I can't believe 2012 is right around the corner. Now that it's time to think about next year's financial goals, I wonder if you guys might help me think some things through.

My old plans don't really work anymore, because now we have a car loan and a mortgage, as opposed to being debt free for the five years before 2011.

Right now, I send $500 extra each month to the mortgage, with the goal of having it paid off in about 5 years. This isn't too big of a burden, but...

--We're putting $200/ month into savings now. I was thinking of bumping that amount up. And, although I don't like to count chickens, so to speak, hubby usually gets a bonus of about $10,000 every February, which usually goes to savings or some other investment goal.

Anyway, we do have a car loan, at .9 percent interest. It's not a burden, but it's a waste. So, I was wondering what you thought about temporarily stopping paying extra on the mortgage and send that to the car loan. I pay about $40 extra a month on it now. If I used the mortgage extra, I could have it paid off in about 10 months, freeing us of both a $250 monthly payment AND the added expense of full-coverage insurance. (savings of another $200 a year?)

I'd actually save more in the long term paying down the mortgage, which ash a 4.678 interest rate than the car, but it's always nice to eliminate monthly payments.

Any thoughts?

As y'all know I have two kids under 3.5 and I'm struggling with exhaustion, deadlines,a nd getting everything done. I've given my routine some thoughts.

Some initial thoughts
Maybe I can relieve some stress by laying the foundation to do more in less time, and get more out of the time I already so spend on everything. But how?

Some ideas:
1. Make fewer car trips, fewer trips to the store each week. This will require better planning, but can hopefully cut down on a lot of the "Oh we need this," store trips.

I have already "cut" some of the childcare trips. My sitter now lives 30 minutes each way (up from 10 since the move.) We won't give her up, but instead of driving home and back after pick ups and drop offs, I've begun working from the library by her house, and using that time to go to the gym, work, run errands, etc.

2. Check email and use the Internet fewer times each day. I'm thinking I might be able to check my mail in the morning, in the afternoon, and again before dinner and manage all of my work obligations. Except maybe the day before my story runs and my editor is blasting me with questions. But the rest of the week, yeah. And no surfing because I'm bored. If I'm on the computer, it's for work or something specific. Not just wasting time.

With that time, maybe I can redirect it into cooking, cleaning, vegging out, catching up reading while the kids are playing, etc.

3. Change the kids' TV time. We don't let the kids run rampant with the TV, but it is kind of random. I'm thinking it might be better to stop the random TV, and save it for only when I need to take a little break and get a little bit of work done. Maybe for 15 to 45 minutes?

4. Clean up my upstairs and downstairs workspaces. Upstairs is a catch all for bills and such to the point where I don't have a place for the computer sometimes.

Also, my office in the basement is still packed in boxes since the move. I need to set it up, as when my mom comes to watch the kids on Tuesdays, I'd at least have a quiet uninterrupted place to make calls and work. Right now, I'm upstairs, and they are always climbing all over me while I make calls and tugging on my arms begging me to hang out with them. It's impossible.

5.Get more out of my time with the kids. I'm often juggling so many things I'm not really there at all for the kids, even though I am there. Make sense? I'm trying to make an effort to read to them more, sit down on the floor with them more to build things and play with things, so that maybe when I do actually have to sneak off to make dinner or work, they won't be as desperate for my attention. We'll see. But it is exhausting!

6. Have designated nights for work projects, leisure, and personal projects. I have an informal system already, but it doesn't always play out in practice. Maybe I can be more motivated if I know working on X night, means I can work on my novel or watch a movie on Y night.

7. Plan meals and get a regular schedule so I have one less thing to think or worry about. I'd like to put as many of the mundane daily tasks on autopilot as possible. Not sure where to start, but I'm thinking.

I've been struggling a lot lately with my freelance work, both with the lack of free time I have because I can only work when the kids are asleep, and with the low pay.

My first thought was to give up one of my weekly gigs, but realistically I probably won't. I really like it when the check comes, and now that we have a mortgage, we kind of need it to get where I think we need to be financially.

But, I am going to try to put my head to it and instead figure out how I can be more efficient in getting things done, and maybe free up more me-time as a result.

Anyway, on top of this. One of my friends owns a small marketing/ pr company and she called yesterday wanting to know if I'd help her write press releases for $22 an hour. At first I was dead set against it, but as usual, I let her talk me into it. I have one due on Wednesday. It's probably not going to be strenuous work, but it is more work at a time when I feel like I'm already not doing what I really want to-- which is finish my novel! Plus, it will probably only take an hour to 1.5 to write, so it isn't much money.

Not sure what to do about it. Not sure if having to squeeze one more thing into my schedule is worth the $25 or $30 I'd get out of it. It won't be a steady thing, just helping out another working mom for a little bit of extra cash. But still. That novel is gathering dust, and I really would like to go to bed early SOMEDAY! But alas, I have a hard time saying no, because in the freelance world you just never know if project will come back to you if you do.

It's the freelancer's curse. Usually, it's a once-shot opportunity, and if you don't say yes, it's gone.

