but happy enough I guess.

Anyway, spent $50 on health copay today (twice this month already - oy vey!!!!). & probably around $15 in drugs because I went to get the drowsy dramamine so hubby can sleep but got the non-drowsy by mistake though we already have it out our ears - LOL. Going to try again later.

The good/bad is preschool can take Little Monkey Friday morning. Since this is not a regular preschool day may cost a lot of money and all for both kids, but if dh is not feeling well at least I can go to work in the morning. & probably work work work all weekend.

Oh well, dh is mandated to bed through tomorrow - and hopefully it helps/works.

Thinking fast food tonight. Between all the extra gas/driving, doctor visits, daycare, and my crappy cooking/tendency to get fast food, dh being sick is a pricey endeavor. But I really hope he is feeling better soon. I hear vertigo can be an ongoing issue. Hopefully the sleep and rest will kick it to the curb!

I know I know, I run my checking to $0 all the time and I don't need a cushion. I get flack, but well, I don't need a cushion. ask me the last time I had an overdraft.

YEah sure someone gave me a bounced check a few months back and at the wrong time it could have screwed up my checking account. But I saw it right away and it was no biggie.

I don't need a cushion.

So today I log online and see $105 coming out of my checking. O.M.G. I quickly realize what happened - ever since I Sell on ebay my PayPal defaults to my checking account (since I entered that info and got verified). I caught it the couple of times I used it for purchases, but dh asked to use my account for whatever reason and I didn't think about it until $105 shows up in my checking account where I have no room this month.

so I See it and it is no biggie.

I don't need a cushion.

LOL.

But I am so annoyed how this has totally screwed up my budget this month - was to go to CARD. we don't pay cash for flipping anything. We lost $1 in cash rewards! I have plenty of money available and it is no biggie yet I am so ANNOYED. LOL. So now in my head I have a mental note - $100 of feb. expenses going out in jan. Will square it away. & then I transferred $400 from my savings into my checking to cover that and whatever else because I am paranoid now. Screwing up my system too.

Since my short-term savings is all on track I think I may just keep it there and keep a bit of cushion. I'll lose out on the whopping 0.5% it was getting, but I think it will be okay.

Will complicate my bookkeeping system.

YEah but if anyone can tell me how to switch the default payment back to my credit card, I Will kiss your feet. I Can not figure it out. I should probably ask dh so he can redeem himself - he probably could. I know I know - it is not his fault. Well, though he could have just used his own paypal - so maybe it is!

I spent most the day off-line but had to check a freecycle message, which was with my e-mail so I had to see the comments to my blog, which brought me here - LOL. All sucked in!! & I was all ready for bed!

Tonight we put a pile of the kids' toys for donation. A lot of nice stuff actually. who knew...

Mostly baby stuff. The 18-monther has long outgrown!!!! teethers, baby toys, etc. We didn't do big on paring down the toddler toys. I Argued to get rid of some ABC things since they have so many alphabet toys that are really the same in the end (Say letters, sounds, etc.) but dh wanted to keep so oh well. We made a decent dent. we decided by summer there will be a lot to purge, that baby is starting to outgrow. Works out nice to go through every summer (birthdays) and winter (christmas). We purged more than they got for christmas, which is for one a small miracle. But is good!!!!

& I Feel good about it. Looking around, besides the 2 little push carts and the giant dinosaur, they really don't have *that* many toys. I am always big on not getting them too many toys and I have been a little worried since all my Big Monkey says anymore is "what does this toy do?" LOL. He said that about a stuffed animal and I Was thinking - oh lord!!!! I try so hard to get un-busy toys that are not electronic, but somehow all he has is a lot of busy electronic toys. I have been feeling a little down on my failure to keep material excess out of my house (& struggling how to keep it out when I don't buy more than 5% of it myself - thank you grandma and great-grandma).

But I am looking around and they don't have much. & I am rather pleased (they have a ton by some standards all the same). the baby's room just has baby toys which are mostly on their way out - leaves a couple of stuffed animals and that's about it. Big Monkey has a huge pile of milk carton blocks, some cars and toys that are too dangerous for baby, and a couple of his first toys - a garage and farm set. Oh yes & a basketball hoop, helicopter, and one of those floor mats that is a road one one side and a railroad on the other. That is his room as far as toys. For the most part he has a small toybox and his room looks pretty bare when the toys are away. IT is filled with furniture (2 beds & a desk too) but that is another story - hehe.

Most of the toys are downstairs and I Couldn't even dare to list but they all fit in a large bin - plus a few larger things. OF course the play doh and endless crayons and happy meal toys, and books and puzzles, fill the cupboards (I just told dh we have no need to EVER buy crayons this life - lord knows where they came from - I think grandma is big on crayons - LOL. something else I have never bought. sHould probably start donating those too...).

So I guess by some standards this may be a lot. But I Went to a playgroup recently and this woman lived in a 2-bedroom duplex and had toys EVERYWHERE. IT is just insane. Another friend the same with her tiny 2-bedroom house - the toys are just on overload. Can barely walk in the kids room - just filled with toys, and the living rooms filled with toys too. So today I am feeling a little better that my goals to limit toys have worked somewhat. Or is it just that we have so much more space it all looks smaller????? Hmmmmm... No - we have like 1/10 as many toys. This seems to be the middle class norm, which is extra amusing with all the "whoa is me I am so poor" talk. So as usual we are way ahead of all that nonsense, yet we truly do have too much excess and much to work on - what it comes down to. So what if we have it way more under control than most people we know? Doesn't mean we can't improve...

Well, not much to share on the recipe front this weekend. Dh ended up working late saturday on the movie so did last-minute hamburger helper. Big monkey had seen it at the store and wanted it, and dh humored him because it was on sale I guess. I Said - blech - that stuff is disgusting. But he made up "philly cheese steak" hamburger helper saturday and it wasn't bad.

I made my franks and beans today for lunch. Cut up about 6 hot dogs. (BEcause I like to have a couple left over mostly). cook the hot dogs in a skillet, add drained pork & beans, and ketchup, and wala. Serve it with buttered toast. THat is about usually how I cook - not the healthiest meals - but still beats fast food by a mile. dh is always there doling out the fruits and veggies which I would not have a clue how to approach the way I Was raised - hehe. HAd some salad and apple slices to round it out thanks to him.

HE made a pretty simple casserole for dinner - will post the recipe once I can scan it! Beef, tomato sauce, noodles, is about the jist. Cheese too. Well, you'll see!

Updating for 2007.

Mortgage - 1300
Homeowners Fees - 70
Property Tax - 350
Home Insurance - 150
Utilities - 400 (water, phones, cable, electric, sewer, garbage)
Car Payment - 215 (gone soon enough!)
Car repairs/maint.-50
Gas - 300
Auto Insurance 150
Groceries 500
Health Insurance 675
Life & Dis. Insur. 60
Dental Checkups 85 (no insurance)
Loans (Other) 0
Child Care 0
-------------------------
TOTAL $4,305
OR 81%..

Down from 84% in 2006.

Hey - improvement.

Leaves 6% SAVINGS
6% preschool
1.5% gardener
5.5% discretionary

I am both so frugal and so not frugal it is amazing. HAving 80% of my income spoken for by fixed things is not frugal. HAving 5% of my income to spend outside of the "necessities"/big bills is quite frugal I think.

But this is just based on my salary - there are a lot of extras which make it possible to save, one being my overtime pay. It just don't count all that stuff because it is not steady or certain. But makes our savings stance look much less bleak since for now anyway we save all the extra...

Forging ahead.

I was a little worried yesterday because I have been waiting to lose weight - or to see where I land anyway - before buying some nicer clothes/suits for upcoming tax season. Only time of year I really see clients and have to really dress up.

After my last pregnancy I gained 15 pounds easy, my hormones were just whacked out - this is part of the reason I stopped breastfeeding earlier - which I pointed out in the preparking for kids thread - you can plan all you want to breastfeed to save money but it doesn't always work out. I Was having bad bladder, hormone, and weight issues and it all went away the second I stopped breastfeeding. So my son was only breastfed 6 months, though I had planned a year and had made it a year with my first. Oh well. My sanity and my physical well being was more important at the time. I couldn't even work full-time to support my family I Was such a basket case. I went to PT for months and luckily have a very understanding boss. But once tax season rolled around I just quit breastfeeding - if I had known how immediately better I would have felt I would have quit sooner... I still have really weak pelvic muscles and baldder issues but it was so much worse with the hormones. It wasn't even wetting issues like people would imagine, my bladder was literally falling out of place - and it is not a comfortable thing. IT still is out of place to a big degree. The thing that amazes me is the doctors always brush it off as mild. I can't even imagine what a severe case would be like. I will most likely need surgery when I hit menopause, and the hormones whack out again, but I did see they had new laser surgery techniques to tighten the pelvic muscles, I am keeping my eye out. In the meantime I can not even imagine putting my body through another pregnancy which made dh's surgery a little easier to do - such a final thing. I am not sure I Could handle it with my weak muscles - they are about obliterated.

