Just checked the account balance, and our “economic stimulus” payment is finally here.  While others got theirs early, ours came when the IRS schedule said it would.

I am underwhelmed with the government’s “generosity” here: we only got $600 total, which breaks down to $300 each.  Apparently an E-4 at the top of the pay scale for that pay grade doesn’t make enough to get the full economic stimulus.  I really didn’t expect to get the full $600 for myself, since I only had an income of a little over $3,000 delivering pizzas only on the weekends, but sheesh … one would think the government would pay its active duty military enough of a taxable salary to get the full stimulus!  I had thought we were getting $900 for our “economic stimulus.”

Yes, I am griping (or whining, if you prefer).  We didn’t plan to do much “stimulating the economy” other than our trip to Florida next month anyway, but this just cut the amount I had hoped to sock away into the big emergency fund significantly!

Hubby asked for $150 of that $600 for himself.  I agreed without asking if that would go towards our vacation fund.  I have to trust that he won’t go blow it at the wargaming shop, but he indicated yesterday when we sat down to discuss money over coffee that he feels like he doesn’t have any money for fun stuff anymore, and it makes him feel poor.  Or maybe he plans to use that money tonight taking me out to a nice restaurant for our belated anniversary celebration (quite possible).

So, as it stands right now, our emergency fund will only be stimulated by $450.  So much for hopes and plans when they rely on the government.  I feel like our financial progress has slowed to a crawl, when last year we were running at full speed.

I know I should be thankful since we are out of debt now.  I know there are quite a few readers who are still working towards that goal, and are probably wanting to tell me to shut up LOL  But it’s a bit discouraging to see what should be the benefits of getting out of debt - extra money that no longer goes towards debt payments - disappear into the gas tank and at the grocery store and to school as tuition bills seem to go up even faster than the price of gas.

Where’s this “financial peace” I’m supposed to be feeling?  Expenses have crept up about 12% since the beginning of the year, while our income took an $800 per month hit.  This has resulted in over $1000 per month difference in the monthly budget numbers, and is probably why I am feeling so anxious lately.  This so-called “economic stimulus” payment doesn’t even make that difference up for one month!  Heck, it only covers two months of increased expenses, with a little left over for the anniversary dinner.  No wonder the latest CNN/Money poll says the average American doesn’t think it will help anything.

Hubby came home early, surprising me at 0300 (zero-dark-stupid) when the dog woke up and barked at him as he fumbled to get the key into the door lock in the dark.  He grumbled that the dog makes it difficult to sneak up on me in the middle of the night to surprise me, which I think is still a good thing.

Today is hubby’s birthday, and I gave him a handcrafted ink pen from Hans that almost matches mine :)  Of course, I tried to be slick this morning by setting it next to his fresh cup of coffee, and ended up spilling my coffee in the process!

Instead of going out to eat to celebrate his birthday, I am fixing him a steak dinner tonight, and baking him a birthday cake.  Hubby picked the sirloin tip that I scored on big sale over the weekend, proof that his eyes are bigger than his stomach because he first thought he could eat the giant steak by himself until I pointed out I will be fixing side dishes.

Tomorrow he will be taking me out for dinner and either a movie or a show at the local theatre to celebrate our second anniversary (which was Monday).

So basically, there won’t be a whole lot of activity here on the blog for a couple days.  He’s been gone for “only” two weeks, as opposed to the year he spent in South Korea for almost all of 2007.  His unit is scheduled to deploy to NTC in California in July, then off to Afghanistan in the fall for a year.  Such is the life in today’s Army.

Somehow I feel it was easier when I was the one going places and doing things, instead of the one staying home.

We’ve already sat down and discussed money and plans for that money over coffee this morning, but more on that later.

Over the weekend I had “the talk” with my son … not that talk.  I talked to him about inflation and grocery prices and our food budget experiment, and how I intend to give him $5 extra per week if he agrees to stock up on items he eats constantly that are on sale.

He’s already seen inflation in action at the grocery store for himself.  Remember the episode with the apples?  The first week we did the budget experiment, the apples were $1.29 per pound.  The 2nd week they were on sale for $1.19 per pound.  The next week, back up to $1.29 per pound.  Then, last week they jumped up to $1.49 per pound, and were that price again this week.

He didn’t buy apples last week or this week, but didn’t get the bagged apples either.

