SecretarySaving

Yesterday at the office I had a meeting catered and not everyone ate. The meeting was pretty intense I'm guessing! I ordered salads. I had one for lunch and brought some home for DD1 and I to have for dinner. DD2 is with her dad.

Today, we had our weekly catered lunch. Salmon, rice pilaf, mixed veggies, bread roll and there were two cake choices. Italian creme and German Chocolate! I had a small plate, not really hungry.

On Friday I received an offer from the interview that I had last week. I told the HR lady where I was at pay wise before going on the interview.

What they offered me is 3% and I told her is that the best you guys can do and I was told yes. That the job is listed for $5K less than what I make but that they were will to go up for me. I will be at that in 6mths when I get my raise and I will have a full year to get all of my bonus verses if I jump ship. With the new company only being there 6mths, most likely won't get a full raise or bonus.

I really thought they'd offer more! Like 10! I'm not desperate or looking for a job. I was recommended by someone who worked with me at my current place of employment. Oh, and they aren't offering the flex schedule that I have come to love. Half day Fridays! Once you have that you are spoiled. I schedule my Dr appts, run errands, take a nap, etc!

I'm going to have to turn down the offer.

DD1 has her first job! Dog walking. How exciting!

Our subdivision has a resident that set up and maintains a Facebook page. At the pool the other day someone suggested that I join.

A lady posted that she had fallen down the stairs and needs for someone to walk her puppy. Turns out she lives about 7 houses down from me. She is an english school teacher. It won't last a long time because this lady will heal and they are also selling thier house. They are not moving far at all and if my daughter does a great job then she might need for for pet sitting at some point.

DD1 is excited! She starts on Monday and will walk the dog at 7pm. This works out well because DD1 usually goes to the gym to exercise. Why not get your exercise in and get paid? Sounds good to me. She is such an animal lover she'd do it for free. The lady asked about money and my daughter told her "I'm just here because I love animals, you can decide that". How sweet so on by Monday I'm sure the lady will look up the going rate and decide pay. She will be walking the dog Mon-Thurs. YAY!

I had an interview yesterday. It was for an Office Manager position for another midstream oil and gas company here in downtown Houston.

The interview went really well! I met with 4 people. There are only 5 people in this office. It is a satellite office. The company started in 2010 and has had 22 aquisitions within 3 years. They have 690 employees in 47 states. They just moved the Houston office to this new location they were originally two buildings away and they have been in the new location for two weeks now. The office has new equipment and futniture. The folks that I met with seemed very pleasant. We'll see if they make an offer!

I'm feeling really good that I have had two interviews this year from ex employees that moved to new companies and value my work so much that they think of me to bring on board!

I treated myself to a small starbucks frap.

Friday - The girls went to the pool and I managed to sneak in a nap. Then later that evening I took them to see Peter Pan at the Houston Ballet. They had such a great time! The parking meter was $5 and I paid with a $10 and come to find out you don't get change back.

Saturday - My Stepdad came over and we pulled up the carpet and tile downstairs.

Sunday - I made my lunch meals for the week and filled up my car with gas. Went to the pool. Had dinner at my moms.

I forgot to place my Greenling order for delivery tomorrow so I placed it today and I will have it on Thursday. I used an online coupon that saved me $22!

As promised here are the pictures from my Greenling delivery last Monday.

The bins that the food comes in.


The "Local Box" which is a different mix each week of varied produce.


Engine 2 Diet Meals
Everything in this crate is labeled and portioned out. There was even garlic and lemon zest in small containers. The five meals lasted us more than that because I brought left overs to work and we still have things like spring mix, carrots, etc. I can't say enough how much I really like this! For a busy mom working full time this is easy to put together and healthy.


Yesterday we received our second delivery.
Below is what we got with the farm that it came from.
I also added a surprise item (green onions) and some apples.