Anyway, so I go and and on and on - LOL - but last year I bought some bigger clothes. & they are too big right now, since I lost about 10 pounds, my regular clothes too small. So I need to buy, if nothing else, a nice suit top, I like to just wear those with skirts and dresses. Since my pant size varies so much it seems just on the time of day - hehe.

But I walked into work monday and was slammed with all these last minute things and I had to go out to a bunch of clients. I Was freaking out if I really had anything suitable to wear. So at the last minute yesterday morning, on a whim, I tried on an old size 10 suit jacket. Didn't even expect to fit it over my shoulders, and by golly, it fit!!!!

The great news is that I don't have to do as much shopping as I thought I needed to do - woohoo.

I was wearing this before I ever had kids - like 20 pounds ago. The funny thing is it looked all loose and saggy over my chest but I Could barely button it. Welcome to my body. But it looked very nice just left open so yay! IT's a little tight, but good enough.


The downside is I noticed it is dry clean only. I know I rarely wear it so maybe it has never been washed. I don't believe in dry cleaning. I usually wash all my dry cleaning clothes, which I try not to buy in the first place. But I am looking at this jacket trying to think if I ever really neevr washed it - it looks quite nice and clean. I don't know if I Should risk putting it in the wash.

Just hope nothing spills on it or anything I guess. Otherwise it should get through tax season just fine wihtout a wash - only need to wear it a handful of days. Phew.

The funny thing is I picture Ima Saver driving this car down the road as it comes down in price.

http://www.teslamotors.com/

I just saw this guy last night (on the smart public television I watch. Shhhh - you don't have to mention all the trashy reality t.v. I so adore - hehe). Anyway, the guy who started or owned this company, not quite sure, was very interesting. He is actually working with NASA on some space programs, BUT he also has designed this electric sports car. IT is COOL! Both a fancy sports car and an environmentally-friendly car??? Sounds too good to be true.

Well the price is a nice $90k or so. But he was talking about on t.v. about some cheaper models coming out in the $30k-$50k range.

I think I will go start saving my pennies. Maybe in 20 years. Even $30k is way too much car for me - hehe. But when I am old and rich I am going to get me one of these...

Anyway, beyond the car, a fascinating guy. I will have to look up his name.

Okay okay, I know I am still fretting about health insurance, but I had to share this wonderful link:

http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/faq.shtml

It lays out HSAs rather well.

I am just pondering and maybe they aren't SO bad. My insurance has a new plan that is $3k deductible for family. BEtween that and the federal limits we could not put aside more than about $2800/year BUT it would lower our premiums $5,000/year. The thing is the "out-of-pocket" is way more than the deductible ($7k?). So um yeah I want to put away $5k/year. But I Can't in the HSA.

Plus the premiums would no longer be tax deductible - I didn't even know that! But we only get to deduct $2k-$4k a year (the 7.5% AGI limit), and with this we would get the $2800/deduction (but not for state at all!!!!).

Are you confused yet?

Plus you can invest in c.d.s and stocks, yeah, sure great. But what if you need the money? IF we have enough in cash maybe a 3 month c.d. would do.

The pluses - if we don't need it we could use it for dental bills and retirement...

I just believe in Murphy's Law a little too much. After paying huge premiums for years, I can just see us lower our plan and get slammed by something unforeseen. IT scares me still. But I have to question the logic of continuing to pay almost $10k/year in medical insurance when we can cut it in 1/2 and put the difference away for a rainy day.

Oh well, I have a year to ponder...

I jsut posted a post with good news, but so long wanted to add this separate (just FYI).


Interesting and scary since California is scaring away high-income tax payers with some pretty hefty taxes. I have to say there is not much you can do to avoid tax at the individual level - most tax avoidance schemes happen at the corporate level (in response to some comments in the article). Though admittledly those making billions may have some tricks up their sleeves. But we have many clients in the $200k-$1 million income range who don't get much in the way of deductions, outside what you and I do. (The exception being big retirement benefits - but more at a corporate level all the same. Only business owners are making this much):

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/102197.html

I was just thinking the other day why was "multiple pregnancy" unforeseen for tax purposes, but not a regular pregnancy. Do you know how many people conceive by accident??? LOL. They read my mind:
http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=23018

Gender Pay Gap, Once Narrowing, Is Stuck in Place
One big group of women has stopped making progress in narrowing the gender
pay gap: those with a four-year college degree. The gap between their pay
and the pay of male college graduates has actually widened slightly since
the mid-’90s.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/business/24gap.html

I always wonder if these studies truly consider the time taken off to raise children. In my office the women are happy to work part-time and have flexibility, are all busy with children. None of the men are asking for flex time, work part-time, running kids to school and doctor and such. If I get paid a little less because I demand more time with my kids, so be it. I am just not sure how fair these studies really are. Or maybe just lucky not to have come up against this in my industry (to date). I know at the peon level we the men and women were all paid the same. At the level I am at now the men are interested in management and the women are not, of course that reflects in our pay. There are no single or childless women in my office though. But my boss bends over backward for me to put my family 1st and you can't put a price on that. I'd work for less for this kind of job any day. Low stress and lots of flexibity, but paid well too.

Yeah, the IRS has a withholding calculator and I Recommend it to people all the time. It is a lot easier than figuring out a W-4 schedule.

BUT I had been thinking I should probably get 14 exemptions and I was thinking of pushing 16 on my W-4 this year. I always get a big state refund ($1500 or so) and I figure easier just to claim more fed exemptions, pay the balance with my state refund on April 15th. Plus I know all the tax laws and can monitor it to make sure I don't hit the penalty for underwithholding, which I wouldn't at 2 measly exemptions at 15%. Means I may be underwithheld $1k, but there is no penalty for being under $1k or less due at April 15. & state refund will no doubt be more than what I owe.

Anyway, I went to IRS Calculator to see where I was at and it said 12. My own calcs as I already said were 14. I thought maybe I Should just leave it 14. But I did my tax return (a draft anyway) and did some planning for 2007 and still came up with 14. The IRS I have concluded is CONSERVATIVE. They want your money. So just know that - LOL.

They say 12, I claim 16 - take that. 14 would be pretty break-even, a small refund. So 16 just kind of keeps me under penalty and I rather earn interest all year...

My boss always gives me the eye when we are talking about exemptions in seminar - it cracks me up. 4 personal exemptions, $20k easy in state taxes and mortgage, health insurance galore (some of it deductible) and the child tax credit for 2 kids, plus only 1-income, makes a lot of exemptions. No one around here is claiming so many exemptions because they either have a 2nd income or they rely on big refund checks. I Swear I haven't hardly owed a penny on April 15th in years. But it is funny, 16 is the highest yet, he is probably wondering about me. This is the most I every have pushed it. But I will keep an eye on it. If I get a raise I may move it to 15, or lower it later in the year as I monitor it.

I calculate I may be able to squeeze another $40-$50/month with this increase AND our state disability rate actually just went down. Will save me $11/month. & wala, I have my new health insurance premiums covered with or without a raise.

Still praying for a big raise to make my savings goals easier this year. Waiting waiting waiting, couple of more weeks. But is nice to know I am in budget regardless.

ETA: I forgot to mention I get a decent bonus in May where way too much is withheld which is also why I feel comfortable under-withholding a tad. It makes up for that measly bonus I get once 40% is taken out - blah. LOL. I usually keep 90% of my checks and have a right to 90% of that one so it just annoys me to no ends, this is how I battle it... I swear I will probably get a small federal refund for 2007 if I count that.

It was a good weekend after all. Went to San Jose after all, for the kids mostly. They had so much fun. Their 'cousin' had a birthday and he has a TON of cousins from the other side of the family so the kids all had a pile of other kids to play with - had a blast. All that and our gas is way under budget this month still - crazy - with FOUR trips to San Jose!?!. Ah, it all ends this week as Big Monkey returns to preschool. & more gas...

Anyway, we left the party around 8 or 9 and went to MIL's to put the kids down. I don't know if you have noticed but MIL is interesting. She drives me nuts but spoils us too, there is only so much bad you can say I guess. She has treated us extraordinarily well these last weeks with Christmas and babysitting, etc., etc. BUT at the same time I just could not believe her going on and on and on about how many toys this baby cousin has and how SPOILED kids are these days. I just had to hold my tongue. HELLO????? & who bought 99% of the toys my kids own? Grandma! & she was just going on and on and on... On the other hand the kids received a gift that I had not heard about or seen except Big Monkey told me all about it. When I mentioned it she said she was going to keep it because little Monkey could not play with it. ??? LOL. I said well, um, Big Monkney wants his toy and I want to see it so I can write a THANK YOU!!!!!!!! Plus he has many toys that he can only play with away from Little Monkey. I was imagining all these small parts and in fact they were quite large - she said Little Monkey was throwing them so he just could not be near them. (??? LOL still). So we finally confiscated and brought them home. I find it amusing she wanted to keep the BEST gift by far he received - something we had asked for - a cool magnet building set (big pieces for little kids - so as not a choking hazard). I have piles and piles and PILES of toys if she wants to keep some at her house - I think I Will bring her a pile our next visit.

