Lots of stuff going on. The last seven days have been really busy, and posting here was just at the bottom of my list. It's been the kind of week where what I'd usually do last Wednesday got pushed off til Thursday, the usual Thursday stuff got pushed to Friday, and so forth. I didn't get to my local library, and didn't even think to renew things online. So I had to pay almost $6 in fines this week, mostly for a movie I never even got to watch. Also, I've gone over my grocery budget. But I did work a few extra hours last week,and I'm so glad things are moving along, that I don't mind spending a little extra.

The main thing is, I'm getting a computer set up for DMom. She's needed a little help with paperwork over the past few years, but has always handled her checking account just fine. I always thought if I needed to help her with that, there'd have to be a computer to use at her house because I can't function without Quicken! I figured at that point I'd even buy the computer myself if I needed to. I didn't know it til yesterday, but she did have a problem this month because of something weird Verizon is doing, which was rather confusing on her checking account statement. She had even gone to the bank to try and figure it out. So I guess it's time. I can start doing it in Quicken, she can keep doing it her way, and then we can double-check each other.

Even before that happened, though, DMom said she was ready to go ahead with a computer. I'd shop, and she'd pay. So this past week was spent shopping for the best deal.

She's been thinking about it a long time, but what spurred her on was tax season. We didn't have a great experience with H&R Block last year. $350 and we did most of the work. She's content to have me try doing it, but she's nervous about my computer being online. Someone might hack in and find her social security number, etc. She'd rather spend money on a computer at her house, with no internet access. And she's absolutely tickled about the printer I found that can also be used as a copier when the PC isn't even on. (She's big on copying articles and sending them to friends.)

So I might not be posting much for awhile, what with helping her move furniture, setting up the PC and working on both our taxes. Wish me luck, and I'll see you after April 15. (Hopefully before.)

Well, here goes with the new system!

JC Penney never put through a credit they were supposed to, when they ran short of an item I ordered at Christmas, even though it showed as in stock. Called about it this morning; will have to watch for it for 1-2 more billing cycles.

Gas company sent two bills, the second one saying I owed twice the amount as usual. It was because I called in the meter reading, and then the meter reader put in the reading also. Another phone call this morning, to get the 2nd bill cancelled out.

DH's paycheck was even lower than the last one, so I had to gather and copy all the pertinent paperwork at 7:15 this morning, so he could show his immediate supervisor what his new health deduction was supposed to be. It turned out last paycheck was short because he took a day off at the end of the year, when he was actually out of vacation time. But this time it was the insurance that was the problem. They took out the old amount PLUS the new amount, and will have to refund $123 in his next check. Thank goodness we have enough cash on hand to carry us through til then.

Yesterday got a call from the stockbroker who handles my account with some income-generating investments. A bond was called in, and he wanted the ok to reinvest the money in something else. I felt like I had to research it a little to make sure the new company was ok. I'd rather take a little less interest than get a higher rate on a junk bond.

Wednesday, my weekly paperwork day, I wasn't really in the mood for it and tried to make a game out of it by counting how many piece of paper I handled. I lost track at 100. It took several hours, and there are still more things I ought to do.

I feel very lucky to be working part-time, and have the time to take care of this stuff!

I finally got through to somebody at the Board of Public Utilities who could take a complaint about our non-existant long distance service. I talked to them Monday morning, and by that afternoon I had both a reply to my email of January 2, and a message on our answering machine. By this morning, it was hooked up and working. Yay! It took exactly 11 weeks. Something in our state government works.

I hate to say this, but the guy at Pioneer I finally got the call from was a native speaker of English and the sound quality makes me think the call originated in the US. Whenever I've called their customer service, the reps sound very far away, and have accents. I don't have anything against the reps themselves, at the foreign call centers. I actually saw a documentary about call center workers in India, and I have the utmost respect for how long and hard they work to make better lives for themselves and their families. But they seem to only be trained and authorized to handle the most routine transactions--if there's a problem, they refer it somewhere else, probably in yet another country, and nobody seems to be in charge of following up. It's not like they can walk down the hall and get a problem solved by talking to the right person in another department. It's not their fault; it's the client company's fault. Mjrube94, I hope you don't have as much trouble getting your referral!

Another car repair today, this time DH's car. We are trying our neighbor this time. I'm glad I sprung for the AAA upgrade a couple of months back, so we didn't have to worry about paying the tow truck driver for extra miles. And I was already scheduled to be off today, which makes things easier, too. We'll see how it works out...

