ThreeBeanSalad

Old Total: $3100.86
+ $50.00 babysitting
------------------------
New Total: $3150.86

I made $50 babysitting last night. The kids were eagerly anticipating a snow day today-
and they got it! It's snowy an icy this morning. The public schools are closed, but not the University. Rats!

I had to drive 30 miles each way to a Doctor's appointment today- ahh, the joys of small town life!

On a positive note, the doctor was in the same town as the Aldi Supermarket, so of course I couldn't help but take a gander ...and drop $60.

About $20 of the bill has spent on nuts to make

spiced & salted nuts as gifts for the Holidays. Nuts aren't something I buy regularly, so I'm not certain the Aldi price was necessarily better than the grocery store, but I figured there was a good chance.

Anyone care to enlighten me?

16 oz Walnut meats: $3.99
16 oz Sea Salt Cashews: $3.99
16 oz Shelled walnut pieces: $2.69
6 oz Pecan halves: $2.69
8 oz Raw Almonds: $1.99

My most exciting purchase were 5 of these frozen 9-piece Sushi ensembles:



They caught my eye during my last visit, but were priced at $5.99 / box! However, today they were on sale for $0.99! I guess Sushi isn't popular with the rural clientèle! If I had room in the freezer, I would have bought more. I figured they would be a great alternative for days when I don't have leftovers for lunch or ever as an appetizer for dinner.

Lots of people have been

blogging about spending more than usual this month.

I feel similarly. Nothing is out of control, but it's adding up. The mattress. A haircut. Gifts. More gifts. I have enough money, but as Madame X wrote, it's watching it evaporate that makes me feel a tinsy bit uneasy. I know I'd feel better if I could make just a little more this month to try to balance it out.

So, to assuage my anxiety about all the spending this month, I posted an ad advertising myself available for New Year's Eve childcare. No one has contacted me yet, but there's still time.

I also responded to an ad from a family looking for in-home childcare for the week of Christmas, 5 hours each day. I am actually going to be with Mr. Bean visiting my parents the week of Xmas, but I said I would be available the last three days they needed someone. I'm supposed to call them on Thursday to talk, so I don't really know what their childcare situation is. I said I charged $10 / hour. I'm not going to do it for less, but if it works out, it will be an extra $150 and possibly a connection to a new family with occasional childcare needs.

Old Total: $3075.86
+ $25.00 Blog Contest
------------------------
New Total: $3100.86

Thanks to everyone who read and commented on my

blog contest entry and a special thank you to those who voted! Good luck to the December entrants, too!

In case, there was any doubt, I'm adding the money to my Challenge total!

Old Total: $3050.86
+ $25.00 rideshare
------------------------
New Total: $3075.86

I gave a rider (identified through Craig's List) a ride from Mr. Bean's city back to my town earlier today. She gave me $25 for gas.

If I wasn't a Cheapskate, I'd totally get one of these for my little furry friend.

She'd really look smashing, although she'd probably like destroying and chasing it more than wearing it.

Intrigued? Horrified? Find our more at KittyWigs.

Old Total: $3020.86
+ $30.00 babysitting
------------------------
New Total: $3050.86

I made another $30 babysitting tonight. I haven't been back to the overnight job since September. I don't know if it will ever resume again-- and if it does if I'll have it in me to go back. As graduation nears, my money making schemes are becoming less of a priority as my thesis work become more time consuming. I've always worked a steady 8-9 hours a day on it, but the final stretch might involve marathon effort.

There will be no babysitting this weekend as I'm going to see Mr. Bean. I was able to find someone to ride one way with me-- which should amount to $25 for "gas".

Do you set a spending limit for Christmas? I've thought about it, but I never have. I imagine it might be more of an issue when we have kids and it can be easy to go overboard.

I'm almost done with my shopping, and I was strating to feel a little anxious/guilty that I'd spent too much-- especially given the mattress we purchased this month a a plane ticket I bought to get together with my high school friends in February to celebrate turning 30 together.

