SecretarySaving

I normally work 9hour days and a half a day on Friday. Since this week has a 8hour holiday I only need 8 hours a day. This morning I got here at 6:30am. Could I leave at 2:30pm? Probably not.

I went over to the food court and used my Chick Fil A card and got the monthly free milkshake. I got peach. It was good but chunks of peach where clogging up my straw.

I brought my lunch (salad and snack pack). I will drink my water at my desk.

I'm going to try to get out of here early.

Some animal dug up two of my flowers in the flowerbed so I need to replant those this evening and water the yard.

Both girls were gone last night. I went for a walk, read my book and watched Netflix. Oh! I ordered a pencil case for DD2 using a free $10 from LL Bean.

Friday I was off of work and DD1 and I went to the OBGYN for check ups. Yearly routine. Had lunch with my mother and we went to the pool after.

Saturday I went to my primary Dr for a yearly physical and blood work. After looking at my stats she said that I need to lose weight and should shoot for 130 as my goal. Yikes!

After, I took DD2 to HEB so she could feed the machine with Buddy Bucks, then we went to the library and stopped by CFA to have lunch.

Later that evening we went to my nieces 2nd birthday party. I'm getting the impression that my sister will have parties every year for both kids.

Sunday was a relaxing day. I went to the grocery store while the girls were at the pool. Then we went to the $2 movies and saw Divergent. It was a good movie.

I managed to work out once over the weekend to a 3 FAST miles DVD by Leslie Sansone. I really liked the dvd!

Meals for the week will be slimfast w/fruit for breakfast. Salads and veggie/fruit/nut snack packs. Dinner is salmon, ham and beans, chili, spaghetti and left overs.

I had a relaxing evening last night. Yesterday no money spent. I finished one of the library books my mom gave me to read and this morning I finished an audio book.

The neighbor did not call me to pick up the Wii games and being in my comfy clothes and tired I didn't call either. This evening I'll see if she's still interested. That's $15!

Another neighbor commented my Clifford the red dog collection with a friends name so they could see it. That's a good sign.

I'm not getting any hits on Craigslist with postings.

Today's to list..

1) I cashed in Swagbucks rewards both yesterday and today for $20 Amazon.

2) I walked over to Hallmark with a $2 free coupon from a coworker and picked up a 7 small boxes of junior mints and ended up pay .37oop. I ate one

3) I've got my Yahoo email down to 1098. Slowly I'm cleaning it out.

4) Drink 64oz of water (not 85oz)

5) 10K steps on pedometer

6) Read

7) Go over DD1's budget with her. She received a check yesterday from Subway $200 and one from CFA today $167.41. Total $367.41. It might be time to talk about cell phone service. Right now she uses wifi on an iphone.

Have you heard the saying "early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise"? I just heard that recently! I've always been an early bird. This morning both DD1 and I were up at 4am getting ready for work. She had to be at CFA (Chick Fil A) at 5am. They asked her to stay late again today. Probably til 3pm or 4pm but they didn't give her an exact time just yet. She had her break at 8am.

I think they are asking her to stay because the store just opened last week and a lot of the new hires have quit. They are still working out the schedule and the trainees that were flown in are going home gradually. Another thing, I think DD1 is doing a great job!

I put pork ribs in the crock pot with bbq sauce. We will have that for dinner with corn on the cob and split a baked potato. I brought another salad and snack pack for lunch today. Saving money and not eating our or eating the junk that is here in the office. I told you there is Twinkies and Hostess cupcakes right?

My to do list today..
1) Meet Kathy (neighbor) who wants to pick up the 4 wii games for $15.
2) Light a candle and lay on the sofa with a pillow and blanket and read. I have several of my own library books and my mom gave me two from her library that are due soon.
3) Take a relaxing bubble bath and play some soft music on my iphone Pandora.
4) Go to bed early.
5) Drink 85oz of water.

That's all I have for today. Pretty simple!

Carabiner!

For Tuesday...

1)Entered Coke Rewards that I got from 12pks here at work that I found in the trash.
Need 254pts to be able to get the AMC movie reward.
Which is 2 movie tickets and 2 drinks.
2)Drop/pick up library books (on way to gym).
3)Read 4 chapters of my library book.
4)Drink 85oz of water.
5)Track food for today and enter dinner for last night.
6)Walk 3 miles on treadmill w/DD1.
7)Restorative yoga tonight 8:30pm at gym w/DD1.
8)Adjust budget for this Friday payday.
9)Physical appearance today-I’m wearing a dress.

