Daylily's Personal Finance Blog

THE Vacation Fund

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:11:10 PST

Since May 2007:

107.32 Coins
6.80 Bottle deposit refunds
121.00 Gifts
181.21 Rebates
159.10 Business expense reimbursement
63.83 DH Biz expense reimbursement
385.33 Flex Spending Acct reimb.
100.00 online surveys
773.00 my side jobs...

Using up leftovers

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:52:49 PST

I'm on a quest to use up leftovers and to also clear out my upright freezer.

Today I made a wonderful fruity sauce that I'll use over chicken tonight. I had some leftover fresh pineapple and a mango (49-cent score from Aldi). I pulsed these in the food processor. I added a...

Mall Shopping

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:04:30 PST

I do not like shopping but today I headed to the mall. The place was packed. I avoided the traffic by staying in just three of the department stores.

I didn't do too much damage. I spent $58 on clothing which consisted of two pairs of pants and one sweater.

I used a...

Looking for a meaningful challenge

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:40:25 PST

I like reading about how others have 'No Spend Days.' However, this just doesn't apply to me. Most of my days are no spend days and it has been like that for a long time.

I pack my lunch for work every day. I don't usually buy anything from the vending machines. At both my...

Resurrecting the blog

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:21:35 PST

Trying to figure out if I want to get back into blogging. I took quite a break after I went from being unemployed to being employed. For a while after starting my job I didn't have time to even read the forums and blogs. So here goes.

Little finance bits:
1. I found 15-cents...

First Paycheck at new job

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:35:32 PST

Today was payday! I checked my bank online today and see the deposit. Yeah! The only thing I'm not happy about is that my new job pays me every two weeks. I much prefer to get paid only once a month.

I don't understand why companies pay every two weeks. Isn't it more expensive...

I miss this place!

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:29:02 PST

Okay, so I have not posted in a while. But worse, I haven't been reading at all! After almost seven months of unemployment I landed a job and I started a couple weeks ago. In the run up to that I hadn't been visiting the site because I had a 100 things that needed to get done before...

May 2007 coupon usage

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:33:43 PST

2.95 Free Prego
0.75 candy
3.00 razors
3.00 razors
2.00 razors
2.00 razors
0.35 zest soap
0.75 pledge
1.00 salad dressing
1.00 meat
0.40 mayonnaise
6.00 Anything at Wags.
1.00 Cereal
0.50 sour cream
2.00 razors
0.25 downy
2.00 meat
0.35 bathroom tissue
1.00 glad...

Job Offer!

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 10:24:10 PST

On the six month anniversary of leaving my old job, I received a job offer. Recall, I was part of a corporate merger which moved my job to another state.

I have to call back today or tomorrow to formally accept the offer. I like the company and had hoped that I would find something...

Swimming in Interviews

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Thu, 17 May 2007 16:31:03 PST

I'm now at 5.5 months of being unemployed. Up to now I've mostly had phone interviews and they've come in about once every other week. This week and next are a completely different story!

I have one phone interview scheduled for next Monday.

I have one phone interview that...

April 2007 Coupon usage

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Tue, 01 May 2007 15:42:00 PST

1.00 frozen veg
1.00 frozen veg
1.00 Lubriderm
1.00 lipstick
1.00 excedrin
0.40 ziploc
0.25 downy
1.50 Advil
1.00 candy
1.50 candy
1.00 toothbrush
1.00 Aleve
1.00 excedrin
1.00 milk
1.00 Aleve
2.00 Benefiber
1.00 cat litter
1.00 coffee
3.49 meat
0.55 shave gel
0.40 yogurt
0.50 mints
1.00 Pepp....

Easy, Inexpensive Chicken & Peaches

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 18:22:29 PST

Tonight's dinner

$2.44 Six chicken thighs
$0.79 One can peaches
$0.25 Blanched Almonds
$0.05 2 Tbs Vinegar
$0.10 1 tsp Curry powder
$0.10 1 tsp Garam Masala
$0.05 Cornstarch
$0.59 Fresh Green Beans on the side
- - - - - - - - -
$4.37 Total.
Two chicken...

March household spending

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 11:31:57 PST

Third post for today. Since I used my other two posts to talk about how much I had saved for the month, I thought I should also throw in how much I spent for the month.

$193.00 Groceries/Food
$9.00 Meals out (sushi)
$10.54 Cat Food/Litter
$5.75 Cleaning supplies
$49.99...

Resisting the urge to shop CVS this month

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 07:27:50 PST

...so far anyway. I had a great month last month at CVS.

For $25.98 out of pocket (not including taxes or bottle deposit) I purchased the following bundle of goods in combination with coupons and ECBs:

180-ct Advil Liquid Gels
180-ct Advil Liquid Gels
12-pack Mountain...

March 2007 Coupon usage

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 06:25:23 PST

4.67 *FREE* Cat Food 3 lbs
4.67 *FREE* Cat Food 3 lbs
4.67 *FREE* Cat Food 3 lbs
4.67 *FREE* Cat Food 3 lbs
2.99 *FREE* Cat Food 1 lb
3.00 Razors. With a $5 rebate, these were FREE
3.00 Shampoo. With CVS ECBs this was $0.50/bottle
3.00 Conditioner. With CVS ECBs, this...

New soup w/ Reduced for Quick Sale Meat

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:07:36 PST

As much as I want winter to end, I can't help longing for it and the wonderful comfort food that goes with it. This year has been a big year for soup.

I tried a new recipe today. When I was at the store yesterday, I noticed smoked sausage on clearance for 99-cents because...

Drugstore rebate games - March Totals

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:36:14 PST

As you may recall, I am unemployed and I have an excess amount of time on my hands. (Excess time, not cash!) In the past couple of months I have really upped my coupon usage (but only when it makes sense). I have also started playing the drugstore games at two of the national chains....

How do you get high?

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:16:39 PST

You know how people get a rush wearing something flashy and expensive or driving a nice car? There�s that whole brain chemical thing going on that gives them a rush and they are able to get external recognition by drawing attention to whatever this pricey thing is and therefore they...

February 2007 coupon usage

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:22:59 PST

1.00 chips
2.89 free bread with purchase of meat
0.50 yogurt
0.55 veggie dip
2.00 granola bars
1.00 gum
1.00 cereal
1.00 lotion
0.50 oatmeal
0.50 spray cleaner
2.00 nuts
2.00 razor
2.00 razor
2.00 razor
2.00 razor
3.00 duster (Free!)
1.00 toothpaste
3.00 coffee
0.75...

Mouse in the House & new HSBC account

JLeg931307@aol.com (Daylily) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:40:32 PST

Another mouse got lodged in the blower of our furnace. I had the heating & cooling service guy out today. I'm sure the bill will come to $75. I think that's what it has been on his previous visits for the same problem.

On the plus side though, at least our furnace is working....