Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Was going to buy a bike helmet this month. May, still. But thinking of pushing it off.

Spent too much money!

Went to Kohl's last night to look for pants. My strategy is to wear like the same pants every day, because pant shopping is usually so miserable.

I noticed my most worn black pants were looking sort of tired and my employer may appreciate if I bought some new pants!

Went to Kohls and scored. I love that they don't monitor the dressing rooms and I could take in like 10 pair at a time. The whole ordeal still took an hour. My usual brand is no longer there - nor anywhere online - ????

Shoes are similar so I have taken to stocking up on shoes when I like them. Thing is my shoe size remains the same for eternity (hopefully). Clothing sizing is more iffy - less benefit to stocking up (though honestly I've been the same size for about 4 years - since having child). All it takes it to stock up on a pile of pants to jinx weight loss or weight gain, I am sure.

Anyway, I found them! 2 pairs of stretchy pants at the perfect height. They looked a little odd with my flats, but I gave it a go anyway. Tried them on at home with my small heels and they looked like they had been tailored to my height and shoes. SCORE!!! $30/each - I'll wear them as long as they last. I would have bought a second black pair too, but all they had was one - thank goodness I snagged it.

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I have a favorite "Daisy Fuentes" shirt and I saw them there, full price for $36. I considered buying it anyway because I LOVE this shirt and it seems very high quality. Love the material, etc.

Anyway, I looked again and saw it was $10 off - PHEW!!!!! I am so stoked.

I also found a very cute kind of casual shrug to wear in the summer (light material to maybe wear over a tank top). It was probably $30, but it was CUTE!

My wardrobe is going to be looking much nicer come Monday - phew!

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Unfortunately, my credit card was declined. Turns out in the end dh made a $5 play station charge and Chase marked it as suspicious. So when I got home dh says to me, "You spent $125 at Kohls?" LOL. They called him while I was out.

At the store I had held my breath and pulled out my CU credit card. I had never used it so not sure what to expect. But it worked - phew. That is precisely why I have 2 cards. The last thing I needed was the inability to pay for the clothes I shopped over an hour for. !!

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Went to the grocery store to stock up on some food for BBQ today. It worked out pretty well. I stopped by another store at 5:00 and it was a MOB. I thought, "nevermind," and went over to Kohls. There was a grocery store right next to it, and the place was cleared out at about 6:45. It had obviously been hit by a mob the hour prior. WOW. But I just ran in and out.

Find? Cantaloupe at 10 cents a pound! This is the "upscale" grocery chain that none of my cheap friends shop at. They sure miss out. They are all busy wasting their money at Safeway - we hardly shop there any more it has gotten so expensive the last couple of years.

Anyway, stocked up on cantaloupe, watermelon, and chips for BBQ. Only paid about $12 so wasn't bad.

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I was perusing Quicken to see where we were for the year.

I have mentioned, dh and I get an allowance of $50/month, mostly to buy things the other wouldn't agree with. I don't keep a particularly close eye on it so laughed when I saw we were both at $400 for the year (through August). I hadn't looked all year - we obviously know our spending limits...

I am sure our "allowances" were bigger before children and may be bigger some day again, but we really can't afford to splurge more than that these days. Not that we never splurge - we just have to agree on any splurge more than $600 per year, each.

Dh bought a lot of games and movies, but also a blu ray player.

I bought a new bike, some clothes, and some piano music and CDs.

We both find having a little something to splurge is nice - doesn't have to be a lot!

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Anyway, overall, expenses for us are way down this year, over last year.

Through 8/15:

*Spent $1k less on auto repairs/gas (this will change with all our car repairs coming up!)

*$3500 less on childcare. Not only is BM out of preschool, but LM has been in preschool limbo for a while.

*Spent $1k less with smaller mortgage payments this year

All told, spent $6k less through 8/15/09 than we did through 8/15/08.

Not sure what this was about - but I was behind this vehicle on the freeway. I actually got right behind it because I was trying to figure out what the heck it all was.



It was a pickup truck piled HIGH with soda and beer cans.

Um, interesting?

More interesting - the vehicle had Oregon plates. Though I highly doubt the cans were driven from Oregon to California. But, who knows?

But yeah - not sure I have seen a pickup truck so piled high with, anything, before! Was a sight!

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I also took a lot of pictures of the kids playing in the creek behind Grandma's home:



We have a river by our house, but any river access as close as this is bordered by private homes, so it is not very accessible from our home. Kind of made me wish we lived closer to a creek. The kids were in heaven. (& flood wise, think I'd prefer a creek!)

Though since I lived over there, they have put in a man-made pond. & I think the kids almost liked the pond more than the creek. They liked picking the cat tails and using them as swords. They liked watching all the birds and fish, and climbing all over the rocks.

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It could be years before I can transfer the kids' money over - yeesh. I need their accounts to hit $3k so I can do the change, and I need an up stock market day so I know that they will still have $3k when the trade is executed the next day. I think today is a fail, with the market down.

It could be Monday. It could be next year, at this rate. I am tired of keeping a sharp eye on it.

I did a little research and decided to with with the Target Retirement funds. It's about 70/30 stocks/bonds. It's about 55% Total Stock market index, plus some international funds, and a bond fund. I looked at the LifeStrategy funds, but they were more expensive. I didn't like the underlying funds as much, either.

"Target Retirement" fund it is. I think this is the better choice.

I tried to web search some ideas for college savings (outside 529s) and didn't see much. I came across an article from some guy that said all college money should be saved in CDs.

Um, no thanks???? Literally - it was like - 18 years to college? Your only option is CASH! Boy, I thought I was conservative... Not taking that advice.

529s come with lots of fees and limits. My strategy for now is to keep the kids' accounts in UGMAs as long as they pay no taxes. We can transfer them to a 529 once we have a better idea on the college costs, etc. (or if we need to for financial aid, etc.) Though not sure I would see the point either. All that is far off in the future.

(The kids have a few thousand in a 529 already, anyway - from Grandma).

I like ESAs a LOT better. They are pretty much like any other IRA. BUT my professional understanding is they have fallen politically and future contributions are up in the air. I think 2010 is a big expiration year for current limits, so we are kind of wait and see on those. If I thought they would actually be around for a while, we would consider an ESA once we hit "taxable earnings" on the UGMAs. For now, we find the UGMAs simple - they don't make enough, now, to have any tax consequences.

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Surewest came by and talked my dh into switching over. They did already, but they never showed up!!!!! & him and I argued about it so much. This was maybe 3 months ago?

I can't tell you why we argued so much. We both think they lowered their prices. We are getting 2 months free, TV, internet, phone (VOIP). Internet is fiber optic!!!!! 6 months promotional price, then to full price.

Thing is, full price is only $15 more per month than we are paying now.

I told dh last time I was really annoyed by the whole thing, and this time I don't really care. I think the price was WAY higher before. WAY higher!!! So, interesting. $15 premium for fibre optic? What's to complain about? Before it was a decent deal in the interim and some insane price after that. Which I totally understand they may rise the price astronomically again at some point. But we will see... We are really fed up with our DSL service anyway. Not sure what other options there are.

& to ditch DISH? IS this a dream? Actually, dh has not heard great about their TV service, so we doubt we will stick with it. But free trial comes with free installation and promotional prices, so sure, we will give it a try. I can't imagine it can be worse than Dish.

Anyway, before Surewest told us we had to sign a contract. Now we don't. I am thrilled about this too.

But yeah - heard great things about their phone/internet - so will be a nice change. Moving on up!

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Little financial headaches:

**Disputing double $20 charge on credit card.

**Dish replaced our DVR because it stopped working. They told dh there was no charge, but then put a $49 charge on our bill. Yeah!

Dh is busy following up on all this.

Our ATT modem went out recently and so I think we are ready to replace both ATT and Dish. But I do have the feeling this will be more expensive in the end. BUT, if the stuff works and doesn't break every 5 minutes, it will be an improvement.

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Reminds me, I signed up for ymail when we changed to ATT just one year ago. Nothing good to say about it - too many ads.

I use gmail with an alias for this blog and I LOVE it. So I am going to switch all my e-mail over to gmail. I am tired of maintaining so many e-mail addresses. Will probably phase out my yahoo and ymail accounts. Will only use Surewest as a "backup/real" address for gmail and such.

**Murphy REALLY likes to visit us in the summer. Last year is looking preferable though - maybe $1500 all told.

WE are already up to $3k in car repairs (maybe a bit more) when dh calls me today to report his AC is not working in his car. SERIOUSLY? I know it could be something cheap to fix, and in fact he called me later to tell me he turned it off for a while and back on, and it worked for a bit. But still!!

The van is going to the shop Monday, it's s'posed to be 100 degrees - and that's our only vehicle??? I told dh it might work out - the car was so hot the other day I am not sure I could have driven it but the A/C cooled down the steering wheel rapidly. So I figure if we have to store it in the garage all day and he comes to pick me up after work, we may survive. The difficult part is driving a car on a hot, windless day, that's been sitting in the sun all day. Not much shade here. Could invest in a visor shade thing though...

I can look at the bright side - at least we are at the tail end of summer. Though September can be brutal hot. I think we will probably just take it in though, once the van is all fixed up. That's what our cash is for. But if we want to nurse our wounds a bit and put it off, sounds like it may be workable.

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As a frugal antecdote/side story, I remember I was on a local message board a few years back where I learned that the masses believe old cars cost more money (repairs) than new cars. They all said quite a few nasty things about old cars, and I always defended my old car. Anyway, so everyone had a 5-year or newer car pretty much, and I Remember one summer absolutely NO ONE on the entire message board had air conditioning except ME!!!!! My little $800, 12-year-old Saturn with 150k+ miles, yes. Never had an A/C problem with that car or any older car I owned the decade prior.

I just always thought that was pretty ironic. It was the summer of no AC.

So when dh tells me this - I say of course the AC doesn't work - now we have a newer car! Wait - the car is 8 years old. When did that happen? HEll, at 100k or so miles, it is one of the newest vehicles we have ever owned. I just don't get the feeling that they "make them like they used to" in many regards. I know more modern ACs have stricter environmental standards too.

Aw, hoping for us, it is just something simple like low on freon or something. I can hope? Reminds me, dh needs new tires too. We keep forgetting to look them over, but they have hit 50k miles of use - I am quite sure we should replace them before summer is out.

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I haven't been very bloggy. Expenses aside, just been very content. We made a lot of progress this year, and so can breathe a little.

WE had many years where money wasn't an object, and I just want to get back to it. IDeally, I think finances should be in the background. I don't want to obsess about it all the time. & my obbsession level has decreased dramatically this year. Phew.

For me, it's a bit of a balancing act. I don't want to obsess over my finances - just want to have long-term goals and keep an eye on things. BUT I love the subject, obviously, and so don't mind obsessing about the topic of finances.

Anyway, I Feel like worrying, stressing, focusing too much on finances has been my mode for a couple of years. & I would like to tone it down a bit. I have, and it's been NICE!

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Today the kids' accounts both hit the magic $3k mark. BM literally has $3k in his account - and a few cents to spare.

If the market starts off up tomorrow, I will execute trades for both of them to get into some more aggressive funds. I was just going to stick them in the Total Stock Market Index and go from there. I guess I should research a few funds before I trade. Hmmmmmm. A Target fund is also an interesting idea (since too little money to spread around much at this point). But was thinking of just going for the market index, and getting back into Star (balanced fund) next year with next year's birthday gift money, to get some more balance. Will be a while before I can spread out into more funds, but I think it's a nice start.

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I've been contemplating cash though I probably shouldn't. Not like I have much. We may get to stay above $20k, but depends what Murphy throws at us. A chunk of that is in my ROTH, as is.

But I have been considering a cutoff of when to cross over from cold hard cash to maybe some bond funds, etc. Either $30k or $40k, is what I Am thinking now. Depends. I read an article the other day about how great it is to invest in bonds vs. cash, and I wasn't very much convinced. Author bragged of returns no better than my own cash/CD returns of the last 3 years. But certainly took on more risk in bonds. So not sold there. Talked about mid-term bonds as well, which I Was also not sold on (prices fall when interest rates rise -and interest rates are so LOW). Though maybe we should just start dollar-cost-averaging into bond funds when we get to that point. Anyway, author was talking about some Vanguard funds, and I looked and the average maturity on these funds were more like 2 years. I assumed "mid-term" was a longer time frame. So yeah - I am starting to get more convinced.

Bonds just overall, scare me. I don't completely understand them. So I am wary. I am not in any individual bond funds at current, though I have some balanced funds (which have bonds and bond funds, etc.). But the bonds I had in 2000 definitely saved my portfolio in 2001-2002. I have just been wary to buy in with such low interest rates.

Well, I've got some time to study up on bond funds - that is for sure. For cash I might no need for over 5 years - I think I would be foolish not to invest a "little" more aggressively.

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I can't decide if work is slow or crazy. I think it's in the middle. The slow or crazy just depends on the day. But I feel stressed by approaching deadlines.

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This weekend isn't shaping up to be too cheap.

Dh drove LM to the Bay Area today - grandma wanted him for a few days. Gas $$$$

Dh has friends coming over this weekend who want to go out to dinner. We were invited to a BBQ and we offered to bring a lot of food. Plus it is a bit of a drive.

So it's shaping up to be a little busy and a little more pricey than the $0 we wanted to spend. That's life I guess!!!!

Here is to a really lazy, no spend, rest of August. After Sunday!

