Can't Believe I Didn't Notice This Before!

If you've been reading this blog for a bit you know I've whined talked quite a bit about how high the gas bills were in winter and the electric bills in summer. The temperatures haven't quite been normal for Alabama so I've been looking for ways to reduce the costs --- adjusted the thermostat up or down as necessary, bundled up and added extra blankets in the winter, tank tops and shorts around the house in summer. I've started air drying all of the laundry and haven't turned on the dryer since early June. I'm microwave cooking more. All of this in an effort to reduce the cost of my electric bills!

Last year my landlord (my Dad) had gas logs installed in the fireplace. His main reason for doing so was so that if we did get a freakish ice storm that knocked out power for days (which doesn't happen often, but does happen about once every ten years), we would still have a heat source, and hopefully the pipes would be better protected from freezing. Makes sense. He selected the ventless logs and had someone come in to properly install them. We've only used the logs twice since installation --- once when I was testing them out to make sure I knew how to turn them on, and once when I had people over for a tree trimming get together -- for ambiance. I just haven't wanted to spend the gas costs for the ambiance on a regular basis.

Anyway, when the guy was installing them, he permanently adjusted the flue about a half inch open, and explained that while they are "ventless", code requires that for safety (aka avoiding carbon monoxide asphyxiation) there still has to be some venting. Not wanting to die from carbon monoxide, I was fine with this. He said the heat loss in winter and cooling loss in summer would be minimal. Okay, I'm fine with that and never gave it another thought.

So Sunday evening, I was dusting the mantel and realized that there was a huge pocket of heat right in front of the fireplace. I'm not certain why I didn't notice before, except that when we are in cleaning mode, Princess Penelope usually does the dusting and probably wouldn't notice or if she did, wouldn't think to mention it. Anyway, there was definitely heat coming in from the fire place. No wonder the AC never seems to shut off! Now obviously, the best solution would be to get permanently mounted glass fireplace doors to seal that opening, but that just isn't in my budget at this time. So, I looked around the house to see what I had that could cover that opening and at least reduce the amount of heat coming in and cool going out. And I found these large poster frames that I propped over the opening (I had bought these a couple of years ago and never used them, or took them back).

Look lovely, don't they? They don't "seal" the opening, but they do seem to reduce the amount of heat coming in. I made it a point yesterday to sit for a bit in front of the fireplace and to the sides of it and didn't notice that big ball of heat that I had Sunday night. And, although the temps hit 97 again yesterday, the AC actually shut off and cycled normally instead of just running and running and running. I figure I can live with it until we get a normal firescreen installed, and if I have people over, I can just move them so it doesn't look quite so tacky. While its not the perfect solution, it does seem to be at least an improvement!

Happy Independence Day!

                                                      

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them from another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the cause which impels them to to separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

--- The Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776.

How I Got Here

                                                 

Today I was diligently working on shredding stacks and stacks of old credit card and bank statements when I stumbled across a statement for Credit Card #2 from 9/27/07. I realized that it wasn't just trips and soccer and necessary stuff that drove my credit card balances so high, it was thoughtless spending that did it. In one statement cycle, I added $547.58 to that credit card balance --- and very little of it could even remotely be called "necessary".

Here's how it plays out:

1. McDonald's - $7.86
2. Piggly Wiggly (grocery store) - $27.10
3. Texaco (gas) - $29.59
4. Texaco (same day means this was probably snacks inside) - $9.82
5. Guthries (chicken finger place) - $14.87
6. WalMart - $34.22
7. Sweet Peas (Garden Shop - given the time of year, probably pansies) - $9.65
8. Total Skin & Beauty (this was actually necessary as I was having a suspicious looking mole removed) - $61
9. The Shoe Department - $9.78
10. Lowes' (I have no idea)- $44.26
11. Post Office (stamps)- $ 13.95
12. TJ Maxx - $285.48

OMG! That was completely ridiculous! I just spent money I didn't have like it wasn't an issue! I didn't even have a really decent paying job at the time. What was UP with my 2007 self??? Glad that my 2011 self is much more controlled (well at least MOST of the time!)

Way too Early in the Month for This Kind of Grocery Spending!

Is it just me, or are the grocery coupon matchups not what they were? In the first two days of July, I've spent almost half of my monthly grocery budget! I'm going to have to really rein it in or I'm going to be wickedly over budget for the month --- especially since it is almost time for me to buy another 52 pound bag of dog food! That's always a good $26 dollar hit to the budget! (I tend to buy one brand in bulk because I don't like to switch their food too much, however, if I can score dry food for cheap like I did today, I just mix it in thorougly to the bag and it doesn't seem to upset the pups' tummies!).