Anyway, I could go on and on, but changing gears, I helped my neighbor set up her Jan. 1 balances in Quickbooks Saturday and it went rather well. But we came across a time-consuming obstacle so I left her to deal with it until we got back in town. Went over tonight and she is officially up and running for 2007! I was going to send her an invoice later but she was eager to pay me today - woohoo. So I received $400. I am going to put $200 to the e-fund, and with interest will push it to $6k even by 1/31. Woohoo!!!!

The other $200 just putting in short-term savings, mostly with income taxes in mind - should cover the 4/15 bill.

This month is a little bad in that I put way too much money aside last month - LOL - like $200. I don't know what I was thinking, I am like $200 short to pay all the bills this month because of this. I am starting to think I should institute a rule that I can only hoarde cash every other month. I mean it is great and all, if it is gone I won't spend it, to some extent. BUT at the same time I am sitting here wondering how much to push to next month and hoping for a raise to cover the difference. The stress isn't worth it - hehe. Actually, it is okay, but I am putting everything I want to save to ST savings instead, not the e-fund, this month. Except all of the $400 because it is such a windfall, some of it must go to e-fund. & next month I will once again hoarde too much in the e-fund, and so the cycle will go. Plus MIL have dh about $60 as a reimbursement for something and he didn't tell me until AFTER I made a deposit Saturday - GAH! I was so annoyed, not expecting $400 today and not wanting to go to the bank just to deposit $60 cash, I decided to start our cash emergency fund. Not planning to keep much, so it is a good start. & I was impressed dh does keep a $20 in his wallet for emergencies. I did the same and stashed $20 in the house. It's a start, and I don't envision saving much beyond that. If we decide we need more than maybe $100 down the road, I wouldn't say anyway. That is the kind of thing you tell NO ONE. Home invasions are a big thing around here which is probably why I am hesitant to even save much in the first place. But having $60 stashed is a good start - beats nothing!

& that is how it's been - I better get some sleep! The fun of staying at Grandma's - Little Monkey was wide awake since about 3am. I am EXHAUSTED!

It's that time and I am excited. Most of the accountants I know wait until September to claim their refund - extend, extend, extend. So everyone else of course assumes the same of me. Pshaw!!! I will be filing Probably Feb. 1. (BEcause unfortunately dh's stupid broker waits until the last minute - make it March 1 probably - he is usually late with our info). Oh well, the last year to deal with him.

Today is pretty busy at work so I just snuck a little lunch break. BUT I am making headway and the kids and dh are gone tonight so when I get home I was thinking of pulling all the tax info I had. I paid all the bills - I have all the data for our deductions for 2006. Friday or Saturday, or next Tuesday I will plug in the #s to see where we are at.

Usually I am dead on federal and get $1500 back state (which really is nice though it annoys me sometime. Forced savings, but I could use it). BUT this year is unique with our ROTH IRA conversion. I offset it with some stock losses, so we'll see how all that pans out. I paid in a ton to fed already and I think all in all I will get a few hundred back from state and owe a few hundred fed. The beauty of e-file is you get all your refunds right away but the payments you can wait until 4/15. So I want to file as close to Feb. 1 as possible, get my state refund, and sock it away and earn interest on it until April 15th. Could squeeze out a month or 2 of interest. Why not...

But I guess I have a fear that I forgot something or that I messed up my calculations. So I really want to run the #s and see where we are at! & hopefully we will not owe too much...

I also look forward ot month-end/year-end, see where we are at. I think we are a little over budget this month. Credit card closes next wednesday but we are already to our budget for the month. PLUS dh drove to san jose today to pick up the kids and wants to go back this weekend for new years! YIkes! Would make it 4 trips in one month. Oh well, gas is not cheap, but we picked up the kids twice from free babysitting, babysitting doesn't get any cheaper (and safer - staying with grandma - don't trust many else to watch the kids). We haven't decided, but I am doing some freelance work saturday, dh is working on a move saturday night, then driving and partying sunday and driving monday - eeks. Not a relaxing weekend. Not helping the budget. I think I socked away more than I should have this month, but oh well, it's the only way we'll save!!! Will make it up next month. WIll get paid for all this weekend work next month.

I will just be glad when this year-end business is done at work. Knock on wood, but it all seems to be going okay. Though I will probably work late tonight. Somewhat in the hopes of escaping early tomorrow - finishing it all up by noon. I do not like doing things last minute, drives me batty, but only so much you can do with all this last-minute tax planning. I just don't want to be too down to the wire tomorrow night. So I am setting a goal for noon and we'll see where I land. Maybe then I can breathe for a week before the january craziness begins (preparing 1099s and W-2s, oh my). SO back to the grind!

Bummer.

Had a philosophical discussion with my dad over dinner last night as for whatever reason the topic of 401ks came up and he said in the past he was unable to contribute the max because of "top heavy" rules.

I wouldn't say I am exactly completely clueless when it comes to 401k and retirement plans. I have audited them (LONG AGO) and deal with them a lot in planning for our clients. I remember auditing the top heavy rules and such, but with our clients today, most of them are doctors with lowly-compensated office staff. If they take a safe harbor plan they can put in as much as they want for themselves and give all their employees 3% of their salary (which doesn't really amount to much with so many small beans employees). So as we discussed it I did think aloud that maybe safe harbor plans were good for our clients but not in different situations. But at the same time I told my dad, that is just crazy. I am sure the laws have changed. I have no idea why you as an employee should not be allowed to contribute 20k if you like (since he is over 50). Top-heavy rules were meant for the owners and their family, nothing to do with employees who were compensated well.

So I wrapped up all my work early (a productive day!!!!) and decided to look up real quick. Lo and behold found the following article which is very recent.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/10/pf/expert/expert.moneymag.mo...

I guess my dad was right and I have to go tell him so - hehe. He gets paid quite well, so it is possible he will come up against this at his newer employer.

As for us, it kind of bums me out as I have been encouraging dh that when he should go back to work to find a job with a 401k. HE can contribute 15k/year then, which will be fine when he is working again - his whole check will probably go to savings and retirement for the most part. I am not too worried since odds are he will get a $30k/year job or something and he won't have to worry about top-heavy rules. But for me if I switch jobs, may be something I would come up against. & hey it would be great if both of us brought in big bucks down the road, but this is something we could run up against. I don't know. IT was just a "tax shelter" I looked forward to.

Just something else to watch out for to ensure we could use it. It just seems silly, of course employees who make more will want to contribute more. Golly gee.

So I learned something and figured I would share.

I feel bad, I was saying I did not have too much sympathy for dh's 1 stitch, but since sunday he has had swelling and bruising from his vasectomy. I am worried how he is doing today - he is home with Little Monkey. He shouldn't have to lift him too much and thankfully Big Monkey is at Grandma's. HE can get pretty rambuctious and keeps us on our toes a little more anyway, so hopefully dh will get some rest and relaxation today. Little Monkey is very occupied with all his new toys.

My parents came over yesterday and did not bring any gifts for the kids. & I am HAPPY about that - LOL. Phew. We had a nice day and them they took Big Monkey home with them to deliver him to Grandma for 3 days or so. I would REALLY miss him and might not be so happy with this arrangement but I Am swamped at work and dh needs his rest. Plus I Was worried Big Monkey would get homesick after so long, but he stayed 2 nights with grandma before christmas eve and did NOT want to come home. I think he will be okay. Hopefully by Thursday he will be Grandma'd out and will decide coming home isn't so bad. & thankfully he goes back to preschool next week. It is hard on me with driving him and all but I think everyone is happier and calmer, he needs activity if nothing else. More than we can give.

I made my christmas cash deposit today. $1475. Sounds pretty sweet, eh? But it won't get far. The $1k I expected from dh's family and essentially will go to pay the estate lawyer, so I don't have to dig it out of savings. Now that is a NICE gift - though - getting that done and out of our hair. Leaves $475. $250 is from work, I am trying to set aside $200 for work clothes and $50 for my boss's gift. The $200 who knows since I already used it to pay our health insurance for january. I still don't know when our reduced coverage will take affect. If Jan.1, then I should get a full $200 refund in time to go shopping for tax season. If not, I will buy less I guess. Just wait and see. Not that I intend to spend it all anyway.

Leaves $225. Already spent $100 on bills - let's say for dh's surgery. Gosh, it is all going for MEDICAL but what else is new.

LEaves $125. Since I used dh's money from his grandpa for bills I told him we would split whatever we got from my mom in 1/2. She gave us $125. We decided $25 to savings & we will both get $50 to jumpstart our allowance funds, which we are starting anew in 2007.

All that and I only saved $25. Pathetic! I think I saved $75 this month already, which is something I guess, but I am not sure - I changed my stats on the right and deleted November - LOL. I'd have to check at home.

On the plus side I should receive around $500 for some side work in January and ALL of it should go to savings. I was feeling frustrated today and thinking forward how to bring in some extra money in January, and I remembered that. That will go straight to savings and I am quite pleased. Plus is the 4th month I believe that I had a full $800 for our short-term savings fund. We are loads above where we were last summer, just frustrating not to have more for Long-term savings and retirment in such a month of extra cash. But if we keep up as is, next december we should be able to set aside any christmas money, it is nice to look forward to.

