Savingbucks's Personal Finance Blog

We had our Labor Day BBQ a day early. DH is going dove hunting tomorrow and will not be home until late. Had my FIL over and enjoyed steak, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, watermelon, and brownies. I was stuffed! I made the coleslaw, potato salad, and brownies. That is an accomplishment for me since I am culinarily challenged! Leftovers were had for the evening.

The only bad note for the day was our brief visit to Lazboy Furniture store. They had a Labor Day as listing "all recliners for $449." A special financing deal or no sales tax was also shown in the ad. DH is VERY picky about a recliner so he thought he might not be quite as picky for that price. He is not looking for anything high end -- but leather and comfortable are on his list. He bought one at Costco recently and returned it. The display model was great but the one in the box was not. Anyway, off to Lazboy we went and lo and behold ------ there was a disclaimer regarding the recliners. Seems only the pictured models (all fabric coverings) were for that price. The salesperson would not budge and we left. My DH was so irate that we had wasted our time and gas driving there that he called the store when we got home and spoke to the manager. She said that the ad had a mistake in it. DH is so livid that he will never purchase anything from Lazboy ever. That is a shame for them because I am always on the market for a few good lamps and I might have purchased them there (due to the sales tax incentive). I am consdering sending a letter of complaint to corporate headquarters but don't know if I would get any resolution (other than venting).

WOW! The summer has really flown by and I do not have much to show for it!!! I did not take much time off this summer due to job issues. But we did go camping at the Kern River in July for 4 days. It was fun but very warm. Usually we go to June Lake but the price of gas kept us a little closer to home. We did see the areas that we used to tent camp (we now have a trailer) about 1 hour from the campsite. Turns out we can get the trailer into one of the camp areas. This area is primitive and has small, shallow streams running through the area. It is at least 10 degrees cooler and due to no facilities, almost no one is there! Out dog does not have to be tied to a tree. Next time we go that way, we will "rough" it with the trailer.

I did manage to get next week off. It has been a tradition. My DD starts 5th grade on Thursday. I walk her to school (4 blocks) and visit a bit. Next year she will be in middle school - so she may not want me around as much! I plan to declutter the house (gigantic task, but I'll focus on a small area). I desperately need to have a garage sale soon - I want DD to declutter her things and make a little $. If things don't sell, then we'll donate them. I am trying to get her to be more responsible. Hope this works!

I have noticed a virtual explosion in the volumes of phony emails wanting to give me money. At the rate it is going -- you would think that Nigeria is one of the richest nations of the world!
The story has shifted slightly from about a year ago -- the message used to be that I would cash a check for them, keep a percentage, and send them the balance. The poor soul was unable to cash the check themselves. But lately I notice that they would like personal information and that they would get back to me. A poor soul died without heirs and the barrister would like me to be the heir. Yeah, right! Here's a brief portion of the email:
"I am Barrister Alban Galadari Frank (Esq)a Solicitor at law and the personal attorney to late Engr.Hens Sanders,a National of your country, who used to be a private contractor with the Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria, herein after shall be referred to as my client. On the 21st of April 2001, he and his newly married wife were involved in an auto crash, all occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost their lives. Since then, I have made several enquiries to locate any of my clients extended relatives, this has also proven unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to contact you with this business partnership proposal.

I contacted you to assist in repatriating a huge amount of money left behind by my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Bank where these huge deposit was lodged. The deceased had a deposit valued presently at$15million US Dollars with a bank here and the Bank has issued me a notice as his lawyer to provide his next of kin or Beneficiary by Will otherwise have the
account confiscated within the next thirty official working days.

The request for you as next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that my client was a foreigner and a national of your country, I seek your consent so that the proceeds of this account valued at $15Million USdollars can be paid to you. This will be disbursed or shared in these percentages, 60% to me and 40% to you I have the means to provide all necessary legal documents that can be used to back up any claim we may make All I require is your honest Co-operation,Confidentiality and Trust
to enable us see this transaction through".

