walked with mom for 35 min, didn't get started until late and it's getting dark earlier. Great moon out tonight, almost full.

I got my last months rebates from Walgreens today $16.48

Spent $1.06 on ice cream

Total spent so far this month = $163.87

Got my electric bill. Last year I had my billing changed to a Budget billing where I pay the same amount every month since that's easier to budget for. So my monthly bill based on my previous years usage was $48.00. The electric company rebalanced last month and I have overpaid by $259.18 so my new bill till next July is only $9.00 a month. I figure it's really $31 averaged out, which means I saved $17.00 per month or 35% WooHoo!

Here's some of the things I did to lower my electric bill.

Changed most of my lightbulbs to CFLs Compact Flourescent Lights.
I had window film put on the two large upstairs windows that face south. This blocks the glare and keeps the rooms cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter meaning I don't have to have the Furnace or A/C on as much.
Since I live alone I made it a policy to heat/cool me instead of the whole house. In winter I wear sweats and use an electric throw while sitting and reading at night. I keep the heat around 62 degrees most days and I'm very comfortable working upstairs where the heat rises and it's about 10 degrees warmer.
In the summer I wear shorts and t-shirts to work in. I use ceiling and portable fans for cooling. My A/C only ran for about 2 weeks so far this summer and it was set to 78 degrees. I keep the shades drawn during the day and open all the windows in the evening when it cools down.
Lowered the water heater to 120 degrees
Started unplugging the power strip where my computer, monitor, printer, and stereo are plugged in every night
Also unplugged the power strip where the TV, VCR and DirectTV box are plugged in when I'm not watching TV.
I read somewhere that these appliances cost 1 cent per hour in electrical use even when they aren't on. Even at 1/2 cent that really adds up over a year.

I'm going to try to keep using less Khw per month this next year too. I've got a spreadsheet where I'm tracking electric and gas usage. My gas is on budget billing also and even though I'm using about 1/3rd less than last year my gas bill was increased from $29 to $40 a month in January because the cost of natural gas has gone up so much. Oh well, it could have been worse if I wasn't conserving.

Finished reading the library book What She Can't See by Hunter Morgan. Mystery. Ok, nothing special I figured out who dun it in the first hundred pages so wasn't that great.

walked with mom for 45 min. On the days we only walk 45 min vs 55 min we take a different route that has two very steep hills. It's good for the legs, but strenuous, and I can only handle so much at a time so we walk for a shorter amount of time when we do that route.

I read the library book Feed Your Family for $12.00 a Day by Rhonda Barfield. This was a pretty good book. There were three things that I found especially interesting. One was the chapter where she describes how a fictional family slowly started to practice her ideas on saving money throughout the year. They started with one idea and gradually added new ways to save as they got more comfortable with what they were doing. I liked this because it's more true to life of how people actually operate.

The second thing I liked was at the end of the book, she has a complete checklist of all the ways to save money on groceries. This allows you to browse the list and pick one that you want to try as you have the time.

The third thing I liked was her attitude towards saving: not spending massive amounts of time on either the shopping or cooking part. That attitude fits with my own. If I can't cook it quickly, (meaning not a lot of hands on time) then it isn't going to get cooked in my house.

My dad was telling me he called Progressive about insurance quotes for his car and house and he saved about 30% over State Farm which we both have. We've both had State Farm for more than 25 years. My car insurance is due next month and my house insurance the month after that. I'm going to have to check out rates from other companies. In the past they never beat State Farm since I'd been there so long and didn't have any tickets and very few claims but maybe it will be different this time. I'd love to save 30% but doubt if I can, that's quite a bit.

Walked with mom for 55 min

No money news today.

Finished the library book To The Edge by Cindy Gerard. Romance/Mystery. Ok, nothing special.

walked with mom for 45 min. It was completely dark by the time we were done around 8:30. It's already starting to get dark earlier.

Went to the grocery store this morning and spent $28.34 saved 25% according to the reciept.

Next stop was Media Play were I got the rest of my youngest neices b-day presents. 2 computer games, 1 book and 1 electronic talking thing that she wanted. Don't ask me what it is, I just bought it Spent $93.39 That money comes from my gift fund and I'll get 19% back. 15% from the triple points replay membership and 4% from my CC.

Then I went to Longs and got a b-day present for a friends child plus some of her xmas present. Also picked up 3 containers to store food in. Had a $5.00 off coupon and spent $40.68 total. $26.21 was for the gifts and $14.47 was for the containers.

