walked with mom for 50 min

Went back to King Soopers this morning to see if they had changed the price on the rice yet, they hadn't so I bought 3 more cans of veggies at .60 each and got 2 Family size bags of Uncle Bens rice for free. They did pull the tag to change it today.

Went to Walgreens and got 3 Gillete deodorants that they gave me 3 cents to buy. The deal that it was on sale for 99 cents and I had 3 $1 dollar coupons so 3 cents to me. Gave 2 deodorants to my dad and will give one to my brother for xmas. Also got the family size of Garnier Fructic shampoo FAR + $1 coupon so made a $1 there.

Took my parents to Ted's Montana Grill for thier anniversary. Spent $56. It was ok, but none of us thing it's worth the price. We prefer Outback. I had Pecan incrusted trout. It was kind of blah! I brought half home to have another night.

Does anyone watch Big Spender? It's on A&E on Sundays. I saw 4 shows today. I have a hard time believing what some of these people say. There was one couple, he works 9 hours a week and thinks he's working really hard for his family. She's a stay at home mom and is happy to mooch off her dad until she finds a job she likes. The dad works two jobs to support them. Good Grief. They're just lucky that they are in a situation to live that way. Join the real world where you provide for yourself. So many adults seem to think it's just fine to live off of their parents anymore. It's almost an epidemic. I couldn't wait to live on my own and pay my own bills. Be independant. The whole concept of living off of someone else's work is really foreign to me.

Goals for October:

1. walk with mom at least 25 days
2. work less hours and catch up with my life
3. Put $1000 in savings
4. Put $500 in an I-bond
5. Start xmas shopping, buy at least 2 presents.

I did my networth last night. Went up 2.26% I'm pretty happy with that. What I'm not happy about is how many hoops you have to go through to get to your accounts any more. Treasury Direct added new security questions, Vanguard added them and one of my banks added them. It takes forever just to get logged into all the sites to do your totals. Pain in the butt!

walked with mom for 50 min

Got groceries today at King Soopers. Some really good deals. Got free box of Electrosol dishwasher tabs - $2.99 with coupon. Spent $36.07 and saved $37.56. I also bought stamps and King Soopers gift cards to get the last little bit of my 5% back on credit card deal before it expires in Oct.

My best deal though was on the Del Monte rebate offer.

Del monte has a $10 rebate offer when you buy 18 items, with at least one from 3 different categories of items. Flash did her calculations earlier this week. Here's mine.

King Soopers had Del Monte veggies on sale at .60 each and Tomatoes and Fruit for $1.00 each.

If you bought 12 cans of veggies they also took $3 off at the register.

I had 2 coupons for .40 cents off of 4 cans, which they doubled.

There was a coupon that if you buy 3 cans of veggies and a package of Uncle Bens rice you got a second package free.

So my deal worked out at follows.

I bought 14 cans at .60 cents each = $8.4
I bought 3 cans of Tomatoes at 1.00 each = $3.00
I bought 1 can of fruit for 1.00
Total = $12.40
The register gave me back $3 immediatedly for buying 12 cans bringing the cost down to $9.40
2 coupons at 40 each - doubled took another $1.60 off the total making it $7.80
Plus I will get $10 back for the rebate meaning they paid me $2.20 to buy this food.

I got the 2 packages of rice also. One was free with the coupon for 1.79 and the price rang up wrong on both of them so they gave me one package free.

So I was paid $2.20 cents and I got
14 cans of veggies
3 cans of tomatoes
1 can of fruit
2 packages of rice

Wish these types of deals came along more often and I had the time to figure them out and take advantage of them

My brother has not had a job for close to 6 years and mooches off my parents. So for xmas every year I try to see how many groceries I can get for $50. I give him lots of free samples and rebate items. This year he's going to get both packages of rice, plus several cans of the veggies and the can of fruit.

Finished reading the library book The Bookwoman's Last Fling by John Dunning. Mystery. Very Good.

walked with mom for 50 min

Went to Village Inn for dinner. Spent $13.50 They had a surprisingly good sirloin steak.

Sent out several rebates totalling almost $30, Walgreens, Advil Cold and Boost.

