Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

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

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

ANYWAY...

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

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

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

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

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

BEFORE

AFTER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I saw this blog post today and could totally relate:

When Things are More than Things

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

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

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

NEXT payday I can pay off the Citi.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We got our couch sold today - $200.

Woohoo!

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

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

**$100**

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

**$75**

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

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

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

Guess we are easily up to $1000!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The plan?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

**New Furniture Ordered...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New living room furniture:

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

Did you get your free 8 x 10?

Coupon Code: FREE4ME

Today was a VERY accomplished day.

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

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

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Accomplishments of the Day:

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

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

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

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

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

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Today I also:

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

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

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

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

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

**I think the Chase closes in 2 days. We were thrown off by airfare refund, BUT I made a couple of donations and dh got gas and groceries, etc.

Today it hit me to just put the rest to a health insurance prepayment. (Not sure it will clear in time - DOH!). But I only needed about $130. I prepaid $150. Thus, we don't have to wait another month for our $500 reward. Might get it this week!!

**I decided now was the best time for the "Double Dip" attempt. Dh got an offer that expires next month. It's for a Citi card he applied for reward and closed - last year.

WE decided now was a good time since we have a few large purchases. We need to spend $3,000, and I am expecting a large MRI bill. We may also buy some airfare and/or some furniture. So, what the heck. At least I won't feel too put out if they give us trouble for double dipping. {I don't expect it will be a problem at all though, since Citi always bends over backwards for dh}.

Another $500 reward - woohoo!!

**I applied for a "one purchase - $150 cash reward" deal that I got in the mail.

They did not approve me online - said they would get back to me. !!! I don't see why I wouldn't be approved, but will see. I'd generally hold out for something bigger, BUT I have not applied for one reward this year. & it's nice that it is an easy one.

Fingers crossed!

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**When we are done with Citi, I still have my eye on one more reward that dh has not done yet. I will start keeping an eye out since the deals seem to come and go - will jump on it if I see a big offer. (Or maybe he will get a personal invitation one of these days? I think it is one he did 2-3 years ago?)

File this under *It never hurts to ask.*

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

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

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

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

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

Gah, what a crazy crazy week!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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**Cell Phone News:

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

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

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

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

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

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**Getting caught up:

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

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

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

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

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

So, Phew!!

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

Just been a wee bit crazy over here.

**I'll believe it when I see it, but supposedly we can get refunds from United, on our tickets.

Neither of us wants to go anywhere, at all, so will just take the refund. Makes it easy since we are both 100% on the same page. {We had decided even if $0 credit or refund, to just let it go. No point spending more money on something neither of us is remotely interested in}.

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**Dh's phone bit the dust, so we upgraded our cell phones and switched carriers. {Have had Verizon forever, and absolutely no issues with them ever, BUT, their data plans are just absurdly priced}.

In a perfect world, I would have wanted to wait another 6-18 months. But oh well! The world is not perfect!

We basically traded cable for smart phones.

We had made a conscious decision a while ago to not renew our contract with Verizon - knew we weren't sticking with them in the long run. So with a dead phone, just seemed like the path of least resistance.

I will tell you that I told dh to "talk to the hand" because he just got so illogical with the whole thing. "We *all* need to upgrade our phones - or I will die!" That about sums it up. But, when his phone was really dead, he came down to the level of logical. All we really needed to do was discuss numbers. We both talk numbers, and the numbers weren't bad. & to my defense, we are saving $400/month today that we weren't last year. SO yeah, I thought this was a horrible/stupid/expensive/wasteful thing 6 months ago. But today is totally different. & like I Said, once we could have a logical/not-hyper-emotional discussion on the subject, I Was okay with that.

Plus, dh OWES ME! That is for sure.

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Anyway, we are on a family plan with our folks, so I had a $700 charge for new phones. Which means we are done with the Sapphire, rather early and unexpectedly. I need to apply for another reward card! Soon!

Dh bought a $200 phone - mine was free (after rebate). My parents owe me some money back for their phone purchases.

