Lucky Robin's Personal Finance Blog

I spent a nice leisurely morning on the internet and bought presents for both of my children and my husband. I did well and stayed within our Christmas budget. While I was at it, I ordered two things for my birthday in February that had no chance of shipping in time for Christmas. DH has one thing he wants to get at a local gaming shop in town so he will go down there and pick that up in person when he gets back, but for immediate family, I'm done. We also have his parents done. Since I don't exchange with any of my birth family (a decision made long ago), I only need to buy stuff for destitute SIL and her two children.

I know that the youngest wants a Green Day CD, but not which one. The oldest wants everything that is expensive (like an I-pod), but doesn't mind used. Normally I just buy her jewelry. Once DH is home we may scour the pawn shops in the hopes of finding an inexpensive used ipod that works. These girls won't get much this Christmas as their mom is barely making it and their dad just had those heart attacks and can't work again until some time in January. So not only no income from Dad, but no child support from the dad this month, which makes things even tighter on the mom.

I am wondering if maybe we should go a little expensive for the girls this year. It's not like we couldn't swing a couple of dream gifts for them. I know younger neice would like a used DSi. Normally we only spend about $25 to $30 each on them, but considering it is such a bad year for them and we are in such a good place...I don't know. I'll have to talk to DH about it and then talk to SIL about it, because I don't want to damage her pride. Yet, she was willing to take money from us when we offered it, so maybe she would be okay about it.

I'd also like to get another $100 to SIL next payday to help with her bills. As for a gift for her, I don't know. I'd really like to get her something helpful, but all I can think of that is helpful is more money or grocery store gift cards. Maybe a Target or WalMart gift card (since both of them are now remodeled to be grocerers as well). That way if she needs something specific, like an appliance, she can pick one out and if not, she can still use it to buy groceries, toiletries, or needed clothing.

I really, really hate to do it, but I am going to have to raise my grocery budget. I spent so much time getting it down from $800 a month to $500 a month, so to raise it just feels like I'm taking a step backward. I know that I'm not. I know that it is that prices on real food are rising and that real food seldom has coupons. But it just annoys me so much.

It's like the year I spent getting my electric bill down by doing things like line and rack drying my clothes, cooking more than one thing in the oven at a time, replacing all the light bulbs in the house with CF ones and making sure lights weren't left on all night or radios, TVs, and fans weren't left on all day. I got my bill down to $90 and then a few months later they raised the rates and it was right back up to $109 again. It was so frustrating.

I know it's not me or my shopping habits. It's simply that the cost of food is going up and there just isn't really any other option (for now) but to pay higher prices or go back to eating manufactured foods. Well, I won't do the latter. We have too many allergies.

I've been keeping track of prices the last few months just to make sure that what I've been seeing is real, and I haven't just been hitting a high price week at the stores. But it is. Milk has gone up 50 cents a gallon. Chicken has gone up 30 cents a pound. Beef has gone up $2 a pound (except hamburger which has gone up $1 a pound). The all beef hotdogs I buy at TJ's have gone up 50 cents. Pork has gone up 20 cents a pound. Turkey is up 50 cents a pound (not counting the on sale for the holidays whole ones). I'm assuming eggs are up, too, but we have chickens so I don't pay attention to that much. Butter is up by $1 a pound. So are most of the cheeses (though they do still go on sale). Yogurt is up from $1 to $1.25. Ice cream is about $1 more per container. The fish counter scares me. It's not worth buying fish anymore unless you buy the whole fish and have it filleted in the store (much cheaper and they let you take the backbone, head and tail for making chowder since you've paid for the whole fish).

It's not just meat and dairy prices, either. Canned goods have risen anywhere from 20 cents to $1 more per can. Frozen foods are up about $1 a box or bag. Fresh produce, well, you can still get cheap bananas, oranges, onions and cabbage, but forget cheap potatoes or apples. They don't exist anymore, not even in this prime apple growing state. Most apples are $1.29 a pound and the specialty apples are closer to $1.79. I can still remember when you could get a couple kinds of apples for 29 cents a pound. And it wasn't my childhood. It was only ten years ago.

Even broccoli and cauliflower, which should be low right now are over $1.50 a pound. Although the $2 lettuce seems to be a thing of the past (mostly because people wouldn't pay it) I am keeping a sharp eye on it. I am eyeing unfamiliar vegetables like mustard greens, kale, and chard simply because the prices are lower. I will be looking up recipes to see if there is anything I might like with these veggies. I am making sweet potatoes more often because regular potatoes have gotten so high.

But even so, I have decided I will have to raise my grocery budget from $500 a month to $600 a month. Hopefully that will be enough to make up for the rising prices. And hopefully the prices will hold steady for a while. Because I'm tired of the only beef we ever eat anymore being hamburger or pot roast.

