Well I just RSVPed for 3 birthday parties - yes 3 - and another on the way I know of. & 2 Halloween parties.

Oh my son will be in 7th heaven. He LOVES parties. As for dh and I, eh, we are pretty quiet, low key people. I have no idea where my son comes from and frankly his social life EXHAUSTS us. Of course he thrives from it. This is a big reason why he is in preschool - so we can catch a break.

I tend to be pretty nice with gifts. Usually $20/kid. I spend way more on other kids than I do my own. LOL. But even $10/each for 3 parties is not really in the budget this month. It is tight with Christmas coming up and all. But I got some good ideas from you all. Is 3 parties gonna break the bank? YEah maybe if I didn't get ideas here. ; )

As a working mom I really have trouble mainitaining playdates and such, and I feel bad because dh just doesn't really do them. In the past maybe, but again it really exhausts him. But a friend of mine just e-mailed me and said she was a football widow and up for some sunday playdates. I haven't seen her in ages and that would be great. & then my moms group is revamping and trying harder to do more weekend/evening stuff. Looking at my calendar it is nice, but too late I guess - LOL. My october is completely filled. I hope november slows down a bit!

I am going to be exhuasted and my son is going to have the best month ever I guess - hehe.

I do remember once Halloween hit last year it seemed like the year went in overdrive, and now I see why. January will be here in a blink!!

Ahhhh, got back from Disneyland last night. It was a good trip. I enjoy traveling with a potty-trained child SO much - actually since he is so newly potty-trained - surprised no accidents, etc. Did great on the car ride. Averaged 8 hours each way due to traffic and stops, etc. Oh yeah, and lucky us on the way back - first rain of the season. First rain + long freeway drive = car coated in black muck. $5 carwash upon return home - not in budget. LOL. I am just grateful we only saw 1 accident - you hear the road gets slick with the first rain. & well we really saw all the oil and dirt churned up on all the passing cars.

The weather was perfect. Couldn't have asked for a better trip. We actually happened to get in the park right when it opened (we weren't necessarily gung ho on waking up early but just worked out) and then got a lot in before it started to get too crowded. Left at 4:00 for a nap and dinner. Worked out pretty good. HAd $20 lunch in the park & $10 dinner out of the park. Then returned until close at midnight. My son did great.

All that being said a lot was over his head and he was happy with the carousel. I had no illusion the trip was more for him than us - LOL. But then again thought he would get more out of it. He certainly enjoyed himself though.

All I could think all day was I Was so glad we did not bring the baby. I saw so many miserable parents. & it's like sure you can push around a stroller, but no strollers in line. I Wouldn't have survived more than an hour or 2 lugging around my big boy. Though we did decide maybe we should come back in 2 years, right before baby turns 3. Then he'll be free to get in, but he will be past the diaper and stroller stage. So we hope. It's a plan anyway.

I have no idea how much the weekend cost. Sick of fast food we opted for sit down lunches and a nice big driving break each way so we'll see how it turns out. We did a pretty frugal trip overall, but it still cost an arm and a leg. It amazes me what people are willing to pay for a few days at Disneyland. I would be surprised if our trip topped $400. Maybe $350. 2 night stay, 800 miles in gas, 1 day at park for 3, and food. Plus $12 for a ballon and a lightup necklace. That was our big splurge. I was proud how little we paid for food in the end. We didn't have to pack a lunch, but we did what we could to keep costs down.

That is probably in general our annual vacation budget, we aren't big vacation people. But this year has been kind of unique. We have done a lot of travel already - & 1 more trip to go. Going to Monterey and San Luis Obispo in December. I love San Luis Obispo - if it wasn't so outrageously expensive I would live there. But hubby wanted to do something nice for my birthday since I took him to vegas for his. & then well, that is it. Next year is going to be a dry year. I Am cool with that. We are going to enjoy our next trip for sure. I don't really want to go anywhere with the kids anyway until the little one is out of diapers and bottles and strollers. Anyway, it will be interesting how the whole vacation thing plays out as the kids grow older. My family never did vacations, and we did some bigger things when I Was a lot older. I think I appreciated it more. Dh on the other hand is spoiled rotten. He turned out pretty frugal and okay, so there is hope. But I think he will want to do a lot more travel than I in the upcoming years. We'll see who wins. ; )

Being so close to the beach and the mountains there is really little need for more than the day trips and weekend trips here and there. I am sure even though next year will be dry we will find plenty of day trips to entertain us. I am sure we will make it to the snow and the beach. Will cost little more than gas. Actually, what I look forward to in a couple of years is camping. But as long as diapers are involved, it can wait. In a couple of years I am sure we will be doing a lot of camping. I think the kids will really enjoy.

The other night hubby was out and I gave the baby a wooden spoon to turn his buckets and tupperware into drums. He was having a blast, but my 3-year-old got a little jealous. HE wanted a spoon too! So I gave him one. I noticed it started splintering and told him to settle down with it. But he was beating the hell out of this spoon. It culminated with the spoon snapping in half. LOL. Okay, no more spoons for him.

