I have been so bummed about going to the expensive HSA with the $5k deductible. I still am, but I have found a little relief.

I checked my professional association and found that they offer a Rx Discount card for no additional fee as long as you are a member in good standing (in other words, paid your dues for the year). I also stumbled upon the fact that BJ's Wholesale Club also offers a Rx Discount card for its' members. Go here to read more if you are a member of BJ's club: http://www.pharmafutures.net/bjs/rxdiscountcard.html

Both websites offer a Rx look-up service which tells me how much I should expect to save on the prescriptions our family needs. I just typed in the name of the medication, the number of pills per month and it spit back a real cost with the card.

Now for the really good news. It looks like the BJ's discount card will save us $25/month on my daughter's medication. It's not a fortune, but every bit helps as you all know.

So, moral of the story, check with your professional organizations and other affiliations you may have to see if they offer any "extra perks" with membership. It could really pay off!

in the 9/1/08 People magazine on newsstands now (Ellen & Portia's wedding on the cover).

On page 24 - $5 off any purchase of $5 or more.

Valid 8/22-9/29/08

Cannot be combined with any other coupon or employee discount. Valid at all US Payless ShoeSource locations. Not valid at locations within ShopKo stores. Not valid at payless.com

Perfect timing for back-to-school shoes!

I was talking to my sister the other night, and she could not believe how much I was going to be paying for the new HSA ($600/month premiums but the DDS pays $100/month, so $500/month out of my pocket)...especially after I explained that with an HSA I pay all expenses out of pocket up to the first $5,000.

My husband, daughter and I are very healthy so we are basically paying for nothing. Seriously. I doubt very much we will come close to spending anywhere near $5,000 in the next year. My DD goes to the doc twice a year for check-ups, and my DH and I go maybe once or twice max. My DD does take prescription medicine, so I called the pharmacy and that will cost approx $40/month without a conventional prescription plan. If all of those trends hold we will probably spend under $2,000 over the next 12 months.

So, my sister says, why don't you just drop insurance altogether and save the $500/month in a savings account in case you get sick! If something catastrophic happens (G-d forbid) you can always get charity care. As a person who loves to save money it was like hearing the siren song calling me to throw myself on the rocky coast. For about a minute and a half I really considered it. And, if it were just my husband and I we would probably do just that, but with a child it seems too irresponsible.

What do you all think? Would you or have you gone without health insurance?

In honor of 08/08/08, Restaurant.com is running this special.

$25 gift certificates for $2...Sale expires Aug 10 at 11:59pm -
Enter Discount Code: FIRST At Checkout and Hit "APPLY"

Hope this is helpful to someone. Unfortunately, there are no restaurants near me that use this site.

A very successful CVS run today. I really planned everything out so that I could spend the very least amount possible out of pocket (oop). That perfect plan didn't quite work out, as it would have had me paying about $2 oop, but I still did extremely well.

Here is what I got:
(10) Dawn dish liquid
(2) CVS pantiliners
(1) Playtex tampons
(4) Sure deodorants
(2) Always pads
(2) Pert Plus shampoos
(1) Trident Xtra Care gum
I think I made out like a bandit this week. What do you guys think?

Wow. My first time using a Target coupon. It made me never want to shop there again. I had a Target store coupon from a couple weeks ago that was $5 off 3 items from specific manufacturers, J&J, BandAid, Playtex, etc.

First trip to the register, I have 2 Johnson's detangling products and 2 Johnson's buddies products so that I can also use 2 printable coupons I found online. No go. "The bottles have to say the word baby on them" according to the cashier. Okay, no problem. I put those back and grab some that say baby on them.

Second trip to the register, I have 4 buddy soaps (to use the 2 printables), 2 baby shampoo and 1 baby powder (to use the $5/3). Cashier (different one) gives me the most evil look like I am trying to STEAL from them, looks in the bag where she has already put the items she rang for about 5 minutes then looks back at the coupons, then in the bag, etc. Sees the 2 shampoos and tells me the other products don't qualify. I show her the baby powder. She puts the $5/3 coupon through. People behind me are now giving me the same evil look as the cashier. Tells me I can't use the other 2 buddies coupons because the total will be zero and they can't have a zero transaction...if that even makes sense. I understand her to mean that the 4 buddies bars are only 94 cents each and they total less than the coupons. I ask if she can adjust the coupon down - no. I ask her if I can buy another bar so that the total is more than the coupons. Yes.

