You may recall, my To-Do list is always overwhelming. So I decided to focus on just getting 5 Things off the list completed each day. Yesterday, I accomplished a lot:

-Sign up for Patient Portal with doctors office [DONE]
-print amz return docs [DONE]
-redo and reprint house To Do Before Sale List [DONE]
-balance checkbook [DONE]
-update OT plan [DONE]
-Bing Rewards [DONE]
-Mycoke rewards [DONE]
-Pampers rewards [DONE]
-finally add wedding band to insurance policy [DONE]
-take amazon return to UPS [DONE]
-take down Christmas tree [DONE]
-work 3 hours OT [DONE]
-cuddle with baby [DONE]

The painters came to paint the baby's room. I had bought an $89 Living Social. No extra out of pocket. I worked from home while the guy did the work. We bought/provided the paint and the color came out a little different than hoped, but it looks great!

While working, I ran several loads of laundry. The dog bedding increased my normal laundry & I finally washed the linens off the spare room bed since the painter was here. The cats have been practically molting on that bed!

So, in addition to the dog bedding, the spare room bedding and our bedding, I actually got to the main reason for the laundry - my clothes! I ran the dryer a few times, but hung a good portion of the clothes to air dry.

Other To-Dos Today:
-fold all laundry from dryer
-change bedroom sheets
-add purchased organizer to baby spending spreadsheet
-clean kitchen
-unload dishwasher
-wash aluminum water bottles
-refill water bottles
-repackage boxes for saving in basement
-mail wedding invitation response
-clean off kitchen table
-put new sheets on bed
-quick pick up upstairs bathroom
-clear personal email
-bing searches

I was sick today, so I worked from home (yay nice boss!)

I worked until 3:30, then ran down to the corner shopping center to meet a FB sale. Sold a portable chargeable cooler for $15. Going to pay towards the baby furniture.

Other than that, I had snacks at home - no real meals as I have not been up to it.

I am laying down in front of the tv and decided to rent Unbroken with a free gift card I had to Amazon. So I still consider this 'No Spend'.

Today's 5 things include:

-Working
-updating prices on a few Craigslist posts
-eating at home
-doing FB sale meet
-resting

Today, I got up and did a lot of things off the To-Do List I had an appointment for a couple to pick up the big buffet from my basement at 1. It is very bulky and I had to remove things from the path they would have to take to get it out of the house.

- Folded laundry from the dryer
- Listed new items on Craiglist and on FB Yardsales. Nothing has been selling the last week or so, but I had a few hits yesterday/today.
- Unload dishwasher
- Clean kitchen
- Refilled aluminum water bottles for grab & go use
- Clear front entry for furniture moving
- Cleared landing to basement for furniture moving
- Moved baby items to holding area in basement
- Cleared hallway between stairs and front door (moved winter jackets to coat closet)
- Moved wine rack & shoe rack out of the way. Will have to put back later.
- clean off basement stairs (cat hair tumbleweeds)
- Vacuumed part of basement - tracked cat litter and fur tumbleweeds.
- Move basement boxes (Husband did all the heavy lifting)
- Couple came to buy the buffet. $70 cash. They negotiated down from $85, but they did all the moving and we now have room in our basement. The cash goes towards the baby furniture purchases. I am very happy with the deal. I hope they keep coming!
- Check Inbox Dollars. Did another item to help with getting to $40 goal asap
- Unpacked box from Amazon that was littering up the living room. Broke down the box and put into recycling. Contents put away
- Walmart for small grocery items. Used $10 gift card from Recyclebank. $10 will be transferred from the grocery fund to the Gift fund. I use all 'free money' towards gifts/Christmas
- Unloaded and put away groceries (I have a bad habit of leaving them out for a while).
- Take down hanging laundr, fold and put away
- Prep outfits for workweek
- Set up appointment for another FB Sale for tomorrow (travel cooler from basement - $15)
- Ordered mail order medicines
- Called in refills for monthly medications.

Tonight, a group of friends and my husband & I are going to see Pitch Perfect 2. We may grab dinner after. Should be a fun night!

Yesterday was nice. I was feeling the baby an awful lot, so I was sore & uncomfortable for a good half of the day.

So to get my mind off of it, my husband suggested seeing Mad Max in 3D. $20.10 for 2 tickets, but it came straight out of entertainment money.

We went to lunch after at a local Brew Pub - $50 even with tip, but I brought leftovers home for part of dinner. Also fully paid for by the entertainment budget.

When we came home, we sat on the deck with the dog for a while, enjoying the weather (free). We had dinner at home (grill and leftovers) and watched some DVR (free again).

In between being lazy, I accomplished a lot:

- Cleared personal email
- Opened & clcked Mypoints Emails and Inbox Dollars emails
- Updated Google Calendar with medical and social appointments (share with husband)
- Did 5 loads of laundry. Clothes, bedding, dog bedding and living room blankets. Hung dry most of clothes, put bedding and blankets in the dryer.
- Cleaned kitchen
- Ran Dishwasher
- Updated checkbook with day's spending
- updated Craigslist items
- Added new Craigslist items (4 more)
- Checked Inbox Dollars - have over $30 in bank. Made request for payment and utilized offer of - get to $40 in 30 days and they skip the payment fee of $3
- Did more free offers with Inbox Dollars (new balance: $34.69. Pending approx. $7.20 in other offers. Will have to wait until 5/31 to confirm the posted.
- Live Chat with Inbox over missing $2.50 offer for opening a Target Redcard. It was since applied.
- Opened mail/filed and threw away junk

I also have someone coming today for one of my Craigslist items. A beautiful buffet that I inherited from my Great-Aunt. Its just not my style and really is cluttering up the basement. I significantly lowered the price last week and have someone picking it up today. They will carry from basement & remove and pay me $85. Worth it to me!

Last Credit Card Payoff is going well.

