Mom's Many Projects

Don't Forget the New Blog Site!

2010-02-25T00:18:00.000-05:00

I've been having a lot of fun with my new blog site at http://momsmanyprojects.wordpress.com/ so don't forget to join me there!

You can subscribe to the new blog either through email or an RSS feeder such as Google Reader!

See you there!

New Blog Site!

2010-02-16T19:24:00.000-05:00

This post is to inform my followers here that my new Mom's Many Projects blog is about to get started. You can find it at http://momsmanyprojects.wordpress.com/. I'll be working to build on it as I go. Right now it's a clean slate! I look forward to seeing you all there!

Bye-Bye For Now!

2010-02-07T09:53:00.000-05:00

My blog is going to end for now, but don't worry! It'll be back and hopefully better than ever! It just might take me a little bit and a possible change in venue.

There are reasons for temporarily closing it down:

I'm having problems coming up with any posts at all
I want to make the posts I do write more interesting (find my voice, come up with good titles and subjects, etc.)
I'm not sure I want to keep Blogger (I may either go to Wordpress and/or buy my own domain name)
My time is extremely limited and that makes it hard to run a blog when it's not running well

I think those are pretty good reasons overall. I really want to have a blog that is personal, but professional. I want to learn all those things other blogs are doing that I have no idea how to do (sell ad space, have guest posts, etc.). I want to run my blog and not the other way around.

I'll announce my new blog when it becomes available here with a link to the new blog and on Twitter.

Goodbye for now! I hope to see you at the new blog when it becomes available!

Temporary Halt to Financial Info

2010-02-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

I'm going to temporarily halt my monthly financial information posts. I would like to re-configure my blog, but don't have a lot of time to completely do this as yet due to school. It will still be basically the same, however I want to add more content than just the weekly lists and monthly financial info. I may want to do a more daily or weekly format covering all subjects, though I need to think about it a bit more first as to how I want to do that.

Weekly List -- February 1st

2010-02-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

Last week's list:

Need To Do

Decide whether to do my Women & Crime project on Christine Falling or Terri Rachals and finish the project proposal. (Completed. I've decided to do my paper on Christine Falling using the differential association theory, the social process theory, and the MacDonald Triad.)
Finish reading Reviving Ophelia for the Women's Mental Health class and start the book review. (Completed)
Go to Barnes & Noble to peruse the teen magazines to do Women's Mental Health homework assignment. :-) (Completed. It was Books-a-Million though...I got confused...lol.)

Want To Do

Work more on my plants and garden spaces. (My strawberries are looking really nice! Another few days and I should be able to hang up the bag. Haven't worked much on the garden space, but I have found some better ideas on how to design & where to place plants in my garden. Going to rework it little by little.)

This week's list:

Need To Do

Write my Reviving Ophelia book review paper for the Women's Mental Health class.
Choose and submit the research paper topic for the Sex Offenders class.
Finish reading chapters 6, 8, and 9 for Exam I for the Women & Crime class.

Want To Do

There are a lot of things I want to do, but I'll probably not get to them. So I'll stick with working more on my plants and garden spaces again.

COBRA Coverage

2010-01-30T22:17:00.000-05:00

We finally got the paperwork today for our COBRA coverage, since our insurance expires tomorrow. The normal cost for the family coverage for both medical and dental is $880.36 per month! This is why we didn't get COBRA the last time hubby was out of work! It's incredibly expensive for someone that is not receiving a paycheck. Heck, it's expensive for someone that IS working!

Luckily, we may not have to pay the entire amount in order to get the insurance coverage due to ARRA or The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This reduces the premiums by 65%! Much more manageable!

We still have to fill out a form online to be approved for the reduction, but once we are, then we'll only have to pay $308.13 per month for coverage. It's still higher than we were paying, but much more affordable than $880!

