Mamasita's Quest for Financial

I have increased my deferred compensation contribution by 25%. If I just leave it at this new amount, I should have enough for retirement. I should also have my employer's contribution in the form of a pension, but I've always been told not to rely on that. So at least this way I have my own retirement savings to rely on, and pension/social security will be additional. It is a very loose retirement plan, but I'm tightening it up as time goes on.

I am 3 weeks into my second class, 7 weeks to go! Most of my studying and video watching is done on the weekends, and my live online class is one night a week. It makes for many hours of work on the weekends, but I would rather cozy up with my notes, coffee and computer on the weekend than rush through a video here and there after the kids are in bed. I go to bed the same time they go to bed!

In the next month or so I will be shaping up my goals for next year, hard to believe!

I took the girls trick or treating this year. Usually their dad does this, but he was working out of town this week. We all had a blast, my mom's neighborhood really went all out for it. You could tell the adults at each house were having as much fun as the kids!

November 1, fresh start of a new month. Now that we are not selling the house after all I can take out the decorations that I have. I don't have too many decorations, I have really been training myself to say "no" over the years! I've been decorating with live gourds and pumpkins that I just toss at the end of the season, so combined with the few decorations I do have the house will look just right.

I have done a little bit of Christmas shopping but I need to pick up the pace. I have some money set aside this paycheck to order a few more gifts.

Sticking to my workout plan and limiting eating out is a priority this month. It will keep me healthy and keep me sane, nothing compares to the endorphin rush after a good run!

The whole family was home due to the storm. We've had nonstop rain and wind for two days now, yuck. I guess it all comes to land tonight?

I filled the day with homework for my online class. I also started an apron that I am sending SO's sister for a birthday gift. It is almost complete. The girls and I baked cookies as well.

SO and I came up with a basic financial plan to keep the house if she gets orders to D.C. Managing two households will be tight, but doable. The good news is that I helped SO refinance with her mortgage lender, they did a streamlined refinance over the phone. After all the paperwork goes through we will save about $280 a month! We are both thrilled, and that will really help us keep the house and an apartment for work.

Besides that there isn't much going on. Just Waiting. And shuddering everytime a big wind wooshes by, praying it doesn't knock out a window.

Today I finished errands: picked up a refill of meds for $5.00, got our regular groceries (only $51, a savings of $30!), and dropped off a check to my daughter's voice teacher. Now I can hide out in the house until this storm passes.

This afternoon we discovered a leak in our upstairs bathroom, from the window made of glass blocks. Luckily it is dripping right into the bathtub, but we will have to deal with that once the storm passes. It hasn't even hit yet, hoping this will be the extent of damage.

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing homework for the course I'm taking and graphing data collected from my students.

I ran 3 miles and did a quick 15 minute kettlebell and abs workout. It's amazing how fast your heartrate can go up just lifting some weights.

SO and I have decided that the girls and I will remain in this house when she gets her orders. She may be moving to D.C. which is only a few hours away. I want to keep the girls in their current schools and near family. Now we are just working on a budget to make all of this work out financially.

The girls just returned from their dad's house and are doing homework and crafts. Planning on a quiet night!

I was up at 4:30 to take SO to the airport, she's checking out a car whe wants to purchase a few states over. Apparently it's such a deal that it is worth the trip, we'll see when she gets back.
After the airport I headed over to Wal-mart (what else is open at 5am?) and picked up some "storm supplies": water, ramen noodles, toilet paper, wine. Only when I checked out did I discover that our state does not permit beer and wine sales until after 6am! Darn, there went my breakfast plans!
I got home and had enough time to run 2 miles on the treadmill, shower, and head to the car service station for some routine maintenance. While I waited I drank coffee and read a book, two of my favorite things!
When I came back home I did some cleaning before I picked up the girls from their dad's house. I was taking the oldest to pick out a Halloween costume. She's 13, a tough age for costumes- most costumes are either "kid costume" or "trampy costume". We lucked out and found one we both approved of, Red Riding Hood. Before I dropped them off with dad again we stopped at the new Target and picked up some ink for my printer, as I have more study guides to print out for my class.
I took a test for my class. We are allowed to take test A and B, and we keep the highest of the two grades. I took both of the tests, and scored a 78 and then a 95. I am going to take both tests every week. Not only does it give me an extra chance to improve my score, but it is also extra practice. 9 weeks to go!
All I have left to do tonight is print out my study guide and then pick up SO from the airport. She was planning on driving the car home, but with the impending storm she is choosing to have the car delivered later in the week.
Tomorrow I plan to sleep in, run, and do several hours of studying. I know this class is seriously cutting into my free time, but it will be worth it. Plus I still get to do the really important things- spend time with my family, work, and exercise, so it isn't that terrible. I just have to be very careful with my time.

