Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Paulette kicked my butt in gear.

http://pauletteg.savingadvice.com/2009/09/12/witterings-on-a...

Actually, it's a long story. But I stored blood for (my own) surgery at one point (age 16?) and realized that it wasn't so bad. So I signed up to donate, but alas, weighed too little. (I know - what problems to have!)

Of course, through storing my blood, I got on the list, and they used to call me all the time. & I had to repeatedly point out I didn't qualify. IT was actually rather obnoxious.

So at some point, post college, when I actually became a regular sized person, I decided to donate blood. I signed up 3 or 4 times over the years, but heck if anyone would call me back.

Doesn't that figure?

With time and distance it lost its appeal I guess. It doesn't sound terribly fun, though I've had times in my life where I was poked and prodded often, so I know it isn't the end of the world, and you get used to it.

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So I read Paulette's post that she gave blood, and I tried again. Her post was just perfect timing. "Yeah, I should do that!" As I have said many times before.

My dh knowing my whole blood giving saga, just laughed when I told him. I told him I would show up uninvited if I had to, this time. He didn't seem so convinced. HE said, "Good luck with that."

So, I decided to skip Red Cross altogether. I decided maybe the issue was them - maybe they have more donors than they know what to do with. Maybe there is a mark on my record that I am uncooperative - because I kept telling them I weighed too little. I don't know!

I found the biggest supplier of blood in my region, and became even more convinced as I read on their website about how much giving blood saves lives, etc. I was also extra pleased it was only once every 8 weeks (at most). I didn't want to give blood like every week or something (something that stopped me in the past - not wanting them calling me incessantly, etc. I have low blood pressure, I faint easily, and I probably wouldn't want to do it any more than 6 times a year - no matter what the standards are. So I was rather relieved they weren't going to badger me to give blood every 2 weeks or anything like that. I just didn't know what to expect!).

So I did their little online form, and somebody immediately scheduled an appointment for me, tomorrow.

Boy, that was 10 years in the making...

I thought I would try to convince dh to give blood. I thought he may be hard to convince, but he was like, whatever.

Well, that was too easy. Paulette unexpectedly spurred me to action, I thought I would do the same here.

& I feel good knowing that it was so needed. Clearly, the need is there. I didn't expect I would be doing it TOMORROW! No time to get cold feet, eh?

Who's next?

**Today is Monday, and boy is it manic. Just a crazy work day.

**I read the PF article on winterizing and stuff like that. I am making a mental note to add that to my list of why living here is cheaper in many regards (though it's a "pricey" area). I have nothing to "winterize." I often read winter posts around here and think the same thing (during winter time anyway). Though I know you would all find our "non-seasons" rather boring. But hey, it's frugal!

**Dh and I both got some pretty mild flu bug. Not *that* under the weather, but not quite 100% either. We decided at the last minute not to go to the Waterpark. I was going to take the kids to a local park that we have membership too, instead. Something simple - I didn't mind going out - just not into a lot of walking and climbing and swimming, etc.

Our plan, prior, was actually for BM and dh to go to the water park and for me to take LM to a little amusement park. Dh wanted me to warm him up on some of the rides, since they are going to Disney in a few weeks. I hadn't felt up to the water park, etc., so had agreed. But as our plans changed again, BM really wanted to go there too. I really thought he was mostly too big, and told him so, but probably mentioned it cost too much money.

So, stupid me, I found a $20 bill in my wallet, quite unexpectedly. I am usually so organized that I don't just find money laying around. I mean, come on. So, I screamed with delight that I had found $20. I was very excited about this.

So BM saddles up to me before I even have time to think, and he says, "Mommy, can we go to Funderland now that you found $20????"

Aw, he got me! I said, "Oh sure," before I even really thought about it.

Then it's like, "Wait a minute!" LOL. Does my 6-year-old know how to get what he wants, or what?

I counted up the cash I had to spare and told the kids we could go if they both contributed $3. They flew to their piggy banks the second the words were spoken.

Unfortunately, I read my coupon wrong and had to break my "emergency $20" after all that. Oh well! Just for $2 or so. I also made clear to them that no food would be bought.

In the end, it worked out. The day was rather cool (but extremely pleasant to be walking around outside). I ran into a friend, and we had a good day.

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**While we were gone, I asked dh to install my new bike seat and bike computer. Yes, he spoils me rotten!

Anyway, BM and I went on a short ride, after. The seat is divine, though I probably need to adjust it a bit. The bike computer is pretty cool. We are definitely doing a big ride next weekend, now that we have decent bike locks too. We are doing a long ride with an eating stop mid-way.

OF course BM now wants a bike computer. Not sure how I feel on that. Mine is precariously mounted in that I worry it might get shifted in transport, etc. I am not sure he is gentle enough to handle it, though it did only cost $9.99. *sigh* Will maybe consider a more expensive one for Christmas or something. He wanted to borrow it, but I had to explain how it worked and how the magnets were installed on my bike, etc. He will have to be a little patient. But hey, definitely a great Christmas idea, for him. Dh can probably talk him parents into getting him something a little sturdier.

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**September is working out okay, financially. I seemed to be way negative in the checking, I think I mentioned before. I mostly tracked it back to when my dad was in the hospital - just a lot of little, unexpected expenses, that I probably should have pulled from savings. But it kind of snowballed from there.

However, dh has had an awesome run. He may net $300 this month easy (he usually neys $100 on ebay selling and such, but has netted nothing in recent months. Kids have been home and no doubt his time has been hampered, but business has been much better in September too - it's not just him). I also got a $250 rewards check from Chase. SO, the hole is closing fast, thank goodness.

I feel bad not to be able to save that $250, but am telling myself to get over it.

When we made far more money than we lived on, our philosophy was very "save the left over." & really, it worked fine. I mean, we saved FAR more than we do now even.

But with more expenses and less means, "pay yourself first" is the way to go. I tend to pay ourselves rather aggressively, but it always seems to work out in the end. I realize more and more, as time passes, that this is the way to do it.

I just have a mental block about it. Historically, any unexpected money would go straight into savings. So I still feel a little "bad" when something extra comes along and I "need" it. I have to keep reminding myself that the only reason I can't save it is because I saved a lot already. Duh! IT will take me a while to completely work past this mental block.

In the meantime, I am saving more than I really can justify, and all the extra seems to swoop in so I don't have to dig into the savings. & that's pretty cool. IT's just amazing how things seem to work out.

Well, the negative account in my checking (as of 9/30 anyway) looks to be around $100 at this point. I can live with that. I've got about 16 days to find $100, anyway. If not, I will just transfer some money from savings for October, a few days early. $100 I Can definitely deal with - it doesn't really affect anything. Not like a few days of interest amounts to much, anyway!

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**Oh yes - so we spent my found $20, which doesn't really count. It won't affect our budget anyway.

I called it - the only other thing we bought all weekend was FOOD.

Oh - I did get BM a costume. He wanted to be Dracula for whatever reason. The whole shebang was $10 so I snatched it. (LM is happy with the hand-me-downs we have). But we did spend about $15 on food. Junk. Oh, it was bad. I knew I would pretty much spend no money but food. But I went a little crazy and not sure why. PArt of it was I was trying to get the kids to agree on a treat. It never happened, and I just kept finding more and more food while they fought over it. Then I told them to get their own thing. I won't do that again! We usually pick up fiddle faddle or whatever is on sale there (Walgreens). But I made the mistake of letting them decide, and it went downhill from there. NExt time it will be 99-cent fiddle faddle!

I was a little disturbed though as the kids delighted in hideous and grotesque costumes. Not my little babies any more! BM would have taken anything more grotesque, if it was cheaper. Blech. (Probably best they weren't cheaper). I was a little thrown off. Last year they were happy with the cute little fuzzy costumes. What happened??

& we thought his newfound fascination with Dracula was strange? LOL.

All my packages arrived at once.

I didn't expect my bike stuff to arrive so fast! I shouldn't be surprised. The free super shipping usually ends up being faster than standard mail, through amazon. For books and stuff. Clearly for bike supplies, too...

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I am not feeling 100%. I would chalk it up to allergies, but dh has similar symptoms. A minor bug I guess.

SO, I doubt I will go on much of a bike ride today. But will talk dh into helping me install all my new gear... New cushy bike seat (for longer rides), new bike computer, new bike locks, and an air pump I can attach to the bike. Phew.

I was talking with my dad and he has a bike storage bag I can have. Yippee! Glad I brought it up - saved some money there. The fanny pack is totally fine, but will be nice to have more storage options.

I still probably want to buy a portable multi-tool, and a first aid kit. I have some picked out - quite reasonable in price and highly recommended. & I will need a patch kit at the least. Will probably make another round of purchases in October, and be done. I hope. I don't foresee endlessly buying bike supplies. It's just hard to start with NOTHING. But perfect example of my style. Spread out the purchases, find used or hand-me-down options, etc., etc. Research endlessly for best price and quality.

I did end up finding some workout clothes at Marshalls, for a steal. So that worked out well. I still need some pants, as the weather rapidly gets cooler. I considered buying more higher priced items at Target, but then remembered everything I buy there seems to fall apart so quickly. Marshalls didn't have much in my size, for pants. BUT, I actually have some workout pants that aren't falling apart, so I have some time. I really had no workout shirts, before.

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Yesterday I ended up spending like $7 at 7-11 for some food. We were with our parents all day. Can I say, thank goodness for that? We were going to run by Walgreens and it was closed. So more than I prepared to spend. BUT, all day after that BM kept saying, "I'm starving!" HE's in some major growth spurt mode. So I felt relieved we stocked up on a few things - would have eaten my parents out of house and home.

My parents' bought me Togos for lunch (kids just had PBJ) and the in-laws bought some Thai food for dinner. Plus we were invited to their next door neighbor's party for a time. Food food food galore. The kids ate like ALL DAY. Thankfully there was so much food available. $7 wasn't bad for all that we ate yesterday (usually how it goes - we get spoiled).

We decided to come home today - not much planned. May spend a few dollars, but still in low spend mode.

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I am so excited though! A large reason we went to San Jose yesterday was to take BM on what of my old favorite bike rides.

We didn't do my ride, 100%. We stuck to the dirt paths, which I am not a fan of. BUT the paved road had a fair amount of cars, and the end of the ride was pretty steep. So in the interest of safety, I played along.

Going up was fine. I could get into it. Going down is another matter. I was slow as molasses, which took away some of the fun. I am just not comfortable at all on the dirt paths. I have only ridden pavement before.

I tried not to have too many expectations on the ride. It's easily been a decade. I figured, I was young, in shape, and had a far better bike last round. So I was wary if it would kick my butt, or what.

I came off the ride rather impressed. It was easy peasy. I may not workout as much as I would like to, but I was pleased with added weight, a lesser bike, etc., etc., that the ride ended up being quite easy. In much better shape than I would have thought. I also was able to give all my gears a good trial run (really haven't had the chance) and all seemed well.

