HouseHappy's Personal Finance Blog

This is a pretty informal count of my 2012 Freebies. Mostly because I know I missed tracking SOME info. But with what I tracked, I still did very well!

Cash - $405
Amazon Gift Cards - $100
Walmart gc - $125
Gas gift Card - $125
Groupon Free Bucks - $30
Target $15 coupon
$40 Regal Entertainment Gift cards
Restaurant.com free $65

Free 12 packs of Coke Products - 17 coupons


pocket calendar
3 craft paper from wrapping paper rolls
wine bag
Free shopprunner membership
1 KB memory card
3 reusable grocery bags
Free outdoor Concert (3 bands)
keychain flashlight
pedometer
tshirt
Birthday burger & fries
Target Beauty Bag
Floral design bag
Full size OPI nail polish
mp3 $10 credits
$4 amazon instant video credit
3 full size 2013 calendars


card - 26 greeting cards

rebox rewards - 17 free movies

I have been thinking about Sinking Funds quite a bit lately and also about expected ‘unexpected’ expenses. I really want to fund so many different things, but I also don’t want to slow down my debt snowball.

Right now, my budget accounts for Sinking Funds in the following categories:

Gas – for extra trips at certain times of year
Gifts – for birthdays & to supplement Christmas (finding money unconventionally for most of my Christmas 2013 purchases)
Pets – vet appointments, ect
Medical – out of pocket expenses outside of HSA/MRA funds
Car - *This is where I am thinking more about expected replacements of tires, brakes, tags, routine repairs, ect
Wedding Season – funds to attend the wedding of 2 good friends this year
Clothes
Home repairs *this is also something I am looking at as I have several projects & expected upcoming ‘deaths’ to certain appliances in the next 2 years

So I am focusing on car & home. I have to expect normal wear & tear repairs. I am working to make a list & look to how long things are supposed to last & plan accordingly.

The main 4 Things I want to work on first are:
-Scheduled Maintenance for car
- ‘tune-up’ for the heating/cooling units
- replacing screens in front & back doors
- replacing the stove

What are some of your sinking funds and how do you plan for planned unpredictable repairs/replacements? I would love to hear others as well!

The Plague is finally leaving the house with the boyfriend FINALLY going back to work well today  I had a happy hour with friends Friday night. Saturday, I rented 2 (FREE) redbox movies for the sick boyfriend (and me). While he rested, I got busy getting the house in order after holidays, being super sick for a week and his sickness.
I tackled the bedroom and cleaned/organized/dusted & vacuumed. Lysoled everything down & changed the sheets.
I deep cleaned the bathroom, including hand scrubbing the floor. It looks GOOD for the first time in a month or so!
I deep cleaned the kitchen, took a pantry & freezer inventory, reorganized both and reorganized my Tupperware drawer(s). Then I hand-washed the floor there too.
Sunday, the boyfriend and I were able to take down all the Christmas stuff. I reorganized and was able to condense Christmas stuff into 3 bins instead of 4. Plus I have a better idea of the stuff that I have AND I was able to get together a small thing of ornaments to give to Goodwill.
Last night, we re-started Sunday Dinners with our friends. It was my turn for Side & the boyfriend’s for Main, but since he was still a little sick, I made both the main & side. He will do my main next week – so I am now off 3 weeks in a row instead of 2. Woohoo.
Today, I bought some breakfast, but did pack my lunch. I plan on stopping after work for a few items and to use a free 12 pack of diet coke coupon. Feed my caffeine addiction with freebies 
I am sticking to my spending budget & was able to throw quite a bit in my debt snowball this pay period. So I am a happy camper!

Hello All! Sorry I haven't been around (although I lurk when I can!)

I have been sick - both a condition and the crud that has been making its way around and am FINALLY starting to feel better.

Christmas was sucessful - cash only all the way!

Over the New Year, I broke my glasses, so even with insurance, I paid out $193 today for a new pair. Luckily, it was paid out of my HSA account (so no cash out of the budget).

Lots of things going on with my family. Both my sister & my dad took packages from their place of business. The company is in a bad place, so they are both lucky to get out with the packages. My sister's husband got a new job so they are moving (although its still local). With 3 kids, they need help with the packing, ect.

The boyfriend & I are doing well living together. Splitting living expenses 50/50 and I have noticed no significant increase in utilities, ect as he is much like me in turning lights off, ect.

I have written a very strict budget for myself, but have built in fun money. I would rather spend my entertainment budget on outtings and events and less on fast food, ect., so that is my focus this year.

This week, I did pack lunches for work (yay). I am going out tomorrow night for a happy hour and am hoping to stick to a $15 budget for the night.

This weekend, the boyfriend & I may go out to dinner and I hope to maybe see a movie with a friend next week.

Financially, I am have downloaded a (free) app to track my debt paydown and the growth of my savings/sinking funds. I find it VERY motivating!

Today was payday and after the expected bills were paid out of this paycheck, I was able to:

-Put $5 into my gas sinking fund (for extra gas usage in summer). Any leftover at the end of the month goes in there too

-put $48 into my emergency fund ING account

-set aside $120 for groceries for the 14th through 31st envelope

-put $190 for entertainment expenses 14th-31st envelope

-have $140 left of my Christmas budget for last minute gifts & items to bring to parties

-$20 in toiletries envelope

-$20 in the pets envelope

- leave $45 in checking for gas for this pay period

The entertainment & groceries is where I really go astray, so I plan on working hard to be able to stick to to the budget. I plan on NOT going over!

