hqueen's collection of Far From the Usual stuff.

[Britesea]

That's great news from the lender! If you can reduce credit card debt- that should be a priority. Paying interest is just throwing money down the toilet. We have one credit card with a minimal limit on it (they are constantly trying to encourage us to up it). I only use it for emergencies, and I try to pay it off each month. I think I've had to let some ride a second month 3 times in the last 3 years. We also have a second credit card that is specifically for medical... if we have to pay over $200 (pretty much any visit to the doctor or dentist these days) we can take 6 months to pay interest free.

The second thing we did that helped us resist temptation was to go to a cash-only basis for all our purchases. It's amazing how much easier it is to not spend money if you don't have it in your wallet! lol. I take enough out of the bank to cover all expected expenses for the week- like food, gas, and any bills that I can pay without mailing the payment. If we want to buy something else, we have to make a special trip to the bank, which means thinking about it and making the time for it. I've found that more often than not, I decide we don't really need whatever it was-- and that becomes an easier decision to make the longer we've been doing it. I'm rootin' for ya!

Cooking from scratch doesn't need to take a lot of time-- One of our favorite meals is something called "Dump Chicken"-- you can find it on Google I think. You just put a few pieces of chicken in the pan, dump 3 more ingredients on top, and bake. If you find yourself with a little extra time, you can put chicken and extra 'dumpings' into some ziplock bags and freeze them to make it even quicker on nights when you know you will be tempted to do takeout. One example recipe:
Dump Chicken Sticky Chicky

2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Smooth Peanut Butter
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
4-6 chicken thighs

For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into a large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken breasts).

For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flat in freezer.

To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, make sure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthest from the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although this may not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat the oven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish and bake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken breasts).

 

[baymule]

Yay for good stuff a especially financial good stuff! Can you use any of the extra to start working on getting Storm moved?

x2! It would cut down on expense to have him at home and you could better care for him. Plus it would give you more time, you wouldn't have to go to the barn and take care of everybody else's horses.

 

[hqueen13]

@Britesea that sounds yummy!! Thanks for the tips.
I use a budget program online called Youneedabudget.com and I ADORE it. It has helped me SO much get a handle on how much I'm spending, and where it's going. It makes life so easy to go through every pay day and enter the total amount that I received, then go down my list of categories and put the amounts into each entry for how much needs to be set aside for that item. I can even do things like put $10 into the water bill category every time he gets paid so that I know in 3 months I'll have pretty much the right amount to cover the bill. I adore the program, if anyone is curious about it, it's about $7.00/month and it's totally worth it to me, plus I have a referral code that will save you money and give me a little discount, too.
As far as credit cards go, yes, we're carrying too much debt. The BF has the vast majority of his debt in 2 zero interest transfers that are covered for at least a year or so. We won't pay them off 100% but when we come into bigger chunks of money they'll get chipped away at. Lately we've been paying the minimums because of how much stuff has been going on, but we'll be able to ramp that up with some of the changes coming along. He has very little interest bearing credit card debt at the moment, which he should be able to pay off pretty quick with this influx. We're still waiting a bit to see how it all shakes down.
I have quite a bit more interest bearing debt, though most of it is in my business, and the interest is deductible So while I don't like having to deal with it, at least I get a deduction! I have less than $2000 that I'm carrying personally, which isn't bad for where I've been. I just keep chipping away at it as I can. (there will be a meeting with my boss Thursday that should help with that!!!)

Thursday we got a shocker when we opened up the new car insurance premiums. They increased his rates by 61% due to an accident that caught up to his insurance finally after happening in December. He spoke with an insurance broker, and she was able to reconfigure it to get it down to $515 a month instead of $670 a month, which I consider a huge savings. Plus, with the way the finances are right now we can probably swing paying the entire premium instead of only paying monthly, that will save us $50/month, or about $300 on the total. That also means that we can set aside the next premium each month, which will be considerably LESS because the oldest accident will drop off of his insurance, so I'll only need to put aside about $350/month instead of $500/month! I feel swanky paying for the insurance 6 months at a time! Such a blessing that all of this is happening now when we're just refinancing and have the extra cash to do it with.

So that is going to eat up some of the spare change that we had. But I'm ok with that, because there will be more per month afterwards that we can put towards other things. The first thing he's going to research is getting our power upgraded. It's only 110 amps or whatever that means, which is about half of the standard that is used for new homes. So he's going to call about getting that upgraded so that we'll be able to make the upgrades to the house that we want AND be able to run electric to the barn/shed and to a work shed for him in the future, too. So that's the first step that needs to happen, and hopefully we'll be able to fund that without too much trouble. I think we'll have enough leftover to handle that. Beyond that, anything left will go towards some of the debt and some of the other house projects. The barn stuff really falls under the business, so I'm trying to keep it separate if possible. Of course, my business hasn't been running quite as well as I would have liked, but I just hired a gal to help me get some stuff rolling, and so I'm looking forward to getting started on that. I finished the second piece of artwork for the biz project I'm working on. I need to write the note, and then get that set up to mail. I can probably get that done by Wednesday I think. So that can be on it's way by later this week and then I need to start on a 3rd one. I want to get three done and get feedback on them before I put it out there to market. I've also got some other stuff on the burners for projects in my biz, so hopefully some of this stuff can start showing me a return soon! I'm so ready for it!