I pay for all the other stuff and walk away, look at the register tape and realize they overcharged me for the baby powder. I sent my husband over to CS to get my 35 cents back.

Third trip to the register, I go back to the original cashier who is at least nice to me. Buy 5 buddy bars using the 2 printables, and it takes her forever to figure out that the register is WRONG and that the products do indeed match the coupon. I pay and get the heck out of there.

Is it always this frustrating shopping with coupons at Target? Are the coupons always denied? That is what it seems like to me since each and every coupon was denied by the register and had to manually be accepted by the cashier.

Anyway, after all of that I did make out pretty well:
(5) Buddies bar soaps - $0.94/ea
(2) Johnson baby shampoos - $2.79/ea
(1) Johnson baby powder - $2.09
(1) 5pk Kandoo refills - $8.99
Total - $21.36

Redeemed:
(1) $5 off of 3
(2) $2 off of 2

PAID: $12.61

I had to go out and buy a birthday gift for a party my daughter is going to tomorrow - of course she tells me this tonight.

Anyway, she has been driving my husband and I bonkers sniffling for the last couple weeks. Tonight in the car on the way to the toy store I hit the end of my sniffle patience. So we stopped by CVS to pick up some allergy medicine for her, and I figured I'd attempt to locate the elusive CrossAction toothbrushes my husband so dearly loves and which are FREE after ECB this month.

Well, I looked through all the toothbrushes and there were none - again - so I went up to the counter to pay and decided to ask about the rain check they had given me previously. The raincheck had the sale price listed but no mention of the ECB so I wanted to get it straightened out since I have looked in 4 different CVS stores and no one seems to have any. The clerk was so friendly and helpful! She says, "I know someone just bought those so I think we may have just gotten them in. Let me go look for you". She brought back 2 packages for me just the type I wanted (by the way, a little dental hygiene advice here, always buy SOFT bristles). Plus, she fixed my rain check so that it says I can get them for FREE next time. WooHoo!

I was so excited that when my daughter asked for a disposable camera that was on sale for $5 I totally caved and bought it for her. *LOL* I am also trying to cultivate the creative side of her normally very analytical mind, so I figured it could be a good thing for her.

Here are my purchases today:
2 2-pk Vitalizer TB
1 CVS brand allergy syrup
1 27 exposure camera
2 bottles of Coke (my husband's addiction)

I redeemed $12.99 ECB, and the Coke is BOGOF this week. Total oop $16.03, and received $13.98 in ECB...so net cost of $2.05. Not too shabby for a newbie CVSer.

I am really enjoying my new hobby!

I made my second trip with my brand-spankin' new CVS card today.

I spent $18.43 and received $19.97 back in CVS Extra Care Bucks (ECB)! WooHoo!

Needless to say I am a little bit excited about having come out ahead on this trip. It's not too often you go into a store and come out with merchandise and more "credit" than you went in with...well, legally anyway!!! *LOL*

Here is what I got today:
(2) Listerine Smart Rinse
(1) 2-pk Oral-B Cross Action toothbrushes
(2) Oral-B Power toothbrushes
(2) bottles of Coke
and I made a $1 donation to ALS Therapy Alliance.

I had (2) coupons for $1 off the Smart Rinse, the Coke was on sale BOGOF, I had a coupon for BOGOF on the power toothbrushes, and I used $3.98 in ECB I earned last week. Hip-Hip-Hooray!!!

Boy, where does the time go?! It is already more than a week into the month and I have not reconciled my ING interest yet. I am usually right on top of that because I put that earned interest toward the Goal CC and that makes me happy.

I earned $16.12 in interest for the month of May which will be going to pay down that evil CC you see to the left. WooHoo!

New Balance on Goal CC: $7,560.40

I worked alot this past week, so I have been neglecting my poor blog. I have been trying to keep up with reading all of your wonderful blogs though.

