Money Makeover

[shortcake]

I have to say I enjoy reading your updates. Hats off to you and your family, you are making amazing progress and really sticking to your plan, bravo!!! I am looking forward to your next update. I am sure you are inspiring lots of people to work on their goals, myself included.

[peanut]

Update:

~ de-cluttered upper kitchen cabinets and the old curtain rods in the utility room with DH.

~ finished my analysis of the grocery receipts and came up with a list of changes to make this year. Mostly involving more of my time in the kitchen making Paul's favourite snacks. I'm thinking it's about time to make some healthy cinnamon buns for him to take to work. I did make some healthy cranberry muffins for him this week.

~ watching Food Network.com videos for ideas on handling food.

~ knitting the prayer shawl...it's half done. When it's finished, I'm going to knit one for myself with yarn I already have.

~ talked to a couple ladies I'm doing lunch with at church. We devised a cheap way to do it and divide the cost better.

~ overspent in groceries again, but DH and I decided quality over cost. I still shopped frugally and ended up with enough meat for close to 60 meals, plus the rest of the fixings for meals, for under $150. That included organic produce. I found tuna on sale 4/$1 limit of 4. I stopped at a couple of stores on loop errands and picked up 4 at each store.

~ made beef crumbles. I have some wonderful stock for soup and casserole making now.

~ Bought chicken breasts skin in and bone in. De-skinned it and de-boned it at home. I have some lovely soup bones now.

~ made it to stitch with friends. I fit in a loop errand trip for shopping and used a gift card for tea afterwards. I love visiting with them. They have such creative, frugal ideas.

~ DH and I had a discussion about the money leftover in the jars. There's lots in some of them. I don't think we've touched clothing, medical or transportation yet. I told him we'd keep saving it for when an emergency came up in those departments. We're going to need to have work done on the car this spring, and I need new glasses. Plus we may be looking at a new winter parka for DH.

~ DH has been walking, biking and taking public transit to work. I've cut down the amount I take the car places. I need the exercise, so I walk. DH is impressed with how little we're spending on gas. I have also changed my driving habits (or trying to!). I now try to find routes with few traffic lights or stop signs, try to make all right hand turns because it's better for mileage (FedEx does this), coast to stops, slowly pick up speed after stopping (rather than hitting the gas!). Also, I just plain am letting other people drive me places. I hate winter driving and I hate night driving. So I am more than happy to let people take me places.

~ I've been to the library to take out books, DVDs, videos and CDs. Found some exercise DVDs and videos I've been using. Also some instructional stitching stuff. Also found some books on de-cluttering and preparing for retirement.

~ I resisted picking up food on the way home one night. Instead I phoned DD#2 and had her cook for us. Why spend money when you have slave labour?

~ talked to several friends and got some ideas to try for stain removal. I'm going to try baking soda first and go from there. Someone mentioned DAWN dish detergent. I can't find the original locally. Someone mentioned protein shampoo. I've yet to try that.

~ Purex liquid laundry detergent experiment has been going great. I am using the cold water stuff and only using half the required amount. Everything is coming out wonderfully clean. Even the ring-around-the-collar is disappearing! I have everyone marking on the container when they do a load of laundry using it, so I can tell how many loads I actually get out of a jug.

~ I'm thinking of sewing up some nice aprons for myself. I need ones with bibs because I am so short and usually end up with stuff all over my upper front when baking/cooking. I think I have an old pattern somewhere...I'm going to look it up and maybe sew something for myself from some free fabric I got via Full Circles.

~ DH decided he doesn't want to continue with a health product we've been getting through a friend. He thinks he should be able to do the same thing by eating healthy. I don't know. We'll find out.

~ Talking to friends about retirement situations. They all recommend downsizing to a smaller house and hanging onto it as long as possible. Apartments and condos are expensive here right now.

~ We found out DH's pay increase is considerable...about $300/mth. Plus there's back pay coming.

~ DH has had leftovers to take for lunch every day this week, and snacks. No spending on those items.

~ DH continues to show me how to work Quicken.

~ Analyzed my investment statements to determine I haven't lost a money yet!

