Boomeyers's Digging Out of 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!

DH and I went to the Restore today. Long drive to the city! This place would be awesome if you are restoring an historical home, but for new construction projects, not so much. We also hit a couple of thrift stores, but were'nt impressed with anything. Oh, well, we had lunch together and spent time together (not very romantic, but nice!).

Other musings, I am ready to quit my job and find something else. I have not had a raise in over two years. I have been through the old bosses bankruptcy and have been polite to the new owners. I have taken on lots more job responsibility, been a good faithful employee. To work on time, pitched in when needed. Then I get called to have a pep talk with "new boss". Gee, she says, still no raises and I need to be a "team player". What the *&^%$! What have I been then?

....So continuing in the saga, DH and I have talked about me working more hours somewhere at the end of the summer. Maybe sub teaching again? Then one of the ladies from works calls and tells me they may ask me to take a back office job at the place I already work. It is great hours, not sure of the money, but I really think this ship is gonna sink and soon. It is a job with a lot of responsibility and little room for errors. Billing and such. But perfect hours and more hours - therefore more money....

What do you all think???

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 like to set goals for myself. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it. When I was ready to quit smoking, I finally set in my mind it was time and I did it. I set tons of goals for this year because I turned 40. Mostly this year I set health goals, gall bladder surgery, colonoscopy, etc, etc.
One of my most difficult goals (besides money!) is losing weight. (Like many of my buddies on this site!) So I finally started the change two weeks ago, but to set a trend I can stick with. I chose the low carb way, but I don't "deprive" myself either. It will be slow, but hopefully steady. We sure have been eating at home more! The weight loss has been slow, but the actual fat I'm losing is great! The pants are getting bigger! I don't have any weight goal in mind, just to lose until I feel comfortable and then maintain it.
As for gaining - that is my debt. We are still gaining debt. I guess that will have to be my next mind challenge. It is also the 40 year old gorilla on my back. It will definatley be my hardest!

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!!

Okay! I have pics of the garden. As I said before, we had a great seasoned garden at our old house, but well...we had to leave it there!
DH and I butted heads on this garden. Since he did most of the work while I was at work on weekends, he got his way. Hopefully we will yeid some kind of crop. We put in lots of different tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and watermelon. We would still like to add in some green beans.

Some posts and chicken wire, does a garden be! We added lots of rabbit poop and some Miracle Grow.


A little tomato plant!


Hope this garden produces!

Well, this is part one. Hopefully we can post some pics in part two.
Ground is turned, plants are purchased, posts buried. All we need is the chicken wire up so we can plant the veggies. Lots of hard work, hopefully, being the first year, it will produce!

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!)

It seems I go all day doing a great no spend job and then crash in the end!
Tonight I dropped off DD1 and 3 at their respective places and then went to home depot to buy plants. At least these will produce in the end! Besides a cute Daisy plant, some petunias and a couple of hanging baskets the rest are FOOD plants! Hopefully our lovely garden will not be eaten by bunnies!

Life has been crazy lately! Lots of working and lots of sickness!
Of course the stomach flu is racing thru the house, but we can't have it as a group, it has been taking down one at a time. DD1 and myself are just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It is a miracle with the toilet scrubbing, carpet, bed clean up I've been doing, that I was'nt the lucky winner. I will not rest easy for a few more days with this beast.
I guess it was probably a good thing I had to work on Mothers Day. It was sooo boring, it was all I could do to stay awake! Very relaxing, but I hated being inside and lonely on such a beautiful day!
Trying to go on a debt diet and a fat girl diet. Since I am completely undisciplined, we'll see how it goes. Give it a go and hope for the best!

Went to Costco yesterday to pick up some things with our AmEx rebate check. Especially two of their lovely bouquets at 14.99 each to give to the mothers on mothers day! Too bad the coupons did'nt come in the mail till today! Darn! But it looks like I only missed out on one.
Completed a Survey spot $5 suvey the other day and another one today! Woo hoo! Will almost get me a GALLON of gas. (heehehehe)

Yes, I did it. I napped. I SHOULD have been working on my pricebook, cleaning the house, catching up on the laundry and hanging it.... but I napped. SHHHH! Don't tell the kids! I should have been cleaning the cat box, fine tuning the budget and recycling my cans.... but I napped. SHHH! Don't tell the husband! I should have been making the beds, dusting the bunnies and cleaning out the closet.... but I napped. SHHH! Don't tell the dog - You might wake her, she's napping with me!

I bought lunch out today - undisciplined.
I spent $20 more than I should have at the grocery store- undisciplined.
I know how to save money, I know my debts and have faced them, how in the world do I get discipline to get serious about getting out of debt? What is going to light the fire of "ah-ha?"
Maybe I need to read more stories of success. Anyone know where I can find good sites for this?

