HAPPY HAPPY!!

Yes, today is the day I blow out the candles!
No telling how many candles however.....

Send all the Good Karma you can to me today.
This Aquarian can use every happy wish I can get!

Birthday-ed Sluggy

My 2010 "Hopes" List

I finally finished my List of Things I Want to Accomplish in 2010.
Notice I didn't say resolutions. 
Resolutions are just begging to be broken, are they not?

So like Carol on The Compact List said, I am making "Hopes".
You can call them Goals or any old thing you want, I like "hopes".

Here is the Big Hairy List.  These are all BIG Hopes each in their own right.  As I get to one, I'll probably break it down into smaller steps so I can get it done and crossed off.

1. Put more money into savings than was put away in 2009.
--$23,865.36 was banked in 2009.  I will be shooting for $30.000 in 2010, barring any unforeseen personal economic crisises.

2. Pare down the stuff I need to eBay by sending more of it to the Thrift Store or sell it on Craigslist.
--Get off my rump and get stuff SOLD!  And what I can't readily sell, send it off to a Thrift Store.  I have had enough of boxes of crap hanging around my living room.  It's time to actually USE that room in the manner it was intended.

3. Get rid of my last storage unit!
--This goes hand in hand with #2 above.  If all the crap goes, I won't need to pay for a storage unit any longer.  I went from 2 to 1 units last year.  It is time to let this one go as well.

4. Plan and implement my garden better so I have a chance for it to be more productive this summer.
--Last year's garden was lame.  I need to be more proactive and get things planned and going earlier this year for it to be successful.  Every bit of work you put into a garden will pay dividends in increased health from eating better and  money saved on food spending.

5. Do the taxes and complete paperwork for #1 son's schooling.
--This will be the first Hope accomplished as is needs to be completed by mid February.  It could also be a big PITA as we have added tax implications for 2009 due to an estate/inheritance issue.

6. Decide on and install a hew heating system for the house before the rate cap expires and heat is needed this fall.

--This one is VITAL and it must be completed by September!  

7. Rethink how and how much I coupon/rebate and reorganize my freezer/pantry/stockpile.
--With my 1st year of extreme couponing and stockpiling over, now is the time to step back and see what I did well, what I need to improve upon and what needs to go. 

8. Continue to meal plan and retool our diet, including cooking for scratch/semi-homemade.
--This will involve making better choices with food, will depend partly on how successful  #4 is, and will  require all of us to change some old habits.  It's probably going to be the most difficult Hope to accomplish.

9. Decide on and complete 1 major house remodel project.
--Once we decide what it will be, it's just a matter of pulling the trigger on the job, as the money is there waiting to be spent thanks to our savings challenge of 2009.

10. Complete all the unfinished craft and sewing projects!!
--This Hope is my own personal one that doesn't involve any other family members directly.  I need to just put my head down and plow through all these started projects OR make a decision to release them to someone else who wants to complete them.  This should take a good part of the year to accomplish.

You'll see this list again in the coming year on my blog, as I work on tackling these "Hopes".

Sluggy

Wednesday Already?...& A Life Update

This week seems to be flying by, doesn't it?

Here's a picture I snapped on Christmas of the wacky teens in our family.....the 3 I spawned and the nephew.
From left to right are....The Unibomber(minus his sunglasses and hoodie), Mr. Mall, SkaterPunk and My Face Will Crack if I Smile Girl.

Gee, aren't they just the cuddliest crew you ever saw?
I don't know....I just wanted to share the love.

I am finally feeling like I am getting into my old groove here after the madness and mayhem of the Holidays.  I tell ya....having #1 son home from college, the other 2 sullen teens out of school as well, plus hubby home for the week after Christmas and then hubby's sibling here for the whole week after that one...plus the usual insanity of too many dogs in the house AND add in bad weather with no sunshine for almost 2 Weeks and you get a very BIG case of Cabin Fever all 'round!!

But #1 son has been deposited back at school, the other two balls of "teen angst" are back in class as well, hubby is back at the salt mines and the relative has scurried home, so I have my peace and quiet back(well, except for 3 slobbering/baying hounds), so I can commence to concentrate on being the Haus Frau Extraordinaire I've always pictured myself to be(in my own mind at least).

I have soooo much I want to do(and even more I DON'T want to do, but I need to do)and so many things I wish to blog on.

I don't know about you but I am worn out from all the December shopping fever!  Not that I just shopped and shopped myself, since I don't do that mindless consuming thing anymore like many in our society.  But even at Christmas, I do buy a few things for my loved ones, otherwise they would have me drawn and quartered if they didn't get something, right?  For the kids(and the nephew) I did mostly money or gift cards this year and we cut back and simplified most everywhere else.

