Change

I didn't have a great night last night. I was up until midnight with indigestion and then finally was able to sleep for about four hours. Then, around 4am, I started sleeping fitfully, having a dream that kept getting interrupted (but then it would start up again where it left off when I dozed back to sleep again).

The dream was quite vivid. In it, I was apparently giving a speech at a company meeting about "Change." There have really been some changes at work in some departments (in real life). They have brought in a "LEAN team" in order to standardize things and make things run more smoothly. This has generated quite a bit of hostility and push back from those who thought things were fine just as they were. However, I haven't been working in those particular departments for months -- so I'm not sure what brought on the "Change" dream.

In the dream, I was writing notes for my speech. I clearly remember that it went something like this:

Almost no one welcomes change. It's usually hard and sometimes terrifying. It's hard to understand why change has to happen -- as you may think things are running fine, just as they are. This is true both in a professional and personal setting. However, life IS change -- if we are stagnant, things never have a chance to improve. Can change fail? Well, yes -- but the alternative is unacceptable, as to keep the status quo, never taking a risk, never exploring options, might mean a safe life -- but not a successful life.

At that point, my dream dissolved into something a bit different. I was watching myself give a speech (but I knew in my dream that I was not really giving this particular speech and it was just my imagination) and I was talking about how I had worked this job for months, had done a good job, and had been assured a full time job, which never materialized -- and "that is bullshit." Clearly, I must have some issues with the fact that there is a hiring freeze! LOL! I imagine they are linked to the uncertainty of my husband's job just now (the sale to the major investor in the company went through, and they've been told there will be some news about the future of employees this week).

Anyway -- the point of this post is that I woke up really thinking about change (as I felt my "speech" was a good one that made sense). I wondered to myself if I needed to embrace change more. Certainly there are things in life I am not particularly happy with -- but I've been living with the status quo because change would be hard and stressful -- and I didn't want that in my life just now. Perhaps my subconscious is telling me it's time to really examine my life and make the changes that need to be made in order to improve my mental and physical well being. So, that is my goal for this week -- and I'm going to start a positive change by heading back to the gym (for the first time in months). Mike and I worked out a schedule so that each of us can go on alternate mornings (while the other gets our son off to school). With both of us committed and with a plan, it should work out for each of us.

I'll keep you updated on what changes I decide to make in my life.

Remodeling Bargains

We still have not heard any official news about my Mike's job. The company is due to be sold to the highest bidder sometime next week. I suppose, at that time, he'll be terminated and then either re-hired or not. Of course, the new owners could elect to pay him less than he was making before and we may not have much choice but to accept, as otherwise his only alternative would be to start over in a different field (as he is in a highly specialized field at this point, and there are no other employers in that field in our area).

With this in mind, and the master bathroom now down to the studs in some areas (preparing for the replumbing that will happen in a few weeks (knock wood), we've been trying to get all of the things we need for the remodeled bathroom, at bargain prices. We already purchased the vanity (on sale for about 50% off after shipping costs), the bathtub (purchased at 45% off retail) and a toilet. All of these have been paid for in full, as we are trying not to incur further debt. In my spare time, I do a lot of online searching for items we still need, such as lighting, mirrors, and fixtures.

The other day, I was on Craigslist and happened to see a post about some mirrors with built-in lighting. I appreciated that a picture was posted, as I had seen these mirrors during my online search and had liked them -- but I had not liked the $135-$266 cost I found them selling for in various places. The Craigslist poster mentioned that the mirrors had broken in transit, and that was the reason she was selling the items -- for $50 each. I did some calculations, made some calls, and determined that I could replace the broken mirrors within the frames for about $40 each, which would still be a significant savings over what I would spend buying them online. So, my husband and I set up a time and went to see the mirrors, which were still in their boxes and in excellent condition (except for the actual mirror). The globes for the attached lighting fixtures were in great shape, as were the frames themselves. When I told the woman I liked the mirrors, she then told me that they would be $25 each -- half of what I had expected to spend. So, for $65 each, we have both the vanity mirrors and lighting in the bag! You can see a picture of our bargain at the top of the post.

I'm finding Craigslist to be a valuable resource. Yesterday, I found a post from someone selling over 2500 square feet of porcelain tile for just $1 a square foot! We're going to take a look at that this weekend and perhaps we can find what we need for our floor, tub deck, and shower.

Grocery Savings

While I was at work the other day, a customer came up to my desk requesting a pen and piece of paper. She was holding a magazine, so I asked her if she needed something larger than a Post-it, as I thought she was going to copy a recipe. She told me that she was just writing down a website where you could print out coupons. That led to a discussion about how both of us are bargain hunters and the ways we are trying to save money in these uncertain economic times.