Weekly List -- January 25th

2010-01-25T17:35:00.000-05:00

Last week's list:

Need To Do

Continue with the school work. I really want to see how far ahead I can get in most of my classes. Three of the four are pretty easy to get through. The fourth one is reading/notes intensive so takes a little longer. (I'm still at a nice comfortable 2 week lead on my school work.)
Get an idea of where I am with tax documents and make a list of what is still needed. I would like to get my taxes started online as soon as possible. The extra money will be a nice extra buffer. (I started my taxes, but ran into snags with some missing documents--1099-R, 1099-SA, mortgage interest, college amounts paid, etc. Guess I'm waiting a couple more weeks to make sure I've received everything before finishing up the taxes!)

Want To Do

Work on fixing up the garden beds. I only have two complete right now, but they have to be tilled to get rid of some weeds that has grown in while they haven't been used. (The more I think about it, the more I believe the whole thing needs to be redone except for one of the garden beds. I haven't had the time lately...but I'd like to rework the garden soon. I really need a tiller first though to do a good job. Perhaps I can rent one for a day or two!)

This week's list:

Need To Do

Decide whether to do my Women & Crime project on Christine Falling or Terri Rachals and finish the project proposal.
Finish reading Reviving Ophelia for the Women's Mental Health class and start the book review.
Go to Barnes & Noble to peruse the teen magazines to do Women's Mental Health homework assignment. :-)

Want To Do

Work more on my plants and garden spaces.

More Fruit Plants!

2010-01-20T17:14:00.000-05:00

I went back to Lowe's because I just couldn't resist the berry plants. I got another blueberry bush (the other variety they had), a raspberry, and a blackberry. I planted the blueberry today, but I'm still deciding where to put the raspberry and blackberry. All of these are being planted in my backyard, which faces south and gets a ton of sun. I'm considering putting one up against the house near the garden area and the other next to the side fence. That way I can lean something against them, if needed, for the plants to climb on and give them more support. I'll have to stand in my backyard for a little bit and try to picture it before I dig.

Gardening Supplies

2010-01-18T20:19:00.000-05:00

We went to Lowe's today to pick up some gardening supplies so I can grow some veggies soon and get some started indoors. I bought:

2 packs of Jiffy peat strips. They are biodegradable pots linked together in groups of 10 with 5 in each pack
a bag of Miracle Grow Garden Soil
3 cheap plastic paint tray liners (at $0.79 each this was much cheaper than buying garden trays to hold my biodegradable pots)
plant labels
Veggie seeds: crimson giant radish, bush champion cucumber, granex hybrid onion, tenderpick beans, and nasturtium (a flower, but I heard they are edible, too, and keep bugs away!)
a blueberry bush

I already had some chives seeds, cherry tomato seeds, dill seeds, and some strawberry plants.

This afternoon I planted the blueberry bush outside (though it looks more like a twig than a bush right now...crossing fingers I planted it right) and started the chives, onions, and cherry tomato seeds indoors. I think I'd like to get another blueberry bush (Lowe's had two different kinds) and a raspberry plant. They were only $4.98 each for 2 year old plants. That's a great price to try your hand at growing them! Or at least to me it is.

I'll sow the other seeds outside in a few weeks once I have tended to my garden plots. Some weeds have grown up since I first constructed them. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to make any more of them so anything that doesn't fit will be grown in big containers for now. I've had success with container veggies in the past.

I'll have to plant the strawberries in the next couple of days. We'll see how that goes...I've never planted them either.

Another big garden project is to remove all the grass from the rest of the garden area. I know there's a machine out there that is supposed to make it easier, but I may have to do it with my Black & Decker cultivator. A little more work than I want to do, however leaving the grass there, lining it with cardboard, and building garden beds and paths on top didn't work out well in the long run. The cardboard was no match for the Bahia grass we have. So I'm pretty much starting out from scratch on some of my garden.

Weekly List -- January 18th

2010-01-18T17:23:00.001-05:00

Last week's list:

Need To Do

My big "need to do" this week is to get a jump start on all my new school work! I have a ton that is due in two weeks, but I also have a bunch of projects and papers to write that I'll need time to do without other school work distractions. So my plan this week is to get ahead by at least 2 weeks! (I think I'm doing pretty good! I'm ahead by 3 weeks on 3 of my classes. On the 4th class, I am a little behind (only 1 week ahead), but it's not really that much work and once finished I'll be 2 weeks ahead in that class)

Want To Do

I want to do a lot of things...I just don't think I'll have the time now to even try! We'll see at the end of the week if I was able to throw in any additional to do items! (I was able to get some plants going for my garden, though my garden is looking a little sad and needs some TLC before planting)

This week's list:

Need To Do

Continue with the school work. I really want to see how far ahead I can get in most of my classes. Three of the four are pretty easy to get through. The fourth one is reading/notes intensive so takes a little longer.
Get an idea of where I am with tax documents and make a list of what is still needed. I would like to get my taxes started online as soon as possible. The extra money will be a nice extra buffer.

