Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

**Another one bites the dust. A couple who married last summer is now separating. Ouch.

It is one of dh's friends. I was just teasing him about how his friends all divorce (& so quickly, to boot). His reply was my friends are all single - can't get a man or something. LOL. But, we were having that conversation, and then, the next day he finds out his friend is headed towards a divorce. Ouch!

**Everyone has been begging for money. Teachers and school, of course. But, with the economy and all, funding is being cut, parents are giving less cash, etc., etc. Then I got an e-mail about how the soccer league is so broke, too. Less funding, and on and on and on. We were asked to provide money for a banner. Well, told to. IT was like - "you owe $10." I suppose we will have a lot more nickel and diming. (When we did little league 2 years ago - everything was covered in the registration fee - but these days, seems a little different).

Anyway, I feel like a walking dollar sign. Meanwhile, this is one of our more rougher years financially. As is, for most people around here.

**The weather is absurd, here. IT was a record cool day, at 79F degrees. 79? In August? It's usually 100 degrees.

We actually stayed indoors, because my parents and their friends visited yesterday. Today I feel refreshed and would like to do a pile of chores. But, we should probably go outside and enjoy this weather a bit. I am sure we could work that out, for a short time. Maybe some soccer practice.

**Not spending any money this weekend, I suppose. Phew!

While the price of everything is going up, the price of something went down????

School lunch.

School lunches were a no brainer at $2/pop. Well rounded - lots of fruits and veggies. Plus, the simplicity.

They went up to $2.50 last year, which isn't horrible, but also not quite the steal that they were before.

But, this year, $2.25. Woohoo!

I just can't believe the price of something went down. Will see how long that lasts...

Suze had an interesting segment last week.

A younger guest (45) seemed to have a good income and a hell of a lot of assets.

But, Suze drilled down deeper and pointed out that though she had plenty of cash and retirement funds for her age, her net worth was actually quite low due to her 2 mortgaged properties (one upside down). In addition, she had co-signed another mortgage, which put her net worth at negative.

Ouch!

A good reminder to always look at the big picture!

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I just thought it was a really good segment.

I think I am pretty good at looking at the big picture with my finances.

BUT, I often run across the types who own multiple homes and are always getting into more and more debt. Some of them are just a mess (no assets to show for it). But others seem to have some financial savvy. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing it all wrong. If I hadn't paid off so much on my house (large down payment), maybe I could have significantly more assets. Hmmmmmm.

But, as I watch Suze, I giggled to myself. I realized the more savvy people who were casting doubt in my mind were all likely to have a negative net worth, anyway. Isn't it funny that I had never really thought about that before? Too blindsided by that extra $100k in liquid assets? Forgot they had 3 times as much debt as us?

It's like dh's sister, who bought a $700k-ish home on an ARM. I remember telling dh they were either really stupid or they were going to be rich. IF real estate kept going up, they could make out pretty sweet. ($700k buys a 2-bedroom shack where they live - it's nothing glorious). In the end - they may squeak by - too early to tell. The home has not appreciated since they bought, but they have been able to refi to stay afloat (not sure if they went fixed or not). They aren't upside down by any means - they bought with equity from a condo. Meaning, they may have turned a short stint as condo owners into an extra $200k or so cash down. Too early to tell, I suppose, but lord forbid either one ever gets sick or loses a job.

Dh and I are just not willing to set ourselves up for that big fall. We are too risk adverse. Without the risk, we lose the chance to make some extra dough, yes. BUT, we aren't setting ourselves up to splat on our face, either. I mean, heck, this is the entire reason we moved to our lower cost of living haven. Neither of us could stomach the debt to buy a modest home. It didn't make any sense for the big picture. But, very few even look at the big picture.

Well, so far so good (knock on wood). LM had a great first day of "all day" school. He's only been going 3 hours a day for 3 weeks.

I think the pre-K program was extremely helpful! HE was so chipper last night, that I started to wonder if going to school was taking less energy than being home with brother all day. Could be. I remember BM being very cranky the first few weeks of school - and he has tons of energy. It's just quite an adjustment.

It's only one day - so will see.

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If you asked dh, I think he'd tell you the best part is being able to sleep in! Not that he has gotten to yet. But, soon enough.

I usually either work Saturdays or go to aerobics at dawn. SO, he gets Sundays to sleep in. BUT, easier said than done, with kids who like to wake up and dawn. SO, he now gets 2-3 mornings a week while I take the kids to school. (I could care less about sleeping in. I rather go to bed early - which I do often).

I am working on a honey do list, but it isn't very long. Yet. I am used dh doing a lot for me, and don't really intend to add to his load too much. But I am thinking of a couple of things that need to be taken care of with his newfound free time.

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The other nice things is lunch dates. We always do lunch dates (more economical), but we have to plan them eons in advance, it seems.

Now we have our pick of 5 days a week.

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When BM started Kinder, it was a shift from a simpler life to more complexity. We really hadn't had much of any schedule for a long time. School is very schedule-y. Lots to plan around.

LM starting school is kind of the polar opposite. WE are used to the schedule now, and he shares it with BM. This just frees up a lot of time for dh. So, it's making life simpler, for the moment.

Dh and I will definitely enjoy. Before long, I expect he will be working again, and life will then be much more busy. So, we are definitely enjoying the slower pace for a time.

I could ask dh to help me with a lot more, but I feel content. I don't really need help with anything. The thought crossed my mind that if he was so free, I could ask him to take the kids for a day, Saturday or Sunday. But, I don't need a break, and nothing I need to do, so, eh.

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I had another weekend with cranky moms...

I thought to all of the talk of simpler living, recently.

I looked at this blog earlier, as recommended by another blogger.

[urlhttp://smallnotebook.org/[/url]

I did like it. One of the first blog posts really struck with me.

http://smallnotebook.org/blog/page/2/

The Hierarchy of Cleaning...

Clean yourself
Clean your clothes
clean the trash/dishes
Worry about the rest later...

That sums it up pretty well.

That one stuck with me because, that is completley my style of cleaning, for one. Secondly, cleaning is an area where I don't see moms being very practical. They are stressed out, they are tired, they are a mess, and they still spend hours every day cleaning. I don't quite understand why.

I've always thought, "Thank goodness I am not a neat freak."

But, as a mom friend griped to me over the weekend, I realized that there was no rhyme and reason to her priorities. She was telling me she had no time for x, y, and z (no idea how I did it), but she was spending all this energy on a, b and c, and I wasn't quite sure why.

For example, her child has been at school one full year and she asked me how the buying lunch thing worked. My jaw about hit the floor. They eat out every night, but she makes lunch for her kid every single day? Seriously? It just struck me as odd.

Anyway, I know I come across off as the "Do it all Mom" to my friends. (They've all said it to me). Which is completely ridiculous!

The truth is I am the "Ask for help" mom and the "Cut a lot of corners" mom. I am definitely the "I know how to say no" mom.

That hierarchy of chores said it pretty well. I do what needs to be done. I am good at prioritizing. I don't generally go around bragging about all the corners I cut. In fact, most people would look at me like I was crazy if I told them. But the end result is a MUCH simpler lifestyle. (Should I brag about it more? It's not like I even care, but the same moms always look horrified when you mention the corners you cut, so you can't win).

An example? I don't bathe my kids every night. (I grew up in drought country, and I think it is a ridiculous waste of water AND time). But most people think this is crazy talk! But, by only cleaning the kids when they NEED it, I save myself a couple of hours a week. That is just one example of MANY. I see quite easily why I have so much free time compared to most my mom friends.

So, is prioritizing the key to a simple lifestyle?

I don't know if it's key, but it is a skill that is just kind of inherent in my nature. I have always been pretty good at prioritizing, since I was a small child. I do think that it makes life easier.

There's probably a lot more to simplicity, than just prioritizing. But it's probably a very good first step.

We don't necessarily need a Farmers market. Um, we have farms within walking distance (one or two that sell produce).

But, that said, we did get our own Farmers Market, this week.

The sad thing was that it was right by the library and we didn't see it. I suggested they need more signs. Though sounds like they sold out fast and maybe it had mostly wound down by the time we were in the area. We just had no idea that was going on a few feet away from us.

SO, what we have is a Farmers Market Saturday mornings through summer (residents are hoping to extend that to year round). It's right by our new library. AND we are getting lights in on the freeway overpass, so we may feel comfortable enough to ride bikes over there. It is probably about a mile away - if that. There is also a huge park/bike path over there. We can't ride to anything particularly useful at the moment (stores) because the freeway overpass is such a dangerous obstacle. So, the combo of all this stuff is pretty sweet.

I look forward to some nice Saturday mornings, next year. We can go on a ride, exchange books at the library, and bring home some fresh produce. I really like the sound of it.

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I've got so much "homework." I filled out reams of paper while the kids played, yesterday. (School paperwork). I have to write a pile of checks and update Quicken.

I took BM to practice soccer last night (on our own) but couldn't find a ball to practice. Remembered one maybe went over the fence, and the other one was too small and not inflated.