He also stuck with me for most of the shopping trip, seeking my input on what would be good to stock up on.  Hmmm, all it takes to get a teenage boy to ask his mother for grocery shopping advice is notice-able food price inflation!  LOL

I wouldn’t say he really stocked up on this trip, but then again I hadn’t given him *that* much more to stock up with.  Since his big bags of cereal were on sale, he grabbed an extra one at my urging.  He actually spent his entire $40 this week, and even went a little bit over for donuts and stuff to make banana pudding (I bought the bananas so I get some of it LOL).

The good news is he has more than a week’s worth of food now.  The better news is I am getting him to think a bit more about what is actually a good sale price and what isn’t.  The best news is he is learning that just because they post the price on bright stickers or cardboard does NOT mean it is actually on sale … sometimes they just want to push a product and try to make a regular price look like a sale!

As for myself, I was in full “lead by example” mode, scouting for killer deals on meat in particular for hubby and myself.  My efforts paid off as I snagged some beef sirloin tip for $1.79 per pound!  I have five impressive size steaks and one roast out of it after it was cut. (She shoots … she SCORES!)  I also snagged my hamburger patties and hot dogs BOGO (Buy One Get One … Free in this case) because it’s that time of year again, and hubby has been indicating all winter he wants a grill.

So, today’s shopping expedition was a marked success for me in the stocking up department, and a primer for the Teenager on just how to do it.  Now, if I can just teach him the “safe following distance” concept with shopping carts!

We just got back from the grocery store, and I am feeling rather frustrated with my teenage son and his idea of grocery shopping.  For those new to my teenager on a budget experiment, this is week five of the budget experiment and here’s the back story:

• Putting the teenager on his own food budget
• Teenager on a Food Budget: First Try
• A Gallon of Milk vs A Gallon of Gas
• Teenager on a Budget: The Milk Update
• Week Two: Teenager on a Food Budget Experiment
• Teenager on a Food Budget: Week Three

It’s not as if I have never tried to teach him how to shop smart.  It’s not as if I have never taken him shopping and “led by example” for aggressive saving on food.  It’s not as if I didn’t point out great loss-leader sales as we went in the door.  It’s not as if I haven’t tried to teach him how to save by buying in bulk when it’s a better deal on items that will be eaten.

He’s being stubborn, clinging to the idea that he can outshop his mom *his* way.  Just one hour ago, he told me: “I only buy what I need for the week, instead of stocking up.  That way I am saving money.”  He was buying four large individual apples, and I pointed out to him he could save money and get more apples if he bought the prebagged ones, even if they are smaller.  By my calculations, he could eat two smaller apples at a time and still have more servings for about the same cost.  He bought the bigger ones.

One thing I absolutely love about shopping at the local Kroger is they put the price per unit on their price labels.  This helps immensely, especially when trying to determine which size of an item to get and whether or not the larger “bulk” size is actually the better deal (sometimes it isn’t).  I have pointed this out to my son several times over the past couple years.

Over the past couple years I have stressed the importance of knowing what normal price is, so I know when a sale is actually a good deal or when it’s just hype.

Apparently all my instruction has been for naught.  Or maybe he is just experimenting on his own, and will eventually come around to my way of thinking on his own.  I just know I am feeling frustrated right now as he is dismissing all my shopping advice.  For those of y’all who have survived raising teenagers, or have just come out of the teenage years yourself: Is this a “normal” phase for teenagers to completely blow off parental advice?

I got in from the funeral in Missouri last night, but was too tired to post.  The trip was about 320 miles each way, with driving back and forth between two small towns on Highway 50 while I was there.  As much as I cringe at the thought of climbing behind the wheel again, I still have to work tonight.

My thoughts are still pretty jumbled up about the whole situation.  I got to visit with cousins, aunts, uncles, second cousins, and even third cousins that I haven’t seen for years.  We all just wish it could have been for a happy occasion instead of a funeral for my younger cousin.

Moneywise, I did the trip for only about $230 including gas and motel expenses.  The desk clerk didn’t mention my room had a refrigerator and microwave, so I am really wishing I had brought the cooler along with some food and drinks.  It wouldn’t have cut much out of the expenses, but I could have brought some “comfort food” along with me.

On the feelings side, I am very glad I made the trip and got the opportunity to reconnect with my family.  My aunt brought out old pictures from when we were little kids, and they brought back fond memories of playing with my cousins during the summer at my grandparents’ farm.  That’s the way I’ll always remember Shelley: my younger vivacious cousin that I had so much fun with when my parents made the drive to visit.

There were a lot of tears, a lot of hugs, and a lot of memories. 

I’d like to thank my two guest posters for helping me out on short notice, and all of y’all readers for your kind words of sympathy.