I am still not sure on the monthly costs - depends on the taxes. We are going from $55/month to $95 or so. I think paying $20/month more per phone, for all we are getting, is reasonable. But I will still choke at that "$95" bill for a while. I suppose I already felt we were paying too much for cell service. I wouldn't be surprised if I felt I was getting a much better value in the end - at $95. Our old phones were so basic - primarily used for emergency. I know we will be saving some money with the phones, too. {Access to more coupons, etc. May never need to buy a camera or a GPS again. & the list goes on...}

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

**In other news, dh had his annual MRI yesterday.

Health insurer's usual MO is to charge about $50 up front, and then send a bill in a year or two. {Taking 1+ years to bill, I think is just ridiculous and annoying!}

SO, when he shows up they tell him the MRI is $1100 (expected). & how much can he pay? So he says, "How much do I have to pay?" They said nothing is required, but they prefer to receive money up front. Of course his reply is, "give me a discount, or tell me how much I *have to* pay - otherwise I will just wait for the bill."

But seriously, you want to be paid sooner? Send the bill sooner! Give an incentive to pay sooner! Give me a $5 discount, and I would have paid yesterday. Doesn't have to be much.

I need to apply for a new credit card reward, anyway. This bill will go a long ways to a nice reward, if I ever receive the bill.

Time for a lazy weekend at home!!

Survived the deadlines. Next week should be markedly more relaxed.

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

I haven't given up sharing expenses (I *always* track them). It's just it has been a little spendy. It is much easier to post zero, zero, zero. Easier than to figure out what we have been spending.

I don't remember what we ate all week. We got some corn on the cob and pistachios on sale though. YUM! I remember eating those...

April 28:

$50 Donation to Grandma's favorite charity (in lieu of flowers)
??? School Fundraiser today - will drop $20-$40 on food. GOOD FOOD, and we talked my folks into coming up. My dad will be in heaven. We get great home-made food from around the world. Dh made $50 this past week on Craigslist sales, and so we will just use that money. It is not coming out of budget.

April 27:
$57 Target (Groceries - needed cat food and granola bars, and not sure what else dh bought).

April 26:
-0-

April 25:
$2 soda
$5 flowers for Admin (Admin Appreciation Day)
$10 lunch out (we treated Admin, others would not let me pay my fair share.) Every time I eat out with everyone we just quibble over who paid *too much* and then leave a giant tip. I guess I am blessed to not have much experience in the other direction. I put in $15 and someone tried to make me take $10 back. I said, "I'll take $5 back, but I am not going to only pay $5 for lunch!" It's the same way with our friends.

April 24:
$4 snacks

April 23:
$34 Gas for gas sipper
$4 lunch

April 22:
$9 Gas (just enough to get home)
$11 BK Lunch (kids and I)
$2.50 donuts (kids and I)
$5 Dinner
**Kids and I had a beach day**
Tired after a long drive/weekend, we used up a Subway gift card someone had given me. Spent $5 on a $15 dinner. IF not for the gift card, I think we would have just eaten at home.

Since I last posted - just a boring/usual week of gas and groceries.

Saturday we went to a birthday party for lunch, and the in-laws ordered in Thai food for dinner. Hence, a small grocery run this week - but we ate VERY well.

April 21:
$35 Gas

April 20:
-0-

April 19:
$60 Groceries

April 18:
$32 gourmet lunch for two
Dinner: leftovers

April 17:
-0-
Dinner: Crockpot Golombki (stuffed cabbage)

April 16:
-0-
Dinner: leftovers

April 15:
Groceries: $9.62
Dinner: Sweet & Spicy Salmon, garlic butter rice

**I did get my $250 Amazon redeemed. Woohoo!

I should have just bought my Quicken with these rewards, but I was not 100% sure they would come through this month. The points were there Saturday and I redeemed them last night.

I will pay off the credit card next paycheck, and close it shortly thereafter.

**We are still working on spending on Chase. Up to $2300 of $3000. I figure we will be done around 5/31.

**Mid-May I will try the Citi double dip. Or I may wait until we get dh's MRI bill. He has an MRI scheduled in May, but we often don't get billed for many months. I figure that bill will help immensely on our next reward. If the Citi double dip does not work, AmEx Gold is next on the list.

**I still need to apply for my $150 reward. No other offers have popped up in the mean time, so I will probably apply this week.