Anyway, I went yesterday to finish getting what I need for the several cookouts we are going to this weekend plus a few other things....

2 Publix Lemon-Lime Soft Drinks
1 Nesquick chocolate milk (I don't normally buy this, but a coupon plus a plea from the Princess and I went ahead with it)
1 Wavy Lays
1 Adams Flea & Tick Mist (a manufacturer coupon plus a publix coupon made this $10.79 item only $4.79! and fleas have been an issue this year)
2 Bush's baked beans
1 Publix Red Beans
1 Iams weight control (a $5 off any manu coupon made this .79)
1 Lance Cracker Creations
1 Heluva Good Onion Dip
1 Broccoli Florets
2 Emerald Trail Mix
1 Reynolds Wrap
4 Ramen Noodles
1 Bertolli Pasta Sauce
2 Emerald Nuts
2 Publix Cheesy Shells
1 Gatorade
Wine
3 Mueller's Pasta
1 $50 Shell Gas Card

Spent: $85.37, Saved: $47.77

Actual Hit to Grocery Budget: Spent: $45.37, Saved $37.77 -- or 43%

What REALLY kills me though is that I forgot to get toilet paper even though it was on my list! I ran into someone I knew on the paper products aisle and started chatting, and then forgot to get the TP! So that means another trip to the store! Ugh.

Exploding Molasses?

Just a quick note to find out if this has ever happened to anyone else.  So, I'm making my five bean baked beans and I go to get the  molasses out of the pantry. I grab the botttle, and as I'm walking to the counter with it, I put my hand on the cap to unscrew it. And the cap blows clear up to the ceiling and ricochets around the room like its a bullet! And then moloasses start oozing out of the bottle!

I have been cooking for decades, and always have molasses on hand. I have never had the cap blow, though. Obviously I'm tossing the whole bottle. Does anyone have a clue as to why this might have happened? Any thoughts and theories are welcome because that is just weird.

Easy Shopping At Aldi

Today has been an emotionally exhausting day. I went from the high this morning of paying off Credit Card #1 to the super low this afternoon of knowing that co-workers in other states were losing their jobs because of contract changes in those states. Nothing they did wrong or the company did wrong. Its just the way it went down and it was a total shock. It could have happened in my state too. So between being glad and joyful that I've still GOT a job, its also tempered with sadness that friends and colleagues are losing their job. And its a terrible time to be job hunting. So basically, I just didn't feel like figuring up my coupon matches and such for this week's somewhat lackluster Publix ad. So, I went to Aldi, the easy choice for the basics.

And here's what I got:

2 boxes dog treats
2 cans black beans
1 can butter beans
1 can kidney beans
Baby Carrotss
2 Boxes Shells & Cheese
1 Cucumber
1 carton light sour cream
2 cans crescent rolls
1 carton ranch dip
1 frozen cheese pizza
1 jar pasta sauce
1 pint blueberries
1 jar mayonnaise
1 jar alfredo sauce
4 bags shredded cheese (which is getting ridiculously expensive)
1 bag ranch tortilla chips

Spent: $40.69  Saved: my sanity

Credit Card #1 -- GONE!

                                                      
                                                                


I did it! I paid off credit card #1! Its gone! Zero balance --- I'm doing the happy dance! I had thought that it would be at least mid month before I paid it off. However, with the "extra" paycheck this month (I get paid every two weeks) that didn't have any of the voluntary deductions taken out of it (health insurance, FSA, United Way) ---- I had almost the extra from those voluntary deductions to go ahead and wipe it out. Bills are paid, and I have enough in the checking account to get through when child support and my next paycheck comes in -- and still pay the bills that will come due before then!

So, I crunched the numbers and decided that I wanted to pay that off a full month before my projected timeline! June 30 sounds so much better than July 31, doesn't it? And yes, since I made this decision at 10:00 last night and went online to pay it off, I know that its actually not coming out of my account until July 1 --- but I actually DID it on June 30, so that counts as a month early, right? And if I'm wrong, don't tell me because I am TOO flippin' excited!

So now, to snowball the rest into that big, bad Credit Card #2 --- I'm trying to decide what to do on that one. Do I take the full snowball from #1 and apply it all to #2 (that's $360 a month minimum I was putting towards #1) or do I take $100 or so and put it aside each month for those irregular expenses I never seem to budget adequately for AND Christmas? Decisions, decisions.