Hi, everyone. I got paid today and so more money went to savings and debt. I have not been counting my contributions to retirement or mortgage payments, because those things are more or less on auto pilot, but I am still doing them. My objective this year is to pay off debt and build up savings.

My prior challenge balance: $932.76

Contribution to Regular Savings $40.00
Contribution to Car, House, Medical, AAA/Tax Savings: $78.00
Slush Fund Transfer $20.00
Payment to cc #1 $40.00
Payment to cc #2 $20.00

New Challenge Balance: $1130.76

I also cashed in rebates at mrrebates. I will get the deposit April 1st and immediately put it on cc#2.

My retirement also went up some and my mortgage down. Yeah!

We also recently got our tax return. We have spent some of it so far and have specific plans for the rest.

$1167 federal
$177 state

Total $1344

Paid Plumber to Have Toilet Fixed $50.00
Paid for New Wave Enviro Water Filter $54.00
Paid for New Guttering On Front of House $196.00

We have not had it done yet and don't yet have a quote, but we will be buying 2 new windows for our house and having them installed.

With the rest, we will be paying off DH's hospital bill #4, which is about $70.00, and the rest will get sent to cc #2.

The last part with windows and payoff of medical and credit card debt frees up monthly expenditures so we will have more money for other things in multiple ways: 1) will likely lower electric and gas usage, which in September, will mean our equal payment amount will get lowered significantly and 2) will lower our monthly payments on debt, so we can concentrate on payments to other debts.

We know for certain to our existing windows are a major factor in our electric and gas usage. Last summer in July, it was very hot in our house, particularly the kitchen. My husband saw an article on the internet about how you can use foam insulation boards like these

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-R-Matte-Plus-3-1-2-in-x... to insulate your windows. They were only about $10.00 a board and 1 board was about wide enough for 1 1/2 window in our house. So we did it and within 10 minutes, our kitchen was 10 degrees cooler. So, after that, we started putting money aside to buy new windows with the plan to replace all windows within 2 years. Then, the recent cleanout of savings to help pay for a funeral kind of derailed part of that plan, but we are going forward with doing 2 windows and will do more as we can afford to do so.

Hi, everyone. Today I took the day off so my dh and I could go to a nearby town to run an errand that had been scheduled for awhile. I got paid today also, so I have more progress to report on my 52 Week Challenge.

Previous Challenge Balance: $754.48

$58.28 payment to cc #2
$30.00 payment to dh's hospital bill #4
$40.00 regular deposit to regular savings
$10.00 payment to cc #2
$20.00 deposit to slush fund

New Balance $912.76

I will be making a payment to cc #1 and depositing funds to my other savings accounts. I will post those tomorrow.

Hi, everyone. As you can see from the left side of the screen, my savings is nearly cleaned out. A relative has died with no savings or life insurance. My dh and I were called upon to help with funeral expenses. The husband says there is a "cancer care" policy, but is not sure if it has a death benefit. If our money is not needed, we will get it back, but will have to wait and see.

Prior Challenge Balance: $675.23

Savings Deposit $40.00

Credit Card Payment to cc #1 from checking $20.00

Credit Card Payment to cc #1 (extra money we had from something allocated for but did not buy) $3.12

Credit Card Payment to cc #1 dividend from savings account (found money) $6.13

Credit Card Payment to cc #2 $10.00

New Challenge Balance: $754.48

Hi, everyone. I paid some on dh's medical bill, bringing the balance to $96.00. I also put some money into savings and paid to cc's. I will post those balances later.

Previous Challenge Balance $479.86

Payment to Dh's medical bill $30.00
Payment to credit card #1 $50.00
Deposit to savings $49.00

New Challenge Balance $608.86

Hi, everyone. I got $5.95 from selling a book, so I set up a payment to cc #2, bringing the balance of that card to $396.00.

That brings my challenge balance to $485.81.

I also got a rebate of ~ $11.00. I won't get it until about Feb. 1, though.


Oops. I made a mistake and counted the $5.95 book sale twice, so I am back to my previous balance, which I think was about $479.86.

Hi, everyone. Not a whole lot of progress, but some.

$20.00 regular deposit to slush fund every payday
$5.95 selling a book on cash4books - paid to credit card #2

This brings my Challenge total to $479.86.