We borrowed a neighbor's ball, but BM still has a gift certificate from his birthday, which lord knows what we would use it on since he just got a billion toys.

SO, using it for a soccer ball, or 2, is a good start. I think 2 is good for when we lose the first one.

Anyway, practice was good for 2 reasons. First - he was a natural when he tried. He was kind of running away from the ball at practice. So I told him we needed to practice! I Told him to play like that at practice, and he said okay. He may be too goofy for it - just not taking it seriously. He sure took it seriously against me, and kicked my butt.

Secondly - in the goofball area - he acted like he was exhausted after an hour of practice last week. He kept laying on the field. This is my HIGH energy kid.

So we practice on the local soccer field last night. Holy heck is that field BIG. I have a new appreciation that BM is just really exhausted. I about passed out. LOL.

But, all the more reason to practice. OUr weather is still unusually cool, so we need to just go out there every other night or so and run around the field. Could be good for my waistline, too, if I survive. I do admit I wasn't a great opponent because I couldn't keep up with him at all. I exercise plenty, but more speed walking than long term sprinting!

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Today we are going to the pool and having friends over for a simple dinner.

Trying to enjoy the last bits of summer. Our pool usually closes Labor Day and I am realizing that summer will be over very soon. School doesn't really change the summer-y feel for me. The kids just go to school while I am at work, so eh. We are still enjoying SUMMER here. But, boy, where did it go???

The last 2 weeks have seemed like pure chaos.

So, I am looking forward to a very relaxing weekend! Not much planned.

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**Kitty is feeling MUCH better. The antibiotics shouldn't really do much for another day or so, but she has been obviously feeling much better since she got home.

She does have an infection, so waiting for culture results to make sure we have the correct antibiotics.

Dh told me he REALLY liked this place and wants to make them our main vet. We used to have a pet rat, which was the only reason we chose the vet we did. They had a rat vet. But, no complaints, otherwise. Dh was just super impressed with this new vet.

I will only hope we don't need them again. Obviously we will at some point - our kitty is getting old.

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**Decided to check out the new library.

I utilized the library MUCH more when the kids were younger.

They opened a new one down the street (much more convenient), but it is a high school library too, so was only open weekdays, 8-5.

There was much debate about this. Every time someone complained, everyone else would say, "It's for the high school. Get over it" MEanwhile, it's the Taj Mahal of libraries. It has a huge little kid section. So, screw the working parents??? Was that the plan? Clearly it was not just built for the high school!

Thankfully, common sense reined. I read recently it was open Saturdays now. I was thinking a couple of hours here and there. So today I just remembered and decided to take the kids.

Looked up the hours. 9 - 5? Wow - better than I thought!

Dh kept saying, "Of course you have been there." Sure, when? 9-5 M-F? I don't think so. Clueless non-working people. LOL. No - I have never been, and I look forward to checking it out.

The kids don't think the library is that exciting. *sigh* I think that will improve with age. BM is a VORACIOUS reader - don't get me wrong. They both LOVE being read to. But then I am surprised BM doesn't want to read more. He just reads what we expect of him to read (the bare minimum!). I think the video games and the like win. We didn't have all those distractions when we were kids.

On the flip side, I should probably understand. I find I do not enjoy reading so much as an adult. I have gotten accustomed to everything else being at such a fast pace. I now equate reading to "time consuming." But am trying to set a better example, all the same, and get back into it.

**I swear it was just yesterday that I Was wishing to myself that there were more enterprising teens in our neighborhood - offering to mow lawns, etc.

No sooner than I thought it?

I got a flyer for $10 to mow/edge the lawn. Would really only be $20/month.

BUT, then again, we have the most awesome gardener ever ($80/month). He has our grass and trees thriving, and I don't remember the last time I saw a weed. *sigh*

So, I will keep this guy's number in case we are desparate or our gardener quits or something. I think we are fine with less service, now that we have a little more time (& less stress). BUT, by the same token, when you have something REALLY good, you don't want to give it up. It won't last forever, so might as well enjoy it.

The mowing is really the easy part - we could handle that - it's the rest I worry about!

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But seriously in almost 9 years living here, I have never gotten an offer from a KID, to mow the lawn. I think it's a good thing!

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Check out this link at My Money Blog:

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/price-relativity-and-the-search-f...

I only saw the question about if I would drive 15 miles to save $7 on a $450-ish suit.

I had 2 comments:

1 - I would never buy a $450 suit (it was posed as a frugal question - so I giggled at that).

2 - I admitted I felt like I would be more likely to drive 15 miles to save $7, if it was a lower cost item.

*ding ding ding*

& so I nailed it on the head. About the same amount of people said they would drive 15 miles to save $7 on a $25 pen, but wouldn't drive 15 miles to save $7 on a $450 suit.

Is there a right or wrong answer here? Probably not.

I just had to giggle at the comments about the horrificness of wasting the time and gas to save $7. But when it's a pen, it was okay. I am pleased to say that to me, $7 was $7. I may choose not to take the time for $7. But the cost of the item didn't have a huge impact on my decision. I do admit it did have some impact thought, and maybe more substantial impact as the price goes up (or down). Kind of interesting - so had to share.

I told dh I am just too dang logical. HE would have answered the exact same way though. So he wasn't very impressed.

Last night was fun!

Our cat has been a little off since we came back from vacation. Last night, dh was volunteering at the TV station really late, and the cat was trying to pee all over the house. At first I Was really annoyed and trying to shoo her (which she could care less about - even more frustrating) when I realized she was straining but nothing coming out. She was also being pretty loud, so at that point it was obvious she was in pain.

I didn't think much more than we'd take her to the vet in the morning.

But, as I look it up online, for whatever reason, the first thing I see is that a cat who can not pass urine, is an emergency. Great!

I realized I couldn't wait until morning, but obviously no huge rush. So I was taking my time to try and find an emergency vet. The most promising one (affordable and best reviews) would not answer their phone. I might have tried to call for 10 minutes. I then called dh, and he just happened to be on his way home early. Phew!!!! He is a night owl and offered to take her in so I could get some sleep, and so the kids could sleep. Thank Goodness!

I settled on place with all good reviews, but for price complaints. The others were all pretty expensive too.

I told dh, "I don't know if these reviewers who freak out about a $50 bill - since most people probably are." & he pointed out any emergency service would be expected to be more expensive.

So, off he went with the cat. I actually reached a human and they said definitely bring her in.

Dh must have talked to someone else when he got there because someone told him there was no emergency if she was female. (When I called they had asked me and I said they were female). I told him that was not what they told me! Later he called me and told me he would be waiting a long time (lots of real emergencies) and that they were now quoting him $500. I was getting annoyed, because they told me $89 for an exam when I called. This was just whoever was at the front desk - no doctor. I asked him to ask if we could just take her in the morning - if it wasn't an emergency after all. Our vet, most likely. Dh said, he already packed her up and everything, rather just get it taken care of.

By then I fell asleep until dh got home. They couldn't find anything wrong, and are assuming she has a UTI now. It's interesting because we took her in for one a few months back and they said it was nothing. It seemed to resolve itself. But will be a few days before results.

$500 when all was said and done. It was not a lot more expensive than our last visit. The appointment maybe cost a little more, but the other charges were mostly the same. In addition, she did get x-rays and antibiotics - why it added up to so much.

The good? We saved $30 because we got there a few minutes before 11pm. Phew! Prices went up after that.

She's 12. I suppose this is the year - or we should get used to it. We usually never take her to the vet because she FREAKS out. Lucky her - twice in one year! She didn't scratch our eyes out, so phew!

They told us her X-rays were fine, but that she has arthiritis. This may explain whey she has always had a bit of an intermittent limp. They said she had pretty severe arthiritis. Ouch! It sucks to get old.

In the end, being unable to pass urine is an emergency. In her case, she was fine when she got there, and urinated plenty. Figures, huh?

When dh took her in I was looking up prices. Up to $1500 if she had an obstruction. I told dh I was fine with a $1500 bill, before I fell asleep. So $500 was a bit of a relief.

At least I don't have EIGHT cats, like my sis. She just doesn't have the means for that. One cat can be pricey enough!

In my quest for a swimsuit.

http://www.beallsflorida.com/

The pickings are slim this time of year.

The low of my search was finding swimsuits I loved, only available in size 2X - 3X. Apparently, as a mom with a less that petite derrier, I am supposed to prance around in a string bikini.

Anything modest is reserved for Big Girls? Like averaged size women don't have a number done on them in childbirth... Though it could be more the clearance racks than anything - more skewed than usual.

So, anyway, I found the CUTEST looking swimdress on this beallsflorida site for $29. I came to it as I looked for the brand of my old tankini top - which was apparently very expensive at retail value (nothing on ebay under $50 - for a swim top!)

So, I found this site, and salivated over the suit, though the one size available was iffy. IT may fit fine, or be a bit small. Dresses are not my thing since my lower half is 3 or 4 sizes bigger than my top half!