~ Learned how to hem my own pants by myself. I know, everyone knew how to do this but me! Oh well. Now I know!

That's it for this week. I think the big thing facing me now is a baking day tomorrow. I want to get some buns, bread and cookies made before next week.

So far this is going well! DH and I are learning a lot and it feels good to be working together again.

Jean

[peanut]

Make that enough meat for 40 meals. We have enough in the house for 60 meals, but I only bought for 40 meals on Tuesday.

Jean

[peanut]

~ did a lot of de-cluttering the last few days.

~ found my Flylady zone cleaning notes. We're in the Entry zone this week. Already did the closet. Still waiting for DH to vacuum the main floor this week.

~ The big news? The exercise specialist okay'ed my home fitness plan! That saves us about $80/mth. at the gym...just for me. Whenever I took the car to the gym, DH had to take the bus, meaning $4.20 in bus fare, on top of my $5/visit, plus the cost of taking the car and outfitting myself with proper gear for the gym. Plus DH used to go with me periodically. So he had a pass too. He always maintained we didn't need them. He may be right. I still miss long walks around the track, so I think I'll meet my exercise specialist there once a month. She was really impressed with Leslie Sansone, the About.com resistance band exercises, and the Winsor Pilates and "Yoga for Stress Relief". The About.com band exercises have you do them sitting on an exercise ball, which really makes you hold your abs in and stabilizes you. If you don't, then you fall off the ball!

~ DH and I did the grocery shopping. I tried a different tack. We went to the local organic food store first. It was mega-expensive, but almost everything in it is local. We were impressed. Picked up our fruit and veggies, and some brown rice, then headed to the regular grocery store...where the organics were cheaper, but from weird parts of the world. Had a chat with my farming sister today about that. She warned me to watch out for foreign organics - Canada is much stricter about who can use the word 'organic' to sell things than other countries of the world, including the U.S. So it is local shopping for sure for us.

~ watched some library DVDs. Found one - "Masks of Madness" - on how nutrition affects mental illness. Very interesting. I am recommending it to the entire family, as we seem to have different forms of mental illness running through the family.

~ Taking an embroidery course through a group I belong to. It cuts the cost of the course by 75%. I'm happy with that. I've been setting up my project, using some fabric available locally.

~ Baking muffins for DH's snacks at work this week. Need to bake bread soon.

~ Picked up some potting soil to plant herbs in some old loaf tins I have. I'll layer broken terracotta pots or rock on the bottom.

~ Picked up some vinegar and oil dispensers for the table...the glass cruets with the metal dribble tops?! I have no idea what they're called. I'm sure there's a proper name for them. Anyway, it's a healthier alternative to salad dressing. Means I won't have to make anymore.

~ Found a cheap healthy fruit salad I can eat. No Name fruit cocktail in concentrate. Just add a cheap apple, banana and orange. Possibly a kiwi. And voila! A nice decadent, cheap fruit salad!

~ Made a quadruple batch of ginger cookies. No eggs or milk. Not very much fat either. I bit of oil. They were mostly applesauce. Also replaced sugar with Splenda. Not happy about that. It worked, but I'm not overly fond of artificial sweeteners.

~ I am realizing I have a real addiction problem with sugar. If I go more than 12 hours without it, I pig out the next time I see it. I don't even notice till after I've eaten it. I am frustrated with this. Our diet has become quite healthy, but not healthy enough. I should be able to get all the sweets I need from fruit.

~ DH and I are discussing DD#2's upcoming birthday next week. We need to buy her something. I have no personal money, which is where gifts are supposed to come from. I overspent on DH for Christmas and am still paying the bills. Still, we have lots of extra cash in the bank account, so I'll probably spend $50 on her this week sometime. Need to find her Christmas wish list I made lots of notes on!

~ DH and I went through our wardrobes today and wrote down our clothing needs for the next 6 months. I actually have too many clothes. DH found some white shirts that weren't very white around the colour. I've taken them and am giving them the Purex treatment with some White Brite. I don't think the White Brite works very well. I'm just using it up at this point.

