I was totally slacking off in June. I guess I kind of run out gas for personal finance related stuff. It's new month, and I started keeping records of my spending again.

My DD came back from NYC/DC trip that took us almost a year to save up. Now, we need to start saving for her Europe trip next summer which is about 5K. This kid is so expensive.... Well, I know, I know. We let her be that way.

As much as I complain, I know I'm paying for them because I want to. She is only child I have and I want her to have experiences that are priceless.

NYC/DC trip was about 3K. In this trip, she met all kinds of people from world, Europe, Asia, Africa, and they had interesting background. One girl's father (the girl is from Nigeria) is a General Assembly member of U.N. And another girl's father (this girl is from Mexico) is a diplomat in Brazil. My DD learned a lot from this trip about international affairs and this trip also helped her to narrow down the direction she will be headed. 3K for us is a lot of money, but if we can squeeze it to educate her, I think it is a good investment.

OK, enough about the kid.

Like I wrote in my previous posting, there's not much deals going on. I got a new store flyer on Tuesday and looked through them. I found nothing. One store had BBQ sauce for 99 cents, and there were 50 cents off coupons for them, but the coupons expired on 6/30. Darn!! 2 days too late. I guess I will sit back and relax until killer deals are coming to my way.

I know I haven’t been blogging these days, but it’s been a month??? Where did my time go?

I have been super busy with work and school these days. My department is booking orders left and right which is great, but that means a lot of work for me. I am managing $1M project in addition to our regular business, and supervising a couple of new people. Some days, I don’t have any break all day.

I am also taking a summer class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have a paper due tomorrow, and another one on Thursday. I am writing this blog between writing my papers.

Since I am super busy, not much deal hunting going on. Coupon saving in June is ridiculously low, and I cannot believe how much I am spending on grocery. It shows how much work it takes for couponing. I am ok with it, though. There are no killer deals and I don’t feel I am missing anything. Summer is not the best season for couponing anyway.

My DD is in DC and will be back on Wednesday. She is attending a trip conducted by People to People organization. She is staying at George Washington University’s dorm and she said it is beautiful. She is with a bunch of kids from all over the world and I’m glad she is exposed to different cultures.

She called me a couple of days ago and told me about this kid from Ireland. When he was asked how many rooms are in his house, he said “30”. Then, kids asked him if his family has a boat. He said “No we don’t have a boat……. We have two ships.” And, his name is Richie. (No, I’m not making this up!!)

Another girl is from So Cal and her father is one of actors in “Desperate Housewives.” Kids call her “Hollywood.”

I cannot wait to hear more stories from her when she is back. I wish I could go on a trip like that LOL

It’s been pretty quiet holiday weekend. Since school is out, I have no homework or assignments to do. It feels weird…. I watched a couple of movies that were on TV and my friend gave me a DVD to watch. The title of the movie is “27 dresses” and it was a very cute story.

This morning, I went to Safeway for grocery shopping. I paid $60 after club card savings ($54) and coupons savings ($15.30). I also received two free movie tickets and 20 cents fuel discount. Gas is over $4 around here, so it helps to get 20 cents fuel discount. I found an error in the receipt, though. Onion is supposed to bet 59 cents per lb, or something, but the receipt says $1.69 per lb. I need to go back and have it corrected  I’m so used to going to the customer service counter and ask for a correction because this kind of error happens all the time.

By the way, my DD starts working tomorrow. She got a job at after school program operated by the city. We used to send her there when she was in elementary school. We used to pay them to have her. Now, she is getting paid to be there. She will be making $8 an hour. (Yes, it’s the minimum wage!) It’s time for her to learn money management skill.

As gas and food prices are going up, I noticed media is paying more attention to usage of coupons. I was one of those people who reads an article, and think "That's nice, but I have no idea how these people are doing it."

I remember watching TV long time ago, before I learned how to use coupons. TV news was showing the lady who goes to a grocery store and paid $2 for a cartful of stuff. At that time, I was a coupon beginner, and had no idea how she did it. I thought, I use coupons, but I can never get my total down to $2. How does she do it?? Well, now I know. She was targeting certain loss leader items, taking advantage of double or triple (which we don't have around here), and using multiple coupons.