Not much going on financially; too much going on otherwise. Maybe that best explains my absence of late.

Dh called the shop that we decied to go with and they are ordering a new door for my van. That's all I know. That, and we will be a one-car family for a few days, very soon. I can't imagine it takes long to order a door though. I assume the repairs will begin this week. For now I am trying not to drive it too much anyway - the door seems to rattle more every time I drive it.

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Back-to-school is rather uneventful here. Last year was a flurry with kindergarten and all that. This year is rather quiet. Plus, I am not sure what it is - maybe the fact they shortened summer for a month - but we haven't heard much. We haven't been asked for school supply and field trip money yet. We just found out class assigments (last year we knew a month in advance).

Dh is driving me nuts - and his mom. We were at her house over the weekend and she was telling me about ALL the sales. I told her that was nice, but we didn't need anything. She just kept going on and on and on... So yesterday dh is telling me he is picking up some shirts for BM, per his mom's advice, since there will never be sales so great again!!!! (MEanwhile, I didn't notice anything spectacular about said sales). We argued much about it yesterday - I insisted BM didn't NEED anything. So this morning I looked in his closet and held up the various sized shirts to his frame. Um, he has EIGHT shirts, they are mostly on the large side, and he prefers to wear 1 or 2 per week. I told dh very strongly how I Felt about spending money on shirts. What a waste! I think I won this one, but who knows. He also wanted to get some white shirts. Is he out of his mind? Children don't need white shirts. Hell, I Would never wear white (I am too messy!)

That was our battle of wills yesterday, but I brought up the 8-shirt thing today. To help get my point across!

Anyway, both kids could use some new shoes and last year we just bought the most cheapo backpack we could find. Main reason being we needed something "plain" - plain as can be - and it was really hard to find. When we found one for $5 we snagged it. But no surprise, it is falling apart. We now know the backpack part of the dress code is completely ignored and so anything should really be fine. I told dh not to go too cheap - I don't want to buy new backpacks every year.

The kids could probably use haircuts too, but that won't be done in time for school. Oh well!

Overall, not much back-to-school shopping. The school buys supplies in bulk and just asks for $25 per family.

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Speaking of haircuts, I try to cut mine 2-3 times a year and that is plenty. But last month I figured at about 6 months out that it was getting well past time. I was going to get my haircut some weekend, and I saw my mom and she raved about how great my hair looked (she might have even asked if I just got it cut). So I pushed it to the back of my mind. I prefer to have it shorter in summer though - so it's kind of silly to have ALL this hair in the heat.

Anyway, it works out, I got an ad for a $8 hair cut - the ad sais "put us on your to-do list." It was like the ad was made for me - LOL. YEs - that is something I need to do. So hopefully this weekend I will remember to do that. Dh will take the kids to the beauty school sometime during the week. Their hair is much easier! Do I trust them with my hair? No. BUT fact is, my coupon is cheaper anyway - and will likely be a much better cut.

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Market is frustrating me. When the kids get $3k "officially" in their accounts, I can transfer them to about any other fund at Vanguard (the $3k minimum thing). LM had $2995 in his account for a couple of days. I could probably call and ask if I could send in $5 to round it out - but online I couldn't execute it without $3k. So I am a little frustrated.

I am wary to add more money in case I do and then the market falters. Funding kids' accounts is pretty low on my priorities right now - though $5 is fine if it is a sure thing.

Anyway, in the interim it feels weird waiting for the market to rise so I can buy high. But it is what it is.

It may be a few months...

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Real estate is moving. Well, more in the BAy Area I guess. Not that it ever slowed down much there. It's still "insanely expensive" and far more expensive than when we fled about a decade ago. BUT, I got lots and lots of friends calling and e-mailing me for tax real estate advice. Yeesh. Like, it's endless. The real estate bug is going around. What amazes me how many first time homebuyers are excited to buy WAY TOO MUCH house. I often feel no one's learned a thing from all this mess!

Some of the locals ask me for advice, but none of them understand we bought down in price with the purchase of this house (we sold our condo in the Bay Area for more than this house cost) and I think most of them think our mortgage is about double what it is, from comments made. Thus, any advice I give on taking it slow, and starting smaller, is taken as a personal insult. They think I am looking down on them when in fact they are stretching far further than we did for our home. That whole thing is just irony I guess. I am giving the advice I followed myself. They think I am putting them down for suggesting a "smaller home." You can't win.

Our house cost us less than any of them pay in rent. They just haven't a clue. Appearances can be so deceiving.

Exhausting but fun.

Summer vacation is over - school starts in a couple of days.

Boy, it went fast!

I think it is kind of sad the kids only get 2 months vacation. BUT I do know that dh is thrilled to send BM back to school! (I understand completely - love the kids - but he is exhausting beyond words).

I realize the last few weeks have been a whirlwind, as we try to fit as much "summer" as possible, into a mere 2 months. I look forward to a few lazy weekend in August. The weekdays will be filled with school.

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BM got the teacher he wanted and it is a male teacher. We are excited about that (there are so few male teacher but he is used to his daddy being his main caregiver - I think he will like the change).

His school is now the only elementary school in the district with class sized limited to 20. Otherwise, people tend to pay big money (private school) for this opportunity. I personally do not care that much - my child will be fine either way. But I do prefer if LM could start school in a class of 20 next year. So here's to hoping I can say the same for next year. I think a smaller class size is important for such a big transition (kindergarten). I often wonder why K is lumped with the other grades. They can't keep Kinder small???? I guess it complicated things to start smaller, but the wait list for even 1st grade is huge enough to work with it.

Anyway, the reason we are the only school in the district with this distinction? Because we are a charter and can do what we want. The rest of the district has no choice. Keeping class sizes small depends on managing money well going forward. For now it's not necessarily feasible for many more years, but the wisdom is once you switch it takes many years to pare class sized back down. So we are just hoping the economy turns around sooner rather than later.

This of course brings up many politics. "It's not fair!!!!" & then all sorts of fingers pointed at us for draining district funds, etc. It gets old. The only reason a charter school was formed was because the school district was completely inept, and involved in fraud to boot. (They chose to defraud the school district rather than build our new neighborhood a school - makes a lot of sense). I'd like them to tell us where exactly they would fit our 500 students into their existing schools. They should kiss our feet. Unfortunately we have to kiss their feet to keep our charter. Gotta love politics!

This year will be an adjustment. 1st grade is only 45 minutes longer than the "all-day" kindergarten. But I believe this year BM will start getting homework, etc. It will be interesting. As a working parent I love the school situation. I literally only miss 1.5 hours of time with him, since the school day is 7 hours. I can get used to that. The hard part will be evenings filled with homework, etc. I am a morning person and I like to collapse and/or relax when I come home. Weeknights filled with homework sounds rather blah. We will see...

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What was so exhausting this weekend? We went to the water park Friday, which was a blast. The weather turned out to be okay, though we left early when it started getting pretty cold after 3 or 4. I had been worried the day would be too cold, but the clouds parted for a few hours and it was "just right" most of the day - high 70s.

Yesterday was visiting with family. I took the kids for a walk down to the creek - they had an absolute blast.

Today we are entertaining for many (family). I need to clean the house a bit. No doubt I will end the day exhausted.

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We were in the Bay Area yesterday and my next door neighbor scared the living daylights out of me. I tried to check my cell phone voice mail and it was down and giving me all sorts of weird messages. Which was frustrating me. Probably somewhat related, my phone did not tell me who had called. So I finally got through to my voice mail and the message starts, "This is Lisa, your next door neighbor..." Of course, I freaked out at that moment. I figured the house was on fire or had been burglarized. Not sure she had ever called me for anything, and I gave her all our contact info a while back, in case of emergency.

So as wild thoughts ran through my mind and the message was cutting in and out, I finally realized she was asking me some questions about the school dress code, because she was out shopping and her son is starting kindergarten this year.

LOL. Talk about relief to find at that's all she wanted.

I never got hold of her, but I think she never called me before because we usually just chat in person. She didn't see us around and so called I guess. Or realized she had my # when she was out shopping. I will have to tell her she scared the hell out of me!

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Oooooh - I just got the electric bill.

We have not done a thing. We switched to mostly CFLs earlier in the year, but we historically use so few lights in the summer - it stays light so long, etc. Anyway, haven't done a thing.

BUT our electric usage was 35% lower than last year. Since we are on budget billing and July/August are our only high electric usage months, they decided we had way overpaid, and credited us most of the month. So I got a $15 bill for July - not bad! (Total was about $88 before credits - not bad for hottest month of year).

I can't put my finger on it at all, but that the weather has been rather mild. We were gone most weekends in July, BUT we leave the air on for the cat. One weekend it had been pretty hot and it ran much, no doubt. Another weekend dh accidentally flipped it on to 78 degrees all weekend while we were gone - so it ran 24/7, no doubt, for 3 days. So I was actually worried about the bill because of that, and instead it was far lower than expected. Go figure.

I think it's more mild weather than anything. Though maybe not being around much helped a wee bit.

We usually run the AC on 78 degrees most days (downstairs only); don't run anything at night, but maybe 20 minutes to cool the upstairs for bedtime (cool nights), and usually get a couple of $120-ish bills in summer.

This month was $25 for gas and electric then (gas is only $10/month for us in the summer). Not bad!

Well, I was right. The door will be replaced and doors are far cheaper than I imagined. BUT there is so much labor and materials involved in painting. Unless by some miracle we can find a used door in the same color.

You would think that even a same-colored door would be a little "off" but our mechanic said that if we could find a used door in the same color it should be fine. That being said, all he could find was a red door, and the new doors only come in one color - to be painted.

I told dh when I sent him over that if it was $2500 or less to book an appointment, and if it was more, we would discuss the insurance option.

The quote was about $2400 with a new door - though "only" $2200 with the available used door.

LEaving room for error, I think we are right at the $2500 mark! Figures...

Dh did not book the appointment because mechanic strongly encouraged we go through insurance.

I wasn't so convinced. So I spent the day talking to my financial mentors and gathering info. My feeling is he recommends that because most people expect to pay insurance for these things. We are not "most people."

My original feeling was we do not insure for this kind of stuff. We insure for "catastrophe" or things we can't afford. In insuring for the catastrophe, this kind of stuff is covered - but what are the negative consequences of making a claim on something that we could easily pay with our cash???

I talked to my dad, my financial mentor, and he pretty much said he could flip a coin on the situation. Not much help. My understanding was pretty much we could make one claim with no affect to our insurance, but I still have the nagging feeling we should save that free claim for something more significant. I can't just think about today - what about TOMORROW? What if we get 2 accidents in a short period of time, etc.?

I then did a lot of web searching and saw a Liz Pullman article that recommended against using insurance in this kind of situation.

I had considered meeting with the insurance agent - a nice enough guy - but decided he would tell me anything. I don't really trust the guy farther than I can throw him - because he is an INSURANCE agent.

I was lucky to find online multiple sources on State Farm's policy. Seems you get one free lifetime pass on damage under $750. Seriously???? What in the world would cost less than $750 to fix? Or $1750 (with $1k deductible) for that matter??? The tiny dent on my van from a hit and run a while back, was $1500 to fix.

Secondly, if you had been a customer for 9 years (raises hand) your first accident doesn't affect your premiums. But after that we are looking at 20%+ premiums on our already astronomical insurance (the zip code rating is bad here - our insurance doubled when we moved here. Zip codes can majorly affect premiums!).

The only part of me that wants to take the money and run is the one that wonders how long this little tidbit will last. What if they discontinued the "one free accident" tomorrow. Could it be likely in this economy? But that's really the only doubt I have.

Anyway, we are both quite okay with just paying the bill and leaving the insurance out of it.

Dh went to a dealer-recommended body shop down the street and they quoted a little less for a new door replacement, and offered about a 10% discount for us being new customers and because we are not using insurance. Brings the cost to about $2k. Saw a lot of glowing reviews about the place, and it is very convenient - so we will go with them. Haven't set up an appointment yet.

It will take 3-4 days to do the repair. We can survive a week without a second car. A tad inconvenient, but not a biggie.

Paying the bill won't set us back financially, at all. Which is the prime reason why we don't want to mess with the insurance.

Dh's parents gave us $1k when they traded in their car for some "cash for clunkers" program early in the year. I had kind of earmarked that cash for the Florida trip (which is at MIL's insistence - that we go to Florida this year). BUT, in the end it looks like our Florida expenses will be very few (if any). SO, we decided to treat that as our "insurance." We had a $1k deductible anyway. So $1k out of pocket, and the $1k gift will cover the rest. It's nice that trading in their car will afford us this car repair without touching other savings.

Why did they give us the $1k? Hell if I know.

My hope is this gamble will keep our insurance premiums "low" for a long time. It's more sacrificing a little now for the long-term future.

That's the long and the short of it.

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We have about $8500 in our mid-term savings, and we MAY need to spend $1k to replace the computer in the van. We are not sure yet - it could be something simpler and less expensive. But, IF it is, and we spend $2k to repair the door, we will drain our savings to $5500, which is fine.

Our total cash will still be at least $20k.

This year we are still on track to put $10k into cash savings, and we also have been putting $3k to our medical savings. So if by some miracle we don't use our medical deductible this year, we won't even have to touch any of our other savings.

This is what I mean when I say it won't set us back financially.

Now, in 2006, 2007, or even 2008 it would have been hard to justify an expense like this. But, 2009? Eh. I don't expect it will make much difference in the end. Sure I would LOVE to have more cash for other opportunities, but we will survive.