On Saturday, I am going to donate some old clothes and clothing items to a charity thrift store. I need to calculate my tax writeoff for next year.

Hi, everyone. I got paid today, so more money is going to the 52 Week Challenge.

$40.00 to the Car Savings Account
$40.00 to the House Savings Account
$40.00 to Regular Savings
$9.00 to the AAA/Car Property Tax Account

This brings my 52 Week Challenge Balance to $453.91.

I have not done any credit card payments yet. I will do that later and post about it tomorrow.

Another $5.00 in from a survey company and another $5.00 out to one credit card.

So, that brings my total to $324.91.

Well, this has turned out to be a lot of fun watching the money just roll in and go out to be paid on my credit cards, medical bill, and to savings. Here is my progress since my last update.

I have noticed that since it is a savings game, most people are putting their money into savings, but I need to pay off debt more, so that is why I am putting much of mine into that.

Previous Balance: $139.91

$20.00 survey payment - paid to credit card #2
$50.00 regular credit card payment - paid to credit card #1
$30.00 regular payment to an outstanding medical bill
$80.00 regular deposit to car and house savings accounts

Total as of 1/7/2014: $319.91

Woo-hoo! I love this game!

Around the end of the month, I expect to get a check for $50 for survey participation. And a little after that, I will get a rebate check from mrrebates.

Here is my 52 Week Challenge Progress So Far:

credit card #2 payment $58.92
credit card #1 payment $3.99
regular savings deposit $40.00
slush fund deposit $20.00
credit card #1 payment $7.00
credit card #2 payment $10.00

Total So Far: $139.91

I am so surprised at my progress far. I have only been doing this since last Friday. This is not all I will be doing this week. I am waiting on the appliance repair man to fix our fridge and then I will pay more to credit card #1 and deposit more to savings.

I am really starting to make some headway. I got paid again. I am starting to replace the savings that I took out to pay for a different car. I paid off the rest of dh's hospital bill #3 today. I have paid the credit card #2 to $600.00. That's really remarkable because I can remember when it was $2000.00. I don't have the numbers on the savings accounts yet, so I will update those later.

Hello, everyone. I got paid again today. My mortgage is down, but I have not updated my numbers on the left margin yet.

But I have made my food challenge menu plan for the coming week.

1) Mediterranean Kale Salad - 2 meals -

http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/63344509/mediterranean-...

2) Vegetarian Chili - 3 to 4 meals - no real recipe here, just Williams chili seasoning, onion, 1 can of tomato sauce, garlic, 2 cans of tomatoes, and 6 cans of beans.

3) Pea Soup - 4 meals - http://www.forksoverknives.com/wp-content/uploads/Split-Pea-...

4) Chickpea Salad - 2 meals - Mine will be minus the bread. I will eat it with celery or carrots. http://www.thekitchn.com/vegetarian-lunch-chickpea-of-t-1140...

5) Creamy Avocado Tuna Salad - 2 meals - http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/creamy-avocado-tuna-salad-...

6) Oatmeal. Side of ham. Grapefruit. - 4 meals

7) Scrambled eggs. Side of ham. Oatmeal. - 3 meals

Hi, every one. This coming week is going to be a use it up week for us. My husband is trying a new diet that means he is severely restricting his calories and not eating our normal food. So, I have decided to use this opportunity to use up some food we already have rather than buying a bunch of stuff. We will be at home for the holiday, but that's just fine, because I am not much for socializing.

1) I made a large pot of chili with roast beef, great northern beans, canned tomatoes, chili seasoning, garlic, serrano peppers, sea salt, and black pepper. There's no real recipe here. I think this should give me about 6 dinner meals. I already had the roast beef, beans, tomatoes, seasonings, garlic, serrano peppers, sea salt, and black pepper, so this meal is an almost free meal.

2) Chicken and garbanzo bean salad. I used 3 cans of albacore tuna, 1 can of garbanzo beans, mayo, 1 can of olives, 1 clove of garlic, oregano, cilantro, sea salt, and black pepper. There is no real recipe here. I just made it up. I put 3 cans of drained tuna into a mixing bowl, then added mashed up garbanzo beans, 3 heaping tablespoons of mayo, 1 can of sliced olives, 1 clove of garlic, and sprinkles of cilantro, oregano, sea salt, and black pepper. This should make 3 lunches for me. I already had the garlic, oregano, olives, cilantro, mayo, sea salt, and black pepper.

