tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42259790839276352302024-03-06T15:00:35.971-05:00My attempts at frugal livingA family of five with four cats and our beloved dog. Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.comBlogger1559125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-54704139850773500962018-03-29T08:41:00.003-04:002018-03-29T08:41:47.268-04:00Life keeps going Well, I have been very busy working overtime at my job to help pay for new brakes and tires for my vehicle. I was able to get the brakes and tires done and put cash into my savings account. We also did our taxes and got a refund from the federal government. I owe VA taxes and they will be paid in full with my next pay check. <div>
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My oldest DD is still working part time at the dollar store. She is doing well and still is at home. She pays rent and does put gas in he vehicles. My middle DD was in the hospital two weeks ago due to a rare adverse reaction to her antipsychotic. Needless to say that I had to take her to the ER after getting out of work myself and we spent a few hours there. We were discharged after four hours with prescriptions for cogentin. </div>
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I went "psycho mom" on our psychiatrist for increasing her dosing without knowing what else was happening at the time leading to the dystonic reaction. Needless to say, she is not taking an antipsychotic medicine now and it is listed as a severe allergy. My middle DD is still working at the dollar store and pays rent and puts gas in the vehicle. The psychiatrist and I have an agreement to discuss (with my children's OK since they are over 18) any changes in medications that are needed prior to implementing them for the adult kids and my husband. I have been very proactive in their mental health since 2004 when my husband was finally diagnosed. </div>
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My autistic son FINALLY was approved for social security. He will receive 653 a month for life under my husband's benefit. He has a new checking account now with my name on it as a representative. He is very proud of his checking account and right now it has 25 dollars in it that I put there to open the account. We are waiting patiently for the deposit for April to arrive. </div>
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My son is going to pay "rent" and offered to help with groceries. He likes to grocery shop at Aldi and the Dollar Tree. My son has also started in a program at the local high school. It is for adult special education learners who have a "diploma" that need additional services through the school system. The county school board offered to assist us with placement after explaining and providing paperwork from the Virginia Board of Education. </div>
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He goes to "school" from 630 to 230 in the afternoon. The bus picks him up in front of the house and drops him off with an adult waiting for him. He can not be let off the bus without the driver acknowledging that there is an adult at the house. </div>
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With all the overtime I have been working I was able to put additional cash into the savings account and put 3/4 of the tax money in the account too. Prior to my overtime I had about 8,200 in there. I am proud to say that we have 11, 257 in savings as of this morning. I will continues to put 75 dollars every two weeks into the savings as a direct deposit from my take home pay.</div>
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I am still in debt with my student loan and the retirement home mortgage. My goal is to get the student loan paid off (I would like to think by the end of the year, but it's a large amount, so maybe half would be a good goal). </div>
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Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-34239602023984057802018-02-11T08:10:00.000-05:002018-02-11T08:12:33.221-05:00This weekI worked my scheduled three shifts this past week and spent a lot of time at the local parks doing some walking with my husband. We have been out several times this past week and enjoy being together and even if it makes walking to get some fresh air and exercise.<br />
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My husband gave me his 300 dollar contribution to the monthly budget and we ended up getting two new tires and an oil change for my car with the money. We were told that we will need new brakes and the other thing (I wish I knew what it was, but it has to do with the brakes). The shop told us that it would cost a total of 1,200 dollars.<br />
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I got paid on Friday and made an online payment to the mortgage company for March. I also paid two outstanding hospital charges that came in the mail. I made the payment to the cell phone folks. I also sent out a payment to the electric company in full.<br />
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I am surprised that our electric bill was 101.54 this month. This is for a full month. The electric company charges an automatic 20 dollar fee regardless of the charges. They charge 0.11 cents per KW under 1,000 KW. If you use more than 1,000 KW the charge per KW is 0.13 cents.<br />
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Our first bill in the new house used 440 KW. This was not for a full month. The most recent bill I paid on Friday was for 784 KW. We have been opening windows when it is warm outside. My husband turned on the air conditioning yesterday when it went over 80 degrees in the house. We have new ceiling fans that were a gift for my birthday and we have to get them up in each of the rooms at some point.<br />
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I continue the deposits into the savings account through the banks automatic deposit from my pay check of 75 dollars a pay period.<br />
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The cost of the brakes may have to be taken out of the savings account. I really don't want to do that, but my first pay of the month covers the mortgage for the next month and the beginning of the bills for the next month. I stay a month ahead because life happens. The second paycheck of the month goes towards anything that did not get covered with the first paycheck. The bills come through the mail and get paid immediately on my pay day to prevent anything from being late or overdue.<br />
