Well, I did have a couple of exciting coupon success stories today.

I got a tube of colgate for 29 cents, after stacking two coupons. My goal is super cheap toothpaste. There always seem to be coupons out there

And, I got two cans of cat food for free-- actually I made money on them. I had a coupon for $1.50 off any size, and they only cost 77 cents each, but the store gave me the full $1.50 off each. I bought two, had two coupons. So they in effect lowered my bill on the other things I was buying. (I feel a little bad about this. I expected them to be free, but not to get value beyond their retail price.)

That's it. I did have to buy paper towels and toilet paper at retail-- but store brands. And, I bought kid 1's first set of big boy underpants. Trying to get out of diapers.

Anyway, it felt good to finally get something for basically nothing via coupons. Gotta stretch that budget!

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.

I'm looking to buy one or two really really good crock pot cook books. Not something where every recipe involves a can of cream of chicken soup. But recipes that me and my toddlers can all eat. I'm all ears.

I hit the reset button on my terrible two days. I did manage to get myself in a decent place work-wise by about 4:30 today, so that was a huge relief. Then, I called in reinforcements (read: Grandma) to help with the kids so I could go to spinning class at the Y. I don't know why, but a good workout always takes the edge off.

I still feel bad for being short-tempered with the babies. Poor kids. Just being toddlers. I was just so stressed today I was really short with them. But, I tucked them into bed (which means back to work..) and all seems to be well.

It also seems clear that I am going to have to change my work strategies (again) to deal with the constantly changing developmental stages.

I have been completely stressed-out, irritated, and way angry the last two days.

It all started Sunday. Hubby was supposed to take the kids for a couple of hours so I could get work done on my new freelance gig. he didn't. Plus I got stuck alone with them for 5 hours at my family holiday gathering. Hubby had a cold, and decided to stay home. Uh huh. You can't hang because you've got a cold?

SO, no time to work on my project until the kids went to bed, so I had to stay up until 2 a.m. to get it finished.

Hubby then woke me up at 7:30 by putting the kids on the bed. They jumped up and down on me and scratched at my face (two huge pet peeves first thing in the morning).

I was exhausted all day. I had to start on two more freelance projects that are due Thursday. I made calls and sent emails but as of yet, have had zero response.

Kid 2 didn't take his usual nap while kid 1 was at preschool, and he was in the "I'm going to cry unless you're carrying me around mode." I am so angry and stressed right now. People are counting on me to get things done and I have had zero response. The kids are not giving me five minutes to do anything.

I feel like the world isn't cutting me a break.

Y'all inspired me with your net worth calculations.
After adding up all of our IRAs, Roth IRAs, the equity in our house (we have no mortgage, but the value is hard to determine), savings accounts, etc. And deducting our liability-- the car loan our net worth as of 12/31/2010 is:

$424,224
Ages: Me, 35, hubby, 37.

This includes $66,000 in hubby's 401k. I have no idea what the actual balance is, so I just used the figure for what we personally contributed to it in the last 4 years. No company match, gains or loss etc. I know, not very scientific, but it's the best I could do right now.

We did not include the balances in the 529s, as that is the kids' money.

I'm hoping I can boost this number by 12/31/2011.

I was cleaning out my desk last night and found an old gift card for toys r us. I was about to throw it out, but decided on a lark to check the balance. $25!! Free money!! It pays to clean house.

Also, my freelance check deposited today, so I paid extra on the car loan, and transferred money to the IRA and the kids' 529 plans. Off to a good start.

Now let's just hope hubby feels up to going to all of the parties we need to go to tonight.

I've got the serious decluttering bug. I don't have any freelance deadlines until Monday, so I thought I would tackle my desk and a few spots in my office.

I have so much stuff. It's just insane. I just got rid of a box of floppy disks. From 1993. They had my college papers on them. WHY do I still have these???

I cleared out one whole drawer of the file cabinet, and filled it with some freelance-related court papers I need to give back to the reporter who lent them to me. They can go live in HER house.

On the upside. I did find an old, working wireless router in one of the drawers. My sister just decided she needed one so she could start telecommuting. And voila, I've got an extra. So that's nice.

