Toilet-Paper-Tracker

We're not going out tonight, but I don't have anything planned for dinner either (I plan for 6 days a week and assume one night out). Ugh. I've eaten a super boring but inexpensive lunch (a pear, two fried eggs, chips and salsa leftover from F's lunch yesterday).

D will come home from work and assume I have dinner sorted out.

Options:
- something from next week's food list that we have in the house (but that is probably eggs and I just had eggs for lunch).
- polenta with red sauce and a side salad (we had salad last night; maybe peas?) or grilled cheese sandwiches
- stop by Sprouts and pick up a cooked chicken (the expensive option) and have it with something already in the house (peas?)
- goody plate made up of stuff left over in the fridge: toast, cheese, carrots (but since lunch was sort of unfulfilling, this might not be a good option; hmmm - do meals need to be fulfilling in addition to filling? probably yes)

I think it's the polenta. Inexpensive, warm, yummy.

Tomorrow - will take advantage of Sprouts' sales on gluten free items. Will increase the grocery bill in the short run, but save money in the long run.

Freebie 1 - Was taken to breakfast today by a client. This never happens, since my clients are almost always local governments. This client is a hotel. He also mentioned there will be more work coming up later in the year, so that's good.

Freebie 2 - I got paid by the gym; it was $40 (mortgage principal!). I really would (and have had) taught just for the gym membership. I think I'd get paid more if more people came to my classes, so I might have to figure out how to drum up business!

Freebie 3 - No horse riding for F today - it was canceled due to cold. She'll be sad, but I am glad since it is really cold! My parents pay for the lessons, but this saves the gas down there.

Vertigo is gone, but D still has symptoms (in the end I think it was a sinus infection that settled in his ear). He says his ear continues to feel plugged (but at least he's functional!). The tally for the medical expenses is about $215.

Not sure if it's related (maybe sinus pressure is affecting his eyes?) but he also went to get a new pair of glasses - total $261 incl. the doctor visit. He now needs them to see up close (so it's prescription reading glasses - he didn't want bi-focals). This wasn't an expected expense since he just got glasses in June.

It's a lot to absorb, and we're about $209 down on our medical "envelope." (This is a virtual envelope - we do our budgeting and tracking in moneywell which uses what they call a bucket system, but its basically an envelope). I'll need to funnel some money in there from underspent buckets. Dining and groceries should be low this month, so we can use some of that to fill that bucket back up.

Lots of thoughts in my head right now (it's good to get this down so I can stop thinking about everything):

- I got my bonus from Capital One today - $125! Yes! I am going to apply this to mortgage principal next month.

- A friend is coming over this afternoon to share her music and choreography for the exercise class I teach. She is so nice! She used to own our gym, and she was the one who got us all certified to teach this class. She was at the hospital the day after my daughter was born (and it was a trek! We were at a hospital an hour away due to complications). Anyway, the result is that I don't need to buy choreography. And F and I get to see her!

- I was attending the same class yesterday (my friend L teaches on Mondays, and we share the Wednesday class). L and I have already shared our music, and I'll be copying everything for her, too. Anyway, the gym owner paid L, so I am hoping that means I'll get paid either tomorrow or Thursday. Fingers crossed; he is pretty erratic about paying us.

- My insurance company is making me a little crazy right now. They were great in that they decided that D's last day on the insurance was 12.31.13, but somehow decided I wasn't eligible for coverage and didn't pay my doctor for my well-visit (so I had to call and straighten it all out). Then despite the fact that D is not covered, we've paid for him for both January and February. I was told we'd get a credit for January to appear on the February statement, but they told me their billing department is separate. Another call. I'm hoping this is fixed for March and we see the credits for both January and February. The woman I spoke with understood that we shouldn't be paying for my husband, and promised that would be straightened out for March, but didn't mention the credit in the phone message she left me. We'll see.

- I finished the business taxes (both federal and state). Just need to mail - phew!! I've download Turbo Tax for our personal taxes (my parents let me use their software since you can download onto multiple computers). So I'll start that this week.

- I am doing the business checkbook reconciliation.

- I am vowing to curb our spending in February. January was "spendy" due to stocking up in the sales.

F is off of school today, but D works, so I am taking advantage of my self-employed status to hang out with her.

This morning we have been hanging out a home, and right now she's playing minecraft for a few mins.