Once I paid off the card in front of it in my snowball, I put $1252.08 to the card in March, $2131.37 to it in April and $909.84 so far in May.

Tomorrow is pay day and I am putting $726 towards it (already included in the May #).

I am also putting $313.04 towards the new glider/ottoman.

Yesterday, I took the dog to the vet. Turns out he has an ear infection, which required tests plus meds and he got some vaccinations. $313 out of pocket.

Minor setbacks, but we are still going strong!

Today's 5 Things:
Call Dr [DONE]
Redo budget with new pay [DONE]
Update Payoff plan[DONE]
Set up card payments [DONE]
Sit on the deck with the dog and enjoy the weather [DONE]
Make dinner at home [DONE]
Bed early (will do)

Sunday -
-Visited Mother-in-Law in the morning (husband bought a beautiful necklace for his mom)
-Followed by my parents to visit for Mother's Day ($25 gift card plus $0.50 card)
-It was also our First Anniversary, so my parents gave us an anniversary card and $40 towards our anniversary dinner
-My sister gave me some hand me down clothes for the baby (Freebies!)
-Husband gave me a Mother's Day gift of a gift card to get a mani/pedi
-Husband gave me an Anniversary Gift of an Alex & Ani bracelet which the initial of our last name on it.
-Came home & husband did yard work, I sorted and listed all of the new baby things
-Went to dinner on the Chesapeake Bay, at an upscale restaurant for our Anniversary Dinner. They had a buffet for Mother's day, which was really good. We had a free $50 off $75 Restaurant.com due to a promotion from the business that we rented our wedding tuxes in. The bill came to $87.xx, so
we used the $50 restaurant.com, the $40 my parents gave us and we put in another $20 for tip. Our waitress was phenomenal and we truly had the best
time. The restaurant is right on the water, there was a lot of boats going in & out and the sunset on the water was romantic.
-To end the evening, we had our Anniversary cake, made new by the baker who did our Wedding cake. It was a complimentary service and the cake was
beautiful.

Tuesday - I was ill. I called out of work and slept all day and into the night. Nothing was accomplished, but I feel SO much better today!

Today - Wednesday's 5 Things:

-Worked
-Bing Rewards
-Took dog to vet
-stopped by parents to show dog off to nephew
-mailed painting contract

I haven't posted, but have been keeping track of my '5 Things' being done.

Wednesday
-worked 7a to 3:30p
-picked up minivan from my parents
-used van to pick up crib from store & transport home
-returned van to my parents
-grocery shopped
-confirmed doctors appointment
-made tacos at home

Thursday
-worked
-doctors appointment (baby is doing well!)
-balanced checkbook
-received reusable grocery bag (prize for winning some trivia)
-Cancel car appointment (recall)
-Pay AAA membership
-Purge basement paperwork
-scan interesting paperwork
-prep papers to bring to work to be shredded
-tossed broken bin for paperwork
-updated prices of furniture online
-dinner out with hubby ($37 out of entertainment spending)

Friday
-worked
-brought old paperwork into office and placed in secure shredding bin (perk of working in a financial department)
-update appointments calendar
-email friends
-call in glucose #s for gestational diabetes
-update baby registry
-order toilet paper from Amazon (good deal!)
-reschedule 1 doctors appointment
-cancel another doctors appointment
-obtained new salary & created good estimate of take home pay
-used that new figure to update paycheck budget
-create guestlist for 'if I were to have a shower'
-update Blog
-went to movies with friend (she had free tickets & I bought snacks $17).

I was forgetting to update my 5 Things from the last few days, but I have been tracking!

Wednesday - I worked 7a to 3:30pm. We made tacos for dinner (although I had to spend a little at the grocery store for some supplies). We also borrowed my parents' mini-van after work to pick up the crib that we had purchased. That was a big help!

-Bing Searches
-set up schedule for van
-confirm Thursday doctors appointment
-clear personal email
-borrow van
-pick up groceries
-pick up crib
-drop crib off at the house
-give the van back
-made dinner at home

Thursday 5/7 5 Things:
-Balance checkbook
-received free reusable grocery bag for a trivia contest
-cancel Hyundai appointment
-Pay AAA Membership
-Purge paperwork from basement (really old - it was fun to go through)
-go to doctors appointment (baby is doing well!)
-Had dinner out with the Hubs

Friday 5/8 5 Things:
-Took paperwork into the office to put in the secure shredding bin (perk of working with finance)
-Update appointments calendar (send copy to the husband
-Email friends
-Call in Glucose #s for gestational diabetes
-order toilet paper off Amazon (good deal)
-reschedule one of my June doctors appointments
-Cancelled appointment with primary doctor since being seen by OB
-Found out pay raise from promotion, which led to redoing my budget with a very good estimate of what my new take-home will be!
-put together a list/addresses of friends I would want to come to my baby shower (if I were to have one which I'm not supposed to know I probably will)
-updated baby registry
-Blog
-meet friend for movies after work (she had free tickets and I bought the snacks $17).
-bought gift card for Mother's Day gift

After a long period of inactivity due to heavy social schedule, plus lack of energy that I have been attributing to the thyroid, I FINALLY have energy to get things done.

Sunday, my family, my boyfriend & I took both my nephew and the bf's nephew to the PA Renn Faire. I spent quite a bit, but it was so worth it. We really had a great time!

Monday, I stayed home & started in on getting things done. This mostly consisted of napping then organizing the kitchen/pantry now that my Roommate moved out. The boyfriend is moving in Dec 1st,but in the mean time, I can clean, organize & enjoy having the house to myself!

In the last week, based on some promos I found - I earned 18 Redbox credits. I used 2 over the weekend.

I am pickingup some ideas on Pinterest. Tonight,I painted my keys with nail polish to make it easier to tell them apart. I have a house key, a screen door key, key to my parents, key to my work desk, key to the mailbox and a few misc ones.