In other news, I have decided to give grocery couponing a shot. The Point, Click & Save book I'm reading has given me the confidence and the information to really give it a go.

I rustled up an old binder, put in some trading card sheets, and started organizing my coupons. I also opened an email account that I am using only for coupon and discount sites. I'll let you know how it turns out. Baby steps, baby steps.

I also got an email from my freelance gig that my $640 check will be in my account by Monday. Just in time for the new year. I'm going to tackle everyone of these goals this year, you just watch!

OOOOOOOO, and I almost forgot. This is big. Hubby normally just defers to me on all major planning and decisions. He tells me his overall wishes, and leaves me to figure out how to make it all happen. (It works for us, what can I say). Anyway, we actually had a useful talk about the moving/house/school district plan, and it seems we are on the same page.

The plan is to start the serious house hunt in about two years, so we'll still have about 6-9 months to buy and get settled before our oldest starts kindergarten. We will be casually looking now, just to get to know our target areas and see what houses are on the market and what they sell for.

For a short time, probably starting next year, we will have to pay for preschool, care, etc for two kids. It will be tight. But, we will know when the oldest starts kindergarten, one of those bills will go away. We're in a good space financially right now and can handle paying for two kids. It might not be so easy if we were to take on a mortgage now.

And, we will hopefully have $20,000 more to put down on a new place. That's the short version, but it was a good albeit brief discussion.

Just wanted to ask all of you what "old-fashioned" skills you have/use that save you money now.

Mine is canning, and I suppose gardening-- particularly growing tomatoes. Old-fashioned, yes, but my family is cooking with free diced tomatoes at least once a week.

What are yours?

First the good news. That extra, one-time freelance gig I picked up in December? I was happy when I thought it would be for $300 to $350. Now I'm thrilled. After everything was said it done, it turned into a bigger project. Final total: $640. Cha-ching. I think that's a check that will get me off on the right foot goal-wise for the new year.

My boss on the project also said he liked my work and said he'd like to bring me in for more projects. Music to my ears. Now, it's just a question of time. Eek!

In other news, I went to the library to get some work done (third time this week) and grabbed a promising book off the new arrivals shelf. I think it's one that all of us might enjoy. It's called Point Click & Save by Rachel Singer Gordon.

It's well written and has a lot of useful tips and web resources for grocery coupons and savings, finding freebies, making money online via surveys, etc. All stuff that we SAers love. I've already gleaned a few new money-saving ideas from it, and I'm only 37 pages in.

If you see it, grab it!

As for that freelance check. The freelance income plan I outlined before means I already know where it's going.
50 percent to IRA = $320
35 percent to kids college funds=$224 ($112/kid)
15 percent to car loan payoff=$96

I will also be getting another check for $600 in January, for my regular December work. It will go to:
50 percent to IRA = $300
35 percent to kids college = $210
15 percent to car loan = $90

I think this year is off to a good start-- before it even starts.

My plan to conquer clutter and get more organized is all about baby steps. I'm trying to clear out or organize one small space every day.

Last night, I rounded up some boxes and recycling out of my office. And today, I organized the hats, mittens, scarves and purses that have been all willy nilly in the hall closet.

Here are some pics, and the visions of my overloaded donate/sell boxes.

I managed to sneak off to my neighborhood library today. I am in love-- again.

Last week, I discovered the reference room. I had never been in there before, because it's way in the back and I don't generally use the reference section.

Well, I'm happy I went exploring. They have just about every magazine imaginable, including two specialty industry magazines (very expensive) that have so far been very helpful for my new weekly freelance gig. And I don't have to pay for the subscription. The library also lets you sip coffee while reading. Pure heaven, I tell you.

This is the second week I snuck off to the reference room with a mug of tea in order to write and work. Grandma comes over on Tuesdays to take the babies so I can work, and now that my toddler can find me no matter where I hide at home, (and loves to scream only while I am on the phone) the library is the perfect spot to sneak off. And, they have really comfy chairs and free wifi. Why am I the only one in there????

While I was out, I decided to have a little me time. I have always loved thrifting but haven't done much since I had the kids. Last year, I gave away 2/3 of my clothes, because most no longer fit. Even if you lose the baby weight, your measurements are different, I swear. On several occasions this year-- some work related-- I found I just didn't have anything even vaguely acceptable to wear. I left the house looking pretty frumpy and mismatched, let me tell you.