I had a great evening last night other than there was a dead armadillo in the street by my drive way!

DD1 and I both arrived home at the same time. She worked an hour later because they were short staffed. Her feet hurt pretty badly. She will be buying some insoles for her work shoes. Chick Fil A is pretty particular in what they wear. She had to take out her earrings because they are not pearls. She also had to tuck her bangs in under her hat. With her short hair cut she thinks she looks like a boy. Adding pearl earrings to her list of things to get as well.

She went to return the neighbor’s house key and get paid.
The agreement was $40 plus extra for watering their plants. She got $55! That was very generous of them. She watched the dog Thursday evening thru Monday morning. The dog bowl had mold in it so she went ahead and cleaned it and gave the dog a bath.

Last night we went for a walk to the front of the neighborhood and back two miles. Then had dinner and after we watched a movie. I really enjoy the one on one time with her.

We both were up today at 4:30am getting ready for work. Today catered lunch is being brought in at work. It’s Mexican! I’m going to stick to my salad and snack pack and only get one slice of a veggie quesadilla and some guacamole.

Oh! DD1 quit her second job at Subway. She felt that she wasn’t being treated fairly. The manager had her doing things as soon as she walked in and ten minutes had passed before she got a chance to clock in. During her shift the manager and the manager’s bff were working. They had her cut onions, clean the lobby, take out the trash and clean the restrooms. Dominos pizza is next door brought over a cancelled pizza. She said that they didn’t offer her any at the time and they ate the pizza. She went to her lunch box and was going to eat what she brought and the manager told her to do the dishes then she can eat. So she did. Then, they offered her two squares. The pizza wasn’t cut like a pie and she said that was all that was left so she ate it! They speak another language and she feels like they talk about her but she really enjoys working with the guys for the evening shift. We talked and she decided that the two jobs was just too much at this time and that not feeling comfortable wasn’t worth it.

My to do list for today is..
1)Post items to sell
2)Shot record to community college for DD1
3)Make class selection with DD1
4)10K steps on my fit bit
5)Read 2 chapters of my library book
6)Paint nails and toes
7)Drink 85oz of water
8)Look at classes offered at craft stores for adults
9)Think about improving physical appearance (maybe tomorrow curl hair)
10)Look into church singles programs

*I already have a buyer for 4 Wii games that I listed. I first listed my items on the neighborhood garage sale page. I'm selling all 4 games for $15. YAY!

Menu this week is..

Breakfast-Slim Fast smoothie w/fruit, cereal and pancakes for the weekend.
Lunches-Salad or pbj sandwich w/fruit and veggies
Dinner-Talapia, salmon, bbq pork ribs, chili and corn bread and ham and beans

Picture of my salad and snack pack from Kroger. I got this in the produce section. $3.99 for salad and $1.99 for snack pack. $6 twice a week is fine by me! The other 3 days are sandwiches. My menu is pretty much for the week. Sundays we have dinner with family.

Yesterday was a no spend day and a great one at that!

I am feeling super pumped with reading the posts on SA about ppl losing weight and working out.

After work yesterday I went straight from my 1.5hr commute to the gym and DD1 met me there. We went for yoga.

When the yoga class was over I saw people lined up for Zumba. So I thought, hey why not? Well, the music started and then I couldn't keep up with the moves and it was just plain fun!

My plan was to wake up at 4am to be at the gym at 5:15am. That didn't happen. I've got my gym bag I the car and after work I'm going for abs/core, body pump and zumba! Should be a good solid two hours of moving and sweating.

I did spend some money today. I didn't want my workout last night to be all for nothing. I bought a Evergreen juice this morning. It looked nasty and had kale in it. Has to be good for me right? It wasn't bad at ALL! It had cucumber, kale and lemon in it. For lunch, I had a Chick Fil A market salad. I've had a banana and apple too and I'm drinking my water.

I'm going to keep this up because right now I'm feeling great!

The gym is my new entertainment. Every week day after work I plan on being there unless I make it in the morning. There are several group classes that I want to take advantage of.