Someone on DebtProofLiving.com mentioned a blog called "Money Saving Mom" which I started reading last night and could not get enough of. I have been curious about all of the different people who have mentioned saving TONS of money at CVS. We have 2 in our town and 1 in the next town over but I do not usually shop there since they are not on my regular route to/from work.

Anyway, MSM's blog got me all excited and I just had to go to CVS today and see what deals I could start off with. I stopped by a store in my town first and picked up:

(2) Kotex pads - on sale 2/$5 plus I had a manuf coupon $2/1 - making them $1.50/each (AWESOME!)

(2) Sea Breeze astringent - $5 BOGO Free plus I had a manuf coupon for $0.55/1 - making them approximately $2.23/each (A STEAL!)

Total Spent: $7.44 out of pocket (oop)

The very first thing I made a bee-line for as soon as I walked in the store was the 2pk of OralB CrossAction toothbrushes that were advertised for $6.99 plus get $6.99 back in Extra Care Bucks (making them FREE after the ECB). My husband loves these and they are super expensive. The first store had none in stock, so I headed over the store in the next town over. They did not have them either. I asked the cashier and he gave me a Rain Check, however, I asked if I would be able to get the ECB's and he said "Yes"...but I really doubt that unless I can pick them up before the deal ends at the end of this month. We shall see about that. While I was there I picked up another "Free-bate" type deal:

(2) 40ct bandages - $1.99 x 2 + $3.98 plus tax so $4.12 oop and my ECB for $3.98 printed right there on the end of my receipt.

If I had known I was going to get the bandages, I could have purchased those at the first store and then used the $3.98 toward my $7.44 purchase to save myself the money today. Like I said, this is my very first attempt at shopping at CVS with their rewards program so I'm not gonna beat myself up about it.

As it is I spent $11.56 out of pocket and earned back $3.98, so a net out put of $7.58 for 6 products. I really think that is pretty good considering I had no ECB's to start with. I can't wait to find some really great deals on shampoo & conditioner. My daughter goes through gallons of conditioner each month with her super curly hair!

Happy day here - a new record for fuel economy in my 2008 Honda Fit automatic.

I have not increased the air pressure in my tires yet, so they are still at the manufacturer's spec (should be 32psi, but I have not checked). There was no highway driving involved, but I do drive rurally on my commute so I can go 5-10 miles without stopping in one section which helps my fuel consumption. Again, I have really taken my slower driving seriously on this tank of gas, so I would say 90% was me driving 5-10mph under the posted speed limit trying to keep my RPMs as close to 1500 as possible, but allowing up to 2k RPM. My husband did drive a few short trips on this tank that were anything but hypermiling (says it drives him crazy to go even 5mph under the limit) so I may be able to do even better in the future which is extremely exciting.

If I can keep this up and gasoline prices do not continue to rise so fast, I am hoping to be able to sweep about $10 from my gas category to the 0% CC at the end of the month.

In other news, I tried to pre-pay my one CC, and they ended up sending me a check for the credit amount. I wish my CCs would send me money every month instead of the other way around! *LOL* I've got a grace period so I guess I'll let it sit and earn interest until the end of the month and then send it back to them.

Gasoline prices just keep going up and up! I know NJ has some of the lowest prices in the nation and that is why it is so scary to me that I just paid $2.89/gallon...what must some of you be paying?! The future is not too bright as far as crude oil price futures go, so I have been trying to find ways to get better MPG with my car.

I found this website - http://www.cleanmpg.com a few weeks ago and it has truly inspired me. I have a 2008 Honda Fit with automatic transmission so some of the tips they suggest do not pertain (a lot of the advice is for manual transmission vehicles), but I have been driving much more slowly - 5 to 10mph under the limit depending on if there are other drivers behind me instead of my usual 5-10mph over the limit. It has only added 5-10 minutes to my usual drive to and from work so no problem there as I still get there 15-20 minutes before the start of the day. I have also been coasting to stops (something I have always done but now I am coasting for longer distances), and putting my car in neutral at long red lights. I am not even sure putting the car in neutral helps my MPG that much but it is something I saw mentioned that is doable with my auto tranny so I am trying that for now.

