We had parent teacher conferences with Elliott's teachers yesterday. It's amazing how different it went than last year in kindergarten. It seems that in kindergarten, Elliott was prone to cry, not listen, and talk too loud. In first grade, one of his teachers said he was one of her best behaved! She said he does tend to rush through things sometimes in an effort to get done as soon as his friends, but he's quick to listen and calm down if things get crazy. His other teacher had nothing but good things to say as well. They both said he is very bright, and good at everything he does. He loves to draw and read, and goes through a lot more books than most of the kids do. He ends up with more free time in class because one of his teachers lets him get started on some stuff while others are finishing up something else, so he's able to focus more closely on it. He loves Science.
His scores are pretty much off the charts on reading. His reading level is about that of an average 5th grader toward the end of the year (just an estimate since the test they give first graders only goes through 4th grade levels, and he surpassed those), and his reading comprehension is soundly in the 4th grade level. Not bad for a six year old!
Math is still a little bit of a struggle for him, although he's still able to score in the 60th-80th percentile overall on math tests, and got an A for the first quarter. It just takes him a little longer to get it done, and it frustrates him. It seems that his best friend in his math and reading class, is fast at math, and it irritates Elliott that he gets done so much before him. Then again, that same friend gets irritated by how much faster Elliott is at reading tasks.
Elliott liked school last year, but he LOVES it this year. We are very happy over all with our school experience.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Politics
I am passionate about politics. It's not something that many of my online only friends know about me. I keep it pretty secret for a few different reasons. The main one being that I don't want my husband to get in trouble. I've read several warnings this year (not directed at me) to be tasteful if we must discuss politics, but to try to keep a lid on it over all. If we don't, it can hurt our spouses' careers.
I don't consider myself to really belong to either party, although I am technically registered with one. Ironically I'm registered with the one that I have the least in common with, because it's also the one that I agree with most often on the things that I am most passionate about. Next month I will be voting a nearly straight ticket, although there are 2 that I plan to vote for that don't belong to "my party," and I plan on voting opposite my party's platform on at least one specific policy that will be on my ballot. I'm still researching another.
This year is a big election year for the United States, with the election of a president. It's important to make an informed choice on who you want to run our country. But please don't overlook the other issues and people you will be voting for next month. In my state there is a lot of coverage over the US Senate race right now, and a lot of negative ads from both Heidi Heitkamp and Rick Berg. My husband and I have done the research and are making an informed choice on who to vote for. We've done the same thing for local elections, and the choices for governor as well as all of the issues on the ballot.
Please remember that it sometimes takes more than a quick internet search to find valid, true information, especially on lower levels of government. And in some ways these politicians turn out to be the most important ones for YOU.
I don't consider myself to really belong to either party, although I am technically registered with one. Ironically I'm registered with the one that I have the least in common with, because it's also the one that I agree with most often on the things that I am most passionate about. Next month I will be voting a nearly straight ticket, although there are 2 that I plan to vote for that don't belong to "my party," and I plan on voting opposite my party's platform on at least one specific policy that will be on my ballot. I'm still researching another.
This year is a big election year for the United States, with the election of a president. It's important to make an informed choice on who you want to run our country. But please don't overlook the other issues and people you will be voting for next month. In my state there is a lot of coverage over the US Senate race right now, and a lot of negative ads from both Heidi Heitkamp and Rick Berg. My husband and I have done the research and are making an informed choice on who to vote for. We've done the same thing for local elections, and the choices for governor as well as all of the issues on the ballot.
Please remember that it sometimes takes more than a quick internet search to find valid, true information, especially on lower levels of government. And in some ways these politicians turn out to be the most important ones for YOU.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Car Shopping Again
I mentioned before that my sister got a new car on Tuesday. The Cavalier that she had been driving for the last seven years finally died. About two weeks ago she went out to start it after work, and it wouldn't crank at all. My husband went down and looked at it and picked her up and told her the motor had most likely seized, so she needed to have it towed somewhere to get it looked at. She got that done, and he was indeed right. The motor had seized and with labor and everything, the cost was going to be close to $5000 to fix it. This was a 2003 Cavalier that had already been totaled once (it's had a salvaged title since 2006 I believe), so she decided to just junk it, and we began our car buying journey.
The first few days she drove my husband's truck back and forth to work, and he took our car, while I took the van. That couldn't be a long term solution, though, so we went down and looked at cars at nearly every dealership in town that first Saturday, since it happened to be Darla's Saturday off and Carl was off as well. She really wanted a stick shift, but we had trouble finding one in her price range. Finally we found a 2008 Hyundai Accent manual transmission with under 40,000 miles on it and it was in her price range! She test drove it Saturday, came home and did some research, and we went back to get it last Tuesday. She was really excited.
Fast forward to Saturday, and after driving it for less than 300 miles, the check engine light started flashing. She was leaving work, and was getting ready to head home. Carl, Elliott, and I were at the movie theater watching Frankenweenie. As soon as our movie was over, we met her, and Carl discovered some pretty significant problems on her car, especially considering how few miles it had on it. She had some time left on her bumper to bumper warranty, plus an extended car care warranty, but it was still very frustrating. And she had to take my husband's truck to work again on Sunday.
Sunday night we car shopped online, and found a Toyota Carolla Matrix that was right in her price range. It's older and has significantly more mileage but it's a Toyota, so will probably last longer (she has decided that my husband's 1998 Tacoma is the most reliable of our fleet, and it has almost 240000 miles on it). We did the research and discovered it was most likely a good car, and to make it even better, it was at the dealership where she liked the sales guy the best. We had to wait and see if the first dealership would go ahead and take the car back as part of it's 5 day guarantee, though, since it was technically up by the time she could get ahold of someone, even though the problems started during the first 5 days. It was surprisingly easy to give it back, though. So she is now the proud owner of a 2003 Matrix, with a brand new transmission and tires. It's even a stick!
