My shopping today

Farmers market:
Turkey Breast- $1.80
Cheese- $.79
10 apples- $1.20
5 oranges- $.69
Romaine Lettuce- $1.04
strawberries- $2.00
pineapple- $2.99
eggs- $.99
total: $11.41

Walmart-
Airwick airfreshners- $3.17ea
50 tealights- $2.25
flavored blueberry tea 20 bags $2.28
spackling $2.44
Hungry Jack pancake mix- $1.58 each
milk- $2.49
saved: $2.55 in coupons
total $17.10

I think I did pretty good for all the food we have now.

January's Expense Record

January
Monthly Expense Record

Net income: Salary-$779.65 lake east wk 1 $1,226.08 metro week one, Lake east wk 2 $260.61, metro week 2 $1,108.37 , gas co owed me, allstates good driver bonus and daycare reimbursement $640.57

Total:$4015.28

Total (coupons saved): $7.50 saved from coupons

Food:

Groceries- $9.02, $.89, $49.78 aldi, $33.64 valuking, $4.06 target, $20.00 sushi, $4.96 Giant Eagle total: $122.35

Fast food/dining out/school lunches-$3.00 mcds $5.45 mcds wendys $1 coffee $1 coffee $.75, $15.70 Red Robin total: $25.90

alcohol/snacks/beverages/water-

total: $0

Household:

cleaners/maintinence/house/yard- 22.97 home depot, $37.01 target total: $59.98

appliances/furniture/furnishings/supplies- total: $0

postage/atm fees/ bank charges/ misc- total: $0

intrest/taxes- total: $0

Transportation:

gas- $24.38 $26.45 $27.66 $21.24- total: $99.73

auto maintinance/wash/license- total: $0

taxi/transit/tolls/parking- $27.44 out of pay

Personal:

clothing/dry clean- total: $0

tolietries/cosmetics/hair/nails/massage- $10.00 makeup total: $10.00

Health:

doctor/dentist/vision/medicine/vitamins- $6.86 cold medicine total: $6.86

Recreation:

vacation trips- total: $0 Watch out! Next month we're going to St. Louis!

entertain/video/movies/music/parties- total: $10

lottery/sports/hobbies/lessons/clubs- total: $0


Education:

computer- $56.02 best buy Total=$56.02

seminar/workshop/tution/supplies- total: $0

Family:

newspaper/books/magazines/games- $1.50 plain dealer total: $1.50

eldercare/childcare/sitter/tutor- $286 flex spending comes out of pay, $352 in daycare total: $352

infant expenses/allowance/school expensense/toys/arcades- total: $0

General-

pet- total: $0

giftcards/flowers- total: $0 Watch out I have 3 showers next month!!

charitable/church- total: $0

work expenses- total: $0

legal/court- total: $0

other (explain)- coupon holder $1 total: $1

Fixed expenses:

Mortgage: 391.24, 391.24 total: $782.48

Gas: $199.06 total: $199.06

Electric: $45.92 total:$45.92

water: $51 total: $51

Garbage: $36 total: $36

Telephone/internet: i decreased my speed to $14.99/mo price instead of $30. and my telephone to 30 outgoing calls a month, for $2.21 incoming are free and i use my cell phone more anyway total: credit $21.00

Cell Phone: no lower priced plan unless i get rid of my fav 5, which i think i'll go over minutes then. but i will get a credit next month of bc they charged me wrong so ill get credited $11.97 my total: $0 They haven't posted my bill yet....

Cable: $31.30 total: $31.30

Health Club: $29.75 done in feb total: $29.75

Car insurance: $54.46 total: $54.46 ( I dont get this I paid in full last month, but now they are saying this is the rest to pay in full lol whatever. i'll pay it and see what happens)

Home insurance: (in mortgage)

Life insurance:$78.98, $5.83 Gerber total: $84.81

Health insurance: $50 (comes out in pay)

Dental insurance: ditto

Total Debt= $2059.12

Total income:$4015.28

Total (coupons saved): $7.50 saved from coupons (I shopped at aldi and valuking and bought off brands)

Thoughts for next month:

Do more Walgreens shopping

1/19/09 I put $200 into house fund and $100 into Emergency fund.


After my bills get taken out of my account i'm going to post the latest account summaries.
I'll be doing this again next month and see what is different. And, after 3 months make a real budget.

