Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

**Just paid off dh's Southwest Chase rewards. Just waiting for the rewards to show up so we can redeem $250 in Amazon gift cards. Mine took a few days, so I will just keep checking.

**Earned $50 on Fidelity AmEx this month. We had switched back to it mid-August for ongoing rewards. With vacation and all, it's possible we will earn another $50 in October. These rewards go straight into my ROTH.

**I got my new Citi Card. Plan is to charge 2 months of health insurance. I might just pay ahead this month so I can kill this card sooner. That and about one tank of gas on the minivan should do it. Hope to earn those rewards by the end of the month.

**I plan to send an e-mail to Chase Monday to close all my accounts with them. DONE!

**Dh needs to call Citi and also to close two Chase cards. His rewards are all earned! I will wait until we get these Amazon gift cards in hand, first. I suppose he can call Citi next week and then we can e-mail Chase when we get our reward. Heck, can probably e-mail Citi, but I probably don't remember the login at this point. So many to keep track of!

I had personally wanted to get approved by Citi before I closed all my one-time rewards cards. That is done, so I can move on.

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Officially Received, between 1/1/11 and 10/10/11:

$1230 cash (Chase Sapphire $1030 + Chase Frdm $200)
$1265 gift cards (Citi $500 + SW $515 + SW $250)
$ 400 deposit to ROTH (Fidelity Am Ex)
-$99 annual fee (SW card)
-$69 Fee (SW card)
-$23 lost value for exchanging some Citi gift cards for cash and amazon gift cards
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$2704 TOTAL

**Still expecting $300 gift cards from Citi - should be able to redeem in November. One or two more AmEx $50 redemptions will ensure we hit $3,000 by 12/31/11. I am also expecting 1% cash back on our regular visa (for places that don't take AmEx). That may be another $35 or so, cash.**

***Both dh and I applied for 3 cards each for one-time rewards, so far this year. Our regular AmEx is 2% cash back on all purchases, and our regular visa is 1% cash back.***

I'll take a guess and say we ended up around $950. We had $700 to spend, plus can maybe squeeze $200 from the regular gas and grocery budget, so not bad. It seemed were we spending less than planned, so I didn't bother keeping track. (But yeesh, it does add up fast!).

Pictures and costs later.

Monday we drove down and thus started the theme to our "be flexible" vacation. We left around 8:30 with a 3:00 ETA. We were planning to stop about half way for a picnic at a rest stop, but the one we had aimed for was CLOSED. Oy vey! I quickly put in parks/gardens, etc. into the GPS but we were simply in the middle of nowhere. Certainly nothing the GPS could help us find. We settled for Jack-in-the-box parking lot because it was like the first place we saw. While eating and looking at their window ads, I said we should probably get some ice cream so we could get out and stretch. (There was just really no where to get out and walk around - just streets and busy parking lots). Dh happened to have a $10 gift card (credit card reward - VERY random) and so we went inside and got more food for free.

OF course LA traffic sucked, so we arrived about 4pm. Which was fine - hotel check in 4pm.

Nice surprise - didn't have to pay for parking. MIL had changed her timeshare thing to "elite" and though I expected to pay a chunk of change for their parking fee, I was excited that it was $0.

We had stayed at this hotel before, and it is just a few blocks from Disneyland. I REALLY wanted to go to Disneyland. Their night event we could have prepaid $200 for, but seemed pretty iffy to do so with such a big drive. But once we were there I REALLY wanted to go. I think dh thought I was a little crazy, but he obliged. We walked over to see if we could even get tickets. IT was about 5pm and we were in luck. IF the place was crowded it was going to suck, but if empty I knew we would have a blast. So we took the risk.

$240 and we were in! (All day would have cost $300+).

There were no lines and we rode several rides twice. The Toon Town was closed and the FantasyLand was crammed with kids. By the time we made it back they had shut down FantasyLand. But other than that, we did all the rides we wanted to. LM and I were pretty exhausted by 10:00 though we had one more hour. We decided we did well and started to make our way out.

We were in the park but 5 minutes when we ran into other families from school. Too funny! Actually, several people asked us if we went to the school because we looked familiar. We didn't see anyone *we* really knew. Lord knows why we stand out so much. LOL. We thought it would be likely since many people were going down, but not the second we got there. Maybe because it was so empty. We didn't see anyone else all week but the same people near the restaurants, etc.

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Day 2 was our low key day. We slept in and went over to the La Brea tar pits and their museum. I don't think I have ever been and it was SO COOL! We got interviewed for a TV show. IT was definitely the LA experience.

We met dh's friend at a hot dog place called Vicious Dogs. Dh had heard about it, but it is not well known at all. I highly recommend if you are in the area. We had to try their bacon wrapped hot dogs. YUM.

This is near Hollywood, so we did the Hollywood thing and went to the Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theater, and the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. We have one in SF and we have certainly been, but the kids never had.

We drove by LA Ink since it was right by the big tourist trap. I am glad we did. I wouldn't have gone out of the way or anything, but the place looked so TINY. The building is actually on the corner, and it was kind of fun to see how TV pretties things up and makes them look different. IT looks like this tiny little crappy building on the corner. To top it off I just happened to see Kat's brother walking down the street towards the building.

IT was only Tuesday and I Was already sick of crappy food and restaurant food in general. I just wanted a giant salad, so we seeked out Sizzler. Thankfully it had a really nice salad bar. (In Sacramento we have a newer "luxury" Sizzler and it is DIVINE. This one was close enough - the salad bar did compare).

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Wednesday was supposed to be a full day at Disney OR California Adventure (or both). We hadn't decided, but Tuesday night BM's cough was acting up (he hasn't had any signs of asthma in like a YEAR, but of course I Didn't bring his inhaler and he started getting that usual cough). Forecast called for rain so we were felling pretty iffy on a big Disney day.

We decided Wednesday morning to skip it. IT was COLD and pouring down rain. Forescast called for rain ALL DAY.

I can't say I Was too upset. Disney was kind of a side/on a whim thing, and we had covered that on a discount. So, I was satisfied.

Dh had seen some signs for a dinosaur exhibit at some museum. So we decided to go to some famous donut place for breakfast and hit the museum.

http://www.nhm.org/site/

This was SO the highlight of our trip. The museum was incredible. I have been to several museums and this was by far the best museum I have ever been to in the States. They had these interactive computers everywhere and the most amazing dinosaur display (among other things). We thought we might go for a little while, but had to be kicked out at 5pm pretty much. They are serious about their 5pm closing!

For dinner we checked out a newer area closer to our hotel (Wasn't there last time). They had all the big name restaurant chains and the lines were out the door. We settled for Indian food because no one was there. We spent $70 on dinner. I was annoyed because I just wanted some supermarket fare (deli sandwich?) but dh wanted "real food."

Mental note - close walking distance is good, but unless you get there early and want to spend a lot of money, don't bother! They were all pricey chains, otherwise.

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Thursday we did LegoLand. The 7 hours that they were open was not enough. Last time we really had the impression that it was a *little kid* place, but the kids were definitely not bored. They have tons of stuff for older kids too. I wouldn't pay full price again probably, but we got in for $160 (the kids were free).

For dinner, we met up with friends and they treated. WE had a divine Thai feast (a restaurant by our hotel that we had found last time). YUM!

That night BM hit his head by the pool and we spent a couple of hours going to emergency, etc. HE is totally fine. QUITE the black eye, though.

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Yesterday we slept in and checked out the last minute possible (10am). WE can do late check out with MIL's timeshare *elite* status, but we wanted to get going on the long drive. The kids wanted McDonalds for lunch (we let BM choose in his black eye state) and we got home around 6pm. We had to stop by the grocery store for bread, so we picked up some sushi too. We decided to have hot pockets, ramen noodles and sushi for dinner. Don't ask. It was both quick and cheap. LOL.

Today we get to eat REAL food again. Oh, I am so ready for good home cooking.

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We did so good on gas. On the way down we had cringed at gas prices, so were pleases when we found $4.04 per gallon in the middle of nowhere, just before the last stretch. BUT, right after we filled up dh spotted $3.75. !!!

So, on the way back we stopped and filled up for $3.75, which had also been the price by our hotel. For reference, that is the same price as at home. Dh thought I was crazy and we were fighting about it. "Why would you fill up there? We've only been driving 2 hours." Um, so we can fill up at home again and skip all the $4+ gas. Geez Louise. For reference, he is like the cheapest person I know. But he was really annoyed I stopped so early for gas. I had to pee anyway, so was stopping regardless! All I have to say is I am writing down the place and it is the only place *I* will ever stop for gas again between here and LA. I need to remember! We could have easily paid $4.30 or so anywhere else along the way.