I live in pajamas and jeans right now, but I really need to get some new work clothes for when I have an event outside of my living room. I hate being frumpy. It's got to stop.

Enter the thrift store.

I just discovered one by my house that is a gold mine. It;s the size of a walmart. I bought my 2.5 yr old's entire winter wardrobe there for $35 earlier in the fall, and my youngest's snow pants for $2.50 and a winter coat for $3.25.

Today, I decided to pop in because I had a few baby free minutes. I thought I'd gamble on some clothes, and I actually found a few things while casually perusing the racks.

I spent $13. I got two Calvin Klein jackets-- one a very fashionable work blazer that I could also wear out, the other a long, black simple coat good for spring or fall. AND I got a pink silky blouse I absolutely love.

Here is the kicker. I saw that blouse in a Macy's ad last Christmas and totally drooled over it, but I couldn't rationalize spending the money. And here, a year later, it's at the thrift store in MY SIZE for only $2.99. What are the chances??

I think there are both auspicious signs for the new year.

This time of year, I always head to the library and pick a few random personal finance books off the shelf. I find it helps keep me motivated. I'd like to know what books you are reading as well. Maybe we can spread some of that good advice and inspiration around!

Here is what I've read this year:

The new good life: Living better than ever in the age of less, by John Robbins.

It's well written and isn't the same old repackaged financial advice. He has an environmental slant, and can get a little preachy now and then, but it's a good read.

Get Rich Slow, 4th edition, by Tama McAleese.

I found the estate planning chapter particularly helpful. It's easy to read, with every topic in short sections, but the info on retirement plans is outdated. She also clearly leans to the far right when it comes to taxes and social programs, so some things come across as a little angry, but all in all solid advice.

How to be an everyday philanthropist, by Nicole Bouchard Boles.

I really like this book. It has tons of really useful ideas on how you can maximize gifts to charity--both donations, cash, volunteering, and non-cash donations. It's got a lot of great ideas for how you can give more, even if you don't have any money.

Automatic Millionaire, by David Bach.

This is a quick easy read, and I whip through it once every year. It inspires me to keep up with my automatic savings plan. We have money automatically transferred into savings each paycheck.

How to raise a family on less than two incomes by Denise Topolnicki.

This was a super helpful guide for me in particular because the author has the same job I do, and like me, went from full time to freelance when having kids. So it's not really like living on one income, but not really enough $$ to count as two. It helped me make the transition to part-time work. The chapters on childcare arrangements for freelancers, as well as the chapter on grocery budgets are super helpful.

The Freedom Manifesto by Tom Hodgkinson.

This is a totally out there book, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It's about how to work less and be less dependent on a paycheck-- so you can be more of a slacker. So it says, but not really. It's well written and well-researched, and provides a lot of inspiration for those of us who are into self-sufficiency and producing more of what our family consumes. (Think, baking your own bread and canning tomatoes.) I love this book, because it really is a fresh perspective.

I'm in New Year mode. The tree is down and I'm trying to tame the clutter.

I've set out two boxes-- a donate box and a sell box. Both are almost full. Every time I walk by, it seems like I'm putting something in there. I'm determined to stick to my decluttering goal this year. The disorganization is wearing me down.

I've been leaving a donate box out on the counter at all times, and it has helped me stick with decluttering. When I have something in hand, I make an instant decision about whether it stays or goes. There is no thinking about it or dealing with it later, when it's so easy to just drop it in the donate box. Then, I drop the box(es) off at Goodwill once a week.

I also broke down all of the cardboard boxes that had been lingering in the garage. I will be by the recycling drop off on Wednesday. I'll take as many as will fit in the car, until I'm box free. They tend to pile up in the garage in winter and around Christmas.

I also have some things to sell on Craigslist, namely my former vintage chrome table and chairs. I bought the booth to replace them, and the old set is now just sitting on the sun porch. It's got to go!