A quick analysis in Quicken shows I've spent just under $450 of my own money. I'm unsure how much has been put on our joint credit card since Mr. Bean tracks that. I imagine it's somewhere around $100? We put family gifts on our joint credit card, but oftentimes I'm buying stuff for myself or a gift for a friend at the same time and don't bother to divvy up the purchases. I'm comfortable with these numbers, but knowing what they are will (hopefully) motivate me to cool the spending for the rest of the month!

After spending the past 3.5 years sleeping on my husband's 10 year old futon, the Bean's are upgrading to a bona fide bed! Alleluia!

Here are some main points I learned in the process:

1. Mattress prices are negotiable.
Do not pay the sticker price, nor the price that the salesperson says is the "sale" price. Negotiate. If he/ she will not go down in price, head elsewhere. I was getting initial price quotes of $599 and $699 on the exact same mattress at the exact same store chain in retail outlets less than 4 miles apart. When I asked the salesman at the $699 store if it included the frame and he said "no", I realized he thought he could take me. I said thank you and headed for the door.

2. Different stores sell the exact same mattresses using different names.
This is to confuse you and make it harder to comparison shop. Take careful note of the mattress you like so that you can compare it with those at other stores. For example, Simmons offers three lines of mattresses. The lowest is "Classic". A Simmons Classic mattress at Mattress Warehouse is probably the same as the Simmons Classic mattress at Mattress Discounters. Make note of the details and compare. When I tried to tell a salesperson at one mattress chain that I had been offered a better price on the same mattress at a competitor, he asked me the name of the competitor's mattress and then proceeded to pull out a sheet from his desk that named the names of all the mattresses sold at their store with the names of comparable mattresses at other store. Oh how I would have loved to get my hot little hands on that sheet! Alas, I couldn't steal it from him, but it confirmed what I thought was true.

3. Sales at mattress stores are fake.
Don't be pressured to buy something because it's on sale. Mattresses are never truly on sale. You can get the same price weeks later.

4. Ask the sales person to write down the name of the mattress you like on a business card with the price.
Not only will this help you keep the mattresses and their silly names straight, you can also use this as a quote to negotiate with other chains.

5. The sales people will try to keep you away from all mattresses priced under $1000.
When we first started shopping, I thought mattresses under $1000 didn't exist. Then I realized we were just constantly being steered away from them. I had one salesman tell me the mattresses lined up against the back of the store (where the less expensive mattresses were displayed) were only for "children and guest rooms". Huh? So, would it be illegal me to purchase one for my room? I guess so! If you're shy and want to at least test a less expensive mattress, tell them you're shopping for a spare room. Generally speaking, the farther back in the store you go, the less expensive the mattresses will be.

6. If you need a frame, don't get ripped off.
You can order a Queen sized bed frame from WalMart.com for ~$45 and have it shipped free to a store. Don't pay $80+ for a frame at a mattress retailer.

We ended up buying the Simmons Palm Cove Queen Size mattress, box spring and frame from Mattress Warehouse for $550 with free delivery. The sticker price was $699 + $59 for frame. Interesting, in the city where Mr. Bean lives, the identical matress at the same retail chain had a sticker price of $899. Yowsers!

Back in my neck of the woods, the salesman initially he said the best price he could give me was $640 + cost of frame, but when I said his competitor offered $599 and I had a card to prove it, the price dropped to $550 and included a frame.

I can't wait to sleep in my new bed!

More great mattress buying tips are available at MyMoneyBlog

Part I and Part II. Make certain to read the comments-- I learned a lot from them!

Old Total: $2995.86
+ $25.00 babysitting
------------------------
New Total: $3020.86

I made $25 babysitting tonight.. and I crossed the $3000 mark!

Did you know

Big Lots is a great place for baby clothes? A friend of mine is due to have her first boy and mentioned she needs simple Onesies and other easily washed clothes for her upcoming arrival.

Big lots has a great selection of Carter’s and other name-brand baby clothes for a fraction of retail price. Once I get these items packed up in a one of the cute Dollar Tree gift bags you’ll never know the gift cost less than $18.



I know my friend loved Robeez for her daughter, so how could I resist these Robeez imposters for $4?

In total, there are:

2 long sleeved, footie Sleepers
2 Long sleeved, footie coveralls (similar to Sleepers)
2 Long Sleeved Gowns (or as I like call them: baby sacks)
2 Shoes!