Here's a quick of the final paint job! As you can see, I love different colors



Between yesterday & today, I worked full days then:
-Cancelled lawn guy (now that the broken foot is officially healed)
-signed up for 2013 Medical from work
-Called in a prescription refill
-returned books to the library
-picked up a window sealing kit at the dollar store & 1 organizational tote for the kitchen
-relisted several items on craigslist
-Cleaned out fridge(had to - there was a big cherry limeade spill) and then cleaned the kitchen, wiped down cabinets, counters, ect and washed the kitchen floor. Also polished the kitchen table
-Cancelled subscribe & save deal that I got on Amazon
for toilet paper
-ordered a book on amazon for my mom in that same deal (she'll be paying me back)
-requested 2 $5 Amazon gift cards from swagbucks
-requested reimbursement from insurance for prescriptions paid out of pocket
-picked up prescription
-made appointment with guy of Craigslist to sell my old mower (now I use the reel mower)
-Put several items to sell on my county's Classifieds group on facebook
-obtained 40 MyCokeRewards from a friend off the Classifieds (I use these rewards for soda coupons). The boyfriend and a friend collect them for me. I am always looking for more codes though!
- started wrapping my coaster gifts for christmas
-updated new points into my coke awards
-Waiting for $10 earnings to hit my InboxDollars account so I can request my $40 payout. I earned it by ordering 3 bottles of wine for total of $15.01. These will be used for holiday partys and were already on my to-buy list
-working on swagbucks - want to get to another 450 points
-finish laundry
-fold laundry
-put out Halloween decorations
-watched Netflix movie
-made dinner at home

Tomorrow, I am doing a (cheap) dinner and a (free) movie with a friend. So my to-do list is much smaller:

1. 10/15 budget
2. 10/31 budget
3. 11/15 budget
4. budget after BF moves in (paying 1/2)
5. Have fun with friend!

I have a day off this Friday. My first full day off in weeks and my last one until the New Year. So I really want to take advantage of it. I plan to have a do-nothing day. But to do that without feeling guilty, I have to get a lot of things checked off my To-Do List!

Between now & Thursday night, I would like to accomplish the following.

1. Clear Personal emails [DONE]
2. Complete HOA tasks (emails, ect)
3. Daily - do MyPoints, Swagbucks, Cashcrate, ect [Mon DONE]
4. DEEP Clean upstairs bathroom [DONE]
5. Clean bedroom
6. Dust bedroom & vacuum
7. Change sheets [DONE]
8. Do laundry [DONE]
8. Put away laundry
10. Clean bedroom closet
11. Dust/Vacuum upstairs hallway
12. Finish updating Dad's resume
13. Start polishing up my resume
14. Return library books/dvds and pick up new ones
15. Organize downstairs hall closet
16. Pack food for work each day [Mon DONE]
17. Deep Clean kitchen [DONE]
18. Keep kitchen clean the rest of the week
19. Polish kitchen table & chairs
20. Clean out wardrobe (piece of furniture)
21. Organize toiletries
22. Organize jewelry
23. Clean out car
24. Budget for 12/15 and 12/30
25. Follow up on credit card incentives
26. Decorate for Christmas
27. Start wrapping Christmas gifts
28. 2012 debt payoff plan
29. 2012 monthly budget
30. Make Masterlist of financials to put in safety deposit box
31. Pick up basement
32. CLean up kitty area
33. Vacuum basement floor
34. Try on dress to be used for New Years Eve and plan jewelry.

I am very aware that not all of these will likely be completed, but if MOST Are - I will be happy to relax all day Friday

I have been working to earn credit card bonuses, rewards points & points through rewards sites. Any funds earned will go straight to my fund for my sister's upcoming wedding. If any of the rewards (MyPOints) come in gift card form, I will get cards that I can use for necessary items such as groceries and gas and those funds (from the budget) would go to the wedding fund (And debt payoff once that wedding goal is met).

So to help me with this goal, I opened a Bank of America Amex.
-Earned a $50 statement credit for $100 in spending (used for cell phone bill & normal gas spending. [Net $50]
-Earned a $25 credit for spending $26 at a local wine store for Small Business Saturday. Wine will be for Christmas gifts. [$1.00 out of pocket for 2 bottles!]
-Earned a $25 credit for a Target Purchase. I am not heading to Target (at the mall) at this time of year, but I was able to purchase a (needed) mascara online for $5.73 (including shipping) [19.27 Net]
- ALl usage is budgeted & will be paid off within the next 2 weeks

I opened a Citi Dividends card. $200 in rewards for $500 usage.
- I put the remainder of my car insurance on this (and will pay it off from savings) $480
- $29.07 gas (normal budgeted spending)
- *there is another offer I signed up for where if you spend $200 after signing up a Mastercard, by 12/31/11, you can get a $20 Mastercard gift card, but I am not making this a priority to meet

I opened a Citi Preferred card for $100 for $500 spent.
-$206.23 normal spending on card (budgeted & will be paid for in 2 weeks)
-Still need $293.77 but this will be completed by planned spending
-Also signed this one up for the Mastercard deal. I just need to meet that $200 goal by 12/31 (Which I will do since I need to get another $293.77
- At the end, I will get $100 rewards AND a $20 Mastercard gift card

I have been working my MyPoints. Reading every email sent for 5 points per viewing. I also utilized some of their deals.
- Started with 896 balance on 11/25
- Did a survey for 10 points
- Completed 76 searches using the MyPoints toolbar in Nov (earned 90 points)
- Signed up for OpenSky.com through MyPoints (earned 50 points PLUS a $15 credit on the acct for signing up)
- Used $15 credit & free shipping to purchase a soup/salad container for work lunches. $7.00 out of pocket (paid out of entertainment spending). Earned 3,500 in MyPoints for first purchase. (3700 mypoints approx = $25 gift card)
- Opened an ING Sharebuilder acct (Something I wanted to do anyway) By using the MyPoints link, I earned 200 points for opening the acct & will earn 2,000 points with the first transfer. I will be doign that tonight.
- I purchased a magazine subscription for my dad for CHristmas (Planned purchase). I bought 2 years because if the purchase was over $15, I would earn 1,000 My points.
- After all of these earnings hit, I will have 7,746 in points - approx $50 in gift cards!!