I am just worn out from watching and hearing about everyone else's Shopping Frenzy in December!
I just don't know how most people do it all.....and even more, I don't know how I did it all when I was a mindless consumer!lolol  I guess I was on auto-pilot or something.  I do remember in years past when I was a full-on Consumer that come January when the Shopping Madness ended, there was always a big let down....and I would fall into a pretty big depression for awhile.  Since I stopped the Cycle of Manic Holiday Shopping and have simplified my life in that area I find I don't experience such lows anymore. 
Hmmmm......

Anyway......onward and upward into a New Year I say!

Here's what you can look forward to on my blog in the coming week.....
*A Product Review
*A Recipe
*A Post on Rebating...how to start and how to organize it all
*News on a New Series of Giveaways!
*A Weekly Meal Plan

*The Usual Real Life Mayhem

And as always.....maybe a Shopping Trip to Rite-Aid!lol

Ok....hopefully I can keep up with this Schedule of Events and you want to come back and check things out.
So what is on your agenda for this coming week?  Leave a comment and tell us all about it...or if you have a blog, give us some tantalizing tidbits to get us all to come take a peek at ya!


Have a great Hump Day!!

Sluggy

How to Make a Budget 101

**Disclaimer**
I am NOT a financial expert, nor do I play one on the internet.  This post is merely my own personal experience and thoughts on Budgeting.   If you have serious concerns or problems with your money, it may behoove you to seek the advise of a trained professional financial counselor.

So, are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck?
Tired of running out of money before the month is over?
Do you make a decent salary but you never seem to have enough to pay all your bills or have any left at the end of the month?

Then maybe you need to put yourself or your family on a B-U-D-G-E-T!
Many people see the word BUDGET and start shaking and sweating.
They have been led to believe that a budget is an evil thing.
It is something to FEAR!!
Some think that being on a budget is like a diet....neither of them let you have any F-U-N.
But that couldn't be further from the truth!

A budget is simply a plan you write down for your money to follow.
If you have a clear plan for your money then you don't have to worry where it goes because you KNOW where it's going, because you are PURPOSEFULLY telling it where to go.
When was the last time it was a GOOD THING to tell someone where to go?teehee

But where to start?
How do you go about making a budget?
You can buy books, or better yet borrow budgeting books from your local library.
You can pay a large sum of cash to go to seminars or hire a professional money person to assist you in coming up with a budget.
It doesn't matter HOW you go about it, you just need to STOP procrastinating or ignoring your finances and  MAKE A BUDGET.....NOW!

Don't be intimidated, just jump right in.
The only mistake is NOT doing anything.
If you make a blunder, that's fine.  Just learn from it and make a new budget next month and so on until, through trial and error, you come up with a Budget that works for you!


Here's a pretty simplistic way that I went about setting my first budget. 

I use 1 month as the defining format as most bills are due monthly, so my Budget is a Monthly Budget.

First thing is, you need to write down how much money you have to live on each month.
You can't possibly Live Within Your Means if you don't know what "Within Your Means" is!

Add in all income for the month--your total net income from paychecks in a month, any child support(if you can count on that)and/or alimony per month, monthly pension monies, government payments(like SSI), any side jobs/weekend jobs and hobbies that bring in income, etc.

Now, once you have a total of what cash you have coming into your home each month you know how much you have to live on.
For now, don't count any other savings or checking account money other than this month's income.

Let's say You have a monthly income of $2,500 after taxes.  That's your net income.
Remember that....gross income=before taxes.....net income=after taxes.

Now, on a different sheet of paper start listing your bills.
There is a definite order in which you should pay your bills.

**I know some people tithe to their church or other religious group.  I am not addressing this issue here.  If you tithe, be sure to allocate the proper percentage of your income first, if you follow the "First Fruits" concept.

I see 3 Levels of Spending in a Budget.
*Primary Needs
*Secondary Needs
*Wants

*Primary Needs
1. In a perfect world and especially if you don't have any of your income going directly into savings BEFORE you get your check, take the 1st 10% of your income and and designate this your Payment to Self.
Before you pay ANY other bills, pay yourself!
If you make $2,500 net, pay yourself $250.  Put that first $250 into your savings or in a coffee can in your closet, I don't care right now where.  Just put it aside and DO NOT SPEND IT on monthly bills!

2. Next list what you pay for shelter(rent or mortgage-mortgage includes any taxes, PMI, etc.). Let's say you rent and that costs you $900 month.