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

**Reminds me, we had a couple of free options for lodging in Denver, but this weekend we confirmed the nicer option (studio suite with MIL's vacation points). Phew!! More driving for us. We could have stayed free with Grandma, but she has been a little confused, and I Wasn't 100% sure if she would get it set up correctly. I was worrying about showing up with no place to stay. She tells me the bed is terrible (they have rooms for guests at her retirement home), but I didn't really give a flip if it was free. BUT since this is free too, I think it will work out better.

Our airfare and car rental will probably be covered with rewards, so this is working out much better than expected.

**I just checked the weather because we went to the beach yesterday. It was supposed to be a record 80 degrees (it was 90 on Saturday!!), but it was foggy and cold. We tried to wait it out a bit but gave up around 1:00 when it felt like it was just getting colder and foggier. I just checked and it was a whopping 59 yesterday. Well, we tried. I was just stoked we'd be at the beach on such a nice day. But I felt better to see that the sun never came out. At least we didn't just miss it with our impatience.

Anyway, we had fun anyway and we found a jellyfish on the beach. How cool is that??? {I had no idea jelly fish were around - that is good to know. Yikes!!}

**We had a very vacation-y weekend with our folks. Went down for a birthday party, spent the day in the in-laws' pool (aaaahhhhhh) and hit the beach Sunday.

**Got a $80 refund from old mortgage holder, and so added it to the May mortgage payment. A nice mortgage chip!

**Weather is crazy - we ended up turning on the A/C yesterday. HOT!! The thing is it has been freezing cold and we probably ran the heat far more than a normal April. So to turn around and turn on the A/C in April =

To be fair, only turned it on a few minutes so the upstairs was bearable for bed, but is a few minutes more than should be used in April. I don't know if this means we can take the blankets off the bed and turn down the hot water. Probably too soon... Feels like summer though.

**I'll have to get to the spending later, but there hasn't been anything but gas and groceries and some gifts. Details later...

**First weekend off in ages. I will definitely enjoy! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Yesterday was no-spend.

I saw a charge at the grocery store and wondered what on earth dh bought. Then I remembered he sold some games on amazon. The charge was postage. I am skipping it since it was money spent to make money.

Interestingly, the focus groups and online sales (primary source of other income) have been SO DRY lately. But DRY while the credit card rewards abound. So I guess I am okay with that!

Anyway, dh finally sold that stroller for $30 (he was tenacious in listing it several times - the spring brought a buyer). I would have given up ages ago and just given it away, myself. {It wasn't even our stroller - it was MIL's - she gives us her stuff to sell and keep the money}. HE also sold a few games on amazon. Since I just transferred so much money to savings, I told him to keep the $30. (HE might use to invest in game systems to sell). When the amazon money hits the bank I might add it to the mortgage. Would be the first mortgage chip of the year, I believe. We haven't gotten chips like this in a while...

FINALLY got reservations at the cooking school for $10 gourmet lunch. I was trying to get reservations to meet a friend, but dh was very jealous. SO, I am meeting him today. Will be $20 spent. Next week I will try again for future reservations with friend. Decided to push off to next month since dh is my backup plan if she can't make it. (&I don't want to be stuck paying $20 again next week). The times are limited, is the only thing. I am exhausted trying to work around everyone's schedule. It usually works okay - friends that I do meet for lunch fairly often. Narrow down the times to a couple of hours in one week though, and then it becomes impossible. The thing is I would go more often if I could make it a $10 lunch versus $20. Lunch dates with dh are nice, but twice as expensive as lunch dates with girlfriends. Plus, girl time is nice!

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

Daily Spending:

April 18:
$32 gourmet lunch for two
Dinner: leftovers

April 17:
-0-
Dinner: Crockpot Golombki (stuffed cabbage)

April 16:
-0-
Dinner: leftovers

April 15:
Groceries: $9.62
Dinner: Sweet & Spicy Salmon, garlic butter rice

I believe today was a NSD for the entire household.

Guess what? Dh got another Citi offer! Surprise surprise. {It's like offer #100 this year}. IT's same as last one - nothing new. ??? But since it is a $500 reward, I have it next on the peripheral. It will be our first double dip. We just got sidetracked by the Chase Sapphire - still got some spending to do on that one. But the offer I got today expires in 2 months. So if nothing better comes along, might try it in late May.

