Can we just start easy?

I don't usually buy for the PE and Music teachers.  Is that bad?  And I get the playground paras fudge and cookies.

We don't have a babysitter to buy for....

For the classroom teachers my go-to gift is the black diamond gloves from The Base Camp.  They go on big sale ($12) in early December.  That and some sweets.  Done.  They can keep them or regift or return as needed.  But I have to branch out a bit this year.... same grade K teacher for the second kid.  Sigh.

Daycare is also pretty easy.  They love Jade Garden so we get a nice-sized gift certificate and some other little thing.  They don't really celebrate Christmas so we keep it low key but high dollar.

My work people are a pain.  We may finally elect to not do an exchange this year.  (Well... a girl can hope.)  But if we do I'm going mini-jars of lentils and a really fabulous lentil recipe.  Why?  Because I have a 25 pound bag of organic lentils in my garage.  And, also, one of my co-workers doesn't do sugar or booze.... so the creative gift creation is a little limited with her.

If I have to do a white elephant gift I'm doing this.  But with Guinness.  And possibly attaching the fabulous Guinness-Beef recipe.

Christmas Time Is COMING

Elle is up to her usual tricks.... budgeting and planning for Christmas. I do have this on my list for this weekend... but I have a pile of scanning on my list and no intentions of doing that either.

Ok.  Ok. 

Holiday Budget.

Most seem to have a rule about simplicity and the reason for the season. 

Me?  This year I've decided I'm all about being a consumer.  I intend to, single-handedly, save the economy.

The end.

Ok... while that seems blissful..... I suppose I should set a budget.

Here is who is on my list for this year....

Me.
Hot.
Sweet.
Tuff.
Bugsy.
Gunnar/Sarge/Olive/Daisy/Daisy/Jaz.
Chili/Mox.
MIL.
FIL.
SIL (Hot's sis.)
SIL Daughter 1.
SIL Daughter 2.
Mom.
Dad.
Brother.
SIL (Brother's Wife).
Brother's Son.
Sister.
BIL (Sister's Hubby).
Sister's Son.
(Great) Grandpa.
Daycare Provider.
Grade K Teacher.
Grade 2 Teacher.
2 Playground Aids.
What about SACC providers?
What about other teachers (PE, Music)?
My work people usually do some sort of something for each other.
Hot's work may require a white elephant gift or something. 

Fortunately there is no package mailing budget... everyone lives close enough.  And, yes, I do print photos and mail them..... usually around 150 printed and distributed.

I think we should dwell on this for a day or two and then start tossing out ideas.

I can't seem to stop shopping

Anyone have an opinion on Josef Siebel shoes?  I'm still searching for the perfect sandals....

Also... can I get an opinion on these boots?  I need something fantastic and comfy in a size 10.

Hot went to bed early tonight so for the last 90 minutes I've been surfing for panties for Elle, boots for me, a hat for Sweet, socks/sandals/slippers for Tuff & anything on clearance at Land's End.  I want heavenly fleece, cashmere and anything made of modal.  This skirt is cute and very much my style.  I also want to know if blissful knits are as lovely in person as they are in the pictures.... because I'm always up for a nice drapey cardigan.

Gads... maybe I should relabel this post "My Wish List" and email it out as my Christmas list.... anybody listening??

House Stuff I Don't Need

I just ordered this bench.

And this slipcover in natural.

My husband always comments on me ordering some cheap shit in hopes of making our house lovely but he was BEGGING me to get a new couch cover.

I had a 20% off coupon and free shipping.

$55.99 for the bench and $71.99 for the slipcover.

I got a great one-piece slipcover from Target ($50) that I liked but it was chocolate brown suede.  Dark brown and suede don't match my dog.  It always looked awful.  So we will try this.... hopefully the two-piece option will work out.  And I'll cut up the old cover and make pillows or something.

Are you buying a new car??