Total spent so far this month = 162.81
Total on gifts = $119.11

I love the Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli soup. There a web site that has copy cat recipes from your favorite restaraunts. I got the recipe and made it this afternoon. Turned out really good.

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/ Select the Copy Cat Recipes link and browse for your favorites.

The soup makes 12 big servings

3 teaspoons Oil = 25 cents
2 pounds Ground beef = 1.98
12 ounces Onion; chopped = 20 cents
14 ounces Carrots; slivered = 25 cents
14 ounces Celery; diced = 50 cents
48 ounces Tomatoes; canned, diced = 1.16
2 cups cooked Red Kidney beans = 1.00 dried
2 C cooked White kidney beans = 1.20 dried
88 ounces Beef stock = 15 cents bouillion powder
3 teaspoons Oregano = 10 cents
2 1/2 teaspoons Pepper = 5 cents
5 teaspoons Parsley; (fresh chopped) = 10 cents dried
1 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce = 5 cents
48 ounces Spaghetti sauce = 2.00
8 ounces dry pasta Shell macaroni; or other pasta = 33 cents

Total = 9.32 / 12 servings = 78 cents per serving

I froze a huge amount and still have a lot left for the rest of the week.

I read the library book Dead Beat by Jim Butcher Sci Fi. Really good story. This is the latest in a whole series that's very different and interesting. It goes on my books to buy when it comes out in paperback list.

Went to the libaray and picked up my latest holds.

Fixed mini meatloaf, baked potato and corn on the cob for dinner.

Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef = 99 cents
1/4 cup chopped onion = 15 cents
2 stalks celery chopped = 30 cents
1/2 tsp Red Robin Seasoning = 5 cents
1/2 tsp pepper = 2 cents
1/4 cup parmesan cheese = 20 cents
2 tsp Worchestershire sause = 10 cents
Total = 1.81 / 3 servings = 61 cents saved the other two loaves for later meals

Baked potato + butter + Red Robin seasoning = 16 cents + 5 cents + 2 cents = 23 cents

Corn on cob + butter + salt = 13 cents based on 8 for a $1 + 5 cents + 1 cent

Total for dinner = $1.03

Listed my first book on half.com. Everyone has such good things to say about this I thought I'd try it out. I normally take my books to the used book store, but I have so much credit right now it's ridiculous. At one store I have more than $300 and more than $100 at another store.

Finished reading the library book Sanctuary by Mercedes Lackey. Sci Fi. 3rd of a trilogy. Ok, nothing special.

I was going through my desk and found a bunch of old 22 and 25 cent stamps. They were left over from previous stamp increases. So I counted them and went to the postoffice and bought 30 10 cent stamps and 100 1 cent stamps. I'll use these to make the total 37 cents. There will be a few stamps on the envelope but so what? That was just money sitting around in my desk not being used. I only have one bill that I still write a check for each month and mail, (my HOA) so I don't use very many stamps each month, mostly for refund offers.

After picking up my parents mail I went to Safeway and picked up some of their sale items. Spent $20.79 saved 23% according to the reciept.

Total spending for the month = $120

Finished listening to Scandal's Bride by Stephanie Laurens. Romance. Very good story, very steamy.

Went into the office today stopped at Walgreens on the way and spent $1.88

Stopped at Souper Salad for dinner on the way home. Spent $6.11 but there's enough for 2 1/2 meals.

Next stop was Albertson's gas. I had planned to use the Exxon/Mobile $20 gift card that I got from Great Fun for gas, but there are no Exxon/Mobile gas stations in town. I looked in the phone book and not a one. I went to the Exxon website and according to them there are no gas stations within a hundred miles of my city. There are no Exxon/Mobile gas stations in the entire state of CO. Would have to go to Wyoming to find a station. Major bummer. Not sure what I'll do with the cards now. If I'd know I could have given the cards to my parents to take on their trip to Illinoise and Missouri they probably would have found a station somewhere on the road. I'll have to find out if they plan to take another trip soon.

On the drive into town I kept seeing signs for gas at 2.39/gal so was dreading the gas cost, but I know this Albertson's has some of the cheapest gas in town. I ended up paying 2.22/gal after my 3 cent discount from the Albertson's card. Spent $21.23 and was very happy to only be paying 2.22/gal instead of 2.30/gal

Total spent so far this month = $99.21

Huge rainstorm today, the water was coming down in sheets it was awesome. Could do without the lightening though

Sent off my rebate for $25 for buy.com

Made tuna salad and crackers to take to work for lunch tomorrow.

