Link du Jour: 3000 miles debunked

My auto manufacturer still recommends 3000 miles as the appropriate interval for oil changes, but it's good to know that of the cars I am most likely to purchase in the next two years I can postpone the Grease Monkey trip.
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from the etc. bin: I am so tantalizingly close to completing two savings goals! When I can deposit two cheques into the accounts I can consider #2 (bathroom) and #6 (garage door) complete! Maybe I should start #1, #4, #5, and #7 in earnest on 7/25 to keep things quarterly.

Huzzah -- a quote for replacing the garage door came in at $900 under what I was expecting. Can you say "freed up money?"

Aiyee -- dreamt last night that the market would drop 600 points today. I typically buy an ounce of gold when the Dow drops 300 points. I'm several drops overdue, but the darn coin shops are closed when I come visiting.

Huzzah -- according to David Wann, my wee house inna city, in an area undergoing 'community condensation', with my small but vital garden, will eventually be considered very valuable as people downscale and move away from the burbs. 2/3 of what David Wann wrote in his book of Simple Prosperity is an Aiyee.

Aiyee -- my child wanted to write a letter to the Tooth Fairy asking to up the payment per tooth to $2200. No doubt to cover emotional damages from seeing and feeling blood, and separation anxiety. What's worse -- he thinks the Tooth Fairy is Dick Van Patten in a pink tutu.

Huzzah -- call me Jimmy Carter, I'm growin' peanuts! A peanut shell dropped by a bird into my raised bed is sprouting. The Urban Farm Boys are surprised to see how well my tomatoes are doing, but what they don't know is that I give them tomato food every week.

Another huzzah -- found a recipe for making creme fraiche. Perhaps that will save me gas-fueled trips to Whole Paycheque.

I have a spreadsheet of savings goals. As I've just started saving for most of my goals many of them are just past the 10% mark. I had a specialty tea with some shortbread in the posh part of the city with a friend to commemorate my 10% milestone of funding my Osaka trip.

Our water consumption is up. I wonder how much of that is due to someone being home full-time, or from the garden setup. I set aside the greywater/re-use/cistern plan as I don't even know what's legal right now, and renters/buyers would care more about the garage door than "am I being sustainable?" Also, thanks to our wet and miserable winter and first half of the spring it looks like we won't have a water drought this summer.

A good friend commented that I had lost weight. It must be more than five pounds I've lost, as my friend is a straight male. He's known me since I was really thin. I hung out with my straight male friend today as my spouse is gaming at a tournament. At least my in-laws remembered and sent flowers today. I sent flowers to my stepmother, and my kid has actually been well-behaved today, as I greased my social gears and took some exercise.

I've decided that this year my charitable donations are to be divided between helping families living with cancer and families living with hunger. Go with what you know, right?

Apportioned $150 to the Save Yourself Account. I owe myself about $750 more to my Roth IRA judging from my pay advice. 10% of gross pay to retirement. Actually it should be 13% according to my spreadsheet, but I don't want to be in debt for the bathroom remodel. Because I know the minute I dip into my emergency fund for some non-emergency, an emergency requiring more than the full amount I had stored will happen.

I am also four mortgage payments away from being one-third through the principal paid on my home. The sad fact is that by then I'll be almost 40% through the term.

All these little drip-drip-drips.

This is a bonus. I unplugged the television and other peripherals downstairs.

The city wants us to discard our old refrigerators and get newer, more efficient ones. I may do this.

I challenged myself to come up with ways where I have saved thousands of dollars a year. Here are some:

1. We have only one car. Insuring, maintaining, fueling and paying for another car would cost us $5K.
2. My child grew out of full-time daycare.
3. We drive the car mostly on weekends, with two wee (5-mile round trip maximum) errands during the week.
4. Contributing 10-15% to 401(k) plans.
5. Refinancing has, on average, saved us over $4K a year.

Update: I enjoyed Heather Havrilesky's 4-18-2008 Salon article; there's so much I could identify with. Growing tomatoes, baking bread, buying food in bulk, making bean soup, shopping the natural food stores for bulk beans. It's worth reading the comments for some yummy bean soup recipes.

I paid $100.01 extra toward my mortgage. I've paid a whopping 17% of principal since 5 years ago.