Sweet Corn - Gundermann Acres
Blackberries - Wheeler Farms
Peaches - Cooper Farms
Mango - G&S Groves
Summer Squash - Gundermann Acres
Kale - Gundermann Acres
Asian Greens Bag - My Father’s Farm
Red Potatoes - Gundermann Acres
Spaghetti Squash - My Father’s Farm
Yellow Onions - Gundermann Acres

The Engine 2 Diet this week is
1)Portobello Fajitas with Black Beans
2) Baked Sweet Potato w/ Roasted Peppers, Greens and Cashew Sauce;
3) Spinach Mushroom Stacked Enchiladas w/ Black Beans
4) Mac and Cash w/ Greens
5) Savory Lentil and Greens Soup.
All ingredients are organic and/or local and sustainably produced ingredients and come already washed, prepped and portioned.

So there are my meals for the week! Included in the box was a bumper sticker and some green bags to help store some of the items. I love freebies!

If you'd like to place an order drop me a note and I can give you a referral link to save 10% off your order. There are also coupon codes online that I've been using!

I thought the Baby Steps would take me forever when I started but now looking back, it really didn't take long at all.

I am now on Dave Ramsey's Baby Step #6 Paying Off House Early. Today I sent in my payment with an additional $500 towards the principal. YAY! I am so excited.

I hope to have the house paid off before I am 40!

I am trying out a company called Greenling.com. They deliver fresh produce, meat, diary, honey, etc. all things organic from farms that are local to my area.

This all started when I was looking for the perfect birthday gift for my stepdad. I ordered him a box of fresh organic fruits and veggies then I wanted to give it a try. You know one of those presents that you really want for yourself!

I ordered the "local box" which is a mix of different items from several farms and I added in five meals for two people. Then I used a coupon code I found off the internet and that deducted $35 off of my total and the local box is $34.99. Wow! I'm excited to see how things turn out.

I really like that I am supporting my community and that the items are delivered right to my door. Oh, how I am tired of going to the store these days. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

DD1 has 5 girlfriends over spending the night. She made them chicken and broccoli rice dinner and made a chocolate cake which they barely touched. I hope they finish it in the morning. So far, they have stayed outside jumping on the trampoline and inside her room. I thought I was going to be banished to my room so they could have the tv since we only have one. I'm sure that will happen when DD2 goes to sleep so they can watch scary movies.

I cleaned out my coupon binder and planned a trip to CVS tomorrow.

Tomorrow, after DD2's gymnastics I'm taking her to the Children's Festival. I will get in alot of walking! DD2 is going with family to a motorcross race.

In my 2013 Goals for travel I saved to go to the Beach, Hill Country and Louisiana. Change of plans!

We are going to Disney World!(insert big scream here)
Needless to say I used the $1400 I had saved and some money that I had sitting to book the trip. You may have heard Dave Ramsey advertise the 2013 Christian music vacation at the Swan and Dolphin Disney Resort? Well that is what I booked. We will be able to enjoy concerts as a family, have morning devotional, attend the Disney parks. It's going to be so much fun!

The only things that I need to look further into are airfare (waiting on a good price), lunch & dinner options, souvineer/tip money.

This has motivated my weight loss!

I am on a roll today!

I both emailed and mailed a letter to my mortgage company asking what the minimum balance on my mortgage should be for PMI to be removed. I also asked them what the procedure is to cancel it.

Last year when I was trying to do a refi (that I bailed on) I paid for an appraisal that is still good thru 7/2013. It may now come in handy!

I believe I am eligible to cancel the PMI.

Tomorrow I will be sending a check to fully fund my Roth IRA for the year! I am excited! I've already emailed my financial planner this morning to get the exact pay off amount and the link/log in/pw to view online.

The payoff should be a tad bit over $3100 since I have a $200/mth bank draft to the account.

It's been awhile since I've posted. I was off for Spring Break and I had a great time with my daughters. I am a little scared to admit but I completely went off the deep end. I knew that I had my work bonus $1713 and child support come in $2K for Feb and $2K for March. I spent money. All conscious decisions and I was paying attention to the amount. I just spent more than I normally would have. Frankly, I don't even know how much I have in my checking account with things still pending. It's so not like me. I just disconnected from keeping track and budgeting things out. Now I have the joy of going through my receipts and seeing what has hit and what hasn't. I normally use an envelope system and get cash every payday to fill my envelopes and I did not do that. I've been using the debit card.