And, the two big projects on my mind:: the laundry room (ergo, organizing all of the holiday decorations and kids outdoor pool toys which are down there), and my office. If I can get everything we don't need or use out of those two spaces, I'll probably hit my declutter goal for the year. They are catch-alls for things that have no home or need to be dealt with, but later.

The laundry room is first. I'm hoping to start on it this weekend.

Mom gave me lottery tickets, won $4. She also gave me two new Lincoln dollars. I had never even heard of them. All of that money is going into the piggy bank, so that is $6 more to the $20 challenge.

Mom also bought me a pair of workout pants for Christmas. They don't really fit, and I had just loaded up on a bunch of yoga pants, etc. from the thrift store, so we agreed that I would return them. My plan was to take the refund, use a small part of it to buy a glass pitcher at the thrift store -- mine broke, and I use it to prep water for the fish tank-- and put the rest of the money toward the $20 challenge.

I just looked on the receipt -- Jc Penney-- and they said all refunds will be given in form of a gift card. Boo. I guess that ruins that plan. There isn't really anything I want to buy from Jc Penney, so I don't know what to do.

First let me say that our in-law free Christmas was really great. We were both actually looking forward to Christmas for the first time in 9 years. Now, I'm totally exhausted. A hot tub awaits. Didn't get to bed until 1 a.m. last night with a sick toddler, and had to wake up at 6 a.m. with our not sick toddler. Ugh. Christmas lasted officially from 7 a.m. (first gift opened) until 6 p.m. (last gift opened.).

However, our attempts to reign in grandma and limit gifts to the babies failed miserably. My mom and sister just love to shop. I mean love it. They do it for fun (not me. I hate shopping.) My mom bought us all way more than I think she should have. She doesn't go into debt or anything, but still. She could seriously cut back and still be too generous.

Now, we're exhausted and assessing what to do with all the loot. I'm not sure all of it will be staying. And if it does, an equal amount of something we already have will have to find a new home.

Right now, I'm too tired to think. I'll deal with the stuff tomorrow.

I think all went well, especially considering little man came down with a nasty flu yesterday. He felt really bad (temp 102.5 at 12:30 a.m. this morning, but down to 101 by 9 a.m.), but he didn't cry or complain. He tried to eat dinner with the family and was overall jolly. I'm extra proud of him.

UPDATE: After a hot bath, hubby and I were motivated to break down all the boxes for recycling, put all the unreusable wrapping paper in the recycling bin, take out the garbage, stash a few of the extra gifts for other occasions, and start a sell and a donate box. There are a few things in each. I also sorted and de-tagged all the clothes the babies received as gifts, so those are ready to put away in the morning. The house has returned to some semblance of order, albeit with more large toy tractors than before!

My last post outlined our financial goals since I began blogging here in 2008, as well as our annual progress. We're all thinking ahead to 2011, and our goals for the new year. It's great to set hard, and lofty goals for ourselves, but they don't really mean anything until you have a solid plan for achieving them.

That said, I have put some thought into my plan for the new year. I have a lot of financial and personal goals, and I hope referring back to this post will keep me on track and motivated.

First, money:

$10,000 to house fund. This will likely come from our tax refund

$9,250 to savings. This will come from the automatic transfers we make to savings each payday.

$4620 to kid 1's 529 and $4620 to kid 2's 529. We automatically transfer $200 / kid each month to the 529. The rest --$2260/ kid, will have to come from hubby's bonus (fingers crossed we get one again), and from a portion of my monthly freelance check.

My freelance work is a huge part of the plan. I'm on track to earn about $11,400, plus extra from other projects. $11,400 is my absolute baseline.

The plan as of now, is to send 50 % of my monthly freelance income to my IRA, until it's maxed out at $4000.

Then, I will divide rest between the kids' college and paying off the car.

Once the IRA is maxed out, I plan to send 2/3 of each check to kids' college and 1/3 to paying off the car, until those goals are reached.

$700 to new car fund. I transfer $35 every payday to this account. It's small, but adds up. We used $2,000 from this account to pay part of our most recent car purchase.

Yes, most of these are automatic transfers or windfalls (tax refund/bonus), but they aren't going to be easy. They represent a huge portion of our take-home pay, and we still have big expenses, like the $700 a month we spend on babysitters, so I can make my freelance income (and keep a hand in my field so I have the option to go back full time someday, but that's another story...)