So, I'm sure there are people out there, like I was, interested in getting into coupons, but don't know how.

It's amazing looking back, how I used to shop. I didn't know what I was missing out until I learned how to use coupons and rebates. I used to think the Dollar store was a good deal. Boy, what was I thinking???

This was a nice weekend.

Saturday: Last lecture of this semester. Our instructor cancelled next week's lecture, so all we have is a final exam on 17th. I'm so excited this semester is almost done.

After the class, I helped my group mate making his homepage for our web assignment. He injured his right wrist so it is extremely difficult for him to type. Since we will be graded as a group, I wanted to make sure his portion is complete

In the everning, I went over to my friend's house and played poker with friends till 11 pm. I lost $20, but it's ok. It was nice to catch up with my friends, and I had a good time.

Sunday: I was going to wake up at 6 and go to yoga class, but could not wake up. (Well, playing poker till 11 pm didn't help.) I finally woke up at around 8:15 (DD woke me up and told me to go to yoga), and went to hot yoga class. I'm still in trial period ($10 for 10 days) so I didn't have to pay today. I sweat so much, and felt pretty good.

I came home, took a shower, and headed to Strings (Italian restaurant) to see my friend. She is a single mom (I've known her since she was single) and have a lovely 4 yr old son. It's been more than a year since last time we met. We caught up a little, but couldn't stay too long because her son was getting bored and didn't sit still. We promised each other to meet more often than once a year.

After lunch, I went to Walgreens. This week is SUPER great deal at Walgreens. I bought 6 Mr. Clean magic eraser and 3 Charmin wipes, paid $22.49 and received $20 coupon good for next purchase.

For next purchase, I bought Edge shaving gel, melatonin (for DH), 4 cans of cream of mushroom soup, and Venus razor. After using $20 coupon, and other coupons, I paid $1.76 and received $6 coupon good for next purchase.

I will be going to Walgreens every day this week!

I went to skiing yesterday. It was really warm and people were skiing in their T-shirt.

Snow condition wasn't the best, but we really had a great time!





As for spending, actual spending for the day was $12.50 for lunch. Cesar salad and Sierra beer!! Woooo, it was sooo worth it.

I bought the lift ticket before season started. (The ticket comes with the discount card good for various ski resort in Tahoe area.) And my friend gave me a ride because I drove last time we went skiing.

So, it really was a nice day!

I started feeling bad Friday afternoon. So, I left work little early and came home, went straight to bed. I am still in bed.....

I think I got flu. Finally, fever is gone, but still feeling weak. I called my boss and told her I'm taking a day off. I don't want to push and make it worse.

I know this flu came from my co-worker. He kept coming to work even though he was really sick last week. Grrrr!!! STAY HOME, DUDE!!

I'm hoping to recover by tomorrow. I hate being sick.

One of my neighbor was telling me that they don't have any money. I knew she got laid off about a year ago, and haven't found a job, yet. And, she told me that she is "overqualified" for many jobs. Hmmmmm...... I don't think she has a college degree. So, what makes her think she is over-qualified??? A clerk at Taco Bell?

This type of attitude really puzzles me because she is complaining that they don't have any money. But, she is not working. Not even a part-time job. I guess she is not working because she is over-qualified and doesn't want to take ANY job. But for more than a year???

There are many things people do I just don't understand.

In general, wives are in charge of household finance in the country I'm from.

How to save money is one of most popular articles in women's magazines. Most of my friends (female) handle money for their family, and give their husbands an allowance.

My parents were same way. My mother was SAHM, and she handled money. When my father got paid, it went straight to her, and she was giving him an allowance.

Most of my friends, as far as I know, handle household finance as well. They pay bills, put money in savings, and make a decision about large purchases. Actually, car dealers won't take a man seriously until wife shows up with him. They know husbands are not the final decision makers.

Also, it is common for husbands to negotiate a raise of their allowance with his wife when they get their salary raise.