I jogged 50 minutes this morning, so I will count that as 5 miles! That is a "long" run for me, usually I have been running about 3 miles at a time.

The rest of the day will be quiet as well. I have homework to do for my class, that can easily eat up the rest of the day. I also want to start sewing an apron I am going to give as a birthday gift.

I may also check out a thrift store for some work shirts. I look for well made ones that are professional yet comfortable. And if they get ruined by activities throughout the day then I won't get upset.

We are grilling ribs for dinner, looking forward to that! It's supposed to be in the low 80s today, love October around here and will enjoy the warm weather as long as it lasts!

SO will be receiving her new set of orders any day now. I went ahead and submitted an application for teaching positions at our potential new duty station, for next school year. This place doesn't post positions available but accepts applications throughout the year.

I started class #2 in the certification series. Scared of the hard work ahead but I went ahead and did it anyway. In 10 weeks I will be done with this class!

My ex is still looking for a new job since he retired from the military. Of course I'm annoyed at this but he has been paying the minimum child support, based on the retirement pay and rental income he receives. It's still half of what it used to be, though. Once his savings runs out he's really going to be taking the job hunt seriously, he has some hefty living expenses right now.

Despite that drop in monthly income, our family is happily moving along. Not saving as much as I used to, but that is what it is. Hopefully that situation will resolve itself soon.

Time for one more cup of coffee and then a three mile run on the treadmill to get my energy boost early in the day!

Although today was a cold, rainy Sunday, I've enjoyed puttering around the house getting things done in an easy fashion.

After church this morning SO and I decided to clean out the garage a bit. We tossed out the dollar store summer toys and some other things I was holding onto if we ever had a yard sale. Now I can happily say that both of our cars fit into our two car garage! I'm going to enjoy loading up the car from the garage this winter as opposed to the great outdoors!

I then made some tuna pasta salad for lunches this week and drank lots of coffee. After cooking I learned how to make a grocery tote bag out of a t-shirt off the internet. I made two bags out of old t-shirts, and they are pretty cute, if I say so myself!
Finally, I did a Rosetta Stone lesson online while dinner was cooking.

I love having fun without spending any money! It's only 6:30 right now, so I have the rest of the night to read and relax and get the kids all set up before we start another week. I will work on loosening up so I don't get so upset at the things I cannot control. No more complaining! That doesn't solve anything and only brings more negative things into my day.

Love my Fridays! My girls' dad should be back in town from his trip so the plan is for me to drop them off for the weekend after voice lessons. They will be happy to see him, he's been gone several weeks. I usually don't do much else on Friday nights, I'm pretty wiped out by the end of the week. Plus SO is on watch tonight til 10pm. I stopped at the thrift store last night, though, and picked up some easy reads so I will be content to read tonight!

I injured myself at work Wed lunging for the door when one of my students was having a huge meltdown and was about to make a break for it. I went ahead and used the workmans comp doctor to have it checked out. Pulled the hamstring. I'm bummed because it is a reinjury- 2 years ago I spent the summer going to physical therapy for that pulled hamstring! I really don't want to go through the long recovery process again.

Despite the work nonsense I want to get healthy again. Healthy body and healthy mind, I've been doing too much "thinking" and it's bringing me down. So work is not perfect, oh well. I have so many wonderful things in my life to be thankful for, I must step away from all of the negative thoughts and rejoice in the positive while taking steps to make things better. That's another reason why I picked up some cheap, easy reads. It's a way for me to relax and get my mind off of my problems.

What I do know is that shopping and buying some gadget, or "treating" myself to an expensive meal, is not going to make me feel better. Spending money I don't need to spend makes things worse, not better. At least I have learned that through the years!