I bought horse riding lessons for both girls at $40/each for 2 one hour classes on LivingSocial. I thought that they'd get on a horse and be led around in a circle a few times and that would be it. Boy was I wrong! The girls had to brush the horses, saddle them (with help)and they were on the horse riding for 1.5hrs! It was such a joy to watch them. No helmets and no one next to them. They were in a pin with others riding. By the end of the day they were trotting on the horse. DD1 absolutely loved it. There were girls there her age that were working and just giving out pointers and she felt comfortable. That evening she was hurting. The inside of her thighs and her rib cage hurt. She told me that it was hard pulling herself up on the horse with no help. DD2 got scared when they wanted her to trot wit her horse. She thought she'd fall off. The place they went to is a working farm and I could really see that everyone there was to do thier own work. When DD2 got off her horse she walked over to me and then she got called back to unstrap the saddle for her horse and help carry the blanket and put it up.

I also bought one month of gymnastics lessons for DD2 on Groupon for $34.00 she starts this week. After this weekend I'm going to give some thought about keeping DD1 in horseback riding lessons and DD2 in gymnastics since I am now receiving child support.

We went to eat at a few restaurants and went to the movies. I took DD1 to Cirque du Soleil just a date with the two of us. We had such a nice time. I bought those tickets on LivingSocial too. You can score great deals!

We cleaned the house, took things to the Goodwill, brought in a side table and chair (from the garage) for DD2 to put her in her room and make a little desk area.

Yesterday while in my mothers neighborhood we walked and picked up free newspapers that get delivered (low income area). She helped me clip coupons. She was really showing an interest after watching Extreme Couponers. I was glad to have her help.

Kohl's is clearancing out their furniture and I've been keeping and eye on a couch and table. I bought them! The couch was normally $799 and the sale price was $179.99. The table was normally $369.99 and the sale price was $83.24. I had a $10 coupon and a 20% coupon that I used. I also bought 3 pr of work pants. Total was $293.75 and I got back $10 Kohls cash. Saved $1024! DD1 and I carried the couch upstairs (its in a box). We have alot of Girl Power going on at my house! Last night I assembled the dining table while watching The Bible on the History Channel. I wish the chairs to the table weren't sold out I would have snagged those.

Lastly, everyone got some new spring clothes!

I've got 7 packets of smoothies from Weight Watchers that I need to use up so everyday of the week for breakfast I will have a smoothie. I tried to add some variety.

Breakfast
Mon-Banana Blueberry Smoothie
Tues-Mint Cookies and Cream Smoothie
Wed-Cappucino Frappe
Thurs-Mint Cookies and Cream Smoothie
Fri-Banana Vanilla Smoothie
Sat-Mint Cookies and Cream Smoothie
Sun-Mint Cookies and Cream Smoothie

For lunch I'll have a sandwich and cup of soup everyday with a piece of fruit.

Morning and afternoon snacks will be a cheesestick, jello, apple, orange or yogurt.

Dinner
Mon-Blackeyed Peas and beets
Tues-Spaghetti and greenbeans
Wed-Leftovers
Thurs-Baked potatos
Fri-Beans and rice
Sat-Pot Roast with onions, carrots and potatos
Sun-Leftovers

I like havin a plan!

CVS
I did two transactions to minimize my out of pocket.
Paid $7.10 and got back $2.99 ECB's
Here's the breakdown..

Transaction 1
2 Almay Shadows @7.79/ea
-$5/2 mf
-$3 CVS coupon
-$2 CVS coupon
=$6.04 got back $4 ECB's

Transaction 2
2 Sparkle papertowels 2/$10
1 Jellybeans .99
1 Poise 4.99
-$3 CVS poise coupon
-$3 Poise coupon
-$1 Sparkle coupon
-$1 Sparkle coupon
-$4 ECB's from transaction 1
-$3 off of $15 CVS coupon
=$1.06 got back $2.99 ECB's for next time!


Kroger
3 Chips - Free Samples
Cheese marked down $1.49
Grapes $1.71
Total $3.20


Walgreens
$7.88 for 24 bars
These were ringing up $.99/ea with B1G1 and printing
$2 RR and I was able to pay for 2 transactions with my RR. I did 4 transactions of 6 bars. These are great to keep in the car for when the girls start hollaring they are hungry.

