Campfrugal's Personal Finance Blog

So, I have been working on my retirement plan. I am 48 years old and really need one.

I re-financed my home from a 30 year fixed loan at 6.75% interest to a 15 year fixed loan at 4.5% interest. This saves me a whole lot of interest, plus my goal is to add extra to each payment to have it paid off in 10 - 12 years.

I have been paying off all of my debt to get back to being debt free. I am down to three credit cards left. I had nine debts and since September 2008, I have paid off 6 of them totalling $11,165.43.

I have different savings accounts.

*Long Term Account - ING. I have money automatically deposited into this account every month.

*Freedom Account - this is for property taxes and schooling costs that come up twice a year; along with $1000 extra for emergencies. Money is direct deposited into this account every month to cover what that cost would be.

*Secondary checking account at a different banking institution. I put all of my checks from my second job, rebates and such into this account. This account covers Christmas, vacations, birthdays, weddings. What is in this account is what I have to budget for.

*Need to open a different savings account to be able to pay cash for my next vehicle. I will drive mine into the ground right now. I figure I can get at least another 5 years out of it.

*My goal is to keep working as long as I can, pay off the rest of my debt, including my mortgage within the next 10 years while saving as much as I can.

I am going to stay on track for not buying things I don't need (which I am pretty good at anyway);

Keep my grocery costs down. I would actually like to be like the woman whose grocery budget is $800 year by using rebate cards, ECB's and such. Grow more of my own food, do some canning and freezing.

Save for my next vehicle.

And, just live Life to it's fullest, while on a budget.

Trying to keep the whole family involved in being frugal and taking care of what we have is sometimes so daunting.

I woke up this morning not being able to type on my keyboard without getting a bunch of other stuff, like a 7 for an O, I mean come on, what happen after I went to bed.

Well, I turned off the computer and restarted it, still the same thing, then I did a System Restore, thinking it got a virus. It wasn't until after I picked up the keyboard, that I realized that someone spilled their water on it. HELLO. I know the culprit.

This same culprit also has worn out his shoes in about two months. He is so hard on shoes, socks and just clothes in general. He is 14, my youngest. He is a sweet child, but he just doesn't get the money thing, or is it just the fact that he is "14".

Other items added to my every growing list.

Youngest son, teeth cleaned, new shoes.

D daughter - *College entrance exam, pick classes and pay for them.
*Rent a car, take driver's test to get her Driver's License, so she can drive herself to college.

My Jeep - I paid it off, but now things are breaking. Passenger side window won't roll down - the inside snapped, transmission is leaking, front brakes/rotor needs tending to.

Transfer money from ING account to pay off recent trip to Emergency room.

Eee Gads.
I need to re-do my budget.

My daughter is a cancer survivor and we were invited to attend the Celebration of Life event given by our Children's Hospital at a very well-attended and busy restaurant with lots of fun stuff to do.

We went and had a great time, but unfortunately ended up very sick and my husband had to take us to the ER. Diagnosis - food poisoning.

Well, the bill came yesterday and our little trip to the ER cost me $2,139. It does state on the bill that if I can pay it off within 21 days, I only have to pay 50% of the bill. Well, that is a savings of over $1000, so, of course, I will, but why don't they just give me a bill for that amount. It's ridiculous.

Quite the expensive Celebration of Life.

Sorry, I haven't been here in awhile. Summers get really busy for me with running a beach club - ya know, its seasonal.

But, there is a lot going on. Lots of things I need to get done, but come with a price.

For Example:
*Get tires rotated and front rotor/brakes fixed so they are not squeaking.
*Clean carpet in bedroom.
*Finish flooring in all bedrooms.
*Finish living room flooring.
*Youngest son needs new shoes, shirts and socks.
*New mattresses and bedding for my bedroom.
*Piano needs tuning
*Need new computer monitor. The one I have now only works once in a while.
*Rent a car so daughter can take driving test to get her actual driver's license.
*Buy cedar shake siding for new addition and get it put on.
*Finish patio outside new addition.
*Need gravel poured in driveway.
*Replace front entry door.
*Get gutters back up.
*Go through youngest son's room, re-arrange and pack out stuff not being used, outgrown clothes and toys, etc.
*Cat needs to see the groomer.

At that is just off the top of my head. Now, that some of it is down on paper, I can get started tomorrow.

Would you take a cash advance from one credit card to pay off another credit card?

I am not sure what I would do, but it seems like an interesting option.

I have been recently getting letters in regards to raising my interest rates on all my credit cards.

I have the option to keep the card open and have the interest rate raised or keep the rate where it is, but have the card closed. Well, I guess you better close the card. Now to get it paid off.

So I decided yesterday to pay off my Jeep loan and don't ya know, it gets better gas mileage.