So, I was shocked when I came to the U.S. and saw my friend's husband giving her money when we took a girls' trip. I have never seen it before..... I thought it was interesting how different cultures handle money differently between men and women.

I hope you all had a nice Easter. We were really low key. Yesterday, I did a couple of deal hunting, Office Depot. and Rite Aid, then, came home and clipped coupons & organize them for a couple of hours. I finally found trading card holders at Office Depot. When I started couponing, I learned many people use binder method for their coupon organization and they use trading card holders. When I went to buy them before, they were out and I have been using bigger pocket type (picture holders) that holds less number of coupons.

I was really happy to find trading card holders this time. They were $2.49 each, so I grabbed two packages and added a scotch tape that were on clearance for 25 cents to make total more than $5. After $5 coupon, I paid 25 cents : ) Free coupon organizer for me.

By the way, I went to Lens Crafters to order my new glasses on Saturday. I have a pair but they are almost 10 years old and I can hardly see anything. It was waaay over due to get a new pair. Why did I go on Saturday? Because the expiration date for 50% off lenses coupon was Saturday. I know, I know. My life goes around coupons. Anyway, I checked other deals and coupons, but 50% off lenses seems to be the best deal. I knew there are BOGO coupons, too, but I don't need two pairs of glasses. I normally wear contact lenses and glasses are for night time use.

Anyway, at the end of the day, it saved me $200. Original price $569.95 - $200 = $369.95. Still, a good chunk of money. I called my benefit company on Thursday and made sure that I can buy my glasses with my FSA card. So, the money came out from my FSA fund.

I found this in CNN Money.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/news/0803/gallery.real_stories/index.html

While I felt sorry for some of these people, I think some people are their own enemy.

I don't want to be too harsh on them. I'm not perfect, either. And, make mistakes here and there all the time.

Maybe we should tell them to read Saving Advice.

I'm off today. Ohhh, it is so nice to be in PJ, sipping coffee, and write my blog. It's beautiful outside, crisp air, and blue sky.

I have 10 a.m. appointment for my pedicure. I gave a gift certificate to my friend's B.D., so we are going there together.

Then, I really need to study for my test tomorrow. It is sooo boring to learn about how computer network works. It's a requirement class, so I have no choice but taking the class. Oh well. I just have to suck it up and do it.

I received a rebate check from Longs yesterday, then, I received a bill from Kohls. They pretty much offset each other. I will have about $5 left. It's ok.

There's no coupons this Sunday because it's a holiday weekend. It's a good time to go through old coupons and organize them.

I wish everyone very Happy Easter. Spring is almost here.

My days have been really hectic, but it is time to sit down and organize my clutter around my desk. I learned organization saves money in a hard way. I totally forgot to pay vehicle registration fee that was due in February!!!! Ahhhhhh!!

I don't know why I didn't pay earlier, but the bill was sitting on my desk with other crap and I forgot about it for too long. Now, I had to pay $82 more for late payment. $82!! That's a lot of money! I am kicking and kicking and kicking myself, and felt really depressed. After I clamed down a little, I tried to think I just paid $82 fee to learn about the importance of organization, and taking time to review things.

I'm still not happy about my mistake at all. But, it is sunk cost and there's nothing I can do about. At least, I should get some kind of lesson out of it, I guess.

My DD's school student body is hosting a fund raising dinner next month. As part of ASB member, she needs sell tickets or come up with a basket for silent auction (required to be worth more than $150.) She was telling me about her ideas of getting a basket together, calling spa places and ask for donation. Yeah, right.... I just told her, "Good luck." Off she went to her friend's house.

Several hours later, she came home, and I asked her "So, how did it go?" She told me either they were closed (she did this on Sunday) or they already made a donation to somebody else. Result: Zero, nothing, nada. She told me "I will never get a sales job!!" Well, good thing you learned early. She changed her plan from putting a basket together to selling more dinner tickets. Wait... I thought she doesn't want to sell anything??? I don't know. We will see.

