When It Pours, It Floods

So to top of my Rain it Pours blog, we had our 5th "2015 hates us and wants to kick us while we're down" incident. While driving my husband and daughter to a cousin's birthday party we were in a car accident. It was the other lady's fault but in Utah, it's always the fault of the person making the left turn (me) unless under a protected arrow. Never mind the fact that she'd slowed to stop, changed her mind, punched it and neither slowed nor swerved to avoid me even though I certainly swerved to avoid her. No brake marks showing she attempted to avoid to slow down or stop, nothing. But it's my fault now. I'm the one who got hit, I'm the one that has that on my record for 3 years and I'm the one that will have a fun time getting covered by insurance companies. Talk about victimizing the victims! After this incident I learned my brother-in-law when he totaled my old car-he was making a left turn. The guy who appraised my car had a daughter who'd just totaled hers due to a driver "changing his mind" at the last minute. A friend of mine had been in the intersection when the light turned red and other driver ran it and hit her-still her fault. What does this tell me? Not that it's unfair-hell, life is unfair. This a man made law and it is Wrong. Ultimately, the other car is hitting the left turner, not the other way around and not only that, the left turner gets penalized three fold by the system. Now I understand the line, "You can't fight City Hall." This also tells me that hey, if you're the other driver you can get away with Anything. Absolute B.S.

However, in my attempt to squintingly see a cloudy silver lining-no one in my car was hurt. My daughter's car seat is behind my seat because I've always anticipated that I'm more likely to be hit on the right side than the driver's. My swerve prevented the SUV from hitting the passenger door where my husband was and instead hit the back right door. The car is still driveable and will be repaired (hopefully in the near future) while I'm given a rental. My husband's starting to have the mentality that the "It could always be worse" just makes more bad things happen which is ironic as he used to be the blind optimist and even though he called me a fatalist I'm what Psychology books would describe as a defensive pessimist. Expect the worst, be pleasantly surprised but never disappointed. Of course, with the year we're having the defensive pessimist in me has thrown up her hands and gone into a corner to hide. :)

Here's to hoping my next entries will be less in the tales of woe department!

Competitive Pricing

So this is a great time to hit multiple stores for those killer deals. If you live in Utah, these are some the best prices per product for Reams, Maceys, and Smiths:

Reams:

• Ground beef $2.89 lb
• Sarah Lee Bread 2/$4
• Pepsi 12 pack 3/$10 (also available at Maceys)
• Chef Boyardee pastas 99 cents
• Coolaid packets 7/$1
• Yoplait 8 pack $3.99
• Cantalope 59 cents
• Large Ambrosia apples 69 cents
• Yellow Onions 5/$1

Maceys:

• Currently doing their fill a bag of select produce for $10-mainly apples, oranges, potatoes, onions, and pears
• Frito Lay Chips $1.99
• Jack Links Original Jerky 2/$6
• Tomatoes $1.29 lb
• Lay's Chips 2/$5
• Claritin 10 ct $9.99
• Keebler cookies 2/$6
• Tostitos Chips 2/$6
• Rockstar drinks 5/$5
• Baby Back Ribs $2.99 lb
• Grapes $1.89 lb

Smiths:

• Milk 2/$4
• Cottonelle Toilet Paper 12 Double Rolls 2/$10
• Kroger crescents/biscuits 10/$10
• Kroger cheese bars/shreds 2/$5
• Strawberries 2/$5
• Dial Handsoap 10/$10
• Simple Truth carrots $1.48/2lb bag
• Select bakeware 20% off
• Pork Shoulder Butt Roast $1.99 lb
• Kroger frozen potatoes select varieties $1.99

That's to name a few. Hurry out, sales end Tuesday!

Weak Trick

So not much in additional news other than a little trick that personally helps me and who knows, maybe it can help you too. I'm the one that does the bills in my household and it's always been that way because I'm a tiny bit OCD on getting things taken care of and when you have money coming/going and you can have your power turned off (had that happen once in the beginning of my marriage) because you're not paying close attention, well, you either get OCD or you get to move everything out of your fridge to somewhere cold before it rots.