I will probably gripe while the van is in the shop all week and when I pay the bill. But after that it will be forgotten - life moves on!

So I did a big update, on my big, bad expense. See my last post.

I didn't want to cover that one up with a new entry, but I realize I haven't blogged all week and I do have a couple of things to add.

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The fam is definitely going to Florida - and will mostly be paid for. But incidental expenses and food and the like can REALLY add up. So will see. The day that was finalized was the day I saw our cash balance start decreasing. Yeesh.

We will probably aim for a pretty low-spend August and September. BM starts school in a week and so our "summer" is mostly over anyway.

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I have a few vacation days coming up. I am taking a 3-day weekend this next week AND I had requested 2 days off for the week the family was probably going to be gone. I am going to revel in freedom. I have considered going on a mini-vacation by myself. Odds are I will probably stick to the Bay Area, but may visit with my parents and a friend, separately. I also have an ambitious goal to perhaps paint BM's room. It will depend on how I feel! It's likely I will laze around the house and do nothing. VERY likely.

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At the Garlic Festival, dh charged some tickets for some kiddie rides. He was at the booth FOREVER and I guess they were having problem with the credit card machine. He had some cash, but hell if he would use it.

Anyway, I kept telling him I was worried I was going to get five $20 charges. He said the person was trying to get the charge to go through with no tax, but it kept asking for sales tax and refusing $0. So anyway, I was relieved when I looked in Quicken and only saw one $20 charge.

Until yesterday when I updated all my accounts and saw a SECOND $20 charge.

Did I call it or what? I have honestly NEVER had a credit card discrepancy like this. I don't necessarily double check every receipt, but I try to keep tabs and am honestly amazed something like this has never happened to us before.

But it has. I figure I will write a letter to the credit card company, to have something in writing, and dh can call and follow it up.

My spouse cracks me up. I was griping what fun this would be and he said, "Oh the credit cards are usually good about these things." Is he serious???? This is the man who called both of our credit card companies about 5 times to remove a $1 fraudulent charge. In the last year. We honestly gave up on Chase because we earn so much in rewards we just let it go. When someone like my spouse calls 5 times and makes no headway, what are you going to do? Was an impossible situation. In the end they removed the charge long after we had given up. (In both instances they easily removed some large fraudulent charges but did not remove small charges associated with it).

The other card has no rewards and dh asked to cancel the card if they couldn't refund our $1. They were a little faster to act (but was like 5 calls all told). Yeesh.

Apparently I was more infuriated by our $1 debacles than dh who called them endlessly. Yeesh - that's why he does all the calling in these situations - it just drives me nuts! He doesn't even remember. !

I didn't really mean to post a "cliffhanger" post in my last post. I was a little depressed, true, but really, I couldn't make this post without pictures.

So, here is the scoop, complete with pictures.

The short answer is we were doing really well, had some extra money, and we were talking about Hawaii next year. BUT I was an idiot and I had a run in with a POLE! Now I need to repair my vehicle and it will obviously cost thousands.

Waaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!



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Here is the long version, in true Monkey Mama Fashion.

First, in the forums there were discussions about how many accidents teens get into and if they need new cars. I pointed out that I had never particularly been in an accident and didn't know many who had. BUT when I was 16, 17, 18, I had a few run-ins with poles and such. Even my DH had a run-in with a pole at age 16 (he is a marvelous driver). Thus, I think a bit of a clunker is appropriate at that age.

I figured I outgrew that. It is true that my brain is mathematical, but not very mechanical. & it's iffy if I should operate heavy machinery - LOL. BUT I have been able to avoid stationary objects, and moving objects at that, for about 15 years. So I figured those days were over and I could drive nicer cars.

Yeah, right!

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So it's a pole, get over it. Is that what you say?

The thing that REALLY pisses me off is this freaking van. The computer probably needs to be replaced and it will probably cost $1k. I was really pissed about this for a time. (It's only a 2005 with 60k miles - most every other car I ever owned was bought with 150k+ miles and never needed expensive repairs. So this is my perspective).

I did gain new perspective when I whined to a friend and she bragged about how she doesn't have car repairs because she brought a brand new $35k minivan.

Seriously? It was like the slap in the face I needed. We paid $12k for the van. So it needs a $1k repair. So it may be the most expensive car repair I ever had - in like 15 years. I got over it quickly. !! I think our van, all repairs included over the course of its life, will cost less in the end, than $35k! Geez.

In the interim there was this whole cash for clunkers thing and we discussed it. The sticking point for me was that it could be a good deal overall to trade in the van for a new Toyota subcompact. We could find one in the $12k range, we would drive it 20 years if we could, it would get better gas mileage, etc. BUT the sticking point is I don't want a second subcompact. We don't need a VAN, but we "need" something a little bigger than dh's car. So we have been going round and round. The thing about CARS is we didn't have to fix it. It's all moot anyway - though I have probably NEVER gotten better than 18mpg on the van, it's rated as getting better mileage and it doesn't qualify anyway. Which makes the whole thing moot - no more discussion there.

We've also talked about trading it in for some boring granny car. We could maybe profit on the deal, and still keep the size. Would make more sense than buying a new car. I've found many deals, the cars are just so UGLY. LOL. I am not terribly picky, but geez. I even researched other years on the Dodge Caravan - maybe we should just trade for an older/better year. I know so many people with older ones who LOVE them, but I can't find any decent overall reviews on any year in the last decade. 2005 maybe isn't even the worst (imagine that!)

So we have been in talks about getting rid of the van anyway, I am kind of annoyed by the thing, and now I go and do this. If it was a beloved car I would just fix it and shut up about it. !

I know your next question is if we have insurance. YEs, we have collision insurance on the minivan. IT's worth more than $5k, which is my general collision rule of thumb. Plus it's so new, I'd probably keep insurance a couple of more years, even though it's value is rapidly plummeting to the $5k range.

BUT, I have said many times, I insure for catastrophe. I honestly can not see using my insurance for this mishap. It was my fault 100% and would only increase my premiums, etc. Maybe my thoughts are misguided here. But I have the max deductible possible, and we easily have the cash to take care of it. So I don't intend to deal with the insurance. I don't have much experience with insurance. I just know our premiums are rock bottom because we've never had any tickets, accidents, or claims. So why mess with it? Obviously if I had a larger repair or "catastrophe" - I would prefer to save the insurance for that.

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So, that's the long and the short of it. I think it could be good that the damage is limited to the door. Not that it would be easy or cheap to replace the door, but I honestly think that is all that needs to be done. That's the silver lining.

We will take it to our mechanic (he has a body shop) Monday for a quote and will also take it down to the dealer for a quote, sometime this week. Mostly because we have been putting off the $1k computer repair and we need to take it to the dealer for that anyway. I am pretty anti-dealer, but sometimes in these situations they can offer cost savings over an independent shop. So we will see what our options are.

& I will cross my fingers that the van settles down and doesn't give us more grief for a while. (& that I can go another 15 years without hitting an object -please?)

Truth is the only problem we have ever had is with the computer - so maybe this would fix things. Is certainly cheaper than buying a new car, for the short run. Trading it in for a better, similarly priced, used vehicle is still a strong possibility, but it has to be fixed to do that! & if we put all this money into it, we will want to stick it out for a while.

I keep telling myself we have had such awesome experiences with our VERY used cars, that I just need to get over it. We are lucky this is the most expensive repair (the computer replacement) that we have ever had. Though I truly consider the wisdom of keeping a vehicle that cost so much to upkeep.

& if I have to get in an accident, a 5mph collision with a pole is probably preferred. No other cars, people, and no injuries were involved. Phew!

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I had a car before that got rear ended more times than I can count. Usually when I wasn't even in the car. We fixed it a couple of times, and then I gave up. I stopped fixing the thing - it was jinxed. I've driven around less than stellar cars.

If the damage was minor enough I'd probably let it go. (The van got hit in a parking lot like the week after we got it and we never fixed it - terribly minor - barely noticeable - but about $1500 to fix). So I also had to point out I would be the first to let it go if it was minor damage. But I did some pretty serious damage to the door. I was shocked when I looked it over that the door still functions 100% (still slides open, locks, etc.). BUT yeah, I hit it enough that the van is no longer sealed, etc. Air was blowing through and no doubt water will in the rain. Which kind of sucks because the van is covered in mud - but no car wash for it until it is fixed! LOL.

But yeah - I guess I can't decide much until I know the cost. My personal guess is it will be in the $2k range to replace the door. If it's much more, we may consider going the insurance route. I don't know. We have lots to figure out this week.

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We easily have $3k or so for car repairs, so that's okay. I told dh maybe we will spend our anniversary on a beach in California instead. We can still do something "nice." But I will mourn the loss of that money ("opportunity").

Other than that, we have the cash, and we will move on. This is precisely the kind of thing SAVINGS is for. & it's not even coming out of our emergency fund. This is not an emergency; these things happen all the time. This would come out of our "new car" fund (mid-term savings) since we have no plans to replace our cars in the near future.

I told dh we need a "July and August sucks" saving fund. We need to save about $3k per year for that. Last year we spent about as much on repairs around the house and mostly on BM's cavities. Thing was the dental expenses were tax-deductible, so this is worse on some level. No tax deduction for car repairs!

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P.S. I can't imagine how frustrating a situation like this is for people who owe substantial amounts on their vehicles. Paying cash for cars makes things like these a mere bump in the road, really. (I had to find the motivational, no-debt angle).

I was paying all the bills (for August) and all that jazz. Read some posts/blogs, and thought maybe I should update my net worth.

The good news? Net worth is about $220k. I think this is most definitely, officially, the highest it has ever been. (Referring to backwards slide of 2008!)

This also puts is up about $24k for the year, and pretty much at our annual goal. Still at the whim of the market, and murphy, and everything else. Will see if we can hold on until year-end.

Oh yes, MURPHY!

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August has not started out well. I am too depressed to post about my stupid, avoidable, big expense, at right this moment. But I will soon enough - like this weekend.

Of course, I remembered we had the same kind of setback last year in July - with all of BM's presumably avoidable cavities. Yeah!

To top it off, I was updating our excel savings sheets and everything and was feeling a little better (looking at our mid-term savings - cash to be used for stupid expense - balance was higher than I remembered). But was reminded looking at all that, that August was our Murphy month last year too. July was cavities to the tune of $2k-$3k, but August was quite a few major expenses as well.

So what is it with summer? Ugh!

I know a lot of my real life friends think we are a little crazy, kind of no-fun saving fuddy duddies who just want to be rich or something. Honestly, my goal has never been to be rich; just to be comfortable. For that we seem to succeed. If not for the ambitious saving goals we could easily drown in all the "unexpected" in life. But instead, we shrug it off and move on. THAT is financial freedom.

We will shrug off our August setback and move on. But I will gripe a bit along the way.

So I am allowing myself one last happy, "Yay for 2009" post, and then I will whine about upcoming expenses on a later post... *sigh*

Imagine that?

I pretty much have no plans all weekend. Phew!

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Last night we went to a minor league baseball game. I thought of Gamecock!

I was stupid though. We were invited by the new Ms. Preschool, as a "cheap family outing." I hadn't really thought much about it. $20 for 4 tickets; $1 hot dogs and ice cream. Sure, not bad.

I checked on their website and saw we could bring in bottled water (you never know) and was pleased to see we could bring juice boxes - all of which we have laying around. My mom gave me a case of bottled water she "won" or something, and we have juice left over from birthday festivities.

SO, this was good, but it occurred to me around then we would have to pay for parking.

Dh and I mostly ate at home. $8 to park. $6 on hot dogs and ice cream, plus $6 on nachos and soda. So in the end we spent $20 at the park and $20 for tickets. Not horrid. But not the cheap I initially imagined!

Oh yes - and they had bouncy houses and all that racket too. Ugh. Somehow we averted them. I told BM at some point he could use his allowance money for that, but I think dh just tried to distract him from it - and keep him busy with food and stuff.

Kids barely paid attention to the game and so we left close to end of 8th inning. I know they have fireworks sometimes, and wasn't sure about last night. BUT not sure LM would like fireworks anyway and wasn't opposed to beating the crowd. So I don't even know if we won!

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I got a $10 off coupon for Kohls - it came in the mail. I don't even bother trying any more. I can't get out of there under $50!

So yeah, I actually passed up a few coupons, and another one arrived for this weekend. Sure, what the heck. I could use some shirts.

I started out well. I found a dress on sale for $20. I considered it $10 with the coupon. Hard to beat! A nice touch since I have a client coming in next week and need to dress up a bit. I try to buy one dress a year or so and just build the wardrobe with time. & well, I hadn't bought one this year. IT was also long which meant I could get away with knee-hi hose underneath. Score!

My next purchase was the polar opposite. Probably the only item in the store NOT on sale. Ugh. It was a $40 button up sweater. But I have been searching for something like this FOREVER. Geez louise. I LOVED it and it fit really well. I can see wearing it every day in the winter. Not literally; well maybe. So I splurged. It will go nice with the dress as well, BUT probably too hot next week. My boss turned down the air a tad so I haven't been wearing my sweaters to work (I usually tend to in the summer)!

I found a really NICE shirt for $10 that was not in my size. Bummer. I may go back later and try to fish it out. I would also pay full price for that one if I could get my size.

While there I checked out the pillows. We don't have any for guests, and mine has a hole in it and is probably atrocious anyway. I can't wash it with a hole and it's well past its time.