Have gone an entire week with no credit card purchases.

The HSBC card arrived, as did the balance transfer into our checking. I've scheduled payoffs on the other cards.

DMom gave me my birthday cash, and it was higher than previous years. For once, I don't feel like I need it desperately for anything and am going to put it right into the emergency savings account. I was playing around with the tax estimator thing Baselle posted, and it looks like we might owe this year. It would be nice to know enough money is sitting there, ready.

We're building up quite a credit on our electric co. budget billing. We should have one or two months with no bill this spring, plus the monthly amount after that should go down. A nice surprise.

It's the last week of my 4-week budget, and I still have money for Everyday Expenses. Looks like I might finally come in at or below my 4-week goal for the first time.

Now for the frustrations. I guess I need to develop some philosophy about when to declare an issue dead, and just give up on it. And when to keep pushing so as not to lose money or a service I'm entitled to. Right now, I'm dealing with several ongoing problems that could use up several hours a day, if I let them.

--Pioneer Telephone. Still waiting for long distance service. Called the state board of public utilities, and am playing telephone tag with the person who takes complaints. How much more time should I waste making phone calls that result in nothing? What I'm thinking of doing is this: Use up the

I feel like I'm ready to take a nap or go to bed early, but I still need to work this evening...

Started the day by filling out and faxing the HSA forms to DH's human resources person at around 7 a.m. Called later to make sure it went through. Sounds good, but I'll feel better when I see the deductions on DH's next paycheck.

Then I had to get the dog to her annual vet appointment. She gets very nervous and they needed an extra assistant in the room to hold her still. A muzzle is a given, but when I asked they said yes, a tranquilizer might be a good idea next time. Quite an experience.

She's over 10 now, and seems to be getting the beginning of arthritis. The doctor recommended trying a special Science Diet food for joint disease, but you have to get it by prescription and it isn't cheap. $19.99 for a 10-pound bag of dry when I'm used to paying about $8. Or $1.50 a can, when I'm used to paying 50 cents. Plus I still have a lot in Petsmart gift cards to use up, and I wouldn't be able to get this food there. I just can't see committing to spending that extra money right now. Especially since the doctor only mentioned it at my asking, and pointed out that the dog was still pretty lively. So I'll try not to feel guilty. She can't be in too bad shape if she's still running up the steps just to show DH a new chewy bone.

Mailed in the rabies certificate for the new dog license. Switched the newspaper billing to the debit card. Mailed a book that sold on Amazon, and a rebate. Picked up requests at the library. And all afternoon I've been working on taxes.

I sold a lot of stuff on Amazon last year, and a pretty large percentage of the items were things I'd bought at full price for personal use, and then sold later. But I feel like I have to report a sale as income unless I have a receipt to prove what it cost me (just in case we ever get audited). I was able to pull up old Amazon purchases, and an Ebay purchase through my Paypal account. But there are still quite a few purchases I have no receipts for. At least I got the taxable Amazon income down by $200. A lot of work to save about $30 on our taxes, now that I think about it...

Another no-cc day. Wrote a check at the vet.

HSA/DH -Thanks for the support and book suggestion. I *am* going to call again next Tuesday when that person is back from vacation, and keep trying to get it set up. DH doesn't seem to mind that I'm working on this; I was kind of afraid he'd be angry that I butted in. And the ladies in his office are nice enough. I guess it's more me feeling really uncomfortable about doing it. I can't imagine DH calling my job, asking about my benefits. Or my parents calling each other's jobs. Or spouses of co-workers of mine calling in, either. Unless the employee in question is deathly ill in the hospital or something.

Believe me, I do have quite a few accounts in my name only. And I have gone online to make changes in DH's 401K allocations and do health insurance business. (After I talked to him about it.) I guess I'll be able to do the HSA business on my own, too--after it's set up. But it sounds like filling out forms for his payroll person to set this stuff up is something that has to be on paper, and come from him.

Long distance-We tried to make some long distance calls over the holidays, using Pioneer instead of the phone card. We kept getting a message about not being authorized to make the call. I checked our last phone bill, and it showed Sprint as our regional carrier, and no long distance carrier at all. So I called Pioneer this morning. They said the Sprint part was ok, and said the long distance should be set up within 24-48 hours. I have to call a test number in a few days to make sure it went through. I was joking when I said this project could take weeks--I never imagined months! I started making the switch back on October 26.

