February Monthly Expenses

Real Quick before I start, someone asked me how I do all of this in one night. That's not what I do. Every receipt I get I keep and when i check my email i make a draft of the entry and add it in. I couldn't imagine going thru every receipt when I do this. All I do at the end of the month is add it up :)
February

Monthly Expense Record

Net income: Salary-$1,080.63 Metro wk 1 $$891.14 lake east week one, Lake east wk 2 $762.20 , metro week 2 $1,071.32

Total:$3805.29

Total (coupons saved): $4.40 + $2.93 + $13.50 $7.50 + $3.69 + $2 saved from coupons + shopathome.com $36.41= $70.43

Food:

Groceries- $17.10 walmart $1.79 coffee, $1.19 cooffee, $10 coffee at starbucks, $7.38 farmers market, $3.50starbucks coffee $.50 candy, $31.72 valuking, $16.27 farmers market, $6.33 valuking, $3.80 Walmart total: $99.58

Fast food/dining out/school lunches-$37.00 took everyone to dinner $10.00- Longos $3.07 chikfila, sonic $3.73 total: $53.80

alcohol/snacks/beverages/water- total: $0

Household:

cleaners/maintinence/house/yard- 22.97 home depot, $37.01, $7.69 Drugmart laundry detergent target total: $67.67

appliances/furniture/furnishings/supplies- $34.90 Gabriel bros, $4.57 CVS, $15.14 Walgreens total: $54.61

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

intrest/taxes- total: $0

Transportation:

gas- $18.19 $22.62, $13.12, $104.76- total: $158.69

auto maintinance/wash/license- $500 deductible :( total: $500

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

Personal:

clothing/dry clean- bridesmaid dress $156.51, $41.92 for luggage set rug blanket and a shirt but i used a giftcard total: $156.51

tolietries/cosmetics/hair/nails/massage- total: $0

Health:

doctor/dentist/vision/medicine/vitamins- $2.76 cold medicine total: $2.76

Recreation:

vacation trips- $36 MUSEUM $3.73 SONIC $24.03 WALMART $40 OUT TO EAT $4.83 WALGREENS $10 Gateway Arch $4.91 jack in the box, $9.52 st louis,$9.95 mug at arch- total: $142.97 (still cheaper than flying)

entertain/video/movies/music/parties- total: $0

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


Education:

computer- $64.64 microcenter , $5.00 headphones Total=$69.64

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

Family:

newspaper/books/magazines/games- total: $0

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- $26.33 Valentines day gift, $53.10 Joann fabrics gift $25 Bed bath and beyond giftcard $25 Bed bath and beyond giftcard $18 babygate, $35.80 walmart gift,$34.49 zaks clothes for bday total: $217.12 Jeez.

charitable/church- total: $0

work expenses- total: $0

legal/court- total: $0

other (explain)- total: $0

Fixed expenses:

Mortgage: 393.74, 393.74 total: $787.48

Gas: $133.81 total: $133.81

Electric: $34.60 total:$34.60

water: $0 total: $0

Garbage: $0 total: $0

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 $10.00

Cell Phone: Good news. Verizon bought out alltel. Which means all my people i talk to besides Jackie and Adam are free. So, when we get to choose new plans I think i can decrease my mins! total: 75.01 for jan

Cable: $31.30---last month bc of credit. this is what it's going to be all the time 54.93 total: $31.30

Health Club: $0 finally

Car insurance: $0 total: $0---im expecting my rates to go up bc of making a claim. i gotta call.

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= $3022.36 (ouch)

Total income:$3805.29

Total (coupons saved): $70.43

Thoughts for next month:

Buy paint for living room wall--Still have to

Get estimate on new garage door!----I did that. Hopefully next week its getting done.

Get estimate on windows and making my sun room a 4 season.---gotta call.

:)


I have been very sick the last 3 days. When I get well I hope to post new menus and a budget since its been 3 months now :) Yay. Still have to get my taxes done. I was going to do that today, but was barely alive.

ok time to lay down. Ill post soon.

Tuesdays night of thought

Well, as i sit here at work I'm thinking of my list I did the other night and ofcourse am adding to it. My plan is to try to keep the house clean by picking up every morning when I get home from work before bed. And, days off do no more than 5 things a day. But here's the big list (ofcourse doesn't include laundry, dishes, etc)

-Taxes
- Paint my house sign to put on the outside of my house. It only needs a few things.
- Paint my living room
- buy the paint lol
- Get an oil change when I get my car back (hopefully tomorrow or thurs)
- Insulate my attic
- Fix the fence ( I need nice weather)
- Renew library stuff
- Trim back plants ( again need nice weather)
- Check prices on swingsets for zak's bday
- buy stuff from childrens place with my 15% discount. They had cute stuff I added to my cart
- print lowes coupon (check walmarts prices first)
- finish my feb budget ( I did really good with this today, caught up a lot)
- wrap chris's gifts ( bday is on sat I gotta get a move on it ), get him a card and the rest of the gift
- sign up for lake east time when i get my schedule
- plan meals. i'm stumped here. i'm trying to eat better and workout more.


ok lets accomplish this all by......MARCH 15!! That's my goal (lol well maybe not all the painting and insulating but i'll at least buy it all!)

Always on vacation

Always on vacation I think of things I gotta do when I get back.
Were in st. louis right now. Heres my little list of things I have to do when I get back:
-pick up my car (I hit a pole $500 deductable....grr)
-finish up my feb budget
-TAXES!
-sign up for time at lake east
-get paint for my wall
-make menus
-check lower rate for refinancing.
-get Chris a bday present (I still dont know what)
-obviously wash all the clothes were wearing here.
and other stuff that i have a list of but isn't immediate.

ok off to the childrens museum!