I scored with $3 pillows. I grabbed those for guests and grabbed a couple of $5 pillows that were clearly marked as machine washable. They had all sorts of luxury pillows marked down really low - and I Was completely overwhelmed by selection. Ugh. But I really just wanted a simple pillow. I guess I have 2 varieties to try, will choose one, and will be happy to have pillows around for guests.

I also keep forgetting sales tax went up, since I personally rarely buy anything at all (dh does most the grocery shopping, etc.). So I spent about $70. At least my 1-2 year long quest for a decent, "boring" sweater is over. Yeesh. They've had plenty before but the options were always "cheap" or "really funky looking." & I mean shopping anywhere for a sweater. So I am pleased with my find, albeit expensive. Before I would never buy clothes that cost more than say, $20. I am trying to get out of that and get more quality. It seems to be working. I seem to be spending way less on clothes in the end.

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Well, if I am motivated I will be listing some thing on craigslist and freecycle, and will clean the house a bit. Haven't spent any time at home in AGES.

But I may be lazy and may just lounge in the pool, go for a bike ride, and take some naps. Will see!

The short answer is that I keep most of my cash in one account. I keep a $1k cushion in my credit union savings account - which I can withdraw or transfer (to my checking) immediately if I needed it. I keep some cash in my ROTHs (will explain below). I do keep most of it in one Online Money Market Account. For the long run I will probably invest in CDs. For now, there is really no reason to (low interest rates, etc.).

I do keep my cash readily accessible (I can write checks from my money market savings) BUT it's not something that tempts me. I don't personally need to "hide it" so I don't spend it.

I do prefer to keep at least $5k cash readily accessible, for emergency. I think my $5k is like Dave Ramsey's version of the $1k mini-emergency fund. I don't think I have ever had less than $5k cash in a savings account, in my adult life.

Right now I am all in money market cash, so to speak, because we have been "low" on cash and I haven't felt comfortable tying any of it up. As the balance grows to my goals, we will need to ladder some CDs, etc. We may even look at some bond funds - I just haven't gotten to that point yet.

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But, let me go back to the beginning. I've said before, our parents were wonderful financial mentors, but taught neither of us about investing. So WHEN we had $50k+ cash in the past, we were really stupid. IT was sitting in our low-interest savings accounts. Our worst financial mistake ever.

I also had an IRA sitting in cash. No one ever advised me to invest it. !

It was around 2006 and more difficult financial times that we decided to earn some interest on our money. Which was ironic since we had blown through most of it by then. But we opened a couple of high-yield money market accounts since then, and that is where most our savings has sat, since. (We had some CDs when we did some credit card arbitrage - CD interest rates were "high" then).

I was also going to invest my pathetic IRA cash, BUT in 2006 interest rates were higher than I had ever seen them as an adult, AND the writing was on the wall with the economy. We were knee deep in the housing bubble and it didn't look good (just as we had been knee deep in the tech bubble a few years before - we lived in the tech capital and my spouse worked in tech). The writing was on the wall so I took a gamble and converted my IRA into a ROTH and then stuck it in a 5.5% CD for 3 years. Turned out to be a good move. IT matures in 2 months and I will probably be able to invest it at much lower stock prices than I would have been able to in 2006. That's the story on that.

Anyway, as we tried to rebuild our cash reserves, from our $5k low in 2006, we didn't have a lot of money to go around. But I Received a $5k gift a couple of years back and was able to max out our ROTHs that year. I was very intent on building up our cash, but I felt comfortable with this because I knew I could access the ROTH in extreme emergency. So I actually currently have about $7k cash in my ROTH which is designated for emergency. The thing is, for me, maxing out the ROTHs right now is like putting away 23% of my gross income to retirement. Far more than we NEED to put away. But I will do it if I can access the cash in extreme emergency. I don't recommend this strategy if your retirement savings contribution is only 1% - 15% of your income, say. Or if your idea of an emergency is a car repair or a vet bill. I think hell will freeze over before I actually tap my ROTH for cash, honestly. My idea of emergency is prolonged job loss or loss of home (i.e. natural disaster).

Ideally, we will probably keep $10k cash in our ROTH, of our $15k total Efund. Keep $5k accessible cash for mini-efund. So, we may max out our ROTHs this year, with that philosophy.

The ROTH cash is in that CD I mentioned, and in MMFFs. I'll be able to invest a portion of the CD though. We have more cash than I prefer in our ROTHs, simply because my prediction on the recession. (It isn't much - nothing that will make us rich. Like $10k? )

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That's the long and the short of it.

The short answer is that all our money is in Money Market accounts, earning as much interest as possible. When we reach our $30k goal we will probably start shopping CDs and developing more of a long-term cash savings plan. Will probably be $10k in ROTH, $1k in Credit Union, $19k in Online Savings. Anything above that can be tied up in CDs. We will start formulating a long-term plan when we get there. I am a "one thing at a time" type gal.

Investing cash well is not an area I have a lot of experience in though. I have some learning to do.

I'm still around, it's just been a little hectic.

The weather has been much more bearable around here. We came home Sunday reeking of garlic - think it's worn off by now.

Definitely had a spendy month, but was less expensive than I had expected. It's hard to care anyway, our savings is doing so well lately (knock on wood).

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Thinking towards long-term goals lately. I am starting to think we will hit all our "long-term" goals in 2010. Go figure! It depends, but exciting all the same.

I think we will have $30k cash in the bank by next spring. IT's kind of an arbitrary number. It's well over 6 months of "minimal" spending, so certainly an ample emergency fund. The arbitrariness is that we haven't had that much cash since we had our first child. So, um, it FEELS good.

We will be in that range next spring when LM is done with preschool. We have had a few different ideas what to do with that preschool money - $150/month. BUT, we are also saving $250/month for our medical deductible fund, and knock on wood, really haven't used it. As of next summer I would be happy to divert $250+ $150 per month, which is enough to max out our second ROTH (by the following April - meaning we can max both for 2010). I know max may increase, but just one thing at a time here. Putting away $10k per year is more than sufficient! THat's like 12% of my income, on top of the 10% we already contribute to retirement. IT's just too good a tax vehicle to pass up though.

Basically, as long as we are healthy we can max out the second ROTH.

With that, we can still continue to add about $8k per year to cash (which may cover the medical part anyway). I would like to contribute at that level until we have $40k cash. Of course, once we get there, might want to go one more year to $50k. Will see.

Which leads us to our next decision. As our cash balance grows, what do we want to do with the excess?

On one-income, I vote mortgage payoff. I am quite sure long-term investing would easily trump the effective 3.5% interest rate on our mortgage (after tax savings, etc.). BUT, for now life is simple. All our savings is in tax-deferred accounts and cash accounts. Life is very simple. To add taxable investments to the equation just makes me cringe when I think of all the work involved of managing it, and managing the taxes, etc.

Quite simply, paying off the mortgage is easy. IT keeps our taxes very simple, etc. So that is where I lean. Dh probably wants to save more for college. So we have much to discuss there.

If he returns to work it will be a very different ballgame. Our tax bracket will increase drastically. We will probably fund 401ks, HSAs, and 529s instead, to lower our tax exposure. For now, the HSAs and 529s give us no tax benefit, are not very flexible, and cost more than other savings vehicles. For now, I am not offered a 401k. But all these vehicles will save us a lot of taxes if our income increases.

If dh wanted to match his parent's contributions at $2k per year to college - for the kids - I think it's about the most I would really want to set aside. I'd rather start chipping away at the mortgage with any extra cash.

Which means, by end of 2010 we will probably have an ample 6 months' emergency fund, will be maxing our ROTHs (for a total 22% gross to retirement), and saving 10% income to cash. May be funding college. Any windfall could go to the mortgage.

Why so much cash? I'd like $15k for catastrophic emergency (& growing), $20k to replace both cars, and about $10k for home maintenance. Those are all the minimums I Feel we need - though they can overlap a bit. If we use the emergency fund I would gladly buy an old clunker instead, etc. That adds up to about $45k, eh? We tend to hoard cash, but just haven't had the income to do so in a while. I think cash is under-rated for the most part. Has kept our life simple. Will probably keep hoarding cash until we have a years' worth take-home pay in the bank. I have no issue with this if we are maxing out our retirement vehicles. The thing about cash is we can always change our mind down the road (invest it, put a chunk to mortgage, spend it, whatever). & as long as dh is not working, and not terribly employable, I think cash is extra important. IT would be kind of moot if he were working - I wouldn't see the point of hoarding so much then. Interest rates suck now, and have most of our adulthood, but I have managed to earn 5-6% many years on our cash. That time will come again. (I have a 5.5% CD at current - it expires later this year).

All this is probably way optimistic, but the direction we are currently heading in.

The possibility of meeting all of our aggressive savings goals on one income, is very exciting. My last long-term goal of current is to pay off the mortgage by age 45. In like 12 years? I assume dh will return to work to help meet this goal. It still feels like a bit of a pipe dream otherwise. But, who knows.

Going to the Bay Area for our dental appointments, today.

We picked this weekend because we have been meaning to hit the Gilroy Garlic Festival for many years, but never seem to make it. Last year we whimped out at the last minute because we were having an expensive time of it. This year is polar opposite financially, so we will enjoy. At least I don't have thousands on unexpected bills, today. Instead I have made all my original 2009 savings goals already - which is where the "polar opposite" thing comes in.

Tonight we will see my visiting sister, and we decided to go to Beni Hana. I am excited about that too!

Besides all the expensive outings we have planned, I do mostly look forward to just spending time with my family. After events of recent weeks and months, I think we will be extra appreciative of our time together. I look forward to a good game of cards with the fam, as much as anything!

But I admit it is nice not sweating a few splurges, either.

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Many people seem up on the economy. I read that the Sacramento housing market has leveled off, and will be one of the firsts to rebound. I am skeptical. BUT another house just sold above $300k in our neighborhood. I am extremely surprised the $300k mark has not been breached on some of these homes - there are so many in foreclosure, etc. Anyway, I don't think it is over, but I have definitely been surprised by the apparent leveling off of price. & by the still voracious demand for "large" homes priced under $300k (all bid up over $300k and sold in a flash). There are plenty of more modest and cheaper options, but it is a relief to see our neighborhood is still hot.

Maybe we will never get to lower our property taxes after all. Which isn't the worst thing. I don't mind paying more taxes if I could sell my home in a pinch.

I've heard other financial gurus say the stock market won't dive further.

Seriously? Are we that confident to call that yet?

No one has a crystal ball, but I will continue to hope for the best while preparing for the worst. OF course I hope the worst is over, just not 100% convinced!

Not much to report around here. Been a little quiet I guess. I have been out enjoying the nice weather! (The few days we got, anyway).

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I just paid for karate for August. I remembered that since BM turned 6 I can now officially sign him up for the class he has been going to for months. I think it used to cost $30/month for the "baby class" and then went up to $35. Wasn't sure on the "big boy" class, but it was $60. Ugh. I just have to be glad he got such a discount for so long. Technically he can go study martial arts 3 nights a week - under this $60 plan. It's a bit out of the way, and that's not going to happen! Not any time soon!

IT will be far less of an issue once LM is done with preschool. For now, though I don't mind a $30 class here and there, but $60 is rather substantial.

I rather sign him up for piano lessons, personally. But, I can teach him that for free, for now.

We skipped lesson yesterday because the weather is too nice. I could tell last lesson he hadn't practiced all week. That's how that is going. (IT would be easier if someone else taught him). But I am still intent on seeing it through - and he enjoys it, at least.

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I've been rather forgetful of late. I have to remember to submit my $50 Verizon rebate on my new phone. Only reason I got it was because it was "free." To be fair, I would have submitted it a while ago, but dh suggested I wait a while and make sure phone was okay. I have no idea what my rebate deadline is - will have to look.

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I invested the kids' birthday money as of Tuesday I think. The stock market surprised me by continuing to rally. Interesting - glad I didn't buy any HIGHER! If it rallies any more I can convert the kids over to another fund (they are so close to the $3k minimum - both of them - for any other Vanguard fund). I would like to get them in something more aggressive - since they have time.

Will see!

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Dh has been doing a lot of ebay selling, and we have a couple of things to sell on Craigslist (car seat and a trike).

IT was slow there for a spell, but things have picked up.

I have about $70 in the checking account today - not earmarked for anything (yet). All ebay money - but color that a miracle - I squeeze my checking account dry usually.

Anyway, school starts in less than 3 weeks. I expect a request any day for $$ for school supplies and field trip fees. So it will probably go fast. Besides writing a check to the school, I do not foresee any back to school shopping. I thought these stupid "uniforms" would be our financial undoing. But since my boys grow more up than out, and it's hotter than hades when school starts, he's fine with the shorts and everything. May need to stock up on warm clothes in September (his pants will no doubt be high waters by then). But all in all, it hasn't been so bad. Plenty of clothes remain for LM as well (what I always tell myself when I clothes shop - at least it's for TWO kids!)

For now, I get a break.

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How's that for a boring post?

The weather has cooled a bit which is nice!

I told BM we could go on a bike ride tonight. If too hot I mentioned the gym. The kids had kind of been "off" on the gym daycare, but I guess a few weeks at home has made them stir crazy enough. BM is all excited about either possibility.

I had fallen off the wagon SO BAD since vacation. I've been sleeping in. & the heat does not help! Missing workouts.