BestBuy-Between phone calls, driving to Best Buy and waiting in the return line, It took me about an hour and 15 minutes to get the Virgin Mobile top-up card problem settled. A lot of work to do, just because somebody missed scanning the barcode somewhere along the line. Glad it's finished!

Mazda test drive-It's been less than 2 weeks since I mailed in the offer, and the Supercertificate code came in my email already. I'm impressed! I've ordered a $25 Staples gift card.

HSBC cc application-Yes, two applications did go through. The second one was turned down. The rep said it couldn't be deleted because the decision had already been made. I really don't like the idea of a "declined" on my credit report, but there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it. I'll make an explanatory statement with each credit reporting agency, but from what I understand nobody is apt to read it. Everything seems to be done automatically by computers, which only look at numbers.

The good news is, the rep on the phone put through a balance transfer big enough to pay off the balance on the Sony and Discover cards. He's actually sending the money to our checking account, to save us $50 on balance transfer fees. (Doing one transfer instead of two.) Then I'll just pay off each account out of checking. 0% till March 2007. I just hope the declined application doesn't affect my FICO number, triggering a cancellation of the 0% rate...

Have read 3 books so far, right on schedule. Exercised once last week. Mailed 2 more rebates this week, for a total of 4. The latest ones were Dr. Pepper for $5, and 2 General Mills whole grain rebates for another $5.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday, or day off, or some nice overtime pay if you had to work.

It was our usual quiet holiday--at least as quiet it can be, when DH gets to the point where he can't take visiting much longer and starts getting grumpy.

Since we don't do that much for the holidays, and I'm off work whether I want to be or not, it gives me some extra time to catch up on things, as well as just relax with a pile of movies and books. There are still plenty of things I could do, but I can't help feeling frustrated about not being able to get some businessy things done because, after all, it's the holiday season.

Two frustrating things I haven't been able to get done because of the holidays:

I tried to apply online for an HSBC credit card offer I'd gotten in the mail, 0% for 15 months, a much longer stretch than what I have now. It would let me consolidate and close out at least one other account, and give us some predictability for a good period of time. Something went wrong, though, and I'm afraid now they might think I was trying to put in two applications. I tried to call them today to find out, but that office is closed today.

I tried to top-up DH's Virgin Mobile phone, with a top-up card I'd bought at Best Buy. But the PIN number wouldn't take. The guy at Virgin Mobile said it showed as never being activated for use, so I have to take it back to Best Buy. If you think I'm venturing there the day after Xmas...

I did manage to get my car worked on last Friday, and am accomplishing things around the house. I'm even getting around to things like clearing out old emails. Will I be glad after we get through New Year's and life starts getting back to "normal." (Whatever that is!)

As I showered, getting ready to make the dreaded mall trip, I calmed down and realized that DH probably wouldn't care if his pj's arrived a few days late. If I could just convince DMom of this, I'd just go ahead and order the stuff at Penney's online with standard shipping and be done with it. She wasn't too hard to convince, especially when I described all I was able to find on sale for $53 total. As a matter of fact, my gift from DMom is going to be arriving late from Amazon, as well. (She'd told me to go ahead and order the blender I wanted.)

On Christmas Day, we'll have a nice dinner together, and visit, and we'll give her our gifts. It will be fine.

Now I just have to pick up a few things for DH to give his female co-workers tomorrow (I'm figuring chocolate would be safe), a prescription, and a few more things for DMom if there's time. If not, I can do that tomorrow. So I won't know our Christmas bill total for a little while. I'll also be taking a lunch break today with DMom and my aunt at a little Italian restaurant, and working 5-9. A much easier day than I anticipated. We even chose the restaurant for lunch, based on how far away from mall traffic it was.

Thought I'd try to save myself a trip to the mall, to pick up an Xmas gift for DMom to give my husband. She was talking about going out to shop herself today, at age 88, with my aunt who is not much younger. I told her in no way, shape or form she ought to try that, and that I'd do the shopping.

I went on Penney's website early this morning, and from the Christmas Delivery Schedule they had posted, it looked like if I ordered this morning and used Express Delivery, the order would arrive before Christmas. I spent quite a bit of time finding a robe and pajama top and bottom that would match and were in stock, found a coupon code to help defray the cost of express shipping, and went to check out. First, I had to change my email address since it had changed since my last order there. After I did that, it no longer recognized EITHER email address. So I tried checking out the non-registered way, where you have to enter your address, credit card numbers and so forth.