My daughter is entering a new season of life. I am very excited for her! On Saturday we had her graduation party at Pinot’s Palette. Then on Sunday was her graduation. After graduation we took her to her favorite restaurant.

She currently has two jobs. She started working at Subway about three weeks ago. They are paid every two weeks so tomorrow she will get her first paycheck. Her other job is at Chick Fil A. It is a brand new facility that is being built. Her uniform cost $52. They are particular on hair, makeup and dress code. She starts her training there this week. One thing that is pretty cool is on Monday night they are hosting a new employee appreciation dinner. The employee is allowed to bring a spouse or parent. My daughter is taking me. It will give us a chance to meet the other employees, their families and the franchise owners and their family as well. When she interviewed she told them that she’d like as many hours as they’d give her so the owner told her that he’d try to work her 40hrs. Once her hours pick up there then she will quit Subway. Subway is paying minimum wage at $7.25 and Chick Fil A is paying $7.50. She was told at Chick Fil A that she will have reviews and an opportunity for increases. I really like the fact that they work their people hard, hold them to a high standard of ethics and let me not forget every Sunday off!

Since we have so much left over junk food from the graduation party I’ve been trying to get rid of it. Yesterday I took two boxes of donuts to homeless people. When I got home I sent DD2 over to the neighbors house with cupcakes. Then later I got a text from the neighbor asking if DD1 would be avail to feed, water and let out their dog while they are on vacation for four days. She said that they would pay $10/day.

She currently has $463 saved and has the goal of $500 for her Emergency Fund. After watching the neighbors dog then she will reach that goal. Tomorrow I will be sitting with her to set up a budget .
Very excited stuff going on!

Oh update on DD2’s Dad. He is leaving tomorrow to Brazil for the World Cup. It is a dream of his to be able to go. I can’t complain. He has over paid her college account and has over paid his child support. He has been very involved with DD2 and has helped me out with things around the house. We have been getting along great.

I have made an appointment for the girls and I to get passports. I’m looking into planning a trip!

Does anyone have any ideas on things that I could buy at Kohls for $10? They sent me a free $10 to spend on anything email. I am going to swing by this evening to use it before it expires.

Some things I can think of
-Socks
-Hand towels
-Candle

Yesterday was a NSD. For lunch, I used my Chick Fil A card for the free salad. Went to the library to return books and big up an audio book.

DD2's Dad came over and took her to dinner and Target. DD2's backpack strap broke recently and the other was hanging on my a thread. He bought her a new one and a new toy. Gave her a dollar and she was a happy camper.

When I was driving into the neighborhood I saw him walking next to her as she was skating. That made me happy.

At work today we are having Lasagna House for lunch.

After work on Friday I went to the grocery store to get groceries for the week. My mom came to pick up DD1 they were going to Dallas for the day Saturday.
We went to Panda Express and had dinner. After going to the grocery store I really didn't want to buy food but my mom likes going out.

Saturday DD2 fed a rolly polly to the turtle. It was a sight to see! Then we ventured outside so she could roller skate and locked ourselves out. Locksmith came and tried to really over charge me then finally settled on $125.That is an emergency and comes out of the emergency fund! During that time when we were locked out I cleaned up the garage a bit and swept.

Yesterday we went to the pool, cleaned house and read. I finished one book over the weekend and I'm half way thru another.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

I got a check for $13.15 from Ebates yesterday.
I'm going to put that towards my mortgage. Every little bit helps!

In other news, a wonderful co worker that works in our accounting department decided to quit today. No notice given and she didn't inform HR. She just left her badge and sent an email to a select few and was gone. She had been having problems with her boss. I'm going to miss her.

I had a three day weekend.

Friday, I was off for DD2's 8th birthday. I took the girls to have donuts then off to school they went. I spent the majority of the day walking around stores like a zombie not buying anything except for earrings. It's funny. When I'm off of work and the kids are gone I don't know what to do with myself.

When they got home from school we went and had dinner then home to watch a movie.

Saturday was the birthday party at the roller rink. The children had a blast. After we (mom, sister and her kids, me and the girls) all to dinner for Mother's Day. I really enjoyed dinner. We had such a nice time. The kids behaved very well.

Sunday we went to Target for DD2 to spend her bday money. She picked out a book and a What Ever After High doll.