I'm really hoping that this turns out to be a great car. I like it better than I liked the Accent, and Elliott does as well (he's going to be riding back and forth to school with her a lot starting next week when she starts teaching at his school). We took a chance on it, by not taking my husband with us when we looked at it and test drove it yesterday (she bought it then as well), but based on what I've heard and experienced with that dealership and sales guy, I'm confident they wouldn't sell it to us with known problems. My husband did check it out last night, and said we did good. :)
The first few days she drove my husband's truck back and forth to work, and he took our car, while I took the van. That couldn't be a long term solution, though, so we went down and looked at cars at nearly every dealership in town that first Saturday, since it happened to be Darla's Saturday off and Carl was off as well. She really wanted a stick shift, but we had trouble finding one in her price range. Finally we found a 2008 Hyundai Accent manual transmission with under 40,000 miles on it and it was in her price range! She test drove it Saturday, came home and did some research, and we went back to get it last Tuesday. She was really excited.
Fast forward to Saturday, and after driving it for less than 300 miles, the check engine light started flashing. She was leaving work, and was getting ready to head home. Carl, Elliott, and I were at the movie theater watching Frankenweenie. As soon as our movie was over, we met her, and Carl discovered some pretty significant problems on her car, especially considering how few miles it had on it. She had some time left on her bumper to bumper warranty, plus an extended car care warranty, but it was still very frustrating. And she had to take my husband's truck to work again on Sunday.
Sunday night we car shopped online, and found a Toyota Carolla Matrix that was right in her price range. It's older and has significantly more mileage but it's a Toyota, so will probably last longer (she has decided that my husband's 1998 Tacoma is the most reliable of our fleet, and it has almost 240000 miles on it). We did the research and discovered it was most likely a good car, and to make it even better, it was at the dealership where she liked the sales guy the best. We had to wait and see if the first dealership would go ahead and take the car back as part of it's 5 day guarantee, though, since it was technically up by the time she could get ahold of someone, even though the problems started during the first 5 days. It was surprisingly easy to give it back, though. So she is now the proud owner of a 2003 Matrix, with a brand new transmission and tires. It's even a stick!
I'm really hoping that this turns out to be a great car. I like it better than I liked the Accent, and Elliott does as well (he's going to be riding back and forth to school with her a lot starting next week when she starts teaching at his school). We took a chance on it, by not taking my husband with us when we looked at it and test drove it yesterday (she bought it then as well), but based on what I've heard and experienced with that dealership and sales guy, I'm confident they wouldn't sell it to us with known problems. My husband did check it out last night, and said we did good. :)
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
50% Off Clearance Toys at KMart
Yesterday I spent most of the day in Minot. My sister and I went straight from dropping Elliott off at school to a dealership in Minot so she could get a new car after her engine went out last week. While we were waiting for finance approval we decided to do a little bit of Christmas shopping. At Target we found a few things in the stationary department on clearance, but not much that we needed. I bought a few scrapbooking stickers and one activity book for Elliott for Christmas (it was the Amazing SpiderMan and was half price).
After we got a call back saying they were ready for her to sign all the papers to pick up her new car, I decided it was already late enough in the day that I might as well not even go back home before going to pick Elliott up from school. So we had lunch and then we headed to Kmart. My sister works there, and had to be there about 15 minutes later anyway. She mentioned that clearance toys were 50% off, which I hadn't even noticed in the ad. So I went back to take a look.
I don't know about you guys, but it seems like Kmart is pretty hit or miss on clearance toy prices. Yesterday they had a bunch! Our Kmart has a pretty big section in the back for clearance, and most of the shelves were pretty well stocked! I ended up buying things like Legos, Squinkies, and Barbies and got great deals on all of them. I would post a picture of some of my favorite finds but my son would see and some of them are surprises. :)
This year seems to be shaping up to be pretty full of birthday parties. He's already been invited to three, and another mom approached me the other day to ask if I could help chaperone a party at a pizza place for her son next month. Last year there were four in February alone, so we haven't even hit the busy season! I always let Elliott go to the parties if he wants to, so I definitely take advantage of big sales to get things that I know his friends are into at great prices.
We also use these sales to Christmas and birthday shop for Elliott and his cousins, as well as the children that we buy for at Christmas. Yesterday I bought a big Squinkies amusement park toy (originally priced at almost $50, and I paid just over $20), several sets of Legos (orginally $14-38 each, I paid $6-15), and a few other things that need to remain a secret. :)
If you haven't already checked it out, I would encourage you to do so this week. Also, even if your store has a clearance section for toys, check in the regular toy section as well, because sometimes they are mixed in, and you can score great deals where other people aren't looking.
After we got a call back saying they were ready for her to sign all the papers to pick up her new car, I decided it was already late enough in the day that I might as well not even go back home before going to pick Elliott up from school. So we had lunch and then we headed to Kmart. My sister works there, and had to be there about 15 minutes later anyway. She mentioned that clearance toys were 50% off, which I hadn't even noticed in the ad. So I went back to take a look.
I don't know about you guys, but it seems like Kmart is pretty hit or miss on clearance toy prices. Yesterday they had a bunch! Our Kmart has a pretty big section in the back for clearance, and most of the shelves were pretty well stocked! I ended up buying things like Legos, Squinkies, and Barbies and got great deals on all of them. I would post a picture of some of my favorite finds but my son would see and some of them are surprises. :)
This year seems to be shaping up to be pretty full of birthday parties. He's already been invited to three, and another mom approached me the other day to ask if I could help chaperone a party at a pizza place for her son next month. Last year there were four in February alone, so we haven't even hit the busy season! I always let Elliott go to the parties if he wants to, so I definitely take advantage of big sales to get things that I know his friends are into at great prices.