I don't know. What do you think? Any ideas on how I can better manage work when I have to do most of it when the kids are in bed? I'm maxed out on childcare.

I'll post more thoughts on making better use of my time later.

Kroger ran a promotion in Oct. and Nov. where you get 10 percent of your grocery spending as a credit to spend today in their marketplace stores, which are kind of like department stores. I had a $70 credit, which is great-- except it means I spent way too much on groceries the last two months!

Anyway, I debated going up there to use it. The closest one to me is at least a 30 minute drive with traffic. But, I talked myself into going. It was a madhouse. I think the toy aisle was about to get violent.

I didn't just want to get a bunch of junk we won't use just because it was free, so hubby and I talked about it last night. I hit the bakeware aisle and got two more cupcake pans (I make tons... sometimes dozens at a time for parties and such), three more cookie sheets for the holiday baking, a pizza pan so we can make homemade pizza, a small crockpot for appetizers and smaller batches, a green ball for my youngest, some watercolor paints for the kids, and a set of four stemless wine glasses. Not a bad haul, and even though I only did casual math in my head I didn't spend one single dollar over my total.

In other news, I did something totally dumb that I never have before. I forgot to make the car payment in November. I don't know how that happened. Luckily I'd made so many overpayments that I didn't technically have one due until this month. Geesh!

Well, I'm finally getting paid most of the backlogged freelance checks. I just got notice from payroll that the direct deposit is set for tomorrow. So, I'll be getting $1850, and will be owed another $400 after that.

-$937 will go back to savings, to make up for the money I had to take out to cover the mortgage because the checks were late.

-That leaves me about $900, which will likely go to help with the car payment, savings, IRA, and the January mortgage.

I also have another freelance check floating in the ether, to the tune of about $500. I have to wait for the editor to finish working on it so I have a final word count before I can invoice. I filed it about a month ago, but it isn't edited yet because it's not high priority amidst all the holiday stories. Argh!

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and out of control on the money front, which is totally out of character for me. It's probably a result of
*holiday overspending. I bought most of the kids' gifts used on Craigslist, but still have spent a tidy sum on children's and family gifts, as well as "adopting" the gift list of three foster children. Part of this is mom and I decided to pool our money to buy bigger, more useful and nicer gifts for my sister-- namely a laptop. And, an iPod that I got a super deal on thanks to sales and coupons. We're giving her the iPod for her b-day.

*I haven't gotten a freelance check since October. I have yet to be paid for October and November, I know the company is good for it, it's just that checking up on my peanuts is pretty frustrating. First, it was a snafu in the payroll department, so none of the freelancers got paid, and then my editor FORGOT to turn in the invoice-- and then finally turned it in a month late. This throws a complete wrench into my monthly financial plan, as that money goes to retirement and to the mortgage and preschool bills. Ugh. The only potential bright side is that IF I get paid in December, it will be for two months at once, so I might be able to put larger chunks where it needs to go, including replacing the $900 I took out of savings to cover the mortgage when the check didn't arrive this month! So frustrating.

I know I have totally been overspending lately, and I KNOW I should seriously clamp down and come up with a better plan for our monthly income. I just haven't because every day is so packed full between work, and shuttling two toddlers everywhere, plus the time I spend at my weight loss workouts at the gym. It's so time consuming! But, on the plus side, I've lost 13.8 pounds since mid-September. YAY!

I can't believe 2012 is just around the corner and it's already time to start thinking about next year. I don't know what my goals are, but I know I really need to figure out how to make the most of our money, especially now that we have a mortgage. Things have just been crazy since buying this place.

I just realized it's been almost two months since I've posted anything. So much has happened, I don't even know where to begin.

A few highlights and low lights.

A. our baby turned 2 last Saturday. He's turned into such a little man. Talking in full sentences, with cute baby pronunciation. We're in a good place. He and his brother play pretend together, as superheroes, building guns and castles out of blocks. They're at fun ages.

B.On the crazy side, DH's dad has medical drama again. It's a long story, but let's just say he's never taken care of himself, never exercises, and has always been a cure the symptoms, give me a pill kind of guy. It really came back to bite him. He sought out a parkinson's drug to help him with a shaking hand he has had since he had brain surgery a few years back.

Four doctors refused, saying he didn't have parkinsons. One reluctantly said he might and wrote him a prescription. Long story short, the medication caused him to lose an eye, because he took it even though he wasn't supposed to if he had glaucoma. We want to feel bad for him, but it's hard given his attitude toward health. That pretty much derailed our holiday plans and any other plans until the dust settles and we figure out if hubby needs to go up there for moral support or not. (His dad is very woe is me...)

So yeah.

C. Another up side. Thanks to the Ultimate Weight Loss challenge at the gym, I've lost nearly 12 pounds since mid-September. The baby weight is coming off! I plan to keep going until I'm down to pre-wedding weight, which would be another 15-18 pounds.

Oh, and it's bad karma fall for appliances! Hubby broke the glass top of the convection range a few months back and we had to replace that. (Same price to buy new as to repair it. I'll never understand why.)Then last week, the dryer suddenly quit working. At midnight, with two loads os wet laundry waiting in the wings. Ugh. I sold the broken one on craigslist for $40, and headed to the scratch and dent. I ended up buying a ridiculously fancy red Whirlpool Duet for about $400. Reg $899. Now that it's here, it seems too fancy to be stuck in the basement. Oh well. At least it looks good, right?

