I am waiting for my state tax refund, the exact amount up in the air due to them recalculating something (happens to most of us in this state at one point or another).

AND... I was given a bonus at work! It'll come in my 3/21 paycheck. $5000. Not sure exactly what that will translate to after taxes...but I am going to put it all to debt!

Tax Refund - This is a much higher refund than expected due to a few unforeseeable things. Action has been taken for 2014 taxes to not have such a big refund


OF $2570 Federal Tax refund,

$1000 goes back into my EFUND
$40 to Gas Sinking Fund (for summer trips)
$50 to Nephew Savings
$200 to Medical Sinking Fund
$120 to Vet Sinking Fund
$1075 go Wedding Fund
$85 to Fun money (.03% of the refund)

December Debt repayment $4235.45
January Debt Repayment $2631.58
February to Date Debt repayment $2320.08

TOTAL DEBT REPAID SINCE DECEMBER: $9187.14


Money into Wedding Fund since December: $2057
LIFE TO DATE WEDDING FUND $3419

I have been insanely busy and its starting to wear on me a bit. I have been working 15 hours per week, plus studying for my CAMS exam, plus wedding planning, plus family stuff, plus trying to keep the house up, plus dealing with medical stuff, plus... plus...

Sunday, we went to a Superbowl party were I played a sort of Bingo game. We all put $5 into the pot & I ended up winning! $65 and it all is going to my Christmas fund

In the last two days, I have gotten a lot accomplished, but there just seems to always be more! Since yesterday, I have:

-Shoveled and salted the driveway
-Completed my taxes
-Printed/copied tax documents
-Called Wedding cake bakery to set up appointment for tasting
-Called car insurance about auto pays just suddenly stopping
-Paid auto insurance
-Deposited Superbowl cash
-Transferred Superbowl amount to Christmas ING account
-Made doctors appointment
-Deposited checks into joint checking account
-Paid wedding expenses (rings) from joint account
-Paid medical bills
-Fax tax documents to the State
-Made appointment with Officiate for the wedding
-Declined birthday invite for Friday
-Called friend K who has been down lately
-Reached out to friend N about hanging out
-Emailed friend L to set up a dinner date
-did 4 loads of laundry
-hung 2 of the 4 loads to dry
-folded & put away laundry
-Cleaned kitchen
-picked up living room
-sorted financial paperwork
-finalized addresses for the wedding invitations
-helped provide names for shower
-finalized wedding registry
-researched neat & frugal ideas for the wedding guest list
-studied for CAMs
-updated Debt Snowball document
-did paycheck budget for 2/7
-cleared personal email
-worked 1.5 hours overtime yesterday & 3 hours today

I am exhausted, especially mentally. I am making a drink & watching Pretty Little Liars and Supernatural. Nerd girl night!

I had 30 hours of OT in this paycheck, but had to cashflow some expenses, so very little is actually going to pay down debt. Next month, all of the Overtime will be going to it though!

Cashflow: TOTAL $514.87
4 day Concert Ticket: $268.95
Car Repair $245.92

Debt: TOTAL $1282
CC D Min: $238
CC E Min: $58
CC CD Min: $83
Debt Snowball $158
Wedding: $745, which will go to CC A for wedding bands

Savings:TOTAL $20
Holiday Sinking Fund $10
Sewer $10

This work week, I worked 8 hours at double time and a half, and 7 hours above my 40 at regular time. This Overtime will go into my next check as well as next week's overtime.

Next week's OT will be 15 hours of time and a half.

I am crazy busy with wedding stuff, studying for my CAMS, helping friends and family through some difficult personal time, house cleaning and being social. I am in desperate needs of some down time!

As we get closer to the wedding, we are paying out for expenses. It is all cashflowed, but still... its money going out.

I also splurged on buying tickets to a 4 day Music Festival near me. Tickets were $260. However, I have a free place to stay and some good friends going with me. I denied myself going the last few years, but know this may be my last chance if we are looking to have a baby in the next year or so after the wedding. The tickets are also cashflowed, no problem.

I am working crazy overtime, so I am taking it from that. Speaking of overtime, I worked yesterday, a bank holiday, for double time and a half. Can't beat that! I was able to work from my couch too!