I got to where I could check out, and tried to choose Express Shipping, but it wouldn't let me. A popup kept coming up saying what the deadline was, which obviously had not passed yet. But it just wouldn't take. I finally found a number to call about website problems. I tried to describe the screen and the drop down menu that wouldn't work, and the woman didn't even seem to believe there was a drop down menu. She tried to tell me it you chose the Express method of checkout, it would automatically be shipped the fast way. It just isn't so--Express Checkout just automatically puts in your preferred shipping address and credit card number.

Anyway, she started to just take my item numbers and put the order in on her end. She came up with an arrival date of December 28, even when she put in Express Shipping. Then she put me on hold for quite a while, and finally came back to say that it wasn't working because UPS doesn't deliver on Saturdays in my area.

Geez, if they would have put a disclaimer or a chart somewhere on their page about delivery schedules, where you could see it wouldn't work in your zipcode, it would have saved me an hour and a half. It wouldn't be that hard--Barnes and Noble does a great job telling you whether their next day shipping will work for you or not.

So, it's out to the mall, I guess, where it will now be even harder to find a parking spot than it would have been an hour or two ago...

I guess that's why I haven't been posting--it's kind of embarrassing to have to post about doing so much discretionary spending, when everyone else seems to have their spending under good control.

There's something about this season that makes me spend on things I've been putting off. Something about facing the fact that if I need or want something, I'd better get it for myself because no one else is apt to get it for me. DH isn't much of a shopper, and DMom just can't do much shopping anymore. Also something about the year ending, a new one about to start, and what I'm just not willing to put up with or do without for another year. I think it also has to do with reading All Your Worth. Yes, I want to reduce our Must Haves, but a big reason you are supposed to do this is so you have more money left for Wants. It kind of makes me feel justified in spending a bit.

I'm not giving in to ads and displays for things I never wanted before. It's basically things that will make life easier, or more efficient, or less shabby, that I've come up with on my own. I'm trying to get the best prices I can, and use the gift cards I already have on hand.

Here's some of the stuff I've bought recently:

--Pajamas for both DH and I (to support our goal of keeping the heat at 66 at all times) - about $32

--Commuter mugs for both DH and I (to preserve our clothes and car upholstery, now that it's hot coffee season again) $23.98

--Sheets (The fabric of the bottom sheet in the one set we have has started to split. I'll try to repair it, but I'm only going to count on it as a spare) $24.99 and extra pillowcases $7.34 before I knew I'd need a whole new set of sheets.

--A fax/copier machine (Something that would have come in handy several times in the past. The clincher was that our car insurance agent merged and moved to an office about 45 minutes away. Getting something there in a hurry would now be a big problem, and the closest public fax machine is at a liquor store. Something weird about handing personal info over to a liquor store clerk!) $30 after rebate

--New coupon organizer (I was trying to cram too much into my $1 paper one, and it tore pretty badly. I couldn't find another one for $1. In fact the exact same paper one would have been over $6 shipped on Ebay. So I went for a fancier thing called a Coup-O-Dex for just a little more. More about this in another post.) $8.54

--Dixie cup dispenser for kitchen (Dishes are always a problem around here.) $4.76

--Space heater. $21.17

--Bubble shipping envelopes in bulk. (Got tired of trying to get to Walgreens when they are on sale, finding them out of stock, or having to run to several stores to get enough) $16.85

--Red velvet-looking lint removers (a replacement for one I had before, that was great on dog hair. Saves pulling out the vacuum to get hairs off living room furniture). About $6 at Target for a combo pack of mitt and thing with handle.

Gotta go....

I've been procrastinating about getting to the dry cleaners, and not because I was worried about spending the money. For years I've been going to a place that charged $1.99 (originally $1.69) per piece for dry cleaning, and did a good job. It's a little out of my way, but it's been worth it because their prices were the best around. Lately there seem to be new owners, though. Time before last, my clothes really reeked of the chemicals. The last time, they shrunk a blouse so I can't wear it anymore--I almost wonder if they laundered it by mistake. I've been mulling around what to do about it--if I go back and complain, and they offer me free dry cleaning to make up for it, do I really want to give them more clothes to ruin?