One way I save big on groceries is to purchase 4 Sunday newspapers. Sometimes, if I time it right, I can get these for free -- as on Sunday evening the grocery store cuts off the front page header on all remaining copies to give back to the publisher -- and then cannot sell the newspaper. So, at that point, they give them away free! The reason I purchase 4 newspapers is that I like multiple coupons when I go shopping. That way, if there is a great deal (made even better with the coupon), I can buy one item for each coupon I possess. I also do not cut out my coupons before shopping. Instead, I go through the inserts, logging each coupon into a spreadsheet I created, which lists the item, the amount off (and how many you need to buy (i.e.: $1.00/2 would mean you save $1.00 off a purchase of two of that particular item). It also shows the date of insert, type of insert (i.e.: Smartsource, P&G, etc), expiration date, and the number of coupons I have on hand. The inserts themselves are put into a manila folder with the date of the insert printed on the outside.

When I go shopping, I print out my spreadsheet and refer to it as I make my ways up and down the aisles. I don't limit myself to a strict shopping list, as sometimes I find things that are nearly free -- so I stock up whether I currently need that particular item or not. Then, these items go into my freezer or pantry and eventually they are used. If its a great deal on something I already have WAY too much of, such as salad dressing -- but I can get a bottle for 25 cents after coupon, then I go ahead and purchase it and donate it to a local food bank. It doesn't cost me but a few dollars to get a bag full of groceries to help out someone else. While this way of shopping takes longer than just throwing things into the cart and paying full price, it also saves me some big bucks. For example, on one recent shopping trip, my total would have been around $300 without coupons. With my coupons, I saved over $75!

Another way I save money (and time) is to do once a month freezer cooking (or OAMC, as it's called on the net). Basically, this means that you stock up on meat when it's at a great price, and then do a cooking session, turning that meat into many different meals that can be frozen, and then thawed and cooked later on. This is wonderful when you are working full time, as you can do all of your cooking on the weekend.

For example, the other day boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale for $1.59 per pound. I purchased about 25-30 pounds or so. I usually have the other ingredients I would need for my cooking sessions on hand (purchased earlier using coupons to maximize my savings). Out of that chicken, I made two pans of chicken enchiladas, 3 pans of "Chicken Supreme" (a great recipe the whole family loves), four containers of my chicken soup base (which can be used for chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, etc), 3 meals worth of stuffed chicken breasts, 2 containers of Alice Springs Chicken (an Outback Steakhouse copycat recipe), and several meals worth of chicken breasts in various marinades, that just need to be thawed and then grilled. I have a spreadsheet on my freezer that lists the various items currently inside and, when we pull something out for dinner, we just make a tick mark, so we know how many of that particular item are left. I do the same sort of cooking sessions for pork, beef, and ground beef. There is a great Yahoo Groups email list that deals exclusively with OAMC -- do a search for "Frozen Assets" to find it and sign up.

Happy Holidays

The month of December just flew by in a flash! Mike was at work most days (and the company is even paying the employees :) He has also had quite a few days off, as he is attempting to use up his accumulated vacation time, as that will probably be lost when the company is sold next month. We will find out in mid-January if he will be laid off or retained by the new owners and, if kept on, if the pay will be the same or not. Interesting times should be ahead! I kept busy working, although the company I'm currently temping with has instituted a hiring freeze due to the economy. I had pretty much been promised a position that had been open (so I would have had benefits and more pay), but now that is all on hold. They have even put a freeze on building the new hospital that they had planned to open in 2010. The economy is impacting just about everyone, I think.

As we had already purchased some of our fixtures for the master bathroom remodel before we found out about Mike's employer's problems, and since we have to have the re-plumb of the house done in January (as "use it or loose it" situation on the approval to have it done free of charge due to the class action lawsuit), we are going ahead with the bathroom remodel. We are constantly on the lookout for good deals and ways to make it more cost effective. So far, we've had the new window installed, which lets in a great amount of light and really opens the room (making it seem larger). We also now can see the great view we have of the valley and mountains. However, we will need to invest in some blinds -- although the nearest house with a line of sight to our bathroom is a mile away -- I still feel pretty exposed, especially at night. My husband demo'd the old shower over the weekend, finding a lot of mold on the sub-floor (which we expected, since we felt that there had been a leak in that shower). We were surprised to find that the builders had not used any sort of cement backer board on the walls or the sub floor -- and the sub floor actually bends when you step on it. It's no wonder that the grout in the shower had cracked and was leaking! We have a contractor friend who has given us a good price to frame out both the new bathtub and shower, and to install the shower pan and waterproof the whole shower. Then, we can take over the tiling of the bathtub deck, shower, and bathroom floor. The vanity we bought on sale is currently sitting in our bedroom and the new toilet is in the garage. The bathtub has been ordered and we're just trying to find good deals on faucets, mirrors, and lighting. I've been diligent about paying for everything we have purchased as we go -- as I do not want any additional debt. I'm also trying to pay a bit more towards the one credit card that we carry a balance on (for the initial remodel of the house). We're down from $12,000 to around $7500 now -- so that feels good (but I'll feel a lot better when that balance is ZERO!)