I told her I can put a bathroom essential basket for her if she really needs it. (Things like shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc.) I know I have more than $150 worth of products I got for free or paid very little. She wasn't really excited about the idea and will try to sell tickets first. I am just preparing for the last minute request, yes, one of those 9 o'clock at night announcement, "Mom, I need xxxxx, tomorrow."

I went to a couple of stores to do my grocery shopping. At Trader Joe's, I bought my usual, bananas, apples, tomatoes, and sourdough bread, etc.

I noticed the price of a loaf of sourdough bread went up from $1.89 to $2.29. 40 cents increase from February. Fuji apples used to be 39 cents, but they're 49 cents each now. It is still a good deal compare to other stores. Bananas are still 19 cents per pound. Great price. Two large tomatoes, $2.69 and 4 ct. avocados $3.29. There are usual stuff I buy at Trader Joe's. I also picked up a package of hard salami that was $1.89.

Then, I went to Safeway and bought other things I needed. They have a dozen eggs for 99 cents this week with minimum of $10 purchase. For some reason, the store coupon for eggs scanned 10 cents more, and I paid 89 cents for a dozen eggs. I won't complain.

I also had to go to Pets Mart to buy some dog food. Price on these went up, too! It used to be 58 cents per can, but now they were 62 cents per can. Boy.... I'm really hoping for good coupons from Pedigree. I miss BOGO coupons for these dog food last summer!!

I went to lunch with my friend yesterday. She told me her father lost his house and lives in rental now. From what she told me, her father and his wife (her stepmother) deserve to lose the house. They stretched themselves to the limit, and they knew what they were doing. My friend told me her stepmother knows the system and use it for her advantage. I don't know any detail how her stepmother did it, but they stayed in their house for one year without paying any mortgage by taking advantage of grace period to vacate the house or something. (Like I said, I have no idea how she did it. My friend told me her stepmother filed bankruptcy and every time she submitted paperwork, the grace period was extended, or something like that. Please don't quote me on this. I really don't know how the system works about bankruptcy.) Anyway, this is second time her stepmother filed bankruptcy.

My friend knew about her father's financial situation, so she told her stepmother not to get anything for Christmas last year. Of course, her stepmother went out and bought gifts for everyone. Things people do not need. My friend's husband got a shirt he will never wear and went straight to Goodwill. Her daughter received shoes she didn't like. So, my friend had to lie to her stepmother that they were too small, and find out the store step mom bought the shoes from. At least, she could exchange the shoes with something her daughter would wear.

Wow...... Good thing is my friend is not like her father, and is careful about money. I met her in Statistics class in community college. She is working on degree to become a speech therapist, and was just accepted to grad school.

I guess some people are totally fine losing their homes. Maybe, they don't care. Like her father, they find another place to live and move on..... But... will they ever learn about financial responsibility??? btw, my friend's father is 65 years old.

We have a daughter. She's sophomore in high school, and she is a good kid. Never missed a day of school, very personable, and works really hard. She doesn't know which university she wants to go, yet. But, I know it will not be a community college. While there is nothing wrong with earning lower division credit at a community college and transfer to UC or CSU (which I did), she says she is working too hard to settle for a community college. It is true. She spends most of her days studying, planning for student body activity, practicing instrument, or helping basket ball team stats.

Frustrating thing is, sometimes, what she wants to do and what she can do aren't the same thing. She wants to place herself in advance classes, but she is failing her math class. She is taking pre-cal/trig and seems that it is just way too much for her. She has been a B student in her Algebra and Geometry, so I was little concerned when she took pre-cal this year. I didn't think she had a strong enough foundation, but she was placed in pre-cal class since she passed Algebra II last year with a B. Well, she has been struggling as I predicted, and my husband is really upset about her bad grade.

I kind of feel sorry for her. When I did trig in my high school days, I didn't get it. And I didn't care, to be honest. I understand how frustrating it is to spend hours and hours studying and still get failing grade. I went to talk to her math teacher and she thinks our DD has an ability to pass. Well, then, why she keeps failing? I heard only three students in her class are passing. That doesn't sound right.

My DH may have a talk with the principle and find out what our options are. I'm not really concerned because she already has completed graduate requirement classes for math. But we just don't want her to damage her GPA. At this point, I don't know what to do with this issue. It's pretty frustrating.....