We also use these sales to Christmas and birthday shop for Elliott and his cousins, as well as the children that we buy for at Christmas. Yesterday I bought a big Squinkies amusement park toy (originally priced at almost $50, and I paid just over $20), several sets of Legos (orginally $14-38 each, I paid $6-15), and a few other things that need to remain a secret. :)
If you haven't already checked it out, I would encourage you to do so this week. Also, even if your store has a clearance section for toys, check in the regular toy section as well, because sometimes they are mixed in, and you can score great deals where other people aren't looking.
Monday, October 1, 2012
What a Morning!
Today was one of those mornings where it felt like everything was going fine, and then suddenly it stopped! We were up and around early enough, and Elliott even had time to sit at the table and eat his breakfast, as opposed to eating it on the way to school! But then when I told him to find a jacket, there was meltdown, because he didn't actually hang any of them up yesterday when we were putting away laundry. And then he couldn't find his backpack (which was actually right where it was supposed to be, only it was under the jacket that he couldn't find from Friday!). And then I couldn't find the van keys! Normally I would just grab to car keys and go anyway (there's a key to all three vehicles on both the keychains that have a remote attached), but today my husband was in the car, so my sister could use his truck, since her car bit the dust on Thursday. It turns out she had grabbed my van keys because she wasn't paying any attention, and thought she had a different set of keys that has the key to the storage unit. Luckily that unit is just about 2 blocks away, so when she got there and discovered she had the wrong keys, she was able to come back and hand them over before it made Elliott late for school. I was still pretty irritated, though, since we were tearing the room apart and I had already called my husband at work, figuring he had taken my keys along with his (which has happened more times than he would probably admit to).
Anyway, I got Elliott to school on time. His school encourages the children to play outside assuming it's not raining or snowing, or colder than like -20 or something. So normally we get there about 20 minutes before school starts so he can play outside with his friends that ride the bus. Today we were only about 10 minutes early, but his best friend had missed the bus and was pulling up just after us anyway, so it worked out! Apparently it was a rough morning everywhere!
Anyway, I got Elliott to school on time. His school encourages the children to play outside assuming it's not raining or snowing, or colder than like -20 or something. So normally we get there about 20 minutes before school starts so he can play outside with his friends that ride the bus. Today we were only about 10 minutes early, but his best friend had missed the bus and was pulling up just after us anyway, so it worked out! Apparently it was a rough morning everywhere!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Christmas Planning
We usually start Christmas shopping as soon as Christmas is over the year before, and try to have at least 95% of it done by the end of November. The only reason we wait that long is because we tend to do a lot of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping.
This year I'm having more trouble keeping things secret from Elliott. He's an excellent reader and speller (he tests about 4 grade levels ahead in reading right now), so if he can FIND a list, he can definitely read it. Plus with all the remodeling in the basement, we've temporarily lost 2 of our hiding spots. Add to that the fact that he now knows how to see what we've ordered on Amazon (my husband showed him, so he could see if he had already bought a game for the Kindle Fire), and we are having trouble this year.
One thing that we've done to keep secrets is order it through another website, with other things for him. This works right now because we are always gone on Saturdays, so my sister is the one that checks the mail most of the time, and during the week it comes while he's in school. If we order other stuff for him, the box that says Kohl's or wherever on the side doesn't arouse suspicion. :) And it's already open when he gets home, so he doesn't see anything that comes out of the box!
Another thing we've done is order books through Scholastic. We ended up ordering through my sister last month, and then my mom mailed them up here (which once again is no big deal, because packages from Nama frequently come anyway). His teacher did send a note home telling us to just let her know if we wanted to keep anything that we order a secret from them, though, because she could keep them until we arranged a time to pick them up, closer to Christmas or birthdays. If we order any more books we want to keep a secret, we will probably go that route.
We don't keep everything a secret, though. We don't see any big deal with him knowing already that he's getting certain Super Hero toys, or a specific Lego set.
This year I'm having more trouble keeping things secret from Elliott. He's an excellent reader and speller (he tests about 4 grade levels ahead in reading right now), so if he can FIND a list, he can definitely read it. Plus with all the remodeling in the basement, we've temporarily lost 2 of our hiding spots. Add to that the fact that he now knows how to see what we've ordered on Amazon (my husband showed him, so he could see if he had already bought a game for the Kindle Fire), and we are having trouble this year.
One thing that we've done to keep secrets is order it through another website, with other things for him. This works right now because we are always gone on Saturdays, so my sister is the one that checks the mail most of the time, and during the week it comes while he's in school. If we order other stuff for him, the box that says Kohl's or wherever on the side doesn't arouse suspicion. :) And it's already open when he gets home, so he doesn't see anything that comes out of the box!
Another thing we've done is order books through Scholastic. We ended up ordering through my sister last month, and then my mom mailed them up here (which once again is no big deal, because packages from Nama frequently come anyway). His teacher did send a note home telling us to just let her know if we wanted to keep anything that we order a secret from them, though, because she could keep them until we arranged a time to pick them up, closer to Christmas or birthdays. If we order any more books we want to keep a secret, we will probably go that route.
We don't keep everything a secret, though. We don't see any big deal with him knowing already that he's getting certain Super Hero toys, or a specific Lego set.
Monday, September 24, 2012
The Avengers on Sale
Well, I'm finally getting back into the swing of things. I tried to post this on Friday, but then I got too busy. We're pet sitting right now, so in addition to trying to get caught up from last week I'm also busy with that. The pets just live next door so it's not a big deal or anything.
I had planned on posting about a few deals last week, but they have since expired, and I just didn't feel up to it last week. Sorry.