1 6 oz can tuna = 33 cents
1 hardboiled egg = 6 cents
1 celery stalk = 25 cents
2 radished = 4 cents
1/4 c mayonnaise = 10 cents

Total tuna salad = 78 cents
6 multigrain crackers = 13 cents based on 1 box at $1 figure 8 servings
grapes = 25 cents
can of pop = 20 cents

total for lunch = $1.26

Stopped at Taco Bell tonight and spent $5.52

Total spent this month = $69.99

I read a library book called McKettrick's Choice by Linda Lael Miller. Romance, good story, a popcorn book.

I love potato salad and make it quite often. Since I like it so much this only makes 3 servings.

4 med potatoes = .63 cents based on 5 lb bag with 12 potatoes at 1.89
2 hardboiled eggs = .12 cents based on 18 ct eggs for 1.00
1 stalk celery = .25 cents based on 1 bunch celery for 2.50 and I figure there were 10 stalks
1 green onion = .6 cents based on 1 bunch for .50 cents and 8 onions in the bunch
1 c mayo = .25 cents based on 32 oz jar for 1.00
squirt of mustard = it was free last time but normally about .69 cents so I'll guess 2 cents
white pepper = 1 cent

total for potato salad = 1.34 / 3 servings = .45 cents for a serving.

I got the books I ordered from Buy.com last week. Now I need to send for my $25 rebate from Great Fun. Which will mean I only spent .84 cents on the 3 books.

I see the Estore has Home Depot and Target gift cards today. Wish my parents were back so I could see if they wanted me to buy some for them, they'll probably go pretty quick.

I finished reading the library book Treason Keep by Jennifer Fallon. Sci/Fi second in a series. Good book, good story.

After getting my parents mail tonight I really, really wanted to stop at a fast food place for dinner, but I talked myself out of it, for which I am pretty proud of myself. The month is almost a third over and I haven't gone to a fast food restaraunt yet.

I got my $20 Exxon gas card from Great Fun in the mail today. Filled out my Emeril Gourmet Sausage rebate and sent that out. Should get $4.29 back for that.

I finished listening to the library book on tape The Elfstones of Shanara by Terry Brooks. Sci/Fi It was very good. These books are similar to Lord of the Rings.

I have the same thing almost everyday for lunch; baked potato with green onions and cheese, hard boiled egg, raw veggies.

Baked Potato cooked in crock pot to save electricity.
Potato - bought a 5 lb bag for $1.89 and it contained 12 potatoes so I'll guess that's the average so cost of potato = .16 cents
green onions - 4 cents
shredded cheese - bought 3 lbs of shredded mozzarella for 3.99 Il guess I used 2 oz so that's .17 cents
Added Red Robin Seasoning, pepper @2 cents

Total for potato = .39 cents

Added 1 hard boiled egg - bought 18 eggs for $1 so cost = 6 cents

Had some radishes - 1 bunch = .50 / 5 days = 10 cents
And some carrots - 1 pkg = 1.99 / 10 days = 20 cents

So total for lunch = 75 cents

Went to the grocery store and spent $43.91. According to the recipt I saved 38% I got a 15 ct box of Totino's Pizza rolls for free with a double coupon and I got a package of Emeril's gourmet sausage that will be free after I send in the rebate.

Total spent so far this month = $64.47

I eat the same breakfast most mornings. Celery with Peanut Butter and a piece of fruit.

I was surprised to find out I was spending $1 a day on the celery. I buy 2 bunches of celery @1.19 1b and use up all of it every week for breakfast. Today's grocery bill showed I spend $4.95 on celery so divided by 5 days = $1.00 per day. I think that's very high, so I'll probably go to whole wheat toast with Peanut Butter after this week. That will probably also save on the amount of Peanut butter I use each day.

Celery with Peanut butter = $1.15
Celery = $1.00
Peanut Butter $1.50 for 18oz jar. This lasts for about 10 days so .15 cents for the Peanut butter

Fruit - I bought grapes at $1.00 1b so I figure about .20 - .25 cents for a portion of grapes.

Total breakfast cost = $1.35 - $1.40 I'd like to get this under a $1

Somewhere around 1985-86 when I was 24 -25 I was working as an entry level machinist. Like most young people I was living paycheck to paycheck and I had about $1000 in CC and car debt. That's when the first wave of layoffs hit my company. I was scared to death. I worried about what would happen if I was laid off. I had no savings, no real skills, and no education. This was one of the major factors that turned me to saving as a way to gain control of my life. Over the next several years I paid down my debt, built up my savings and increased my job skills.