My job dilemma

I have been debating on switching back to my old fulltime job. It's a struggle I have everyday and I need to make a decision. So, here are my pros and cons:
Pros for Lake East

• Every third weekend, if any at all (I do every other at the moment). Why is this good? I pay daycare costs every week and he doesn't go half the time.
• $4 pay increase
• The docs really like me and so do the nurses
• I love Labor and Delivery
• It's a tight community

Pros for Metro

• OPERS retirement
• Benefits are only $55 for Zak and I and that includes dental and eye.
• More holidays off
• I only have to work 60hrs
• Potential to go whereever I want in the system
• The high risk experiences

Cons for Lake East

• I dont know whats going to happen when the new hospital is built. Will we be bought out by a bigger hospital???
• benefits are almost 75% more a pay
• 24 hours on call every 6 weeks and i have to work 72 hrs biweekly
• Can be unsafe at times
• Never get lunch breaks
• 401K is all i get for retirement
• I dunno if they will even have a position for me.

Cons for Metro

• Though I work 60hrs biweekly I can't get by on one job anyway...
• I'm bored with what I do
• I'll never get a summer vacation
• I don't like the people as much
• The drive sucks in winter
• I get home later in the morning which makes me go to bed later.
• no one visits me at work lol

Ok, so i'm stuck....whats your opinion?

Account updates for Feb

Ok Red is last month and Purple is this months:

For my accounts according to mint.com:

• Etrade (high yeild savings account): $15,484-$16,394 up $910
  
  
• Etrade (house fund): $39-$439 up $400

• Etrade (emergency fund): $261-$862 up $401

• Chase (low yeild checking): $2,556- $1267 down $1289


• Charles Schwab (high yeild checking): $415-$1380 up $965


• Charles Schwab savings: $1,154-$1006 down $148


• LHS retirement account: $2,263-$2189 down $74
  
  
• OPERS retirement account: $3,016-$3504 up $488

• Zak's Etrade savings account:$1,279-$1282 up $3
• Zak's CollegeAdvantage fund: $656-$602 down $54 (plus some that I put into my life insurance)
  
• Coupon savings this month: $61.12-$0
• Speedy points: 125920-129988
• Anne Geddes points: 11,532 same
  
• Cash back points: (I need to sign up, i will edit this later)
  
• Shop at home.com points: $46.41 --got that check - balance now $10.00998
• 
  

Totals: up $1239 actual money. Didnt include retirement, zak's money or other things that aren't true savings to me. I think I did pretty good.....

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---after this month I should kinda have an idea
   


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


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


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


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.

I think I did well this month. I saved more money. I am going to put $200 into the house and emergency funds again this month. And, still try to save. We have the vacation coming up, so i may take from my savings......well see....

Sounds good? Any ideas?

My workout

I never posted my food diary or workout that one week this past month. Here is the workout i have been doing 3-4x a week. I hope to keep it up. It only takes me a 1/2 hour.
Here it is:
Here is what we did and what I would like you to do with your workouts:

Exercise

1. Push-ups-- Sets 2-- Reps Failure * -- Body Weight
2. Pull-ups on Smith-- Sets 2-- Reps Failure-- Body Weight
3. Squats / Overhead Press-- Sets 2-- Reps 12-15-- Wt. 5-8 #
4. Walking Lunges w/ Bicep Curls-- Sets 2-- Reps 12-15--Wt. 8 #
5. Squats w/ Curls-- Sets 2-- Reps 12-15-- Wt 8 #
6. Flyes on Physio Ball-- Sets 2--Reps 12-15--Wt 8 #

Perform two exercises back-to-back and then jump on the bike or treadmill ( or elliptical ). Repeat this until you finish all six exercises. *Failure is defined as...as many as you can.

There it is.
Then here is what I ate one week:
Saturday
5pm Cheese quesidilla 8in
3 am 1/2c quick oats with 20 raisins and cinnamon
3am Yoplait light apple yogurt
11pm Cup fettichini Alfredo
6pm Choc chip cookie
1am mini crmb donut

Sunday
930pm 3/4 c oats with raisins and 1/2 banana
115am Orange
430pm 1c 1/2 spaghetti a 1 1/2 tbs 1230sauce
530pm 3 bites of cheesecake
3am 7oz chickn noodle soup with 4 saltine crackers

Monday
630pm Spinach lasagna
630pm Salad with light Italian dsg
800pm 1/2 c trail mix

Tuesday
9am 6 French toast sticks with tsp maple syrup
12pm 1c veggie soup
2pm banana
730p 1c Wisconsin cheese chowder

Wednesday
12pm 1/3c trail mix
630pm small apple
930pm chicken and stuffing
12a romaine lettuce salad with tsp fat free ranch and 5 cucumbers
12am oatmeal raisin cookie
2:30am wisconcin cheese soup 2/3 c

Thursday
3:15pm bowl of frosted mini wheats
5:45pm 1/4apple 1/2 banana whole grapfruit 2 tsp lowfat cottage cheese sprinkled with cinnamon
730pm 1/2c vanilla icecream with chocolate syrup
800pm handful trailmix

Friday
445pm 8in cheese quesadilla, 1 cup veggie soup, 1/2c vanilla icecream
9pm 2 1in sqares of fudge
1030pm chex mix bar
3:00am cup veggie soup, 2/3c oats w raisins and banana

Saturday
6:30 p chicken n rice soup
8:00pm one chicken finger 5 French fries house salad with thousand island

I should do it again, but it wasn't easy....

Maybe i'll start today...