I also got a true comparison of some of our new rides we have been trying around where we live, and I think the one I have come to love is very comparable. Thank goodness! I told dh I miss the hills, but truth was, I am not much of a hill rider. I like something more than complete flat. BUT by the same token, I am a little too cautious to want to go down a huge hill. So I feel better about things. I think I can be very happy with bike options where we live.

I've always felt the one thing I missed moving here was my bike rides. & well, that no longer seems to be the case! (Plus, heck, we can hop in the car and ride anywhere we want. Now that we have bikes, I am sure we will bike ride around San Jose more - we are there enough anyway).

Since having children, I have not had the money nor the time to tend to most of my hobbies. Time has probably been the bigger issue. But it feels nice to move on. Life returns to some "normalcy"?

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Pictures from my ride:

If you want to read a very long post, I have one prior to this one. (I'm chatty today, apparently).

I am attempting a low-spend weekend, anyway. I pretty much have no money to spend this month. Which is fine. Got money for gas and groceries, but that's about it. & our little vacation coming up. Which is what we sacrifice for (that and the car repairs of late).

Should probably make that 2 weekends, no spending...

Will go swimming, on bike rides, hang out with the family, last 2 weekends water park is open, etc. PLENTY to do.

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Doing my pent up shopping online, was good. Everything's paid for. Hanes orders should come in any day. New bike stuff, next week perhaps?

BM wants to try the 2.5 hour ride on his new bike. When MY new seat arrives, sure. I think we will make it in 2 hours this time. We were VERY slow last time.

So all this stuff will roll in to maybe curb buying impulses? Will see?

I actually don't shop that much, usually. I will be fine. I tend to spend my money on food more than anything. That is the impulse to curb.

**Well, my 5.5% CD matures in September. I thought it was October. Glad I was on top of things - it was end of September. Ack. But got all the paperwork in to roll it over to my brokerage. It is a CD in a ROTH.

So, I made out well for the short time that interest rates were "decent." They haven't been most of my adulthood, that is for sure.

(I Also spent most of 2007/2008 earning 6% on credit card arbitrage).

I was actually going to roll my CD into a mutual fund in 2006, but at the time, I saw a great deal on this CD - for THREE years. I decided to go for it. I had a feeling this whole housing mess would implode. I didn't expect it to be so hard and fast. Funny enough, I regretted this decision early on...

Of course, the market has been so hot lately. I don't know. I am just transferring it into cash. If the market is significantly lower than 2006 (hard to say without looking at it) I will just buy into stocks. If not, I may slowly buy in. I have a little research to do.

Has my attempt at market timing panned out? Perhaps. All I know is I am consolidating my retirement accounts further, and don't plan to chase CD rates any further. It's pretty much a PITA. When rates improve, I will chase them in my taxable accounts. But no more of this CD ROTH business.

This CD is an old relic from my "young and saving my retirement in cash, because I didn't know any better" days. I am ready to move on.

(Hmmmm, DOW was 10,600 in Sep '06 and is currently 9,600. I can't help but feel I Would be better off waiting a bit though. But, I don't know. Will see where the DOW is at when the money appears in my account!)

Truth is, I have come out ahead and should just invest it! I shouldn't be greedy - I already leveraged this CD for some low stock buying - in the DOW 7k range. I took some liquid ROTH cash and bought at some of the low points. This CD will refill my ROTH Efund Cash reserves. I am relieved it is maturing, for that reason.

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**Education - isn't that a hot topic lately?

I am so PLEASED with BM's education right now. 1st grade has far exceeded my expectations. I am sure this is one of those areas where "luck" plays a part, but GOOD, affordable education is extremely important to dh and I. It is something we will always strive for. Certainly didn't fall into our laps. While so many friends and acquaintances were so concerned with "appearances," our attention to true substance has paid off.

But yes, the school has certainly talked to talk. Their walk has exceeded my expectations and I am so happy for that.

I also feel extremely alone in my feelings. When I rolled my eyes about acquaintances misinformed ideology on class sizes, I realized this year maybe I Was too narrow minded in my thinking. With the economy as it is, and budgets being slashed, class sizes are growing once again. (All schools in our district have increased class sizes, but the Charters who are hanging on to small class sizes for dear life).

Maybe the private school crowd had it right? Or did they? I have friends who are leaving Private schools because they are so under-enrolled this year. Isn't that interesting? My one friend actually prefers public school, but the private school is cheaper for full-time care (cheaper than after school public care). So, she has stayed, but she is worried about there only being a handful of children in the class. Her school is not known for doing well with the higher grades though. She just wants out before her child hits 3rd or 4th grade. & also doesn't want going from a class size of 10 - to 30 - to be a shock. !

Anyway, everyone seems to have educational worries these days. Public private, etc.

It's not all roses for us. The assigned middle school leaves much to be desired. But, that is so far off. I can only take one thing at a time. Who knows, those whoas may all be resolved in 5 years anyway... & there are certainly other affordable options than our "assigned public school."

(I forgot to mention - because of my friend I did look up after school care costs. Yowsers!!!!! More affordable than preschool childcare? Yes, but not by much. Dh can stay home a few more years. Yeesh).

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**Um, I learned something new?

When I last checked my credit report, it occured to me that some of that stuff should start dropping off soon. Didn't we refi out of our first mortgage in 2000? Why would that still be on our credit report, anyway?

I went on a quest to learn more about credit history and such.

I was surprised to learn that "bad stuff" drops off your report after 7 years, but "good stuff" stays on for 10 years, after an account is closed.

Seriously?

I had no idea.

I am continually perplexed by the misinformation out there about credit history, etc. But the truth is this, nothing has ever dropped off of our credit report. Everything we have ever had is still on there. Our many mortgages, and our many credit cards.

No wonder closing old cards hasn't amounted to a hill of beans as far as our FICO.

I also read uninformed forum talk about how it can take 20 years to build a 800+ credit score. Okay, yes it CAN. But if you pay all your bills on time, it is possible to get there in just a few years. It does NOT take 20 years!!! The discussion was about how fast it could happen. Seriously.

So basically, since I always close an old card when I open a new one, and none have dropped off my report, than my FICO score is none the wiser. Thing is, by the time my 10-years-closed cards drop off, I have already built 10 more years of credit history.

So, does it really matter? My experience has been no, but this points out why.

Obviously everyone's situation is different. There are other factors at play. But, yeah, I learned something new.

I guess our first mortgage will drop off our credit reports in the middle of 2010. But we have 10 years of on-time payments to show for it, since.

What will be interesting to see is what happens when my first credit card drops off. I closed it around 2006, after having it for over a decade? Then again, I tend to keep my cards about 10 years before something better comes along. Could be worse if I switched cards every year? But averaging 10 years doesn't seem to matter much.

Yeah, I am not losing sleep over it...

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**Extra-Curricular Stuff

BM is worn out by karate. He LOVES it, but it is on a bad day. The long school day isn't jiving with it.

I am sure I could find him more expensive classes elsewhere. On a better day. Ugh. But I really don't want to. Will see! (Price just doubled since he turned 5, as is. For 2 hours vs. 0.5 hours per week. HE only goes one hour a week since it's a bit of a drive though).

He did get into his other extra-curricular class, after all. The school opened more classes due to high demand. Another $80 down the drain.

Of course, that was before this karate development? At least this class is less physical.

Piano... Was I supposed to be teaching him that? It's been frustrating getting into homework habits and practice habits. Too much at once?

BM always begs to stay after school with "the other kids." But he whines when he can't come home and crash. Which is understandable - such a long school day for a small child. I'm afraid he doesn't know what he wants.

We didn't sign him up for soccer because it started at the same time school let out. ! I now think it was for the best.

I am definitely not one to over-book my child. He loves sports. We think it's important he learns music (he is interested). & he's still at that stage where we are just "trying new things." I guess it just happens, huh? I guess dh and I hated sports, so we didn't have to choose. BM has more to juggle in that regard. Throw in a long school day, and here we are.

It is kind of depressing when no one wants the things you paid a lot of money for. *sigh* HEck, I'd be happy with $5 at this point.

I will probably slash prices Saturday, and if nothing sells this weekend, move everything to the free pile.

In the interest of anonymity, I don't want to disclose what I am selling. But I will whine about it at a later date.

"Free items" were taken off our hands within minutes. Literally. So I am hoping if I can't sell, they will go fast in the free pile. I haven't freecycled in a year or 2, so was shocked and overwhelmed by the response. The last piece we gave away (a year ago?) was an OLD chair. I bet that would go a lot faster in this economy, sad to say. It was a very sad piece of furniture, but hey, it was a free rocking chair and priceless with our babies. We just covered it's hideousness with a blanket. Was an OLD hand-me-down. I listed that for several weeks, and got a couple of e-mails from people telling me how ugly it was. LOL. (Why did they think I Was getting rid of it???) But someone eventually took it. I can't help but wonder how fast that chair would go, today.

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Weather is still hot here. I just wondered when we would end up turning up the water heater. Our bill was $7 for August. We used same amount of gas as last year (exactly) but prices are still coming down. So, $7 is probably some record.

At this rate, we can keep it turned down through September. I am sure some more chill will be in the air by mid-September. But as long as the garage is a million degrees, the gas water heater doesn't work very hard. (I looked it over and determined it is a regular old tank water heater. I couldn't find anything special about it except that it is covered with insulation. Because of that, I don't have a brand or model. All I know is I probably wouldn't waste my money on a tankless heater. & supposedly they make them more efficient these days? This one is circa 2001).

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I am sad to start to say good-bye to summer!

Summer has been hard to get used to, in our low-cost-of-living haven. I come from "70 year round" territory. It's just HOT here. But it's been a rather mild summer, and I rather enjoyed it. I also acclimate a little more every year.

Reminds me, I once read weather was lowest on the list to consider when relocating. Yeah, whatever! I think it's like #1 on my list!!!!!!! We talked so much about moving to Oregon/Washington. LEt's face it - I wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes!

This year I will have a new adjustment. I usually just don't go outside in winter. Which is fine. (Same for summer, really - which made this summer unusual). Funny enough, the winter average is only 5 degrees colder here. No kidding? I Was worried I wouldn't ride my bike in December or January. Interestingly, the winters are more in line than I realized. Maybe it won't be so bad...

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This weekend we have a bike ride and a trip to the water park planned. Guess it's our last summer hoorah (besides our beach weekend getaway, after).

I believe we each spent $40 on our season passes. This would be 4 visits, or $40 a visit, for the entire fam. Not great, but not bad. I am impressed how many slides we were able to get LM on. & BM is in water slide heaven. At least next year he won't have to be measured on every ride. He is just right on the cusp, for now.

I expected dh to take BM a bit more, but it's just been kind of hectic.

IT will be perfect to splurge on pre-season tickets, just as tax season ends, for 2010. Definitely a worthwhile investment. We are buying next year. It helped that besides the $6 city parking every visit, that we didn't spend a dime inside the park. Makes it palatable.

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Work has been interesting. To say the least. I was feeling rather "caught up" (first time in YEARS) and worried the summer would be a bit slow. Ah, what a silly worry!

As everything was winding down, I even started to feel a bit bored. For like a minute.