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I have thought seriously about getting a credit card. I have not been in credit card debt for about five years. I found Dave Ramsey about 8 years ago and used his plan to help get my debt paid off. When we sold our Virginia home, almost half of the mortgage was paid off at that time and I only had the mortgage and a student loan payment.<br />
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I still have a new mortgage even if it is a hit higher than our old one. My student loan is coming out of deferment in March and I have been making payments of 200 dollars every month. The new payment will be 250 starting in March and I would like to work hard at getting this paid off by adding additional money to the principle.<br />
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My reasoning for a credit card would be to help with expenses towards higher cost items. I would prefer not to take the money out of the savings. I am very hesitant to get a credit card because I would prefer not to have any additional debt.<br />
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I guess I have made my own decision about the credit card. I don't really want one. I would just prefer to have the money on hand for the higher cost items that we have coming due instead of taking it out of savings.<br />
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I am working an additional shift tonight. I picked up tonight as overtime. I am also working Tues, Wed, and Thurs night. We have eaten dinner at home all week and have been actively working on using what is in the pantry and freezer.<br />
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Our taxes are completed and I am getting a small refund from the feds. I owe Virginia about 350 dollars in taxes since apparently there was not enough taken out last year. I am going to electronically send the return in when I get paid again.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-24582573614809110022018-02-04T08:58:00.003-05:002018-02-04T08:58:40.204-05:00January GoalsSome of the January goals I hadinclude the following:<br />
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~transfer retirement from old employer to new employer plan<br />
I am still trying to work on this. I have the forms downloaded into a pdf file and having difficulties getting them to print out at work. I am not sure what I am doing wrong.<br />
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~maintain 75 dollars every two weeks as a direct deposit from my pay into the savings<br />
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This has been started at the end of December and will continue as a direct deposit every two weeks into my savings account. This has been continued and will help keep an emergency fund in place.<br />
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~cancel CVS prescription coverage for my husband once all his meds are processed through the 90 day mail order. DONE!<br />
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~order new blinds for 8 windows and one large sliding door. DONE!<br />
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~buy curtains for my bedroom<br />
We decided not to get curtains for our bedroom. The blinds are more than enough and they are heavy ones also. I am not going to add this as a goal for February as this is an expense we don't need at this time.<br />
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~buy curtains for the living room window and two windows in the dining room<br />
See above. We are not going to have this as a goal for February since this is an expense we do not need at the moment.<br />
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~maintain the current standard of living and keep any cash flow that is left over from each pay period to put an additional deposit into the savings. DONE!<br />
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I received a 25 dollar check from the new mortgage company. It appears that I gave them 25 dollars too much at closing. This will be deposited into the savings account this morning. I have direct deposit each pay period and transferred 200 dollars from my checking to the savings this morning from January's excess.<br />
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~continue using our pantry as wisely as possible as funds are tight and remain so until we are financially settled into our new home. THIS IS ALWAYS ONGOING.<br />
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~Bed delivery DONE!<br />
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~measuring windows for blinds installation<br />
DONE!Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-75455819062497617832018-02-04T08:52:00.002-05:002018-02-04T08:52:16.613-05:00January I started January with a goal of saving some money to put towards my savings account. I put in a direct deposit of 75 dollars every two weeks to go directly to the savings. I added 25 dollars as a one time deposit to the savings.<br />
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I ended January with 471.79 left in my checking account after all the expenses were paid for the month. I am not sure how I managed to do that other than when my mother in law came to visit we went out almost every day she was here and I paid for one meal. She did some grocery shopping for us and went out of her way to help us get settled in our new home.<br />
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I would like to put 200 dollars of the 471 into the savings account. I have some more health care bills coming in soon and the extra cash can be put towards those expenses.<br />
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My husband did his monthly contribution to the budget and gave me 300 dollars of his disability check and he pays his bills in full every month. He has a limited income and pays for his medicare premiums from his check. He usually does not have any extra funds and keeps 25 dollars a month in his savings account which he ends up using.<br />
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The savings for January increased some. There was a interest payment of 2.24, two deposits of 75 dollars each, a one time deposit of 25 dollars, and the transfer of 200 dollars from my checking to the savings that I just did online. The 200 dollars will be counted as a January deposit since it was from left over funds for the month.<br />
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I did have to take out the costs for the endoscope from the savings account that totaled 515.00. This was a cost that I knew I would have to pay since I spoke to the billing office at the hospital. It will take a while to recover this money and put it back into the savings.<br />
