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Archive for July, 2009

Where does the time go?

August 1st, 2009 at 05:11 am

I haven't been on here almost all week, and I haven't posted in FOREVER! Hopefully before the weekend is up, I'll have some updates on coupon savings etc for the last month or two. I've been trying to catch things up.

I'm intentionally avoiding posting updates to our debt. It's totally disgusting and depressing. We haven't figured out a real solution to come up with sizable chunks of cash on a regular basis. Ugh! I went for a health risk assessment, and they said my blood pressure was up a little. No wonder!! Stressing over money will do that to you.

Actually, though, when he told me the reading, I thought it was good. 123/70. That used to be ok, but apparently anything over 120 on top is now considered pre-hypertension. oh, swell.

~~~

In cheerier news, I'm down another 1/2 pound. That's not really something worth celebrating by itself, but it puts me down 11.5 pounds, so I'm happy with it. I also found a penny both yesterday and today.

It's supposed to rain here tomorrow. Hopefully after I get done with outdoor chores and running errands, I'll have a chunk of time left to do some organizing. My office is a mess, and I have some things I'd like to list on Ebay or CL.

Clink, clink

July 21st, 2009 at 04:11 am

That's the sound of the quarter and penny I found today dropping into my coin jar. The penny was actually in my driveway and it was barely recognizable as a coin in the gravel. It's all corroded and dirty, but somehow I spotted it.

The quarter was outside in the parking lot of a grocery store. It was raining, and I glanced into one of the parking spots as I walked past. I almost didn't venture off the sidewalk to look further since I thought it was a bottle cap. Glad I looked! The people in the parked on either side were watching me, but I don't care.

I've been dragging lately at work, and my stupid solution is to hit the vending machine for a quick snack. It's so stupid for many reasons. #1. I'm trying to lose weight. #2. I really can't afford to waste the money. #3. I'll scrounge around for coupons and only buy good deals at the grocery store, yet I'll waste 75 cents on a single serving of something? The sensible me just flies out the window, and it doesn't help if I bring healthy snacks from home. I'll have those, but then I'll ALSO have something else. Ugh! Must put a stop to it!!

Jackpot!

July 19th, 2009 at 02:57 am

Maybe my dry spell of not finding much on the ground has ended. I found a dime at a tractor dealer today. (I had just spent 50 cents on M&M's, and we were about to spend $500+ on parts, so it wasn't quite as big a thrill as it should have been.)

I found another dime at Walmart by the register, and it wasn't even at my register. It was a self-checkout one and something made me look back at it as I walked by. Sure enough, it was waiting for me.

The jackpot came at another parts store. I saw a small wad of "paper" and thought to myself that it looked like the big stamp that's on the book of stamps. I know it's not really a big stamp but hopefully you know what I mean - the part they scan. I picked it up and that's what it was with one stamp on it still...until I flipped it over. Holy cow!!! There were all 10 stamps still on the other side!! It was folded so much that I have to guess it was jammed into somebody's wallet or pocket, and fell out when they pulled something else out. It wasn't even near the register, so it wasn't when they went to pay. They are Forever stamps too.

So, 44c x 11 = $4.84
plus 10c
plus 10c = $5.04

Now that's what I call a GOOD day.

~~~~

It's sadly overshadowed by the fact that we keep needing parts to repair equipment, and our debt is accumulating. But, I've learned to take the little doses of good luck for the momentary happiness they bring to my day.




Dreamed I met Ima! Hilarious!!

July 12th, 2009 at 03:58 pm

This is just too funny. I had many, many oddball dreams last night. In one of them, we were at some type of gathering and I left the table for awhile. When I came back, my husband said he'd sold one of our dogs but bought something in return from the lady - a ferret! Once I got over the "what were you thinking" shock, I looked at the check he had, and it was signed Julie something-or-other and it was stamped in red words or maybe it was a background on the check that said "Ima Saver". So, then I was all curious who she really was, and made him point her out to me. She was in the back of the room, was tall with short hair and glasses, and had a pretty scarf around her neck that went with her outfit.

So, Julie, are you tall? Do you have glasses? Short hair? Wear scarves? Often sell ferrets to people that don't need them? Smile

I can't imagine where in my brain this dream emerged from, and we don't even live in the same part of the country, but I came up with the following possibilities:
1) We went to an auction yesterday (a gathering of people)
2) There was a lady with a Capuccian (sp?) monkey there (not a ferret, but not a "normal" pet either)
3) Hubby bought too many things, considering we are short on money (this is most definitely where the "what were you thinking" sub-conscious anger came into the dream!)
4) I read these blogs just before going to bed last night, and Ima Saver's was one of the last I read.

My other dreams are not quite as memorable, although there was one where I went back to visit people at my old company, and made some pretty rude comments to the guy at the front desk about getting laid off. He was nothing more than a security guard, the poor guy, and had nothing to do with the decision not to continue my employment into this year.

My analysis of this one is pretty straightforward:
1) DH & I talked yesterday about checking in with them to see if they'd thought about contracting any work out again.
2) Our financial situation stinks and it is directly related to not having this job anymore, as the one I have now doesn't pay nearly as much as the old one did and which our bills fit.
3) I still have some anger or disappointment over the whole situation.
4) In order not to burn bridges, I never vented my anger with the people responsible for the decisions. I tried to handle it all professionally, although I never took it out on the poor security guard!!

