2/11 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the day:  I finished knitting another pair of house slippers during lunch - just need to crochet them together.  I also rolled $12.50 in coins to deposit.  I called the bank offering gifts with their CDs.  So far, it sounds pretty good.  The lady on the line said the 9 month CDs yield 1% and the 18 month CD yield 1.1% - plus the gift . . . but you have to pay taxes on the value of the gift and they will tell you the value upon selection while you are at the bank.  Had some more work done on my teeth today - I really the job they did and it cost $27 out of pocket to be reimbursed from the HSA account.  Not fee, but pretty good :)

More 2/10 Expressions

Well, instead of a delay, turns out school and work were closed today because of the inclement weather.  So, that gave my daughter and I time to fold a bunch of clothes and do a few other chores.  Also, at the last minute, the third Craigslist item sold for the price we asked and it is gone.  Goodwill asked to change the pick-up because of bad weather - we just cancelled.  Now, I am going to try to barter services for things we no longer want.  De-cluttering, here we come :)  Hopefully, a win-win situation for everyone.

2/10 Expressions

Because of bad weather - everything is delayed 2 hours.  So, we slept in an hour and I made a nice breakfast.  Freebies this week:  went to the dentist and got my teeth cleaned, no out of pocket expense and they gave me a nice package of dental floss, paste, and brush.  In the mail, I got my coupon for a free Nice'n Easy Foam hair color.  I requested information from a bank about their certificate of deposit program.  They have a nice gift program - like banks used to do 'back in the day.  But now, the gifts include vacations, flat screen tv's etc.  I need to read up on it and find out what the rate is - and maybe put some college savings in there since we have a few years.  Their CDs are 9 and 18 months.  Oh, and I am now a Purex Insider :)  I still can't seem to read my freebie book to do a review .  . . the book is on how to make a marriage last . . . sure wish they had a financial book.

2/8 Expressions

I got 10 First Class postage stamps in the mail - for being a "mail decoy".  My filling fell out of a tooth - so, I must see the dentist.  The insurance adjuster finalized our claim for our ceiling damage from the winter freeze we had.  Now if the roofing company will fix the problem - hopefully, this won't be a problem.  Our rental property should be ready to rent shortly.  The tenants - the gentleman lived there 10 years - he just re-married two years ago, left the place in good shape.  The rental manager is just going to have the capets cleaned.  Stock market has been nice lately - hoping the trend continues.  We had 3 buyers flake out on the latest Craigslist item - so, we have called Salvation Army to pick it up.  Picked up 3 free bagels today.

2/4 Expressions

Today is a great day to shop for groceries.  Lots of Super Bowl specials.  My favorite deal today was - using the Earth Fare coupon:  Buy $5 of anything get a free pound of chicken wings.  I used mine at Publix.  I had a coupon for a free Fast Fix'n product up to $7.99 - and got a product for that amount.  Combine the two and I ended up paying .09.  The insurance adjuster came - he said the leak was caused by the freezing weather.  So, the insurance company will repair the damage inside - minus the deductible.  We called the roofing company and they will be coming over this evening to let us know what they are going to do about the roof that is still under warranty.  Our Craigslist Looky Lou flaked out - but rescheduled to look.  The first sale was too easy.  Second sale had several flake-outs.  This third item so far has been the worst.  Oh - and that free Coffee-Mate on Facebook that crashed - I just got in and got confirmed to received a coupon for a free bottle.  Can't beat that :)

2/3 Expressions

My husband was offered a job in a small town.  Houses are a lot cheaper and there appears to be a good public school system in the area.  I am wondering if we could sell the house, buy one there and bank the rest for education/emergency/freedom expenses/accounts?  I could spend more time being frugal; crafting; etc.  We will need to give it some thought.  We sold another item on Craigslist - we did have a few people flake out.  We hope to sell one more - and have a looky Lou tomorrow.  In today's mail, I got a rebate.  I will do some coupon shopping tomorrow and try to stay way under the budget.  Also, the insurance adjust will be showing up to see what is causing the leak in the roof (we just had it replaced last year).  I am wondering if the spate of bad weather we have been having had something to do with it.  Not sure what else I will have planned for tomorrow.

2/1 Expressions

Wow - it is February already!  Perhaps next month, I would like to try an experiment.  I would like to see if we can live on our rental income only.  I am hoping I get offered an early retirement soon.  If not, I am thinking about resigning as I can still apply for my retirement pension in just over 6 years.  I am close to my 401K equivalent savings goal.  My big push now is my daughter's education fund.  I planned - purchased pre-paid tuition; set up an education IRA, etc.  But none of them have done very well.  I do have a few more years for them to turn around - get fixed (Pre-paid tuition - I believe there is a class action law suit at the moment), etc.  I believe we have been fairly frugal, but we surely have areas in which we can improve.  But, I am thinking if I don't put any constraints on - it is easier to fritter money away.  Barring big repair bills, 100% vacancy, etc. we should be able to do it.  I am going to give it some thought - of course I will need some cooperation from 2 other people.