The email goes on to ask for pertinent personal information. Have any of you seen this flurry of emails also? Are people this gullible?

As a closing note -- anyone want to split a few million with me?

I broke even at bunco on Friday night - I was the biggest loser so I got my $10 back! I did well for the evening - a great Middle Eastern meal, wine, and gabbing with the girls!

Saturday was a busy day as well. DD had her end of year party for Girl Scouts at a local bowling alley. Lots of fun! I took home some leftover pizza for DH - he inhaled all of it that night! DD went home to a friend's house straight from the party to spend the night. This morning she went to a breakfast birthday party in her jammies until noon. I thought that was a great idea for a party -- breakfast is easy to prepare and inexpensive. They also played bingo and hung out.

This evening we had cornish game hens on the grill, homemade break sticks, baked beans, and salad for dinner. Dessert was a peach cobbler made with FIL's peaches. I am stuffed! Cornish game hens were free or almost free a few months back being on sale and using coupons. I have more stashed in the freezer that I think I will use for a 4th of July BBQ.

Now off to get DD's clothes and lunch ready for tomorrow. Good night everyone!

Tonight is bunco night with the girls - dinner, wine, and chitchat and bunco. We meet once a month - $10 is a good price for a good meal and enjoyment with friends. I win some money a few times a year so I just about break even. I especially enjoy the evening because I rarely get to socialize with other moms. I work with men almost exclusively (construction work) and it is sure nice to have a change. Sometimes we donate the cost to a needy parent at our school - we did have one single mother who was struggling to make ends meet (no support from the father of the children). We rotate the meetings at each member's home. DH and kids not allowed back in the house until at least 10:30 p.m.! In fact, DH is always asking what exactly we talk about. I tell him that it is a secret and that I would have to kill him if I tell him. : ) I'll let you know if I win anything tonight!!!

haven't had the time to deposit our state refund check into the bank!! We got our check from Gov. Arnold last week. I usually try to stop by the bank during lunch (I hate going after work because I would rather just go home) but too many meetings rolled into lunch. I also went running on Wed. In one way that is good - I have no pressing financial need. But it is also bad - I need to deposit the funds and then transfer to ING Direct until we decide what we want to do with it. Turbo Tax tells me that we will be entitled to a stimulus check of $1500. DH and I are still pondering about those funds. So far I am in favor of investing. We do have a 1991 Nissan that is still chugging along on the original engine but this automotive senior citizen will not last forever! I bought her brand new for $8k out the door. I got my money's worth. Ms. Nissan has problems passing the smog test every two years so DH thinks we should just sell and buy a used smaller car (this is his commuting car). I tentatively agree but would like to drive her until she goes to the junkyard. So maybe the $1500 can go to the future car fund. We do have other vehicles (paid for) that DH wants to keep.

Another no-spend day today as well. Had a frozen pizza at work with lemonade. When I got home, I scoured the cupboards, fridge, and freezer and made some ham and spinach omelets. That was paired with carrots and I made a copycat Wendy's Frosty (fairly low calorie) for dessert. Yum!

It's been awhile since I've posted, but life is always hectic! The work project that I am assigned to can be stressful since I have other duties other than that particular project.

But enough of that -- today is Memoorial Day - a time to remember those that have sacrificed for our country. My father-in-law is a WWII veteran and was in Japan after the nuclear bomb. His stories are fascinating. Hard to imagine melted concrete! Also, troops did not appear to take extra precautions against exposure to any residual radiation in the area. But FIL will be 88 this year so it couldn't have been bad. My father (from Europe) was in a partisan army fighting against the Nazis in northern Africa (he was 16 or so at the time) and I have seen photos of him in Eqypt with the pyramids.

FIL is coming over shortly for a BBQ. This will be a no spend day for us. I am trying to focus more on utilizing food in the cupboards and freezer and only going to the store for produce and milk. We will be having steak, salad, veggies, and a pasta side. For dessert we will be having blackberries from our garden and whip cream for topping. I will also make a upside down peach cake from the bounty of peaches from FIL's backyard. I plan to freeze extras for smoothies. Any other ideas for peaches would be appreciated. These are on the small side (tree is under 6' tall but loaded) and are clingstone not freestone (darn!).

