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Archive for April, 2008

How do you add pictures

April 24th, 2008 at 07:38 pm

I haven't tried to add pictures before.
So I am going to try one of my house.

I was having a water main put in and the roofers were doing the back so it's not the best picture but I want to try this.



I will see how it works. I wish I could preview my blog entries but I haven't figured out a way to do that either.

Well since it worked maybe I'll add more pictures of the work in progress. Here in the beginning most of it won't be visible though.



May is going to be a good month

April 24th, 2008 at 04:39 am

I am so excited about the upcoming 5 weeks- Next week I get my last paycheck from my seasonal employment-May 2nd regular paycheck- May 9th-Last child support check and Stimulus check- May 15th Regular paycheck- May 23rd-Bonus check from seasonal employment- May 30th- Another regular paycheck (3 check month)

I called the contractor and they are coming out to level my house in May. Once the house is back on level with proper support beams I can start some of the other renovations I have been planning for the last 3 years.

A friend is coming to take out some of the big trees that shade my backyard so I may even be able to get something to grow back there.

Our neighborhood is having a block sale which may be a chance to get rid of some of the junk that has accumulated in my shed (and make a little cash)

My son is graduating from High School. It has been a LONG 10 years (the first 2 weren't so bad)

May is going to be a GOOD month.

Staying Focused

April 18th, 2008 at 12:12 pm

Today is payday and I am just shy of making my first financial goal of 2008. After today's deposit I will be $200 short of having my Emergency fund fully funded. It has been about 18 months simce I became debt free and when I started I had alot of trouble with this particular goal.
I wasn't very focused. I wanted to save up to do my home renovations, I wanted to save up for a newer car, I wanted a new computer. Then I started having difficulties at work which made me realize that what I WANTED wasn't what I NEEDED. I needed to focus on one goal at a time and the most important one was the emergency fund.
When I split my savings into all those different goals none of them grew very fast and it was hard to stay motivated. It reminds me a little of Dave Ramsey's debt snowball where you focus on one debt at a time, I need to focus on one savings goal at a time to keep me motivated.
So now I am looking at finally finishing one of my most important goals and it feels good.

DS got his license!

April 12th, 2008 at 04:40 pm

He is a strange boy, doesn't want to drive. Finally I just told him he was going to go take his test this week and if he flunked so be it.

He didn't flunk (knew he wouldn't)

So at 18 he can now drive himself and I am no longer a chauffer.

YEAH! Plus his insurance was cheaper since his grades came up this year (Senior year easy classes)

Lots of Little Things

April 3rd, 2008 at 04:55 pm

Well I finally got off my duff and did some little things around the house. A light fixture near the front door, very handy when getting home after dark, had been broken for over a year so I replaced it this weekend. I had budgeted $25 for it and it cost $6 so I bought the new motion switch I had been wanting for the Kitchen. That light is always getting left on because when we leave that room we usually have our hands full. Installed it last night and it is working!!

My son's voice teacher offered to take down all the trees in the backyard so that I can get some sun back there and plant a garden. The ones in the front shade the house well enough so all the ones in the back can go (about 14 with 6 being full grown large trees) I need to contact the electric company and ask them to take down the service line for the day. Hopefully they will do it for free but I would still come out ahead since I don't have to pay big bucks to get the trees taken down. BTW-He has been doing this for years and has insurance and everything, he uses the wood to either heat his house or he sells it. Cheaper for him since he has the skill and cheaper for me cause he does it more for the wood than the money.

One of our grcoery stores is running a special where if you buy 10 items it will rebate you $5.00, limit 3 rebates per transaction. I plan on making 3 runs this
week to stock up on things I buy all the time anyway. I always stock up on the things that are on sale for a great price and then get my $5 on top of that. Last night I got 20 mixes I use all the time for $20 and then received $10 back making the usually $1.79 mixes $0.50. It looks a little silly buying things in large quantities but it will reduce my grocery bills in the future. I just wish that coupons were more available around here. I have tried the couponing sites but most of the stores around here won't take printables and there just aren't many other ones anywhere.