Somehow I finally remembered there were things you could get to dry clean things in your dryer at home. I picked up a starter package of Dryel at K-Mart with a discounted gift card. Even if I only do 3 items at a time (they say up to 4 items), it still comes out to less than $1 an item to clean. With the refill pack, it will come out to about 50 cents an item. They also had another brand, Dry Cleaner's Secret, which was even a little cheaper.

I just tried it, the stuff looks fine and actually smells nice. So--cheaper, nicer smelling, clothes ready right away instead of in days, cuts down on errands. Why does it take so long for these things to occur to me? =:O

-----------

On the cookbook I mentioned--I know interlibrary loan would work, but here's the problem. The two public libraries I use are 1) where I work now, and 2) where I used to work. There is something too embarrassing about requesting a "poor folks" cookbook from people I know. Dumb to have so much false pride, but there it is.

Even beyond the latest car problem, last week was a rough one. By the time the weekend rolled around, I knew I had to keep things simple and just try to catch up with myself. I did one big shopping trip at Pathmark, didn't use one coupon, and spent $76. Usually I match coupons to sales and go to 2 or 3 stores. But I just didn't want to spend the time or energy.

DH and I both have gas in our cars, and some cash. There's enough food in the house. The laundry is caught up. Tonight I'm dealing with those stacks of paper that build up so fast, and doing a little actual cleaning. We got some extra sleep, and got out on walks. We have movies to watch and books to read.

I don't even know how much money I spent over the past week--I probably overspent, what with the Pathmark shopping and $15 for Chinese food. But I think I'll be able to start the work week feeling caught up, and calmer. And that's the most important thing to me right at this moment.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to go through this process again for a very long time. We had AT&T, then Qwest, and most recently something called Primus (originally called Isterra). I myself use a 2.9 cents a minute phone card for both local toll calls and long distance calls. But even with the numbers programmed into our speed dial, DH has never gotten used to using it. So we need to have a back-up long distance/regional toll service set up for when he uses the phone.

Primus has been fine, but now somebody over on Fatwallet noticed they started slapping on a $5 a month fee for low usage. I immediately checked my bill--and unfortunately it's true. That comes to an extra $60 a year, which I'm just not willing to spend. At that rate, we might as well use the Virgin Mobile phones at 25 cents a minute for our long distance!

So, back to the drawing board. I checked at http://www.lowermybills.com and it looks like Unitel, Pioneer and Big Red Wire are my best bets. Would be curious to hear if anybody has had good or bad experience with any of them.

It's not a big deal, but I dread yet another series of tasks to do and follow up on. Call Verizon and ask them to take the PIC freeze off (on so we wouldn't get slammed). Decide on and arrange the new service. Watch for it to start up. Call Primus to make sure they stop billing us. Call Verizon to have the PIC freeze put back on. It could go on for weeks.

Sometimes I really miss the old days of Ma Bell handling everything, and no choices to make except Princess phone or standard...

No, I'm not going to try and cut it out. Take-out dinners once or twice a week help save my sanity. And frankly, DH would like to live on burgers, cheesesteaks, hoagies and pizza if I'd let him, anyway. It's a part of our life and I just have to keep the costs under control.

It's been pretty easy the past few months because of a pizzeria we discovered recently. I was counting on their $6 pizzas every Tuesday, plus cheesesteak/fries combos they had good coupons out for. The problem is, they seem to have gone out of business already! I guess they couldn't make money selling the food so cheaply. It's a shame, because the food was good.

So now I have to get creative, and be more attentive to other deals that are out there.

I'll definitely be buying more Wendy's and maybe Burger King gift certificates through Passport To Fun.

I went through the Entertainment Book that expires Nov 1, to see what restaurants let you use the coupons for take-out. There are a lot that sound like regular restaurants, but don't say "dine in only," so they look like a possibility. (It's like pulling teeth to get DH out to a restaurant, so we might as well use them for take-out.) I found a post here about a free trial for the Entertainment Book which lets you print out 3 online coupons without buying the new book. And I called AAA to find out what their price was for the new books. ($5 off and no shipping because you pick it up at the AAA office.)

The only other thing I can think of right now is remembering to order Chinese food at work before 3 p.m., so we get it at the lunchtime price. The only difference is, you get a can of soda instead of an egg roll. Usually I don't think to do it til the end of the day; I'll just have to plan better.