In order to keep the transfers going-- occasionally we've had to skip a couple of weeks to meet expenses-- we're going to have to seriously stick to our $400/week MAXIMUM spending cap for EVERYTHING.

The budget has worked for most weeks in the past couple of months, and my plan is to stay on track. It's a question of staying focused and diligent with my eyes on the prize.

For example, we're only going to be eating Aldi and what is on sale at the regular grocery. And hopefully, we can get one of our boys out of diapers soon.

We're also planning a No Spend Month sometime in 2011, to help us jump start extra savings. We did it in 2008 and it saved us a bundle. No idea what month yet.

Bottom line is, we're going to have to earn more and scrimp more this year to make it all happen. Hubby can only earn so much, so the extra money is going to have to come from me. Scrimping will mostly be me too, because I do most of the shopping. I'm not as diligent as I could be, because I'm often pressed for time.

As for income, My goal was to add another steady $300 a month in freelance work. Barring unforseen circumstances, that has happened. Some months, it will be $400 more. I don't want to get complacent, so I will try to take on even more projects, when time permits, to boost my annual income.

My income is gravy, and can all be used to boost savings and goals, because our one steady salary pays for all of our expenses. This is easier said than done, though, with a 2 year old and a 1 year old.

Now on the personal front.

These are the hardest, actually. After long days with babies, then staying up late working, it's hard to get and stay motivated.

Still, 2010 was a model year for personal goals. I wrote my first novel and lost 11 pounds. I'd like to keep the ball rolling. For 2011, my goals are:

To revise my first novel and attempt to get it published. This is just as time-consuming as writing it, and trust me, when you only have a couple of baby-free hours a day to do everything you need to to, seconds are precious. I'll just have to make the time again, even if it means being tired, or delaying extra freelance projects until it's finished.

Write a second novel. Ditto on this one. I'm hoping to start it by summer, at the latest, once the first novel is off to potential publishers.

Lose 15 pounds. Weight loss is always hard, but now I have a system. I participated in a 6-week weight loss and intense exercise program at the Y in Oct-Nov this year and lost almost 11 pounds. It was hard and time consuming, but that is pretty much what you have to do to see results.

I am going to do two more of these. One in January, and one in March/April, with the goal of losing 15 pounds or more total between the two of them. This will put me at my pre-MARRIAGE weight. And, it'll pretty much rule out type II diabetes in my near future.

As for the little goals, like getting a new cell plan and reallocating investments. It's just a question of setting aside the mental energy then time to actually do them. But now that they are on the list, I'm just going to have to bite the bullet.

I'm already thinking about cell phones. Maybe I'll tackle that one first thing after Christmas....

Ahead of the New Year, I wanted to get a big picture view of our money life since I started blogging here in 2008.

It's just amazing. We haven't always met our goals, but we've gone farther than we would have. Before I had a place to write down and plan, we just drifted, without a plan. Having a plan, at least for me, makes all the difference.

Just keeping track of my goals, and having a place where I felt accountable has had an amazing impact on our financial life.

Here is what my family has accomplished since I started this blog:

2008
Savings goal: $19,250
Actual savings: $21,305, plus $15,000 in 401k contributions.

I owed $12,700 in student loans and paid $1100 extra. The rest of the money went to fund our IRA, Roth, 529, brokerage, car fund, and savings accounts. We also had a baby, I left my full-time job and began freelancing to save on childcare and to care for my terminally ill father, who died in July of that year.

2009
Savings goal: $22,220
Actual savings: $10,000, plus $12,000 debt pay-off, plus $16,500 in 401k contributions.

In 2009, we added a second baby to the family, which meant more hospital bills, and another 529 plan. Our freelance income took a nosedive thanks to the Great Recession. We didn't meet many of our goals, but I did pay off my $12,000 student loan using our "exotic" vacation fund and some savings. Paying it off eliminated the $303 monthly payment, and made us 100 percent debt free.