I got my salmon!

It was $8.99 per pound (good price) and I got 1.11 pounds for $9.89. So it ended up being 100% free (with $10-off coupon).

I also bought eggs and bananas (breakfast staples for moi).

& I was checking the online coupons and found a coupon for 88-cents per frozen pizza - Celeste brand. These are *really* good. I will keep them at work. Anyway, so I got five pizzas for $4.40.

April 15:
Groceries: $9.62
Dinner: Sweet & Spicy Salmon, garlic butter rice

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

We try to slowly increase our culinary capabilities by just adding new skills - slowly over time. This week I am working on sweet potatoes. We seem to eat them all the time (out, etc.), but I have never bought one or baked or cooked a sweet potato.

SO, "frugal foodie/rob" had an interesting recipe recently, and I asked dh to pick up some sweet potatoes. He picked up a whole bag. I dug around online and found a very simple recipe for baked potato wedges (took me a while to weed through the "pile on tons of sugar recipes" - which are good,but now what I am interested in for our regular diet!). I also found a recipe for sweet potato hash. Says "good with salmon" but I didn't want to cook all day. But maybe will make some time this week.

I also looked for a new rice side dish and found garlic butter rice. I will link/share these recipes once I try them.

The kids and I are going to enjoy the gorgeous weather today, and then I will be cooking this afternoon.

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

This next week is going to be a BIG crunch week at work. Got tons of other deadlines (post tax day) coming up and dh has plans in San Jose next weekend. Unfortunately they have plans early Saturday and late Sunday, so it is an *all weekend* thing. I can't go unless I make huge progress at work this week. If I can swing it, the kids and I will go to the beach on Sunday. That makes me *very* motivated!

That said, if I am stuck with a quiet weekend at home, that won't be so bad either. I will survive. (I shouldn't have to work that much next weekend!)

Wrapping up the spending for the week:

Dh made dinner last night, but the kids and I had a hankering for pizza. So we ordered pizza in - and had a little of both. Yum! We picked up the Colombo garlic bread at the store - take and bake - it is divine.

Friday night we got our Denver travel arrangements set. I was initially planning to buy tickets at about $450. They went up a little bit with procrastination and went up significantly the past 2-3 days while we sorted out logistics. Ugh! Final price $570. Figured I'd just buy them before they get worse. {Interestingly, about what we paid last time - per Quicken}. Now I know not to dilly dally when I see $225 per ticket... Though I can't help the complication of the logistics. In fact, *now* MIL says she is busy the first 2 days, "But can't your folks just take them?" Um no? That is why we asked YOU? I won't sweat it because dh's sister, cousin, Grandma or aunt can help cover. I never would ask my parents to watch the kids for a few days, unless I was desperate. They are just not up to it. But they may be able to help in some regard - I just don't want the kids dumped on them for 24-48 hours. Of course they would love to see them for a bit. Anyway, will see! {In comparison, MIL usually sends us off on trips specifically so she can watch the kids - because we don't need enough babysitting for her liking - }.

April 14:
Round Table Pizza $15 ($5-off coupon)
Garlic Bread & Soda $5 (grocery store)
Dinner: Pizza & Garlic Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes

April 13:
$570 Airfare Denver (x2)
$10 B-Day gift for child
$67 Fuel for minivan
$117 Groceries
Dinner: Baked Spaghetti

April 12:
$4 snacks
Dinner: Stuffed Baked Potatoes


April 11:
$18 Gas for gas sipper (for reward)
Dinner: Leftovers

April 10:
-0-
Dinner: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

April 9:
$4 lunch (favorite sandwich on special - lasts 2 days)
$8 Post-Easter sale (candy, egg decorating supplies)
$29 Dinner (had a $10-off coupon, from mail)
$33 Target (groceries, Easter stock up, champagne)
Dinner: Out

April 8:
-0-
Dinner: Leftovers

I pretty much ran the van tank to "empty" and figured I wouldn't drive it again until next week. But Dh had a lot of driving to do yesterday, so I figured I would just fill it up and drive it to work. So I get to the gas station ($3.84/gallon!) and the gas station is totally taped off.