I also am working to utilize Swagbucks more. I am a new member, but have about 123 in points between searches, toolbards, daily polls and more searches. I will be keeping this up!

In other news, all my CHristmas shopping is done - except 1 gift for my boyfriend and the Christmas tree itself. So woot!

The BF's bday is this week and we are going out in town tomorrow night with friends for his bday. I will be driving about 45 mins each way for the group (Designated Driver) and using up gas (Budgeted for) plus paying for parking $20 and part of his meal (approx $40 out altogether). Wednesday, we are going out with his sister & different friends (hoping to keep the bill around $30). Thursday is dinner with his family - he chose Olive Garden. Which is great, since I have that free $50 gift card. I can cover both our meals PLUS some of the family's.

As for the Lunch Challenge, I packed all of my food for today. Breakfast, lunch & snacks. Lunch is actually pasta salad leftover from the boyfriend's THanksgiving. He even packed it up for me! LOL

Additionally - I should add that I UNFRUGALLY lost my cell phone in October. I frugally borrowed my friends old one for 2 months until my contract is up for renewal 12/28. And on Friday, there was a groupon for $25 (I had a $10 credit, so it was $15 out of pocket). For that Groupon, PLUS $35 activation, I can get a Droid X or X2 once my contract is up in December. Compared to what my friend just paid for upping her contract & getting a Droid, I am definitely making out on the deal!

Today's 5 Things: are actually more than 5
-Complete Sharebuilder trade
-update budget for 11/30
-MyPoints & Swagbucks sites
-WD40 Front Door
-Make dinner at home, lunch for Tues/Wed
-CLean kitchen, wipe counters & vacuum floor
-Pickup Living Room
-Gather library movies to return
-Finish laundry & put away
-Clean bedroom
-Unclog bathtub drain
-Unclog upstairs bath sink drain
-Wipe bathroom counters, tub & toilet, vacuum floor
-Play on the internet
-Pack night clothes for BF's bday, work clothes for Wednesday
-Portion medicines to keep at work & at boyfriends (Have to take thyroid meds & vitamins &Missing them REALLY screws me up)

I took stock ofmy coupons, gift cards & groupons today so that I can utilize them all before expirations. I actually have quite a bit.

-Exp 9/9 - 40% off 1 item at Old NAvy(will be using for a new pair of jeans)
-Exp 9/8 AMC Theater - 50% large drink & popcorn combo (probably will go unused?)
-Exp 9/10 - 40% off 1 item at Joanne Fabrics, another 40% off 1 item at Joanne, 40% off 1 item at Michaels, 40% off 1 item at AC Moore. Will be using for some Christmas projects
-Exp 9/12 - FRee hiphuggers from Victoria's Secret
-Exp 9/27 - Coupon $15 off $25 at JB Dawson's
-Exp 9/29 - Free appetizer or desert at TGI Fridays (No purch necessary)
-Exp 9/30 - Free panty from Victoria's Secret
-Exp 9/30 - $5 off $25, Buy 1 Get 2nd 1/2 off Dinner Entree or $4 off 2 Lunch Entrees at Timothy's Restaurant
-Exp 10/10 - 15% off total TGI Friday order (waiting to see if go there for anything)
-Exp 10/21 - $10.00 off at Victoria's secret
-Exp 10/31 - $1.25 off Jollytime Popcorn
-Exp 11/11 - Wine Tasting for 2 plus wine gift (appt made for 9/11th)
-Exp 11/27 - $20.00 to local restaurant (Groupon OOP- Out of Pocket- was $10)
-Exp 11/30 - 50 cents off Progresso soup
-Exp 9/12/2012 - 10 Kickboxing Classes plus 1 personal training session, plus boxing gloves(Groupon OOP was $40)
-NO Expiration - $25 off $35 to Pats Pizza (Restaurant.com OOP $2)
-NO Expiration - $25 off $35 to Pats PIzza (Restaurant.com OOP$2)
-NO Expiration - $25 off $50 to Mona Lisa Restaurant
(Restaurant.com OOP$2)
-NO Expiration - $25 off 2 Entrees to Public House Bar
(Restaurant.com OOP$2)
-Free Trial 1 week Gym membership
-NO Expiration - $100 in Fandango cash (purchased for $80)

Today, I have to grab cat food from the vet (They have prescription food), and hit the grocery store. I have a potential roommate stopping by tomorrow - so tonight will be dedicated to cleaning.

A lot of the stores are together either inside or outside the mall, so tomorrow night (Wed) after the potential roommate comes to look at the house, I plan on heading back out
-Joanne for Christmas item(s) - decorative boxes & cardstock
-Return shoes to DSW
-Victoria's Secret for free items & to spend the $10
-Michaels to use coupon for Christmas item(s)

Then Friday, when my coupon starts to Old Navy, I will make a return & use the 40% off coupon to buy jeans.

As for the groupons - The wine tasting will be used Sunday the 11th, kickboxing will be set up for after I come back from Germany. Free gym trial will be used at the same time. And the restaurant groupons will be used as wanted since there is no time crunch. ***I Also want to note that I only purchased at places I know I like or want to try - nothing was bought just cause it 'was a deal'. LOL

And I am working to get back to my To-Do List. Today's 5 things off that list are:

1. Pick up cat food & grocery shop
2. Make dinner/premake food for tomorrow
3. Finish laundry
4. HOA chores
5. Clean house - vac/dust living room, change cat litter, clean upstairs bathroom, clean bedroom

So I was on vacation all last week, plus the prior Friday. My big vacation trip is next month (Oktoberfest in Germany!) So this vacation was very low key.

