Have your heard about this new company Trademore?

I applied for, and was assigned, 3 more secret shops this evening. One for next Tuesday (Jack in the Box), one the Tuesday after that (same JitB location), and one the Tuesday after that (a phone shop for tire stores). Still looking forward to being paid for the first one, at the credit union.

I did not calculate the interest exactly right, so did make an adjustment to my 5th wheel loan balance, in my favor. I was using a banker year (360 days) to calculate the interest, but Bank of the West uses a calendar year (365 days), which is A-OK with me.

It is looking likely we have another power outage coming up. Received word today that if it happens, our power will be going out at 2pm this Wednesday, will stay off Thursday, and turning it back on to commence Friday. This is subject to change.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, this Thursday is a payroll processing day. That means I will be working in the afternoon, in a different county building, for time and a half.

Last night I thought, hey, why not check the shopper job boards and see if there are any secret shops around here I can do? (At one time, I did a fair amount of secret shopping, but it had been years since I had last done a shop). So I looked, and I found one for a bank just a few blocks from my workplace. I did the shop right after work tonight, submitted my report when I got home, and voila, I am expecting $20.

Here is my budget for November, a 3 paycheck month. Looking forward to a productive month:

Now that the cruise is paid for and my house is sold, I needed to change my paycheck withholdings. I filled out a new W-4, choosing Single-0. I upped my 457 plan contribution from 3% to 10%. At the beginning of the year, I upped my HCRA deposit to $900 per year, which is $37.50 per paycheck (no withholding from the two "extra" paychecks per year).

Yesterday was the first payday with my new lower take home pay. Here is how my bi-weekly paycheck currently breaks down:

Gross: $2,063.28
Fed w/h: $160.78
CA w/h: $43.20
Fica-Med: $27.53
CA SDI: $18.99
Pension: $144.43
Hlth Ins: $121.07
Dent/Vis: $5.80
HCRA: $37.50
Life Ins: $0.93
Union Dues: $32.98
457 Plan: $206.33

Net Pay: $1,263.74

That's what I have to work with. Going forward, I want to save enough cash to cover items I will need/want. On that list are a full sized truck and 5th wheel for moseying around North America, as well as replacing my current vehicle when the time comes. I want to remain debt-free for the rest of my life, with the possible exception of a mortgage.

When I last mentioned it, I was leaning towards a Class C motorhome. Since then, SB and I have decided to go in half-sies on a full sized truck and later a 5th wheel. The mid sized truck SB has now pulls our small travel trailer, but it is towards the upper end of what is safe. For this reason, we don't often move it. (Mostly just up the road a mile to a campground for black water dumps). However, a full sized truck has a much higher weight limit, opening up some fun possibilities.

I have a nice cash cushion at the moment, but it is ear-marked for various things. Some will definitely be spent soon-ish (car insurance), some will be spent eventually, though when is uncertain (travel). I still have significant saving to do to have my vehicle goals funded.

What a happy event opening the mailbox was today. Included in my mail were:

1. $100 credit card rewards check

2. $160 part-time job check

3. $912 homeowner's insurance refund check

Whoo-hoo!

Yesterday I received a check for $160.00 from my part-time job and have sent it off to E Fund.

For my new homeowner's policy and new auto policy, I charged a total of $1,068.90. Yesterday, I received a credit to my CC in the amount of $184.82 from the old auto policy. I have transferred 1068.90 - 184.82 = 884.08 from CurveBall to pay the credit card. I am still waiting for the old homeowner's policy to refund $912 to my escrow account. When that happens, I will request a refund of the overage, and that money will go back to CurveBall. I expect it will be at least a month before all the dust settles.

So many hoops, but worth it for the $300+ savings.

This is the downside to having an escrow account. However, I do find it convenient for the most part. Also, I enjoy the 2% interest it earns.

My company Xmas party was this past Saturday evening. Our little group was served dinner in the wine cellar of a local restaurant. It was very private, which made the atmosphere very comfortable. I think everyone present had a little too much to drink. We stayed late and laughed often. What a fun evening!

My Xmas bonus this year was $2,100. I have already sent $600 off to my traditional IRA, and the remainder off to Visa. Kind of a bummer that I didn't get to keep some, but paying that Visa down to zero every month is a higher priority.

On payday, I did a wallet sweep and sent $2 off to the mortgage. Today I received $3 from PineCone, and have sent that off as well.

It took about a year this time, I think.

But I have $41.53 on the way, which will make a nice mortgage chip.

Today being payday, I did a wallet sweep when I went to do my banking, and deposited $4. It has already been transferred to the mortgage.

That makes 4 little chips for September, for a grand total of $15.12.

In the next week or two, I will have to wipe out CurveBall and dip into Vacation to pay for my security cameras.

My next check from my part-time job will be going to CurveBall, as I begin re-building it yet again. I have billed $200 for the work I did in September.

Beginning in October, my automatic transfer into CurveBall will be $400 (from $375). This was made possible by the cut to my cash allowance (also bumping up Simple IRA contributions a bit with the same cut).

I did much better this past pay period with my cash. I started with $20, paid $15 for a haircut including tip, and had $4 left for the mortgage.

Tonight while I was clicking through my Inbox Dollars emails, I came across an offer for an NFL rewards Visa. The Visa card is offering a $100 bonus if you spend $500 in the first 3 months, plus 1% cash back on purchases (so $105). There is no annual fee. The card is issued by Barclays.

In addition, if you apply through the Inbox Dollars link, Inbox Dollars will pay you $15.

I plan to collect my $120, then cancel the card.

So far, I have received 2 estimates for outdoor security camera systems and installation.

The first quote was completely over the phone. The quote is $1,418.00 not including a monitor (which I was told I could buy cheaper at Best Buy or Office Depot, about $89), sales tax, or shipping (they ship to the installer). That also includes the minimum installation charge, but since they haven't come to my house, cannot say for certain the installation won't be more.

The second quote was done at my house and is completely inclusive. The quote is $2,090.00.

I am still gathering quotes.

I received a $320 check in the mail from my part-time job for both my July and August hours. Although I had planned to use this money for E Fund, I am sending it off to CurveBall instead. CurveBall has a big expense looming.