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February savings account balance: 8,554.20Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-78411277908389544872018-02-04T08:35:00.004-05:002018-02-04T08:35:55.320-05:00Health care costs JanuaryI was going through my budget and added up some numbers regarding the high costs of January's medical costs that my family has incurred. We paid cash for all the copayments, procedures, medications, and follow up fees with radiology and hospital charges. We have private insurance through my work and I am thankful.<br />
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Here's the breakdown of costs out of pocket for January.<br />
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MD appointments 40 dollar co pays total 230 dollars.<br />
90 day medications for the five of us (we take numerous ones for chronic conditions) 326.18<br />
Radiologist fees 99.25<br />
Hospital fees 53.48<br />
Endoscope 515.15<br />
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The endoscope met my individual deductible of 400 dollars. If I need any other procedures, lab work, and anything besides meds or doc visit copays I will pay 10 percent until I hit max out of pocket.<br />
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Total cost for January medical costs was a whopping 1,224.06.<br />
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Oh my goodness. It's almost one full paycheck for a two week period at my job. We still have some bills coming in for February. I am expecting one for the anesthesia provider for the endoscope procedure and one for the follow up appointment with my GI doc. I am expecting a bill from the hospital that will cover the costs of their services for the procedure that my insurance does not pay.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-43425229524623055522018-01-31T17:11:00.000-05:002018-01-31T17:11:23.355-05:00Meals My MIL went to Orlando last night and got a hotel next to the airport. Her plane left Orlando at 715 this morning and she made it back to Rhode Island at 1030 this morning.<br />
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We had plain pancakes this morning and they were a bit difficult to get down. I ended up mashing the pancake up in small pieces and was able to better swallow it.<br />
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Lunch for me was a bowl of plain cheerios with fat free milk.<br />
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Dinner is some from scratch chicken noodle soup I made yesterday. Every one loved it and it was not very "spicy" and was a bit bland in my opinion without adding onions. It got rave reviews from the family. We have some left over and will be served as dinner tomorrow night since I am working tonight and tomorrow.<br />
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The kids finished all the take out left overs that we had accumulated in the fridge from my MIL.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-47007205727698626242018-01-29T19:43:00.001-05:002018-01-29T19:43:11.759-05:00Health Needs Last Tuesday I had to go to the hospital to have an out patient procedure with the GI specialist. He diagnosed with me with severe acid reflux and did an endoscope. He told me that I have a very large ulcer in my esophagus and that he had never seen on this large.<br />
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I have met my individual deductible for myself of 400 dollars. My copayment for everything besides office visits will be 10 percent of cost until I max at 2,500 as an individual and then my insurance will pick up everything at 100 percent. This does not include mail order medications or office visit co payments.<br />
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The GI specialist put me on protonix since the prilosec was not working and also put me on carafate three times a day. I am also prescribed a very bland diet with either water or clear liquids to drink. I am not allowed to have any decaf tea for eight weeks. I made it through week one finally.<br />
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What I found was that bland diets can be well, bland but I am starting to feel so much better. My coughing and gagging has decreased a small amount and I have been drinking so much water that I am well hydrated now. I have been told to eat three small meals a day with two high protein snacks to ensure nutritional needs.<br />
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Some of the things I have been eating are plain scrambled eggs (no butter), hard boiled eggs, any canned fruit, any canned veggies, a lot of soup, cream of wheat, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, canned tuna fish in water, peanut butter, plain white bread, pancakes, etc etc.<br />
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My MIL bought two roaster chickens the other night from sam's club. I was able to the bones, skin, and frame in the crock pot this morning to use as a basis for soup. We will have chicken noodle coup tomorrow for dinner.<br />
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I can not have most things that I would usually eat on a regular basis. I am not allowed to have any raw veggies, anything acidic, no fruit juices, no tea, and limited meat. The meat is a bit difficult for me to swallow even in small amounts. I did have some chicken two nights in a row with some difficulty swallowing.<br />
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The goal is to have the ulcer healed by the end of 8 weeks. I am not on any blood thinners or take ibuprofen or aleve. I stick to tylenol as needed for discomfort. There is a huge concern regarding any potential spontaneous bleeding that could happen.<br />
<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-12714672630975791242018-01-29T19:32:00.000-05:002018-01-29T19:32:10.753-05:00What's been happening. My MIL and her companion are leaving tomorrow to spend the night in an Orlando hotel next to the airport. Their plane leaves Wednesday morning at 7:15 and this hotel stay would ensure that they are able to get the shuttle to their plane on time that morning.<br />
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My MIL is wonderful. She has been helping us with house stuff while I have been working. She did most of the laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, and took it upon herself to clean the kitchen. She took my daughters to work in the mornings since I was late getting home from work.<br />