Friday the 5th, I had lunch with my parents (free) & my nephew, mowed their lawn & vegged at home that night. WAtched a few movies off Netflix/from the library

Saturday the 6th - I went to a winery for an event. $10 to get in, $8.00 for a specialty drink & $15 to purchase a bottle of wine. I packed food and my friends & I shared a picnic, enjoyed the band & scenery.

SUnday the 7th - BBQ at the boyfriend's and then watched True Blood with friends.

Monday the 8th - Lunch with my college roommate and her daughter (free - Since her daughter's 3, I went to their house for sandwiches. I brought cookies leftover from the winery picnic). In the afternoon, I went canoing with my nephew (age 10). It was a very uncoordinated, but FUN effort ($3 to get into the park, $8 for the rental.) I Stayed in that night & did some cleaning.

Tuesday the 9th - Went for a 2 hour hike & picnic with 3 friends & a dog It was beautiful weather. THat evening, I met another friend for 2 for 1 tickets at the movies ($6.00 total for both tickets) and then half price burgers at a local restaurant ($5-ish)

Wednesday the 10th - Saw the Help with friends. Read the book, loved the movie ($8)! We went out to lunch after ($15). THat evening, my boyfriend came over & we watched a movie from the library.

Thursday the 11th - Ran errands, packed & left for the beach. My boyfriend's roommate had invited 8 of us down to his parent's beach house. BF & roommate had to work Friday, but it was from home, so they could do that at the beach. I spent about $35 on alcohol to contribute to the parties. The host's mom had been at the beach house earlier in the day & had left us chicken & beef stew for diner, so no cooking!)

Friday the 12th - while the boys worked, the rest of us had a light breakfast, then played tennis at the community's court (Free). We then went to the pool (free), ordered lunch ($8 for a sub) and hung around. THat evening, we made tacos & played board games (I had brought 2). We made some drinks, played some music, danced around and just had tons of fun. We had several cameras & videos going

SAturday the 13th - We made a big breakfast, slept in. After breakfast people split up - some went to the beach, some the tennis courts, I stayed and had a much needed nap! Haha. Afterwards, I went to the pool & read for a while. That night, we got dolled up & went to the resort town at the beach. Cabbed it in & back, but had a blast!

Sunday, we had a leisurely breakfast, then all headed home except for the boyfriend & I. We were meeting one of his friends for lunch about a half hour away. We had a drink at the bar while waiting, then we got a call that the friend & her husband were stuck in traffic. So we ended up having lunch & leaving. It was nice ($40)

That night, we went back to the boyfriends for our weekly True Blood Dinner. We were all too tired to cook, so we ordered in. BF paid for dinner as I picked up the lunch tab

Today, I am back to work with a HUMUNGOUS to-do list. Instead of 5 THings, I need to get about 15 done. And I am going to make it work! haha.

1. HOA chores (Est 1/2 hour of time needed)
2. Rent free movie from redbox promo [DONE]
3. Email about mypoints to friend, email friend of a friend about possibly renting the spare room when this roommate moves out at the end of next month [DONE and DONE]
4. Budget (today was payday)
5. Grocery shop [DONE]
6. Make meal plan [DONE]
7. Find passport in paperwork
8. Laundry-wash bathroom rugs [DONE]
9. Clean bedroom
10. Clean, polish furniture in basement. take pictures for sale
11. Xmas plan (Update budget)
12. Pack gym bag & library bag
13. Make lunch for tomorrow and prep for other lunches [DONE]
14. Change cat litter
15. Watch Redbox movie [DONE]
16. Grab coupons & magazines from Mom's house [DONE]
17. Post mail
18. MyPoints - get points, refer friends [DONE]
19. Clear Home Email [DONE]
20. Research breadmaker
21. Sort stuff for GoodWill [DONE]
22. Take inventory of stuff roommate left behind
23.
Lastly: Get to bed early (Ha!)

Good Morning All! Sorry - this will be long & rambling.

I went to the grocery store yesterday & then to Walmart to pick up groceries (WM is right by my house, so going to 2 places is not bad).

At the Acme, I stocked up for entertaining/my caffeine addiction by buying their Coke 12 packs 3 for $12.00. They had a coupon in the flyer for a 8 pack of 7.5 oz Coke free with the purchase. Additionally, I signed up for emails from ACme yesterday while at work & was able to print out a $5.00 off coupon. Because of this, I was able to get 3 - 12 packs of soda, plus 8 7.5oz cans for a total of $7.00 (this breaks down to $0.16/can).

After food shopping last night, I prepped snack bags of almonds, pretzels and animal crackers to put in my snack drawer at work. I packed both breakfast & lunch for work.

I recently replaced my lunch bag with a $5.00 no frills one from Dollar Deals (formerly Dollar Tree). Its actually pretty nice. My goal with packing is that between today & the end of the month, I pack breakfast/lunch all but one day (tomorrow we have a work lunch out).

Last night's date night was pushed to tonight, so last night I was able to get a lot done at home, including replying to any potential roommates. My current one is gone at the end of the month, so I really need to find someone soon!

Today's 5 Things Will be as follows:
1. Pay Bills
2. Update Craigslist Ad
3. Pack breakfast/lunch for work
4. Clean out purse
5. Have fun on date night!

Hey all,
I am back again & I have missed you guys. My health is holding steady at good (Yay) but my spending was a bit out of control. I am working on creating a new budget with a strict focus on paying down debt.

Additionally, I am dating someone seriously and I find that I am spending so much more because of it. He is a gentleman and tries to pay most of the time, but I like to do my fair share. I need to start saying no to some things, lol.

And - here's the BIG money mistake - I agreed to do a trip to Germany for Oktoberfest. I was able to get an awesome deal on airfare & lodging. I am working to save funds for the rest of the costs. I only have about 2 months to do that - so part of my plan is to sell some of the furniture that is currently taking space in my basement. I inherited a full dining room set from my aunt & I will never use it, its just not my style. So I am working on cleaning it up, polishing & then selling.