Over the next 9 years I survived 7 more layoffs with that company and finally was let go when my job was outsourced in 1994. By that time it didn't bother me a bit. I knew I could find another job in my field if that's what I wanted to do because I was a journeyman machinist by then. But, because I had saved more than 20% of my salary most of those years I had enough to live on while I went back to school and got a two year degree in one year. I had help from unemployment and JTPA and I got a scholarship from the school, but I made it with $1000 left in my savings, (not including my retirement funds) when I got a new job in my new field.

The reason for this background is because I just finished reading a book called Downsized but not Defeated The Family Guide to Living on Less by Hope Stanley Quinn and Lyn Miller-Lachmann. This is a very straightforward book that deals with people who are going through layoffs, divorces or deaths of a spouse. Life events that destroy your financial security. They authors talk about what to do, how to save money in various areas and also how to deal with these life changes psychologically. I thought it was very good. Layoffs were fairly rare back in the mid 80's but they are pretty much a way of life for most of us anymore, so it's a good idea to think ahead and try to plan how we would deal with it, if it comes our way.

I decided to start figuring out how much certain meals, that I make frequently, cost to prepare. For brunch today I made scrambled eggs, with tomatoes, cheese and green onions, and garlic toast and grapes.

Scrambled Eggs
3 eggs - 1 doz for .99 cents so .25 cents
2 Tbls diced tomatoes (leftover from earlier in the week) - 1 can for $1.00 so @.20 cents
1/2 green onion - 1 bunch was .50 cents and there were 8 onions in the bunch so .04 cents
1 slice American cheese - 16 oz for $1.00 so .05 cents
butter, salt and pepper - @.02 cents
Total cost for scrambled eggs = .56 cents

Garlic bread
1 slice bread - 1 load of french bread for .99 cents cut into 15 slices = .07 cents
butter and garlic salt - @.02 cents
Total cost for bread = .09 cents

Grapes at .88 cents/lb around 15 grapes = .20 cents

Total for brunch = .85 cents

I made a big batch of spagetti sauce for dinner and froze enough for 3 more meals. I don't know how much it cost to make because I bought the stuff awhile back and don't remember the prices on everything. I'll have to figure it out the next time I make it.

The goal is to figure out what meals I make over and over and how much they cost and maybe to reduce that cost through sales. Also it will allow me to predict how much groceries should cost for a week based on a menu plan. And if I have a week where I'm very short on cash I can plan on the cheap meals.

Read Killing Time by Linda Howard. Romance/Mystery Linda Howard is one of my favorite authors and although this book was a good read it wasn't one of her best.

Went to Great Clips to get my hair cut. They had a coupon for $7.99 so I spent $10

Total spent so far this month = $20.56

Went to the library and picked up my holds. The new Harry Potter book was waiting for me. I was really surprised I didn't expect to get it for several months.

I'm also pretty happy with myself for talking me out of going to a fast food restaraunt for dinner after my haircut. Came home and made one of my favorite fast and easy dinners. A can of Chunky Soup, (this time is was grilled sirloin with country vegetables) poured over egg noodles. Have enough left over for a lunch next week. I buy the soup when I can get it for a $1 a can. It's fast, easy, tasty and has little cleanup.

I finished reading Die Trying by Lee Child. Mystery. This book just really grabbed me and I couldn't put it down. Good story. I have a lot of stress with my job right now and I'm having trouble sleeping since I can't find the off button to my brain. Reading helps me think about something else for awhile anyways.

no walking today. Mom's getting ready to go on vacation and it rained most of the day. Almost looks like snow in the mountains.

I just recently found financial blogs and I've slowly been reading through some of them. I was reading back posts of http://www.mymoneyblog.com/ and it has a link to a free Financial Preperation Kit at http://www.patelco.org/tools/prep_kit.aspx

There website has the following information:

With this kit, you can collect important information such as names, phone numbers, and addresses of important contacts and put it in one convenient location so that you can get to it when you need it. There are separate sections to enter financial, insurance, and investment information.

There's also a checklist of important documents to make it easy for you to find documents such as birth certificates, passports, and automobile titles. When the worksheet is complete, file it in a safe place, along with the supporting documents, and let your loved ones know where it is.