I finally, after four years, logged onto my son's Coverdell account and found he actually didn't lose any money. His stock investment has returned 24.42% over eighteen months. His mutual fund has gone up 33% since I purchased five years ago. His savings account at the credit union offers 7.25% APR. Oh to be a kid again.

Does anyone know what it's like to have the "Midas steward touch" on others' accounts, but have not so much luck with one's own accounts? Yes, I researched the fund -- not passively managed, but still a good one with a low expense ratio of 0.52%, and the stock investment shared the theme of one of his grand passions at the time: locomotives.

I unplugged our DVD player, VHS player and television. I took out a book on Once-a-Month Cooking. We have very little meat in the refrigerator: ground beef, pork sausage, and salmon. We are considering alternative grains like spelt and amaranth. We already use quinoa and millet for side dishes.

I joined the Weston A. Price Foundation. Following the food principles will hike up my food costs and reduce my already precious free time as I venture into do-it-yourself fermentation, bean soaking, sprouting and broth making, but the health benefits should be worth it.

Link du Jour: Ode to the Inexpensive Bean

Link de l'Annee: The Snowball Effect of Savings -- from the Simple Dollar: looks like I can get a deep freezer now!

I am in my second respite day after two agonizing weeks of anxiety. Yay for the oasis of serenity! Perhaps it's because I'm taking steps instead of hemming and hawing and wondering if it's too late that I feel calmer. Or if it's the Bach's Rescue Remedy, or my mantra of "let go and let God" or learning to ask the universe for what I want and weaning away from obsessing about what I DON'T WANT.

I sold close to half of the shares in two of my Roth IRA mutual funds (Vanguard index funds, if one must know), and am awaiting the proceeds of my 401(k) to rollover into my non-contributory IRA. At my discount brokerage I am fortunate to have an advisor (Anniebird, don't start with me: this one isn't a parasite feasting on my net worth, and he respects the worthiness and sensibility of my personal asset allocation strategy) willing to act as a sounding board.

I am two paycheques (his and hers) away from mailing in my tax payment. That will free up some money to go toward Japan. We may go in person on Saturday to talk about reapplying for a larger HELOC, although I'm skittish about incurring extra debt. It's a ten-year draw, and rates are very low right now, and our house would benefit from some interior improvement and exterior energy conservation through walls and doors -- I am keeping in mind Katwoman's suggestion of replacing the windows in the basement and contemplating drywall too.

I met with some bearish (economically, not the big hairy gay kind) gentlemen on Thursday, and a sweet and wise woman, and had Goldschlager and Guinness with them. They helped stabilize my emotional equilibrium: yes things are going to get worse, but I've gone through bad stuff before, I have a community of like-minded progressive worrywarts who have constructive solutions, and I'm better off than I think, because I'm getting prepared.

I am surprised to learn I have not made my full Roth IRA deposit for last year. I can change that today or tomorrow.

I have visited with my new accountant. I gave her all my materials, and she did some figuring for some possible business expenses. I like that she commended us for having one car between us two working adults. She was amazed how little we pay in real estate tax. I really need to spruce up the home.

I deposited $100 into our chequing account.

My kindergartner son wants a Roth IRA. I will tell him tonight that he has an Education savings Account, and we could fund some of it if he would like. He doesn't completely understand what a Roth IRA is--he knows that it's an account where one deposits money, and that excites him.

I have created a Money Market Account that pays twice what our savings account is paying. I moved $10K from savings into the Money Market Account.

I faxed, to the tune of $27, almost all the documents required for employment. I will deduct this, and the charge of faxes yet to come, from my taxes for this year.

So I accepted one offer. The pay's better, and the duties more interesting, than what I have just finished doing, but the people I left behind, well, they are gems. One man almost cried, and two men gave me their e-mail addresses and volunteered to be references, and one man solicited my resume for possible vendor, temp, or full-time work. I will have to buy some "serious" clothes, and buy bus passes. However, I will have a shorter commute and an excellent view of Puget Sound.

