My Money Story

10th Anniversary Trip

2009-11-26T22:06:00.000-08:00

Today was wonderful and we had a very happy Thanksgiving despite my oldest giving my youngest, my dad, and me her cold. I have so much to be thankful for! I hope your Thanksgiving was especially bright!

Tomorrow morning my husband and I leave on our weekend getaway to the California coast to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We have been looking forward to this for months, and I am super excited, I just hope I feel better in the morning. I just took NyQuil...good night!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

Just a few of the things I am thankful for today:

1. My family
2. Our health
3. Our freedom

I hope your Thanksgiving day is filled with family & friends, good health, good food, and lots of fun. Remember the people and the things that you are thankful for, and make some wonderful memories tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Savings Account Paid Back

2009-11-24T23:14:00.000-08:00

Last week we were able to finish paying back the money we borrowed from savings for our trip to Texas at the beginning of the month, YAY! I thought it would take us a least two months, but we were able to sell a few things and my husband got an unexpected bonus at work that really gave us a boost. Here is what we did to accomplish this goal:

- Rebate Check $5
- Money left over from October's budget $125
- Sold Banjo on Craigslist $100
- Sold shelf on Craigslist $15
- Sold metal sign on Craigslist $5
- Hubby got an unexpected bonus check $450
- Rebate Check $5
- Rebate Check $20

Now we can hit the debt snowball hard again next month!

VocalPoint Try & Tell Coupons

2009-11-23T22:36:00.000-08:00

I joined VocalPoint a few months ago and already have gotten to try some great products. Right now I am using the full-size Olay Professional Pro-X Wrinkle Smoothing Cream, and it is fabulous...so light on your face. I would definitely use this again!

When they send me a product to try they also send me coupons to give away to my friends and I would love to share those with you. Below is a list of what I currently have available. If you see something you are interested in just email me at mymoneystory@hotmail.com with your mailing address and which coupon/s you want and I will get them in the mail to you straight away. First come, first served.

$2.00 off any one Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant (expires 12/31/09) x5

$1.00 off any one Pantene shampoo or conditioner (expires 12/31/09) x5

$1.00 off any one Del Monte SunFresh or Orchard Select Jar (expires 04/15/10) x5

$10.00 off a single Olay Professional Pro-X product (expires 02/28/10) x5

EcoStore USA Giveaway Winner

2009-11-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

Drumroll please.....

According to random.org the winner of the $25 gift card to EcoStore USA is Emily! Congratulations Emily, I will be sending your information to EcoStore USA shortly and you should receive your gift card from them via email.

Thank you to all who participated! I hope to bring you more exciting giveaways soon!

Chase Increased Our Credit Limit

2009-11-20T20:37:00.000-08:00

I was totally surprised when I opened a letter from Chase the other day and found out that they have increased our credit limit from $4,000 to $7,500. Along with the letter they sent a handful of checks to write on our account, and explained that the increase was due to the fact that we are such good customers. Ha! Silly Chase, don't you know we hate you so?

We paid off our Chase account a few months back as you may recall, and have been waiting to close it because we are unsure what to do about my husband's car. A lot of people (including Dave) have said sell the car for what it's worth and put the rest on the credit card if you can't get a small loan to cover it (we are upside down by about $3,000). My husband has applied for the loan with the same bank that holds the car loan, and was turned down. So far no bites on the car yet either, but we only have it listed on Craigslist at this point. We are still hesitant about putting the difference on the card because we don't want to give them another dime of our money, but if it would get us out of $10,000 in debt (the amount we would sell the car for hopefully) wouldn't it be worth it? What would you do?

SeeHere Cards Arrived!

2009-11-19T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today FedEx delivered my 50 free 4x8 custom photo cards from SeeHere that I told you about here. They look really good! The only thing I don't like is that they are printed on glossy paper, and I have always preferred matte, but hey they were free. They even came with envelopes which I wasn't sure whether they would or not.