I hope everyone has a nice relaxing day.

DD was off last week for spring break (although I still call it Easter Break). It was fairly uneventful. We went to my folks' farm for Easter and saw all the family. Yummy lamb was roasted whole on a spit (folks raise lamb and chickens) and lots and lots and lots of food and desserts! Ate may too much! I am trying to get back on the diet and exercise bandwagon. Poor Sophie the dog could not control herself (she is a dog, after all) and ate ANYTHING she found to smell tasty. even rocks! She had a sensitive tummy and we don't even give her bones (she cannot digest them well and vomits). All the kids were also giving her lamb tidbits, bones, etc. That evening we went to our land a few miles away. We slept in the trailer (or tried). Sophie whimpered every hour to go out (thankfully) - and everything came up or out! I have never seen so many rocks and bone shrapnel come out of an animal. But all is well now - I did not feed her for about a day and she is fine.

I was off on Monday so we did not have to endure the Sunday pm traffic. Home Mon pm and back to work for me. DD hung out with Dad for the week. She actually did some work for upcoming assignments (yay) and sold some of her birds to the local wholesaler (profit of $68). Pretty good for a 9 year old.

Thursday DD called me at work to see if a friend could come over from 1 to 3 pm. Sure -- Dad is there -- by the time I get home the friend will be gone. But I did say DD had to tidy up the house, etc.

Sunday night went to the airport to see off a friend who was going overseas. Regulations have changed -- more time waiting around and can't see them off to the gate.

I was off Friday, and am off today, too (local gov't gives up Caesar Chavez day as a holiday). Got lots of errands done. I will pick up DD at school this pm which is a treat for me. Tomorrow is back to the grind.......

Went to dear FILs home yesterday. DH took care of some things around the house, and I looked at his bills and balanced his checkbook. FIL is in early stages of Alzheimer's (or other dementia) and still lives alone. He is doing OK but I do believe he is declining on the financial front. He can't focus enough to correctly balance his checkbook even with a calculator. He also has a tendency to send money to every written solicitation he gets! I quickly through a lot of junk mail away. He mistakenly paid out what he thought was his medical insurance premium -- but in reality, was a charitable contribution! My SIL had to fight with the insurance company to get him reinstated. The CPA (also a CFP) he has used for the last 12 years is something else!
DH and SIL have stated that she is secretive and refuse to let them see some of FIL forms (FIL is sitting in the chair next to them at the time). I went with FIL to see CPA to bring some paperwork. Seems that she got FIL to sign some papers to obtain permission to deal with brokerage firms, and sell securities. FIL did not understand what he was signing. Once we explained to FIL what he signed, he decided that he did not want CPA do perform those services. So he called her on the phone and relayed that info to her. She said that she would shred those forms. When I went with him to turn in other paperwork, I asked if FIL could have the form back, She started screaming at me and said no! She said that she would shred in front of me if I wished! I said yes -- but I did not get a clear look at the form (she said that it was a letter of instruction). This CPA intimidates my FIL (he is meeker due to the dementia which she has no knowledge of). I tried to look up her name in the Calif. Dept. of COnsumer Affairs for her license status, and apparently she is not listed. Does anyone know if that is mandatory for Calif.? She is a CPA and a CFP (and is listed on CFPs website). I have NEVER seen anyone act this way. FIL's family has not yet gotten any power of attorney for financial matters (I am trying to pursuade them to put paperwork in place now so there is a smooth transition) and FIL seems very mesmerized by this woman!

Anyway -- back to the lemons -- we got lots of lemons from FIL's little tree. DD and I made lemonade and lemon curd. Does anyone know if you can freeze lemon curd? I also plan to make lemon bread (like banana bread) and freeze the rest of the juice in ice cube trays for the future. We also had a nice BBQ lunch of steak, broccoli slaw, salad, baked potato, and garlic bread (made from hamburger buns that were getting a bit stale). Lots of leftovers for lunches for all the next day! Sure beats going out to eat and spending too much $$.

