Well, we were on such a roll with our plan that we decided to keep going. We have now made an additional $79.47 through coupons and phone book deliveries. I opened a separate bank account to put the money in for the mortgage because we can pay a lump sum once a year, so we'll wait until the end of December and dump everything extra down that we've saved for the principal. Our mortgage is up for renewal in March and we can pay some more down then without being penalized.

The other 1/2 of the money is in a special hiding place to use for the vacation we're taking in 3 weeks.

Our goal is to make an additional $400 in August. Half of this will go to the mortgage account and the other half will go to something for the house...we just haven't figured out what yet. Dh asked me to sit down with him this weekend and help make a list of everything I would like to have done in the house and we will pick one thing and get started. I would LOVE to have new kitchen countertops, so that's where my vote will go. I have a feeling that Dh is going to lean towards having the hot tub fixed first. I'll post what we decide!

I just returned from the bottle depot and cashed in the cans we found on the road behind our house...$2.60!

Yay! Our journey to $1000 was completed in 22 days...with an additional $1.43--woohoo!

Watch out, August! Here we come!

left to go to reach our $1000. Through many phone books being delivered, extra hours at my job, can and bottle returns, searching for coupons to use on stuff I normally buy and actually need, and a few lottery tickets that we were given and won a small amount on, we managed to (almost) reach our goal. Today I'll put in some extra time on the job front and we went can hunting last night, so Dh will cash those in tonight and we'll be there! It's a great feeling knowing that we did this together and I'm VERY proud of my family for completing our goal.

The mortgage will be going DOWN...

We delivered more phone books yesterday and today I went into work 2 hours early and made some extra money there. We have made $671.00 in two weeks. Holy macaroni! Dd had a dentist appointment this afternoon, so I took her and Dh went out to deliver more books. I am sure we'll reach our $1000 goal...funny, but when Dh suggested it, I honestly wasn't sure if we'd be able to do it. Surprisingly, it hasn't really been all that difficult.

Yesterday we were delivering books in a very beautiful neighbourhood and Dh told the kids,"This is where the wealthy people live." Well, Ds (aged 12) piped up from the back seat,"Just because they live in big houses doesn't mean that they're rich, Dad. They could just owe lots to the bank and be in debt!" Whew! Out of the mouth of babes...

Our $1000 challenge is at almost $600!!! We've made that much in 13 days...just goes to show what we can do once we put our minds to it. I am VERY proud of Dh for his dedication to this 'plan'. He's really done the bulk of the work.

What I've noticed with all this is a huge awareness of money that he didn't really seem to have before. Tonight he wanted to go to Dairy Queen and get banana splits. There are 6 of us home today, so that would cost about $24.00. I suggested we go to the grocery store, pick up the items and make them at home, and he was all for it, and the kids and Dh came with me to get what they wanted. We spent 1/2 the amount and will have ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce left over!

We did lots of relaxing this weekend, went to a friend's house for a bbq last night, and went out for lunch to Boston Pizza, which we had a coupon for and Dh used some of his birthday money to make up the difference.

Can't wait to see what changes this week will bring!

Well, we're doing well on Dh's plan. We've done some more phone book delivering, I put in extra hours at work again this week, and we've recycled some pop cans and beer bottles. We have earned $425.18 in 8 days. Our goal is to reach $1000 in 30 days. I think we can make it. Dh is doing a lot of the work. He is extremely dedicated to this project!

Our plan is to put 1/2 down on the mortgage and the other 1/2 will be added to our holiday fund. We will be going to West Edmonton Mall and Drumheller (dinosaur area in Alberta) for about 10 days in August. I already have the holiday money saved, but it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra cushion. We are staying in a hotel in Edmonton and then will camp for the rest of the vacation. We've always just bitten the bullet and stayed in hotels on holidays, but we are committed to saving money and camping will certainly make a big difference.

The kids are going to do a budget with us for our holiday. This is being done to encourage money awareness and because I think it will really help them focus on the activities that they really want to do ie. Do you want to eat dinner in a restaurant or cook something ourselves and go to the waterslides? They need to learn that there is not an endless supply of money to do everything they want. They've already started discussing how much of their own money to take on vacation to spend. Dh and I have agreed to leave that up to them because they have been saving for this trip for awhile, and we haven't heard any outrageous sums being mentioned...yet!

We held our neighbourhood garage sale yesterday from 9:00-3:00. Dh and I started setting up about 7:30. It was a beautiful sunny day. We had advertised through the local radio station and signs we put up, but did not use the local paper. This was our one mistake and we would definately put an ad in next time.

All our neighbours got involved, we barbequed lunch and then ate dinner together as well. Everyone brought their own meat and we shared potatoes, corn on the cob, carrot sticks and garlic bread. After we ate dinner, we pulled our fire pit to the front of the cul de sac and everyone roasted marshmallows, had a few drinks, listened to music and chatted until about 11:00. It was a fun day and we are thankful to have such great neighbours!

We netted $73.00 on our sale. I was hoping for more, but every little bit is more money to Dh's $1000 Challenge Fund, so I was not terribly disappointed. We would certainly do it again.

There is a new restaurant near our house that we've been waiting for to open and yesterday it did. The kids really wanted to go there for dinner, we've been promising that we would when it opened, and thought tonight would be a great night to go. I was all for it because I'm super tired from yesterday and am having a very mellow day. DH ACTUALLY VETOED GOING OUT FOR DINNER!!! He said to the kids,"Sorry, guys, but we have tons of leftovers in the fridge for side dishes. Mom and I will walk to the store and get pork chops to barbeque."

Who took my husband and replaced him with this money conscious one? Although he's always been a believer in not having debt and saves for stuff if he really wants it, in our 16 years of marriage has never been interested in the finances. I love this new part of him and hope it sticks around!

So Dh's plan to earn an extra $1000.00 this month is just clicking along tickety boo!

July 5--Grocery Coupon--$5.00
July 6--Phone Book Deliveries--$56.65
July 7--Won on a lottery ticket given as a gift--$10.00
July 7--Phone Book Deliveries--$54.45
July 8--Garage Sale--$73.00

We now have $730.90 left to go for the month and together we will have earned an extra grand this month! Woohoo!

Here's where we are with the $1000 plan:

$40.00 delivering phone books
$10.00 in found can money
$20.00 I made putting in extra time at work

...only $930.00 left to go...

to earn an extra $1000 this month. Yesterday (his day off) he delivered phone books and made 40 dollars, and then found a stash of pop and beer cans which he'll now take in for deposit to add to our fund. Today I worked 2 extra hours, and Saturday we're holding a garage sale.

This is going to be fun and I'm sooo glad that it was Dh who thought of it. Usually he doesn't pay any attention to the finances...when his cash envelope is used up he's done spending, and doesn't really give too much input on the rest of it! He doesn't have plans for the $1000, just wants to see if we can make the challenge.

I'll keep posting on our progress!

It's also our Wedding Anniversary...16 years! I met my Dh in high school and we've been together since I was 16. I can't imagine not having him in my life--I feel like he's always been here with me!

I transfered our three months emergency fund money into it's own account. I'd had it in our savings account, but I was starting to get confused because it always looked like we had so much money in there, when, in reality, it really isn't meant to be spent unless Dh or I lose our jobs.

I have enough in our regular savings to pay the $2000 down for ds's braces (to be paid in July) and the $2600 property tax payment that is due by July 4. We have enough left over that I feel comfortable if an emergency comes up, but not so much that I want to go spend, spend, spend. Although, I am thinking about getting new countertops in the kitchen...ours are 80's rose coloured and I'm really tired of them!