I was relieved to get an email from F's piano teacher this morning canceling today's lesson. F hadn't practiced much (we are trying to work out a better system for practicing) and we get a credit toward next month's lessons. That means we pay for only three lessons in Feb. rather than four.

So instead we'll do a few quick errands downtown and then go to the gym. F gets her own bench, and she does the motions with just the bar (1 lb.) or dance or play on the ipad. Usually all three over the course of the class.

Then we're going out to lunch! We're going to a Japanese place for bento boxes (they have a lunch special). D eats lunch out once a week, and I eat lunch out once a month, so I don't feel too guilty about this splurge. OK, I must feel a little guilty or I wouldn't be mentioning it. Whatever is left from our dining budget for the month, I use to pay down the mortgage. But it is, after all, the dining budget. I know everyone has issues around money, and I feel less guilty if I deprive myself, but I am trying to deprive myself less when the budget is not in any danger.

I buy stuff at the grocery store for F and D (crisps, scones for D so that he doesn't go to Starbucks, pickles for F, beer and coffee for D). I end up with the rejects from F's lunch as the sides in my lunch the next day, and I don't drink alcohol or coffee (I gave them up a long time ago when I realized how expensive these things are). This is not a rant against my husband and daughter; it's really about me, and I know that. I don't need as many "treats" but when I do give myself a treat, I have to try to not feel guilty!

Do any of you struggle with the guilt thing?

D and F are out getting breakfast burritos together. Last week, D went and saw a movie mid-week after dinner one night (and F was sad that she didn't see him much that day, just at dinner). And tomorrow is a no-school day, but D has to work, so she and I will hang out (that is the beauty of self-employment). So D and F are spending some time together today. First the breakfast burritos, then they'll meet a friend of hers and his dad up at school to kick the soccer ball around.

Tonight we're having pizza at our friends' house. They have six kids (including triplets!), and there will be two other families there. I am bringing salad. I'm happy - love all of these families, and I love potlucks. F is happy because she loves all the kids.

I took our pennies to the bank on Friday and we had $5.78! That's a lot for pennies! So that will go to the mortgage principal next month.

I've gathered up a bunch of old photos to scan (we didn't have a digital camera until F was born). D and I looked so young when we first met! And I gathered up old family photos, too. I should have time on Tuesday to scan some of them.

Right now - need to vacuum F's bedroom and get a load of washing in before D and F come home!

The grocery bill was a lot more than we usually spend, but there is a reason... I stocked up on lots of things since there were great sales and coupons. Many of these things will last us a year. And this should lower the bill for the next month as well since there are many things I won't have to buy.

Weekly Menu:
- tuna melts and tomato soup
- something from the freezer (tamales? posole?) with a salad
- chicken sausage pasta
- shrimp sushi
- baked potatoes and broccoli
- salad to bring to our friends' potluck tomorrow night

Total spend: $192 (actually $182 because I got a $10 off coupon)
- dinner ingredients $81 (but this includes on-sale items that will be used over the course of the next few months: frozen shrimp, chile and hashbrowns for potato pancakes)
- lunch prep items $45 (but this includes stocking up on sale-priced mac and cheese and crackers that were also on sale - should last two months)
- fruits $10
- staples $16.50 (includes stocking up on on-sale camomile and peppermint tea as well as salt that will last at least a year)
- breakfast items $13 (includes masa which will make tortillas for the next 6 months)
- dessert $26.50 (includes gf flour blend on sale, oats that will last the next year or so and four bags of marshmallows, also on sale, which will last a long time!)

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to digitize important stuff.

I have digitized the music and notes I use for my exercise classes.

I have also digitized some of the postcards that my grandmother received back when she sent Prisoner of War messages to families during WWII. She had a shortwave, and lived in California, so she could hear the POW messages from Japan on Radio Tokyo.

I have the originals, of course, but it's nice to know that these are backed up in the Cloud, too.

Here's an example:

My husband's employer now gives him health insurance through the business, but we weren't certain it would all be set up for 2014 until December 31st! So frustrating! I called our current insurance that day, but they said that you need to cancel someone by the 25th of the previous month, otherwise they can't do the cancellation.

I filled out the form using 1/1/14 as the date his new insurance was set to begin anyway, just in case (I'm very fond of "just in case").