But, it's gorgeous! A very flattering fit for the pear girl. I'd share a picture, but it's all sold out now. (I suppose I could model it...)

It retails $75, and looks like one of those $75 suits. Now, I will just hope dh doesn't ever wash it - and it lasts 5 years or something.

I am going to return a couple of other pieces I bought. I got some really nice swim shorts at Kohls for $13.99, and a nice top at Target (that I don't expect will hold up great - that is the way of Target).

I will return a couple of the others that just didn't fit as well. (I ended up buying everything online since nothing in the stores).

Which means, I now have more than one swimsuit, too. Maybe it's not so bad dh ruined my aging swim top.

The shorts I got are multi colored and don't match all the tops. SO, I will keep an eye out for swim shorts next summer. Solid colors. I usually do the skirt thing, but these are much more comfortable and flattering, I think.

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BM and I finished our taste test today. It was just a lot more tasting. Too much to fit in one day, I suppose.

Oh, today was SO much better.

The marketing made me giggle. It was like candy bars, selling as "made for kids," "healthy and organic." REALLY big on the PROTEIN. Like a protein bar.

I wrote in the comment section, "I don't buy candy bars for their nutrition."

All the while thinking, there is more to a well rounded diet than protein, and how silly it is to push ORGANIC on highly processed foods.

The stuff we ate yesterday was the likes of splenda and olestra. It was pretty terrible. I just can't help but point out the irony of clearly non natural food being pushed as healthy and organic. Ugh!

For some reason I was thinking that the school fees were "per family" or something along those lines.

Maybe they were, last year.

So, BM brings home a pile of paperwork yesterday.

$25/each for supplies. Eh.

$60/each for field trips. That's adding up...

$10/each for school spirit shirts (donation requested for this, anyway)

That's a grand total of $190. Yikes!

That's not the worst of it. The 3rd, 4th, 5th graders had field trip fees of $120-$150. Egads! What the heck kind of field trips do they go on?

Last year we decided to make our "big" donation to the school. (We donate $250 every year, around Christmas, where we see fit).

This year, I am thinking, I don't know about that...

I think this year is going to be a volunteer year. Dh has the time and intent, so I don't think we will be big on cash this year - to the school.

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I actually kept $100 in my checking account for this month, anticipating these kind of expenses. But apparently I way under-estimated.

Good thing I am earning $100 tonight from our focus group. I will tell BM that he earned himself his supplies and field trips for the year. & a t-shirt.

Mental note: It will be a lot more next year!

I still am not sure why the taste test is over 2 days, or what we will do today.

BM and I joked that they want to see if the food made us sick, or if we are still alive.

He said, "I think the first question will be - Are you dead?" LOL.

Needless to say, the food we tasted was really BLECH. The only one that tasted good was a more oatmeal/raisin one. The rest were chocolate, brownie, peanut butter, etc.

I got the impression they were trying to go for a healthy angle on completely unhealthy type food. Which rarely works out very well. I felt kind of sick when we left.

So, I don't know what tonight will entail, but I would recommend just sticking to fruit flavors or something. Forget the fake peanut butter and chocolate. BLECH.

The funny thing is I don't like raisins in my granola bars or cookies. I like them standalone. So I mark off on my form that I don't like bars with raisins in them. MEanwhile, it was the only one I liked, and it was REALLY good.

If they want to be so natural and healthy, why not just put fruit in it? Rocket science, huh?

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Anyway, we will get our $100 for the taste test, tonight.

Oh yeah, and we ran into our neighbor there. Pretty funny. In a city of millions, and my neighbor down the street shows up to this small focus group.

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Well, we all survived the first day of school. I think LM had a good day, overall. They just go 3 hours a day, and then REAL school starts next week. So, that will be interesting! 7 hours a day...

But I think he will see BM more, and the neighbor kids (many in 1st grade) when he goes to school all day. So, I think he will adjust quickly.

This year, he gets out 45 minutes before BM, which is kind of obnoxious. On the plus side, 2 of our neighbors seem to work intermittently, so we could probably trade off picking up the older kids. BEfore, I Wasn't sure we had much option, since most those kids go to after school care. But, I have been seeing their dads home more and more - they both work more on contract. So, I realized we should at least talk to them and ask for help. We could trade.

Today, dh is also watching another kid in the afternoon. In exchange, they are picking up BM for us. I think dh is going to have a lot of these type days, for this year. Next year will be a lot easier, when the kids are on the same schedule.

Why is it, that you can't wait for your kids to be independent enough to start school? & then you cry your eyes out when they do?!?

This is definitely a mom thing. Dh may be the one home with the kids more, but he seems completely unaffected by the fact they are aging by the second. Today when we walk home after dropping the kids off from school, I will bawl my eyes out all the way home (I did on BM's first day on Kinder) and dh will probably do a happy dance because he is FREE.

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All that said, while BM wouldn't blink about us leaving him in a strange place all day, LM is a little more finicky, stubborn, and sensitive, etc., etc.

So, I have had a little more anxiety about how this day would go.

BUT, he took to the pre-K program very well, and he got to meet his teacher and classroom yesterday, and seemed very happy.

SO, I expect he will happily go off with his class today. PHEW! I thought he may be the one kid crying, "Don't leave me!!!!!!!"

I expect today will be easy on him, but hard on me.

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It's bittersweet. I am happy for the kids, and for dh. It is a joyous day on many levels. But, it's also a day that you can't help but realize your kids are growing up very fast. We are moving past a very special time in our lives.

Well, this is turning out to be a crazy week.

I actually got picked for a focus group (well, my son did). As I answered the questions, I knew I wouldn't qualify, as usual.

I am a little peeved because they said they had slots W & Th. I thought they meant a one hour focus group or something. But then they tell me it is W & Th, both, after I agree. Ugh. Of course, more infuriating, is dh answered the phone when they called, and asked if he could do the focus group with his son. No, just the mom! The funny thing is I usually don't qualify because I don't do any household shopping for the most part. Which is fine, since dh has more time for these things. BUT, in this case, they clearly assumed moms do all the shopping. They didn't even ask. Which I am sure would disqualify me immediately.

They also asked a lot of questions about organic stuff, which I could care less about. It's not that I don't see any merits in organic food, but I just am not willing to pay a small fortune just because something is labeled organic. & I guess I don't care enough to look into it further. So, when they start asking all those questions, I figured I was out.

But, by some miracle I am in, and it pays $100. In the grand scheme of things, easy money. I can meet dh downtown with the kid, right after work, so it shouldn't be too bad. I don't have time to come home and pick him up and everything.

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This is the most expensive vacation we have probably every paid for. Grand total? $1600.

Airfare was $1100 of that, so about $500 otherwise. Even our Disney trip wasn't quite that expensive - but we didn't have to pay for airfare. (We tend to drive).

& I know my MIL is peeved because she always offer to pay for our trips to get us to go places we don't have the means or time to go, otherwise. So, I could tell she was rather put off that we went on this trip. (Truth is, my mom gave me $600 to cover some airfare, which puts us right at $1k out of pocket).

Airfare $1100
Hotel $150
Rental car $150
rental car seat $50
Food/Misc. $100
Airport parking/Gas $50

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We ended up rather spoiled on the food front. My Grandma treated us to 2 lunches, and dh's recently divorced friend treated us to one dinner. Dh was not happy with this as we had agreed beforehand that obviously we would treat as there were 4 of us. He simply said, "This is a lot cheaper than dating."

So, that was unexpected.

Reminds me, dh's friend also told us about his recent $400 trip to Cabo, or something. In the lap of luxury. We both sighed. Those were the days. I traveled all over the country on pennies, when it was just me.

So that means we only really paid for 3 meals, and some breakfast food. I guess it adds up fast. We also bought my Grandma a few things. In return, she gave the kids $5/each for their piggy banks. I think that works out well.

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My Grandma's new place in an assisted living facility, is divine. Just gorgeous. They had a little park right out behind the place, where the kids spent a lot of time.

I think with more assistance, the place costs something like $5k/month. OF course, she has since been way downgraded. I don't know what she is paying now. BUT, dh's Grandma pays $3k/month to live in a very crappy place. It's okay, but maybe one star compared to this 5 star place. The only reason being that dh's Grandma wants to be by her family, and they live in one of the most expensive cities in the world. This place was completely night and day. It had much more older and more helpless people, that is for sure. The lunch we had there was kind of funny - it is all gourmet menu. I kept telling her not to worry - that the kids will eat anything. Then they served lamb with mint jelly. LOL. The other residents told us the food is always weird. I had just assumed it would be more buffet like anywhere else I had been.

I know my Grandma has had a tough time of it, and was very weak. But, for the most part, she refused any help, was of very sound mind, and was pretty intent on getting up and moving around. So, I think she is doing well.

Of course, there is money/family drama. Another post for another day.