Finished reading the library book A Taste of Darkness by Nina Bangs. Supernatural/Romance. Very good.

walked with mom 50 min yesterday and today.

Good mail day today. Got my $25 Barnes and Noble gift card from My Points. Got a package of free post-it note products. Got a free Herbal Essences shampoo sample. Got 6 coupons for $10 off a $50 purchase at King Soopers. Gave one to my parents, will probably give them some more, it's difficult to spend $50 a week in groceries and it's one a week for 6 weeks.

It was such a beautiful fall day today, I had a very hard time sitting here working.

Finished reading the library book Megan's Mark by Lora Leigh. Supernatural/Romance. Very good. Another new author.

walked with mom for 50 min

Went to Walgreens and got some rebate deals. Spent $32.56 and will get $18 back in rebates

Went to Kmart and spent $13.95 on a pair of pants. I had a left-over gift card from a previous return item that had .12 cents on it. The cashier thought I was pretty ridiculous to carry the card around for .12 cents. But it's still money.

Went to Barnes and Noble and spent $5.21 on the Sunday paper and this month's Money Magazine. The Magazine is about retiring and making your money last in retirement. It was pretty good. My B&N membership card expires this month, but I'm not going to renew it. I don't think I spent $250 on books at B&N last year, so It's not worth it to spend $25 for a card that gives you 10% off. I'm using the library more and most new bestsellers are on sale at King Soopers for 25% off so I'm buying more books from the grocery store when I do buy.

My mom and dad took me to Outback for lunch because I picked up their mail and papers when they went on vacation. I keep telling them it's not a big deal, but they persisted. Brought half my steak home for dinner tomorrow night.

Finished reading the library book Smitten by Janet Evanovich. Romance. Very good, very cute and funny.

walked with mom for 50 min

she made me a big batch of snickerdoodle cookies. Haven't had those since I was a kid, they were really good.

Lazy day for me, got in a good nap. Went to the new WalMart. Took a long time to get groceries since I didn't know where anything was. Not sure I'll shop there for groceries every week. The sizes of a lot of things are too big for a single person. For example the green onions were sold in a package of about 20. Way too much for a week for one. They will last for two weeks, but that's too much for two weeks too. Spent just under $45, but splurged on some big boxes of junk food, such as a 15 pack or popcorn. large can of nuts, etc.

Finished reading the library book Killer Dreams by Iris Johansen. Mystery/Romance. Very good.

no walking today it was raining and really cold. I even turned the furnace on for about an hour.

I only worked 40.5 hours this week and it's the first weekend in a couple of months that I don't have to work. Really looking forward to it. I'd love to spend it just reading, but I've let my house go for so long I can barely stand it.

My dr called today with my diabetes checkup. I'm very happy, the number is 6.2 which is great. They want you to be a 6.0 to be 'normal'

Sold a book at half.com for a buck. I sold one earlier this week and one last week as well after about two months with no sales.

The WalMart opened this week. Our little town is getting big. I'm going to see how busy it is on Sunday and maybe visit it then.

Finished reading my book Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara. Sci Fi. Really good. This is a new author for me and she already has the sequel out. Love that! Will have to find it when I go in town on Sunday.

walked with mom for 55 min

Went to grocery store this morning. Spent $18.34 Saved 45% Use another one of my 5 free bottles of coke coupons. I have one more left. I also will get $2.69 back for buying Aqua Fresh toothpaste and I had a $1 coupons so I made money buying it. Plus it has 3 free music downloads on the box.

Fixed oatmeal and potato salad for the week. Took a batch of chili to moms for supper. My grandmother is in the hospital with knee surgery and mom and dad are driving 120 miles every day and spending most of the day with her, so it was good that they didn't need to cook.

Finished reading the library book The Man From Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller. Romance. OK

walked with mom for 50 min

Went to the library, cleaned the kitchen and the bedroom. When I was cleaning the bedroom I was dusting and picked up the phone and wiped it off with my dust rag. When I hung up the phone rang and it was the Police department. They said they recieved a 911 call from my house. I apologized and said I was just cleaning my phone. I have no idea how the cleaning rag could hit 911 in just the right combination. I guess it's nice that they checked back though.