:)

Reviews of last week's meals

I really love soup. It's so nice to freeze and eat on these cold nights at work. Here is review of the meals and what I'm gonna make this week...or whenever for my meals :)

Reviews....

Wisconsin Cheese Chowder---I loved it. Boyfriend loved it. And cousin loved it as well!!
Wednesday
Tunamelts and linguini parm (no shopping list here ethier)---yeah, still gotta make haha
Thursday
Spaghetti and garlic bread---always a hit!
Friday
Chicken & White bean soup with spinach & parmesan---This is VERY VERY good. Little bit of a zing to it. I got the recipe from realsimple.com.....but i can't find it now.
Saturday
Chicken Soup with potato dumplings---this one is OK. I like it because its nice and warm.
Sunday
Sunshine hummus melts---still gotta make.

and I'm gonna throw a vegatable soup in there somewhere.---and i did. it was YUMMY

This week:
Review

STOVE TOP stuffed chicken rolls (Kraft.com)---very good. people at work were jealous haha

Monday
Tunamelts and linguini parm (no shopping list here ethier)---I just havent been in a tuna mood. So, maybe I will be this week :-)
Tuesday
Fantastic Lemon butter fillet
Wednesday
Easy and Delicious Chicken
Thursday
Sunshine hummus melts
Friday
Sloppy Joe Hamburger helper
Saturday
dethaw soup
Sunday
Hamburgers with cream of mushroom soup. it's good. my grandma gave me the recipe and its so easy.
and I'm gonna throw a vegatable soup in there somewhere.

Meals this week :)

Review

STOVE TOP stuffed chicken rolls (Kraft.com)---very good. people at work were jealous haha

Monday
Spinach Lasagna---made it last night. VERY good. The boyfriend loved it as did I. Zachary had a bowl of cereal haha
Tuesday
Wisconsin Cheese Chowder
Wednesday
Tunamelts and linguini parm (no shopping list here ethier)
Thursday
Spaghetti and garlic bread
Friday
Chicken & White bean soup with spinach & parmesan
Saturday
Chicken Soup with potato dumplings
Sunday
Sunshine hummus melts

and I'm gonna throw a vegatable soup in there somewhere.

Giveaway

Over at Single Guy Money He is giving away a $100 giftcard to Target or Walmart!!

Check it out :-)

I have menus planned and shopping to do this week. So stay tuned....

I got yelled at

So, my friend knows a guy who is a personal trainer. Long story short, he asked me to go with him because he knows i like to workout.

Ok so I went and the guy asked what I ate yesterday. Let me just say yesterday was a horrible day at work. I saved my friends life, but a i didn't eat. I had at 8:00pm the night before a wrap from Red Robin and yesterday evening a 6' sub from arbys. Thats it. All day. So he got mad at me.

I have homework now. I have to have a food diary. Maybe i'll post it. I am working on eating better.

Then he gave me a 20 min workout, which he is going to email me and then I will post it. It incorporates cardio and strength all in 20 mins. I'm excited :)

but......i got yelled at haha.

One of my 2009 Goals

I really would like to do a garden this year. I don't want a huge on though, so my idea is from Furgal dad's Blog.

It's a square foot garden. I have heard of this idea last summer when I lived in my apt and thought it would be so cool to do. So, i'm going to be cool :)

Free lunchtote

Wow!!! I pack my food for work EVERYDAY!! This would be so cute, wouldn't it?

Enter yourself!
http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/01/designer-lunch-tote-giveaway.html

$5 dinners :)

Your favorite Author

So, today I found an app in the appstore for my ipod touch that you can read ebooks on. Then, I realized, hey I have audio too....

But....now i need books.

That Suzy Orman book is now on my ipod and I will read it, but what other books should I start?

I need ideas. Who are some good authors? there are free ebooks out there, and i would like to get back into reading, and what better than on my ipod that I take everywhere....

What I waited for all Week

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081119_tows_bookdownload

Oprah featured Suzy Orman on her show today. Of course, my satellite for my tv can't find channels because the wind was so bad. But, I did log on to Oprah.com and downloaded the free ebook.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think :)

My savings today!!

Ok, so i'm a little overjoyed. Here's what I got today
Aldi
10 apples
4 oranges
3 grapefruit
$4.93!