Actually, we were extremely helpful, and so was a nice and a productive trip. We helped with a few little things and a run to the store, etc. I also believe I was instrumental in help solving some of the money/family problems. I had suggested she talk to her CPA, because we help some of our elderly clients with paying the bills and such. She is very close with her CPA, and in the end, he offered to help her for free. She just figured he was too busy, and hasn't been great about asking for help. I told dh that obviously he didn't know the situation or would step in. I told her that we help our clients all the time and would be worth checking with him. I'd offer to help, but having her bills paid in California didn't make much sense, and I think it was good to get a 3rd party involved. So, will see how that works out.

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I almost forgot. Dh spent about 2 hours getting some family history and some of her stories, on tape. Priceless!

He does plan to spend a good chunk of the next year getting our own home videos edited down, and working on our parents' life videos. He got his grandfather on tape in Florida, and I should encourage him to get his local Grandma on tape, sooner rather than later. The rest are long gone... The sad thing is most of their friends and relatives are gone, too. So, dh has been motivated to work on our parents' videos, while he has a lot more to work with.

Probably one of our more pleasant travel experiences.

When I went through air security in Sacramento, I forgot to take all my liquids out of my bag, but no one cared.

Denver seemed much more fierce, so as I piled my shoes, jackets, liquids, laptop, and helped the kids with their shoes and jackets, I just thought, "This is RIDICULOUS!" I think we had like 10 bins, and I felt sorry for anyone traveling with infants and formula and diapers and all that jazz. Strollers, carseats, etc.

It's 100 times easier to travel, now that we have past that age.

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Of course, that said, being a little flustered cost us $50. Ouch!

We parked in the economy lot at the airport, which was awesome by the way. The shuttle was pulling up just as we parked, and frankly, we were cutting it a bit close. It took us longer to park than we imagined, and we were totally fine. Just wondered how long we'd have to wait for the shuttle and how long the security lines were. Our flight left in an hour.

So, when we saw the shuttle, we RAN out of the car and boarded the bus. IT wasn't until about an hour later as we were boarding the plane, did we see all these parents with carseats. Dh and I looked at each other. We had forgotten LM's booster seat. Doh! We didn't even realize, in our haste.

Dh felt the logical conclusion was to rent one. I did not think this was a logical conclusion at all. For one, I rented an infant seat once, and I swear they had the thing from the 1970s. My aunt saved the day and let us borrow her more modern/clean carseat. I am not a neat freak by any means, but that thing was disgusting!

So, thinking to that, I told dh, "Well, I didn't rent one in the first place because it was expensive, and probably disgusting to boot."

He was still pretty insistent, when we got to the car rental place. Meanwhile, we had nothing but time, and our GPS to go find a Target or whatever. I said, "Use your judgement. We can buy one for $20, probably."

HE was also telling me he was going to ask the car rental people what the carseat laws were. I regretted not looking them up. I was going to, but dh had insisted we just take it along, so I didn't look anything up. Like I believe whatever they say - they want to charge an arm and a leg for you to rent one.

SO, they tell him $13/day, and he rents the seat. When he tells me this, I am NOT happy at all. 3 days x $13 - $39. I'd rather buy a seat and donate it at the end of the trip. Selling it would be quite possible too.

Dh tells me it's 2 days, and I point out we are paying for 3 days. UGH!

IT gets better. When we drop off the car, they charge us $50. We are peeved, but have to get going. We had enough time to sit and go through it and fight it and whatever, but felt kind of rushed all the same, as the billion people were dropping off their rental cars.

SO, we got to the airport and were eating, and I start looking over the receipt. We had already prepaid and I wasn't thrilled to be charged another $50. I finally found what it was. $39 carseat (told you so, dh) + 25% taxes/fees on it. So came out to about $49. I shot dh the evil eye, but that's the last I will bring it up. What's done is done! He usually has much better judgement.

The irony was the guy at the car rental place told us the kids had to be in booster seats to age 8, and I just rolled my eyes. When we got to the hotel I looked it up, and sure enough, that law had taken into affect just a few days before we arrived! Figures. Not that it mattered much. Old law/new law/our own comfort, we would have gotten LM a carseat, regardless. He just turned 5, and their old law, and our law, is to age 6.

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Anyway, the trip was very nice, so more on that later.

I am relieved today is rather calm. A day to recover.

Though one of my more pleasant traveling experiences, I REALLY missed my bed. Oh, my aching back. I slept like a baby last night, at home.

It will be here in a blink!

I suppose this year is very interesting as we move on to another phase of our life. The last 8 years or so have been pretty difficult (yet, so rewarding!). I have such mixed feelings about dh possibly returning to work. We have gotten accustomed to a much simpler life. BUT, we are also aggressive savers, and miss having a second income to blow through all of our savings goals.

As such, I have told dh, he may just need to work long enough to pay off the mortgage. Honestly, he only worked post-college/full-time, about 2 years. It made a tremendous difference to our savings. 2 more years would do the same.

But anyway, as school starts next week, our cost of working goes down considerably (no daycare needed? For 30 hours a week?)

Will see. We will not proceed with anything drastic. I don't expect more than very part time work, this next year.

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We found out who LM's teacher will be. Was disappointed because we had no idea who this teacher was. ??? I theorized maybe the teacher got married and changer her name. I wasn't coming up with much from this angle, or from googling this new teacher's name.

SO, I finally just googled the missing teacher's name, and quickly found out what was going on (& why we didn't know).

Um, the teach is pregnant with quadruplets. Holy cow!

Put on disability, of course. OF course, she blogged this in late July, so she probably just told the school.

So, this teacher was a rather last minute hire, it seems. Will see how that goes!

**BM started soccer practice yesterday.

It works out. The practice is actually right down the street from our gym. Yesterday, we all went (out of curiosity) but I didn't see much. They weren't doing much, and so LM and I went to the gym for a bit.

Practice is long enough that I probably could drop off BM, walk to the gym, work out almost an hour, and pick him back up. So, this could work out well.

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**While at the gym, dh told me he thought the ice cream place over there had discounted ice cream on Tuesday nights. I looked around 6:30pm, and sure enough, $1 ice cream scoops from 6-8pm. I didn't look that carefully, but I don't think anyone was there.

SO, we went over there after practice. AND, the line was out the door and around the corner. We actually got in line, which was insane. Clearly we would be there all night. I told dh, "Um, Rite Aid????" The kids were upset about this. I had never eaten this place's ice cream. But Rite Aid is always something like a buck for a scoop, and their ice cream is DIVINE. If this place was better, maybe its best I didn't know.

Finally talked the rest of them into it - by pointing at the clock. It was almost 8pm!

So, we get to Rite Aid, and there are people with ice cream all over the place. Some, PAYING for their ice cream. & then, we get to the ice cream, and the place is "CLOSED FOR CLEANING." Seriously? What did we miss it by? One minute??? Gah.

So, they were selling ice cream tubs for $2.50. After much negotiations, we settled on some strawberry cheesecake ice cream, as well as some 50-cent ice cream sandwhiches for the kids.

Of course, when we pay, we are told the ice cream is $3.50. How obnoxious. There was nothing on the label that said "card members only," or anything like that.

So then dh grumbles all the way home that he will never buy anything there again. (But ice cream scoops, anyway).

Thus, was our adventure.

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I need to look closely at August tonight. I do know we spent way too much.

I was doing some financial chores this morning, but didn't have enough time to look at August. I was updating all our interest for August, and transferring savings, etc.

I was able to transfer money into my higher interest online savings. It had been a while. Seems like medical bills and big maintenance bills, here and there. A luxury TV purchase thrown in for good measure.

So, my money has been coming out of savings about as fast as I put it in. Which means, I haven't made any deposits into my higher interest savings in a while!

BUT, today I transferred $1k to savings. Phew. Let's hope I can keep this momentum...

Did anyone see this article?

6 Money Habits That Are Illegal

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/110219/6-...

1 - Signing someone's name on a check
2 - Using someone else's identity to obtain credit
3 - LYING on a home loan application
4 - Writing bad checks
5 - Copying U.S. Currency
6 - Defacing U.S. Currency

"Forgery. Loan fraud. Counterfeiting. These and other financial crimes might seem like a far cry from most people's everyday lives. But it's surprisingly easy to adopt a dicey financial habit under the guise of "everyone does it," "I was just trying to help" or "it seemed like a good idea at the time.""

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I probably would forge my husband's signature on a check, and that's about it. Because it would be with his permission. I actually never have because I couldn't forge it if I tried. Not my forte! But I can guarantee he wish I did when I woke him up the other morning to sign some checks so I could deposit them.

The home loan is my pet peeve - probably because everyone went around bragging about that one for a long time. But it wouldn't occur to these people that this is part of the problem and a big reason why real estate is in the mess it is. I know lenders are plenty to blame, but so are the people who played along.

Actually, it's my pet peeve because people in foreclosure, etc., etc., will still justify that they just "fudged a little." No biggie. Didn't hurt anyone in the process, right??? I've had this conversation over and over. You just want to bang your head on a wall.

To piggyback onto Analise's experience - I saw this article in the paper:

Beware of air duct cleaning offers, Better Business Bureau warns

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/01/2926895/beware-of-air-duct-...