I have lots of goals right now - but I am going to stick to my 5 Things lists. This is where I tackle a minimum of 5 things off my To Do list.

Today will be:
1. Grocery shop
2. Pack food for work tomorrow
3. Put up Craiglist ad for new roommate & email photos to a potential one found already
4. Clean bedroom
5. Have fun on date night with the boyfriend. Movies & Dinner out

Hello everyone, I am so sorry I've been MIA. A lot has happened in the last few months. Some good, some bad. Most recently:

My health has gotten better (YAY)
My finances have gotten worse (BOO)
I am now seeing someone (YAY)
Work is getting stressful because of pettiness (BOO)
I bought a roku box - so now I can stream netflix - which was really important when I was practically stuck in bed every day. (yay)
Netflix has a monthly fee (boo)
I just had a birthday (the big 32) and a party (YAY)
I am overall happy (YAY)

I plan on taking stock of my finances - but I know that my debt has increased instead of decreasing. Partially due to medical expenses, partly due to not dealing with things while sick and partly due to laziness. So I am getting back on track!

I hope everyone is doing well - I see some new names around here & am glad to be back on board with frugality and to be working to payoff debt. I am mad at myself for letting it increase, but I will not dwell on it. I just plan to move forward.

I also have a HUGE list of to-dos. So I am going to be reinstating my 5 Things rule. I will knock 5 things off my list a day, no matter how big or small

Today's 5 Things:
1. Post on Saving Advice (done)
2. Pay bills (done)
3. Pick up stuff from library (done)
4. Make dinner at home (done)
5. Meet with HOA secretary & sign some checks (DONE)

Wish it were Sunday
Cause that's my fun day!

And now I have that song in my head

Well on a health note, I got another problem dropped on me. Looks like I will need a small outpatient surgery. Still working to schedule, but I hope to only be out a day & then just recover over the weekend.

In frugal news, I stayed home most of the weekend. Saturday, I bought veggies & fruit only. And yesterday was a no spender. My mom paid for a movie ticket for me in return for letting her borrow my car Saturday. I wasn't going anywhere so I was happy to lend it.

Today will probably not be a no spender. I owe $1.00 in fines at the library & I want to pick up some root beer at the grocery store. Its my splurge now that I have given up caffeinated soda. I don't miss the caffeine anymore, but I DO miss the carbonation!

Tomorrow is payday & I have a budget already prepared. I have had to do a lot of planning lately with my illness. I don't have a name for it YET, but the doctors have agreed, it isn't going anywhere any time soon, so I am treating it like one of the invisible chronic diseases and am looking to research & books on how to help handle daily living. (Thanks libraries for having such a great collection!)

Lunch challenge is going well - packed all today.

And today's 5 THings to do are as follows:

1. Library
2. Grocery store
3. Schedule MRI, get referral for MRI & schedule outpatient surgery for 2nd health issue (DONE)
4. Make food for work for Tues & Wednesday
5. Clean bedroom, change sheets
6. Straighten hair before bed to save time in the morning

I had an appointment with a rheumatologist today. I was hoping that she could finally give me a definitive answer as to what is wrong with me. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to do that. But she was able to tell me definitively some of the things it's not. She also is sending me for a huge blood workup and an MRI of my neck & head. She also wants me to see a neurologist. So at least I have my next step.

Not to get into much detail, but I am having enough medical issues to affect my day to day living. Which is frustrating, especially since I don't know the cause. In the mean time, I am dealing with the day to day symptoms of my 'mystery disease' and am focusing on the things that I CAN control right now. Which is healthy eating, finances, exercise & organization

I have packed my breakfasts, lunches & snacks all days of the Month but 2 times. So no more buying lunches! I was also provided free lunch twice! So the lunch challenge is going strong!

I have yet to get back into exercise, but I have been doing stretching a few days a week. I am hoping to feel well enough to go to the gym and put in 20 minutes on a treadmill or bike. I plan to start back slow!

Money-wise, there hasn't been a lot of spending. mostly grocery shopping and dinner out with a friend one day. Tuesday is payday, so I have the budget already set up for that.

I already made a meal plan for the week, all of which is Weight Watchers friendly.

Each day, its a given that I will have at least 2 servings of dairy - milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese. I try to get 5 servings of fruits & veggies in a day (sometimes more!). I stick to whole grains when possible.

So here is my Meal Plan:

Saturday
Breakfast: Chocolate milk, banana
Lunch: Pasta salad with tons of veggies & turkey pepperoni
Snack: veggies & dip; pretzels; asian pear
Dinner: Turkey BLT
Snack: Chocolate milk

Sunday
Breakfast: 2 Hard boiled eggs, chocolate milk
Snack: Veggies & hummus
Lunch: Salad with tuna
Snacks: apple, banana
Dinner: Breakfast for dinner- whole grain waffles, sugar free syrup, promise light, turkey bacon & breakfast potatoes

Monday
Breakfast: cottage cheese, blueberry muffin, banana
Snack: veggies & dip
Lunch: Pasta salad with turkey pepperoni
Snack: yogurt
Dinner: Loaded baked potato with cheese, bacon bits & ground turkey

Tuesday
Breakfast: yogurt, 2 hard boiled eggs
Snack: banana, veggies & hummus
Lunch: Salad with tuna
Snack: apple
Dinner: Penne pasta with spinach cheesy tomato sauce


Wednesday
Breakfast: yogurt & cottage cheese
Snack: veggies & dip, animal crackers
Lunch: Salad with turkey pepperoni
Snack: banana and/or apple
Dinner: Meatloaf muffin, baked fries

Thursday
Breakfast: cottage cheese, blueberry muffin & chocolate milk
Snack: 2 hard boiled eggs, veggies & hummus
Lunch: salad, meatloaf muffin
Snack: banana and/or apple
Dinner: Chicken taco wrap

Friday
Breakfast: yogurt, banana
Snack: veggies & dip; pretzels
Lunch: Salad with bacon & pasta
Snack: apple
Dinner: Turkey BLT

I have plenty of grab & go snacks as needed - almonds, animal crackers, all bran crackers, granola bars. I am trying to keep processed foods to a minimum, so they will be used sparingly and fruits & veggies will be my go to snack!