According to Charlene at My Frugal Adventures SeeHere has changed the terms of this deal and they are no longer offering 5x7 cards, although they are still currently offering 4x8 cards. They have also decided that this deal will only be good through the 21st rather than the end of the month. If you haven't ordered your cards yet I wouldn't waste another minute, do it now before it is too late!

Giveaway: Ecostore USA!

2009-11-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

When Kristen from Ecostore USA contacted me and asked if I would like to review some of their products, as well as giveaway some to my wonderful readers, I jumped at the chance.

For the past six months or so I have started to become very aware of all the nasty chemicals and artificial additives in the food we eat and the products we use. Next time you are shopping take a look at the label and see what is in that product before you put it in your cart...I think you might be surprised. I look at every single label (unless I already know the product to be all natural) and sometimes can't even pronounce the things listed there...that just can't be good for you. Ecostore USA offers refreshingly natural products that work well, what a concept!

Ecostore USA's friendly, plant-based household cleaning products are as effective as the leading supermarket brands, and their body and baby care ranges are gentle on your skin and are simply beautiful to use. All of their products are made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint.

I was able to choose two products to try and I picked the laundry liquid (because I am always looking for the best products to get our clothes clean with minimal work) and the auto dish powder (because the dishwasher in our apartment is about 30 years old and doesn't do a very good job, so I am always looking for products that will work well in our situation). Both are super concentrated so I have to use only a little to get the job done. I liked the smell of the laundry liquid (almost like a minty menthol smell) and it didn't linger on our clothes. Both products worked really well, and in the case of the dish powder it actually worked better at getting our dishes clean in that old dishwasher than any other brand I have tried. They recommended using a small amount of white vinegar as a rinse aid, which I did as well. I was completely satisfied with these products, and would definitely use them again!

I have the privilege of doing a giveaway for a $25 Ecostore USA gift card here on my blog. What a great giveaway! Here is what you have to do to enter:

1. Visit Ecostore USA online here, then come back and leave a comment telling me what you would buy if you win (please include your email address or blog so that I have a way to contact you)

2. For another entry go here and sign up for the Ecostore USA newsletter, and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did

3. For a third entry become a follower of Ecostore USA on twitter here, and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did

4. For a fourth entry become a fan of Ecostore USA on facebook here, and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did

5. For a fifth entry become a follower of this blog, and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did (or that you already are!)

That is five chances to win, so get going! This giveaway will end on Sunday at 8:00pm pacific time. Good luck!

*Your email address will not be used for anything other than to notify you if you win, they will never be kept or sold.

**$25 gift card will be issued by email.

Deal Of The Week: SeeHere.com!

2009-11-17T22:10:00.000-08:00

This week I took advantage of a deal my sister-in-law told me about, and it's a good one so I just had to share. Go here and make a custom photo card (4x8 or 5x7), add 50 to your cart and enter code freebies4mom-1109 (you have to type it in, do not copy and paste, and you do have to become a member which is also free). After the discount your total should be zero, and they even throw in free shipping!

I made Thank You cards with our family's picture on them because I am always having to buy those, but they have some great holiday card options so you could get your Christmas cards out of the way now for absolutely nothing out of pocket. I believe this deal ends at the end of November, but don't wait...go take advantage of this free offer today!

Harry Potter HD DVD $4.99!

2009-11-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

Today I read at My Frugal Adventures that Buy.com has a great deal right now on the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix HD DVD. I went and bought one myself (we love the Harry Potter movies) for just $4.99 (+ tax = $5.40 plus free shipping!). That's a great deal! This deal will probably sell out fast so head on over there and get yours before they are gone. Just click here. If for some reason that item does not come up (I think the link keeps breaking) just type in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (HD) in the search bar to find it.

The Cost Of Learning To Sew

2009-11-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

Since I bought my new Singer sewing machine last month with my birthday money I have yet to attempt to make anything. I did cut out two patterns, pajama pants and shorts for my daughters, which took me about an hour but that is another story.