Want To Do

Work on fixing up the garden beds. I only have two complete right now, but they have to be tilled to get rid of some weeds that has grown in while they haven't been used.

Weekly List -- January 11th

2010-01-11T20:10:00.000-05:00

Last week's list:

Need To Do

Call Fidelity about 401K transfers to Vanguard. (We called and took care of it. They are sending a check made out to Vanguard.)
Get a haircut on Wednesday! (I didn't quite make it so it must not have been that much of a "need to do" at all!)

Want To Do

Clean office desk area in preparation for new classes (this will be a big job as it's gotten to be a mess. I'll leave the whole office for later, but I need an area to open a textbook at least!) (My main area around my computer is A LOT neater than it was before. I actually have some space to write down a note or open a book!)
Finish up project for teacher at son's school (I was supposed to have this done ages ago, but it has given me all kinds of problems...now I just want it done!) (Apparently I don't want it done that bad! I never did get to this!)

This week's list is now school directed:

Need To Do

My big "need to do" this week is to get a jump start on all my new school work! I have a ton that is due in two weeks, but I also have a bunch of projects and papers to write that I'll need time to do without other school work distractions. So my plan this week is to get ahead by at least 2 weeks!

Want To Do

I want to do a lot of things...I just don't think I'll have the time now to even try! We'll see at the end of the week if I was able to throw in any additional to do items!

School Has Started Again!

2010-01-11T11:18:00.000-05:00

Back to school I go! My classes have now officially started for the Spring 2010 term, which runs from today (January 11, 2010) through the end of April. As usual, all my classes are online. I have four classes this term and here is a general breakdown of what I need to do in each of them:

1. Forensic Psychology - 2 Books, 10 Modules, 10 Quizzes, Unit Homework Questions, Discussions, Book Review Paper, and a Final Exam.

2. Women's Mental Health - 2 Books, 12 Modules, 12 Quizzes, Unit Homework Questions, Discussions, 2 Book Review Papers, and a Final Exam.

3. Sex Offenders and the Criminal Justice System - 1 Book, 8 Modules, 8 Quizzes, Discussions, Research Paper, and a Final Exam.

4. Women and Crime - 1 Book, 14 Segments (Modules), Impact Summary Paper, Written Project, 2 Exams, 3 Quizzes, Discussions, and a Final Exam.

This term seems to have the most writing projects and papers that I've ever had at one time. I should be alright if I get a little bit ahead on the work. Though I can see a lot of hard times if I end up falling behind!

No Resolutions! One Big Goal!

2010-01-10T15:49:00.000-05:00

I really dislike the idea of New Year's resolutions. No one ever keeps them because they either make too many resolutions or unattainable ones.

So what's the point?

I'd rather make reasonable goals throughout the year. Usually that means making many attainable short-term goals along with a couple of long-term goals, then going over them periodically to see how I'm doing, make adjustments, etc.

Not this year!

I have one big goal this year and nothing else because it's the only thing I want to concentrate on and get done this year! And that is to finish my Bachelor's degree.

Reasonably I should be able to finish it this year, though I know there may be one thing out of my control that could squash the completion of it and that is availability of classes. If that's the case, then I am prepared to extend my school time into the Spring term of 2011, but no longer than that!

What are your goals? Is there one thing you are anxious to complete?

6 Textbooks Sold!

2010-01-06T20:48:00.003-05:00

So far I've sold 6 textbooks on Half.com. A majority of them were not expensive textbooks, but I'm happy to say I've made over $100! Not bad considering I paid for them originally with grant and scholarship money. I'm hoping I'll be able to sell at least a couple more with the new term starting on Monday.

