Penny Pinching Mom

Finding Something That Works

It has been a long time since I seriously compared the top diet pills. I mean, seriously as contemplating trying one. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve tried them in my entire life. Once was in high school, once shortly before I met Hubby, and once about 4 years ago.

The last one I tried was TrimSpa. Out of the three brands I have experience with, it was the best. I lost about 15 pounds in a month or month and a half. But I plateaued there, and I quit taking them.

I gained the weight back, but it didn’t happen right away. So I don’t really have anything bad to say about TrimSpa, but I would like to find something that would help me lose more weight. 15 pounds would only be the tip of the iceberg for me.

As much as I would rather lose the weight without the help of diet pills, I need to lose it fairly quickly. Not crash diet quickly, but it needs to come off soon. So I’m thinking about trying Orovo. That’s not the only one I’m looking at, but right now it’s the front runner.

A Houseguest

Hubby decided that he would go get his cousin, who lives about an hour away, and bring him up to stay with us for a week. The purpose was so that he could do some work around the house for us while Hubby was on the job, and so he could help Hubby with some other stuff when he wasn’t working. But so far he hasn’t accomplished much at all.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy and all. He’s easy to get along with, and he acts like he has a little more sense than most of his family. But he’s a bit of a bum. He used to drink very heavily, to the point that he needed to be in alcohol rehab. But instead he’s started drinking non-alcoholic beer. The problem is, he drinks just as much of that as he did the real thing. And it’s hard to find around here, so when he runs out we have to go pretty far to get him more. He doesn’t have a driver’s license, so he can’t just go get it himself.

He has been here since Sunday evening, and up until today he only did five hours worth of work. Today Hubby is off at his job, so he has kept him pretty busy. But when he’s not, he will probably just be sitting around again for the most part.

Hubby is talking about having him up here every other week, and I’m not so sure that is a good idea. It’s a bit of a hassle for me, because I’m the one who has to chauffer him around when Hubby’s not here. And that cuts into my work time. Maybe he will change his mind.

I Want Mine Early Too!

I felt privileged because we were supposed to be among the first people to get our economic stimulus payment direct deposited into our account. But now I don’t feel so privileged anymore. I’ve been hearing reports that other people have been getting theirs early, but so far we haven’t gotten anything.

I’m assuming it’s because we’re at the upper end of the SSNs that would be getting the payments during the first round. I hope that’s it anyway. I really don’t want to have to wait any longer than I have to. We need that money to get some more materials so we can do more work on the house, and so we can put back enough for the house payment. I hope it at least shows up by the end of the week.

Going Down the Mountain

Pumpkin and I made a trip down the mountain yesterday to see my mom. As expensive as gas is now I thought about staying home, but I haven’t been up to visit the poor woman in ages. I had to cancel on her last weekend because I was sick, so I figured I had better keep my word.

I only had a quarter of a tank starting out, so I stopped at the state line to get gas. It’s the first station on the way up, and it’s in Virginia so it’s usually a little cheaper. It was only 4 cents cheaper this time though, so I got just enough to make it up there in hopes that it would be less expensive somewhere else.

I went on up and saw that it was in fact a little cheaper, but I decided to wait until I was on the way back to fill up. I’m glad I did, because we went through a town on the other side of where she lives to pick up a refrigerator that a friend of hers had given me, and it was a little cheaper than that there. So I ended up paying $3.45 a gallon. Way too much if you ask me, but better than the $3.59 we pay here.

So I guess we came out okay. I saved a couple of bucks on a tank of gas, and I got a free refrigerator. And when I got home, I got a warm welcome that I’m sure will prove to be a lasting memory: Hubby couldn’t quit hugging me and Pumpkin, and said our new house just didn’t seem like a home without us here. We all had a wonderful evening together, watching movies and playing tee-ball. It’s the best time we’ve had at home in a while. Maybe I should take day trips more often.

Dragging

I’ve had one day this week that I actually got something accomplished. I rearranged the living room, and finished unpacking most of the stuff that goes in there. The rest of the week, I’ve been seriously dragging my feet.

The first part of the week I was still recovering from that stomach bug. My stomach still isn’t completely back to normal, but it’s much improved. But yesterday I had a monstrous headache that wouldn’t go away. Today I’m feeling pretty decent, but I just can’t seem to get motivated. I got a load of clothes out on the line before the sun peeped over the hill this morning, but after that I lost momentum.