I guess that's about it so far. I tried to get DH to do a future challenge, in which we came up with ideas of things to do with the rest of our lives. He was hopeless with going through magazines and cutting out photos, but when I suggested he make a list of things that are important to him, he came up with a list a page long! Turns out there's some really vague goals there. I nailed him on a couple, and will keep doing so bit by bit. Eventually I'll know what he wants. Problem is, I'm not sure I want the same thing.

Jean

[peanut]

"DH found some white shirts that weren't very white around the colour."

<giggle> I meant to say "white around the collar" LOL

Jean

[VanVivCam]

this is a wonderful thread...i have truly enjoyed reading! Good Luck to you and your family!!!!

Vanessa

[kittykatstrong]

Great thread you have given me some great ideas to jump off of. Thank you.

[peanut]

So things are moving along. DH is seeing extra money in the jars, extra money in the bank account.

~ DD#2's bd is coming up. My gift to her is on sale today, so I'm rushing out for it tonight, as soon as DH brings home the car from work.

~ DD#2 doesn't like cake and ice-cream, so I am making a pumpkin cheesecake for her birthday. Unfortunately we have less than a dollar left in the food jar. Fortunately, I sold two waffle irons on-line this week and have $10 from that. It will go towards food for her birthday cheesecake!LOL

~ I cruised through the "Top Ten Frugal Tips" thread on the Frugal board, and have 3 pages of frugal tips to implement. Some of them pretty good.

~ the one month anniversary of the Money Makeover is coming up. I'm thinking we may go to the art gallery (free) and then out for coffee/tea someplace I have a gift certificate to.

~ I am thinking ahead. Valentine's Day is coming up, and I happen to have a gift certificate for a local restaurant. I'm thinking that will be a nice treat for us.

~ DH finally vacuumed the main floor the night before he went back to work. I went in the main entry the next morning and found dirt everywhere. I swear, I don't know what he vacuumed. I called DD#2 down to help and we totally emptied the entryway and cleaned from top to bottom. DH's excuse when confronted? "There was no one to move things for me." Duh...and he thinks I get people to move things for me?! Well, with my bad back I have to now. But I didn't before. Anyway, it's done now, and DH has agreed he needs lessons in how to do this. I am going to introduce him to Flylady's cleaning zones this coming weekend.

~ I planted the herb seeds in the old loaf pans. Hope this works. I have abyssmal luck with this. My seedlings always grow long and spindly before succumbing to damping off disease. Any ideas?

~ I've been working a lot on my correspondence embroidery course. I've been checking my progress with other women I stitch with, to make sure I'm doing things properly. And to get some feedback from them.

~ I've been using my at home exercise program with good success. To motivate myself I've been checking out "X-Weighted" on Slice TV on-line. It's quite an interesting show!

~ I shortened two king size pillowcases I got free through Full Circles to queen size.

~ I've baked bread and cinnamon buns...much to everyone's delight!

~ We haven't gone out to eat a meal all month!!! With DH and DD#2 taking turns cooking supper once a week, I really feel the pressure is off me. It's nice to have a day off every now and then. For their part, they appreciate having the menu all planned in advance and the recipes all in one neat pile of paper.

~ I've yet to hear back from the nutritionist. She had an emergency and had to cancel our last appointment. I'm wondering what she'll have to say.

~ I've been watching library DVDs and videos for entertainment. And I'm making good use of the Stitchery Guild library. I know the librarian and asked if she could buy some books by a particular lady. She said she had some money and could, in fact, look into it. I'm relieved. Means I won't have to act on the urge to buy them!

~ Still entertaining myself finishing projects already started.

~ Using baking soda to help with laundry stains. Also, using half the liquid Purex laundry detergent called for, is working.

~ Bought some organic yogurt, but it does not seem firm enough to make good yogurt. I'm waiting to try another brand.

~ I'm making a conscious effort to use up leftovers for snacks and meals. I found some 1% cottage cheese in the fridge and made myself a fruit salad of leftover canned pineapple, orange, apple, and leftover cherries. DH keeps forgetting the cherries are there. They are yummy! I'll be eating them if he isn't careful.