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We are really going to miss her. She is very active, continues to work, and is very helpful. A few things I found out years after we did not get along due to my husband's mental illness diagnosis. The two of us have been able to mend our bridges after having a stormy relationship that ended in 2004 and have a very nice relationship. I am thankful for her time, her love for my kids, and her compassion. I have been part of the family since I met her son in 1989 and we got married in 1993.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-74821084807447591122018-01-27T14:30:00.000-05:002018-01-27T14:30:18.895-05:00It's been a few days My MIL is in town and staying with us. She has been here since Wednesday evening and is leaving Wednesday morning. It has been very busy the past few days with work, doctor appointments, a procedure, and her visit. We have spent some time venturing into Orlando with her and spent some great time together. She's 75, very active, and continues to work as a nurse in the emergency room in Rhode Island. I hope when I am her age I can continue doing what I love without restraints.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-18313054986356127722018-01-22T19:20:00.000-05:002018-01-22T19:20:43.359-05:00The weekend I worked Thurdsay, Friday, and Saturday night. I am very tired and have been trying to stay organized in the meal department when I am working.<br />
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I got up Saturday afternoon and we had a very crazy dinner. I was over tired from not sleeping well and kind of irritable. I told the kids and my husband that we were having hot dogs, chicken noodle soup, and sliced cucumber. It was not a very healthy or well rounded meal but it was something to eat and prevented me from ordering take out which I honestly can not afford.<br />
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I was off last night and we stayed home most of the day. I did go to the park for a walk with my husband which we try to do on days I am not working. It gets us both outside and we would benefit from the walking.<br />
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Sunday dinner was only the five of us. We did not have anything planned with the cousins. I made grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches on whole wheat bread. We have quite a few roma tomatoes that I bought from Aldi when I went shopping a while ago. They needed to be used and honestly the sandwiches came out amazing.<br />
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I had to take the money out of our savings for an endoscope I am having done tomorrow for a diagnosis. It is going to cost me 515.50 out of pocket with my health coverage at the hospital. I want to remind everyone that I am an employee and the health deductible is just outrageous. I am not sure on how long it will take for me to replace that money.<br />
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Dinner tonight was a pork tenderloin. I cut it in half and put the other half back in the fridge for tomorrow. I sliced the large half into pork chops and put them in the crock pot. I added frozen Aldi green beans, two large carrots, several cut up potatoes, and some garlic. I let this cook all day and it got rave reviews from the family. There are no veggies left in the crock pot which just amazes me because other than myself and my husband, my "adult" children are not keen on veggies.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-56636977239316170922018-01-19T16:05:00.000-05:002018-01-19T16:05:30.055-05:00DinnerI am trying to be better prepared when I am working in regards to dinner prep and planning. Last night before I went to work I took two cups of pinto beans out of the pantry and soaked them. When I got home this morning I put the pinto beans in the crock pot, added some water, minced onion, pepper, and the small ham bone (we had two in the freezer). I also added four cut up carrots and one stalk of celery. I let this cook all day while I was sleeping.<br />
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We are going to have ham and bean soup for dinner tonight. I am working tonight and there will be soup left over. The left over soup will go into the fridge for lunches/dinner over the weekend.<br />
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I am hoping to keep the budget intact. I am scheduled for an out patient procedure on Tuesday and pre registered this afternoon when I woke up. My costs for this procedure is 515.50 and I was told this afternoon that I can pay it on Monday. This cost will come right out of my savings account and I am thankful that the money is there.<br />
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I did speak to my husband when I got up about the costs. The savings account is "our money" but he does not have access to the account due to his spending habits. He told me that he was sorry about the costs and said that he would help if he had the money. He has a limited amount of money and I told him that it wasn't his responsibility to pay for my procedure.<br />
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He understands the stress that the finances and budget place on us as a household.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-14534143924386679172018-01-18T17:11:00.000-05:002018-01-18T17:11:15.570-05:00DinnerDinner has to be quick and easy as I am going to work in about an hour. So this is what is on the plates for tonight.<br />
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Sloppy joes (using the last of the ground beef that we didn't cook for our spaghetti dinner with our cousins), fried potatoes, and sliced cucumber.<br />
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My work dinner consist of left over spaghetti, grapes, yogurt, and sliced cucumber.<br />
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All of my work dinner is put into our rubbermaid portion containers. I am using very small containers as everything else is in the dishwasher getting ready to be washed. My dinner bag goes to work and comes home with me every morning. I do not leave anything at work. I also pack my own silverware, decaf tea bags, some sugar, my own mug, and anything else I could need for my meal.<br />
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I usually "snack" on my dinner through out my twelve hour shift as sometimes it is very difficult to get a true "30 minute lunch" when you have a very busy patient assignment in the CVICU.<br />
