baselle's Financial Diary

Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + 5$ phyllo dough
Found money - $.20 (19 cents under a bench at a bus stop, penny on the road

Petunia asked, but I really don't have an equally gossipy spreadsheet that lists out failing credit unions as I do failing banks. From The Bank Implode-O-Meter, I do have a list of credit union conservatorships, along with failed credit unions. Just not blogged about as much.

And if you like things a tad less lurid, here's an index of NCUA board reports and decisions.

I don't know whether the lack of blogging and gossip is because credit unions are more conservative and therefore more stable, or whether credit unions are smaller and therefore its not as interesting to collect that info. (Mea culpa to thrifty ray for that dig. )

No matter bank or credit union, its hard to figure out where to put that change found on the sidewalk: $8.73 thus far - 223 pennies, 8 nickels, 41 dimes, 8 quarters. Enough, when put in an extra strong sock, to really hurt someone. Hmmm, there's an idea...

Saving log - $9 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $20 copay to chiropractor
Found money - $0.12 (counter, sidewalk, bus stop)

Put the tip box money, along with a $6 dividend check, into the bank today. Since I bought personal trainer time, I had a large credit card bill. I saved enough to move savings into checking to pay the cc, rather than use any of my EF.

Got very rainy and windy tonight, so much so that even when I walked on the furthest edge of the sidewalk, I got really splashed by a car plowing through the gutter. Grrr. At least 10 minutes before, I found that dime at the bus stop. It cheered me up a tad.

And on the bus ride tonight the driver apologized for the short bus. "My bus broke down in the rain and I could only get this one," he said.

I couldn't resist and muttered loudly, "Yeah, its not like it rains a lot in Seattle." It put everyone in the back in a party mood.

I also found out that I'm going to keep a sharper eye on my local banks, even more than I had planned. Washington state has over 25% of its banks under stress. Again, pouring when you don't suspect.

Found money
Friday - $0
Saturday - $0
Sunday - $0.22 (sidewalk corner, Goodwill floor, Goodwill parking lot, Safeway floor)

Lots of little food and holiday things.

Yesterday, DH and I went to a coffeehouse "mugging". One of the arson fires in the neighborhood destroyed a coffeehouse and the quirky mugs therein. Another neighborhood business offered to host the destroyed coffeehouse, but no mugs, so on Saturday we could get a free cup of coffee if we brought our own mug and donated it to the coffeehouse by leaving it in the bus tub.

As I walked past today, I saw my former tulip mug being used.

Fish trade is being worked out - the fish in question is Alaskan sockeye salmon, always good. We have club, rib-eye, beef sausage (hot dog size) and ground beef for trade. The hitch comes from the beef cooking skills of the fish trader; to be fair, club and rib-eye are the classic slap on the grill/cook-hot cook-quick cuts, which you need a little bit of confidence/experience to do. She's interested in getting advice next week, and I'm to get information about the ground beef, so we can better assess the fish to beef ratio. Compared to the duck trade, this is definitely more business. The fish for beef trade will go through, but probably in a couple of weeks.

I was at Goodwill today, seeing what change I can pick up from the floor . We needed a platter or two for Thanksgiving; our ceramic platter broke when I dropped and it hit the floor. At Goodwill I found two matching circular metal with white-enamel platters, each at $3. No pattern - I liked the clean look, the handles, large diameter and the total unlikelihood of them busting when dropped. The enamel part is the only issue - carving and slicing directly on them is counter-indicated.

As far as change finding is concerned, winter has come. With the rain, cold, and wind, change hunting feels like it has become an inside game.

Friday
Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $9 groceries
Found money - $0

Thursday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0

It would appear (maybe) that the arsonist has been caught. I looked at the picture, I'm sure that I passed him a couple of times on 85th as I walked home. We'll see whether it really was all him - one can't be too complacent because it might not be him or there might be a copy cat. Still, the mood around the neighborhood is a lot brighter.

Other things are looking up too. I always enjoy Friday the 13th because its going to be a payday. (We get paid on the 15th, or the Friday before, and paid on the last day of the month, or the Friday before).