But no need to fear, it's just been a little crazed since. We have some new tax deadline on 9/15. (Which is good, but a bit of an adjustment).

Reminds me, I have 3 clients who are apparently in no rush to file their individual tax returns. Procrastinators drive me batty! I will be babysitting them the next 30 days or so. Like asking for their info 5 times hasn't been enough...

I've been working on all sorts of random stuff though, for the most part. I am trying to enjoy my "freedom" since December - April can get pretty hectic. I have a few random Fridays off work, as well as some seminars to attend for required education, etc., etc.

I shouldn't get too used to the slow pace.

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I probably can't spend any money this month. We have $500 set aside for our weekend getaway. & we did a ton of pent up shopping last weekend. The rest of the month is "groceries and gas." It's all we have room for. Which is fine (We don't need cash for our weekend plans).

Dh is itching to buy Rock Ban Beatles. Ugh! We waited this long to buy Rock Band, and he CAN'T WAIT to buy it? He gets that way about some things - drives me nuts.

I am lobbying hard for him to put it on his Xmas Wish list. Will see! His family will buy him whatever he desires. I think that's the way to go. Like RB1 & 2 isn't enough to occupy him? We just got it!

With Pepsi points, he has been snatching up a ton of Rockband songs. (I do love Pepsi, but these were mostly swiped from the garbage. Dh has been dumpster diving!). He just got some Dr. MArio game with the pepsi points too. I must admit, it was pretty fun. Some sort of 4-person mode with the kids. Oh boy - is that one bad addictive game. Think I played it 2 hours last night. At least one hour was with the kids? Dh was telling me about this 4-person mode, and I was totally uninterested. But, 1 hour later... (Dr. Mario is tetris, essentially. I got hooked on it in th 1990s. I try to stay away from it... But we have like 10 versions between all of dh's dang game systems. Ack!).

First, I finally got off my butt and posted a pile of stuff on Craigslist.

For the free pile, I had my SAD bike (paid something like $20 for, but with a flat, it's worth even less now). I honestly thought if I left it sitting outside, no one would take it. It is that sad. Wasn't even going to try to get any money for it.

I also have a telescope. I guess I forgot we agreed to try to sell it for money. Problem is I can't figure out how to use it any more - completely lost the manual - and it is a little complicated. I am not 100% sure I have all the parts, etc., etc.

So I posted those up along with a few things I expect to get money for. Now, I have used Freecycle a LOT before. I often get a big response, but nothing like this. Thankfully, I checked my e-mail only one hour later (not expecting anything) and my inbox was full of about 30 e-mails about my free items. Yikes! I pulled the ad. I think I got it covered.

Dh will stop griping about the bike in the garage. He will gripe I didn't get money for telescope, but I am just glad to be rid of the thing. It's been sitting in our living room FOREVER.

I am trying to sell my old bed for some $$$, but am glad it will probably go fast in the free section (if it comes to that. We need to make room in the garage for all these bikes!

I, of course, have no takers (in one hour) for anything I asked money for. !

It's got to be the local economy. More people are "settling" for free stuff, clearly. I can only imagined if I turned off the computer and checked my e-mail tomorrow!

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Part of the reason I got off my butt to do this chore is because dh had an awesome run this weekend. HE sold FOUR game systems. Most of them he has been trying to sell for MONTHS. It's been really slow, etc. Suddenly, he had so many responses to one add, he just offered all the other ones instead. People snatched them up. One of them he just bought Friday, too.

Super ironic, is most of the buyers were planning to resell them, from what dh could gather. (I think dh took a chunk of their profit margin since he is a "dealer" - not sure how well they will make out, but who knows).

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BM and I went back to the place of our big ride, though we kept it much shorter today. 1/2 hour in and 1/2 hour out.

I was SO relieved. Last time was ALL just professional cyclists and people decked out in top-of-the-line bikes and gear. I mentioned on here, it was not "that much" of a ride, to do a section of it anyway, and we saw no kids really. IT just struck me as odd. I was annoyed too. Since when did anyone with a bike had to spend a ton of money and go all top-of-the-line. It was bizarro.

Today was complete flip opposite. IT was a pretty similar time of day, BUT we mostly saw casual riders. & a LOT of kids. Phew. WE stuck out a little less. BM didn't get any attention though - so not sure how he liked that!

Anyway, we apparently just missed a forest fire (geez - should I add burn care to my First Aid kit????) and apparently we missed a "big snake in the road." Kind of glad we missed both. We saw the aftermath of the fire, and were warned of the "big snake," which apparently left the trail before we made it. Phew! Both could have been rather scary to witness up close.



Anyway, BM did exceptional with his new bike, and we made good time. Hard to tell how well. When I get my new seat and our new bike locks, we will probably attempt the entire loop again (with a stop for lunch or a snack in town, at the halfway point). When I get my little bike computer gadget, I will have much better statistics to share. (Like true miles ridden, etc.)

Today it felt like we covered much more ground in less time (thanks to BM's new bike). But the computer will tell us for sure!

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Today we also went swimming. It was a nice "staycation" of sorts. Our community pool was empty, as usual.

Next weekend will be filled with much the same. We have a trip planned to the waterpark, and a different bike ride planned (boy, I hope my new bike seat arrives soon!!!).

I recently came to the realization that BM is WAY too big for his bike. We didn't think he would outgrow it anytime soon, about a year ago when we decided to buy LM a bike.

I guess we forgot how FAST they grow. Yeesh!

Let's face it though, moving up 4 inches in size isn't very practical (even if he is way too big for his 16").

I have been searching out a 20-incher with gears, which isn't very easy to find.

I did see one at Target, but I figured I was crazy because I can't find anything about it's existence (online) in a 20" size.

I was going to drag dh and BM to Target today to check it out, and maybe stop by Wal Mart. (Admittedly, this bike did look huge. Not 24+ inch huge - but rather big for BM).

But, I lucked out. The Craigslist bike pickings have been slim. A lot of way overpriced bikes and such. I figure this rare bike would be near impossible.

But I checked anyway, before we headed out, and I found it. It looked like a pretty decent bike for $35. Had 10 gears, was well cared for, etc.

The seat had to be lowered with a wrench, but guy said it lowered. We hadn't really sized him on any 20-inchers, so we took it. I was going to have a talk with BM before we got there, but hadn't. I didn't want him whining if he didn't like the color, etc. Let's face it - this is as good as it gets.

No problem - he immediately fell in LOVE with the bike, even though it was a bit big and hard for him to handle.

When we got home we realized the seat did not lower after all. I was a little bummed that this bike was not going to work currently. But no huge loss, we could certainly sell the thing (even at a profit). It is a nice bike.

I started perusing 18-inchers (didn't think to look before - didn't seem practical since on size charts he is "too big."). I perused the Wal Mart reviews and wrote down all the 18/20-inchers with good reviews. I figured we would do some sizing for something that would work NOW.

I would have spent some time trying some 20-inchers on for size, but they were all too high up, and I figured I could drive the sales people nuts pulling down a bunch of bikes for me. The 18-inchers were much smaller and I got a couple of them down (all the ones I had seen online were in stock - phew).

BM was too in love with his other new bike, so he wasn't very enthused. But I talked him into a shiny bike with both handlebar and coaster brakes (probably good for transitioning). I assured him we could keep the other one and he will grow into it soon enough (certainly by next summer). He's only really a couple of inches too short for the seat level.

As far as recommended size for 18-inches? Pfffft. He will obviously fit it well for a while. It fits perfect with room to grow.

The funny thing is the new bike came with training wheels. Those came off immediately!

So our household is complete with 14", 16", 18", 20" bikes. LEt's face it - it will be nice to have some extra bikes when his friends come over.

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I can not say enough good things about Wal Mart's bikes. It is *the* place to buy a bike. The same bike was $100 at Target, and had glowing reviews. It was $70 at Wal MArt, and already assembled.

I knew it was the place to go, because we got such a good deal on my bike. The pre assembly is definitely worth something! (Though when I was at Target it looks like they now do the assembly too). Wal MArt's selection is hard to beat though.

I try to avoid Wal Mart, because I just don't like the store. It's in a terrible shopping center, etc., etc. BUT, we will likely buy any future bikes there.

When I was shopping high end bikes in the spring, for myself, never thought I'd end up at Wal Mart. !

Boy, yesterday ended up being a little crazy. A LONG day.

But a fun day, for sure.

We went to the Old Sacramento Gold Rush days (going on through Labor Day). I highly recommend to anyone in the area, particularly with kids.

The kids had an absolute blast.

We started out panning for "gold." I was just the watcher/picture taker, but the adults and kids could not be motivated to leave and make room for others. I guess panning for gold is rather addictive.

Finally tore them away from the gold panning, and they exchanged their gold for certificates.

The certificates were good for 5 treats at participating stores. I guess the idea was the treats were for the kids, but some stores gave the adults treats too.

Signs throughout Old Sac read:

"Gold Rush Economy Certificates Accepted Here! Use Them Wisely!"

One of the treats was Mardi Gras beads (from the sock store). There was also a lot of sarsaperilla around. A bar was passing out coins for free sarsaperilla, so the best picture I got of the day was of the kids sitting at the bar drinking their sarsaperilla. Looks like Mardi Gras, with all the beads, and alcohol in the background.



We also teased BM, because he has a perpetually loose tooth:



The story on that is that his permanent tooth has come through but the baby tooth won't come out (the new one is behind the old tooth). Ugh. I can't say this happened to dh or I. We have been advised to wait a few weeks and it will work itself out. (That it's relatively common). Otherwise, we might be paying for a tooth pulled. (It could be simple or he could still have a lot of roots - we haven't yanked it ourselves because it seems to be rooted pretty good). LM already has a shark tooth (an extra baby tooth that grew in front of his others), so now they both have a shark tooth. !!

Either way, BM will not have a gap in his mouth, with his first tooth loss.

Anyway, so we teased him and I think he thought we were serious about yanking his tooth. They had all sorts of interesting historical dental instruments to admire. BM was not amused. !

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After our day in Old Sac, we did keep our dinner/swim date with friends (though I was exhausted).

We had our bargain watermelon, and dh ended up getting Papa Murphy's. He baked while we swam, so it worked out.

Not much money spent, but fun was had by all.

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As far as Gold Rush, it was only $8 to park. We could have easily spent no other money there. But Grandma spoiled the kids rotten and paid for parking, etc. So it was a pretty cheap day for us, in the end.

We got free donut holes, candy, root beer, food samples, etc., etc. Besides that, the kids got some rocks and some other less than exciting trinkets.

Not sure what it is about the restaurants. We have eaten at a TERRIBLE restaurant there - one that we now stay away from. I am not sure we have ever had such bad food, except for yesterday we stumbled upon another one. Ugh! I had eaten there before, and they had a nice view. But the menu had a lot of mistakes, and the food was cold, and it was just bad all around. Blech. I felt bad because I said I had eaten there before and it was okay. (I didn't remember much about it - but didn't remember it being awful. IT was pretty expensive, to boot). That was the only bummer of the day. All I have to say is research your dining options before you EVER visit Old Sac. I am sure they have some good places. We usually just eat at their Round Table Pizza. Now I wish we had, yesterday! Pizza for lunch and dinner would have beat that crappy lunch.