I plan on increasing my tire pressure this week. Honda recommends 32psi, and the maximum sidewall on my tires says 51psi, so I plan on going up to 40psi. I have been keeping track of my fuel economy through www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do which allows you to track all your fuel purchases and calculates your MPG for each tank of gas. With just the few alterations I have made in my driving in the last 3 weeks I have increased my mileage from 30mpg to 32mpg and even got 35mpg on the highway last week. I am hoping to get 34-35mpg on a regular basis once I increase the tire pressure.

I have taken this on almost as a new hobby and try to challenge myself to do better each day. I am actually enjoying driving slower and paying close attention to the RPM gauge which is surprising since I tend to have a real lead foot!

WooHoo! I checked my ING checking and the IRS deposited our federal refund yesterday as promised.

I now have $5,000 in our EF!!!!!!

There is some leftover from the refund which I have put aside in a separate ING savings. I'll wait until we get our state refund and then decide where to allocate the rest of the money. I am just thrilled to have a fully funded EF for right now.

I lost my patience waiting for the college to send me the amount I paid in tuition/fees in 2007 - Actually they sent it and it was BLANK! I called and they said they can send me something else showing the amounts, but I just can't wait another day. I went online and multiplied the number of credits I took by the amount they charge per credit and used that for the taxes. It ended up having absolutely no effect on the taxes since even without it we were getting everything back plus the EIC since we were so "poor" this year. I should be posting a full EF in just a few weeks!!!

I still have not made a decision about the rest of the refund money. We shall see.

I am adding $7.99 to the EF today for the last Free-bate from my contact lens solution which I received yesterday. I am over 1/3 of the way to my $5,000 goal now.

New EF Balance: $1,701.67

I have all of our W-2s and 1099s ready to go, but am waiting on a statement from my school (tells how much I paid last year in tuition/fees so I can get a credit), and the statements from SallieMae for both of our student loans (tells how much we paid in interest on our loans and lowers our AGI).

We will definitely be getting a refund this year so I'd love to get moving and get the taxes filed. I started putting the information we do have into TaxSlayer (free federal and state filing for us this year), and found out that I also have to wait until after February 8th for a certain form that the IRS has not yet released for 2007 (I think it is the form to report the school tuition/fees actually).

I am anxious to receive the money so I can put my plans into action. Between refunds from federal and state taxes, we should have enough to reach $6,000 in the EF and have some leftover.

The leftover amount will probably be about $800. Here is where I have been second-guessing myself. I intended to put the money over and above the EF towards the $8,800 credit card that is at 0% until Feb 2009, but now I am wondering if I should put it toward a trip to DisneyWorld for the 3 of us.

My daughter has never been and she will be 10 years old this year. I am feeling sad that we have not been able to take her and, while I know she is still a little girl, she is getting older. We have alot of plans (pay off debt, buy a house, save for her Bat Mitzvah, etc), and if we don't do it this year I am afraid we will not be able to do it for another 4-5 years or more...and then she really will miss the magic of seeing Disney through the eyes of a child. :'(

I guess I will talk it over with my husband and see what he thinks, but his eyes tend to glaze over whenever I try to crunch the numbers with him.

I just added the interest paid from our ING accounts to our EF. Between all the accounts we made $10.31 in interest.

New EF Balance: $1,668.68

Edited to add: I also realized while looking at my YNAB program that I have an extra $25 to put into the EF. This is from an insurance premium that I had budgeted for in January but the policy did not go into effect until February. The other part of the money I used to spread a little love to some other budget items.

New EF Total: $1,693.68

Received my last paycheck for January today, so I put my standard $100 into EF plus the dollars and cents from the paycheck ($7.06).

New EF Balance: $1,558.37

BUT, this paycheck is also the first time I am getting 3 paychecks in one month for 2008. It will happen again in July.
Because of this I have a bit of "extra" money that has not been allocated. Therefore, I will also be adding an additional $100 to the EF this month. WooHoo!!!

