Spendless's Personal Finance Blog

By entering a certain Dept store (Bealls) by a certain time (first 200 shoppers after 8:00am Sat)my wife and I received one $5 and one $10 off coupon. Since we bought (on sale) Christmas gifts on our list and then saved $15, I was pleased with the effort. We also got free gift wrapping to boot.

My wife loves (and I despise) the Friday after Thanksgiving sales. She usually has a very successful shopping time and somehow seems to enjoy it.

0) My blog name is Spendless. NOT to be confused with Stressless (which I often get confused when I see said entries and I can't recall writing them because I didn't......whatever?)

1) I was born and raised in Memphis (20 plus years) and never once visited Graceland...and probably never will.

2) I was extremely sensitive as a child. I cried at least once a day in school grades one thru four. Not sure why, but finally out grew it.

3) I had a crew cut or flat top haircut thru sixth grade (maybe why I cried so much...ha).

4) I always received above average grades without a great deal of effort throughout H.S.

5) An exception to #4 was /French class...I passed with a C -

6) I did not serve in the military. In my 18th year the military became all voluntary. I now regret not having served. Many opportuities to grow up and mature as an adult were lost.

7) I was voted Mr. (insert High School name here) in my Senior year of High School. I was somewhat shy, and certainly not outgoing or charming; but I was a "genuine friend to all". Perhaps that influenced the selection process, hmmmm. I never quite understood how that one worked out.

8) I completed a double Associate's degree from a Technical school, but did not pursue my BS or beyond. That is a decision that I regret to this day.

9) I married at the age of 24. I became a step-dad to a wonderful daughter. She accepted me as Dad from day 1 and we have a wonderful relationship to this day. She is the mother of my two grandkids.

10) Within year one of marriage, my wife gave birth to "our" first child. She was the most compliant child I have ever known. She is currently pregnant with her first child (my third grand child).

11) Daughter's three and four are currently in their junior / senior years of college. Neither is currently married nor engaged.

12) My wife is a perfect compliment for me. I see her life mirrored in my four daughters and am exceptionally proud of that.

13) I am a Quality Engineer for a Defense Contractor.

14) Although not currently active, my hobbies have included puppetry and ventriloquism.

15) I raised my family in a church setting and we follow the teachings of God (the father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).

16) I lived 20 years in the Dallas Tx metroplex. Got to enjoy the era of the 90's of the Dallas Cowboys and the Triplets (Troy, Emmitt, and Michael) for those sport minded readers.

17) Have lived 6 plus years in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and know way more about hurricanes than I ever thought I would.

18) I adjust rather easily to changes in my life. I tend to enjoy life for the moment, realizing it's brevity.

19) I am behind the eight ball in regards to my financial planning for the future, but i'm working at it.

20) I enjoy reading these blogs...both for the financial gleanings as well as the "tolerance level" for acceptance within this DIVERSE group.

I sold my extra truck to my FIL. I did not have to invest any money into selling the truck, and he got a good deal too. So we both came out OK.

Probably could have gotten more $$ if I had sold online, but I was also spending money on insuring a vehicle that I was not even driving. And now, the driveway has an extra parking space in it.

Had a BOGO free pork dinner coupon that I used today. The food was great. So myself, my wife, and my daughter were able to eat a delicious BBQ pork meal for the price of one!

I prefer pork over beef...although both are great. Enjoyed the meal greatly.

I recently purchased two used vehicles....one for my daughter to drive to college and a second car for me. A friend at work had inherited two cars from his dad's estate, and I was able to make a very frugal purchase (one of them).

I am proud of my online research and ultimate purchase for my daughter as well. Many times in the past, I was not as thorough or patient in my research and I usually made poor financial decisions.

Not thrilled about a new car note (paid for mine in full)....but overall, a good experience in car buying. Not my favorite pass-time...so I'm glad it is behind me for several more years.

Back in July I missed a payment by a day or two (during the July 4th weekend. It ended up costing me $39.00 late fee....YIKES!

I was really mad at myself first because I'm never late....and then secondly, mad about the idea of being charged $39.00 for a day or two late payment.

At any rate.....I wrote an email to the CC website customer service asking if they would consider removing the late fee since it occurred on a holiday weekend. I did not whine and snot about it, simply stated the facts.