I think I am considered a financial freak by some folk - but that is OK because I usually have the last laugh (or dollar). I went to the bank awhile back (Wamu). They have a card swiping machine at each teller. One can swipe their ATM/debit card for an additional form of ID. I explained that I do not have either type of card. Boy, that teller and the others within earshot swiveled their heads around like Linda Blair from The Exorcist (if you are old enough to remember) ! I was asked why not? I stated that I usually use my credit card and pay in full every month. DH and I have our checks direct deposited. For cash purposes, I receive monthly checks from a retirement account (thanks to my XDH) and deposit those funds in person and take cash back at that time. Those tellers looked at me like I was a dinosaur (which I probably am). For vacations, etc. I do take amounts of cash and use my CCs. I have never had a problem.

I was just wondering -- do you use debit cards or ATM cards on a regular basis? What have been the pros and cons? I did have an ATM over 20 years ago but I stopped using it after 1 year because a friend was robbed after using one.

Just read about this in my local paper:
A national campaign starts Sunday that aims to help people improve their balance sheets by encouraging them to save automatically. "America Saves" week, starting Monday through March 2nd, brings together more than 1,000 gov't agencies, corporations, and non-profit groups with goal of increasing consumer understanding of the need to save, whether for emergencies or to make the down payment on a home, to educate the kids, or to finance retirement. For more information, go to http://www.americasavesweek.org.

I can personally say that automatic savings is VERY easy to do - and I do not miss anything. DH and I have our 401K/457b deductions taken out of our checks. We also have automatic deposits to various mutual funds and savings accounts (one is ING Direct). The only thing I cannot do on auto-pilot is an IRA. We are usually on the cusp between a ROTH and a non-deductible IRA because DH's income can fluctuate somewhat. So we do not make those deposits under the following January.

I also checked out americasaves.org - it is a related site with more great information.

Vons and Safeway are having a promotion - if you buy a certain amount of participating items, a Catalina coupon will "spit" out for savings off your next order of groceries. I believe the limit is once per day. I tried this promotion (buy 25 items get $20 back) last week at Pavilions but no coupon was produced. I was very careful to buy the participating items as stated on the shelf tags. The "supervisor" did not care and stated that I had to call the Catalina company regarding the issue and I actually called them from the store. Catalina staff called me back on Monday and will be mailing the coupon to my home -- for some reason there was a glitch that she could not explain.

A friend has done the promo at our local Vons so I thought I would go there last night and try again since I had lots of good coupons to maximize my savings. I usually do not go that store because it is so small. But I scored!!

I bought 35 items (not all part of the promotion) -- paid $18.02 out of pocket and received the $20 off my next order! Yay! And I did buy things that I could and do use. I got:
S&W pinto beans
S&W white beans
Tava diet soda (new product - tastes good)
Rice a Roni
Honey nut cheerios
Yogurt cheerios
Fruity Cheerios
Betty Crocker cookie mix
Betty Crocker cake mix
Betty crocker frosting
Cascadian farm granola
Wishbone spritzer salad dressing
Quaker Oatmeal
Propel Water
Clorox bleach
Pillsbury french bread
Green Giant frozen vegetables
Clorox wipes
Ensure
Balance bar
Marzetti salad dressing
Caesar salad mixes

I did tell my DD that if she starts helping me cut and sort I will give her a percentage of the savings. She did not go with me on the trip, but her the look on her face sure showed an interest in helping Mom for the next trip!