We had a great weekend, even though it was rainy. 3 1/2"+ of rain since Friday. Saturday we went downtown to visit some historic ships that were in port. We got to tour a tall ship, and also a viking ship. It was really amazing, and not all that busy since it was raining. We had a really lovely lunch and walked around a little, despite the rain. Sunday we puttered around the house and ended up rearranging part of the basement. The chinchilla cage has always sat in front of a dresser that was left in the house when we moved in. I was going to get rid of the dresser, but I really fell in love with it, so it's just sat there, with junk on top and not much else. So we cleared off the top and put the chinchilla on top of the dresser, and stored some of her stuff in the drawers, and then moved the stand her cage was on over next to the sink, which added storage there. It totally opened up the space a lot, and made it so much nicer. It should be easier to clean up, too, I think. Amazing how just moving a few things around makes a space feel so much better. Sunday afternoon we went to a party for one of the BF's uncle's 70th birthday. It was a really lovely time, though the food wasn't all that great. The good news is that I didn't have to cook it and drinks were included! I call that a win. And I have leftovers, too.

It's rainy here, again, and looks like it will be most of the week. Not real thrilled about that, but the temps are just in the 60's/low 70's, so that part is awesome. Keeping an eye on the hurricane to see what it does, we may end up getting dumped on again which could cause some really big problems since we're already at saturation point. There's just no where for the water to go. (I guess from that aspect I'm glad that I don't have Storm home... it would have been nothing but mud this year)

 

[NH Homesteader]

Wait you pay $500/month for insurance?? Just cars or house too? Holy cow I pay $56/month for full coverage on my car. Your price about knocked me over, lol.

 

[hqueen13]

NH, well, the price was $404 every month. That was for 4 vehicles. An 88 pickup truck, a 2000 explorer, a 2001 Jeep, and my 09 Explorer. So, no, that doesn't include the house insurance, that's part of the mortgage. It was a little higher than it could have been due to the BF's 2 accidents that were on there from before, but not by a whole lot. I'm just grateful that we got it down as low as we did. The oldest accident will drop off in March, which means the price will go down some, and then the next oldest will drop off in Oct as well, so it'll go down a little more. And apparently if we actually get married we could save about $250 every 6 months. LOL I told the BF to check to see whether or not we actually had to show proof we were married...

The BF talked to the lender, and it looks like we're going to owe about $700 at closing for the refinance. He explained why to the BF and it sort of went over my head. I'm ok with that, that's still only half of one payment, so we'll have a payment and a half, plus the balance of the escrow that will come back to us, so that should still be enough to cover the car insurance if we want to do it that way. We'll have to just wait and see how things pan out. We're going down to NC again, which will cost some money, but hopefully not too much. The biggest cost is going to be going back to Biltmore again. It's dang expensive, but so worth it. There's a special exhibit of glass art there now that I'm really interested in seeing.