I decided to talk a break from walking home tonight so I have a bit of energy to burn and don't totally feel like sticking my head in the refrigerator. Besides, this weekend is the weekend of cleaning house and preparing for T-day.

Took a break from hunting for change...actually I think it took a break from being lost. The weather has been freezing, so no one wanted to be out and about, and they kept their collective hands in their collective pockets.

Tuesday
Saving log - $50 DRP
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.01 (gym floor)

Wednesday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $21 groceries
Found money - $0.28 (sidewalk, bus seat, between the sidewalk cobbles)

Right now its just watchful waiting. I bought a bit more gym time with the credit card last month, so I'm slowing my spending down (even more) and I have $700 in my bank savings account. I'd like to see if I can withdraw as little money as possible from my ING account.

Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. We are having the Duvall duck friends over. I picked up a few t-day specific groceries (cranberries) tonight and will keep buying. I saw a recipe for maple pear upside down cake and was intrigued, although the 11 tbsp of butter made me do a double take. (I'm 172, with a hope of being in the 160s by the end of the year.) I really enjoyed the roasted cranberries last year and it was fast, so I'm making that again this year.

Work is definitely heating up as it has every November since I've blogged - I see a lot more special event checks and much less fake pledging than in year's past.

Not much money news. My 403B is heating up to close to 6 six figures. Stocks are creeping up also. Real estate? Well, the arsonist is still around - hundreds of neighbors attended a community meeting last night hosted by the Fire Department. First order of business: noting that the meeting site (a local church) is at over capacity, and note where the fire exits were. We are to call 911 if we smell smoke, etc, and not to worry about over reporting.

I heard a fire truck as I walked home tonight.

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $5 coffee, bagel, apple
Found money - $0.01 (sidewalk)

Monday
Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - $2.00 2 coffees + $10 lunch
Found money - $0.02 (sidewalk, bus floor)

Busy at work counting pledges. It feels like more than last year, but that's only a feeling. As I walked to my bus to work this morning I wondered if Seattle has a mayor's residence, or whether he uses his own house. And if he uses his own house, how much security? This is not an idle thought - I now walk past the house of the guy who won. (the fence around it is tad junky, if you ask me) I guess I will find out the answer to both of those questions shortly. Increased security can only help catch the arsonist, though. I wonder who would win?

CD has matured - I think I will renew it for 6 months. The money will be for a down payment on a house, so its return of investment, rather than return on investment. The interest rate is depressing - in the 5-10K size range, the amount of money I'd make in interest rivals what I find around town. ($1.50 - $3). My found money totals are at $7.89 since July 15.

I haven't eaten all that much of the beef, and its a lucky thing - I got a call from the person who wants to trade for fish. I still have some beef to trade!

Friday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $13 breakfast + $30 for 2 bottles wine
Found money - $0.21 (sidewalks, road, stair step)

Saturday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $13 breakfast + $17 groceries + $4.50 cat toy
Found money - $0

So we are unburnt. We've had several nights of rain, thunderstorms, and hail. I was at a potluck last night where several people collected and put hail in the freezer. Not quite sure what purpose saving hail in the freezer serves, but to each his own.

I didn't realize that roasting beef bones would cause such a stir! We got the beef soup bones - mostly joints, with meat and cartilage attached - as part of our 40 lbs of beef. The only part that needs pre-planning was to ask that the bones get chopped into 3 inch pieces. 3 inches is critical for marrow, because if you think of a bone as deviously shaped straw, 3 inches is about the length you can comfortably fish out the marrow from the bone using a knife.

Roasting bones is dead easy. Pull out large heavy metal pan that's a couple of inches deep (need a place for the beef suet to go and it shouldn't be the bottom of the stove), set unfrozen bones on pan, set oven to 350F, no oil, no cover. Marrow is done quickly, when the center pulls away from the bone. Pull it out and spread it on toast. So much for the 1/2 recipe.