"Is air duct cleaning even necessary?

Probably not, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

If no one in your household suffers from allergies or unexplained symptoms/illnesses, and a visual inspection inside the air ducts "shows no indication of large deposits of dust or mold (and) no musty odor or visible mold growth, having your air ducts cleaned is probably unnecessary," according to the EPA's website."

ALSO:

"In what it calls "investigative shoppings," the BBB office set up seven appointments and paid for air duct cleanings at the homes of BBB employees or acquaintances.

Its conclusion: The air duct cleanings by the six firms were "superficial at best," and the companies engaged in "aggressive tactics" to sell unnecessary services and/or expensive equipment, including furnace cleanings, new filters, extended warranties, mold eradication, chemical sanitization and ultraviolet lights.

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I think a huge key to saving money is knowing what maintenance is really necessary. I notice that my family (extended family, too), in general, does not spend a lot of money on maintenance type things. But we do take care of our things, and they do tend do last a long time. For example, my dad was just telling me they will probably be last on the block to replace their water heater. I was actually encouraging him to just do it since the energy savings will probably pay for itself, very quickly. But, it's kind of ironic to know all these people spending tons of money to maintain their homes and their cars, and they just replace them prematurely anyway. Just a waste! It's the American Way. I think there is an element of believing anything a salesman says there, too. I mean, if the car needs a new spark plug, might as well throw it in the dump, right? Oh, the humanity!

Anyway, I am used to people looking at me weird because I don't do x, y, z. The biggie is probably dealer recommended auto maintenance. They think I am an idiot, meanwhile, I keep my cars 2-4 times as long as most people. Hmmmmmmmmm...

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Anyway, my stars are still aligned in a bad way. Just in the middle of a few difficult situations at work. UGH!

BM starts soccer practice, which will probably be a bit time consuming.

& school starts next week.

Anyway, it just feels a little crazy around here. Last night, I just came home and fell asleep about 6pm - I Was just so exhausted. I have the feeling today will be about the same. Except I can't nap in the p.m. because we have so much going on!

I am ready for this week to be over. That which doesn't kill me, makes me stronger...

Yesterday was just gorgeous as can be. I don't think I have ever seen Monterey look so beautiful. Usually, overcast and grey. But the sun was shining, and the ocean was a brilliant blue. It was so pretty!

I have a weak stomach, but have never puked before on a boat (or in a car, plane, etc., though I have felt very close to). From past bad experiences though, I knew not to step foot on that boat without proper sea sickness medicine.

We raced out to the open water, and were probably there within 20 minutes. IT was so amazing - we could see the other whale watching boats in the distance and there were obviously many whales, since we could clearly see their water spouts, still being very far away. (We also saw a lot of dolphins, and some seals, jumping through the waves).

As we approached, those whales swam off. No need to fear, we probably saw a good 20 whales, easily. As we stopped the boat, others came near. They were just frolicking. It was AMAZING.

Or so I was told. I didn't get to see much, because I ended up puking my guts out! On a scale of 1 - 10, it was a 10 of agony. Unfortunately, the worst was when we stopped, and the whales came right up to the boat. I missed most of it. The less we moved, the worse I felt. The sea was pretty choppy. Every time the boat stopped, for the amazing views, the more I puked. (Oh, it could have been so much worse! I puked in my jacket, I Was in denial until it happened, and THEN found out there were barf bags on board - I might have used 4 of them - just kept sending dh to get me more. But at least I didn't puke all over someone). It was so GOOD we had MIL with us to help entertain the kids while dh and her took turns taking care of me!

Everyone else had a stellar time. So I am still glad we went. I just think that is my last boat ride, for eternity.

I did get to see some whales, but clearly did not appreciate their full glory.

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So, it was quite a whirlwind weekend for us. Spent a lot of time in the car...

In other news, found out in a roundabout way that an acquaintance of mine lost her house to foreclosure.

It's a shame because she was REALLY stupid financially, and had seemed to be coming around when they bought this house with some inheritance money. About 3 years ago?

I don't know all the details, but it looks like they put a good chunk down on the home, and in the end, just lost it all. I can't help but wonder if they kept any more of the inheritance, or what. Who knows.

In the past it was just, feeling glad she *woke up* and didn't squander that money.

As I poked around a bit to see what they paid for the house and all the gory details, it was obviously a bit of a stretch and definitley far more than they needed.

I always hear about these by accident or through the grapevine though. I don't know anyone who is proud in this situation. No one's bragging about it. More like hiding it in a cloak of shame.

Though most of the foreclosures we have been seeing and hearing about are so obvious - just obvious that these people are in WAY over their heads - this is probably the first of many we will probably start to hear about. People who just aren't on my radar as in WAY over their heads. No doubt a lot of people are hiding just how bad off they really are. So, who knows who will be next.

Got a chance to talk to dh about the newspaper renewal.

I laid it out - past annual prices - $111, $111, $130, now $150.

I was worried dh would not be on board, but he said, "Are you crazy??? That's the newstand price!"

I suppose I had my answer, but as he ranted and raved, I told him they have to obviously see who blindly pays.

I am completely fine with buying the Sunday paper from the corner store, myself!

Which led to our next discussion. When we call to cancel, and they offer us something else, what do we do?

He told me honestly he didn't want to pay more than $100.

I grabbed the bill to hand to him, and was about to say, "Good Luck," when I noticed the fine print.

We could get the paper for $104 dollars per year, if we signed up for auto bank or credit payments.

I kind of think it is ingenious marketing. See who will blindly pay $150. BUT, have an option for the people who are going to say, "No way!!"

So, we didn't even have to call. We get the paper for $104 for the following year.

Of course, I am curious what they will charge us next year, then. Hmmmm.

& now I am going to pull out last year's statement and see if I missed this $2/week offer.

We can still prepay the whole year, which sounds good to me.

**So, dh ran my swimsuit through the wash, and ruined it. Actually, I think it was the dryer. I have worn it a few times, since. I noticed that the elastic straps got messed up somehow. I don't let dh wash my clothes, and lord knows how he got ahold of my swimsuit.

I have made sure he never washes it again. Gah! (He's heard me whine enough about it!)

I notice it has holes in the undergarment part (I think those are new) and the rest of it has lost most of its elasticity. It's been wearable since it is a tankini, as long as I tuck it in. Otherwise it is just hanging on me - more like a shirt than a bathing suit.

I am annoyed because it took me a long time to find this swim top, and it suited me very well. I searched my blog. I did buy it exactly 3 years ago - for our cruise. I suppose I can treat myself to a new swim top, for HAwaii. I was thinking the bottom halfs were getting kind of tired looking (& I must have bought those years prior, since I only mentioned buying a top in my blog).

Of course, this is assuming I can even find anything, this time of year.

Kohls is having a big sale online, but the pickings are slim. I'll probably go try stuff and attempt to buy sight unseen if that is my only choice. At least the prices are good. Selection? Not so much.

The last one I paid good money for, but I figured I'd be keeping it a lot longer. I know 3 years isn't half bad, but it was perfectly fine before it met its fate in the wash. Looked as good as the day I bought it...

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**Dh bought a new filter for the fridge water. HE didn't tell me it was just about $50, *choke choke* It was about $45 last year, and $40 the year before. I think they recommend to change it every 6 months, and we just change it once a year.

I am totally fine with tap water - it is just easier to get water out of the door.

BUT, these prices are ridiculous. I think I will suggest to dh that we just change it every 2 years. We can also look harder for other places to buy the filter. He just bought it at Sears, where we bought the fridge. OR we could resume keeping cold tap water in a container in the fridge. The cheapest route, for sure.

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**As mentioned, I am hoping to talk dh into dropping our newspaper subscription. It has gotten so expensive.

Today, I also dropped our $6/month for green energy. We have a local/public electric company, and for $6/month all of our electricity comes from renewable resources. Not bad, right?

Our gas company is a private company and though I have looked at some of their green energy type programs, carbon offsets, etc., etc., I haven't heard much good about them.

On the flip side, have heard nothing but good things about our electric program.

That said, with everything going up, I am trying to slice where it is easiest. IT's $6 that we just don't need to be wasting at the moment.

If dh gets a job, we'll commit to the $6 again, and feel warm and fuzzy about it. For now, I feel like, "Take that!" Maybe relieved there is something easy to cut in our budget.

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But, I think this year it is all really hitting. Last year we didn't feel it so much. A lot of places were rather slow to raise prices. Work was good. We took advantage of rock bottom interest rates, and found some extra cash by refinancing. (Lowered our house payment $200/month). We ate out more than usual because of coupons galore. Even this year, we have been able to take advantage of record low prices for things like getting our house painted.

BUT, the tide is definitely turning. I did take a hit to my own compensation this year, and as things are renewing and government budgets are put in place for the new fiscal year, all of our bills seem to be on the rise. I don't remember a year like this before. Sometimes, a, b, and c will rise prices a bit, but x, y, z will lower them. It usually seems to even out. This year is just lots of economic pressure.