New Total EF: $1,658.37

My husband sometimes plays the lottery but never wins. (Story of our lives, right)

Anyway, back in December he tells me that one ticket has one number plus the special ball (Mega Ball or Super Ball...can you tell I don't play?), but he is going to throw out the ticket because it's probably only worth a dollar or two. *Picture my mouth hanging open in disbelief*

I took the ticket in today and got $3 to add to our EF. I was pretty happy about it too.

New EF Total: 1,451.31

Yep, I'm back in the game after a 2 year hiatus. When I was in school it was just too much time and effort to keep a close enough eye on things to play the game, but now I am back and (hopefully) better than ever.

I had 2 credit cards (my DH has 2 also but I keep them separate from mine...lesson learned the hard way not to put his debt in my name). Anyway, CC#1 was offering 0% through my January 2009 statement with a 3% transfer fee/maximum $75. CC#2 was offering "no-fee" transfers at a low rate. So I transferred my balance from CC#1 ($700)over to CC#2 to clear it of any balance (at no charge), then I transferred back the whole amount ($8800 = balances from both cards) to CC#1 at 0%.

I have been playing with the numbers, and if, once I reach $5,000 in my EF, I put all my future EF payments toward this debt plus part of our tax refund plus the usual payments I was already making it will be close to paid off before the 0% expires (about $1,000 left). After this is paid off I will resume $200/mo to EF and start $200/mo toward a down payment on a house and snowball the regular payments into our next debt.

I am just completely sick and tired of paying interest on this money. I have probably paid them 3 times over the balance in interest over the many years I have had this never-ending revolving debt. It is stopping NOW! I am definitely seeing what Dave Ramsey means by "gazelle intensity"!

Mailman delivered 2 rebate checks for $8.99 each - it was a Free-bate offer for my contact lens solution. The beauty of this rebate was that it read "one per person", not "one per household", so I was able to send one in for me, my husband and my sister. The last one should be on its way to me soon.

I also made my biweekly deposit of $100 from my paycheck to the EF so...

New EF Balance: $1,448.31

Today was payday so I am adding $4.44 to my EF bringing the new EF total to $1,330.33.

In other news, I spoke to the boss about the medical insurance and she assured me that it will be in effect as expected. I also called the insurance company to check and all seems to be in place now. While this is great news, I am very upset right now because of another thing that was said in the same conversation with the boss. When I was hired, it was stated that they would pay 50% of my insurance for the family. Now they are saying they are going to pay 50% of just my portion and I will have to pay 100% of the family portion. I don't even know how much it will be yet as the boss said the bill was not clear so she has to call and talk to them again. I won't find out until I am paid in 2 weeks and there is some mystery amount withheld from my paycheck!

I am really feeling like I have been taken advantage of which sucks because I actually like my job, my coworkers, etc, and I did not speak up today like I probably should have (okay definitely should have). The problem is that I was told "X" when interviewed and offered the position and now it seems that almost every detail has been changed!!! Of course, this is my first job in the field, I am just starting to feel comfortable with my job and I don't want to have to go through looking for another position so soon! I am not even telling my husband because he would completely flip out and want me to quit this job and find another. *sigh* I guess I am feeling like at least this is the devil I know. Plus I really just need to work so we can have a healthy EF and get out of debt, especially with all this talk of recession/depression.

Any insights?

Okay so it was a very small amount, but I was giddy with excitement last night.

I took my hubby to Atlantic City to see Don Rickles for his birthday. We had dinner and had a little time to waste before the show, so we put a few dollars in the slot machines. He played (and lost) $5 on video poker, then I put in $1 on a very strange nickle slot that I could not understand so I lost that. Oops. We both rambled over to another section of nickle slots and put $1 apiece into different machines. He bet his whole dollar on one spin and lost. I bet 5 credits (still have no idea how much that actually was...maybe 25 cents) and WON! It kept adding more and more credits until I had a final total of $20.65! Seven of the $8 we spent was mine, so I nearly tripled my money. I cashed out, took my money and ran.

After that we went straight to the show and really laughed and enjoyed ourselves. It was a great night...and I wound up with $13.65 to add to my EF.

