Here is the weekly update.
Good:
-Hubby managed to get a statement for his 401k, and there is more than 2 times in it than I thought there was. You don't get good news like that very often! His company match is also 100 percent up to 6 percent, so we are getting all of that.
-I sold one of the kids' toy racks (we don't use it) on craigslist for $20
It was also s good week for conquering clutter:
-I dropped off another box at the Goodwill
-Organized bookmarks on my computer
-Cleaned out my office and rearranged it to make it a more comfy work space.
-Cleaned out my bedroom closet. Toddler 1 was standing in it yelling "I'm standing in the garbage!!!" earlier this week, so that was a clear sign it needed to be organized
-I saved a little bit of $$ using coupons and sales
-I set up a coupons only email account
-Updated our Upromise account, discovered we have $10 in it.
-Then, I signed up for email coupons/alerts for all of the products for which I am brand loyal. I have no idea why I never did this before. I could have been saving a mint!
-Also registered so I can load digital coupons onto my store cards.
- I stocked the pantry at Aldi this week, and only spent $65. It kind of showed me what is and isn't the best deal, versus the coupon price at the regular store.
I can't wait to get the hang of the coupon thing. There is so much you can do to save here and there, I feel almost foolish for not doing it sooner.
-I sent the regular payment to the car loan, and all of it went to principal. It hit the same day as my extra payment from the freelance check, so I saved a little in interest.
-Spent $546 in the last two weeks, well under our $800 spending cap. Woo-hoo!! The property tax bill has arrived, so I have only been buying absolute essentials.
The Bad:
-Most of the bad was work. The holidays are always hard in my business. Everyone is on vacation, but I still have deadlines. I was way behind for the week, totally stressed, and took it out on the kids. I had to call in grandma and hit the reset button.
-The homeowners insurance bill came. Up AGAIN. When we bought this house 5 years ago, our annual insurance bill was $436. Now it's $774. It's time to start shopping around. The company hasn't given me any good explanation as to why it's doubled in price.
-I'm not going to be able to put anything in savings this payday, because we're paying our property tax bill out of cash flow. Oh well. Next time for sure.
Ugly:
The laundry room. Brace yourself. These photos are gory.
It's become a catch-all for things we don't have space or energy to deal with when raising two toddlers. It's the next big organization/cleaning/painting project. I have also made no effort to paint or improve it since we moved in.
I have already scheduled a charity pick-up for the vanity, sink, and lamp table. And, I have some more bins so I can finally organize all of the holiday decor, computer parts, and party supplies.
I hope these are enough to at least tame the beast.
Good, Bady and Ugly 1/7 weekly update.
January 7th, 2011 at 08:07 pm
January 7th, 2011 at 08:22 pm 1294431721
January 7th, 2011 at 09:05 pm 1294434307
January 7th, 2011 at 09:18 pm 1294435119
Volume of Claims/loss history in your area
Multi-policy discounts being removed
As the home gets older the "New Home Discount" decreases
I would give them a call to review your policy and also be sure to ask about "NEW MANDATORY COVERAGES" something I've noticed the Commisoner of Insurance here in Maryland has been doing the past two years. They should be able to provide you with a valid reason and also review your account for more discounts.
Hope it all works out seems like a huge increase for one years time.
January 7th, 2011 at 09:22 pm 1294435342
My thought, as someone who used to track insurers as part of my old job, is that they have too much risk concentrated in this neighborhood and they want some of us to drop the coverage.
I have all my lines with them. And, my house has never been "new." 1957 ranch.
January 7th, 2011 at 10:02 pm 1294437747
January 7th, 2011 at 10:20 pm 1294438842
January 8th, 2011 at 12:08 am 1294445306
My home insurance goes up every year too.
Looking forward to the "after" pictures of your laundry room.
January 8th, 2011 at 01:46 am 1294451201
January 8th, 2011 at 05:11 am 1294463486