Big Weekend Plans (Part Three)

Remember my Big Weekend Plans from two weeks ago?  The ones that I didn’t get done because I ended up buying a new car?  Well, I’m going to try again.  Since the new car is at the dealer getting detailed and having a few minor repairs done, here’s the list of things (in addition to the normal cleaning and laundry) that I hope to accomplish this weekend:

• Clean Out My Closet (and hopefully find kids’ Social Security cards)
• Fill Out Applications for New Social Security Cards if I Can’t Find Them
• Go Through Bag of Hand-Me-Downs for Bekah
• Ironing
• Divide Up Kids’ Portraits for Family
• Organize Financial/Personal Paperwork
• Get Phone Number of Financial Planner Auntie Charlotte Uses
• Mow Lawn My neighbor mowed it AGAIN.
• Weed Garden
• Write Some Blog Posts
• KNIT!!!!

And I have a date tonight!

August Goals

July was a tough month, for obvious reasons!  August won’t be much better, with Back-To-School shopping for 3 children this year.  (Yes, little Bekah starts Kindergarten!)  Plus, Shaunna has Senior Portraits at the end of the month.  So I’m back to looking for ways to reduce expenses, especially since they cut all overtime at work.  (I’m even considering getting a part time job on the weekends the kids are at their dad’s.)  Some of these were June goals that never got accomplished.

Short Term

• Compare auto insurance prices.  I just switched to GEICO and saved 48%!  That’s $54 PER MONTH!!!
• Quit smoking.
• Cancel digital cable and landline.
• Start clipping coupons again.
• Become more vigilient about unplugging appliance that aren’t in use.
• Get Bekah to take shorter showers, since my water bill went up 43% this quarter!
• Organize financial/personal paperwork.
• Get phone number of financial planner.
• Snowflake towards balance on credit card that I have been carrying since June. (First time I’ve carried a balance since getting my finances in order.)

Mid-Term

• Get emergency fund back to $1,000.
• Snowflake towards car payment.

No More Window Shopping

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped into Staples, just to pick up a new mouse.  The old one was not working well, double clicking when I only clicked once.  Made working on the computer difficult, to say the least!  As long as I was there, I figured I’d stop and look at the laptops, since my computer is old, slow, and outdated.

They had a great Gateway laptop on clearance.  5 GB of memory, 500 GB hard drive, for around $600. I spoke to the salesperson and he explained that I would need to download Microsoft office for another $150.  I started thinking about the $650 I had saved up in my furniture fund.  My furniture is on sale through December, so I could buy the laptop now, and save all over again for my bedroom set.  I told the salesperson I would have to think about it, took my mouse to the register, paid for it and left.

I admit, I did think about that laptop a couple of times, trying to decide what I wanted to do.  In the end, I didn’t transfer any money, and left it at that.

 

A few days later, I decided to check out whether my 1999 Honda Odyssey qualified for the “Cash for Clunkers” government rebate.  It didn’t.  Oh well.

Then…the van’s transmission was failing and I ended up having to buy a new car.  Two days later, I got the blue screen of death of my computer, indicating a hard drive crash.  I went to Staples.com and priced a computer and Microsoft Office, then went to Best Buy and purchased a laptop.  They price matched the software, and Geek Squad was able to recover my data and load it all onto the laptop.

While I am happy that I have a newer, safer car and a new, faster computer, I am not happy about the state of my savings account. 

I have also realized that if I am going to window shop, I better be prepared for something to break and I having to replace it.

Big Weekend Plans (Part Deux)

Looking over the list of chores I set out to accomplish this weekend, I realize that no where on that list was “Buy A New Car.” However, after taking Dawn’s advice over at Fighting Foreclosure on How to keep your car on the road, that’s exactly what I did yesterday.

I dropped the van off Friday night for my service appointment on Saturday.  I received the dreaded phone call 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  The transmission in the van is failing.  And it’s going to cost $4,100 to install a rebuilt one.  This, on top of the $2,000 in additional repairs Honda recommended I get 2 months ago pushed me to the edge.  Time to buy a new vehicle.  (I have to stop and give Scott and his boys at Firestone mad props for diagnosing the transmission first, and not changing the oil or diagnosing the steering wheel issues, saving me $75.00 in unnecessary maintenance and diagnosis charges.  You WILL be seeing me again!)

Without going into all of the gory details of my seven hours of shopping for a new car, let’s just say that I walked away from the first dealer who was offering me 15.5% interest and I struck a better deal with the next dealer who offered 9.95% interest.  I know that it’s still a crappy interest rate, but I do have less than stellar credit.

 

I hope it’s worth the next 5 years of payments.  I hate car payments.

Now to start on that monster list of chores….

Big Weekend Plans

Dawn over at Fighting Foreclosure had a post this week about performing routine maintenance on your vehicle.  Since it was time for an oil change and tire rotation, I booked an appointment at the garage for tomorrow, throwing in a diagnosis of the transmission (it’s shifting really hard from first to second,) and the steering wheel (I lost the radio controls, cruise control and horn, as well as the SRS light flickering on the dash.)