3) Caron's Kicking Quinoa Salad. I have not made it yet, but I will put 1 can of drained albacore tuna, some cut up celery, mayo, sea salt, black pepper, and quinoa into a bowl. I will add lemon juice and probably an onion. It will probably make 1 lunch meal for me. I already had the celery, mayo, sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice, and onion.

I will get paid "early" on Wednesday this week because Thursday and Friday are holidays, but I plan on making my own lunches and dinners anyway and diverting the savings to the credit card with the biggest balance. I will mail payments for bills on Wednesday. I also need to set aside some money for a trip I have to make to a nearby city later this month. I will also set aside funds for the car account, house account, and trees account. The money that normally get automatically deposited to my regular savings, I will divert to the credit card also. I want to get it paid down as soon as possible.

Hello, financial savvy people. I got paid my third paycheck of the month yesterday. It is not turning out exactly the way I planned, but it is better than it would have been without any planning. Here is my plan for what to do with my third paycheck. The reality of what happened is in red.

1) $00 to regular savings in favor of paying off more debt
2) $100 to house savings - $140 spent on new faucet for kitchen instead, more than I expected
3) $100 to car savings - $40 added to car savings
4) $150 to cc - $100 to cc. I will be getting about $13.00 more to add to this courtesy of mrrebates and about $8.00 or $9.00 courtesy of cash4books. So, that gets me closer to my goal.
5) $200 set aside for mortgage - $161.61 set aside for mortgage - had intended to have $33.00 extra for the principal and $5.00 extra for the escrow, but wanted to get dishwasher (cc #1) paid off as quickly as possible, so compromised there. The credit card is a higher interest rate than the mortgage.
6) $240 for groceries - We were out of practically everything, so I have already spent about $150 out of the $240 two-week allocation I give myself for groceries.
7) $30 gas for car - spent $20.11 on gas
9) $50 water bill - water bill was $51.95
10)$7 cigarettes - spent $7.00 on ciggies for dh
11) $40 lawn mowing - allocated $40.00 for mowing, though I am not sure we need to do this much longer this year
12) $80 internet and landline phone bill - just switched over separate internet and cell bills to a combined internet and landline bill and it was more than I thought it would be - $105.86
13)$100 Miscellaneous - Who knows?
TOTAL $1097.00 I don't want to think about it.


Due to the unexpected expenses, I am trying to use my food as wisely as possible to get as much out of it as possible. I bought about 5 pound of chicken breasts and a pot roast. I also got 3 packages of Farmland ham. That will give me my meat for the weak. The rest is mostly raw veggies. I will also make some soup for my lunches. My meals for the week include:

1) Eggs and ham - 3 meals

2) Oatmeal. Side of grapefruit with stevia. Side of ham. - 4 meals

3) Chicken salad with green onions and cayenne pepper - 3 meals - (already had cayenne pepper)

4) Kale salad with beef, olive oil, cider vinegar, cranberries. - 1 dinner meal -

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kale-and-feta-salad/detail.aspx (I already salt. I am leaving off the feta cheese because I am allergic and substituting strawberries because I could not find currants. I will add some chicken strips. I can't seem to find the currants for this recipe in my area. So far, I have tried making it with strawberries and cranberries, and I must say that I vastly prefer the strawberries. Delicious. With beef is better also.)

5) Flat Iron Steak and Spinach Salad - 1 dinner meal - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/flat-iron-steak-and-spinach-sal... (I already had red onion, olive oil and red wine vinegar instead of wine. I left off the cheese. This one was delicious. We had it last night.)

6) Thai Salad with whole grain rice and chicken. - 1 dinner meal - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/thai-salad-with-whole-grain-bro... (I already had olive oil, garlic, onion, chicken, and peanut butter.)

7) Green Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers, and either chicken or ham - 1 dinner meal - (I just made this one up. We already have lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, ham, and chicken to make it.)

