Success!!!

I finally got Joe to quit the gym! It is not that I am against the gym, it is just spending money every month when Joe NEVER goes to the gym!

So finally after a solid two months of gentle reminding and urging (nagging), tonight he did it!!

Hooray! I feel richer already!

Outcome of Fight Back Challenge

Well, sadly I lost my battle of the Nebraska taxes. I went to the on base tax center and they took a look at what happened. Somehow Turbo Tax calculated my taxes for Nebraska as if I was not a resident of Nebraska at all. So much to my dismay, I won't be due another 2,000 dollars like I wanted!

But I did not take this loss in stride....I vowed to figure out a way to fight someone! Instead of the Nebraska taxes, we are taking on our home phone. We hardly use the darned thing, but I really insist upon having one since I don't always keep my cell phone on me. Plus for emergency purposes I like to know where I can get to a phone that will get me to someone immediately. With a cell phone I never know where it is.

Right now we have Vonage, which I am very happy with. But my mom has something called a Magic Jack, that is 40 dollars for two years! We almost pay that much for one month of Vonage! I am sending Joe tomorrow to get the Magic Jack.

In addition we are considering switching from our local cable company, to satellite. I think it will be cheaper, I am just concerned about installation fees and such. We need to sit down and figure all that out and if it would indeed be cheaper.

One money saving thing I did this week was make Homeade Yogurt. It turned out okay, just a little runnier than I had hoped. I will experiment and get it just right! There are several reasons I wanted to make my own yogurt. First my version will have much less sugar in it than the store bought. Plus it is much much cheaper! And there are no plastic cups to end up in the landfills since I put them in reusable containers.

I will keep you all updated on my Fight Back!

Fight Back!!

I read this blog called the Red Tape Chronicles, and read an inspiring post today.

It is about taking on some stupid fee in your life and taking an hour out of your day to fight back!

We pay too damned much for our tv, internet combo. This week I vow to spend some time trying to get it lowered, or switch to someone who is cheaper.

The other thing I vow to do is figure out our Nebraska taxes. After I did my taxes, I was supposed to get some money back from the state of Nebraska. Then we got a check in the mail for about half what I expected. NO explanation, No means to contact them to figure out....nothing. I will get to the bottom of this!!

I will report back in one week and let you know how it went....

What are you going to fight this week?

Victory(s) for this week, and some frustrations too!

1. I got just what I wanted for my birthday, a Roomba. I am sick of sweeping my gigantic downstairs everyday, only to have the dog and Jordy run by two seconds later and ruin it! At least now I don't have to sweep!
2. Joe and I had a wonderful day together this week. We went shopping and watched a movie together, sans Jordy! It was nice to sit and enjoy each others company without chasing a 2 year old...
3. We ate at a new Chinese buffet.
4. I got to spend three days at home with Joe and Jordy this week!

Frustrations:
1. The chinese food place was terrible! I hardly could eat anything there! Then we had to pay 30 dollars!! What a waste!
2. Jordy was so difficult today! He spent 3/4 of his day in timeout!
3. I mopped the floor this week. After I was done I was rinsing out the mop and a dead lizard came out of it. I was so disgusted I nearly passed out! I got all light headed and pasty and had to sit down. I just couldn't get the image of me spreading dead lizard all over my floor...ewwww!
4. I stayed home b/c I had the flu. I was home, but felt like hell!

Victory(s) for this week!

1. Jordy completed his first week at daycare. He did really well! He even was taking long naps while he was there. Plus he is drinking out of a cup like a champ now! At home Joe insists on giving him straws b/c Joe hates cleaning spills.
2. Joe took the GRE-He improved a lot, but was 80 points shy of his goal. I am still super proud of him!
3. I completed my first week of real work at the clinic. After being out of primary care for an entire year I was really worried about how much I would remember. But it seems to be coming back pretty quickly!
4. I may be able to finagle my schedule at work so I don't have to go to the 645 PT! It is still in the works...
5. After three weeks of meaning to, I finally got to the grocery store!
6. Joe and I have been doing good on our budget!

Victory(s) for this week!

I got Joe to agree to buy generic diapers and wipes.
I got Jordy signed up and ready for day care.
I actually got some documents scanned and emailed.
Applied for life insurance.
Had date night with Joe, we went out for sushi (yummy).
Planted an avocado tree in our yard.
Got the builders to remove a palm tree from our yard (it was dead).
Celebrated our 8 year anniversary!