Old Total: $2965.86
+ $25.00 ride share
------------------------
New Total: $2995.86

I took an undergrad with me on the trip back home after visiting Mr. Bean this weekend in exchange for $25 to cover gas.

I'm hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year. My menu is set, but I haven't had as much time to plan the place setting and table decorations as I'd like. I did have a moment of inspiration this evening while I was eating dinner this evening I glanced up to the shelf and saw a bunch of wine corks:



These name cards were simple to make. I printed our names on piece of ivory paper, sliced into the cork and threaded through a leaf. To add a little splash of color, I tied a burgundy piece of ribbon (originally intended for Christmas packages). If time allows, I'll look for more vibrant colored leaves outside tomorrow.

I've probably saved $100 over the course of the year with online coupons for local retail establishments and service providers like dry cleaning and auto repair.

A perfect example of this comes from an auto service center in my neighborhood. Their web page offers numerous 'Internet Special Coupons" for $4 off oil change, $10 off inspection, etc.

So, before your next purchase, check out the web page of your vendor. You might be surprised!

Turkey gyros are one of my favorite frugal meals. When I was working as a personal chef, it was also one of the favorite meals of my client, too. Unbeknownst to them, it was a simple recipe they could easily have made themselves!

When made with ground turkey from Aldi ($0.89 / lb), the meals costs ~$1.25 / serving. Technically, a gyro is supposed to be shaved lamb, pork, beef or chicken. This recipe is neither shaved nor the appropriate meat, but the flavor is delicious so let us allow the technicality slide!



Turkey Gyros

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1/2 C. onion
2 tsp. minced garlic
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/8 tsp. black pepper
4 7" pita bread

Cucumber Mint sauce (to be served on top of gyros)

1 C. non-fat plain yogurt
1 C. low-fat sour cream
1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/4 tsp. dried mint
1/2 tsp. salt
dash black pepper

Mix all turkey ingredients in non stick skillet and brown. In bowl combine all Cucumber Mint sauce ingredients, stir. Spoon hot meat mixture over pita and top with sauce.

If you don’t have a cucumber or mint (I didn’t tonight) they can easily be omitted and your end result will still be great.

I stuff the filling into whole wheat pitas (purchased and frozen from my summer trip to the

Freihofer’s Outlet), and filled with diced grape tomatoes and spinach from last week’s Aldi trip. Healthy, flavorful and original!

November 11 was my 1-year anniversary of writing a blog at Savings Advice. The date snuck up on me, so I decided to take a peak back in Quicken to see how my financial state had changed since joining this community.

Wait, is that for real?

You’d think that because I keep track of things in Quicken I would be watching my progress over the past year- but I wasn’t. I diligently added in everything spent and everything earned, but I wasn’t watching the change in net worth. In part this was due to opening a Roth and high yield CDs causing the money to be spread across a number of accounts. Plus, my old (2004) version of Quicken no longer supports automatic downloads so I it had been some time since my ROTH and 401(k) were updated.

Drumroll, please: From 11/11/06 to 11/11/07 I increased my net worth by $12,346.85.

My take home pay from the University during this period was $20,760.19 (this includes by stipend plus the additional pay I received for teaching courses in the summer). Like most people, I pay rent, utilities, and a small car payment. When I started on this adventure, I never would have guessed I could increase my net worth by so much in a year. My objective was truly just to try to spend less and save some money.

So, how did I do it? Here’s my retrospective analysis:

1.) I looked for additional income streams (+ $3675.77)

For those of you that have been following my Challenge, you’ll notice that I’ve earned just shy of $2700 in the challenge. My Challenge includes only new income streams since 1/1/07, but I have other income streams that were not new in the New Year that you'll see represented here. The bulk of the non-Challenge income came from my personal chef gig where I delivered homemade meals to a professional couple. That job ended in Spring when they had a baby and the woman stayed at home.