But we're not done, I put the marrowless bones and meat back in the oven and keep roasting for 2.5-3 hours. Bone and meat should be deep brown. Pour off the suet (beef fat). If you are into authentic Christmas mincemeat or feeding winter birds, suet's your thing. Put the roasted bones and meat into a pot, add water to barely cover and set on a low heat. Water should simmer lightly for a couple hours more. Strain the solids from the liquid - pick out and retain the meat. Chill the liquid overnight, and scrape off the rest of suet from the top. You should have a brown jelly - the beef stock - and if you made it right its pot roast in a bowl.

If you liked that, perhaps you all will appreciate what I did with the flank steak. Flank steak (cow abs) is a tricky cut - its either best as london broil or fajita (quick sear), or its a long slow braise. I took a first stab at making matahambre - butterflied, stuffed, rolled.

Matahambre (hunger killer)

2 lbs flank steak
4 whole raw carrots, quartered
1 c raw spinach
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 hard boiled eggs, whole and peeled
salt, pepper, water

Butterfly the flank steak, meaning cut the steak along its width to within 3/4 of an inch off the side, forming a hinge. (Hinge should be along the grain of the meat). Open and flatten steak like the pages of a book. Spread plastic wrap over the top of the steak, take a mallet and whack it thin.

You now have a wide, flat piece of meat with the grain going up and down. Salt and pepper the meat on both sides, spread the garlic all along the meat. Spread the spinach throughout. Align the carrots up and down, with the grain), set in three piles. Place hard boiled eggs on top of the carrots.

Tightly roll the flank steak and fillings - and by tight, think sleeping bag into tube tight. When you have your tube, truss it secure with string.

Place flank steak tube in pan, add water to half way up the tube (it sounds like a lot, but I didn't add enough water, so I believe it) Braise the tube, covered, for 2.5 hrs, turning the tube once.

Slice your hunger killer like a jelly roll.

Mine was messy - didn't quite roll it tightly enough - but delicious.

in our neighborhood. The Seattle fire department is now going to be patroling in our neighborhood & I've never been so happy to ride out tonight's fall rainstorm. Hard to light a match in the wind and rain.

I've been busy tonight: beef bones have been roasting, and are now simmering in water for beef stock. Tomorrow I have the day off. I only hope some moron with a lit match doesn't spoil it for me tonight.

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.02 (floor of coffeeshop, parking meter)

Saving log - $8 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.17 (2 nickels, 7 pennies on sidewalk, road, bus floor) + yesterday $0.05 (various sidewalks)

Not much has been going on - sister got the dutch oven, the no-knead bread recipe with other stuff - a Bad Cat day calendar and a little pocket planning calendar with a plastic cover for rain, and a recipe pamphlet that we got for the beef. Sister is interested in making a similar thing to give to her CSA and farmer's market customers.

Work is getting very, very busy ... and that's nice. Election day was yesterday - I live about 5 blocks from one of the mayoral candidates. Thankfully, Seattle's low key about political publicity. If it snows, beware, that street is one of the least plowable in the city.

Monday
Saving log - $0 tip box + $35 drp
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.11 (parking meter, sidewalk)

Sunday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $3.88 coffee, bagel + $9 tea, apple, oatmeal bar, magazine
Found money - $0.18 (sidewalk, coffeeshop floor)

Found a 5 cent euro on Sunday. I figured I'd count it - after all, the exchange rate of the euro: dollar was 1.47:1. In other words, the 5 cent euro is worth a hair over 7 cents.

I-bond rates also came out today. The fixed rate is 0.3%. Better than 0.1%, but not enough to think about buying more. The variable rate, though, is much better on this 6 month go around - a bit over 3%.

Took a walk at noon and discovered an ING Direct/Shareholder branch on King Street. For laughs I went in and chatted with the receptionist, who told me that there were plans for it to turn into an ING cafe.

Final Jackie Handey thought: We are now back on "Standard" time, coming from "Daylight Saving" time. Count the number of months of each. Standard = November, December, January, February, 1-2wks March. Daylight = 2-3wks March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October. Since we are in Daylight Saving time for longer than Standard time, isn't Daylight Saving really Standard?

