India Stuff

Really sad stuff happened in India last week. The Princess kept saying, "My grandma and grandpa live in Bombay." I kept telling her they don't live there anymore, and I hope she wasn't scared. She didn't seem to be.

Prayers are definitely with all the familiesn affected by those horrible hotel attacks. I guess before September 11th, I would have said I can't imagine how a city would recover. But, NYC has proved me wrong and life just goes on.

Interesting Book

This family has inspired me to try to pay off our home early. I know we will do it, just not sure of how early. Can you imagine having paid off a home in 8 years? Can you imagine having no house payment? I can only wish, and after reading this book, that I can do it. It's a goal I have and will gladly work towards.

America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money

Bills Bein' Paid!

Recently, I took over our bill paying. While I am the first to say The Man is totally awesome with money, his timing and over-extended schedule made for some late paying on the bills. Nothing dramatic, none of that final-final notice stuff. But, things weren't getting paid on time and I now see the value of saving on late charges!

For the last 7 years, they have been pretty much his responsibility. I've reminded him here and there not to forget to pay one or another, but in his traveling and my oblivion, they would get overlooked.

I now feel a part of our getting out of debt. By January we will pay off one entire credit card, the balance (no interest/no payment for one year deal) on our furniture, and our car! Our car will FINALLY be paid off! Now to just pay off that lousy student loan. Hmph.

One tip I can share in this is to distribute money based on your income. We get our mortgage bill and music lesson bills at the end of the month, so a lot of the paycheck goes to these. I simply distribute money from the previous check to a savings and then move it at the end of the month, covering a lot of those payments. It's worked well.

If you are eligible, please vote on Tuesday!

62 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

My Personal Challenge

I am challenging myself to eat at home for one month. I will allow one trip out to eat but that is it. Can I do it? Will it save me money in the long run? I can't wait to see what happens!
BTW...the Rockstar, without the rockstar hair.

Change of Heart

We are going to homeschool the Princess! Yeah! Oh, and the Rockstar chopped off all his beautiful hair. Pictures to come...it's been a busy weekend.

School

The Rockstar has started school. He is taking:

• Biology (preparing him for AP)
• 10th grade English
• World History
• Sign Language I
• Math (Still figuring that one out)
• Elective (still need to decide)

With his math, the good news is he may be starting Austin Community College. It counts towards college credit and he's in a class that is free because we live in the city! How cool is that?! He's matured so much and I'm amazed at how much he absorbs and knows. He's one smart cookie. Oh, and he's starting drums. Hello, ear plugs!

The Princess, sadly, is going to school. I know sadly shouldn't go into that sentence but it really conveys how I feel. I didn't think sending her to school full-time would bother me but really, I wanted to homeschool her again. I know statistics are totally on my side and she would just blossom, but I also know the feeling of being overwhelmed with her attitude and her not wanting me to teach her. I am sad to see her go to school. I just want to keep her with me and continue to teach her as I always have. She's about 1 year ahead of our local "exemplary" school district, and I know her first grade year, she'd just blossom. I'm sad to see her go into school but also know she deserves a chance at it. I'm torn, really.

Been a While...

I'm not really online anymore. I find ways to keep myself busy that don't include being online much.

But, we just got back from a great trip to St. Louis, Missouri, Chicago, Illinois, and Wisconsin. I loved the heartland of America! I really, really did. But, it was good to be home.

I'm Back To Life, Back To Reality

In the past 3 weeks, I've been:
**tentatively diagnosed with mononucleosis (NO FUN--and I am in denial)
**went on a vacation with my 2 nephews, my 2 kids, mom and brother
**cried over the phone because I wish my husband worked in town
**started holistic treatment for my ailments
**re-homed a baby bird back into its nest with its siblings
**won $50 on a radio contest (gas card!)
**helped another homeschool mom with some lessons for her 9th grader
**sang some songs in Luckenbach, TX in celebration of Waylon Jennings' birthday
**treated 76 chigger bites on The Rockstar's legs. Ouchy.
**missed the monsoons in Arizona. Nothing smells better than the rainy desert.

Yeah, I've been busy. I do have to say, my money tip for this week is this: If you have a local radio station that has website, sign up for all the contests you can. I've won 2 contests in 2 months on my favorite radio station's site. I won 4 Chipotle burritos on one and a $50 gas card on another. I NEVER win anything, so it's worth a try!