<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-5405419252866739342018-01-18T09:06:00.000-05:002018-01-18T09:06:18.317-05:00Stock I have two large containers of turkey stock in the freezer from Thanksgiving. They need to be used up and I also have two containers of chicken stock in the freezer from this week. I was considering making a ham and bean soup tomorrow for dinner and was considering using one container of turkey stock instead of the homemade chicken stock I have in the freezer. I have two ham bones that need to be used and I was going to use the smaller of the two for tomorrow.<br />
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Thoughts on using the turkey stock instead of the chicken stock for bean soup?Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-85329322593015543842018-01-18T09:03:00.001-05:002018-01-18T09:03:54.330-05:00Dinner last night I made sticky chicken earlier in the week and was able to take all the meat off the drumsticks. The crock pot was full of drippings and stock from the original cooking of the sticky chicken. I strained the stock and put it in the freezer for soup at some point.<br />
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The meat was taken off the bones prior to serving it to the family. There were nine drumsticks total. I put the bones and skin back into the crock pot with additional water and made a second batch of chicken stock which went into the freezer.<br />
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We all had a good portion of chicken that night for dinner and I continued to have chicken left over in the fridge that needed to be used. I ended up making chicken salad using what we have in the pantry and fridge prior to my grocery shopping adventures yesterday.<br />
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Mayo<br />
A few stalks of celery including the leaves<br />
the rest of the chicken<br />
poultry seasoning<br />
onion powder<br />
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The kids were able to choose from chicken salad or left over spaghetti from dinner with their cousins the other night. There is still some of both left over and will be taken to work with me tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday. I offered the kids and my husband some grapes with dinner since I found some at Aldi yesterday afternoon. They were a bit pricey but we haven't had fresh fruit in a while.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-71458591326316549612018-01-17T17:05:00.001-05:002018-01-17T17:10:33.192-05:00Aidi, Dollar Tree, and Dollar General My middle DD had to work this morning so I took her in and she bought a 18 lb bag of nine lives cat food as reimbursement for the ride to work. I was going to buy cat food anyway, but she got it instead.<br />
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My DS came with me and he is responsible for calculating the prices and math in his head. Je loads the car and helps pack groceries in bags.<br />
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Free:<br />
18 pound bag of cat food (we have four furry buddies which my family loves, but I am not fond of).<br />
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Dollar General:<br />
25 pound box of tidy cat scoopable litter 7.50<br />
8 pack canned mighty dog dog food 4.75<br />
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The total came out to 14.71<br />
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Dollar Tree:<br />
two packages of pepper and onion strips<br />
dish soap<br />
mustard<br />
generic tylenol<br />
generic ibuprofen<br />
generic aleve<br />
chopped onion<br />
chopped chives<br />
three woman deoderant<br />
two men deoderant<br />
two large cans of baked beans<br />
20 ounce canned crushed tomato<br />
yellow cake mix<br />
hot chocolate<br />
brownie mix<br />
gallon freezer bags<br />
aluminum foil<br />
thin spaghetti<br />
toothpaste<br />
2 bottles vo5 shampoo<br />
one men body wash<br />
apple juice<br />
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Total spent: 29.92<br />
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Aldi:<br />
2 packs of yeast<br />
cheese crackers<br />
snack crackers<br />
roma tomatoes<br />
chopped spinach<br />
frozen green beans<br />
baby brussel sprouts<br />
2 rolls of ground turkey<br />
10 lb potatoes<br />
2 dozen eggs<br />
2 packages of brats<br />
chicken leg quarters (two large packages 0.89 a pound)<br />
breadcrumbs<br />
two loaves of white bread<br />
one loaf of wheat bread<br />
hot dog rolls<br />
one chuck roast (3.89 a pound)<br />
chicken breasts (1.69 a pound)<br />
two boxes of cinnamon cereal<br />
5 lb carrots<br />
red grapes<br />
a few bananas<br />
two cukes<br />
2 rolls of 85 percent lean ground beef<br />
two gallons of skim milk<br />
grape jelly<br />
canned yams<br />
spaghetti<br />
3 lb onions<br />
two boxes of stuffing mix<br />
24 pk bottled water<br />
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Total spent : 97.74<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-85905370079590277752018-01-17T08:14:00.002-05:002018-01-17T08:14:39.950-05:00Partial mortgage payment/Life/BillsI went to the bank yesterday and spoke to the bank manager. She helped me put a stop payment on that partial mortgage payment I made in December. It was a total of 640.93 and this amount was credited back into my check book. After I was helped at the bank I called the mortgage company to clarify that the partial payment was not to be proceeded should it eventually get to them. They put a note in my record and stated that since I put a stop payment on it there was no reason to notify them.<br />
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I also verified that they did receive the full payment I made over the phone on Friday in the amount of 1280.93 for The first payment that was due in February. This payment came out of my pay check and left only a small amount to pay the rest of the bills with. The full payment should be taken out in two to three days per the mortgage company through my bank account as a withdrawal.<br />
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So, I was able to pay the electric bill, two co payments for doc appointments we had this week, the last water bill for the old rental house, the water bill for the new house, a bill I received from the hospital where I had a procedure done, the internet bill (we do not have cable or dish), a payment to my student loan (which has been in deferment and will be due March first, I have been paying every month regardless), paid for yearly registration for my car, and have a bit left to get some gas for my vehicle and my husband's vehicle.<br />
