I knew my SavingAdvice friends would be interested to know the total of my "found money" for the past year. From Nov.15, 2011 to Nov. 15, 2012.

Drum roll please....

$12.54!!!

I found 109 pennies
9 nickles
25 dimes
6 quarters
1 $5
2 $1

Not bad for just looking at the ground and picking it up.

I started putting all my found money in a specific jar last year to keep up with it,

December 7 is Pearl Harbor Day. My parents married just after Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941. They will be married 69 years on December 21st.
They are an amazing couple.
They learned to be frugal through growing up on farms and living through the depression.
They have never been rich but they have lived comfortably and had nice homes and cars.
My dad took early retirement at 62 and my mother never worked outside the home.
They are both now 88. They have really enjoyed their retirment years. I hope my husband and I can do as well.
Tom Brokow wrote a book about their time called "The Greatest Generation."
They have seen amazing changes in their lives. From riding in horse drawn wagons to the space age.
My mother was the "boy" in her family of five girls. She would drive the team and plow for her daddy.
They moved to California from Texas just after they married and Dad got a job in an aircraft factory.
They had their first child in California a year later.

They have lived a long time and lived well. Sure hope they make it to their 70th wedding anniversary next year.


I bought 3 - twelve packs of diet coke at CVS today for $7 after the Extra bucks reward. That's just $2.33 per 12-pack.
Also found a quarter today while I was filling up with gas. Yippee!
New found money total = $3.49

It has been awhile since I last posted. My last entry said my car needed a new transmission, but it turned out my transmission was okay! The shop I took it to thoroughly checked it out and there was nothing wrong with it. The "check engine" light had come on and all the codes indicated that it was transmission problems. And I thought I had noticed the car "slipping." But the guy at the shop confirmed that I did not need any repair at this time.
He said the computer could be messed up and told me to just drive it!
He didn't even charge me anything.
On the found money front:

My 6-year-old DGS that lives with us found a $20 bill right before Thanksgiving! I have been teaching him to look for coins. He was with his Papa coming out of the grocery store and found it in the parking lot!
Then, Saturday night, he found a $1 when we were getting out of the car. He is doing great! I told him he was lucky.

I have found lots of coins since I last wrote, but no paper money, although I certainly look for it.
I will add another $.60 to my found money total.
old total = $2.64
new total = $3.24.

It has been a couple of weeks since I blogged so I have some updating to do.

DD Wedding:
Yes! She got married Oct. 23. It was great! They went to the courthouse and a very nice female Hispanic judge did their ceremony. She did a greas job by the way. It was just my DD and her DH and their six-month-old baby; me and my DH and our six-year-old DGS.
We all dressed up. The pictures turned out great. Then we all went to a nice steakhouse for dinner. We picked up the tab.
Then on Saturday evening they had their wedding reception in a friend's backyard. It was very simple with only a few family and relatives. I think we had 40 people there.
My DH and I ended up spending about $2000 for the whole thing. His brother and his family came a long distance and we took them out to eat and paid for their hotel rooms.
My DD and her DH really loved it and they were VERY appreciative, so it made it all worthwhile.

I have found another $.55 in change since I last blogged. Including 4 dimes, a nickel, and the rest in pennies. I love dimes.
Old total: $2.09
New total: $2.64

I get the "Debt-Proof Living" daily tip in my email and she closed with a good quote today. I printed it out and put it next to my computer.

"Wherever I am, whatever I do, there is a way to do it for less," Mary Hunt, Debt-Proof Living.

Words to live by.

I found a quarter today. I had not found anything for several days and all of a sudden a good find

I will add that to the penny I found the other day.
$1.83 = old found money total
+$.26 =

$2.09 new found money total.

Finally had a no-spend day yesterday. My DGS begged for Taco Bell before we went home, but I stood firm, and said, "No, we have been spending too much money and we have good food at home."
So, I made it through all day without spending.

Also, we went to our first cub scout meeting yesterday. It was good. I decided I wasn't going to mind going to the meetings with him and in fact I look forward to it. Don't know if I will go camping all weekend or not, but that's okay. We weren't really doing anything together and this is going to be a great opportunity to do some good things together. We have 8 in our troop.

I found $.15 today.
Old found money total = $1.68
new total = $1.83

Sorry, this is a boring blog post. Just recording my spending and saving.
I know I have been spending too much money on stuff, so I thought I would start recording it here to see just how much I have spent and on what.
I plan to do this all month. Then I can go back and take a look and add it all up.


Found money = $.04 over the weekend.
Old found money total = $1.51
New total = $1.55

Found money, Monday = $.13
new total = $1.68

Spending, Friday =
Walmart = $70.70 includes a BD gift for a party my DGS went for $17.00.