Lizard inside Moody Gardens, Galveston, TX

Very scary sky on the coast in Galveston, TX

Twitter

I'm on Twitter. Join me and let's see what's going on in each other's lives, one sentence at a time. Or maybe two.

username: jenada

Sick

I hate going to the doctor, so when I go you know it has to be bad. I went last night to urgent care and was diagnosed with a double ear infection, strep, and a sinus infection! YIKES!

Couldn't Be More Excited...

Yesterday was Memorial Day. While everyone was enjoying margaritas and grilling, I raided her recipes! She's the most amazing cook. I scored her shrimp gumbo recipe along with her Cajun Shrimp Sauce w/Basa Fillets and the high point? Zucchini bread recipe! Total score!

The Rock Star

The Princess

I read an article today about "thinking" like a millionaire. I think the concept is great because it stated many people with money live frugally. It also said one must have patience and not be the first to go out and buy the newest car, newest gaming system, and anything else society makes us feel we "need." My favorite line was, "Patience is often the difference between creating savings and being in debt. Having the patience to wait until you find a good deal is a cornerstone of good finances."

This really resonates with me simply because I've learned to live well within my means. I've known people my entire life who get even a small amount of money and will spend it on total crap. I mean crap. One week, they could be living day to day with the real possibility of having no food on the table. Then, they get money and they go buy a video game, or a useless piece of furniture. I'm happy to say I feel like we've done good in this sense. I don't buy my kids toys unless it's a special event like Christmas or Easter. At that, we don't go over $50-100. We don't let them talk us into the biggest and best toys commercials tell them they have to have.

My husband and I are going to pay off our car and we'll have two fairly new cars paid off and trust me, we are not going to run out and get new ones. We'll probably drive these into the ground, but that's the point. Thinking and behaving this way helps us save money!

On another note, I'm worried about gas prices! I hope that $4.00/gallon threat doesn't make it to Texas anytime soon. It's such a chunk of change to fill up your tank these days, huh?

Great Message Board for saving tips!http://moneycentral.msn.com/community/message/thread.asp?board=smartspending&threadid=649515&GT1=33009

Cool Article

I've never been a coupon kind of gal. Our local grocery stores never do double coupons, and I always forget my coupons at home. The Man sent me a great article and it linked to a site called CouponMom which seems pretty neat. I am going to actively try couponing to see if I can save money. I hear of women taking 70-90% off their grocery bill and I'm just floored!
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/FindDealsOnline/TakeABigBiteOutOfGroceryBills.aspx?page=1

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

Well, maybe not desperate measures, but different measures for sure. I'm actively trying to figure out what to do with this thing called "unemployment." Even though my Master's is in Education, I find myself more and more hesitant to go into the education field as a normal teacher. I just don't know what I want to do, except I'd love to teach college-level education courses. I've had one offer but most of the work was on the weekends, and I just can't do that when my husband travels all week.

I have to figure out what I can do from home to make enough money to pay for The Princesses tuition and anything else we need at this point. I think a semi-mindless job would be ideal, and a lot less stress than teaching! With a husband that travels, it's very difficult to be a working parent and spend 50 hours or so working each week., along with raising two kids. I was a single mom for years and I swear, I don't know how I did it. With The Rockstar still being homeschooled, I've got to find something either very part time or something at home.

My brain is working overtime in this capacity, but I know whatever I decide will have to pay our bills. I'm kind of glad our situation (read: Having hardly any money!) has pushed me to pursue something that interests me and that will help me pay our bills. While I decided I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and wife for a long time, when desperate times arrive, I'm ready to take them on and do what I can to make life easier for us as a family. It's tough, but hopefully I'll find something that can work for me!

Cardiology, Money, and Trips

We made it to Hema's annual cardiology appointment this past week in Houston. Everything is fine, thank God. She has had a narrowing of one of the major arteries in her heart but that narrowing has remained the same in size. So, we're on bi-annual visits to her cardiologist from now on! He also gave a "gentle discouragement" for her participation in any kind of karate/tae kwon do. She was slightly bummed, but it's for safety. When your chest is sensitive, nothing like that is a great idea. He suggested tap dancing and I realized he doesn't know my daughter too well. As long as he knows her heart, we're okay!