Today, the snow started. I came home to work from home around 11 and did some more OT. My fiancée came home early too and we spent some time tonight watching tv and being lazy. We both are fighting colds.

Tomorrow, I have an appointment with an endocrinologist, but I am not sure if the appointment will happen if the semi-State of emergency is in effect with the snow.

Tonight, I updated my Debt Snowball calculator to reflect changes from the concert tickets and with the unplanned double time and a half OT from yesterday, it more than covers it & speeds up my debt snowball!

In other news, I just requested a $39.48 cash back check from a credit card. This will go towards my Christmas fund, which is currently at $139.23! Definitely on my way to meeting my Christmas goal!

Hoping everyone dealing with snow is safe...that Ima is doing better and that everyone has a good night!

Yesterday, I attended a Bridal Show with my family and some of my Future Husband's family. It was a really good time. It was free and we got lots of freebies! I came home with:

-Free food
-4 Pens
-Travel hand sanitizer
-Travel Mints
-Lip balm
-Travel tissues
-Coupon for a free brow wax
-2 large things of post-it tags
-a compact
-coupons
-2 folders
-a reusable bag (large!)
-3 bottles of water
-Free fashion show
-Time with my Mom, sister, Future Mother in law, Best friend and two Future Sisters in Law!

I know its the cold weather & packing up Christmas, but I am completely itching to organize, clean & purge the house from top to bottom.

During my lunch break at work, I was looking at organizing blogs to get ideas. I am such a mess LOL

So, I worked 7am to 4pm today, ran to the liquor store and came home.

Then, I got to work on the To-Do List/house stuff for a bit

-Called about balance on Medical bill - doctors office was incorrect as I suspected!
-Made appointment for wedding registry
-Ordered Bridal Show Tickets (free!)
-Paid bills
-Organize pantry
-I put a 12 pack of beers that FH received as a gift for Christmas into the fridge. Then I cut the top off the box and put my reusable bags and folding drink carriers in it. Then put it in the pantry. I LOVED the extra organization!

Here's a before & after (in the pantry)





-Worked 2 hours Overtime from home
-Ran dishwasher
-Cleaned kitchen
-Vacuum kitchen floor
-Washed out recycling bin
-Cleaned out kitchen junk drawer

I am working from home tomorrow and on my breaks/lunch, I hope to be able get some more cleaning/organizing done.


**edited to add: Sorry about the sideways pictures, the upload changed the orientation twice!**

Just wanted to keep a coupon/Gift card inventory for myself.

-$5 Seasons Pizza Gift Card (Exp Dec 2014)
-$15 Wawa Gift Card (no Exp)
-$10 AC Moore Gift Card (no Exp)
-$5 McDonalds (no Exp)
-$10 Starbucks (no Exp)
-4 tickets to a local Museum (no expiration)
-$10 Living Social for food at a local restaurant (gift)
-$30 to a Winery (gift)
-$30 to a Nail Salon (xmas gift!)
-2 free 12 packs of Coke
25% off VistaPrint

Today's spending was groceries $92.xx. We are definitely stocked up though!

I made lunch at home - healthy pasta salad
Dinner was my weekly Sunday dinner with friends. I was 'off' this week. We had tacos as Main, rice as Side and apple turnovers for dessert. YUM

I have food packed for work tomorrow - trying to get back on the healthy kick!

I caught up on episodes of Lost Girl and I also did some studying for my CAMs. I set my Exam date for 3/3/14. SO I HAVE to stay on top of studying!

Tomorrow, I work from 7am to 4pm and then 5:30-7:30. I am hitting the gym after 4 and then working from home for my OT tomorrow night.

Dinner will be from the freezer. I am thinking meatloaf muffins and baked potatoes...with salad for veggies.

Feeling a bit of energy after 6+ hours of sleeping off a migraine today. So I put the laundry away and cleaned out the closet. I was able to put a big trash bag of clothes together for Goodwill!

Then I got super-organized and put together outfits for Sunday through Friday, complete with jewelry!

Next, I plan to put together bags for the gym. Shoes, clothes, ect all ready to go for Monday, Tues & THursday.