2010
Savings Goal: $23,540
Actual Savings: $16,575, plus $16,500 in 401k contributions.

Once again, we didn't make the goal, but hey, I make them ambitious. We bought a new car, and had to adjust our lives and finances to two children. My freelance income rebounded a bit from 2009, to about half 2008 levels. We full funded my IRA, both kids' 529s, paid extra on the car loan, and put a little in savings. We loaned $5,000 to a friend, which is why we were so far below our goal. We saved it, we just didn't get to keep it!

2011
Savings goal: $32,490, plus $16,500 to 401k.

This is by far the most ambitious year yet. To make this, we'll have to dedicate our tax refund and hubby's bonus (hoping he gets one...) strictly to the goals. My freelance income is also rising again, which should help. I'd also like to do another No Spend Month to kick start savings.

I think if we're diligent-- sticking to our weekly spending cap, shopping smarter for groceries and such-- it will help us make our goals and prep to one day have a mortgage again. (EEK. Not looking forward to that!)

Looking back at my savings account balance last year at this time, I realize we're only about $100 above where we were then. Sigh. Treading water, but given everything we've done this year, I'm trying to be happy with that.

It has long been my goal to up the balance of the EF by $10,000 a year. We made a little headway in 2008 and 2009, but in 2010, it didn't really happen. Here's to 2011!

Finally! I made some goals for the year. My last freelance check of the year arrived, so I sent some to the kids' college and to my IRA, so I could meet those goals for the year.

I also sent an additional $150 to pay off the car (to get a jump on my 2011 goal to pay down $5,000 on the car), and put the last $350 into savings on Monday.

I had a bady day with the kids yesterday, so as soon as hubby got home from work, I split for some me time. I decided to hit the thrift store. I have always loved thrifting, but haven't really done much since we've had kids and all of our free time has disappeared into the ether.

I am soooo glad I went. I got a pair of snowpants for the youngest, for $2.50. I also got him a new (to him) winter coat for $3.25. (We broke the zipper on his this week.) I got a 90 cent John Deere tractor still in the package for a stocking stuffer, and a great battery-powered Thomas train for $2. I picked up six toy dinosaurs for my friends' son (30 to 60 cents each), a sweater and a pair or work out pants for me. I got out of there for less than $25, and with a lot of useful goodies. It was also just nice to be able to quietly shop and take my time. That NEVER happens these days.

On the savings front, I put $400 toward the kids' college, so I'm about $95 / son short on the 2010 goal. I will pop that into their accounts on payday, and the goal will be met.

My freelance check is late (as usual). When it arrives, I will top off my IRA ($50 to go, but I may go over), and pay more toward the car.

I still get a little upset when I look at our $10,300 savings goal and only see a 3 in front of my progress. Really, we'd saved 8,000, but as you recall, hubby decided to give it to his spend thrift friend to get him out of a bind. He said he's repay us in 60 to 90 days. Yeah. Uh huh.

It's been 6 months and we haven't hears a single word from him, EXCEPT asking hubby to go on a lake Tahoe ski trip with him. Really? You can't pay your property taxes but you can go to Lake Tahoe. I'm steamed. How about you give us-- and our two kids-- your Lake Tahoe money, dude?

Can you tell I'm still bitter?

One of the projects I would like to do in the new year is to pick up items for the family shelter, a little at a time, while I am shopping.

A lot of you seem to know how to get good deals using coupons and BOGO offers.

I've never had a lot of luck or been able to master this. Any tips on what I can do , utilizing sales, coupons, etc. to stretch my charity grocery dollars farther?

The family shelter needs things like toilet paper, paper towels, dish and laundry detergent, cleaners, diapers, baby bedding, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to come up with my game plan soon, so I can jump on any after-christmas deals.

I posted earlier-- that every time I seem to post something on my sidebar or write about it here, it happens. Mostly with freelance work. Well, remember I said I posted that I wanted to earn $300 more a month freelancing, and magically got a gig for $300 a month the next day? In weirder news, just talked to my boss on this project and she managed to up my monthly pay rate to $400 a month. Magic I tell you!! Magic!!

So really, if you need something write it down in your sidebar or in your blog and the universe will listen. Seriously!

So, my party was yesterday. Thanks for the food ideas. Unfortunately, we had a blizzard, so half of the guest list canceled. Still, we had about 12 people over.