D. On the downside, I'm feeling really burned out freelance-wise. It's starting to bother me that my profession (journalism) is in such a bad spot, and that the freelance rates have tanked. I make less per story in real and actual dollars than I did 8 years ago. It seems things are just getting worse. And for the price of a couple hundred dollars a week before taxes and the sitter, they expect you to produce copy and ideas as if you were a full-timer with benefits. It's frustrating, and it's starting to feel hopeless. After the sitter and taxes, technically I actually PAY to make money, but I do it to keep my hands in my profession while I'm home with kids. But then I realized ... why? There aren't any full time jobs in journalism waiting for me when the kids go to school all day. Those jobs are gone. All the newspapers are laying people off, not hiring. I feel like my career is on life support, and maybe it's time to pull the plug. I have to fist fight to get paid every month because one of my editors never remembers to send the invoice to payroll. It's ridiculous and humiliating to fight for my peanuts.

I don't know what to do (nursing is not an option, people....). It upsets me when I think how hard I work two write two stories a week for the local paper, how little I get paid, and that there isn't anything better coming along. I feel like a hamster in a wheel-- in purgatory!

Anyway, money is just okay. I did the majority of Xmas shopping for the kids on craigslist, and I got some great stuff for way way way way less than new. A little tikes playkitchen with all new in box food and pots and pans ($50), Playmobil castle, dragons, knights and airplane ($50), and an awesome Cozy coupe that's like a blue station wagon with wood paneling ($10). They're also getting a dress-up box, and I spent a good penny filling it, but I got a lot because I loaded up on costumes and accessories at yard sales and at Halloween clearance sales.

I also told my family that I was no longer doing gifts that don't matter, as in just buying them stuff that's going to gather dust or sit on a shelf or in a cabinet and only be used a few times. I made them think about it, and then give me lists of the things (services, etc.) they thought would most improve their everyday lives, and asked them to make the list without censoring it for prices, etc. I want to make lives better and easier with gifts, not more cluttered! (I've been watching too much "clean house" late at night!)

Well, it turned out to be a useful exercise. From my sisters comments, I realized wireless internet (we'll buy her the wireless router and set it up) and a Roku box for streaming netflix on her tv are the best ways to go. She has hardwired internet that's a real pain to use when she works at home with her work laptop, and she is always jealous of all the streaming movieson netflix. She's still in the DVD plan. She tried once to set all this up on her own, but gave up. DH is a tech geek, so I know we can make it work. Stuff she'll use!

Mom has yet to give me her list, but she does love to take photos, has a crappy old digital camera, and she doesn't know how to download photos to her computer or edit them, so if I can somehow turn that into a gift, that might be something. I'm open to ideas. I'm thinking a new camera might be part of it.

As for hubby, I have no idea. Maybe beer and coffee. drink up honey!

It's a beautiful day out today. I just adore fall. So sunny, but not hot, and the leaves. Beautiful. I guess that's one reason I feel so overall positive today.

We also just made it through another rough patch -- like the broken stove. Thursday was crunch day. The appliance place delivered the stove in the a.m. and then the plumber came to run the gas line in the afternoon. The kids and I were stuck at home with people going in and out. That was rough, because we are usually on the go and they hate sitting at home, but it's done and we have a new, working stove! The plumber also fixed a small gas leak near the furnace AND fixed our leaky shower drain-- and didn't charge us any extra. Must have been my lucky day!

***

Today is the end of week 4 of the weight loss challenge at the gym. I've lost 9 pounds in those four weeks. I'm pretty happy with that. Especially since I haven't been working nearly as hard as I could be. It makes me feel optimistic that I can stay on this current course and keep losing when the program is over. (the real goal!)

**

I have also been christmas shopping for the kids on craigslist. I told you guys about the playmobil finds. Today I picked up a perfect condition little tikes play kitchen with new in box play foods and pots and pans for $75. This version, without the accessories, sells for $160 ish on Amazon. My oldest son, now 3.5, loves cooking and play cooking, and this model is big enough to accomodate him and little brother at the same time. I figure I should do the used christmas thing as long as I can. It'll be much harder when they are older. But now? Why not? There is so much kid stuff out there that they outgrow so fast, there's no sense in buying new.

***
I did spend some other money this week (Eek!)

As you know, I just moved into a new house about 6 months ago, and there is always a bit of new furnishing that comes along with that. I've had my eye on a very sleek wool rug --8 ft by 11-- for the new dining room. It was on overstock, but I still couldn't justify the $400 price tag. I wanted to spend closer to $250 to 300 , which is hard for a nice rug that size. I want it for the visual effect, and to protect the hardwood floors in that room form the kids. We haven't eaten in there yet, the kids play in there alot. anyway. I decided to go back to overstock so I could daydream about the rug, and it turned out they were having a one-day rug sale, and they had knocked about $150 off the price, bringing in--tah-dah, to about $250. I bought it. I know. Spend spend. As soon as I get a chandelier in there, it's done!