Well, I called today to make sure the cancellation had gone through, and also to make sure F and I were not cancelled (we are staying on that insurance). It was a nice surprise to find out that not only was everything ok, but the effective date of cancellation was 12/31/13, so we'll be getting a refund for this month for my husband on next month's bill!

My business pays for our health insurance (it's reported as income, but not taxable income, on my W2), but since my business is an S-Corp, it's a pass-through, so saving money in the business really is money in our pocket.

I bought a bunch of things for F in the winter sales. I spent what seemed like a lot, but it's for next year's stuff, and she'll need it (her snowsuit is too small already, and I bought snowpants for next year, snowboots too small already also). I also got leggings, gloves, long-sleeved shirt, leggings and a couple of warm zip hoodies and fleece jackets in the next size up. All was through LandEnd which has really durable stuff that lasts two seasons for us (F is small). So probably no need to buy anything next year except a few long-sleeved t-shirts and maybe a few more pairs of leggings (hoping that one of her friends will outgrow some, though!).

I am feeling guilty, even though it's in our budget.

No, I didn't get anything for myself. I have already determined that I don't need anything. I don't have a ton of clothes, but pretty sure I have more than I need.

It turned out I couldn't use the Turbo Tax I'd pre-bought for my business taxes this year (long story short: they don't make it for a Mac, I'm not going to spend the money to upgrade Parallels just to run this one program). This is not the Turbo Tax for personal taxes (that they DO make for a Mac).

So I called Turbo Tax to stop the auto-renewal.

And guess what? They also offered to refund me the amount I paid since I couldn't use it! I was surprised, partly because I already have the disk so it's not like they can check that I'm really not using it.

I will continue to do my personal taxes on Turbo Tax, and I told the customer service person that I really hope the business software does come out for a Mac in the future; I'll use that, too, when it does.

So, a pleasant surprise, a big refund to my business account. And I found a company that will let me do my business taxes online, so I'm working on those this week (I was afraid that I was going to have to do it by hand!).

Sold two items on Craigslist.

One was an old toy of F's; the woman was so nice - has a 2 and 4 year old. We talked for a few minutes about schools (which can be a real problem where we live). Made $12.

Also sold an old backpack that was left by and old roommate, and she didn't want it back (said keep it, sell it, keep the money). I didn't want to make a lot of money off of it since I never actually bought it, but I have been storing it a long time! Made $5.

So $19 in snowflakes for the mortgage, etc. I have an envelope where I keep all of this money, and some of it goes toward F's allowance, which is why I say "etc" - it might be allowance money! She gets $1 a week, and NEVER spends it! The only things she wants to buy are apps for the ipad or ipod, and the ones she wants are often free. I think it helps that her birthday and Christmas are almost exactly 6 months apart, so there isn't a long stretch where she has to wait for something she might want. But she does have a helping jar, so some of her allowance goes in there (in the past, she's wanted to donate it to the animal shelter).

F went to a birthday party yesterday and is at a friend's house today. I miss her, and can't wait to go pick her up! But in the meantime, I've gotten a ton of things done.

I turned her furby back into baby mode (this was a special request).

I put all of our 2006 photos and all of the photos from when we first met and when we first got married into shutterfly so I can make an album later.

Did all my housework (including items from my yearly calendar and monthly calendars). I still need to hang up a load of laundry.

Gathered up a ton of pennies to take to the bank next week (on popcorn day of course).

Rearranged a few drawers in order to get rid of old pajamas and make room for my exercise clothes (which are currently in a bag on the floor in the closet - not a good system!).

And darned several pairs of socks. Do you darn socks? My grandmother did, but my mother never did. She still has my grandmother's darning egg, though (I had to buy one). I darned three pairs of my socks, and two of F's. I darned socks while watching an episode of Sherlock Holmes (the UK show - have you seen it? It's amazing!).

Also made plans for next Friday night. F was invited to a birthday party she really, really doesn't want to go to (she doesn't like the girl very much, but we've talked about being kind anyway, so maybe that's why she was invited). It sort of put me in a spot, and I do feel bad for this girl. But F insisted that she really doesn't want to go. So I've arranged for dinner with our friends on Friday night and F will sleep over at her house, so that I can say we have other plans.