Personal Chef: $950.00
Ride Share: $90.00
Babysitting: $1731.00
eBay sales: $507.91
Half .com sales: $294.91
Garage Sale / Classified sales: $262.00
MINUS -160.05 for eBay fees and shipping for eBay and Half.com
TOTAL ADDITIONAL INCOME: $3675.77


Looking back at this makes me realize how lucrative the personal chef gig was. On the flip side, I feel like I baby sit all the time and the amount is still relatively small. Cooking was exhausting, babysitting is generally pretty relaxing and fun. I plan to keep on doing it. I was also able to earn a respectable amount by selling stuff I didn't use and didn't value through eBay, Half.com and a garage sale. When I move in 6 months, I'm sure I will appreciate the head start on de-cluttering.

2.) I re-balanced my 401(k) (+ $1,148.00)

I had a 401(K) from a job I worked at between 2000-2002. Shortly after leaving that employer, the employer switched wealth management companies. They moved all my investments into a money market account and told me I needed to re-balance. I did nothing for three years. This is something I kick myself for now. Anyway, around December of this year I re-balanced have seen $1,148 in growth. This was probably the single easiest thing I did that helped increase my net worth over the past year.

3.) I opened high yield savings accounts and CDs. ($495.82)

One of the first pieces of advice I acted on from the Savings Advice community was to open high yield savings account. In late November of last year, I opened accounts at both ING and Emigrant Direct. Although ING doesn’t have the highest interest rate out there, its rates are competitive and the $25 new account bonus plus $10 referral bonus for new accounts more than made up the differential for me. In the past year, I’ve earned $360.82 in interest in all my accounts, $110 in referral bonuses at ING Direct, and $25 for a new account bonus. In other words, I earned $500 just for letting the right banks hold my money.

When I think back to my financial life prior to November 2006, I feel frustrated with myself for letting my money sitting in a checking account earning squat in interest. If you’re reading this and don’t have a high interest checking, get one today! If you leave me your email, I’ll email you an ING referral and we’ll both benefit: you’ll get $25 if you open an account with $250 and I’ll get another $10 referral bonus.

After I opened my high yield checking accounts, I diligently transferred any odd job money I earned immediately from my checking account to my high yield account so I could earn as much interest as possible. As my savings accounts grew, I started moving the money into CDs. Currently, I have savings account at ING and Emigrant Direct (at 4.2% and 4.75% APR, respectively) and CDs at Emigrant Direct at 5.2% and 5.1% APR)

4.) I started a ROTH IRA (+$306.87)
In January 2007, I moved money from my high yield savings account to open and max out a Roth contribution for tax year 2006. I also started regularly contributing to a Roth for 2007. By July 2007, I had the 2007 Roth maxed out. I achieved this by contributing $150 monthly plus the income I earned over the University for teaching summer school. My Roth is currently in the Vanguard 2045 Target Retirement fund. It’s a topsy turvey market lately, but as of 11/11/07, I had earned 306.07 on my $8000 contribution.

5.) I embraced frugality and tracked my spending.
How many times have you been at the grocery store and looked at receipt afterward and thought, ‘How did all those $1-$2 items add up to so much?”

I can’t quantify how much I saved through watching the small purchases, but the little things do add up. Furthermore, if your income isn’t very high to begin with, (like mine), the total percent of those little things can easily become overwhelming. By using Quicken, I was able to watch my monthly expenses and make sure a few dollars here and there wasn’t usurping by paycheck. In addition, as I become more involved with my money, I found myself far less tempted by impulse purchases. I did a lot of

homecooking, couponing, and shopping for bargains while trying to resist the urge for a bargain if it wasn’t really needed..

In sum, I feel happier and more empowered. Prior to joining Savings Advice I felt nervous anytime I saw an article in the newspaper about money and personal finance. Now, I know where I stand. I have more work to do before I can achieve some of my financial dreams like buying a house, but I do know I can have a rich life without a lot of money. This gives me freedom and confidence

Old Total: $2665.86
+ $300.00 house sitting
------------------------
New Total: $2965.86

Who-hoo! I just got paid for the house / dog sitting I did last week.
5 days at $60 / day = $300 bucks!

The good news is that they gave me a list of future days they need a house sitter. I don't think I can do all the days, but if I can, it will total an additional $1740!

Is it bad that I was actually a little happy when Mr. Bean called to say his train would be arriving 30 minutes late because it meant I would have more time to peruse the aisles at Aldi?