Last thing tonight, I will be putting together a meal plan as I am grocery shopping tomorrow!

Lucky me had a migraine today. I had to cancel my plans to go to an 80's dance party with friends. Which stinks as someone had given me free tickets to the event.

FH took care of me and grabbed some food/supplies to make it through.

Frugal things for today:

-Started using the free calendar I received for 2014
-Received Freebies from Scotch
-Sorting out closet & packing things away to go to Goodwill


I am tracking my spending so far:

1/1 NO SPEND
1/2 $8.54 Lunch
1/3 $14.48 Lunch delivered
$7.99 Netflix (auto deduction)
$40.00 Dinner (work happy hour for future hubby's office)
1/4 NO SPEND (FH bought lunch/groceries since I was sick)

My future hubby & I went and picked out our wedding bands on NYE. I also had some unexpected car repairs that same day. Both amounts went onto a card, which will be paid in full before the due date. I have recalculated my 'overall debt' figures to incorporate that 'debt' as it's now in my cashflow/debt snowball since its being paid off through the wedding account & cashflow from my overtime.

So its not debt in the sense of carrying over the balance, but I want to track the cashflow of the payoff. I pay no interest & get rewards points. And it's being paid off in under 30 days.

So as I am tracking my spending for the year, here is what I have so far:

Wednesday 1/1/14 NO SPEND DAY
Thursday 1/2/14 $8.54 on lunch (entertainment spending)

Got a big one today. I woke up at 8, and have yet to do anything other than unload the dishwasher and make lunch. I need to get a move on!

To-Do List

-Unload dishwasher [DONE]
-Clean kitchen [Partially]
-Prep food for work tomorrow [NOPE]
-Make meal plan [NOPE]
-Make lunch at home [DONE]
-Make dinner at home [NOPE]
-Do own mani/pedi [DONE]
-Clean upstairs bathroom
-Clean bedroom
-Organize closet
-Study for CAMS
-Clear personal email [DONE]
-Update checkbook [DONE]
-earn swagbucks [DONE]
-earn mypoints [DONE]
-earn inbox dollars [DONE]
-request inbox dollars payout [DONE]
-earn mycokerewards [DONE]
-earn bing rewards [DONE]
-Clean living room [NOPE]
-Put away gifts [DONE]
-Enter inventory of Christmas wrapping supplies (made list other day)
-Enter inventory of 'Gift closet' (made list other day)
-update FH on his 1/2 of house bills
-Do anything else that I have the energy for

1. Pay off Loan $949.07 (January 1st 2014 with 12/27 check)
2. Add $2500 to wedding fund (May 2014)
3. Add another $1000 to Emergency Fund
4. Pay off Plumbing charge on CC $5557.28 (May 2014)
5. Pay off ELN cc $5238.78 (Aug 2014)
6. Pay off Car Loan $4585.93 (Sept 2014)
7. Pay off DSC cc $11,396.73 (End of Year)
8. Utilize HSA, sinking fund & cashflow to pay Medical Bills
9. Cashflow rest of wedding and honeymoon
10. Work on future husband's debt (We will not officially combine finances until after the wedding)
11. Cash Only Christmas - goal of finding $650 in Snowflakes!
12. Add $250 into Nephew's savings fund account
13. Start niece's savings fund account & add $100 (she's only 1 month old)

Today, as planned, I paid off my 2nd mortgage, which was really part of a first time homebuyers program. It was a pain to get paid.

In the end, it cost me a half dozen phone calls and a $8 fee for a bank check. BUT ITS DONE!

The $100 per month payment will go into my snowball. Woot!

My paystub went up online yesterday & I was excited to see how much take home I receive with the overtime I did over the last 2 weeks!

In addition to my normal pay, I earned $862.86 in take home overtime pay!

I already have my budget for that pay period & will be putting a LOT of money to debt & savings.

So between my normal pay budget & the overtime, I am doing the following:

1. Paying $1395.19 towards debt
2. Saving $314 ($300 towards Wedding fund)

For a total of $1709.19!

So, I neglected to mention, but the other week, in the midst of many plumbing issues, more leaks in pipes sprung up.