All in all, this picture sums up the conflicting signs on the economy. Its a real picture, fyi.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $12 breakfast, coffee + $17 mailing dutch oven to sister
Found money - $0.04 (by parking meter, door jamb, counter)

Mailed off our spare, heirloom cast iron dutch oven to sister. I bought it for $10 about 15 years ago in Tucson, and it has behaved like a champ. In June, when we visited sister at the farmette, DH made the no-knead bread recipe, but we had to use a casserole dish, which is a bit scary to heat up to 500F. It worked out but we mentioned that the dutch oven is the tool for the task. Since June, I have been looking for yard sale/estate sale/thrift store dutch ovens. Either nothing or minimum of $60. So sister gets ours and a clearly typed recipe.

After that it was breakfast and a good long walk. I've found that I'm positively the girl version of Jack Handey, thinking deep thoughts:

1. Visited the brand new Whole Foods down in Interbay. They have something called a "chill room". Its a nice little lounge just off the cafe and the wine/party foods/prepared foods are.

My thought: this grocery store needs a DJ. I mean, you have the space, and you would cater to two populations of people who pay for premiums ($5 cover charge and extra for watered down drinks, extra $1/lb for produce). Synergy!

2. Why isn't there a mailbox in/outside the bus? Right now you have buses driving and using gas, and you have post office guys driving around and using gas. Buses take a published route, and end up at a rest stop, transit center or a base, where the post office guy can open the bus mail box and grab it. This would be a substitute for the blue boxes.

3. Halloween is now second to X-mas, as measured by retail sales. I've seen a couple of mash-up decorations this year (a Halloween snow globe decoration, a ghoul being crucified). Why bother with 3 discrete fall/winter holidays? Next year: Santa with fangs pulling a turkey out of the oven.

Friday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.01 (sidewalk)

Thursday
Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee, $10 snack foods
Found money - $0.22 (road, bus floor, Safeway floor)

Took money off the 403B table and rebalanced back to the 60 yr old man portfolio - cash, bonds, gov bonds, equal small parts of: large cap, small cap, mid cap, international, value. Saw my changes yesterday.

Saw that my transfer agent bought the $300 worth of SYY; it was bought along with the re-invested dividend.

Found out that the fire from last weekend was arson. When I tried to shortcut through the Taproot parking lot, I found that the back parking lot was all fenced in along with the fronts.

Behaved myself during the parade of work potlucks today, and I contributed with fruit snacky items.

V.I. (kitty) and I are having a nice time. So far, she's been hitting the litter box with me. I have changed a couple of things - I've shut the bedroom and home office door during the day, so no "surprises" in those rooms. I've also made the living room quiet - most of her "surprises" are left underneath coffee table, desk, behind the couch. Quiet, shadowy places. DH loves to have the radio on during the day and I suspect that loud human noises and bustle startles her. Most of all, when I hear her use the box, I quietly and quickly get a greenie from the bag and reward her as she walks past. I also play with her for at least an hour in the evening.

you Great Depression, you. You hardly look a day over 79. But never fear, your grandchild parts his hair near the same way.

(In all seriousness, today is the 80th anniversary of the then-Black Monday stock market crash. Wheee!)

Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $2 decaf coffee + $20 pizza
Found money - $0.03 (road, bus floor) and yesterday - $0.02 (coffee shop floor, road)

Today DH is off visiting his mom, so evil me, I cleaned the kitchen and ordered a large pizza - olive, mushroom, onion, and anchovy. All my favorites and even better cold for lunch, and it takes a rare lunch thief to go after the anchovy pizza.

Then Mad Men, then a bath, and off to bed. So far kitty is behaving herself also and hitting the box. Nighty night.

Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.16 (sidewalk, bus floor, crosswalk)

Not quite 2 years ago, I decided to improve my cardio and test out my long distance walking. I did it in part to save a bit of coin (nothing cheaper than walking), but mostly I did it as an emergency preparedness tool. If an awful thing happens, a couple of energy bars, reasonable shoes, and three hours will get me home.

This video models what might happen to the Alaskan Way viaduct should a slightly more powerful earthquake hit Seattle than the 2001 Nisqually quake. The commuter bus that gets me closest to home gets to downtown from West Seattle using the viaduct. I wouldn't be on the viaduct at that time, but clearly if I was expecting it to come to my stop and take it home, not a chance that day and for many months thereafter.