I downloaded it for myself and sent a copy to my mom and dad. They recently moved and all their financial stuff is scattered everywhere. Normally before they go on vacation my mom tells me where important things are, just in case. This time she can't remember where some of it. I have a notebook that I keep all my financial informationin and I just updatd it last month, but with nice forms it will make it that much easier. I wish I'd found this a couple weeks ago, although my mom probably wouldn't have had time to fill it out.

Just have to hope it won't be needed Please, please, please, please. please.

walked with mom for 55 min

Place my order on SHARE for Aug. I have too much food in the freezer right now and there are good grocery sales where I'm stocking up and freezing things so I only order the Jr Package. Had a $3 coupon so spent $9.50

Total spent this month so far = $10.56

I see that the gift card website has new cards out. May get some JCPenny ones for my mom tomorrow. The selection changes pretty often.

walked with mom for 55 min on the way home I got an ice cream cone and spent $1.06

Total spent so far this month = $1.06

No other money things today. I finished reading Always Time to Die by Elizabeth Lowell. Romance/Mystery. Very good book she writes really good characters and lots of funny dialog. One of my favorite authors.

Awhile back I recommended Getting A Life by Jacqueline Blix & David Heitmiller. I found this website has some of the book on tape that you can download and listen to on your computer. If anyone's interested here's the site:

http://www.simpleliving.net/simpleradio/program_gal.asp

walked with mom for 45 min

Made up a list of goals for Aug

1. Only spend $400 for groceries, gas, entertainment, clothes, household basics and misc.

2. Walk at least 15 times this month for at least 30 minutes each time.

3. Only go to fast-food restaurants four times and only eat at regular restaurants four times.

4. Save $880 above my 401K contribution

5. Cook meals at least 2 times a week.

I bought some books from buy.com today. Two Trixie Beldon books for my youngest nieces b-day and one finance book for my Dad for xmas (first xmas gift of the year). I got free shipping and spent $25.84. I have a $25 rebate from the Great Fun club that I joined last month so when I get that rebate I will only have spent .84 cents.

This money isn't tracked in the $400 for the month. I have a gift fund and a xmas fund that I fund each month. The gift fund gets $40 and the xmas fund gets $50 each month. I'll take the money out of these funds and when I get the rebate it will go in my Extra Fund. I added $48.90 to this fund last month.

I have several gift events in Sept. They always seem to come in batches. I'll go a couple of months with nothing, then three in one month, which is why I have the fund set up so the money will be there when I need it.

walked with mom for 60 min

Bought a paper this morning spent $1.25
Went to Walgreens and spent $16.08 on HBAs. The Savings were $15.96 plus I'll get a $10 rebate back from this.

Met my parents for lunch at Outback used my gift certificates that I purchased at 12% off, no problems. I spent $18 and brought half my steak home for dinner tomorrow night.

Total spent for the month should be $371.69 but I must have added the totals in the journal wrong somewhere because the actual total is $400.89 just missed my goal of $400

Here's how it broke out

Gifts $2.50 - this isn't included in the $400 total since I have a gift fund that I used to pay for this

Groceries $109.64
Fast Food $44.42
Restaurants $46.00
Nieces $18.04
Clothes $26.59
Books/Newspapers $22.58
Gas $46.56
HBAs $34.49
Entertainment $4.75
Other $27.77

My goals for July were:

1. Only spend $400 for groceries, gas, entertainment, clothes, household basics and misc. My freezer is full thanks to SHARE and my pantry is full too, so I shouldn't need too many groceries, only produce and whatever is on sale.

Close enough at $400.89

2. Walk at least 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time.

Done

3. Only go to fast-food restaurants twice and only eat at regular restaurants three times.

Missed this one big time. Went out to fast food restaurants 7 times and went to restaurants 4 times

4. Save $1000 above my 401K contribution and on top of my third paycheck.

Done

5. Save all of my third paycheck for the month.

Done

6. Cook meals at least 2 times a week.

Done

So I made 5 out of 6 goals, that's good.

I also did a networth update for the month of July. My networth increased by 13% I'm excited by that number it's a bigger jump than I expected.

I read Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris. Vampire Romance/Mystery. It's a good book part of an ongoing series. It's funny and different.

This morning I chopped up my veggies for the week and made a potato salad to eat the next couple of days.

Went to our branch library and picked up 10 holds. Then drove in town and went to the main library and got some back issues of Money and Kiplinger's magazines to read. Our branch library is so small they don't carry old issues of these I could get them on old but wanted to look at them first.