Weekly List -- January 4th

2010-01-04T16:20:00.001-05:00

I didn't quite manage all of last week's list, but I did get some of them done. Considering it was a holiday week and my youngest son's 8th birthday, I guess it was acceptable.

Need To Do

Call Vanguard to see if they can help transfer funds from hubby's two old 401K's. I opened an account for him, but I need to have the funds transferred. (didn't have to call them so I'll consider this completed)
Call Fidelity and Merrill Lynch about 401K transfers to Vanguard, if not already taken care of by Vanguard. (was able to complete the Merrill Lynch one online. The Fidelity one will still need to be called. They were closed on Friday...hubby and I never got around to calling today due to other errands/calls)
Get a desperately needed haircut. I guess this could be a want, not a need, but it's driving me crazy! The boys got theirs today. (another fail...I didn't have the chance to get my hair cut yet. I'll try on Wednesday.)

Want To Do

List books on Half.com that were put on Craig's List and were supposed to be sold prior to Christmas, but the woman didn't show up for them after several conversations. Grrr... (I listed these really nice Time Life books and more! I do have some more books to list--mostly romance and children's books--but I'm not in a hurry with them. I've also sold 4 textbooks so far for a total of just over $100! Not surprising since college classes start soon!)
Work on the kitchen floor some more...would at least like to get all the linoleum backing scraped off the concrete. (hubby scraped almost all of the floor. There is only a small piece left to scrape so I'll call this one complete)
Finish shredding the growing paper pile. (ummm...I put them in a small bag so it looks done...lol. OK...I failed to complete this one)
Cut tops of crepe myrtle trees to see if I can stimulate their further growth. The tops are pretty dead, but there has been some additional life to the trees elsewhere since they were planted in 2003 and beat up from the 2004 hurricanes, so I want to try everything before having no choice but to take them out. (it ended up too cold to even consider getting on a ladder to trim up the trees. I'll have to save this for when it gets a little warmer. Who could guess it would get into the 20s and 30s in Florida!)

This is my last week to accomplish some "extra" things that I normally don't have time for because my Spring term classes start next Monday. At the same time I also want to use this week to just relax a little since I know I'll be busy with the four classes.

Need To Do

Call Fidelity about 401K transfers to Vanguard.
Get a haircut on Wednesday!

Want To Do

Clean office desk area in preparation for new classes (this will be a big job as it's gotten to be a mess. I'll leave the whole office for later, but I need an area to open a textbook at least!)
Finish up project for teacher at son's school (I was supposed to have this done ages ago, but it has given me all kinds of problems...now I just want it done!)

December 2009 Financial Update

2010-01-01T11:00:00.002-05:00

(click on the pics for a larger view of the monthly financial data)

NOTE: I've changed the post title to the actual month/year I'm reviewing instead of the month I'm writing the post. It makes a lot more sense and is less confusing when trying to figure out what month I'm talking about!

DEBTS

Mortgage -- $107, 175.75.

Heloc -- I'm paying just a little bit over the minimum on this account for right now.

Truck Loan -- Same as the other months because I'm not going to pay it again until either hubby gets a job or the next payment is due in July 2010, whichever comes first!

Student Loans -- These are currently in deferment and will not start to become due until June or July of 2011. I'll actually be getting more of them this year so it is expected to rise.

SAVINGS

Emergency Fund -- Our emergency fund is up to $4,244.46--still haven't had to touch it again.

(In addition to these funds I have another savings account that has 3 months worth of mortgage payments--January, February, and March. I also have almost $2,800 additional saved in my checking to live off of if needed while hubby is looking for a job, with that amount expected to grow in the next few weeks.)

Retirement Funds -- (This is a combination of 4 accounts: my IRA with Vanguard; my pension fund from my last job; my husband's 401K from his last job; and my husband's current 401k.)

They've been going up again! I've opened a new Vanguard IRA account for hubby. All we have to do now is get his old 401K's transferred.

Net Worth -- Our net worth went up to almost $165,000 with the rise of the retirement funds and our ability to save a bunch of money.