I am lovin' me some Dave Ramsey. I think he's awesome and I love his principles for money. He had a woman on that paid off $31,000 in debt in 14 months! And, she only makes about $40,000/year! I just think he's inspirational. I love anyone that lights some fire under my butt for things like that.

Lastly, we're almost certain we'll spend part of the summer in Houston and in Galveston. We also may spend some time in Ohio (Greenville, Sandusky) so that is awesome! If I know you from AAA, maybe we can meet up? Let me know!

I never thought I'd be of the age where I'd start worrying about my retirement and money for that. But, it's come and we're worried.

MSN had a great article on retirement. The one thing that stuck in my mind was when they said that if you haven't been worried about the cost of healthcare in this country, now is the time to start worrying. If you haven't started planning for retirement, now is the time to start!
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/RetirementandWills/InvestForRetirement/InvestForRetirementDyn.aspx?cp-documentid=6622249

When did I get so OLD?

Bulk-Item/Warehouse Stores

We had a membership to Sam's Club a couple of years ago. We rarely used it because we live too far from the store. (I hate that we live too far from A LOT of things!) However, this week I renewed my membership and think we did okay.

Granted, I didn't find tomatoes, some fruit, and couldn't fathom buying an almost gallon of cottage cheese, I loved the sales I got. I really scored on a few things:

• 40 slices of lunchmeats (Sargento's) for 8.00 (turkey, ham, roast beef)
• 40 slices of swiss, provolone, and colby cheese for 8.00
• fruit snacks for 6.00 (24 LARGE bags of snacks!)
• chicken for minimal amounts
• a huge beef shoulder used for ropa vieja for 10.00
• shampoos for 5.00 and will last us probably 2-3 months

All in all, I think the membership will pay itself off quite well. I have always wondered why they don't take Visa or American Express, but do take Discover and Mastercard, or debit/cash. I love the concept of bulk items for lunch snacks and non-perishables but things that can go bad quickly may not be ideal for this family.

Do you ever feel like all you do, everyday, day in and day out, is clean? I hate that!

Goal for March-July

My goal for March through July is to continue to:

• tithe to my church's new building fund (this is well over $200/month)
• make another savings fund for our "wishlist" item--a new television
• try to figure out if it's worth it to refinance our home and get a deck done

The Grocery Game

I heard from a friend that The Grocery Game website is offering a trial period. I think I'm going to sign up and see if it's worth the money to learn where savings are in my area. I think a lot of it is what's called stockpiling, which is storing up stuff you find on sale. I probably could do this, but I just don't make the room in my home for it. I encourage you to visit the site and the message boards, and do the trial if it works for you. I'm planning on signing up and seeing how it goes for the first few weeks.

Tip for the day: Go to Walgreen's! When they're overstocked with supplies, they put some really good stuff on sale. Look for their sale aisle/corner and you can find some great deals. Just today I got men's razors for .49 cents and women's deodorant for .44 cents! Those alone made the trip worth it! Also, when you go at the right time, you can often find milk on sale there. In our area, milk is around $5.00 so when I find it for $2.89, I get a little excited!

Having saved over $200 in savings and using a check from our home owner's insurance (who EVER gets $ BACK?) we are now the proud owners of a stainless steel dishwasher AND over-range microwave! The dishwasher is Energy Star efficient only using 6 gallons of water/wash. We plan on using it once/day and I'm excited that we're upgrading and that saving money paid off in a BIG way. I was doing tons of dishes twice/day and it made me rageful, I swear.

Life is good today!

Today, we stopped buying paper towels. As in, no more paper towels for a long while.

They are wasteful and while they're so darned convenient, when you have a kid like The Rockstar, it becomes a chore trying to get him to use just one! He winds them around his hand, over and over, which is just a waste. So, we're going to be using and washing a lot of cloths, but it has to be done. It's cost-friendlier and just easier in the long run for our family.

Church Today

Pastor Jeff did something really cool today in church. He had us reflect on 2007 and asked if we'd re-do anything from the last year. HELLO!! YES! Right here! Hand raised! He had us write confessions on a small paper and nail them to a cross. It represented the need to let that garbage go! Let it go!