Not too bad today. I did have to pick up DD2 some poster board. We also gave DD1 $100 for confirmation (don't ask, the others won't get it). Besides dinner out (on my mom) that's all for today!
My goals by the end of today are to catch up on my couponing and make a menu for the rest of the week!

So, we went on our lovely Florida trip. Would say 'a good time had by all', but we DID have a teenager along! The spending was okay, but by no means cheap! Got more debt!
Been crazy since we got home! Did all the laundry (had to use the dryer, been raining like Noah's coming!), DD1 went to her 8th grade dance that I decorated for and chaparoned, had garage sale #2 this morning (trying to get rid of leftovers from the last one!) and cleaned up the sale, the house and mowed the lawn. In the midst of all that, DD3 decided to have the stomach flu. Have cleaned the bathrooms and the CARPETS (don't ask...). Glad she did'nt have it in Florida and PRAY none of us get it either!!
Tomorrow DD1 has her confirmation. Have to drive to a church in the city for it. Hope it all goes smoothly.
Since I have completed the redecorating projects for now and got the loads of junk out of the basement, my plan is to spend some time organizing the house. Soon the kids will be home full time! Yikes!
Gas is outrageous and I have to drive A LOT coming up. The girls have some kind of ceremony or concert almost every night!!
I have only about $20 left in the checking account for this week. Goal is to try to get groceries and live off what we have the rest of this week. Hopefully we can stay off the fast food! Don't plan on having to use charge cards for anything. Now that the trip is over I can pretty much retire them for now.
Will try to post some Florida pics!

So the other day when I could'nt get motivated, I never did make a list, but I did kick booty and get a lot done.
Tomorrow I have to clean the house and finish packing for the trip. Mickey Mouse - here we come.
I have to stay motivated tomorrow - I've run out of time!!
Then when I get home I have to set a goal and keep it. I am so bad about that and following through with things- that I have to change! Will have to set money goals and try to eat from home!

I am so pooped out from the cleaning, painting and the garage sale and scouts, that I keep dragging my feet on cleaning the house and packing for the trip. I need to light a fire under my, uh, rear, but I just can't get motivated. Snuggling with the dogs is so much easier! At least I am not spending! So, I am going to get off the computer and list 5 things on a piece of paper and GET THEM DONE!
bye!

Wow! More misc. money to add to the pot. I got a 33.70 from an overpayment to State Farm and 10.00 for a rebate that FINALLY showed up!
The garage sale yielded about $125.00. Not too shabby! We are keeping it up in the garage so we can put it out for the subdivision sale on May 5 when we get back from our trip. I hope to add more to it over this week. We split the money between the 5 of us! DD2 spent some already on magazines for the trip, but otherwise, they are keeping it for souveniers on the trip!

Some of the money came rolling in!
We received a $30 rebate from Circuit City for something DH got.
We received $40 for some surveys I did.
We received $23.25 back from State Farm AND they lowered our auto insurance. Said they had a better year than expected!! Yeah!
I plan on sticking this in the savings account!
I'm going to try to post the pics of the bathroom. Wish me luck!
The shower curtain was'nt exactly what I wanted, but the price was right! The little fish on the shelf was from the Bahamas!

You can see the rainbow fish pictures on the left. I bought them for a great deal on ebay!

This is a windchime I bought on the ship. I just thought it was cute!

We also switched from brass to a chrome finish. Will sell the old fixtures in the garage sale tomorrow.

I have been in the lurking mode, cheering you all on from the sidelines. Been crazy busy with Scouts, etc. Finally took pics of the newly redecorated bath, so I will try to post those tomorrow.
Had DD1 be a "head model" for a friend of mine who works at a fancy salon. It's a free haircut for DD1, as long as my friend can use her as a "learning head". DD1 likes her new look and it was FREE! (Did tip friend $5, could'nt help it!)
Getting ready for a garage sale this weekend. Finding it hard to keep motivated, so I put an ad in the paper. AHHH! Now I'm accountable. Better go WORK!

I did finally beat the birdhouses into submission and get the girls Rainbow Fish bathroom painted and accessorized! I just have to put up the border.
I also got our bedroom done and accessorized! Looks nice, plain, but nice! I am really shooting for a decluttered look.
Friday was crazy, with doctors appts and xrays for DD3 (shes fine!) Then Friday night I snoozed at the zoo with DD1 and her Girl Scout troop. It was rainy and cold though!
Saturday morning I took them out to breakfast (on their troops money!) and then we handed out April Showers bags again in the cold and rain! Saturday afternoon we had a family time at the movies and Saturday night I took the oldest DD's to the mall with some friends. I guess the best thing to come from that were clearanced Disney T-shirts (for the trip) and clearanced sweaters (4.97 each) from JCP! What bargains to be had!
Today I worked all day and then we went to mom and dads for Sunday dinner. Since I have'nt been home for days, I must go clean and do laundry! Off to work again tomorrow!