~ We got the electric and natural gas bills. Natural gas is a lot lower than it normally is this time of year. It's just over $200. Normally it's about $350. But the electric was up. It was $100. DH just about had a bird. After scraping him off the ceiling, I told him I think the culprit is DD#2, who has turned night in day and day into night since leaving her job. She leaves the lights on 24 hours a day, whether sleeping or not! At any rate, we've decided to be more conscientious about lights.

DH commented I hadn't been hang drying laundry. I told him that's because I didn't have enough bras to go between wash days! He sighed and gave me a puppy dog look and said "Well, I suppose if you have to..." Men!LOL

I am struggling with the wash. I am noticing even with waiting 5 days between doing laundry, I am only filling the washing machine half full. (I suspect I could get by with less laundry detergent even yet.) I wash a load of dark, a load of whites, and then toss them into the dryer to make a full load to dry. Thankfully we have a water level adjustment on the washing machine. Still, you use the electricity and you really don't need to.

I'm seriously thinking of approaching DH about buying a smaller front loading washer and dryer set. Thing is, most of what I've seen is not small. If anything, they seem like monsters to me! I can't imagine buying something that is such a space hog when I'm thinking of downsizing to a bungalow or smaller.

~ Tried to make sugar-free nanking cherry jelly, only to find I needed apple juice for it, which I don't have. So it will wait till we get paid again.

~ Found a simple way to make pasta on YouTube. Love those videos! So I'm going to crack out the pasta machine and try it one of these days.

~ In fact, found YouTube to have some very good instructional videos. You have to pick through the crap to get to the good stuff, but doing a keyword search usually helps there. I found some on de-cluttering as well. And some on scrapbooking. Mostly selling stuff, but there was an interesting one on prayer scrapbooking. Anyway...lots to entertain me...for free!

That's it so far.

Jean

[forHISglory]

I just love your thread. Please keep it up.

And by the way, (you mentioned prayer scrapbooking), I am taking a class now on spiritual journey scrapbooking. Might be similar.

Any hoo....... just wanted to let you know that I'm a groupie!

[peanut]

forHISglory: I've been toying with spiritual scrapbooking for some time. A good friend does this, and just browsing through her scrapbooks is so reassuring, restful and centering. A real embodiment of her love for God and His for her. I loved going through them.

So much so I bought some stuff to do some myself. But it wasn't the right stuff. She uses old calendars, etc...very common things, not at all fancy or acid free. Just makes a book about God's love, or about certain topics that are uplifting. I've seen the fancy books with fancy papers, etc., and while nice, I still like hers best.

Some day...

Jean

[Frugal Girl]

That's really great. There are some great tips there for all of us to use!

[peanut]

Pretty busy few days...

~ DD#2's bd. An all cash birthday. Her present was an MP3 player and a bunch of embroidery floss...her requests. The floss was 3/$1, which is a good deal here. Normally it's 50 cents a skein. She wanted over 110 skeins. The MP3 player was $30 off because they priced it wrong on the shelf. I, of course, assumed it was the tagged price of $90, when in fact, it was $120. The salesman sighed and said someone messed up – he'd have to give it to us for $90. He was so good about it, and a very nice salesman, not at all pushy, that we went for the extended warranty. Still came in $10 less than the original asking price...even after taxes!

~ Supper was hm roasted red pepper salad, spaghetti (I had megacooked some earlier this month and this was in the freezer), hm garlic toast (with real garlic butter), and hm pumpkin cheesecake with whipped topping. Not bad at all! We're all feeling stuffed.

~ DH doesn't want to go to the art gallery for our one month anniversary, so I suggested we just go for a walk around the lake and then out to tea afterwards. He agreed to that and offered to pay for tea with his Christmas gift certificate. Done deal!

~ figured out Purex half strength is still more expensive than my hm detergent. However, it does a better job on ring-around-the-collar. DH suggested we use it one week of the month and use our regular hm the rest of the time. I'm game to try it. I noticed the Purex seemed to be rougher on the clothes too. Ie. Some of the collars were fraying by the time I'd finished washing in them...hmm... Also noticing I am only washing half loads of clothes. Maybe I can get by with one quarter the Purex called for?