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Overall the trip was a pretty good success but I am SO HAPPY to be HOME and sleeping in my own bed. Home Sweet Home! Neither dh nor I really care *that much* for travel. LA has some cool stuff, sure, but I was sure sick of all the traffic and smog. & no bed compares to my bed. I just never sleep as well anywhere else. & we tire so quickly of all that eating out! Our bodies are just used to much better food.

I didn't finish my book yet, but got to the big *shocking twist.* Thing is there was so much talk about it, that I figured what was the worst that could happen? So, when I got to that point (this morning), I was rather unimpressed. "That's it? Like I couldn't see that from a mile away!"

No - actually - it's the only thing in this cray series that I did predict. But yeah, I suppose I was expecting some crazy twist. It's one of those things everyone is talking so much about, I figured it would be something bigger and crazier. I was literally like, "Is that it?" But without any warning, my dh was having a much harder time believing that it was really the end for the character. Which made me believe that it probably is. (But who knows).

I believe I have 40 pages left and lord knows when I will finish.

Of course, a third library book became available today. I've been in line forever, and then become available at once. BUT, at least this one gave me a little more space.

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Yeah, I give up on this site this week. That is all I have to update at the moment - I saw the site is up and working now. I've been very busy, so no withdrawals. Phew.

I didn't get very far yesterday. Really wanted to make it to page 900, but couldn't keep my eyes open. I didn't get a chance to read until very late.

Busy busy busy yesterday. Today won't be much better, but I may be able to finish the book tonight?

I went to the pet store to get doggy training pads (idea from MIL) to put around the cat litter boxes. The kids and I fell in love with a cute kitten there. I've often taken the kids to the pet store just to look at fish, etc. & they often have cat or dog adoptions there. BUT, yesterday was just sad. I have never seen so many cats there. Maybe 20 cats? + a small cage with 5 kittens. *sigh* I am sure it is the economy and all.

OF course, dh and I had already decided that we no longer wanted any pets again. But the kitties were pulling at my heart strings. Considering dh does not care for cats, and that is the only pet we have had, I don't think it matters. If we agree to get a pet it will be a dog. I don't care for dogs (& would be even MORE work)!

Anyway, if it was just me, apparently my resolve to not have another pet is not very strong. I wonder if I could talk him into a kitty again? Actually, I think I just don't want a dog. But, we are in the *old kitty* stage and it is not the most carefree. It's going to be hard to enjoy our vacation, for one. I'll be worried about her - the stress when we leave is never good for her health.

Obviously the kids would love a kitten, but I don't think I could go that route either. I'd happily rescue a declawed non-kitten again. It's the only way I could really get my dh on board in the first place. Though I would never declaw a cat, I admit we have become spoiled having one.

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Anyway, so yeah, we bought doggy training pads there. Ran to the grocery store for a couple of items. I dropped off the kids an then ran to Kohls and filled up the car with gas. I spent $20 on earrings. I really just wanted to pick up a specific sweater (another color from the one I got and LOVE) but of course those were all gone. Bah! I tried on a bunch of stuff that didn't fit well, and so settled on 3 pairs of earrings. I had $10 off and 15% off - spent about $20. Was a nice splurge.

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Vacation plans are very topsy turvy. I had told dh and the kids a million times that this was the LAST trip to Legoland for a long time, because it is such a little kid place. Apparently no one truly believed me or was listening. Yesterday dh looked it up and decided we shouldn't even bother - the kids are too big for the most of it. After talking them into 2 days at Disney/California Adventure (was surprisingly easy, considering the whole reason we were going was because they REALLY wanted to go to Legoland). After that we decided to look at the price of 2-days at Disney/California Adventure. Holy Crap! (NO discount for second day. Total would be about $600). & the park hopper cost more. I'd personally rather do 1.5 days Disney and 1/2 day California Adventure, but that cost even MORE.

We are going to Lego Land. IT cost about the same honestly (which seems like a rip since it's no DISNEY), BUT we have two free tickets for Legoland. With gas, parking and everything, we still come out $100 ahead. & Legoland is certainly cool.

Hmmmm. Maybe we should have looked at the price before we told the kids. Oh well! I think we will have a nice time. Now we have to convince them back the other way.

It turns out that the Observatory is closed the days we are free. We could always stop there on the way home, but doubt we will. More plans change.

We decided to spend one day doing the really touristy thing.

By the time we got all our plans settled, dh was like, "We should have planned a bigger trip." I had to remind him that a small side trip was what our budget allowed, but if we didn't want to do anything but a BIG Disney trip next year, we could plan for that. OF course, then he told me he rather go to Disney World. With no airfare, Disneyland is infinitely easier for the budget - even if we went there all week or something. I suppose all else being equal we could discuss that, BUT I rather just wait for MIL to invite us again. She seems uber generous lately. (His Grandpa lives in Florida so there is a large element of wanting to see him again - it's not just the Disney thing). Our one-income vacation budget does not have room for airfare for 4 to Florida, that is for sure.

I made it to page 750 in Dance With Dragons, last night.

About 50 pages behind schedule. Was hoping to have only 200 pages today to finish it.

I am not sure how, but dh got a copy of the Sookie book from the library yesterday. At some point I signed up with his library card, but I thought it was last week and it had taken 3-4 months to get it. Now I am wondering if I had requested that way back too, as a backup (with his card). Phew!

I don't see why I won't finish Game of Thrones by next weekend (worst case) and then gives me 2 weeks to read that little 200-page book. Yay!

I should probably go request book 3 & 4 in the series, now, while thinking about that one. Book 2 is available - both dh and I have a copy right now. I need to read book 1, first. But, Book 2 is apparently easy to get. (Which may not bode well for the series, but later books had longer waitlists - I may have already requested some. So, I don't think it's a case of no one wants to read book 2).

Okay, this series thing is hard with the library!

I am on track to have read 15 books this year already. Since 4 of those were 1000+ pages, that is the equivalent to more like 20 books. I haven't read this much since I was a kid, pretty much. Totally loving the ebook technology.

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I didn't turn on the air yesterday, but I did turn on a fan, and it was really close. Basically, pure luck that dh did not turn on the air. We seem to have a 2-degree difference for tolerance. I was pretty comfortable until bedtime - fell asleep with the fan on. I rarely use the fan because A/C is probably more conservative (will cool the whole house in a very short time - we just run before bed unless it is ungodly hot). I can't say that falling asleep for 3-4 hours with the fan on was more energy conserving, BUT it was chilly when I woke up, so glad I hadn't filled the house with cool air. Then it would have just been chillier!

Today should be about the same.

Tomorrow is supposed to drop 20 degrees or something. Hopefully that is the end of A/C season.

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We haven't made it to Farmers market much this year. More like Saturdays are busy and we keep forgetting. But also, the pickings are slim this year (Wacky weather). We drove by it yesterday and I hollered, "Stop the car! I need fresh corn!"

First pass? No Corn!?! We finally found some. It was pretty good though - well worth it. The pickings were pretty slim tough. I don't know if we will be able to find "popcorn on the cob" again this year - we wanted to refill our pantry - it's so good!

For dinner I made sloppy joes, fried up some potatoes and boiled some corn.

We didn't do a big grocery run this week - plenty of leftovers to eat through. We have some meatballs and I was feeling in the mood for spaghetti tonight. Already have the pasta and sauce. I might run to the store for some garlic bread.

I don't remember the last time I cooked - dh is enjoying the break. I usually cook more weekends, but it seems in summer we have just been very go go go.

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What's in our fridge? Not much. For some reason we do have a lot of rice. We will pack up the leftovers we do have and bring them on vacation. (Not much - but we can make use of them - we tire quickly of all the eating out when we are not home). We ate the last eggs yesterday, too, for breakfast. We do seem to have a lot of cheese (feta, american, velveeta, shredded cheddar, and string cheese) and juice. Beer, boxed wine, and various jams and salad dressings. Grapes that Grandma bought and no one told me until I tried to buy grapes at Farmers Market. We always have cilantro, lettuce, green onions and carrots it seems. BM and I LOVE salads, and dh cooks a lot with these items. I don't know why cheese seems to be our main staple? Cheese and rice?

HA!

Weather is taking a rapid turn from *hottest days of the year* to winter-y type weather.

Well, I think today is supposed to be rather fall-like.

We ran the A/C something fierce in September and had several days hotter than the whole of July and August.

I am HOPING that we can turn off the A/C today, until next May.