Anyways, when we're getting near to the next paycheck, especially after coming off one that gets hit with the biggest bills, there's the money crunch/anxiety. This is where being the bill payer has its advantage. If you don't pay the bill and hit the ATM you may see a larger number in your account than is actually there-pending charges that haven't hit, bills that are automated but haven't deducted yet, but will before the next paycheck. I account for every single bill due for each paycheck as soon as that paycheck hits. I go through my account and use a super simple excel spreadsheet (no formulas even, I use the computer calculator to do my tallies-this also makes it hit home where your money is going) and I add the date of every charge that cleared already and make a rough estimate of the expenses we'll cover before the next paycheck.

This last weekend as the money ran tight I decided to be even more OCD (if that's possible) for every cent. After I did the bills, subtracted pending charges, etc, I typed the balance amount into my phone calculator. Then, any errand I or my husband made, I immediately went to my phone and deducted that amount so I knew exactly where we stood as we go. So much easier than running home to pull up my excel sheet. Lame but effective. That's my tip for the week. Such as it is. :)

When It Rains It Pours

So 2015 is just not shaping up to be a good year:

• I rang in the New Year recovering from a headcold
• My husband was pulled over for a DUI during Sundance-the cost of which is going to eat half our savings
• Halfway through a Chips Ahoy bag I chomped on something that appeared/felt suspiciously like bone-I am very thankful it was me, however, and not my 2 year old-the results of that make me shudder still.
• A puppy tried to attack my foot while I was walking my daughter in her stroller-and here I've always been the cat/dog whisperer!
• My husband and toddler were afflicted with a terrible headcold on Valentines Day of which I'm now catching
• One of my cats I abruptly realized was no longer an adult, but a senior and sick enough that's he's lost 7 pounds in the past 3 months-immediate trip to the Vet for testing! Chalk up another $500 and a vague notion of a possible problem that could be confirmed with an ultrasound but won't be necessary if I can get him to piece meal special food, not vomit it up and appears to be without pain. On our first day with that and so far, doing ok so I am thankful for that.

I've always believed in the scenario that when it rains it pours and that karma IS real whether you believe in it or not-so if you've been putting out negative vibes, even just mentaly-well it's gonna give you a knock-or five to wake you the hell up. I also believe in Murphy's Law such as when you have no excess money that's when the real spending begins.

Moral of this story? Be grateful for what you have while you have it. Negativity will bring bad things-one way or another, even if you don't think you're acting on them. Things can always be worse so try to find the silver lining in that if nothing else. Oh and the irony? I don't do New Years or Valentines but ya, those were the timelines for sickness. Maybe I should change that tradition. Hmmm.

Live and Learn

So although I am so grateful for the ability to be an at-home mom I must say that what I miss the most is all the disposable income. I'm sure that goes without saying for anyone who is in the same situation but it really is surprising how much you take it for granted. Even for the first two years I was still working and earning a bi-weekly check which alternated from my husband's pay date so we were getting paid every week. Now I'm not a big spender really. My obsessions were an occasional online clothing spurge (cheaper than stores), crafts (when the mood struck, which wasn't that often or that expensive), books and movies-I still struggle here. Books and movies are my lifelong compulsion. I can go months without buying anything and then suddenly-bam! I have to own those hard to find books or those old movies I grew up watching. It's not enough to stream or check them out from the library-even if that is an option. I must have them. After my daughter was born, spending on her was my new obsession. She had to have those adorable brand new outfits, the coolest toys and tons of them. Never mind the fact that she doesn't care what she wears and she'd rather play with me than any toys-it was just that need to inundate her with everything, especially around the big events-birthdays, Christmas, etc. And of course eating out and ordering pizza was a regular thing-now it's very rare as it's healthier to eat homemade and it is SO much cheaper.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. Oh well, live and learn.