This week one deal worth mentioning is the new Avengers movie. It seems to be on sale everywhere, and there are a lot of freebies available depending on where you buy it. I preordered our copy a few weeks ago on Amazon. We bought the 3D blu ray/blu ray/dvd combo pack, and it's now $24.99. You can get the combo pack without the 3D blu ray for $19.99 and the DVD version for $16.99. Those prices seem to be pretty standard when compared to brick and mortar stores as well. So I guess the best way to decide where you want to buy is to see what extras come with it. Amazon still might be your best bet if you are wanting to buy it for a gift and want it delivered to your door, though, especially if you live in a state where you don't have to pay tax on Amazon purchases. As always shipping is free with a Prime membership, or a $25 purchase.
I had planned on posting about a few deals last week, but they have since expired, and I just didn't feel up to it last week. Sorry.
This week one deal worth mentioning is the new Avengers movie. It seems to be on sale everywhere, and there are a lot of freebies available depending on where you buy it. I preordered our copy a few weeks ago on Amazon. We bought the 3D blu ray/blu ray/dvd combo pack, and it's now $24.99. You can get the combo pack without the 3D blu ray for $19.99 and the DVD version for $16.99. Those prices seem to be pretty standard when compared to brick and mortar stores as well. So I guess the best way to decide where you want to buy is to see what extras come with it. Amazon still might be your best bet if you are wanting to buy it for a gift and want it delivered to your door, though, especially if you live in a state where you don't have to pay tax on Amazon purchases. As always shipping is free with a Prime membership, or a $25 purchase.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Strep Throat, Double Ear Infections and Pink Eye!
I started 2 blog posts this weekend and had planned on posting at least one of them yesterday. Instead I spent the morning at the doctor's office, and the afternoon in bed. After picking my son up, I think I managed to stay awake until he went to bed, but I was probably actually asleep before he was, although that didn't last long. I ended up on the reclining love seat most of the night, but did finally manage to get a little better sleep this morning after Elliott was taken to school.
It turns out that whatever my son brought home last week (he was home sick on Wednesday) mutated into strep and a double ear infection for me. My husband also has pink eye!
So I'm sorry that I haven't been around much this week. I'm hoping to be back on for a little while longer tomorrow, and back to my regular schedule by Thursday or Friday!
It turns out that whatever my son brought home last week (he was home sick on Wednesday) mutated into strep and a double ear infection for me. My husband also has pink eye!
So I'm sorry that I haven't been around much this week. I'm hoping to be back on for a little while longer tomorrow, and back to my regular schedule by Thursday or Friday!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Great Deals at Old Navy!
This morning I realized that my son is in need of some new jeans. The size 7 that he had on fit perfect length wise, so now I need to go through his dresser and laundry basket and pull out all the size 6. That means that I had to go in search of a jeans sale and Old Navy didn't disappoint!
Old Navy jeans are just about the only jeans my son will wear now, because he loves the way they fit, and he became an especially big fan when his five year old fingers had trouble working a button through a button hole on other brands. Old Navy jeans have a snap closure (that looks like a button) all the way up to a size 8. Another thing we like about them is that they have an adjustable waistband. My son is tall (the tallest kid in his class), and pretty thin, so an adjustable waistband is a must.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
It Feels Great to Pay Cash!
My husband and I have been married for over 7 years. When we got married, he had his wrecked S10 sitting in Missouri, and a Dodge Ram that was financed. I had a Chevy Cavalier that was also financed. When I was about 5 months pregnant with Elliott we decided we needed a 4 door car to make it easier to get him in and out. We also had 2 dogs and knew we were getting ready to take possession of a cat that our neighbors didn't want anymore. With all the traveling we do, we decided that the single cab Ram and the Cavalier would neither one work, so off we went to the dealership. We traded in the truck (and were upside down by over $5,000!) on a brand new Malibu Maxx. We gave my sister a small sum of money to make up the difference in what we owed and what the Cavalier was worth and she took over payments (the car and loan were both primary in my dad's name anyway, and he didn't want to do all the paperwork to just get a new loan anyway). We just used the one car since we lived on base and both worked on base. It was no big deal for one of us to get rides from someone else if we needed, and my husband even rode his bike a lot of times.
Fast forward to last year. We had traded in the Malibu Maxx (which we still regret) on an Uplander to make traveling with three dogs, a child, two adults and a cat easier. We still only had one car, and my husband's unreliable truck, but knew that with Elliott starting school, we needed a second car. We live approximately 17 miles from his school. The bus is an option, but not one I wanted to use. It was just too much time away, and since he really needs a lot of sleep, it would have cut too much into our family time. So we bought a 2005 Impala, but still ended up financing part of it.
We've had that car for about 1.5 years now, and the Uplander for 4.5 years. The Impala has started showing signs of a possible transmission problems, especially when it's hot out, so we decided to look around at cars. After checking out dealerships, and seeing what the new cars were like, and what their prices were like, we decided to look at much older cars instead. We had about $2200 saved for car repairs, because we knew that the transmission is a pretty regular problem on the Impala we have, and it hasn't been replaced yet (it's got around 120K miles on it).
After looking at a few different trucks under $3000 (we decided we could use part of our savings if we needed to), we were about to give up on getting my husband a truck like he wanted, and started looking at cars. Then we found a 1998 Toyota Tacoma. It has 232,000 miles on it, but it runs great and has been well taken care of. We paid $1700 for it. And really, even if it doesn't last that long, it's still a better investment than any other car we've ever bought. We've ended up losing quite a bit more than $1700 on every other car we've had (like I said, on the Ram, we lost $5000 on it, not counting the year and a half that my husband had paid over $500 a month). My husband has done just a few things to the Tacoma since he bought it, like changing spark plugs, and fixing the bumper. He's also replaced the radio, but that's all been pretty cheap (he used the radio out of his S10). He really likes it, and it feels great to not have a car payment on it!