There has been a lot of talk on the blogs about the direction the economy is going. Lines at the scrap heap as mentioned in the SA blog is so true. But another indicator at least in the Southern CA area) is the lines at the 99 cent store. The 99 cent store sells liquidated items, etc. from other stores in multiples of 99 cents (1 fer, 2 fer, etc). Product offerings in the past year or so have gone more mainstream (name-brand) and fresh/frozen food offerings have also increased. I am careful what I buy there -- since I coupon, Vons and Ralphs can be cheaper on sale and with double couponing. I just left the 99 cent store and purchased Farmer John liverwurst that is at least $1.99 at Vons or Ralphs when on sale. Other items purchased were coleslaw mix; lettuce hearts, Nabisco 100 calorie snack packs, a bunch of Dole bananas (currently 69 cents/lb at the market), and some Stouffers panini sandwiches (for lunch at work). The lines were very, very, long. Many folk had full carts, expecially with foodstuffs. It seemed like deja vu with Costco - only perhaps at the opposite end of the economic spectrum. The store is in a so-so area with a delapidated parking lot. The lot was full and I also spotted many people walking in the area with marked bags.

I am skeptical that the proposed economic stimulus package will do anything to stimulate anything. There is always a catch - it is not really free money at all. But.... this is just my opinion. For what it's worth, I intend to invest our share.

My 19 year old son on the other hand - seems to know all about the proposal. DS never listened to the news or read the newspaper, but now - nothing like an offer of free money to a young man to whom money has always burned a very large hole in any pocket that he ever had! You'd never think we related by the way he handles money! His little sister is the opposite - very careful about money, watches prices and uses coupons, and saves most of her $$ (we'll see how she is as a teenager). DS lives on his own with roommates and is scraping by. Spring semester is starting next week and his work schedule will be decreasing to accomodate college. So every dollar is important. I pay for college and books but nothing else. I do provide care packages from time to time. DS had the great idea that if he lived on his own that there would be no rules to follow (surprise!) He is beginning to realize that there is very little time to party if you work and go to school. Hmm.. maybe he is growing up (a little).

Anyway, he has been calling me so that I could do his taxes (I use Turbo Tax for my own). He is supposed to visit tomorrow pm so I can start on them (and hopefully visit with his younger sister). One W-2 is missing and I told him to contact his employer regarding this issue. So, I can't finalize anything tomorrow. DS also seems to think he will get the $600. But everything I read indicates that he is probably at the low end of the spectrum (unless his job at the restaurant makes REALLY REALLY high tips). He did receive a form from the IRS showing the amount of tuition paid last year (although I actually shelled out the dough). I don't know at this point whether it is better for him to claim one of the available credits or for me to do so (although our income may be too high). Any tips?

I work in a "remote" field location and make it up to our headquarters a few times a week for meetings, etc. I was there the other day when one of our staff asked me if we use legal size filing cabinets for our paperwork. I replied that some of us do and some of us don't. She led me back to a filing area and showed me boxes and boxes of misc. legal filing items - manila folders, etc. She also showed me many clear shoebox sized boxes. Apparently, the staff was making changes and had no use for these items. I was welcome to them or they would be placed in the trash!!!! That day!!!! I picked all of them up in a hurry -- the thought of wasting these items (all of them unused, by the way) was making me cringe! I told her to call me immediately before anything else gets dumped -- there might be a use for it out here. The items were hauled back to the office for use in the wild blue yonder here. Hmm.... except now, I have no excuse but to get a bit more organized.

Stopped by a local Vons in the am for a few things after picking up DD from a sleepover. I was already out and about so I thought it was a good idea. Well, yes and no. From a gas savings standpoint, yes. From the people standpoint, no. The place was jammed full of folks getting goodies before the Super Bowl!

But my receipt said that I saved 92%! So that was worth the crowding. I also used the self-serve checkout (which tends to take longer than a regular checkout). I got the following:
2 Old El Paso salsas
2 Campbell's soup at hand
2 Campbell's microwave soups
1 No Yolks pasta
1 4 pk Yoplait yogurt
2 pkgs Hall's cough drops
1 Clif builder's bar
2 Met ex bars
2 South beach meal bars

After coupons (both internet and Sunday paper), I paid $2.83! DH inhales the salsa and soup; my mom gets the pasta, and DD eats all the nutrition bars. I was looking for the Hillshire Farms luncheon meat that was on sales for $1.99, but they were all out. I will be checking a store by my office tomorrow for that. The local deal is if you buy 5 (1.99 x 5 = 9.95), the register will spit out a Catalina coupon for $10 off your next shopping order.