Yesterday I went with a friend to JoAnn's to get materials to make our daughters princess dresses (our oldest are both five, born just one month apart). We ended up deciding to do Tinkerbell Fairy dresses instead because the pattern was on sale for $1. When we finally checked out with everything we needed (minus the wings because they looked really complicated so we decided to do those on a separate trip) my total rang up to $36. I THOUGHT I had used a 40% coupon only to realize when I got home later that the cashier never scanned it. The store is an hour away so it is not worth the gas money for me to go back and have them adjust my total, and they wouldn't do anything for me over the phone. Ugh!

Today when we were in Wal-Mart I noticed they had the Tinkerbell Fairy costumes we are about to make for...$20! We spent $16 more and didn't even get wings! My husband was less than thrilled when I told him. From now on I am sticking to clearance fabrics unless it is something for a special occasion.

November Budget

2009-11-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

Here is our budget for November (sorry I am so late in posting this!):

Giving $50 (our daughter's school)
Rent $1,099
Renter's Insurance $25
Groceries $350 (I've decided to combine our grocery, toiletry and cleaning budgets into one category)
Restaurants $70
Car Payment $307
Gas and Oil $300
Car Repairs/Maintenance $20
Car Insurance $83.46
Kids Clothing $30
Prescriptions $90
Dentist $90
Doctor $200
Kids Classes $48 (Swim)
Miscellaneous $50
Kids Allowance $12
Gifts $80 (birthday, wedding gift)
Babysitter $25
Blow Money $60 ($40 hubby, $20 me)
Vacation $950 (trip to Texas, 10th anniversary trip)
Electric/Gas $150
Cell Phone $91
Cable & Internet $78.08
Student Loan $241.45

Deal Of The Week: Toys R Us

2009-11-12T22:18:00.000-08:00

I don't know about your family, but we love to play board games. Game nights are a great way for families to spend some quality time together, and have fun on the cheap! I loved playing board games growing up, and now my daughters do too.

Today I went to Toys R Us to take advantage of an awesome deal they have on games. This deal is good through this Saturday. Here is what I walked away with:

Chutes and Ladders (preschool edition) $3.99 - $2 rebate = $1.99
Disney Princess Memory $3.99 - $2 rebate = $1.99
Cootie $3.99 - $2 rebate = $1.99
Don't Break The Ice $3.99 - $2 rebate = $1.99
Connect 4 $9.99 - $3 rebate = $6.99

The rebate is offered through Hasbro and is a mail-in rebate. You can find the forms at Toys R Us, they were right on the games aisle at about eye level. In addition if you spend $25 on select games you get a $10 Toys R Us gift card! So my total was:

$29.09 - $11.00 I will get back in rebates = $18.09 PLUS I got a $10 gift card to spend later! These would make great Christmas or birthday presents for the kids on your list, in fact we will be giving the Chutes and Ladders game away for a birthday coming up in December.

October Budget Review

2009-11-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

We had a few major issues in October with over-spending, mostly in the miscellaneous category and with our blow money but there are other areas that we need to pay more attention to this month as well.

Giving $50, Actual $81 = $31 over budget
Rent $1,099, Actual $1,099
Renter's Insurance $25, Actual $25
Home Repairs/Maintenance $0, Actual $2.70 = $2.70 over budget
Groceries $275, Actual $309.38 = $34.38 over budget
Restaurants $40, Actual $44.65 = $4.65 over budget
Car Payment $307, Actual $307
Gas and Oil $250, Actual $250
Car Repairs/Maintenance $15, Actual $53 = $35 over budget
Car Insurance $305, Actual $297.75
Hubby Clothing $20, Actual $20
Kids Clothing $40, Actual $40
Prescriptions $50, Actual $50.63 = .63 over budget
Doctor $200, Actual $200
Kids Classes (Swim/Chinese Language & Culture) $75, Actual $68
Miscellaneous $150, Actual $220.05 = $70.05 over budget
Kids Allowance $12, Actual $12
Gifts $130, Actual $150.02 = $20.02 over budget
Hair Care $35, Actual $65 = $30 over budget
Adult Education $50 (Guitar), Actual $50
Blow Money $80 ($60 Hubby, $20 me), Actual $156.14 Hubby, $30.61 me = $106.71 over
Cleaning Supplies $20, Actual $22.70 = $2.70 over budget
Toiletries $125, Actual $144.81 = $19.81 over budget
Entertainment $70, Actual $70
Electricity $325, Actual $268.79
Cell Phone $75, Actual $74.86
Cable & Internet $70, Actual $69.02
Student Loan $241.45, Actual $241.45