I find some similarities between managing money and managing relationship.

- You need to pay attention.
You pay attention to people you like and cultivate relationship. You pay attention to money and money will grow.

- You invest your time.
Developing good relationship takes time, and accumulating financial stability also takes time.

- Sometimes you need to keep distance.
If you're always together and too close, relationship may suffer. You also give some distance with your money and give it some room to grow.

- There will be some ups and downs.
Like marriage, we experience ups and downs in our savings and investment.

- If you treat the person nicely, you will be treated well in return.
If you treat money with care, it will reward you with a nice return.

In general, people who are managing their relationship well seem to be financially stable, too. It's just my observation.

I suppose some of you had a lot of fun getting Register Rewards for P&G products last week at Walgreens. Trial size worked like a charm and I ended up getting $92 worth of RR. (My out of pocket was $65.36, so I made $26.64 from this deal.) Unfortunately, 99 cents trial size were wiped out, and I could score only once. Still, I could find 1.39 trial size that gave me about $3 profit every time I bought. So, that was nice. What do I do with all these mini shampoos? I will donate them when holiday season comes. My office donate household necessities, i.e. soap & shampoo, to homeless people every year.

I used $4 to buy one of FAR items, and thinking what to get with the rest of $88. I may have problem buying gift card because it's $4 coupon and says one per order. We will see. I was planning to buy some Windex this week since we're running low. I have a couple of BOGO coupon for antibacterial kind, but I heard Safeway has them for BOGO this week, so it's cheaper to get theses at Safeway. (free....) I need to sit down and figure this out. It's only Monday, so I still have a whole week to think about it.

I'm leaving work at noon today because I have an exam for my accounting class tonight. It's about capitalization & depreciation. The teacher was really nice and held a review session yesterday afternoon that helped me a great deal. Very nice teacher. I hope his exam is as nice as he is LOL

I went to have my crown (for my tooth) done on Tuesday. After insurance and deductible, my portion was $559.50. Ouch!!

However, as I wrote before, I paid it with my FSA debit card. So, I don't feel much pain in my bank account. Money was already funded through FSA contribution. I love my FSA debit card.

I stopped by Walgreens and bought some P&G products. I heard trial size is working for Register Reward deal, so I gave it a try. And Voila!! It worked like a charm. I bought 6 trial size shampoo & conditioner, paid $8.34 ($1.39 x 6) and received $12 coupon that is good for next shopping trip. I am going to use the coupon to buy March FAR items.

And, I couldn't resist.... I bought two bags of M&M candies. I know, I know. It's not good for my wallet or teeth. But, it was $1 for a 12.6 oz bag!! (2 for $3 after Walgreens store coupon, then, add 2/$1 manufacture coupon makes them $1 each.) I'm sure you will understand ; )

I stopped by Trader Joe's on Saturday to pick up my usual.

Bananas, 19 cents per pound.
Fuji apples 49 cents each.
Sourdough bread $1.89 a loaf.
And a dozen of eggs...... I saw the price and skipped. The price of eggs has gone up AGAIN! It used to be 99 cents for a dozen of eggs not so long ago. Then, it went up to $1.19, to $1.69, and now it's $1.89. I know I'm talking about very small amount of money, but all of you know how quickly these 80 cents here and there add up. I decided to buy eggs at Longs Drug this time because their eggs are still $1.49 for a dozen. I need to go there to pick up new rebate book anyway.

Grocery prices are definitely going up as gas price goes up. Do you feel grocery price increase, too?

DH and I went to nice Korean BBQ dinner last night. Ohhh, it was soooo good! I had $20 off coupon for the restaurant, and the tab was $64, and I gave $10 tip for the waitress. After using the coupon, we paid $54. ($64 - $20 + $10 = $54.) The dinner was definitely worth the money.