What I love is that I'll probably be out of work for most of this next week, my son's mid-winter break, and yet with our emergency fund, and ample supply of grains and legumes, we should be doing some pantry scavenging with minimal impact to the income for a week. I will not be eligible for unemployment insurance this go round, having accepted an offer of employment.

business taxes
$338.26 - state taxes
$80.41 - city taxes

The biggie, federal tax, is looming... I am thankful I had the foresight to save some money for that.

allowance for him and her
I included an allowance for the young one, who hardly ever asks for it. I had the money in my pocket but the father and I spent it on hot chocolate and cappuccinos. Call Child Protective Services. On the other hand, I've included my kid in the "profit-sharing plan" of a budget surplus.

donations
So many worthy causes, so few dollars.

I've been reading elsewhere about people considering replacing their mid1990s vehicles. I've been considering replacing ours. I'm angsty about the complexity of scope and enormity of costs for updating our home and the looming car replacement. I might get into consumer debt again, but I plan the maximum amount of debt to be $16700 at a time.

Okay, so from the intertwining of post topics and shared reading over the past few days, it looks like my brain has entered an intentional community with that of lux living frugalis. I'm glad my brain can do one good thing on occasion.

A follow-up on "I Ask Myself, How Much Do You Commit Yourself" and my Insurance Bill musings, especially after V's comment about targeting and planning charitable giving: I am reading The Better World Handbook and on page 266 is the suggestion of setting up a giving budget.

"On January 1, make up a list of your values. Then find organizations that are working to make those values real in the world. Don't let your giving be dictated by who sends you a request in the mail[, or who makes unsolicited fund-raising calls]. Do some research to find the best organizations and the ones that best represent your ideals. The last step is to set up dates and the dollar amounts that you plan to send to those organizations. A giving budget keeps your charitable giving at the forefront of your mind throughout the year so that it doesn't take a back seat to all of the other ways you want to spend your money."

I like this because it seems to me that groups will try more than annually to get additional contributions. This way I can record my contributions, collect receipts, keep records, and say to those who have their hands out for more: "sorry, my funds have been allotted for other organizations at least as fabulous as yours."

Consider also that charity begins at home: national and global organizations like Unicef and Doctors Without Borders do good, yet making additional room in your giving budget for donating to local non-profit organizations has the added benefit of local community improvement, a difference you can see.

Not only that, but making a list of one's values can be wonderfully focusing for how one chooses to budget time and money for maximum impact. We budget for what's important for us. Time is also valuable -- we should budget time to allow us to accomplish what we want.

GuideStar - Non-profits and charities search
Charity Navigator -- how effectively do organizations put ra...

It was unintentional, but I had one.
I didn't appreciate "no spend days." I figured, well, someone would just buy the next day. Someone doesn't have to fill up the car with gasoline every day, nor buy clothes, nor buy food and medicine on a daily basis. Work made the "no spend day" easy: I had a noon-hour appointment, and my lunch bunch went without me, thinking I'd blown them off. I wasn't, but I was a little hungry, so I had free teas, juices, water, vitamins and coffee, and the employer-provided bus pass took me to and from work.

12,277 lbs per year carbon emissions from our household is not terrible when the Average (more than two persons) American household emits 41,500. Replacing the refrigerator would reduce our carbon emissions by 577 pounds of carbon monoxide per year.

We can cut our pre-tax retirement contributions a bit: in retirement we hope not to have a mortgage, and won't be contributing to retirement programs.

So there are two pats on the back. It is hoped that the increase in disposable income will accelerate achievement of the goals in the Savings Tracks.

On the other hand, I'm not happy that in the first week of recording outgo, we're already up to $644, $944 if we count the last Roth IRA contribution for 2007.

A third pat on the back: I've lost three pounds.

I was dopey-morose reading the Refrigerator forum threads... last month we went to a warehouse sale for refrigerators and did not find an EnergyStar refrigerator that was short enough to fit beneath our 1940s-era built-in cabinets. I refrained from making snarky comments on the forum about remodeling a kitchen for $30,000 so I could buy a larger, energy-efficient refrigerator -- for frugality. I am glad that I refrained, for now I have found one:
GTH16BBSLWW. I'll probably end up paying $700 for it, but running it will take $3/month. Our current 1980s-era fridge is a little off with the cooling: freezing some areas and wilting some vegetables. The gasket seal leaks cold air. In a month I will have the money for replacing the fridge (from the home improvement budget).

Also, a link to an interview with Benjamin R. Barber, whose book Consumed I am, uh, consuming...