Next fall I hope to order half a beef and maybe a lamb. At least I'll be able to get some decent prices then. For now, meal planning will get more strict, I'll have to make more stews, chilis and stir-fries and less of the traditional big chunks of protein with two sides meals. Hopefully I can keep it to $600.

I transferred $100.00 to ING today to the Emergency Fund.

$3326.11 Starting EF
+_100.00 Deposit
-------------
$3426.11 Total EF

I need to come up with $73.89 to hit my December/end of the year EF goal of $3500.

I also added $12.87 to the coin jar, which was what was left of my cash from the first half of December. There is probably enough in the coin jar to make a deposit to the Safety Net portion of the EF, but I won't be going by there until Monday, so no point in counting it up right now.

Today is payday so I will do my usual payday post either tonight or tomorrow. All the bills have been paid or mailed and entered into the budget spreadsheet, but my hip is bugging me a lot after physical therapy so I don't feel like typing it up at the moment.

Bonuses were mailed today. Now it's just a waiting game.

Do you ever feel like you're just marking time, waiting for something to happen? Right now I've been feeling that a lot lately. Like I've been marking time, waiting for payday to come this week, so I can get on with things. Even though we are not living quite paycheck to paycheck anymore, with money in the bank, I still have to wait on some things for payday. Like debt repayment. And tomorrow I get to make some.

This week has dragged by, not helped by the fact that DS was sick all week. He went to school today for the first time on the condition that he call me if he starts feeling yucky and needs to come home. I excused him from PE today so he can just sit it out and be a zombie all day if he needs to be.

Of course, I also feel like I am marking time, waiting for the yearly bonus to arrive. Checks are to be mailed on the 16th. In the past when they've mailed a check it's arrived on the day that it was supposed to be mailed on, so a part of me can't help hoping it will show up on Saturday, though the more practical part of me knows it may be a few days longer. I just want to know the amount so I can plan how much debt gets paid off from it.

I'm also marking time until DH comes home, which is Wednesday. And of course marking time until Christmas. I'd kind of like to get this mentality out of my head and just enjoy the next few weeks.

I added $5.43 to the coin jar this morning. I have $44.49 left in checking and $15 in cash until tomorrow. That gives me enough to go ahead and buy the pure maple syrup for DS that we ran out of. I hadn't balanced the check book yet this week and didn't realize there was still that much in there.

Syrup is about $18 or $19 a jug for the kind he uses. He'll be happy to have pancakes again tomorrow morning. I was going to make some homemade syrup but then I got sick and didn't. He's been eating toast with his egg the last three mornings, but he much prefers pancakes and being as I've been buying bread instead of baking it lately, pancakes are much cheaper to make as well, even with the cost of syrup since he doesn't use that much, and the cost of his special bread is $5 a loaf.

*yawns* Okay, I'm going back to bed. Maybe a nap will help fight off this lovely cold DS was so kind to share with me.

I found a quarter this morning and added it to the coin jar.

I checked my interest at ING for the month so far and based on that I should earn $5 in interest. Maybe a bit more as I intend to send some money there on Friday and on the 23rd as well. Won't be to much more, though.

Has anyone heard from ThriftyRay lately? Feels like it's been a while and she was really sad last time she posted.

I had my first physical therapy appointment with the new place on Monday. It went well. We will be doing pool therapy for the next 3 sessions, then after that we'll be back on dry land again. I like the therapist. He's an older man, probably in his mid to late 60's. His hair is pure white. It's the color I want my hair to be when I am a little old lady.

Last night I assembled some homemade stir-fry kits. These are similar to what you can buy in the store, generally in the Asian section of the freezer aisle, but of course I get to choose the ingredients and make sure that everything is just to my liking.

Because I happened to have 5.5 pound bag of stir-fry veggies on hand I used that, but any fresh veggies cut into strips or any pre-frozen veggies will do. First I will show you how I made my kits and then I will add some recipes for making them from scratch.

First I started with 3.5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs (after shrinkage this will make 3 packets). You can choose white meat if you prefer it. We like dark.



Grill chicken pieces or cook in a pan. I used a George Foreman grill. I seasoned with salt and pepper only, however much you'd normally put on. Then I cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.



Once the chicken has cooled, place approximately 1 pound in a baggy. You can use a freezer baggy, but I used sandwich ones because they will be placed in a larger freezer baggy at the end of assembly.



Put two cups of your vegetables into a baggy.



Put one baggy of chicken and one baggy of veggies into a gallon size freezer bag.



For your sauce you have a couple of choices. For a dark sauce combine 1 cup of soy sauce (I use a gluten free, low sodium, no preservatives type), 1/4 cup of honey (or 1/4 cup brown sugar), 1 inch of fresh ginger peeled and grated (or 1/4 cup ground ginger), and 2 large cloves of garlic peeled and minced (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder or 1/2 tsp dried garlic). I usually use fresh on the garlic and ginger, but I was out of fresh ginger. I had some leftover sesame seeds from the last time we got takeout so I dumped a tablespoon of those in, too. For a light sauce use chicken broth instead of soy sauce.