Catching Up

2009-11-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

I know I am a few day behind on posting, on budgeting, on well...everything.

I love vacations. Well, at least I used to love vacations...now I'm not so sure. To go on vacation now means my delicately balanced schedule gets WAY off track and I end up so behind on everything that it takes me weeks to catch up. In addition to that minor inconvenience there is the packing and unpacking, which I end up doing all by myself for the most part. You also have to put a hold on your mail, and your paper, and make sure your bills are paid ahead if they will be due while you are gone. Not to mention that traveling with small children is more taxing than relaxing, at least that has been our experience for the most part.

It is somewhat easier when our out of town relatives come here to visit us, but not much. True, we don't have to pack or unpack but I still get behind on everything because I am visiting instead of doing my normal things. The kids get spoiled and tired and cranky because they aren't getting their normal amount of sleep.

My husband is at the point where he doesn't even want to travel anymore until the kids are older, but that is not an option for me. As hard as it might be at times I still want to be with my family that I only see a few times a year, and so yes...it is worth the hassle to be with the people I love. So even though I might bemoan the fact that I am so behind right now I wouldn't trade the time with my family.

I'm Back!

2009-11-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday we flew to Texas for my husband's sister's wedding, and flew back home yesterday afternoon. It was a super quick trip, super fun, and I think we actually stayed within budget although I haven't had a chance to officially crunch those numbers yet. Our youngest had a pretty rough time, she was sick and was totally out of her element/her routine/her comfort zone, but she still managed to have a few good moments while we were away. We got a LOT of pressure while we were there from family and friends who want us to move back...it almost makes sense and is tempting in some ways...but I am not convinced we would be happy there. We still have a few months before we have to make any final decisions regarding our last big move, and knowing us we will waffle a bit before we see it through.

Old Navy $2 Halloween Event

2009-10-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

Did any of you have any success today at Old Navy with their $2 Halloween event? I went early this morning and my store was packed, I couldn't believe it. I found out after I got there that they were doing several promos today including 50% off your entire purchase for the first 50 customers who used their Old Navy card, 30% off Stuff and Save, an additional 50% off all clearance items, and all their Halloween items on sale for just $2 (including costumes!).

We were hoping to score some costumes for $2, my daughter uses them year round to play dress-up in, but they were completely sold out. They did have a few dog costumes, t-shirts, pajamas, socks, and some random decorating items left for $2 each. We were unable to find the right sizes in anything that we wanted except a pair of candy corn peds for my oldest, which we paid $1.50 for. I wish we could have dug through the clearance items to see what bargains we could find, but we are totally out of clothing money this late in the month and I didn't want to go over on budget.

Walgreens Trip - $3.95 Money Maker!

2009-10-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

Here is what I spent at Walgreens this week:

Glad Force Flex Trash Bags $5.99
Ziploc Bags - Gallon size $2.50 with in-ad coupon
Ziploc Bags - Quart size $2.50 with in-ad coupon
Kit Kat (filler item) .55

Subtotal $11.54
Tax $1.01
Total $12.55

used $1.50/2 mfr coupon on the Ziploc bags
used $9 in Register Rewards

New Total $2.05

received $1 Register Reward for Hefty Trash Bags
mailed SC Johnson rebate form for $5 back (go here to find out how to get yours!)

New Total $3.95 money maker!