And as someone who is dealing with a daily illness, I have found that I need to prepare as much on the weekend because I am too tired during the week to do much. So many of my meals are easy to pre-make or are quick to make in the evening!

I am trying to get back to my 5 Things List. Tomorrow's 5 Things will be.

1. Attend Weight Watchers meeting
2. Attempt some type of work out
3. Grocery shop
4. Clean out car
5. Laundry

And it's definitely me! Lots of people in the office are off today, but I didn't take the day. I'm keeping the floating holiday for another day later on.

Yesterday was a no spender. I was supposed to get together with a friend, but I cancelled due to not feeling well. I stayed on the couch & watched tv and played with the internet.

Today, I packed my breakfast, lunch & snack. I am planning on hitting the library & the dollar store after work, so it won't be a no spender today.

The new roommate ended up not moving in yesterday due to having to attend a funeral. So he will be coming tonight after work. I should have a month & half rent in my hand by tomorrow night. (The 1/2 is a safety deposit).

Today's 5 THings To Do:
1. Call water company & set up appt to replace unit
2. Make & Print rental agreement
3. Library
4. Dollar store
5. Make dinner at home & pack lunch for work tomorrow

I had a 3 hour meeting that provided pizza for lunch, so no spending there!

I forgot the pizza, so I brought lunch today. Its sitting in my fridge at work, so now I don't have to worry about packing lunch for tomorrow!

My roommate stepped up her moving out date on impulse & there's a good chance that she & all her stuff will be moved out by the time that I get home from work. If she leaves today, she would only owe me 3 days of prorated rent ($45). I hope, but am not 100% confident that she will leave me the money, but if she doesn't, I"m not out too much. If she does not move tonight, she will be moving tomorrow for certain.

The new guy is ready to move in Sunday, and earlier if possible. So the second that I get her moved out, I will give him the ok to move in. He starts his new job Monday, so if he could get into the room on the weekend, it would really work out for him.

Budget-wise, I am finally getting together a 2011 finalized budget. I was waiting to get the net pay to make my zero-based budget. I will be doing that tonight!

Entertainment-wise, I've been eating out a bit. Blew my entertainment budget, but its all good. I am staying in most of the weekend - getting the house organized through the transition between the 2 roommates. I have borrowed several movies from the library including House (Movie, not tv show), Vampires Suck and Grownups.

Lastly, I had a nice surprise at a doctors appt on Monday. I was ready to shell out a $30 copay for the specialist, but it turned out that I had a credit on the account and owed nothing. Yay!

Today's 5 Things:

1. Call water company & set up appt to get new meter installed
2. If roommate has moved out, clean out shared spaces & her bedroom
3. Finalize 2011 monthly budget and Jan 15th budget
4. Unload dishwasher (Which has been sitting with clean dishes for a week)
5. Start reading a new book

Yesterday was a no spender as well. I had planned on going to my book club & buying a drink while I was out, but I wasn't feeling good, so I cancelled.

I stayed home & watched cable movies & cleaned the living room. The bonus for having to clean the house prior to the potential roommate coming this afternoon is that all my weekend cleaning is already DONE! LOL

Today, I woke up to snow! I knew we might get some, but I wasn't expecting a couple of inches to already be down when I woke up. Because I was unprepared for the snow, I spent the time I would have spent putting my lunch together, shovelling snow. So I brought lunch, but bought breakfast when I got to work $2.05. Not too bad, but its so early in the month to have used my 2 Lunch Challange freebie days.

After work today, I am running to the library (have to pick up stuff & pay fines). I am showing the house to the potential roommate at 4:30 today then I have a completely free weekend!

Tonight, I am staying in with library movies.
Tomorrow, afternoon & evening, I have my nephew coming over
SUnday will be a laundry day. I might see if my mom wants to go to the new JB Dawsons for lunch. I have a $15 off $25 coupon there.

Today's 5 Things to do are:

1. Go to library
2. Set up Craigslist meets to sell dvds
3. Show house to potential roommate
4. Organize stuff for HOA meeting Monday
5. Take down all Christmas ornaments & prep tree to be taken to be recycled tomorrow

No breakfast/lunch bought: 5 of 7 days.
No spenders: 2 out of 7 days

I have done pretty well with the lunch challange this week. If you don't remember, my goal is to pack my breakfast, lunch, snacks for work 19 of the 21 workdays in January. Today is day 4 and I have packed 3 of 4 days. I'm happy with that

Today's 5 Things are pretty simple.

1. No splurging on snacks at work
2. Clean, dust & vac living room
3. Clear out facebook per friend request (She's divorcing and he's stalking, so I am going to take down any pictures of the 2 of them together)
4. Pack food for tomorrow
5. Go to book club (FUN!)

1. Put up Craigslist ads for items to sell. Repeat after the 15th.

2. Put up roommate ad on Craigslist. Also put a status on Facebook & spread word through friends & family. Goal is to have new roommate move in by February 1st.

3. Pack lunch 19 of the 21 days (January Lunch Challenge)

4. Stay within strict budget for January

5. Start making calls about selling Aunt's dining room furniture that is in the basement. Sell if possible

6. Pull credit bureau & check for information

7. Update resume

8. Keep up with Daily 5 Things (5 things off my never-ending To-Do list)



And in keeping with my goals, today's 5 Things were:

1. Pick up groceries (DONE)
2. Pre-pack foods for work Monday (DONE)
3. Work on Homeowners Association items (DONE)
4. Clean bedroom (DONE)
5. Plan out clothes for week. This is to help with the looking more professional at work goal (DONE)

I had a great weekend and Monday is going well for me. I am working to stay within budget for the rest of the month. ALthough the sidebar is not updated, I have finished all Christmas shopping, except for a gift card for 1 friend and an Itunes Gift Certificate for the nephew.