Today I visited the credit union with my boy. We used CoinStar (I know, I know about the surcharge) and deposited about $10 in change to his account. He wanted me to take out $3 so we could go to the movies. He is very retro: his fave movies were made in the 1920s and 1930s. I told him he was living in the wrong decade for us to go to the movies for $3. We can't even rent at Scarecrow Video for three dollars unless it's "Second Take" or, fudging slightly, we use 2-for-1 Wednesdays. I took him to the library where he could rent DVDs.

I also, finally, applied for a userid for my online banking -- I used what I thought was a joint account, but I "failed" a security check even though I had the answers correct because it wasn't MY userid I was calling about, but rather my spouse's, which I had used for three years. Also my credit card and debit card have materialized, which is good.

We waited for CoinStar in front of a man who had deposited, I kid you not, over $400 in coins. With the surcharge from CoinStar he could have purchased a coin sorter. In fact, I think I'll add that to the purchases I will make as I reward myself for clearing out ten books:
1. bread slicer
2. coin sorter
3. juicer that's easy to clean

If I don't get too giddy, I might even sign up for a Treasury Direct account and fill out my 2007 tax application forms for my CPA.
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I've been feeling nutty this morning. Not in a good way. Taxable accounts are very small, and now I have $300 remaining for Roth IRA 2007 contributions and $5000 remaining for Roth IRA 2008. And what am I going to do tomorrow instead? Get my hair coloured. I'll be starting to interview for new jobs in February, so might as well start the preening, right?

Hokay -- I am hoping this is IT for posting about gas bill anxiety. I woke up, thanks to anxiety and anger! at 5 am, found the house warmer than the 58F I programmed it to be. It was a mild 67F. No wonder I was roasting in my bed. I then learned more about how to program my thermostat! Sure I had the 'heat' settings at conservative levels, but the 'cool' settings had not been adjusted since July. I temporarily held the temp at 58F.

I saw the sun today! It was peeking through the iron cloud curtains, among patches of blue!

I read posts from people going through what I am (high gas bills, what's wrong with me--what am I doing wrong that I am living within my means and prepping for dark days but not living with as many comforts as other folk). I don't feel quite so alone now! Thank you, Saving Advice bloggers! *kisskiss*

Oh yes, and the most important thing, AMT adjustments at the very end of the year, possibly granting me, a lowly middle-income person holding up the poor and the rich, some respite! I don't think I should have to pay AMT unless I can afford sturgeon roe once a month. Or an annual trip to Hawaii.

I will try growing garlic and some herbs this winter, perhaps. Apparently using grow lights for seed starting is cheaper than buying fresh vegetables. I will also invest in myself, learning practical skills I can use for bartering. I can bake, I'll learn gardening. I'll try to "put myself out there" locally to build a social network.

I tried to be as local as I could, shopping within twenty-five blocks. One chain was out of a gift (that I couldn't find anywhere except online) but gave me a terrific deal on it and its accessory as long as I picked up the item from another outlet further away -- it's apparently a hot item, and I got the last one in stock. Another chain store within walking distance didn't have in stock another gift I was looking for but put it on order for me. Again, a good deal. My spouse is getting spoiled this year.

I went to a local, unique store to buy some stocking stuffers and gifts for my lad. Sometimes I have to choose between supporting the local economy and getting exercise. Sometimes I don't: I bought a gift for a friend in New York state from a locally owned store, and I walked there.

I suppose that because I walked and enjoyed the sun and fresh air that I wasn't as misanthropic, claustrophobic and harried as I would have been if I had driven. The retail staff saw me, saw my list, and cheerfully directed me to where I would have found the item had it been in stock. I do try to be prepared because I have worked retail. The retail outlet that was further away was very slow at 3:40 pm on Sunday, which made me happy.

Amazingly, this could be the first year in nine where I haven't purchased any gifts through Amazon.com. (Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk do not count.)

He made his first consumer purchase at Target on Saturday, with the proceeds from sacrificing a tooth.

Yesterday I read online that: a fair predictor of a child's success in school comes from math skill proficiency in Kindergarten or Grade 1, so I took out some Spectrum Math Workbooks at K and Grade 1 level and told my kid we'd work on them after dinner. His eyes lit up. No, no sarcasm here.

He wanted to work exclusively on the money problems.

I briefly had a whiny poor-me post up this morning. Then I read San Diego was on fire, and my disposition maladjustment was small potatoes compared to that.