*fingers crossed*

**The day after the latest Game of Thrones ebook became available at library, so did Book one in Stookie Stackhouse series.

I am a fast reader, so no biggie, except GOT is 1000+ pages! Thankfully, Sookie book is pretty average. (They both had mile long wait lists - so it's now or wait another 3 months or so).

Game of Thrones - book 1, 2, 3, and 4? were pretty fast paced and hard to put down. Last one really dragged for me. This one was starting slow, but barely having found any time to read, I am 500 pages in. It is starting to pick up, so it is possible I will finish this weekend. Maybe next weekend I can start the Sookie series.

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**Oh, yesterday was interesting. Went to San Francisco for a seminar, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Of course, ENTIRE OFFICE had gone. It's only about a 1.5 hour drive, but 3-4 hours in traffic. I was the least inconvenienced as I had stayed with my folks and took a leisurely drive in around 7:30am (versus leaving Sacramento at 5am). I picked up my roller skates, my mom hemmed my pants, and I had quality time with my parents, and a full nights' rest.

Of course, if it was just me, I would have played hookie. But, figured it was best to head back to work since the boss was well aware class was cancelled! Had to cancel plans for dinner and drinks in SF with friend. Mostly wasted a tank of gas.

Maybe saved $35 in food and parking in the process. That's the only good I Can say about the whole thing. (But, I'd rather have spent the $35).

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**Today I made another deposit in the stock market. Market was on *low* side (low is relative). Just regular contribution for October because not sure when I will get my paycheck or if I will pay any attention to the stock market on vacation. I sent the money to Vanguard - I can just pay the mortgage when I get my paycheck. Mortgage bought me some float, with its 16 days or so grace period. I am too lazy to move money around from savings or anything like that. Then it gets complicated. Mortgage money pays the ROTH. Paycheck pays the mortgage. I don't have to juggle anything around though I might get my paycheck 10 days late. (Beyond paying mortgage and credit card by the 30th, generally, not much else is due the rest of the month).

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**I was approved for Citi card - will earn another $300 in rewards.

They never called for identity check. (Chase has left me voice mail messages before, anyway, so no messages meant no calls, I figured). I was just getting a chip on my shoulder about how they really don't want my business! But I got an e-mail to call them in 30 days or I will be denied. Still not quite feeling the love...

BUT, when I called they told me I was approved. So, I guess that makes up for it. I've applied with several other credit card companies in recent months, and no one has given me approval with an identity check. So, hey. Good news! (Their identity check was pretty weak, by the way, but they did check).

For reference, Chase asked me how old my MIL was. Like heck I know. LOL. I just knew she was recently eligible for social security, and they thankfully gave me a wide age range. But it was like, "Do you know someone named Mary Smith? Can you tell me her age?" & now I have revealed top secret security info. I didn't even realize.

Citi pretty much just asked me public/easy to find info. I was unimpressed. Especially because they used the e-mail I used on my application. Basically, their process would not stop an identity thief. When my ID was stolen they knew my address, phone #s, birth date. The point is supposed to be to contact me through the phone # listed on my credit bureau account. Not reply to any old random e-mail from someone claiming to be me, and asking the same stuff I already put on the application. Though they may have used caller ID - to be fair. I did call from a number on my bureau report/fraud alert.

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In other news:

**Car passed smog (phew) - I told dh to take it in because it wasn't acting up so much this week.

**Along same lines. Downstairs toilet was leaking like crazy the other morning. It would NOT repeat for dh. WHAT THE HECK? Just like my car. Anyway, dh had bought parts to replace innards for all toilets, at my earlier urging. Because when it happened in master bath, I was relieved I notice, but water had clearly been leaking for days. (& toilets are all same, bought at same time - new house 2001). I figured lord knows when we would notice in kids' bathroom! But dh hadn't got around to replacing those, and I was greeted with spurting water everywhere the other morning. (My "I told you so" moment. Well, except he thinks I am totally crazy because toilet would not even drip one drop for him).

Dh obliged anyway - I am still nagging him to get the kids' bathroom which is the only one I am REALLY concerned about.

Came home and told dh I was glad he didn't go to the bank yet (to deposit rewards and anniversary money). I was just thinking how we should probably keep the cash for our trip. Was having a conversation with someone how I NEVER use cash. I believe last time we went to LA we did not need ANY cash, but got me thinking how we should probably take some just in case.

Anyway, so when I told dh I was glad he had not gone to the bank... HE said, "So am I!" & handed me a wad of $20 bills.

His mom is still feeling extreme post retirement generosity. $200 for our trip. Woohoo!

Funny thing is that our budget is about $500 (that's EVERYTHING) and so upping the budget to $700 is pretty darn sweet. Like, maybe this is a wee bit more realistic. $500 pretty much covers travel and theme parks, so $200 might buy us some food.

{$500 is just all we have left from annual $1500 vacation budget. I figure not commuting to work, or buying groceries at home for a week, could buy us some money for food. Or pull from other areas of the budget. Truth is we are meeting several friends in LA and will probably just pass it on by treating for dinner. They always offer to treat us, but I refuse to have single friends pay for the four of us. Maybe I shouldn't. Should ask dh what his other friend does. I don't mind paying for all the starving artists, and all the recently divorced friends, etc. Of course most of them in LA are the starving artist types. & even if not, their rents and mortgages make me cringe. So I am going with that assumption - will be treating a few dinners}.

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In other news, did you see that Amazon slashed Kindle prices today? If you were on the fence at all...

Dh was eyeing Amazon's new tablet, assuming price was $250-$300. He's got the credit card rewards to get it for *free.* Well, they also announced a price of $199 for their new tablet. Wow!

We don't expect much from it, but since we can get it for free, we will buy it. To try it out. We can always sell it if we don't like it.

Why Emergency Funds can Provide the Best Return on Investments

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/why-emergency-funds-can-provide-t...

Amen to this! Very good article.

Unfortunately, the benefits of keeping cash are rarely spoken about. Particularly in this type economy (with abysmal interest rates). This just kind of puts my own feelings into some very good words.

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Nothing much to report on the cable transition. All that really matters is that dh is content - he is the cable lover in our house. Time will tell...

Anyway, as my initial feeling was, I didn't think I'd really care less one way or another. So, I'm maybe watching different shows (some), but other than that, nothing much to report. Streaming everything to the TVs (roku). Using a different remote control. Desperate Housewives has been waiting for me on Hulu (since Monday morning). Monday night we purchased and watched an AMC show that aired Sunday. (Thanks Amazon)! I think TV habits will remain pretty much unchanged in our house. Just WAY cheaper in the end. It's kind of like just switching cable providers, for me. (Dh is more proactive in getting the shows on Hulu, buying them on Amazon, etc. For me it kind of all magically appears. )

It's only in the last few months that the technology is there - let's hope it stays this way for a while. I think we prefer that "buy what we want" style versus "pay a bajillion dollars for a bunch of stuff we don't want and a few things we do want." I hope that is the way all this trends for the log run.

I'd be totally content with Netflix streaming, honestly. But I am not the only one in the house.

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I am pretty much in vacation mode. Wrapping up some big deadline stuff at work. BUT, going to San Francisco tomorrow all day, and vacation soon after that. So, eh. Just trying to get things done, and looking forward to a pretty non-work week and a half or so.

It's funny because seems like lots of kids will be going to Disneyland on break. The kids got these BRIGHT orange spirit shirts at school this year. It's usually blue or green. Lord knows why bright orange (did they get a deal on the color)? Anyway, I told the kids to pack their shirts so maybe they could find some of their friends. Plus, harder to get lost when wearing bright orange? Win-win?

We live so close to Disneyland (5 hour drive?) it's not really a big deal thing. It's more of a decent weekend trip most the time. For us. What we will be hearing from the other families? (OR what we usually hear, anyway)? You DROVE? You drove in the COMPACT CAR? You only went to Disney ONE DAY? You are not staying at a DISNEY hotel? But, with the economy and all, I am kind of curious if that will be the same story. I am actually surprised so many people are going.

Anyway, if the kids were 6 feet tall (& they probably will be soon enough) I could see the compact car might be torturous, but since they take up absolutely no room in the car - whatever. We've done it before and we will do it again. The car gets almost 40mpg - of course we take that one on big drives. Maybe what they are really thinking is, "You are driving that OLD thing?"

Sometimes just feels like we are from another planet, is all!

But yeah, stopping at Disney was kind of a last minute decision - it is not the focus of our trip. So, this is by far the most slimmed down DISNEY trip we have done with the kids. I don't know if it matters - all the comments I mentioned above were in reference to more grand Disney trips than this one.