Combine ingredients for sauce in a bowl and whisk together. Whisk the sauce for each packet by itself. If you combine it all together you may not have an even distribution of ingredients as the honey can make things sluggish. You can either dump this into a baggy or pour into a 1.5 cup plastic container. Freeze the sauce upright before placing in the gallon size Ziploc with chicken and veggies. Your kit is complete. I don't have a photo of this final step as my camera batteries died.

When you are ready to make this, first take out the sauce and put it in a hot water bath to thaw. It probably won't be completely frozen if you use honey. Heat oil in a wok or deep saute pan on medium high heat. I use peanut oil or olive oil depending on what I have. When oil is hot add the frozen chicken packet and stir for 3 to 5 minutes until chicken is thawed and hot. Add frozen veggie packet and stir for about 3 to 5 minutes until veggies are thawed and hot. Your sauce should now be thawed. Dump into pan and stir for one minute. (If you want a thicker sauce you can add a tbsp of corn starch now, but I don't bother). Turn heat down to low and cover, simmering for 2 minutes. It's done.

For my family one of these stir-fry kits would be enough to feed me, my 15 year old daughter, and my 11 year old son. If DH is home I would make 2 packets and there might be a little left over for his lunch the next day.


Other recipes to prepare the same way:

Pork Stir Fry

1 pound cheap pork loin or boneless chops, grilled (s&p) and cut into bite sized pieces
4 green onions
6 ounces snow peas
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut thin on the diagonal
8 ounces fresh or canned bamboo shoots

Sauce:
1 cup low sodium, gluten free soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes


Beef and Peppers Stir-Fry Kit.

1 pound chuck steak, grilled (s&p) and cut into bite sized pieces
1 white onion cut into strips
2 cups of bell pepper strips (red, yellow, orange)

Sauce:
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 cup low sodium, gluten free soy sauce
¼ cup honey
2 tbsp sesame seeds


Chicken and Vegetables Stir-Fry Kit

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, grilled (s&p) and cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups mixed vegetables (snow peas, carrots cut on the diagonal, broccoli, cauliflower, celery cut on the diagonal, 1 can water chestnuts)
1 regular yellow onion cut into strips

Sauce:
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 cup low sodium, gluten free soy sauce
¼ cup honey

I spent $17.70 at Fred Meyer today. DS got his pillow and DD got her box of hair dye. Had a coupon for the hair dye. Then we stopped at Trader Joe's and got their nitrate/nitrite free pastrami, black forest ham, and roasted turkey for school lunches. The regular roast beef looked weird (kind of shiny and scaled) so we got the pastrami instead. I still have plenty of tortillas and baby spinach for wraps which is what they like in their lunches these days.

We also got a bag of peppermint taffy (no artificial ingredients or food dyes). All of the other kids have been bringing in Christmas candy and DS wanted something he could have that he's not allergic to so he doesn't feel so left out. This fit the bill. I spent a total of $15.56 there.

Has anyone else noticed that often cashier's fail to give you your total at the end of checking your groceries these days? It happened at both FM and TJ's today and I have noticed this more and more of late. Only one of these had a easily viewable screen for me to see the total on. The girl finishes checking and then starts wiping her stuff down without ever telling me the total. I don't like that type of customer service. Maybe they are so used to people just swiping their cards, but what about those of us who still use cash or write checks? It's not as bad as the checkers that talk to each other over your head and never greet you, but close.

I should be able to stay out of the stores until Friday now. That is the plan anyway, though I might have to buy bread. Or just download the manual for the bread machine Mom gave me and make some.

I made broccoli and beef stir-fry for dinner. It was the last of the bagged kits. I'll be making them from scratch from now on, but I am going to make my own kits, because it's really the prep work that takes the time. If I pre-do all the prep work then I will still be able to have dinner on the table in 15 minutes, which is quicker than driving to pick up a pizza or burgers and much, much healthier. I've got some time tonight so I will make up some of my own kits. I will let you know how that goes.

I have been taken off my most expensive medicine. The pills cost $150 a month until the deductible is met and $60 a month after, so I had been planning I'd have to have $150 to set aside each month for that come January. But at my appointment yesterday the doctor says I no longer need it. It was planned into the overall HSA money in next year's budget, so it will stay there anyway, but now it can be used for other medical reasons.

This means I am down to two prescriptions that I take daily and one that I take only occasionally as needed. Considering a year ago I was on five, I am very happy.

Also, I added $2.60 to the coin jar.

I'm glad I have all day to rest because we have been running since 10 a.m. Friday when I picked up my daughter from school and the two of us went down to VM for another surgical followup appointent. I have been given a clean bill of health for that and have been told it was my final followup. He said I've healed so well he can hardly see the scar, so that was wonderful news.