3. Next list what you pay for utilities(electric, heat, gas, water, sewage).  This one is harder to figure as it can vary from month to month or from season to season.  If you can gather your utility bills from last year, find the average monthly amount you paid for last year, then add 5% to that to allow for any rise in the cost of these bills, because we all know, the cost of everything keeps going up.  Let's say you have heating/cooling/electric/water/sewage bills that average out to $240 a month.

Let's add up what you have spent so far of your $2,500 income.
$250, $900, $240=$1390
You have $1,110 left to spend.

4. Next list what you spend on food per month.
Another one that can vary.  Let's say you think you can feed your family for $250 a month. (Don't forget to include the money you spend at lunch when working and the money your kids spend at school if they don't bring their lunches too!)

That $250 leaves you with $860 remaining in your monthly income.

*Secondary Needs
After you pay yourself, your housing, utilities and food, you can allocate the rest of your income into any other Secondary Needs.  You can rank these other Spending Needs according to how important you feel it is to fund them.
Examples are....
*Insurance(health, medical, dental, home or renter's, car)
*Telephone
*Transportation(either bus/train/subway passes, car payments/car fees/car costs such as gas/maintenance, taxi costs, any other costs that are required to transport you to your job or out for pleasure)
*Medical/Dental/Pharmaceutical/Vision Co-Pays
*Credit Card Payments....hopefully you don't have any of these!And if you do, hopefully you are paying MORE than the minimum payment amount on them.

Let's say you need $400 to fund these categories per month.
This leaves you with $460 of your monthly income left to spend/save.

*Wants Spending
Once you have all your NEEDS met, then you can budget for your WANTS.
Wants would include, but are not limited to....
*Cable(tv, internet, etc.)
*Entertainment(such as eating out or take-out--unless you put that under your Food Budget, movies and concerts--don't forget to figure in the food or souvenirs, bowling, drinks out with friends, taking kids to an event that charges money and magazine and dvd subscriptions.  Note that I did NOT include shopping as entertainment. ;-)
*Clothing
*Home Decor
*Charitable giving--this is not a physical "need" but a spiritual one and not a want really but it's a good use of extra money.
*Gifts
*Any other thing you want to spend money on that is NOT a need.

Between the cable bill, Netflix, and buying clothing, let's say you requires $250 a month for the Want Categories of Spending.

After allocating money into all your categories, you end up with $210 Leftover at the end of each month's income.

Having a bit leftover is a good thing.
Why?
In case something unexpected happens one month, you have a small emergency cushion.
And you all know that emergencies WILL happen.

So take that leftover $210 and stash it into a safe place, like a bank account or your wall safe.  You want it safe but you also need it to be relatively liquid.  Don't stick this leftover cash into a bond or cd or the stock market where you can't pull it out if needed quickly without having to pay interest penalties.  Once you have built up a sizable emergency fund, then you can stash any leftover funds each month into something that bears some decent interest.

Once you have the Budget written down and set, your work isn't done yet.
Oh NO!
Go get a notebook.
Here's mine.  It cost me .10¢ on sale.  You can get a fancy smancy one if you want to spend a lot....but make sure you add that cost to your budget under a WANTS Category.....you don't NEED fancy....

Now every time you spend money this month, tuck the receipt or the stub from a paid bill or the invoice into the back of that notebook.  
At the end of the month, take all those receipts out and write the amounts into your notebook.

I write on each line--the date the money was paid, then where or what was paid, then list the amount.
(IE: 1/12/10   Water Co.   $60.24)

Start with #1-the payment to yourself.
Then write in #2-the rent/mortgage payment.
Then #3-the utility payments.
Next is #4-all the food receipts.
Continue listing, in the order you Ranked your Spending Categories, all your receipts....Primary Needs, Secondary Needs then Wants.
Then add up all your spending for the month.

If you stayed within your Budget framework, congratulations!
You have a good working Budget.
If your spending exceeded your Budget, go check each category and see where your Budget wasn't accurate.
As long as you are NOT spending more than you make, you are still in good shape.  Your spending may just need to be adjusted in some categories.  See which one(s) you need more cash for and which ones you had budgeted for more than you spent and move the income allocation around.

If you ended up spending more than you had coming in for the month, you need to closely examine what you are spending on and cut however much you are overspending.
And since you wrote down EVERYTHING you spent this month, it is easy to see where your money went!

My suggestion when looking for places to cut spending is to examine the WANTS categories first.
After that, look to your variable spending categories, like Food, Entertainment, Gifts, Donations to Charity, etc.  Next try to see if some creditors will give you a special rate or deal.  Call the utility companies and see if there is a special package or bundle rate, call the credit card company and see if they will lower your interest rate or transfer your balance to a new account that offers 0% interest for a limited time, etc.  It can't hurt to ask and you just might get them to give you a lower price!