Anyway, work is CRAZY but I had been crunching all morning and needed to give my brain a break. Phew.

Oh yeah, at home I have been doing dishes, laundry, cooking, watching kids, doing all the lifting, etc. the last couple of days, and work is crazy through friday/saturday. I am lucky I caught a break today. This week is more of the same since dh is still swelling and all. I am exhausted. I have NO IDEA how single parents do it. I am just exhausted. I appreciate what dh does, yes, but even moreso that we don't have to work full-time because this is how my evenings/weekend would be spent. I feel like I Can't catch a break anyway, but at least when I get home I can usually just sit down and play with the kids and not do all of the chores...

Needless to say I will be very pleased when dh is back to feeling 100%!

Oh yeah at work, just making sure all of our big clients have withheld enough money for the year, and that their corporations have paid out their earnings, just lots of time-sensitive tax planning. This week is always crunch week for me - I am lucky to get christmas off. On the plus side, I had one HUGE client that the manager left and I remember him staying here until midnight crunching numbers last year, figuring bonuses and such. I worked all day saturday just to get the books up to date through november, was behind on that for other reasons, and was dreading how much time this would take to figure bonuses, the first year I am in charge! I am looking at all these hand written shcedules scratching my head why anyone would write this all out by hand, because 1 change could take hours to fix, so I threw them in excel this morning in an hour or 2. When I get the final receipts for the week it will take me all of 1 minute to get them the bonus #s. Maybe 10-15 minutes if I Want to take my time and double and triple check my #s. Ah, I hope the rest of my clients go this smooth. I am feeling a little relief today anyway... It is amazing to me in the 5 years that I have been year how technology has sped up this entire process. We used to wait for clients to fax over or drop off records and reports, and now for many of them we can just grab their data online. It is incredible. If I wasn't so behind otherwise I think this week may be downright easy but I have quite a few clients I still need to update through november which is the time consuming part. Well, I hope my boss will be impressed with my speed.

& I gotta get back to the number crunching!

Merry Christmas everyone - hope all are having a wonderful Christmas!

We did christmas eve with dh's fam yesterday and the kids got about 20 presents. ???? IT was so totally INSANE and I was a little caught offguard. IT seemed as the grandchildren multiplied they calmed down a little last year and I expected it calmer with a 4th one in the family this year. Well apparently dh's family had a good year because they went crazy. The kids were bored after 1 or 2 gifts so I had to open the other 16 or so. I was really annoyed. Just ridiculous. I know 4 gifts (2 gifts each) were from other family members, but I have no idea which ones - what was from whom. ???? That annoys me too. I forget they also have 4-5 gifts still at grandma's house from the whole cousin gift exchange debacle. Oy vey!

The flip side to all this was that my strategy worked!!!!! We saved so much this year. All the cool toys we wanted to get we put on the wish list. No one paid attention anyway, because I have said before, everything on the wish list is up to major scrutiny, no one likes what we put so whatever. But we decided to buy 1 nice gift each for the kids (they are toddlers) and take the cash and gift cards to get everything else we had our eye on, AFTER christmas.

Anyway, we didn't get much in the way of cash or gift cards this year, but that is a-okay. After yesterday I don't think they need another toy for another year. Or 2 or 3. So because the way we approached it we hardly spent anything on the kids ourselves. AND we haven't opened gifts today yet but I am so PLEASED they each only have 1 gift to open because frankly that is all they want. They have no interest if there is a mound of presents once they open that first gift!

I told dh there needs to be some serious changes to Christmas. I feel awful not knowing what came from my niece's family or from dh's great aunt. I have no idea. I wrote out all the gifts and will call his mom and go through the list to narrow down what was not from her.

Bah, I am trying to be grateful to have too much as to not enough, and I am, but the whole thing annoys me all the same.

Us adults actually made out pretty well. Dh got a cool little travel game system worth about $250. Plus some games. I got 3 books, slippers, bathroom accessories (needed) and a toaster/toaster oven so now that everything in my kitchen is black - I love it! Plus some significant cash. Yeah we made out pretty sweet. It is nice, but I could live without too. I am sure I am forgetting something too. Piles of DVDs, etc.

BUT today should be pretty nice! My parents are coming over, probably no gifts, maybe 1 for each kid max - PHEW. Going to have pizza and fudge and just keep it low key, hang out, play with all the new toys I guess...

& Big Monkey was happy when he woke up that the Grinch had not stolen our Christmas. LOL.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

It's here!!!

Phew, I actually got a lot done yesterday AND plenty time to relax. I ended up working to 3:00 but I did not mind one bit. I Was siting at work thinking I LOVE my job. I lose sight of it sometimes when I Am trying to juggle the kids and all, and has been harder for me working with 2 kids, I just had no idea, the balance wasn't so precarious with just 1 child, but a little too spread thin with 2 - which means I start to feel guilty and such - something I never felt with 1 child. But going to work and not feeling any guilt because the kids were out of town anyway was just immeasurable. I Was just sitting at work thinking I do truly love my job and I Wish everyone in the world did - the world would be a much better place. Well that and I Am super blessed to love a job that pays well. That is a big plus now isn't it. & so is dh as I try and try and encourage him to live his dreams on my paycheck...

WE are about to head out and pick up the kids. Oh yes we missed them terribly but enjoyed the peace and quiet and all we were able to get done. My car is even clean on the inside which is a small miracle... LOL.

The kids will be showered with way too many gifts today, but I will try not to complain. I am truly grateful that we have excess as compared to the other way around, but it is with those less well-off in mind that I would like to really make an effort going forward to teach the kids that Christmas is about giving and not getting. It is hard with the shower of presents from dh's family, but they are too young to really understand and I let them enjoy for now. & I will be grateful for too much - that is for sure. But yes today is a day for a mound of presents for each of us. I will probably enjoy myself too.

Dh just showed me his stitches and I almost had to laugh. His mom keeps saying he is milking it and she was frankly pissing me off. But when I Saw that little itty bitty stitch I did have to control myself and my sympathy has gone down a bit. I Was stitched 10 times till sunday (is that an expression?) with both kids and frankly it wasn't that bad. PArticularly the second time I guess since it was all scar tissue anyway. I admit that the reward and challenge of a brand new baby probably made it a pretty moot thing at the time. But I just have to laugh at the incision & ONE stitch that can not even be seen it is so small. I think he will be okay...

& tonight and tomorrow will be exciting with kids and santa!

Ah, yesterday was a REALLY nice day.

Dh's surgery went well. He's doing okay. Resting up for a few days - definitely enjoying the break from the kids!

Went to work around 1 and didn't get much done. Was a little frantic. Place was falling apart and in light of last manager leaving I guess I am the "computer expert." That is what I am afraid of - if I am the "expert" then we are in trouble!!! I just told dh over the weekend thank goodness this guy had come on and was doing the computer stuff well because that was not my thing. Me and my big mouth - LOL. I also had a chat with my boss and I got the impression he was very pleased he could rely on me, that I wasn't going on maternity leave again anytime soon - LOL - and he even gave me tickets to a Pro Basketball game in January!!!! I did consider selling them for cash - briefly - but I did offer them to my mom who is the sports fan of the family and she is excited!!!! Her and I will go togetehr - we actually live down the street from the arena - so it will be a fun night - not out of my way or anything! I am not a sports fan but I went to a game when I moved here 5 years ago and it was pretty FUN. Sacramento has great spirit and the games are fun. Can't help but get a little excited no matter how little you care about sports... I forgot to look at where the seats were - was gonna look up though I imagine they are fancy. The ticket price is $230 between the 2 - I should have just sold them, huh? LOL. It's not like he never offers tickets to anyone, but I got the distinct impression it was a direct "reward" for my efforts of late so I thought that was a good sign with a raise due Jan. 1!!!

Not much today financially. Going to work, TONS to do, but not quite as stressed or rushed since I have all day tomorrow to work. I am used to this time of year being crazy and am happy to have Sunday and Monday off. But I have 2 clients to deliver cookies to today, a lot of work to do, then work gift exchange and should get a bonus. Last year was $150 so I am hoping for that at the least! So I look forward to getting a check today, will run to the bank tomorrow probably to deposit.

Reminds me 2 nights I was baking cookies and both time neighbors came by with treats. So I returned the favor to those 2 last night. We had our house on the market briefly in July because we wanted to move and had a contingency purchase with a house we fell in love with. It had been on the market for months and lowered the price by $300k or so - so we did a contingency offer, they took it, and I think 2 weeks later they had another offer. In this market we needed more time of course. Then it became available again and we decided against it. We would never afford so much land and space in California again probably in our lifetime, and it was a great neighborhood, in a completely flood-free zone which is our main point to move. But it was so big I am just not sure we could afford the upkeep. IT was really cool though - a house with an attached apartment - the house was our size - we were to rent the apartment - and it had a huge workshop in the back for music and a game room or perhaps we could rent it or convert it/finish it. So many options. It was pretty cool - but it had 5 bathrooms and 3 AC units, and an old roof nearing replacement. NEed I say more??? LOL. The upkeep would have killed us. Like I want 5 toilets to clean.