The funniest part was the next morning my husband looked in the trash and could not fathom why there was a broken spoon on the top of the trash. HE approached me and was like, "What were you doing last night???" LOL.

My son was SO cute Friday too. Wednesday driving home from preschool we stopped by a used bookstore. I just heard a woman in my moms' group owns this store and it is right around the corner from his preschool. So we went in, it was a pretty nice store, bought a few books for ds - $5 maybe. So of course Friday he says he wants to go to the bookstore again. BEing very budget minded I told him we could not go. & mentioned his preschool is sucking me dry - LOL. I put it nicely because I do not want him to stress about it. But all the same I want him to know we can not do x and x because we are putting our effort into this one thing that he LOVES. & as a result we sacrifice other things.

Anyway, he was really cute because I started telling him about how cool libraries are and I Would take him to one soon. We used to go a bit, but since the baby, hasn't been very fun - LOL. But I am thinking we can start fitting in weekly library visits. I was telling him just how cool libraries were for letting you BORROW books, and you don't have to pay money. HE just got all excited and said "I want to go to the library NOW!!!" I did tell him that the library unfortunately did not have cats like the bookstore did, but at this point he was too excited to care. Was just cute how he got so excited. & glad I found an alternative to his beloved bookstore. ; )

My general philosophy on Christmas is I pretty much don't like it - LOL. Our family and friends don't really want for much AND the materialism of Christmas really annoys me. I would rather give give give all Christmas and not receive a thing - donate toys for kids and work in the soup kitchens. Unfortunately, most people I know do not feel the same, or I would totally donate money in their names as a gift. I probably should regardless of what they think. ; )

Anyway, we generally don't spend much and I have never budgeted for it. Most of our family and friends have stopped exchanging gifts, because we all feel a little similarly I guess. I don't remember the last time dh and I exchanged gifts, we just don't see the point, we buy/need what we want throughout the year. I guess it's a pretty good place to be. Though if we had more money sure we'd splurge on each other.

BUT our downfall is the kids. Every year I say I will spend $20/each and donate $100 each in their name because they don'tneed anything and there are plenty of kids out there who really need things at Christmas. But inevitably we stop by Toys R Us and all the toys suck us in. I See cute thing online, and next thing you know I spend $200 on the kids + the $200 donation.

Anyway, due to our usual finances this overage never really made much difference, but this year it just ain't gonna fly. LOL. I don't have $400 to spend just on the kids. So we'll see...

& dang it when I Say I am just going to spend so much on the kids, I want to stick with it. Putting it in writing will make it an easier goal to stick with I am sure. I hope anyway. In the meantime I am staying away from all toy stores and toy ads. ; )

& as a total case in point I bought the kids picture frames last year that spell out their names. I just saw them sitting in the closet unopened. That is not going to happen this year!!!

I am going to go work on a budget!!!

Bad Idea!!!!!

Eh, it probably ain't the worst idea. IF you are a planner and disciplined, etc., etc. they are a bad idea. If not, maybe they are good for you.

BUT, in recent years I have heard more and more of mortgage companies not paying your homeowners insurance and property taxes on time. I think it has come to light a lot more in recent years as homeowners insurance is so hard to come by, and the increased outrage of being dropped when your mortgage company does not pay your bill for you.

But here is a new bad in this equation -a VERY bad incident with a family member. They paid off their house in the last year or so. (Very good, right????). Apparently, this family member had the impounds set up. Upon paying off the mortgage, and not receiving a bill when the homeowners insurance expired for the year, it lapsed.

Maybe they would have fiugred it out sooner rather than later, but right after the lapse a woman tripped in front of their house. She threatened to sue for injuries due to a large crack in the sidewalk. They called their insurance company to discuss their options, only to find out they did not have coverage. OMG!!!!!! IT is a blessing that they found out so soon, but the curse they found out too late.

The city denied responsibility for the sdewalk due to a new law in the last few years that homeowners were responsible to call and tell them if there were repairs to be made. Something like that.

Just a BAD confluence of factors, and unfortuantely my relative will be left holding the bag.

Anyway, hadn't heard much in a while and assumed it went away. Found out today they are officially being sued. *sigh* That just sucks!!

As it stands, insurance companie have agreed to pay anything above $100k and they are maybe okay with that. However, said relative has been bursting with glee that retirement is in less than 2 years for her. does this mean she will have to work longer???

Will this case be thrown out as frivolous??? Stuff like this just doesn't seem right...

Send good thoughts I guess.

In the meantime, if you do have impounds and you pay off your mortgage soon (or have paid it off recently), make sure you don't lapse your coverage. Because only you are looking out for you.

"Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else" -Dave Ramsey

"The more I am willing to be disciplined, the more numerous my options. The more carefully I plan, the bigger I dream, the better my life becomes and the more joy I experience." ~Mary Hunt, of Cheapskate Monthly

I have heard the Dave Ramsey quote in recent months and the Mary Hunt one now on this site. I LOVE these quotes so much, they speak to my lifetime financial philosophy.