I finally gave up (based on research and expert advice) and agreed to have plumbing redone. I put it on a card as my EFUND had been depleted and I have stupidly run up some debt recently even though I am still paying down the debt from my medical issues last year.

So I have a lot of debt. AND I have a plan to pay it off. I have 2 Snowball budgets.

1. with my base income
2. with a minimal amount of OT

We also have been cash flowing Wedding expenses, which is nice!

Here, for the public, are my debt totals:

ON $532.42 TO BE PAID OFF IN DECEMBER

CTY $1931.16 (Honeymoon deposit - was only put on the credit card for travel insurance through the card & will not have any finance charges as we are paying it off this week) TO BE PAID OFF THIS WEEK

HOME LOAN $949.07 TO BE PAID OFF IN JANUARY

CD (PLUMBING BILL) $5537.28 TO BE PAID OFF IN MAY

ELN $5238.78 TO BE PAID OFF IN AUGUST

CAR LOAN $4585.93 TO BE PAID OFF IN OCTOBER

DSC $11,396.73 TO BE PAID DOWN TO 5K BY DECEMBER
TO BE PAID OFF IN 1ST QUARTER 2015

Well, it's Thursday, thank goodness. Its been a very busy week.

I have been putting in lots of OT in as this is the first week it's available to me.

Monday - I worked 7:00am to 5:30pm
Tuesday 7:00am to 6:30 pm
Wednesday 7:00am to 6:30pm with an hour break for a doctor's appointment
Today - 7:00am to 4:00pm and then worked from home 5:00pm to 8:00.

Monday night, I cleaned after work. Tuesday, I did more of the same. Last night, I met a friend for dinner and didn't get home until after 9pm

Tonight, I am brain dead. I am watching Red Dawn on Netflix and when FH (Future Hubby) comes home, we are watching Elementary. Then its bed!

Tomorrow, I work from 7-4. No real OT tomorrow. I am going to my nephew's soccer game in the evening.

Saturday, I am working OT from home from 9-1. I am having lunch with a friend after and going over another friend's for a last hoorah before they close on the house she owns. She & her hubby have a new place, but the old one is incredibly located in the midst of the family area of a college town. So we are doing a bar crawl and crashing at her place that night.

Sunday, I am working OT again 9-12. Then it will be chores, chores, chores & studying for my professional exam.

Anyway, very little other things are getting done, but I have accomplished quite a few things.

-Utilized Amazon shipping on my free 30 days of Amazon Prime.
-Ordered Nalgene Water Bottle $9.95 for free due to a $10 Special Offer Promo Code from LL Bean Catalog (no min coupon!)
--Contacted Amazon because they cancelled an order of mine for Christmas. They gave me a $5 credit for my trouble (card was never charged)
-Utilized Avon clearance & free shipping, so bought some personal items on my to-buy list: foot cream (lotion) and body cream (lotion) for $7.98 out of pocket.
-Old Navy - been wanting a new pair of jeans & I have $30 in Old Navy bucks. However, I haven't made it to the store yet & every time there is an online discount for Old Navy, the discount doesn't apply to jeans as they are an 'every day steal'. Well, finally, yesterday the 30% off coupon was for ALL items, so I was able to get a pair of jeans, a work sweater, a fleece jacket for winter workouts (my current one had a rip in it) and socks for $7.80 out of pocket. Woot!
-Purchased some gift cards for Christmas
-Been doing my Bing, some swagbucks, mypoints, Inbox Dollars, Ebates & Shop at Home to start Christmas savings for 2014
-Earned a free $5 Starbucks credit card via Ting

Today, I worked 2 hours overtime. I also did a little bit of shopping.

Kohl's had some good sales, plus 20% off for the Cyber Weekend. We have been in need of a new ottoman and its been on my 'wish list' for quite a while. The old one literally broke into pieces months ago. Well, I just happened to see a really nice/sturdy one on sale from $199 to $69.99, plus the 20% off and was able to purchase it for $55.99 out of pocket. I earned $15 in Kohl's cash plus rebates from Ebates & rewards from my credit card. I promptly paid the charge off today!