Here's the weekly dinner meal plan:
- Socca (chickpea flour pancake with zucchini)
- Crustless quiche and toast
- Posole (this is New Mexican hominy with green chile and chicken - basically a stew)
- "Bad Breath" pasta - capers, kalamata olives, spinach, yum!
- Cod and leeks with turkey bacon and homemade french fries
- Something from the freezer (probably Fagiole soup) with salad

Total spent $109

Breakdown on the spending:
$50.50 on dinner ingredients
$26 on lunches
$3.50 on fruit
$5.50 on staples
$8 on breakfast
$15.50 on dessert (they were having a special on almond milk ice cream - I can't eat dairy, so I bought four which accounts for $10 of this)

Yesterday I went to the bank (I always go on Fridays because they have free popcorn!) and paid down principal on our mortgage. I used the refund on our escrow plus the $150 I am now allotting each month to paying down our mortgage plus some money from savings. We now owe $77,684 on our house and if we just pay regular payments, it'll be paid off in October 2020. (But I am continuing to pay down principal, and the goal is to have it paid off in June 2019).

I automatically put money into our IRAs and a car savings account and into F's tuition account, but paying down principal on our mortgage is by far the most satisfying way to save for me. I think it's the way I can track how much sooner we pay off the mortgage; it's more tangible. Plus it's our only debt.

I called my mother not long after my visit to the bank. She seemed surprised that we only owe $77,684. My parents still have a mortgage and just refinanced (long story - but it was initiated by my brother who needed some of their equity to afford the house he wanted to buy). I think I'd feel really nervous if I had a mortgage that exceeded my life span, even if the amount of the mortgage was just a fraction of how much my house was worth. But everyone handles money differently...

I ran today for the first time since November! Among other excuses was that it was too cold, there was snow on the ground, it was Christmas break. I was still spinning and weightlifting, but the running is important to me, even though I only run once a week.

Anyway, it was good and bad..

Good... I didn't stop! Partly because I wanted to get on this blog and tell you I didn't stop, so thank you for that accountability!

Bad... At one point I got a face full of leafblower dust.

Good... Temp was high 30s and that's warm enough not to need gloves.

Bad... I was so, so, so slow! Much, much slower than I ran last time. So it took me longer to get back (well, about two minutes longer).

Good... My run is a loop, so I was pretty certain after I started going downhill that I would end up returning to the office and I wouldn't need to call D to pick me up or something!

Good... No heartburn!

Really Good... I can now eat everything!

Now the financial part:
OK, so given the excuses I made, I think it's time to investigate the free fitness membership that now comes for free with my health insurance. That way I can run on a treadmill when it's too cold or snowy outside. The gym where I teach doesn't have treadmills anymore (we used to) and there are two gyms a reasonable distance from my home and office on the list.

Do you have a free fitness membership on your healthcare plan now? Have you taken advantage of it? Any familiarity with Anytime Fitness? The other choice is an all-women's gym which I'd prefer but it's about 10 mins. farther away.

Well, that's it. I've made my one clothing purchase for the year. According to my clothing spreadsheet, this is all I need. No, I don't need another pair of black snowboots. I don't need another red long-sleeved t-shirt. I don't need another long-sleeved t-shirt at all! I have more than enough of everything.

Some of you asked how I came up with the ideal number of each item of clothing for my spreadsheet. It's not very scientific and it's individual. I looked through each item and saw what I wear regularly. I figured I needed 7 long-sleeved t-shirts in the winter since I wear them every day. I rarely have meetings where jeans would be inappropriate, but sometimes I have to interview for a project so I need a nice pair of trousers that aren't jeans. Two or three times a year I need to look nice for social things; I needed one nice winter outfit and one nice summer outfit. Eight or nine pairs of underwear seemed right (we wash our clothes once a week). We are at the pool every day in the summer (we join a local pool) so I need two swimsuits - but I only had one!

Now I have two swimsuits - very exciting! It fit perfectly and Lands End was having a massive sale on swimsuits. I'm lucky they had something left in my size! I wasn't too picky about pattern, just something that won't make me look sickly (no yellow, no light green, no light blue!).

Now I'm going to evaluate F's wardrobe (a harder task since she is growing so fast!)

With the help of an attorney (but at no cost - yay!!) I did our revocable living trust and our pourover wills. They are printed out and ready to take to the bank on Friday to have them witnessed and notarized.