In all I spent $18.18 and saved $52.32.

It's Spring Break and I'm doing a little spring cleaning. Today, I went through some papers that needed to be filed and came across the following:

Profit sharing is based on 1% of my base annual earnings.
2012-$567.48

I just started my Roth IRA in 2012.
Roth IRA as of 1/31/2013
$1591.61

I just started my 401K in 2012.
401K as of 12/31/2012
$9253.69

I stopped by Kroger yesterday on my way home to pick up allergy meds and got the following 15 items for $10.74.



-(2) Orville popcorn w/Redbox code .56 -.50mfc=.06/ea
- Bounty paper towel 1.00-.25mfc=.75
- Progress soup .48
- Bush beans .21
- Kroger beans .29
- Kroger kleenex .49
- Jiffy cornbread mix .29
- Canned cranberry .22
- Deodorant .34-.50mfc= +.16
-(2) Luna bars 1.00/ea-FREE catalina=FREE
-(2) Beef (grassfed) $3.59/ea
- M&M's peanut butter .77

Total $10.74

I used $3.75 in coupons. Regular price for the meat was $5/ea so not a bad deal.

I received an order yesterday in the mail.
It is $235.61 and due in 10 days.
After talking to the perscription call center I am not able to return the perscriptions (even though unopened) and I am responsible for the bill.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get out of this? I wasn't expecting to pay that much and frankly, I just want to send everything back and be done.

I stopped by Randalls on my way home last night and picked up the following items.

I heard back on my interview that I had last week. My salary is about $10K more than they are willing to pay for an admin position. The HR lady said that they will keep me in mind on other positions that would be a better fit.

This is still great news because while I was interviewing with the two VP's seperately they both thought that I would be better suited for a scheduling position (scheduling natural gas). The hiring VP told me that they had 3 scheduler positions open. So since they were the ones to reach out to me I will sit tight.

Since the begining of the year I've dropped my mortgage down from $110,207.95 to $108,579.95. That's pretty good progress for two months! The thing that irritates me is that when I make and additional payment towards the principle it gets applied toward the blanace and they keep extending my payment due month. I have to call and have them issue a credit back and apply it properly. It's an ordeal! I definately have to stay on top of it.

I bought a tree yesterday! One of my goals was to purchase 2 fruit trees for my back yard. I was aiming for two trees at $20/each. Instead I ended up getting one tree for $42. My daughters have been eating alot of "Cuties" lately so I bought a Clementine tree. It should start producing fruit in October!

Other than that I am trying to plan things out that we will do on Spring Break and look into a new cellphone plan for my daughter. Right now I pay $45/mth but I saw something over the weekend and I'm hoping to get it down to $19/mth.

I'm pretty excited that I have an interview today.

Yesterday I received an email from an HR lady that works for a company that I used to work for prior to where I am now.

One of the VP's that I support recently moved over to that company a few months ago and now she is seeking me out to see if I would have any interest in supporting her and her group along with another VP and his group. I am very flattered that she thinks highly of me and my work to go this extra mile to try to bring me aboard.

Since I have worked at this company before I am familiar with their processes and culture. Last night I was playing out the pro's and con's but I will have more after the interview today.

Monday-Pork stirfry and rice

Tuesday-Jason's Deli salads (free using Jason's Deli Dollars)

Wednesday-Steak, baked potatoes, chocolate covered strawberries and heart shaped cookie cake

Thursday-Leftovers

Friday-Grilled cheese and soup

Snacks-cutie oranges, bananas, celery w/laughing cow, cheese sticks, yogurt

Today I made some moves as in moving money out of my checking account. That large sum was making me nervous I didn't want to stick my hand in the cookie jar and blow it!

Here is where it went.

Property taxes $3082
Christmas $283
Vacation $1100
Flooring labor $2000
Sponsor Son $342

I've fully funded my Property Taxes $3700.
I've fully funded my Christmas Account $400.
I've fully funded my Vacation Fund $1400.
I've fully funded my Flooring Labor $2000.
I've paid my yearly dues for my Sponsor Son $476.