I also received my check from ViewPoint Forums for $34 which will be deposited to my EF Wednesday (my next day off from work).

New CF Total: $1,325.89

I just opened my mail and found a check for 2 weeks ago when I filled in at a friend's office for the day. I am continuing to add the ones place and the change to the EF, so $7.50 added. WooHoo!

New EF Balance: $1,278.08
plus $0.16 interest earned at my credit union last month...

Total EF Balance: $1,278.24

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can....

I cashed in $40 from my Lightspeed survey account via PayPal last week.
It just showed up in my local bank so I will be transferring to the EF at ING today.

I am also waiting on a check for $34 from Viewpoint Forum (another survey site) so I will posting another EF deposit as soon as I receive that money. WooHoo! I am so excited that the EF is growing so rapidly now that I am really looking in every nook and cranny for extra cash to fund it.

New EF Balance: $1,270.58
With this deposit I've surpassed 25% of my $5k goal!!!

I received a "Try it Free" rebate check today from YoPlait YoPlus yogurt, so I have another $2.99 to add to our EF...and the yogurt was pretty tasty also!

New EF total: $1,230.58

I got paid today and even though it is a very small paycheck (office was closed from 12/22 - 1/2) I had an idea. As I logged it into YNAB under Income:Primary I decided to automatically place the amount in the ones place and the change into my EF category. So, for example, if my check is for $548.44, I will budget $8.44 to the EF before allocating my other categories. I'll automatically have to live without that money so I shouldn't miss it. I get paid every 2 weeks so that should give me a good bit of extra money toward the EF each month. I really feel like I am getting the new year off on the right foot for once!

Tomorrow's EF deposit will be: $4.55
Making my new EF total: $1,227.59

I am so excited! I totally forgot about the interest we would earn on our ING accounts for December plus the 1% cash back promotion on the Electric Orange debit card. I just checked my accounts and we earned a total of $14.87 that I just moved into our EF!!! WooHoo!!!

New EF total: $1,223.04

Last night I said I would put my "found money" - rolled coin and Pinecone check into my EF. This morning after looking over my YNAB budget I decided to put all bits of extra money such as this into my Roth IRA.
I added a new ticker to show the gold bars moving closer to the retirement treasure chest! Right now I am aiming to contribute at least $2,500 toward the Roth this year, but in reality I'd love to save the maximum which is $5,000 for 2008. I'd love to have to go in and make a new ticker showing the extension from $2,500 to $5,000 before year end but we shall see.

I am trying to post something almost everyday so that I keep myself on track so I apologize in advance if these posts are utterly inane or boring!

My DH and I took our DD to see the newest Disney film "Enchanted" today. It was very cute - much better than the dread I felt watching the television ads for it. We saved about $8 by going to the matinee and about $5 by smuggling in a can of Pringles we bought for New Years Eve. We did buy 2 sodas and a pack of Reese's Pieces so the theatre still made out like bandits on us, but a little less than they usually would have.

I also rolled our coins today - $10 dimes, $8 nickles, and $2 pennies makes $20 to put toward our EF! I also have a $5 check from Pinecone to deposit as well. I haven't added this to my ticker yet since I have not deposited the coins or the check yet but it will bring my total EF to $1,233.17 so far. WooHoo! We're making headway!

It has been very difficult and frustrating starting over, knowing exactly where we need to be as far as saving, giving, and spending having studied financial books, websites and these boards for years, and realizing how very S-L-O-W it will be to get to that place we want to be.

On that note, as I look over our finances and all of the many directions our spending plan is pulling us, I am seriously considering splitting my monthly EF money (that currently goes to ING) so that 50% of it will go to my Roth IRA. The poor Roth has not had a penny added for the last 3 years while I was in school, and I am not getting any younger. My husband does not even have a retirement account of any kind so I am definitely feeling like I better get started saving something.

If worst case came about I could always take out my contributions from the Roth without penalty, but I would never do that unless it was the absolute last option. I would still be contributing half of the EF money to my ING that is available more easily if it is ever needed so I feel like this is a good plan. Hopefully, both the ING EF and the Roth will continue to grow with no misfortunes befalling us!