September is always such a rough month for me. If the school system would start us out with appropriate staffing instead of playing hardball for a month or two, the school year could begin so much easier for everyone. Still waiting for the additional staff, but the desperation of the situation has been seen by the right people at least and I have been promised help.

I spent yesterday laying around, I was so exhausted from the work week. Later in the afternoon I got in the car and ran some errands, took DD to a birthday party, but that was about it. The rainy weather didn't help much, either.

I'm feeling much more refreshed this morning. I'm letting my coffee and yogurt digest a little bit and then I'm going to head outside to run. I rarely run outside because I like the weather to be "perfect". Today I just want to start running and see where I end up. I will go for time, no set distance. I will figure every 10 minutes of running equals a mile.

If the rain stays away today we will take the kids to the beach, there's a festival going on with all kinds of things to see and do.

I transferred my short term savings to my taxable investment account, so I'm starting over again with my numbers.

No eating out: 15/18 days

Just wanted to update midweek before I forgot!

All of the bills have left the account already, so I have the rest to live off of until next paycheck.

Today is a very important day at work. I'm fighting for more help in the classroom, which means my coordinator will be observing most of the day. I have a couple students who probably need more appropriate placements, too. If they were properly placed then I could run the classroom much more effectively, and all of the students would have a stronger education. Lots of paperwork is due for these cases as well. I have a meeting this morning, a doctors appointment at the end of the day and then I have to rush back to work for another meeting. I am looking forward to knocking these off of my plate today!

Last night we met up with friends (planned eating out!) for happy hour dinner and drinks. About $40 for the whole evening for 2 people, can't complain! It was really nice to be with my friends again, a nice break.

Today we run shopping errands and then we will head to a couple birthday parties. One for a baby who is turning 1, and the other for my dad. So we don't have to worry about dinner tonight.

My paycheck posted and everything is scheduled to go out through bill payer and automatic transfers. I still do my automatic savings. My retirement contribution is automatic, then when the balance of my paycheck hits my account I have savings taken out automatically for my cash savings. I've taken money out to pay for unexpected expenses as well as fun stuff like a vacation, it's my general extra cash account. When it gets past $5,000 it gets dumped into the taxable investment account, and I start all over. Not very exciting, and a little too simple for some, but it has been effective.

We did eat out Saturday, it was planned on the menu. We started with our favorite Indian place, delicious! We both ordered a drink but split an appetizer and entree. We still had enough left over for lunch the next day! Then we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for dessert because we had a gift card I had received after taking a survey. I will be having the rest of my cheesecake for dessert at work today, something nice to look forward to!

I ran 4 miles on Sunday and did 2 hours of work, just to make a dent in the mandatory paperwork. I also did a lot of driving around to pick up kids and drop them off at different places. I dropped my 13 year old at the mall with a friend, it was her first time without me with her. It was the same mall I used to hang out at when I was a kid, I am now officially OLD! Ha!

Lunches are all planned for the week, and dinners too, through Friday. The gas tank was filled yesterday, laundry is done, I want a smooth week!

No eating out: 7/9 days

I think that the only money I spent this week was $2 for a bottle of mineral water and an iced tea for my daughter to take her medicine with (I bribe her with a tasty drink to take fish oil capsules). Since the mineral water was for myself I have to count that as eating out.

So for the week thus far, 6/7 no eating out days.

Both of my girls are signed up for the lessons of their choice, so we have our weekly schedule down now. My coworkers and I started our workouts after school yesterday, so that will also become part of our routine. Now it is up to me to stick to my plans of getting some running miles down on the weekends. No one can do it for me!

Plans for the weekend include grocery shopping, putting together a present for my dad's birthday, running a bunch of miles, and doing a few hours of work. The girls will be spending the night with their grandparents tonight. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

I'm shell-shocked from the first week back! Our class is very BUSY- a very busy, young group. But really sweet, and so much potential! I can't wait for things to settle down and we can start to really see what our students can do. Right now we are still learning the schedule, getting them into a routine.

I'm pressed for time right now and I'll do more reflecting later, haven't had much chance to review the budget really.

No eating out:6/6 days

Nothing too exciting for us, but I was pleased. The girls had a few birthday gift cards to cash in so we took them to a few stores. Then we all went to the pool for a final swim before it closes for the season. Wah. I don't know why it closes so early in our neighborhood, it stays in the high 80s and 90s for a good month! It felt so nice to swim, though, something I've always loved doing.