Though we are still getting a lot of good coupons - that said. Maybe even more than we have been. I have been getting $5 off Round Table Pizza and $10 off oil change coupons, multiple times a week. Those are usually rare treasures, even in this economy.

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In other news, my co-worker is getting her house painted for about $5k. She is the one who is refinancing. I referred my paint guy to her, and lord knows why they didn't go with him. Didn't even call him. They may have their reasons, so I didn't push it. But she was just kind of like, "We are paying for it with the refinance." The conversation was like, "We didn't shop around at all because the money is coming out of the sky."

I don't want to pick on her, because I like her, and she is probably more financially responsible than 90% of Americans out there (maybe 95%?).

BUT, I still can't get past this. It's like talking to someone and one day realizing that you aren't speaking the same language. & you didn't realize it before.

I mentioned before that she is about 15 years my senior, which is the part that is ultra mind boggling to me. In 15 years, I want my mortgage paid off! I know that may be a lofty goal, and maybe I won't quite make it. But I can't foresee anything that would make me so nonchalant about borrowing money against my house, as I approach age 50.

I suppose the important thing is that I mentioned all this to dh, and he was dumbfounded. What is important is that apparently him and I speak the same language. & it's nice to talk to someone who speaks the same language. Not, "IS it just me???"

I'll keep scratching my head as the topic of this refinance keeps coming up, but it's none of my business, I don't know the whole picture, and it doesn't affect me. & so life will move on!

My lazy days of summer have been replaced with crazy busy crazy. Yikes! What a week. 7/31 is a deadline at work, but its just one of those times where the stars aligned and everything went wrong. Too much client drama (divorces, fighting partners - stuff like that).

I told dh at some point, "This is worse than tax season!" But, it was only one week, and I feel like I have dug my way out. Phew. I feel a little more relaxed today.

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**Read an article in the paper about DIY security putting pressure on security firms. I can't find it online, unfortunately. I found the article kind of funny because I grew up in the land of engineers. Security IS DIY. So they were talking about DIY security stuff that we have had for decades. BUT, I do admit that the ability to unlock your front door remotely from the computer, and stuff like that, is a step up in an interesting direction. (The rest is yawn, a lot of this stuff has been around well more than 10 years???)

I also shared this because I notice random regional differences here and there. Anyone around here who cares about their finances does DIY security. I Was surprised how much stock other people (forums) put into those security monitoring firms. I think it comes down to regional differences. & I realize more and more every day, the region I come from is *Weird.*

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**Speaking of this newspaper article, I got the newspaper subscription renewal. Dh fights to keep it every year. I pulled up Quicken real quick to see what we paid the last few years, $111, $111, $129. Now they are asking about $150. Ouch! At $111 dh told me it was worth the ads/coupons alone. I am not sure I will be so easily convinced this year. Will see!

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**I just got the notice from my credit union asking me to sign up for overdraft protection for debit card transactions. So they can charge me all sorts of fees when I go over.

Actually, I never use my debit card and I never have overdrafts. So, I will obviously NOT opt in.

But, I have heard some banks are pretty obnoxious about asking you a zillion times. I can't help but feel their measly $3 overdraft fee is not a HUGE moneymaker for them. But, I could be wrong. They are obviously trying to spin it, calling it a "New Courtesy program," to let us overdraft and charge us lots of fees to do so.

The overdraft thing is just not anything in my realm of understanding.

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**On a final note, it has been asked in the forums, "What would you never scrimp on, or be cheap about?"

That is a hard question for me to answer. I can be cheap with just about anything, honestly.

But, a bell has gone off in my head a few times. My answer would be LEGAL SERVICES. Realtors and estate lawyers, come to mind.

I know a lot of people don't feel the same way, but a lot of people haven't seen as many people as I have, completely screwed over, losing tens of thousands of dollars going cheap.

We've done a fair amount of house buying and selling in our young lives, and we unintentionally ended up with a M.O. of sniffing out bad realtors on the other side. Particularly, bad selling realtors. When house hunting, this has never been particularly our plan, but this is always where we end up. Good for us, but all I See is money down the drain for the sellers. They'd be better off FSBO. I've said, you'd be better off with no realtor than with a bad one. (But a good one is worth their weight in gold!)

& then there are legal fees.

The biggie that I see a lot at work, is Estate planning.

The wisdom is that if you live in California, and you own a home, then you need a living trust. I think most people are skeptical of this advice. PArticularly frugal people. They don't really understand what a living trust buys them.

As I watch the drama unfold all the time at work though, I KNOW why I need to have my estate affairs in good working order. At the least, it takes a lot of stress off my heirs. At the most, it ensures my intentions are carried out, and not unintended consequences I didn't foresee.

Anyway, I share, because this week a client sold a house. She inherited it when her mother died, about 3 years ago.

Her mother didn't want to spend $1k or so on a will and living trusts. (Actually, in this case, this was not the reason - but I will pretend it is because it is an example I see ALL the time!)

This means that they had to go through probate court, to settle the estate. They pay a percentage of assets to the probate court, for all the legal fees and such, and after 2 years, the title is changed and everything goes where it should. As the sole heir, this was a pretty cut and dried estate settlement.

MEanwhile, she had to maintain this home for about 3 years (property taxes, insurance, etc., etc.) and got to list it in a TERRIBLE market. IT took many months to sell, and the house is worth about half what it was 3 years ago. So, she may have lost $150k in that.

Of course, the lost home value if the least of it. HAving to deal with all of this for THREE years after losing her mother, has been very hard. I have seen this over and over.

For comparison? Clients with living trusts, have been able to settle all of their affairs within a couple of months, and immediately put homes up for sale.

I had a client with a net worth of over $3 million, who passed away this year. Her entire estate was settled and distributed within a few months. Many different properties, etc. The legal fees to do so were a drop in the bucket compared to how much probate would have cost.

I understand this is a regional thing, too. But all I know is I wouldn't do that to my family. I spent about $1500 to make it as easy on them as possible, by getting a proper estate plan. Money WELL spent. I think the motivating factor is not even the money. BUT, doing so will obviously save our heirs well over $1500, in the long run.

Trying it our for a couple of weeks anyway.

I tried to book whale watching tickets, and the system online was clunky. I probably should have just called (but the place also said be patient about calls because phone was ringing off the hook).

Their tickets were refundable at least. Never heard anything, and so after about 36 hours, I Decided to just go buy from the most expensive place. It was $10 per person more than all the others, BUT clearly had the nicest boat. I suppose the price was a huge deterrent, because none of their weekend cruises were sold out yet. (All the rest are, at this point).

So I bit the bullet this morning. Was $150 for the 4 of us (service fees, too). I will call the other place later to make sure we aren't double booked.

Actually, I am ultra excited about the trip. It's rare when we randomly drop $150 on something, but I do believe this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and am not stressed about it at all. It's more of a frugal victory. That we can drop everything and do this last minute trip. This is WHY we live like we do.

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Of course, soon after is our Colorado trip. That is a "Drop everything to see Grandma" trip. Kind of the same thing but it will cost 10 times as much, and will probably be a little less exciting. But I suppose it is along the same vein.

After which, we can resume being boring!

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LM did end up starting the pre-K program. It has been awesome. He is teacher's pet. He is the type who immediately loves or hates anyone, and so, I hope he isn't setting high expectations for his K teachers. I hope he isn't too upset when he meets the real K teacher. They are all sweet ladies, but with him, who knows. He will find something to hate.

The other funny observation I made is that BM prefers daddy and LM seems to prefer me. I couldn't help but notice that he just seemed in love with his teacher. He likes females more. It's kind of funny. BM currently has a male teacher and is in heaven. He lucked out with him for 2 years - I don't think there is another male teacher in the entire school. I would have said that it was because dh stays home, but LM has always been more momma's boy, regardless. He also has always had a lot of girlfriends. He just prefers females. So, I think BM kind of put up with kindergarten, but I can see Kinder being an ideal little world for LM. The K teachers are so maternal with the wee little ones.

**Aaaaaaahhhhhhh... Just enjoying a nice leisurely summer weekend.

I actually worked a bit yesterday (or a lot) and didn't get home until 2 or 3. It works out, because I didn't want to use any vacation time for Denver. It's coming up, and with July 31 being a big deadline, and me taking Monday off for a seminar, I really needed to get some hours in. Though I could probably work some overtime next weekend, it's more necessary THIS weekend! I just put my time to next week, and put everything over 40 hours next week, I'll put to the following week. Vacation time off, solved.

Of course, I was pretty beat from a long work week, when I got home, but after recovering, we decided to go to the pool. Unfortunately, dh doesn't find it as relaxing as I do. But I drug him along with his book - hopefully he got a little bit of relaxation out of it. Our neighbors ended up showing up with pizza, and I sent dh home to grab some popsicles to share. Kids were in pool heaven. The unexpected free dinner was nice!