~ DH and I counted and rolled change on the weekend. There was quite a bit. Also did Quicken by myself. Only had to ask DH about one thing. I suggested that he and I alternate taking turns doing it, so we both don't forget what to do. He thought that might be a good idea, but commented he wouldn't forget what to do!LOL

~ A cursory look at our bank account shows we'll have $200-250 extra to put in the Emergency Fund the end of the month.

~ Talked to DH about the possibility of buying organic meat with our income tax refund. We'll see. It is actually earmarked for our EF. We'll think on it. In Canada we don't receive our refunds until June.

~ Also mentioned an idea we've been tossing around for some time...ripping up the back yard to put in raised beds for gardening our own organic produce. Still thinking about it.

~ DH ripped his winter parka riding his bike to work. That's about the fourth thing that's gone wrong with that parka. He really wants a new, shorter length one. I asked if he could make it last till March, when the coat sales come on. He thinks he can. I'll have to keep an eye on the sales.

~ We've been noticing a lot of really good grocery sales on the end of January. We've discussed saving up money next year, to spend on stocking up the end of January.

~ I had to show DH how to use the filing system for the receipts again. I've also had him put everything for income tax in our “Current Bills” file for now.

~ Attempts to “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner, and supper like a beggar” fell on rough times right away. We were craving food in the evening. After some initial struggles, I seem to have sorted things out. DH, for his part, still heads for a 9:30 p.m. snack. I just can't do that and sleep well at night. I am consciously trying to up my caloric intake for breakfast. It is hard though. And I'm measuring food at the supper table.

~ I surpassed my goal of 900 minutes of exercise in 30 days. However I eat so badly, I don't think it does any good! I am watching “X-Weighted” on Slice TV. It's a good motivator. Shows me what needs to be done to reach my goals.

~ I've been researching alternative medicine for ways to deal with my back pain. I've been using shiatsu with some good results. At least the pain is a 0-3/10, instead of the usual 5-8/10. That's improvement!

~ Was talking to a friend about retreats this past week. We want to get together and talk some more. Maybe we can go on a retreat together sometime. She has me thinking it's time I did a few personal retreats at home again. I cleaned up my away room and started reading through material from a year ago. Funny, you don't realize how much you've grown until you step back and read stuff you've written awhile ago. I've really done quite a bit!

~ I've been carpooling with friends places, and it's working fine!

~ I was at a funeral where the sole remaining relative of the deceased invited everyone to her sister's place to pick up a 'momento' of her sister...and later suggested in private we bring an empty car! I resisted. I do not need more stuff. Though I would have liked to have one piece of this lady's jewellry (it's what she was known for, and an area she helped me with). Still, I have more jewellry than I could possibly wear, and my memories will serve as my momento of this lady. She was a pretty neat lady.

~ Working on unfinished projects.

~ Working on an EAC embroidery course. I am using threads I already have for the most part. I bought a few more, for under $5. Plus the fabric was purchased off a friend who had extra...it was $10. Not bad at all!

~ DH wants to do some serious juicing, but not with a juicer. He likes to keep the pulp in the fruit. He wants us to start shopping around for a new, stronger blender. Will do. I wonder if they make them quieter?

~ I continue to use Crown.org's scripture references for inspiration and motivation to stay focused and keep the right perspective. They've been very helpful.

~ Some friends at church phoned about changing Bible study night. It's a night DH works and has the car. I told them I could only come if it was at a friend's place nearby. They already thought of that (bless their hearts) and are contacting everyone else to make sure we can do it. My friend had already offered her place up for meeting. As she can't drive right now, it makes sense we meet there. I can walk there on Bible study night.

~ back to hang drying laundry.

Things to do this week...

1.Learn more about alternative medicine and how I can use it to help my health.
2.Finish reading “The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life”.
3.Test the crockpot to make sure it's working.
4.If it is, cook some dry chickpeas up.
5.Get a stevia cookbook out of the library.
6.Hunt up the pasta machine clamp. It seems to have gone missing.
7.Have DH look in Consumers Report for information on blenders.
8.Find canvas I was going to use for a back door mat, and get cracking on it!
9.Buy apple juice to make sugar-free Nanking Cherry jelly.

No shortage of things to do!

Jean

[peanut]

It's only been three days, but maybe this post will be shorter!