***
There will be more stuff going out this weekend, I hope. I'm charging the camera now so I can post some free and to sell items on craigslist. One advantage of moving has been finally being able to let go of just about everything that is just clutter. I don't know, something just clicked. I have a pile of things to sell and a few things to give away. I have two boxes and a bag to go to the goodwill.

At first, it seemed like all the stuff I donated and freecycled wasn't making much of a difference. There was always more. But, I think I'm finally seeing the fruits of all that decluttering. There isn't anything lingering on the floors in the closets. There are fewer stacks of things sitting around.

Slowly but surely we are organizing, and I suspect one day soon it might approach the clean, clutter-free sort of environment I've always dreamed of!

Hope y'all are having good days.

I've seen a few blog posts on the web about giving daily deals (like groupon) as gifts. Or, using them to buy gifts. What do you guys think about this? Is it perfectly great given you get more for your money? Or does it seem weird?

Also, I've been thinking a lot about how to stretch holiday gift budgets. I am not above using craigslist and such to buy things used and give those as gifts (if they are nice) but my mom looks at me like I'm crazy. What do you guys think?

That makes me uber productive? Must be something in the air. My cells just must be acclimated to it or something.

I managed to knock two freelance projects out of the park this weekend, completely redesign my professional freelancer web site (it was really sad, but now it actually looks like something.). I paid bills, read two personal finance books this weekend, I ran in the park for 45 minutes, washed dishes and folded laundry, and now the kids and I are just hanging out.

It's very weird, but it usually happens to me in fall and early winter. I just feel so energized and inspired. It's like I'm not as tired as I am in the spring and summer. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true.

I'm also thinking a lot lately about that book I wrote. I'm really really wishing I just had a big chunk of time to dedicate to rewriting and revising uninterrupted. Of course, that won't happen barring a miracle, so I'm just going to have to start chipping away at it in little bits. I'm ready to finish it and send it off to publishers.

I'm also ready, I think to write my first nonfiction personal finance book. All the crappy ones already in circulation have me thinking that I could probably do a decent to good job on one, and I might have the chance to get it published given my day job.

It's been an expensive week. I'm almost dizzy just thinking about it. It all started with the broken glass on the convection range. Instead of paying $355 to repair the stove we were planning to replace, we went to the scratch and dent appliance place and bought a really nice 5-burner gas range for $599. Plus delivery, plus tax actually equals $715. Ugh.

And, of course, because the new one is gas, we have to have the gas line run by a plumber. Who knows how much that will cost.

I had an energy audit today. Scheduled it forever ago, but still cost $50. Usually they are in the hundreds, but the utility subsidizes them. The bonus: I'll getmy $50 back, plus I'll be getting a rebate of about 40 percent off the cost of insulating the house. A project we planned to do in summer, but held off when we found out about this program. So glad we waited!

Then, like a sucker, I bought two used playmobil sets off of craigslist. For the kids for Christmas. They set me back $70 total, but new would have cost me $220. I hate spending money even if it means I'm saving it!

Then on the way home from the Craigslist pick up I noticed our favorite thrift store was having 50 percent off of everything today. I practically blacked out I stopped the car so fast. I bought two winter coats for the kids, three pairs of designer jeans for me, four kids sweaters, and some other odds and ends for about $26. Score, but still.

Then to add to my week, the keyboard on my laptop went on the fritz. Luckily, it's under warranty, but the new one doesn't arrive for another day or two, and I have work deadlines, so I had to buy a USB keyboard as a very awkward temporary fix, for $10.

Seems like everything is breaking!

DH is a little bit clumsy. Last night he knocked a bottle of vinegar off of the shelf and it hit the range. The glass completely shattered. In huge, sharp chunks. Seriously. Ironically, the $5 botte of vinegar escaped unharmed. So now we need to replace the glass top of our electric convection range. The cheapest estimate is $355. Ugh. Not how I want to be spending money right now!

I have a monthly personal finance column in one of the local papers. I need your advice. My next article is the first in a series on how to free up money in your monthly budget to save. This first one is the hard one, because it's kind of an intro of the basics. Then, I'm hoping to do more specific articles after, like on no spend months, debt snowflaking, etc.

I guess I don't know where to start. Any ideas?

And, I have a column coming up about Christmas and Holiday gifts on a budget. I really don't know where to start with that/. HELP!

You do get second chances-- at credit cards.

That Southwest CC deal worth $800 in free flights just arrived in my mailbox again. I had thrown it out and then regretted it when I found out my fav credit card reward was being cut next month.

Now I wish I would have been saving all of the offers that have been coming in. But alas,I hope I get some good repeats. I fee a little weird HOPING to get what I would otherwise consider junk mail!

I really don't think an airline miles card will be that useful for a long term card, but we are planning to go to New Orleans for a wedding in March and Las Vegas for a friend's 40th birthday party weekend next summer. Given those two upcoming events, I'm willing to open the card.