I got my mom a magic bullet dessert machine. She didn't want to venture out so I didn't see her but my stepdad who came over to hang up curtain rods for me was able to take it back for her. She spent her day reading a book and finished it might I add. LOL!

The girls were so sweet to me bringing me breakfast in bed. They gave me a massage and handmade cards. It was a very nice weekend.

I spent $60 at the grocery store yesterday buying salads and snack packs at Kroger for lunches this week. We have enough food to eat from the pantry for the week and I've already made a menu. We really need to eat the veggies in the crisper drawer!

I was selected to be apart of the $5 Dinner menu plan beta program. Basically I get a weekly menu with grocery list for 6 months. Pretty sweet deal! I love Erin Chase. I've got 2 of her cook books and they are my fav! Since I have my menu planned for this week I am going to lag a week behind and use this list for next week's meals. I'm so excited and looking forward to someone else doing the work and trying to meals. I tend to stick to what I'm used to.

I was off from work for two weeks. One week on Thanksgiving vacation and the other week out with DD2 because she had pneumonia. I was under the weather too so it was good that we both got some much needed rest.
I've almost finished my xmas shopping. I still need to get stocking stuffers, a small thing for my mom and something for my dad. During lunch today I plan to make online purchases to finish it up! I'm debating on weather to participate in a gift exchange here at work. I will be making mini loaves of pumpkin bread for a select few.
I found a great deal on a Sodastream the other day and since my birthday is this month I justified the purchase as a gift for me!
I will have money left over from xmas shopping so I might bump up a few presents for others.
The finances have been on auto no big expenses lately. The heater in my car isn't working but the heated seats are. I live in Texas and park in the garage at home and in the covered garage at work. During my long commute it isn't too bad but since I need to take the car in for an oil change and tire rotation I will have them take a look at it.

I received an update on the interview that I had a few weeks ago. They decided to put the job on hold until March. I figured as much because the lady that I interviewed with told me that they were moving the executives to a top floor in the building and she wouldn't have a place to put me until after the move. I sent a follow up thank you note and I hope that they think of me when the time comes to hire.

Yesterday at work we had our Thanksgiving Day lunch. There was a nice variety of food. I brought a pumpkin pie with cool whip. I had a slice for breakfast this morning. For lunch, I will be going to another company in the building they are raising money for the United Way by selling pizza for $2 slice and some baked goods. I plan on only buying a slice of pizza.

Today is my half day at work. I usually run errands after and I was planning on picking up books from the library and picking up a prescription from Kroger but with the ugly weather we are having I might just go straight home.

This weekend I am going to have the girls set up the Christmas tree. I will move furniture. I'm always moving furniture around. We will stay in doors because the weather is expected to be bad all weekend. Good thing for me because I have a lot of reading to do and so do the girls! Saturday night DD1 and I have a painting class at Pinot's Palette. We had a great time the last time we went.

I'm on vacation all next week. I will do my Christmas shopping then. I'm going to try to do most of it online and I will probably scope out deals for Walgreens and CVS for Thanksgiving Day. I'd like to go to JCP for Black Friday.

Other than that not much is going on. Finances are going well. I'm glad that I was able to refi my house in October that is the only debt I have left. I've maxed out my Roth IRA for the year and I'm starting to think about prom and graduation for DD1.

I'm not in a good place right now emotionally. I am a mess! I took off of work on Friday and should have taken off today but I am here and trying to make the most of it.

I'm working on my budget for next year and goals. This is what I do to keep my busy and to keep my mind from wandering.

I've started Christmas shopping. Little things here and there. I am not doing much. Both girls will get a stocking and DD1 will get $100 to spend how she likes and DD2 will get $100 worth of toys and clothes. I will get them each a small piece of jewelry to open Christmas eve. For DD2 it will be costume. I have a friend that works at James Avery and she gets a 20% discount.

This evening I am going to make hamburger soup, take a nice hot bubble bath and get lost in a book.

Last Friday I closed on my refinance for my house. I got a 3.25% rate on a 15yr fixed conventional loan. I've been playing with my spreadsheet and I am aiming to have it paid off before I'm 40yrs old. This is my last debt!