Not much else happening, other than this giant hurricane that's bearing down on us. I'm not pleased with the predictions that are getting tossed about... depending on when it turns northward, and what happens it could stall out in our area, which would mean the possibility of 20" of rain. On top of our completely over saturated environment and rain all week. I don't know where the water is going to go. It's going to be really bad, though, because there's just not anything that can be done to stop it. I'm already getting my thoughts organized as to what I'm going to need to have prepared. I'm going to grab the water jugs from the barn storage (and hopefully avoid wasps in the process!) so that I can fill them. We're on city water, but my thought was with that much rain coming down there's probably a big risk that the water will get contaminated. I'd rather be prepared and not need to worry about that (I'm sure the BF will roll his eyes, but whatever...). We have one case of bottled water in the house, I'll probably pick up another one (if there are any left at this point....), but to have the jugs with water prepped for cooking and whatever else we need will be a good thing. We're also going to make sure that everything is put away and tied down outside that needs to be. I'll take down the bird feeders and wind chimes so that those don't get damaged. I also want to make sure the house is clean and the laundry is done just in case we do loose power. I'm going to go to the grocery store tonight, I think, if I have the energy, and make sure that we have meals that are organized enough that we can cook them. The BF is going to bring home a generator, which is helpful to make sure that the 2 fridges and the freezer don't thaw. That will also mean we can plug in the toaster oven and whatever other little things that we want. I need to make sure that the extension cords are accessible (preferably IN the house...) so that we can plug in everything that is needed. I think it will be easiest to put it on the kitchen end of the house, and run the cords for the basement fridge and freezer out the window, and the cord for the fridge upstairs, plus extra accessories out the door. That will keep the cords closer together and the generator can sit off the end of the house and not the back of the house where I would have to listen to it all night. We're well up on a hill (about 160' above sea level, which is only about 2 or 3 miles away), so I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about the power going out from trees just falling over because the ground is too wet and not being able to cross roads from flooding. I can get to the highway, more than likely, but getting anywhere else after that could be really challenging. Cowboy and Coyote's owners are away until Friday evening, but I'm sort of banking no them not being able to get back in. It's going to be a waiting game to see when I'll be able to make my last visit there. I plan to stock the hay feeders up with about 4 to 6 bales and fill the water tub all the way up, and the boys will be fine. If they get delayed too long that should keep the boys ok until I can get back down there myself. Worst case I'll call my friends who are neighbors and see if she can walk over and just make sure they're still upright and alive. I'm sort of hoping I won't have to go to the barn to do chores on Friday evening, either. I don't want to slog around in it, Friday a week ago was bad enough... I'm not game for more than that! Plus I want to get home!! So we'll see what happens. I doubt that TM would put the horses out if it looked like it was going to be bad, anyway, so worst case once things settle down I can go back to the barn and help clean up if it is needed. She's usually reasonable about weather, but we'll see what happens.

Fun times. Never a dull moment!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hope Florence doesn't head your way but sounds like you've got your plans made and will do as well as you can under the circumstances.

And apparently if we actually get married we could save about $250 every 6 months. LOL I told the BF to check to see whether or not we actually had to show proof we were married...

Just a note of warning here...and I'm basing this on how it is in Texas. Not sure if it is this way everywhere else so it might or might not apply to you. IF a couple declares them self to be married - they are married. It's considered an informal marriage (or common law) and is just as legally binding as any other traditional marriage. So, don't say it unless you want it, lol!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Yikes hope you don't get all that rain dumped on you!

 

[baymule]

Hope you stay safe and don't lose power or at least not for long. This is yet another reason why it would be so wonderful to have your horse at home! Boo on the barn and having to drive to take care of him!

 

[hqueen13]

LOL FEM, Maryland isn't that strict.... or not strict, not sure which way you would call that. Maryland doesn't have anything that exists for common law marriage, which I think is crappy, but what do I know?! They don't benefit from it, so it's not allowed! LOL (Maryland's laws is a whole 'nother rant for another time.... there's a reason I want to leave this state! I'll miss our wicked cool flag that we can stick on everything, but that's about it!)

So it looks like Florence has turned more southward, which is good for us, not so good for our southern neighbors. I can't say that I'm upset that I have a few things organized, but it is nice to know that we won't get poured on a la Noah's ark style after we've already had SO much rain. I'm sure eventually the dregs will make it up to us, but 4 or 5 more inches will be PLENTY, thank you very much. That frees up some energy, and time. Though I can't say that I wasn't partially looking forward to the time to just hunker down and do things a little simpler for a little while. Now if I can just dodge the forecasted thunderstorms while I've got to do barn chores this weekend I'll be good! I've got my friend HR's critters again this weekend, so that's helpful to the budget. And I get to play with crazy kittens, so that's always fun.

Got the new pay check into the budget and I have $25.00 left over. I have a meeting scheduled with my boss TODAY so that hopefully I can get another raise from him so I can have a wee bit more breathing room and I don't have to stress so bad about keeping everything covered and working so many dang hours. That's not helping my sanity, or my gas budget!

I don't know what I've done by my ankle is bothering me, and now my leg and my low back are bothering me, too, presumably from the compensation. The only thing I can think of is that a week or so ago I was mucking, and stepped backwards in a stall, and my toes landed on one of the mats, and my heel sank down on the other mat, which was underneath the other. The mats in a lot of the stalls overlap and are bumpy (mostly because they're made out of conveyor belts and not actual stall mats, but that's a whole 'nother rant, too). I didn't feel any pain or issue when that happened, so I can't even say that's what it was, but my ankle hurts now when I lift my toes upward. I'm quite a mess at the moment, which is not cool, and I need to get it sorted out so that I can keep moving. I can't afford to stop moving!

So not much to report here. Oh, the title guy comes tomorrow morning for the BF to sign the paperwork so that we can get this refinance moved forward. That will be a good thing! We will owe some but it's not a huge amount. It should still leave us with enough funds to cover the car insurance in full for the next 6 months I think. That's of course if the BF doesn't go spending too much money... We'll see what happens....