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $3.88 coffee, bagel + $16 conveyor belt sushi pigout
Found money - $0.11 (coffeehouse floor, gutter)

Saturday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $14 breakfast + $6 Halloween hat + $21 miscellaneous
Found money - $0.39 (sidewalk, gas station parking pad, carpet)

Friday
Saving log - $9 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.04 (road, sidewalk, under picnic table)

Still having reasonable luck finding change despite the leaves on the ground. This weekend was a do or die time to "do" something for Halloween - I usually say I don't have a creative idea for Halloween in the two weeks before but then pull something off. This time, still nothing. I'm going with a funny hat (keeping the price tag on for the Minnie Pearl fans out there) and be done with it.

Finding the funny hat meant heading to the Goodwill, change hunting all the way. You might have noted that I expected, and was disappointed, that the Goodwill parking lot would be a rich source of found money, and I have mused about the mystery. When I walked into Goodwill, I found a cheap, funny, fuzzy hat, but also a partial resolution to the mystery: Goodwill's inside carpet was the rich source of found money. Goodwill was extremely busy with shoppers; they made a mess of the racks and floors; and the only person who was watching the floor was me. At first blush, if people drop change in response to distractions, the Goodwill store is a primo study site to explore. But for now - easy dime and five pennies. With the other change found in other spots - Seattle has provided me with $6.54 since mid-July.

Later at the Fred Meyer, I bought another item for the months to come: a clip-on, five-pattern, 1/2 mile visible bright flashing pedestrian light. $6, but when I walk home in December, that car is gonna see me.

The other delight I've seen at Fred Meyer are the definite price reductions for food. For example, I needed some luna/clif bars for breakfast - last year at this time they went, cheapest, @ $0.99/bar. Now - $0.79/bar. I've now been seeing produce for under $1.00/lb and canned tuna at $0.65/6 oz can. I've not kept up my price book for the last couple of years (too depressing). I might restart it now.

A bit of our neighborhood news made even some of the national news (at least I heard that it made the morning ABC news). Our neighborhood lost 4 businesses Friday to fire - 2 places I ate at semi-regularly, 1 I drank coffee at every so often. The phinneywood blog has the fire pictures. Arson investigation is ongoing. Mine is from the back. That cooked area at the top is where the roof line was.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $47 lunch for 2
Found money - $0.12 (sidewalk, road, gas station parking lot)

Two good little semi-financial moves happened at work today.

1. Bought some supplemental accident insurance through AFLAC, taken pre-tax out of my paycheck. For all you worriers out there, if I'm run over by a car while picking up change from the crosswalk, I'm covered. Now I only have a $20/ paycheck increase.

2. We learned today that if we catch H1N1, we can use catastrophic time immediately. Normally we use 3 days of PTO, then we can use catastrophic.

Wednesday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $23 office supplies + $8 lunch/snack fixings
Found money - $0.03 (sidewalk, floor)

Tuesday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $6.75 coffee, breakfast for DH and I
Found money - $0.01 (sidewalk corner)

So much for hoping for newness; the landlord came in and replaced the element. So touchy grandma stove is back from hospice. And just in time, too. Sister mailed me a butternut squash, cut in half to get in the box. I cleaned it up, and then took a cheese slicer to the cut side to remove the outer layer and expose the better one. Said squash is now roasting comfortably in the oven along with the new element. (Squash soup). One advantage to the fix is that now the dial and the oven temperature agree. It used to run about 25-50 degrees too hot.

Another fix it - our DVD has been cranky loading DVDs and tracking. DH googled our DVD make and the problem, took the DVD apart, cleaned the lens with isopropyl alcohol wipes (had some to clean monitors), put the DVD back together and now its a lot less cranky.

Monday
Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - $11 lunch
Found money - $0.01 (road)

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $3.88 bagel, coffee + $5 trail mix, salad
Found money - $0.05 (by wastebasket, sidewalk, road, bus floor, Safeway floor)

Deposited my monthly tip box collection - $47. When one pulls out $40 from the ATM, it perhaps is a little strange. Still, saving is saving.