I then turned around today and used the $15 Kohl's cash for a pair of work shoes (desperately needed) $17.99 plus 20% off, after the $15 cash off, so $2.39 out of pocket. Woot!

I requested a $5 Amazon gift card from Swagbucks and a $5 McDonalds gift card from MyCokeRewards for a heavily discounted points 'price'.

I was happy to purchase a 12 month membership to Xbox Live for my nephew's gift with a $5 gift card and a nice Cyber Monday price. Normally $59.99, I got it for $40!

Other than that - no real shopping.

Today's 5 Things included:

1. Work overtime [DONE]
2. do a little shopping [DONE]
3. shop for wedding tuxes with the soon to be hubby [DONE]
4. Clean out personal emails [DONE]
5. Set a budget for the next 2 weeks/pay bills [working on it]
6. Catch up on DVR and rest!

I have a goal of accomplishing at least 5 Things off my never ending To Do List. Sometimes I do 5, sometimes more, but my goal is always at least 5!

Today, I did/will do the following:

1. Studied for my professional accreditation test [DONE]
2. Consolidated Thanksgiving leftovers (and unfortunately threw out some waste). [DONE]
3. Prepped Food for work tomorrow[DONE]
4. Gave grocery list to my fiancée (he was grabbing the groceries for me)[DONE]
5. Gave myself a manicure[DONE]
6. Cleaned my bedroom[DONE]
7. Set out clothes for work tomorrow (will be getting up super early for OT)[DONE]
8. Have dinner with friends (pot luck Sunday night dinner)

Due to my employer having a department linked to the one that I work in having significantly increased workloads, the people in that department have been pulling crazy hours consistently for over a year now. 10 hour days, 6 days a week, holidays, ect.

The work is time sensitive and highly regulated. And these people take their dedication to the job seriously. However, they are salaried and not being paid overtime for a job that essentially requires it.

So they are being moved from salaried to hourly. My job, as it is encoded will also have to make the change although I have never been required to do that kind of work.

We keep every perk of exempt (the extra vacation, flexibility, ability to work from home, ect) except we have to account for our time now.

So that means, time and a half for every extra hour above 40. It also means - $$$$!

I have the ability to work up to 20 hours per week overtime. There is no way that I will do that consistently, but I aim to do 10 hours a week. This will help me rebuild my emergency fund, payoff debt and help fund my honeymoon. I am super excited!

I already have estimated my take home pay hourly and have a debt snowball that includes no OT and with OT to keep me motivated!

I am running a very long To-Do List and it just keeps accumulating. I am planning on reinstating my 5 Things List. Essentially, each day, a minimum of 5 things need to be taken care of on the ever expanding To Do List.

Today's To Do's are numerous

- Go to friends to care for cat (pet sitting) [DONE]
- Grocery store #1 [DONE]
- Grocery store #2 [DONE]
- Put away groceries [DONE]
- Make breakfast [DONE]
- clean kitchen [DONE]
- do dishes [DONE]
- put away dishes [DONE]
- clean kitchen floor [DONE]
- clean out fridge [DONE]
- pick up living room [DONE]
- dust & vacuum living room
- move lawn mower to basement [DONE]
- move dehumidifier to basement
- do laundry [DONE]
- make lunch [DONE]
- study for professional exam
- wedding to dos [DONE]
- update wedding budget [DONE]
- go through mail/papers [DONE]
- clean out purse [DONE]
- clean bedroom [DONE]
- dust/vacuum bedroom [DONE]
- clean upstairs bathroom
- scrub bath tub [DONE]
- scrub toilet [DONE]
- shower [DONE]
- do nails [DONE]
- make dinner (baked ziti)[DONE]
- pack lunch for Monday [DONE]
- put away laundry [DONE]
- make bed [DONE]
- clean downstairs bath [DONE]
- enter mycokerewards [DONE]
- clear personal emails [DONE]
- clean hand vac [DONE]
- refill pill bag [DONE]
- budget
- to do list for the week
- take cat litter to basement
- bring in soda from the car

My fiancee and I are pet-sitting for a friend's cat while she is out of the country for a week or so. The cat, actually a kitten, is a cutie and a joy to spend time with. I absolutely don't mind stopping by once a day to feed her, play with her and clean out the litter box.