In such a small group, the conversation took a weird financial-related turn a couple of times. It surprised me, because people don't usually talk about that kind of stuff.

First, a friend of mine from grade school came. I only see him once every 10 years or so. Anyway, he has 3 kids 3 and under and says his wife wants to keep having them. I ribbed him about it, wondering how we could possibly pay for college for more and more kids. That's a pretty normal joke in our circle, but he took the opportunity to share his plan.

"Debt is my plan. Just go into debt to pay for it."

Eek. I felt kind of bad. My plan is not debt. My plan is to have $100k saved for each kid by age 18,and what that doesn't cover, we pay for out of pocket. I didn't ask any more.

We also started talking about our plans to move to the best school district. His reply "Are you rich or something?"

I didn't know how to answer that. I just kind of turned red and stuttered. I didn't think of our planned destination as only for rich people. How do you say, No, not rich by any stretch, but not not rich. As in, no mortgage, no cc debt, etc., so a move is possible?

The school talk sparked a lot of yelling from other guests. There is another couple with a son our age who moved into our neighborhood. I have known them most of my life, and we used to be good friends, but lately they may as well be strangers. We never see them, and when we do, we never know if the wife is has decided if she loves us or hates us that day. We're planning to just let them go (friend dump, technically), but not in a mean way. We love them, it's just too hurtful to be friends with them.

Anyway, said wife is very opinionated. She said in no uncertain terms that moving is a horrible decision and our kids will grow up surrounded by spoiled rich kids, and that we should be happy with one of the neighborhood schools, because THEY think they are just fine.

I didn't feel like justifying our decision to move. It's about schools, yes, but it's also about make sure we have the free cash to help pay for our parents' care when they are elderly and property taxes on the land we may inherit. Ergo, paying tuition isn't an option. Never mind that hubby doesn't believe in religious education, which is our only private option.

She was mad because she wanted our kids to be in school with her son. I didn't say it, but frankly, we can't plan around that. I love her son, but we don't know what is going to happen to him. He has significant developmental delays due to some congenital health problems. I don't want to say, "We don't know if he'll be in the same grade as X," or the same class even. I can't plan around them. I have to do what's right for my family and kids.

She also pulled out the holier than though diversity card, saying if we moved, our sons would just be around rich white kids. If we sent him to our neighborhood school, it's more diverse. We clearly have different definitions of diversity. I think an economic and racial mixture of ALL kinds of folks. I love that. I don't think of 99 percent of one race, white or black, is diverse.

But, I said nothing. I just said the district is one of the best in the state, we don't want to pay tuition, and we want the best for the kids. We also like the neighborhood. Hubby could bike to work, and there would actually be parks, shopping, schools we could WALK to!

It was a real headache. Luckily, I had some eggnog to dull the pain.

I'm having a Christmas party Sunday for friends, and I am having trouble coming up with a menu of Christmas-y , warm food and drinks to serve. I've never hosted a Christmas party, although I have had tons of other parties.

So far, all I've come up with is to serve some warm Wassail punch and some chocolate cupcakes with peppermint candy icing. I have three crockpots ready to fill (but with what??) and 4 christas music CDs. Help!

Any ideas/recipes for filling appetizers that are winter appropriate?

HELP!!

My sister talked me into signing up for ebates.com. I relented because we do most of our shopping online. My sister has been a member for a while and is very happy with the rebate checks she received. I figure I may as well get paid for what I am already doing. IF we get an ebates, I guess that money will go in my $20 challenge fund or into the new house fund.

Given my potential new gig for next year I have to recalculate how I allocate my regular freelance income to meet my goals. Sorry to be boring. This is more for me, so I know how much of each check to send to each account.

50 percent to IRA, until maxed out at $5,000
about 35 percent to kids extra college saving, for total of $4,000
Divide up the last 15 percent or so to extra car payments and taxes, $1350 each, for total of $2,700

This is only if the freelance gig I mentioned yesterday actually pans out. There is still a small chance it won't, but it likely will.

I still intend to pursue work above and beyond this. All extra work money will be split between the new house fund and paying off the car. Likely not a 50-50 split. Probably more 75 -25, to boost the house fund.