Fast forward to last year. We had traded in the Malibu Maxx (which we still regret) on an Uplander to make traveling with three dogs, a child, two adults and a cat easier. We still only had one car, and my husband's unreliable truck, but knew that with Elliott starting school, we needed a second car. We live approximately 17 miles from his school. The bus is an option, but not one I wanted to use. It was just too much time away, and since he really needs a lot of sleep, it would have cut too much into our family time. So we bought a 2005 Impala, but still ended up financing part of it.
We've had that car for about 1.5 years now, and the Uplander for 4.5 years. The Impala has started showing signs of a possible transmission problems, especially when it's hot out, so we decided to look around at cars. After checking out dealerships, and seeing what the new cars were like, and what their prices were like, we decided to look at much older cars instead. We had about $2200 saved for car repairs, because we knew that the transmission is a pretty regular problem on the Impala we have, and it hasn't been replaced yet (it's got around 120K miles on it).
After looking at a few different trucks under $3000 (we decided we could use part of our savings if we needed to), we were about to give up on getting my husband a truck like he wanted, and started looking at cars. Then we found a 1998 Toyota Tacoma. It has 232,000 miles on it, but it runs great and has been well taken care of. We paid $1700 for it. And really, even if it doesn't last that long, it's still a better investment than any other car we've ever bought. We've ended up losing quite a bit more than $1700 on every other car we've had (like I said, on the Ram, we lost $5000 on it, not counting the year and a half that my husband had paid over $500 a month). My husband has done just a few things to the Tacoma since he bought it, like changing spark plugs, and fixing the bumper. He's also replaced the radio, but that's all been pretty cheap (he used the radio out of his S10). He really likes it, and it feels great to not have a car payment on it!
 |
| My husband's "new" truck! |
Monday, September 10, 2012
Disney Movie Deals at Amazon
Amazon has a promotion going on right now, where if you buy 2 Disney movies from a certain list, you save an additional $10. We actually did this about 2 weeks ago, and spent less than $40 total for 2 Blu Ray/DVD combo packs. I even live in a state that gets charged tax on Amazon orders. The list of available movies is here. This promotion goes through the end of the month, and includes several movies that have just been released from the vault, or have just recently been released on blu ray, as well as newer movies like Chimpanzee.
The prices have changed a little since I ordered mine, but most of them are still right around $25 each, making the total about $40 if you don't get charged tax.
These could be great Christmas presents! It's hard to find Disney Blu Ray/DVD combo packs cheaper than about $20 each. We love the combo packs so we have the DVD for in the car on long car rides, and the Blu Ray for when we watch at home.
The prices have changed a little since I ordered mine, but most of them are still right around $25 each, making the total about $40 if you don't get charged tax.
These could be great Christmas presents! It's hard to find Disney Blu Ray/DVD combo packs cheaper than about $20 each. We love the combo packs so we have the DVD for in the car on long car rides, and the Blu Ray for when we watch at home.
Cash VS Credit, Which Do You Use?
My husband and I are reworking our budget yet again right now, because he really wants a Sleep Number bed, but I'm not sure I want the extra payment. Paying cash isn't even really an option right now, since we just bought a truck for my husband (and paid cash!!), and we're in the middle of the basement remodel. We are going to have to buy a new bed soon, though. Ours has two springs sticking out the side now, and no matter how many times my husband tries to fix it, they poke back through and end up ripping sheets. Sheets are too expensive to replace every few weeks!
Anyway, when looking around for creative ideas of ways to cut our budget, I keep seeing people say that switching to cash is the easiest way to do it. That doesn't work for my family. We've tried it two or three times, and we usually end up spending MORE when we have cash, than when we don't.
Anyway, when looking around for creative ideas of ways to cut our budget, I keep seeing people say that switching to cash is the easiest way to do it. That doesn't work for my family. We've tried it two or three times, and we usually end up spending MORE when we have cash, than when we don't.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Do You Do Superpoints?
Today I'm having a lot of luck on the Superpoints lucky button. I hit 25 twice, 5 once, and 2 points 3 times, for a total of 66 points. I only get 30 tries a day, since I don't have any referrals.
If you aren't a member of Superpoints, I would suggest signing up. It's a fairly slow earner if you don't have referrals, but it's super easy. You just click the lucky button and see if you win anything. I do it while I'm doing other stuff online, so it doesn't take up much time at all. They offer all kinds of gift cards, and they start at a $5 giftcard for 600 points. Even basic members can now cash out at 1000 points or more, while platinum can cash out at 500 points.
Basic members (no referrals, or only 1) get 30 clicks a day, while gold (2-4 referrals) get 50 clicks and platinum (5+ friends) get 100 clicks a day.
I actually have two 25 point invites that I got today, if you are interested. Just click the link, sign up, and validate your email address and you will get 25 points!
http://superpoints.com/bonus/2js8cy
superpoints.com/bonus/ozo06w
If you aren't a member of Superpoints, I would suggest signing up. It's a fairly slow earner if you don't have referrals, but it's super easy. You just click the lucky button and see if you win anything. I do it while I'm doing other stuff online, so it doesn't take up much time at all. They offer all kinds of gift cards, and they start at a $5 giftcard for 600 points. Even basic members can now cash out at 1000 points or more, while platinum can cash out at 500 points.
Basic members (no referrals, or only 1) get 30 clicks a day, while gold (2-4 referrals) get 50 clicks and platinum (5+ friends) get 100 clicks a day.
I actually have two 25 point invites that I got today, if you are interested. Just click the link, sign up, and validate your email address and you will get 25 points!
http://superpoints.com/bonus/2js8cy
superpoints.com/bonus/ozo06w
Clearance School Supplies
School has been back in session here for about 2.5 weeks. That means that a lot of back to school stuff is on clearance. We bought most of Elliott's supplies before school started, but waited until the clearance sales to buy the stuff we just wanted, but didn't have to have.