8) Quinoa and Chicken/Tuna Salad - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/carons-kickin-quinoa-salad/deta... - 1 dinner meal (We already have the quinoa, mayo, lemon juice, black pepper, chicken, and tuna. I haven't decided whether to make it with chicken or tuna, but either way, it should be good.)

9) Grilled Chinese Chicken Salad Slaw. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grilled-chinese-chicken-s... 1 dinner meal - (We already have the ginger spice, and olive oil. We are substitution lemon juice for lime juice and white onion for scallions.)

10) Chicken Soup with Rice. Already have brown rice, broth, carrots, onions, salt, and pepper.

Well, hello everyone. Payday is tomorrow. I wanted to get a head start to make sure I make my goals. Just to reiterate, I have 3 paydays this month, so I planned out in advance what to do with the "surplus." I add that I made a mistake in listing lawn mowing twice, so I deleted the duplicate. Here is my plan. I noted in red what I have already done.

$00 to regular savings
$100 to house savings - this will actually go towards repairing our kitchen faucet
$100 to car savings
$150 set aside for cc #2 (not paid til later in month) - $100 paid Friday
$200 set aside for mortgage - DONE
$240 for groceries - spent about $130, $110 left
$30 gas for car - spent about $20, $10 left
$152 electric bill - actually $159 - check has been mailed
$40 lawn mowing - allocated in the checkbook
$37 trash bill (billed bi-monthly) - actually due at end of month, so will put off until next payday
$7 cigarettes - did tonight
$45 chiropractor visit - allocated in the checkbook
$100 Miscellaneous - $48.00 left
TOTAL $1141.00

Hello, everyone. Well payday #1 for August is here. So, here it goes as far as my progress so far. I have already paid the phone/internet bill and the gas bill. I made a $111.21 payment to credit card #2. $11.21 of that is rebate money from mrrebates when I order stuff online. I discovered that I didn't have to delay til later in the month to pay it. Because it is the same bank as my checking, I just basically make a transfer. That's cool and it will save me time and interest.

$40 is automatically deposited to my regular savings every payday. I transferred that to the car and savings accounts immediately. I need to beef both of those up a lot. I will also put more in tomorrow by check. I have also already made set asides for 1/2 of the mortgage, lawn mowing, and a chiropractor visit.

$00 to regular savings - DONE
$100 to house savings - $20 DONE
$100 to car savings - $60 DONE
$150 set aside for cc #2 - $100 DONE (plus $11.21 rebate money)
$200 set aside for mortgage - DONE
$240 for groceries - DONE
$30 gas for car - WAS ONLY $10.00
$57 gas bill - DONE
$7 cigarettes (not mine, hubby's) - DONE
$45 chiropractor visit - DONE
$40 lawn mowing - DONE
$100 Miscellaneous
TOTAL $1069.00

I get paid every 2 weeks, which sometimes means I have 3 paydays in one month. I still only have 1 month's worth of expenses, so I have decided to make a plan on how to spend it wisely. Here is what I am planning for my August paydays:

1) $00 to regular savings
$100 to house savings
$100 to car savings
$150 set aside for cc #2 (not paid til later in month)
$200 set aside for mortgage
$240 for groceries
$30 gas for car
$57 gas bill
$7 cigarettes (not mine, hubby's)
$45 chiropractor visit
$40 lawn mowing
$100 Miscellaneous
TOTAL $1069.00

2) $00 to regular savings
$100 to house savings
$100 to car savings
$150 set aside for cc #2 (not paid til later in month)
$200 set aside for mortgage
$240 for groceries
$30 gas for car
$152 electric bill
$40 lawn mowing
$37 trash bill (billed bi-monthly)
$7 cigarettes
$45 chiropractor visit
$40 lawn mowing
$100 Miscellaneous
TOTAL $1241.00


3) $00 to regular savings
$100 to house savings
$100 to car savings
$150 set aside for cc #2 (not paid til later in month)
$200 set aside for mortgage
$240 for groceries
$30 gas for car
$50 water bill
$7 cigarettes
$40 lawn mowing
$80 internet and landline phone bill
$100 Miscellaneous
TOTAL $1097.00

Hello, everyone. It is one week until payday and I have $35.93 left in my checking account. I have already accounted for Netflix, 1/2 of the mortgage (due 8/1/12), and biweekly mowing. I filled up the gas tank and paid a little extra to credit card #1. Well, the biggest news is that the hubby and I applied for a different credit card with a 5% lower rate. We are going to keep the old one, though, and only charge our Netflix to it. We had already asked for the balance transfer to the new card when I had to take the hubby to the ER in the middle of the night and were a little short on cash. So, the majority of the balance is on the new card with a much lower rate. It should not take long to pay it down to a much more reasonable level.