I've also done some maintenance on our Capital One 360 savings accounts:
- transferred in some of the money from our private school savings account so it can earn some interest
- set up a $50/month transfer from our checking to that account (automatic savings)
- transferred more money from our car savings account into the Car Savings so it can earn interest
- set up a $150/month transfer from our checking to that account (automatic savings)

Just earned a $15 swagbucks amazon voucher. When I end up using it (probably for a birthday gift for F's friend A whose party is next week), I will do a transfer what I spend from the "Gifts - Friends" category to the "Savings" category in Moneywell.

F's class at school is small, and it used to be that every kid was invited to every birthday party. That meant going to parties even if F wasn't good friends with the child, and having to buy 19 gifts during the year!

Luckily that is changing a little bit. Her friend A is only inviting 4 kids (and F is one of them; they're really close). A little boy in the class had his party at the pool yesterday and invited everyone, but F didn't want to go. She's says he's an ok kid, and I like the parents, but they don't play together and don't have much in common, and I felt like she should decide whether or not to go.

We've never had all the kids in the class at F's parties, but that's easier because her birthday is in the Summer. I just think having tons of kids is overwhelming for a child.

In other news I finished filling out tuition assistance forms. D started his job in September, and already had made most of his money for the year from his business (the end of the year was always slow), so it's a little bit misleading. Also instead of paying for his health insurance, they just gave him bonuses for three months, so it looks like his income was higher. I'm not sure we'll get much for next year (this year we got $3250 which was so great!). If we get $1000 I'll be happy.

The holidays are over, and I'm pretty glad, because although we met our grocery budget, things were not routine. I ended up eating a lot of strange leftovers to use them up.

The menu for this week:
- chicken tacos with guacamole
- asian meatballs and rice
- tamales from the freezer and salad
- very sweet salmon and broccoli
- tuna melts
- risotto with sundried tomatoes and spinach
- one night out

We spent $113 on groceries this week:
- dinner ingredients $38
- lunch prep ingredients $27 (we brown bag all of our lunches)
- fruits $11
- staples $27 (olive oil, bread, oj)
- breakfast items $7
- dessert ingredients $4

The holidays are over, and although I met our food budget, things weren't routine. I found myself eating leftovers from dinners with friends just to eat up the food. So, we're back on a routine now - phew!

Here's what we're having for dinner:
- chicken tacos with guacamole
- asian turkey meatballs and rice
- risotto with sundried tomatoes and spinach
- tuna melts
- very sweet salmon and broccoli
- tamales from the freezer with salad
- one night out

Spent $113 on food this week:
- $38 on dinner ingredients
- $27 on lunch ingredients
- $11 on fruit
- $27 on staples (bread, olive oil, oj)
- $7 on breakfast items
- $4 on dessert ingredients

We eat out one meal a week, so our groceries have to cover all of our meals (lunch, breakfast, dinner). And since I can't have gluten, we spend at little bit more on some things (although mostly I just don't eat a lot of bread or pasta - but I like to have toast sometimes).

Last year when the bank massively increased our escrow, I knew it was too high. I asked them about it, but we'd had a shortage the year before (due to property tax increases), and they have a calculation formula. So they sent us a check for $337 for overpaid escrow and lowered this year's payment. I am going to keep our payment the same and put the rest toward principal.

I can't wait until the mortgage is paid off and we can set aside our own money for the taxes and insurance! (Some banks will let you pay your own, but ours collects the escrow).

Anyway, this $337 will also go toward principal. I just need to transfer it. I prefer to bank on Fridays when they have free bags of popcorn!

I'm able to type right now because F has a friend over; it's D, one of her very best guy friends! (She is close to two boys who are both super sweet - they're in her class, but they were all on the same soccer team; those friendships with boys are so important - F says some of the girls are just too quiet and sedentary. She plays soccer at recess a lot). Anyway, thanks to D I can get some stuff done. He has swim practice at 2, so his mom is picking him up soon. And then F and I will go to the library and up to a subdivision I do review for (luckily they have horses and I have a bag of horse treats in my glove box, so we'll pet the horses).

I re-read this brilliant post today, about how much stuff is the right amount to own...

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2013/01/how-much-stuff-should-you-own-the-answer-is-simpler-than-you-think/

This is what she says:
The right amount of stuff = the amount you can fully and regularly use.