On that note, I know tonight is date night. I have a $25 groupon for a local pub where the BF & I will have dinner & a drink. I am hoping to not go over $10 out of pocket

Tomorrow, we are decorating for CHristmas, watching Christmas movies & in the evening going to see his nephew in a play ($10 ticket). I am planning on making breakfast, lunch & dinner at home.

Sunday, I am doing a dollar store run with my girlfriend...we get excited about all the holiday stuff there & its a tradition. $10 of my CHristmas budget is earmarked for it. We will also do brunch on a groupon that I have. I am hoping to get out of brunch with $10 out of pocket.

Monday night, I am doing Trivia at a bar with some friends. 1/2 price pizza and free trivia. I earmarked $25 for this.

Wednesday night, I am having dinner with another good friend & exchanging our gifts. We are doing $5 burgers at a local pub that does EXCELLENT Burgers! I earmarked $10 as I won't drink and will probably order water.

Thursday night, the boyfriend is taking me to a CHristmas Burlesque show. We saw this troup a few months ago & loved the show. He splurged for the tickets, so I will pay for the drinks there. Probably looking at $30-40 there.

Next Friday, Saturday & Sunday are up in the air for plans and the following week will be Christmas. I think we'll be doing a happy hour with friends at some point & I was thinking of seeing if another set of friends wants to come over for brunch to do our gift exchange.

So there is little wiggle room in my entertainment budget, but I am happy to not spend on eating in the work cafe or having fast food to have the experience and time with friends and at events.

After Hurricane Sandy, I had a downed tree at the end of my property. It was not a big/sturdy tree – but what we call around here a ‘weed tree’. Pretty for a bit, but weak, so it will bend & break in winds. It had vines and poison ivy growing around it (and the other trees in this stretch).

The tree was at the edge of the property that backs up to my house. The property is owned by a farmer’s co-op. There’s no house on the land or any property # to even talk to someone about. I know, from my HOA, that my backyard property stops at the sidewalk and the tree and the area it fell on is technically owned by this Farmer’s Co-op.

However, it is a hazard. I could not breakup/move the tree myself, so I asked my brother in law to look at it when he had a chance. It took him a while to get to it, so in the mean time, I placed a property county code violation report with the County. They sent someone out to review and deemed it a hazard. They then identified the owner & contacted them. 2 weeks later, my neighbor text me (As we have townhouses and the ‘weed’ trees back up to both of our properties) that there was a company out there removing the trees. AT this point, they were all damaged, so it was nice that they took care of it. I didn’t’ have to put any money out & while I miss the privacy the trees provided, I am glad for the safety.

Best part is – because I did my research & took a little time to get in contact with the right people – the trees were removed at no cost to me!

So I have mentioned before - stupid spending, being on medical leave, medical expenses, a 2nd medical leave and more medical expenses have left me with some serious credit card debt. It was stupid on my part because I continued to spend when I should have been much more frugal.

So I am saying now that the dent I made in debt in the last 2 years has been revoked with the new debt. I finally have my head on straight again.

For the last 2 months, I have been completely not using credit cards - with the exception of my car insurance, gym & weight watcher's memberships going on a $0 balance card & paid off monthly. I have a paydown plan for the debt and am finally sticking to my budget.

In my staycation this week, I was lucky to escape Hurricane Sandy with no destruction or loss of power. Monday & Tuesday were no spend days though

Wednesday was Halloween and I spent $2.28 for lunch and $25 for drinks at the local bar with my boyfriend.

Yesterday, I spent $20 for lunch with my parents. I paid a portion of their tab as they picked me up from the dealership where I was getting my oil changed. It's covered under a membership that I have with them.

Today was errands and spending:
$29.99 for cat food
$4 dollar tree (tape, batteries, fries & plastic dishpan to be used for cleaning purposes. (this is covered in the grocery budget)
$44.12 groceries
$5.32 take out salad bar (HUGE - 1/2 for lunch and 1/2 for dinner)
$14.91 KMart for personal care products. This was with a $10 credit from ShopYourWayRewards bonus. The purchase will be shipped to the store for free.

For entertainment this week - it was mostly a free jigsaw puzzle, soduku books, Kindle, dvr, Netflix (due to the storm). Last night I rented Redbox movies for free (thanks free promo codes) - a suspense movie 388 Arletta Avenue and Dark Shadows. When I returned them today, I rented The Hunger Games. I saw it in the theater already, but I love the book/movie and am excited to see it again!

Tomorrow, I will be doing more errands, finish organizing the house, making food for the upcoming work week and tomorrow night is Date Night. My boyfriend is coming over for dinner and a movie night in. He will be starting to bring stuff over to the house to move in little by little this month. I am so excited!

Sunday, we are having brunch with friends. In the evening, it is Sunday night dinner with friends. We rotate making a main, a side and a dessert with 2 off weeks in between each round. This week is my off week, so all I have to do is show up

I feel so lucky to have survived the storm with relative ease. I haven't done a full roof check (wind is still going a bit), but it looks like I survived unscathed. Thee is a small tree at the back of my property (on the farmer's land) that fell, but that can just be pushed bak into the farmer's field.

I did not even lose electricity. The wind last night was nearly hurricane strength. I ended up sleeping on the first floor due to the noise & shaking.

Today, driving restrictions are being lifted, but I am choosing to stay home & allow the power & county trucks room to do their job.

Plenty of people in the area are without power, there is wind damage, but for the most part, we lucked out.

Yesterday, I did not complete much on my to-do list. However, I did earn the last of the 5 $5 AGC from Swagbucks for October. I am already working to earn for November. I also entered into mycokerewards & requested another free 12 pack coupon.