Half.com Items

2009-12-31T12:10:00.003-05:00

I posted a bunch of books for sale on my Half.com account! Really trying to declutter and give people good, reasonable deals at the same time!

The items for sale can be found at: http://shops.half.ebay.com/alnvraven_W0QQmZbooks

Any sales through Sunday, January 3rd will ship on Monday, January 4th! Sales through next week will ship on Friday, January 8th!

Unemployment $$ & Savings

2009-12-29T12:56:00.004-05:00

We received hubby's first weekly unemployment money. It's not much--$275 plus an additional $25 per week--but it pays most of our bills. Thankfully I don't need it yet so I've placed it aside to use when needed.

It's amazing how little you can live on when you don't have a job! Even with splurging a little for Christmas (gifts and food), we've been able to save a bunch of money for later use. The middle of December I only had $1,000 + saved in our checking account.

Now it's almost $1800!

I expect that amount to go up because we still have 1 1/2 severance checks left coming in. And we don't seem to be feeling deprived right now either. Of course, money and gift cards received for Christmas that we are actually using to splurge with is helping...lol.

Anyway, my original calculations were that we would have about $7000 to use towards bills, but now it'll be closer to $8,000 - $9,000. More money during times like these is always comforting!

I still cross fingers though that hubby will find a job in January or February. Then all the extra that I've been saving could go towards paying off debt!

Weekly List -- December 28th

2009-12-28T19:23:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmastime! We had family over and lots of fun ensued...I like that word...ensued. *sigh* Anyway...time to go over the old list and make a new one!

General To Do

Finish cleaning/decluttering the living room COMPLETED!
Clean/declutter the kitchen (not cleaning in the dirty dishes sense--though that does need to be done, too--but clearing off counters and in cabinets to clear clutter and make space for Christmas Day celebrations) COMPLETED!
Get rid of some leftover yard sale items to clear out the house a bit--drop books off at the library and other items off at Goodwill NOT COMPLETED---Just shoved into the garage for later!
Finish shredding last pile of papers NOT COMPLETED--The pile seems to have gotten bigger!
Do some additional painting in kitchen, living room, and hallway COMPLETED! Not done painting, but I did do more as I said I would.
Finish other half of kitchen floor (other than pieces that need to be cut) NOT COMPLETED--We decided to wait until after Christmas because we had too many other things to be done, too.
Make Christmas Day menu and shop for groceries COMPLETED! I probably bought too much, though I haven't had to cook much lately!
Buy last Christmas gift (may have to travel to get it) COMPLETED!

Overall, I think I did pretty good with the list. It was hectic with times of relaxation thrown in, which is what I needed to have a good holiday. This week I'm ready to get a little bit more into the needs, but it is still a holiday week with the boys home from school.

Need To Do

Call Vanguard to see if they can help transfer funds from hubby's two old 401K's. I opened an account for him, but I need to have the funds transferred.
Call Fidelity and Merrill Lynch about 401K transfers to Vanguard, if not already taken care of by Vanguard.
Get a desperately needed haircut. I guess this could be a want, not a need, but it's driving me crazy! The boys got theirs today.

Want To Do

List books on Half.com that were put on Craig's List and were supposed to be sold prior to Christmas, but the woman didn't show up for them after several conversations. Grrr...
Work on the kitchen floor some more...would at least like to get all the linoleum backing scraped off the concrete.
Finish shredding the growing paper pile.
Cut tops of crepe myrtle trees to see if I can stimulate their further growth. The tops are pretty dead, but there has been some additional life to the trees elsewhere since they were planted in 2003 and beat up from the 2004 hurricanes, so I want to try everything before having no choice but to take them out.

I think that's all for now. Not a lot of heavy stuff this week, but we'll see how it goes considering how lazy I've been lately!

Christmas Wishes

2009-12-23T13:26:00.002-05:00

I'm about to get really busy for the rest of the week preparing the house, food, etc. for Christmas Day. So I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Feliz Navidad, etc! I'll be posting my weekly list review next Monday since the last one was a 2-week list. Enjoy your holiday!