I looked up the passage from church today and I love the Message bible. It's written clearly for those like me who don't take Bible-ese well. It says, "Forget about what's happened, don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it?"

I see it.
I feel it.
And, I love that God has a plan for my life that isn't created from my past troubles and emotions.

Today, after a long time, I felt what it feels like to surrender and start fresh.

School for The Princess

Yesterday, The Man and I went on a tour of a school for The Princess. It's a montessori school, which really surprised me because he's super-traditional as am I in these cases. If you've never been to a montessori school, it's worth just the visit.

She is going to attend this school next year! When I saw the kids, I realized they act like her, they look like her, and they learn like her. We're very excited, even though this means I'll probably have to go back to work.

We realize we're setting the foundation for her life, not just her schooling at this point, so we're comfortable with it. YEAH!!

Yesterday my friend and I were discussing finances. We agreed that the important thing to do when budgeting is to first pinpoint where your money goes.

I can comfortably (and shamefully) say there have been months when $1000 has vanished from our accounts on what I term "little things." Little Things add up, my friends. Be smart and figure out what your "Little Things" are.

My goal has been to find out where my money goes. My friend said it well, "YOU control your money, your money doesn't control YOU." Once I control it, I can then go forward with saving it and applying it where needed. It's interesting when you look at it as she stated, huh?

Tip for Today: Don't be afraid to search Freecycle or Craigslist for selling items. (Craigslist=sell, Freecycle=free stuff to donate or pick-up.) People want to help and want to help others. As long as you're cautious and use common sense in pick-up or communication (safety issues), these can be great websites! Craigslist is also a great resource for local garage sales.

Yahoo Finance had a great short article today on saving money. I think this recession has made people reconsider their spending habits. Often times in this country, we're told to spend more to keep our economy afloat, but it's time to realize that isn't cutting it in most homes these days.

In times of recession, it isn't always possible. I feel for people that cannot afford gas to get to work. Personally, I know families that are struggling in ways they never have before, and I continue to offer prayers to them. With my blog, I hope I can shed some light changing spending habits and learning to save for the future. Having friends in this situation has given me the desire to help those like them and others as well.

Today's Yahoo Finance Article
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/104346/Eight-Ways-to-Cut-Back-Without-Sacrificing

Interesting Tidbit: Our library breaks down how much money we save when we use the library versus buying books. Since December, we've saved $521.08 just checking out books!

Job Update

I heard from an online college to work from home as a professor of early childhood education. But, it just didn't fit. They wanted me to work a lot more on weekends for some reason, and I can't let my family come second.

Something else will come up. I have full hopes.

Confessions of an ex-Webkinz Mom

I despise Webkinz. I also despise the Internet for kids. I used to embrace it and hell, my own Master's thesis was on how technology in small amounts could be good for kids of certain ages. I am so very wrong and the devil himself lies in that damned Webkinz site.

I hate the mom I became when I got a Webkinz for The Princess. She asked for one and I had no problem with her wanting to go online and play games. I knew I was in trouble when the webpage was always down for "upgrades" or "repairs." I'm married to a techie, so I know these terms well.

I wasn't prepared for the million of snot-infested meltdowns my daughter would have because she couldn't feed Furry Girl (her Webkinz toy) and because of that, she'd die that night and no one, not one person could save her! How would I convince The Princess that this isn't reality? I explained the website concept but to a five year-old, Furry Girl was her baby and she was neglecting her baby when the website was down, which for us, is daily.

Ganz has not, to this day, replied to 19 of my emails. I'm embarrassed to say I sent emails asking why her rooms were deleted, along with 4000 kinz cash points. When did that become so important to me? I didn't like that person.

I didn't like how other moms would play checkers with me and they'd get all, "oh it's on" when they played checkers, and I'd be all "good move" but really, I was thinking, "I'm a 33 year-old and you're an adult as well and here we are, pathetically fucking around in a kid's checkers game so our kids' FAKE animals can buy ugly ass t-shirts."

It was entertaining, but I could tell some parents got pissed when I would win in the Tournament Area, especially the Super Modelz game, because that's how I roll. I love me some whacky fashion!

Webkinz has taught me that no matter what, my kid benefits 100x more by playing outside in the grass, with snot running down her face and little pieces of hair sticking to her face thanks to the said snot. Sitting in front of a computer taught her to play checkers with someone's mom or dad, and that if something went wrong with the site, everything she worked for will one day vanish and she'll let Furry Girl die a horrible death.