So for today, in the midst of horror movies and dvr catch up, I plan on getting several things completed.

I have the upcoming week off from work ... just in time for the Hurricane. Oh well, my only hope is that electricity does not go off at the house & I can get my To-Do list taken care of.

If the electricity DOES go out, then I am prepared to be a bit bored We are going to be getting more of this storm in my area than I remember having of a hurricane. Flooding and winds are the primary issue.

Of course, everyone around here is panicking. This state is NOT organized at all. Schools have closed already for Monday & Tuesday.

In preperation, I bought some canned goods, snacks, salad stuff - all of which can be consumed without electricity. I did not buy water, but filled my BPA free/aluminum water bottles as well as 3 pitchers (1 water, 1 lemonade, and 1 cherry limeade). I should note that I have a LOT of water bottles

I did all the dishes & laundry, have plenty of cat food & litter. Pulled the trashcans up to the house (townhouse, no garage). I covered the basement windows with their covering and am leaving stones on top to secure them.

I will fill the bathtub with water for cleaning, ect. I have a flashlight, many candles & lighters.

I am charging my computer, my cell phone, my mp3 and my kindle. I have books, puzzles, soduku and a list of to-dos that can be completed in the light of day

wishing everyone a safe week!

Sold a free to me Breadmaker on Craigslist for $15. Received $10 cash for ordering a book on Amazon for my mom's friend using my Amazon credits from my credit card rewards. So $25 in

Then I spent $7.99 for a stainles steel roasting pan (I am hosting Thanksgiving!). Great deal, good quality & brand. Free ship to store and I paid out of my holiday funds.

In other news, I got a lot of junk mail in the mail today, but I also received a FREE makeup purse, target coupons, perfume samples, 3 sets of shampoo & conditioner samples, and a jergens lotion sample. Yay freebies!

The last week of Oct/first few days of November, I am on vacation from work. I am looking to get some fun and some projects completed. I've just started thinking about what I want to do, so I am getting a list started.

FUN:
see a few movies (Free with fandango bucks)
rent Redbox movie (free with codes)
Hike at state park ($3)
Lunch with mom with Groupon ($10 max)
Read newest book in a series I read
Movie marathon with friend (free/redbox)
Halloween Trick or Treaters - LOVE this!!
Try new healthy recipes
Dye hair fun new color
mani/pedi
listen to a few new bands that I like - get the cds

PROJECTS:
Paint all door knobs
Winterize Windows - plastic
Master Financial List
Open new safety deposit box
Put up some Craigslist items
Groom cats (not so fun)
Wrap Christmas gifts
finish main Christmas shopping
Put together 'favors' for bf's bday
Paint vases (cheap ones) for decoration
Spot treat carpet - potentially rent carpet steamer
Visit Flea market for cookie tins - spraypaint & use for storage projects/gifts
Potentially paint downstairs bathroom vanity
Paint light switches/electric plates
Frame wallpaper sames for wall art in bathroom
Frame old tshirts for BF to put in spare room art
Decorate for Thanksgiving (hosting this year!)
Make grocery bag dispensers (for bathroom - use bags to line trashcans)
Deep clean the house (prepping for holidays)

I went to my step-niece's cheerleading this morning, ran some errands then came home & have been fighting a migraine all day. In the fits of energy that I had today, I did few fun things.

I am using one of the two closets in the spare bedroom for the storage of gifts, wrapping paper, ect. I didn't want to just leave them on the floor or the shelf, so yesterday, I brought home 2 printer paper boxes from work (free). They are ugly though, so I bought a sturdy gift wrap from the dollar store ($1) the other day.



Today, I wrapped them up & made them pretty. There is plenty of paper leftover AND the inner core of the wrapping paper roll is craft paper, which I will be using to 'wrap' my coaster gifts with. Well worth the dollar & now that I know that the inner part is usable paper too, I am buying another roll or 2 a I plan on making a couple more of these. Double win!





I also took inventory of the freezer, pantry & fridge. I am going to work on a meal plan tomorrow.

Other than these 2 projects, I have been napping, watching tv and going through emails.

I am really glad that I have been tracking freebies, online earning, ect for the year! I did not include gifts, but so far, I have obtained:

$15 Pier 1 Gift Certificate
9 Free 12 packs of coca-cola
12 pack condoms
48 AAA batteries
$105.54 Amazon credit
Yves St Laurant Makeup bag plus dozen samples
$504.07 in cash/checks
3 Band outdoor concert
Vitamin water
2 travel size contact solution & cases
toothbrush, toothpaste & floss
full size hershey bar
misc food
$100 in gas cards
glasses cleaner
12 personalized Greeting Cards
3 large reusable Grocery bags
$20 in Groupon promotions (free Groupon money)
dozen hair care samples
keychain flashlight
pedometer
5 kindle books
1 year Shoprunner membership
Memory stick
$5 MP3 credit at Amazon
$5 Video credit at Amazon
1 full size bottle OPI nail polish
pens
photo keychain
20 redbox codes
$40 Regal gift cards
Meal at Ruby Tuesday
T-shirt
$125 Walmart gift cards
2 water bottles

WOW that is a lot!

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!

Friday night, the boyfriend & I had date night in. We rented Battleship off Amazon (for free with my Swagbucks AGC), I made dinner & we had a few drinks & enjoyed ourselves. Pretty frugal

Saturday - we went with my College roommate & her husband to a Brew Fest an hour away near a casino. The tickets were $25 each, but I found a groupon that did 2 tickets, plus $15 in free slot play each for $25 total. So - a savings of $55! We enjoyed ourselves, played our free slot money, enjoyed free sodas after the beer tasting & headed home. Very frugal day...