We did some decluttering! What motivated us? We never have people over. We're too busy and too lazy to clean, too embarrassed by our house. Then my son was invited to a friend's house, and now my son wants to reciprocate hosting duties, so we cleaned up! (If you don't invite anyone over to your house, people here mostly assume you're an alcoholic or aloof.)

So we took clothes, glasses and toys over to the Saint Vincent de Paul thrift store as donations. I felt a little lighter.

Tonight I may start "Finance Chat Weekly," an attempt to get my family on the same page wrt spending and saving. The only one who stays alert and attentive to these chats is my six-year-old. Tonight I will give him a task of finding as many coins as he can so he can begin a deposit to his soon-to-be-opened WaMoola savings account. I didn't see the point of opening another account (we are deluged already with account statements), but the difference with this one is that HE would be initiating it, and taking action, and having fun with math skills. He also thinks that if I have an interest in doing something, (I volunteer with the program) it must be worth doing.

I know the little one is going through an Oedipal phase but I hope his support and enthusiasm for our family projects doesn't flag when he's gotten it through his head he can't marry me.

More active than me giving him a statement and saying "this is how much you have."

Article: Figuring the size of your emergency fund from Philip Brewer, WiseBread.com

I added my minimum, routine and job hunting expenses. I multiplied that total by four months (discounting the Unemployment Insurance benefits for which I'd be eligible), as I have a working spouse, and came up with a total which, serendipitously, equals the amount I have in CDs plus savings.

So my savings goals look like this:
1. Pay off windows
2. Pay insulation (in full from savings)
3. Maximize Roth IRA 2007 contribution.
4. Build Roth IRA 2008 contribution.
5. Save for replacement car.

America's personal saving rate went up to one whole percent in the first quarter of 2007! I wonder how much of that is due to ING's Orange Accounts and the 7.5% - 8% offered by some credit unions on the first $500 deposited in checking and savings accounts. So when you read mainstream media's gloomy bits about consumer expenditures being down, consider that some people are choosing to pay in cash for a planned purchase, and reflect on the positive saving rate. While Bank of America is amending its credit card agreements to provide for a 32.99% "default pricing" APR, can you really blame people for wanting to save? It's not like Bank of America is actively engaging in competitive practices to encourage credit card use with a rate like 32.99% APR...

I learned several new things this week:
On a SavingAdvice.com blog, I learned about the cost of bottled water. I did not know until today that 44 countries are in drought, the world production of cereal crops is negative, and water managers in 36 states anticipate shortages in localities, regions, or statewide in the next 10 years. In the meantime, PHO (PowerShares Water Resource) has gone up 25% since I purchased it a year ago.

If that rainbarrel isn't hooked up to a downspout by the time I get home it will be shortly thereafter.

I also learned that calling my cell's voicemail from your mobile phone costs me minutes.

Unsolved mysteries:
1. How many mortgages originated in 2006 for Seattle properties were negative amortization or interest-only? The percentage of loans originated in 2005 that were neg am or IO was 7%. Compare with about 28% in the Bay Area for 2005.

2. How do people upgrade from their first homes to their second in the frothy environment without taking on a larger mortgage? Do they liquidate their retirement, have oodles of $$$$ saved up, get stock options or inheritances?
Sometimes I think I'd like to move to a newer, larger house closer to my kid's school but those are priced at least $50K above what my current house is, and I'd have to put money into making my house sellable, pay tax and commissions, and pay mortgage origination fees on the new house. I don't see that I'd be getting a smaller mortgage with a better interest rate. I can't even rent a 3bdr SFH in my area for what I'm paying in mortgage (PITI). How do other parents who've paid huge amounts in daycare over the past six years do it? Parents of the friends of my kid either keep up the mortgage equity extraction/refinance or say "yeah we don't mind going from a $160K 30-year mortgage to a $350K 30-year mortgage in eight years." It makes me wonder how to make my income catch up with theirs so I wouldn't notice the cost increase, or how to save the way they did if they didn't rely on mortgage equity extraction/refinance.

Also, I actually received (drumroll)... a coupon I can use! It's for organic milk, and I can save $1.50! Hot-cha-cha! Ooh boy am I going to use that coupon! Most coupons I see are for products I don't use, like Huggies or Pringles.