I checked back to when I last felt overwhelmed with loose ends and unfinished stuff--it's been a little over a month. It got me thinking to how I should just schedule a catch-up day once a month, and keep a running list of things I'll handle then. It's just a matter of what method to use to schedule it and keep the running list. It's hard to find a system I can stick with and won't forget to keep up with.

The most organized I've been was when I was using some software called Time and Chaos. I've had two different versions of it on two computers--as far back as when they sent you diskettes in the mail! After my last computer died, I got very leery of depending on a computer to run my life. Even with files backed up, it was a hassle to get things going again. So I never got a new version of T&C for this computer.

Yesterday, though, I got to feeling so desperate I checked their website to see how much it costs now. Their newest version is $45, and from past experience it would be worth every penny--even though I don't want to spend it right now. But the great news is, the previous version is now available completely free!!! And although it's an older version, it still works for Windows XP.

I can highly recommend it, if you need something for appointments, a to-do list, telephone book, etc. It's great for setting up repeating tasks like "clean out the fridge" once a month, in addition to dr. appointments and such. Here's a link. Scroll down the page to the Legacy section to get to the free version 5 download.

http://www.chaossoftware.com/products.asp

I've been focusing on money now for almost 5 months straight. I wouldn't change what I've been doing--it had to be done. But on top of not building enough fun into my life, I haven't been exercising like I'm supposed to, and the house isn't looking very good. It takes a lot of time to play with the budget, make changes to things like cable service, and track rebates and bonus offers from banks, so other things just haven't gotten done.

There aren't a whole lot of big decisions or projects I can do right now; I'm kind of moving into maintenance mode for awhile. I don't have the extra cash to invest in more than the rebates I've already started, or more discounted gift cards, or new bank accounts. It seems like a good time to try and juggle life generally a little better, until some bills get paid off and I have more financial options.

So. This week I've exercised twice so far. I'm starting to go around the house, decluttering and reorganizing. I need to do some plain old cleaning, which frankly I hate. I like the results, but doing it--yuck!

On an email list I subscribe to, about working on goals, they suggest thinking of something to reward ourselves with as we accomplish various things. I know it might help me slog through the cleaning if I had a reward waiting at the end, but it's hard to think of rewards that are 1) free or cheap and 2) low in calories. Maybe looking for freebies and coupons online should be my reward--no internet on cleaning day until I'm done.

Over in the forums, I'd posted about Microsoft Streets and Trips, software I was curious about trying. It's supposed to calculate the shortest routes to hit several locations you want to cover on the same trip. I thought it might save me on gas by giving me better ideas how to arrange my errands.

Well, I bought it on Ebay. I did notice the fellow said it wasn't in a box, but he did say it was sealed. I figured maybe he just wanted to ship it the cheapest, lightest way since he was offering free shipping. Or that the box was damaged. Anyway, he had quite a bit of feedback, and it was pretty close to perfect. But when the software came, it was clearly labeled "For distribution with a new PC only."

I don't know if it would cause a problem to put it on my computer, but I don't want to take any chances. Recently when I did Windows Update, it went through a process where it was "verifying" all the software on my computer. The way it was worded, I got the impression they were trying to identify any Microsoft products that shouldn't be there. I just don't need the hassle of worrying about it.

Anyway, I checked Ebay's policies, and it was against the rules for him to sell this "OEM" software if it wasn't part of a PC purchase. So I reported the listing. But it looks like I have to go through a separate process to try and get my money back. And their system won't let me do that yet because not enough time has elapsed. They want you to try and settle it between yourselves--but I just don't see the point of communicating with the seller at all. They did something they shouldn't have, and Ebay ought to know about it. I don't want to just return it and get my money back, and have them sell this stuff to someone else.

It's really frustrating to have this software (still sealed) sitting in front of me, and not being able to try it out. But I just ordered a good one directly from Amazon. They've lowered the price, and after the rebate and my 20% discount it will turn out cheaper than the Ebay guy's anyway. All's well that end's well, and I'm sure things will end up fine. It's just going to be a hassle communicating with Ebay over the next few weeks.

(Thanks for the tip on the housing bubble blog. Just what I need, another blog to read! But it looks really interesting. I've subscribed to their feed.)

I think it was in a book by Cheryl Richardson where I read how useful it can be to tackle small annoyances. The idea is, they are small but they stay in the back of your mind, sapping your energy, and wasting your time in little bits every day. So it's more worthwhile to handle them than it might seem. Well, I seem to be in a mode of getting rid of those annoyances. And so far it's saving me money, too.