Anyway, we delivered cookies to our neighbor across the street last night and she just gushed on and on and on how happy she was we didn't move. It was pretty sweet. Kind of funny though because we have the most awesome neighbors on all sides. The odds are whoever moved in wouldn't be so bad I am sure. But that is another reason why we hesitate to move - what are the odds we would love all our neighbors so much. Well glad the feeling is mutual.

Was up early with a headache, stressed and all I guess. I usually wake up at dawn and dh stays up LATE, like ships passing in the night, but with his surgery today we laid in bed this morning and talked. We still have no idea how 2007 will be, discussing if I get a $1k raise or a $10k raise. Who knows. Stuff at work has been weird, looks like I may have a lot of responsibility and such, lost our new manager. & bad timing as busy season approaches!!!!! But for now it is a toss of the coin. I'll know in 2-3 weeks I guess. IT was fun pondering if we had big money - hehe. Dh just asked that if I got a BIG raise that I get HBO back. I said we'll see - LOL. I said it should probably come from his allowance though I Will have to throw in a buck or 2 every month for Larry David - is all I really miss so far. I did make clear that even if I got a huge raise, we are saving it all. That is when he asked for his beloved HBO - LOL. I don't want to think about it too much though - I may be lucky to get enough raise to cover the increase in our health insurance... No point in getting too excited in the meantime.

So yes, today is the big snip. Send good thoughts to hubby that all goes well. IT is kind of a landmark day, after today we will no likely make any more of these:





*sigh*

OF course yesterday I delivered christmas goodies to clients yesterday and heard all sorts of horror stories. Genitals turning black (too much heavy lifting too soon) and getting pregnant because husband was too shy to get his specimen checked after to make sure all was well - LOL. if that happens here all I have to say is it was meant to be. Sometimes the powers that be have higher plans I guess. FOr now I just hope that no more are meant to be for us - hehe.

Grandma has 2 weeks off and is going to help with the kids and even take them home for a couple of days. Ah. Should be very nice and quiet. Dh will be resting and healing though and I will probably be working. But at least the kids will have some fun and we will get lots of relaxing too. WIll prove to be a nice few days. Weekends like this always sound HEAVENLY but then we just don't know what to do with ourselves and miss the kids terribly. LOL. Can't win I guess... Almost why I am glad I have so much work to do... Will take advantage and get a lot done.

Oh yeah - the pictures - we were baking cookies and Little Monkey found the sunglasses so they started dancing around in their sunglasses. Funny kids - will miss them the next few days...

Now that I have settled in I think I will try the $20 challenge starting Jan. 1. Took me a while to figure what it is all about - hehe.

For now we start the countdown to dh's surgery. The big snip in just 3 days - oh I can hardly contain myself. I am not a big fan of hormones and pills and drugs and such, so for me I Am just so happy as I near the end of the journey of birth control. For me it will probably end around March - yahoo.

I don't think dh is so excited, he was never a big fan of the snip, but having 2 kids scared him into it I guess. He was dead set against it and then when #2 came, I don't think he could get in soon enough. I wasn't ready for anything so permanent but I got real with myself and realized he may never offer again - LOL. On the plus side he gets a vacation for 5 days because no heave lifting. Once he survives the surgery and see everything still works he will enjoy the following few days I Am sure.

Yesterday I got my cute black shoes in size 9w, because they didn't have 1/2 sizes. Too small. Bummer. The good is I peeked online on return policy, because it wasn't obvious, and saw free shipping and a $5 off coupon, on top of the sale which was STILL going on. So I reordered the same shoes in 10W and saved $11. I will pay a few bucks to ship back the other ones, but will come out ahead! Woohoo! I thought 9 would be fine and 10 would be too big anyway, but man those 9s were small. I underestimate how much my feet have grown in recent years I guess.

Oh well, lessoned learned. I shopped through a conduit - shop.com, and didn't check the website specifically. When I did last night the coupon and free shopping popped out at me. I could have gotten that with my first purchase too. Oh well. The Cutest shoes for $24 now. Just have to wait wait wait. Almost there...

I know that with travel - I always start with cheap tickets or something and then call or check the website directly because there is often deals if you buy direct. I should have known the same for anything when a 3rd party is involved. Will keep it in mind for the future!

For now I am just sad I have to wait another week or 2 for my shoes - hehe. Oh well!!!! Will be worth the wait...

It kind of cracks me up when people assumed we were hoty toity because we have had TIVO for YEARS!!!!! But the thing is it didn't cost us much.

Last night I was thinking about our little TIVO setup because it is a little unique and people with money do not do what we do - LOL. I thought it was a good example of how we could have some luxuries that don't have to cost a fortune though - with a little ingenuity.

A big thing for us growing up in the Silicon Valley is we know people who work at all the big companies so we get lots of deals. For example, I had a friend work at Adobe, and we bought a lot of software from him at $20 a pop. Dh's professional video editing suite - I think it might have cost $40 (retails over $1000 easy...) Cell phones refurbished and free. PDAs at cheap discounts, etc. So we always had a lot of technology, but it is all in who you know. I always say we live twice as well on 1/2 as much, and this is a big part of why. While the frugal crowd is shunning technology we get steals on it as we do with anything...

Right now everyone we know works at google, I haven't figured out how that will help us yet, but it will eventually - LOL.

My dad used to work with Philips who had teamed up with TIVO on some things so my dad got a great discount on a TIVO and then gave it to us on Christmas in 2000 or so. NO one really had TIVO then. At the time, you could pay like $15/month or so OR a lifetime subscription around $100. We waited a couple of months to make sure we really liked it (oh yes we did!!) and bought the lifetime subscription. A beautiful choice since the "lifetime subscription" is no longer offered. We haven't paid a dime on our TIVO in 6 years or so. Even if my dad hadn't of bought it "for us", we could have bought it ourselves at a pretty significant discount.

I think it was when we moved and our bedroom was right at the top of the stairs that dh got the idea to split the signal and send it up to our bedroom so we can watch it in 2 rooms. Since then the fancy 2-tuner TIVOs have come out and they do have a lot to offer. But as long as our TIVO is free we will keep it. (& I knock on wood furiously because I would hate it if it died - would be sad...). So who knows how much dh spent on the receivers and signal-sender and such (have no idea what the technical terms are). But was not much - I would guess $50 at most - and wala - TIVO in 2 rooms.

The downsides being, if the glass door is open on the entertainment center, it won't work, or sometimes there is some pretty bad interference. It is usually okay, but no TIVO upstairs while the microwave is going (Can be a little scary - the LOUD static that comes through instead). We even thought it was a really good idea to upgrade to those wireless phones upstairs with one port and 2 handsets but the frequency interfered. Dh finally figured it out and got a cheaper phone in the end, but we couldn't keep our super fancy phones - though he did find the same type in another frequency. Luckily the baby monitor has not interfered...

So yes, it is not the most top-of-the line reception, and whenever there is too much white on the screen, the reception doesn't like it for whatever reason and the frames start to roll - LOL. But for the occasions we want to watch the TIVO up in bed, it works. Try not to watch too much white, and make sure not to turn ont he microwave, and all is well...

YEah that is pretty much how stuff works around our house.

So I laugh as I sit up in bed watching a rolling screen of white, aiming the remote just right because it is extremely finicky, laughing at how hoity toity we are with our TIVO!

I know some part of us will be glad when we can upgrade because dh's parents have a 2-tuner one that they can record 2 shows at once and store like 100s of hours it seems (vs. our 30 hours?). It will be nice to upgrade one of these days. They have come a LONG way. But for now we are surviving. We are enjoying our "free" luxury for now...

I spoke too soon!!!

It was quite warm the last few days and on Friday my coworker who lives up in the hills left around 4:30pm saying something about snow. ??? So I Walk outside at 5:00 and was blown away by the chill in the air - my word!!!!

It went from warm to freezing in the matter of hours it seems. 26 degrees this morning - probably a record for COLD!

Which reminds me, we were pelted by hail Saturday night which was quite fun. Mind you the biggest hail we get around here is maybe the size of a grain of rice. But this is pretty exciting stuff to us.

I am feeling way caught-up here at work and very relieved. Enough so I am going to the dollar store at lunch. I decided to maybe get some cards for the people I never talk to much and because I have a pile of professional pics of the kids I have no idea what to do with. I don't think I ever have paid a dime for professional pics, overall a waste since I take some pretty nice pics and we have nice equipment. My dad hands me down photo paper ALL the time. But grandma loves the professional pics and is so dissapointed we don't go through the effort she takes the kids often and leaves me with piles of useless pictures. I admit when they were babies I took a lot and the professional pics were silly. But getting them to sit still is quite a task these days and I Don't get to it so much. But I would try before shelling out the bucks. At the least order 1 big print and we could scan and print whatever our heart desired. IT amazes me those places can stay in business with the affordability and ease of technology today... But I digress, I figured I would get some cheap cards and send them out - in my effort to de-clutter and retain some christmas cheer to those I never speak to but who sent me cards. I figured the Dollar Store would do.