I just drove to work (a few miles) and figure I'd look up another station, or hope it was open later. (I seem to recall this happening before). So, at work I looked up the nearest gas station (I have a coupon) and apparently there are none others in this city. It took me forever to find a list of locations, as is. Later the subject came up with co-worker and she told me there was one by her home (either not on the list, or I missed it), BUT that they get 50 cents off per gallon. What the heck??? We only get 25-cents off per gallon when we shop at our grocery store. Anyway, the math doesn't make sense to shop 20-ish miles away, BUT I will keep an eye out on other grocery stores closer to home. Maybe there is one close to home that offers better gas rewards.

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

BM had a birthday party to attend, happened to be right down the street from my office. Dh also called me to inform me the gas station was open when he went grocery shopping. SO, he dropped BM off at the party, after he ran all his errands, and stopped by my office to switch vehicles. He drove home and filled up the van with gas.

I picked up BM after the party, and he got to help me at work for a couple of hours. So, saved lots of gas $$ today. I was considering getting 1-2 gallons at the Chevron by my office ($4.13/gallon) and just filling up next week. But I am glad the gas station closure was *very* temporary.

Anyway, I am glad life isn't usually so complicated! Just felt like a lot of jugging today.

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

Spending is below... Dh did a grocery run. LookingForward was asking about what we buy, as far as groceries. I personally find it hard to relay our shopping habits to others, maybe because that is dh's duty (I am not much involved). But, I do know from talking to other people around here that we keep our grocery bills very low. That said, it seems everyone shops for very different things. So I just know what works for us - I don't have any feeling that what works for us would work for anyone else. Unless they wanted to adapt an identical diet and live in the same neighborhood. But our primary strategy is just to shop around the sales (not much into the coupon thing). Whatever is on sale, we are cooking that week...

**Dh got a deal on ice cream drumsticks. On sale $3/each, and he had a $1-off coupon.

**Picked up some bread, but I usually primarily buy that at the bread store (which is dirt cheap)

**WE usually buy generic cereal at Target, but it was on sale for $2/box, so dh stocked up. All generic.

**Other sales: Apple juice, apple sauce, canned chilis, cat food, chicken broth, pickles, instant mashed potatoes, yogurt, ground beef, sausage, potatoes, onions, squash, canned soup, and string cheese.

**Full price purchases: Pasta, cream, cottage cheese, milk, celery, lettuce, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and mozarella cheese.

Sunday I will run to the store for salmon, eggs and bananas. (Dh doesn't eat eggs or bananas, and I Forgot to add them to the list - will run out of both this weekend).

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

This is not a completely fair representation of our eating. I am kind of laughing at the one-sidedness of this shopping trip.

So I pulled out last week's receipt, for full disclosure:

chili sauce, beef gravy, brownie mix, Hot Pockets, muffin mix, ramen, peppers, horse radish, wheat thins, beans, eggs, spinach, peanuts, barley, tomatoes, *foil*, sour cream, yogurt, OJ, Beef Stew meat, hamburger, bananas, lettuce, apples, several varieties of onions, onion dip, bacon, cream cheese.

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

April 13:
$10 B-Day gift for child
$65? Fuel for minivan
$117 Groceries
Dinner: Baked Spaghetti

April 12:
$4 snacks
Dinner: Stuffed Baked Potatoes


April 11:
$18 Gas for gas sipper (for reward)
Dinner: Leftovers

April 10:
-0-
Dinner: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

April 9:
$4 lunch (favorite sandwich on special - lasts 2 days)
$8 Post-Easter sale (candy, egg decorating supplies)
$29 Dinner (had a $10-off coupon, from mail)
$33 Target (groceries, Easter stock up, champagne)
Dinner: Out

April 8:
-0-
Dinner: Leftovers

It's funny, because I was thinking it had been a while since we got a $10-off coupon at our grocery store, and the last time I bought fresh salmon I used said coupon.

So, dh was just telling me he was shopping tomorrow. I looked up the ads online, and it was "Spend $75, get $10 off your next purchase."

Woohoo! Salmon it is, and it will be FREE!