Yesterday, I got a call from a recruiter that I've worked with in the past. The position that she mentioned to me was an Executive Assistant to the CEO and Chairman of the Board for a natural gas midstream company. It's a small and privately owned company here in Downtown Houston. I'd really like something closer to home and she knows this but she did sweeten the deal by saying that they are paying 20% more than what I currently make.

After talking to her I emailed her my updated resume and testing scores. She replied saying that she now has two jobs for me and that we will discuss further today when I meet with her during the lunch hour.

Wish me luck!

My only issue with money this past two weeks is my eating out.

I bought beef from a local farmer and I've got beans and rice. On Sunday, I will place an order with Greenling.com to have produce delivered for next Monday but for now we have bananas, pears and a few other things.

My paycheck is already in my account!

I transferred all extra money to online accounts that I have.

After paying bills and transferring money over the "back to school clothes" and "new car/car maintenance" funds.

The only hiccup that I had was budgeting for the cheer uniform. The instructor emailed today saying that it costs $150 (ouch). That will also double as DD2's Halloween outfit. Since they don't need the money now. I'm going to just set aside the $60 and use some of my checking acct cushion to cover. No biggie!

I'm going to swing by the bank this evening to fill up my envelopes for the next two weeks.

-$200 Groceries
-$150 Gas
-$48 Blow
-$80 Yard
-$60 Cheer Uniform

Friday I went with DD1 to the Cheesecake Factory and we had a nice dinner while DD2 was with her Dad for the weekend. With the weather change allergies and asthma are back and DD2 is on her meds but having a hard time. I took off 3 days last week and Dad was calling me over the weekend worried about her. I took her to the Dr and the Dr wanted to keep her on her current meds.

Yesterday went to dinner with my parents and the girls we both paid our own way. I spent $50 and the food was not worth it and neither the girls or I finished our food. We will not be going back there.

I also bought a Groupon for $29 for a hair cut, color and style. I wanted for the color to be dark brown to match my natural color and now my hair is BLACK! I understand that this will fade in time but do I really want to feel like I look gothic in the meantime ..um..no! So now I'm going back to my usual place to have them fix it which is going to cost me more money! I hate that! Oh and I had to pay $20 on top of the groupon because my hair is thick. The cut is fine though. I had bought the Groupon because that location is by my house.

I've been using Ebates when buying things online for both personal and work and that seems to be helping me. I should get a check in November!

I've been spending alot of money lately and I need to get a handle on that. I know where its coming from. I haven't been to the bank to fill my envelopes (gas, food and blow $) and usually I transfer all extra money into savings categories and I haven't done that.

It's been over a year since I tried to refi and I'm trying again this time through my credit union. I'm surprised at how fast they have been getting back to me. I got an email on Friday for me to cut a check for the appraisal I can't remember right now but its $400 something maybe $475. I'm going to shoot for a 10yr fixed conventional. Even though I'd like it paid for by the time I'm 40.

One of my VP's asked me to do him a favor this morning. He is going out of town on Friday and won't be back until Wednesday for the Labor Day holiday. I am taking a vacation day but I will be in town.

He asked if he could sign over power of attorney to me so that I can sign for a rental townhouse that he is purchasing in River Oaks. That's a very affluent neighborhood here in Houston.

Thoughts?

It's been awhile since I posted. The girls and I had a great time at Disney World. We made alot of great memories.

As far as my finances go, I've been on track and everything is well on that front.

After work today we are headed to Canyon Lake and will probably float the Guadeloupe River. My parents and I both have seperated cabins that we rented. We are bringing all of our food. It should make for a nice, fun and relaxing weekend before school starts on Monday.

My floors are being installed now. I went about 2 months living with the demo/construction/dust part and it drove me bazirk.

My paycheck is already in my acct. I went thru my spreadsheet for a quick review. Paid bills online and moved everything else into categories using the zero based budget!

Today, I'll go return some books to the library. In a weeks time I've listened to one good audiobook and read 4 books. Three other audiobooks that I got I didn't like. Maybe because of the narrator's voice.

The bank is on the way. I need to stop in to get cash and fill my envelopes. I will also get alot of ones for tips. We are headed to Disney on Sunday.

I'm in planning mode. Planning out what we will be eating and navigation thru the parks that we are going to attend. We will be there for 6 nights and 7 days. Arrival and departure days will be spent at the hotel with 5 days at the park. We have already started packing. I am excited!