Next went to the Discovery Channel store in the mall and got this terrific musical piano toy that has lots of buttons to add drums and strings and rock and country etc. etc. etc. sounds. It was 29.95 and 30% off. Total was 22.50 I had a free GC for $20 that I used so I actually only spent $2.50 If my youngest niece doesn't want it for her birthday in Sept I will probably give it to Toys for Tots in December. I hope my niece wants it, because I love to give her noisy gifts so she can harrass my sister I tell my niece that's her job, to bug her mother and that she does a very good job and deserves a promotion. LOL

Next browsed through Barnes and Nobles writing down more books to put on hold at the library.

I met a friend of mine at the dollar theater and we saw Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Funny movie, but very strange. Spent $1 for the ticket. Afterward we went to Cold Stones for ice cream and sat around talking and catching up for about an hour. Spent $3.75 on ice cream.

Stopped at Schlotsky's to pick up dinner on the way home and spent another $5.04.

Total spent so far this month = $337.61 tomorrow is the reckoning to see if I can stay under $400 looks pretty easy today. Although my goal for limiting fast food is totally shot.

Walked with mom for 50 min

Because I did so well with my company stocks I'm going to owe more taxes, (there's always a catch ) so I decreased my deductions on my W2. Now each paycheck is $60 smaller. That's $120 from my monthly budget since I don't count the occassional 3rd paycheck in my budget. I'll have to save less the rest of the year because I can't squeeze it out from anywhere else, or at least I don't want to. If you don't allow for some fun and wants in your budget you're sure to blow it.

Went to Rosie's Diner with my parents for dinner. Spent $7.00 then went to Safeway and got some produce and eggs. Spent $5.05 They had corn on the cob 8 ears for a $1.00 I'm buying some and freezing it for this winter. I love corn on the cob.

Total spent this month so far = $325.32

Finished reading Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Mystery. This was a good book. I like all the books I've read by these authors, they are always unique and slightly different from the usual run of mystery books.

walked with mom for 55 min

No financial stuff today, just work. Finished listening to Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens. Romance. Very good book. Went to the library and picked up more holds.

Can't believe it almost Aug.

walked with mom for 55 min

Drove into work today. Stopped by the bank and got some cash then went to the gas station. Gas was 2.17 a gal. Ouch! Spent $22.61

Met a friend for lunch at Black Eyed Pea and spent $11

After I got home I walked with mom and then went to McDonalds for dinner and spent $8.72 another fast food meal I've really busted this goal for the month.

Total spent this month = $313.27 Not sure if I'm going to stay under $400 for the month have plans for both Saturday and Sunday. Since I tend to spend most of my money on weekends and because this month has 5 weekends I think my total might be a little high. We'll see.

Got my last month Longs rebate for $3.00 in the mail and got this month's Walgreens rebate for $4.98 + the $10 Pepsi rebate ready to send tomorrow.

Made a car payment so only have 4 more to go till it's paid for. About 3 years ago I decided to buy a new car. I had the cash saved up, but the dealership was offering 0% financing for 3 years so I decided to keep my cash and finance the car. Because interest rates have been so low the last few years I will only make about $700 in interest over the 3 year period. But even if interest rates were higher I don't think I would refinance at 0% again. I HATE having a car payment every month. It just nags at me. Every month I think I already have this car I've been driving it for x number of months, why am I still paying for it? I don't know why this gets to me so much but it does. Maybe it's because I've been out of debt except for my house for close to 20 years now and I just can't stand it. I've been counting down every month since this started, very aggravating.

Took my youngest niece to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Cute movie. Spent $10.25 Then we went to Taco Bell for dinner, (her favorite) and spent $7.79. I don't count this as eating at a fast food restaraunt. It goes under the time spent with nieces category of my budget.

On the way home I stopped at Walgreens and bought this months FARs and sales. Had a 50 cent coupon on one item so even better than free Spent $8.98. Will get $5.48 of this back in rebates.

Total spent for this month = $304.55

walked with mom for 45 min

Finished listening to A Rake's Vow by Stephanie Laurens. Romance. Good book.
Watched The Incredibles that I borrowed from the libraray. Cute movie.

Sent for my Sargento's Bistro cheese rebate $2.99 finally used up all the cheese so I could get to the UPC.