Publix Gift Card

2009-12-16T08:33:00.002-05:00

My husband received a $40 Publix gift card in the mail yesterday from his former employer. We believe it was because he was still considered employed by them when they were being prepared to be sent out. I'm totally fine with that! *smile*

It will definitely come in handy for the Christmas food shopping!

Our Monthly Expenses Without A Proper Income

2009-12-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

As my husband's paychecks are about to run out, I've been going through all our expenses to see exactly how much we'll need to pay for actual expenses. I think we're pretty good with what we spend our money on with the only extravagance being going out to eat frequently, which we have now for the most part stopped.

Our total monthly expenses fall under $1600 a month and includes the mortgage, heloc, electricity, water/sewer/garbage, phones, cc, satellite tv, and internet. That's less than one previous paycheck. Luckily, we don't owe another truck payment until July 2010.

Hubby has a half paycheck, a full severance check, and two half severance checks left coming in. Plus he has applied for unemployment. We've been able to put aside another $1,000 + since he's stopped working in October, we have another $4,000 + saved, and should have another $2,000 coming in January from another source. I also have almost the entire amount saved for our auto insurance due in January and I have 2 months worth of mortgage payments (Jan., Feb.) that I won't have to pull from the other funds with the ability to save payments through March and part of April using his last paycheck and severance.

I've stocked up on frozen foods and other basics we use often with part of his last full paycheck, just in case things get tight later on.

Things like our blow money and the kid's allowances will now be on hold, though I'll still add them up as usual and hopefully once hubby gets a job we'll be able to give them what they've earned.

Unfortunately, the job market is slim even in Information Technology jobs right now because of the economy, the holidays, and being the end of the year. We're hoping things open up more in January and February. Even a 6 month contract position will give him more time to allow jobs to open up. He'll be able to take less money if the job is within 30 minutes from home, but will need to be higher as he goes further out as before with an 1 hour commute or more to compensate for more gas, wear and tear on his vehicle, and his time away from home. I'm kind of hoping he's able to find something that pays a little less or equal to his last job, but is closer to home for a change.

Bottom line looks good due to low expenses, good planning with savings, and being able to receive unemployment, which will pay for a majority of our expenses (it will cover all of our bills except for about $400-$500 a month). Basically we should be fine for the entire 2010 year, if needed.

Weekly List -- December 14th

2009-12-14T22:13:00.002-05:00

Last week was so busy with final exams and last minute school work that I ended up missing my weekly list post. *sigh* Things should be back on track now that school is over!

List from 2 weeks ago:

Need To Do

Complete the discussion question for the Urban Society class and try to get some reading done this week to prepare for the final exam. (I didn't do well with the reading, but I finished the discussion question and took the final exam)

Complete the 6th quiz for the Domestic Violence class and finally be done with that class. (I completed the 6th quiz!)
Complete the discussion question and 11th quiz for the Criminal Investigation class. (Completed the discussion question, 11th quiz, and the final exam)

Want To Do

Have hubby put up the supports for the chin-up/sit-up bar on the bottom of the doorway (the one for the top is already complete). (Finished)
Get rid of some leftover yard sale items to clear out the house a bit--drop books off at the library and other items off at Goodwill. (not done yet...still building the pile of stuff to drop off)
Finish shredding last pile of papers. (the pile grew a little with some additional cleaning/decluttering)

This week's list is a general list...the needs and wants sort of overlap since school is now over and I really don't have a lot of other necessary things to do. In addition many of these things need to occur in the next 2 weeks (prior to Christmas) and not necessarily in the next week:

General To Do

Finish cleaning/decluttering the living room
Clean/declutter the kitchen (not cleaning in the dirty dishes sense--though that does need to be done, too--but clearing off counters and in cabinets to clear clutter and make space for Christmas Day celebrations)
Get rid of some leftover yard sale items to clear out the house a bit--drop books off at the library and other items off at Goodwill
Finish shredding last pile of papers
Do some additional painting in kitchen, living room, and hallway
Finish other half of kitchen floor (other than pieces that need to be cut)
Make Christmas Day menu and shop for groceries
Buy last Christmas gift (may have to travel to get it)

I have already cleaned/decluttered the master bedroom and moved the recumbent bike in there. It is so nice to have a clean and decluttered space! The living room is almost there! Then I'll move onto the kitchen, the office, and finally the garage. My oldest son has already cleaned/decluttered his room and my youngest son is working on his. I would love to have the entire house done by the time my new classes begin on January 11th since I'll no longer have the time for deep cleaning the house.