Dh also reminded me we didn't get his grandma anything. 'Tis a long story, but I know I can find her something nice at the Dollar Store too. So I will probably run out and grab a 99 cent item from Taco Bell too, for lunch, and all will be well.

I settled for 2 kinds of cookie to make tonight (both variations on chocolate chip) and plan to make 2 batches each. Start with one tonight and the other tomorrow. My son is so excited since Grandma let him use the mixer yesterday and help her bake a cake. I told him he would be my helper tonight. I have Grandma's "Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe which I can not resist. Has cinnamon and oats in them for a twist, but the cinnamon fills the house with the best smell... But dh found some crisco or something - I forget - in the cupboard and remembered the cookies I had needed to use that for. He said I might as well use it before it went bad - and he LOVED those cookies = like chocolate chip brownie or something. Okay then, just lots of chocolate chips!!! He was cracking me up because he was telling me that was what I used in the other recipe instead of butter, and I am thinking, are you crazy??? My cookies have BUTTER and lots of it. Whatever this crisco crap is - it scares me a little - but he insists they were good. So whatever. So he finally found the recipe we had bought it for ages ago. Don't want good food to go to waste. (If you can classify the stuff as food anyway?). I also have my super easy fudge recipe which I will make too - yum yum. I should post that one - just a few ingredients, takes a few minutes tops, and is the BEST! Pretty much butter, chocolate cocoa, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla. Microwave and stir and chill. Wala! & Oh yes - and don't forget the nuts too...

Yes if you haven't notice I really like CHOCOLATE. Plus grandma will cook us all the other types of cookies - they like to bake for days...

Since things have calmed down a bit I am ambitious in my cookies and delivering them out this week. We'll see!

Dh noticed the DVR he got for his dad was on sale $10 more yesterday so he went to get a refund for the difference. Plus tax came out to about $11. He braved the crowds and everything - which I am not sure I Would do - hehe.

His grandma reimbursed him $45 cash for one of the Christmas gifts we had purchased on behalf of other people. I may have $100 cash or so to deposit and get the bills paid this month - phew.

We had a marvelous, marvelous dinner last night. Quiet - with no kids. We took my parents out - dad's birthday - offered to pay - they refused. I handed my mom the personal loan payment for the month and added $20 for my dad's dinner. At least we paid for him - though he paid for us. Oh well, it works. Brought him a bag filled with pistachios and some dark chocolate from Ghiradelli. He was happy - all he needs is food!!!

Oh yes - the reason we were sans kids is we left them with the other grandma so we can sign our wills, trust, etc., etc. All DONE - oh WOW - it feels so good. Just a load off to know everyone will be taken care of as we wish if something should happen. & the medical directives which have of course been on top of our to-do list since Terri Schiavo was in the news. A little late, yes, but luckily in time. Met over by our favorite Mexican restaurant so decided to meet my parents after. It was so NICE and quiet - hehe.

Today we don't have much planned. I have to get work in where I can. Just woke up at Grandma's house, plugged in the laptop, wireless card is working fine and all set up but took me 10 minutes to find an outlet to plug in the dying battery - LOL. Phew. Gotta go get some work done. I have the morning but will see other grandma for lunch and then a 2-hour drive. Maybe will work in the evening too.

I need to clean the house for guests next week and bake cookies for clients. But I have NO IDEA when this will be accomplished. I think dh is busy Monday & Tuesday night so maybe the kids can help me bake in the evening. Cleaning house - who knows when. ??????? I did clean the kitchen/family room yesterday because dh never does and here are just CRUMBS everywhere. I spotted an ant and so decided to vacuum and scrub. Dh was annoyed as we were to leave town, but it will be nice to return to a clean house. A little futile because come tonight it will be back to square one I know.

It turns out the ant problem was in the van anyway. I forgot I had a bag of empty soda cans to recycle from the christmas party Dec. 2 - 2 weekends ago?????? As dh goes to load up the van - he found a mound of ants. I didn't see the lovely spectacle but will no doubt get to clean it up when we get home. I have been chauffering a colony of ants about town I guess - LOL!!!! Disgusting! But it was a frugal thing for us since we decided to let the van air out over the weekend (after a good spray) and took the compact car down which gets twice as good gas mileage. Alls well that ends well...

Oh yeah, we had a Manager who delivered See's candies to clients, most likely on his own dime every year. He was a pretty gruff guy, I will never forget when a client/friend told me he showed up and she thought "oh no - what did I do wrong????" LOL. & he was there with a christmas card and Sees candy. Well he is gone now and it just occured to me a day or 2 ago to fill his shoes but we are so BROKE this month. So I decided to bake cookies. Unfortunately work is too busy so I may just hit up my one friend with the cookies. But there are 4-5 clients I would really love to bring them to. That I don't get to see enough. We'll see... Since they are all the ladies I really enjoy i would be hard to pop in and out and not stay and chat and get behind on work - LOL. But it is a goal I guess. Get all my work done so I can spend 1/2 day delivering Christmas cheer...

My 3yo keeps asking every day if it is Christmas yet!!!! Ah, it's the first year he is really aware, and boy is he ready!

This is super cool. I have been reading about all these discount groceries and being able to double up coupons and such. Unfortunately around here none of this is allowed. No stores will double up coupons and there are none of the big discounters in our area. Bummer. so we mostly shop Bel Air. sounds fancy but they have recently revamped to be low cost leaders and they are for the most part.

But yesterday dh really scored at Safeway, they had a special a couple of weeks back where you bought 2 bags of chips (which is about the only junk we get, we would buy regardless) and get a free jar of cheese dipping sauce. THey had it again yesterday but the cheese sauce also had a $0.69 coupon. The cost was $3 so they gave him a $3 discount plus $0.69 for the coupon. Hey it is as close to a double coupon as we'll get any time soon - I thought that was COOL!!! They paid us $0.69 to take their cheese - hehe.

Oh, I must be in heaven - he also bought 3 pounds of pistachios!!!!!!! Yum! They were on sale - two 1.5 lb bags for $10 (vs. 1 for $10) and so he grabbed them. We have pistachios out our years and his total grocery bill which included MANY things was $75. $25 for pistachios and laundry detergent. So another week of eating at $50 overall. I am starting to get optimistic that this may be a good month. Only $200 on groceries to-date this month and we are going to be eating out a lot this week - on grandma. She is coming to watch the kids for dh's surgery (the big snip) this week so will probably pay for some take-out. Which is good since my cook won't be up to cooking. This weekend we are visiting grandma so a weekend of free food and such. So maybe we can do it. I would love 1 month of a $400 grocery bill no matter how much we have to cheat and have our way paid by grandma - hehe. Lately the more we try to cut it back the higher it gets - but dh has been really stocking up on things for sale, and it looks like it may pay off this month.

The bad is I just got my HMO bill for January - about $900. I Called last week to switch to a cheaper plan ($675/month) and they were to send me the forms. I just realized when I got the bill - never got the forms! Bah. Have to call again. I really don't want to pay this even for 1 month - just ridiculous. If I have to it will be $1k this month with dh's surgery. Not a pretty month for a house full of healthy people. Hopefully I can get this squared away before the 31st and the bill is due.

If not, my bills will no longer be AHEAD. Oh well, nice while it lasted. Can pay the preschool in January I guess. THey don't have a due date - I just like to pay it ahead for the month though she doesn't care how I pay it. If I have to pay the increased HMO amount this month, hopefully I Will get a refund next month and get it squared away.

This is an interesting exercise.

3 houses - zillow.com

What do you think about the person who owns the first place? The 2nd? The 3rd?







What do these 3 homes all have in common???? They all were purchased for about $290k, in recent years.

The first one was our condo we bought for in 1999 - $260k. The second is our current home - it is actually not accurate - our house is bigger than the stats- but it cost $290k in 2001. The third is a friend who paid $300k for a house in 2004.

#1 - If we lived in San Jose the appearance would be I guess we couldn't even afford a house. It may even appear we were renters. (Talking about appearances people coming to our front door). From a zillow perspective, must be rich, eh? A condo worth $450k? Must be a luxury condo? (Hardly - LOL).

#2 - The appearance is pretty much we are rich when people come to our front door. OR if you glance at zillow. (Or maybe mortgaged to our eyeballs). The truth is we got in early enough we didn't have to pay that much... The truth is we made a LATERAL move from a condo with no yard or garage, in a so-so neighborhood, to a pretty nice, luxurious house.

**Keep in mind when we bought both of these properties the "sky was falling" - a lot of people waiting for the market to crash...

#3 - Our friends with these starter homes are paying more than we did for our house. PLUS our interest rate is probably lower to boot. The local impression is probably that are lucky they own a house. Must be upper-middle-class. An appearance from someone outside of the area would be very different though.

I hardly know anyone on 2-incomes renting or owning a house more than 2-3 bedrooms, so that is why I consider a 1300 sf house large overall in the "small house" discussions. 900-square feet 2-bedrooms are the norm here...

Appearances are so deceiving.