Some of the best deals we've found were lunchboxes at 50% off (he takes his lunch everyday, so we got 2 new ones to add to the rotation of the ones he used in kindergarten, since he leaves them at school sometimes), and crayons at $.25 each. The cheapest we found Crayola crayons before school started was $.40, so when we were able to get them for $.25 each, we grabbed a few boxes. We choose names from the Christmas tree at Walmart or KMart every year, and always include a box of crayons and a coloring book or two if we choose children the right age. :) Elliott often gets crayons for Christmas, too.
We also picked up a few more notebooks for $.16-25 each to use at home. Elliott needed 2 for school this year, and that will probably last all year, or at least most of it, since he's only in first grade.
We also found some Lego school supplies on clearance. Elliott is REALLY into Legos right now, so he actually used his own money to buy the pencil sharpener and pencils. They were on clearance for a decent price, so I feel like he used his money wisely.
Some of the best deals we've found were lunchboxes at 50% off (he takes his lunch everyday, so we got 2 new ones to add to the rotation of the ones he used in kindergarten, since he leaves them at school sometimes), and crayons at $.25 each. The cheapest we found Crayola crayons before school started was $.40, so when we were able to get them for $.25 each, we grabbed a few boxes. We choose names from the Christmas tree at Walmart or KMart every year, and always include a box of crayons and a coloring book or two if we choose children the right age. :) Elliott often gets crayons for Christmas, too.
We also picked up a few more notebooks for $.16-25 each to use at home. Elliott needed 2 for school this year, and that will probably last all year, or at least most of it, since he's only in first grade.
We also found some Lego school supplies on clearance. Elliott is REALLY into Legos right now, so he actually used his own money to buy the pencil sharpener and pencils. They were on clearance for a decent price, so I feel like he used his money wisely.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Saving Money on Vacation
My family took two vacations this summer. And we paid for both with cash. Our first vacation was to Missouri, where we are both from. We stayed with my parents, so that saved us a bunch of money . Our second vacation was to Washington state, though, where we know no one. We were still able to save a bunch of money.
Travel by car if it's cheaper.
We travel by car when we travel because we often take our two dogs. We also live in the Minot, ND area, where it costs around $500 per person to fly anywhere. It's MUCH cheaper to drive where we need to go, even counting stays in a hotel. We also like the freedom to stop in various places.
Travel with others.
Even though we are only a family of three we own a minivan. That means that we are often able to invite others on vacation with us. In addition to having more fun with extended family, they can also help pay for gas and even hotel stays so we save money that way. My sister lives with us now and was able to get off work to travel with us to Missouri. When we went to Washington in July, we invited one of my other sisters and my aunt, and met my sister in law there. We were able to rent a larger suite and saved a lot of money over paying for just a hotel room. We stayed in a 2 bedroom suite in one area and a 4 bedroom beach house in the other.
Pack your own snacks and meals.
Another way we save money while traveling is to pack a cooler. My family isn't necessarily big into sandwiches, but we also pack fresh fruits and easy to eat veggies, along with beef jerky, sunflower seeds, and trail mix. Throw in some juice boxes, soda, and bottled water, and we are set! We limit our eating out to once a day or less, and maybe one additional drink from a gas station (if they are cheap, like they often are in the summer), while we are on the road. When we are at our destination we try to stick to the same limits on eating out, but if we are busy, we sometimes have to eat out twice in one day. That works on a budget if you plan carefully.
Look for good deals.
Another way we saved money was to look on groupon and livingsocial for the area we knew we would be traveling. We ended up getting vouchers for 2 different area restaurants this time, but there were other options as well, just none that we wanted to do this time.
Plan Ahead.
I always start planning for a vacation several months in advance. In fact, we are already laying the groundwork for our family vacation next summer! By planning ahead you can often find a great deal on lodging. We ended up paying $125 a night for a 4 bedroom cottage just a few minutes from a beach on the Washington coast. Just outside of Seattle, we got a 2 bedroom suite (with a pull out couch in the living room) in a decent hotel for just over $100 per night, by booking early and using an additional discount. They even upgraded us for free! If you are traveling with others, this can really save you money. We had full kitchens in both units, so that made eating in much cheaper and more appealing.
Plan to relax.
We did a lot of things in Washington, but we made sure to leave some free time, to just sit on the beach and relax, or play games in our room. That helped us recharge our batteries, and helped us save money.
Travel by car if it's cheaper.
We travel by car when we travel because we often take our two dogs. We also live in the Minot, ND area, where it costs around $500 per person to fly anywhere. It's MUCH cheaper to drive where we need to go, even counting stays in a hotel. We also like the freedom to stop in various places.
Travel with others.
Even though we are only a family of three we own a minivan. That means that we are often able to invite others on vacation with us. In addition to having more fun with extended family, they can also help pay for gas and even hotel stays so we save money that way. My sister lives with us now and was able to get off work to travel with us to Missouri. When we went to Washington in July, we invited one of my other sisters and my aunt, and met my sister in law there. We were able to rent a larger suite and saved a lot of money over paying for just a hotel room. We stayed in a 2 bedroom suite in one area and a 4 bedroom beach house in the other.
Pack your own snacks and meals.
Another way we save money while traveling is to pack a cooler. My family isn't necessarily big into sandwiches, but we also pack fresh fruits and easy to eat veggies, along with beef jerky, sunflower seeds, and trail mix. Throw in some juice boxes, soda, and bottled water, and we are set! We limit our eating out to once a day or less, and maybe one additional drink from a gas station (if they are cheap, like they often are in the summer), while we are on the road. When we are at our destination we try to stick to the same limits on eating out, but if we are busy, we sometimes have to eat out twice in one day. That works on a budget if you plan carefully.
Look for good deals.
Another way we saved money was to look on groupon and livingsocial for the area we knew we would be traveling. We ended up getting vouchers for 2 different area restaurants this time, but there were other options as well, just none that we wanted to do this time.
Plan Ahead.