Until...I dropped my cell phone in the toilet. UGH. I was able to get it out quickly (and this was a clean toilet - hadn't gone yet). I dried off what I could with towels, took the battery out, and when I got home, put it in rice overnight. With the help of Droid forums, I was able to factory reset the phone & it is working again. I am a lucky, lucky woman.

If it had not worked, I would have just used my boyfriend's old phone. I was not putting anymore funds into a cell phone.

Sunday, I went to the Farmer's market, the grocery store and then Weight Watchers. I had HOA stuff to do at home, slept a good part of the day, made a yummy dinner & enjoyed some Netflix.

Today, I had a no spend day - packed healthy & did not go out of bounds

Tomorrow - I have a 6am work call - so hoping to get out of the office a bit early tomorrow!

My physical therapy has ended (insurance will no longer pay). I am doing at home exercises for 2 weeks and if its not better, going back to the foot doc to fight the insurance. Fun

On another insurance note, I am STILl waiting for my $389. I keep calling & as of today, they said the funds will be back in 48 hours. I will believe it when I see it.

New news - Roommate is moving out (it's been a year & my boyfriend & I are ready to live together).

So it will be a weird transitional month, financially as she moves out the 1st weekend in October and I don't have an exact date for when the boyfriend will move in. But it won't be bad, just cash flow tightness.

So for now - pack food as much as possible, frugal activities, selling on craigslist & finishing Christmas stuff with freebies!

I am making coasters for Christmas gifts this year - I showed photos in a previous post. It involves scrapbooking pape, modge-podge, ceramic tiles & acrylic spray. SUPER easy to make!

I made 11 set of 4 tonight. My mom has requested holidy ones (snowmen, clovers, hearts, santas, ect) so for her birthday & Christmas, she is getting a LOT of coasters!

The paper usually costs 19-59 cents each (with coupons). 1 page of paper will make four coasters. I bought the modge podge on sale for approx $3. Coasters are $0.16 eah at Lowes and I purchased a BIG roll of felt adhesives for the bottom (so to not scratch furniture).

I made more tonight becuase I finally went to Lowe to get more tiles. I am glad that I waited because I was able to get a $10 of any purchase coupon by signing up for their MyLowes program. I used that coupon to purchase a box of 100 tiles. Seemed like a lot, but I went through 44 of them tonight! My out of pocket was $6.00 or $0.06 per tile. Not too shabby!

The best part is that I am picking paper that goes with the person's own style, so the gift itself is pretty personal.

Today's to-do list is long, but I slept in until 8:30 and have alreay accomplished a lot. I will be updating as the day goes on (and I take some breaks!)

-Make breakfast [DONE]
-Follow up with HOA reimbursement (STILL waiting on $389 [DONE - STILL WAITING ]
-f/u with inbox, cashcrate, bing, mypoints, swagbucks
-Call Resale shop for leather coat, broken mower, extra bedding. If I can get some cash for it great, if not - bedding & coat can go to goodwill. Neither has had much interest on Craigslist
-Clean kitchen including washing floor - [DONE]
-Clean out fridge [DONE]
-Organize pantry [DONE]
-Take inventory of pantry, freezer & fridge [DONE]
-Oil kitchen table & chairs [DONE]
-repot kitchen plants - Pended
-clean, dust & vacuum living room [DONE]
-vacuum couches (cat fur)- [DONE]
-vacuum stairs/upstairs hall, wipe baseboards [DONE]
-vacuum basement stairs/floor [DONE]
-clean cat area [DONE]
-pull weeds front & back yards [DONE]
-wipe down door, windows out front [DONE]
-change bulbs in upstairs bathroom [DONE]
-clean upstairs bath [DONE]
-wash bathroom rugs - pended (just vacuumed)
-wipe baseboards in bathroom [DONE]
-mop bathroom floor [DONE]
-clean bedroom [DONE]
-change sheets [DONE]
-take a nap [DONE]
-clean closet [DONE]
-laundry [DONE]
-dust & vacuum bedroom [DONE]
-wipe windows & blinds in bedroom [DONE]
-clean car out - pended
-put Goodwill stuff in car [DONE]
-Take 3 40 lb bags of cat litter from car to basement [DONE]
-organize makeup [DONE]
-organize jewelry [DONE]

EDITED TO ADD:
I got through quite a bit - no idea where the energy came from (I think it was mostly willpower!). I am done the to-dos for tonight (other than my online money-making activites while I watch a movie! The last 2 things I will do:

-Shower to clean all the grub off [DONE]
-watch a free movie from Amazon on my roku [ABOUT TO START]

Hello all - been reading everyone's posts & staying updated

I am working at trying to get on a cash only budget, but medical bills are still coming in & its been a juggle. 2012 has not been my best year.

Tomorrow, I have taken the day off and I plan on getting quite a few things on my to-do list taken care of.