I got a phone call from an editor today asking me if I'd be interested in writing a column for ----tah-dah $300 a month. Which is the exact amount I wanted to add to my monthly earnings in 2011.

This must be a magic web site or blog or something. This is the second time I have posted a monthly income goal on the site and then had work for that amount magically appear out of nowhere. Last year, I said I wanted to make a minimum of $600 a month, and almost immediately, I got a regular gig that pays between $600 and $750 a month.

This isn't counting last week, when a gig for $350 or so materialized right after I said I wanted to earn more.

This is MADNESS!! Good madness, but still!

I just added a declutter challenge to the goals on my sidebar. I always always always feel like we are drowning in too much stuff, so away it must go!

Yesterday, I took one large box of items we don't use to the Goodwill. I also sold a toy on craigslist, for $10, that the kids have outgrown. I put that money in the piggy bank.

I have also gathered up one 20-gallon storage bin of toys the kids aren't in love with, and am taking them to Once Upon a child tomorrow. That (if any) money will also go in the piggy bank.

I have also posted my grandparents' cedar chest on craigslist. It is damaged, and I have no room for it. No other family member wanted to take it. No takers so far, although one no show. That is the frustrating part.

I also sold a bunch of clothes to a resale shop, and need to go by and pick up whatever money I got for them. That's the thing about babies-- even if you lose the weight, you're shaped differently, so all the nice clothes you splurged on and collected through the years have to go to someone else!

My plan is to sell, sort and donate my way to less stuff. Any money we get from selling will go into the piggy bank, which we empty of change and bills twice a year. The money will go to whichever goal is lagging behind at the time, or may just go straight to the new house fund.

Speaking of new houses, hubby and I went out to lunch in one of the neighborhoods where we are thinking of moving. It had a good vibe. Close to interesting places to eat, parks, etc. and we liked the housing stock. It looks a lot like where we already live, with solid 1950s rambler ranches with yards similar in size to ours, only with some of the best schools in the state.

I think it made us feel more on the same page about our choice to move for schools, and showed us that we are going to have a lot of options for houses that we both like. It was a good trip.

On the budget front, bad news. Hubby busted the weekly budget by buying $600 worth of soccer tickets, hard drives and coffee. Oh well. He doesn't ever buy anything, and these were expected expenses. I just didn't expect them all at once or right before Christmas. I'll have to talk to him about his timing...

So, Little man was supposed to spend the night with grandma last night (and most of today), but disaster struck. I drove the hour to mom's only to get there and have her rush out the door to take her boyfriend to the ER. He had some bleeding and issues related to a surgery he had two weeks ago, and she didn't want him to go alone.

She told us to wait, so I got little man some dinner, tubby, and in pajamas. I let him stay up 2 hours late to wait for "grammy" because he really wanted to see her. She calls at 10 to say she's not going to make it home, so we should just head home. (He had internal bleeding, got home at 2:30 a.m and mom took him to his regular doctor today)

So, another hour driving home, and little man doesn't get to bed until 11 p.m., exhausted and overtired. And no grandma.

It's disappointing all around. The whole thing had me totally stressed out. My mom's boyfriend is 79, and in the back of my mind is always the thought that she is going to have her heartbroken when her sweetie dies all over again, sooner rather than later, because he is elderly. I don't want my mom to have to go through this again, since it's only been 2.5 years since dad died.

So, last night set off that part of my brain.

Then, I was so tired and frustrated to have spent the night driving back and forth for nothing, and keeping little man awake (he's crabby today because of it.) Mom takes him so I can work, and I really count on having that time.

So, This is the week when I actually have more work to do due to my extra gig, and I can't do it because I'm with two toddlers all day.

Life with kids is just so much harder than I ever imagined, and I imagined it would be pretty bad! I guess I didn't bank on the prolonged lack of sleep, or that it'd be so hard to get very basic things accomplished every day.

One of my goals for 2011 is to up my freelance income every month, by taking on at least one more project each month. It's going to take a lot of work to rustle up some work, but I had my first taste of success today. I just landed an extra project for December, that should net me about $300 to $350-- exactly my goal for the month. It's an auspicious start, on my first try. Let's hope I can keep the good momentum going!