Got a Dove shampoo sample from WalMart today.

Finished reading the library book The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Mystery. Very good.

walked with mom for 50 min both yesterday and today.

Got a free sample of Tide detergent from WalMart.

Went to Netmagazines and asked for a refund on the Family Circle mag I ordered in April. It kept showing I was supposed to get it in July, but it's almost 4 months and that's ridiculous.

Went to Village Inn for dinner. Spent $8

Finished reading the library book The Wrong Hostage by Elizabeth Lowell. Mystery. Very good.

walked with mom for 55 min

Mom mailed the book I sold on half.com for me today, since I couldn't make it to the post office. Spent $2.07

Finished reading the library book The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann. Romance. Good

walked with mom for 50 min

Went to Borders and bought 2 books. Spent $15.98, but I used my Discover reward card so no out of pocket money.

Went to Barnes and Noble and bought 1 book. Spent $7.91 Had a 15% off coupon plus my 10% off membership. Also used a gift card so again no out of pocket money.

Went to Macaroni Grill for my sister's bday - dad paid.

Got some rebates together to send today. Walgreens and Advil PM.

Watched The Brother's Grimm video from the library. OK. Glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater.

Finished reading the library book Dates From Hell by Kim Harrison. Supernatural. OK.

walked with mom for 50 min

Went to grocery store and spent $36.59

Mom went to the Super Target and got me the free lb of hamburger we had coupons for and also picked up some walnuts for me, since that's the cheapest place I've found them. Spent $13.41

Finished reading my book Much Ado in the Moonlight by Lynn Kurland. Romance. Good.

walked with mom for 55 min

Went to Rosie's for dinner. Spent $6

Got Ban sample and Dove shampoo samples from WalMart.

Was supposed to get another comp day tomorrow, but now boss is trying to reneg. I've already worked 11 extra hours this week. I'm taking the day anyways since I promised my niece, but have to work before and after. Really, really, really stinks and as soon as this crunch is over, I'm going to make a hugh point out of how unfair this situation is.

walked with mom for 55 min

Went into work today to meet the new boss. Forgot to take my lunch. I had it all ready too, but left it in the fridge. Spent $4.37 for lunch. Then had a 4 hour meeting with new boss and she wanted me to show her some stuff, so I didn't leave work till after 6. Was starving by then and spent another $4.83 on dinner at Wendy's.

Good meeting with boss. She's very straight forward, which I like. I hate people who talk around things. She wanted to know what I liked and disliked about my job and what my frustrations were. She's been with the company a long time so knows a lot of what I'm talking about when I say standards have slipped. I came away feeling somewhat better about the overall situation. We'll see if she's just talk and no action.

walked with mom for 55 min

Got groceries this morning, spent $35.30. Finally found the 20ct of Advil in stock so will get $3.49 rebated back, plus I had a $2 coupon thanks to flash, so made $2.00 on the deal.

The grocery store had ranier cherries, which I hadn't heard about before. They looked good and I wanted a sample, but I couldn't find a produce person, oh well, I wouldn't have bought them anyways, because they were $3/lb. Maybe next week I can get a sample if they are still there.

Went to Chilis for lunch with parents. Spent $12

Made oatmeal, harboiled eggs, tuna and chopped veggies for week.

I washed my hair this morning with the Herbal Essences shampoo sample I got yesterday. It came just in time since I finished the Nexxus sample yesterday. Anyways the Herbal Essences shampoo made my hair really big! I have very short hair that's layered. My top layers are up around 3 inches high from my forehead vs usually 2 inches or so. It feels kind of weird to me, but not complaining it's free shampoo. I guess if you want a lot of body it would be good to buy.

Our newspaper had a coupon for a free lb of hamburger at the Super Target in the Target ads. I probably won't get there this week, but my mom thinks she might go. She got a coupon too and if she goes she will pick up the hamburger for me. I wish we had a super Target that was closer to us.