Tonight I am working on:
-Clearing out my email [DONE]
-working on earning Inbox Dollars (less than $5 from cashing out).[In Process]
-Swagbucks [DONE]
-Bing [DONE]
-Cashcrate [DONE]
-Viewing my credit bureau (for free of course)[DONE]
-Sending pictures of my aun't furniture to a resale shop via email [DONE]
-updating a few items on Craigslist [DONE]
-paying my water bill (one of the few things I have to mail a check with (cause I refuse to pay to do it over the phone)[DONE]
-Filling out a $25 reimbursement rebate (and prepped to mail tomorrow)[DONE]
-Christmas budget - I am almost at my goal! [DONE]
-Paycheck budget for 9/15 [DONE]
-Grocery List & Meal pln for the week [DONE]
-Turn off a/c & open windows for fresh air & lower electric [DONE]
-Gather laundry to start first thing in the morning

Tomorrow's goals are:
-Follow up with HOA reimbursement (STILL waiting on $389
-f/u with inbox, cashcrate, bing, mypoints, swagbucks
-Call Resale shop for leather coat, broken mower, extra bedding. If I can get some cash for it great, if not - bedding & coat can go to goodwill. Neither has had much interest on Craigslist
-Clean kitchen including washing floor
-Organize pantry, take inventory of pantry, freezer & fridge
-Oil kitchen table & chairs
-repot kitchen plants
-clean, dust & vacuum living room
-vacuum couches (cat fur)
-vacuum stairs/upstairs hall, wipe baseboards
-vacuum basement stairs/floor
-clean cat area
-wash basement floor
-pull weeds front & back yards
-wipe down door, windows out front
-change bulbs in upstairs bathroom
-clean upstairs bath
-wash bathroom rugs
-wipe baseboards
-mop bathroom floor
-clean bedroom
-change sheets
-clean closet
-laundry
-dust & vacuum bedrooms
-wipe windows & blinds in bedrom
-clean car out
-put Goodwill stuff in car

LOTS of to-do's, but I think its definitely managable! At least 80% and I hope for a nap in there somewhere

So things have been crazy. Still. But in good ways. The foot has healed (mostly - I am taking a little physical therapy), my job is changing, I gave extremely early notice to my roommate because my boyfriend is moving in.

I have been dealing with a LOT of medical expenses. I have put over $1500 out of pocket. I am fighting to get $389 refunded to me and hopefully will have that in the next week or so.

So - to update - here are a bunch of bullets

1. Christmas planning is going well - although I used $250.59 of my Christmas cash to go to a medical bill. I am focused on making coasters for friends/family for Christmas. They are incredibly easy to make & definitely have been a hit with people who have seen them.





2. I have been selling on Craigslist. $83 so far. I sold 8 generic wine glasses for $8, an elliptical for $40, a foodsaver for $15, a digital frame for $10, & an old vacuum for $10. I also have 2 framed posters, a rolling tv stand, and a breadmaker on there. I am also planning on putting up the inherited dining room set in my basement. Last weekend, I cleaned it up, polished & took pictures. I am going through furniture resale places, not Craigslist though.

3. I am working at Swagbucks. Definitely not earning as quickly as I did before. However, every little bit helps. I also utilize Cashcrate, Inbox Dollars, Bing Rewards & Synovate surveys.

4. I tallied up my gift cards/restaurant.coms. I have a free overnight at a B&B, 5 restaurant.com certificate, $10 to batting cages, $36 Fandango bucks, $25 to Barnes & Noble, $15 to Pier One and $20 Old navy dollars.

5. I am working on meal planning & eating in more. It's hard to balance with having an active social life, but I may find it easier once the boyfriend moves in

6. I have missed posting - but have been reading & I am glad to see you all are doing well!

My work leave continues through next Friday and my foot is healing. My spirits have definitely been lifted and even with my limited mobility, I have been doing lots of organizing/decluttering. I have been able to do this by either people bringing me drawers or sitting in a chair in front of the thing that I am organizing

In the last week:

-I have made sure all of my leave paperwork is in order. It was confirmed approved as of today. So that is all done!

-I called Comcast to renegotiate my rates. They were unable to 'help' me, so I will be calling back tomorrow.

- I confirmed the overpayment from my insurance MRA account (my funds) will be returned from my Physical Therapy

- Call about doing refinance. (Waiting for call to be returned).

- Paid mom for food/groceries bought for me this week

- Organized jewelry - Set aside some costume jewelry for GoodWill and some broken gold chains to sell

- Organized sock & underwear drawers - cleared out 1/3 of the contents. Socks to go to Goodwill

- Organized startionary/desk drawer

-Cleared off nightstand & decluttered nightstand drawer

-Cleared out book closet. There were a few hundred books. I was able to clear out approximately 1/2. 3 large bags went to my mom to use for trade-in.

-In this same closet - made room for Christmas & Gift stuff.

- Cleaned out shirts in closet - 17 shirts & 4 tank tops to Goodwill, 1 shirt to trash. 1 pair of shorts to trash, 4 pairs of fleece/pajama pants, 5 long sleeve tees to Goodwill.

I slowly, but surely have gotten through a lot of stuff. Tomorrow, I hope to tackle:

1. Calling refi guy again
2. calling Comcast
3. Cleaning makeup drawer
4. Clearing out drawers under bathroom sink
5. Clearing out baskets in living room
6. Clearing out China cabinet (all but the actual china)
7. List items on craigslist
8. Purge from bookcase
9. Go through scrapbooking bin. Will be scanning pictures for Christmas gifts.
10. Rest the foot!

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to have a mostly free Christmas this year. I have used Swagbucks, MyPoints, Cashcrate & InboxDollars, survey sites, and a few credit card rewards to meet this goal.

I cashflowed approx $66 as I found things I liked for future gifts.

I earned $147.07 in Amazon Gift cards (plus $79.99 that I used for a reel lawn mower).

I earned $437.67 in cash - through rewards, gift cards, ect that I turned into cash.

This totals $651.13.