I contemplated putting that money on a credit card or freeing up another $305.15 per month to put towards the credit cards in future months.

So, bye bye, Jeep loan.

This is what I still owe:

Total CC Debt: $12,430.67

cc1: $5,429.67 - Chase Visa 23.24%
cc2: $4,800.32 - WAMU Visa 15.05%
cc3: $2,200.68 - M.K. Visa 18.24%

I am going to put the extra $300 a month towards the highest interest rate card first and snowball my way on down.

So my question is:

When you pay off a credit card, do you close your account or keep it open:

Dave Ramsey says "close your account"

Other financial gurus say "keep them open, cause it will affect my FICO"

But, how much will if affect my FICO if I close them, seeings how I am not planning on getting anymore loans or credit cards. I am not closing all my credit cards, just the three Visas. I have credit cards through two other companies that could cover emergencies, if need be.

I also have a savings plan in place for my next vehicle and my mortgage is right where I want it to be.

So, what is everyone's opinion?

So all three of my credit cards have raised their interest rates on me, which I am sure everyone who has credit cards is experiencing.

But, wow, one of my credit cards went all the way up to 23.24%, with the other following suit.

I just recently closed on my re-finance and am now at a 4.5% interest rate for the next 15 years. My goal is to actually have my mortgage paid off in 10 to 12 years.

Anyhow, how to deal with the credit cards. I have the money to pay off my Jeep loan, but it is only at a 7%, but it would give me an extra $305 a month to put towards debt, but now I am wondering if I should put it on the highest interest rate credit card.

I do have another option for that highest interest rate credit card. I can get a loan to cover almost all of it from the Credit Union for a much, much lower interest rate and transfer what I need from my savings to completely pay it off.

The Plan:
Get a loan for the highest interest rate credit card from the credit union, pay off the Jeep loan and put that extra $305 towards the next highest interest rate credit card on the list. Does that sound like a reasonable plan.

Well, off to the Credit Union to check on personal loan interest rates. (which in the past have been around 7 - 8 percent).

Credit Card Companies - You Suck; and when I am debt free, you will never see me again.

Gosh, it is crazy how often my plans change. I haven't been able to blog much due to all the projects I have been working on. Between becoming greener and re-evaluating my financial house to do what works for me.

The Greener Side:

Most all of the projects we have been working on has not cost us a thing. We used up extra wood, logs, nails, dirt, rocks or coupons to buy some items.

With my daughter becoming an Environmental Engineer and me, being a Home Economist, We have become our own project. We have cancelled garbage pickup and instead we recycle our own. I still have about a bag of garbage per week, but I do have a place where I take that without having a garbage bill.

We started a compost pile, which let me tell you, I have never had such awesome dirt, with so many worms.

We bought a Brita and safe drinking bottles, so we don't buy bottled water anymore (we do keep a case on hand for emergencies. We have a well, which is good spring water anyway, but the Brita makes it that more yummier. This project cost less than $20.00 by using coupons and combining with a sale and with cost comparison, this has already saved me money, due to not buying a case of water every week or so and filling our landfills with plastic.

We recycle all of our paper products, including junk mail, newspapers, food boxes, etc. and drop it in the Church paper recycler.

We are in the process of buying a rain catch barrel that attaches to our gutter down spout which we will use to water the gardens with. The rain barrel will cost some money, but saves me from turning on the water hose and using electricity. Rain water is much better for gardening anyways.

And, we have been planting our own food (potatoes, corn, green beans, tomatoes, lettuce, pumpkins, acorn squash, onions, mushrooms and many different herbs). We also have raspberries, grapes, apples, rhubarb and some strawberries. We will be doing a lot of canning, freezing and root cellaring this year. There ain't nothing like homemade pasta sauce. Yum. We cook most all of our meals from scratch and bake bread about every other day. We are learning about making our own yogurt, apple butter, regular butter and anything else that we would eat and buy on a regular basis. So far, I have spent around $40.00 and the bulk of that amount was for the organic mushroom pod.

Those areas above have saved us a great deal of money and I find that I am not in the grocery store as much.

The Financial Side:

In the past, usually January, I go through all of my expenses and make many phone calls to either cut out some expenses, to get different pricing from different companies and, lately, refinancing. But, due to refinancing and needing to live within the income I will be making come January, there are still areas that could be tweaked.

I am refinancing my mortgage down from a 30 year loan with 25 years left to pay at a 6.75% interest to a 15 year loan at 4.5% interest. This saves me a hugh amount of money in interest.

Next, I called both my gas and electric companies and had them switch me over to the budget plan, which allows me to pay the same amount every month, instead of fluctuating amounts each month. I mean, when it gets really cold around here in the winter, my gas bill can be almost $400. That is just too much to pay all at one time when trying to budget.

Now, what order to pay off debt, that is what I have been pondering. This is what I came up with: Due to the credit card companies trying to crack down on debt and raising interest rates, I have had two credit card's rates go up.

1. M.K. Visa. The interest rate on this card went from 13.24% to 18.24%. I owe $2,326.16 on this card. I think I should transfer money from my ING account along with next month's mortgage payment to pay this off. I won't have a mortgage payment in May, due to refinancing and then it is one more debt paid off.

2. I think after that, I should put everything extra on my Jeep to get it paid off next. Even though it's interest is 7.99%, it would free up $305.15 per month to go towards debt. It is actually not due to be paid off until July 2010, but it would help me not struggle with a mortgage payment and car payment after the end of the year.

3. Chase Visa: The interest here is at 19.99%. I will keep paying the minimum plus the extra that brings me up to the next rounded number.

4. Wamu Visa: The interest on this card went up from 12.99% to $15.60%. I will keep paying the minimum plus the extra that brings me up to the next rounded number.

I will have to re-evaluate these two cards after the others debts I have talked about have been paid off.

5. My son's debt. This card was the purchase of a computer to record bands on for his business. This is actually in both of our names, with his name being the primary. We will keep paying the minimum plus the extra to the next rounded number, even though the interest rate is high, just for a little while longer to build his credit. He actually makes the payment on this card, so I am not worried about it. We also did a school loan from the credit union in both of our names to help build his credit. That debt was paid off in March. All of his college has been paid for. He now has a "Digital Engineering Degree" and an "Associates in Music Theory and Composition".

So, as you can see, we have been taking steps to become greener and more financially stable.

Here in Michigan, we have had so many foreclosures. We have had three here on the lake that sold for well below what they should have. That, in turn, gives me a low appraisal for refinancing with debt consolidation.

So, I am now going to Refinance at a 4.5% on a 15 year loan and pay off my debt on the side.

That way, I still have equity in my home, if needed.

I also crunched some numbers and I believe with a very agressive debt snowball plan, I can have my debt paid off in 20 months or less. I am going to apply all of my beach money, cleaning money and money I get from my husband to get that debt paid off.

Once I close on my loan, I will drain most of my accounts and put it towards debt, except for what I need to pay my taxes in September and a small emergency fund cushion.

I will still keep an extra checking account open and add a little to it here and there for X-mas and Vacations.

My husband and I have re-worked our yard and we will be having an extensive garden this year, with lots of canning, freezing and root cellaring to help with grocery costs.

I will post a different entry on all we are doing in these economic times to live within our means.

As you all can see by the debt in my column on the side, I own some money to credit card debt, a car loan and my son's college stuff.

Anyhow, I talked with my loan officer yesterday. The one that holds my mortgage. Right now I am sitting on a 6.75% fixed loan and have 26ish years left to pay off approximately $106,000. Along, with that, if I snowballed my credit cards, it would take 35 months to pay them off and I would have paid interest in the amount of $4,400.00

But, the problem is, that after the end of this year, I loose half of my income, which makes it very strapping for me to pay debt other than mortgage. So, my loan officer suggested a new mortgage.

Here is what I am getting after 2 hours on the phone. A new mortgage for $130,000, with a fixed rate of 4.5% on a 15 year loan and all of my debt paid off. I will be tying my taxes and insurance into that loan (I have always paid them on my own, but this way, I really don't have to worry about that).

Yes, it is a very agressive loan, because my payment is higher (of course). Right now, I pay $735/month and my new payment will be $995; a difference of $260.

But, for me, this makes it easier to concentrate on one payment and I can add any additional monies (my summer job, tax returns, etc.) to my mortgage. My goal is 12 years (when I turn 60) and be completely mortgage free.

As for my children. One has graduated from college and is on his own and my two youngest (14 and 17), both already have college accounts totalling around $18,000 each.

Also, without any extra debt, I will be able to save quite a bit before I loose half of my income at the end of the year. I am looking at somewhere between $8,000 to $12,000 by December, along with what I already have saved.

My Jeep should get better gas mileage now that I won't owe anything on it. LOL

My other housing bills (electric, gas, phone, internet and satellite) total around $300/month; Groceries and Entertaiment are controllable.

And, the restoration of my home (the Cottage) should all be finished by the end of this year.

So, yeah for me. Here is to being debt free, other than my mortgage.

It is scary to me, but I think I am making the right decision.

So a couple of post back I listed some things that just needed to be taken care of. Well, I am pretty much getting everything done on my list.

I took my car in to the repair shop, they said it was my transmission and I need to go to a transmission shop. While on my way to the transmission shop, I stopped at a friends who looked at my car and guess what, it was just low on fluid. Umm, hello oil change place and repair shop, maybe you should check that out. My Jeep drives great now. I mean, afterall, it is a 2001, eventually it is going to need some fluids. God love good friends who look out for you.

I got my Federal Deposit today and I am headed to the credit union to pay off my son's college loan. I have already deleted it from my side bar.

I am making great strides. I have paid off three debts as of today and have lowered my debt from 22,114.18 to $16,785.17 (that is including my Jeep pmt.)

At the rate I am going, by the end of the year, I will have the Jeep and Chase Visa paid off and will have made a sufficient dent in the other two cc debts.

Plus, my emergency fund is really growing. I also opened a new checking account at another bank to use solely for either three purposes (a business account, X-mas and birthday account or traveling account - can't make up my mind yet). I got $50.00 just for opening a this checking account. The bank put $25.00 in the attached savings and gave me a $25.00 Visa gift card) I figured it was a good place to put all of my change, rebates, unexpected checks and I am having $100 direct deposited from my other checking into this one.

Turned in my points from one of my visa cc's and got a $25.00 Home Depot card. I know have $150.00 in Home Depot cards and visa gift cards to put towards either the deck or siding for my house.

The friend that fixed my car has also fixed our portable dvd player and is working on my daughters computer. He says it should be done in a day or two. He is my oldest's father and he really goes out of his way to make our lives comfortable. I am really blessed by the family and friends that I have in my life.

Still trying to find a car for my daughter. It will happen when it is supposed to.

That is pretty much it. Have a great day all.

I am getting back a good size amount of money from my taxes this year. Yeah.

I will be paying off Loan 1 next month, adding some cash to my ING account and buying me a new mattress and box spring. Another debt bites the dust once my e-file is deposited.

Also, purchased a new dryer, mine was definately dead; and found some great deals on clothes at different thrift stores and the mall for me and my son.

I have so much small stuff going on; and well, maybe some large stuff to tend to. I keep putting things off because I am so focused on getting rid of my debt. But, I am going to have to break down and start fixing some things.

I have a stove with self-lighting burners. One of the burners on my stove has a crack in the ingnitor, so I always have to light a match to use that burner. Of course, it is the one I use all the time. Looked for a part, but need to take the one off that is on there to take it with me to get the right one.

My dryer has been going through something. Sometimes it heats, sometimes it doesn't. I took off the part that monitors this, took it in, they put a tester on it and said it was just fine. Well, it has been heating, lately, but now the belt broke that turns the drum, so it won't even start. I washed two loads of clothes yesterday, then took them to the laundry mat to dry.

Our portable dvd player just decided to stop reading discs. Okay, it has never been dropped, so now what. Can you replace the eyes or have them fixed, or do you just buy a new one.

We have pretty much all wood, tile or lineoleum floors with large area rugs. My bedroom rug is a cream color and seriously needs to be cleaned. Do I rent a machine somewhere or have someone come in a clean it.

The ouside grill is trashed. The inside burners have disinigrated. I mean, what can I say about this. I just need a new one.

My husband's watch band broke, so he taped it back together with duct tape. This I think is funny. Watches are fairly inexpensive at K-Mart or Wallmart. Just go buy a new one, or just buy a new band. They probably only cost $5.00.

My Jeep is doing something funny. When I turn left, it stops moving until I straighten out the wheels, like the transmission slipping, but a mechanic said if it was the transmission, it would always hesitate, not just when I turn left. I am really trying to hang onto this vehicle instead of incurring a newer one with another 4 to 6 years of payments. I want out of debt.

Need to get my taxes done. I usually go to H&R Block, but I think I am going to give Turbo Tax a try. Block charges me somewhere around $250.00 to have them done. We have nothing major/significant that would make it difficult, so I believe I can do it.

My refrigerator drawers have all broken off the plastic they ride on. My fridge is 10 years old, but looks new, just the drawers are annoying. I wonder if I can buy new hangers for them somewhere.

My daughter's computer has a virus. Did find someone to fix this, just need to get it to him.

My daughter needs a car. My son needs more clothes and shoes (stop growing already). I need clothes and shoes (seriously). It has been so long that I have really purchased clothes for myself that everything is wearing out, ripping apart, serioulsy faded and stained.

And, not to mention what needs to be done to my cottage.
*Finish laying flooring
*Purchase and finish outside siding
*Purchase and put gutters back on
*Build decks
*Finish trim
*Work on foundation in front of house
*Replace front door
*and so on, and so on.

That is just off the top of my head. Sorry for the rant. Just thought if I got it down, I could assess the damage and get'er done.

January 2009:

*Groceries: $454.77
*Eating Out: $193.00
*Gas: $147.75
*Extras: Helped my oldest son fix his car $95.00.

I am going to seperate my Groceries into two categories, Food and Household. It will eventually be in My Pages under Grocery Challenge.

*Plus, paid all the regular bills and paid off one debt and eliminated it from my sidebar. On to the next debt.

*Changed around which accounts my money goes into. I have auto deductions that come out of my checking every month and go into different savings accounts. Well, after dealing with Chase this past week, I decided they didn't need any more of my money than it takes to pay the bills, so I stopped the auto deduction into that savings, transferred the money out of that savings and it is now going to my ING account, which draws way more interest anyways.

Also, closed my kids accounts at Chase and transferred those to the Credit Union, where their college savings is.

The Care Credit Card is deducted from the checking account of $842.42, total paid off was $2,800.

Now, on to the next debt.

I guess I should start with the one with the highest interest, but I am also telling myself to tackle Loan No. 1, which will ease up an extra $200/month to put towards another debt.

Hmmm, I really need to figure out which one to pay off next.

Even though I feel like maybe I am strapping myself financially and causing myself stress. It needs to be done.

Went to my Bank yesterday. The one I have been with for 30 years, to apply for a HELOC. It is Chase Bank, the one that just bought out WaMu.

I figured I could tie in all of my debt, around $22,000.00, in a HELOC, at 3% interest, instead of different interest rates ranging from 7.5% to 19.99%.

The loan officer thought that was a great idea. Well, No, today he called and said I was denied. Denied, I said. Why?

I asked if it was my credit score. Remember, WAMU let me have access to my credit score for FREE, which I checked earlier this week and it was 662. He said, no, actually, your credit score is much higher that what you thought it was, by about 60 points. Oh, well, that's nice.

So, what is the problem. Well, underwriting thinks it would be a risky loan and that they don't do much HELOC's these days with the economy, you know. I laughed and said "riskier that what - me not paying you on three credit cards that total around $12,000, if I decide not to." That is funny.

He said, well actually, they said you are approved for refinancing.

Refinancing. I don't want to refinance. Oh, I get it -- it only costs $400 for a HELOC closing costs, while it costs around $5,000 for refinancing closing costs. I think that is dirty banking, if you ask me.

So, I told him, "No, you do not get my mortgage. I am happy where I am at and I already have a low interest mortgage rate." Can you believe that. Denied for a HELOC, but approved for a Refinance.

I did let him know that I was appalled at giving me an ultimatum on how I was going to pay off my debt; and that they would be losing a banking customer. I have four different accounts and three credit cards with them, which are now going to be transferred to my Credit Union.

You see, I also went to the credit union yesterday to do some banking and asked them about HELOC's; and they said that, yes, they are doing HELOC's.

So, Mr. Loan Officer, I am now moving all of my money to the Credit Union. You might want to let your underwriters know that. Bummer, how things backfire.

I am not sure if I am going to do a HELOC, but I am going to start transferring accounts and having my direct deposit redirected to the credit union.

I will keep you all updated.

So, I am going to pay off the rest of the first debt on February 3rd. I am so excited. One down and 4 to go.

I have decided to try to tackle CC2 next: After getting my statement this month and looking it over, I am paying over $100 in interest each month. That is just not acceptable. I want that money. I could be doing so much more if my money wasn't paying interest. I would really like to even close that card, once it is paid off, even though it is the one I have had the longest. It doesn't have any type of rewards with it anymore. It used to be, when I used it, a percentage of what I spent went to St. Judes Hospital, but not anymore. Chase chopped their ties with them, which I don't like either.

I was going to tackle Loan 1 next, but the interest isn't as high. And, I am already paying extra on Loan 1. It will be paid off by the end of the year or earlier, which is my goal.

Also, as I stated previous, my WaMu Visa has been picked up by Chase, which means I have three cards being held by Chase. I really don't think I need to be a servant to Chase anymore. I also got a letter from Chase stating that "I will receive a new Chase card, subject to continuing to meet our credit creteria." Who knows, maybe they are just going to close that card/account, which will really screw with my FICO score.

I wonder if I could get a low interest personal loan to pay off all three Chase credit cards; and then just keep one open. I would keep the Mary Kay Credit Card. I do get rewards for those and it is used for business. I am going to check on that as soon as we get back from Kalahari.

So, I got a letter from one of my credit cards. It, however, has been picked up by another bank. Not surprising.

But, in the letter it stated that after March 1, I would no longer be able to check my FICO score.

Wow, I never even knew they offer this. So I went into that account online; and sure enough, there it was to access.

It is 662, which is down from 697 in July of last year. I really don't get it. I haven't inquired about any loans. I haven't been late on any payments. In fact, I always pay more than the minimum amount on all of my cards and loans. And, I always pay them early. They are not due until the middle or a little later in the month; and they are always paid, electronically, on the 3rd of the month.

It must be the economy, not sure. I guess it is a good thing that I am not looking into refinancing, buying a car or getting any more credit; in any way, shape or form.

It is totally fine with me.

I just redeemed some points and was able to get a $10.00 Panera Bread Gift Card, along with a $15.00 FTD card for using some of my points before January 15, 2009.

I also have on hand:
*Free Cheese Pizza from Buddy's Pizza
*$5.00 gift coupon for Buddy's Pizza
*$8.00 gift card for Papa John's Pizza
*Two Game Works game cards
*Two Dave and Buster game cards
*$100 Gift Card for Home Depot
*Free Appetizer at Red Knapps American Grill
*Free Chips and Salsa at Chili's
*$25.00 gift coupon for the Sherwood Brewing Company

I am armed and ready. Looking forward to more gift cards and cash earned from using points through mypoints.com, winster.com, ebates.com, visa redemption points and my debit card redemption points.

So, one of the Yahoo groups I am on is for the upcoming vacation me and my kids are taking the beginning of February. This just came across the group.


"My husband and I are going thru bankruptcy. It's a long story, but to make it short, our lawyer hasn't yet filed for us, and that gave our bank the ability to take out the money we had allotted in our checking account for our mortgage, 2 of our bills, our groceries for the next week, and our 2nd and 3rd nights at Kalahari. I am hoping to use the money we already paid Kalahari for a one night stay in a suite for 8 people (my husband and I have 6 children), and use it for 2 nights in a 4 person room. Provided we can get 4 wristbands for Wednesday, the 4th of February... anybody have any? We would love to have them donated, but will try to find a way to buy them should someone need the money. Thanks in advance."

Now, why would you just not cancel this trip and use the money say for (food, bills, mortgage, etc.). This is really bothersome and is putting their family at risk for being out on the streets, having no heat or going hungry. Come on people, make responsible decisions. Do you really need to be taking a vacation now; or should you be sitting down with your family and deciding what is a priority.

There is a family that actually has extra wrist bands for this family, but I still feel very sad for them. I am trying not to judge, but I just really think this was a bad decision.

First of all, I love baseball. My youngest son is an all sports guy. He has played baseball since he was 5. He is well-liked and has been approached for playing Federated Ball, which he keeps turning down.

Anyways, he told me that he doesn't want to play baseball this year. Ohhh, okay. He said he would, if I wanted him to. But, I don't want my kids spending thier life doing what everyone else wants. He may change his mind, you never know.

But, in the meantime, this saves me $150 in the Homeschooling costs area.

No. 2: Garbage pickup: Since I compost and recycle my own these days, I usually only have about 1 bag of garbage per week. So, I am not renewing my garbage pickup for this year. It runs out the end of March; at which time, I can take my bag of garbage to work or my husband can put it in one of the dumpsters on one of our jobs.

This will save me $200 a year.

No. 3: Bottled Water: We switched over to using a Brita instead of buying bottled water. After calculating my bottled water purchases, I believe we will save $60 year.

So, a total of $410 can goes towards the debt or saving area.

I not sure what we are doing, but we will make some appetizers and try to stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop with my two teenagers. My oldest son's band is playing at an event that night, but I don't like to leave my two other children at home, so I will stay with them and think about my oldest when the New Year rings in.

Happy 2009 to everyone. And, next year, I don't know how they are going to make the 2010 glasses, but we will see. We will just have to keep one eye closed.

Okay, here it goes with the yearly totals.

Debt is at: $16,179.08. Big Changes coming in this area for 2009. I need to be mostly debt free by the end of the year, due to my regular income being cut in half.

Gasoline Usage: $2,772.58, averaging $53.31/week or $231.04/month.

Christmas Total: $1,533.86. I spent $1,293.63 on my husband and my 3 children and $240.24 on extended family. I am going to work on this category. Saving all of mypoints.com and winster.com points for gift cards and finding items throughout the year at flea markets, antique shops, garage sales, etc. We have decided to go on a vacation for Christmas next year, so our portion will be in finding a good deal on hotel, amusement park admissions, gas, etc.

Birthdays: My family birthdays totaled around $350.00 (Three kids and one husband). Extended family and friends birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, etc. totaled around $250.00. Need to work this area also. So far for next year, we have a wedding reception, three graduations, a baby shower that I need to buy mint/nut cups for 100 people and birthdays.

