We got the check from the Schwab acct and we deposited it late last week. Because of the amount it will be held for what seems like forever. I think 9 business days. They did release a portion of it today. Unfortunately, the car payment, boat payment and student loan payment were all do before any of the money became available so I just had to make regular payments this month. As soon as the money is available I will start paying things off. The cc statements should be in soon so I will pay those off in full. THAT WILL FEEL SO GOOD!! Next will be the car and boat.

I started a new job July 5. I will finally get a paycheck tomorrow. I have gone 3 weeks without a paycheck because of the differing pay schedules between jobs. They pay current here thought so it will be a bigger paycheck than normal because it will be from when I started. The bad news is that even though I'm eligible for the 401K in another week it won't start until Oct1 (beg of new quarter). I think I will set 10% of my paycheck aside to put into a Roth IRA. Because I had only worked at my last job for 3 months I never got to contribute anything there either. And I didn't save anything, the extra $$ went toward bills. Anyway, now that we're more comfortable I want to make sure I put SOMETHING away for retirement. I know diehards will say put it all toward the debt but I have a good plan and I can afford to put it away. WOOHOO debt free except the mortgage in just over a year or less!!!

I've been doing really well with eating lunch in. I slipped yesterday because DH and ds came to see my new office and we went out. But other than that I've been packing sandwiches or leftovers. DH is still spending more than I'd like at the store but we have cut way back (comparatively). We hardly ever eat out anymore either. I think back to just 2 months ago and how much we were spending to eat out and I just can't believe it! I only started this plan mid-month in June so this month will be the first full month to see a real difference. With so many quirky things going on financially it's hard to guage how much better off we are.

It seems I've signed up for a boatload of free samples and haven't seen much coming in. Though I think it typically says anywhere from 4-8 weeks so maybe it hasn't been long enough. I did get a small packet of Nivea lotion yesterday. Oh and full size bottles of Pantene shampoo and conditioner (just came yesterday). I signed up to try the product and do a survey. I didn't expect the big bottles. Woohoo free stuff! And for the first time ever I shopped at Walgreens to get FAR stuff. I already sent in for my rebate. I am going to Rite Aid after work today to get some stuff from there. They also have some good sales on school supplies that I will buy to donate to the school supply drive they are having at work.

Oh...yard sales. This past weekend I spent a total of $3.50 and got
2 muffin pans for 25 cents each
1 brand new organizer notebook thing for 50 cents
AND all for only $1.50
Clothes for my son: 1 brand new Old Navy jacket, 3 pairs of blanket/footie pajamas, 2 tshirts and 1 long sleeved shirt. What a bargain! I bought the tshirts to save them for next year but one looked small so he's actually wearing it a little big now.

I am going to be BUSY this fall. On top of my regular job I'm going to be teaching 2 face-to-face classes for a local community college - assuming both classes get enough to participation to hold them. And it looks like I'm starting the training process to teach online. So this fall I could be teaching 3 classes on top of my regular job. Since my whole goal is to teach full-time in 2 years I'm just going to suck it up and get all the experience I can. And if it's too much I can cut back in the Spring. The extra $$ will be nice too!

I guess that's it for me. I've last track of my $20 challenge so I may just forget about that. I know I'm doing well (except the exercise part). It'll be interesting to see how July expenses shape up.