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Dh and I have absolutely nothing planned for the rest of the weekend. How bizarre! I don't know if we will do chores, or just be lazy bums. Probably a nice combo of both.

With my new cell phone and ability to take pictures off the camera (the old one had a camera, but we couldn't figure out how to get the pictures off without spending $$). With that, I thought I would take a lot more pictures.

I have.

Apparently, the only thing interesting around here is the sky!

The first one was on the drive home from work, again (these cloudy summer skies are awfully unusual).



This one was a sunrise on a bike ride. The foreground is a pile of empty home lots. No doubt, if the homes were built, my rides wouldn't be so nice and scenic!



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In other news, I Was so shocked of the low price of our hotel for our anniversary (or moreso the expesiveness of the price at every other travel site) that it didn't occur to me I could get a further discount. Like, I know I could call and ask. But I Was fine to just book it, and figured any further savings was a crap shoot.

So I happily booked a $300 stay that came out to $700+ on all the travel web sites.

Of course, after I booked it, they had said very little about their rules and cancellation policy, so I poked around the website a bit. As I did, I found that there was a 10%-off offer PLUS $20/night dinner gift certificate, if I had seen this promo code and used another link to book.

Wha???

So I e-mailed them and asked if I could apply the promo code, or if it would be easier to cancel and rebook. With no answer, I figured we'd call today (yesterday I was trying to work and stuff).

They eventually called us back first and we decided just to cancel the reservation.

I haven't rebooked it yet, but since we got 10% off with AAA, I am pretty sure the new offer voided the AAA offer. So we won't save any money on the room. BUT we will get $40 of free food. Which was really going to be the most expensive part of the trip, besides the room.

I am pleased as punch!

We will probably go out on some interesting, exotic lunches. & then just stick at the hotel for dinner. The restaurant hotel is a Marie Callendar's. I think we may buy some pie too.

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After I had done my Hanes order, I realized we had bought some sweatshirts for BM through Hanes, last year. They are allowed to wear sweatshirts as part of their "uniform." Which is pretty much all he wears when it gets colder.

SO, I perused their website and saw they were on sale for $5 each.

I did another order for those. Ordered 5. 20% off, free shipping, means I paid $20 for 5 brand new sweatshirts. (The ones I bought last year are fine - they have held up well - but they are just getting small).

This is why I rarely shop thrift for the kids any more. I used to a lot more, but I usually can get similar prices new, for FAR less time and hassle.

I am glad I thought to look.

Not much planned here - for the weekend.

Dh picked up some watermelons for $1.47. We have been heavy on melons this summer - lots of great deals.

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We have a historic section of the city that is always fun to visit. It's only a few minutes from our home.

Anyway, this weekend is Gold Rush weekend though, and grandma wants to visit and take the kids. Sounds pretty fun:

"Two hundred tons of dirt will transform this already rustic landmark heritage site into the appropriate mid-1850s California Gold Rush setting. Walking along the dusty trail, be prepared to witness a flurry of time-piece bands, costumed Wild West reenactors, horse-drawn carriages and Gold Rush activities for all ages — such as gold panning."

& if it's not a million degrees, we may ride the train too - free with our train museum membership. (LM is 100% train crazy!!)

Actually, the weather is supposed to be pretty darn nice!

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Of course, I had been trying to plan a swim date for Saturday. We will try to squeeze it in - we invited my friend/kids' friend over for an evening swim and dinner.

Our pool historically closes after Labor Day, though I think now it stays open through September. I just don't remember, for sure. So we will pretend it is the last weekend, and get lot of swimming in.

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I would like to go on a long big bike ride this weekend. Once I get a helmet. Will see.

I determined that BM is too big for his bike. The search is on for a 20-incher with gears. There are some around. But it may take a while to find an affordable/good one. We may peruse the stores this weekend and see what we can find. At least size him on it. He is like the bottom end of size for 20-inches, BUT he is about 4 inches too big for his current bike!

Finding a bike with gears will be the hard part. He is clearly ready though. & we will be a very even bike partner once he has gears. HE had to walk so much of our last ride because he couldn't possibly ride up some small hills on his cheapie kiddie bike.

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Besides all that, not much planned. I look forward to a mostly lazy weekend!

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Today I did my shopping spree. I guess it's a little akin to spending a paycheck. The credit card closed yesterday and I could put the month of August to bed. Phew! We put off a lot due to the spendiness of August - with the van door replacement in particular.

Dh went grocery shopping and bought some printer ink. (Um, the printer has needed ink for YEARS!)

I did my underwear shopping (sale, free shipping, 20% off final order).

I bought a new bike seat and looked at bike locks. I decided to buy a portable air pump and a bike "pedometer" for lack of a better word, because they were cheap/on sale. I ended up buying 2 bike locks. Free shipping on everything - everything on sale.

Our GPS does have a bike mode, but I rather carry around this $10 bike computer. I hadn't thought of it, but of course all the little gadgets pop up when you are buying bike supplies.

I was rather surprised to find the after school activity that BM wanted to do, was filled up and sold out. Didn't expect that at all, with the economy. Can't say I am sad to save $80 though. There is always next time.

On the school spirit clothing front, I think I was looking at bulk discount pricing by mistake. I perused everything today and it was too expensive for my blood.

I will stop by Target tonight and hopefully get a bike helmet. I want to try on before buying. I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent reviews on the brands Target carries. (Like, "My head got ran over by a car and this $20 helmet saved my head!"). Well, if they say so! I wrote down the highest rated ones.

Ideally, this weekend I will hit Marshalls for some workout clothing. Though I may put it off a bit. Online shopping is one thing. In store shopping is a PITA.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Bacon-Cheddar-Stuffed-Pot...

I was just mentioning "Taste of Home" to another blogger, and decided to see if our new favorite recipe was up on their website yet.

Yup, it is.

Okay, though this is so yummy and simple to make, it's not going to win any points for health.

But I share it anyway. It's like a slice of potato heaven on a plate!

With the whole car repair thing, I am putting off expenses more than usual. Credit card closes Thursday. Friday I can go wild with September spending - yeehaw!

My list:

1) Bike helmet (had put off one month but decided I should buy a seat now since I am riding a lot. Fall is ideal biking weather).

2) School logo clothing (for workouts). May go workout clothe shopping this weekend. Need more/brighter clothes for bike riding.

3)Underwear - I was thinking I needed some more and Saw Hanes.com has free shipping and a big sale through Labor Day. Guess it's a good weekend to shop?

4)I have to pay for an extra curricular class for BM (he is all excited about it and I told him he could go if they still had spots on Friday).

That would be about it - not a HUGE list.

BUT, dh secured babysitting so I told him I am booking the hotel ASAP. !!!!

Wait a minute, I better wait until Friday. *sigh*

Anyway, what I totally forgot about is SCHOOL. I am still adjusting. Dh is staunchly opposed to taking BM out of school. I pretty much refuse to go on vacation if we can't leave Friday a.m. LOL. I will win. Womenly wiles will win. But either way, we came to the realization that the journey is going to be a large part of our weekend away. We better enjoy the journey and not just the destination. (It's only 10 hours of driving. Which is why we never make it there any more, living more up north!).

We may work out a compromise on the school, but we might have to drive 5 hours straight and leave later than I had planned. Which is why we better enjoy the journey. Will see!

I will fish out prices. The cost is coming out of savings anyway, so maybe I should jump while prices are good. I will check their last minute prices for this weekend to see how they compare...

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What else is up this month? Probably some clothes shopping for BM. I guess it adds up fast!

Lord know what is on dh's list.

The cupboards are bare and usually he doesn't participate (when I ask him to hold off shopping a couple of days. He never listens). But he told me he was grocery shopping Friday. I am glad he is being nice this month. He realizes how spendy August was, I guess. I am unaccustomed to empty cupboards though. But it's doable.

It was a nice surprise, but our net worth actually went up in August. Imagine that!

It went up from $219k to $219.5k. Even though we had over 2k in car repairs - paid in cash.

Year-to-date we are up $24.5k. Which only puts me $500 from my annual goal. (Goal to increase our net worth by $25k-$30k, at the least).

It doesn't mean much, we are still very at the whim of the market. The market is what saved our bacon is a spendy month.

Just looking at my year-to-date returns. I keep track in yahoo. I enter my fund shares at the end of every year. The performance I track is everything I had invested as of 12/31 of prior year. I can track more current progress in Quicken.

My first thought is I wonder when some people who "Cashed out" at the low are going to bother to get back in. Some relatives come to mind. Not counting new money, my portfolio is up about 25% for the year. There's certainly been a lot of upside!

Secondly, one my my funds really stood out as I was perusing them today. I have a T Rowe Target Retirement fund that is up 25%. It's having a good run this year. The funny thing is the only reason I bought it was because I could invest T Rowe with a mere $50/month (& no other initial investment). Today I have almost $4k in there. I chose the Target retirement fund because it had a slew of high performing managed funds for a low expense ratio. IT hasn't always beat the market by a mile, but this year it is kicking the other Target funds' butts! Ironically, it has a more conservative mix than most the others for the same target date.

Other things of note? I have considered selling my Dodge & Cox fund because all I hear is how these funds were awesome in their hey dey, but that they are so bloated with assets that the fund is no longer very manageable.

Today, I am glad I didn't listen. Highest performing fund of ours, up 36% for the year. I am a long-term investor and wasn't ready to just sell. Though I was looking at it critically in recent months.

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Any surprises in YOUR portfolio?

All big expenses aside, I feel well with the financial universe lately.

It could be the feeling that life is short (more obvious lately as my dad faces his health problems), or it could be that we just spent a pile of money on the unexpected, and are still a mile ahead of last year. It could be that our life is kind of settling into everything we have been working for the last 15 years. I kept thinking all weekend, "This is precisely where I want to be." Mostly as I found time for things I haven't had time for in many years.

For whatever reason, I felt rather zen the last couple of days.

We already spent our vacation budget for 2009, and last night dh brought up our anniversary. We discussed much about the many getaways and weekends alone we could conjure with little money spent. Use free timeshare points for a weekend anywhere? Stay home and day trip to Tahoe or San Fancisco? Spend a weekend in Reno (usually cheap hotels can be found, maybe more than usual in this economy. One night would do it). Spend a weekend at the family cabin for free? Go camping? Possibilities endless, really. & the only way we have mostly vacationed in our life. Most our years together being broke college students or sacrificing additional income to be home with our kids.

What I told dh was that I really just wanted to go to Pismo Beach. IT is something we had both been looking forward to, and even tried to plan a couple of times, but it always falls through the cracks. It's my favorite area of the state, and yet I don't think we had ever been, since we moved up north. It's been 8 years at the least.