I think that is spot on. That's how I came to the "ideal" amount of clothing to own. That's how I know that my kitchen is a little bit overstocked. I own a cheese thingy (I don't even know what it's called, and I never use it) that scrapes off a thin silce of cheese. I never use it; I never will. Why do I own that? I own these very cute ceramic chinese soup spoons. I don't use those.

Regular might be once a year (as in the case with our Christmas tree and ornaments). Regular might be daily. But over the course of a year, the things that get used are staying. And as I declutter each area of my home, the things that are never used are going.

I rarely buy more stuff... it's the "leftovers" that I have to address. And broken things. They don't get used, they'll never get used. I am dumping the broken calculator in the trash right now. I use the calculator on my phone. I did it; I just dumped the broken calculator in the trash.

New year = new resolve to simplify my life!

The easiest resolutions were the personal ones:
- Stretch more - carried over from last year - stretch EVEN more! I did pretty well last year, but I have to remind myself that I sleep better when I stretch before bed and have a better morning when I stretch after I get up, even for just a few minutes.

- Digitize stuff - I need to digitize old family photos and also the penny postcards that my grandmother received during WWII from families of POWs (she sent them messages from the POWs, and they wrote back the most beautiful thank you messages). Also need to digitize the notes for teaching my weightlifting class and my spinning class.

- Use Chrome and Apple Mail instead of Firefox (which my husband calls my Budget Browser) and Thunderbird. I switched over to Chrome last weekend, so I'm ahead of the game!


Now the financial goals:
- Wills - Finally do our wills (I have the template forms and everything! I just need to sit down and DO IT!!)

- Retirement - $800/month to our IRAs (and find an extra $200 to put in there to be at $5000 each)

- Mortgage - $115 per month to mortgage principal

- Tuition - increase amount we pay out of our budget by $10/month so we don't dip into our tuition savings account as much. Also put $50 from the 52-week challenge per month into the tuition account. Move the tuition account to somewhere making some interest.

- Car Savings - continue putting in $150 per month.

- Clothing - based on my analysis of the ideal wardrobe (yes, and excel spreadsheet), I don't need any new clothing except a swimsuit. No clothes buying for me this year (except the swimsuit - just bought massively on sale from Landsend - hope it fits)

One of the best financial gifts my father ever gave me is the ability to have USAA insurance. My dad enlisted as an officer the Navy back in the 50s. He went to college on the GI bill, and he got USAA Insurance.

When I started to drive, I got USAA, too. And F has a savings account there, so she's a member, too. They've always been so helpful, and the prices are the best I've found. When I had a claim, they were amazing.

Anyway, today I got my yearly dividend, a little over $70, which reduces our auto insurance payment this month down to just $31.84. USAA provides dividends at the end of the year if the amount of claims is lower than expected; what a great company!

I usually shop at two stores for our groceries. I was shopping in the second store, Sprouts, and pretty much done with my shopping and about to pay, when there was a huge pop and all of the lights and cash registers went off. The store was dark, but not too dark to see, and I said to the stockperson who was on my aisle "Can we pay if there's no power to the registers?"

But just then we heard the manager shouting from the front of the store to come to the registers with everything we had in our baskets. I figured maybe they had some alternate system.

There were probably a total of 20 shoppers in the store at the time, and we all headed to the registers. Two Sprouts employees who had been outside collecting carts said that the transformer had "blown up." They said it sounded like a huge pop, and the female employee hit the ground she was so scared, then the transformer started smoking.

Anyway, I got to the front, the guy at the register bagged all my groceries (without scanning them obviously) and then smiled and said "Merry Christmas! Our manager said everything is free!"

Free groceries! I felt bad for the store... but it was a really good PR move (let's say 20 people time maybe $40 each average is not actually that much for the store - they'll probably lose more from spoiled inventory, and maybe their insurance will cover it?).

When I went to my car, I saw the exploded transformer - it was all black. Glad that no one was hurt. And the traffic lights were out up to the next major street.

But, let's return to that very welcome Christmas present - free groceries!

I can't tell you exactly how much the groceries would have cost (about $30) but I will definitely have extra money in our grocery budget left over this month that I can use to pay down the mortgage.

I have adopted a new approach to clothing. I am sort of afraid to tell my friends who think that I'm way too obsessive-compulsive and that I rely too much on excel and spreadsheets and stuff. But I'm not afraid to tell you!

