We finally joined our local Y last week. We debated doing so last year but never got around to it. My husband recently quit smoking and drinking coffee and needed to have an outlet so working out it is! The application fee was waived (since we are military) and the family fee is manageable. I’m [...]
I am thrilled – the latest electricity bill is only $134! This is a huge improvement over last year when our summer bills were $170-$200 each month. I’ve been keeping the lights off, keeping the temp up a few degrees and keeping the curtains closed. It seems to have made a big difference and I [...]
We were reminded of our credit card debt today. We had to call one company because they supposedly sent us a new credit card as the company was sold or the card was transferred. The representative was not helpful and in the end he canceled the not received new card which in turn canceled the [...]
One more escrow account update – we finally got the letter from the mortgage company saying they reviewed the account and here are the new numbers. The pleasant surprised was the check included because the escrow account had more money then was necessary. My first instinct was to say yah, found/free money, woo hoo for [...]
A couple of weeks ago I stopped by Lowe’s and managed to get some CFL light bulbs on sale. I replaced the bulbs in the ceiling fan but nothing else yet. I’m debating taking them back and finding a lower wattage bulb. I have always liked bright rooms, I don’t like it to be dark [...]
When we moved into this house we made the decision to go with VOIP service. We got a wireless router with two phone ports and had service right away, much faster then the phone company could get us a line and also much faster then the cable company could get us their version of VOIP. [...]
We have a neighbor down the street who works for a lawn care company. He’s a great guy, really a friend of neighbors we have become friends with. Last weekend he came over and did a weed/feed treatment for us, for free! Well actually his payment is dinner when he is available. A great way [...]
We have one paid off credit card and another with a balance. Since the plumbing issues – at both houses – came up, we are trying really hard not to use either of the cards. I am still working on finding a handyman and figuring what is easier to fix – ie maybe a professional [...]
I have been working really hard at not spending a lot on groceries since the beginning of January. We had so much food stored up that we only went grocery shopping one time during that month. We ended up spending $386 and were fine. We used a lot of what we had and at the [...]
Have you consolidated your student loans yet? What are you waiting for! A student loan consolidation can cut your payments, sometimes by as much as 50-60%, and you can save thousands of dollars in interest payments. Often you can even qualify for incentives to drop your interest rate even lower by doing things such as [...]