We have a favorite hotel there, and the timeshare points won't do. We figured it would probably be a $500 weekend between the hotel, gas, and food. The hotel is beachfront and an absolute STEAL (it's apparently been remodeled but still only $100/night. Phew! We will splurge $150/night for the ocean view). We discussed how a couple of dinners out and fast food stops on the drive would be preferred, but that we would be happy to pack some PBJ sanwhiches for lunch. Not like we have to spend a pile on eating out. The gas will be the cheapest part of the trip.

We still have to arrange babysitting, but since our annniversary is less than a month away, I am excited at this rather "spontaneous" vacation. IF we can't make it until October it will be okay, but September is an ideal month to visit the beach.

I am just so excited to finally make this a priority!







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As an aside, I checked the hotel's website last night as we discussed the feasibility of this last-minute splurge. Today, I decided to check a few of the travel websites to make sure there were no better deals.

I almost fell over, and had to check a few sites to make sure I could believe my eyes. If we went through any other travel website, about, the room costs $350/per night, as opposed to the $150/night we found at the hotel wesbite. WOW!

A decade ago, these travel websites were little known, and you would not believe some of the steals we found on travel over the years. But these days, more and more, I find booking flights and hotels directly is the cheapest way to go. Any more, you just pay a premium for "travel sites". Funny thing is the hotel price is more what I remembered it being. Of course all the travel websites boast "low price guaranteed" with their premium quotes.

I double checked and triple checked to make sure it was the same hotel and same type room. It was!!

IT pays to do your due diligence, that is for sure.

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We also talked about our wish to go to Hawaii next year. I think that will be delayed because we have other financial goals to meet first, and all these car repairs are delaying things.

Dh and I discussed how waiting one additional year to go to Hawaii is not a big deal. I don't want to delay it for 10 years. But one more year? I can certainly wait!

We will probably be able to go on a free Alaskan cruise next year anyway. So, what the heck. The "free" part is looking rather appealing.

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In other news, I have been pondering my workout clothes.

I don't mind spending a litte bit of money on work clothes. I don't spend a ton, but clothes shopping is frustrating enough I prefer to just shop new. I consider a "nice wardrobe" as part of my job description, and something reasonable to spend my income on. Since I have settled on the same size for about 5 years, and have been buying higher quality clothing the last few years, it's something I find I spend less and less on, anyway.

"Workout clothing" is a different animal. I have some really old t-shirts and a couple of workout pants I got at Marshalls for like $10 each, ages ago.

I keep thinking one of these days I need to update my workout wardrobe a bit. But it certainly hasn't been a priority.

It has become a priority as I bike ride more. I usually try to avoid the outside as MUCH as possible in the summer. OR the winter really. My wardrobe is extremely mild and full of dark colors. I can't help but feel I need some brighter colors for safer bike rides, and will definitely need more warm and cool clothes for the seasons.

As I type this I realize I should probably just make a trip to Marshalls and/or Ross, and stock up. They tend to have pretty good deals, and plenty to choose from.

The kids' school also made it amazingly hard to buy school logo clothing in the past, but just opened an online store. I was thinking buying a couple of t-shirts and sweatshirts might be a good way to update the wotkout wardrobe a bit. The money mostly goes to a good cause. The t-shirts are rather affordable.

Speaking of all that, I am going to buy a bike helmet in September. I keep putting it off due to other purchases. Heck, I think it's time for a new seat too (I logged about 5 hours over the last 2 weekends - and a more comfortable seat is certainly high on my mind).

I guess September will be rather spendy!

This picture was actually taken the other day, but it was like 100 degrees and I tried to fathom how it could be so hot with all the clouds (heat is common in summer; not clouds).

Picture just turned out gorgeous - camera phone and all.

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A friend told me about a bike path that was just down the street for our home. "Huh???" I said.

We checked it out. It was gated and said, "closed, no trespassing, patrol" etc., etc. But the gate wasn't locked and my friend assured me it was fine. With some caution we went through the gate and decided to check it out.

There are a couple of roads along both sides of the canal - probably for service vehicles - mostly gravel. We saw a number of people jogging and walking their dogs on the gravel. No doubt it is usually more highly traveled. It was hotter than Hades!

But not far away from the canal was this bike path. I had looked at the map online and mostly wrapped my brain around it, but was confused because we biked so much around and never saw it. BM asked where we were going. I said, "exploring!"

Anyway, it was kind of silly in the end because the path quickly turned into some open neighborhoods and ended on a busy intersection. BEsides the "entrance" by us, there really wasn't any "no trespassing" signs. It's a public park.

I just ignored it before since it's all blockaded on our end. So I am really relieved it was mentioned.

I thought it looked like the path went right past our favorite little secluded park in the middle of "homes never built land." (I've shared pictures before). & it did! It was just far enough away from the park that we couldn't see it from there.

This is the funny part. BM and I stopped by the park on our return and enjoyed some of the "hills" in the park landscape. The bike path was flat as flat can be, and though convenient, and good for some more exercise, it was pretty boring. So I told BM, "The path was really safe because there are no cars to worry about, but it was rather boring, don't you think?" HE replied something like, "Yes, cars make it more interesting."

Yes, that is what I am afraid of!!

I am pleased to have a nice, decent sized bike path to do some "training" on, right outside my door. But I am really looking forward to more weekends on the river parkway. I cringed as I described that path as "hilly," but I appreciate it's challenges a little more after finding the flat as flat can be bike path. I am afraid that is all we have close to home!

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I made it to aerobics this morning. Phew. I tried to go on Thursday, but traffic was a mess. Not sure traffic was ever so bad that I aborted my aerobics detour, midway. But that day I certainly did! It was just the worst of the worst. There were many accidents that day, plus a fatal one near my final destination (fatal accident wasn't even on the freeway). It probably would have taken hours to get there, so I'm glad that I turned around. I was bummed, because I had missed many classes due to our car situation.

Anyway, so I went to aerobics this morning (1 hour class), and then we did our bike ride. I am starting to remember why I was so skinny before I had children. !! As I resume my more active lifestyle... I am also surprised I so easily handled working out for 2 hours. I've been so bad about the gym and everything with how crazy everything has been the last month or 2.

Dh had to volunteer today so I made "breakfast for lunch." Kids were estatic.

I took a nap in the afternoon. Thank goodness I squeezed it in. I woke up feeling extremely relieved I was chipper enough to run after the kids. They have since quietly played together. It's not always so easy, these days, but I forget they don't need that constant, exhausting, supervision. I knew they would be fine while I napped, but I figured I had a long afternoon ahead of me.

Instead, they were content playing together so I did some financial chores. paid all the bills and determined that our savings accounts sit at a solid $21k, still. Phew! I transferred a chunk out to pay the van body work, and all that. Set up the few bills I had to pay for September. An hour a month mostly takes care of the bills and such.

The kids are excited about "lunch for dinner" now. They also want "dinner for breakfast," but I think I will pass on that one.

It's HOT today. When we got back from our bike ride (which seemed pretty hot for 10am) the A/C was already on. Oh boy, is that a bad sign! We've been squeaking by with only really turning it on in the evenings. I've felt rather trapped inside all afternoon. Blech!

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I am trying to enjoy the slowness of our next couple of weeks.

It occurs to me, as I pay the bills, that fall clothes shopping will be upon us soon. (Um yeah, that's probably why I have largely ignored Back-to-School shopping. Haven't tried on the kids' fall wardrobes yet. IT's only 100 degrees).

Halloween is just around the corner, and all the rest of those holidays. IT will be busy and though we aren't big spenders when it comes to the Holidays, there are always MORE expenses to contend with during that time of year.

At work the last few weeks I feel like, "I am not an expert in fill-in-the-blank, I just play one on TV." I have been working on all sorts of unusual stuff. Being a "tax expert" covers some pretty wide territory. I mean, how many taxes can you think of. I am expected to be an "expert" in every tax known to man. & then some.

At some point during the week I wondered if I was really any more qualified to do anything I was working on, than my clients. I decided, yes. If nothing else, it's like tax form legalize is a foreign language and I know how to translate it. IF that's my only advantage, it's a big one. I actually had a few more advantages. But it's just been a frustrating week. Then again, it certainly hasn't been boring!

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As of right now, we are a fiber optic household. Woohoo!

My dh was funny because he had "signed up" a while ago, but had wanted to talk to a techie over there and figure out all that was involved with the install. IT fell through, and a sales guy came by again and convinced him again, recently. So I ask dh a few questions and he really doesn't know much. If we try their TV service, all the installation is free. Except last time dh was wary of all the work involved in installation and didn't really want any part of it. Today he was like, "eh." I am not sure why, and left me a little worried. He had me convinced they would be putting holes into walls or something.

Thankfully, they had a MUCH better installer than dish. The guy knew what he was doing (quite obvious), it only took a few hours (as opposed to like 10 hours for a stupid Dish), AND it turned out to be pretty painless. All of our phone jacks are still working (if we decide to switch back). In fact, we have had had no internet connection with some of our computers since switching to DSL, etc. So now, everything but the laptop is back to being hardwired together. & dh is very happy about this!

So yeah - we now have VOIP for phone, fiber optic for internet, and not sure how the TV is classified. I guess they call it "digital." ?

We took the TV setup for free installation as everything (as I mentioned) but we doubt we will switch). Our 10-year-old TIVO is amazing (we are still hanging on in case we can use it again). DISH is decidedly subpar, but on an initial try, dh is not very impressed with this new setup.

Dish does have some plus sides. In the last year, they have SIGNIFICANTLY improved their DVR, and we only have one DVR for the entire house (2 TVs). Now we have 2 DVRs. & they seem even less user friendly than the Dish (if that is possible).

We will probably revert to having 2 TIVOs eventually, but it's worth having TWO of those.

In the interim, if we can't utilize our TIVO with our setup, I have to give Dish props for the "one-DVR per house" thing. It takes something even worse to appreciate what we have, I guess.

My mind is blank on the name, but the other satellite company is rolling out a HD-TIVO that is compatible with their satellite service, later this year. That's what Dh REALLY wants for our TV. Since the rollout will roughly coincide with LM being done with private preschool, I won't whine and complain too much about the cost of it all. He'll probably get his wish - next year.

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We made a few Amazon purchases the last month, and keep getting free Mp3s. It's kind of sweet. (I wasn't even aware of the promotion).

I downloaded 5 Mp3s last night. Dh was out volunteering so I figured I would give it a whirl - trying to download it all onto my Mp3 player. I actually figured it out. Woohoo.

Historically, if I want a song, I just ask dh for it. He takes care of all things music. My Mp3 is magically set up and CDs are magically burned. For the longest time we used a legal Mp3 service that were pennies were download. They were eventually shut down (something about credit card companies - I don't remember why) and so we haven't been buying so much music lately. Which is fine. We have a HUGE music library. Not much more we need! I have been getting quite a few free Mp3s, and every once in a while I order a favorite CD. That's all I need.

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Thank goodness for a mellow weekend!!!!

I literally have nothing planned for the weekend. That feels DIVINE!

We will likely hit the pool tomorrow. It will only be open a few more weeks, for summer.