I haven’t had much time for couponing and as a result my pantry is low. When I last visited Aldi in the

Spring of 2007, I spent a lot of time hemming and hawing over the prices trying to decide if I could do better in my normal store. This time if I saw something I needed (and a few things I just wanted like a potted mum and a few crème filled German chocolate bars!) it went into the cart. Even with the 30 minute train delay, I was still a little pressed for time was quicker to purchase this time around.

When all was said and done, I spent $90.20 for 64 items—by far my largest grocery bill in a long time. I stocked up on things to make sure there was enough food to have thoughtful, tasty meals while Mr. Bean is here for the next 2 weeks. I still cook when I’m alone, but sometimes the meals lack inspiration. I also stocked up items for the Thanksgiving we’re hosting in a few weeks.

Because I bought so much, I’m not going to go through each item and its price, but I noticed that compared with my Spring trip, many items have increased in price. I bought 8 items identical to what I purchased in Spring 2007, 4 of which were increased in price:

FREEZER:
Whipped Topping: $0.75 each, SAME PRICE
Ground Turkey (85% lean): $0.79 / lb, INCREASED PRICE, $0.89 / lb
REFRIGERATOR:
Low Fat Cottage Cheese: $1.79 / 24 oz, INCREASED PRICE, $2.49 / 24 oz
PRODUCE:
Fresh Flat Leaf Spinach: $1.39 / 9 oz, SAME PRICE
SHELF:
Canola Cooking Spray: $1.29 / can : INCREASED PRICE $1.39 / can
Tomato Paste: $0.33 / 6 oz: SAME PRICE
Golden Raisins:$1.99 / 15 oz: SAME PRICE
Coffee: $4.49 / 39 oz: INCREASED PRICE, 4.69 / 39 oz can

There were a number of items I thought the price was quite good. These included:

Chicken Broth: $0.39 / 14.5 oz can (I stocked up!)
Paper Towels: $0.59 / 57 sq. foot roll
Pineapple chunks in 100% juice: $0.69 / 20 oz
Cheddar Cheese, Chunk: $1.79 / 8 oz
Green Peppers, fresh: $1.69 / 3 count
Grape Tomatoes: $1.69 / pint
100% Whole Wheat bread: $1.69 / 20 oz. loaf
Numerous Aldi Brand cereals, like Honey Bunches of Oats: $1.69 / 16oz
Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese: 2.69 / 12 oz
Shredded Mozzarella: 3.49 / 16 oz.
Pecan Halves: 2.69 / 6 oz [1.5 cups]

Tonight we had a great meal, and I couldn’t help but do a rough calculation in my head of its cost. Sum total it couldn’t have cost more than $10 and will feed our hearty appetites at least 4 times (2 x 4= 8 servings). We had a pre-marinated Teriyaki Pork Roast, (purchased and frozen back in May on sale for $4.44 during triple coupon days, so I only paid $1.44), roasted Ginger Sweet Potatoes and a Spinach Salad (Spinach and grape tomatoes from Aldi with carrots and peppers from the Farmers’ Market). Even without close proximity to an Aldi, eating well can be cheap… but I did have fun today!

I just noticed today is my 1-year Blogaversary. I've learned so much in the past year! Time flies where you're saving money!

Old Total: $2615.86
+ $50.00 babysitting
------------------------
New Total: $2665.86

I babysit from 9pm-2am last night. Luckily I was able to sleep in this AM to recuperate!

Mr Bean is arriving last this afternoon and staying for 2 weeks- this will the longest time we've spent together since he moved in May. I have to pick him up at th e train station 30 miles from our house. The station is near the only Aldi in the area, so I plan on going there beforehand to stock up on stuff for the pantry as well as some things for Thanksgiving. Last

spring I was less than enthusiastic about Aldi since I found the prices to be comparable to our normal grocery store that doubles coupons. However, I haven't had much time for clipping coupons nor do I go shopping as much now that I'm only cooking for one, so I'm looking forward to this trip.

Old Total: $2550.86
+ $65.00 babysitting
------------------------
New Total: $2615.86

The Challenge had hit a slump, but a marathon babysitting session helps to revive it!