I had already decided earlier in the week that I Was going to make a nice salmon dinner on Sunday. So, weird that it just happened to be a coupon weekend.

I am not 100% sure how often they run these promotions since we seem to miss them at times. We really need to plan all our shopping around the weekends - these deals are always Fri, Sat, Sun. I'd hate to think we would ever miss a $10-off deal (we regularly spend $100, every week or so - meaning if they did these every single week they would be easy to take advantage of).

As predicted, just spent a few dollars filling up dh's gas tank before drive to pick up kids. Yesterday. Credit card reward earned!

Dh/Internet company has still not figured out the whole login thing, BUT I clicked the wrong link on a whim (Was in the e-mail) and was able to log in. Dh pointed out I clicked on the "business customer" link. Well, maybe that is the problem! All I know if I can see bills, pay them, and that they take AmEx. Score! We will start saving $3.50/month with statement credit and 3% reward from AmEx.

Today I told the kids I would run by Walgreens and check the super-clearance Easter stuff (they were enticed by some of the decoration kits I saw but didn't get). I told them they were probably gone, but might be 80% off at this point, so I will look. I will probably grab a snack for the long work week, if I stop there. Dh says he needs to do a grocery run the next couple of days. He has been on a Friday schedule lately because there have been so many "Spend $100, get $10 off" promotions. Which sometimes we miss the ads. So it's just a good habit to shop Fridays and be pleasantly surprised. I don't think they are running the special this week, but would be nice because I wanted to pick up some fresh salmon Sunday. That is the splurge of the week that I am looking forward to. {I think last time I bought salmon, it was almost free with the $10 coupon}.

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

April 11:
$15? Gas for gas sipper (for reward)
Dinner: Leftovers

April 10:
-0-
Dinner: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

April 9:
$4 lunch (favorite sandwich on special - lasts 2 days)
$8 Post-Easter sale (candy, egg decorating supplies)
$29 Dinner (had a $10-off coupon, from mail)
$33 Target (groceries, Easter stock up, champagne)
Dinner: Out

April 8:
-0-
Dinner: Leftovers

No spending yesterday - see below.

I was missing my $8 Walgreens charge and finally found it on the Citi card (it posted today). Funny thing is I don't remember using it. Anyway, so we are $4 short of our $2000 spending goal. Dh said he would just fill up his car today - I think it only needs a few gallons. So that should do it! {Dh is driving 100-ish miles, round trip, to pick up the kids today - so will gas up first - just to get the Citi card retired}.

It's just every penny over $4 could be working towards *another* reward!

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

On the Chase Sapphire, spending to $3000 limit as follows:

$400 professional dues (I didn't include below because employer will reimburse - not out of pocket for me).
$500 airfare?**
$800 Health Insurance for May
$1300 gas/groceries (rest of April + May)

We have 3 months, but I'd like to get reward as soon as possible. By end of May? I will pre-pay June health insurance if the airfare thing falls through.

Another potential charge is increased life insurance, if it goes through. My long-term insurance is due this month, but I don't think I can charge it. I will call to make sure. That could be another $500.

**On the airfare, the prices went up a bit and we were back to "trip planning hell." I personally just have no patience for things that are overly complicated! I finally found decent dates/airfare in early June. We finally found a date MIL could watch the kids. I would have bought the air tickets yesterday, but we couldn't get ahold of my Grandma (which in turn had us all worried). Hopefully we can sort that out today. She's kind of crochety so I worry after all this she will tell us not to come, or something like that. I'd like to buy the airfare today...

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

Speaking of overly complicated? *Still* trying to get our internet bill set up online.

As is, dh was on the phone with them all day yesterday. HE still can not log in (I have never had so much trouble getting an online account for *any* service or bill). But he proudly told me he got us set up for online billing. We made this extra effort to finally get this set up, since they will charge $2/less per month, "indefinitely." (Until they change their mind? )

All I can say is: Wait, so our bills are going to an imaginary online account that I can not access? Way to go dh! {He seems to have much more optimism that we will ever get this sorted out. I am just aggravated!}.

If we do get this set up, and if we can pay with AmEx, we will also be saving about $1.50/month, with our rewards. So, this is a potential $3.50/month savings. Will be well worth it in the long run.