To my pleasant surprise, they removed the $39.00 late fee. So the moral of this story is....just ask.

Finally made the decision to have my electric dryer repaired instead of buying a new dryer. (drum would no longer turn)

I wasn't sure which way to go sense the dryer was several years old and it was basically dead.

I decided that since there are so few parts to replace on a dryer versus on a washer....that I would spend less than 1/2 what I'd spend on a new dryer and have a new motor, bearings, gaskets and pay for clean out of the vent/exhaust of years of lint.

Certainly drys so much better/faster and is much quieter.

Will have to see how long it will last to see if my Return On Investment (ROI) will be realized.

My wife and daughters got me a new laptop for Father's Day!
Certainly a surprise for me. I am the type guy (like many others) who is content with a card on Father's day.

Also,following up on a previous post...my wife did accept a new position which will allow her to change fulltime employment to a better paying and less demanding job.

I got to spend some relaxing time with my wife at the beach and later in the pool.

I got caught up on some needed yardwork, including fertilizer for the yard. It is supposed to rain tonight....yeah.

My daughter (home from college) starts a summer job at Target this week. I love the sound of that!

My wife has an interview on Monday for a new job. She is hoping for a job change that is less demanding on her physically...so we are hoping for the best.

All in all...a relaxing weekend. Hard to come by, and much appreciated. Hope all have a financially sound week!

I've been negligent in posting to my blog. So many of you are much more disciplined in this regard.

I am, however, reading them daily. I am watching closely.....and learning from each of you. So, thanks for your dedication. We all benefit....even the lurkers!

Feel like I am on a runaway train.

Extra charge on phone bill (one-time charge to set-up online billpay).

Extra high water bill (we had out of town company in May....extra laundry and showers).

Extra high electric bill (clothes dryer and hot water....see above).

Truck repairs in May.

Graduation gifts in May.

Etc...........

After church service, while leaving the parking lot we called in our order at Olive Garden. We used a $25 gift card and for an extra $5.77 we purchased enough to feed five adults (dividing entrees, salads, soup, and bread).

I arrived at the "packed" O.G. parking lot, pulled up to the front door take out reserved parking spot, went inside and was out in under five minutes.

I saved much moola (did not buy beverages), no tip required since their was no server, and saved at least an hour of time at the restuarant.

We returned home in about 12 minutes and spent a relaxing meal with family around the dinner table.

Consider take out......in and out in a Flash!

Earlier in the calendar year, I had to call a plumber to fix a leaking shower faucet. It killed me to part with the money, but I could not for the life of me figure out how to remove the existing faucet/fixture without damaging the plumbing.

I asked permission to watch the "expert" while he did the repair so that any future repairs would be DIY. He agreed, and gave me some pointers and sure enough I was able to fix the 2nd shower on my own.

I saved on a plumber's house call and the mark-up on parts. It went real well for a first timer. NOT usually the case for me.
No extra parts, no exra holes in the wall, and no leaking faucet!

Great to see the new bloggers that have joined recently.

It's always easier to travel your finacial journey with a friend(s).

Looking forward to learning from each of you. Always fun to read of others successes and trials and errors.

Welcome one and all.

Working around the yard to eradicate weeds. Geez...seems hopeless.

I waited too long to use pre-emergent weed killer. Pulling by hand, and spot treating where possible.

Hope that fertilizer will make the "good" grass spread and choke out many of the "unwanteds".

I was visited by a lawn care service a few weeks ago, and I almost gave in to the service, but I decided to give it a try on my own. At least until the summer heat becomes unbearable...I'll do the work myself. I need the exercise and enjoy working in the yard.

I spent $330 on my daughter's automobile on Friday. Her air conditioning was out and the fuel ejection system was leaking (a safety hazard), so repairs were necessary. Good thing that the emergency fund was plenished. No CC necessary...and that's a good feeling.

I also used a mechanic friend who was between jobs and looking for extra income. We both benefitted from the exchange.

I lost another pound towards my Weight Loss Goal. I can't remember it being so hard to lose weight. Use to be that I could drop a few lbs just by thinking about it.

I guess those days are gone. I still haven't sacrificed much yet, so I guess I should be happy that I'm losing at all.

I've lost 7 of my 20 lb Goal.....by end of June. I'd better get serious, as May is just around the corner.