Monthly Financial Update--December 2009

2009-12-04T17:50:00.003-05:00

I've finally gotten around to figuring out the monthly financial update!

(click on the pics for a larger view of the monthly financial data)

DEBTS

Mortgage -- $107, 175.75.

Heloc -- We're still plugging away at this.

Truck Loan -- Same as last month, except a little more saved. (Still at $3,311.07 for now until hubby gets a new job, then all the money that's piling up in the Loan Payoff Account will be sent towards it. I don't want to spend any of it in case we need it for other expenses instead. So far I have over $700 waiting to pay it down.)

Student Loans -- These are currently in deferment and will not start to become due until June or July of 2011. I'll actually be getting more of them in the next year so this amount is expected to rise.

SAVINGS

Emergency Fund -- Our emergency fund is up to $4,239.61--still haven't had to touch it again.

(In addition to these funds I have another savings account that has 2 months worth of mortgage payments--January & February.)

Retirement Funds -- (This is a combination of 4 accounts: my IRA with Vanguard; my pension fund from my last job; my husband's 401K from his last job; and my husband's current 401k.)

They've been going up again! I've also started the process (application) to rollover hubby's two 401K's since we'll be required to rollover at least one of them due to his job loss. We'll have to wait another 2 weeks to actually go through with it though because his last regular paycheck will still be adding to the 401K.

Net Worth -- Our net worth went up with the rise of the retirement funds to over $160,000. Hopefully, they'll continue to rise and we won't have to use much of our savings so our net worth will continue at this pace.

I'll add another post in a couple of days outlining what will be happening now that today is hubby's official last day of work...Monday starts the severance period.

Weekly List -- November 30th

2009-12-01T23:52:00.002-05:00

I got a bit sidetracked with my posts here this week. So much has been going on, that I'm late on this post and my monthly finance post! I'll try to catch up on them tonight and tomorrow.

Let's go over last week's list:

Need To Do

Read as much as possible and complete this week's discussion question for Urban Society class (I didn't do much reading, but I did finish the discussion question)
Work more on my 7-9 page research paper for Criminal Investigation class due November 30th (I finished this the morning it was due! Yay! It was such a pain!)
Call homeowner's insurance company to change mortgagee clause (I called them and they already had the information. But they didn't have the new loan number and the mortgage company said they never received the bill, which is a total lie...they just didn't forward it onto their subsidiary when they changed over. Idiots! The insurance company is sending it to them again.)

Want To Do

Clean up the living room and make a space for the Christmas tree to go up on Friday (The living room isn't perfectly clean, but I did clear out an area to put up the tree!)
Feel better (I've had this stupid cold thing for the last week and a half) (It seems to be better though my throat starts going scratchy if I talk too much. Then on top of it I hurt my wrist over a week ago and it's still bothering me...I may need to go to the doctor to have it looked at.)
Finish up my Christmas shopping (I'm almost done!)
Start taking care of all the papers in the box next to my desk waiting to be shredded (one paper at a time...maybe I'll get done with it by next Thanksgiving!) (Can you believe I only have a small pile of papers left to shred and some cards that need to be cut up? I even got rid of the box so I now have to shred as I go!)

This week's list mostly revolves around school and finishing up more projects around the house.

Need To Do

Complete the discussion question for the Urban Society class and try to get some reading done this week to prepare for the final exam.

Complete the 6th quiz for the Domestic Violence class and finally be done with that class.
Complete the discussion question and 11th quiz for the Criminal Investigation class.

Want To Do

Have hubby put up the supports for the chin-up/sit-up bar on the bottom of the doorway (the one for the top is already complete).
Get rid of some leftover yard sale items to clear out the house a bit--drop books off at the library and other items off at Goodwill.
Finish shredding last pile of papers.

I think that's enough things to work on for the week. I'm just still amazed by how much I got done last week!