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Once everything goes through the checking account I will be able to put some money aside in the savings and have keep the 75 dollars every two weeks through an automatic deposit from my pay going directly into the savings. I have been doing well with that and do not miss the money from my take home pay.<br />
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I would like to get to Aldi and Dollar Tree either today or early tomorrow since I am working Thurs, Fri, and Sat to get some additional groceries and we are either out or running low on some pantry and freezer stuff.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-33378110503993502172018-01-17T08:03:00.002-05:002018-01-17T08:03:29.426-05:00Dinner with the cousins Our cousins came over last night for dinner. They did ask if they should bring something and I told them no since we had everything all ready prepared and out on the stove.<br />
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I had two half containers of Ragu spaghetti sauce in the fridge and one small left over container in the freezer. I put all the sauce into one pan and simmered it on the stove. I ended up thawing a package of 80 percent lean ground beef. It was 2.3 pounds total and I used half the package. I cooked this on the stove with some garlic and added it to the Ragu making it a "meat sauce".<br />
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I had a two pound bag of pasta in the pantry and debated if I should only cook half the bag. I ended up cooking the whole bag and felt that if I only cooked half it would not be enough.<br />
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I had a package of Italian bread in the freezer. I thawed that out and made "cheesy garlic bread). I added a lot of jarred garlic to some butter and mixed it up well. I spread this on the italian bread, added some "mexican" shredded cheese, and Italian seasoning. I put the bread in the oven and let it cook until it got toasted and the cheese melted. The whole loaf was gone by the time our cousins left.<br />
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My oldest DD made a pan of brownies since we had a mix in the pantry.<br />
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We have a good size bowl of pasta with meat sauce left. This will be going with me to work on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in my dinner bag. The kids and my husband can also have it for lunches the rest of the week since I will be sleeping in the day time (I work night shift). It's easy to heat up in the microwave and my DS can manage getting his own lunch plate with out having to ask for help.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-33102525317985044332018-01-15T18:40:00.000-05:002018-01-15T18:40:04.397-05:00Dinner tonight<br />
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Dinner tonight consisted of some marked down beef that I had in the freezer. I was able to saute it with some mushrooms and garlic in oil. I ended up making a pan gravy with the drippings. We had the left over veggies from last night (choice of peas/carrots or broccoli) and my husband and two of the kids opted to finish off some of the mac and cheese that was sitting in the fridge from yesterday along with the offerings from dinner tonight. We are all having water with our meal tonight since we have multiple bottles of water in the fridge. My middle DD is at work and her plate is on the stove for when she gets home later this evening.<br />
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I am out of fresh onions and would have liked to saute them with the beef, mushrooms, and garlic. We are making due with what we have instead of going to the store or resorting to take out.<br />
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<img alt="Image may contain: food" height="320" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26815195_1678599738829568_6999161213773279581_n.jpg?oh=33e05f48668cdb77cf444a76bc29be91&oe=5AF98011" width="179" />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-86817680794391438362018-01-15T15:13:00.001-05:002018-01-15T15:13:08.854-05:00Quality time My husband and I were going to go to an art festival this morning but he slept in and I was doing some housework. The art festival was free to the public but was in Orlando and we didn't have enough gas in either vehicle to drive one hour each way. We decided to stay home and hang out with the kids.<br />
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My oldest DD is off today. My middle DD is going to work at 5 this evening. My DS doesn't have a job.<br />
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My husband and I went on a walk through the new development with Jackson, our dog. We had a good time holding hands, talking, and looking at the other homes that are being built. There were some families outside that were also walking, some were in their yards, and we found a few homes that had chairs outside on their porch.<br />
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We also went walking twice yesterday in between doing some chores, taking the girls to work, and making dinner. My husband helped me clean up the kitchen last night from dinner and my girls did the breakfast and lunch plates this afternoon while my husband and I were walking.<br />
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There's a lot of benefits to walking and we were able to enjoy some of the "warmer" weather 50 to 60 degrees outside with the sun shining. We were able to be alone, enjoy each other's company, and have conversations about our lives together.<br />
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We are blessed to have met each other when I was 17 and he was 19. We have grown up together and draw on each other for support when the other was struggling. Walking is a wonderful thing and doesn't cost anything. We were going to drive to the park but decided to just stay in the development to save some money on gas.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-31353078898376133832018-01-15T10:18:00.001-05:002018-01-15T10:18:20.571-05:00Staying within the budget Temps and Electric Bill<br />
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It's been a bit cold for Florida in the past few weeks. It has been in the 30's overnight which is very cold when you are used to 60 degrees at night. Regardless, we did turn on the heat for about two weeks at night due to the low temps.<br />
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The heat has been off for about a week and a half since the temperature at night has risen to about 40 degrees. The day time temps are averaging mid to upper 50's outside and indoor temps have been in the 65-69 range. My husband and middle DD are always warm. My oldest DD, DS, and myself are usually cold and have been wearing sweaters in the house.<br />