Driving wasn't too bad. We arrived in Seattle close to noon. I paid for valet hospital parking $10, because it is only $2 more and it is very much worth that $2 to me to not try and park the mini-van in those narrow little slots and then have to navigate traffic on foot back to the hospital. Plus there is no elevator in the parking garage and I still have such difficulty on stairs. I didn't want to set myself up for a painful knee for the rest of the weekend.

We ate lunch in the hospital cafeteria. This weekend has been long planned for and the money set aside so even though we ate out this weekend, I don't consider it part of the no eating out thing I'm doing, even if technically it is. Anyway, we spent $23.22 on lunch. I had the pot roast special which was roast beef, baby red potatoes and my choice of broccoli or mixed vegetables. I chose mixed veg. I also got an orange and a drink. My daughter ended up with a mega slice of pizza, a bag of chips, a chinese bean thing (not sure exactly what it was) and a soda. They've raised the prices since the last time we ate there.

It was one by the time we were done eating and we decided to go up early, even though my appointment wasn't until two. Sometimes they will take you early. They did, after ten minutes and I was out of there by two. It took a little bit to get our van and then we hit the road. Traffic wasn't too bad and we were in Marysville by three thirty, where we stopped at Fashion Bug.

DD got 2 pairs of jeans, a hoody, and 4 camisoles and I got 3 sets of long sleeved pajamas with full length bottoms and one long-sleeved thermal shirt. I remembered to bring my coupon. It cost $275.83. A bit pricier than I had hoped for, but still 100 times cheapter than the same clothes if we'd got them at Lane Bryant.

After that we went to our hotel and checked in. Hotel cost $124.05 after taxes. It was a nice enough hotel, but the walls were pretty thin and you could hear everything that went on in the hallway. We won't stay there again because of that.

DD and I walked over to Arby's which was just next door for dinner and I spent $17.96 on dinner. Prices have gone up since the last time I ate at an Arby's or else it's just far more expensive there than at home.

For breakfast we ate at an IHOP around 11:30 for $26.32 and that included a 20% tip. We got the breakfast sampler and split it and added a couple more sides to round it out for the two of us.

We stopped somewhere along the way at a Haggen to buy some cold medicine. I can't find the receipt but it was under $20 for some ibuprofen, cough drops, and cold medicine.

Then we went to Burlington and went to the outlet mall and got new tennis shoes for DD, $53.54. A boy's size 12. She's going to end up with feet like her father's I'm afraid. Then we went to The Avenue and DD got three tops and a bracelet for $36.42.

Then it was time to eat so we went to The Outback. We ended up spending $62.43 with the tip. We brought back half an order of lambchops, mixed veg and a bowl of baked potato soup for DS, who stayed with grandma during this time. He was very happy to see it. He loves the food from there, but we go so rarely because of the location and the expense.

So it was a very spendy weekend, but we didn't go over the set budget. DD and I really enjoyed the time together alone and we got some much needed items. I think the long pajamas are working, too. Last night I only needed to have the heater on 70 instead of 76 in my room despite the fact that it was well below freezing.

Today I have to go to Freddy's. DS needs a new pillow and I need to pick up milk and a few other items, so this way we only need to go to one store. I plan to keep it under $60 and then a quick stop at TJ's for the lunch meat DS needs and then no more spending until Friday.

And I am most definitely back on the no eating out challenge until the end of the year.

DH says that bonus checks will be mailed on the 16th. Still no word on what his percentage will be. I'll probably know before he will because it'll arrive in the mail before he comes back home on the 21st. They will tax it at 25%, because they do that with bonuses, but he will get most of that back when we file our tax return. He's already met the one tax cap for the year anyway.

He also did a preliminary run at our taxes. Of course until he knows about the bonus amount it won't be completely accurrate, but with just the information we have now, we're looking at around $8500. Now before someone starts on about changing our witholding, a good portion of that is due to medical reimbursement.

And the part that isn't, around $3,500, well, it wouldn't matter. DH works 26 weeks a year, but he is taxed as if he worked 52. It is stupid, but it is the way it is for slope workers. We have tried numerous times to do something about it, but until they change this particular quirk of the tax code there is nothing we can do about it. They take out what they take out and that is that.

Still, it means a fairly massive payment to debt come March. And if the bonus is the rumored 10% of a year's salary, we just might be out of CC debt entirely between the two. Which would be awesome.

We need to look into the sales tax deduction as well. We have no state income tax so we are allowed to deduct sales tax, but we never have because we have never itemized. It was never more than the standard deduction in the past. It might actually be worth it this year to do so. And if it is we can take the sales tax deduction. We have bought some big ticket items this year (including the car). That could push our return even higher. It sure would be nice to temporarily get the governments' hands out of our pockets for a minute or two.