Funny enough, I did go to aerobics yesterday, and since it wasn't a million degrees, I Woke up so refreshed and with so much energy this morning. No doubt a result of such a good workout! I guess it doesn't take much to get going. But the heat definitely is not helping - that is for sure. When it's super hot, it just seems to seep in somewhat - regardless of AC and all that. Well, that's my excuse!

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Summer seems to be winding up SO rapidly. BM starts school in just 3 weeks. I still can't believe it!

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My work week is almost over. Friday we are going to visit our folks, and my sister is in town. We are thinking of braving the Gilroy Garlic Festival. IT will be crowded, no doubt. I am not sure if we will make it or not. Friday would have been preferable, but we have dentist appointments later afternoon. We may try Sunday in an attempt to avoid the peak crowds. Dh wants garlic ice cream - he says it was good (he went many years ago). Will see!

As far as my sister? Oh boy. Her visit will be interesting. She is just an extremely difficult personality. Wish my family lucky.

I have been feeling run down. It's probably more subconscious than anything, but must be everything with my folks. I thought last weekend would be just as exhausting, but it was a fun weekend, and I returned feeling refreshed. Phew!

I guess the week prior was rather emotionally exhausting.

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Dh and I have a lunch date today. The dates have fallen by the wayside with vacation and all.

We have one free hour of childcare for BM (who needs to go run with some kids anyway) and LM has preschool if we do a late lunch. The lunch dates are easier during the school year I guess (which will be here soon enough - like 3 weeks).

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I have 7 vacation days left for the year. Not sure I will use them all. BUT, talked a friend into going to the San Jose water park on a weekday. Will take a weekday off to do that. A last hoorah before school starts. I really look forward to hitting the place on a weekday. We could go to the one up here, but the kids couldn't ride anything at this one - doh. So it will be a bit of a drive for BM's friend, and I am glad they are open to it. If I was suddenly invited on a pricey day trip - I'd say "no thanks!" These days, anyway. So I appreciate their flexibility.

We are also planning a camping trip for August. I don't think we will get a lot of camping time in this year. Next year we can plan ahead a little better. Last year we bought sleeping bags, this year a tent. Next year we can stock up on some cooking supplies, etc. & I think we are set. We've got a camping stove somewhere (I think it was a honeymoon gift????). I don't expect camping to be an expensive way to getaway. There are so many gorgeous public campgrounds around the state.

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The new home shoppers crack me up a bit - as many of my friends are now first time home shoppers. More than one of them has told me something like they "ONLY qualify for a $200k loan." Said as if this is some badge of shame.

Um, yeah? Our first home loan was $208k and I don't think we qualified for a penny more. IT was 1999; we were qualified for a reasonable amount considering our income. Not like the last few years. Our second home was another story - I think we could have qualified for $1 mil if we wanted to. & I am 100% literal and serious about that (would have been 10 times our income when we both worked - and yes - no doubt we could have bought a $1 mil house if that is what we so desired).

Anyway, so it's nothing new, but I continually find it ironic that people think we borrowed far more for our house. We borrowed $225k for our current home. Obviously people expect we spent a lot more. It apparently never occurs to many people that we might have put some cash down. Most people think we paid another $100k over what we did, anyway. The rest assume we bought with phantom Bay Area equity.

Anyway, I bet you a million bucks all these people whining to me about how "little they can afford" will have larger mortgage payments than we do, anyway. (Higher interest rates, etc. We just refied at $213k). Ah, the irony. It will never cease to be amazed at what people assume. The assumptions about our house are always the biggest doozies. Even some guy who didn't know me from adam (nor that I owned a home) asked me how I afforded a $2k monthly mortgage, simply because I was "young." ??? I don't know - how does one afford a $2k monthly mortgage? I wouldn't know!

---

All that being said, limiting six-figured families to $200k mortgages, isn't a bad thing. You can buy plenty house here, for that price, in my opinion. I come from the place of borrowing $200k+ for my first home, and not being able to afford anything remotely single-family home. Here you could buy a slice of SFH in a good neighborhood. So I say, "You be lucky!"

**The newspaper tried to bill me June through June, though I already paid for a full year through August. I mentioned a while ago.

Dh called and they said their prices went up, and so with the price change, I was only paid through June.

Seriously? Why do they think people PREPAY?

Of course, dh said they were very nice and didn't fight him on it at all. They said they would reflect our bill paid through August. Took a while, but I finally got the corrected bill today (I got an overdue notice sometime in the interim - but glad we hadn't bothered calling back yet).

We may switch to weekend paper. They stopped offering it for a while. But I have seen advertisements and they told dh we could switch back to weekends. Will prepay the year, of course. PRices rising astronomically. Dh loves his paper though. It's been hard talking him back into weekend paper only - it's all we ever wanted in the first place.

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**Today I got a notice from Chase that they are increasing my grace period from 20 days to 25 days. I could care less either way. 20? 25? What difference does it make (to me?). But isn't that nice of them?

We took our time packing up and heading out Saturday. We had originally planned to drive separately since dh had a friend in San Jose Friday - but that didn't work out and we drove down together Saturday.

In the morning, BM and I went on a bike ride. Only bike ride #2 on my new bike, since things have been a wee bit crazy.

We checked out a park I noticed but have never been to. We drove over since it is over the freeway - the only real downside to our location. There are no lights and it is terribly unsafe. I'd ride over, cautiously, but the kids aren't ready for that. So we drove over and rode for about 10 minutes before I looked over and noticed BM did not have his helmet. Doh. It's about how my whole weekend went really. IT was just the start! We turned around and hustled back to the car and I imagined everyone thought I was a terrible parent (probably no one really noticed like I didn't - LOL).

The park was far huger than I Expected. The perimiter is paved. There is a tiny "canal" and so a bunch of bridges from the paved path, over the canal to the weedy middle of the park. Clearly unfinished. The entire middle of the park was just weeds. There was one straight path down the very center of the park.

Since our time was cut short and I was surprised by the size of the park - we drover the permiter - or as much as we could. I drove around 2.1 miles. I'd guess the whole thing is about 2.5 miles.

The thing about the ride, and my new bike, is it wasn't much of a workout. The bike is too light, etc. BUT I think this is a perfect place to work up speed, alone. Though the path is narrow and I wouldn't want to go too fast, the path borders busy streets and I would feel comfortable riding alone. It's close enough to home I could always just call home for help if I got a flat, etc. Which is my main concern about riding alone. 4 laps would be a nice 10-mile ride.

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We headed out of town around 11:00 and the traffic just sucked. We ended up stopping for lunch because we were just starved. Grabbed some fast food.

I would have been happy to get a later start, but BM had requested we go to the water park for his birthday - and we decided to brave the San Jose location on a Saturday (must be crazy - huh - we generally avoid these kinds of things on weekends and holidays!).

I talked to my mom on the drive and she insisted on giving us some money. Since we had driven up so many weekends and bought so much food for them, etc. BEfore I argued with her. This time I just said, "sure." I told her we needed cash for parking anyway and that would be nice. Wasn't sure either of us had any cash.

I hung up the phone and told dh that it was good I didn't go to the bank yet because I was getting another check. This sentence sunk in and I yelled a couple of profanities. "Crap! I FORGOT to go to the bank!" LOL. I was going to do that Saturday. I actually stopped by the bank Friday, saw the line out the door, and changed my mind. Saturday would be fine if I remembered. WE also both were annoyed we forgot the GPS since we probably could have found a traffic detour (needed GPS and power cord for this) and I then muttered I could use it to find a CU branch on the way. I called my parents instead and had them look up various CU branches. WE had apparently passed quite a few on our drive but there weren't any on our second leg. Figured.

Wouldn't you know the next day I Realized the GPS had been in my purse all along. !!! No power cord, but I could have looked up CUs on the way, myself. Might have been able to figure something out.

I usually keep $1k in my savings account, connected to my checking account, for these kinds of things. & thankfully it was enough. BUT we just transferred all that money into a trust account and I didn't think any overdraft would be covered by that account since it is now a separate account.

I lucked out, and was able to make an instant online transfer when I got to my parents' house. Phew. The credit card was set to pay Monday. I told dh those EFTs go through like 12:01 a.m. the day of. I had to get the money there BEFORE Monday.

I am usually not so air-headed and am pretty stubborn about not keeping much cushion in my account. But these things do happen! The $1k cushion was ample. Most of my second paycheck, on the 16th, goes to bills that pay on the 31st, which is why I usually don't sweat it. I just needed a few hundred to cover the credit card. The only bill I pay far ahead of the due date! It was too late to cancel the online payment though - which was the other thing.

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We went to the water park in San Jose, and I found it to be far nicer than ours. I think we did well enough considering the crowds. They had far more play areas for the little kids, AND we even talked LM into riding on some water slides. A miracle!

I still don't quite *get* the whole thing. MANY of the very same slides. They are very strict on height at our local water park and though BM could barely slide by on their height stick, they gave us the third degree if he could swim, etc. They made it sound like it was VERY dangerous, etc., etc. We had to ride with him on everything, of course.

In San Jose? Same rides, different story. Even LM could ride alone on many of the rides if he had wanted to. IT's like, "huh?" Except BM did get downgraded to a life vest in the wave pool. They didn't think he was quite 48 inches (he isn't). Whereas he got on all the rides in Sacramento (48-inch minimum). So it's kind of funny really. All backwards!

I am so proud of LM - he braved the water slides and had fun. BM Went down quite a few rides alone (they didn't have the flexibility of 2-person tubes on many of the rides - like they do in Sac). It made me nervous, I think only because they struck the fear in us at the Sac location. LOL. He was totally fine and certainly a fine enough swimmer at this point. The height limit seemed to coincide with water height more than anything. None of the rides he went on alone ended in deep pools.

I will probably take a day day off before school starts, so we can really enjoy that location without all the crowds next time. Though it wasn't too terrible. But it would be fun to go spend a few hours there with no lines.

The parking was cheaper there too. Our grand plan was to get a ride since it is down the street from the in-law's home. BUT we realized with no watch and no cell phone it wasn't terribly feasible to plan a pickup time. We may invest in water proof watches down the road, though somehow we didn't lose each other in all the crowd (some miracle). IT's hard to remember life before cell phones!

Anyway, two visits put us ahead of single passes, with our season pass. Plus I think it was more fun since I already paid for those last month. We will squeeze out at least one more visit, if not more. Think is we could just pop by for a couple of hours, any time. Tempting for next weekend...

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Sunday, the kids had their family party and they swam all day. LM showed off his new swimming skills.

We got home around 6 last night and oh my! We tend to leave the air on 85 degrees for the cat. We have dual thermostats in our split level, BUT one of the vents is at the top of the stairs and blows cold air into our bedroom where the second thermostat is. Basically, before kids, the downstairs air was all we needed to cool the living areas and our bedroom at the top of the stairs. But we use the upstairs thermostat for the kids' bedrooms. The house was 85 when we got home and obviously the air had been working hard. BUT I was shocked to see it was 90 upstairs. I can't imagine how hot it would have been up there without all the cold air blowing right into the thermostat anyway. YEesh. OF course the cat was lounging in a sun spot upstairs. She preferred the 90 degrees, after all that. I still play it cautious.

We worked the thermostat hard. IT was still in the 80s after about 3 hours when the kids went to bed - yeesh.

Most of summer we get away running the air only after dinner and until bedtime. But I can only imagine how hot it must have been while we were gone. Only gone one night.

The weather is going to be about 100 all week - blech. IT's the worst when it doesn't cool as much at night. We are used to cool nights at least...

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Florida, FLorida, Florida.

The background here is we were thinking of being open to going NEXT year. Dh's grandfather lives there. But dh's family REALLY wants to go THIS Year and they wouldn't let up until we gave in. So fine, we give in. We tell MIL if we go this year we can't help financially. She says if we go next year she can't help financially. Because she really wants to entice us this year. So whatever, I give up. Though this means I can't go, for the most part. (Which is why *I* rather go next year - for one).

That's the long and the short of it. We have some D-World tickets still from our honeymoon in 2000 - we will use them up this trip. Free airfare, free hotel. May pay for a day at Gatorland. Would like to spend time with family. But MIL wants to go to like every theme park near Orlando. I have no idea when she thinks they will spend time with family. THEN, SIL informs me yesterday she wants us each to pay $150 ($50 per person) for some special ticketed event at D-World. Is she for real? LOL. I looked it up today and it looks like these things were "Very popular in 2007 but have been canceled for 2009, due to economy." PHEW! If there was any consideration for our wishes and planning, sure we wouldn't be such cheapskates. But planning 3-4 months for a trip - sorry I don't have $150 here and there to throw around. Maybe if I could save for another year, please. We were figuring 2 days at Disney, and a day at Gatorland would suffice. LEaves 2 days to travel and like 2 days with family. Dh's family is just crazy. The kids will be 6, 5, 4, & 2. They don't need to go to Sea World and Universal - and all that! There will be other trips to Florida. When the kids can appreciate more and we should have more cash flow too.

I could have worse problems, but I will be really annoyed if we have to dip too much into savings for this trip that neither dh nor I is particularly interested in rushing. I'm going to be annoyed about it until it is over. No matter how you slice it, it will cost $$$$. The kids and dh (& MIL) just went to Florida in 2007. Not like they haven't been recently. I JUST remembered SIL missed that trip (new baby). At least her - I can understand her impatience.

I am thinking of taking a couple of days off while the fam is gone. The quiet in the house always amazes and bores me. It is so weird any more. (Before kids I'd be happy to not see a sole for a week). BUT I will try to embrace the peace and quiet. I think it will be nice to have a mini-vacation to myself. If it is that miserable, I can make plans with friends, visit my parents, etc.