After swimming I was energized and got on the treadmill. I ran 4 miles, yippee! After showering and a bit more cleaning in the house, we had dinner and dance class.

Last night I researched dance classes for youngest DD, and registered her for one that she has been interested in for a while. That is an additional $48 a month. Still checking into vocal lessons for my other DD. I will have to do a bit of rearranging with the budget to cover these new expenses. I'll wait until the weekend to do that. I've got enough to think about today!
This morning everything should go smoothly. Outfits are picked out, lunches are packed, even breakfast is laid out as much as possible. Now I just need the girls to cooperate!
I didn't spend any money on eating out this month so far- I was treated to dinner and I also used a birthday gift card for coffee, but that is it.
No eating out: 3/3 days

Yesterday I made it out to one store, despite my miserably sick state. I picked up more clothes for the girls and was able to take advantage of a shoe sale so that I could get new running shoes for myself for just $25! I came home and took a nap, then spent a few hours finishing up a blanket I started sewing.

I finally had a good night of sleep and I'm getting better. I plan to help the girls go through their clothes and shoes and get rid of everything that isn't going to get worn, then make a stop at the local thrift store to deliver the goods.

My friend and I will start our afterschool workouts starting tomorrow, I'm looking forward to that! It's more fun with a friend, but besides my afterschool workouts all my other workouts tend to be done at home whenever they can be fit in.

I plan to be much more organized with the lunch packing and clothes planning with the girls this year, to avoid any morning rush. I want everything done the night before that can be taken care of. I need to stick with that.

Yesterday was my birthday, and we celebrated by having everyone over to the house. This was the first party we've had where we made absolutely nothing from scratch. And it tasted delicious! To be fair, most of the food was made at the local deli(fried chicken!) and bakery, but it wasn't SO or myself putting in the work. It really didn't cost all that much, especially considering we fed 12 people. I also will get a rebate of $10 for buying deli products.

I did get spoiled for my birthday with gift cards for coffee and a restaurant. My family and friends know me so well! My parents gave me $100, which I was not expecting, that was very generous! Into savings that will go until I decide what to do with it.

All of the dusting and paper shuffling at work last week caught up to me. My allergies are suffering terribly, not a good way to welcome the students. I still have a few days to rest before the first day of class, so I'm hoping to get this out of my system this weekend. I've gotten very little sleep due to the cold symptoms, but I know with time I will flush all of this out of my system and be healthy again. I just need to take care of myself.

I'm debating whether I should register for the 2nd class or not. It's a very tough class, but necessary. However, it also costs $890. If employee reimbursement is available (it may be depleted already) they have capped it at $620 per employee.
Classes start October 15 so I will need to decide soon. Another drawback is that school starts Tuesday and this time of year is crazy enough without hours of studying thrown in. Maybe I will just wait for the Spring session, it starts in January...

No eating out: 1/1 days

I was browsing family cars online (SO was curious about a model) and an offer for a $25 gift card popped up if we would do a test drive. Last night we went to the dealer to cash in the deal. We didn't have to go on the test drive because we really had no intention of buying a new car, especially since we will be moving possibly overseas within the next year. The $25 Target gift card will go for Christmas presents!

We are postponing the cruise for a bit. There is new administration at work, my roster has doubled, and I just don't feel comfortable taking some days off in October. I will keep the money in there for the holidays, and then by next summer we will be ready to do some more traveling.

at least it felt that way! We had three birthday parties in a week and two dinners out. Now that it is Monday, it has caught up to me and my shorts felt tight all day! But the parties are over with and the leftovers are done, too. Today I had 3 veggie servings and 2 fruits, so I'm getting back on the better eating band wagon.

I also need to get back on the low spending band wagon. Those meals out and parties weren't cheap, and to be honest the meals out were not worth it. I'm going to make September my "no eating out" month. North Georgia Girl and others have inspired me!

I'm almost done shopping for school stuff. I set a limit of $250 to include clothes, supplies, and haircuts for 2 girls. So far I've spent $200, including some clothes, most school supplies, haircuts and quality shampoo liters. With the remaining $50 I will get the remaining supplies for the girls (shouldn't be more than $10), and bookbags and lunch packs. I will do that shopping this weekend.

