Sunday, June 22, 2008

Woot woot!

Best Buy is GONE! BB has left the building!

We paid off BB tonight. We needed to make a decision on it, because the 0% interest for x months was up on the 26th. So we took what cash we could and finished it off to avoid the accrued (not to mention the continued) interest on it. I feel so good - it's gone!


I was also able to go through a few more boxes tonight to sort - either ebay/rummage sale/flea market. After sorting, they were priced and packed.

We decided to sign up for a flea market a few miles away from here over Labor Day weekend.

And...I had a huge brainstorming session with myself on sewing business stuff and what I could take to the flea markets. Great ideas, if I do say so myself!



On top of all that, I did a summer to-do list, which is ages and miles long, but it gets it out of my head and onto the paper, which really helps. I took one page in my mini-notebook for each area of the house and listed anything I could think of.


It all feels GREAT!


Saturday, June 21, 2008

Newspaper Route?

On Friday nights, we usually get the classified section of the Sunday paper in early delivery. I was just scanning through it, and in great big letters it said they needed a rural route carrier (by car) for this paper in our little city. $900/2 weeks.

Holy crap! $1800 a month?

I showed it to dh and he called to get info - left a message. I'm hoping that he's one of the first messages when this guy gets back on Monday.

If it's in the car, and if it doesn't involve having to put the papers in plastic baggies (it said "tube delivery", which I'm hoping means that the paper goes in the little plastic newspaper box next to the mailbox) -- dh could do this. With minimal pain.

It would mean so much to have a job for him. It's a long story, but he is disabled and hasn't been able to work outside the home, and doesn't get soc sec disability because we were stupid about the laws (some 9 months in court to find that out...). The $1800/month is before expenses...but jeez. I'd be delighted with half of that if it got him out of the house and feeling better about things.

And think of what that could do for our snowball...




Sunday, June 15, 2008

The $1000 Selling Challenge

Okay - I've challenged myself.

Between now (mid-June) and Labor Day (when my students return to school), I am going to do all I can to sell $1000 worth of crap out of my house.

This could include: Ebay, half.com, taking stuff to my mom's antique booth, rummage sales, or sewing commissions.

I think I can do this. I need to find a nifty ticker, though, just for kicks.



Saturday, June 14, 2008

Oh no!

http://www.llnoe.com is down for a few days!

What am I going to do?

Isn't it funny how you get so used to certain things, you use them a lot and they're your support and accountability....

What happens when they're gone for awhile?

~*~*~*~*~

Well, I finally updated the bills, and found out where we were at. It wasn't pretty, but it was necessary, of course. I always feel better when I know.

We weren't able to send extra to the dryer. We weren't able to put money aside for the city assessment. We were able to pay all the bills and get the BEF back to $1000, so that's a plus.

I'm starting to feel better from throwing my back out, though, and I'm ready to start getting my rummage sale stuff together, so hopefully we can have one of those in a few weeks. I'm also going to do some summer curriculum which can help throw something at the debt.

We had some water in the basement from the terrible rains we've been getting. Long story short, there's a lot of mildew-y stuff in the basement now, that I'm trying to run through the washer. Frugal tip - a great mildew remover from fabric is ammonia. Dump a cup in the wash with detergent and it really gets rid of the bacteria and smell. It's worked great, and the clothes don't come out smelling like ammonia, so don't worry about that.

Our area is flooding, and there are flash flood warnings out for the unknown future time period. The Rock River has overflowed its' banks, and Lake Delton in the WI Dells has disappeared down the Wisconsin River (really - it's gone). We're kind of stuck here - no matter which direction we go, there are flooded roads. Stops us from driving around, I guess.

Okay - I need to go check this load of wash. I'm on load #4, with at least 3 more to go to get all caught up with the stuff that got stuck in the basement flood, as well as 2 weeks worth of laundry (couldn't do more than 1 load last weekend because of standing water under the washer and dryer).

More money stuff later - I need to get back on track with things. I have off this week before summer school starts, and I have plans for rummage organization, getting some stuff to the antique booth, and ebay sales.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Stupid Tax & More

I had to pay a rush fee to get a bill in on time. That just makes me mad. Chalk it up to Stupid Tax, but still...

And I missed an appointment today. I thought it was tomorrow. I am so pissed at myself for that, because it messes up some pretty big plans. If I can't get the surgery in Dec, it must wait until Jan. If it waits until January, I really don't want to start grad school again so soon after this surgery. If I don't start school up again, I can't put my student loans in deferral. If I don't put my student loans in deferral, January starts an additional $135 payment on top of what we're already paying for our min payment for st loans (it's been 5 years since I got my Master's already!). And where will we get that money? I'm sure it's not going to fall out of the sky or climb out of my...nose.

Let's just say I'm in a down mood right now.


So - I could take a class this fall. Three credits would increase my income starting with the Jan check by about $80 a month. Woo hoo. I'm so excited - pay $1200 for a class that will increase my income by $80 a month.

Or. I could still start grad school in Jan as planned and put the surgery off until March or so. Woo hoo. Another year of being overweight and tortured by my body. (Please don't tell me to eat less and exercise more...I have a mirror, and if that worked, I'd do it)

Or. I could sit here and feel very sorry for myself.



Right now, I'm looking at #3 and it looks really good.

Sorry for being so down...it's been a bad day. I guess it balances out the good day last week. But missing that doc appointment really screwed me over. I feel like feeling sorry for myself.