This morning I recycled three empty wine cartons, my husband's annual reports on a stock he owns that are over 10 years old, the contents of my shredder, and all those all NYT Book sections that are so hard to part with.

The vintage books I listed didn't sell on ebay, so I offered them to my university library. They were thrilled and are writing me a big tax deduction.
I don't suppose Disney Steve will let me add that to my total?

No, not the guy on the forum with the problem. This is legit.
I made money on illness this week. Both DH and DD had some sort of odd sinus infection. Both were prescribed antibiotics, and with the prescription coverage and the $25 gift card CVS is offering with a prescription, we came out almost $40 ahead. Very strange and I feel oddly guilty about it.

I sold a dress on ebay, and I've listed some cute children's vintage books. I'm adding $4.74 to my total.

I have some freelance work which really needs doing. I hope to get to it over the weekend. It promises to be a lovely somewhat sunny one!

We've had a productive day. I sold DD's Fisher Price play set on Craigslist for $75, we did tons of errands, dropped off junk at the Salvation Army, and sold a couple of books to HalfPrice that weren't worth the Amazon listing.

I'm adding the $77 to my ebay total, and I'm happy to report my one solitary ebay listing has bids.

Happy and Productive Weekends to all of you!

I went out to lunch with a friend today and to some garage and estate sales. Nothing was particularly enticing, but I bought some unopened packs of 3M window plastic for next fall for 50cents.

I received and deposited a small check from Walgreen's, and want to thank Nance for her advice about the moneysaving mom blog. It's helped me get some great bargains at Walgreens. Our church is putting together gift bags for orphanages and some of my little bits from Walgreen's will go there.

I've got lots of work ahead of me getting ready for my online class and for a conference paper next fall. I should probably start a savings fund for that trip, since I'm sure the university will have no professional development money.

I also listed our DD's outdoor playset on Craigslist and had lots of interest. Someone's coming to get it on Saturday morning. I hope it works out.

Happy Holiday weekends to all of you! Is it bank holiday in the UK this weekend too?

I remember now why I don't go to Target.
Although I had (well, maybe) to go tonight since my iron completely quit, I knew it would be too enticing.

I had a friend who maintained you couldn't get out of Target under $100, but tonight it was $99.67. I bought really cute sandals for DD, the new Dylan CD for me, and more than a few other things besides the iron.

Sadly enough, all this temptation could've been avoided. I came home, unwrapped the new iron, but decided to give the old one one last try. Despite not working all day, the minute its rival entered the house, it started working just fine. Now if I can just return the new one without venturing deeper into the store!

Oh, and my ebay items sold. Add $5.73 to my total

I'm heartbroken that Walgreen's has gone the way of CVS with the dumb register rewards. I loved the Easy Saver catalog and the refillable gift card with the 10% bonus.

I'm speculating the shorter expiration date on the Register Rewards and their easier-to-lose flimsiness has something to do with the bad corporate decision (at least bad for me) at Walgreen's.

Bah--and they're a lot harder to use too.
Double bah.

I had some happy bargain shopping today. Good old Walgreen's was giving away reusable bags with a coupon that also gave you 15% off. I got a nice bagful of things, including discounted "Easter" stuff (Just decorated with flowers and great for gifts)for under $5.

The grocery store also had great bargains, so it was a good day for frugality. My IRA statement did put some of this penny-wiseness into perspective. Although it's up from February's totals, I probably shouldn't have looked at last year's numbers. But Suze Orman's right--you gotta look at where you are now.

School's started around here again, and I've walked the six blocks from free parking both mornings in the subzero windchills. Admittedly I've bought a cup of discounted coffee after that, but it gets me going in the morning.

I have happy news about a book sale that netted me $84.09, so I'm well into next month's ebay totals. Hooray!

Everyone is talking about layoffs at the university, so I'm trying to be positive and upbeat. But so many of my students are jobless right now, I wonder how they're going to make it.

I arrange for students from last semester to sell their books to this semester's students to try to cut out the bookstore middleman. I hope that helps them.