I deposited $35.50 from my coin jar into the Safety Net (the readily accessible part of my EF) savings account at CU#2 yesterday.

$637.52 Beginning SN
+_35.50 Amount Added
------------
$673.03 Ending SN

This brings the total emergency fund to $3326.11. $173.89 to go to hit my December/end of the year goal of $3500.

I also added $5.13 to the coin jar today.

DS came into my room a minute ago and said, "Mommy, what's my Christmas budget this year?" I so love the fact that my kids know we set a Christmas budget, and other types of budgets, and want to work with us to stay within that budget. When I told him the amount he frowned for a moment and then his face lit up and he said, "I think I can get what I want if we buy it used!" I also love the fact that my kids don't think it's a bad thing if their Christmas gifts are used. In the past this was more because it meant they could get more stuff, but nowadays it means they can get better stuff that is still of high quality.

So many parents hide the facts of budgeting from their kids and I worry about what that means when these kids become adults and try to stand on their own two feet, but have no idea about bills, or living within their means, or what credit cards can do to your available income. Every day, in so many different ways, I teach my kids these things. We don't hide the truth of our money situation from them. It's surprising how much this cuts down on the "I wannas."

DS saves up his allowance and his can money (he collects aluminum cans from the neighbors for recycling) for things for long periods of time. It took him 9 months to save up for his 3DS and he treats it like it is priceless because he had to work so hard to get it. Before that he saved up for five months to buy a used DSI from a pawn shop. Right now he is anxious to turn in his cans, but he knows he will get a better price if he waits until he has 50 pounds. DS has learned the value of waiting and I used to think he was the most impatient person in the world.

DD is learning these things more slowly. She tends to want to spend her money faster, but she works very hard and at least understands the concepts of saving and budgeting for bigger expenses. And the great thing is she seldom asks for things anymore, figuring out how to spend her allowance and baby-sitting money to get what she wants faster (usually by buying used or bartering with friends). I overheard her explaining budgeting to one of her friends who had never even heard of the concept at age 15. Wow.

Stopped to buy milk this morning. I had my coupon from the Organic Valley website (they let you print two a month) so didn't have to pay full price. $5.32. I put the change, $4.68 into the coin jar. I will definitely be making a deposit today. My envelope is so fat with ones I can barely get it closed. I'm starting to think my goal of $3500 in the EF by year's end is going to be too easy to hit. Well, if I do, I guess I'll rethink it.

Mortgage details finally posted to the account and the amount left on the mortgage is $18,833.82. So of the last payment $87.64 is interest and $288.22 is principal. I still remember when those numbers were pretty much reversed and it is much nicer to be on this end of things than they other. It is really tempting to throw an extra $100 to principal every month, but it's the lowest interest rate we have (except the car) and it feels silly to put extra money there. Yet at the same time, it's close enough to being paid off to taste it. *sighs*

I had enough in the coin jar to roll dimes and pennies and combined with my ones I'm over the $30 mark so I have enough to make a deposit tomorrow. It's a self-imposed limit, otherwise I have the mentality to run over and deposit far more often, which isn't worth the gas. I need to go that direction tomorrow anyway, so I'm not even making a special trip. I am confident I will have the EF to $3500 by year's end.

He doesn't even want to do surgery. He says it only has a 50/50 success rate with my injury. He also said it wasn't a torn and my doctor had read the MRI wrong. So he is recommending a different type of physical therapy for me instead.

I guess if it works that's a good thing. And it also means that that $2500 set aside for next year's deductible can just sit there and be whittled away slowly instead of all in one big chunk. Might even earn a smidge of interest off it. I just hope it works. I'm tired of being in pain all the time.

Though I got at least six hours of sleep last night, it does not make up for the less than three the night before. Today after my doctor's appointment I am taking a nap. I meet with the knee surgeon today so cross your fingers for me that I can get in for surgery this month and not have to wait until January or February on the new deductible. I would really prefer not to have to hand over $2500 right out of the gate.

Was extremely tempted to break my no eating out challenge this morning on day one, but didn't. I wanted to go to McD's and get a large hot chocolate because it was just so cold this morning. And an egg McMuffin. I do not need either one of these when I am trying to eat healthier right now and lose another 10 pounds. I resisted. Instead I am having chicken sausage, oolong tea, and cucumber slices for breakfast. Much more satisfying and definitely much better for me.

I found a New York strip steak that I got on mark down a while back in the freezer so I am having that for lunch with a lettuce, baby spinach, and e.v. olive oil salad.

Dinner will be roasted turkey thighs and necks that were marked down after Thanksgiving, baked sweet potatoes, and green beans. We all love turkey necks here. They are so tender. Most people just throw them in the gravy or use them for soup stock because there isn't too much meat on them, but they are wonderfully delicious roasted.