--I spent $7 at Target a few weeks ago, on what turned out to be a sorry excuse for a lamp. It was all plastic, and you were supposed to attach the shades by pushing them up and then turning. No screws to secure them. DH and I went through the procedure several times, and each time they fell out after a few hours or at most a day. I doubted Target would take it back, since we'd thrown the box away. But they did! $7 back into our pockets.

--I had a Crest spinbrush where a little plastic collar on the base broke. There was nothing for the new brush head to attach to. I called their 800 number, and they're sending a coupon for a whole replacement. About $6 back into our pockets, since I would have bought a replacement regardless. (I feel like I can stretch out dental appointments when I use it, because it keeps my teeth feeling like I just saw the hygienist. Nope, I don't work for Crest.

--We had some Mountain Dew cans that were leaky where the lids attached, 5 cans from 2 different cartons. I called the 800 number, and I already got coupons for 2 12-packs. Worth about $8 because I'll save them for when we need them and they're not on sale.

--Did some research about our DVD player, which seemed to be on the fritz. Found out it just might need a cleaning, which you do with a special cleaning disk. Found one for $12, ran it through twice, and it was playing perfect again. Savings about $20, over having to replace it. And I can use the same disk to clean the CD drives in the computer, too.

--This one is costing money, but not very much. I had a cheap little upright vacuum that I loved, and it stopped working several months ago. I have a canister one, but it's a hassle to get out so I don't vacuum as much as I should. I finally took the upright in to be looked at, for $10. They said the parts were no longer available; the vacuum is designed to be disposable. So I found one that looks even nicer (cordless) on Target's website which is on its way to me. It was $53 with tax, minus $5 from a link on http://www.naughtycodes.com, and I paid for it with some 20% off Target gift cards. And they were offering free shipping.

Oddly enough, on our local Craig's List website, someone was seeking people for a survey about vacuum cleaners. I emailed about it, and did the survey yesterday. They're supposed to mail a check for $20. So, after this serendipity, for about $28 net the vacuum cleaner problem is solved.

Geez, two posts in a day. But this is what I really meant to post about, to begin with.

For the first time since I started recording everything in Quicken again, I was pretty much within my monthly (4-week) budget for Everyday Expenses (groceries, take-out, pet food and gas). Here's what that means in dollars--May was $653, June was $687, July was $676, and August was down to $505, only $1.60 over where I wanted to be. And the month's ending comfortably. There's gas in the car, a fair stockpile of groceries and I was able to pick up some cheesesteaks for an easy dinner tonight.

I'm not even sure exactly how I managed it. Here are my theories--

I'm kind of learning to budget for gas first, then seeing how much I have left to spend on the other things each week. If it means bologna instead of turkey breast, or more cooking and less take-out one week, that's what happens.

I'm reining in my bargain-hunting compulsion a bit, because it actually tends to make me overspend. I'm trying to buy no more than 2 items at a time when I see a good deal, unless the sale specifices something like "must buy 4."

I finally got around to trying two new stores, the Pepperidge Farm outlet and a produce stand. Both had some great deals. For example, I got a 3-lb bag of green peppers for $1.50, which is often what I have to pay for one pound elsewhere. I'm also watching where I buy milk, since we use about 10 gallons a month and the price can really vary from store to store. I haven't bought seltzer water or diet soda all month, and DH has agreed to one family pack box of TastyKakes a week, instead of two boxes.

I think we're eating less meat, and cheaper meat. (I tried some frozen steaks from Aldi, with so-so results.) DH won't eat beans, but he doesn't mind eggs for dinner once in a while. Also BLT's as long as we have something with them like soup, french fries or corn on the cob.

The $6 pizzas I can get on Tuesdays are a big help with the take-out budget.

I am trying to drive a bit less to save on gas. But right now, it's still worthwhile to drive around for bargains, even with gas prices the way they are. I'll keep doing it until it doesn't make financial sense anymore.

I check in with the doctor in about 3 weeks, so the other day I thought I'd better get on the scale. Horrors! Not only did I gain back all I'd lost earlier in the year during my health kick--I even regained some pounds I'd lost last summer!

The only thing I can seem to pin it on is being online less. It's the only lifestyle change I've made over the past couple of months, when the weight went up. All I can figure is, when I'm online I'm upstairs (away from the kitchen), my mind is occupied and my hands are busy. I usually take up something to drink, but 99% of the time it's calorie-free, like black coffee.