Happy shopping!

Sophie, our 70 lb. black lab rescue dog, got spayed yesterday! We got her in December for my father-in-law but she liked us better - so she is ours. She is about a year old now per the vet papers we were given. She is a happy handful most of the time.

I had called several vets to get a price quote for the spay procedure. Our local vet's price was almost $500!! So, we went to the local humane society for the service and paid $125 for spaying, pain meds, and microchipping. Quite a deal here in southern California. The only drawback was that the facility was booked for 4 weeks! So, per Murphy's Law, Sophie did go into heat. She was not too bad but a bit antsier than usual.

We picked her up yesterday pm and she was a bit "stoned". Today she is much better and is eating normally. We have to let her rest and recover for 14 days. She is also wearing a cone around her head to prevent licking of the incision (surgical glue was used - no stitches). Sophie looks pretty funny bumping into everything. But at least she is not licking. And now we can look forward to spending $$ getting her licensed in our county - we were waiting for the spay so that the fees would be a lot cheaper.

Well, not a whole day - just about an hour. DH wanted to there today to return some old battery cores (to get his deposit back - $5 each) and buy 2 new marine batteries. Seems Costco has a great price on them. I dread going on the weekends but we got there when they opened and it was not too bad.

Because we got there by 10 am, DH did not have time to sit down and eat breakfast. But our dear, dear, DD had a great response for him: "Dad, just eat the free samples at Costco. That will fill you up until lunch."

Of course, batteries were not our only purchase. I usually buy milk, cheese, and eggs there -- for our area the value is good. We bought lots of fruit that we split with his dad. I do not go to Costco often because temptation abounds. I have purchased items that have gone bad because we can't eat it all before it isn't fit to eat! I also couopn quite heavily so I can get good deals from our local Vons and Ralphs markets.

It was also interesting to people watch a bit as well. After about 10 minutes the rest of the herd began storming in. Carts were filling up aisles and jockeyed for position so that not a single item was missed. Carts filled to overflowing with mo' stuff was the norm. If Costco customers are the pulse of the nation, then the economy does not appear to be in any trouble!

The word "tornado" and southern California do not go hand-in-hand. But the wintery weather here has changed things a bit. It has been raining buckets here over the last few days with more to come this weekend. We were watching TV about 5 pm last night when the emergency system voice came over our programming. There was a tornado watch for the coastal communities and that a waterspout had been observed in the area. The watch would be over at 5:45 pm. "He" also stated that if additional warnings occur, that we should take shelter in a basement! Hee hee! I personally do not know anyone in this area that has a basement. Most homes are on a slab foundation. Some older (50+ years usually) home might be on a raised foundation (no room for a basement). The only place I think we could go would be in our closet! Luckily, nothing came of the watch. But I think that I had better get all our emergency supplies in one area and make sure anything perishable is not expired. I have lived through a few earthquakes here but at least tornados can be seen. Hmm... I am not in Kansas anymore......

With the New Year, I am trying to establish goals for myself and the family. Both financial and quasi-financial goals of course. I joined a fitness group of parents at my daughter's school. About 40 people are participating. We did a confidential weigh-in last week and one final weigh-in in April. Group walks are organized, etc. a means to meet parents and moral support. The winners in each category (% of weight lost) win cash prizes! That was a surprise for me -- the group camaraderie was my goal. I do hope to lose 15 lbs. during that time frame (I need to lost about 25 lbs. but I'll take anything!). I'll keep you posted on my progress. DD is supposed to be the "food police" at home to ensure that I at least think before I take a bite of any junk food!