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In other news, dh went in for a much needed oil change (I just noticed he never went in June like I had requested). So we were coupon-less but felt we couldn't wait at this point. (We change our oil every 6 months - which is fine if you DO IT!) Dh felt bad we had no coupon and so when he got to jiffy lube he asked if they had any discounts. They gave him $5 off. Never hurts to ask!

We just try to change both cars every May & November. They are kind of slow months and we have the time.

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That about sums up my busy weekend! I've got a short week at work and then we are beating the heat. My sister is visiting from North Carolina this week. We are planning of attempting to go to the Garlic Festival this weekend, but not sure how bad it will be. I hear it gets pretty darn crowded. We were thinking of trying Sunday morning in the hopes it won't be too crowded. Or we may brave Saturday. I don't know. We planned our dentist appointment around the Garlic Festival weekend - since out dentist is in the Bay Area. Just turns out my sister will be visiting too. I will be glad to get out of town though. The heat here is, blech.

Only a forum like this could appreciate my phone conversation yesterday. I was called about a focus group on consumer products -- one that paid $85. I knew I wouldn't get in because I don't shop. I don't feel like lying and prefer dh do these things anyway (he usually does) since he has more time. Though if I qualified, I sure would take it! So of course lady asks me if I do the majority of shopping. I say, "No. My husband does." Clearly she is desperate to find people, as they usually are. So she says -- "you mean you share 50/50." I say, "No. I never do any grocery shopping." I'm already out of the running but she is desperate. So she asks me what kind of plasic trash bags we buy. I answer that we don't buy any. At this point she is completely off script and getting frustrated with me. "What do you use if you don't use plastic bags?" I don't know what we use -- nothing disposable. I should have said we buy no disposable products (to speak of anyway) BUT instead I said, "We don't buy plastic products," because I am getting frustrated too. So she asks me if we us paper bags. I say, "Sure." She says I don't qualify, but thanks.

For the record, we don't use paper bags -- LOL. I just wanted the conversation to end. Now if this was my dh he would have some witty remark. I just give up.
That is how I really and completely confused some young lady yesterday -- she probably thought I was playing with her or something.

The funny thing is we stopped using plastic grocery bags, but we still seem to have plastic out our ears. We still take plastic bags from other stores -- not always, but sometimes. & I get a giant trash-sized plastic bag on my doorstep once every week or 2 (for donations). & beyond all that, we just don't generate that much trash to begin with. I could fill a giant trash bag once every 3 months or something.

So what do we use? Whatever we can scrounge up! It's never hard to scrounge up plastic.

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LM has his last swim lesson today and he is swimming like a fish! BM has been taking lessons as a refresher -- he is swimming like a pro!

A few people have looked at me like I am crazy or rich to have my kids in "private lessons." Yes, I spent $100 on 4 hours of lessons (for each kid). LM couldn't float, tread, or anything -- now he can jump in and swim across the whole pool. Money well spent if you ask me. If this particular teacher comes back next year I might sign up both kids one more time -- at least LM. If not, they are done. City lessons would have been more costly and time consuming for similar results. (Because they'd need to take quite a few group lessons). BM has been working on freestyle/breathing, backstroke, and diving. He only took 2 hours of lessons last year.

Anyway, you can't win. But I assure you this was a frugal move in the end. (Plus we didn't have to DRIVE anywhere for lessons).

Having a child who can swim so well in such a short time? Priceless!

(I really only signed up BM For 2 weeks so he could take long lessons if LM Refused. So I am pleased LM went "all in" -- wasn't expected. But more lessons were good for BM, regardless).
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When it rains it pours. I have been trying not to count on the "usual" windfalls, but a bunch of them have come through this week. The latest is the kids got their "usual" $1k each from Grandma.

I should have posted this earlier. Dh got the check Sunday and I told dh, "The stock market will rally all week because I won't bother going to the bank until Friday or Saturday." Did I call it or what? I'll probably buy Monday -- expect market to peak then and dive the next day -- how it always goes.

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Oh yes -- escrow thread in the forums...
Reminded me of my pet peeve. A few of my friends (local) have complained of skyrocketing payroll taxes. HELLO?!? Payroll taxes do not skyrocket here -- they can not rise more than 2% per year. I assume they mean their escrow increased. It's just driving me nuts. Yes -- all our taxes are going up. Stop complaining about the ones that aren't! {If it's the 2% they complain about -- they are worse off than I thought!}

I am not a fan of escrow -- and this is just one more reason why. Most people with escrow have no clue what they are paying for taxes, insurance, etc. IT's just one more excuse for not understanding any of this stuff.
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One more thing -- divorce, divorce, divorce. It's rampant among our friends. I don't even think it's the economy. I know a couple of people staying together for economic reasons -- more common in these times. The divorcing couples really want out -- regardless of financial ruin and upside down assets, etc.

Just about anyone I talk to any more -- "By the way, I'm getting divorced." None of them have said anything about their marriages, prior. So the first few times I was rather shocked. Now I am just like, "You too?" NO schock any more.
Leaves most of our friends single or divorced. Kind of strange. I think most of them would say they "rushed into things" or "didn't think it through." They did all marry rather young. On some level, I think it's a sign of the times. More people are waiting longer to tie the knot -- many people feel they have missed out by not waiting.

I personally don't identify in the least -- I met my spouse at 18. Of course, though we met young, we are certainly not the types to rush into anything. We waited 5 years to marry, and 3 more years to have children. People often made fun of us, for being engaged for so long, etc. Just one more way we are weird I guess. Apparently, a dying breed as well.
So is it just my little bubble or what? Yeesh. Mid-to-late-30s must be a common divorcing age.

**My dad is doing extraordinarily well - has not looked so good since his stroke. So yes, having a heart attack is terrible. BUT I almost feel better than I have about his health, in months. I came home almost less worried about him than I was before.

HE was released from the hospital yesterday. We came home shortly after - phew.

We have more answers about everything, but still a lot of questions.

My dad will definitely slow down and take some time off work (I believe he has disability for 4 more months, and this may add on to it anyway). My parents are concerned about their health insurance situation - more than anything. He just got on COBRA (I didn't realize he had switched over) and that only lasts 3 years. (I know - lucky they get 3 years - more generous in California). That aside, they could probably retire rather easily.

We talked a lot about just taking one day at a time. They were quoted $30k per year for private insurance BEFORE all of this (stroke & heart attack). COBRA paperwork had not gone through so they paid $3k for prescriptions yesterday. Yikes! Wait until they get the hospital bill, I guess. That should be sorted out though - they have good/affordable insurance for 3 years at least.

Though of course I would love them to move closer, I don't think that is happening any time soon. More of a last resort thing if medical insurance costs tons the last few years before medicare. Odds are my dad will take some time off and work to full retirement in the end. Will see. They are lucky they have the option to sell such a huge asset though (their house - worth many times over what they paid for it). They could move just about anywhere and pay less for housing, in comparison.

I don't see them moving anytime soon - they have plenty else to worry about.

On the flip side, they live so below their means that both disability, and later, social security, are PLENTY for them to live on. & they have plenty saved up for this healthcare mess. I think really they will be fine.

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**The weekend 'twas expensive.

$40 gas (so many trips to hospital)
$50 food (feeding many people)
$35 books (for my dad)
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$125 for Emergency weekend - could be worse

I didn't know books were so freaking expensive! I found a $5 bargain book and dh was looking for something specific that wasn't on sale. Yeesh. Usually we just go to the library, sometimes buying off Amazon.

My mom kept on insisting on giving me money. I just didn't want any part of it - though I wouldn't be surprised if she sends me a check. But I think we will be fine. They have bigger financial issues and I refused to take a dime.

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**I think we are jinxed to be anti-social. LOL. We actually had a fair amount of plans this weekend. Rather unlike us. But now my conversations have reverted to the same old - "Can I pencil you in next year sometime?" So much for being social and spontaneous. We tried!

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**Kids birthday party was a sucess. Party Package at Chuck E Cheese would have been over $200. We spent about $100 for everything, in comparison. Not bad.

$30 tokens (about 12 kids in the end)
$50 Food/drinks (brought our own drinks)
$20 balloons/misc.
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$100

The expensive part was definitely their pizza. We got tokens massively on sale - so that wasn't so bad. We have tons left over too.

Even better - the annoying family party (as I call it - because it is just dh's family - and it annoys me - LOL) - that one has been canceled. Will save us of $$$$$$$. Woohoo. MIL insisted on having a party at her house instead next weekend. Though I will likely want to visit my parents then, I didn't want to commit to anything. & lord knows I Was not hosting a party next weekend, after all this. Dh and I settled on a compromise. We will probably drive down separately. The extra tank of gas will be far cheaper than feeding his huge family. Phew. His family can have their party - and I get a break. & truth is they are glad not to all have to drive up to our house anyway.

Dh has a friend visiting from out of town during the week so they will drive down a day or 2 before me. If my parents need anything, dh is good for it. So I think it works out well. I may spend the entire weekend down there, but glad I don't "have to." We had a plans down there for the following weekend - so it's all been a bit much.

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**Dh's dad got a job - woohoo. He is trying to stay on 2 more years for better retirement benefits. So he was luckily able to transfer, in the end.

Because of this, FLORIDA is on.

I had mixed feelings about it, but all this seals the deal. I won't be going, at all. I don't expect there to be any issues and I can't sit around at home in case "something happens." But I really didn't want to go in the first place. Decided I rather stick close to home and store up vacation time. Sounds like a bummer, but I am personally just glad I no longer have to decide if I am going, how many days I Would go, etc., etc. I Was incredibly indecisive about the whole thing, before.

That entire thing is another story for another day. Dh and the kids will have fun, I am sure - like last time.

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**Almost forgot the BEST news. I got confirmation today that my boss gave me a 10% retirement contribution for 2008. Yay!

It's good on many levels. (It means he had profit to give - which is a good sign).

The bad news, is I got my report of stock losses in the profit sharing plan, for 2008. I knew this would affect my net worth - there is a huge information lag with the plan. So - I lost just about as much as my boss put in. It was a 25% loss - really not half bad. Could have been worse - about what I expected.

Later I will have to update my net worth for this ugliness. Which reminds me, next year I should just estimate. It's probably better to adjust an estimate. Not sure why I didn't think of that before. Probably because I had no idea where I would stand. But I probably could have guessed a 30% loss, quite easily. Next time I will just estimate what the stock market does, as a whole. Would have been a lot closer than the $0 loss I recorded in Quicken, for 2008 - while I Was just sitting and waiitng.

Well, my dad had a heart attack.

It's a long story but he is doing amazingly well.

We have no history of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke for that matter, in my family. On the contrary, particularly my dad's side of the family - they tend to live into their 100s with no health problems.

So, I think in every way shape and form we have been entirely unprepared for all of this. He is not even 60!

Life tends to be funny that way. I spend so much time worrying about my mom and sister's mortality, as they both have serious health and mental issues. & here is the rock of the family, facing so many unfamiliar (to us) medical problems. That's life!

I know in the heat of the moment my dad said "maybe I should retire." I know he is thinking maybe he won't live to 100 like he always expected. I am trying to talk them into moving closer to us. They could sell their home and buy one for a fraction of the selling price, closer to us. They probably have the means to retire now, if they move.

One thing at a time I guess, but I am putting that bug in their ear.

I am not very worried about my dad today. He is doing really well and trying to bust out of the hospital. The problem with him is getting him to slow down. Maybe this will get him to slow down a bit. (Up until yesterday he has been arguing that he wants to go back to work - though he is clearly not ready). On the flip side, I think now that they have cleaned out his artery, he hasn't felt this good in a long time. We may have to tie him down or something.

His heart couldn't have been more healthy - they checked it thoroughly after his stroke, etc. But he does have buildup in his arteries, etc., not diagnosed until yesterday. They are optimistic his heart is still very healthy since he got to the hospital and was treated so quickly. As active and healthy as he tends to be, he has atrocious eating habits. Funny enough, the stroke has really affected his eating habits for the better (affected some part of the brain relating to taste, etc.). It's good because he needs to really work on that.

Anyway, with all this mess, pleased to report he is doing well.

Really funny, but I ran into some old files on my computer.

I have said many times I am not much of a "budgeter." Not a strict one anyway. But, whenever life changes I tend to run up a budget to see where we are at and what our course of action should be. Thus, I am not terribly surprised that I found an old budget from 1999 (when I graduated college) and one from 2003 (when my first child was born).

In fact, I MUST have a budget from when dh and I first combined our finances - I will have to hunt it down (I am curious now). That's certainly the only time I remember making one, pre-2006.

Anyway, I only started using Quicken in 2006, and so I find anything prior to that is more of a guess - or reliance on scattered paper records, etc. SO, it was really interesting finding some old budgets. I decided to put them side by side (& will be interesting to add on in future years). I think it's interesting some of our expenses (like healthcare) have exploded, while others have stayed the same for a decade (landline?).





These all happen to be one-income years (1999, 2003, 2009). Dh was working in 1999, but we weren't living together or combining finances, etc. We got married and all that in 2000.

INCOME:

Obviously, my income has done quite well. Interestingly, my taxes have not gone up much over the years. Lots of tax breaks with the kids and the whole one-income thing. The mortgage helps too. I have never withheld more tax than I needed to!

EXPENSES:

Medical: Obviously, my medical insurance premiums look horrific. They are, but I am covering 4 people now, as opposed to one in 1999.