If you don't have enough money to live within your means you have 3 options.....
*Increase your Income
OR
*Cut your spending
OR
*A combination of both

DO NOT put living expenses on a credit card if you run out of money!
This will only put you into debt or put you into MORE debt.
And it will KEEP you in DEBT!!
You need to bring more money in somehow &/or spend less.

Good luck on Finding the Budget that works for you!

Sluggy

My 5 Transaction Moneymaker at Rite-Aid.....The Final Report In

Here are my Transactions from Sunday, 1/17, at Rite-Aid.
I went to 3 different stores and did a total of 5 Transactions.  I had planned on 4 but found I needed a 5th trip to get everything purchased for the deals.
The important thing I had to remember was that I had 3 separate Olay Rebates to send for and needed these on 3 separate receipts, I needed to purchase the corresponding Olay products in 3 SEPARATE Transactions!
That was the foundation when writing out my scenarios.  Otherwise, it was just building on these purchases with other items, to get to the $20 or $25 mark so I could use a $X off $X Purchase coupon on top of the individual items' coupons.
The "filler" items were things that qualified for the SCRs &/or items I wanted/needed that were cheap or free after coupons.

And the best advise I can give Anyone who coupons is to BRING A CALCULATOR WITH YOU TO THE STORE!  It is sooo handy in avoiding dumb math mistakes while shopping!!
"Nuf said.....lol

Transaction #1

1 x Olay Regenerist UV Cream stuff=$29.99 YIKES!lol
1x Olay Regenerist Eye Roller 50% sale=$10.99  What the hell is this thing??
SubTotal....$40.98

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 Purchase IPQ=$5.00
2 x $3/1 Olay Regenerist ManuQ(1/17PG)=$6.00
1 x $20 Gift of Savings Rite-Aid Certificate=$20.00
Coupon Total....$31.00

$40.98-$31.00=$9.98+$.96tax=$10.94 OOP

Qualified for Olay $20 Rebate HERE($9.06 Moneymaker)AND am $40.98 toward the Rite-Aid SCR#551 $35 prepaid Visa Card.

Transaction #2
2 x Olay Regenerist Cleansers on sale B1G150%off=$11.98
2 x Bayer Aspirin on sale $1.99=$3.98
2 x Doritos on sale $2.49=$4.98
SubTotal.....$20.94

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Rite-Aid IPQ=$5.00
2 x $3/1 Olay Regenerist Cleansers ManuQ(1/17PG)=$6.00
2 x $2/1 Bayer Aspirin AdPerks IPQ=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Doritos AdPerks IPQ=$2.00
2 x $.50/1 Any Snack Item over $.50 Wellness IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$18.00

$20.94-$18.00=$2.94+$.42tax=$3.36 OOP

Qualified for Olay $15 Rebate HERE($11.64 Moneymaker)AND am $11.98 More toward the Rite-Aid SCR#551 $35 prepaid Visa Card($52.96).

 Transaction #3

2 x Olay Lotion B1G150%off sale=$11.23
2 x Old Spice Deodorant on sale $2.50=$5.00
1 x Secret Deodorant=$4.99
1 x Bayer Aspirin on sale=$1.99
SubTotal....$23.21

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks IPQ=$5.00
2 x $2/1 Olay Lotion ManuQ(1/17PG)=$4.00 **Though they are correct, tese Qs beeped but she pushed them through.
1 x $1/2 Old Spice Deodorant ManuQ(12/27PG)=$1.00
1 x B2Old Spice/Get Secret Free ManuQ(12/27PG)=$4.99
1 x $2/1 Bayer Aspirin AdPerks IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$16.99

$23.21-$16.99=$6.22+$.38tax=$6.60 OOP

Qualified for Olay TRY ME FREE Rebate HERE($4.63 Moneymaker)AND am $21.22(Old Spice/Secret/Olay) toward the Rite-Aid SCR#551 $35 prepaid Visa Card($74.18).

Transaction #4
4 x Pantene Shampoo on sale $3=$12.00
1 x NyQuil on sale=$3.99
1 x Oral B CrossAction Toothbrush on sale=$2.99
2 x Bayer Aspirin on sale $1.99=$3.98
SubTotal....$22.96

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks IPQ=$5.00
2 x $3/2 Pantene ManuQ(12/27PG)=$6.00
1 x $2 Nyquil ManuQ(1/17PG)=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Oral B Toothbrush(12/27PG)=$1.00
2 x $2/1 Bayer Aspirin AdPerks IPQ=$4.00
Coupon Total....$18.00

$22.96-$18.00=$4.96+$.06tax=$5.02 OOP


Rite-Aid SCRs qualified for....$1.25 Oral B and $1 Nyquil AND $18.98(Pantene/Nyquil/Oral B) More toward the Rite-Aid SCR#551 $35 prepaid Visa Card($93.16).