I do want another good cash-back one, though. I was earning 2 percent cash back on everything, deposited directly into a brokerage account for the kid's college from my current card, but as of Nov. 1, it's switching to a 1 percent rebate generic card attached to a card-sponsored shopping mall. I think we can do better than that. But it's been 3 or 4 years since we've opened a card and I haven't really been paying attention to what's out there.

Now I also wish I would have been paying attention to Monkey Mama's credit card money-making scheme!

***
Otherwise, our financial life is moving along smoothly. We're paying $500 extra a month on the mortgage, and if we keep that up, will have it paid off in five years.

I'm putting $100 per paycheck into savings, still putting $200 per kid into the 529s, and some of my freelance checks to the IRA. So, it feels like life and money are normalizing a little bit after the buying and selling a house debacle of spring and summer.

Hopefully some utility bill savings will be on the horizon soon. We signed up for a $50 energy audit from our utility. It's a great program. We get a thorough 4 hour energy audit, they give us a report about how we can be more efficient and what we can do, improve, etc., then they offer rebates of from 10 to 40 percent for the projects you do.

I'm excited about the audit, but amped about the rebates, because we already know our house has only 1 inch of insulation in the attic (Go 1957!). We have estimates of about 2800 to get it up snuff. We were just going to go ahead and do it, but when we heard how much the rebates might be, we decided to wait. Hey, even if it's 10 percent that's $280!

***
Our baby life has not been moving along smoothly. DS1, age 3.5, has been having serious attachment issues since he started his new school. He went from seeking adventure away from his parents to now being very clingy and screaming and crying every time we leave him anywhere-- grandma's, aunt S's , etc. Places he's been going for years with no problems. Every since school-- and he throws screaming tantrums there every time we drop him off. We try to be encouraging to him, but it makes me very sad and after I drop him off, it casts a sad or bad feeling over the rest of my day. I'm sure it's normal, but still. On the way to spend the night at grandma's last night he kept saying "Why do you always leave me?"
Heart break. : (

On the upside, we hit a turning point. The kids were in the playroom. I made myself a cup of coffee, and came back and they had gotten out a board game, set it up and were playing it together. I teared up! Finally. I felt like I reached a turning point. They're playing together, and they did it all by themselves. I've waited so long!!

***
Oh, and some of you might remember how infuriated I was last summer when hubby's best friend popped out of nowhere to borrow $5,000 to finish house repairs and pay property taxes so he could sell it. He said he'd give it back to us in 90 days. Uh huh. Well, it's been a year. And no money. He's still in the house, so he hasn't lost it, but now hubby is telling me the friend was planning to move to Peru to be with some girl. ARGH. If he sells that house, I want my money back! I didn't say that, but I'm thinking it.

We could really reallreally really sue that money now that our financial situation has changed so dramatically. It'd almost be enough to pay off my car. Still so mad. And yeah, we have barely heard anything from the guy since we gave him the check. If you put your ear to your monitor, you can probably hear my blood boiling.

I just got notice that the rewards program on my favorite credit card is being axed, and the company (BofA) is replacing it with a much crappier, stingier program. Oh well. I knew it was too good to last.

It was a Schwab card, and it put 2 percent cash back every month into a brokerage account. That was bonus money for the kid's college funds. It was the perfect reward for us.

I guess I will have to spend some time cruising the offers that are out there. The sad thing is I've been throwing away a ton of credit card offers lately because we had no plans to open any new accounts. Now I'm kicking myself for throwing them away.

Here's to hoping some good offers show up either online or by mail before October 31!

I was looking at mortgage rates today, and even though we are trying to pay off our mortgage in 5 years, I think we might be able to save a substantial amount of interest during that time if we refinance into a lower rate. Our current rate is 4.8756, and today, rates on the loans we were interested in are about 3.125- 3.5 percent. I haven't done the math yet, but if it might save us more than 10k, I might just talk hubby into going for it.

We are finally settling into our new mortgage, income, and monthly groove with the preschool bills and such. So far, everything is fine. I am socking away $100 per paycheck to savings, $10 a week to the vacation fund for me and hubby, still sending $200 per kid per month to the 529 plans, and saving at least some of my freelance money in my IRA.

I'm hoping to bump up the monthly freelance work again, but things, as always, have been crazy. I'm about to start another round of the 6-week weight loss challenge at the gym, and it is very time and energy intensive. I might wait until that's over to take on anything new.

Although, I do have an extra project worth $250 this month, and it's an offshoot of a topic I write about every week, so it shouldn't be too stressful or labor intensive. That is always very nice!

My 3 year old started his new preschool last week. (we moved, hence new school) and he absolutely hates it. Granted it's not as deluxe as his last school, but it's good, and the teachers are nice. He even has a man teacher who looks like one of those 1900s old-timey strong men-- bald with the handle-bar moustache. He has a black belt in karate and is awesome. Still, every day he screams and cries and grabs my leg when I drop him off. He did this for a few weeks at his other school last year, and eventually became such a social butterfly that they nicknamed him "the mayor". Still, it just makes me feel terrible.

