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Home > Archive: June, 2016

Archive for June, 2016

Getting Antsy

June 28th, 2016 at 08:05 pm

I still haven't been able to find a single construction company to come out and give us even as estimate. Frown

Which is quite depressing... Really I should keep trying and keep calling, but I'm nearly burn out about the entire situation. Part of me feels like it's time to take a step back and just wait another year.

My car has been having problems again. Also it's time to replace the timing belt as normal maintenance which I was quoted around $800 last year when I inquired.

Husband's car is very old, and it's only a matter of time before it's unfix-able. Both of us are feeling car strained. The conversation of purchasing nused cars and forgoing the remodel for now, has come up several times. It's a very real possibility that both our cars could break down at the same time, and we would be left scrambling for something. We'd like to avoid that and take our time finding a good deal, and selling ours while they still have any value.

Or we could just take a year off from big expenses, pay off the LOC, save, and purchase some smaller quality of life things like some new appliances or a couch. We are squeaking by on 20+ year old appliances, which are quickly deteriorating. For example my stove's screen is going out and I have to beat on it to see the oven temperature, set the timer, etc.

I'm worried if we decide to purchase a car then our stove or washing machine will go out, or if we get the remodel then our car(s) will break down. Ugh. I keep going back and forth, and second guessing myself. How do you ever decide what to focus on?

Another Goal Completed

June 24th, 2016 at 12:40 am

Sent $150 to the animal fund completing my $1,000 goal for the year! Hurray!

I will actually need to keep saving more though, because I still need to pay for testing which is around $400. Yikes. But I should be able to just cash flow it.

Got the mama cat's spay appointment set up. In July I'm making an all day trip to pick up a goat, the next day taking the cat to the vet and working, and then the next day we will leave on vacation. The day we get back from vacation bible school will start for a week. That is going to be a BUSY couple weeks.

Have several important deadlines that need to be done before July 1st and I'm feeling the crunch. To combat stress and take a step back husband and I are taking off work early today and going camping for one night. While the time would probably be wiser spent working on deadlines, I think my health and sanity need a short break. Hopefully it doesn't rain on us!

Money Saving Surprise

June 21st, 2016 at 01:39 pm

Finally got our propane budget renewal. With the new furnace this winter we used drastically less than we had been paying in every month. So for the next year our propane budget billing will only be $40, instead of our previous $115!

$75 a month in savings, that's a pretty decent jump. I'm sure the bill will go down even more when we someday replace all the old leaky duct work. That money will just get rolled into savings or debt repayment.

I've decided to use all my regular job income for our bills, and all my design income I'm sending straight to goals.

Mom talked me into keeping the buck that was supposed to go home this week, and they got one of hers instead. I'm happy to keep the goat because it was one of my favorite babies this year, but now my animal fund won't be finished quite yet. Darn.

We really have to get cracking on planning our vacation. It's coming up quick!

Big Jump on Goals

June 17th, 2016 at 01:40 pm

I was very productive this week. Got the goat house cleaned out, and sold 2 more kids. The animal fund is up to $847! The next goat is going home next week, and I will be able to finish that goal out!

Saved $100 for vacation, truck fund went up it's normal amount, and I paid $200 on the LOC. Very nice to see that balance finally going down. I'm torn between if I should be finishing out the Roth before starting on the LOC, or should I be doing both at the same time, or just sticking with the LOC? I plan on putting $1,500 more into the Roth this year and part of me thinks I should just knock that out first.

It's been 94 degrees in the house this week, and it really makes me want AC. It's nearly unbearable combined with our super high humidity.

Roof is all done, onto the next project. Which will probably be more trim, and continuing to clean out the upstairs and declutter.

Messy Life

June 10th, 2016 at 07:08 pm

Busy, busy, busy, around here. We got the roof shingled, and the ridge cap on. All that is left is the headwall flashing, and some roofing caulk in a few places.

Going to fill up the trailer for the dump this weekend, and continue organizing the upstairs. I'm thinking one trip isn't going to be enough... Also have to clean out the goat house and barn again.

It's nice to see some big noticeable projects get done on the house.

Web design is in full steam ahead mode. Which is great, but also exhausting. Really slacking on stuff at home like washing dishes and laundry. lol.

Life is a crazy mess, but good.

Roof Progress & Animal Rant

June 8th, 2016 at 02:21 pm

Worked on the roof yesterday, got the old shingles off, and the ice shield and tar paper put down. . This evening we are shingling. We ran into a problem though. We couldn't get the very old rusty, holey, metal flashing off. Any ideas? It's really nailed into the walls (under the siding), not the roof like it's supposed to be. And we can't seem to get it off without taking off the siding. Which is old aluminum, and won't come off without completely ruining it. Frown

If we can't get it off we are probably going to just have to cut it with tin snips as close to the house as possible and try to slide the new flashing up under it. Will that cause problems in the future? When we eventually get the remodel the siding will be replaced and we can removed the old flashing, but in the mean time I don't want to have the entire bottom row of siding ripped out and missing.