I always start planning for a vacation several months in advance. In fact, we are already laying the groundwork for our family vacation next summer! By planning ahead you can often find a great deal on lodging. We ended up paying $125 a night for a 4 bedroom cottage just a few minutes from a beach on the Washington coast. Just outside of Seattle, we got a 2 bedroom suite (with a pull out couch in the living room) in a decent hotel for just over $100 per night, by booking early and using an additional discount. They even upgraded us for free! If you are traveling with others, this can really save you money. We had full kitchens in both units, so that made eating in much cheaper and more appealing.
Plan to relax.
We did a lot of things in Washington, but we made sure to leave some free time, to just sit on the beach and relax, or play games in our room. That helped us recharge our batteries, and helped us save money.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
How Do Moms With Big Families Do It?
I only have one son, who is six. We have still been so busy this summer that I rarely have more than a few minutes a day to get online, so blogging has been nearly impossible. I really admire Moms (especially who have more children!) who can make time for stuff online every day, or at least a few times a week without neglecting their children.
Summer is definitely my favorite time of year now that my son is in school. I love all the fun stuff we get to do together, and I love being around him all the time. This summer we have gone on two vacations, spent a day at the state fair, gone to the playground multiple times, and spent a lot of time just playing at home. We're hoping for a weekend trip to Bismarck weekend after next to go to the zoo, since we didn't have time in Missouri and our zoo in Minot isn't open this year (because of the flooding last year).
School starts in just three short weeks here. I'm not sure if I'll find more time online or not. I plan on driving Elliott to and from school again this year, and that takes quite a while every day.
We're planning on finishing up our school shopping tomorrow. I hope everyone is finding great deals! If you are shopping for school clothes don't forget to look online for coupons and the best prices.
Summer is definitely my favorite time of year now that my son is in school. I love all the fun stuff we get to do together, and I love being around him all the time. This summer we have gone on two vacations, spent a day at the state fair, gone to the playground multiple times, and spent a lot of time just playing at home. We're hoping for a weekend trip to Bismarck weekend after next to go to the zoo, since we didn't have time in Missouri and our zoo in Minot isn't open this year (because of the flooding last year).
School starts in just three short weeks here. I'm not sure if I'll find more time online or not. I plan on driving Elliott to and from school again this year, and that takes quite a while every day.
We're planning on finishing up our school shopping tomorrow. I hope everyone is finding great deals! If you are shopping for school clothes don't forget to look online for coupons and the best prices.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Happy Independence Day!
My husband is off work today and tomorrow, so we are planning on spending a lot of time together as a family. We're planning on going to see an air show and possibly the Amazing Spider-Man today, plus some fireworks tonight. If we don't see Spider-Man today, it will definitely be in the plans for tomorrow. Elliott has been counting down the days since they released the date. He's been quick to inform me all week this week that we were missing it the first day it was in theaters because of Daddy's work. Haha.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys today and gets to celebrate America's Birthday!
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys today and gets to celebrate America's Birthday!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
One Busy Summer!
I'm not sure how so many bloggers manage to post everyday. I know part of it is because I don't treat blogging like a real job, but I seem to have a terrible time finding the time necessary to blog.
We just got home from our first summer vacation over the weekend. We went "home" to Missouri to celebrate my dad's 65th birthday. Darla was able to get the time off to go with us, and we were there for about 2 weeks. Since we stay with my parents, it was a pretty frugal vacation. We did end up doing some shopping (although the fact that there were 3 adults, a child, and 2 dogs traveling together in a minivan meant we had to really watch what we bought so we would have room). But overall we stuck to our budget pretty well.
It's always amazing going home and seeing how much things have changed in the area. The growth in SW MO isn't nearly as fast as it is here, but since it had been almost a year since we had been there, there was still plenty of new stuff. We didn't get to check out nearly as much of it as we had hoped, but that seems to always be the case. We had planned on going to Kansas City, or at least Branson, but didn't have a chance. The only touristy thing we really did was a trip to the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield. Haha. It was actually the first time we had ever even taken Elliott there even though we had been meaning to for years. He loved it there, and wants to go back every summer now. :)
Assuming my husband gets the leave he requested, we are only going to be home for about 2 more weeks before taking another vacation. My husband just switched work centers, though, so we still aren't sure on his leave. If it goes through, we leave for Washington in just over 2 weeks. We will be spending some time in Spokane, Seattle, and right on the beach.
We just got home from our first summer vacation over the weekend. We went "home" to Missouri to celebrate my dad's 65th birthday. Darla was able to get the time off to go with us, and we were there for about 2 weeks. Since we stay with my parents, it was a pretty frugal vacation. We did end up doing some shopping (although the fact that there were 3 adults, a child, and 2 dogs traveling together in a minivan meant we had to really watch what we bought so we would have room). But overall we stuck to our budget pretty well.
It's always amazing going home and seeing how much things have changed in the area. The growth in SW MO isn't nearly as fast as it is here, but since it had been almost a year since we had been there, there was still plenty of new stuff. We didn't get to check out nearly as much of it as we had hoped, but that seems to always be the case. We had planned on going to Kansas City, or at least Branson, but didn't have a chance. The only touristy thing we really did was a trip to the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield. Haha. It was actually the first time we had ever even taken Elliott there even though we had been meaning to for years. He loved it there, and wants to go back every summer now. :)
Assuming my husband gets the leave he requested, we are only going to be home for about 2 more weeks before taking another vacation. My husband just switched work centers, though, so we still aren't sure on his leave. If it goes through, we leave for Washington in just over 2 weeks. We will be spending some time in Spokane, Seattle, and right on the beach.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Kindergarten is Over!
My son is at school right now for his last day of kindergarten. His graduation was yesterday, and he got to go home from that with us, so it was a really short day. Monday was their field trip, so their last day of regular school with school work and everything was last week. I can not believe that he's already done with kindergarten. It seems like it just started!