When we got to her house on Friday, there were 2 $15 gift cards to Wawa on the table for us! Really sweet gift and I am happy to have it.

Normally, I keep my trap shut regarding snark online. However, in keeping up with the blogs and message boards on this site this morning, I saw some absolute nastiness.

I have been with SavingAdvice for a long time and I have always found this site to be encouraging. Even when having differences of opinion, people value other's input.

I want to thank those that have encouraged such a strong, caring environment and hope that they will inspire others will live up this legacy.

I have spent the last 40 hours or so at the hospital helping my sister through a very strenuous and long delivery. Finally, at around 3:30, we were able to meet her!

I was lucky enough to be able to leave work early on Tuesday & work from home on Wednesday (i.e. work from the hospital. I probably spent about $30 on food & drinks at the hospital, but it was 100% worth it to not have to leave in case I was needed.

I am exhausted on only 3 hours sleep and due to some family drama out of my control. Mama & baby are doing well and I am happy for them.

Tonight, things go back to normal & I am planning out my spending for the next week and a half of this pay period. Tomorrow, I have plans with a friend for dinner, plus I want to bring my fiancée to meet the baby after work tomorrow.

Friday, I am hoping to stay in. Saturday night, we are going to Fogo de Chao (Brazilian Steak Place) for a birthday dinner. Definitely pricey, but I want a really nice date & celebration night. I put it in the budget & I am happy to treat him!

I found out there was a Wedding Expo being held at the location for my wedding. Because I am already booked there, I scored 2 free tickets for my Mom & I and we went this afternoon.

We received a few small freebies (candy), some coupons for vendors (still looking for a photo booth & flowers) and got some helpful tips on honeymoon ideas.

We entered a bunch of drawings (quite a few were available). Some will get calls if I win, but one drawing was while I was there - for a travel agency & I scored a big bottle of tequila from the Caribbean and a Bahama Rum Cake, as well as a reusable tote bag. Score!

Afterwards, my mom & I grabbed a quick lunch and I have been home just chilling since.

I am off tomorrow (yay) and hope to get some house stuff done!

Plenty of updates!

-called & got a credit back for an auto-renewal of a magazine that I had gifted my dad last year. $23.93 back

-Ordered free Julep 3 pack of nail polish & nail file as part of a free trial. Will cancel the trial on Monday. Will use for Christmas gifts!

-Picked a 2014 health plan (increasing $2/paycheck) and adding $33.33 per check towards HSA

-Earned & cashed in $5 Amazon Gift Card from Bing Rewards

-Sold a freebie 8GB Memory Stick ($6) and an old framed poster (FROM COLLEGE!) ($5) via a FB classifieds group

-Used a Fandango Gift Card to see the matinee of Thor today

-Used a Barnes & Noble gift card for a few books & enjoyed time browsing & getting ideas for requests for the library! Very fun!

-Entered in more MyCokeRewards - am just 80 away from a $20 gift card to GameStop for one of my nephews!

-Signed up for a free to me Bridal Show tomorrow. I am taking my mom with me and I hope to score some freebies

For the 4th time in the last 2 weeks, I have written a post & lost it. I NEED to remember to cut the text prior to submitting in case.

I will be posting one in a minute!

A good friend of mine's dad passed away this week. He had been living with ALS for the last few years and it has seriously progressed in the last year.

When he passed, she had just had a new baby a few months prior. She has a 6 year old and they and her husband had moved in with her folks to help out.

She is a teacher and stressed beyond belief. When he was given 24-48 hours to live, a college friend & I sent a delivery order of wraps, salad and pasta to cover lunch & dinner for a day or so for them. Given the level of grief, we didn't feel comfortable showing up at the door, so we sent delivery.

$89 including tip. My friend (who lives in Boston) is mailing me a check for half. This is unplanned, but absolutely the right kind of spending. I hope that I in a very small way eased the last 24 hours before he passed with that gift.

I am happy that I could cashflow something that could relieve even one little bit of stress for them .And I am grateful for everything that I have in my life right now. So very grateful.