I'm also house/dog sitting this week which should bring in $300.

I have been offered my first choice post-doc Fellowship! I broke from my normal frugal mindset had am having a thank you floral arrangement delivered to my thesis adviser's office tomorrow. Of course, I've already sent her a thoughtful letter expressing my gratitude. I'm sure she will appreciate the arrangement, but I imagine the letter probably holds more meaning. Regardless, I felt like a gift was in order.

She wrote me a great letter of recommendation and went out of her way to prepare me for the interview. In fact, the arrangement seems so minor in comparison to the appreciation I feel.

Grad school has been tumultuous, but it seems like the things that matter are falling into place.

I'm still here-- I just haven't had anything to add to the Challenge nor have I had anything interesting to post! I did have an interview for a post doc Fellowship-- it went well and I'm hopeful although I won't know the outcome for a few more weeks.

The other morning I was marveling at how over stuffed my backpack seemed! For better or worse, most of the contents were related to my lunch! They included: A thermos full of coffee (why spend time and money running to a coffee shop?), a 32-oz Nalgene filled with water filtered through my home PUR filter (the campus water is off-colored but I can't stand to buy botttled water, especially at the campus vending machine prices), and my sack lunch (comprised of dinner leftovers and fresh fruit). When I plopped all these items on the bathroom scale they weighed 9 lbs! Good thing I have a sturdy backpack and a strong back!

Old Total: $2530.86
+ $20.00 babysitting
------------------------
New Total: $2550.86

Old Total: $2490.86
+ $40.00 babysitting
------------------------
New Total: $2530.86

My first addition to the Challenge in about a month! Starting next week, I'll begin overnight babysitting again, although I have some of my own commitments that will prohibit me from babysitting as much s they'd like me too. Good thing I'm not counting on this money!

Lots of traveling, not much time for posting.

I was recently in DC, so I'll list some frugal DC do's and dont's:

Do:
If you need to get into the District from Dulles airport, do check out the schedule for the

Washington Metro 5A bus line. Getting to and from Dulles via public transportation used to be nearly impossible, but now for $3 each way you can ride the Express 5A bus to either Rosslyn or L'Enfant Plaza and take Metro to your final destination. If the 5A bus doesn't meet your needs, check out the Washington Flyer bus service and pay $9 for a one-way ($16 RT) ride to West Falls Church Metro.
Don't pay $50+ for a cab!

My second Don't isn't exclusive to DC, but don't go to Maggie Moo's if either your wallet or your waistline is a concern to you! I was in the mood for a little treat, so I strolled in 'ol Maggie's and ordered a small cup of ice cream. The price was $5.33 and the potion was much too large. A smaller portion for a smaller price would have made me much happier. Furthermore, the ice cream was decent, but nothing to moo home about.

Over the course of the next few weeks I'm going to have several interviews for post-doc positions. In addition, I have 2 poster presentations (a way of presenting your research at scientific conferences) between now and early November. I decided it might be a good idea to have some business cards printed so I could have a handy, clean method of getting my contact information to people.

I had thought about getting cards printed at Kinkos. Mr. Bean had done this, and although the price was reasonable, the quality of the graphic looked poor (probably because Kinkos doesn't have access to a legal, good quality University logo).

Had I done my research earlier, I would have known I could get 50 business cards printed by the University Stationary Shop for $20, but the turn around time takes 12 days-- time which I do not have.

I decided to give printing my own cards a try. I know there are web sites for this, but I wanted the card to look clean and professional, just like the faculty and staff business cards. Advertising on the card would be a big no-no.

For ~$8.00, I purchased a package of 120 Avery Clean Edge Business Cards at my local Big-Box store. I know from previous experience it's best to spend the $1 extra for the clean edge cards-- otherwise your cards will have a tacky perforation along the edge. I grabbed a University logo (albeit probably illegally), from a University web page and then set up my card to look like the other faculty / staff cards. I printed on my home Cannon i560 ink jet. The result is beautiful! The cards look like they were professionally printed. If I didn't mind sharing my identity with the internet, I'd post a photo to show them off.