First Field Trip = $5

2009-10-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today was exhausting, but a happy kind of exhausting. Today was my daughter's first field trip, and little sister and I went with the class to a local pumpkin patch. Everyone had a lot of fun, but I could tell my kids were tired towards the end (a few tears were shed). Part of the field trip was that the kids got to pick a pumpkin to take home (which we donated $5 for a few weeks ago), and my daughter picked the tiniest pumpkin she could find. I just had to laugh because that thing would have cost me roughly .50 at Safeway! Oh well, it is more about the experience right?

Did You Get Your $15 Kodak Giftcard?

2009-10-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today I made my dad a calendar on KodakGallery.com for his birthday using pictures of my girls. It was super easy! The longest/hardest part was going through all the pictures we have stored on the computer and decided which ones to use. Once I had picked the ones I wanted it took about 10 minutes to upload them, and then the rest was a breeze. The preview looked really cute, I can't wait to see how it looks in person.

Calendars start at $19.99, and I used my $15 gift card that I told you about here so my total after tax and shipping was $10.29. Not bad for a birthday gift!

Free Starbucks (Almost)

2009-10-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

The other day I printed two copies of the coupon Barnes & Noble had on their website for a free cookie and kids hot chocolate, which was good today only. We went early this morning while it was still cool outside (who wants hot chocolate when it is 80 degrees?). I have roughly $22 in Starbucks gift cards so my husband and I ordered a Venti Pumpkin Spice Frappachino to split, only to find out after I ordered that the Starbucks inside Barnes & Noble doesn't take Starbucks gift cards. What? Really? So I ended up having to pay a little over $4 when I had planned to pay nothing. I guess when you think of it as each item being less than $1 (we had five items) that isn't too bad, and I now know that I can't use my gift card there.

My New Grocery Budget Goal

2009-10-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling really frustrated with myself over our grocery budget lately. I keep having this feeling that we could be doing better, but I can't seem to shave any more off what we spend.

Currently we are spending roughly $115 per week for my husband, myself, our five year old, and our 17 month old (who is in diapers). Charlene from My Frugal Adventures was kind enough to email back and forth with me a little yesterday, offering some advice on what I might be able to do to trim our budget down some. Charlene is from the same area of the country that I am so we are paying the same prices at our grocery stores, she also has a kid in diapers (and even on formula, which I do not), so we should be spending roughly the same amount at the grocery store right? In theory yes! Charlene (and many others I have talked to/read their blogs) is spending between $50-$60 per week on groceries, toiletries, medicines, paper goods, diapers & formula, cleaning supplies, etc.

I KNOW I can do better! My new goal is to try to get our grocery budget, including all the things I mentioned above, down to $75 per week which is a $40 per week decrease. I am not totally sure how I am going to accomplish this, but I think my weekly menu is a good place to start.

$50 Sacrifice

2009-10-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

My husband decided completely on his own that this would be his last month of guitar lessons, at least for now. He said it doesn't make sense to continue paying $50 per month right now. I am so thankful for him, he is sacrificing something that is very important to him for the greater good of his family.

FREE $15 KodakGallery.com Giftcard!

2009-10-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

Kodak Gallery is giving away $15 gift cards to the first 100,000 responders, as well as a chance to see The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Sign up HERE and get the $15 code emailed to you!

*If you sign up after the 100,000 limit has been reached you will receive a code for 40% off your next order. They will be offering the $15 gift cards for several weeks (promotion periods), so if you miss it this time be sure to check back next week and try again!

Debt Snowball Payment

2009-10-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today I paid $307.00 towards our debt snowball, with the current debt we are working on being our car loan. The original balance on this thing when we started on baby step 2 was $16,091.89, and after our payment today the balance is $12,589.39. Our payment today was:

$253.05 - Our regular monthly payment paid with our regular income

$53.95 - Extra payment paid with our regular income

*Our regular payment has always been $307 per month, but I guess since we have made a couple extra payments recently they have lowered our monthly payment to $253.05. I went ahead and paid the $307 that we are used to paying.