My goal is 760.38 which includes budget for:
-gifts for family/friends
-my boyfriends end of November bday
-my 2 nephew's bdays (in December)
-my neices bday in the fall
-fudge for coworkers/neighbors
-homemade coasters
-mom's bday in Late october
-Christmas cards
-Uncles card/postage to england
-small decor additions
-work friends Happy HOur
-big New Year's Eve outting - funds for weekend

Once I reach the goal (and I will based on Mypoints cards about ready to cash in) - I will work to build a gift budget for the rest of birthdays in the year and eventually 2013's budget. My swagbucks earnings have taken a bit of a dive lately, so I will have to work to maintain this level. I find this fun

Did anyone see the Saving Goal option on ING? I am having SO much fun playing with it!

Well - I had a fairly good weekend. Friday I stayed in & vegged with the roommate (since I can't really go anywhere anyway).

Saturday, my boyfriend drove me to a friend's for a bbq. I had my foot up the whole time and only stayed a few hours. But MAN, did it do wonders for my mental state.

Sunday, the boyfriend drove me to his place. I sat on the couch all day and then we had friends over to grill & watch True Blood. No extraneous activity, but a NICE change of scenery.

He dropped me back at my house on his way to work, where my mom dropped me off a fast food lunch & a homemade dinner to reheat. Thanks Mom!! I seriously am unable to much (at all) in the kitchen or cleaning. I have to just keep my foot up and hope it heals. Its my # 1 priority.

In the mean time - I found an insurance error, which was finally corrected today & I saved myself $116.38. Woohoo.

I am still working with the PT people - but I should be getting $389.31 refund. I plan on calling AGAIN tomorrow & insisting on talking to the case manager. Oh fun.

I called the foot specialist as he had told me 2.5 weeks off my feet, but then the office scheduled my appt 3.5 weeks. So now I go back next Thurs instead of in 2 weeks. I am HOPING for good news.

I received my leave paperwork, which I will fill out today & have my mom drop off at the drs office tomorrow. Its time sensative to have filled out.

Financially - I am spending a lot of money - my mom gets me food/drinks/groceries and she's not much of a bargain shopper. I am not spending on gas as I am unable to drive. So gas budget has been helping there.

I have a regular drs appt tomorrow (approx $10 coinsurance) and my mom is driving me to/from. I also have my nephew coming over to do some cleaning for me. I need refills on some medications or I would skip the doctors appt

Boredom has definitely kicked in, but I have a bunch of new (mostly free) books on kindle, both Netflix & Amazon Prime Video, my computer, puzzles & soduku. I can do this

And nicely, my boyfriend is bringing me dinner & hanging in tomorrow night. He's such a sweetie, taking such good care of me.

I have been looking into refinancing my house...but I seriously have to put it off until this foot thing is settled. Worst case scenario - the foot isnt healing right & we need to do surgery & put a pin in (NOT WHAT I WANT) then I have 10 weeks of paid leave at 100%, then it goes to 60%. Recovery time can go all the way to 8 weeks for that kind of surgery, so I want to be careful with all budgeting items. I will know next Thursday whether I should go into emergency stock-pile money mode

Yesterday, I did what I was told: RESTED.

I also accomplished many other things:

1. Called into work to start my Short-term disability procedings. At this point it should only be 2-3 weeks. I get paid 100% up to 10 weeks, so there will be no income loss. Just annoying paperwork & a fee of $25 for the dcotors paperwork fee (also annoying!)

2. Made 2 pitchers of lemonade (used a chair to rest my leg while doing anything in the kitchen), passed through a cup & one of the pitchers through the kitchen passthrough to the living room. Saves on trips all day long. Additionally made individual refillable water bottles of lemonade to put into the fridge (used later to carry drinks upstairs for the night). Also made a quick pasta salad & ran the dishwasher. All with the crutches or foot on a chair

3. Called & negotiated car insurance and set up payment for the upcoming year.

4. Renewed my AAA membership

5. Started free 30 day trial to Amazon Prime (can view through Roku) - will help entertaining my couch-bound butt Will be cancelling the acct prior to any charge.

6. Paid medical bills. Followed up on claims through insurance.

7. Turned a/c off & opened up windows Free fresh air!

8. Added codes into Mycokerewards

9. Watched a lot of roku (netflix & amazon prime)

TODAY, I went to breakfast with my parents, gave my mom a grocery list & am back home eating leftover salad from the other day.

My goals for today are:

1. Keep foot up
2. Make lunch at home (check)
3. Make dinner at home (check)
4. Work on Mypoints, cashcrate, bing rewards, inboxdollars, ect
5. Make budget for next pay period
6. Find free things to do while couch bound. I have jigsaw puzzles, tv, netflix/amazon prime, free magazines, soduku books, kindle free books, cell phone games.

I also am fighting to get my refund from physical therapy asap. They are dragging & I could use the funds.

Well - I have been struggling with the crutches & my foot is not feeling that great. Its been a month from the break and I went to the follow up with the doc. He took one look at it, with no Xray & told me to go on leave from work. Keep the foot up 100% and absolutely NO cheating. So I get to deal with short-term disability paperwork via work tomorrow. Fun, fun.

I have a nice big financial and non-financial to-do list...from the COUCH tomorrow.