Mind you, I spent about an hour perfecting the card. The process wasn't totally easy, but I'm happy with the end product. Also, I only need 50 cards, so I can use the leftover blank cards for a future position, or even making place cards for our upcoming Thanksgiving meal (we're hosting this year!)

Another thing I've done to prepare for interviews to to create an online professional portfolio. The University offers free web space to students, so I redeemed mine and created a professional web site with a statement of my research interests, a link to PDF of my CV and graduate coursework, professional references, and a statement of teaching philosophy as well as a downloadable Power Point of a sample lecture. I put the URL for the site on my cards.

The online portfolio was time consuming to create, but hopefully it will help me market myself and have all my materials in one central location. I used Dreamweaver software to create the site (also free in University computer labs), so very little coding skills were needed.

These two items are complete, but I still have a lot to do to get ready!

Tip #3 for saving money on vacation: Don't tune out from the news when your on vacation.

I had been requesting for some time that Mr. Bean take the majority of our savings account money and move it into a CD (yes, we have cash in other accounts for emergencies). The money was in a 4.5% APR Electric Orange Savings. Although ING Savings rates have been fairly stable, I had watched the ING CD rates fall from 5.3% to 5.15% in recent months and feared more drops were on the horizon.

I also knew from experience that if you set up a CD online on a non-business and then the bank drops interest rates on the next business day, you get the lower rate. This happened to me when ING dropped their CD rates from 5.3 to 5.15%. I set everything up under the assumption and advertisement of 5.3%, but by the time everything went through the rate was 5/15% and that was the rate my money was locked in at.

The September Fed meeting occurred the Tuesday we were on vacation. Sunday night I asked if he had opened the CD. He had not. From watching the news and reading blogs, I knew an interest rate decrease was likely from the Fed and banks would likely follow suit and drop their savings rates, too.

So, I pulled out the laptop and we did it together. At the time, ING was offered 5.25% on a CD if you transferred the money from an outside account. We briefly contemplated transferring the money to our checking account and then transferring it back into the 5.25% CD, but I knew we couldn't do all those transfers before the Fed meeting. ING's offer for a 5.25% CD had just been posted, so I doubted they would pull the offer if the Fed dropped interest rates. I was really drawn to trying to get that 5.25% rate, but ultimately decided to go for the bird in the hand and open the 5.15% CD from internal money.

Shortly after the Fed meeting, ING pulled the offer on a 5.25% CD if the money is transferred from an external account. In addition they dropped the 12 month CD rate to 4.9%, and their savings account rate fell to 4.3%.

Even though were were on vacation, it paid to be aware of current events. We locked in the 5.15% yield on a 12 month-- just in the knick of time.

You probably haven't noticed, but I sure have: babysitting has been slow this month.

Aside from being away last week, there have been 4 nights I was scheduled to overnight babysit that were canceled because The Dad got his hours switched at the last moment. It's nice to sleep in my own bed, but I miss the money. It's not money I "count" on, though, so I'll be OK.

I did have a pleasant monetary surprise come my way on Tuesday, though. I wanted to attend a professional conference in early November, but the registration fee ($255) was more than I was interested in paying out of pocket. I submitted an application for a scholarship and was lucky enough to have one awarded to me. The conference is the city where Mr. Bean lives, so I expected that the scholarship would pay my registration and possibly offer re-reimbursement for lodging-- in which case I would say I already had housing arrangements and didn't need a hotel.

However, I found out on Tuesday that the Scholarship is a free registration and a check for $995 to help cover lodging and transportation! What a pleasant surprise! My transportation costs will just be gas for the ~500 mile round-trip.

I'm not going to add the money to my challenge because I'm using the Challenge only to total new income streams and things I wouldn't have done in the name of making money prior to joining the SA community. Honestly, I probably would have balked at paying $255 out of pocket for a conference prior to SA.

Now I just need to decide where I'll but the money. I'm leaning either towards earmarking it for my 2008 Roth IRA or earmarking it for a non-retirement mutual fund. I feel comfortable with the amount of cash I have in savings and will be able to max out my Roth for 2008, so I'm starting to think out moving some of the cash in savings into another vehicle. Any thoughts? Any suggestions for where to do more reading? I could come up with 3K (Vanguard's minimum). I'm thinking about the Vanguard 500, but I'm still wet behind the ears.