I'm back at work now, started last week, getting my room set up and planning. I spent $70 today on an online subscription for an education website that will really help out my class. I'm confident it will be worth the money, I've tested it out in another classroom. So there's no more extra money this week in the budget, but it's ok, I paid myself and my bills first, I can manage until Friday.

There are lots of changes going on around here right now. School and work will be starting back up, that always brings change, every day is a new adventure. On the homefront, my SO is putting the house on the market in anticipation for a new set of orders. I like our life how it is right now and I don't "want" to change! I love living so close to my family and friends. I love my master bedroom suite. I love the people I work with.

But it's time for the pity party to be over. I'm excited about the possiblity of orders in a great location. I'm excited about the opportunity to travel to different parts of the world with my kids. And I have to admit, part of me is excited to start up somewhere different in the world. I know I could easily get too comfortable where I am now, and I'm just not ready to do that yet. It's not our time yet.

As for financial news, I was able to deposit an extra $100 into savings, bringing the new total to $1039. I also received a $15 rebate check, bringing the cruise savings to $1226. We don't go on the actual cruise until the end of October, so I know I can save the total cruise costs by then.

Today I plan on going through the girls' wardrobes, to determine what else needs to be purchased for the upcoming school year. I know it will be shorts for a while, but the weather can change overnight and I want to be prepared.

Sunday we had friends over for brunch, it was delicious and free!

After the friends left I started the lasagne. While the lasagne cooked I finished the curtains for my classroom shelves. Now that the curtain project is out of the way I can focus on my Spanish lessons again and classroom lesson planning for Sept-Nov. I go back to work on the 24th.

It was a productive but relaxing Sunday with no spending, can't complain. I did eat a Lot, but I will start fresh today.

Today's agenda: medical paperwork since the insurance changed when the girls' dad retired. Also request a copy of DD1's birth certificate, her original has gone missing and I need another original.

The rebate check was for $15. This brings the cruise fund up to $1211.

Today I plan to finish sewing the curtains for my classroom shelves, 6 more to go. I will also cook a meatless lasagne and take the kids swimming. Easy day!

It should be a NS day!

The annual Polynesian festival is here, and our group danced yesterday and will dance again this morning. It is total chaos, but we had a great time yesterday. It is on a big outdoor stage right at the beach. So after a few hours of standing around, keeping track of kids, then dressing, it was finally time to perform. A few mistakes here and there, but I was proud of our show regardless. And glad to have it over with!

Of course, after all the chaos, the kids just wanted to go to the beach to play in the waves. So I took 6 of them down to the water and played in the waves with them and watched as they dug a pool in the sand. It was a fun afternoon. My own girls had a great time, I really enjoyed spending the day with them.

We brought home ribs from one of the vendors for $24. Looove Hawaii barbq! We had sides at home along with the ribs, and we still have ribs leftover for a lunch. So for $24 the four of us ate a nice meal plus a little left over.

The only other money spent was $10 for parking.

Today the festival is providing breakfast for the dancers, but I'll still have to pay $10 for parking. I will probably buy a coffee as well. We will most likely be eating lunch at the beach,too. We will probably stay at our group's booth after our performance to sell items. I will pack some food so maybe we can get by with not purchasing full meals for 4 people...

I'm updating my savings to $638. When this reaches $5000 I will add it to my taxable investment account, and start saving all over again. Savings has been very slow this summer... but at least I'm not building any debt.

I did a bit of back to school shopping this weekend.

In the past few months I've earned $30 in Old Navy Rewards with their Visa card (I use this for everyday purchases). I brought those with me to Old Navy with the girls. I also used a coupon good for $15 off of a purchase of $50 or more. So for $16 I received: 2 pairs of teen jeans, 3 t-shirts, 1 girls t-shirt dress, 2 tank tops for me, 1 teen hoodie, and 1 bracelet! I was thrilled! Plus I received $20 in rewards dollars to use in September

Then we stopped by Target to pick up a birthday gift. I had my daughter pay for part of it this time. I give them a dollar a day for allowance, so they can start using some of their money to help pay for things like birthday gifts. Total at Target for the gift was $11 after DD pitched in $5.

I need to stock up my gift closet, then the girls could choose something from there instead of going out shopping everytime a party comes up. They can choose a gift from the closet, or choose to pay extra for another gift. Right now I have more adult gifts in the closet, no kid gifts.