Wise Bread has a post up about new car incentives. Anybody gonna bite?

I have some extremely un-frugal confessions to make to you, internets....

We bought a new car.

Well, ok, we traded in the 1999 Toyota Camry for a 2006 Toyota Sienna.

It's fancy. XLE and AWD. Leather seats and automatic doors and second row captain's chairs. I make everyone laugh when I exclaim over some clever little feature that is "like they designed it for kids" or something.... who, exactly, do I think they are marketing these minivans too? Non-families? But I do love the tinted windows and built-in pull-up window shades.

And this fugger has more storage than my kitchen. I'm not kidding.

And I dropped several hundred on some fancy-schmancy glass coating that promises me a crack-free windshield for 5 years.

Anyone out there remember the windshield on my old Toyota pickup? Yee-gads. The things we do in our youth.

Here's the funny part.... I never get to drive it. Nope. I'm still driving the Subaru. Hot Stuff has fallen in love with the van and drives it everywhere. I'm ok with that.

And still no car payments. (Yes, I'm bragging.)

Now, you might ask, short of selling a kidney or pimping out Hot Stuff on Tuesday nights, did we do that?? Helifino.

We got lucky.

I'm such a cheap-ass when we bought the Subaru (shortly after Tuff was born) they offered 5 years of financing and I decided to eat more mac-n-cheese and do it in two..... which put us, after the down payment, with payments around $500/month. (2.9% financing) We finished those up in October. (I had to take Hot with me to be the "heavy" when I told the insurance agent we wanted to drop it to liability-only.... still not sure about that decision.) And, knowing Hot was not going to be put off much longer, I had been skrimping for a down payment for a new jumbo-vehicle. It wasn't much of a decision.... Hot wanted a minivan with all-wheel drive. That leaves us with a long list.... a Sienna. I wanted a 2006 because that's when they upgraded the safety features. He wanted a 2007 but I vetoed that on grounds of budget limits. We found a good deal on this one and it was owned by people with no kids so the back seats are flawless. So we gutted it up and went for it. The financing was pretty sucky.... 5.5%... so we skipped that part. I'm still pretty pleased with the deal we got... I think it was fair.... even if I'm not completely in love with the idea of driving a loser-cruiser. I'll get over it.

Huh. That story wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. I got to play guitar hero at the dealership and enter a drawing to win a tv or a laptop or an ipod.... I'm still waiting for them to call and tell me what I won.....

The B Word

Elle has a post up about the dread word... BUDGET.

I don't have a copy of the most current budget for our household right now but here are some estimates:

House Insurance: $850/year
Pellets: $750/year ($250/ton)
Daycare: $8500/year
Vehicle Insurance (3 vehicles): $1700/year (geez-UM. Need to shop this around.)
Property Tax: $2000/year
House: $10,000/year
Propane: $300/year
Vehicle Licensing (3 vehicles): $600/year
Student Loan: $4000/year
Electricity: $1800/year (is $150/month average?)
Land line: $480/year
Cell phones: $1020/year (3 phones)
Internet: $265/year
Netflix: $200/year
Fuel: $3600/year
Groceries: $2400/year (this seems low)
TP & Stuff: $1800/year
Entertainment/Gifts: $1200/year
Hot Stuff Lunches: $400/year (not much in winter.... lots in summer)
Spending Cash: $960/year
Things I'm failing to report: Donations, shopping, home repairs, car repairs.... um, what else?

SHIT. It isn't pretty when you list it out like that, is it??

Things we've dropped: $47/month for health club membership is on hold until June.... I'll probably pick it back up for the summer so we can swim but I have to add Tuff for $6/month so maybe not. Video store rentals..... we were spending about $30/month so netflix is a great deal for us plus we can get tv shows and no fuel expenses driving to town to get or drop off a movie. Take out pizza.... we get take-n-bake from Costco or make it at home now.