I would consider going to the store and picking up some energy pills, but I can’t even do that. I don’t have my truck, because Hubby had to drive it since his is in the shop. So I guess I’ll have to find the energy within me to get everything done that I need to do today. It should be interesting, to say the least.

Cheap Storage

We’re gradually getting settled into our new house. Now that most of the junk has been cleaned out of the garage, I’ve been able to put some stuff out there that we don’t need in the house. But I still have one glaring problem: Nowhere to put our sheets, blankets, or towels.

I can put some of the towels and washcloths on the shelf I’ve got in the bathroom. But it’s coming out of there as soon as I can find something smaller. The sheets and blankets, on the other hand, are still in trash bags. And those trash bags are crammed into my office. It’s really beginning to get on my nerves.

So I’m trying to find some inexpensive storage for them. I’ve scoured the Internet looking for stuff, and have had little luck finding something as large as I need at an affordable price. But late last night I found some stackable units on the Lowe’s website that I think might work. They’re under $40 apiece. I’ll probably go to the local store this weekend and look at them and see if I think they’ll be big enough. It would be nice if they had one put together that I could see, because I can get a much better idea that way than I can with the measurements. Space for them won’t be an issue, because if all else fails there is a large space in our bedroom where we can probably put several of them with no problem.

If I try one and like it, I may get some for Pumpkin’s room too. She can definitely use more storage space for her toys. And if not, I guess it will be back to the drawing board. If nothing else, maybe I can talk Hubby into building us something.

Pimp My House

Some people spend insane amounts of money on their vehicles. They have the fancy hood scoops and spoilers, the LED tail lights, the custom paint jobs, and all of that. Nothing wrong with that if you’ve got the money to burn. I wouldn’t mind sprucing up my ride a little if I didn’t have my house to work on.

This place is going to be a bit of a drain on our pocketbooks for a while. We’ve already spent several hundred dollars on the roof, which still isn’t done. We shouldn’t have to buy a lot more in the way of materials though, so that’s a good thing. But I think we’re going to have to completely replumb it to keep from having to make constant repairs, and that won’t be cheap. We also need to refloor at least two rooms, and the porch at some point. And let’s not forget painting the outside. I may have to live with that awful yellow color for a little longer in order to get everything else done.

I’ll be glad when we get everything as it should be. When we do, I think it will be an adorable little place.

I’m Not an Expert

If you’ve been reading my humble little blog for any length of time, you have surely realized by now that I am not a financial expert. In fact, I’m far from it. For those of you who are new, this blog is not intended to be the authority on all things financial. It’s merely a place for those for who are not extremely savvy about money matters to come for some basic advice, and, perhaps more importantly, to see that they’re not alone.

So if you’re looking for the latest on maintaining good investor relations, you’ve unfortunately come to the wrong place. I just share my bits of knowledge and experience in hopes that they can help someone else. And I share my mistakes in hopes that others can learn from them, or even offer advice to help me keep from making them again. At any rate, I hope we’re all learning something here. I know I’ve learned a lot since I started this blog, and also that I still have a lot to learn.

Is This the Year?

I’ve been in desperate need of a vacation for a long time now. I haven’t been on a real vacation… well, ever. And my family hasn’t even taken a respectable day trip. Since we were forced to buy our first home it’s going to put a bit of a damper on the extras budget, but I’m holding out hope that this might be the year that we get to go somewhere.

While other people are scouring the web for cheap flights, we’ll probably be scrambling to pay for tickets and gas, and a hotel room for a night (or two at most). But I really hope that we get to do something memorable this year. Sure, there are our usual camping trips, which I wouldn’t trade for the world. But we need something new and exciting. We’ll see how it all pans out.

Economic Stimulus Payments Coming Up

The Economic Stimulus Payments will start going out this coming month. I’ve been ready for mine for some time now, so I’m glad it’s coming up.

Those of us who had our federal refunds direct deposited will be the first to get ours, and they will be sent via direct deposit as well. The date they’re sent will depend on the last two digits of your SSN, but all direct deposits will be sent by May 16th.

If you get a check, it will be sent out depending on the last two digits of your SSN between May 16th and July 11th. Here is the official Stimulus Payment Schedule from the IRS. Not sure if you’ll get a payment, or how much it will be? Get a copy of your 2007 return and visit the IRS Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator to find out.