When I get back from the trip I will be reviewing my budget and tweeking it a bit more. I hope my stepdad finishes my floors by then. It's tough not having carpet or tile and it just be concrete with dust. I like things looking nice and tidy!

Waiting really does payoff. I signed up for Fabkids.com awhile ago but never bought anything. I saw they had a promo where I could get 2 outfits for $20 and still passed it up. Today, they sent me an "invitation only" email for a free outfit and I only pay $4.95 shipping. I jumped on it! I think we will pair it with leggings under the skirt. Do you like it?

I saw Scottish Girl post her menu and I thought I better get my butt in gear. Things flow easier when you have a plan.

I have 3 onions that I need to use.

Breakfasts - Oatmeal w/blueberries, cereal and toast w/jelly and fruit.

Snacks - Fruit, popcorn and nuts

Lunch - Soup, salads and sandwiches

Dinners -
Cucumber salad w/ quinoa
Beets w/lentil soup
Chili no meat
Egg plant and left overs
Pancakes
Summer squash w/onions
Left overs

I just saw a post on menu planning and I thought hey I better get my butt in gear! I have 3 onions that I need to use.

Here's what I'm having:

Bfasts - Toast w/jelly, oatmeal w/blueberries, cereal (need to finish the box so I can get a better kind that I will like)

Lunch - soup, sandwiches, salads (all work provided)
Snacks - fruit, popcorn, nuts

Dinner -
Mon - Cucumber salad and fruit
Tues - Summer squash w/onions and quinoa
Wed - Lentil soup and beets
Thurs - chili w/no meat
Fri - left overs and egg plant
Sat - open
Sun - open

Right now I'm down to one book that I will finish this week.

I looked on Audible.com's website at the NY Times Bestseller audiobooks. Then requested every single one of them that I wanted from my library (all non fiction)! There were only two books that my library didn't have available cd that I got in print.

My commute to/from work is killer hence the audiobooks to keep me sane!

Have you read any books recently that you would recommend or just any in general that were good reads?

I've been spending lately but its budgeted money.

The ac went out in my car last Wednesday. I quickly drove it to the shop to have it looked at and that was $20. Brought the car back on Friday for the repairs and used a $50 coupon the bill was $1913.22. The ac compressor was replaced, drier, expansion valve, condensor assembly and they recharged the system with refrigerant. I used money in my car maintenance budget.

I started school shopping! I've bought everything for DD2 except for school supplies which I will get tomorrow after work!

Here's what I got..

The Children's Place using a 25% off coupon and free shipping.
-5 pr of jeggings
-10 tshirts
-2 skirts
-2 shrugs
-1 blue jean romper
-2 ballet flats
-1 sandals
-1 backpack

Zulily
-4pr of Tom's shoes

She's stocked on socks and undies. Her clothes she had now with these clothes will last her a good while!

I bought DD1 2 pr of Tom's and I'd like to get her som Sperry's.
I've got a list of things she needs.
I hope to have things done sooner rather than later!

The last week of June I mentioned that DD1 got a job walking the neighbors dog. She walked the dog for 7 days, an hour a day and got $20. The dogs are now staying with family members because the neighbors have their house up for sale.

We had another neighbor call last minute while they were out of town. A family member that they had watching their dog had to go out of town. My daughter kept that dog at our house from Sunday night to Wednesday afternoon (yesterday). The family will be back in town today and she will get paid. We do not know how much she will be paid.

Back to the neighbor that she was dog walking for. They are going out of town as asked DD1 last night if she could water their yard for a week and they would pay her $100. She jumped on it! Then she got a text msg later saying that comes with her keeping their bird and the ladies husband forgot to mention it. I told DD1 that I was okay with the bird staying with us.

I am very excited that she has got these 3 jobs within the past two weeks. We are learning as we go! When she is asked to do something she'll need to run it by me first then go back to the person with finer details and letting them know how much she will charge for the job instead of just accepting whatever the person is willing to pay.

I found out that a dog walker in our area makes $1 to $1.50 a minute and they normally only walk the dog for 30minutes because it is so hot outside. I would rather her run over to the persons house two-three times a day instead of the animal staying at my house.

I'm going sit down with her tonight and make some business cards on Vistaprint!