My daughter did learn that Furry Girl had a hell of a lot more fun sitting on a beach in Dubai, with the Burj hotel on one side, the beautiful sea on the other. Furry Girl loved the flight on Air France and enjoyed play-eating lamb and mango desserts. Furry Girl loved being in the train in South India and loved riding in autorickshaws. She loved playing with friends in Oman, and loved coming back home to Texas in a long flight, keeping the Princess company every step of the way.

No computer could ever replace that experience Furry Girl had. Traveling the world kicked SO MUCH MORE ASS than Goober's Lab and Quizzy's Word Challenge, people.

Furry Girl sitting on a train from Bangalore to Coimbatore, India

Update

I'm on a new kick. I say "new" because, when faced with the possibility of actually having to go out into the workplace, I've decided to find ways to save money in our household. Funny how the threat such as, "Get yo ass to work now" from The Man has turned into, "Hey kids! Let's eat the same thing for dinner 3 times in a row, okay?" Tell this mama to go to work and she blossoms into a new woman, one willing to not eat out, as well as willing to feed her kids sandwiches for dinner. (Which, btw, I LOVE. I can get so creative and it's fairly inexpensive.)

While I love the idea of working, I love the idea of being a stay-at-home-mom more. My kids need me. My son is still homeschooled, although he's become much more of a successful independent learner lately. I can't imagine having a workload of a real job and keeping my household responsibilities up. I greatly admire women who do it all. I'm not one of those women. I can't do it all. I think we'd be a pretty raunchy household if I had to do it all, and we'd be eating dog food for dinner regularly because I can't do it all. Just can't.

As of now, I'm finding ways to cut corners. By cutting corners, I've:

• started using our Hybrid car for all travel, and our SUV stays at the airport while The Man travels
• started documenting my spending at grocery stores, Wal-Mart, gas stations, and online purchases
• started researching foods that are on sale at certain stores and learned which stores offer cheaper options for certain items
• learned how to freeze meals and how to make bigger batches of things to freeze for lunches
• cooked in bulk and with cuts of meat that are cheaper yet still healthy options
• stopped eating out (gasp!)
• quit my 3x/week Starbucks habit (even bigger gasp!!)
• started planning trips out with the kids. I plan accordingly with snacks and re-bottles of water in order to avoid stopping at Starbucks because I'm thirsty (nice excuse for a latte, huh?)
• Did I mention I've stopped eating out? Yea, I did? Well, that's a big one for us!

We've been spoiled by The Man's consulting life. In our previous life, we ate out almost everyday because the company paid for it. We got used to that life, along with free car rentals, free hotel, free flights, and really, it's hard to break those habits. We still get many perks like great hotels for free, but I want to learn to make our money last.

My goal this month is to finish saving for my dishwasher. While I could go to Sears tomorrow and put every appliance on credit, I won't. I'm upgrading our appliances one at a time and by the end of February, I will have devoted 2 months' savings to pay for a dishwasher! (About $500!) I use Bank of America's Keep the Change program and I also devote money at the end of each week to this fund. Some weeks, I put $5, some weeks I put $40. It just depends. I'm proud of myself because it's a goal. The nice thing about this is we can splurge a bit if we pay one appliance at a time.

We will be creating a television fund. With this fund, we will save for a new television for our family. We use old televisions in our house, and we want an upgrade, so we'll set aside $ for that as well. It's good to have goals, and good to set aside even small amounts for these goals. I encourage everyone to do this because, it adds up and feels great!

Goals for February

• Keep food budget at $400/month for this family of 4
• Utilize the envelope method, giving myself cash to keep for designated expenses, nothing more added to it, nothing less in it
• Make a budget that is do-able, while still allowing ourselves $ for fun
• Not being such a mad cheapskate. I need to lighten up when The Man wants three bags of beans instead of one. Even though I'm right. Always.
• Start our television fund
• Finish my dishwasher fund and get my dishwasher in early March
• Get a better handle of how to use coupons. This is a HUGE GOAL! I'm clueless.

I haven't updated in a while!

I'm starting fresh...I want to comment on my friend's blogs and now it may keep me blogging, too!