I received a bonus in my payckeck which will allow me to pay off one of my CC in full.

This will eliminate approximately 1/3 of my credit card debt.

Feels good to pay down my debt!!

Had to make a dash into the grocery store to buy some chicken breasts and a few side items for a family cookout. I was surprised to find that the chicken I needed was BOGO free. Since I was already buying the item and I got another free, I'll consider it as a savings.

Mad dashes usually end up costing me money. By keeping my blinders on and only buying my intended purchase, I consider myself one up on the grocery store!!

I lost 1 lb this week towards my goal.
To date, I have lost 6 lbs.

Start @ 193 lbs.
Goal @ 173 lbs.

Current @ 187 lbs.

Slow progress....but progress.

I received a $30.00 rebate for my computer printer. It took several weeks, but it finally came. I was afraid I missed some of the details of the rebate.

I did this rebate myself (usually my more experienced wife does the rebates).

Three cheers for rebates!

My adult daughter called and said she's on her way to visit (to FL from TX)! Yeah.
A friend had a fly for free plane pass that was to expire if not used, and offered to her if she could use it.
Normally, the timing for her and us would have been challenging...but this was perfect.
Friend was blessed with opportunity to share with my daughter, who in turn blesssed us with her visit. And it was all for free!

I found myself extremely busy this week. In fact, I was unable to keep up with my daily entries to my journal.

For that reason, I'll have to estimate my savings for the week as $18.00. This amount is from monies saved from my Weight loss goal. I will schedule an out-of-cycle CC payment of $18.00 against my highest CC balance for next week.


My weight loss goal for losing 20 lbs has stalled at 5 lbs (no change for this week). I am still at 25% if my Goal.

That gives me some degree of concern, but I will not panic.

I will commit to more disciplined journal entries for next week, plus focus on my weight loss goal.

I signed up with BOA who owns my motgage, to have automatic online payments drafted from my checking account each month.

The drafts will occur on a scheduled day of the month (my choice). There is not necessarily a financial savings other than saving monthly postage, but it eliminates the chance of forgetting to mail in my payment.

This is my first time to utilize this payment method so I'll see how it works for a few months. Obviously, I must be disciplined to have the necessary $$ in my account by draft date.

My wife is a little nervous about this choice....time will tell.

Monies saved from weight loss goal were added to my VMJ (virtual money jar).

Monday
Saved $4.88 for lunch and skipped snack.

Tuesday
Saved $1.90 for lunch and skipped snack.

Combined total = $6.78 to go into VMJ to go towards payoff of CC balance.

I lost 1 lb again this week towards my weight loss goal.
Monies saved from weight loss goal was added to my Virtual Money Jar (VMJ) for a cumulative total this week of $17.50.
I will schedule an out-of-cycle CC payment of $17.50 against my highest CC balance for next week.

Need to stay focused on weight loss goal this week. I am satisfied with CC reduction goal.
I have lost 5 lbs of 20 lb goal = 25%

Monies saved from weight loss goal were added to my VMJ (virtual money jar).

Thurs:
Stressful day at work resulted in my eating a larger lunch plus an afternoon snack. Booooo! Waaahhh!
Fri:
Combined savings of $4.50 over two days Thurs and Fri. Skipped that Snicker c-bar today...typed while thumping chest...YEAH.

Monies saved from weight loss goal were added to my VMJ (virtual money jar).
Monday
Stayed home from work today. Saved $6.00 for breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Tuesday
Saved .85 for breakfast.
Saved 1.50 for lunch and .90 cents for afternoon snacks. Ttl = $3.25

Wednesday
Saved .85 for breakfast, Saved 2.00 for lunch; Saved .90 for afternoon snacks. Ttl =3.75

Mon thru Wed total = $13.00

I lost 1 lb this week towards my weight loss goal. Not very exciting, but it is 1 lb LESS.

Monies saved from weight loss goal was added to my Virtual Money Jar (VMJ) for a cumulative total this week of $29.35.
I will scheduled an out-of-cycle CC payment of $29.35 against my highest balance for tomorrow.

Need to focus on weight loss goal this week. I am satisfied with CC reduction goal.
I have lost 4 lbs of 20 lb goal = 20%

Not a good day for my weight loss goal.
Hope to get some weekend bike riding in.

Not looking forward to Sunday weigh-in.