The holidays were great, as my daughter Mysti and her new husband Nick came to spend several days with us. We ate much more than we should have and had a nice time catching up. It was sad to see them go, but Mysti is coming back out to see us in February, so that will be nice! Also, I had a nice (I guess) surprise when I went back into work this morning. Since only one doctor was working in the clinic, they apparently decided that they did not need any temp workers for most of the week -- so I was sent home until Friday. While I really have been enjoying the time off (and getting caught up on a lot of stuff that I've neglected due to working full time), I worry about not earning for the whole week (as I only get paid for the hours I actually work). I guess there is nothing I can do about it -- but I will use the time productively and get ahead in some freelance work that I do.

How Things Change!

If there is one thing certain in life, it's change. This month started out incredibly good -- but that changed quickly and dramatically. I guess I should provide some background first, so you understand more about my family and thus, more about these changes.

Mike is retired military. When we met, we were both earning nominal wages and had quite a bit of debt. In fact, a few years after we married, I was working for a radio station that was having financial problems and then went bankrupt. At that point, we went to a credit counseling company who, instead of telling us all would be well, let us know that we were too far gone for them to help us and that we should probably file for bankruptcy ourselves. Instead, we tightened our belts and I got a new job. At this point in our lives, my husband and I would make bi-weekly trips to the plasma center, spending 30-45 minutes hooked up to a machine that took our blood, spun out the plasma, and returned the red blood cells. For this, we would get $15 to $20 cash each time -- which was our grocery money. I still have scars on the interiors of both elbows that remind me of this hard time.

Things got better as my husband progressed up the ranks and as we paid off our debt. We now have great credit -- but still too much debt for my peace of mind. And now that my husband is working for a company in the private sector instead of the government, (and a start up company to boot), I've always worried about "what if."

Well, the "what if" happened this month. I was eating breakfast and watching the morning news one payday, when the anchor reported on a breaking news story. My Mike's company had an early morning meeting with some employees and informed them that no employees would be paid that day, as they had run out of money. I called Mike, who had not yet made it to work and had no idea what was going on. After almost a day of waiting for word, he called to let me know that the company was searching for more financing/investments -- at least enough to make payroll. The company had been having problems in the past, so we knew this was a possibility, but the cold reality of no pay was a shock. Mike did get his pay about a week late, but we figured it was just a matter of time before it happened again -- so he also started looking for another job. Unfortunately, the highly specialized job he did in the military (which happened to transition so well to his new private sector job) is not in high demand anywhere in the country -- so, it looked as if he would have to start out at an entry level if he changed jobs.

We decided to live as if Mike had already lost his job, only keeping in the checking account what he would receive if on unemployment and transferring the rest to savings and towards our credit card debt. We figured this way, should the worst happen, we would have a bit more in savings, less debt, and we already would have adjusted to the lower pay. I crunched the numbers and with his military retirement pay and disability pay, plus what I earn from my job and freelance work (as well as any unemployment he might receive), we should be able to pay all of the basic bills and not be in danger of loosing the house. Life would not be as entertaining and carefree as it had been -- but as a gal who looked for bargains even when we had extra money, I felt confident that we could live comfortably, if not luxuriously.

During this uncertain time, our cat, Biscuit became ill and what at first seemed like a bad case of constipation soon revealed itself to be a more serious intestinal problem. Seems like Biscuit had eaten a three-foot section of thread, which had tangled up his intestines and was threatening his life. We were faced with a choice of spending money on pet surgery that we should be saving because of my husband's job uncertainty, or putting Biscuit to sleep without trying to save his life. My adult daughter Cherron, who is currently living with us, urged us to at least try to save Biscuit and offered to pay for half of the surgery. So we went ahead. Unfortunately, our efforts were in vain. While Biscuit came through the surgery, his intestines were too badly damaged and repair efforts failed a few days later -- so he had to be euthanized at that time. I found it ironic that the vet charged us over $100 to put our pet out of his pain, after already collecting nearly $1000 for the previous vet visits and failed surgery attempts. Biscuit's passing was really hard on all of us. We really loved that cat and I miss him every day.