Dental/Disability: I now pay those privately, and save for those through "short-term savings." Dental cost way more, with 4 of us. Disability - I probably pay double that, these days.

Rent: This one is interesting. I rented a room in a nice home in a decent neighborhood, for about 5 years, through college. This is one expense I did not see increasing just because I graduated college. If I was single, would have stayed there a few more years, easily. Anyway, I have no doubt said, many times, that owning is cheaper than renting where I come from. Looking at this sheet, you wonder, "how?" Um, I had a room for one person. 2 wouldn't have been allowed. More importantly, it was a sublease from a renter who had been there MANY years. Our rent was rarely raised. The entire 3-bedroom house cost about $1600/month to rent and was a complete steal. (I had the most modest room and paid slightly less than 1/3. There was nothing modest about this room BTW - LOL - it was huge). Basically, I don't think it would have been possible for us to rent an apartment for as much - certainly not one with room for kids. So, my rent was cheap - but it wasn't very feasible to find cheap rent once we married - and we were always thinking ahead to when we had kids. BAsically, at marriage we were done renting with other people to keep costs down.

Mortgage: We have refied that down over the years. 8%+ down to 4.875%.

HOA: I was surprised to see our HOA fees used to be higher. I had completely forgotten. Dh reminded me that we used to pay more because few houses had been built when we moved in - they lowered it as people moved in, etc.

(The HOA on our old condo has gone from $250 to $400, monthly, in just a few years. So I daresay we have been lucky here).

Auto gas - I find my 2003 budget figure interesting. I used to drive home for lunch every single day. Gas was considerably cheaper in both 1999 and 2003. Am I driving more now? Not in the least!! Though my current budget figure is more forward thinking/inflation including. I rarely spend $300 on gas any given month. But, no doubt the expense has gone up.

Food - we have added a few mouths to feed.

Clothes - was always my big splurge

Gym - I used to get a good deal on 24 hour Fitness, through my work. These days we pay about the same for dh and I to go to the discount/no-frills gym. I didn't feel we could afford a gym when we had BM, but I guess I would have considered it if I knew there were such cheap options.

Landline - Back to old $25 now that dh let me drop call waiting. (I always had my own landline - for internet).

Cell - I had a cell (& internet) in 1999, but my parents paid for it. My dad had aol from way back, and I had an account many years. I just dialed up, of course. I don't remember when or why they got me a cell phone. I am sure I got my own plan sometime not too long after graduating college.

We've been able to lower our costs since, by adding our parents to our family plan, and sharing the costs.

Utilities - they have gone way up. No biggie renting with the roommates - they were never home. I was home even less - so our utilities were low. Plus we split them. Water was very cheap in San Jose - I was shocked at our water bills when we moved up here. !!

Cable - the first luxury we added when we married. I am surprised cost has stagnated. Seems like we have been paying more lately. But I think dh had HBO when BM was born. That probably explains it.

Gardener - a luxury we added in 2005 - LOVE it.

Preschool - a luxury we added in 2006, and which will entirely disappear in just one year. That will be divine.

Expenses Reimbursed - At my first job out of college, I made this budget before I got heavily into it. Truth is I spent a LOT more on driving and on eating out (part of the job) but was reimbursed handsomely for most of it. So I had a "reimbursed" category. I did spend a lot more on gas and food that first year or 2, but since it was reimbursed, guess it doesn't really matter. I was able to stretch my paycheck a lot further with all the extra money.

Car - I bought a $6k car around the time I graduated college, and paid it off in a few months. (My 20-year-old car had the decency to die 2-3 months out of college - phew). So it was one expense I kept very low. The auto reimbursements were quite high compared to my actual auto costs. Helped to bulk up my savings.

Savings - I was really surprised I seemed to take care in calculating semi-annual expenses in my 1999 budget. Shouldn't be surprised - I lived on a shoestring so long - no doubt I needed that planning. That pretty much sums up most of my college living expenses, etc., when I made far less money.

Obviously, my savings in 1999 was far simpler. (I was also surprised I had a 401k category - I wasn't able to contribute until mid-2000. Planning ahead I guess).

I have since simplified, since we have so many items to save for (property taxes, insurance, vacation, dental checkups, car repairs, and many other irregular expenses). I just put $1k per month away, for all that now. This is an area where a lot of our expenses have gone up, post-kids. We have lots more insurance, etc., than we did in 1999 or 2003.

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The whole point of sharing is to illustrate how much easier it was to live below my means immediately post-college, than it has been since having children, etc. To the YOUNG people.

I was NOT deprived in 1999 - I had tons more savings and disposable income than I do today.

I traveled a fair amount back then. It was just so cheap alone (You know, stay with friends, split hotel room) that it hardly warranted a mention in the budget. The thing I Struggle with these days is how so many things seem to cost times 4 (with 4 of us).

People all the time assume living so tightly in my youth sucked. The thing is, it paid off so quickly. The truth is I just wasn't much into material things. My life was very rich with people and experiences. The $6k car I bought was an immaculate, cute, convertible. Those were some fun times. "Deprived" is not the word I think of when I think back to my early 20s.

(It was easier back then because everyone else was young and broke too - not a lot of financial pressure! PArticularly with the exorbinant rents - none of my friends had much disposable income).

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Going forward? We've been trying to limit our regular monthly expenditures to the realm of $4000/month (indefinitely). We no doubt increased our expenses over the years, with mortgage and kids, but we don't really have any new "luxury" expenses on the horizon. Happy with where we are at. We are also pleased with our insurance coverages, etc., for the long haul. So basically, outside rising costs /inflation for our current expenses, we don't expect to add much to the expense column. (This holds true even if dh lands a high paying job - we'd just save it and pay off the mortgage. We'd be willing to help more with college. Boring stuff like that).

It helps that our biggest expense, the mortgage, is not going up. On the contrary, it has gone down with time, literally (refis) and inflation-wise.

It will be interesting to check back in 6 years and to see where we are at.

Not much to report. Getting back into the swing of things - enjoying the extreme slowness at work before 7/31 deadline work rolls in.

Over the weekend we got an automated phone call from Dish asking us to pay our bill.

Interesting. I had gotten an e-mail notice a couple of weeks prior and ignored it because I usually pay all the online bills (credit card utilities - cell, landline, dish, city) around the 10th of the month. So I just thought it was the regular bill and didn't look at it closer.

So I logged on and saw a $130 bill or so - knew that wasn't good.

I FORGOT to pay last month.

I dug deeper and saw a $5 late charge. Great! I guess we are lucky they didn't disconnect us. I hear some of the utilities have been rather brutal lately.

I checked Quicken and sure enough, no June payment. Interesting.

Not sure why I forgot - doubt I will forget again.

On a whim I checked the city bill and hadn't paid that one either. Guess my brain was on vacation mode. The City one is understandable - I just switched that one over to credit card payments recently. Dish - lord knows what happened there. The city one still had time - so no late fees there.

When I Was on maternity leave my disability check was so random, I often paid a lot of my bills a few days late. (I had $$ in savings, but what a pain!). No one seemed to care. The only vendor who ever cared was Verizon - I know not to pay that bill a day late (same with the credit cards of course). Mortgage even gives us 15 days grace period, which I have taken much advantage of in years past. I was going to chalk Dish up to being a stickler (or maybe it's the economy) but realized that I had never paid a bill like a whole month late before. So I am not sure if Dish is a stickler or if it's just my extreme lateness. I guess it doesn't matter - don't plan to pay late again - for any reason.

It kind of works out - boy that would have messed up our budget last month - we were down to the penny. Not sure it was worth the $5 though!

I had a few questions on my last few posts. So here are some answers:

#1 - The bike I got at Wal Mart was a Schwinn Aluminum Comp

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/allReviews.do?product_id=1066...

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#2 - More questions on family camp.

Both of the family camps we tried were owned by cities we have lived in.

You do NOT have to live in that city to attend camp. You just pay a premium if you are not a resident. (Sacramento camp was a tad more expensive, so San Jose cost us about the same as non-residents. MEaning, non-resident fees can be pretty reasonable).

So, I would look and see what your city offers (google the name of your city + "family camp" or "camp."

We are from San Jose and they happen to own land right by Yosemite. Even though the facilities weren't as nice as Sacramento's, they were nice enough, and you just can't beat the location. I highly recommend it if you live in or near California.

http://www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/familycamp.asp

Camp Sacramento is the one we went to this year. Their camp is near South Lake Tahoe.

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/parksandrecreation/campsac/

I am sure there are also private "family camps" - I would assume the city ones are more affordable.

I searched a few other cities and found San Francisco also has a campground near Yosemite. Maybe it's more of a NOrthern California thing - I typed in a few So Cal cities and couldn't find anything...

& we had a blast!

This was our cabin (there were 3 rooms and we had 2 of them - with our parents)


This was really the only river access at camp, which was a bummer (San Jose camp had river running right through camp and way more swimming holes, etc.) This turned out to be the only thing we liked less than San Jose camp though - Sac wins in all other areas...


Some hiking views




Our excursion to South Lake Tahoe


A little bit of snow still left








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Things we liked better about San Jose Camp:

Location. Couldn't beat the campground itself AND we were right on the edge of Yosemite.

Also, kind of missed sleeping more in the outdoors (the tent cabins weren't 100% shelter - more fresh air)

Things we liked better about Sacramento Camp:

*Actual cabins - I didn't even see one bug inside. LEss bug bites - warmer at night.

*HOT showers - their showers were so much cleaner and hotter

*Playground for the kids

*SO MANY kids activities - the kids made a lot of friends and BM was able to be rather independent

*I think the food was slightly better

*Lake Tahoe is considerably warmer than the rivers around Yosemite. So better swimming, though it was a bit of a drive. We guessed water was closer to 65-70 degrees at the lake, whereas rivers run temps in the low 50s.

*I almost forgot - the weather!!!! IT was about 75 during the day and 55 at night. At the beach it probably hit 80 - which was just perfect. Could have gone all week without a sweater, but it never got hot either. DIVINE!

*We didn't need our parents so much since the kids could go off and do their own things while we did ours. This will be a bigger benefit when both kids are older. & they definitely enjoyed doing kid things while we did grown up things. BM did archery, went on a hike, etc. LM did some arts and crafts, some games, and went bug catching, etc. We all did tie-dye shirts. The adults went on quite a few hikes (sometimes with the kids).

Though we liked the location slightly less, it wasn't half bad. Obviously we had some pretty awesome views.

The cabins and facilities were comfortable enough that we are strongly considering a full week next year. (I couldn't last more than 3 nights on a cot in a tent cabin, alternately - that was pretty much my limit last year).

I am quite sure we will return to San Jose camp someday - it was so beautiful - but I think we will most likely become Camp Sac regulars.

The half week ran about $500, and a full week runs about $1k. LM will be out of preschool next year though and we will be able to save a little more to our vacation fund.

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Yesterday was a little bit crazed. We got home in the morning, but came home to guests visiting from the mid-west. We cleaned up and did laundry while trying to be nice hosts too. My dad had a vertigo spell and went to emergency (he is fine - we were worried he was having another stroke, etc. But was just vertigo - a complication from his stroke apparently).

So half the fam headed to emergency and clearly my relatives wanted to eat in. So I ran to the store and grabbed some food for a double batch of burritos. Picked up some watermelon on sale. Had a rather impromptu meal, but was good!

The emergency room here never particularly seems to be full, and that held true as they got in and out rather fast and were able to join us for dinner.

Lots of dishes, etc.

My mom slipped me $60 for food which was nice - I think we spent $80 between that and ordering in sandwiches for lunch. & well, we now have a TON of leftovers.

We watched the neighbors set off a few fireworks, and collapsed in bed pretty early. They left early since they had a 2-hour drive.

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Which reminds me, I think we spent $10 at camp. Parking at the beach was $7. We spent maybe $3 on ice cream and sodas. It is mostly all-inclusive, which was nice.

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Today I don't want to do much - I am so exhausted from yesterday! At least all the laundry is clean. Phew. We were so filthy when we got home yesterday. Ah, but we had FUN!

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The kids' party is this week. Thankfully, not much planning involved. I'll make cupcakes the night before and pick up balloons at the party store next door to Chuck E Cheeses, on the way over there.

Dh already bought 250 tokens on sale (a couple of trips with coupons).

For the "family party" at our house, we have been collecting Round Table Pizza coupons. We have got a lot of large coupons lately.

It is certainly easier to keep costs down in this economy. Coupons are more abundant than usual.

I've apparently worked my budget down to an "exact science."

I hesitate to use the word "budget" because I am not really into the whole tradiitonal budget thing. I would drive myself nuts accounting for all those overages/underages every month. & you might be surprised, but I do not care for a strict budget. I like that if I spent no money on gas or food, that I can go splurge on something else. I do not carry things over month to month. I guess I like flexibility and ease, over rigidity and complication.

So anyway, we had a good month and for whatever reason it popped into my mind that we really could save another $50/month. I just felt it would be very reasonable.

I opened my "budget" spreadsheet on a whim and looked it over.

Lo and behold - when LM started his new preschool I guess I rounded way up and allocated $200/month to that. Thing is, most months it's barely $150.

So subconsciously I am thinking I have $50 per month to spare, and in reality - I really do.

My goal for maxing out first ROTH was to put away $350/month and "wing it" on the rest - scrounge it up somehow.

This officially puts me to $5k per year, just based on $400 monthly contributions (well, the additional $200 will be easy to scrounge).

