I will admit, I joined Facebook and am really enjoying it! Initially it was to hook up with people from high school before our reunion last year, but it is so much more! I have reconnected with "far away" family, some wonderful old friends and some super SA friends!

The best part, besides the updates and pictures, is the FREE games you can play. Not just the time consuming ones (I try to stay away from most of those! I don't need a Farm or a Fish tank! )But fun ones like Family Feud, Scrabble and even Uno! And it is all free and I can play them with my kids online at the same time with some of them! Nice for connecting with them when I have downtime at work! They have lots of fun word puzzle game too.

Going to talk to DH about him getting a second job. (AGAIN!) Wish me luck!

Well, it has been an interesting week back to work. NOTHING got done at home while I was gone. Geeze! People, do dishes, do laundry, vacuum, UGH! Anyway...

My to do list is not as organized as Househopefuls or Lux's, mine is in my head which is a BAD place to keep it!!

The "new" bathroom: tore out vanity, painted, laid new peel n stick looks like ceramic tile floor. Bought new baseboards at Habitat for Humanity, three 6 foot sections for a big $5!!! Love their prices. Looked for the plumbing lines I needed for the pedestal sink, but they didn't have them there, so went to Walmart and paid $5.87 apiece. Hopefully will get the whole thing wrapped up tomorrow. Looks like the whole project will end up costing me around $60. Will try to post pics soon.

German student arrives on Friday (hence the "new" bathroom). Need to put up Halloween deco and steam clean all the carpets tomorrow too.

Oh, and I want to do the van too.

Yes, I need to track my money better. I have been working on financial forms for my husband, so he can get everything together to start the business with my BIL. One year we made $120K, the next we took a bit hit and it was about $70. The next, back to $105, the next two around $85. This past year?? $45. Yikes. I wasn't sure how it would wash out, but no wonder we are scrambling. It was a bit perplexing that we really cut back this year, I just did'nt realize, it should have been WWWWAAAAAAYYYYYY back. My mentality is still too paycheck to paycheck. DH keeps swearing he is going to take over the bill payment. I hope this comes true soon!

If that is too personal, you can ignore it! DH brings home $640 every two weeks, for a total of $1280. DH also pulls out the $1500 for the house payment from our savings account, unless he gets a commission to pay it with. Any extra commission goes to the savings account, not to bills. At my work, on average, I make about $850 per month. So for 5 people, 2 dogs, 1 cat, a hamster, a fish and a 2100sq ft house, I have $2130 a month for everything. Gas, elec, phone, cell, trash, cable, car/life insurance, gasoline, water/sewer, piano lessons, food, credit card payments, medications, babysitting, car payment, misc. kids stuff, home maintainence and church. Whew!

Soooooo..... here is the million dollar question (I wish!) DH says that I should live within my means. I say HELP.THIS.CAN'T.STRETCH.THAT.FAR!! Am I out of line? I just wonder if a few brave folks would share, maybe I could compare???

(ANY NEW READERS ON THIS TOPIC, PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR CLARIFICATION ON OUR BUDGET. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU SPEND PER MONTH!!)

This is off Yahoo's home page. Very good info from a website called Divine Caroline. Check it out! Good common sense!

http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22145/52070-20-healthi....

Before we left on our trip, I hired my nephew to come over and haul a bunch of furniture from all over the house, out to the garage. I then posted it on Craigslist. I like that it is free to post, but people sure string you along. I DID sell this lovely bedroom set and a chair. Then, the day before we left, I held a "quickie" garage sale and sold another chair and the day bed. We gave away a piece of exercise equipment to the people that bought the bedroom set (we just wanted it gone!) and I have to still get a headboard to a lady who says she wants it, but never shows up. I also have to post an entertainment center. Then after the sale, my daughters helped me haul everything to the thrift store. I feel so FREE and PURGED!! I can't say the Craigslist expeience was wildly successful, but it wasn't bad.

I received this email from Turbotax today. I chose to have the Turbotax fees taken from my tax return, instead of paying with a credit card. This explains why I have'nt received my money yet:



Dear Valued Customer,

We want to provide you with the most up–to–date information about the tax rebate to which you may be entitled.

Recently, you may have received a letter from the IRS advising you when to expect your Economic Stimulus Payment (rebate). That IRS letter may have inadvertently left off some important information. Taxpayers who chose to have their tax preparation fees deducted from their federal tax refund will receive their tax rebate in the mail, not via direct deposit.

Our records show that you chose this payment option in TurboTax. As a result, the IRS has determined that you will receive your tax rebate in the mail. This may result in you receiving your rebate on a date later than expected.

This situation, while not unique to TurboTax, is understandably causing some concern and confusion. To help further clarify the situation, below is the most current IRS rebate payment processing schedule, as well as additional resources about the tax rebates.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you still have questions, the best source for the most up-to-date information is www.irs.gov (see the "Rebate Payment Questions" link).