 

[hqueen13]

Everything went super smooth with the title guy, except for the minor issue that we owed about $75 more than the lender had told us. Apparently he didn't calculate all the interest that was accruing from the beginning of the month. Not the end of the world, but no less irritating. We got that squared away and so that was good.

I managed to get quite a few things done in my business on Friday, which was good, especially since it was super gray and blah and I wasn't feeling motivated. Somehow I got things done anyway. I was a little frustrated that I missed the post office by 2 minutes so I couldn't mail out the second piece of artwork. That did happen Saturday morning finally. I got to the barn on Friday, and was a little bit early since I missed the post office, and TM told me that she was switching the horses back to night's in, which meant I only needed to do 2 stalls that night AND Storm was SUPER good and didn't pee OR poop in his stall! All I had to do was rake it over and change his water and that was it!! So I got done REALLY fast and was able to get home, which was awesome.

Saturday the BF and I had a lazy start and then decided to run some errands so that I could mail the artwork out. We got back home and chilled out for a bit and he wasn't feeling great so we had a long talk about that. A guy stopped by to look at the Jeep, but that didn't work out. I think he's going to end up repairing the frame and fixing the rusted out hole in the fender in order to sell it. I hate having to put money into it, but no one is interested in having it repaired. I guess most people can't do the repairs and don't know people that can do it for them, either. But if it gets it sold then I guess that's what has to happen. Hopefully he can get that sorted out this week. Saturday evening we decided to use a voucher that we got when I went to look at a car and go to a new pizza place. It was ok, not anything great. The voucher was through restaurant.com and now I see why restaurants participate with them... lol. Everything on the list wasn't that great. I decided I wanted to get a library book, so before we went to dinner we headed to the library and picked up the book, and since it was still a little early to eat (we didn't eat lunch until 2 as it was), we stopped in AC Moore arts store to wander around. I told the BF how I was thinking about getting some leaf garland and hanging up the led Lantern lights that we have that we used to hang in the old house. He loved the idea, so we went and found some garland to use, and then I ended up finding nice journal notebooks that were buy 2 get 1 free. Turns out they were basically $5 each, so I got 3 nice journals for $10!

I was expecting to have to get up to go to the barn Sunday morning since the horses would now be in overnight. Sunday would have been the first morning turnout for them since they stayed out 24 hours from Friday night through to Saturday evening. I was NOT looking forward to being the first person to have to handle them after their first night in and have to deal with how bad the stalls would be. We crashed into bed early since I knew I had to get up in the morning. I set my alarm, and as I was drifting off to sleep I heard my phone go off with a text. I figured I'd check it in the morning. Then at 5:00 am the cat decided to knock over one of the bookcases that we had sitting in the living room waiting for someone to buy them. I guess I'm going to have to lower the price since no one has been interested. That scared the crap out of both of us (thankfully it didn't hit any other furniture when it fell, and it didn't hit the cat, either...) and so I got up to go to the bathroom and I decided to look at my phone. TM had sent me a text asking if I could swap with NH for chores and I come on Tuesday morning instead. I would WAY rather do that! So I texted her back and said yes, even though I knew that she wouldn't get it for a while. I moved my alarm back hoping that she'd text me back and that maybe I wouldn't have to go at all. I didn't sleep well after that, and as I was getting up to get my morning started she finally texted me and said that we were good to switch. So I went back to bed! I didn't really sleep, but at least I lazed around for a while. We finally got up and got our day started.

The BF decided he wanted to get the vehicles washed and waxed finally, and so he started on mine first. The plan was to do mine, then I was going to go run some errands (we needed 1 more strand of garland, and some tomatoes so we could do one more tomato mozz sandwhich before the season ended) and then I'd come back for lunch. Well, at 11:30 we weren't done with my truck and I was getting hungry. So we decided to go grab lunch and do the errands together, and then we could have the tomato mozz for dinner instead. It took a bit of time, but we got back and then started on the black explorer. He had let it get FILTHY so it was a really big challenge to clean. I finally got the inside done, and then he started on the outside. He decided to compound it instead of just waxing it, but the buffer wasn't cooperating, and then he caught the buffer on the door handle and the door handle broke. By this time he was REALLY irritated. He went and got some glue and so then we spent the next hour trying to fix it. Which didn't work. He finally gave up, since it was getting late and he still had to finish waxing it. So we wiped it down again to get the compound off of it and he just used the wax and then buffed it in. That worked just fine and it looked good (for an 18 year old beat up truck...). So we cleaned up and came back in the house and he started googling to find the part. Lo and behold amazon has it for $8.00. I was rather irritated that we wasted over an hour of both of our time when he could have just ordered the $8 part. Lesson learned: next time check the price of the part BEFORE attempting to jerry rig it!

I finally soaked in the tub and then we fixed dinner and had a nice glass of wine before crashing. It was a pretty good weekend, and hopefully will be a good week.