There are some great things out there for those trying to save money. It's just a matter of subscribing to things or just keeping your eyes open to some of the things that come in your mail. For instance, Joann's is offering a killing in savings this weekend for President's Day. I've decided to try my hand at a patch quilt from my Sewing 101 book. I bought 20 quilt squares and Queen matting and with the savings and the coupon they mailed me, spent only $32 and saved $42-wow. If you have a mind to start projects that are going to ultimately cost-keep an eye out for these kinds of deals. But yikes, don't go on Saturday! I had intended to buy backing for the quilt, but the line to have fabric cut was about as long as the ones to get through the registers...only moving much slower. Luckily I have more coupons from being on their mailing lists so I will go back another day and use them then. Also, if you know someone who qualifies as a senior, they save 20% on February 25 just by showing their ID.

Home Depot offers free workshops. Another project is to completely redo my small main bathroom. If that goes well, I'll move onto the rest of the house. The classes they're offering this month are PERFECT: Interior drywall/paint repair, updating cabinets, basic elecrical and tiling. Be warned, it may be a class of one or maybe several and it's held in any given area of the store but if you come armed with questions or need the A-Z spelled out for you, this is the place and e-how or youtube can be your emergency aid during the project.

Sew Inept!

So when I first stopped working and became an at-home mom I was determined to branch out my interests, of which there were many, as well as to improve the whole home-making scene. I got back into gathering new online recipes, started to try my hand at baking-this is still a work in progress.

The first thing I did was replace our bathroom sink. The thing had needed replacing since before I moved in with my husband. The bottom was so corroded I had a pot in the cabinet underneath to catch the water. I went to Home Depot, took notes on all the items I would need, asked numerous questions and then watched some Ehow videos. After a day of straining, swearing, and running back and forth to Home Depot which was blessedly only a block away (and boy did the workers there get familiar with the sight of me!) I finally got it all taken care of and just needed my husband's help on getting the stopper in and the pipes tightened-yay!

One of my other yearnings has always been sewing. However, like baking, it is a tedious and uphill battle for me. I use craftsy.com for my class lessons. I've successfully completed a french seam pillow cover and am currently working on a skirt. Unfortunately, as I'm pinning the zipper I'll be sewing in, I realize my sewing machine doesn't have a zipper foot. The sewing machine was given to me by my parents that had bought it at a yard sale years ago so it looks like the project will be on hold until I can find the right piece. Not much loss there though, I only have a couple hours a week to devote to sewing as the remaining upgrade to my bathroom will take another chunk out of my week, then writing and coupons/recipes, etc. As for sewing, it is just not a natural ability for me. I'm in awe of the women out there who can sew clothes, curtains, anything. I desperately want to join those ranks but it is very slow going and with so little time it will no doubt take me even longer. Not to mention all the nuances of using patterns, measuring, attention to detail and my eternal foe-patience.

Shopping Success

So today was another grocery shopping day. I had written out my list according to the recipes I was making, setting it up in order of how I would troll the aisles in the store and had my folder of coupons handy. One thing I didn't bank on was that it is Superbowl Sunday. The lines weren't bad but whoa did they get cleaned out! For instance, Smiths had milk 2 for $5 today and they were ALL gone. You'd think that for Superbowl it'd mostly be munchies and such that were the big buy but apparently not! (Mental note to avoid shopping on this day next year).

Smiths had some good deals going, buy 6 of a qualifying item and save $3.49 as well as some of their 10 for $10 mix and matches so I was able to buy what I needed and stock up on many of those favorite side dishes my daughter loves such as Pastaroni, Ricearoni and Mac N Cheese. With the coupons and the occasional grab for a sale item I came in $20+ less than I normally do on a shopping trip. If I'd been shopping at Harmons, for instance, I'm sure I would have hit $200 with the items in my cart. An additional bonus was receiving 500 fuel points loaded onto my card as customer appreciation. NICE! Thanks so much, Smiths. I will be shopping there again!