I also won parent of the year today. Well, kind of. I took my youngest, just shy of two, to his first gym and swim class at the Y. Of course they start with a song, and what is it? Finger popping. Seriously. They play that stupid song at every event with two or more toddlers in it. I had a very deep, personal revelation as it played, and all the other moms joyously (and some really belted it out) sang along.

My son hated it. I hate it. I'll just never be like those other moms. I'm just not programmed that way. I love my kids, but seriously. Am I the only one who thinks toddler stuff is so mind-numbingly boring. At least my toddler agreed. The last thing he wanted to do was finger pop. There was basketball to be played. Oh well, apple fell off my tree, right?

So yeah, it occurred to me once again that I'm just not like other people. I never have been and I never ever will be. I'm just tired of trying to fake it, especially in the kinds of awkward forced social situations I find myself in due to the kids.

Am I crazy????

I start a second round of "fat club" on Saturday-- that's the intense, six week weight loss and exercise program at my gym. It isn't really called that, that is just the nickname some of us have given it.

The good news is the cost has gone down, from $190 to $35 for the six weeks. So that's nice! Last time, I lost 11 pounds. I'm hoping to meet or beat that again. (I gained it all back during the marathon house sale and buying in spring, due to being away from home and eating out...)

In other news, I also revived the vacation fund. I used to have $6,000 in it, but then I used that to pay off my student loan. Since then, it's literally had a balance of two cents.

I thought that was pretty pathetic, so I figured I could probably transfer $10 a week into that account without really noticing too much. I'm also planning to use any rebate money to fund that account. Right now, I have a Staples rebate for $14.98 to deposit, and another $30 in rebates on the way.

We were hoping to go somewhere for our 10th anniversary next year. But, we'll probably use some of the money to fly to Las Vegas next summer for my friend's 40th birthday weekend. (I am considering getting a Southwest credit card to pay for the flights, because they have a deal now that would cover two of us round trip, just for signing up and using it.)

Other than that, no big news. I spent $38.38 for lumber to supplies to build a 4 foot by 8 foot raised garden bed. I spent some money for broccoli, carrots, spinach and cauliflower seeds so the kids and I can plant something in the next week or so. It drove me crazy to not have a garden this summer, so I thought I would at least try to sneak in a cold-season crop of something before winter. I also designed the bed so it's easy to turn into a cold frame, so maybe we can even harvest into winter. We'll see.

I know I'll be spending at least $60 on good dirt and compost to get started, so it'll take a while to pay for itself-- but probably only until the end of next summer, if I can turn it into a tomato patch.

I bought a bushel of tomatoes from my CSA farmer for $10 last week and turned that into 26 pints of homemade pasta and spaghetti sauce. I only needed to make about 6 to break even for supplies.

That's about it. I guess no news is good news.

I got a freelance check for $500 today, so since the bills and mortgage are paid, I reserved $250 for Bean's first preschool bill, sent $50 extra toward the car loan, and put $100 each into the kid's 529 plans. Every little bit helps!

So, I've just heard of travel hacking. Apparently, it's a clever way of utilizing incentive programs to earn significant amounts of free travel that you then use to go round the world or wherever for free.

Has any one hear of this or know how it works? I saw one site, but it was a pay site so I was turned off. Then, another blog where a lady discusses her strategies. Sounds like a lot of opening new accounts and shuffling things around. Might be worth it for a big trip? (Like hubby and I anniversary?)

In other news, my September extra freelance assignment turns out to be for $100 more than I had expected-- $250-- so that is great!

I may also be back on track. I had some extra money this pay period, so I sent $100 extra to the savings account and $75 to the car loan. I paid the mortgage and still have another $500 freelance check coming this week. May use it to pay for preschool plus some savings or debt repayment. Not sure yet.

Also upped our biweekly debit to the emergency fund, from $50 to $100. It is a small, sad amount considering how much it was before we bought this house, but at least I feel like I'm finding my way back to on track!

The boys are back home and once again, the house is filled with laughing and crying babies and thumping feet. I missed those babies, but it's amazing just how good you sleep and how much you get done every day when they aren't around!!

So, we start the flurry or orientations and back to school stuff this Sunday. Little man starts a new preschool. I think it will be good for him, but I know he's going to be sad when he realizes his friends from the last school won't be there.

I talked hubby into a no spend month in September has well. I'm giving us $450 for everything that isn't a regular, recurring bill. I think that will free up some much needed cash for savings.

Today, I also scored a few coupon deals.
4 2-packs of Dial soap for 18 cents each. (regular $2.89)
3 St. Ives body wash for 49 cents each.

God bless coupons. Hubby also discovered the drawer of cheap and free toothbrushes and seemed pretty happy that I had been stockpiling necessities when they cost next to nothing. At first, he rolled his eyes thinking it was just silly. Until he needs a toothbrush!

The day is looking up: our lost bag from the airline was just delivered to the house. Phew!

So, my week alone is ending. I miss the boys but also miss getting this done and sleeping in!

I managed to get most of my to-do list done: went to New Orleans to see friends, painted murals in both the kids' rooms, painted the kitchen, unclogged the tub drain, and started organizing the garage (which has turned out to be a herculean task.). Not too shabby.