Was just paying the October bills since we will be on vacation soon. Making sure everything is in order and paid ahead of time.

I am not 100% sure, but think we have reached the milestone of lowest mortgage balance ever. $201,333. Woohoo! (Hard to tell because all I have record of is some mortgage payoff when we sold our first home - the payoff included interest).

We are on track to hit $199,999 by 12/31. I expect a $250 Christmas bonus, and so just have to scrounge $165 Christmas money to top it off. $199,999 will most definitely be the lowest mortgage balance we have ever had.

& so I welcome FORWARD PROGRESS.

Story is that our first mortgage was $210k or so (for just a condo). But we traded for a luxurious home (+ yard and garage and stuff like that) for a $230k-ish mortgage. My dh also got laid off and we had a child, so we dropped the 15-year mortgage. Which basically means it took us, oh, 10 years to get back to where we started. A $202,000 or so mortgage. But, you know, no complaining here. The infinitely nicer home, and the spouse not working for a decade - all that is 100% WORTH IT. But I am just excited to make FORWARD PROGRESS. Versus, owing as much at age 34 that I did at age 24.

In another 10 years, we pretty much expect to have our home paid off. (I can handle the 15-year amortization, and dh doesn't need to bring in that much income to knock off 5 more years).

Woohoo to forward progress!

The super plus side is that we were paying in the realm of $1800/month for a smaller mortgage in the year 2001. 15-year amortization. For the next year, looks like we can cobble together $1400/month to the same end (15-year payoff). Low mortgage rates are definitely not all bad. (We can't even justify refinancing below 4.875%). That said, if interest rates stay low, and we can knock off enough principal, we will refinance to a 15-year. I am salivating at 3.25% rates. We just aren't quite there yet.

Hard to whine since we are saving $400/month over our last 15-year amortization. 10 years ago I was paying $1800/month for a flipping condo in a so-so neighborhood. Today we pay $1400/month to pay off dream home in 15 years (same mortgage balance). I suppose we have experienced much forward progress - just nice to move forward with the debt numbers, too.

I thought Great-Grandma sent us $20, but it was actually $40. Woohoo!

Grandma sent us $100. Double Woohoo!

If we were smart, we'd save that up for a really nice dinner in Napa in several weeks.

Anyway, we couldn't agree where to go and I was in an "eating out" mood last night. We decided to eat out two nights in a row. What the hell. Dh said we should celebrate cutting cable, too.

So, spent $50 last night.

Tonight we are going to a newer Benihana type place in our neighborhood. (We had decided Thai food, but we drove by the Benihana type place and thought it would be fun to check out. If it as good as we hear, will have to take our parents sometime).

& if all we can justify is Taco Bell on our weekend getaway - so be it!

We actually did get our Olive Garden gift card today ($5) but we weren't expecting it and made other plans. I still haven't found the other one, anyway. When I find it, we will meet there for a lunch date without the kids. I don't generally lose things, so I am REALLY annoyed, but I am also positive it will turn up soon.

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Thanks to Baselle, we went to the auto museum today (Free Museum Day). We chose this museum because we had never been (only free one in area that looked interesting, besides a couple of museums that we had been to before). We had to pay for the kids, since was only 2 free tickets per household. So, it cost us $8 (& we saved $16 on adult tickets).

Wasn't sure what to expect, but we really enjoyed it.

Lots of historical cars, as well as some interesting stories, unique cars, etc. Really, quite the museum!

OF course, BM has done two reports now on Henry Ford (one last week) and so he REALLY enjoyed it. We got to see a mock up of Henry Ford's first car creation (Quadricycle), which we knew all about from BM's report last year. & they had one of Mrs. Ford's vehicles - the very one she had owned. Talk about some serious history.

Of course, my favorite car was Linda Ronstadt's black porsche. It was showcased next to Governor Brown's car, since apparently they were lovers at some point.

Black is just my favorite color - the car was pretty sweet.

I thought this was pretty cute:



The *world's first snowmobile* (IT was an add-on kit for the Model T Ford):



Probably one of the most unique cars was Forbe's money green Lamborghini:



I didn't take a picture of the last one, but regretted it. But, it was easy to track down. With the head-on view, I hadn't noticed the gold tires, but did notice that the interior was very gold.

One of the more interesting stories was a 1920s era vehicle which was traded in at the local Dodge dealership in the 1970s. The Dodge dealership restored the vehicle and donated it to the museum. "Hi, I'd like to trade-in my 50-year-old vehicle. I think it is time for something new?"

Picture is of the first day of fall, on the river by our home. (I didn't take this picture, but it is gorgeous).

Of course, the first day of fall pretty much went unnoticed around here. IT was about 90+F degrees.

I just happened to notice that the "no heat challenge" usually start around the first day of fall. (On the first day of Fall?)

Of course, it is not usually so HOT here, this time of year. A/C has been working HARD, so hard to think beyond summer.

Maybe we won't need heat until next January... Lord knows - weather has been wacky all year. Of course, this would only be useful if we weren't running the AC so much!

**Just executed $500 mutual fund buy. Need to transfer $1000-$1500 from savings, to max out 2010 ROTH (by April). Was just waiting for a stock market dip to do so. Leaves $500-$1000 to throw in if it gets worse. (I figure that is likely).

Yesterday may have been better, but I just heard that Vanguard is offering same day mutual fund buys. Funny thing is they did this before, most of the time I have been a customer. BUT, this year they have been slow and I have found it frustrating. I like to buy on low stock days, but hard to do if it take 48 hours to process a "buy." So, to me it seems like it's suddenly back to their old policy. Don't know what happened in the interim. I have certainly done same day buys with VG, before. I suppose it's ironic that I heard this news today. Knowing I could for sure buy at today's stock price spurred me on (though I won't be near a computer the rest of the day, so had to do it on the early side, and assume things don't jump up later in the day).

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**You'll never guess. I applied for a credit card! LOL.

Today I saw Citi was offering some $500 reward, but the catch was you had to spend $10,000 over 12 months. To participate, I'd have to wait a year to get the rewards AND would lose $200 in other ongoing rewards I currently get. Which means I would net $300.

To me, the writing is on the wall. If Citi is going to make offers like that, they want you to stick around a while.

I decided to take the hint and apply for the $300 bonus that I can probably earn in 2 months. Spend $1500 in 3 months, earn $300 in gift cards. No annual fee first year. Offer is on mymoneyblog.com with all the rest. I intend to hit $1500 spending by charging health insurance for 2 months and fueling up the minivan with gas, once. That's it. I will lose $30 in other rewards ($1500 x 2% that I earn on AmEx), so still VERY worthwhile.

& if by some miracle they send me a direct mail offer in the interim, maybe I can sweet talk them into giving me the better offer. Dh did, so I figured this was better than waiting around for some wooing that doesn't seem to be happening.

I'll find out in about a week if I am approved. The second I am approved, I will close out my 2 Chase one-time reward cards. I figured it might be best to keep those until I applied for this card, though not sure it matters. Just a wee bit less obvious that I intend to close the card the second I am done?? Maybe?

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**Tomorrow is our 11-year anniversary. It's pretty incidental to the fact that we have actually been together for about 16 years. (I am kind of thinking, "16 years? Holy Crap!" How can I be that old? That I graduated high school 17 years ago?)

Last year we went pretty big (Hawaii trip) so this year I think we both feel pretty, "eh." We had talked about taking the kids to Olive Garden tomorrow night. I have a $5 gift card somewhere (Credit card reward, of course). That I have to find. & we are expecting another one in the mail (another reward) any minute.

Yesterday we got $20 cash from Great-Grandma. Woohoo!

If we don't get our gift certificate in the mail by tomorrow, guess we will choose to dine somewhere else. Decided to see how we feel tomorrow.

Trust me, dh and I enjoy our alone time, but thing is we aren't lacking any alone time, and we just wanted to celebrate with the kids (will be much cheaper than finding a babysitter, anyway). Though if getting a babysitter was important to us, we'd do that. All else being equal, we would have had a nice lunch date today, alone, but I have a commitment with the 1st grade class. Seems dh was busy Monday.

I look forward to our family eating out tomorrow on the big day. It's not something we do often!

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**I had forgotten that I have a seminar near San Francisco next week. I had signed up for webcasts this year (much cheaper) for my ongoing education. It's got its pluses and minuses. I kind of miss the excuse to travel a bit more, but then again I don't miss the cost of it all! (Gas, eating out, tolls, etc.)