We have definitely been going to the pool more. I told the kids we could go tonight, because I know I won't have to get IN the pool with them. It makes all the difference. Usually it's just more exhausting with weaker swimmers. But, we are definitely taking advantage of the amenities this year, and enjoying the difference it makes to take strong swimmers there.

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Today, dh left me alone with the kids, and they were a little stir crazy, so I told them we could go outside before it got too hot. Ah, the weather is DIVINE. Is about 80 degrees, with a really nice, cool breeze. Our front tree has gotten big enough to provide substantial a.m. shade (this is new), and the kids ended up drawing chalk on the sidewalk (mostly) while I did some financial housekeeping on my netbook. I just sat in the garage and told them to stick to the shade, ORELSE I'd have to get out the sunblock!

The sun felt much hotter, so wasn't in the mood to walk to the park or anything. It's supposed to be a 100-degree day. We try to enjoy the cool mornings and evenings.

Absolutely nothing planned for the rest of the day, either.

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We were thinking of going to the Star Trek exhibit, but it will be around until January, and we decided to take it easy this weekend. Then the whole whale watching thing came up, so probably for the best. We will probably go sometime in the fall.

I am not sure how whale watching will pan out. Between that, and the Pre-K program starting TOMORROW, we have to re-arrange all our plans with MIL. She was going to take one kid each, for about 4-5 days. Now we want to shanghai the kids in the middle of that, for this whale tour, but we will work it out. Plan A is to invite her along. Will see. Another Plan is to leave the kids with her, and sneak off to see the whales ourselves. Cheaper that way?

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**We returned a few gifts that the kids got for their birthdays. Others, we left at Grandma's house. Was a good idea, I think.

MIL also sent down a pile of school clothing, so I will be able to take back some of what I bought. Turns out I liked the shorts she got better, and she did listen when I told her I did not need any shirts (got a bunch from Hanes, very cheap). So, I can take back the more expensive shorts that I liked less anyway. Phew!

This is a nice gift because the kids even have some pants now. All I really need is a jacket for LM (which can wait a couple of months) and maybe more pants come October. I can live with that.

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Yesterday I found time for a DIY mani/pedi. I have bright red toe nails and shiny/clear/polished nails.

Life is good!

The city, or whoever, put a big median in the major road by our house, a while back. There was absolutely no thought put into this project. When we come out of our development, we can turn right, to the west, where there is absolutely NOTHING. OR we go left/east, to where everything is. But, it didn't occur to them to leave us space to turn left from our street. We have to go right a couple of blocks, and make a U-turn. YEah... This effectively doubles our commute to the school across the street, when we drive or bike. (Or we can go out another exit when we drive, which is less convenient, and means a drive down the speed bump road from hell).

Did I mention the school across the street? NO crosswalks!

I suppose we should feel lucky they left 2 spaces in the median to turn left into the school parking lots.

Anyway, at some point, they ripped out some of the median, and put in a crosswalk. A little more helpful for when we bike ride, but a bit too impractical for walking. We just jaywalk.
Since there is literally nothing to the west, there are no cars to navigate when crossing the street, so, eh.

Anyway, they just started ripping out the median by the end of our street. Could it be? We can turn LEFT again??? HALLELUJAH!

Ah, our tax dollars at work. Gotta love it.

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We may do a rather impromptu trip to Monterey, next weekend.

Whales crowd Monterey Bay to feast on krill bonanza

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/24/2911782/whales-crowd-monter...

Um, one 3-hour tour saw 80 whales, and almost 600 dolphins? & 8 blue whales???? (1 blue whale is a rare sight).

We actually went on a whale watching cruise once, in Washington. We didn't see any whales. No regrets though. The views were spectacular, and we saw lots of wildlife.

This just looks like an amazing "once in a lifetime opportunity." IT looks pretty guaranteed we will see some whales (Many!!). So, will see if we can squeeze it in. I just peeked and one place is sold out most of the week. But maybe we can get reservations for next weekend. If not, will have to pass up the opportunity. We have plans the following 2 weekends.

All that said, we may go down to the beach and watch them with binoculars. Will be our frugal alternative, though we may have to get there early to get parking! We can stay with our parents Saturday night and drive down to the beach really early, though. Lots of options.

But, I am liking the idea of the cruise, myself. Will see!

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Well, BM starts soccer next weekend. I suppose it will get a little busy with that.

I am still working on the piano thing. Formal lessons would be much preferable. It's too easy to slack off, and though I haven't had any issues for the most part, he was very huffy his last lesson. Lots of eye rolling and heavy sighs - that kind of thing. I see clear as day why it is a big no no to not teach your kids. But, he is still very open to it, so there is something. This is all my pocketbook has room for. (I should feel lucky this was the first "bad" lesson we had, I suppose).

I can probably get LM started, but I think one kids is my limit for now. Need to get in a better groove.

I can't help but feel the irony that the top of my list of what to do with more income is "buy piano lessons," when we really have more time for that commitment without each dh working. Figures!

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LM is never interested in doing anything, but both kids LOVED swimming lessons.

We paid $20 per lesson, I believe, for a top notch swimmer to teach at our pool.

We paid $30 per lesson for their last lessons. But our expectations were high, and their teacher blew our expectations out of the water.

The kids loved her and all that, but I got what I wanted. Better swimmers. I can't justify spending more money on that.

Dh is the one home with the kids though and he hears how much they want more swim lessons. He found someone who looks really good on paper who will come to our pool for $10 per lesson. ($15 for 2 kids at once).

I told dh that was nice, but BM starts soccer next week, and doesn't need any more swim lessons. I refuse to pay for him. That said, LM never wants to do ANYTHING. & I do not mind continuing lessons for him. We just finished preschool, and our pool is only open until Labor Day. SO, if he wants one more month of lessons, whatever.

Will see how we like the teacher. I told dh not to get his hopes up because clearly we had some top tier teachers already, and have high expectations.

**We got dh's car back within a few hours of dropping it off at the mechanic. New rotors. I kind of guessed since he mentioned last time that they were iffy. No complaints, here. Our 2000+ vehicles have been AMAZING with the brakes. It could be our driving habits, here. We drive mostly freeway and not much stop and go. I was a lot rougher on my brakes when I was younger, but definitely did a lot more stop and go kind of driving, all the same. This is the first time on dh's car at 110k miles, and I am wondering when the van (@80k) will need brake work. We've always driven such old cars, before these, that the batteries and the brakes blow my mind. Both lasted 100k miles, easy peasy, on these newer vehicles.

Anyway, $300 to replace his rotors. Was our only car repair this year, thus far. With the way things had been going, I was sure it would be something in the $1k range. So, I am pleased!

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When we got home last night, I voiced to dh how frustrated I was with our savings pace, and how relieved I was that the repair was only $300. I told him I about gave up, since I have been trying to get to a $30k cash minimum, for the last 18 months or so, and how I can't seem to get past $20k, no matter what happens. I am saving $1k per month for this goal! But, far more expenses, lately.

While voicing my frustration, I told dh I was thinking of dropping the goal, and resuming retirement contributions, come 1/1. We will put a fair amount in this year (more than $0), but I would like to start 1/1 either maxing out one ROTH @ $400/month, or even better, putting away 10%. IT is critical since my employer took away our 10% retirement contributions this year. I need to start making them, myself.

(In addition, when we had no money to save, no expenses ever come up. I can't help like feel like I will be frustrated, until I put retirement first. It always seems to kind of work out).

& then I said, "The only thing that stresses me out is the vehicles. I don't see how having a payment would help, because it reduces how much I can save. I am stressed out that the van is catching up on miles, and now fear that both vehicles will need to be replaced around the same time. Maybe I should let it go and figure you will be working by the time we need a new vehicle, but it still is stressing me out, because who knows what will happen."

KEep in mind - we only pay cash for vehicles.

Dh told me, "Well, if something happens, we'll get a vehicle for a couple of thousand dollars."

I said, "Duh."

This still stresses me out, plenty.

Then the conversation got interesting. At some point or other (in the distant past), I vocalized that our second vehicle was a luxury, and dh didn't quite agree. I mean, he realized it on some level, but I think I would have quite a fight to ever settle on one vehicle.

So dh shocked the hell out of me, and says, "Look, if we find ourselves in a situation with needing to replace 2 cars, we can live with one. Heck, if one goes, we don't have to replace it right away. The kids are both in school now and we can walk or bike to anywhere we need to go, while you are at work, for the most part." The kids' school is just down the street.

I mulled on that a while, and he is right. I just needed that perspective.

It was very eye opening for me, because the only thing I am REALLY struggling with, on this one income thing, is replacing the cars at the level we have gotten used to. Both our cars were purchased in the $10k range. They are great and fine and will last a long time. But, saving the replacement cost has been daunting on one income. We are doing good on savings at the moment, but dh bought his vehicle in 2002, and most the last 8 years we haven't saved a dime for another car. I am still catching up for some lost savings years.

Of course, all that said, the $30k goal is probably more about the economy than anything. Emergency fund for unemployment. But, taking the car out of the equation, makes me feel a little lighter, all the same. So, phew.