I have some freelance work to do today and hopefully I can clean up, and finish up a few more little projects before I head off to the airport this afternoon to bring them home.

Little man starts preschool in a week and a half. The summer has really flown by.

Workwise, I just picked up another $150 once a year freelance gig, so it'll be nice to have a little extra cash come in. I'm also going to pitch a few ideas to my occasional very-high-paying editor. So we'll see. Hopefully he'll bite on at least one.

Anyway, here are the pics of son 2's aquarium room. Just add fish (I'm getting to that...)

Well, I've been family free for about 24 hours now. It's very strange. I used to be at home alone all the time before marriage and kids, and it was never weird, but once you are used to a housefull of people, it's very strange!

In that time, I've managed to get a little bit of freelance work done. I painted a road construction themed mural in my 3 year old's room (putting finishing touches on it now), and just have to move the furniture back. I'm putting the third coat of paint on the kitchen. (it's red, so it requires lots of coats, ) so that should be done soon.

Hopefully, I'll be able to wrap up some freelance projects today, finish painting, and start on the ocean themed mural in my youngest room today.

Then tomorrow, off to New Orleans to visit friends. Lots to do!Here are some pics, as you requested. I haven't added the trucks, cars, and construction equipment to son's mural yet, but you get the idea!

Hubby and I haven't had a no spend month since Dec. 2008, and I think we are about due. I'm officially declaring Sept. a no spend month. It should be a fairly ordinary month, as in no trips planned, etc. so it's a good choice. Hopefully I can get hubby on board.

I feel like our finances could use a reboot, and I thought no spend month was an incredibly useful exercise last time.

So, hubby has decided that he is taking the kids to his parents house-- alone, without me. They are flying, and there are no direct flights. Is it pathetic of me to be terrified about him flying and navigating airports car rental and baggage claims alone with two very active and opinionated toddlers?

They leave Monday. I'm terrified. If something happened to them, I would not recover.

So then, beyond that anxiety, is the reality of an entire week alone, to do with as I please. I thought about it. My first impulse (and one hubby was hoping for) was "oh, I can work on the house and get it the way I want it."

But then I thought, I'm always responsible, always about the to-do list, and frankly, I have no social life, I miss my friends, and I feel like I could use a little bit of being not productive.

So, I decided on a compromise. I'm going to do my freelance work on Monday and Tuesday. I'm also going to paint the kitchen, and start on the murals in both of the kids' rooms (one construction theme, and one ocean theme.). I'm also going to assemble the fabulous medicine cabinet I bought at IKEA.

I'm going to do as much as I can in these two days, then on Wednesday, I'm going home to New Orleans to spend a few days with my best friends, floating around in their pool. I'll head home on Saturday, and still have two days left without the family to work on the house and finish odds and ends.

IF the kids make it to grandparents' house safe and sound, I should be able to enjoy this week and get some things done. Fingers crossed.

I had a little bit of time to myself today thanks to grandma, so I decided to clip a few coupons and look for a few deals.

At the grocery store, I scored:
2 free Crest toothpaste
2 free Ivory body wash
4 free Oral B toothbrushes
2 free gallons of milk (had a special buy 4 cereals, get 2 free gallons of milk. Of course I had coupons for the cereal too.)
2 boxes of barilla pasta for 14 cents each.

I picked up a few other odds and ends for dinner tonight, and ended up saving 50 percent off the total bill thanks to the coupons.

I think I had less success at CVS. I tried to get the free gas card with the $30 purchase, but am now wondering if it was worth it.

I got 4 herbal essence/ aussie shampoos and hair sprays. on sale 2/ 4.97, but I used two coupons worth $4 off, so paid .97/2. Not bad!

I bought the Kotex UP tampons with a $1 off coupon, and got 2 ECb back, so paid 49 cents, plus a pack of free pens after 1.99 ECB.

For the gas deal, I also loaded up on a few more 2/$7 Arm and Hammer laundry detergents ( I had coupons for $1/2) and it's my favorite brand. No stinky perfumes.

I was $6.06 shy of the $30 before coupons to get the gas card, so I bought candy-- which we really don't need, but I had coupons and the gas card was dangling!

So, my thought is this is how they get you. Would I Have been better off just walking out with the shampoo and the ECB items? I feel like I'm spending to save. Not sure how I feel about that.

First, a question: All your extreme couponers out there, I do need some advice. Any tips on getting free or cheap shampoo and body wash? I'm not really brand loyal, but I can't seem to get anything for less than about $1.50. Is that on track??

And on to my tale....

I finally had time to clean out and organize the coupon binder. I've been meaning to do this for months, but we've just been so busy. I'm glad I did!

I had to use a $5 off $35 coupons from my local Kroger today, and I noticed they were having a sale on many of the brands/items we use a lot of (like deodorant, body wash, toothpaste, and laundry detergent.)

After scouring the Sunday Coupon Preview, and the coupons I already have, I managed to make some good matches.

I also decided to change my strategy.

First, I got wild and crazy and bought 4 extra Sunday papers for the coupon inserts. This worked well-- except the ones I bought from the store didn't have the Red Plum insert, just the Smart Source. I'm mad because there was a $1 off my fav shampoo in the red plum. Anyway, I'm wondering if the Red Plum only comes in the home-delivered paper?