Another second cost-saving on our recent trip involved by new friend

non-fat dry milk.

I eat breakfast everyday-- typically a bowl of cereal with fresh fruit and coffee. Although I stocked up on some cereal bars for the trip, this type of high energy denisty food would never be a satisying breakfast to me.

So, along with clothes and sunscreen, my suitcase contained disposable bowls and spoons leftover from a office party, a gallon Ziploc bag of Cheerios, and pre-measured Ziploc baggies with 2/3 cup of dry milk.

At the hotel, I'd empty a baggie of NFDM into my Nalgene bottle, fill with 16 oz.water, shake and put in the mini-fridge. In the mornings, I enjoyed cereal, fresh fruit from the Farmers' market, and in room complimentary coffee.

We did our fair share of dinners out, but breaskfast was always en suite!

My vacation in Santa Monica was terrific! It was a perfect blend of site seeing and relaxing.

As we hoped, we made it the entire week without renting a car. Granted, we were staying in pedestrian friendly Santa Monica, but we ventured to Hollywood, downtown LA, and UCLA all by bus or Metro. I’m so glad we braved the public transportation, because it great— and I think much of Los Angeles' bad reputation for public transportation comes from people who have never tried it. Don't get me wrong- for a city of its size, LA should have a better system, but what's there is pretty good-- but also under utilized.

I used the

Los Angeles Metro web site to plan our routes. Not only did we avoid the cost of renting a car, gasoline, and parking, but we were able to sit back and enjoy the sites and let someone else worry about the traffic and directions.

Friday was our first full day and also the day we did the majority of site-seeing. A few weeks before the trip I had requested tickets to be an audience member on the Dr. Phil show. I’m not a huge Dr. Phil fan, but we thought it would be an interesting experience to be on the set of a television show. We each paid $5 for all-Day MTA pass (which allowed us unlimited rides on the LA buses and Metro until 3am—typically each bus ride is $1.25 and each Metro ride is $2.50). We caught a bus just steps away from our hotel in Santa Monica to ~ 5 blocks from the Dr. Phil studio in Hollywood. The trip was ~11 miles and took approximately 45 minutes.

Being an audience member is a fun experience. Although we appeared only briefly on camera, it’s thrilling experience just to be in the audience. The topic was etiquette— mostly airline etiquette . We had two nice surprises: all audience members received a free copy of Peggy Post’s book Excuse Me, But I was Next, but the big surprise was that every audience member received a free round trip ticket on Virgin American airlines! Audience members don’t know the show’s topic until seated on the set, nor do you know if there are any surprises, so needless to say, we were thrilled!

After Dr. Phil, we caught the bus and rode about 1 mile to the corner of Hollywood and Vine St. and continued to walk down Hollywood Avenue to take in the traditional Hollywood sites, including the Kodak Theater and Grauman’s Chinese Theater. From there, we hopped on the nearly empty Metro Red Line and rode into downtown Los Angeles. From there, took it on foot and saw Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, US Bank Tower, and bought some fruit to bring back to our hotel from the Grand Central Market (and I’ll add that I paid only $2 for 4 nectarines and big bunch of grapes)! We missed the free tours of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, but if you're a visitor to LA try to get there before 2pm and take one. We thought we could ride the Santa Monica Express bus back to our hotel using our MTA Day passes, but it turned out that the Santa Monica buses were exempt, so we paid $1.25 to ride the freeway express bus from downtown LA to Santa Monica. We sat on the air conditioned bus and cruised down the freeway for some 10 miles until we were back in Santa Monica. The Friday rush hour trip took about 50 minutes. As it turns out, having ridden the MTA bus twice and the Metro once, we broke even with our day passes, but at least we were saved the hassle of trying to get money out and paying fare for each ride. We were exhausted by the end of the day, but our only expense was on transportation, lunch, and some fruit at the market. Had we been driving, we would have been majorly frazzled and had a lot less cash in our wallets due to the exorbitant parking costs.

I’ll highlight some of our other feats later this week. For now, I’ll leave you with a photo: