I had a most
excellent month last month. Once again
all of our monthly bills were paid ahead of schedule, yay! The mortgage was paid ahead as well and the
principal balance continues to drop, yay!
Our annual auto
insurance bill came due and I paid it in full rather than breaking it up into
installments because they charge service fees if you do that. I put it on my credit card so I can get the
rewards points and plan to pay it off with money I had set aside in savings to
cover that bill.
I did such a great
job stocking the house with food in August, September and October that I didn't
need to do much in the way of grocery shopping.
In fact, the first half of the month the only thing I bought was a jug
of milk. Right before Thanksgiving I
picked up fresh produce and a short list of items for baking. I used sales and coupons I'd downloaded
online to keep the cost very minimal.
I received my annual
cost of living raise at work. Like last
year I just increased my 40l(k) contribution to push my raise right into that
account. Since we are doing just fine
with my current net take home pay it makes more sense for me to save it now and
use it later. Plus I'll get tax benefits
for doing so.
I invested $75 into
a Toro leaf blower that vacuums and mulches the leaves to help us better manage
the massive volume we have to deal with each year. It will also help us to better utilize the
new compost bin we built this past summer in our backyard. Additionally, I invested $12 into some new
weather stripping for our front door to keep us better insulated this
winter. I'm sure we'll recoup that
investment with a lower heat bill.
I stocked up on ice
melt so we are prepared for winter. I
filled up the truck with fuel, topped off the wiper fluid and anti-freeze, and
put the snow chains inside so I am prepared for the winter weather. I also stocked up on litter, cat food and an
extra bag of chicken feed so I won't have to worry about buying that and
getting it into the garage when the weather is nasty.
I finished up my
Christmas shopping and kept that expense relatively low as well. I took advantage of sales, coupons and stuck
to my list. It worked out perfectly. I also used my stash of wrapping supplies to
get all of my gifts wrapped up and ready to put under the tree.
And of course, I'm
sure you are all curious about my Laverne "pay off" goal. It is going AWESOME. In fact better than expected as I was able to
make two really big payments last month and I may be done much earlier than
originally expect. Whoo hooo!
So that is
that. December has arrived already and
the year end approaches. So far, so
good!
I continue to enjoy your wonderful blog. In fact, it's the second thing (after the bank account) I check each morning! I miss you on weekends...
ReplyDeleteYou use a word for purchases that has helped me -- "invested." Careful spending benefits the family and the house, and has reminded me to think about where those hard-earned dollars go. I've been working at Tuesday Morning during the Christmas rush, and realize, every time I trudge off to a busy morning or evening at the cash register, how much time I have to work in order to pay off that chocolate bar or bag of chips.
I've been walking away from more purchases because of it, although I did get a lot of good Christmas presents because of the employee discount.
Also, we continue to save a little on the loan for our "LaVerne" by paying early each month, and adding on extra. Again, thanks to you --
Keep up the good work.
Cindy you have truly made my day. It really makes me feel good to know I've helped people in some small way. I'm glad you found the blog and stick with it. I love my readers just as much as I love writing this blog. You never know, I may sneak in a weekend post some day. Take care my friend and Merry Christmas.
DeleteYou've gotten so much done, I'm impressed! I finished my Christmas shopping too, thank goodness. I also invested in a 13-pack of simple white and brown paper gift bags (can be used for any occasion too, not just Christmas). They were so much cheaper than buying individual ones. The gift bags my extended family and I reuse every year are finally getting a bit tired and beat up looking :)
ReplyDeleteD.
I've noticed that with our gift bags as well and now I'm out of plain brown ones. I think it may be time to get some new ones for next year. At the very list I'll be investing in the paper lunch bags. Love those!
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