Groceries: $6,245.38. This includes everything from food, toiletries, water softener salt, lightbulbs, laundry soap, bird seed, batteries, anything that runs a home. I should try to seperate the categories to see just how much is spent on food and how much is spent on household. But, I think that amount is way too much. Especially when I see one woman feeding a family of 4 on $800/year. I definately will use more coupons and try to cut this area and do two categories - Food and Household.

Eating Out: $1,666.99. I need to do the envelope system with this area. Decide how much to use for eating out, put it in an envelope and when it is gone, no eating out. Maybe $50.00/month.

Water Softener Salt: $260/year. This is actually included in the groceries total. We have well water with lots of iron, so I use the Red Out, which is more expensive. I am going to try to see if I can mix two bags Red Out with two bags Regular and get the same results at a lower cost.

Vehicle and Homeowner's Insurance: $2,090.15. Vehicle Plates/Reg. $125.20. No fudging here.

Homeschooling Costs: $1,561.11 (includes private instruction in algebra, some sciences like physics and chemistry, languages, piano, baseball, bmxing, snowboarding, museum memberships, magazine subscriptions, curriculum, field trips, etc. for two teenagers).

Clothing Expense: $553.50. Me and two teenagers. My 17 yo daughter insists on buying her own clothes, even though I slip a few garments in here and there. Mainly, the cost is on my 14yo boy, who won't stop growing, especially in shoes. But, I don't think this amount is excessive.

Haircuts: $130.00. Me and two teenagers. I color my own hair and use coupons for the haircuts. The hair coloring is actually included in the grocery amount.

Country Club Membership (where I work) $130.00.

Well, that is pretty much it. All regular bills like Mortgage and living expenses have been paid and are never behind, plus regularly adding to my Freedom Account and ING Account.

Happy Frugal and Debt Free 2009 to Everyone.

We have some scheduled vacations for 2009.

*Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio in February, already paid for.

*Chicago. We have a good friend that moved their, so we are going to visit. We are wanting to do the Aquarium and a couple museums. I have been online and see that Chicago offers a Citypass which will save us a great deal on costs. If anyone has been to Chicago or lives in Chicago and can give us some great ways to save money there or any other great tips, it would be greatly appreciated.

*Washington D.C.: Hoping to make it to Washington D.C. to visit all the museums in the Spring. I know motels are expensive. We would like a motel that has an indoor pool and complimentary breakfast for a decent nightly rate and somewhere convenient to the Metro for transportation. Or maybe, it would be worth staying at a campground, just not sure which one is closest. Any suggestions from anyone that visits or lives in this City is also greatly appreciated.

*Michigan: Renting a cottage with a friend this year on Lake Huron this summer. Our kids grew up together and we thought we would get-a-way for some fun. Swimming, riding bikes, walks, nightly bonfires with s-mores. Michigan summers are beautiful.

*Colorado: My BIL wants us to come and visit this coming year; and if the gas prices stay affordable, we may just drive that way. It would only cost me in gas money and some food. He never lets us pay for anything.

*Florida: Either at Easter or Christmas 2009. We have lots of family their, who keep asking us to come on down. We want to swim with the Manatees and go to Disney World. Any great tips for saving at Disney? I found a great place to swim with the Manatees. You can rent Kayaks for $10.00 each.

If those all work out, then we will move onto Maine to see the Whales; Hannibal, MO for the Mark Twain festival; The Grand Canyon or Yellowstone; and Mt. Rushmore.

My son made it across the Canadian/U.S. border with no problems, due to us setting everything up before he got there, by calling customs and border control, the U.S. Embassy and getting a police report for the stolen wallet.

Then, last night, got a call from someone in Canada, they found my son's wallet. Yeah. All the cash was gone, but everything else was intact. They said they would mail it to us.

We are very grateful.

My oldest Son went to Toronto with 3 other friends. They are all in their early 20's for a Christmas get-away.

Anyway, the night before last, my son's wallet got stolen. He called home upset. In his wallet was $150 U.S. cash, $40 Canadian, his driver's license, debit card and another credit card.

I told him that we would handle the debit and credit card from here in Michigan so no-one could use them; and call Customs and Border Control; and he called the U.S. Embassy. The U.S. Embassy said they would fax over documentation that he was a U.S. Citizen. We told my son to get a police report for his stolen wallet. The good thing was his birth certificate was in his luggage.

But, it took us all day from both ends, putting holds on debit cards, cancelling credit cards, calling Customs and Border Control, the U.S. Embassy and the Toronto Police Department to get my son back over the border.

They finally came across the border at 12:30 this morning. What a stressful situation. I still haven't seen my son yet, he stayed at one of the friend's house he went with.

So, today, we have to go get a new license and we are getting a snowstorm, but thank God, they made it back before the storm hit here really bad.

And, good thing I am giving him some cash for Christmas, cause he is gonna need it.