One small sale on ebay to cap off the end of break so adding $2.25 to my challenge.
Can I make my $100 goal?

Break is officially over and I'm back to school in the morning. Nothing like single digit temps to make me clutch on to my travel mug!

I'm slowly getting over my disappointment at my lost class. I keep reminding myself to search even harder for bargains and to ask myself on every purchase, "Do we need this?"

On that note, I sent DH and DD to the cheap-o haircutters, both with coupons, bought a couple cards at the dollar store, and went to the dread Best Buy to get the digital converter boxes. The guy tried to sell us the most expensive ones, but we ended up with the $49 ones, so for the two TVs, it only cost $20 after the coupon. We also got Turbotax there as I anxious to get to the taxes. DH tried to get me to buy an Ipod case, but they were $30-$35 there.

After a trip to the library, (and the Jo Nesbo book I wanted!) we came home where I bought an Ipod case for $10 including shipping. It was the same case and brand that was $35 at Worst Buy.

All in all we saved a fair chunk of change, and I'm confident I can make some of my lost salary up.

Homemade pizzas tonight!

I've sold another book, and am happier about the decluttering than the $4 I got for it. I'll list some of DD's outgrown clothes later too.

But today seems like a day for new beginnings, so I'm devoting most of it to getting stuff in order, readying myself for the upcoming semester of teaching, and thinking about the upcoming tasks for the country and for all of us.

I wish you all a happy Inauguration Day.

Like everywhere, our concern has mostly been the weather, but it's been a bit warmer today.
We're geared about about the inauguration and it makes for great discussion in my class tomorrow night.
I've made a couple of ebay sales and a couple of Amazon sales to the total of $56.46 which I'll add to my ebay challenge money!

The promise of more snow this weekend followed by subzero temps next week makes the upcoming days perfect for scouting out junk in the house to sell on ebay. I freecycled some kids' books today in the interest of decluttering and listed something on ebay.

I was aiming for a NSD, and thinking I could actually put a plus in the account today when I returned some tights to Marshall's. Unfortunately, I did not turn around and walk out after I did the return, but bought a few really cute plates and cups with NY, London, and Paris skylines on them. They were only $3.99 each, and the sets will make really cute gifts for friends that have shared all three cities with me. That's my rationalization, darn it.

Soup making and ebay on the horizon.
Too bad I can't sell soup on ebay!

After yesterday's rant about the heat, I'm home with the heat off after 8:30. Maybe my chilliness will get me warming up on the treadmill.

And I'm in on the ebay/amazon/etc sales to the tune of $20.08 with a $100 goal for the month.

I also spent some time this morning checking out Manhattan hotel rates. I found a nice spot at the Affina Manhattan for $149/night, but thinking about switching to the Iroquois which is more expensive, but maybe????

Anyone with any Manhattan expertise? I haven't been there in years.

Ha! You thought this was going to be about the Olympics, didn't you? Nope, a different china from our various former lives instead.

I'm happy to report that both the china cake plate DH received for a wedding gift for his first marriage, and the vegetable dish lid from my first set of wedding china sold last night on ebay. Since my former husband broke the vegetable dish years ago, I have no idea why I held onto the lid, but it sold for $10 last night. The cake plate went for more. It's so satisfying to get something for basically nothing.

All of our annual insurance bills come due in late July and August--life insurance, homeowner's and at least one car. So until I get paid again, I'm transferring money from savings to help cover it. That and the prospect of a leaking coolant system on my car makes it all sort of ugly.

But I got a couple of checks from surveys and am determined to keep my chin up.

Maybe I can find something to list on ebay....

This is a mini-rant about a spending choice I think is pretty darn ridiculous.
If you're a designer handbag freak, log off now.
As some of you know, I teach at a large public university. Almost every term for the past few years, I get a 20something female student who wants to talk to me about her cool designer handbag that cost her $300+. I have no idea why they want to talk to ME about this--maybe they think I need fashion help. Today a friend told me about her niece who is tens of thousands in debt yet prides her designer bags above all else.