Spending Saturday =
Walmart = $80.00 groceries and household stuff.
saved $5.05 with coupons. This will go into my $20 challenge.
J.C. Penney's = 49.75. Sheet set, one pair Levi's for DGS, two new wash cloths.
Saved $30 with coupons.
Add this to $20 challenge.
old $20 challenge total = $22.51
+ 25.05=

New $20 challenge total = $47.56


Spending, Sunday =
McDonalds = $5.88
Church = $200.00

Monday spending =
Yoga class = $3
Child care = $20
grocery store = $6.97

Well, our DD and her SO are making it legal on Oct. 23. They already have a very sweet and precious 5-month-old baby boy. They have been wanting to get married for awhile, but not finding the right time. Yes, I know the right time would have been before she got pregnant, but that didn't happen, so now they are going for it. They said they wanted to do it in October because this is their favorite month.
My DH and I talked it over and decided on what we thought we could afford to chip in for their small ceremony and reception (party).
Our DD is 30 and already has the baby and living on her own with SO, so we don't feel obligated to go all out for a wedding and they don't have much money right now since our DD is staying home with their baby. But we are very excited and happy that they are finally getting married. She is our only daughter and we have waited a long time for this day. So, even though we have a lot of debt right now, we are giving them $1200 to help them with expenses and as a wedding gift.
They are going to the JP and then having a recption/party at a friend's house afterward.


Spending--
muffin this morning = $2.26
pizza last night = $10.80
grocery story = $19.45
Dr. Haynes = $24.00
Found = $.03
New found money total = $1.51

New $20 challenge total = $22.51

Okay, so my DH and I are raising our DGS 6-year-old. My DH works out of town for months at a time. Currently, he has not been home since he left at the end of June. So, I am almost totally responsible for our DGS.
I work 40 hours a week, take care of DGS, our home, our dog, our cat, and our one-acre lot of yard to mow and attend to.
I had been excited to get DGS into scouts when he was old enough. So, when he brought home the flier from school about joining he was excited about it.
We went to the meeting last night and here is where I start doubting if we can do this.
They expect the parents or parent or guardian or whoever to attend all the meetings with the scout and go on weekend long camping trips in the cold and sell a whole bunch of popcorn.
I can probably go to the meetings and I don't mind selling popcorn, but I am not going to be camping all weekend. I just can't do that and work full time and take care of everything else. And I'm pretty sure my husband won't be willing to do it even when he is home.
So, even though I did pay DGS's $19.75 fee last night to get him signed up, I'm thinking about telling DGS that we are not going to do that and we will just have to find other activities that won't be so time consuming.
I am the kind of person who really needs my down time and some me-time. I am not getting enough as it is, so I don't think this would help.
They really made me kind of mad, because they say on the flier that the boys will get this cool rocket thing for coming to the meeting, but they wouldn't give you one unless you signed up.
Don't get me wrong, I think scouting is great. I think my DGS would really enjoy it and get a lot out of it. But I just don't think I'm up to it.
And that really makes me kind of sad and bummed out about it. If I didn't have to work full time, I think I could do it. But not the way things are now.

I found $.60 the past two days on the ground.
Yay!
New found money total= $1.48

$20 challenge-
previous total = $21.88
new total = $22.48

Spending -- weekend and Monday.

I didn't have a chance to record my spening since last Friday so here goes.
I am recording all my spending (besides regular bills) here because every time I try to use a small notebook and pen in my purse I end up forgetting or misplacing my notebook or something happens.
So,,,, since I always know where to find my blog, here goes.
Saturday --
$22.00 - Dollar General - cleaning supplies, and stuff, stock up. Saved $11.00 with coupons.
$87.00 - Walmart - groceries and Halloween costume for DGS. saved $10 with coupons.

Monday --
$3.00 - Yoga class
$10.00 - baby sitter
$3.40 - McDonald's Happy meal for DGS
$17.50 -- grocery store, food.

I found 11 cents in change yesterday

I am starting my $20 challenge, for the year, with my coupon savings and my found money. (I know it's late but I have just recently returned to SA).

Coupons = $21.00
Found money total = $.88

$20 challenge = $21.88, this is going into my new living room furniture fund. Yay!

I found 20 cents when I went on my afternoon walk and I found a penney earlier today in a chair in the library. That brings my new "found money" total to $.77 and I just started it this week!
Wow!

I spent $9 at lunch today out with the girls.
It was fun!

Planning to go right home afer work after picking up DGS at school.
Can't spend any more money that way and there are soooo many things to be done at home.