Those around us scoff at many of our financial choices, our choices to buy very used cars (people looked at me like I was crazy when $5k was my car spending limit). I don't spend money on makeup and clothes, and I have many friends who think A am absolutely deprived. I don't like coffee and never go to starbucks, again always with the peer pressure (why would I drain my money on something I do not LIKE???). & then mention not being able to go to a $100 spa on the weekend (I hate massages and all that anyway - I guess lends to my frugal nature) & imagine the looks of PITY!! Beyond that I think last week I did not want to spend $25 to go to a concert for kids. OF course I sound absolutely deprived.

People do not realize it is not that I Do not have the money or the means to do so. But I choose other things with my money. Obviously what I value is reflected in my budget. & things I do not value I do not mind giving up in the least.

On the flip side, people come to our house and their jaws drop. YEah my husband has a dedicated home theatre room, but with some frugal choices it probably cost less than most t.v.s I see around here. HAving a 5th room on a house for this dedicated room is another story, but we moved somewhere cheaper to afford such. Yeah we have a really nice house and a smaller mortgage than anyone in our age range that I know. I just think it is proof that the little things add up. I think the only thing more shocking than seeing our house is people finding out they are paying more for rent or mortgage than we are on our mortgage 90% of the time.

I have been told I Am stupid for not believing in ARMs, but all I know is I Can sleep at night. & I have locked in a low rate for the next 30 years, what can beat that?

The looks of wonder and amazement when I Was able to take not only the standard 12 weeks maternity leave (CA has disability pay for this time) but even another month or 2 even though my hubby doesn't work.

The jealousy that my hubby doesn't work.

I get the feeling that many around us have not put 2 and 2 together. The sacrifices have reaped the rewards.

So seeing those quotes just nailed it all on the head for me. We do really live like no one else it feels a lot of the time in all of our frugal choices. Yet I also get the feeling we live like no one else in our options. & as mary Hunt points out, I Feel that we are happier than the average joe blow as a result. I love my job, I feel like working part-time to support my family is an option down the road, and I guarantee, barring the unforeseen, that we will retire young.

Well, I joined this site because I need to get our finances back on track. I need the reality check of a community who is careful with their money, and savings & budget-oriented.

It is easy in our society to become very complacent. Looking at everyone with their fancy toys and debt up to their eyeballs, not a penny to their names. It is easy to feel like you are doing damn good in comparison to those around you.

Then you come to a site like this, see the super savers, and feel REALLY behind. But it is a good reality check. Just because we are doing better than average joe blow, really means squat.

My husband stopped working 4 years ago to stay home with our newborn son (now 3). He was actually laid off when I got pregnant so hence the 4 years. We now haver a new baby as well. WE had saved so much at that point - WAY ahead of the game at 25. We figured we would just try to get by on 1 income and then in a few years he would go back to work and we would save his entire paycheck again.

We were on a strict budget, but over time with raises we started enjoying certain luxuries. We didn't worry about saving for the long-term.

I just kind of woke up recently and started to worry that my hubby may not return to work soon, not ever. We were complacent about saving because we figure saving 100% of his income before and after was plenty. But being out of the workforce a few years, tax concerns, the nuances of working with kids, all that makes me wonder if it is worth him to go back to work anytime in the near future. & by the time it is time, will he be able to find a worthwhile job, having been out of the workforce so long?? Will my paycheck cover all of our needs by then? Maybe. So we are starting our savings strategy again with the assumption he will never work again. Not a FT 40-hour week anyway.

Anyway, I wish someone had smacked us and made us think about this a little more 4 years ago. LOL. We thought we had it all figured out, but maybe not so much. Looking back at the last 4 years, we could have invested better, we could have put $100/month away to start and built up from there. We could be so much further ahead.

Well, as far as our stats, we are both just about 30. We own a 500k house with a 200k mortgage. We have no other debt & close to 50k in retirement savings. We have 5k in other savings. That is where we lack and are trying to move forward. I would like to save up a good 30k as an emergency fund. It feels like it will take forever, but I will try.

Oh I lied, we bought a minivan and took a 5k personal loan. I owe 4k still and would like to pay it off by May. So we do have a little debt for the first time in our lives. It sucks - LOL. We could pay it off but interest is only 2-3% & I do not want to drain our savings right now, so we wait a few more months. This is what hangs over my head for now.

After years of buying extremely used cars ($1k here, $5k there), it is nice to have 2 relatively nice, new cars ($8k & $14k), but man it is a big chunk of change. The benfit I hope is to not need to replace them for a long while and repairs so far have been NIL. I thought we were redy to shell out a little more for the cars, but maybe not. Time will tell!! We bought hubby's car (the 8k one) quite a few years ago and from not working it has little miles and little wear and tear. It is worth it's weight in gold. I am just not so sure on the minivan as we paid far more than we have ever paid for a car. It stressed me out frankly. I have no idea how people do the new car trade-in every few years. ?????? I am sure it will work out, and I am glad it will be paid off very soon. That is for sure.