My hubby is in school so we need to get the taxes done and fill out the FAFSA as quickly as possible. I am awaiting one W-2 as well as the forms from DH's school telling us how much we paid last year in tuition & fees.

I have been playing with the numbers and it looks like we made a lot more than we ever have before - which is great! 2008 was my first full year as a hygienist so that is the reason we did so well, but I am worried now that we may not be awarded as much as we need for DH's school for the '09-10 school year. That is why I am looking for ways to lower our AGI.

I thought if I put in a bunch to my Roth IRA that it would reduce our AGI but when I try that in our tax software it does not change anything. I was sure that would work so now I am not sure how to proceed.

We do not own a home so no mortgage stuff for us. We do have a child but she is school-aged so no child care expenses. Do you happen to know another way to reduce our AGI?

I took the new job and will be starting in 3 weeks (gave the current PT job 3 weeks notice). The new job will be 6 or 7 hours/week compared to 4 or 5 at the old PT job. I can't say I am looking forward to working more hours, but I am happy that more money will be put into the EF each pay period!

I am currently planning this week's CVS trip and there is turning out to be many more good deals than I first thought. Now that I have been collecting the coupons each week for the past few months, and buying a few of the big city paper each week (which has better coupons) I have access to more of the great bargains that come along which is nice.

Oh, and absolutely no change in my weight since I first posted. I'm going to continue to eat better and try to exercise more. Hopefully I will see better results soon!

Well, as I reported awhile back I have been working an extra part time job and putting all the cash toward our EF. It has been working out well for that purpose but I have unfortunately been unhappy with the actual office environment for quite a few reasons. I think I'll skip the specifics since you never know who is reading, but suffice it to say that I have been liking the paycheck but not the job.

I got a call from another office I have temp-ed at a few days in the past. They are looking for someone for the same day I am currently working at the PT job. It really seems like it would be a good move since I got along very well with the staff during the time I have worked there and it is very close to my house. I have a meeting with the dentist in a few days to discuss the job, so I am not getting my hopes up just yet. If it works out I'll probably be working more hours so building that $10,000 EF even faster!

Oh, I am so happy! I didn't even have to ask. My boss gave everyone a raise for the new year. WooHoo!!!!

I'm not sure yet, but will probably just allocate this as I would along with the rest of the paycheck. I don't think I have the patience to separate it out every week. It is not a large amount but anything in this financial climate is GREAT!

I am still putting all of my second job paychecks toward the EF, plus any rebates, etc., and it is coming along really well. I am definitely going to try to get it to $10,000 ASAP so I can use those monies for quicker debt re-payment.

***Happy Dancing***

Little Ryan was born HEALTHY after many months of health scares by the doctors. My girlfriend was told at 20 months gestation that this baby had an incurable and deadly disease...after months of prayers this little boy has no signs of that problem. He will be monitored, but everything looks VERY good for his healthy and happy future!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PRAYED FOR THIS BABY! ALL OF OUR PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!!!

My daughter has been taking swim lessons for a couple years but we never joined with a full membership until today. We chose a Full Family membership so all adults & children included. I hope we get our money's worth since it seems pretty expensive to me - $70/month. I guess it's not expensive if you are a "gym" kind of person but we are not. As a matter of fact I hate exercising...but I guess I better start changing that thought process around. *sigh* YNAB here I come again to find the money for this monthly payment.

I decided to add my current weight to this entry as it will be interesting to look back and see if any progress has been made. I normally NEVER weigh myself as I have always been a thin person and never had to worry. My how times have changed. I am 5'1" and 140 lbs. My goal is approximately 115 lbs but the real goal is looking better and feeling happy with my body which I am not right now.