Financial goals -- my DH and I have so little debt that we do not have an organized plan for saving goals. Maybe that is a blessing of sorts. Most of our savings are on autopilot. My 457b and DH's 401K are automatically withdrawn from our paychecks. I actually accelerate my contributions so that the entire yearly amount if completed by the end of summer each year. I have also done EE savings bonds (not the best choice for investing) for both kidlets. I have many $$ set aside, especially for DS. Our debts are minimal -- our house was paid off 5 years ago (a story I will tell another day -- I believe anything is possible with hard work) and one truck payment to be paid off in June of this year (0% interest loan). Any credit card debt incurred is paid off in full monthly.

At this point, both of us have ING Direct accounts with automatic deposits. I am thinking of using the ING Direct account as an emergency fund containing 2 years of projected expenses. I would also earmark these funds to supplement any shortfall when retired (even though I may work part-time). I am planning on retiring in 6 years from full-time employment and perhaps working part-time for Social Security reasons. As a government employee, I do not contribute to Social Security. I am short quarters - from other retirees I have heard that it would be prudent to get my 40 quarters in because it will affect Medicare. If the quarters are not there, then I will have to pay out of my own pocket for Medicare. Even though DH contributes to Social Security through his employment, I had better earn my own.

DH and I are having a friendly "battle" over the Nintendo Wii system. The battle is whether or not we should buy one -- and so far, I (the NAY vote) is winning! We went to a friend's home last month and played all the sports games (bowling, tennis, baseball, golf, and boxing). It was fun! But I don't really feel it is worth the cost. More time in front of the TV is not the best idea. Fresh air (kind of) and outside exercise is healthier (although the boxing game was tiring). In this area, the system is sold out everywhere and I will NOT wait in line at 5 am at Target, etc.

In the local business section, one pundit predicts that the Wii will be a bargain for the 2008 holiday season. I am all for delayed gratification! DH feel that we will have more fun as a family (true) and the price is reasonable based on the wate of fun (return).

Hmm... our "truce" rules that if DH wants the Wii, then HE will wait in line and take funds out of HIS pay. So far, no Wii.

I went to a cousin's memorial service a few days ago. He was in his early fifties and died of cancer. He was an only child and actually never grew up. His father died when he was quite small, and I think his mother wanted to make up for that death for the rest of her life. Looking back on Mr. L's life, he was always bailed out financially by his mom and others. He was a very handsome and charming man and used those attributes to his advantage. But his love affair with the bottle superceded any desire to work or get ahead. His mom's guilt had her sneaking money to him on the sly so her DH would not know about it. I even heard that L and his GF built up debts to the tune of $25K in about 6 months on "fun and frolic." Mom bailed him out that time, too. His mom was weak but before she died she established a trust fund for L so that he would get a lump sum inheritance. Smartest thing she ever did! He railed against everyone in attempts to get extra cash from the trust. He did not succeed; however, several relatives (including my Mom and Dad) gave him small amounts of money because they "felt sorry for him."

Well.....what does this have to do with finances? To me, the moral of the story is this: Give your children a sense of responsibility about money. If they do not listen, then do not bail them out! Some must attend the "School of Hard Knocks" before they learn anything.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisers are sponsoring a program for people seeking retirement planning advice for FREE.

Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan Day will be held on January 25 from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Financial planners will provide advice by phone. The toll-free number will be activated on that day.

Call 888-919-2345 or visit www.kiplinger.com to participate in an online discussion with an adviser (that day only).

Hope this is helpful to someone!

Just thought I'd jump into the blogging world. I have been reading blogs on Saving Advice for quite some time now - and I love them all! I have learned so much from each blogger's financial adventures...

More about me -- I am 40ish (hmm...) working wife and mom living in --- gasp! Southern California! I work for a local government and love my job. I have a 19 year old son in college and a 9 year old daughter still at home.

Hubby and I are frugal by nature - we both grew up with Depression era parents. Our main focus is retirement (6 years for me and 14 for DH). I am trying to save as much as possible towards that goal. We do max out our IRAs and 401K/457bs every year but feel that we need to do more. I am also a fierce couponer (sometimes to DH's chagrin) but he also appreciates a deal.

As soon as I get the hang of blogging, I will post more about our "financial adventures."