After some research decided not to buy the computer from Circuit City. Doesn't have hardly any software and I would have to spend about $200 to get what I want, so I'll just wait till the right deal comes along. If it's not back to school there will be good deals at Christmas.

walked with mom 55 min

Got my mail this morning and the discounted credit cards I purchased Wednesday came. So it took about 3 days. Also got the form from Great Fun to fill out for the $20 Gift Card for Exxon/Mobile. Filled it out and sent it.

Went to Safeway this morning for produce and a newspaper. Saved 30% on sales. Spent $9.44
Next went to Albertson's just to get corn on the cob also on sale and spent $2.00
Then went to Longs where my sunflower seeds were 30% off and spent $4.95
All of these stores were on my way so I didn't make any special trips, just start and stop.

Next stop was Media Play. It was a triple points day. If you don't know Media Play has a program were you join their replay club for $7.95 and get 1 pt for every dollar you spend. When you spend 100 dollars you get a $5 rebate. However on triple points days, which happen about once a month, you get triple points or about 15% back on each dollar spent. I only shop their on triple points days and I also get 4% back by using my Nesteggz credit card. If you decide to buy a membership only buy a one year one because on triple points days they renew the membership for free. I didn't know that and bought a two year membership I buy a lot of their stuff around xmas and for the nieces birthdays. They like computer games and CDs. I also buy several books each month for myself. I had a $5 rebate so after the rebate I spent $18.33 and I'll get 19% of that back in rebates.

After Media Play I met my family at Macaroni Grill for my sister's b-day. My parents paid for everyone so no out of pocket money.

Total money spent for month so far = $277.59

Circuit City has an AMD Sempron laptop for $549 and it has all the bells and whistles I've been looking for. I've saved up for a new laptop in my short-term savings fund and I've just been waiting for the right deal. I'm going to do some more research on it tomorrow and will probably buy it Wednesday after work.

I read Stolen Magic by M. J. Putney Romance/Fantasy It was pretty good. Good mindless read by which I mean it keeps your attention but doesn't force you to think to hard

walked with mom for 55 min

This was a money moving day. I took my 2nd paycheck this month and the $1000 I was planning to save this month and some money left from last month and put $3000 in the Vanguard Growth Index Fund. 1 1/4 more months of retirement purchased WOOHOO

Then I transfered the money I have saved for my short-term goals and my Extra Fund to my new ING account. Then I transfered the money I have saved for my property taxes, car and house insurance to my new PayPal money account.

Stopped at McDonalds for an ice cream cone after walking with mom last night so spent $1.06. Well worth it, it's been miserably hot here, Colorado. Supposed to get some rain in the next few days so hope it gets better.

Total spending this month = $242.87

Read House of Gaian by Anne Bishop. Sci/Fi Good book, 3rd of a trilogy.

Walked with mom for 55 min today.

Went to the library and picked up more holds and read this month Money magazine.

Signed up at the following site. If you sign up for $1 for 2 months they send you a $20 ExxonMobil Cash Card. They have discounts on restaurants, movies, theme parks, local tourist or entertainment discounts, (like for bowling or miniature golf) travel deals, car care deals etc. I found a few restaurant things that I will probably get in the 2 month time frame. If you decide to continue with the program it is $9.99 a month. I expect I will cancel after 2 months and just get my $20 card for $1 plus whatever restaurant coupons I like.

https://www.greatfunonline.com/global/scripts/secure/Promo.asp

Edited to add the $1 to my total spending for the month = $241.81

Walked with mom for 45 min and fixed dinner afterwards instead of succuming to fast-food.

Got my June Walgreen's rebates in the mail today. Also got my 401K statement, didn't do so good this last quarter, the overall is up, but it's mostly due to my contributions not increases in the value of the assets. Oh well, hopefully the stock market will rev up the last 6 months like it did last year. And at least it's still a gain, better than a loss.

Finished listening to All About Love by Stephanie Laurens. Romance. Very good book. Another favorite author.

I also finished reading The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold. Sci Fi. Another very good book by another favorite author.

I found a website that sells Gift Cerficates at a discount of up to 14% off. You don't have to register or sign-up or make monthly payments. The selection changes often but I have seen all of the following on the site, Target, KMart, Barnes and Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, Penny's, Red Lobster, Outback, Kohl's, Toys R Us, Circuit City, Staples and Amazon to name a few.

Today I bought 4 $25 Gift Cards for Outback for $88 a 12% discount and 4 $25 Gift Cards for KMart for $84 a 16% discount. However, I'm not counting that money as spent yet, I will count it spent when I use the cards. The shipping was free. I prefer the casual buying of cards at a site like this instead of bidding on ebay or joining a club and paying monthly dues.