Step 1 - I've inventoried my clothes (and F's) including socks and underwear and pajamas (and shoes). Yes, of course this goes into a spreadsheet.

Step 2 - I've figured out the ideal number of each item (short sleeved shirt, long sleeved shirt, trousers)

Step 3 - Replace only as necessary. I've determined that I have PLENTY of clothes. I don't need anything new until something gets super stained or threadbare. But F is still growing, and she needs to have bigger sizes as she gets bigger.

Step 4 - Make a list of what will be needed a year in advance (so if it's winter now, what will likely still fit and be ok next winter, and what will be needed next winter).

Step 5 - Shop the sales! (Everything winter is now on sale or about to be on sale). I just bought F some long sleeved shirts and a sweatshirt half off at Old Navy and got $10 off my next purchase. She will likely be a size 8 for another year, but I bought a few things in the next size up.

And... it's good to know that I don't need anything. So nothing for me until my current clothes shred and fall off! (Actually my standard practice is that clothes that are stained become workout clothes, and clothes that have holes become pajamas - then they shred and fall off and become rags).

Merry Christmas from New Mexico! It finally feels like Christmas - I've made the biscochitos (see my Grandmother's rolling pin? I always feel close to her when I use it) and red chile chicken tamales (that's what we eat on Christmas Eve). I brought the presents home from the office, and we'll be heading out after tamales to see the farolitos and stop by a few friends' houses for posole.



Then we'll leave both a mince pie (English tradition) and biscochito (New Mexican tradition) for Father Chrismtas/Santa. And a carrot for the reindeer. And D and I will dutifully eat most of each to make it look real. And F will not fall asleep until 11, but after that I'll come down the chimney (figuratively) and put out all the gifts. And we'll all follow F's lead and get up at 6 am!

Saving Advice has turned out to be a really great outlet for me, a good place to keep my thoughts and stay sane. Everyone on here is so supportive and nice! I wish for you all to meet your goals (financial or otherwise) in 2014, and have a wonderful holiday and a stupendous new year!

Warmest wishes!

So I haven't posted anything about my husband's vertigo, partly because I thought it'd go away quickly after he went to (two!) doctors. (One thought it was some crystal thing in his ears and one thinks it's a sinus infection - so he's on antibiotics).

Well, it's been two weeks - he's mostly functional (he can go to work, make himself tea, sit in bed and watch shows on his computer) but he doesn't feel well enough to really last an entire day (he goes to sleep when F does). He can't exercise, he can't bend over even a little bit. He's back in bed right now and it's about 10 am.

I feel really bad for him! I'm doing everything I can to make things easier for him.

It means that I've been doing almost all of the household chores. I am heading out in a sec to brave Target (yikes!) to pick up some sudafed for him. (Just goes to show that it doesn't matter how well you plan - all of my shopping has been done for ages and the food was bought on Saturday - you still may have to brave the stores on Christmas Eve!).

My friend B, who is very sweet, but has a lot more money than we do, suggested I get someone in to clean the house and buy takeout. We really can't afford to pump up the dining out budget and we can't afford a cleaner. And I can get all these chores done myself, I just want to whine about it.

Which is part of the problem - I feel really guilty because my husband feels awful, and I'm internally (and to my close friends and to YOU) whining about how hard this is on me! I'm a terrible person!

OK, enough venting. I'm going to Target (and then to the library which is only open until 1 today, to pick up a book). And then to the office where the Christmas presents are hiding.

Then I will come home and make lunch for F and her friend L who is over for a playdate today. And then I will make tamales and biscochitos because even if I'm whiny and D is feeling poorly - it's Christmas Eve! And I love Christmas Eve!!

I've had this green fabric forever (can't even remember when I bought it). I'm pretty excited that not only is it now a dress, but there was enough left over for a tunic for F.

I also made a box out of some cardboard I had in the office for the hedgehog I made for F for Christmas.



Everything is bought and wrapped, and I was wondering how much I spent this year...

Here is the grand total (this includes gifts for F, D, the photo prints we got for each other and the teacher gifts): 365.70 (I am not sure how much D spent from our Dublin account to buy gifts for our two nephews, one niece and his mum and dad - they were all purchased on amazon.co.uk - probably about $20 each - so probably about $100). We don't buy gifts to my parents - F makes something for them.