Today I want to go on a bike ride close to home. We had a playdate yesterday and my friend told me about a bike path right down the street that I didn't even know about. I found another extended path I did not know about either - a short drive from here. So BM and I will go explore.

We also talked about how she often sees coyotes on said bike path. We have seen them around, but it still throws me off a bit. Coyotes? We are on the edge of the city - just empty fields all around. Shouldn't be that surprising I guess. I often feel like I am in the middle of the city - why would there be coyotes???

So yes, plenty of "free" activities to keep us occupied.

We have membership to a local park and we don't go much in the summer with all the heat. But we usually go a little more often. I may take LM there tomorrow. It's more the rest of the year that we go. But it has been a while, and that will be a pretty frugal activity as well.

We have been so spendy. It's just been an unusual summer. But I am remembering all our frugal standbys, and thankfully there are a LOT!

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I put some pictures of our recent weekend swimming and bike riding, up on Facebook. It was absolutely DIVINE. A well meaning relative asked if I had any any spare time. It just struck me as funny. Yes, I actually do have quite a lot of spare time these days. Much more than I did with wee little babies. Since when is going to the pool and bike riding a "chore?" LOL. Sure, I was in charge of the kids, but this age is just fun that they can do all this stuff.

It's just funny. I am in my element. Life is good. & someone is marveling if I have "free time." Teehee.

Life resumes to "normal," I guess.

Took the car in for the AC yesterday, and assumed it may take a while. But, we already got it back!

After 10-days of being a "1 car family," we are very grateful to have 2 vehicles again.

Not sure if this is good or bad, but they couldn't find anything wrong with the AC. (Heck, it was working fine when we took it in). They drained the freon (had some moisture in it) and refilled it. It seems to be working much better.

Total cost? $100. PHEW!!!!! (I was worried this would be another $1k bill).

Of course, we will see if this fix "holds." But with summer nearing its end, if it doesn't "hold", not sure I care at this point. Either this is it, or we can survive until next spring.

Phew!

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I also was proud of myself. My parents found it important to teach me basic car maintenance. But, I don't remember getting much education on tires. I can change one, but that's about it.

So, historically, relative, friend, mechanic, says "OMG - you NEED new tires." & so we replace them.

Deciding maybe we need a better method, I have been trying to keep better track of the age of our tires.

Dh's tires are at about 50k miles so I was going to ask the mechanic's opinion. BUT, before we went over, I checked the treads myself. He had one bald tire (thing is OLD - might have been a used tire we bought a few years back - just kind of overlooked. Lord knows how old the thing is). Another tire was iffy. But the back 2 tires seemed just fine, which was actually rather surprising. But I figure this is my guess - I have NO IDEA what I am doing.

We had decided to just get the tires taken care of while we were carless all day.

So, mechanic agreed. Replaced 2 front tires and had a re-alignment. I am not sure how much life is left in the back tires. It's kind of nice we didn't have to replace 4 tires. BUT now it's just more work to keep track of it all. But I was proud of my own diagnostic.

I should probably just check the treads at the end of every summer. Now that I am getting the hang of it.

So, yes, about $250 spent on tires and alignment.

Obviously, a very expected part of auto maintenance!

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As we know all of our auto expenses, we can come up with a game plan.

I was rather surprised we only spent $500, to date, on car maintenance. We took the van in THREE TIMES already, but I guess it was all small stuff.

$500 + $350 AC repair/Tires = $850.

We budget about $1500 per year for regular vehicle repairs and maintenance.

For now, I think I am going to pull $1k from short-term savings, towards the van's door replacement. It puts us over $1500 YTD for auto expenses, but I have some wiggle room there.

I am going to pull the other $1200 from the medical fund.

The year is not over yet. BUT, ideally we will have enough in there to cover the Dodge's computer problems (estimates at $1k) AND ideally we won't need it for medical expenses.

Doing all this, we still have a chance to make it to $10k in our mid-term savings fund this year. I haven't touched a dime of the money I saved up this year (Current balance? $9000!).

So, worst case, we can always dip into that. I am just trying my darnedest not to!

Just google "teriyaki sauce" and there are recipes galore.

I find this one to be fine. I just keep it in tupperware in the fridge - we use it often enough that I don't bother dating it or anything. I am sure one could buy a nicer container for their teriyaki sauce.

Anyway, I perused google but couldn't find my recipe so I will just share it. I just don't know where I got it or who to give credit to (oh well).

& I am sure there are BETTER recipes. After perusing the internet a bit, I think I may try some others.

1.5 cups soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp Sherry (I use cooking sherry)
1 Tbsp garlic powder (I use fresh garlic)
1 tsp ginger powder

Stir until sugar dissolves.

Enjoy!

Weekend Successes:

*Lounged by the pool
*Went on a marvelous bike ride
*Did good deeds (volunteer work)
*Prepared LM's "student of the month" collage (was actually kind of fun).
*Prepared birthday Thank Yous (phew!)
*Changed e-mail address for what felt like 100 entities (all our financial institutions + every online account I could think of).
*YEsterday was cool enough, we didn't use AC. (I am starting to think thermal drapes do better in summer than winter. I had forgotten about those. Could be another reason why electric bill has shrunk).

Weekend Failures:

*I STILL haven't got my haircut. (Maybe tonight?)
*House still looks like a disaster.

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On some levels the week is a lot easier. Work. Crash. Repeat.

Since I am not much of an evening person, I put off as much as possible to the weekends!

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I was able to transfer BM's account to the "Target Retirement Fund" today. (Another good stock day!) Yay! I can go back to waiting for the market to fall to contribute money to stocks. Waiting for it to go up was very counter-intuitive!

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Could be another week as a 1-car family. Bah!

It's not so bad, but I will sure be happy when both cars are in full working order again. WE are definitely spoilt.

Today is not so bad - I get the car since work is the only driving destination.

Tomorrow is a bit crazy with preschool, karate and aerobics. Without 2 cars, I don't get to go to aerobics.

Off-Topic blog post for the day...

The topic of love seems to come up enough on the blogs, and definitely is a hot topic among my MANY single friends.

I personally take issue to the sentiments that dh and I are just *lucky.* I could easily start listing a pile of hardships we have faced. The thing about us is we don't dwell on the bad. I think this often gives people the mistaken impression that "everything is easy" for us. I take issue when anything we have worked hard for is chalked up to luck.

BUT, by the same token, there is no doubt there is plenty of LUCK in our lives. One issue where I realize this 1000% in my life, is in our relationship. How lucky we were able to find such a compatible mate, so young. I don't mind the luck comments in that area. I fully agree.

What's the secret, then? Honestly, I have no idea. I truly think it is somewhat genetic. For me and my spouse it was literally "Love at first sight." For that, I certainly believe in the concept.

There was an instant physical attraction between us, that I am not sure we ever experienced before. We quickly found we were extremely compatible emotionally, mentally, etc. We dated only a few weeks before we started talking marriage.

The other thing is we met rather young (18/19). Neither of us was looking for a marriage mate, in the least. MAkes the whole thing more bizarre. But I truly believe that if you "look too hard" you kind of miss what is right in front of you. Though neither of us was particularly looking for a relationship at the time, that is precisely what we ended up with. We kind of felt that a relationship like that doesn't come along very often. So we better cherish it.

So, why do I think it's genetic? My parents met exactly the same way, and married around age 20. My grandparents met the same way too, and married about the same age. My family is filled with fiercely independent people who married quite young. Dh and I waited until after college to officially move in together and marry, but we were "married" for all intensive purposes, since age 18, as were those before us.

I can't help but wonder if there is a genetic propensity to sniff out mates well, or to simply "go with the flow." How many of our friends gave up good relationships because they were "too young to be tied down"? I am not quite sure what it is.

Naturally, many of my friends think I have some wonderful secret, and they bug me more about it with age. I tell them, frankly, the fish pond is getting small. At age 18 you have the whole pond to fish, but by their age (30s) most of the good ones have been taken. I don't think it leaves a lot to pick from. I think at that age you have to lower your standards a bit. & not that standards have to be low. But to all my single friends who would never marry a divorcee, nor anyone with kids, I think they are just shooting themselves in the foot. Let's face it, you can have that luxury when you are 20. Not when you are pushing 35. Probably the best fish in the pool have matured and learned a bit through marriage and children.

& if you are shopping for a mate with a "wish list" of traits - good luck. That's why I wonder if it's the "go with the flow" part of our personalities that fare better in love.

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I've also made some insights in our own relationship lately.

It really pisses me off (if you hadn't noticed) when it is stated that women like "strong men who make money." There's just something about that whole concept that rubs me the wrong way.

With time, I agree more with the underlying sentiment. I think it is the "women like x" that is very narrow. As the discussion evolved, I finally realized where dh and I fit in, with our caveman ancestors. I've taken a lot of offense over the years since I am the primary breadwinner in our relationship. & I don't see what the big deal is.

Let's put it this way. When I met dh I was dating a guy and our relationship was going nowhere fast. The guy had no ambition and it just wasn't working out. I recently ran into said guy on Facebook/MySpace. I hadn't talked to him or seen him in like 15 years. & he pretty much hadn't done a thing with his life. He was STILL going to college. He was STILL living at home with his parents.

I sensed all this when we dated - he was quite a few years older than me. Just kind of partied all day. HE was a really nice guy, there was a lot of physical attraction, and if he was a little more ambitious, I might have married him. I don't know. But the "no ambition" thing killed the relationship. He was fun to hang out with until someone better came along (my spouse)!

I met my spouse at work. I was definitely attracted to his humor and his personality more than anything. BUT, he was also promoted rapidly at work and had a lot of responsibility. I admit it - that was VERY attractive.

That is the person I was attracted to and whom I married.

Women all the time say, "I would never date/marry/love a man who didn't work." For me, obviously I am a little more open minded. But let's face it, the fact that my spouse does not "work" today is of little consequence. He is a motivated, hard working man. I know if I was disabled tomorrow, that he could step up and pay the bills. On the flip side, I couldn't see myself marrying someone who couldn't even finish college in a few years.

All in all, I admit to the sentiment. I just think it is often taken too literally. It's a shame when someone like my spouse is assumed to be "weak" for not having a job. Really, he should be looked upon as strong as having worked hard enough and saved enough to take many years off of work. That's the man I married! I don't mind being the breadwinner because I know he is perfectly capable of doing the same. For that, I give in a bit.

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My parents did raise me to be fiercely independent. No doubt about it. I often think it's a shame I don't have any daughters. I would teach my daughters the same. For that, I don't "need a man." But what I need even less is a man that I have to take care of, or who is going to bring me down. They didn't raise me to "take care of other people" either. It's why my only real choice was an independent mate. Just because I am independent doesn't mean I am masculine and my spouse is feminine. IT's funny because I was never a tomboy. But my personality as an adult does intimidate men, no doubt.

I often think my spouse is an extraordinarily masculine type, to be able to handle my independence. To be able to admit that I am better at earning money and he is better with rearing children. (When we first dated I focused on college and my career, and he always talked about wanting children as soon as possible). It's not traditional, but who really cares about what everyone else thinks. In my eyes, I married an extraordinarily strong man!