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We have been wearing sweaters, opening the blinds to let the morning sun in, and drinking hot tea (myself) and my kids have been drinking some hot chocolate. My oldest DD has been wearing socks, long pants, and a hoodie sweater. My DS has been covering up with blankets that we keep laying over the sofa and a few of the chairs. He has also been wearing his sweater when I ask him to put it on.<br />
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We did all the laundry yesterday. I try and get it done three times a week. The dishwasher is used every day on the normal cycle without the dry cycle. This means that the kids have to actually hand dry the dishes with a towel when putting them away. The washing machine is set on the preferred cycle (which is a quick wash in cold water) and the wash cycle is completed in 35 minutes. The dryer is running on an timed dry of 40 minutes and is set to the preferred setting that I programmed into it. When anyone does the laundry all they have to do is push the power button and start. There is no reason to change the settings since this seems to be working well.<br />
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Water Bill<br />
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The dreaded water bill came in the mail on Saturday. The builders and contracters were running the irrigation to establish the sod and three new trees on the property every day. I was told to continue this for up to 6 weeks to help continue establishing the landscaping. The HOA is mandated to enforce the landscaping rules.<br />
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I stopped the every day water irrigation after two weeks of moving into our "retirement home" as I can not afford a expensive bill. The water bill comes every month. I was looking over the water bill and the total cost from 12/13/2017-12/28/2017 was 177.46! This was for about two weeks!<br />
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THUD!<br />
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I was looking over the charges and the breakdown of the bill. Here it is:<br />
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Utility tax 6.51<br />
Connection charges 50.00 (one time fee)<br />
Irrigation (landscaping) 53.70<br />
Garbage 20.13<br />
Sewer 17.45<br />
Water 11.39<br />
Storm water 8.02<br />
FA residential 10.26<br />
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The monthly usage shows that the irrigation for the landscaping what was set to the builder preferences used 14,000 gallons! Holy creepers Batman! The settings were changed after we moved in from every day to twice a week for 15 minutes. We have a rain sensor installed on the irrigation system so if we get enough rain in the week then the irrigation system knows not to run.<br />
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In the two week time period we used 2,000 gallons of water to provide for daily needs.<br />
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As you can see from above we do have twice a week trash pick up and once a week recycling pick up. When we were living in Virginia we had to take our household trash and recycling to the landfill due to not having public trash pick up. I would rather pay for this service since it is provided to the city residents. It is so much easier to have it picked up and the city provides the trash receptacles and recycling buckets.<br />
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I would like to see the new water bill for a full month decrease since we changed the settings on the irrigation system.<br />
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My DS showers every night. My oldest DD showers once a day. My middle DD showers every other day unless she is working. My husband showers once a day. I shower every other day unless I am working.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-76782251599433646532018-01-14T16:32:00.001-05:002018-01-14T16:32:12.489-05:00Dinner tonight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26730813_1677642618925280_8588341650423270691_n.jpg?oh=e26589998d6e08b1595f0e1399d5eafb&oe=5AF2D177" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="444" height="320" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26730813_1677642618925280_8588341650423270691_n.jpg?oh=e26589998d6e08b1595f0e1399d5eafb&oe=5AF2D177" width="177" /></a></div>
I took the meat off the bones for the stick chicken, served three different kinds of veggies, and the left over brown rice. We have a crock pot full of beautiful chicken stock. I will put the skin and bones in the crock pot after we are finished and make another batch of chicken stock for the freezer.<br />
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We are blessed to eat well on a limited budget.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-80765941913043079572018-01-14T08:15:00.000-05:002018-01-14T08:15:55.477-05:00Dinner plans As like last week our cousins cancelled dinner plans for this afternoon last night when she called me. I spoke to my husband and told him and he was OK with it since I am really tired and worn out from working the past few nights at work. 12 hour night shift in a cardiovascular intensive care unit can be rough on the mental and physical body. It can be a very stressful job and I was out of work late yesterday morning since I had a very heavy patient assignment. I could not even begin to explain how proud I am to be working in this specialty since 2006.<br />
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Anyway, dinner last was the choice of scrambled eggs or sandwiches. I was not in the mood to cook a meal and just wanted to relax. I ended up watching a movie on DVD with my husband and lounging on the sofa with a cup of decaf tea. We had the choice of ham/cheese, pbj, or roast-beef/cheese and/or scrambled eggs.<br />
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Both my girls opted for roast beef and cheese sandwiches. My husband had a roast beef/cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomato. My son wanted scrambled eggs and then asked for a ham/cheese sandwich. I had half a roast beef sandwich. If folks were still hungry I had another package of sandwich rolls in the freezer that could have been thawed for use.<br />