On zillow.com you can actually see what people paid, most of the time. But even so gives you no inkling about if they could truly afford their house, how much was mortgaged and such... How much help did they get from relatives? I have a lot of friends right now getting into houses through inheritance here (3 in the last year).

But there you have it - 3 homes bought for about the same price in the last few years.

I just find it extremely interesting because I am always meeting new people and they often are initmidated when they see our house. As I get to know them, 9 times out of 10 they are paying a lot more than us to rent or mortgage a much more modest house. It is all so relative I guess. I grew up thinking we would never afford more than a condo, if that. So I think people are generally surprised how down-to-earth we are. But I guess that is the problem with assumptions and judements. They often amount to squat. Especially in such a volatile housing market...

(I actually hadn't looked up our old condo in a long while and almost fell over to see it was up past $450k. WOW!!!!! We left SJ refusing to pay $500k+ for a starter home. Ridiculous! Now you would lucky to get in a condo for that much I guess...)

Thanks to TinapBeana I figured out how to do this:



It's the only thing I had on my computer besides wide loan amortizations (that wouldn't fit on the screen). I started a price book but have since decided it is too time consuming. But hey - now you get a glimpse into our grocery bill.

Okay now - I just saw your fancy blog today - what is the code so that you can click on it to see the full size????? That is the next trick I want to learn - hehe.

Ooooh, this is fun though. I may repost my social security spreadsheet - it was time consuming to type and hard to follow. Same with my christmas budget and such. I guess I Can go back and edit those posts...

This month so far has been a strange one. We actually sign our wills, trust, and other docs saturday. I am SO excited to get this done. Our lawyer up and went to Sydney at the last minute and just got back, so we waited. Of course it was not until last night I finally got around to reading all the docs and making sure they were all good. Frankly most of it makes no sense to me, and I did a lot of skimming. But I trust her and looks like the basics we wanted were taken care of.

If she hadn't gone away for a month we could have taken care of this in our 20s - I Was proud. I don't know anyone in their 20s that has a family trust. We are not worth much on paper, but our life insurance and house would make our kids millionaires. (Shhhh don't tell them) so we felt it was time - well past time. Plus we got our medical directives & power of attorney taken care of as well. Anyway so much for 20s, but made it the first couple of weeks of 30 - still something. I am learning my most responsible of friends in their late 30s and early 40s don't have life insurance or wills to appoint guardians. *shudders* I am giving my lawyer's name to everyone, indeed. I feel like we have dragged our feet for years. It just is not at the top of most people's lists I guess. I mean we have a 3yo and we are finally getting to this step? Seems late to me.

Oh yes, but why strange, we have just been surrounded by death this last month. My family lost a friend suddenly, that James Kim saga weighed on me heavily (since he was a young dad with a young family I guess). My grandpa doesn't have long to live. Even going for a walk on the weekend, we crossed the path of a dead pigeon which my son was very concerned about. It has been kind of depressing. But all the more reason to get this stuff in order.

In other news we FINALLY got our christmas tree up yesterday. The kids love it. My 3yo kept sating - "It's Christmas Eve!!!!"
LOL. No no - has a ways to go.

MIL sent his preschool teacher $100. MIL can be a PITA, but is extremely generous all the same - was very sweet of her. Preschool teacher called her to say thanks and said she misses my son so much - can't wait to get back. Ah, just a couple of more weeks. HE has been handling it well - trying to get him together with his friend from there around once a week which helps. Overall he has handled the change and upset pretty well. But I know he is eager to get back.

This month has been pretty tight. I usually have a little money in the slush fund easily accessible. But it rests at $5 today. All the bills paid, some sitting in the corner, waiting a week or so to mail. I usually mail my deposits, but I think I Will go to the bank Monday. Mail is so slow this time of year and I need the money right away. I did want to also deposit my cash profits from selling things this week, but dh took a $20 because he had no cash, and frankly all I have is $2. I think I will just hold onto it. We'll see what kind of cash we amass at Christmas - I Can make a deposit then. ME going to the bank to make deposits - just weird. I still need about $125 to breakeven for the month. But I know we'll find it. The worst is I Will pay some bills after the first of the month instead of before. But with Christmas we should get some cash so no biggie. For now it is tight. I am still getting used to my savings being inaccessible for a couple of days - was never like this before. But I think it is good - harder to touch. We usually have more slush and I have a lot of leeway since I pay the bills received, not when due. I just did not realize we had NO cash, and so it is good we sold some things. Though frankly I think we could survive with no cash. We don't use it for much - even the fast food places take credit these days.

Oh well, come my Dec. 31 paycheck we will be in the green. Soon enough.

I called my HMO last week to change to a less pricey plan, but still have not received the paperwork. will give it a couple of days I guess. I don't even want to think if that is not switched by 12/31. Then I would be another $200 or so under budget. Don't want to think about it. Paying $900 for health insurance premiums is NOT an option. It is just insane. E-fund will certainly not make it to $6k this year if that is the case... Hoping this goes through. I should probably call and make sure they mailed the forms...

Edited: Just sold a double stroller for $15. Sweet! We bought this REALLY nice stroller for $20 used. I offered it to my mom's group $15 - figured I'd post it $25 on craigslist if no one wanted it. It is pretty worn and my group can be a little snobby so didn't expect much. SHould have asked $20 - doh. Oh well - I got more than I expected for other items. I am putting up the kids' playgym/tunnel thing that I got for $10 up on Craigslist too. Dh agreed ot help me go through the toys when Big Monkey goes off to Grandma's next week too. See if we can get some stuff sold before Christmas, while he is gone...

Yes, we have 4 strollers and I think we only bought 1 new. It was really nice with the 2 kids to try a couple of different kinds before settling on one - imagine paying 100s and not liking it!!! We got this $20 stroller while we waited for the coveted Sit& Stand stroller to show up used - was a long while - had ot be patient. I am sure we will get back whatever we paid on that one when we are ready. But should last us a while longer. This is why buying used is so nice, and then selling it. Generally we can get what we paid and so we essentially "Rented" our baby items for free. Can't beat that!

Oh Gosh - bad bad. I popped on the forums and got sucked in. Guess it was an active day or 2.

Well I have wasted enough time on here.

I am up $60 today - whoo. Got full asking price on jumperoo and high chair. & both those big, bulky items are out of my hair.

Looking to sell about another $45 in the coming month. Plus the play wall - just lowered the price to $35 so we'll see.

Work is CRAZY!!!!!! The end of the year is the worst. I wouldn't even know where to begin.

But I have said it before, I could NEVER work for the IRS. Or the government probably, though all the benefits are enticing. But OMG!!!!

I get an IRS letter yesterday, regarding client, who is a whole nother story and every end of quarter deposits payroll taxes to the wrong quarter. She deposited last 9/30 deposit on 10/2, but applied it to last quarter. I get a notice about weekly from IRS saying she didn't even designate a quarter. Driving me BATTY! But the IRS just compounds the issue. They say they are missing say a $5k payment, accrue peanlties and interest, and send a bill. But if you read the very bottom of the bill it says "we have received a $5k payment and credited your account. We will send you a notice with details in 3-4 weeks."

Are you serious?????? OMG!!!!! So the notice says pay now to avoid further penalties, but we may or may not have applied it after all? Oy vey.

I get this a lot on indivudual tax returns. They say we changed your tax bill and you owe us, but we'll send the details as to why later. But usually that comes within a week or 2. This 3-4 week thing is insane.

Now even though it is super crazy, I have to follow up with the IRS and figure exactly where we stand on this because I have no idea...

Our tax dollars at work...

I apologize to the IRS because I am not sure they can penalize my client for not having a clue and this client generates a lot of headaches. BUT come on. Stop sending 2 notices weeks apart to say 1 thing. Who thought this one up? LOL. Desperate for revenues I guess...

Just read this article - VERY interesting. Ah, and yet my entire education cost me a whopping $12k or so - books and all - phew. I have been looking at around $8k for grad school. So the figures in this article are a little shocking to me. But interesting all the same.

"In Tuition Game, Popularity Rises With Price"...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/education/12tuition.html?r...

& summary of some new tax laws just enacted:

Tuition deduction.

The tax deduction for qualified higher education expenses is extended through 2007. The deduction allows taxpayers to deduct up to $4,000 (depending on their income) of higher education expenses in lieu of claiming the Hope or Lifetime Learning tax credits. The deduction is taken “above-the-line,” meaning that it may be claimed by all individual taxpayers regardless of whether they itemize their deductions.


State and local general sales taxes.

The tax break allowing individual taxpayers to elect to take an itemized deduction for state and local general sales taxes in lieu of the itemized deduction permitted for state and local income taxes is extended through 2007. Taxpayers have two options for determining deductible sales tax: (i) actual sales tax paid if receipts are maintained for IRS verification or (ii) approximate sales tax paid as estimated in tables provided by the Secretary of the Treasury plus sales tax on certain additional items (such as a boat or car) that may be added to the table amount.

**Just read an article that the changes were not made in time to hit the 2007 tax forms. Interesting. IRS is reprinting forms and revising publications - our tax dollars at work.**

Deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers.