I added $5.67 to the coin jar today. I also spent $14.33 for DH and I to have lunch at Boomers Drive-In. They claim to have the best burgers on the planet. I don't doubt them.

I'll be starting a new no eating out challenge for the next two weeks, as I've been lax on my diet for the last three. I'm still holding at 45 pounds lost but I have a bit still to go and restaurant food is not your friend on a diet.

The new smaller jeans I bought, I am thinking maybe I should have gone down one more size as I had to hitch them up today.

If anyone wants to join me on the challenge let me know and we can root each other on.

...would you consider buying a house where the carpets are completely ruined by paint and possibly ground in food and soda stains, the majority of the doors had been kicked so they had holes partway through them, every interior door needed to be reframed, and both inside and outside needed to be painted but was otherwise sound? Now...what if it was selling for half of it's assessed value? The owner's are selling as is and don't want to put in any more effort at all (was inherited and they don't want it).

It is not something I am considering (we are not handy), but I am wondering what people in general would do. It is a 4 bed, 2 bath, 1600 square foot rambler selling for $50,000. Good roof, walls, and foundation. I guess I am just shocked that no more effort is going into it, but then again, maybe someone would still want to buy it. It's assessed at $97,000 and in an okay but very remote area.

I added $4.78 to the coin jar today. Things are moving along nicely for my December/end of the year goal.

Also, we finished the movie on time so $1 instead of $2. Silly thing to be happy about, but, yeah, I'm a goof, so I am. Cute family movie, too. The Zookeeper, if anyone is interested, and rather a minimal amount of bathroom humor for an Adam Sandler production (he's not in it, though, it stars the guy from that mall cop movie).

We got an hour of free music today. DS's friend (the girl he went to the dance with) had a recital at the library so we went to that. I finally got to meet her and her mother. They seem like good people. Never thought I'd meet anyone who had a higher energy level than DS, though, but A does. That should prove interesting.

...or near hit if you want to be technically accurate, since it nearly hit our wallet, or actually missed it, not nearly missed it, but if you go by how people actually use the phrase... It's a lot like thaw and dethaw. People mean thaw, but when they say dethaw it would actually mean to freeze. But I digress.

We rented a movie from one of those boxes at the store for $1 and DH couldn't find it today. Turns out he left it in the shopping cart last night and the employees set it aside so when he called it was there. Yay. That could have been a $25 mistake, which is the replacement value of the DVD. Or what they charge anyway. In reality it'd cost more like $15, but whatever. Point is we didn't have to pay it and if it isn't too long a movie we might even get it watched before 7. Still if we have to pay $2, it isn't $25.

I had a medical bill come in today so I paid that, $215.00. Ugh. I sent $500 to AMEX and paid the mortgage, $375.86. The mortgage is now officially under $19K now. I won't know the actual number until the payment is reported in the next day or two, but it should be around $18,900 or so, give or take a few dollars.

Interest hit the ING account today, so I added that $3.89 to my Emergency Fund. That brings the total EF to $2809.73. After looking at how much extra I had, I decided to go ahead and put some of it into the Emergency Fund, too. It was $480.88 extra, so that brings the total EF to $3290.61.

My goal for the month of December was originally to hit $3000, so I've blown past that. So I am making a new goal of getting the EF to $3500 by the end of the year. $100 of that will be the monthly deposit so I need to scrape up $109.39 extra to hit that goal. I think I should be fine to do that.

I had originally thought I'd put the money into the January/HSA money fund, but I can hit my goal for that without it, so the EF made the most sense.

I've been sort of at a loss lately on what to do about dinner. Meat prices have skyrocketed so I am trying to make do with poultry as much as possible. We have a lot of boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the freezer. By a lot, I mean 32 pounds. And I've been trying to come up with alternate ways of making it than just grilled with seasoning on the George Foreman or in stir-fries.

I was perusing some of my old recipe files and came up with something I haven't made in ages, a recipe I made up several years ago when I first started eating controlled carb: Chile Cheddar Chicken.

It's so simple I can't believe it has skipped my mind all these years. So I'm making it for dinner tonight. And the best part is the leftovers are great in a bun or shredded up and rolled in a tortilla.

Chile Cheddar Chicken Recipe:

1 4 ounce can diced mild green chile peppers
1 pound package of boneless, skinless chicken parts
As many slices of cheddar cheese as you have chicken pieces (I slice my own off a brick or sometimes use shredded)
Olive oil

In a medium sized skillet put in enough olive oil to cook the chicken. Dump in the can of peppers and saute for a minute on medium high. Arrange the chicken pieces evenly and turn heat down to medium. Cover with lid. Turn after five minutes and cook another five. Check for doneness by slicing into a piece and cook longer if necessary. Top each piece of chicken with cheese and let melt. Remove from pan. Spoon green chiles on top of the chicken pieces. Voila. You are done. Jack cheese works well, too.