I am finishing my Christmas card today, nothing like waiting until the last minute!

I packed breakfast, lunch & snacks for work today. I'm hoping it will be a no spender, like yesterday.

I also wanted to mention that I finally downgraded my gym membership from $20/month to $10/month. Nice savings there!

Today's 5 Things (to do):

1. Finish & mail Christmas cards
2. Make dinner at home, pack food for tomorrow
3. Make meal plan/grocery list for the 15th through the 31st
4. Finalize budget for 15th through the 31st
5. Start wrapping gifts

I should also add that I will be (Hopefully!) finishing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I really like the book. A friend let me borrow her copy.

Today is payday. I have already paid all of my normal bills online. I have withdrawn cash for Medical (60), Groceries (60), pets (55) & Entertainment spending (40). Pet food is high because I buy the REALLY REALLY large bag from the vet (one of the cats has crystals). The bag will last about 6 weeks & then I still need to buy litter & litter plan bags.

Today's spending: $0.55 soft pretzel. This will be my last one because I start my December lunch challange starting tomorrow!

Yesterday's 5 Things did not go as planned. Instead of what I listed, I did the following:

1. Put air in tires (Free)
2. Sort through all paperwork
3. Finalize December budget
4. Put together loose meal plan
5. Go to bed early! lol

Todays 5 Things:

1. Get free oil change (Coworker went with me to drop the car off & another coworker will drop me off at the end of the day to pick it up)
2. Pay Bills, organize cash for cash budget (DONE)
3. Finalize grocery list/meal plan since some things changed with my schedule
4. Prepack food for tomorrow
5. Organize library books to be returned

I am not doing shopping, as I am almost done my Christmas shopping. I have to update the sidebar, though.

Today, I spent $0.55 on a soft pretzel & $30 on a specialist copay. I am feeling better (Although not perfect) and I want to get back to my normal stuff as much as possible.

So, today, I am starting back on my 5 Things list. This is the 5 things off my to-do that I plan to tackle today. I can never seem to do EVERYTHING off the list, but if I can accomplish 5 a day, its definitely worth it.

So today's 5 Things are:

1. Finalize December budget
2. Make meal plan & grocery plan for the next pay period
3. Do emails for HOA
4. Laundry
5. Clean bedroom (including vacuuming)

I also have set some goals for December:

1. Complete Cash only Christmas
2. Pack lunch all days but 1 (my personal December Lunch Challange)
3. Stick to budget 100%
4. Continue to put up stuff to sell on Craiglist
5. Look for new roommate
6. Keep heat low & sweaters on

I'm working a personal Lunch Challange for September. My goal was to pack my breakfast/lunch/snacks all month with 2 exception.

I used the first exception on Sept 1st for a soft pretzel ($.55) and the second today for a bottle of water & a pretzel ($1.90). I forgot my reusable water bottle as I took it home Friday to watch. I will NOT be forgetting it for tomorrow! lol

Additional spending for today - I will be stopping by Acme for some lettuce & some ground turkey if it is on sale. Other than that, no extra spending.

I am passing on my weekly pub night with friends as I saw most of them yesterday at a friend's bbq. I plan on spending the time getting my bedroom cleaned & organized.

Today's 5 (Well, really 6) Things (to get done)
1. Library
2. grocery store
3. clean bedroom, dust & vacuum
4. pack food for tomorrow
5. call for wellness appointment by phone
6. pay electric bill - locked myself out & need to reset my password from my home email account

Today I woke up with some stomach issues & ended up buying breakfast at work. THis is the 2nd time I've bought food at work, and its been due to not feeling well both times I needed a lot of carbs in my stomach to help with acid, so I got a bagel & some breakfast potatoes.

However, to make up for it, lunch was free! We had burgers (and hot dogs for whoever wanted them), potato salad, macaroni salad, cookies and water. I also got a 'free' casual day at work to use when I want, and some little toys to keep at my desk. ALl in all, freebies are fun.

THey were pushing the foodbank donations at work and last time, I brought in a ton of stuff. So am going to work on getting some in this week.

I also need to rework my budget. I'm hoping to be able to buy some stuff for the AnySoldier.com program that Elisabeth was talking about in her last post.

Tonight, I have 5 Things I need to do:

1. Eat dinner at home, pack food for tomorrow
2. Work on Budget
3. Go to nephew's playoff game
4. Clean litter box
5. Organize list for home depot trip tomorrow

Last night was a challange for my wallet AND my weight loss journey. I went to happy hour with some good friends at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We've been known to get there around 4:30 and stay til 9, having dinner & several margaritas.

I went with a budget of $10.00 in my head and a 'point budget' for my Weight Watchers. I went a little off plan food-wise, but came in right at $10.00 budget-wise (Including tip). I had 1 margarita and a half order of chicken nachos (Literally chicken plus cheese and tortillas). Even with that splurge, I still technically stayed on my WW plan. Just no more splurges this week unless I earn them with exercise! lol.

Hope everyone's doing well. I'm feeling a little out of sorts due to my house being in a bit of a mess. But I have no major plans this weekend and I hope to be able to rectify that!

Todays spending so far includes a soft pretzel (.55) and a soda (1.35). This is the first soda I've had since Saturday & I only really gave in due to a nasty sinus headache I woke up with. Caffine helps my headaches (go figure).

I also want to get back to my 5 Things list. This is 5 Things off my To-Do list that I will accomplish today.

1. Walk with friend around the university
2. Make dinner at home & prep lunch for tomorrow
3. Put away all clean laundry
4. Make bed
5. Find lost heart rate monitor in house