With this cheap-o plan I'm on, my online time is cut roughly in half. I'm often roaming around downstairs, bored, thinking of what I could be getting done online, and looking for something else to do. I'm probably nibbling as I go, out of boredom and frustration--although I haven't even been aware of it. Also, I've read the more TV you watch, the more you're apt to have a weight problem. I know I've been watching more TV as a substitute (if you can count watching lots of movies).

This is the last straw. For $2 more a month, I can get back to a "normal" amount of online time. There have been times I've been mad at myself for wasting time online, and I was also trying to go the cheapest route possible for ISP expenses. But I know I'd make up the $2 and more, just from having the time to print out a few more grocery coupons. Not to mention the surveys and focus groups I've seen listed on Craigs List and haven't had the online time to pursue.

In any case, it's worth every penny and every minute if it keeps me from pigging out!

This is the first full month on my cheap-o 30 hours a month internet service. I'm down to about 4 1/2 hours, and there are 9 more days in the month, which means I have to be very careful and only stay online about half an hour a day. Thank goodness I can do a little extra surfing at work, on breaks or if I get in early. A month ago I was routinely online about 2 hours a day at home, and it took awhile to adjust downward--so I used up too many minutes early in the month. But I think I'll make it. It's still budgeting, whether it's time or money, which means it doesn't come naturally, for me anyway.

Money-wise, I'm doing better than I was last month at this point. But I'm still down to $55 in my "everyday expenses" category to last 9 more days. It's time to get more pet food, and I wanted to use a bunch of pet food coupons that expire July 31. But if I do a big stocking up to take advantage of the coupons, it won't leave me enough for regular groceries and more gas in the car. As usual, we're stocked up too far ahead on some things, and getting short on money for other things. I don't want to make it any worse. I think today I'll put the extra coupons in the exchange basket at work, so I'm not tempted to use them.

Thanks for the welcome and encouragement.

My "mood" icon reflects the fact that my head is spinning right now.

I started out Saturday morning meaning to spend no more than 1-1/2 hours a day dealing with financial stuff. I need to work on it, but I'm tired of money worries dominating my life. The thing is, after I got started I could see how much I needed to do and how much time it's going to take. 1-1/2 hours a day would hardly make a dent.

Here's what I've worked on so far:

1) Went through all stacks of paper to make sure all bills were found and paid, and all spending recorded in Quicken. Decided I have to record spending every single day, or no system is going to work.

2) Worked on a cash flow spreadsheet I made up in Quattro (like Excel) to plan out how to stay in the black each month. Panicked! As things stand now, there isn't enough money left to cover emergencies like car repairs, assuming they will come to what they did last year--let alone "extras" like new clothes. And if our cc minimum payment goes up (as is predicted to happen to everyone later this year), I'll need to find still more money.

3) Dropped the voicemail service from the phone company, and the wiring protection plan we'd signed up for when we were remodeling. Switched to just Call Forwarding on Busy, so when I'm online calls will be sent to my cell phone (it has free voice mail). Savings, $9 a month or $108 a year.

4) Downgraded our cable service from expanded basic to limited basic at $10 a month. Savings, $40 a month or $480 a year.

5) Worked on our food and sundries budget, intensely! There are some interesting charts the government puts out that show what the average household spends on groceries, supplies, "food not at home", and so forth. They show it all different ways, by area of the country, size of household, income level, etc. So I looked at what we've been spending vs. what the typical family in our situation would be spending, and finally made up a new budget.

6) Started setting up my new budget tracking gadget for June. It's called Budgetmap. It's supposed to go in your checkbook like a register, but it folds out and has colums for 12 budget categories. Decision One: It's rather thick to keep in my checkbook, which is incorporated in my wallet. Plus when I'd have to fold out the pages to write on, it would give me a really lumpy surface. So I'm keeping it separate, with a rubber band around it.

7) Lookiing into cheaper car insurance, and am finding a Catch-22 situation. Apparently insurance companies are using your credit rating now to set your rate--better credit rating=lower insurance rates. To up my score a bit, I'd like to take money out of savings and pay down our one cc so the balance is less than 1/2 of our available credit. But then I wouldn't have much cash left to pay on the new policy. So I kind of feel like I can't afford to apply for cheaper insurance quite yet. At least after comparing rates on the state insurance dept's website, I know which companies I want to pursue.