I needed $6.84 more to get to $100 P&G purchases and that $35 Visa card.  Someone also wanted me to pick up some Soda for them so here's what I did....

Transaction #5
4 x 12packs of Pepsi brand sodas on sale $3.33=$13.32
1 x Olay Cleanser on clearance 50%off=$4.99**
1 x Oral B CrossAction Toothbrush on sale=$2.99
1 x Doritos on sale=$2.49
SubTotal....$23.79

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks IPQ=$5.00
1 x $3.33 WYB 4 Pepsi Products 12 packs Rite-Aid in-ad Q=$3.33
1 x $3/1 Olay Regenerist ManuQ(1/17PG)=$3.00
1 x $1/1 OralB Toothbrush ManuQ(12/27PG)=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Doritos AdPerks IPQ=$1.00
1 x $.50/1 Any Snack Item over $.50 Wellness IPQ=$.50
Coupon Total....$13.83

$23.79-$13.83=$9.96+$.60tax(on soda)=$10.56 OOP
MY OOP(after soda reimbursement of $9.59)= Negative $.03!

The soda buyer got a free 12 pack because I used a coupon for them and I was able to use a $5 off $20 coupon on my stuff because the soda purchase brought my total up over $20.

Though I can't qualify for another $1 OralB SCR, I have $7.98 More toward the Rite-Aid SCR#551 $35 prepaid Visa Card, giving me a $101.14 Total.

**Now since I have another Olay Regenerist Cleanser item with this transaction, if I can find a second of this brand/type that is inexpensive, I can send for this $15 Olay Rebate again for my *ahem* brother-in-law*ahem*.  Depending on what I spent OOP on the second Cleanser, I can add to my Moneymaker Profit with that purchase/rebate.

*************************
Total OOP for these trips.....$25.89
Rebates qaulified for these trips....$48.48 & a $35 Visa Card

$25.89-$48.48=$22.59 Moneymaker & a $35 Visa Card!
Plus some Olay stuff to sell on eBay and other stuff to take to the Flea Market in the Spring, so I'll get more $$ back too. ;-)

When I was sitting in the car out front of  Rite-Aid #3 figuring out what to buy in Transaction $5 to get over the $100 mark for the Visa card, I realized I had screwed up something.  The Old Spice Deodorants I bought were NOT the correct ones to buy to A-use the FREE SECRET Q I used and B-to qualify for SCR #74(another $2 in rebates).  I had another set of Qs to do this deal again and looked in the Rebate catalog to see what else to buy(yes, I carry this to the store with me!lol) and saw this #74 SCR and noticed the goof.
Ugh!
The cashier didn't notice my goof up and the Qs scanned into the register without a peep anyway.  The correct Deodorants are $4.29 so it should be another $1.79 a piece($3.58 more for 2).
I am torn about what to do.
I want to return them and buy the proper ones...it will raise my OOP, er....I mean lower my Moneymaker amount overall but that's not my concern.
My concern is returning them and rebuying without totally confusing whichever cashier or manager I am dealing with.  It's not simple to do since many coupons where involved the first go-around I don't know how they will handle this(return/rebuy a diff. product and not have the Qs returned for the rebuy?).  When it's all over, I might end up paying much more for them all if they just don't let me pay the difference and exchange for the higher priced Deos.
Exchanging them and paying the difference will let me apply for the #74 SCR, so after rebate only another $1.58 more to pay, and it's the right thing.  But the returning process could be a horrible mess when the dust settles.
Or I could just let it go and hope I pay closer attention next time....
Oh, decisions, decisions....

Anyway, that was how my game plan went down.  I had a whole scenario written down but once I got to the stores, some of the stores were out of things so it was a matter of substituting items from one scenario into another.  I also brought extra Qs and had other items to use if I couldn't come up with enough products in my scenarios that were available at these particular stores.  I could have bought more Nyquil or Pantene or even gotten Always pads/tampons(with BOGO Qs)if I had needed to.
Things never go as planned totally with multiple scenarios but by being ready with alternatives and keeping your mind open, you can be flexible enough to figure optional plans out. 

Now it's off to fill out some rebate forms and do some record keeping....

Sluggy