A few days later, Mike let me know that his company had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I was grateful that they at least let the employees know about it before hand. Of course, it happened the day before payday -- so we were uncertain about what that would mean financially. It seems as if it is not all bad news. The company will continue to operate and apparently got a cash infusion from a potential buyer to tide the company over until an official sell can take place at the end of January (after the court has entertained other offers). So, it appears as if (knock wood) his job is safe until then and his pay should continue until that time. Once the new owners take over, we have no idea what cost savings measures they might take and if my husband's job may be eliminated -- so we will continue living as if Mike is already unemployed and hope for the best.

I continue with my coupon clipping and my sweepstaking (if not as many mail in entries as before -- postage is expensive!) We were able to use most of the $1000 Best Buy gift certificate we won in conjunction with Black Friday sales to get Christmas taken care of. The house is now decorated for Christmas (almost all decorations purchased from Target at a 75-90% discount after the season ended last year). It looks beautiful and gives me a sense of peace and contentment, even after our difficult and stressful month. I can't wait to have my family around me (my daughter and her new husband will be joining us at Christmas this year). We'll face the New Year and its uncertainties with our chins up and our strength derived from the love we share.

Wonderful Month!

More good news in the sweepstakes department! I entered Mike (my husband) in a sweepstakes for a flat screen TV and -- he won! I couldn't believe that we won THREE flat screens in less than a month! Again, it's one of those experiences that only happen in sweepstaking! We've received the first flat screen that I won, and it is beautiful. Our problem was that we wanted it in the family room, where we spend most of our time -- and the entertainment center in there was a "assemble yourself" pressed wood type that we've had for years. Small and not so pretty -- no room for the flat screen TV. What we REALLY wanted was a solid wood entertainment center with a console, side piers, and bridge above, large enough to fit the alcove where our current entertainment center was dwarfed.

We looked online and at local stores and all of the entertainment centers that we liked were over $1500. Of course, we didn't have that type of money to spend just now, so we were thinking we would have to settle for a larger "assemble yourself" pressed wood type -- sigh. Then I looked on Craigslist and found a beautiful cherry entertainment center, just the right size, just up the street. It looked gorgeous in the pictures and was the right price ($500). We went to see it and it was obvious the owners took really good care of their belongings -- not a scratch on it! We brought it home, set it up, and now are watching high-def TV and marveling that we have such a beautiful and functional entertainment spot in our home! The color of the wood compliments the room color so beautifully! It's just a pleasure to look at (and of course to watch our new TV there). We got a shock when we went to buy the hookup cords for the TV -- but luckily the $1000 Best Buy certificate had come and we were able to use it to buy the things we needed (and we'll use it to buy the wall mount for the my DH's flat screen when it comes in a few weeks). We're planning on using the rest of that Best Buy gift card for Christmas presents instead of for a third flat screen. It just makes more sense financially.

We just got back from a trip to DC where my daughter Mysti was married. It was such a beautiful wedding and reception! Of course, I cried like a baby when she walked down the aisle. Most of the family came from all over the country and I was able to rent a vacation home for a decent price -- so we all stayed together (both sets of in-laws (and one of their poodles), my two brothers (one with wife and baby), my three unmarried children, and my nephew. My sister and her husband just moved to DC, so they visited often, as did my daughter who was getting married, her fiancé (now husband), and some of her bridesmaids when they got to town. It was like a family reunion every night! We did some sightseeing, but most of all I enjoyed helping my daughter get ready and doing some cooking for her, putting about a dozen meals into her freezer for them to enjoy when they get back from the honeymoon. Now I just have to help her find some great deals on some furniture -- as their living/dining room is totally bare!

Lady Luck Has Been Smiling On Me!

It's been an interesting month. I'm still getting use to working in the "real" world again and missing those days of editing in my jammies from home. However, we've seen a significant decrease in the credit card debt, which was the goal.

I've also managed to find some time for my sweepstaking on the weekends and I'm starting to see some results from that, which is nice after a rather long dry spell in that area. In the past few weeks, my daughter Kristina -- who just went away to college -- won her very own iPhone. This was welcome news, as the first week in college she was pushed into a swimming pool with her old cell phone in her pocket. The same day, she also won a $10 ITunes card -- so now she can buy some music to put on her fancy phone :)

A week or so later, I got an affidavit stating that I had won a 37" LCD HDTV -- something that has been on my "to win" list for the past year or so. I guess that "name it, claim it" mentality works -- because just today I received another affidavit and I won ANOTHER HDTV -- this time in the form of a $1000 Best Buy gift card! At the time, I was just heading to the post office with ten entries to another sweepstakes (a regional and quick closer) with 20 prizes of HDTV's -- LOL!

I think I need to start "naming and claiming" things like gift cards to home improvement stores or money for home improvement. The bathroom remodel is coming up quicker than I would like. I'm keeping my eye on the internet, hoping to find most of the fixtures and such on sale -- but a little help from some wins would be wonderful!