Anyway, my work signed me up for a seminar in regards to software upgrades, and stuff like that. So, I will be able to see my folks and drop off some pants that need hemmed. I can also pick up my roller skates from my dad. & spend some nice time with my parents. (Will spend the night before at their house so I can get a short a.m. commute into the city).

I am on for dinner and drinks with my best buddy in San Francisco, day of seminar. (No reason to drive home in the traffic - MUCH better to stay late). I have been trying all year to get together with her, and it hasn't been working, but it always seems to work out with a mid-week seminar. So, phew! I am not holding my breath, but I was lucky she was even in town. But, very good company, and she always takes me to the most amazing restaurants. (She's frugal to the extreme, so it is always some cheap hole in the wall with AMAZING food).

Dh did well!

We had discussed what to do if cable company offered incentive to stay. Since past cable companies seemed to care less if we left, I really didn't expect anything. BUT, told dh kind of no matter what it was, I think we were pretty committed to trying no cable for 6 months.

Anyway, today was the big day.

Apparently, our full cable/phone/internet bill is $196 or so. We have been paying about $165 on a one-year contract. I figure cable was about $100 or so of that.

So, they offered dh $105/month.

Honestly, not bad. Not bad at all! SO, I am proud that he declined.

What's even better is that on a contract, they gave us $50/month for phone/internet. This is smoking fast fiber optic internet. No one else offers it, and there is no way in heck we would drop it for anything else. So, I don't mind the contract.

& so it is OFFICIAL! We are a no-cable household. For 6 months, at least. Ideally. Assuming dh doesn't cave. I still don't foresee caving, myself. Hulu has annoyed me, but I think that means I will just be more of a Netflix and a "watch after the fact" type. Like, instead of suffering through commercials, I rather just wait a couple of years until these shows come out on DVD. I can already tell that rather than seeking out my old usual shows, I will probably drop them for easier to watch shows on netflix.

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With the new internet deal, we will save exactly $100 per month. Comes out to about $115, but Hulu will cost about $15/month. So, $100/month savings.

Dh may need to buy 2 antennas for network TV, but they are only $20-ish, each. We have one, but I guess it's older and they switched things around so it doesn't get all the channels it could otherwise. So, we hooked it up to our main TV, for now, to get some channels. We may invest in 2 antennas so we have sports for relatives, public TV access, access to live news, etc. On both TVs.

We subscribe to both netflix and Blockbuster, regardless.

We will be buying some shows off of Amazon (streaming). The only thing we have discussed specifically, is Breaking Bad. We are in the middle of the season, and there is only one more season left, after this one. We want to see it through (& it's certainly worth paying for!!). But, that's about it so far.

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$100/month savings goes to mortgage, for now. For next year, will probably go to ROTHs, but we should be maxed out for 2010.

Of course, if we drop cable indefinitely, dh is going to start begging for a smart phone. Will see... The data plan on ONE smart phone is significantly cheaper than cable. But, then it is just MORE contracts and all that. & we will probably have to change carriers - and our cell plan is currently pretty darn cheap. We shall see!

Time to start closing some credit cards!

(I officially got the last "one time credit card reward" paid off - today).

I had paid them all, but Southwest Chase was kind of weird and added the annual fee after the first billing cycle. So, I just went ahead and paid it yesterday. Today it hit the card.

NOTE: credit cards with "positive balances" are the cards I usually use, and will keep for a while - I just round up to the nearest dollar out of sheer laziness, when I pay them. I do pay all balances off monthly. & yes, phew, I remembered to pay the exact amounts on all the one-time cards!!

**Visa is just current month regular expenses - whatever we can't charge to the AmEx. AmEx I can only download monthly, so why no current month expenses showing there.**

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It's not over. Dh has made one charge on his new Visa, and I will probably have to wait for the second billing cycle to pay the fee. I won't offer it up before they charge me for it. Anyway, I will add that to Quicken when I can pay it. I don't know where to send the payment too, yet.

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I am currently waiting for a $200 check in the mail, from Chase. Dh can redeem $250 Amazon gift cards as soon as SW credit card closes - I think he said it closes the 4th.

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It will be a prettier sight when all these cards are CLOSED and I don't have to look at them any more. But I opened Quicken today, and a pile of zeros greeted me, for the first time in a few months. So, that was nice. The hard part is done. Now all that is left is to close these suckers.

Library books now officially available to download on Kindle.

At least at our library.

I know the space between announcement and implementation was about a full year. My dh has been griping FOREVER. (He found a way around it and has been downloading library books to his kindle, anyway).

BUT, he really likes the new set up, and not having to do any workarounds.

I still prefer the nook, but I admit it has lost it's #1 HUGE EDGE!

I still way prefer the touch screen though - so I will still be a nook gal, and dh can be a *happier* kindle guy.

I don't know if this speaks more to our library, or if it speaks to Amazon getting its act together.

I was convinced my massive library e-book would be ready in the middle of vacation.

WRONG-O.

It became available on "cable cut" day. Actually, dh will probably cut the cable tomorrow. But, close enough.

I don't expect it to matter much, because I said in my last cable post that I mostly only watch TV at night (when I can not keep my eyes open to read a book). SO, it's not exactly like I just found hours and hours to read. But, the timing is kind of funny, all the same.

What I will probably be doing is skipping the gym, skipping being active, and be a total couch potato reading my book. Because that is usually what happens. The trade-off is usually my more active lifestyle. That, and I will completely ignore the fam.

Then again, I spent some time the last 2 weekends getting tons of stuff off the DVR. The DVR is about empty, so the timing is pretty good. (We had some long documentaries on the DVR we had wanted to watch, etc. Suddenly they were time pressing).

So, today is about as good a day as any. What are the odds of that happening?

Tonight I should have a huge chunk of time to read. Woohoo!

P.S. It's too hot to go outside, anyway.

I read this article and couldn't help but think, "How many people out there regret taking on too little debt?"

Get Smart About College
Parents and students like to think they're rational when it comes to picking a college and paying for it. They aren't.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190433280457653...

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As a whole, was an interesting article.

But, then there was this sentence: "The way people think about debt, for instance, may leave them borrowing too little, rather than the right amount."

& this one:

"But it's just as important not to take on too little debt."

I don't know - I just don't know what that is supposed to mean. I come from a family who has managed college just fine with NO DEBT. Our parents. Our cousins. Our siblings. Us. & that didn't just fall out of the sky. It was a VERY conscious decision and mindset.

It's not as simple as a debt debate though. I've borrowed money to buy a home. Clearly I am not 100% debt adverse.

So, I think I know what bothered me about this article. It was all about investing in a college education, and how important that is.

Fair enough, on some levels. BUT, is investing this kind of money in a 17 or 18-year-old child, using debt, really that wise? Personally, I think it is a pretty terrible investment in majority of cases.

For reference, I graduated high school at the top of my class. Most of the kids I graduated with were going somewhere and attended prestigious colleges. Most of them spent their late 20s trying to figure out what they really wanted to do and how to pay for the education that had decided they really wanted and needed. Because, they had blown all the money they had, and probably money they didn't had, on an undergrad degree they didn't use.

Could just be a coincidence of circumstances, but everyone I know that went to State actually hit the ground running in their careers, really knew what they wanted to do, etc. Sure, I have a friend who went to Stanford and is very successful, but for the most part all that comes to mind is classmates who were working at Target when they turned 30. MANY of them still lived with their parents. & these are the *bright* ones.

I kind of see it a lot with my wealthier clients. They hand their kids whatever, and they live at home, don't work, take it for granted, etc. I just don't see a lot of people paying the big bucks for college and doing much with it.

I am personally committed to not tying up all our resources when our kids are 18 - leaving them in a position that leaves them with severely limited options down the road.

It's not just that I am so debt adverse that it is crippling. It's kind of like I don't see the point to pour all that money in such a young person. I am very open to feeling differently and being very supportive if my child REALLY knows what their passion and career goals are. BUT - I don't see why I can't plan to pay cash for that. *shrugs*

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But it also begs the question... Have you ever regretted taking too little debt? Just curious. Can't say I have any regrets of that variety.

So, I was all bummed that the "Pint for a Pint" Baskin Robins promotion was over last I gave blood.

So, how random is this? I find a "pint for a pint" coupon in my purse. I checked for a date (because lord knows how long it has been there!) and it has some 2010 copyright, but no expiration date.

Dh redeemed it for me.

I get a pint of ice cream after all! Wild and reckless sherbert. YUM.

No idea where mystery coupon came from... Maybe from another time I gave blood?