Our weekend wasn't all leisure - I forgot to mention - we worked a bit too.

I have no doubt mentioned our sweet Scholastic deals in the past. Teacher relatives showered us with their points (for free books). Now, since we live near a Scholastic Warehouse, and the manager has a kid at our school, we have ample opportunity to volunteer in their warehouse and earn tons of free books (& whatever else they are selling - video games, etc., etc.).

As usual they had trouble finding "volunteers" (for $20/hour pay in books). Dh volunteered the only 2 hours he possibly could, during the week. He had charge of the kids otherwise.

They kept bugging him to volunteer more, knowing he usually works many hours (when kids are in school, etc.). I felt bad about the whole thing and offered to split an all-day shift with him. Neither of us particularly minded helping a few hours, but all day was a bit much, with the way things have been. He's devoted his entire weekend and week nights, next week, to the public TV station. & being in full charge of the kids during the week is no easy job. So I am glad he was up to the half day. I didn't mind it at all.

He bought some stuff with his 2 weekday hours, and we donated our 8 hours of books, today, to the school.

That was a pretty decent dent in our "required volunteer hours" for the school year. Not that we won't help more, but have the feeling we will easily make our 30 hours with Scholastic.

Today worked out well. I had volunteered one weekend, and ended up being sick and not making it. Dh volunteered many days, and I kind of took the attitude that he had more time. Well, he did. But things change, and it was much easier to share the work.

The next Warehouse sale is right before Christmas. The last one was right before the kids' birthday. With this deal we don't need to spend any cash on their gifts any more. Works out well!

**Went for a swim. Was perfect weather and pool was even a little warmer than usual.

NO ONE was there, but what else is new. I love our pool!

**Still don't have the van. It is all done, but trim is not sticking. They said we could take it and they would order replacement. BUT, in the interim, they still had the trim on. Didn't want to drive it around if it might just fall off. *sigh* No one will be in to order the part until Monday. I have to cancel Monday AC appointment with dh's car. *double sigh*

I did get to see the van, and took a picture of it. Cleans up real nice!

**I couldn't figure out how to fold the seat down in dh's car, but experimented with the bikes. We could actually rather easily bring them in the subcompact - thank goodness!!!! I was SO bummed to cancel out bike ride tomorrow.

With the seat down - they will probably fit like a dream. BM could still fit in the back too. I love that car! It's so tiny and roomy all at once.

Dh may be able to talk me into a smaller vehicle, after all. Still considering a trade, as van is not the greatest vehicle. I have been getting used to just sliding our bikes in though. But we can adapt.

For now, van is all nice and shiny. Will give it a second chance, in the interim.

I hope we get the trim soon!

LM's account hit $3k yesterday, AND the stock market was up this morning. So I executed a trade, for today. Trading his Star fund for Vanguard's 2025 Retirement (He'll hit college age in 2023).

Success! I have been keeping an eye on this for 2 weeks. It's been frustrating.

This changes his stock/bond mix from 65/35 to 80/20. But also is a cheaper expense ratio, and I can put on auto pilot if I like (gets more conservative as 2025 approaches).

For now, just not enough to spread out any more (can't buy more than one fund!). I may prefer to manage it more as the balance grows.

BM is not so lucky. His account was like $5 short today. Bummer.

If August wasn't such an atrociously expensive month, I'd probably transfer $50 over to his account, and be done. I just don't feel I have a dime to spare for it. & I figure, whatever, if the market tanks, may be better to exchange it later. Will see. Maybe in October I will have $50 to spare.

We are also considering matching the kids' gifts going forward. All of their college money is pretty much funded by one grandparent. But they are retiring and we can probably match it starting 2011. (Next year is iffy - match will be easier once both kids are in school). I figure it's good to match it as there may be nothing to match, eventually, as they retire, etc. Then we can take over where they left off.

Dh and I spent pennies on our college, so though I think it's important to save up for it, I also don't feel the sheer panic that most parents do. Colleges here remain abundant and cheap, even today, where we live. (The abundance of colleges means kids won't have to go away to college, etc. Just means plenty of less expensive options).

We also have an entire second income to tap if the kids decide they are destined to be doctors or lawyers. From every angle, I Don't sweat it. BUT it will be nice to put a little aside. IT's been hard to justify until now. (Or until next year, I should say).

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Today I updated all of our savings balances through 9/30, etc. I have an idea since we don't pay most our bills (Credit card) until the following month. I think I got a handle on August bills (though admittedly, the month is not over).

& was pleased to see a $23,500+ balance in our savings.

$25k is so close I can almost taste it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$30k is my goal. $25k is a pretty nice "we are almost there" point, though. Once we reached $30k, we wanted to splurge on a trip to Hawaii. (Well, wanted to reach a little more - did not want to drop below $30k for HAwaii trip).

With all these car repairs, not feeling optimistic on making it next year, after all. But still quite confident that Hawaii in 2011 can be the backup plan. Will see.

So I will enjoy my balance for another month. & I am pleased that even with all these car expenses coming up, that we can probably keep our cash upwards of $20k. That is a pretty nice feeling. Not a feeling we've really had since having kids.

For now the balance is broken down as:

$ 7k ROTH Efund
$ 5k Cash Efund
$ 2k Medical Fund (Deductible)
$ 9k House/Car Fund
$0.5k short-term
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$23,500 TOTAL
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One thing that helps is I just paid the last of the regular short-term expenses (auto insurance) for the year. Well, about $4k of expenses is due in December (property taxes and insurance). But that will build during the next 3 months and make my cash balance appear cheerier than it really is, in the interim.

I still may get the Mid-Term savings (house/car fund) to $10k this year, regardless of all this. I can hope! The balance on 1/1 was something along the lines of $0.

Today I feel like it's been 3 steps forward, and one step back. I can deal with that. That is the whole point of my savings goals - to stay ahead of the curve.

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In other news, kids had clean bill of health (teeth), BUT we were officially told LM will need braces, eventually.

No surprise there!

Funny, they never mentioned for BM. There could still be hope??? (He's older!)

They got my genes and LM's mouth is clearly a mess. I've already been saving up for that, too. IT's just a little more official, I guess.

One thing I may be less prepared for is little kids orthodontia. I didn't get my braces until I Was 10. It seems these days, they start with baby teeth. Will see. I hope I can wait a few more years! But if they can start earlier and if he didn't have to have braces for like 7 years (like I did!), I guess I won't complain. I hear it is a lot easier these days. LEss painful and less ugly. Still, poor kid. It's kind of a bummer.

Thought of some wise words while commenting on my own blog:

Cutting back your lifestyle because you "have to" is nothing like cutting back because you "want to" in order to achieve a specific goal.

The two don't even compare!

How is that for some frugal wisdom?

Definitely the lesson learned in these times.

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Dh and I decided to be lazy. My van may be reasy tomorrow. Just a maybe. & we have to take his in for the AC. Well, we "choose" to. Hopefully Monday.

In the midst of no cars, I told dh that his tires probably need to replaced, and though it will be no doubt more expensive with our mechanic, we should probably just have him do it, for the convenience factor.

Dh can be pretty cheap, but he can also be pretty lazy. LOL. He agreed. I am kind of relieved to get it over with.

(I knew this was on the horizon - tires have hit 50k+ miles - I am sure they are only supposed to last 50k miles - though will ask mechanic opinion if it is time to change. He is very honest).

The Ford's AC and tire repairs will be nothing. Even if it turns out to be an expensive repair on the AC. We've gone most of 8 years not putting hardly any money into it. Cost under $8k in 2002, replaced tires at 50k, replaced battery last year, and a few minor things last year. I am pretty sure we had no other repairs/maintenance but oil change, from 2002-2007. (Maybe some air filters? I don't even remember replacing, like, a belt).

On one hand, I keep thinking, "They don't make them like they used to." With many typed of things (appliances and cars and such). But then again, with the Ford, it's like, "How do they make them these days???" Seems like we were always replacing batteries and brakes and spark plugs on our older (150k+-miled) cars. We don't drive much in traffic here, which apparently is awesome for brakes. IT's all I Could figure. Maybe I drive better with age? I keep asking the mechanic if it's almost time for the brakes or what - and he looks at me like I am crazy. Says they are just fine. Though I don't expect big repairs on old cars (never really had any - knock on wood...), I do expect more maintenance for a car that has run 100k miles on mostly original parts. The battery itself lasted nearly 100k miles. WOW! & yes - I said FORD!

No complaints on the Ford issues - it's just the timing sucks.

I know factory tires suck, so we may be able to squeeze out more miles on our current tires. Will see.

For the van? Thinking of pulling all its repairs out of the medical fund. Then I don't have to touch any of our other savings. Last year we used our medical (Deductible) fund for BM's cavities. We all got a clean bill of (Teeth) health this last month, so I guess it goes to the car for this year. I can stomach the expense much easier this way - assuming we have no medical bills through 2009. Lord knows, but makes it easier in the interim.

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I didn't have much on my To Do list last weekend but to get a haircut and get Thank Yous done for the kids.

Failed on both fronts!

That is my To Do list for the weekend.

Oh yeah, may get suckered into volunteering Saturday. Will see.

I am hoping we can finally go on our bike ride this weekend, and am glad we found the free parking. It's just been so crazed and busy. Look forward to a mostly slow weekend. & really forward to a REAL bike ride!!!

I raised BM's seat as far as it could go and he can keep up with my new bike a little better. We just bought LM a bike not so long ago, because BM seemed a LONG way off from upgrading. BUT, his bike is looking so tiny. I think it's about time - might get him something a little fancier so we can do some real riding together. Maybe for Christmas!

School is slow and unorganized this year. Received $60 request for field trip fees. I am quite sure they did not use all of last year's fees (only went on like half of the field trips originally planned!) BUT, no carryovers like they did before.

They "unofficially" asked for $25 for supplies and $10 for t-shirts. It's annoying because if you don't send the money in "just so" it will never get cashed. Even when you send it in, in a requested envelope - it takes a year to cash.

No envelope - just like a call or an e-mail message. Ugh. Sending it with the field trip fees - but separate checks to help along with the bureaucratic process. I know if I send one lump check it will ruin "the system" and never get cashed. Gotta love it!

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Someone mentioned to me new cars don't need "smog checks." Car is not "new" and we bought dh's car just as "new" and have always had it smogged.

But I finally looked it up - must be a newer rule. My 2005 van does not need a smog check for first 6 years.

Who knew something was "cheaper" by going "newer?" There's a first.

I can't say I minded having to fix my van's problems. We can put it off a month or two, but I still want to fix it this year...

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Is the grass always greener on the other side?

In this economy, renewed jealousy continually rears its ugly head. Of course everyone is jealous that my spouse does not work.

I think it's just a side effect of being more social. The "jealousy" was just as pronounced when the economy was booming. The more we socialize, the more we hear, "It Must Be Nice."

Even a good friend of mine asked the other day if my spouse was working or looking for work. Huh? Where did that come from? Have I ever mentioned he was looking for work?