1. Call work & start process for STD
2. Call insurance & ask about processing of fixed claim #1
3. Call physical therapy office about reimbursement of overpaid amount
4. Call foot doc & pay bill - with cc for 0%, but will help while waiting for PT reimbursement, will pay off in full & will earn points
5. Plan strict budget for next month
6. Call comcast about fees
7. Shop car insurance
8. Make meal plan & grocery list to limit movement at home, but not get food out/delivered by friends all the time.
9. Utilize netflix, cable, kindle & internet for entertainment, as well as puzzles and game books.
10. REST FOOT

Still walking on crutches and trying not to fall Actually am getting the hang of it! LOL

An update to my 'Mostly Free Christmas'
Christmas Amazon Gift Card credits: $154.09
Christmas: Cash $307.27
Christmas - Pending $47.77 check from Inbox Dollars (to recieve in July)
Christmas - Pending $20.40 check from Cashcrate (to recieve mid June)

Cashflowed Gifts:
Sister's xmas - DONE - $24.95 out of pocket (decorative Wine cork holder)
Friend NG partial xmas - Earrings $0.01 out of pocket after coupon code and a book bought last year for her
Friend B xmas -DONE - Game - $7.49 out of pocket
Niece - partial xmas - small purse - free (gift with makeup purchase)
Friend L - birthday - DONE - $5.94 - Indian's Team Rubik Cube
Mom - partial xmas - I LOVE Crafts linen bag $7.52

I HATE HATE HATE my company's new insurance program. They forced us to go with a high deductable plan, and while they 'gifted' us $400 in a Medical Reimbursement Account and I 'earned' Health Funds of $500, plus putting $400 into an HSA - I have blown through it all with physical therapy for my wrist, another health problem, medications & my broken foot. AND not all of that money 'spent' went to my $1500 deductable. So now I am paying out of pocket 100% for at least another $850 or so dollars. Thanks a lot work.

On the upside - because they have this stupid auto payment from the MRA thing - they overpaid my Physical Therapy people. After about a dozen calls, the PT place is cutting me a check for the overpayment (of about $379.31).

I ALSO found an error and my doctors office is rebilling the insurance, this should refund me about $121.01. Both of which are good - because I owe the Foot Specialist $250.59 for the visit, assessment and the air cast. What a rip off this plan is. There are no copays, just percentages of what is owed. Annoying!

My roommate is still working out well. She's been kind enough to help with extra stuff since I have been laid up with the foot. My mom has been SUPER helpful and I LOVE my boyfriend for everything he has done for me.

Financially, I am working to paydown the debt I have AND still not add to it with any medical expenses. Its been tough because I cannot cook for myself and cannot grocery shop or do any cleaning. What I have 'saved' in gas has been eaten up by money for take out and extra groceries. While I spent 2 weeks working from home - I utilized Netflix like it was my job. Haha.

My good friend also gave me a $15 gift card to Amazon to use to rent movies off my Roku box. I sincerely appreciated that. I am back in office now, but obviously, my mobility is still limited. I am 100% on crutches and have the aircast.

Upside to the broken foot - I have had a bit of time to put on Craigslist an unused Breadmaker, an unopened MealSaver Food Saver and some dvds. I have only gotten a response on the dvds though.

Downside - I cannot use the nice, brand-new Reel Lawnmower that I had bought free through my Swagbucks Amazon gift cards. I am having a friend of the family cut it for $35/month. Necessary though as the boyfriend is severely allergic to grass or he would do it for me.

Upside, I am looking to sell my broken lawnmower to a guy off craigslist. Someone with the know-how could easily repair it. The task is just beyond me and I really enjoyed the Reel mower since I have such a small lawn.

In other news, I am shopping car insurance as once again, my company is trying to increase the amount this year.

Tomorrow or Thursday, I am calling Comcast to negotiate a better rate.

I have been following a budget the best that I can given my predicament. I seriously considered Spending $75 for a Living Social for 5 hours of cleaning. The house is a mess of cat hair & dust and with my family being tied up with my sister's wedding (last weekend), I haven't been able to ask for help. And really I have imposed quite a lot alredy. My dad comes down to do the cat box, my mom to bring food/groceries and do my laundry. I'm hoping to get the nephew to do some light dusting and vacuuming & will probably pay him about $15-ish for doing the living room, stairs and hall as well as sweep the kitchen.

So in a nutshell, I really need to be creative to take care of myself day-to-day and to not take advantage of boyfriend/friends/family. LOL

Hey guys, its been SO long. Lots of spending, frugality and everything in between.

On Saturday the 5th, I went to my sister's bachelorette party. On our way out of the place (to head home), I managed to fall on a deck & break my foot. At the time I didnt realize it was broken, so when I woke up Sunday morning, I had to have the boyfriend take me to urgent care. Confirmed 2 breaks where the toes & foot meet. I am unable to put any weight on it for almost a month. I have crutches & an air boot for the foot.

It's very hard for me to do things for myself and I broke the right foot which means driving won't be possible for a little longer. My mom & boyfriend have set me up with food, ect and the boyfriend had been taking care of upkeep at the house (trash, dishes, ect). My roommate has been awesome too.

Work-wise, I lucked out. My boss was SUPER-Lenient and although they did not have to, they let me work from home Tuesday through Friday last week (i already had had Monday scheduled off) and I work from home today & tomorrow, going back to work Wed & Thurs. Friday I had previously taken off because its the day before my sister's wedding.

My poor sister has a maid of honor that HAS to be on crutches going down the aisle. Surprisingly she hasn't flipped out on me

So I have been giving lots of money to people who deliver me food or to pay for take out. Its worked out ok, because that was money I was supposed to use for a beach weekend that I missed this past weekend.