Things we are getting more careful about: I'm planning to "shop" our insurance... but I've been saying that for years. We've done more "winterizing" work on the house but the price of electricity is out of control. We are watching our credit card bill more closely and really working to keep it under $1500/month. We are saving for some major home repairs that are going to strike at any moment.... like a new roof and a new water heater. I really want text messaging but I'm not getting it yet. I also really want high speed internet.

Things I WANT but I'm not buying because of the economy and/or our budget: frontloading washer/dryer, recliner, dvd recorder, new slipcovers for the couch, a new mattress, new flooring, headboards/bedframes.

Things we've bought but budgeted carefully for: a new fridge (happy anniversary 2006), an elliptical trainer (happy anniversary 2008), a new tv (happy birthday 2008).

How about you?

It is time to support the economy, I'm going shopping....

Ridiculous things I will purchase in an effort to support the economy.... come on now... we all have to do our part.

For the mama:
Be Band
Pink Converse
pale peacock blue curtain panels for the bedroom
Calphalon pans

For the daddy:
mp3 player
recliner
dvd recorder
Metallica cd

For the girl:
Pink Converse
Pink baseball cap
Skirt
lip gloss

For the boy:
jeans
socks
transformers
pre-school workbooks

For the baby:
pacifiers
baby legs
turtle night light
baby socks
Dr. Seuss onsies at Costco

The Dread Credit Card Bill January

Mmmm. Love this post about credit card debt.

Speaking of.... November & December were a little hard on the budget here at The 'Stead.

My "nose job" bill finally came through insurance and cost me more than I thought. Plus Christmas. Plus some serious work on the pickup. Plus another ton of pellets to heat our house. Oh and those omigod-cold temps are going to ding us when the (electric) heat bill arrives.

Well, it's officially taken care of (carrying a credit card balance makes me break out in hives... seriously....) but we made a conscious effort to cut back in January. Unfortunately, the billing cycle is mid-month to mid-month so I have half of December on this bill... but we shopped early so it isn't as bad as it could be... right? Sooth me here.

I'm not going to lie.... I'm not back in the $500/month credit card bills of my singleton days.

But if the bill is around $1500 I'm happy. Andy has cut back considerably on his "daily Bob's" purchases.... going from almost $200/month to almost nothing the last few months. I still spend a lot at Costco but it is our primary grocery source and I've cut out impulse buys almost entirely. We have a big line item for fuel. That's the problem with living in BFE.

We budget $40/each for cash each month. I mostly save mine for bigger purchases... like a dvd recorder or a new recliner. And I pay my library fines. And buy girl scout cookies. And I pay the kids the occasional bribe. This weekend it was a dollar each to help me clean up the dog poo in the yard. They scanned and located the piles and I picked them up. If they were too frozen to scoop they marked them with a croquet marker and I came back for them later that afternoon. It is a glamorous life I lead, isn't it?

Ok, so I know some of you are still gasping at the $1500/month credit card bill.... let me explain. I'm not buying myself a new wardrobe every month or anything. I have a Costco cash-back card and I try to put EVERYTHING on it. Fuel. Groceries. Car repairs. Doctor bills. Home phone. Cell phones. Internet. Netflix. I haven't figured out how to put the electric bill on it yet.... wish I could. Pellets are up to $300/ton and we use about 3 tons per winter.... on the card.

I know. I know. Using a card instead of cash isn't very "Dave Ramsey" of me, is it? But I haven't taken his course and I haven't committed to saving all that money over the convenience of plastic.... maybe someday but not today. For today I just bury my head and say "cash back, cash back" instead of listening to Dave's philosophy...

What about you?

How's the heat at your house?

Over at msn the Women in Red are talking about heating costs.....

Here's what is going on for us....