**Is it ironic that our internet company seems in the *dark ages* with this online account thing???**

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

April 10:
-0-
Dinner: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

April 9:
$4 lunch (favorite sandwich on special - lasts 2 days)
$8 Post-Easter sale (candy, egg decorating supplies)
$29 Dinner (had a $10-off coupon, from mail)
$33 Target (groceries, Easter stock up, champagne)
Dinner: Out

April 8:
-0-
Dinner: Leftovers

Easter Day was "spendy" in a sense, though we didn't spend any money. Dh took his cousin and the kids to San Jose. They would have been fine in the gas sipper, but cousin has some medical problems and I suggested the van for his comfort. I've been trying to just fill it up every 15 days, but it will definitely be sooner now. Plus, dh will have to go back to pick up the kids later in the week (at least will meet half way for that exchange).

I am sure they feasted well on Sunday though. & MIL feeding the kids a few days saves me a fortune! So maybe it evens out...

I skipped Easter. Had a bit of a tummy bug last week (Wasn't up to all the food), and just wasn't in much of an Easter mood the week before April 15th! Though I ended up mostly sleeping and not doing much, but I suppose I can say I am well rested for the final tax push.

Maybe because of the April date, but I am not much into Easter. BUT, I just happened to be boiling eggs for the week and asked the kids if they wanted to color eggs. I don't remember the last time (if ever) we did that. I found some of those plastic shrinky dink egg wraps (laying around from years past) and the kids had a *blast* with those, so I decided to hit Walgreens yesterday a.m. to grab some future egg decorating supplies. I also stocked up for some candy to keep at work. Not that I eat it every day, but it's nice to have some sugar when needed.

Dh and I had a nice dinner date. After which we went by Target to stock up on soda for work. While there, dh grabbed some groceries, and I grabbed some more candy and egg stuff. All Easter stuff I got yesterday was 50% off. {Around here, if I wait any longer, there is nothing good left - I was surprised I found as much as I did at Target since the day was almost over}. Oh, and I grabbed a bottle of champagne, to toast the nearing end of tax season.

I don't know what dh's plans are for today, but I am not planning to spend a penny. Tonight we have a nice date of champagne and "Game of Thrones." Dh got the first two episodes from his dad.

As far as this week, doing a *big* push at work. As always, I don't have that many tax clients and not overly feeling the 4/15 pinch, but it is my last week to earn OT for the year and I want to take advantage and beef up my OT as much as possible. {In addition, I have several 4/30 and May deadlines - what is stressing me out a little more at the moment. But the more I get done this week, the less likely I will have to work any more weekends after the 15th. Woohoo!} Of course, all that working means I don't really see spending any more money this week.

April 9:
$4 lunch (favorite sandwich on special - lasts 2 days)
$8 Post-Easter sale (candy, egg decorating supplies)
$29 Dinner (had a $10-off coupon, from mail)
$33 Target (groceries, Easter stock up, champagne)
Dinner: Out

April 8:
-0-
Dinner: Leftovers

I've only redeemed $150 so far this year ($50/month average on our regular American Express - the money goes into my ROTH).

But we've got a few things in the works to pass the $1,000 mark, so I figure I would tally them up:

$250 reward Citi (should receive reward in a couple of weeks)
$500 reward Chase (just started - will take some time)
$150 reward card for me (if nothing better comes along)
$150 redeemed American Express
-----
$1050 TOTAL Expected, 2012

Of course, the year is young, so who knows what else the year will bring.

On the $250, will just redeem for Amazon gift cards.

On the $500, I would like to use it to pay for our Denver airfare. We are right now looking at a June trip. Will probably fund the trip from OT or savings, and put it back to savings once we get the rewards.

The $150 reward I am looking at is a "statement credit," so it could pay for $150 of health insurance. Would be the easiest way to handle it.

As I mentioned, the other $150 is in my ROTH.

& in addition to that, we still get 1% cash back on our regular visa, and 5% off Target card purchases. The AmEx retirement card is 3% back on all purchases. {I've got a couple of utility/auto pay bills going to our regular Visa and AmEx that I haven't bothered to change at all with all these one-time cards. So will still earn rewards on those, though directing most charges to the one-time reward cards}.