Sincerely,

Bob Meighan

Vice President, TurboTax Customer Advocacy


If the last two digits
of your Social Security
number are: Payments will be
mailed no later than:
00 – 09 May 16
10 – 18 May 23
19 – 25 May 30
26 – 38 June 6
39 – 51 June 13
52 – 63 June 20
64 – 75 June 27
76 – 87 July 4
88 – 99 July 11

Other sources for current information on the rebate program are.

• http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=182734,00.html
• http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=182735,00.html

For more information on TurboTax and rebates, please visit http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/kb/tax-content/tax-tips/6255.html

I guess I'm really looking for a laying hen. Hmmmm.... guess the neighborhood association would'nt like that. Maybe I could pay them off in eggs? They are getting as costly as gold!

I have been doing an unscientific study to see who has the cheapest food. I have actually been working on a price book! The eggs at Aldi, as of now, are $1.79 for a dozen. Followed closely by $1.80 at Costco, but they must be bought in bulk of 36 eggs. Walmart came in at $1.92. Our local "nicey-nice" store is $2.67 a dozen!! I almost fainted when I saw the 18 count pack for $4.09!!!!

That is all for the egg report. I will follow up with milk and bread!

Hi ya!
I was wondering if there is a somewhere to gather up our MOMA's and put them in one place. They are so full of good advice!
Thanks!
Boo

I was watching the news yesterday (ugh) and they had a story about the fact that the cost of food will be up another 7% by the end of summer!! Yikes! I told my husband we are just going to have to starve! Really though, they said the costs are rising due to corn being used to make ethanol instead of food. I guess I'm glad for the farmers! Finally they can grown something besides soybeans and make a profit!

On the carb front, I've been watching what I eat, but not necessarily cutting way down on anything.

Listed 10 things on ebay last night. Man that is time consuming!! Going to a garage sale this afternoon that is supposed to be a big hit, will see. Looking for more stuff to list on ebay. Going to try to make some money this way. You can get a debit card from Paypal and use it at any store. I was thinking of using this for FOOD! One less expense from our salaries that we can use for chompin up the debt!!

I have been toying with working more "full time". The last time I applied for a job, I could'nt even get an interview. So the question "Should I work full time?" was answered. "Not now". Another opportunity opened up for a position at the company I am already at. One of the ladies was leaving because her husband took a new job out of state. So my friend mentioned to management that I might be interested in her full time position. The NEXT day his job deal fell apart and they are no longer moving! Holy cow! So now I have to try more than ever to be a better money steward! Obviously, I am not supposed to be looking for something right now. I may investigate going back to substitute teaching when DD3 goes back to school in July. Wonder how that will turn out????

By the way, the first step in managing the money better is to move most of the 12.24%CC to a 0% until May '08. And I am looking for more stuff to ebay!

I am also going to sell DD1's band "kit" to a friend for $100 and then I will use that money to get the girls a little back yard pool for some cheap summertime entertainment!

Wow! Here's an exciting post for you! When DH and I purchased our home 4 years ago, the front porch posts were rotten, splitting, disinigrating. My DH would keep saying "We need to replace those" and because they were kind of hidden by the bushes, we kept "thinking about it" and not "doing it"!
We got 2 bids and they ranged from $1200 to $3200. So DH went to the hardware store and bought 5 posts for $235. He could'nt find the "caps" we needed, so we reused the top ones from the old posts as they had been protected from the elements and had not rotted. It took us less than 4 hours. We did kind of mess up on the first 2 (nothing crucial, just cosmetic) but had it going for the next 3!
So this was our weekend family fun! You should have seen how DD2 and DD3 got into "demo - ing"! They loved smashing the rails with a hammer! Go girls!
Like my friend Contrary said - a little of our time and look at the money we saved!
We still have to replace the railings between the posts, but we are taking our time.
We may try to go to the Habitat for Humanity "Re-Store" tomorrow since DH is off tomorrow too. Will let you know if we go and if we find any deals!

I needed a red, white and blue centerpiece for my dining room table, to decorate for the next 4 months! So I went to the dollar store and picked up the pot, placemat, flowers and candles. The whole thing was about a whopping $5! God Bless America!



Oh, and here is my naughty kitty trying to eat the artifical flowers!!

In looking for cheap entertainment, bunko sure has paid off! Getting together with a bunch of friends once a month is good for the soul! And a $5 each time, very cost effective. With the one bunko group, each person takes one month of the year to "hostess". She provides snacks and drinks and her home and once done, your done for the year! The other group I am in has everyone hostessing one month of the year, but everyone takes turn bringing snacks.
The best part is of course WINNING! Many times I have just won my $5 back (making it a FREE evening!), but other times I have won upwards of $40! Great for my garage sale "pin" money!
Good times, dice rolling, chatting, eating - TRY IT!
(For guys, the alternative is poker night! TRY IT!)

I must give credit to where credit is due. Tina heard my cry for help and answered my question to perfection!
Thank you, thank you, Tina!! :-)

Soooo, here is the picture of the girls at the TV station - finally!

What a relief, I can quit tearing my hair out!