Here are the meals I have planned for the week:

1) Oatmeal with cinnamon, flaxseeds, almond milk, stevia. Orange. Side of ham. 4 meals

2) Eggs and ham. Side of oatmeal. 3 meals

3) Green salad with tuna or garbanzo beans. Side of orange or apple. Side of raw snack nuts. 3 meals

4) Chicken salad with mayo and raw veggies. Side of orange or apple. Side of raw snack nuts. 2 meals

5) Chicken breast. Side of steamed veggies. 2 meals

6) Angus chuck patties. Side of steamed veggies. 1 meal

7) Stir fry with chicken and veggies. 1 meal

8) Lunch out!

Yesterday was my first payday of my employer's new fiscal year. I guess my pay raise must have gone through because my check was $29.75 higher than before. Woo-hoo. I will start putting even more into savings that I have already been. I will also increase what I am paying to the credit card.

My regular savings account is up, as are my car, savings accounts, and retirement.

I bought some angus chuck patties on sale and with a $1.00 coupon at the store. That in itself was very good, but it gets weirder. The patties were 2 pounds of frozen meat patties packaged in a box. The original price was $8.99. There was a sign that said they are on sale for $7.99 and I had a $1.00 coupon. I am thinking this is a pretty good deal, because I had wanted to buy some hamburger and these were chuck patties, not regular ground beef, so I bought them. Then, I noticed my receipt said I was charged for $8.99 minus the $1.00 coupon. I approached Customer Service to make them aware of the problem. Apparently, the patties had been on sale, but someone forgot to remove the sign. I thought they might give me the $1.00 back, but I didn't expect anything else. Then, the lady told me they have a policy where if a customer catches a mistake, the customer gets the item free. Yes free! I said that's terrific, because I wasn't expecting anything more than $1.00 back. I told the dh and he thought it was great, too. With $3.00 out of the $6.99, I bought some fresh spinach, oregano, and parsley at a different store.

I also cashed in a lottery ticket for $4.00. I added that to $3.00 more dollars I had just laying around. Along with my normal $20.00 each deposits to the house and car accounts, I divided up the extra $7.00 between the two accounts.

Here are my meals for the coming week:

1) Stir Fry made from leftover rice, squash, and tomatoes. 2 meals. This stuff would have gone bad soon if I had not done something with it, so this is a real boon to my budget!

2) Meatloaf. Side of steamed veggies. 2 meals

3) Spaghetti with rice. 2 meals

4) Baked chicken breast and steamed veggies. 2 meals

5) Green salad with tuna or garbanzo beans. Side of apple or orange. Side of raw nuts. Iced tea. 3 meals

6) Angus chuck patties. Side of steamed veggies. 2 meal

7) Eggs and ham. Oatmeal. 3 meals

8) Oatmeal with side of ham. Side of grapefruit. 4 meals

9) Tuna salad with raw veggies. Side of apple or orange. Side of raw nuts. Iced tea. 2 meals

Well, I got paid again today. My regular savings account is up again. Yeah. My car savings is up, too. I will use it to replace my car when needed. My house account is way down. I took money out to have some work done on the house. That will probably happen next week. I don't think I will check the retirement account, as I don't like to check it more than once a quarter, or I get a little freaked out.

I will probably do the grocery shopping tonight and post about my planned meals and such later. I will post about the credit card later, too.

I am so excited that my regular savings account is up so high. My goal is to get $12,000 in order to call it my 6-month savings for emergencies and other stuff.

Woo-hoo! I went shopping tonight and spent $115.00, which is $5.00 under my grocery spending limit for a week. I still have to buy some cage free eggs tomorrow and that will eat up the other $5.00.