I have been wondering how we can continue to maintain 2 vehicles on one income while maybe I should have realized it would be easier to give one up to prolong our one-income status. It feels like a "duh," moment. Dh would only give it up if the car died, though. Or needed an extraordinarily expensive repair.

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In other news, I read a good article in Money Magazine:

7 Secrets of Super Savers

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/moneymag/1007/gallery.su...

Of course, the website article had 8 secrets!

This article was so good, I am going to make copies of the magazine version.

I have noticed MANY times over the years that people have been jealous of our income/lifestyle, and found that they might make double our income. Happens ALL the time.

A friend recently told me that she had no idea how "people do it." The 1-income thing, which she is working very hard towards.

I read this article, and it sums it up pretty well. I am thinking, next time someone asks me that question. I will have to hand them this article? There is no one thing - it is a sum many differences in lifestyle and money management.

Nothing I haven't already said in this blog, probably.

Of note, "The simple act of tracking what you spend can help you spot places to cut."

I have never been very big on the budget. I don't set a budget for every spending category and track it every month. What I do do, is track my spending in Quicken. I know where every penny goes, and every single month I review it to spot problems, early on. It could be as simple as, "Dang, we really spent a lot on groceries last month. We will have to rein that in this month." I really just eyeball it, and if something is amiss, we can fix it immediately. I do try to stress to people, that you don't have to obsess over the numbers. You really just need to know where you stand!

The article also toted automatic savings. This is the one thing that I did not do before, and I have found has been very beneficial with a tighter budget. I save $2200 every month. It is a bill like all the rest, to me. I have to live on what's left after all the bills are paid, and that $2200 is transferred to savings. We save far more with this attitude. With much bigger incomes, we were used to saving "whatever was leftover," which may be 50% of our income. IT wasn't a bad thing. On one income, we find that nothing much is ever leftover unless we pay ourselves first.

Anyway, I am sure many SA bloggers will identify with this article!

Just got the "water" bill. In general, it went up about 10%. It is really water/sewer/garabage/whatever. We have a city and a county bill. They equate to about $112/month now (up from $100). Maybe more, since I haven't got the county bill yet, for July 1 (new fiscal year). Ouch!

Metered water is optional here. Our city has a terrible reputation for wasting water. Only about $5 of the bill was for summer watering. Only $15 was the metered portion that I can control. (I averaged $10/month before watering season). Not much I can do about most of the rest of the $100.

Gotta love it!

It just figured, since I was just tallying up everything:

$9/month Netflix
$9/month LM's new allowance (up from $0).
$9/month Cable increase

We lost our cable promotional rate, this month, apparently. I looked over the bill, and we still get a substantial promotion for internet, for a few more months. So, by 2011, will be full rates. Ouch. Overall, seems to be worth it. Went from "bottom of the barrel" cable and internet to "top of the line." The sad thing, is we get like $100 if we refer people to Surewest. BUT, the 4-5 people I know we could talk into it (our more techie friends) all live in the Bay Area. & Surewest, for some logical reason I am sure, does not provide service there. But, I think they really should! The second they do, I know I can earn a pretty penny in referrals.

All these increases are being financed by the fact that I am saving $150/month on preschool expenses. Though, I was hoping to save most of it. But, that does justify the Netflix and cable increases, for us. I am just not enjoying everything else seeming to go up in $9 increments. It ALL adds up.

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Well, in other news, took dh's car in for squealy brakes. I am crossing my finger for it to be "nothing." Interestingly, they were squealing like crazy, and then stopped squealing. So, who knows. We have just been too busy/lazy to take it in. BUT, he wanted to go on a long drive with the kids later this week, to visit family. SO, told him I wanted to get the brakes looked at first. The only reason we had put it off was because they stopped squealing before we got around to taking it in. But we hadn't been driving the car much, either. I don't like messing with brakes.

Another frugal day.

Yesterday we swam (LM is getting so much better in the pool. Will be 3 days in a row, today, but the practice has been awesome for him. He's got one more lesson).

We went to a free event at the museum. They had an awesome/hilarious magician. Was a great night.

Today we have friends over for pizza (take and bake from the grocery store - they have the best tasting/very low priced pizzas). Heading to the pool again.

I Was going to work, but dh talked me out of it. It's been a little busy, but I did remember that if I work next weekend it will be easier to apply it to my Denver vacation (I don't want to use any vacation time). So, I put off the inevitable, one more week.


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I haven't had much in the way of real estate updates, because, nothing is going on. Hardly anything is for sale. Just lots of empty homes that the banks have been too busy to foreclose or to try and sell. Kind of a mess.

BUT, there was some recent activity.

A single story home sold for $257k. Another for $235k. A 2-story home sold for $276k.

Most of these were short sales that have been sale for like a year or more.

This is good news. We owe just over $200k on our home, so we still seem to be in good above water territory. It is hard to tell when absolutely nothing is selling.

Anything priced $199k has sold in a flash, in recent years (bidding wars, even), but with all these short sales, the banks ask way more than market value. They haven't learned much. They've got homes sitting for months/years when they could have unloaded for about the same price by just asking for less to begin with. Gotta love it.

(To be fair, most of the $199k prices had been foreclosed homes - some of the banks act like they really do want to sell - and they sell FAST. When they ask $199k, they might get $230k because then there is a frenzy. I find that psychology so fascinating. Most people ask too much and don't get anywhere).

ETA: A few homes went up for sale recently. They are all "upgraded to the hilt" variety and ALL are short sales. The bank seems to be coming around to short sales - I don't think we have really had many before now. They are starting to see the light that a short sale may be easier/better than a foreclosure?

**SO, I thought dh was doubling the storage size of my MP3 player. (It's the exact same model as my old one, otherwise - looks the same).

It arrived in the mail a few days ago, and yesterday I purchased a few MP3s that I had been meaning to buy. I was looking it over real close to see if there was any distinguishing difference between the two (my old one now belongs to LM). When I noticed that it is actually 16GB as opposed to my old 4GB. No way! I didn't realize - I and am even more pleased with the purchase now. So far, I only filled up 5GB. Dh transferred everything over for me yesterday while I took the kids swimming. I am sure I can fill up 8MB quite easily. I will be more likely to store pictures, podcasts, and audio books on it with the extra space though. Yay!

I am super excited since I have kind of let go of a lot of music not having the proper equipment to listen to it, etc., etc., etc. For quite a time, CDs had priced me out of music entirely (during college when I had no disposable income to speak of). Now, I have everything on my MP3 player that I would ever want to listen to.

**Today, I transferred $1020 each into the kids' college savings funds. Birthday gift money. Spoiled rotten, yes.

**I also went to Target this morning, to pick up a few groceries. They do have a "produce" section of sorts, but it is also pre-packaged. I can't see doing a ton of grocery shopping there - but I perused the aisles for sales. Ground beef was $1.99/pound, which wasn't bad at all.

Oh, and I didn't realize that all their freezers are energy efficient. The lights turn on as you walk by. I was there the other day and thought, "Their lights aren't working," There was probably a lot of people around and they were just flashing on and off. At 9am saturday I was the only one there. I quickly realized the aisles lit up for me as I walked down them. Too funny!

I did scored the cutest lingerie for $4 on clearance. I am very pleased with myself about that.

**I reserved a rental car for Denver.

If I use Hotwire, I found a deal for $150 for a week in Hawaii. About what I paid for 3 days in Denver.

I have had terrible experiences with these kind of sites, and dh asked me to please not go off airport. BUT, I told him we would save $300-ish and I can't justify spending all that money on a car rental. I'd rather give it a go. If we have car rental hassles, we can work them out. It's just us 2, and we have a whole week there. (No kids to entertain if we have to wait 5 hours for our car). SO, I think we will just go for it. (He doesn't mind doing the off airport hassle to save that kind of money!). I am writing the first day off for "travel hassle" because of it. We really can't afford a car rental otherwise, and really it's the only big expense I want for this trip. We want to be able to drive around the island and see the sights, go hiking wherever, visit different beaches, etc. We probably don't have much budget to do much else.

What's the worse that can happen? They don't honor our reservation? (reading the reviews will scare you). So we pay full price when we get there. I think it is worth the risk. I do admit I am just being cheap though, and might regret it. Will see!

LM got invited to a pre-kindergarten program (seems rather last minute - just invited - starts in a week, etc.).

I welcome the opportunity to ease him in a bit. All day Kindergarten was a big adjustment for my extrovert/brain child, and LM is much more reserved and wary about this whole Kindergarten thing.

So, he was invited to a 2-week program for $100, at the school. I am SO there. Assuming they get enough interest.

On the flip side, this means, he "starts Kinder" in a week. It is every day for 3 hours, until school starts (just 2 weeks after that).

O.M.G.

If it's not "real kindergarten," will I cry on the first day? Probably.

This is all happening too fast. But, I know this would be really beneficial to help ease him in. His first 3 weeks would only be 3-4 hours a day then. Phew!

I am excited for the opportunity but freaking out a bit!