Okay, not actual birdhouses! I went to tackle the girls bathroom and make it beautiful. Unfortunatley it was painted in builders grade paint (ie, like dust!) and they wallpapered right onto it without putting any primer on first. Needless to say when I went to pull down the lovely birdhouse border, chunks of drywall came off too! *sigh* So I scraped and patched and THEN painted. Lots of extra time spent, but not necessarily money, so that is good. On the brighter side, the blue is very cute and "oceany" and the rainbow fish will be really cute in there.
Next..... the bedroom.

I got this website from someone else on this blog:

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodPlansCostofFood-CostOfFoodAtHome.htm

It lists current USDA food plans for different sized families. Every once in a while and I go check the numbers. I am pleased to say we are still way under the "thrifty" plan amount for a family of 5! Makes me wonder what everyone is buying!!

Since I want to stay home the rest of the week and feather my nest, I went out today and picked up some stuff to last me the rest of the week.
DH has said his back hurts from our bed. Since I will be moving our bed when I redo our room I will flip the mattress and then I purchased a mattress cover I hope will make him more comfortable and a couple of king size pillows for the bed.
Julie will be proud, I splurged and bought my self TWO new toilet seats! The one in our bathroom has a crack in it that, well - you know, a little uncomfortable, and I got one for the girls bathroom to, for when I redo it. They are padded (woowoo) and were only $9 each!
I also did my grocery shopping so I can stay on track as far as not eating out.

After I work tomorrow, I am free till next Sunday leaving a week to catch up with 50 million things! Goals for this week:

1) I have paint and such for the girls bathroom, so I will paint it and make it all "Rainbow Fishie". Maybe I will take some before and after pics. DH put in the new light fixture. When I tried to start peeling the border off, it pulled off the drywall! Doggone it!! So some patching to do.

2) I now have everything to redecorate our bedroom including the lamps that mom bought for us. I am ready to work on that too, but DH says "Are we going to do crown moulding?" Yikes! MORE work!

3) Try to eat at home every night. DH will be going out of town for a couple of days and that always makes it harder to cook when it is just me and the girls!

4) Get everything ready for a garage sale. I had decided NOT to have a sale and just give it all to charity, but DH wants to have one just to earn some spending money for our trip to Orlando. I told him I would get it together, if he would run it as I just don't have a weekend to do it! He agreed! I am tempted to put everything in the house out!! Maybe I will even find some goodies to put on ebay!

Sounds like a busy week! Wish me luck on my endeavors!

I love the change to the blogs! Hope no one has trouble with my colors, but I do come from the girlie girlie house, so pink is IT!
Glad they chose not include the creepy dude who wanted to shake my hand in the new style of the blogs! Yuck!
Enjoy playing with the new format everybody!

So I'm luck to have $5 in our EF savings account. I decided to make it a priority to put SOMETHING in it! I took a $10 check someone owed me, $100 from my second job and $87.12 from someone reimbursing me for something. So as of tomorrow we will have $202.12! Yeah! My goal is $1000, so I think I will take 47.88 out of our bill pay money and put it in for an even $250. So only $750.00 to go! :-) I am waiting on a survey check for $30 too that is slated for the fund!

Okay, I LIKE some of the colors on the blogs! They make me happy! But the guy on top wanting to shake my hand kinda creeps me out!
Way to shake up April Fools Day guys! Like it lots better than selling us out!!

Went to the grocery store today to load up to fend off the family this week. Geeze the cost of food just keeps climbing!! So makes me want to get the garden put in and grow my own food! I have been using coupons and saving quite a bit, but I have gotten to the point where I shop for what the family LIKES and WILL eat for sure to avoid food wasting!
My goal is to cook dinner every night this week (except Sunday when we eat at moms!)Got to keep the fast food monster at bay. I only have to work Sun/Mon this week, so I think I will be able to accomplish this!
Have a couple new projects to work on. I am going to redo the girls bathroom in rainbow fish. I have almost all the stuff bought, but I think I will change out the light fixture and the shower head. I need a shower curtain too.
The great deal on the bedroom comforter set I bought is FINALLY being shipped from Domestications. Everything including the dust ruffle and curtains and sheets, decorative pillows is all included for $100. So all I need to do is paint and rearrange the furniture. Spring is the season to redecorate!
I was planning on having a garage sale, but I think I am just going to load it up and give it to charity. I don't have a weekend free until June! And I need this clutter OUT! Guess I'll just have to claim it on taxes instead!

I was filling out a survey for SurveySpot and it said it was a $5 survey. I have done these before, but never knew how to cash them in. This time I paid attention and followed the links and lo and behold, I had eccured $40 since last year! I immediately asked for a check to be sent. I know NFO has a $10 cash out waiting as well. Plus, my sporadic part time job has not paid since last year and I have built up about $70 from there. So the plan is to cash in all of these and put them in my savings account! Yeah!
My expeditures from the trip were not too high, but I still have some debt that I will have to post and start working on again. I am really going to try to get the EF savings account to $500 first!