Part of my shopping list was accounting for all the leftovers we have that we can eat. Great. I love leftovers as long as it is not the same thing day after day. Here are my meals for the week.

1) Leftover lentil soup. Side of raw fruit. Homemade iced tea.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lentil-soup/detail.aspx?event8=... - 2 meals

2) Leftover Moroccan Bean Stew. http://www.forksoverknives.com/moroccan-bean-stew-with-sweet... - 1 meal

3) Tuna salad with chopped tomatoes, onion, bean sprouts, green pepper, sea salt, and black pepper. Side of raw fruit. Homemade iced tea. No real recipe here. I just love tuna and raw veggies. - 2 meals

4) Eggs with parsley, onion, cilantro. Side of oatmeal with honey, cinnamon, flaxseeds, and almond milk. Orange juice. - 3 meals.

5) Oatmeal with honey, cinnamon, flaxseeds, and almond milk. Side of ham or chicken. Orange juice. - 4 meals

6) Spaghetti with brown rice. - 2 meals

7) Meatloaf. Side of veggies. - 2 meals

8) Chicken and garbanzo bean jalfrezzi. Side of veggies. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-jalfrezi/detail.aspx - 2 meals

9) Chicken and Black Bean Casserole. Side of veggies. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-and-black-bean-casserol... - 2 meals

Well not quite. Payday is not until tomorrow, but I did make it without any catastropes. I already have a detailed shopping list made out noting what I do need, as well as what I don't need.

I added a little extra to my regular savings, thinking that even at just under $1000, it is way too skinny. I also added to the house and car savings accounts. My retirement has gone up a little since last month.

As I said, I have already made my shopping list complete with notes about coupons and what is on sale. I am trying to significantly lower my overall grocery (people food and household supplies) bill. Here are the meals I am planning, although it might change a little after I go to the store and farmer's market.

1) Leftover Lentil Soup. Side of apple or orange. Trail mix. Iced tea. (4 meals)

2) Baked Chicken Leftover. Side of steamed veggies. (1 meal)

3) Meatloaf. Side of steamed veggies. (2 meals)

4) Spaghetti over rice. Side of steamed veggies. (2 meals)

5) Moraccan Bean Stew with Sweet Potatoes -

http://www.forksoverknives.com/moroccan-bean-stew-with-sweet... - I changed this from roast because I am just so tired of eating meat all the time - meat, meat, meat. Ugh. I saw this documentary called Forks over Knives on netflix instant viewing. The documentary was great, so then, I got the book on interlibrary loan and it's even better than the movie. The website has a lot of cool information, including this recipe, which is both amazingly healthy and it tastes great, too! Even my dh, who doesn't really like veggies, raved about how great is smelled. Let's see how he likes it. (We're eating the first serving at dinner right now.) - I am estimating 3 meals on this one. It depends on how much dh likes it.

6) Scrambled eggs with onions and parsley. Side of 1 piece of ham. Orange juice. Oatmeal with honey, flaxseeds, cinnamon, and almond milk. (3 meals)

7) Oatmeal with honey, flaxseeds, cinnamon, and almond milk. Side of 3 pieces of ham. Orange juice.

8) Baked chicken. Side of steamed veggies. (1 meal)

9) Hamburger Patty. Side of steamed veggies. (1 meal)

That's all for now. See ya, financially savvy friends and neighbors!!

Frugal Artisan has inspired me to challenge myself to cut my grocery bill by $100. I just added up what I spent for groceries last month and it came to $709! Shocking considering I am not feeding a foreign country or something. Just me, the hubby, and 2 furbabies. So, I am now off to make my much more sensible shopping list.

When I did this recently, it was so successful I decided to do it again. If you would like an easy way to make a little extra money for savings, paying off debt, buying Christmas presents, or whatever, just click here. It's easy and there is absolutely no cost.

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/u8a5m6

Full disclosure: I will get a 25 points bonus for recruiting someone.

I have been using my "spare" money from rebates and surveys to save for a new car.

Thanks to saving4rainyday, I found this new mantra about money. It's funny that I have thought this all my life, but Will Smith put it so succinctly that I can't help but to quote it here.

"Many people spend money they don't own, to buy things they don't need, to ask acceptance from people they don't know." Will Smith

Hi, everyone.