The tax break permitting elementary and secondary school teachers and certain other school professionals to deduct up to $250 of out-of-pocket costs incurred to purchase books, supplies and other classroom equipment is extended through 2007. The deduction is available to all individual taxpayers regardless of whether they itemize their deductions.

**that will solve our teachers problems...**

Tax credit for first-time homebuyers in the District of Columbia.

The tax break allowing first-time homebuyers in D.C. to claim a tax credit of up to $5,000 on the purchase price of the home is extended through 2007.

**I had a client get this a couple of years back. Pretty sweet. housing is more insane there than around here - which says a lot.**

Premiums for mortgage insurance.

A new itemized deduction for the cost of premiums for mortgage insurance on a qualified personal residence is established. The deduction is phased-out ratably by 10% for each $1,000 by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000. The new deduction applies for 2007 only.

Apparently I have been too blabby, but I have been meaning to update my links. I have NONE. I keep thinking of some to add. Maybe posting it here will motivate me - must add links.

I should also post articles more often as well. I see some interesting ones every day - never post.

Here you go:

An eye-opener about 401ks. Don't panic, but consider the facts. I love my Profit Sharing Plan, but frankly I have no control over it, it faces the same risks. Luckily my boss is a stand up guy, and well there isn't much more I can do than NOT count on that money 1000%... & at least that isn't my money, though I take a pay cut for the benefit so maybe it is in a way...

http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/la-fi-retire10dec1...

& scary one about option payment mortgages. I question the statistics. Seriously, 1 in 3 people in California took these kinds of loans in 2006? Eeks!!!! Just when you think it couldn't get worse and the ARMs would absolutely ruin the economy. The found something worse...

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-option11dec11,0,678928...

I have tried posting on Craigslist before and have never sold a thing. For the most part I usually find a friend who I Will give the item or sell to in the meantime. & I often do craigslist in conjuction with freecycle, where someone comes by for a freecycle item and I get all crazy generous and hand them everything I am trying to sell. Or maybe not even generous, just glad to be rid of stuff. When I didn't really feel like I needed the money.

Today I feel like I need the money!!!

So I finally got around to posting 3 items on Craigslist. & 1 item on freecycle - an old musty bookshelf thing. I keep thinking I will refinish it, and for now it stores piano music. In the meantime it is really ugly and I just want it gone - LOL. I will NEVER refinish it - I Am getting real with myself. So I add a nice piano music cabinet to my endless list of wants until it makes it up to a higher priority. For now I have some other options. I can store the piano music I never have time to play upstairs if need be. Hehe. Though I really should keep an eye out for a nice cabinet, I bet I Can talk my parents into it for next Christmas or birthday or something. If not, it ain't that important. Bathroom repairs and pediatric dentists top my list for now - for when I have money!!

Oh anyway, so wish me luck - hehe. I posted about $125 worth of items. I aim high and hope I can squeeze at least $20 each. But I Am in no hurry, I may initially hold out for a higher price. IF things go like the past I Don't expect much interest though. I did buy a Fisher Price PlayWall upwards of $50 and they were IMPOSSIBLE to find used. So I am selling it and listed it at $40. That one I am most hopeful on because like my baby carrier, they are impossible to find used, I Can probably fetch a nice price.

I listed the jumperoo but I saw 10 on there already, so I may hold out a while until after the Christmas crazies - usually I only see 1 or 2 listed.

& a highchair. I don't know - it is the only thing not in top notch condition. I hope to get $20. Maybe $15. With a new cover it would be gorgeous though - just the cover is worn.

I have no idea how some of these things have held up so well. Most of the kids stuff hasn't - LOL.

I have an exersaucer and a pack n play to sell in coming months. The last 3 years I have given away more baby things than I Could even imagine - mostly to family. I am on the fence how appreciative they really are about how much we invested as the first child bearers in our family's generation. At this point they have enough, and I am mostly giving away things the second baby has used and I didn't give away already. In the meantime family bought some of their own stuff for once - hehe. From here to eternity all the clothes will probably go to family. But it is really nice to get some cash back for a few items that we shelled out some bigger dollars for. Phew. Once we go through this round I don't foresee much in the future. Maybe a crib and a toddler bed down the road.... Who knows...

What dh and I really need to do is go through the kids toys and books and PURGE. For resale or donation. We went through the stuff in July and I Was hesitant to give up much though the kids are spoiled far more rotten than I Care to admit. Today I Am looking at a few toys with little interest from the kids and I Am ready to purge. I will also ask Big Monkey if he will be willing to give up a toy for Christmas donation. I Am not sure if anyone really takes used toys this time of year, but I will try. I want to take this year to get him on the giving side of christmas. HE may not go for it at all - but I will try. HE's 3. If he won't give a toy, maybe we will go buy a toy with his christmas money, and donate it. I Can maybe get him to do that. I am not sure if he is at a age that is willing to give up ANY toys. But we'll see. Regardless od his willingness, a few will disappear. Making room for the christmas barrage - phew.

The books are insane too because the kids love to read (Well mostly be read to though the 3yo does love to read too admittedly - a reading genius). & dh frequents the scholastic sales and the used book stores. AND since his mom is a teacher and has a million+ Scholastic points it seems, we just order endless free books lately. The pile of books are hard to pare down because the kids love them all so much. We'll see what we can do though... We haven't even ordered any in a while at least, we have a full collection, but I know if dh sells a pile he will want to buy more - hehe - the store credits are far better than cash. We'll see how it pans out I guess. We could start a library, I Swear. We go to the library too, but the kids get so attached to their books, and are a little rough with them too. For now the free Scholastic books are pretty sweet. As they age we will push the library thing more. There is only so much space for books around here - hehe.

EDITED: While I typed away, I got an offer for my freecycle bookshelf thing. Woohoo. Will probably pick up today. Doesn't get much easier than that!!!! I LOVE it. BEst part the furniture is for a family who owns pretty much nothing. As I read the e-mail I remembered that I have some silverware and kitchen items I was saving for my sister who probably doesn't need it. So I am going to purge a lot with this pickup I Think. Phew. Should all be gone by tomorrow!!

I am going all out on a big pizza lunch today. Feeling decadent I guess.

I haven't been updating my cash stash because I haven't been eating out, nor using cash, at all. It has been an amazing month or so.

In the past I have been too lazy to prepare a lunch, or bored by it. Last year I was having some big hormone/weight issues so I got on track with bringing lunch in more, but usually go out at least once a week - even if just for a $1 menu item.

But the last few weeks I haven't even done that. So decided to treat myself to pizza today. The funny thing is I haven't really missed it. Today I Am craving some grease so I will oblige.

I love this website so much - helps me stay on track - how ever much I disagree with other people and am stubborn about some of my choices. I really enjoy seeing other points of view - even if they are frugal on the verge of insane - hehe. I like balance and I Try to balance the 2 the best I Can - frugalness while still enjoying life, being comfortable, etc.

To come here and have everyone question every one of my purchases is a little refreshing. Seriously. I like it. KEeps me challenged. I have questioned some things about myself, changed some things, and held firm to things I think are money well spent. But that's okay. IT beats everyone telling me how pathetic I am that I don't spend a lot of money on brand names, beauty, new cars. How I must be SO deprived, my life not worth living - LOL. Or on the flip side I am doing so well, I should stop working so hard. Even my parents have alluded to that and they should know better.

Anyway, I guess in life no one has ever particularly challenged me financially. & I like a good challenge!

I am also having a little insight into why my parents can raise me so well to take care of myself financially, and then so thoroughly drop the ball when it comes to investing and such. From a convo with my dad on my birthday, he pretty much admitted to me they didn't have anything when he turned 30. BArely a month's pay saved. They were sinking all of their money into a house in the Bay Area which was a huge risk. (It was paid off 25 years later and worth $1 mil today - a relatively modest home in a so-so area. I think the risk paid off). I remember they met with a financial planner in my teens, in their 40s, and were behind. Coming from a very poor family and moving to such an insanely expensive area put them in a completely opposite situation of us today. I am not sure you would hardly meet 2 more frugal people. & because of that they quickly caught up and are doing fine. But they failed to teach me about investing and saving heavily for retirement while young. They probably figured they caught up and so can I. Or that as a CPA I must have our affairs well taken care of. I don't know. But I guess I gleam a little insight into why. It is interesting. I think overall they are good parents and want to butt out of my adult life. But they could have taught me about investing as a teen, etc. One thing I see I want to different with my kids.

I gleamed some insight as to why, over lunch a few weeks back, my dad poo-pooed the power of compounding. I think he doesn't realize how further he would be ahead if he had been able to put more to retirement sooner. THen again, he put the money to a house that has returned around 1000% on price paid, maybe 3000% on cash payment down. & in his time there were a lot more generous pensions and such. Social security and such. Our world is so different I guess. But I have more insight why my parents have been supportive of us putting savings in the backseat for a few years. From their view we are a mile ahead than they were at our age. The thing is we have a mile further to go in many ways. I guess I am glad I figured it out on my own. A little slow but I am only 30. No more savings taking a backseat just because we are trying to get by on 1-income. What a lame excuse - hehe.