We did it...we're not quite done but we've installed our new solar powered clothes dryer! OK...so it is a clothesline but I am excited. I love the smell of hanging stuff outside and I do not even mind that the clothes are a little stiff...I can soften them up with a few minutes in the dryer.
Mostly, I'm excited about seeing what my electric bill does. I sure hope it goes down enough to pay for the concrete! Someone on FreeCycle gave the poles to us and all we need to do now is get new wire. The old wire was twisted badly enough it could not be used besides that we add a third pole (from another source) in the middle to make a longer run. I do have 6 of us still living at home.
Have a great day!
Mavis D.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Something I've Noticed
Since my journey into the coupon world started I have found a few interesting things happening. First, we are now fully stocked on both toothpaste and detergent for our dishwasher.
The other thing is that some of our coupons for the area are a little different than those others are reporting on their blogs. For example, a few weeks ago there was a Suave coupon that everyone was talking about that was for $1 off but our coupon was only $0.50 off. Another one someone listed (I forget what product it was) a coupon that came in a certain paper but I searched mine and found no coupon.
Therefore ladies, keep that in mind with surfing the net and looking for the coupon deals everyone else is doing...some of them may not work in your area.
Have a great day!
Mavis D.
The other thing is that some of our coupons for the area are a little different than those others are reporting on their blogs. For example, a few weeks ago there was a Suave coupon that everyone was talking about that was for $1 off but our coupon was only $0.50 off. Another one someone listed (I forget what product it was) a coupon that came in a certain paper but I searched mine and found no coupon.
Therefore ladies, keep that in mind with surfing the net and looking for the coupon deals everyone else is doing...some of them may not work in your area.
Have a great day!
Mavis D.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Financial Peace - April Update
Everything went smoothly this month except for our grocery budget. I can see a few changes in prices in the local grocery stores especially with wheat products and dairy products. I guess everyone is feeling the pinch. We'll have to tighten this a bit more but we also decided to increase our grocery budget by $100. Part of this increase is due to the fact we are eating a lot healthier. I'm really not sure what a family of 6 should be spending on groceries a month. I should research that a bit...we have two adults, two teen boys and two toddlers. Therefore, if you have ideas how to figure it, I'd love to hear it!
Our debt snowball is rolling a long and gaining some snow along the way. We're making some changes to our leftover credit card bills...mostly switching to lower rates. We're also calling our card companies and requesting lower rates because of our great payment history. Most are willing to lower them...those who aren't usually get culled out. I know...Dave says playing with them will get you bit eventually. However, we have switched one balance to a lower rate card and closed the old account...we're pretty diligent about closing accounts. Some companies just do not want to work with you.
Our Baby Step 1 emergency fund is still healthy...no problems have come up to need it and when there was a small problem, we absorbed it through working it out of our budget.
We've decided to put our stimulus package into a savings to replace our family van. We'll add to it over the next few months and try to find a great deal in the fall when prices are generally lower. Right before Christmas is a great time to buy a used vehicle. :)
That's about it for the update. Have you started your journey to Financial Peace?
Have a great day!
Mavis D.
Our debt snowball is rolling a long and gaining some snow along the way. We're making some changes to our leftover credit card bills...mostly switching to lower rates. We're also calling our card companies and requesting lower rates because of our great payment history. Most are willing to lower them...those who aren't usually get culled out. I know...Dave says playing with them will get you bit eventually. However, we have switched one balance to a lower rate card and closed the old account...we're pretty diligent about closing accounts. Some companies just do not want to work with you.
Our Baby Step 1 emergency fund is still healthy...no problems have come up to need it and when there was a small problem, we absorbed it through working it out of our budget.
We've decided to put our stimulus package into a savings to replace our family van. We'll add to it over the next few months and try to find a great deal in the fall when prices are generally lower. Right before Christmas is a great time to buy a used vehicle. :)
That's about it for the update. Have you started your journey to Financial Peace?
Have a great day!
Mavis D.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Walgreen's Lesson
Today I made a couple stops at Walgreen's. I wanted see if I get do more great deals. Well, I learned something.
On Sunday, I bought Cascade (P&G products) that gave me $20 in Register Rewards, plus $3 for the Zantac and $6 for the Venus razors. Today I had planned getting more Cascade and use one of the $10 Register rewards to pay for most of it. Well...that's when I learned that you would not get more reward dollars if you use those you got before on the same product. Therefore, Cascade produced rewards you should not be use toward more purchases of Cascade...but they can go toward other purchases.
This is what I figured out. At the beginning of the month, I buy things that have the register rewards or things on sale that we use anyway. Save the register reward dollars to purchase the items that I'll get free after the rebate (they're in the EasySaver catalog) or things that are on sale and I also have a coupon.