The kicker was when another confident, well off friend, started in on the jealousy thing. Oy vey! Just didn't expect it from her. I think she is just in a bad spot right now, with her job. She is in a similar profession and has taken to telling me how lucky I am to have such great hours (as if this fell into my lap? Believe me, I know I have it good - I worked for it. & I have no idea what I will do to maintain said work schedule as my boss rapidly nears retirement). The spouse at home is just the kicker. I have a little sympathy - she switched jobs hoping to rachet back a bit, but instead the hours have been worse. I think she is just a little blindsided, and her husband has been working out of town. I think it is temporary jealousy.

It's just ironic when someone who makes 2-3 times your income voices jealousy of your slow work schedule. She could quite easily cut back her work hours and salary by six figures. But, she may have to give up the luxury cars and the multiple homes. !!!

As with most people, jealous of the leisure time, but not jealous of much else. Not jealous of the older/cheaper cars, pinching pennies, eating in most nights, etc.

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With time, dh's volunteer schedule is REALLY filling up. I guess in this economy it is harder to find volunteers - I don't know.

To those who think dh just sits around at home - I laugh. I think I prefer my work schedule!!!!! Well, I am sure I do. (I prefer working to taking care of kids and household - no doubt about it).

It is probably one of my biggest pet peeves - the whole idea that the only thing worthwhile in life is working for a paycheck. There is plenty of other important "work" in this world.

My dh told me about this, but the picture is priceless:

37-inch flat screen TV for $100 is really an oven door

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_13...

I noticed on the picture that a remote control was also taped to the "TV." Dh had missed that detail...

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Today dh sold our last "baby" carseat for $40. Say la vie.

If only I was so prompt (just retired it about 30 days ago - has been trying to sell for about 2 weeks) - I am still trying to sell a tricycle (never listed it yet) and some crib bedding (have tried but keep lowering my price with hopes of bites). I need to get off my butt and list some things!

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In good news, Dish removed their charge and Chase removed their double charge.

Chase had an online dispute form, and though I Was supposed to send in "documentation" that I didn't have - I guess it was a clear mistake - because they sent me a note today that they removed the charge.

Well, that was easy! (Wasn't so easy the last few times).

Reminds me, I mentioned Chase sent me a note to tell me that they increased my grace period by 5 days.

About a week ago they sent me some disclosures, in fine print, about all the negative things they did to my account. Just struck me as funny.

"LOOK AT US - WE GIVE YOU 5 MORE DAYS TO PAY YOUR BILL!!!!!!!"

"BTW, we are raising all your interest rates and fees, astronomically."

I don't know exactly what they changed - nothing that matters to me. Interest rates and such...

Let me be clear - I don't depend on my credit cards for anything. I don't trust them farther than I can throw them. I just enjoy rewards and grace periods, and the convenience, as long as they last...

**I stopped by Walgreens to pick up some Thank you cards on Sunday. For the kids' birthday. Got pushed way to the wayside with my dad's health and everything (his heart attack was the day after the kids' birthday party).

I figured I should maybe get on the Thank Yous, one of these days.

While there I grabbed some fiddle faddle, m&ms on sale, and a "flying disc." Went to the park twice since, with the flying disc. Minus the thank you cards it was $3. Dh looked at me like, "what the heck?" when I Returned home. I said, "$3 worth of heaven - don't start with me." It doesn't take much to make me happy.

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**Dropped off van yesterday. They called today to say used door did not work out - new door would cost more in labor. Revised estimate from $2000 to $2200. Van will be out an additional day or 2. I don't care. Dh was kind of annoyed. I know what an "Estimate" means, and am maybe more sympathetic since I work in a field where it is quite impossible to estimate anything. Quite simply, we don't give estimates.

Anyway, I figured the thing will probably cost somewhere in the range of $2k - $2500 (other estimate we had). Could always come in less - but won't hold my breath!

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**Dh picked me up in no-AC car yesterday. (Reminds me, now we can't take his car in until next week - I will probably book an appointment for Monday).

Weather was 95 - wasn't near as bad as I imagined. Was a nice breeze by then. Will probably survive the week. I have a reverse commute so no doubt they were more miserable sitting in traffic on the way to pick me up. I told dh to throw some water in the freezer and keep it in the car at all times. Last thing you need is to be on a windless day, no AC, stuck in a traffic jam. Cold water is really key. Weather calls for 100-ish all week. Reminds me I should call him and remind him. I would like some ice water please - today we have a lot of driving to do.

Tomorrow is the same (appointments and such) - though Thursday and Friday I may be able to just take the car. Then again - don't want it sitting in the sun all day - may be preferable for them to drive me

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**So yeah - 3-4 days of one car is turning into 6 or 7 days, quite rapidly. Times like these is why I am quite aware we could survive with one car. And also reminded why I would not want to survive with one car. The inconvenience factor is huge. Definitely high on my list of luxuries I will pay for. I love me my car.

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**I have another subject to bring up - completely different topic.

At the end of a mortgage - does it really matter if you pay it off or keep the mortgage? My answer is no. Or, I guess I should say - it's more important to have a manageable mortgage - and not to borrow into eternity - more important than anything else.

I think it is my parent's example that is precisely why I am in no rush to completely pay off the mortgage. If I could in a few short years? sure, why not? But why tie up all those assets if it is going to take over a decade either way.

Was thinking on the subject since so many people have commented, with my dad's situation (not sure if he will ever return to work) - so many comments that they are so lucky/smart to have a paid off mortgage.

Truth is - does it really matter? Their payment was only $400/month. A VERY small fraction of their disability or SS income, and a minuscle fraction of their income before all this.

& interestingly, my parents never really prepaid a dime on their mortgage. They actually started out with a massive mortgage payment (moved somewhere extremely expensive for job opportunities, bought in 1980 or so when interest rates were double digit). So, when interest rated lowered, they refied a couple of times, and settled on a 15-year-loan.

For all intensive purposes they started out in the craziness that has hurt so many people in recent years. I think the key is they never particularly borrowed more against the home. & they started repaying more rapidly once interest rates dropped dramatically. For all that, they aren't even the greatest example of buying well within one's means. But they never bought up, etc., which I guess is more the key here. (They even did the starter home thing - but everyone in our family has - it's really the only way to own anything decent in California - start small and buy up with equity. Start with a condo - be lucky to afford 1300sf SFH some day. On the flip side, no one in our family has bought up past age 30. Which is more to the point).

But at the end - does it matter if it was paid off or not? Not really. They paid it off when the balance hit the $20k range. The house is worth far more than what they paid - so these days they have a paid off home, but they invested enough over the years that they have far more in savings than the house is worth. I would probably argue that the savings is more useful in their situation. But in the end - it doesn't really matter. The $400/month mortgage wouldn't make or break them - even if their only future income is social security.

Probably where I get my attitude from. I just want a manageable mortgage! & I've said before, with rents so high here, the managable mortgage is a dream in comparison.

So often when the "prepay vs. invest" debate comes up, someone comes back with, "It's stupid to have a mortgage in retirement." As if there is no middle ground. Who said I was going to have a mortgage in retirement? Not in my plans. No, no one in our family has had a mortgage in retirement. Even with all the unexpected early retirement flying around both sides of our family.

If my parents could pay off their mortgage in their early 50s, I have no doubt we can pay ours off sooner. We have more income potential (between the both of us), far lower interest rates, and a much smaller mortgage (compared to income), to begin with. IT will be interesting to see how it pans out. I don't feel comfortable taking on a 15-year mortgage today. But at my age my parents were taking on a MASSIVE new 30-year mortgage. I assume a 15-year payoff is not so far off in our future. WE are on so much better footing at the same age.

If my spouse returns to work we will just pay off the mortgage because then it can be done in a few short years. That makes all the difference, to me. Being house rich and cash poor doesn't appeal to me much, overall. Will pay it off if we can be cash rich too.

Spent the day at the Lake yesterday.

Not being a local, I was a little confused. Is this lake or river? I looked it up a little more and left more confused. We spent the day on the lake part of the river. How's that for an answer?

A class on local geography could be useful. Dams, wiers, lakes, rivers, oh my. They are all inter-connected somehow. I just grew up by the ocean - that was simpler.

But yeah, I think it is a section of the River that is damned off. So thus, it is a lake.

Anyway, the frugal victory? We went over there for a friend's B-day BBQ, and she tells me there is free parking just outside the paid lot. "Huh?" I had been over there before and was quite sure she was crazy. Though I had only been there once, in this particular spot, BM and I have been meaning to return for a bike ride. IT's a bit of a drive (25 miles?), but a beautiful, long, mostly flat bike path. Willing to pay $10 for the pleasure to park there.

So we arrived yesterday, and wouldn't you know it? Free parking - lot not even full at noon?

We chose to pay yesterday because I had a ton of food and such, to lug in, BUT for bike riding, the free lot is a GREAT option. That was our frugal victory.

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BM had a BLAST yesterday. HE went out on a canoe with his friend and a couple of adults. He also went swimming in the lake/river. Oh - and rode his bike around. I didn't do much but eat and relax. We were going to go on a longer bike ride, but there was an injury just one minute in - so in the end I didn't ride at all. BM and I will probably go on a ride today, closer to home, to make up for it.

BM got scratched up and no one had any napkins or anything at that point, so I broke out the first aid kit from my car. I think it's been sitting there unopened, for 16 years? So that was interesting. Made me think it wouldn't be the worst to have a first aid kit for bike rides. I usually carry a fanny pack for my keys and cell phone anyway. Some bandaids and guaze would be a good addition. Turned out to be a minor scratch, but there was plenty of blood until we determined that. !! (Not sure if BM would classify it as minor. He refused to ride for many hours after that).

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After spending like 6 hours at the lake, we went to dinner with dh's friends. As we hosted them so they could rest on their drive to Tahoe.

Oh yes - and Murphy is still here. I flipped on the air in the evening, at home, and it wouldn't switch on. It did that once to me before, and dh thought I was crazy. (It was a while ago - might have been the heat actually - last time). So dh saw for himself that I was not crazy.

Learned something new - thought we had a whole house fan, but not sure how to use it. Dh got it on and it felt okay. Later he somehow got the AC to kick on, but I am thinking now that the fan is ample for evenings (cool air outside). We will experiment with it.

I hope the AC is like last time - that it was just a fluke - we may want to get it serviced one of these days though. Maybe before next summer. Will see! (It's the thermostat it seems - but could be more).

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Murphy was nice to us too though. The only rush on my $1k computer repair on the van was so it would pass smog. I got my DMV renewal - and um - no smog due? It hasn't been smogged since 2006. Seriously? I was sure it was every 3 years. Maybe I am forgetting a smog in years past. ??? I'll have to check.

Might get a free pass. Will get it fixed, likely this year, but at least we can space it out a bit from the pricey door repair of next week (we're taking it in Monday!).

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I bought some piano music and so will get to try some of it out today. I told BM we'd go on a bike ride. Not much else planned - just need a lazy day (at home!)

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I leave you with pictures from the day:

The View


Their canoe in the distance...