Has the world gone nuts? I have my splurges, but they tend to be a pint of raspberries or a bottle of hand lotion that's more expensive than normal.

My first car cost less than their bags!

Just when we found out we need to do about $5000 worth of work in the basement, I get a bad case of the "I wants."

I want
a nice vacation
a new dresser/chest of drawers
a nice bed and mattress
Central A/C

Now of course, I could buy all of that with the money we HAVE to spend on the basement, but I need to get inventive about what I want (none of this is particularly necessary) and what's actually affordable.

But we've been living with a mismatched bedroom, pretty badly mismatched at that, since we've been married and DH's bed joined my furniture with an IKEA dresser on the side. The bed is a European king size, which is unbelievably different than an American or British King size, so our sheets don't fit and the mattress is just plain worn out.

Now if I could get my vacation with airmiles, find an estate sale dresser, and some sort of bargain on A/C, well, maybe I could actually do some of this.

So, my last ebay sales have been lousy, so I scrounged up more unnecessary books to sell, and am trying to think of ways to make up the difference.

Man, I feel like I'm a whiny little brat today!

Today is start-over day.
I just found out that my one-week summer class had inadequate enrollment and so has been canceled. And I had to prepay for childcare for that week so I'm out of pocket on that one. Very discouraging, but will have to find ways to make that week work somehow.

But I am slowly dejunking. Someone came to pick up the booster seat I've freecycled, and am getting rid of DD's doll high chair the same way since my Craigslist stuff rarely sells. Three of the five e-bay items from last week sold, and I've listed some more.

I forecast a poorer but less cluttered summer.

With the super-cheap ebay listings right now, I've decided to list everything I've been considering before it expires on the 31st.

We had such a good time in Florida, I'd like to start funding that for next year with my ebay earnings. I'll bet I can at least get the hotel or condo funded...

No, not the Revd. Al Green, though I do dig him too, but Walgreen's. Years ago, a friend spotted a Walgreen's sign with the W burned out, and we've taken to calling it Al Green's which somehow makes it more fun.

I had a happy shopping trip at Al Green's today, remembering to use my $6 Register Reward before it expired. I got the Garnier skin care and Colgate toothpaste for less than free after rebate since I had coupons (so exciting!) too and will get the 10% bonus for taking the rebate on a Walgreen's gift card.

Love and Happiness, as the real Revd Al would say!

After a brief foray out into the world yesterday for groceries (it always costs double when I bring DD and DH along), gas, and Office Depot, I came home ready to tackle the taxes.

And done they are--with a nice refund to boot! I know it's more sensible to monkey with our withholding, but that nice check is so lovely. I'm eager to get them mailed off. I have to say, Turbotax is a dream for me to use. It truly is tax software for dummies.


My goals for the week are to get the taxes mailed, the returns done, and walk from the free parking to add to both the calorie expenditure and the parking fund.

It continues hectic as heck-tick here, but spring can't be THAT far away, can it?

And now more subzero cold to drive that heating bill up! Sometimes January goes on forever.

But I've sold an old textbook on Amazon and moved my craigslist listings to ebay. Sometimes Craigslist just doesn't generate the traffic, I think.

Expenses today included a 99cent thermal mug at Goodwill, saivng me 15cents a cup on my necessary caffeine infusion at school.

But dinners from the freezer continue!

I knew I was tempting the parking monitor demons when I bragged to a co-worker that I hadn't gotten a ticket in over a year. Five minutes later, and five minutes late for the meter, I'm out $20.


The whole day was sort of like that. I took my returns to Target, Kohl's and a couple other stops without buying anything. But I thought I should stop into Marshalls for a quick look. Yep, you guessed it--$45 later I finally got out the door.

I noticed they, perhaps deliberately, had too few checkers, but managed to weave us through a line filled with tempting Valentine-ish impulse buys. And several folks in that line commented on the happy jazzy music that kept us all smiling and buying. EVIL!

I'm going to try NOT to go into a store for a couple weeks--except for the grocers.

It's very cold here, so there goes the heating bill too!

Oh well, time to open a bottle of cheap red and let the weekend begin!