Whew! What a busy night!!

It's not your fault! Really?!? How so?

July 11th, 2009 at 07:24 pm

I'm gonna scream if I hear that commercial one more time!! It's a radio ad for some American something-or-other credit card counseling place that promises to help you with your debt. They actually say the words "It's not your fault". Hellllooooooo! Whose fault is it then? Did someone make you spend all that money on plastic?

Now, believe me, we have a whopper of credit card debt. So I'm not talking "down" to people that do. But it IS our fault, 100%. I hope to be able to take care of it a little at a time, but never once in all the time that it took to accumulate it or the time that it will take to pay it back will I EVER think that it was not our fault.

I get steaming mad every time I hear the ad. Responsibility for one's own actions just seem to be a thing of the past.

Thoughts?

Simple pleasures

July 11th, 2009 at 06:14 am

I've decided that I must be pretty easy to please. Aside from all the negative things that have been happening financially, I took simple pleasure in the past few weeks from:

1) a 25 cent teddy bear I bought at Walgreens to put on my desk at work. He makes me smile, so it was worth a quarter.

2) $2 shoes that I bought at the thrift store. I needed a better pair of black shoes for work. I tried on several different pairs, but none fit right. Then I saw this one other pair that wasn't my normal style. Kind of like clogs, because they have no back to them. Thick soles, sort of platform like, but not real tall. They were not my normal "style", if I really have one, but it felt like I was standing on a big thick cushion. They are the best!!! The comfort sold me totally, especially since my heel has been sore lately, either from a stone bruise or heel spur. I've worn them almost every day since at work and they are GREAT!!

3) a nickel I found on the ground at a quick shop. It was under the counter, sort of, where someone must have dropped it. One lousy nickel, the first money I've found in a month! But it made my day that day.

4) a free heart health screening. I paid for one of these back a few months ago, and then I saw a local hospital is having a free one at the end of the month. They measure height, weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. This will be super, since I've been dieting and really trying to improve my eating habits (okay, except for the last week or so). I might try to lie to myself, but the numbers won't. I know the scale is down close to 9 pounds since I did the last screening. What I'm so interested to find out is whether I have improved my cholesterol levels, which were running a little high. They just HAVE to be better. I went from eating a lot of junk food to eating 2-3 fruits a day, cutting out a lot of starchy foods, and eating fresh veges more. Three more weeks to go until the screening. I hope to be down three more pounds by then, and I hope to see some improvements in all the measurements.

Wish me luck!!

Not in a blogging mood lately

July 5th, 2009 at 03:28 pm

This is my first entry in a few weeks, and I can't decide if I've just been too busy or if that's an excuse for not wanting to own up to some "failures". (Mind you, I don't personally feel like a failure because of these, since I know that it wasn't some luxury spending that caused it, but they are still failures to keep on track with everything.)

#1: Inability to pay the one credit card that we ALWAYS pay in full each month. I don't even want to look at what this added to the totals on the sidebar, so I didn't update it yet. It will be ugly. I was so happy to see the totals drop under $29K, and now I'm sure we're back over $30K. What caused it? Repairs and maintenance to equipment, lack of a crystal ball, and poor planning. Ugh!

#2: Purchase of a new refrigerator on credit! I fought this for 2 - 3 weeks, as we tried to revive the one we had. We got it working sort of, but knew it was doomed and it would be just a matter of time. I called about several used ones, but none were as cheap as I wanted to pay for used. I have to admit that we were being picky here - we didn't just want any old fridge, it "had" to be one with ice & water in the door. (*hanging head in shame here*) Anyhow, I shopped around, and did end up with a great deal on a brand spanking new one, and I love it. I bargained hard with the sales crew, and got free delivery 40+ miles from the store. And the happy ending is that it's a 3-year 0% interest credit. That sucker will be paid off well in advance of the 3 years, mark my words!

DH & I had some good discussions about how to handle our growing money crisis. Without farm expenses, we could make it just fine. Adding in the labor and other expenses to keep things going, the farm income doesn't pay for itself. We may limp along through the hay season, since that brings in some money. Most of what we cut we end up using. We'll try to sell more critters, though, and will let some of the hired help go. I don't think we solved anything, but we at least had a decent discussion. This is a big plus as most of our money discussions are chaotic, with him saying he doesn't understand where it all goes (but at the same time he doesn't want to hear the details of where it all goes). It's been a struggle to discuss things like this for many years, so maybe we made a little teeny headway.

I have to update my coupons and spending and all that jazz, but have been putting it off. I got burned out on finding great deals, mostly because money has been so tight. A great deal is great only if you really need the item or will absolutely use it. I have razors and toothpaste and deoderant in stock for the next year, so I don't need any more of those deals. I have been shopping more at a discount grocery store, and they don't take coupons, but I still consider those great deals. When I tally it all up, I'm hoping our overall spending per week will be down because of it.

My last gripe for the day is that I haven't found any money on the ground in a long time!! I used to always find coins, sometimes daily. It's so weird, like all of a sudden everybody ahead of me started looking at the ground and finding the coins, or everyone got more careful and quit dropping it!

Well, this was quite long and depressing, but at least I got it out in the open. I feel somewhat better!