I guess the sweaters were a good investment, because I've at least not felt chilled to the bone since I started wearing them. I still don't feel completely warm and I'm keeping my bedroom heater on 72, but I did have it up to a ridiculous 76 before, so it's an improvement. We had a very hard frost last night. It looked like it had snowed, it was so thick. Guess I'm lucky not to have woken up feeling frozen over myself.

I'm sick again which may be why my internal thermostat seems so wonky right now. I think it's just a cold though and not an infection. At least I hope so. I've got too much to do this month to be sick on top of it all.

DS is going to his first dance today after school. He is "meeting a girl" by their lockers and they are going to "hang out" together at the dance. I don't even know what that means. He's only 11 so it can't mean too much, right? They seem to have become best friends this year. I don't know if it's more than that. He's excited though. And according to the girl's mother, so is she. The dance starts right after school so I packed him an extra half a sandwich in his lunch box. With his allergies he may not be able to eat the provided refreshments.

DH is on a plane to San Francisco today. He'll be back around 8:30 p.m., though. It's going to be a long day without him here.

I've got bills to pay today. So far I have dealt with deducting the autopays of life insurance, car insurance, house insurance, storage, and the security system from the checkbook. I've paid the electric and I need to do AMEX and the mortgage on the old house. I believe that is all until the 16th. I'll have to double check my spreadsheet after I pay those two things.

Oh, yesterday we wrote a $35 check for DS's next belt test at tae kwon do which is next Thursday. I also spent $65.32 at the grocery store. They had turkey thighs and necks pretty cheap so I stocked up. Beef prices are so ridiculous and nothing was marked down for quick sale. We're going to be eating a lot of chicken and turkey until the prices decide to get reasonable again. I also bought milk, oranges, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. I also picked up a copy of Clean Eating Magazine and have already found a couple of recipes I want to try this month.

I added $9.56 to the coin jar today.

I did a bit of clothing shopping. It's been a very long time since I've bought much in the way of clothing, but since losing the 45 pounds almost everything is too big. I have also been very cold lately to the point that jacking up the heat doesn't help and neither does three blankets on the bed.

So I got a couple of turtlenecks to wear under my nightgown. I also got three chenille sweaters, two zip front and one pullover, and I got two new pairs of jeans in the smaller size. That gives me four pairs of jeans (I had two in my closet from a long time ago). I think this should keep me until spring.

If the turtlenecks don't keep me warm I may end up getting an electric blanket. I don't particularly like using those because I always take water to bed with me and I have a tendency to spill and I'm always worried I am going to shock myself or something. It's getting so that the only time I feel warm is in the car with the heat jacked up or in the shower.

DH bought a new pillow and we got some medicines and a new pair of tweezers and (very bad) four bottles of soda. They were cheap, at least.

I transferred the money from ING to my checking account today for first of the month bills. Of the money I had set aside I still have $648.08 left. I will probably put $200 in the emergency fund and then if I don't need the rest between now and the 16th, I will put what is left into the January/HSA money.

We got paperwork in the mail in case we want to put DH's bonus into his 401K. We don't, it's earmarked for debt repayment, but if they sent him that, it means he is definitely getting one. And also I wouldn't think they'd send out 401K paperwork unless it was a substantial amount to put in there. Two to three more weeks to go to find out just how much it is going to be. I hate living in suspense. But it is at least good news that there will be one.

Why is a post I wrote yesterday showing up as being written today about an hour and a half ago? It's jumped postion up the list and it looks like several other blogs have been reordered also.

I just spent the last hour fixing my spreadsheet for my Emergency Fund and Holding Tank money. The last set of updates either didn't save, or didn't get transferred correctly from the laptop that's now in the shop and the one I am currently using.

Thankfully I was able to figure it out by using the numbers I found on my blog. But from now on I'm going to be even more detailed than I currently am, because I didn't quite write out everything and I had to do a little guessing on what I'd set aside some of the money for. It equalled out to the correct amount in the end, though, so I think I am fine.

I have gotten the hang of Open Office and I'm not sure I'll ever buy regular Office again for a computer. Especially since they limit how many times you can install it. I'd still be using a previous version of Office that I own if they'd let me install it more times. It's not like I'm installing it everywhere, I've just had cruddy luck on a lot of my computers in the past. I paid enough for it that I should be able to install it on my laptop when the previous ones break down. But the stinginess of that limit means I will be far less likely in the future to purchase these types of programs from Microsoft. They basically shot themselves in the leg with that one.

Now if I can find a good program for photo editing that is either free or doesn't cost an arm and a leg, I'd be happy. I used to have a good one that I was given for Christmas, but it only runs on Windows ME or previous versions. There's all kinds of incompatibility with anything current.

I balanced the checkbook today, which wasn't hard since I've been doing the math all week instead of leaving it to the last minute.