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Dinner tonight is a recipe I have used several times in the past and always goes well. I cut the recipe seasonings in half and used a package of chicken legs from Aldi that were in the freezer. I bought them at one point for 69 cents a pound and there's 4.2 pounds in the package. I put the seasoned chicken in the crock pot with the last four carrots we had and a small amount of celery. We still have some left over brown rice that can be used with dinner and some frozen veggies that are going to be served. It will probably be some broccoli.<br />
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http://allrecipes.com/recipe/45954/roast-sticky-chicken-rotisserie-style/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=search%20results&clickId=cardslot%205Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-62068526948827161192018-01-12T16:10:00.001-05:002018-01-12T16:10:13.369-05:00New Mortgage CompanyI made a partial payment on our new mortgage on 12/29 and sent this in through the mail to the address that was on my payment slip. I called the mortgage company today because it has not cleared my checking account yet and it has been two weeks. The mortgage company stated that they don't accept partial payments unless it is set up through their direct withdrawal every two weeks from a checking or savings account.<br />
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I have never heard of this before!<br />
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The representative told me that eventually the payment would be credited to my account to the principle after the payment was forwarded to the new address for the mortgage company. He also stated that I could stop the payment at the bank.<br />
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I am not sure if I want to stop the payment or wait to see if it goes through my account by the end of January. Regardless I made the first "payment" on our new mortgage in full to be credited come February 1st (which was our original first payment due date).<br />
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It's a bit frustrating. I got paid today and most of my paycheck went to the full mortgage payment. Thank goodness I can get some of the other bills paid and we don't need anything at the grocery store. We will need to get gas in the two vehicles and after tonight's shift I am off work for the next five days.<br />
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I would like to keep my savings in tact and not use any of it since we are working to maintain the budget on my take home pay, with the kids paying their rent, and my husband contributing once a month to the budget.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-21582238313963208552018-01-11T16:27:00.000-05:002018-01-11T16:27:20.880-05:00Dinner/LifeWork was very hectic last night and I did not get home until almost 8 am this morning. Thank goodness I am only two and a half miles away from the hospital. I slept from 830 until 345 and woke up to my middle DD making dinner.<br />
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We still have ground beef left over from the tacos and she mixed it with the jug of spaghetti sauce. She cooked the last bit of spaghetti that was in a box in the pantry. It was really just a small amount of pasta and I told her just to serve smaller portions to everyone. If folks are still hungry there is sandwich fixings (ham, roast beef, peanut butter/jelly, cheese) and trust me they will find something else to eat.<br />
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Our new blinds were finally installed yesterday. I am pretty sure now that we have everything we needed for our "retirement home" and we are pretty sure that we will not be buying anything else.<br />
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I am waiting for the water bill to come in the mail. I am a bit concerned about the cost for the monthly bill since the lawn irrigation (using reclaimed water) was set by the builder to run every morning for 20 minutes to help establish the newly placed sod and trees. I had to adjust the irrigation system to run twice a week on Tuesday and Friday for 15 minutes instead of daily since I am on a budget and can not afford a high water bill.<br />
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My husband opened up a window in the dining room and opened the sliding glass door to let some fresh air in the house. I am so pleased that we are living in Florida now verses Virginia and it is really nice to have windows open in January.<br />
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I have to get ready for work soon. I an thankful that my husband made me a cup of decaf tea while I relax before going to work.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4225979083927635230.post-72757358172009193972018-01-10T17:16:00.000-05:002018-01-10T17:16:39.125-05:00Electric Bill We received a paper copy of the electric bill in the mail today. The total cost is 67.29 from December 14th until January 3rd. We closed and moved in on December 8th and got the utilities turned on December 14th in our name. The meter reading at the time of connection in our name was 203 KWH. The KWH used at the time of our meter reading was 674.<br />
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There was a 40 dollar connect fee, and 9.26 in taxes.<br />
We used 471 kilowatts in electricity according to the bill. This is an actual meter reading.<br />
The cost per KWH is 0.11 for the first 1,000 KWH used.<br />
The cost per KWH is 0,13 for additional KWH after the first 1,000 used.<br />
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February's bill is expected to be higher since the heat was used for temps in the 20 and 30's and the meter will be read for the full 30 days of use on February 3rd.<br />
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We have an HE washer, HE dryer, a new energy efficient dish washer, use the oven and/or stove every day, have laptops, and phones plugged in. We also have a very small flat screen TV on the entertainment center that is plugged in.<br />
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We got our new blinds installed today from Lowe's and hope that the blinds help keep in come of the warmth. We have thermal curtains in the "adult" children's rooms since I felt that these rooms were a bit drafty. The kids told me that their rooms feel warmer now.<br />
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The energy company is offering an energy assessment and I would like to have the folks come to our house and do an assessment to see where we could improve on our electric use and costs.<br />
<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01605655205350411078noreply@blogger.com0