I hope he had a good time though and that this doesn't deter him from visiting Canada again. We will also go get him a passport.

Hmm, how do you do that.

Here is the story. On my husband's side, his brother and SIL, or my BIL and SIL and his Mother make Christmas so complicated. His BIL and SIL make far more money than we do and always complain about it; and his Mother is always complaining she doesn't have any. You know the ones.

Well, we have been trying to set something up with them for Christmas, along with my husband's mother, the MIL, but then the MIL threw a fit. I mean, like a two year old, crying fit that she wanted to have it at her house on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Well, I asked everyone over on the 23rd, which is neither, for a get-together, to do some celebrating; and it turned into mass chaos.

So, my husband, said fine, throw a fit and act like a two year old. Just because we invite someone over on the 23rd doesn't mean you couldn't do something on the 24th or 25th, but instead, you throw a fit and get in a fight with my wife and SIL over it, so now we are not getting together on the 23rd. I mean a simple "yes, I'm available" or "No, I can't make it" would have been fine.

So, after a week of the MIL trying to backtrack and fix things, she convinces the BIL and SIL to come over for desserts on the 24th before our Church services. So, I say to my husband, maybe we can all get-together then and do Christmas and exchange gifts. I mean afterall, let's reward the two year old her tantrum and all be together at her house for Christmas. Oh, no, now my BIL and SIL say, I didn't know you were coming, Oh, it is going to be so crowded, BIL is not going to be happy.

My husband mentions that we could come over on the 24th to my MIL (his mother) and she says, well let me call Brother and SIL and see if that works for them, cause they thought it was just going to be us.

HELLO, it is Christmas and you pitched a fit wanting everyone together at your place on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Here is your chance and it doesn't work with BIL and SIL. My husband hung up. He told me what was said. So, I called MIL back and told her, nicely, to have her Christmas with BIL and SIL and we would let her know when we could get-together with her. Seeing how I tried to do that twice already.

But, the main reason for my rant, is that my BIL and SIL just wine about having to buy gifts and get-together that I just need to cut those ties. Maybe in a nice way say "that financially it would help us out a great deal if we didn't exchange gifts next year" and then I could just have a wreath sent to their house next year for their front door.

On my side of the family, how easy it gets. "Hey want to get-together before Christmas, hell yeah." We decided the 20th at my brothers, all bring a dish or two to pass. We don't care about gifts. We will probably play Texas Hold'em, play the guitars and sing. I have three brothers with families, a total of 26 people and it took us 5 minutes to figure out when, what time and who is bringing what.

Oh, btw, we have decided to go away next year for Christmas, someplace warm and less snowy.

Any suggestions?

Me and my kids decided to become even more green. We chose to do a three cycle recycling project: Bottled water, recycle our own recycables and composting.

First, the bottled water project. I was spending around $85-$100/year on bottled water, plus all the waste of all those plastic bottles that you can't reuse because of harmful chemical leakage. Even though we have recycling through our garbage pickup, they are a pain.

Anyways, we bought a Brita, which I have previously talked about. It costs me $15.50 out of pocket, after in-store credit, a mail-in-rebate and coupons. I also bought three reusable plastic water bottles, on sale, for .99 cents each. We love the water and it has worked out quite well. I am glad we did this.

Part Two, Recycling: We decided to take our own newspapers, magazines, plastic, cans and other recyclables into the recycling center. We wanted to see if it was worth the effort to do it ourselves. So, yesterday, we loaded up the Jeep with all of the recyclables. I mean, all of this stuff took up half of my foyer. We went to the recycle center which is about 1/2 hour away. It is next to a bread outlet, so I was going to "kill two birds with one stone" so they say.

After driving on the scale, unloading and driving back on the scale, our process only netted us $1.50. Ha Ha Ha Ha. So, doing it ourselves is not viable. I will just continue to drop off my paper type products (newspapers, magazines and paper)in the church recycle bin for them to reap the rewards; and let my garbage recycle pickup take the cans and glass.

I mean, it is good to get my bread at a discount, but not to do the recycling. I probably spent two dollars in gas. I will just stock up on bread when I am out that way in the future. Plus, it took up too much room in my beautiful new foyer.

Part three - Composting: We had some top soil left over from last years taking down the dead elm tree project. We built a compost area out of three smaller pallets and dumped all of that extra dirt in there, then we added grass clippings and leaves. I also add things like egg shells, coffee grounds and veggie/fruit peelings. This project has been working out real well and I should not have to buy new dirt for all my potted plants and garden next year.

So, two out of three aint bad and it has been a great learning experience for my kids.

Here is a great website of a family who takes the green thing very seriously. I love this website.

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/04/08/busy-7/

Enjoy.