1. Try to teach my son how to tie his shoes.
2. Try to get him to complete his toilet: limit to three squares of paper, flush, put down lid, wash hands, dry hands.
3. Budget: going from $4954/month to $4248/month is going to be SWEET!! I've calculated my budget in the following way: went to census.gov (Microsoft Excel worksheet) to pull average annual expenditures of consumer units in the West in 2003, multiplied that by 1.24 for where I live to get Amount B, multiplied Amount B by 0.77 to get Desired Amount C in most categories except gas, healthcare and housing, and divided Desired Amount C for our monthly budget goal.
Desired Amount C for fuel gas and oil = 0.6 of what West consumer units are paying;
Desired Amount C for healthcare = 0.64 of what West consumer units are paying
Desired Amount C for housing = exactly what average West consumer units are paying.

It's unsettling to see that even in 2003, the average amount spent on shelter per consumer unit was only $15371/year. We paid (PITI) $16620. Mind you, we refinanced into a 20-year mortgage.

And it's interesting to note that what people pay for electricity is what we pay for natural gas, and what people pay for natural gas is what we pay for electricity. Water is much more expensive in Seattle, but that's bundled with sewer and recycling of yard waste and consumer packages.

Income: $1830 every two weeks (joint; spouse nets $1830 every two weeks on his own)

IRA: $2500 (is now $33,500)
401(k): $8000 (is now $47,100)
Stocks: $1800 (now $1800)

Debts:
Car $14000 (paid off one year later)
Citibank $750 (long gone, cancelled)
Discover $900 (long gone, cancelled)

Budget:
Gas $38 (yes! for the month! Which is what I now pay for my scooter, per month)
Entertainment: $60 (twice that now w/tot)
Clothes: $160 (still)
Food: $280 (twice that now w/tot)
Rent: $250 (my half; rent was $535/mo.)
IRA: $100 (four times that much now)
401(k): $340 ($440 now)

My spouse will be outsourced in October, and probably gaining another job with a staffing firm, at least on a one-year contract. He'll get $12K severance pay, so that's not entirely sucky. If the staffing firm messes up, then he'll probably be hired back.

This week 35% of our team received "don't worry, those layoff rumours have no weight" e-mail messags. I wasn't one of the 30% who got a message, but it was unsettling nonetheless.

My child agreed to have $1600 of his education fund go to his kindergarten tuition.

I DID book all the accommodations on our July/August roadtrips. Now to research where to eat... (Pacific Coast Highway--from Seattle to Los Angeles)

Oh, and for the second time, the gold I've mislaid has been found in the futon downstairs. Why do I never check the futon first thing anymore for missing jewelry/coinage?

1. Today I was up very early so I took my scooter to a cafe open at 6, and attempted 45% of the NYT Saturday crossword, in pen.

2. I transferred money from our shared account to my account, and deposited one gold coin (still looking for the other, probably in a pocket) into the credit union vault. Then I reviewed my "treasure box" and saw appraisals for some but not all the bling dating from 1999 (when gold was $286/ounce). There's hope for me yet, especially with what gold's done in the interim.

3. My son and I used the coin collector at the credit union: $4.57 in collected coinage. This went into my bank account.

4. I sent a cheque for $138.44 to ComputerShare for my son's Burlington Northern Santa Fe shares.

5. I sent a cheque for $153 to GE Stock Direct for some General Electric shares.

6. I wrote a cheque for $240 to TD Ameritrade for my Roth IRA 2007 contribution.

7. I wrote a cheque for $110 to Habitat for Humanity.

8. I deposited our escrow cheque for $138.44: $69.22 to savings, $69.22 for our Visa bill.

9. My spouse gave to 'end poverty', I gave to 'end homelessness.'

10. I wrote and deposited a cheque for $1586.00 for our mortgage -- a $150.01 overpayment for July.

Charles Hugh Smith's June 13 entry, at first, made me think of our retirement situation.

"We should pull out! Pull out now! But we face huge taxes. Maybe it won't be that bad. Maybe if we just shift our asset allocation to more international, it'll be okay."

And I am not proud that we have not yet requested windows. I need to carve time to research proper northwest options and go make the phone call. Same with the gardening... I need to make the time to plan what I want and call so it's done right.