Yesterday I bought 5 rose bushes for my yard.

I sent $860 from yesterdays paycheck to pay down the principle for my mortgage(2).

I am making headway with my goals for the year.

I was so surprised at how fast the money was in my account just days after I filed. I use TurboTax and absolutely love it!!
My withholding allowance that I select is 5.
My return was $3336.

Something that was different for me this year is I did not get a child tax credit for my 17 year old and that is because she is 17

Right now I am parking this $3336 and I will also park the $4500 child support and wait until March when I get my bonus and then decide how the money will be used. I find it best for me to give alot of thought and play out scenerios before making a move.

I had court last week regarding back due child support.

No punishment was given which I thought there would be. Instead another payment plan was offered and we have to go back to court every two months to make sure that my ex is making progress.

My lawyer was able to get him to run to the bank to get a cashiers check for $4500. I mailed the check off so that he would get credit for it.

(1)He is to pay me the $200 it took to file by EOM February.

(2)Pay my lawyer $1500 in $200 increments starting 2/15 until paid in full.

(3)Pay the remaining child support owed $1913 in $300 increments starting 2/15 until paid in full.

(4)Set up college fund in the amt of $5608.50 due EOM April.

February's payment is due. I am glad that we went to court and that I stay on top of this.

I've read (3) books this month that I checked out from the library. It felt like I read more.

-The Bag Book by Vivki Lansky
-Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards
-You Are Made for More by Lisa Osteen Comes

DD1&DD2 will eat bfast and lunch at school.
I will have a shake w/banana for bfast.
Fruit, veggies, cheese sticks for snacks.
My job provides food for employees so I will have lunch there.

Dinner
M-crockpot chicken, rice, carrots and green beans
T-chicken chili w/saltine crackers
W-chicken soup w/grilled cheese sandwiches
Th-leftovers
F-tacos w/rice and beans
Dessert - jello and banana bread w/cool whip

I have a $75 grocery budget to last me for 2 weeks. I spent $73.49 for the items below.


Kroger
All of these canned items were in the reduced for sale section. Some of the cans are dented.
-canned pumpkin
-peas
- (2)beets
-beans
-(4)green beans
-reduced for sale milk
Total $6.72 for 10 items


Kroger
-(5)cereal
-(2)jello 4pks
-(2)peanut butter
-bread
-bananas
-(2)strawberries
-blueberries
-veggie tray
-mushrooms
-whole chicken
-(2)hot dogs
-turkey sausage
-(2)ground turkey
-(2)toothbrushes
-(2)floss
-markers
-(4)shaving gel
-(2)laundry detergent
-dishwasher tabs
-syrup
-salad dressing
-pickles
-salsa
-tater tots
-sugar
-toilet paper
Total $63.60 for 41 items

*not pictured $3.17 spent on card and gift wrap

Finally I had a loss after 3 weeks of gaining weight and putting on 5.2 pounds. I could tell the difference in my clothes with the gain. It's not alot but since being on Weight Watchers I am more aware.

This past weekend I gave my sister two bags of clothes and in one of them contained my fat pants. These were the comfy pants that are nice dark denim and stretchy. I loved those pants. My sister texted and said "the pants fit great". I didn't let on that these were my fat pants haha. I am glad she will enjoy them.

In the Weight Watchers meeting I got my first charm. It is a small token award for being on the program for 16 weeks.

I received court papers from my lawyer. My ex was served last week.
He currently owes $12,021.50.
They added on 6% interest to the Child Support and Medical to the tune of $363.00.

There are 3 violations
(a) Child Support
(b) Medical
(c) Failing to open College Fund and pay settlement in a timely manner.

The paper work states very serious requests of the court.
-Jailed up to 180 days for each violation
-Fined up to $500 for each violation
-Confinement until respondent complies with order of the court
-Income withheld
-Reimbursement for Attorney costs and fees

I have a court date at the end of the month. Since my attendance is required, I am guessing that we will meet in a conference room and work out yet another settlement that both parties can agree to and take that to the judge.