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Yesterday was so busy. But, it was a nice day. I even snuck in a nap. Aaaaahhhhh.

We went to opening ceremony for new fire station. I had not realized all the creative thinking and community teamwork it had taken to get this open. Depending on the day, they can't decide if we are a 100-year flood zone or a 10-year(?) flood zone. At current we have a building moratorium while levees are repaired. Anyway, I've mentioned before - it's all POLITICS. Whatever the truth is, it's buried among all the politics.

Anyway, in order to get the fire station built, they had to change it to a 2-story structure - the first story being little more than "warehouse" and 20 feet high. But they are able to at least store the fire trucks on the first level (no idea how that part works). They showed us some spaces where they thought ahead and hope to turn into a gym, etc., on the lower floors, eventually - once all this straightens out.

The fire station is very cool - some pretty neat state of the art stuff. I am so glad we went.

This is why I love our community though. People get things done. No obstacle seems too big.

Anyway, BM had a soccer game. Drove 50 miles for a birthday celebration and drop some things off with my dad. Today I played tennis and went shopping (topped off Kohls gift card - got some pants for work). This afternoon I rest and do nothing!

Dh keeps mentioning what if I can't adjust to no cable. Whenever the thought comes up, I snap at him. "cable is all you - believe me - I will have no problem dropping cable."

& then later I will wonder to myself how ironic it would be if I had issue with it. Like, when I Was sick for about 7 days straight and could do nothing but lay around and watch TV. I decided netflix would do the job well in the absence of cable. Phew.

BUT, dh seems to be adjusting much better to the commercials. Then again, he generally has about 4 hours extra every day that I don't.

Anyway, he was showing me Hulu last weekend, and all I could think was, "You HAVE to watch the commercials?!?" Ugh!

& so I have been clearing off old stuff off the DVR and haven't really been trying the new system. So, last night I finally got around to watching Parenthood, on Hulu Plus. The commercials drove me batty. I oscillated between thinking "blahblahblah" through them and repeating the mantra, "This saves $80/month." I figured that given time I would adjust.

BUT, it took one hour to watch a one hour show. I haven't spent one hour watching a one hour show, in over a decade. I can tell this is going to drive me INSANE!!!

& so I admit that it is a possibility that I may be the one with the most difficulty adjusting. I just value my TIME too much.

Anyway, my thoughts on cable are that it is pure luxury, and I couldn't imagine buying cable while having any consumer debt, etc. (I skipped cable in college when I Was absolutely dirt broke).

BUT, my dh loves his TV/movies, and over time I have come to appreciate cable as cheap entertainment. (Cheap in the grand scheme of things. There is always some great comedians, for one, but you don't have to leave the house or pay for the comedy club. There are also lots of movies, etc. So, is how I think about it in an affordable sense).

Of course, I'd say we primarily watch comedies and documentaries. Certainly that is what we watch on cable. I think laughter is priceless, AND very healthy, and the documentaries certainly open the kids' minds and opens them up even more to learning.

BUT, I don't identify with TV watching as mindless time suck. I primarily watch TV when I go to bed. I am the type who easily sleeps 9 hours a night, goes to bed early, and is wide awake at 5am. I can't read at night because I fall asleep too easily. There is absolutely nothing I Can do productive at night, and watching TV is my routine. (I would never watch TV first thing in the morning, which is my most productive time of the day. But at the end of the day, productivity does not come to mind)! Yeah, I read in the mornings, for one. Anyway, it's not wasting time, and it's not bothering my sleep. IF anything, it helps me to stay awake and connect with my family when otherwise I'd be asleep.

But that said, there are a handful commercial-laden, one-hour shows that we can watch in the course of 10 minutes. & most the shows I Watch I can get in about 50% - 75% of the full time slot - just zipping through the commercials. Which means, sometimes we can watch 3 hours of TV in the course of an hour. Certainly we are used to watching 2 shows in the course of an hour (we could watch 3 shows is watching the 30-minute variety).

It will be interesting to see how this goes. Who knew I could be the first to cave?

I had never thought of cable as an extraordinary time saver. Compared to the alternatives. I could certainly just turn off the TV, but not sure that will work best for our family. I think it is possible I will only be watching Hulu with the family. When we can talk during the commercials and stuff like that. & it looks likely that I will drop the Hulu shows that I watch alone.

I think I will probably adjust, but who knows...

P.S. My mom has a lifelong habit of muting commercials. I will have to start doing that. That will be my little act of rebellion. & that will probably help immensely. (Hulu is nice enough to tell you exactly how many seconds are left in the commercial). Time suck aside, it's been like nails on a chalkboard, to me.

Was bummed when I looked up what was going on at Disney (wacky hours) and didn't find an answer for most of the week. On MONDAY, they have "Mickey's Halloween Party," which is sweet in the fact that we could maybe knock out our Disney visit (it is secondary to our trip, anyway) for $200. For 8 hours at the park. BUT, catch is we have to pre-buy tickets, and driving up that day just is a huge squeeze. (One flat tire or car issue could mean $200 down the tubes)!

Anyway, if that was Tuesday, I think we'd do it, and just see if we felt content or wanted to go back Wednesday, too. Could be a fun experience. But, since that is Monday, I think we will pass.

Anyway, other things are coming together nicely. La Brea tar pits just happen to be free the day we are available AND I didn't realize the Observatory was always free. May hit the observatory after settling into hotel first day (visit at night and use the telescopes). I've never been to either place.

I can't find any legit discounts (saw some fishy/scammy ones), so plan of action is just to arrive early and buy park tickets there. That is what I Expected since I don't remember pre-buying any tickets last time (there was no incentive to). Will be paying full-price, single day tickets everywhere (no park hoppers), but kids get in free to LegoLand (I have coupons).

One last thing - was going to look up Weekend Sherpa for other activities. Think we are pretty booked, but will look for something simple and "on the way" to break up drive home (a hike, or even just a view).

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I finally looked up cable contract date. It appears to be 9/21. That's 5 days before the cable cord is cut! Dh tells me he won't be swayed no matter what they offer. (Will see...) Hulu Plus looks promising. Quality passes muster with dh (& even I said a little "wow!"). He's been trying it out - I haven't so much. We will be streaming netflix, amazon + hulu directly to our two TVs. At some point dh had some computer DVR set up for HD content - not sure if he will be utilizing that. Has also talked about getting an antennae. All of the above is about 80% cheaper than cable, for the same content. (Though, it's admittedly kind of all over the place+ will have to suffer through more commercials than we are accustomed to - we are accustomed to ZERO). I suppose we also have Blockbuster to round it out. Netflix + BB, we subscribe to regardless.

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STUFF

All of my free gift card/credit card reward stuff has arrived. Also got my free photo orders (shutterfly, Walgreens). We've gotten so many packages the last couple of weeks, it is ridiculous!

My personal splurge was a gorgeous table cloth (+ protective cover) and roller skate wheels.

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$$$$ OUT

We paid in advance for BM's dental appliance to be made. So, about $800 out of pocket (that and 2 pulled teeth). I decided just to pull this from medical savings. I had already saved $3,000 for 2012, and so that leaves us with about $2,000 for next year.

I am estatic to leave mid-term savings untouched (though is for this kind of thing - still feeling a bit behind).

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Tomorrow is shaping up to be busy.

Will try to make it to aerobics in the a.m.

BM has a soccer game.

New fire station down the street has an open house. (Woohoo for a really close fire station!!) Now if only they can afford to stay open all the time - AND have got their GPS updated.

Turns out my dad will be at mid-way point, between our homes, to spend time with friend (+ friend's birthday celebration)? I invited myself along. I will be able to drop off my skates + new wheels, and dine out with a bunch of people I don't know. Though birthday boy is a lifelong family friend. I figured I wouldn't get much better chance to see my parents in next 2 weeks (with big road trip coming up + weekends filled with soccer). My dad has all the proper tools + the time to change out my skate wheels.

Skates were only about $30 - $50. I bought some bearings at some point, and the wheels were free (though I didn't see a set of wheels for under $60 or so, online). These are skates I hope to keep FOREVER. I never bought skates before, but when pregnant my feet went up a 1/2 size or so. Things they don't tell you... So, anyway, hoping to stay this size a while? Do your feet shrink when you get old?

We ditched ebay over a year ago (too many stupid rules, and problems) and switched over to Amazon Marketplace.

Amazon is not perfect, but has been little to complain about.

Until dh got a note that he can not sell anything from mid-November to mid January because only existing sellers with good feedback and who sell 25 things or so in last 60 days, can sell during Christmas season.