You must remember to use the Register Rewards before they expire...they are only good for about 2 weeks. Hope this helps!
Have a great day!
Mavis D.
On Sunday, I bought Cascade (P&G products) that gave me $20 in Register Rewards, plus $3 for the Zantac and $6 for the Venus razors. Today I had planned getting more Cascade and use one of the $10 Register rewards to pay for most of it. Well...that's when I learned that you would not get more reward dollars if you use those you got before on the same product. Therefore, Cascade produced rewards you should not be use toward more purchases of Cascade...but they can go toward other purchases.
This is what I figured out. At the beginning of the month, I buy things that have the register rewards or things on sale that we use anyway. Save the register reward dollars to purchase the items that I'll get free after the rebate (they're in the EasySaver catalog) or things that are on sale and I also have a coupon.
You must remember to use the Register Rewards before they expire...they are only good for about 2 weeks. Hope this helps!
Have a great day!
Mavis D.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Too Fast!
Today I spent part of my day going to get a new table...well, new to us anyway, I won't buy NEW furniture...not with boys around. Anyway, I took son #2 with me, we'll call him Too-Tall. He did the navigating with the GPS and we could take advantage of his muscles.
Too-Tall is really good with the GPS program. It works from my laptop and he makes sure I turn where I should and that I don't get lost. It's really great and I'm glad he's learning it so quickly. It's especially helpful when I see a sign and want to make a detour, he and the computer re-map my route to accommodate me.
When we arrived we went inside to see the table and chairs and after deciding that "yes, I did want it" he and the husband of the house started taking it apart and loading it.
It's great having teen boys, the stuff they can carry and the help they can be. Yeah, sure there's hormones to deal with sometimes, which makes them a little cranky but for the most part it's pretty fun having them around.
His favorite cologne is Axe (Phoenix) and he was wearing it today. When we got home, I gave him a hug and thanked him for helping. It was an interesting smell...I like Axe but his cologne today had what I (lovingly) call "boy funk" mixed it. Wow, that was interesting!
Do you know what the problem is when they are teens? Knowing that soon they'll be leaving home. He's only 16 now but I'm trying to cherish every minute. He has an older brother and although he still lives at home, we don't see him as much. It's kind of hard to take...they simply grow up Too Fast.
Mavis D.
Too-Tall is really good with the GPS program. It works from my laptop and he makes sure I turn where I should and that I don't get lost. It's really great and I'm glad he's learning it so quickly. It's especially helpful when I see a sign and want to make a detour, he and the computer re-map my route to accommodate me.
When we arrived we went inside to see the table and chairs and after deciding that "yes, I did want it" he and the husband of the house started taking it apart and loading it.
It's great having teen boys, the stuff they can carry and the help they can be. Yeah, sure there's hormones to deal with sometimes, which makes them a little cranky but for the most part it's pretty fun having them around.
His favorite cologne is Axe (Phoenix) and he was wearing it today. When we got home, I gave him a hug and thanked him for helping. It was an interesting smell...I like Axe but his cologne today had what I (lovingly) call "boy funk" mixed it. Wow, that was interesting!
Do you know what the problem is when they are teens? Knowing that soon they'll be leaving home. He's only 16 now but I'm trying to cherish every minute. He has an older brother and although he still lives at home, we don't see him as much. It's kind of hard to take...they simply grow up Too Fast.
Mavis D.
Our Favorite Banana Bread
3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups white flour or half & half whole wheat and white
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash bananas in a bowl with a fork. Try to get all the lumps out. Add sugar and butter and mix well until smooth. Add orange juice, mix well. Add the salt and baking powder, mix well. Lastly, add the flour and mix until smooth....the batter will be thick. Turn in the nuts and mix well. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan or two 8 x 4 loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. The bread should be brown and crusty and you should be able to insert a knife into the center and it come out clean. Remove from pans to cool.
This makes a nice gift as well. Simply wrap tightly in plastic wrap then brown craft paper and tie with raffia.
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups white flour or half & half whole wheat and white
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash bananas in a bowl with a fork. Try to get all the lumps out. Add sugar and butter and mix well until smooth. Add orange juice, mix well. Add the salt and baking powder, mix well. Lastly, add the flour and mix until smooth....the batter will be thick. Turn in the nuts and mix well. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan or two 8 x 4 loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. The bread should be brown and crusty and you should be able to insert a knife into the center and it come out clean. Remove from pans to cool.
This makes a nice gift as well. Simply wrap tightly in plastic wrap then brown craft paper and tie with raffia.
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