I got a $5 an hour raise with the web design job! That will certainly help goals get completed, and two more goat kids are getting picked up next week.

Husband is getting really attached to the kittens and is already pleading to keep ALL of them. Embarrassment Oh my goodness we don't need 6 cats. Ugh. We'll have to wait and see what happens. It's going to be hard letting the little boogers go, I knew it would be. Which is why I didn't want kittens in the first place. If we can find them good homes it won't be so bad. But I care too much to just let them go to anyone. I can't understand people who trade and constantly sell/buy pets. I get way too emotionally invested, and once an animal comes here it most likely will never leave. With the exception of the goat kids. Which is hard enough, and I carefully screen all buyers and keep in contact.

All animals deserve love and respect. If I go in the goat pen I literately get mobbed by over a dozen adult goats trying to climb in my lap and fighting for my attention and two hands. My husband was laughing so hard at me yesterday because I sat down and all these 100+ pound animals were clamoring, rubbing, licking, nibbling, and pushing for hugs and kisses, nearly squishing me in the process. They are very intelligent and each have their own quirks, habits, and personalities. I've spent so much time with them that I can recognize their different voices from the house. Yet to most people they are just livestock.

Feeling fustrated and... jealous

June 7th, 2016 at 01:49 pm

I am so frustrated. We have been wanting to a do home addition for 4 years now. We kept putting it off until we were in a better financial spot, and decided this would be the year. At the beginning of the year I started calling around to contractors and construction companies trying to find someone to do it.

I was only able to get one company to come out and do an inspection for an estimate. Which was okay, they were my favorite anyway. Well they have put me off for months and I had to keep checking back. Yesterday I called again and they said they were too busy and were no longer interested. Frown

Well that stinks. We had hoped to do it this summer, and now I wasted all this time waiting on them. I wish they hadn't led me on.

So I started calling more companies again. I called sixteen... SIXTEEN companies yesterday. No one was interested. No one wants to do home addition, only new construction, or everyone is too busy. :/

I even called the local hardware stores to ask for names and numbers. Then one of my friends messaged me that that they are getting a remodel done, and gave me their person's number. That was nice of them, but it made me feel jealous.

To back track, I've talked about her before, this friend was always low income and we got along great because we were both frugal and did cheap fun activities. Then in the past year she met and married her husband. Who is very wealthy. My frugal friend quickly turned completely opposite. She's living in a very nice house, driving new cars, etc. She is super sweet, but has been extremely busy and hasn't had much to do with me since she met this guy. I've invited her her to do things with me several times and she always turns me down or will say yes and then back out at the last minute. I know it's not intentional, but I just don't feel like I'm good enough anymore.

Add on that my other best friend moved away, and I am feeling rather lonely. I have no one that I can call up and go to the movies or out to lunch with. All of my friends have finished college and moved away, and are being successful in their new jobs. I'm the only one still driving an old car, and living in a half finished house. Sometimes it's hard not to feel jealous.

Anyway, she told me they are getting a 1,200 sq foot addition, with a 3 car garage. They already have a 4 car garage, and a big 4 bedroom house. It's just the two of them.

We've been waiting, planning, and looking forward to this small addition for years. And it's just disheartening that they are getting one 3 times bigger than ours, and have already started on it. I can't even get a builder to call me back. Ugh.

I'll try recalling a few people who didn't answer. But it's not looking promising that a remodel will happen this year.

Forty Six Thousand

June 3rd, 2016 at 01:30 pm

Broke into the 46ks on the mortgage. Balance remaining is $46,880.41! Smile

Also paid a piddly amount on the LOC, and husband's truck fund is up to $1,460.

Web design has really picked up and I'm struggling to get it all done, keep up with housework, and still have time to relax. Yikes. But it's a good thing, we can use the extra money.

Still figuring out the details for vacation but it looks like it should only cost us a few hundred dollars or less. Gas will be paid for by goats, and we are staying at a friend's house. So only expenses would be eating out, shopping, activities, etc. Not bad.

Planning on cleaning all the big junk out of the barn such as ruined furniture, old insulation rolls, lumber scraps, etc, this weekend if it ever stops raining. Also need to roof the small front porch which somehow never got done when we put the new roof on 4 years ago... We have a trailer parked and waiting to fill up, which will be taken to the dump. I love getting rid of stuff. I am not very materialist or sentimental, which is the opposite of my husband who wants to keep every single thing.