I planned this, knowing I don’t have the kids this weekend.  Since I will be stuck at home with no vehicle for the day, (and hopefully they find nothing major and I get the van back tomorrow) I have a monster to-do list.

When I first moved out on my own, I would get all of the chores done when the kids weren’t with me.  That way, I could concentrate on them instead of housework.  As the years went by, I’ve slacked on this, instead falling into the rut of getting the chores done on the weekends, whether they are here or not.  So, in an effort to get back on track, here is my list to accomplish this weekend:

1. Laundry – washed, dried, folded, and put away.
2. Bed stripped, mattress flipped, remade.
3. Clean Living Room
4. Clean Kitchen
5. Clean Bathroom
6. Clean My Room
7. Clean Out My Closet (and hopefully find kids’ Social Security cards)
8. Fill Out Applications for New Social Security Cards if I Can’t Find Them
9. Clean Kids’ Room
10. Clean Off Desk
11. Go Through Bag of Hand-Me-Downs for Bekah
12. Ironing
13. Divide Up Kids’ Portraits for Family
14. Organize Financial/Personal Paperwork
15. Set August Financial Goals
16. Get Phone Number of Financial Planner Auntie Charlotte Uses
17. Mow Lawn
18. Weed Garden
19. Write Some Blog Posts
20. KNIT!!!!

I know this is an ambitious list, but as long as I leave the TV off, and turn the Metallica up loud, I can get it done!

These hands

Photo by Kelvin Mulcky

I was sitting on the couch the other night, looking at my hands.  Grease was embedded in the ridges and whorls, stuck under my fingernails even after scrubbing, from changing my headlight.  And the softest pink yarn was threaded between these fingers, knitting a baby blanket.

I was struck by the contrast in these images.  Which then caused me to think about contrasts in my life.

• I was expected to go to college.  Yet I gave up that dream to be with the man I loved. 
• I was raised to be an independent woman.  Yet I married a man and gave away that independence.
• I thought I would be married “til death do us part.”  Yet I am divorced.
• I thought I would be further in my career.  Yet I have been in a temporary position for 14 months.
• I thought I would own a home.  Yet I live in “moderate income housing” where my rent is based on my income.

I am happy and content.  Yet, I strive for more.

Such contrasts.

So I’ve put it off long enough.

I didn’t do a June recap because I sucked at the goals I set for myself.  But part of achieving my goals is being accountable to someone.  And since I don’t have a significant other, YOU are the people I’ve chosen to hold me accountable.

So here goes…

Goals I Set for June

• Lower savings to $200 per week instead of $300 per week. DONE
• Call auto insurance company and drop collision. (My van is 10 years old. It’s time to stop paying for coverage I don’t need.) DONE.  I also increased my coverage to $300K/$100K from $100K/$50K.  Overall savings – $9.00 a month.
• Compare auto insurance prices.
• Stop using credit cards as a stop-gap at the end of the month when the money runs out. Then I won’t have to stress about paying those suckers in full the following month. DONE
• Start filling my van with gas in Massachusetts when I am there once a week already. Gas is $0.11 a gallon less, so that will save me roughly $7.50 a month.  DONE
• Stop eating out. Period. This is going to be easier now that I use Peapod to get my groceries instead of waiting until there is absolutely no food in the house. This is not going to happen. 
• Find out when my cell phone contract is up and price plans with other carriers. I changed plans with my current carrier, added some features and dropped Shaunna’s Blackberry for a bill that will be roughly the same.
• Quit smoking. There’s a savings of over $200.00 a month. I quit for 3 days.

Mid term goals:

• Get emergency fund back to $1,000. I need about $525.00  Now I need $900.00
• Replace $6,500 into downpayment fund that I have spent over the last 6 months.

How am I going to do this?

• Work as much overtime as I can to accomplish these goals over the next 6 months.  I did work some overtime.
• Snowflake any money that I come in under budget towards my emergency fund first, then towards my downpayment fund.  I didn’t snowflake anything.
• Blog monthly updates about my progress toward reaching these goals.  Better late than never.

Since July is 1/2 over, I’m going to hold off on making any new goals until August.  I need to get back on track and I know this.  But I really want to think about the goals that I can accomplish - short, mid and long term – and crate an action plan to achieve them.

And the winners are…

Kelly and Lisa!! Congratulations on winning free Fruit2day.

Check your email for a request for you address! 

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2
3

Timestamp: 2009-07-20 23:24:44 UTC

Want to make a 16 year old happy?

Buy her one of these:

LG Dare

to replace the Blackberry you just bought her a year ago.  You know, the one she promised to pay $30 a month to cover the extra charge.  (Which she did – for only 3 months.)  The one that she “didn’t like” anymore.  The one I’m going to list on Craigslist and see if I can make some of my money back. 

But she has been told this is the last phone I am buying her.  If she wants to upgrade again, she can get a job and buy it herself.

 

 

Now for my new phone:

LG env3

Momma needed a new toy, too.

Last chance for free juice!

Be sure to leave a comment here before midnight tomorrow, July 19th for a chance at winning a coupon for two free bottles of Fruit2day!