What the...?

Sucks for us, because is the time of year we make the most sales.

Sucks for buyers because this severely thins the competition.

Anyway, he is a long-term seller (sold last Christmas with no complaints) and has nothing but positive feedback. But, just doesn't do that full-time type volume.

Whatevah!

Will probably research 3rd option for Christmas time selling. ??? Doubt we will resort to Ebay. & will complain a lot, too, yes.

I didn't particularly notice during the summer, but guess I ate out less lunches. Because went home more to eat lunch with the fam, etc. Also, no lunch dates out with just dh (well, not many). Since kids were home.

I try to do one lunch date a week (dh, or friends). Is my social/reconnect time.

BUT, microwave at work went dead. I didn't realize until Monday lunch and so went out for fast food at last minute. (Thought about it later - leftovers probably okay cold - but was the surprise factor that threw me off).

I invited dh to lunch today, and have a date already set with a friend for Friday. For next 2 days, will have to remember sandwiches or something that doesn't need heating. Hopefully a new microwave arrives soon.

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Today we dined at the sushi buffet. All You Can Eat for $9.99. Plus, lots of other Chinese/Japanese food + seafood. Quite a bargain for what it is.

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The dead microwave has an interesting story. When I started working here (1/1/02), I would sit in the lunch room and hear everyone whine and complain how crappy the microwave was. & it was pretty crappy. I remember it taking 10 minutes to heat up soup - something like that.

So, anyway, I asked my boss if he could buy a new microwave. Because if he wasn't going to, I sure as hell was going to just go out and buy one!

Anyway, I think the whole story is that I asked my *mentor* type in the office if that was out of line (& how come no one else had). He was like, "Don't see why that would be a problem." So I shot my boss some e-mail. The very next day we had a new microwave. I don't think anyone else ever knew *why.* 'Twas magic!

The funny thing is my boss is always very eager for an outside perspective and new ideas. Not sure that's what he had in mind - but that is what I saw.

I personally have extremely low tolerance for B.S. & sitting around and whining day after day over something so stupid is complete B.S., in my book. (& lord knows - they must have been whining for years!)

RIP Microwave. You brought speedy lunches and harmony to our office for almost a decade...

Hope we get a replacement soon! Might have to send some e-mails.

{Accountants tend to be frugal - most of us eat in most the time - microwave gets heavy usage!}

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UPDATE: I brought cold sandwich on Wednesday and was greeted with a new microwave. What a sigh of relief for the rest of the week!

Received check from plastic jungle - $182. Woohoo!

Dh was approved for Southwest Chase.

SW Chase = $250 Amazon gift cards minus $69 fee.

New grand total of cash and usable gift certificates?

$2,654

I can still easily earn some AmEx cash rewards (regular credit card - have resumed its use).

If I apply for this no-fee Citi card, I can make it an even $3,000 for the year. (Citi reward is $300 gift certificates).

Dave Ramsey would say, "No one got rich off of credit card rewards."

My reply? "Tell me how else to legally and ethically earn $3,000 with an hour or two of *work.*"

Living on one income, this stuff is some serious GRAVY! "Little" stuff like this adds up big time, and makes ALL the difference.

That said, we usually make about $1,000 a year or so, on credit card rewards. This year is just UNREAL with the rewards.

???

I just did a post about real estate this morning.

Anyway, later this morning I came across a home listing in my neighborhood. For whatever reason, the flipper heavily advertised that it was a *flip*?

Why would you advertise that???

This is the scenario. 8-year-old home foreclosed due to a divorce situation. Market Value is probably $200,000. (THough, if you price it $225k it will never sell, and if you price it $199k, it might sell in 5 minutes for $220k. Seen it over and over).

Flipper paid $185,000 - bought from bank. I can't imagine the home needed anything more than fresh paint. That said, all that to profit $10,000-ish seems like a LOT of work! But, who knows.

Of course, the home is listed for $225,000. If flipper is a stickler on price, I predict home will sit forever.

Of course, since 99% of the homes in the zip code are bank owned or listed as a short sale, who would you rather buy from? I understand that the ocassional home owner heavily advertised that they are not in a foreclosure or short sale position, because it can be an easier process. But, when the choice is *greedy flipper* or *desperate homeowner* - which do you choose?

I can give the flipper kudos for getting a good purchase price for the home, but then again, home prices are just in a free fall. (Not a situation that screams "Let's flip *nice* homes that don't need any work." Like, where are the profits supposed to come from?)

I don't know - it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

The flippers are back!

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Interesting article today sheds light on the situation:

Home buyers find themselves aced out by investors

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_18853804?nclick_check...

Home sellers accept lower prices from cash investors. Explains the deal that flipper arranged on neighbors' home.

Kind of funny to read about frustrated buyers and bidding wars. Same old, same old. Bay Area property doesn't come without *fierce* competition.

It took a while to put together my free photo book last weekend, but it has already arrived (a couple of days ago).

Woohoo!! Talk about fast!

We got our first digital camera in 2002, and have done little other than store them on the computer. (We put on disks periodically for our parents - was our backup system - we are now paying for periodic online backups, too. More for other things than pictures, but just to point out we have the backup thing well covered).

We've printed out some pictures here and there, but the ink always seems so expensive. (Usually get free extra/unwanted photo paper from my dad).

Anyway, I signed up on Shutterfly for the free photo book coupon I had, and since I was a *new customer* (hadn't used Shutterfly in almost a decade) I also got 50 free prints. So, spent several hours today picking out the 50 prints, cropping, labeling, etc. (It is sweet that they put the date automatically on the back - and I added descriptive info. LOVE IT!)

I did not look at every photo from 2002 - current. BUT, our photos are well organized, and I usually save the best in a slimmed down edited version in a separate "edited" folder for each month. For Facebook or to e-mail to family, etc. Apparently, that is genius. I went through all the "edited" folders and picked out my favorites. Found a few photos I had forgotten about and that made me laugh. Also some other gems. I got from about 2002 - 2009, and whittled it down to about 40 pictures.

In the end, I kind of think it is good that I waited so long to do so. After some time, it was easier to narrow down the best of the best. I'll probably just keep the pics in an envelope and won't really bother with a photo album - there aren't that many. I will give a few of the prints I ordered to family and friends.

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BM got his soccer game out of the way nice and early this morning. By some miracle we have absolutely nothing planned for the rest of the weekend. The day has kind of gotten away from me here, as it is HOT and will probably hit the pool until bedtime. BUT, tomorrow I plan to get off my lazy butt and do something around the house. I don't really remember the last time I did any real housework (besides the basics/every day type stuff). No deep cleaning for months?

We are trying hulu plus free trial and am pretty impressed on first impression. However, they make it very hard to get free hulu content if you subscribe. & we haven't watched any commercials in about a decade, so I can tell that will be real annoying (you can't zip through them). BUT, a few short commercials here and there - I suppose is fair to save a significant amount of money on cable. That said, even the PBS shows have commercials - which is pretty annoying.

Anyway, we have to pay something like $40/year to get Hulu free content, since we are subscribing to hulu plus. Oy vey. MEans hulu will be closer to $15/month than $10/month. But still beats cable buy a mile!

I thought maybe it was just some random allergy thing, but in the end, I think I got some cold virus. It hasn't amounted to much more than a lot of sneezing, but today the throat is feeling scratchy and I could use a nap! Oh well, this is extremely mild - it's just annoying.

Along the same vein, thought we live in wasp central, I somehow managed a decade without getting stung. What's ironic is they have been less visible than usual (cooler weather - they really like our HOT summers). BUT, I have managed to get stung twice in the past month or so. I was wearing flip flops and stepped on one in the grass. Was NOT fun - the bottom of the foot is a sensitive and oft used area, I guess. Ironically, I had only been stung once before, and it was when I was a teenager, running my hand through my hair. I don't remember if I was swatting something or just randomly running my fingers through my hair. I think it was random finger running. But anyway, last night we were walking home from the park, we walked under a tree, and I thought I felt some leaves touching my hair. I kind of reached up to make sure there were no leaves in my hair, and felt a sting.

IT wasn't so bad, and so I thought maybe a hand sting was much better than a bottom of the foot sting, but today my finger is all swollen and red. Just trying to keep it iced.

I think I've had enough wasp stings for a while. Apparently they are only dangerous when you can not see them? I'll have to remember not to touch my hair when I feel something. More like I should ask if there is a wasp on my head?

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I did some retail therapy at Kohls. I had $10-off Kohls cash + $22 left on my gift card balance. I bought a really nice shirt (like one I already have) which works well for work and casual and I will wear all the time (score!).