In order to celebrate his graduation yesterday, we went out to eat and did a little shopping. The Secret World of Arrietty was released on Blu-ray/DVD this week, so my son was really excited to get that. Before it was in theaters, we saw the trailer several times, and he was so excited to see it in the movie theater. Our theater even had posters up. Then when opening weekend came, it never showed up. My husband told him then that we would buy it as soon as it came out on Blu-ray, so we did just that.
We went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and got some scrapbooking stuff. All of the scrapbooking paper is on sale for 50% off this week, along with the stickers by the Paper Studios. We mainly only needed plain paper for Cricut cutting, but ended up choosing another pad of paper as well. And Elliott chose some stickers for his kindergarten scrapbook. It's no wonder my husband will only go there when I have a giftcard. Haha.
I think summer vacation will be good for our budget. Obviously the actual vacation part where we leave the state will cost us quite a bit, but we are less than $300 from our savings goal for that. Being out of school means we will spend a lot less on gas, since I drive Elliott back and forth to school, for a total of about 350 miles a week. Elliott and I will make a lot more trips to do fun things than we do during the school year, but there's a playground within walking distance, and we have a decent size pool in our backyard, so those trips will be limited. Our zoo isn't open this year (because of the flood last year) that limits what we will end up doing even more.
In order to celebrate his graduation yesterday, we went out to eat and did a little shopping. The Secret World of Arrietty was released on Blu-ray/DVD this week, so my son was really excited to get that. Before it was in theaters, we saw the trailer several times, and he was so excited to see it in the movie theater. Our theater even had posters up. Then when opening weekend came, it never showed up. My husband told him then that we would buy it as soon as it came out on Blu-ray, so we did just that.
We went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and got some scrapbooking stuff. All of the scrapbooking paper is on sale for 50% off this week, along with the stickers by the Paper Studios. We mainly only needed plain paper for Cricut cutting, but ended up choosing another pad of paper as well. And Elliott chose some stickers for his kindergarten scrapbook. It's no wonder my husband will only go there when I have a giftcard. Haha.
I think summer vacation will be good for our budget. Obviously the actual vacation part where we leave the state will cost us quite a bit, but we are less than $300 from our savings goal for that. Being out of school means we will spend a lot less on gas, since I drive Elliott back and forth to school, for a total of about 350 miles a week. Elliott and I will make a lot more trips to do fun things than we do during the school year, but there's a playground within walking distance, and we have a decent size pool in our backyard, so those trips will be limited. Our zoo isn't open this year (because of the flood last year) that limits what we will end up doing even more.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Summer Vacations
I know I haven't been around much this year. We've made a few changes recently, and we are still adjusting. We're just now getting fully adjusted to my sister living here, and she's been here since the end of January. We're also doing a fair amount of remodeling and rearranging to make everyone more comfortable.
I can't believe it's already May. My son has less than 3 weeks left of kindergarten! Our summer is going to be really busy, too. We're going "home" to Missouri next month for a big birthday party for my dad (he turned 65 yesterday, but since we live so far away, we decided to wait until June, when everyone can come). I think we will be there about 2 weeks. Then in July we're taking another vacation, to Washington state. My little sister is going with us to Missouri, but she'll be staying here to take care of the pets in July. One of my older sisters and one of my aunts are driving up here in July, and then going to Washington with us, though, so that should be a lot of fun. My sister in law will also be flying into Seattle and spending a long weekend with us. We're renting a beach side cottage, and getting a great deal on it, so the vacation will be pretty frugal.
We had originally planned on skipping a family vacation this year, but ultimately decided to go ahead and do it for a variety of reasons. My husband hasn't seen his sister for at least 2 years, and possibly even longer. She was planning on coming up here, but with the remodel and everything, I was trying to figure out some way to make it work better and more comfortably for everyone. It turns out that flying into Seattle, and then helping us pay for a few nights on the beach actually saves money over flying into North Dakota. So it works out better for her. Plus we've been wanting to visit Washington, and neither of us have ever been. When I said something to my sister she said she wanted to go to Washington, too, so we invited her along. And then invited my aunt as well. We've already managed to save over half the money we need for vacation, either from online earnings, credit card cash back, or just money we didn't spend on certain areas of our budget. We should be able to save the rest of it pretty easily between now and July without dipping into the money that is supposed to go toward debt every month.
I can't believe it's already May. My son has less than 3 weeks left of kindergarten! Our summer is going to be really busy, too. We're going "home" to Missouri next month for a big birthday party for my dad (he turned 65 yesterday, but since we live so far away, we decided to wait until June, when everyone can come). I think we will be there about 2 weeks. Then in July we're taking another vacation, to Washington state. My little sister is going with us to Missouri, but she'll be staying here to take care of the pets in July. One of my older sisters and one of my aunts are driving up here in July, and then going to Washington with us, though, so that should be a lot of fun. My sister in law will also be flying into Seattle and spending a long weekend with us. We're renting a beach side cottage, and getting a great deal on it, so the vacation will be pretty frugal.
We had originally planned on skipping a family vacation this year, but ultimately decided to go ahead and do it for a variety of reasons. My husband hasn't seen his sister for at least 2 years, and possibly even longer. She was planning on coming up here, but with the remodel and everything, I was trying to figure out some way to make it work better and more comfortably for everyone. It turns out that flying into Seattle, and then helping us pay for a few nights on the beach actually saves money over flying into North Dakota. So it works out better for her. Plus we've been wanting to visit Washington, and neither of us have ever been. When I said something to my sister she said she wanted to go to Washington, too, so we invited her along. And then invited my aunt as well. We've already managed to save over half the money we need for vacation, either from online earnings, credit card cash back, or just money we didn't spend on certain areas of our budget. We should be able to save the rest of it pretty easily between now and July without dipping into the money that is supposed to go toward debt every month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Vacation Countdown