Giant Eagle
Zak's diego yoplait yogurt--$1.89
6 yoplaits for me--$2.20
all after coupons.
$4.09
(savings 1.80)

Walgreens
5 Gardnier Fructice or however you spell it lol products for FREE after coupons
2 things of vitamins for zak and I will end up being FREE after my mail in rebate
and 2 boxes of tissues that I had a raincheck on for $.79/ea
total: $11.43----$1.30 out of pocket after my gift cards....which all I really paid for was the tissues :) and You can beat $.79 for 110 kleenex :)
(savings $17.00)

It was a good day :) But we did go to Mcd's for a playdate breakfast. So I spent a whole $3.00 there.

So hopefully that's all the money I spend today!

Account Updates for January

Well, I deleted my first post of all my accounts. I moved my money around so much that I needed to just "start over".

For my accounts according to mint.com:

• Etrade (high yeild savings account): $15,484
  
  
• Etrade (house fund): $39

• Etrade (emergency fund): $261

• Chase (low yeild checking): $2,556


• Charles Schwab (high yeild checking): $415


• Charles Schwab savings: $1,154


• LHS retirement account: $2,263
  
  
• OPERS retirement account: $3,016

• Zak's Etrade savings account:$1,279
• Zak's CollegeAdvantage fund: $656 (plus some that I put into my life insurance)
  
• Coupon savings this month: $61.12
• Speedy points: 125920
  
• Anne Geddes points: 11,532
  
• Cash back points: (I need to sign up, i will edit this later)
  
• Shop at home.com points: $46.41

My 2009 Financial Goals (and end of 2008)

By the end of December:

1. Close ING account, or make it a house fund (check for high rates)--11/26/08 transferred money will close account 12/2/08---12/7/08 done.
   
2. Close BOA --11/26/08 transferred money will close account 12/2/08---12/7/08 done.
   
3. Ipod Touch (well i guess thats a debt)--Done on black friday---12/7/08 done.
   
4. move more to savings---12/7/08 done. Moving all lake east paychecks to savings.
   
5. start budget. save every reciept and document daily. (maybe ill type up my budget list on here)--starting 12/1/08---12/7/08 half done, you will see it Dec 31 :) DONE!!
   
6. Start planning menus again--started 11/25/08---12/7/08 done.
   
7. Post grocery lists and deal from supermarkets.---12/7/08 done kinda, we dont need much.

My big list of 2009 financial goals

1. Make menus, keep grocery bill under $40/wk


2. Get emergency fund established 6 mo of income when there put into CD --as of 11/26/08 opened 2 savings accounts: house fund and emergency fund. Looks like etrade.com has higher rates for the savings accounts than any CD does. Will see what 6mo of income is and go from there 12/7/08


3. Biweekly mortgage payments--will start 12/15/08 (and I did :)


4. Pick 2 days out of month to pay bills--will start 12/15/08 (did that too :)


5. Make little paper of all bills, cross off when paid--Did it.


6. $100/mo into house fund into high interest savings ---ok thought about this, and im going to try to add $200/month bc i will need it.
   
7. All savings from coupons put into house fund and savings ---or fun fund? lol
   
8. Save all house receipts to claim


9. Garage Sale


10. CD Ladder (higher than 3.29%) Well see how this goes...I will start tomorrow after work...---scratch that the economy sucks.

So, Sometime today I am going to transfer money around. I will put $200 into the house fund, more into the checking account for this months bills, $500 into emergency fund, $61.70 (Coupon savings) into my pocket? lol well kinda, i'll keep the tab going and withdrawl the money when we take a trip to st. louis in Feb, and the rest into savings.

Sounds good? Any ideas?

General 2009 goals of mine

Happy New Year Everyone!!!
Just wanted to share some personal goals of mine:

• Build a Garden
• Buy a Lawn mower
• Buy new windows
• Get a new washer n dryer on black friday 2009
• get an estimate on insulation for the sunroom
• Clean out the Garage and fix the door
• New lock for the garage
• Finish up the new babysitting class i'm creating for the hospital.
  

And for myself

• Workout at least 3 days a week
• eat more fruits and veggies
• continue to work with zak since he will not be in preschool.

What are your goals? Later this week I will be putting up financial goals again.

Til Then, i'm off to work. Happy new year :)