What am I proud of? Well, yesterday my husband, who is sacrificing a week of income (let's hope he is using his accumulated 'sick days') for the greater good of JURY DUTY, put $1000 in his Roth IRA. He's asked me for help finding a suitable investment for it. He has $123,655 in 401(k) contributions distributed in a reasonable asset allocation mix, so he can go a little nuts with his small Roth.

I forget to do this Steve Pavlina million dollar experiment on a daily basis. I must start again.

In a month a class action suit against our mortgagor begins in court. We may receive up to $3000.

I still have not yet requested an end to our Voice Mail. I should do that.

Escrow refund of $134 marked in our mortgage account.

Took the bus/taking car ride home: savings -- $1.80 saved.

Scooted to the vitamin discount outlet and then to Safeway to run errands: saved $10.00 on the bill.

I am now enrolled in General Electric's and Procter & Gamble's DRPs. I applied for Walgreen's but I haven't heard back yet. I have made $1.58 from PG so far.

I have now enrolled in some mutual funds in the company 401(k). Put 50% of the proceeds in international.

I have made a $150 extra payment toward the mortgage.

I have not yet called about the windows. I keep hoping my spouse will do that.

I have applied for my vacation time. I hope it goes through. We've booked two hotels, and a rented car, and then it's the pet sitter and a slew of other B&Bs, and MUSSO AND FRANK (cue: choir of seraphim).

My five-year-old has given me verbal permission to use a portion of his education fund to pay for his kindergarten. Well, it is an education expense, and it is tuition...

I have contributed $260 toward my 2007 Roth IRA.

I have enrolled in a SQL Server 2005 certification track course, at the low low low price of $150. What's nice is that I can get free training materials.

I'm thinking hard about Kiva and Prosper.

Work is frustrating. I keep meaning to do more work, but my body hits a limit, my spouse won't get help, and he's swamped with work of his own, and my child needs attention and instruction.
I would very much like to put in 46-50 hours a week, so I don't get rejected for my vacation application.

My spouse has netted almost as much as I have over the past two weeks. He doesn't have the lucrative overtime I have. Maybe I have to bite the bullet and spring for some microwaveable dinners to bring to work, instead of bringing leftovers and as much fruit as I can handle. Or, Merciful Spirit help me, take the car and manage an eleven-hour day a few days a week.

Health: good. Switched to grass-fed local beef, 4-5 ounces served twice a month. Still expensive, especially when it's tenderloin. Still could use some exercise.

Work: good enough. Lucky enough to get a SQL Course and a SharePoint course on the weekends. Trying to remain competitive, don't you know.

Savings: addled. Yes, the money's accumulating. But I get distracted. It'd be great to be an Amy Dacyczyn or Vicki Robin and have things pared down to the bone. Did you know neither of those women worked 50-hour weeks in addition to raising a preschooler when they wrote their bestsellers?

Family: acceptable -- spent a rare full weekend with the boy and really enjoyed myself. Went to a birthday party for a tyke and had the rare experience of not feeling inadequate or 'weird' with the other parents. Also, have opted to end the kid's social communication playgroup. I think he's caught up socially to where he needs to be, the summer promises horrendous traffic en route to where the playgroup is and his pathologist is moving away.

Friends: not so good. Work and family and house eat up a lot of time. Am nearing a one-month experiment of eating lunch in every day. Then I'd like to build up some local friends, some of them frugal.

Home: roses are blooming. Am remembering to water the tomato plants a few times a week.

Spiritual: as removed as the Israelites in the desert. "This is not my home environment! How do I adapt? Where do I get my manna? When can I go home?"

We shopped at Big Lots yesterday. Found some cheap cereal, some Boohbah Band-Aid brand adhesive strips, a rainbow-coloured featherduster and Pop-Tarts. Then to Central Market for granola, nuts, seeds and bread, chocolate, broths: we went on an empty stomach, and I was craving gluten and legumes, it seems!

Sent $130 off to the discount brokerage for my Roth IRA. Am now surveying the OCP/DRP fees from the companies. Sigh. Still cheaper than the brokerage firm.

First windows contractor estimate is in the ballpark of $9,000. Aiyee!

I still want to stockpile some nonperishable foodstuffs at Costco. That requires free time though.

Only 3.5 hours overtime. No weekend work. I will do some batch cooking/baking and shop for food.