Money Saving Monday Week 10 The Saved Quarter Challenge

  

Happy Tuesday! I ( Yes, I know I am a day behind as I should be posting this on Mondays)   It is already week 10 of the  Saved Quarter Challenge.  It has been a hectic, busy weekend that carried over to the beginning of the week.   Saturday, my husband and my son put in the new central AC unit into our current home.  The picture is of my son working on the inside part of the unit.  He is an electrician so he was in charge of the wiring in of the new unit.  My husband was outside replacing the outside part... you know.... the part with the fan.  I know nothing of AC, so my input about what actually was done is going to be limited. 

The unit was bought and paid for last year, and my husband has been waiting for mild weather to replace the old one.  The unit was bought at wholesale price, around 1300.00 dollars.  We saved a huge amount on the labor to install the unit.  I think we estimated that we saved close to 3000.00 dollars (this includes the discount for the wholesale price).

Last week we did receive our tax refund.  After applying most of the balance to our credit cards, we are about 186.00 less in debt this week.

Credit Card Balance 12,883

The job interview went well.  But....... It is a night position.  From 1PM to 11PM.  My husband and I talked about it, and we both decided that this is not the position for me.  I am a morning person.  I get so much more done in the morning than the evenings.  And I would never see my husband, except for weekends.  The job is just not a good fit for me. 

My friend's mother that was in hospice, did pass away last week.  It was a very sad time for her family.  The memorial was this weekend, with the church service yesterday.  My friend did get out of the hospital on Friday, and her heart is fine.  It was the stress that triggered her heart to beat so fast that she had to be hospitalized.

So, yep, this was a busy weekend.  I am hoping that the rest of the week will be a little more manageable.

Swag Bucks To Date: 1989
How I am using my Swag Bucks

The House on 1313 Mockingbird Lane

If you ever watched "The Muensters" Television show back in the 60s, you will remember that their house was located on 1313 Mockingbird Lane.  We were out looking at more houses ( in case the one we have an offer on does not work out) and we found this piece of property that reminded us of the home of "The Muensters". 

The front of the property.  The fence is in similar condition, don't you think?

Front of the property

We are headed up the hill.....where there is a house

you can barley see the house, but it is there...

See.. the house is in fairly good condition...... For being unoccupied for FOUR years!


This view is from the top of the hill.  Can you see the lake?  It is a spectacular view!  The lot is huge, 5 acres!!  So much potential but needs a lot of work to say the least!

Home Depot

We have completed several home improvement projects around the house this year. As is the case, the more you projects you complete the more you see that need to be completed.
The next project I will undertake will be to recarpet the computer room. We are looking at using the carpet squares a Legato product. I have checked at The Home Depot near us and the carpet is a special order. The Home Depot online has free shipping on orders over $49 dollars. The product will arrive within 3-4 days. I will be using Ebates for an additional savings of 3% (credited to my Ebates savings).

The carpet squares are a good choice for us as we have a new (6 mos) puppy. She tends to have incidents of forgetting where her "piddle" pad is. If a carpet square becomes ruined we can replace it easily.

The reviews from customers on The Home Depot sight were mostly positive. But would they post negative reviews?? I don't know. But we are going to give the carpet squares a chance.

Now, to clean out the computer room and get it ready. What a job!!!!!

A Busy Weekend and $20 Challenge

Yesterday was a day that I thought I would get a lot done around the house. I wanted to clean and catch up on was and pack for the trip next week. Those were my plans, Not the plans of my husband. Little did I know that my youngest son (the electrician) was coming down from his home which is about an hour away. He was coming to give my husband a hand with re-drywalling the garage.

So with my son come 3 of my 6 grandchildren. Needless to say, my previous plans were history. I decided to take them to the movies to see the Game Plan with "The Rock". It was hilarious. We all really enjoyed it. After that, I had choir practice and my son and his family went to an anniversary party for friends.

So today I am trying to get my stuff done. Its rainy and yucky. So I really want to take a nap!!
$20 Challenge

In the washer today I found 16 dollars!! While out at the movies I did find a penny. And on Friday I found a dollar. Total $17.01
Previous: 95.51
+17.01
112.52

Home Projects

While in between jobs so to speak, Hubby and I have been doing a little home improvement. We are putting down laminate in the kitchen, living room and dining room. First we had to remove ceramic tile, carpet, and then old linoleum under the carpet. Nasty work.

Any way we are half way done with the laying of the laminate. My son, took off a day yesterday and did a great job of installing. Hubby cut to fit and I picked up stuff, took off carpet tack strips and the baseboards. Should be finishing up on Saturday.

We were able to get the flooring at cost, and the labor was free. So, it is a great investment in my home. Flooring cost for 600sq ft was 600.00 dollars. Accessories (knee pads, trim) for installation 150.00 dollars.

Time Off

Before and After Pictures

I am taking the week off before I start my new job. I thought it would be a time of rest and relaxation. I was mistaken.

Yesterday was a day of work and no rest. Hubby and I are redoing the backyard landscaping. We went to the rock yard and over the course of three trips we picked up 3 tons of large river rock and added it to the back of the house as a three foot border. It looks nice but It was a heck of a lot of work shoveling it out of the truck. I am feeling it in my back and arms.

The rock was about 80 dollars a ton, so there went 240 dollars. I have to move some money around to cover that.

Next, we went to the landscape yard and picked up 3 Yards (one big truck load ) of large pine bark mulch. This is for the driveway that is use to park all the cars of the other family members that are staying with us. The pine bark mulch is about 20 dollars a yard so we spent about 60 dollars for that. The mulch was easy to move off of the truck compared to the Rocks!

Big money being spent yesterday. Not to mention the gas and tolls and oh yea, lunch at Arby's. Sigh..... Yesterday I was beat! Still a little pooped this morning. So. total amount spent yesterday would be about 340.00. But the labor was free!! :)