I have heard over and over again that one of the keys to financial success is spending less than what you earn. My logical mind knows this fact inside and out. Recently, I met with the retirement planning counselor for my plan. He asked a lot of questions about my finances in general (amount in savings, insurance, budget, etc.). When I told him that for my regular savings account, I had only around $750 in it, he gently said that I need at least 6 months of expenses in savings. I actually had a copy of my budget in my hand and know that it takes approximately $2000 to meet all normal bills. He said, "Well then you need $12,000 minimum in savings." Like I said, my logical brain knows this, but it really helped to get my butt in gear by hearing it from a financial planning counselor. Since then, I have been really watching my spending by taking out $20.00 cash for snacks and stuff. I pretty well stick to my guns and don't really spend outside that, allowing me to set aside a little extra for savings. I have also been putting my "found money" from surveys and rebates into the car account. $12,000. Wow. Well, I will get there somehow. I will break $1000 in my main savings account on Friday. I have also been adding to the house account, which we are planning to use for buying new windows for the house. Woo-Hoo!

Just saw this link referenced on a listserv. I thought you all might like to see it, too.

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/financialhealth/index.html

I only got a C+, so it's looks like I have a lot of work to do!

Well, I got paid again today, so there's more money in savings and retirement. I have already set aside car insurance and 1/2 of the mortgage payment for August.

I work at a university and have a contract. The union has ratified the contract for this year, but it has to go to the Board of Regents in the state for approval. In the meantime, the salary increase I was supposed to get beginning today, I will not get til the Board of Regents approves it. When will that be? It's anyone's guess.

I really wanted to go to HR today and increase my amount going to retirement and savings, but don't want to until the raise comes through.

Don't get me wrong. I count myself lucky I have a job and a salaried job at that. Some people in my field are unemployed and have been for a couple of years. Others are underpayed. I am doing alright salary wise, but I have been promoted and want to be recognized for that in my salary. I worked hard for it for the last 6 years at my current job and 15 years overall in my field.

Here is the dispersal of my reimbursement as it stands now:

$1241.38 (total of reimbursement)
-$200.00 (payment to credit card)
- $90.00 (balance payment on lawn mower)
-$200.00 (deposit to car savings account for eventual replacement of car)
- $33.93 (ordering health supplements)
- $56.25 (ordering new water filter cartridge 7/4/2011)
- $50.00 (second payment to credit card 7/4/2011)
-$325.64 (replacing dying PS3)
-------------------
$285.29 balance as of 7/4/2011

I would have sent a larger portion to the credit card, but the bank balance is a little wonky right now and I need to clear that up before sending more. Our PS3 is our primary source of entertainment, as we do not have cable tv or satellite. My husband plays some of the PS3 games and we both watch tv episodes and movies on Netflix instant viewing. So, that's why we wanted to replace our dying PS3. After I get the bank balance straightened out, I will likely make another payment to the credit card and put more in regular and car savings.

Oh, and if you need to order any health supplements and certain health food stuff, try

http://www.vitacost.com. They are having a 4th of July sale today with a lot of things heavily discounted and no shipping charge on any order over $49.00.

Here is my progress so far with the reimbursement.

$1241.38 (total reimbursement)
-$200.00 (payment to credit card)
-$200.00 (deposit to car savings to eventually replace the car)
-$90.00 (pay off the balance on the lawn mower)
-$325.64 (bought a new PS3 because our old one is about to die)
__________
Balance $425.74

I will make at least one more deposit to the savings and payment on the credit card next week.

The other thing we need to get is a new filter for the water filter connected to our kitchen faucet. That will probably be around $75-$80.

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=231719&catid=...

A computer geek we know has basically offered to buy our old PS3 because he fixes old ones and sells them. We don't know how much yet, but it should help some.

The note about my credit card balance at the left is correct for the first time in a long time. I had not put the actual number up there because it was so embarassing. Now, I will be putting the correct, and declining, number there. I am getting a pretty good raise in July and that should help a lot in enabling me to: 1) increasing regular savings, 2) increase retirement, 3) pay down the credit card, and 4) put away more for house upkeep and eventual car replacement. Woo-hoo!