~ DH was paid yesterday. We were pleasantly surprised it was an extra $90 than we expected. DH told me we are looking at a total of a 12% raise due to pay equity being brought into his workplace! Yippee! It is all going direct to our EF until the EF reaches $10K. Then it will go towards some needed house repairs.

~ We did our bill paying, etc. yesterday because it was payday and DH couldn't wait. We had enough left in the bank account to transfer $200 to our EF. DH sure was happy. He has it all figured out in his head -- we'll reach our goal of $10K in the EF by Summer. He's counting on all that extra pay, plus back pay, plus income tax return to go to the EF.

~I've been trying shiatsu to help me sleep and to deal with the back pain. It seems to work on the pain related to the compressed disc, but not the side back pain. It also seems to help me fall asleep quicker. I am also using lavendar on my pillow for that.

~ I've been madly hunting up my library cards to order some stevia cookbooks from the library, but I can't find them anywhere! I know I put them someplace 'safe'. It's just remembering where that is!

~ I'm still reading a book I bought on sale a year or so ago. It's about time I got to it!

~ I've also been working on my embroidery course.

~ The menu plan is going fine, but we're going to have to change some of it. After watching "Masks of Madness" it's pretty clear I need to make some dietary changes. I am working at cutting out milk. But I need to bring in some calcium and magnesium. Not sure how to do that. I can't take the pills...they make me really sleepy.

~ Grocery shopping Wednesday was not so stressful. We spent $27 at the organic market, $72 at the regular store, and $1.37 for olives at Walmart! I was having problems finding a small container of black olives. Anyway, it worked out to just over $100. I have already noticed a tendency towards $100 per week if we eat organic produce.

~ I figured out chicken breasts with bone in and skin on were $2/kg. less than boneless, skinless...and I get the bones to make soup. So that's a definite go. I weighed everything and did the cost comparison on my blog.

~ DH and I did a major cleaning of the back entry and stairwell yesterday while he was off work due to the cold weather.

~ I also worked more on Beth Dargis' Declutter Calendar challenges. I have a few that are going to require some work today. I seem to forget about the calendar, or lose it periodically, then find it and look at it to see what needs doing. She's pretty good at nailing things I'm thinking about in the corner of my mind. She's prompting me to get rid of some old craft stuff I've had kicking around too.

~ We've been doing loop errands, but with the weather so cold, it doesn't save much gas. We have to leave the car running so it doesn't quit totally on us.

~ I cleaned out my undergarment drawer yesterday, as per Beth's suggestion on her calendar, and noted some needs. Last night we went to Walmart and filled them. Also looked at jewelry boxes and picked up more Magic Erasers for DH to finish scrubbing the stairwell. He likes those things! LOL

~ We've been watching library DVDs and our own.

~ I've been knitting up yarn I have for charity.

~ I did the laundry in hm laundry detergent and am hang drying it now. I think the whites are going to have to be done in Purex. For some reason my hm detergent doesn't seem to be getting out the ring-around-the-collar like it used to. I wonder if this stuff has a life span to it? Mine batch is well over 3 months old now.

~ I had a momentary stall in my fitness plan. I did some sideways moves in Pilates last week and wrecked my back. So back to just regular walking and basic resistance work. I'll be more careful about what I choose to do in Pilates.

It goes without saying that Paul is on-board the Money Makeover now. He is quite happy with the results. And he is proud to see some more money flowing into the household too. I am happy I have money for collection every Sunday.

Jean

[mommy4ever]

Jean, why do you get your tax return so late? We get ours mid March, sometimes sooner.

[peanut]

This coming week's goals...

~ keep on top of Beth Dargis' declutter calendar challenges.
~ make some chickpeas up for the freezer, using the crockpot.
~ make sugar free Nanking cherry jelly.
~ store summer clothes out of closet and drawers and under the bed.
~ get photos hung in upstairs stairwell.
~ start sewing! I've got lots to do!
~ Budget meeting Saturday night - have DH research CR on blenders, and shop for a winter coat with him...just so I know what he wants.
~ find the canvas for the back door floor mat and get cracking on it!

That's all I can think of for now.

Jean