All of my meals this weekend were eaten at home, with the exception of a Sonic Java Chiller I bought as a snack yesterday afternoon! It was tasty, but really made me lethargic and bloated afterwards. I don't do ice cream very often.

Grocery shopping was under budget, yay! We budget $80/week for groceries. This week we hit $64, which includes the purchase of disinfectant wipes for my classroom in bulk, nearly $10. So really only $54 if you don't count my school purchase. I'm happy with the $80/week budget, so long as most of our meals are eaten at home.

Cooking done for the week:
-Charro beans: Half of these will be mashed for burritos this week for the girls. The other half of the beans are used for the grown ups, as they will be a little spicier. The beans will be mashed and a little chorizo will be added. Beans and chorizo make fabulous sandwiches!

Weekly cooking to be done today:
-German potato salad (I have some red potatoes to use up)
-Chicken and Vegetable soup (this will use up the carrots, celery, cabbage, and corn)
-Flour Tortillas

Yesterday I did a 30 minute kettlebell workout at home. Today I plan on going to the park with the girls and the dog early in the morning before it gets too hot and run for 30 minutes. I don't have the distance tracked, so I estimate 10 minutes of running=1 mile. I'm a little faster on the treadmill but I know outside it is hotter and so I am slower.

I'm pretty proud of this, it's a lap pad with a cupcake pattern on one side and a fun orange fabric on the back. It weighs 3 pounds. I made it for my classroom.


Weighted lap pads and other weighted objects are often useful to students with sensory issues. You know the kid who just can't sit still, no matter what?Frequently students with autism, attention-deficit disorders, or other disabilities feel more "grounded" with some weight on them and are more able to attend to the present moment. Kind of like when we get x-rays at the dentist and have to wear that weighted lead vest. I actually like that feeling!

I had fun with it and I'm going to continue perfecting my sewing skills, with different patterns and fabrics. My students can try them all out for me!

For the past year and a half my family has been saving rebates, credit card rewards, and spare change. I guess this is what others consider "snowflakes". We have almost paid off our cruise with this extra money!

I could easily have drained this money throughout the year on things here and there. Yet by saving it in an account especially for the cruise, I felt a responsibility to not touch the money. The money has a "face".

Yesterday was a NSD, felt good to have one, finally! DD used a birthday gift card to pick up a game on sale at a gaming store. Then we picked up DD2's new glasses, these were paid for when we ordered them a week ago.

Last night I used a groupon deal I had purchased, a month of boot camp classes. I was miserable, but in a good way,I guess! Very tough workout. I was able to keep up, though. I should be able to attend at least 2-3 classes a week until school starts back up for teachers. Then I will have to look at my schedule and the cost of continuing classes. During the school year I do most of my workouts in my classroom afterschool and on my treadmill on the weekends.

Dinner out is already planned with SO and one of her friends, so I have some planned spending tonight. Planned eating out is acceptable this month. Eating out because I didn't plan or I'm feeling lazy is not acceptable, there is no room in my budget for that.

My little dog hasn't been out walking much this summer, she just can't stand the heat. At most we can take her on a short walk around the neighborhood after the sun goes down, but even then it is often still too hot for her. I just realized that mornings are probably better still, because things have cooled off overnight with the sun gone. Plus she gets to run through all the dew that has accumulated on the grass. A little messy, but nice and cool for my dog! I took her out this morning a little before 7am, we were able to do a nice 15-20 minute walk. She wasn't even panting when we were through. Looks like I've got a new routine until the school year starts up again!

Today I plan on mopping the floors, running 3 miles, and doing some cooking. I'm going to do the running at the gym where SO works, so I can meet up with her during her lunch break. I'm bringing my lunch so there is no expense, we just want to spend some time together.

I'm hashing out the plans for little DDs birthday party (Summer is the party season in my family). It will be at the pool. Her dad is providing the meat for the party, as DD has asked for kalbi ribs. For such a big party that would get expensive, so I'm glad her dad already volunteered to do the grilling. So the menu looks like: Kalbi ribs, red rice, baked macaroni and cheese, hummus and tortillas, and green bean casserole! My child's tastes span the globe

Ok,better get started on my free-yet-fulfilling activities for the day! It sounds a little mundane, but I'll feel good afterwards.