Since we spent quite a bit for the dinner last night, I am making cheap dinner tonight LOL

Whole chicken $2.43 and I only used dark meat portion. So, half of $2.43 is $1.22
Green pepper 58 cents
Onion I don't know.... I bought two bags of onions for $2.99. So, it's about 20 cents or less.
Two cans of diced tomato $0.12 x 2 = 24 cents
Knorr soup mix I found this in my cover that was sitting there for a long time..... I guess it was like $1 at max. knowing my shopping habit.
Total $3.24 for a clock pot full of chicken dish (Main dish)

Side dish: Green giant veggie. 57 cents + Rice Roni (free) = 57 cents

Grand total $3.81

I know we won't finish everything, so left over will be my lunch.

I need new contact lenses (I use disposable kind), but my prescription expired. So, I went to check my vision yesterday. The exam was $109 and my co-pay was $10. And I ordered four boxes of contact lenses, two boxes for each eye. They were $147.92 and insurance covered $67. My portion for contact lenses, $80.92. I paid $99.92 with my FSA debit card.

I really like this FSA debit card system. It is so much easier than sending paperwork to the FSA processing company and wait for a check to arrive. I set $3,000 aside this year for medical expense, so I have enough fund to cover upcoming medical expenses for my family and myself. Fortunately, we do not have any major health problems, just dental and vision related items, and regular health check-up. But as you all know, these cost can add up really quickly.

Well, speaking of dental expense, I just received an estimate from my dentist for a crown I am planning to do in March. Estimated cost is $998, and insurance will cover $438.50, so my out of pocket will be $559.50. I am glad I don't have to stress about this money as it's funded in FSA already.

It's lunch time, and I'm eating BBQ sandwich I made.

I bought a rack of port spare ribs that were 50% off at Safeway, and paid $6.98 for it. I also bought a bag of buns (8 ct.) that was 79 cents after promotion. I cooked the spare ribs in my clock pot with a couple of onions, Cattlemen's BBQ sauce, and some maple syrup. It was our dinner last night and we still had a lot of left over, so I brought some to work for lunch.

The maple syrup I used is a gift from someone we have never met.

In December 2006, I was checking my bank account as usual, and noticed a deposit of $1,000. I asked my husband if he knows anything about it, but he had no clue. So, we called the bank and asked for a copy of deposit slip which we had really hard time to read. The only thing we could figure out was the deposit was made somewhere in East Coast (I forgot what state it was...) by Mr. A. We have no realatives in East Coast, and had no idea who Mr. A was.

We told the bank this deposit is a mistake even though deposit slip had our account number, and asked them to reverse the transfer. But the bank (BoA, by the way) could not do anything about it. They told us to take the money out and write a check for Mr. A. Well, we don't know who he is or where he lives! Plus, why do we have to go through all the trouble??? We didn't do anything wrong.

So, my husband googled Mr. A and found his phone number!! (How did we survive before Google???) DH called the guy and asked him what this money was about. It turns out the deposit was for his son who is in service and lives in CA. His son is married to a Japanese girl whose name is very similar to mine, and she has an account with BoA.

Mr. A told us he went to the bank and asked a bank teller to help him fill out the bank deposit slip. The bank teller searched in the system and found me instead of his son's wife! Well, the bank teller wrote down our account number she got from the system, and the money was transferred to our account. Boy, it's scary or what!!??

This money was a Christmas gift for their son, and this poor old couple had no idea we received the money instead of their son. Mr. A also contacted the bank after DH called him, and the bank gave the money back to Mr. A and transferred to his daughter-in-law's account. Few weeks later, we received a bottle of maple syrup from this old couple.

I've been spending quite a bit for grocery these days. I went to a Japanese grocery store to buy a bag of rice last week. I'm very particular about rice and always make a special trip to the store. While I was at the store, I bought some other things regular super markets don't carry. At the end, I paid $48. Ouch!

Today will be no spending day. I baked some muffins yesterday, and I brought one for my breakfast. I also bought a bunch of lunch meat and sandwich rolls at Safeway taking advantage of Sara Lee/Hillsher Farms deal. Lunch meats were free, and the bread was 72 cents for 6 ct. Not bad. I made a sandwich for my lunch using the stuff I bought. It's too bad Safeway ended the promotion one week earlier than they originally advertised.