I am heading out to drive to Missouri shortly for my cousin’s funeral.  I’m staying at a local motel, as all my family members have already claimed the spare bedrooms.  I took a little while to work everything out, but am getting a halfway decent rate for such a short-notice reservation in a small town.

The biggest rule for driving to Missouri has always been to fill up before crossing the Illinois state line.  They must have high gasoline tax there, because as long as I can remember gas prices have been at least a dime per gallon higher than the surrounding states.

The Pizza Taxi is ready for a highway trip, as I put new tires on it in February and had its oil changed ten days ago (along with the mechanics’ check-up).  It has been a little while since I have taken it on a highway trip, so it should be interesting to see how it does on gas mileage.

I thought about loading up the cooler with some munchies and road eats, then started to think it might affect my weight ratio since the car is so small and lightweight.

While I’m gone, I have a few guest posts that will run for your reading pleasure.  Be sure to check them out, and big public thank you to the guys for pitching in and helping on short notice.  I’ll be back sometime Thursday night, and probably blogging again for Friday.

I am interrupting this personal finance blog for a tribute to my cousin Shelley, who was found dead in her home Saturday.  She left behind a terminally ill husband who is in the hospital.  Shelley was only 32 almost 31.  I don’t have details yet, as I didn’t get the email until after work and my mom was sleeping by then.

When we were kids, Shelley, her brother Mikey, and I would play on Grandpa and Grandma’s farm.  I remember the time we convinced Uncle Bob to use his pocketknife to cut us some straight green branches, then we pulled Uncle George’s fishing line out of his tackle box and made bows and arrows and chased the younger cousins around the farm.  It was great fun, until we actually hit one of them (my brother).  Then my mom and Uncle George came out wanting to whoop us, but Grandma saved us by saying we just needed work and handed us buckets to go pick blackberries (and not come back until we were good and scratched up with full buckets). 

Shelley lived her whole life in Missouri, whereas I moved around a bit: Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee.  It’s been over two years since I last saw her, and had been thinking over the winter that I needed to get her email or phone number from my sister to catch up with her again.  Now I regret not doing that.

I can afford to pick up and head to Missouri for the funeral, since I have just under $3,000 in the emergancy fund.  My big concern is my classes, as we are down to only two weeks before finals.  As y’all know, organic chem is kicking my (donkey).

This is in stark contrast to February of 2004, when our cousin Eric died at the too-young age of 19, and only three weeks after I redeployed from Iraq.  He was the only other member of our generation of cousins to go into the army, and left behind a young pregnant bride.  At that time I didn’t have an emergency fund, and was probably in no shape to drive on the American highways without a tailgunner anyway.  With the passage of time, I have come to regret that I didn’t make his funeral.

Now my big decision is whether or not I can afford to take a few days off class this close to finals.  Right now I am leaning towards “Yes” and making plans to head for Missouri.  It’s too late to call Shelley up and catch up on what’s going in our lives, but at least I could get a chance to say “Good-bye and walk in peace.”  The family will miss you, Shelley.

I was just too tired last night after we got home from Wal-Mart to blog, but last evening was the Teenager’s third week on his grocery budget and my reaction this week is mixed.

Once again, the Teenager did not spend his entire grocery allocation and says it was 100% intention this week.  In fact, he didn’t buy much for food at all, only getting milk, cereal, apples, chips, and a couple other things.  I asked him about that in front of the checkout lanes, and he said he was good on pasta and sauce at home.  He declared he wanted to do a midweek grocery run and was saving the rest of the money for that.

I had a few misgivings about that in Wal-Mart, then the thought occurred to me after the Teenager went to bed: he may prefer to do his grocery shopping at Kroger.  When we hit Kroger for week two he had much more food in his cart as Kroger carries a better selection of things for vegetarians, especially in the store brand.

I should probably mention that the Teenager does NOT shop with us.  He grabs his own cart and heads off on his own, and doesn’t seem inclined to ask advice or even be within two aisles of our cart while shopping.  In fact, if we head for the dairy case in the back, he will start in produce.  I doubt if he would take advice given as advice, so I just ask him questions when I see him.  He calls me on the cell phone when he is done checking out to see where we are, and waits for us at the door.

If you’d like to catch up on this story, here are the previous posts about my experiment of putting my 14yo son on his own grocery budget:

• Putting Teenage Son on a Food Budget
• Teenager on a Budget - The First Try
• A Gallon of Milk Costs More Than A Gallon of Gas
• Teenager on a Budget - The Milk Update
• Week Two - Teenager on a Food Budget

As always, comments, suggestions, and criticsms are welcome.