Finished reading the library book A Simple Choice by Deborah Taylor-Hough. Simplicity. OK

walked with mom for 55 min

I took a comp day Thursday but then needed to work till midnight last night and worked 10 hours today. So much for comp time. I have no one to blame but myself though. I just can't stand work that's not done and so after 4 months of waiting for someone else to do something I gave in and did it myself.

Got a free Herbal Essences sample. A very nice size of both shampoo and conditioner.

Got a rebate check for $5.99 from Longs.

Went to Subways and got a large sandwich which I split for lunch and dinner. Spent $8

Finished listening to the library book Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick. Romance. Very good.

walked with mom for 55 min

Got a free sample of Oasis mouthwash from Walmart.

Transferred a $1000.00 to HSBC account.

Purchased a $500.00 I bond

Finished listening to the library book on tape River of Ruin by Jack DuBrul. Adventure. Good.

Missed walking again today due to rain. I don't think I'm going to make my walking goal this month, between mom and dad going camping and the rain I'm missing too many days. This will be the first month I've missed in 16 months. I like the rain, actually love it, just wish it would happen either earlier or later.

Went to dinner at Chili's with parents. Spent $9.02

I know some of you shop at Catherines. I saw this deal on

Finally was able to walk again after several days of rain or vacation. Felt really good. Walked 55 min with mom.

Got a free sample of Nivea Body lotion in the mail today.

Also got my electric bill. My days of $9.00 monthly bills are over. I finally used up all my surplus from last year and the new budget billing is $37 a month. Still pretty reasonable.

Finished reading the library book Captain of all Pleasures by Kresley Cole. Romance. OK, not great.

another relaxing day, although I did a bit more than read and sleep, my contentment from yesterday remained, making me feel very happy and relaxed about now.

Went to King Soopers this morning. Spent $30.46 on groceries. $7.80 on a book of stamps and $4.50 on a magazine and a newspaper. I can't find the 20 Ct Advil PM anywhere, it's always sold out. I wonder if the stores aren't stocking it because of the rebates.

The magazine I bought is Arthur Frommer's Smart Shopping. I really like this magazine. I'm going to have to subscribe to it. This is the third one I've gotten. They come out quarterly. Lot's of good ideas and websites for saving money. They had a site called shirtsuppliers.com that sells Hanes T-shirts for $1.55 each. Next time I want some new hangout at home t-shirts I need to remember and check them out.

I found out why I couldn't buy the Entertainment.com book for $7.99 + 1 shipping. On the last page they tell you if you order the 2007 book you get $5 off the 2006 book. That's not mentioned on the first page and seems like false advertising to me. Definetely turns me off when companies do that.

I did a lot of food prep work today.

Chopped onions, tomatoes, celery, green onions and watermelon
Boiled eggs and cooked oatmeal
Made taco meat, tuna salad and potato salad
Grilled two hamburger patties to have for lunches this week.

I read the new magazine I bought and the newspaper plus the other 2 magazines I got from the library yesterday. I also read the library book At Risk by Patricia Cornwell. Mystery. Ok, not near as good as her Kay Scarpetta series.

I had a very relaxing day today. Went to the library and browsed for an hour. Got 4 magazines and read two of them, plus a bunch of books. I'm a big magazine fan, but I try not to buy them too much anymore. I used to drop $20 or more on magazines and then toss them. I like the concise information they provide.

Made a big pot of beans and sausages. White beans, pinto beans and black-eyed peas.

Took a nap. Make menus and grocery lists.

Finished reading the library book The Simple Life edited by Larry Roth. Simplicity. Good. An anthology of advice from simple living/saving money authors including Amy Dacyczyn, Joe Dominquez and Vicki Robin.

I'm so glad the weekend is here. My house is reasonably clean, no one is coming over, i'm not going anywhere. No major chores to deal with. I plan to devote the weekend to reading and sleeping. My two favorite pastimes

Finished reading the library book The Taming of the Duke by Eloisa James. Romance. Humorous.

walked with mom for 55 min in the drizzle. I don't mind walking in rain as long as it's not freezing or pouring. No headache again today so I feel Good! Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nuh (James Brown boogie here )

Worked about 3 hours today and then did some cleaning since I'm having company tomorrow. Nothing provides more incentive to clean the house than having people over.