Here's the site if anyone else is interested.

http://giftcardsestore.com/store.asp

Went into work this morning, but had such a bad headache and watery eyes from allergies I came back home early. Took more allergy pills and took a nap and the headache eventually went away about 3:00 pm.

Bad day for eating out. Everyone has budget areas where they struggle and eating out is definitely mine. Went to Sonic for lunch and spent $7.93 then my mom called and wanted to go out to dinner before we walked so went to Rosie's Dinner and spent $10.00. Paid for that two ways, it was so hot and Iwas so full it was miserable to walk tonight. We only walked 50 min today.

Total spent this month so far = $240.81

Verified my ING Account was activated today and transfered some money to the account. Also got my $30 bonus which will go in my Extra Fund for my Canada trip.

I finished listening to the Three Fates by Nora Roberts on the way home from work. Very good book. It's a Romance. She's one of my favorite authors. Always tells a great story, with good characters and good dialog.

I also finished reading Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey. I agree with his general premise that everyone would be better off without debt, however, I have a hard time with his tone. That I know what's right for everyone and if you don't agree you're stupid tone. Drives me nuts. He thinks everyone should have no debt including their house and I think that's a great goal to strive for, however, I have decided not to pay my house off just yet because I think it makes more financial sense to invest the money where I get a better return than the 4.5% interest I pay on my house. And that's before the tax break, so I'm really only paying 3.15% interest.

The other area where I disagree is he thinks it's stupid for anyone to use credit cards. His presumption is that people who use credit cards, even when they pay them off in full each month, spend more than people who use cash. I know that's not true in my case because I charge almost everything on credit cards and I stick to my budget so I know I'm not spending more than I planned. Also I use rebate credit cards which return some of the money back to me for using them to pay for things, so I actually come out ahead using credit cards over paying cash.

I have three credit cards that I use depending on what I'm buying. None of the cards have annual fees and they are all paid in full every month. The first card is used for all gas, grocery and drugstore purchases. The card gives a 5% rebate on all purchases made at these type of stores. I've received $80 in rebates from this card in the last year, just for doing my normal shopping.

The next credit card is one that pays 1% back on everything you purchase. It also pays 3% for all purchases made at Media Play or Sam Goody's where I shop at least once a month. I have several of my monthly bills charged to this card to get the 1% rebate and so I don't have to pay out postage to pay the bill. I find this a convenient way to track my spending and I've gotten $120 rebated back on this credit card in the last year.

My third credit card is a Discover card and they have various promotions each month that pay a % back. They pay back up to 1% on all purchases and then they have a promotion that might pay 5% on restaurant charges or like this month gas and tourist attractions. So for this month all my gas purchases will go on this card. Once you get $20 in rebates built up you can convert the money to gift cards up to double the amount depending on the reward you want. I usually exchange my $20 cash for a $25 gift card at Borders. I've gotten 3 $25 Borders gift cards in the last year from this card.

So just by buying the things I would buy anyways, but using the reward cards I've made $275 in the last year alone. So I guess he can call me stupid, but I've got $275 more than I would have following his advice.

walked with mom for 55 min

While my sister and BIL make a lot of money they are the type of people who will always spend more than they make, so my parents and I knew they would have very little, if any, money saved for my nieces college. I feel that college is a necessity for the majority of kids these days. So my parents and I started saving money for their colleges when they were very little.

I decided to save $10,000.00 each (I have 2) and made that goal a couple years ago. All of the money is currently in stock index funds. My oldest niece is 14 so there's only 4 more years till she goes to college so I put $5000.00 of her college money into I-Bonds today. Currently they are paying 4.8%.

The reasons I decided on I-Bonds are:

1. The money is only locked up for one year after that I can get to it whenever I want with a 3-month interest penalty if it's before 5 years. After 5 years there are no interest penalties.
2. The interest rate is competitive with CDs. Compare 1 year CD with 1 year bond
3. I don't have to pay taxes on the interest until I cash the bonds in
4. I never have to pay state taxes on the bonds
5. It's very secure I don't have to worry about the value suddenly tanking right when I need it for my nieces college costs.
6. If inflation rates goes up, my interest rates will go up also.
7. I used Treasury Direct and I didn't have to pay anything to buy the bonds.

Over the next few years I plan to gradually move all of their college money into I-bonds.