People are talking about upcoming promotion at Safeway. I need to keep my eyes on the deals. Can't wait to get new store flyers tomorrow.

I found one annoying thing when I was reviewing my online bank statement. I bought a couple of pizzas last Saturday because my DD's friends were spending a night at our house. The receipt was $15.27, but the amount charged to my ATM card was $16.38 that is $1.11 more than the value on the receipt. Unfortunately, I threw away receipt after I wrote down the value in my price book/spending record. I remember someone was talking about a similar experience in his/her blog, but it was a good $1.11 lesson for me not to throw away receipts until confirming how much was actually charged. I think the person thinks nobody will come after for only $1.11, but I will say something next time this type of thing happens to me.

Yesterday was almost no spending day. I decided to go to Rite Aid and pick up a couple of feminine products that are almost free after coupon and rebate. They were $3.50 each, and I used two $2.50 off coupons, and will get $2 from rebate. Tax was 54 cents. So, actual spending for yesterday was 54 cents.

I will not spend anything today, so it will be no spending day today.

Pay January CC bill. Check!

I changed my CC from United mileage to Chase reward. $850 January ending balance paid in full, and this amount includes DD's airfare to NYC/DC this summer, $650.

Organize tax related document. Check!

I made a binder for 2007 tax and organized all the tax document I obtained so far.

Some more things to do today.
- Check tax software at Staples, and free software deal
- Gather up all the recipts for my FSA reimbursement for January
- Make a shopping list for this week

Yesterday, I stayed in the office all day, and went straight to school. Thus, No spending day. Oh, I returned one item at Rite Aid and got $8 back. So, it was positive in terms of cash flow. I bought some FAR (free after rebate) items at Rite Aid last week, and noticed one of them didn't ring up correctly and didn't qualify for rebate even though it was the qualified item. Somebody must entered wrong information in their computer. It wasn't something I desperately needed, so I just returned it and got my money back. New rebate period started at Rite Aid as well. I'd better check and see if they have anything good.

I'd better start working on our tax soon. All the paperwork is piled on my desk, and I haven't really organize them, yet. Tax time is also good time to get some free software. Staple normally offers tax software bundle deal this time of the year.

I was going to go FAR item shopping during lunch time, but it's raining..... again..... I guess I will just stay here.

I spent some money socializing with my friends on Saturday. One of my friend's friend is a Mary Kay consultant and I was invited to do a make over. I actually had a good time and learned something about make up, like how to apply mascara. I bought eye make up remover and acne solution for my DD. Total $22.

Then, I went out with my friends for a drink. We ordered bruschetta and pot stickers, and I had a cosmopolitan. My share was $12 which isn't too bad. Everything tasted good and we had a nice girls' talk.

We were really low on fruits and vegetables, so I went to Trader Joe's. I really don't care if things are organic or not, but their price is very reasonable. I bought 4 Fuji apples, bananas (19 cents per lb.!), a dozen eggs ($1.19), chocolate taffy cake (full size cake for $1.99), a package of tomatoes, a bag of tangerines, a bag of green beans, 3 green peppers, a package of mushrooms, a package of bok choy, a bag of small red potatoes, a loaf of sour dough bread, and paid $23.81.

Walgreens started new rebate period yesterday. I didn't buy anything for Walgreens rebate last month because there wasn't much. There are some good ones this week, and I am planning stop by after my class tonight.

This has been a slow day at work which is good. I don't need any surprises that causes extra reconciliation work to do.

I checked my 401K and it is down 8K since Jan. 1!! What will I do? Nothing. LOL I increased my contribution this year to take advantage of down market, and hoping this will pay off 10 years from now. I am not quite retiring, yet.

One annoying thing happened about my school, though. I signed up for the international accounting class on Tues & Thurs, starts at 4:30 p.m. Sometimes, it is not easy for me to leave work early, so when I found the school added a tax class that starts at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, I jumped on it and dropped the international accounting. Well, guess what? The school cancelled the tax class, and now I am in the waiting list for the international accounting class I originally had a seat. Grrrr!

As for money, today is going to be a no spending day.