Got a sample of Head and Shoulders n the mail today.

Finished reading my book Killing Time by Linda Howard. Romance. Very good

walked with mom for 55 min

Even though we had a big thunderstorm today I didn't get my normal weather headache. I slept good all night and no headache all day. I feel so good I feel like I should have cartoon birds flying and small animals scampering around me

Finished listening to the library book on tape The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. Adventure? Good.

another rainy day and another headache, but at least it cleared up enough to get my walk in. I miss it when I can't walk now.

Got free Nexus shampoo samples in the mail along with Nature Made vitamins and a coupon for a free package of cigarettes. I don't smoke, but will pass it along to my bother.

Met my parents and nieces at Chili's for dinner. Spent $7.71 and went to McDonalds for an ice cream cone later. $1.07

I gave my oldest niece the 3 Louisa May Alcott books awhile back. She finished little women and liked it and now is reading Little Men which was my favorite of the three. I'm glad she likes them. I signed the other niece up for the libraries reading program and she finished it in two weeks. She had to read 8 hours. Mom took her back today to pick up her prizes. A free book, a stuffed animal and some coupons including one for a free ice cream at Baskin Robbins. She signed up for the next level now.

Finished reading the library book Dead End by Mariah Stewart. Mystery. good.

no walking again today, it's great to have the rain, but I wish it wouldn't happen every afternoon and evenings when I can walk. We could get some rain in the mornings when I have to work. And along with the rain comes the nasty headaches. 6 days in a row now. Hard to concentrate on columns of figures when the back of your head feels like an elephant is sitting on it

Thanks to Stressless I've been browsing old household management books at the Cornell website. I finished reading Adventures in Thrift. I thought this was a cute proverb from the book:

Chasing the penny to its lair is the housewife's favorite indoor sport. I'm not much of a housewife, but it's one of my favorite sports too. One I wish I had more time to devote to.

Finished reading the library book Caught in the Current by Jay Bookman. Simplicity. OK

walked with mom for 55 min

She invited me over for dinner again tonight, baked chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, corn, salad and rolls. YUM and the best part was I didn't have to cook or clean. Nieces and BIL were there too.

I told them I would bring over my leftover chili and make chili pasta for them tomorrow night.

My parents are so funny though. My mom always washed the dishes in a sink of soapy water before putting them in the dishwasher. Then my dad unloads the dishwasher when it's done and dries the dishes. I asked them what was the point of using the dishwasher and my mom very seriously told me "it sanitizes them". Too funny.

walked with mom for 55 min

Made my new 401K choices today. The new company charges higher maintenance fees, which is a bummer, but I found funds that closely duplicated the ones I had. I was invested in the Dodge and Cox stock fund though and I'm really going to miss it. It did very well for me.

Canceled the trial membership to Shopper's Advantage. They even said they would return my $1 trial fee.

Got a free sample of Move Free from Walmart. This was 28 pills a weeks supply, a good size sample. I gave it to my mom. I also got The Healing Garden skin moisturizer sample.

Worked 11 hours, so no reading

walked with mom for 55 min

Went to the grocery store this morning. Spent $56.65. Saved $63.08 more than 50%.

I got the following items for free.

2 packages Ball Park Franks - because the sale price didn't ring up, I got these free.
Sara Lee hotdog buns - free with purchase of 2 Ball Park Franks
2 64 oz bottles Tree Top Apple juice
2 packages Dentyne gum
1 package Dentyne mints
3 ready to serve packages Zataran's Rice
5 4 oz cans Ortega chilis
And I have a FAR for Hunts ketchup which will make that free and give back $2.00

Went to Chili's for lunch and spent $7.83

Spent the day preping for the week. Did laundry, cooked a huge batch of Chili, chopped veggies, boiled eggs, fixed oatmeal for the week. My house is getting really behind on cleaning. I just can't keep up with it and all the hours I work, plus the down time I require to be able to concentrate on my work. I'm seriously considering getting a cleaner in for one time just to get me back to an even starting place.

Finished reading my book Dangerous Tides by Christine Feehan. Romance. Very good.