Second, I normally clip the coupons I know I will use then leave the rest at home. This time, I brought along my coupon binder. Am I glad I did! I managed to get double coupon plus the good sale on several items, like tampons and hubby's favorite deodorant (usually $3.79, for 69 cents each-- and because I bought extra papers, I was able to buy 4 at that price). Same with body wash, on sale, had $1.00 off and had four coupons. Can you say stock up??

So yeah, while cruising the store, I was able to put those extra coupons to use and score some really great deals for the stockpile. I had been paying full price for just about everything during the whole house buying and selling fiasco, just for lack of time and energy to be smart about coupons and sales. Feels good to be partially back on track!

Anyway, I was thrilled when I saw my receipt. Between the coupons, the store sale, the store coupon, etc. I shaved 51 percent off the bill. And now I have a stockpile of some of our favorite brands, so I can take even more time to buy only when the price is lowest.

Hopefully this can save us some money in the long-term.

Today was payday, and the level of out of controled-ness that our budget has taken on since we put an offer on this house in February, then spent months in survival mode, dealing with mortgage loans, moving, fixing up and selling another house has finally hit home.

It was payday today, and our credit card bill alone equalled the entire paycheck. We haven't managed to save a dime since Feb. (although I replaced $2500 we had taken out for misc once we sold the house). Seriously. This is out of control.

Granted, the credit card included one-time expenses such as plane tickets for three to grandma's house. But still. Those kinds of things happen more often than we'd like to admit.

After the kids went to bed, I took a walk/run around the park and couldn't stop thinking about money. Wondering how we are going to meet all of our goals with this huge new mortgage (I'm including the extra we send in hopes of sticking to our 5 year payoff plan). I couldn't come up with any answers, I just realize I need to seriously comb over what we have been spending our money on and while I'm figuring this all out commit to only buying essentials.

A No Spend Month may also be on our horizon, maybe in September? And, I think I should get back on track with savings by starting our biweekly transfer to savings again, albeit for a very small $50 each time (down from $400 when we had no mortgage. Sigh.). And, maybe back to an envelope system for weekly expenses so we don't have any more giant shocking bills.

I knew we were going to take a hit when we moved, even though in the long term it's more economical. But still!!!

I was thinking one solution would be for me to bring in more money every month, but I'm exhausted at the thought of staying up later on yet another night to work when the kids are in bed. Ugh.

Any sage advice?

It came in the mail today. I was hoping it was one the fat deals you guys had been talking about, but alas, no. It was only for $25,000 points, ergo $250, if you spend $750 in three months. We could do it, but it's not worth the hassle or credit ding for $250....

I've been on a kick to turn around our eating habits and start prepping healthier food for me and the kids. I clipped out that dirty dozen pesticides fruit and veggie list, and have been trying to buy pesticide free at the farmer's market and the rest organic at the store.

So, as you know, grapes are up there as far as pesticides. My chain grocery doesn't carry organic grapes or strawberries, so I decided to go to Whole Foods to pick some up. I had a few other things to get, as well.

I grabbed two bags of the grapes, not thinking twice about it. Well, my mistake. I get to the check out and those two little baggies of grapes cost me $17. I jsut about passed out.

Is going organic for dirty dozen even going to be possible? I can't afford $17 a week for grapes!!

Today was a big day. Little man (aged 3.25) FINALLY did No. 2 on the potty-- and we didn't have to ask him, force him, or bug him about it. Those of you who have ever been parents will know what a huge deal this is. So, we gave him his promised ice cream party, and spent about $14.78 at one of those self-serve, add your own toppings tart yogurt shops. Money well spent. Let's hope he can keep it up.

Hubby also took the kids out to the zoo today for a few hours to give me some peace and quiet. That was all free, as we have a membership so each trip is free. We packed PB & Js, and spent three or four dollars on carousel and train rides.

While they were gone I got a little bit of work done around the house. I painted our bedroom and moved the furniture around. It's starting to feel sooooo much better. The bed and the dressers were still pretty much where we dropped them on moving day two months ago. A far from ideal arrangement, but it got the job done, although not elegantly. My plan is to put together our new IKEA platform bedframe and lay down the rug tomorrow, and voila! Instant, finished master bedroom. It's very exciting.

As for landscaping, the last owner clearly didn't know a lot about plants. I think she just wanted the gardens to look full immediately, ergo didn't leave any room for when the plants actually grew. We had one part-shade spot along the back with nothing in it. So, I cleaned that out today and transplanted four struggling hostas from other flower beds. I think they will do well in this new spot-- with the right light and plenty of room-- if they survived my July transplanting. Not the best time, I know, but hey.

I also broke down and spent $20 on a SunCalc light meter today. Growing my own food is very important to me, and our new lot, although a full half acre, is big, it has challenging light conditions. I still haven't been able to figure out how much sun each potential garden spot is getting each day. Hopefully the light meter will help me figure out where to put the raised garden beds this fall, so they will be ready for intensive gardening next spring.