I am hoping that I won't have to use all of the money that I set aside in the holding tank for first of December bills. I've got over $1000 from the last paycheck and I think I can get away with using only half the money I put in the holding tank and if so, I'll have maybe another $700 to set aside for January/HSA money, which would be really nice. I might put $100 of that $700 into the EF. We will see how it goes.

Please pray for my neices' father, who had a heart attack yesterday. He is only 46 years old, and they are only 16 and 12. Ex-BIL may have been a jerk to my husband's sister, but the girls still need their father in their lives.

I don't normally go out and about on Black Friday. I'm more of a curl up in bed with a book all day sort of person after Thanksgiving, but we had an appointment for an oil change and the stuff they do at the first 5000 miles, so rotated tires, checked fluid levels, etc. One of the things that we got for buying the car in this model year was free maintenance for the first two years. This is not a maintenance package that we paid for in advance, it was simply one of the perks Toyota was offering this year. But I had totally forgotten about it, so I assumed I would be spending $60 or so today on that. It was nice to be reminded I wouldn't need it.

We haven't actually hit 5000 miles yet, but I figured I would soon (it was 4,640, so close enough) and I didn't want to bother with it myself while DH was gone so best to do it a little early while hes home and be done with it, especially before I have to drive down to Seattle on the 9th.

After the van was done we filled up at Costco at $3.47 a gallon. We paid $45.35. I about fell over. We haven't filled a tank for less than $50 in forever. And then of course when we got back home we saw a station at $3.39. Oh, well. Anywho, after Costco we headed up to Fashion Bug in Marysville. We figured it was enough off the beaten path that it wouldn't be swamped with shoppers, and it was around 3:15 when we got there so it wasn't bad at all and plenty of parking right in front.

I found a parka for the winter like I've been wanting. There were two I liked, identical but for color. One was purple and one was a jewel tone blue. The purple one clashed with my gorgeous blue purse so I went for the blue, which I liked better with my skin tone anyway. It was $99.99, but marked down 40%, so we paid $59.99. It's really warm and should be much more useful in warding off the cold winter mornings than my ski jacket has been. That's all we bought there.

On the way back we stopped at the Outback in Burlington and had dinner. I had an appetizer plus a baked potato for my dinner and DH had a burger and baked potato, plus baked potato soup. There was also the rye bread and we each got a strawberry lemonade. It came to $31.88 and we left $40. The server did a really good job so we tipped a little bit extra. It was nice to have a little date with DH without the kids along.

When we got back home my nephew (who was born when I was 9), his wife, and my great nephew were here visiting my mom. My eldest sister was also here. We all visited for a while. My great nephew is just 18 months old and he is such an adorable baby. He's very verbal and you can understand quite a bit of it, too, and also very active. This is the first time they've been up here since he was born that I've not been too ill (bronchitis, stomach flu, and recovering from surgery the three previous visits) to be around him. Usually I have to stand in the doorway for a minute and that's about it, but this time I actually got to interact with him and talk to everyone else. And my nephew's wife announced that she's pregnant again and the baby will be here in June.

Today was also payday and DH's reimbursement check for changing his flight so he could work those extra weeks came in the mail today as well. That is $145. Which is perfect, since we've already absorbed that cost. It should about cover what we need to give his sister between cash and gas to help her out right now.

...what are you going to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers? I've got plans in place for pot pies, soup, noodles, enchiladas and quesadillas, as well as a few TV dinners with leftovers as is.

Found out today that DH's sister is in a precarious financial position. Worse than we'd ever thought. And this week is a breaking point. Her work isn't depositing her paycheck until Monday because the bank is closed on Friday. Her mortgage company took the payment out early because the bank is closed on Friday. Unfortunately she wasn't prepared for that and her account is $90 short, and now she has an overdraft fee as well. And she simply can't afford it.

This is yet another thing in our lives that points to the importance of having an emergency fund. We are going to give her some money so she can get through this and then we are going to try to give her $100 a month in grocery store gift cards. DH is also going to take her to fill up her gas tank. It'll make some things tighter for us, but she'll at least be able to feed her kids.

We have definitely hit the cap on out of pocket insurance for this year. We have never done that before. I know it was a crazy year for medical, but not even the year I gave birth to my daughter and we had to stay in the hospital for five days with her in NICU, we never hit any caps. So hopefully I really can schedule the knee surgery before January.

If not, well, considering how much it costs, we'll likely hit the cap again next year, too, but a lot sooner in the year. At least I have enough saved so far to cover next year's deductible. That will be a help.

My deposit finally hit ING yesterday and my interest for yesterday and today jumped quite a bit. I mean, it's still small, but before this last deposit it was piddly. I should earn around $4 in interest this month from ING. Some people might laugh at that, but I never laugh at free money. I only wish they'd go back to paying out 4%. This .9% business is ridiculous.