Our house is about 1700 sq ft and was built in 1897. We heat with baseboard electric (I know... groan) and a pellet stove. We have propane for the hot water heater and the cook stovetop. I think I forked over more than $400 to fill the propane tank this summer.... that will last us all year. Our electric bill has been running about $120/month but I'm sure this next one will be a doozy. We keep it around 60 all the time. They don't make programmable thermostats for baseboard heaters so we can't change that.... we don't turn on the baseboards in the two upstairs bedrooms and we don't have one in the downstairs bedroom so we all sleep with our doors open. The heat from the pellet stove keeps us toasty. We have installed all swirly-que light bulbs and are working hard to turn off lights not in use. Pellet prices are up to $250/ton.... we go through almost 3 tons in a typical year.... that baby runs 24-7 during the winter and is our primary heating source... much cheaper than anything else the way we are figuring it and a real luxury.

Flannel sheets & down comforters for all. Oh.... and a nice warm dog that circulates in the night. Although I can't get my kids to wear warm fuzzy jammies no matter how I try. They "choke my chest" according to Sweet and Tuff has some she will wear but she likes gowns the best.

Last week we took the doors off the cabinet under the sink. Due to some poor design the pipes for the kitchen sink run in the wall for a short distance and will freeze solid if we don't keep it open and water running at a trickle during the bitter cold weather.... 10 below zero. We took the doors off completely because my legs were covered in bruises from walking into the baby locks sticking out of the open doors.... I am a klutz.

So far we are holding our own and not freezing up. I have window insulation kits that I want to put up but haven't yet... I know, I know.... maybe tonight.

So what are you doing to stay warm this winter?

July Financial Checkin

Ok. My lordy. I'm over my rant from yesterday.

Over at Money Saving Mom it is time to do the July Fiscal Report.

So we will check in as well.

My June goals were to minimize the costs of attending my brother's wedding, use coupons wisely & effectively (effectively means without making myself insane), and continue tracking our budget. We tend to track more mid-month to mid-month because that's the time frame for the credit card but the mid-June bill was pretty over-the-top due to some spring projects, camping supply purchases and wedding expenses.

July's goals include figuring out how to easily and effectively (again, effectively means without making myself or those around me insane) use Quicken for budgeting, keep costs to a minimum to balance out June's costs and do a lot of fun but cheap activities with the kids.

I also took a long hard look at my closet. And realized I might have to go shopping. Let's recap. I budget $50/month to myself for clothing. I spent $109 for a dress and $20 for undergarments for the wedding. Gasp. I know. But I returned all those sandals in the photo because it was so freakin' cold I wore boots. And I spent $0 in May and $12.49 in April... so it balanced. So for July I went to Ross and got myself about 6 shirts from the clearance section. So I'm set again. I still need a pair of "weekend" shorts, another bra and a "spanx" top..... but my birthday is coming. And I plan to get new jeans this fall.

Have I mentioned I hate coupons??

But....

Here's the deal I just did.....

Background: In July if you buy CVS's 99 cent pantiliners then you get 99 cents in ECB's. So I got one of those last week. Last week CVS had buy Physician's formula mascara for $7.99 and get $7.99 in ECB (Extra Care Bucks) so I did that because I needed new mascara anyway.... the computer spewed out a $3 off on face care coupon.

So today I went in because Olay stuff was buy $20 worth and get $10 ECB's and the night cream that I love is $29.99 and was on sale for $24.99. Then I used the 99 cent & $7.99 ECB's and the $3 off skin care coupon AND a $3 off coupon from the newspaper insert. So I spent $10.01.... and the computer spewed out my $10 ECB and a $4 off a 20 dollar purchase..... so that's a good deal, right?

It's hard not to double count the ECB's.... If you roll them right you should only spend about a dollar per transaction.... but I'm just not that good at it. And I usually just get frustrated and buy what I want anyway....

And this cream will make me really beautiful and take away the sun spots on my cheeks.... so that's worth any cost.

But What Happens if you slide the card

S-L-O-W-L-Y

..... still takes all your fuckin' money to fill the tank......