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Archive for February, 2008

A no-spend leap day

March 1st, 2008 at 04:35 am

Hey! I just realized I was at meetings all day and didn't spend a dime!
And they were actually fun meetings!
With food!

I'm about 75 percent into my 25K emergency fund, and am hoping to get there in the next couple months (barring emergencies!

Hello March! Let's hope spring is on the way!

Just throwing it away

February 27th, 2008 at 11:09 pm

My beautiful treasured cup of coffee bit the dust this morning while I was teaching my 8am class. I should know better than to gesture and clutch caffeine at the same time! $1.43 all over the classroom floor!

But my class enjoyed it!

Refunds, and returns, & damn, it's still February

February 23rd, 2008 at 04:44 pm

The Eternal February!
At least that's what it feels like around here.
No big financial news to report except we have a snowblower belt to return, and the lovely customer service folks at Thrift books refunded me in total for a book that arrived with a broken binding.

Off to a party tonight, and as much as I'd like to buy an appetizer, I'm hoping I can think of a cheap yet cheerful one.

I sold a book on Amazon, so I'd like to add that to our castle fund, along with a few survey nickels.


Raise your germ-y hand...

February 22nd, 2008 at 05:37 pm

if you and your family are struggling with colds and flu right now.

It seems every blog I read we're all saying the same thing, so let's take a tally.

We're at the tail (I hope) end of it, but I'll count us as #1.

Next?

Very Odds and Ends

February 21st, 2008 at 03:59 am

It's been a rough week and a half since I blogged. DD and I have both had the mis-aligned with the flu vaccine flu. And now DH is getting it too. So though we haven't spent much, we haven't done much to actively manage things either. Food has gone bad, rebates gone unsent, returns not made. But there's no point in beating yourself up when you're sick, so we'll aim for better days soon.

I spent some cash on an easy-to-read clock that has time, day, and date for my absent-minded mom. And I finally dealt with an Amazon seller order that arrived in poor condition. It was cheap, but the binding was broken, and it'll be hard to use the book to teach from in that kind of shape.

And it's sub-zero cold again here.
February stinks, me thinks

Hip Hip Hooray!

February 14th, 2008 at 03:58 am

Ok, I'm unreasonably happy about this, but since retirement savings is one of my anxiety issues, I'm pleased to announce that I've fully funded (finally!) my 2007 Roth.

I invest plenty in my 403b, but my Roth has never gotten the attention it deserves, poor little thing!

I'm thinking of it as a valentine's gift to myself, and probably better for me and a lot more long lasting than chocolates or flowers. Too bad the mutual fund folks won't throw in a card or some chocolate-covered strawberries.

As Cold as . . .

February 12th, 2008 at 12:43 am

I thought I'd leave it up to all of you to determine a decent metaphor for this winter.

I have the February grumpies again. The Child is ill, so DH and I have been tag-teaming her care. I had to go teach this morning, but came home early, so he could head off to work. Half my students have this same kind of bronchial crud that the Child has.

But the only thing I spend money on lately is parking. It's too cold to walk 6 blocks and then have to pay for frostbite treatment!

I spent the weekend visiting my mom and brought her lots of treats and supplies.
I flew for free with my NWA airmiles, and abstained from the airport food. The plastic-wrapped sandwiches were nearly $7!
Yikes! Someone should do an article on airport food prices. The captive audience thing has gone too far, especially with the no-liquid rule. I usually bring an empty water bottle with me to refill, and boy was I glad. Bottled water was $2.50.
That delicious combo of water and a day-old sandwich would've set me back $10 with the sales tax, Outrageous!



Snow What

February 7th, 2008 at 03:49 am

It may be lovely and all that, but another 13" of snow has made me feel less like a princess and a whole lot more like Grumpy.

Child and I shared a snow day off from school, and I got a few things done.
Plus--nothing was open so it was a NS day.

DH got stuck in the driveway, or rather off the driveway tonight, and even the village snow plow ended up in the ditch. It took two front-end loaders to haul it out.

But the mailman got through: apparently neither snow nor sleet not dark of night could keep him from delivering two lovely survey checks totaling an awesome $15.

But where is spring???

Another winter weather wonder

February 5th, 2008 at 05:32 am

Man, we've had a bad ole winter here in the Midwest. And today was supposed to be the start (make that restart) of my walking to and from the free parking.

I rather diligently parked in the free spot, only to leave in a massive downpour. Luckily I'd stashed an extra umbrella in the office, but I was none too happy to walk 6 blocks in a February rain.

Three weeks left of my double dose of teaching evening classes, and except for the hallowed cup of coffee, it was a NS day.

Refunds and other funds

February 3rd, 2008 at 10:16 pm

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?

A NS first day of the month

February 2nd, 2008 at 05:30 am

I'm still busy rooting around on the shelves and in the freezer for dinners. Except for perishables and a few treats, I'm sure I can make it through another few weeks without buying much.

It was indeed a NS day, although I had to order books for next term's classes. Although the university is SUPPOSED to get me desk copies, they never get around to it until it's too late to use them for class planning, so I got them used on Amazon. I had Christmas credit left over, so didn't spend anything there.

I also spent some time moving funds around, and plopping more into my Roth for 2007. But man, it's ugly when I compare my year-end totals to those a mere month later. I keep telling myself it's the share totals in the mutual funds that count, and that I can buy more shares not that they're cheaper, but ouch. I avert my eyes.

You've got to give a little, take a little

February 1st, 2008 at 06:22 am

That seems to be my story this month. I've taken on the extra classes hoping to fund our Roths, but the tiredness takes its toll.

Plus, it was so darn cold this past week with windchills -30 that I've parked in the ramp at the university, too lazy and cold to walk my usual 5 blocks from the free parking.

But it's payday and tomorrow I'll sit down and start allocating some of my hard-won buckaroos.

I made a quick $3 on a Pinecone survey, so that kind of money is always happy news.