I tried on a pile of clearance stuff, but nothing worked.

But, I did find a beautiful sweater. I LOVE it! Since it's like the hottest day of the year today, I skipped it, but maybe I can wear with the inside AC at work next week (you know - it's always freezing there).

Spent about $5 out of pocket for those clothes.

I really like the shirt because it is flattering, nice enough for work, and very light weight. So, have been wearing a lot in the summer. Though the longer sleeves kind of help with the chill in the office.

So, I decided to search their website for more shirts like it. I found one with great colors, and another one that was a little different but might work. I just paid $30 cash for those. These should be shirts that get a LOT of wear. I decided to save my $100 gift card for later (plus I didn't have it on me!). I essentially spent $35 for 4 GREAT tops, so I am pleased. Good retail therapy.

In the mail I am expecting a watch for LM, a pretty table cloth, wheels for my roller skates, a few years' supply of razors, etc. Thanks to Amazon.

I've still got some gift cards, but this should do for this round!

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Dh already got his new (2nd) roku (ordered Tuesday??). We will try a free subscription of hulu plus, this weekend. I am not sure the exact day our cable contract ends, but think it is around 9/15. Very close!

I have got a LOT of stuff to watch this weekend. Realizing all my DVR shows will be lost, otherwise. Well, I will have to prioritize.

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P.S. Oh yeah - dentist was not bad. Nothing new. Will spend $800-ish for some preventative work for BM (pulled teeth/retainer), but we have just been waiting for some permanent molars to move forward with that - was not a surprise! Phew! BM is cavity prone and both kids will be an orthodontia mess (as was I). So, I hold my breath every time. It sounds like it is possible BM is outgrowing his cavity-prone toddlerhood (just as dh had - terrible teeth as a small child - never has had a cavity since - that kind of thing). I don't think BM's hygiene has been stellar, but in the past if we brushed/flossed 3 times a day he would still get cavities, so it seems to be getting better. (Oh yeah - dh did buy him an electric toothbrush - forgot about that. Maybe that is the magic. DH has always used one of those - LM and I don't seem to need the extra help).

I closed my oldest credit card a few weeks ago.

(For reference, I don't keep any old credit lines open if I don't use them. My FICO tends to be 800-ish regardless, so I don't really see the point to keep old cards open).

Anyway, the card is 4-5 years old and I have nothing else much older than 1 year. Usually the mortgage helps it all even out, but our current mortgage is only about 2.5 years old.

I am kind of in current conundrum because the second these rewards dried up and I Decided to drop this really old card (it had a good rewards run!), another of my credit lines was closed for non-usage. So, usually I have something a little older to hang on to! (I could have made a purchase to keep the card open, but didn't care *that* much. I replaced it with a CU credit card that I expect to keep long-term).

That said, creditkarma.com told me that my "length of open credit history" score was an F, so I figured it would be hard to make it much worse than F!

I checked a couple of times, but the recent account closure was not showing up.

Until today. My FAKO score dropped one point.

I didn't expect it to amount to anything, but you never know.

One point down - so be it!

Officially Received, between 1/1/11 and 9/7/11:

$1030 cash (Chase Sapphire)
$1015 gift cards (Citi $500 + SW rewards $500)
$ 350 deposit to ROTH (Fidelity Am Ex)
-$99 annual fee (SW card)
-$23 lost value for exchanging some Citi gift cards for cash and amazon gift cards
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$2273 TOTAL

cha-ching!

Dh is still due $200 cash from Chase.

=$2473 TOTAL

Today I signed dh up for a reduced Southwest deal. Deal is to make one purchase, pay a $69 fee, and get $250 in amazon gift cards. (HE is eyeing the new kindle, so this will cover it. & how easy is it to just make one purchase)?

I've got my eye on a Citi deal - $300 gift card reward + no fee first year. BUT, I am going to hold out a bit and see if I can get a better direct mail offer. Or, maybe close all the other cards before I start this merry-go-round again. I think you have to spend $1500 in 3 months? I am waiting to redeem that $200 cash from Chase in a couple of weeks. So, I will re-evaluate at that time. For now, the SW card was a no-brainer since it only involved one purchase. Anything more complicated than that, I rather close the chapter on all the other cards first!

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If I get that $300 deal, I will probably turn it into cash for the school. Will see!

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MORTGAGE UPDATE

Expect to make an extra $450 mortgage payment this month, with credit card rewards.

This puts the balance to about $201,750. I had expected to use savings/Christmas money, etc. to pay this down to my $199,999 goal, but doesn't seem too necessary. Normal principal is around $300/month, and I can add $250/month for the rest of the year with no cable + payroll tax holiday (& piano lessons covered by MIL). So, that about covers it.

This is good, because I probably need to divert about $1500 from savings, to max out our ROTHs in 2011. We are on track to put in a full $10k this calendar year, but also diverted a LOT of that to fund tax year 2010. So, I ran the numbers and a $1500 deposit will get us maxed out by April.

I am keeping an eye on the market. If it REALLY tanks, I will slip in that $1500 earlier. IF not, will wait until the last minute (either December or April - just depends). For now, seems like lots of downward pressure on the markets, so I will wait it out and build up more cash, first.

$30,000 cash goal is still so close but so far!! Kids have dental appointments today, which is never good news! I also need to set aside about $1500 for taxes. (The usual was not withheld from my overtime - so will owe)! & that ROTH money I just mentioned. & so it goes - on and on and on!

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I got $10 off at Kohls (Kohls cash) for buying stuff with my free gift card. Woohoo! (I think usually when I spend enough to get Kohls cash - the last thing I need to do is go shopping there again)! But this was a little different.

I also have a 20% off coupon, so will buy myself a treat today. Probably a nice top that I can wear to work. I don't think I've bought any work clothes this year, and I am feeling the boring-ness of my wardrobe.

Dh is so silly!

He told me that he went to the grocery store, and the cashier mentioned something about a $20 coupon that wasn't printing. So told him to go over to customer service to get the coupon. He had no idea what this was about, but "$20" perked up his ears. So, he goes to customer service, and their printers are not working either.

So...

They just hand him a $20 bill.



As dh tells me this story, and how everyone seems to know it is obvious he is due a $20 coupon, my guess was some kind of $20 gift card with purchase or something. (The only reason I imagine they would hand him cash in exchange!)

He was just completely clueless...

So, I google it. I just google the store, $20 coupon, and it pops up that today was the last day to earn "$20 off next purchase." You just had to spend $100 to get the coupon, which dh always does to get the gas coupon (25 cents off per gallon!).

We stopped getting our paper, so is probably the reason we were completely in the dark. I should probably bookmark the grocery store webpage or look it up on Facebook or something, to keep in the loop!

The store was Raley's/Bel Air - their customer service is always exceptional!

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Well, I got an excellent first impression from Plastic Jungle.

The amazon gift cards I redeemed directly from Southwest Chase have still not arrived. On the same day I redeemed my Citi cards, which have arrived. Last week (Friday??) I mailed in $300 Wal mart gift cards to Plastic Jungle, in exchange for about $180 cash and about $95 amazon gift cards.

Today I got my amazon gift code e-mailed to me.

So, basically plastic jungle was faster than direct redemption. Hmmmmmm...

Thank goodness. Dh really wanted to buy a roku box before we cut cable, and if it took much longer, I think he was going to pay cash. Which was really annoying with $600 amazon gift cards on their way.

The cash was mailed to me today. So, will see how long that takes. But I am uber impressed with the process. I will definitely do again some time.

I am sure the roku box is ordered and on its way. Only 2 more weeks of cable?? (We already have one roku - but apparently we need two rokus. Whatevah - it's FREE)!

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ETA: Gift cards arrived today! Woohoo! So annoying though - I ordered 10 x $50 gift cards (largest denomination offered) and they sent 20 x $25 gift cards. Oy vey!

I took 6 - it didn't take too long to enter all the codes. Dh has 15 codes to enter (14 from Chase + 1 from Plastic Jungle).

Dh ordered the roku plus some CDs and a Christmas gift for the kids. I want to get a watch for LM (BM got one from Grandma? Ignored it for a while, and now won't go anywhere without it? But I am impressed by the quality and want to get an identical one for LM). I still need to get wheels for my roller skates. So I will start with those 2 purchases and save the rest for later. It's that time of year where I pretty much put everything on the wish list for Christmas (dh's family is BIG into material Christmas). So, if it works out, maybe I won't spend the other $100 or so for a while... But it will be nice to have that balance there for when needs arise!