I am having insurance issues as my stupid insurance pays for copays/my responsibility out of an MRA acct automatically. I made a deal with the physical therapy people for my wrist for a $20/visit out of pocket. The insurance paid them the full amount because they cannot 'retract' the auto pays. So now I have to sort out an almost $400 refund from the PT place.

Which is MUCH needed as this insurance is horrible & I will owe the foot doc approx $300 out of pocket when all is said & done.

In other news, I have done REALLY well with my Nearly Free Christmas challenge. I updated totals on the side (or will in a few minutes if you read this right away!).

I also have been getting lots of freebies & have made a few small purchases for Christmas already

When I return to work, carrying bags will be impossible, so I will be buying lunch at the cafe, most likely. Given that, I adjusted this month's food/grocery budget accordingly.

Hope everyone is doing well. I plan on posting MUCH more regularly now. Wish you all well!

Hello All - while I have been reading, I have not been riding. LOTS of things going on personal, family, financial, ect. But to start off my coming back, I wanted to update my "Nearly Free Christmas Goals"

Christmas Cash Update – TOTAL: $526.05

Cash – Free Money in an ING account $168.24
2011 Rollover Amount $1.06
YTD Interest: $0.27
Serve.com $20
Mom Mastercard promotion $20
Synovate Check $5
Magazines.com Refund: $10
CashCrate $61.91
Mypoints gas card to cash $50



Cash – Free Money in an ING account (TO BE DEPOSITED THIS WEEK) $139.03

$105.03 Credit card rewards
$20 for signing up for auto mortgage pays
$5 Synovate surveys
$9 refund from car insurance


Amazon Gift Cards Already Deposited $203.56-79.99 purchase = $123.57

Jan AGC from Swagbucks $25
Jan AGC from Bing $5
Jan DVD trade-in $3.80
Feb AGC from Swagbucks $25
Feb Amazon trade-in $62.01
2nd Feb Amazon trade-in $22.75
March AGC from Swagbucks $25
Amazon Promo $10
April AGC from Swagbucks $25
***USED $79.99 for a Reel Lawn Mower – Christmas balance is after that expense***


Money/Rewards requested and on its way: $57.77
$10.00 AGC from Swagbucks (For May)
$47.77 Inbox Dollars


Out of Pocket/Cashflowed gifts: $37.44

$24.95 for sister’s gift (After $5 coupon from Hallmark)
$10.00 to Kohls (gift card that got me 500 MyPoints with a bday promo)
$2.49 gift for friend


Feeling REALLY good about where I stand. I have depleted funds in other areas due to multiple weddings in 6 weeks.

I have a debt paydown plan for the year and I want to build my efund back to a nice comfy level. So I am going to be diligent about finding extra funds to get that done. I will be sharing the plan soon!

Good to see you guys!!!

Work, health, family & all have been crazy lately. Things are up in the air in a lot of levels.

But here is a no-so-quick update.

I am up to between Swagbucks & Amazon trade-ins my Amazon account balance was $168.60. I also have $168.03 (this is from freebie sites/rebates/reinbursements). $336.90 total! And non came from my budget. Just alternate sources of income

I have paid for my bridesmaid dress out of cashflow (for my sister's wedding). I have $248.07 saved for this wedding - this is going to be for alterations, hair, makeup, mani/pedi, and the bridal shower. I am hoping to cashflow the rest

I have another wedding in May - I have a dress (that I used for a wedding 2 weeks ago - $39.99 from TJMax). We are staying at a B&B ($179). I already cashflowed the $70 deposit & am working to cashflow the rest (or earn it through extra incentives from banks and credit cards, ect).

I have a birthday coming up in April and am hoping to meet my Christmas goals so I can start saving Amazon $ for a new MP3 player. LOL.

I also am working on a very strict paydown plan of debt. I need goals that are more specific.

Additionally, I have been having some work issues & I am working on my resume to start looking for a new job. Fun, Fun.

In other news, we did a beach weekend with friends. We had a place to stay, but with food, cabs, drinks. I probably spent all of my entertainment budget from the 15th's paycheck. So I am going to have to finagle my budget around. Will be having some fun with that tomorrow night.

I have an $80 grocery budget this pay period. I spent $20 today, but am set on quite a few things, so I should be able to make it ok.

I also signed up for a card - Spend $500 in 3 months, get $100 bonus. So thats something

I am utilizing the libarary quite a bit for movies, cds, and hopefully getting back on track.

I have been keeping up with blogs & plan to post much more regularly!

I hate to post & run - my life has been hectic lately, but I wanted to update on my Christmas Challenge.

I have done crazy good so far – I have a lot accomplished already! $252.72 cash/AGC to spend for Christmas.

Cash in ING acct ($45)
-$20 Serve.com
-$20 Mastercard Bonus
-$5 Check from Synovate

Pending Cash to go to ING ($61.91)
-$61.91 Cashcrate payout

Amazon Credits ($95.81)
-$5 AGC from Bing
-$25 AGC from January Swagbucks
-$3.8 – Dvd Trade-in
-$62.01 DVD/Video game trade-in

Amazon Pending Credits ($25)
-$25 AGC from Feb Pending

Cash-flowed Amounts for purchases (7.49 oop & $10 in coupons)
-$2.49 oop Plus $5 Toys R us Coupon for 1 gift (cost $7.49)
-$5 TPPR credit plus $5 out of pocket for $20 Overstock Giftcard

Misc ($20)
$20 Overstock gift card

*I also have:
12,000 My Points to spend
$13.01 in my Inbox Dollars (Need to hit $30)
$3 in my cashcrate (need to bring back up to $20)
196 current swagbucks
325 Bing Points