April Update April 29, 2010

April Update!

April has sprung!  We have been so busy with getting the garden ready, seeds started, getting the outside of our house looking like someone actually lives there, and school. 

For April, the budget has been busted.  Should I go on?  I have been wanting to patio set for a long long time.  I hadn’t given in until I found the exact one I could piece together for a whole lot less (more than half) than I could buy a set for.  I pieced it from Target, Walmart, and Rite Aid, yes I said Rite Aid.  So yes this and on top of that the quarterly payments I thought were due in March were actually due in April, but hey I got them paid and went ahead and paid some for the year!  Yeah I haven’t been able to do that since us farmers got married.    I am really really glad that I went ahead and purchased the patio table.  We have used it more than I ever expected. 

Now let’s talk numbers.

We have refinanced our home and combined the Home Mortgage with the Home Equity.  4.25% down from 6.875% YIPPPEEE!  Also have lessened the loan to 7 years!!  I have always paid extra on my home loan so that it could be paid off sooner now that is really a reality because of lessening the interest rate. 

I changed my game plan on what my goal was for March.  Our tax refund came back so we paid off the vehicle loan; it wasn’t that much anyways!  I am only in debt for my house. 

Consumer Loan #1                   100% as of January 31, 2010

Consumer Loan #2                   100% as of March 12, 2010

Consumer Loan #3                   100% as of April 27, 2010

Mortgage Loan                             0%

Vacation Savings                       44%

Now I am going to add the mortgage in there too so I can see my progress!  I really want to have it paid in 3 years.  I am starting at 0% people!  Ambitious I know but if I keep up my non-spending habits, I can put most of our income toward it.  Oh how it feels to have only Home DEBT!

Another bummer to add to the not so good April, someone got my debit card number not the card mind you just the number.  Yes the bank is taking care of this but it has really put a damper on getting things in order.  I really hate that it happened and I am changing the way I “spend” my money.  I am not going to have the debit card anymore!  I decided that the post at The Happy Housewife talking about using the envelope system is what I needed to do. A reader commented that she uses a coupon binder!; for me now that I am going away from using debit cards I am going to try this!  I know what I spend each week on certain categories so I know what I need for gas, grocery, babysitter, school, fun, and lunches. I really think this will help out with the budget too even though I didn’t go over when I was using the debit card I think this will be much easier.   If I don’t have it, it shouldn’t be easy to spend.  RIGHT??

This past weekend the weather was calling for some rain just dreary weather but hey I am NOT complaining I had two inches of dust on the patio from the dry weather.  I cleaned the house and washed clothes AND did some FREEZER MEALZ!  This was my first time so I am not going to over do it. 

My game plan was

2 Pizza Pasta Casseroles (GOT IT)

2 Chicken and Pasta (Couldn’t get in the mood for this one)

2 Meatloaves (new recipe)  (GOT IT)

8 Individual Baked Ham Sandwiches for quick snacks/suppers (or this one)

Seasoned hamburger in 1 lb baggies for quick meals GOT 1 Baggy(didn’t get enough GB)

With summer just around the corner I love 10 minute meals that I just have to pull out of the freezer.  Can’t do without them but the budget doesn’t really allow for those fancy bagged meals now does it.  So I am going to continue to look and find some others to fix as well.

I hope that May’s financials look better than Aprils.  I can’t for see any budget busters so I pray none will show up!        

XO,

Becky

Altered Notebook April 22, 2010

I made this notebook for a cousin of mine.  Looks really good except once the mod podge dried, it folded and warped and then it didn’t look so good.  Next time I won’t cover it with mod podge.  This is so easy.  I love doing this.  I have a bunch of notebooks that I got when they were almost free!  Yummy present that was cheap add some nice pens to it there you have it. 

It really is a shame that this little note book crumbled like it did.  I wish it would have stayed nice like this. 

XO,

Becky

A Christmas LO April 8, 2010

I used a Child’s Year cart for this one. 

Enjoy,

Becky

What do you do with Expired coupons? April 1, 2010

I read a post on What to do with your Expired Coupons at MoneySavingsMom? 

What do you do with your expired coupons? Throw them out? Recycle them?

Well, did you know that you can send your expired coupons to U.S. military bases around the world and they can use them up to 6 months after they expire?   Do you know a military family overseas?  If not click on MoneySavingMom and you can get the link to sign up for the program and the coupons will be placed in various places on the base.  These expired coupons are really used and appreciated by overseas military families.

Please hop over to MoneySavingsMom to get the links for the program!  What a great way to help a military family overseas.

Since the packages ship to APO/AFO addresses, the cost to mail the coupons is the same as sending a card to someone here in the States. To save on postage just clip out (to save on weight) the old coupons and place in a medium or large envelope depending on how many you want to send. She has instructions on how to get addresses and such.   It only takes a few minutes a month for me and it makes me feel better that my coupons aren’t going to waste that someone can use them after they expire. 

 Since I just started couponing in January most of those were going to expire on March 31 so I went ahead and clip as many as I could that had that date because I knew I wasn’t coming out back out to the stores before Saturday or Sunday… 

XO,

Becky