So, I am very pleased.

I would like to build up more cash savings, but I also think it's important to contribute heavily to retirement in this market. So I am kind of doing $400/month to each, for now. I certainly am tempted to put my spare $50 to cash, but I know we have had a good year and with a little patience will probably reach my cash goals within the year. So I will stay the course!

I whipped this up sometime when we were in preschool limbo and we had a few hundred dollars to spare every month. It's worked out well:



As a recap:

short-term "savings" are to be spent within the year (vacation, car repairs, property taxes, insurance, dental, swim lessoms, misc., etc. - everything that is not a regular monthly expense).

mid-term savings - larger expenses expected in more than one year - car replacement and house maintenance, orthodontia, etc. Car repairs for more than I "budgeted" would fall here too, as well as unexpected large bills, etc.

medical savings - we switched to a HDHP and save $250/month on premiums. We save the difference for deductibles and future rate increases.

I've kind of been honing this system for a while, and I am very pleased with it. Once honed, it's been a rather simple and effective savings system. Though we are saving much less than when we both worked, there is much more thought to the big picture. I think the thought makes up for the decrease in savings, in many regards.

Anyway, yes, I already increased my automatic ROTH contributions - starting with July!

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ETA: I do put everything possible on the credit card (for rewards, etc.). It is paid monthly, of course!

Everything not on the card can not be paid with credit cards - bah.

BUT I also worked on this spreadsheet to get an idea what my monthly credit card bills should be - since we recently switched some utilities over to the card, etc. IT can get kind of confusing though since I can put a lot of short-term expenses on the card. It usually runs closer to $2k, BUT I can simply subtract all the short-term items (they tend to be larger/obvious items) and just make sure the rest never tops $1500.

Net Worth is up $17k for the year, give or take maybe $1k, depending on stock performance today.

Cash is up about $7k. & is my main concern right now!

Retirement is up $8k (about $6k contributions and $2k gains).

Paid almost $2k off mortgage, this year.

That about sums it up.

Interestingly, our cash and investments passed the $100k mark. Not sure if they have before. That's a nice milestone! Depends on the day, but as of this moment, we are at about $100,500!

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Swim lessons - OMG. I bought goggles for the kids over the weekend. Apparently, LM Was not scared to swim - only scared to get water in his eyes. ????? Dh said he jumped in the pool and swam like a fish, during his lesson. (What a relief. When I was a kid I had to be pushed in and I was worried he would be the same way).

He told me his googles were "AWE-SOME!"

So, 4 lessons later, and LM can SWIM! He did so amazingly well. He has a second week of lessons in mid-July and I just asked if she had any more time in August. Hoping I can get him a 3rd week.

In fact, I am so amazed I am going to buy the kids' teacher a nice treat or pay her a little extra. She DESERVES it! ($50 for a week of private lessons was a steal!)

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Piano lessons have took a turn for the better. If I remember today anyway - to give lesson on such a busy day. BUT BM is LOVING it. I simply asked him to practice 5 minutes a day, but he has declared he would like to practice 1/2 hour - twice a day. Hopefully I don't kill his enthusiasm. Which is a big reason usually why parent don't teach their kids. I try to butt out of his practicing too. Practicing is for him and his parent - he doesn't need his teacher there too. Dh may learn something...

I had the BEST weekend. Just one of those weekends where I am so happy where my life has landed.

I also posted the other day about our relative who paid $600k+ for their home. I have mentioned before, but we know so many people who truly believe it is worth having a $500k+ mortgage to simply live in the Bay Area. After moving away about 8 years ago, dh and havn't quite *gotten* it in a LONG time. This was one of those weekends where I feel extra bad for those people. You think they are happy with those massive mortgages? We don't know any of them who are happy.

Anyway, it was literally 110 degrees yesterday. Obviously, I have acclimated.

So what was so great about yesterday?

BM and I went on a bike ride. We got a later start than I preferred. I Was kind of antsy to drive to some more of the bike paths, etc., but decided on its virgin run, to just stay in the neighborhood. Not sure how much I trusted the quality of the Wal Mart assembly of the bike. We checked it over real good and checked the tire pressure, and off we went.

First, LOVED the bike.

Second, it was probably already 80+ when we went outside to ride, but it wasn't so bad.

We had a blast. The bad side is I am wondering if I should get BM a bike with gears now. I felt bad him working so hard on his bike, and mine was a breeze (I have 21 working gears now). Well, thoughts for another time.

Next time we will probably ride earlier (or later) in cooler weather.

After the bike ride we went down to the pool. We didn't get there until 11. Again, later than I preferred. Not a lot of shade there. But knew it would feel refreshing. So we swam for about an hour.

I "sunbathed" in the shade and it wasn't too bad. We were lazy and drove over. Hell if I Walking in that weather.

But yeah, while I Was relaxing in the shade I noticed all but one or 2 adults (many people) were sunbathing in the sun. I was thinking they were completely out of their minds. You know, it was only 100 degrees or so at that hour. ????? Crazy people.

After that we holed up inside the rest of the day, as the temps did climb to 110. But, no complaints. I was pleased we were able to enjoy so much outdoor time and it wasn't that bad at all.

If nothing else I LOVE my bike. Did I mention that I love my bike?

I come to work today glad I don't have a $500k mortgage. Life is good!

I truly feel with our LCOL moved that we have made life so much simpler and better, all around. Whereas most of our friends and relatives would NEVER consider moving because the Bay Area "is the place to be." It's just so different from the outside looking in.

On the other hand, if those people stop moving up here, life is even better. So maybe I should just keep mum and enjoy it.

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Anyway, pics from my weekend.

Sunflower field we passed on the way to our playdate Saturday. Picture doesn't do it justice:



& you can see downtown in the distance. Not sure I can ever get across how "best of both worlds we have." Easy to pretend we live in the middle of nowhere, though downtown is a 5-minute drive.



Our current favorite bike ride destination. That lovely desolate park I have posted pics of before - we love to picnic there (it's surrounded by abandoned home lots).

Um, I have never really noticed this "statue" before. It's pretty neat.



& a glimpe of our pool (& the crazy people). IT's like a giant puzzle piece - a kiddie pool circle - attached to a rectangular, deeper lap pool.

IF we get there before 11, any day, it's all ours. We got a late start and this was closer to noon. Frankly, never seen it so crowded at noon, but wasn't surprised with the high temps. (It usually gets PACKED after 5 on weekdays, etc. & weekend afternoons).



Yes, somehow we survive all this un-desirableness.

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Hmmm, did I also mention I am loving my new camera phone?

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I made the peach mango smoothie again and came out better (thicker and less sweet):

Updated Smoothie recipe:

Peach-Orange-Mango Smoothie

8 oz peach yogurt
1/2 can mango-orange concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup frozen mango pieces
1 frozen banana (peel and chop before freezing)

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I work 2 days this week, but feels like vacation. I am in such vacation mode...

With the hot summer days, I hadn't been so motivated on the bike front.

BUT we actually had a little extra money this month. Certainly could have used it for other things (massive car repair, donate, save, etc.). BUT I decided to think about buying a bike again.

I had settled on a bike in the $400 range, BUT lately we seem to talk more of little bike rides around the neighborhood - BM likes to ride his bike to school (with us), and we talk about riding more to the store and to the local farms for produce, etc. & I was thinking, I do not need to ride around on a fancy bike for that, and I certainly wouldn't leave it in front of a store!!!!!

So I had been leaning towards just getting a cheapie at Target or something. Seemed like a good idea, since I could always use a "cheapie" around the neighborhood and then, if I stick with it and get in better shape, I can shell out $400 or so for a nice bike. If I know I will actually ride it!

& believe me, I have perused Craigslist. Economy or what, but really there is nothing there.

I've been extra motivated because my Craigslist cheapie ($20 range) has pretty much bit the dust. The tire got a little flat, which may be it, but it had a lot of other issues and I rode it anyway out of desperation the other day (had to pick up BM from school). Yeah - didn't sound good. Could just be the flat - but seemed like something else was wrong. Will probably give it away. (Only a couple of gears work and it is missing a break pad - yeah).

So yeah, my super-cheapie has been better than NO BIKE, but that's about it. LOL. I have been eyeing a newer bike for a while.

So, yesterday I decided to do some research. I didn't necessarily intend to buy it yesterday, but found a nice Schwinn with excellent reviews - a different model at each of the big stores. Target had free shipping and was a good deal, but I found one for the same price at Toys R Us (considering sales tax and everything).

We went to check it out and it was a nicer bike than I really expected in that price range. IT was rather heavy, but last I was looking at super light bikes.

What I did not like at all about it was the short handlebars. Ugh.

I figured I would survive, but I had seen a bike in the 32-pound range at Wal-MArt. We decided to check it out. I do not hate Wal-Mart as a giant corporation. I think they take the fall for what most giant corporations do, and I don't think places like Target are inherently better than places like Wal-MArt - corporate wise. I kind of am anti-giant-corporation all around, personally. But what I hate about Wal Mart is their store sucks. LOL. & it's in the WORST shopping center - the one we avoid like the plague. So I wasn't thrilled to go over there on a busy Saturday, nor thrilled to give Wal Mart my business, but alas, we did.

I think the Toys R Us bike was a little nicer on some level, BUT the Wal Mart one was pretty nice. It was much lighter and had nicer breaks. It cost about $20 more, BUT all Wal Mart bikes apparently come pre-assembled. We figured dh would spend the weekend assembling it, so that was a nice touch!

There were lines out the wazoo, but we were able to sneak out the no-wait "5 items or less" line. So in the end, it wasn't SO bad.

When we got home I re-checked the reviews on the bike I ended up with, and found some other reviews I had missed. I am REALLY pleased with the purchase. In general, the tires are crap but if replaced with better tires, can hold it's own against much more expensive bikes (I assume the lightweight is its biggest edge).

SO, I will work on riding it more and getting in shape. I have a bike buff friend who was interested in doing some rides when I got a nice bike. Wasn't sure it that would work since I settled on something much lesser, but I am starting to think if I get new tires, that maybe it will work. Will just have to try. She is in awesome shape and I have a ways to go, so it is all up to her.

More immediately, I would like to get a nicer seat (cheap enough).

Eventually I will need a bike lock and a helmet.

For the long run I would like to get nicer tires. I don't feel any rush on that though. I have no inclination to do any long bike rides with the weather this hot.

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So much for my low-spend weekend!

Today I don't have much planned. Still need to clean house a bit.

On my week off I got addicted to that "How Clean is your house" show on BBC. I think it was bad because it made me feel like my house wasn't half bad. So I didn't clean much after all. LOL. BUT, I had this weird brown/grey discoloration on the linoleum on the laundry room floor. I could not for the life of me figure out what it was or how to get it out. I was resigned to permanent "dirty looking" floors.

But this guy had FILTHY floors and the SAME linoleum. They recommended hot soapy water, some comet, and an abrasive sponge. I figured what the heck. So yesterday I gave it a try.

Wouldn't you know, it worked???? My floor is nice and sparkly again.

Reminds me, the same linoleum, around the toilets, has discolored a bit (BOYS!!!). So I will have to try on that area too - maybe will remove the pee discoloration...

Anyway, I am feeling more pressure to clean up a bit since we apparently are now hosting an impromptu 4th of the July shindig the DAY we get back from camping. Yeesh.

Beyond that, will probably take the kids swimming before it gets too hot (no shade to speak of at the pool) and though I would like to try out the bike, not sure I will make it. Depends how cool it gets tonight. I need dh's help checking it over and he will wake up too late. It's already 75 degrees and it's only 8am. Another scorcher - ugh.

I do like that my workouts are getting so varied - it is easier to stick to. A bike ride, a workout video, a trip to the gym, or aerobics class. I certainly am losing excuses not to work out. I will probably start bike riding a lot more.

Our GPS has a bike mode, which will be interesting to try. On one hand. Not sure exactly what it does. BUT, speaking of not wanting to be mugged for my bike, it's unfortunate that I probably won't want to use it much.

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Anyway, I don't remember the last time I spent so much money on myself. It feels nice to buy something nice for myself - it is so rare.

I have mostly been sticking to my usual strawberry smoothies - some variation of yogurt, OJ, and frozen strawberries. The thicker the better!

Today I finally decided to try something new, since dh had stocked up on yogurt. We had picked up frozen mangos and some orange-mango juice concentrate since they had been on sale. Dh had also bought a giant tub of peach yogurt this week.

I am not much of a chef, but it's hard to mess up a smoothie I guess. I figured peach and mango sounded good (what do I know).

Um, YUM!!!!!

I was concerned about the juice concentrate being too strong - so used water to water it down a bit. As such, it was very thin, but one taste, and it was DIVINE!

The recipe:

Thin/sweet (juice) version:

8 oz peach yogurt
1/2 can mango-orange concentrate
8 oz water
1 cup frozen mango pieces
handful of ice cubes

Thick/less sweet version:

8 oz peach yogurt
1/2 can mango-orange concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup frozen mango pieces
1 frozen banana (peel and chop before freezing)

Sure was tasty!

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Kids were invited to a playdate today - someone we met through tee ball. Mostly, the little kids got along really well and though they seemed very nice, hadn't talked much to them.

Um, how freaky was this. I swear this women and I led completely parallel lives. It was the most bizarre experience I have had in a while. Even down to the whole monkey thing. The girl likes monkeys!

I wouldn't even know where to begin.

This could get interesting.