When I got home I expected a round roast dinner. Instead, I got a taken apart stove. DH filled me in. He turned on the stove and the element caught fire. He called the fire department, who told him how to trip the fuse to the stove and disconnect the element so it would cool off. He called the landlord - fingers crossed that it is done and should be replaced. I've cooked a lot of great meals with the stove but it came from the 70's and behaved like it was 70. Touchy, in other words. Now... whose stove do we borrow?

Saturday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $13 breakfast, coffee + $12 wine & dessert for duck trade dinner
Found money - $0

Friday
Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $5 yogurt, fruit + $49 vet stuff
Found money - $0.01 (bus steps)

No money found - a miss after 21 days straight of finding something.

The duck for beef trade occurred - they got:
1 ground beef, 1 t-bone, 1 chuck roast, 1 sirloin = 7 lbs beef
and we got:
2 muscovy ducks @ 8 lbs total, 1 dozen eggs.

We had a muscovy duck for lunch/dinner, I got a slice of the breast, which hardly looked like a poultry breast ... it looked like pretty beefy on its own.

V.I. is giardia free (yay), but had continued with some more missing of the litter box. We've decided to go with the positive reinforcement - keep the box impeccable, and when she uses it, she gets a greenie and face scritch, both things she likes. If she misses, we clean up but we ignore her. In the last few days, she has been hitting the box. We'll see if it holds.

I've been also using positive reinforcement with DH during this whole affair. A few days ago, V.I. was tested for the fecal parasites in general, but before the results were in, DH gambled a bit that she was still sick. He sprung for a stronger prescription, but tuna flavored. When V.I. tested negative but was still missing the box, DH still presented her with the medicine. "Why?" I asked. "I spent good money for the medicine, and I'm using it," he replied. So we were at the stage where DH was going to give her something that she wouldn't take and didn't need, all because of cash. I paid him to offset the cost of medicine - its free to him so he's free not to use it.

N.B.(10/19/2009): Turns out that the vet suggested to DH that he still give the medicine to V.I. C'mon guys: less is more.

Thursday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $.75 apple
Found money - $0.02 (sidewalks)

Wednesday
Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $2 afternoon mocha
Found money - $0.04 (next to parking meter, behind a bench, sidewalks)

The 2% payraise came in this payday - it was an increase of about $32.00. Work seems to be busying up for the season, so I feel like I'm earning it. Lately the change in season has been affecting me too - its been very hard to wake up in the morning when its still dark.

You might remember the saga of one of my stocks. The company was spun off from my bank (2007), did moderately well, but the stock, being young, did not pay a dividend. Said company then was bought by another, which does pay a dividend, but has no re-investment program. I figured that I will eventually find out who the new transfer agent was ... I have. Same transfer agent as my KO stock, making that super convenient. Still no-reinvestment, but I did set up the account so that the dividend gets put electronically into my account.

Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.33 (1 dime on road, 1 dime on edge of sidewalk, 1 dime on gravel driveway, pennies on sidewalk and bus stop)

Lest you think that my current financial news is all about small time dime-dar (which was excellent today), I note that the big stuff - current strategy on my 403B - is paying off.

My strategy started in early 2007, when I re-allocated from 80% stock/ 20% bond to 40% stock/30% bond/10% gov bond/20% cash. In other words, my portfolio looked like a 60 yr old man. In hindsight, I was a bit early. Still, the proportions held within 2-3% of each other even through the big happenings of Sept 2008.

I "lost" about 10% of 403B during the gyrations. By October 2008 I was researching the funds available to me to re-mix and re-allocate. I made my choices and re-allocated only on the new money in late October. In other words, what I had already was the 40/30/10/20, the new money (added as I got paid, bi-monthly) was re-allocated as 90% stock/10% bond.

I still "lost" a little bit in the 1st quarter of 2009, but I was patient with the stocks the new funds were buying...and especially happy that the price was cheap.

2Q 2009, my 403B net worth jumped 11K. 3Q 2009, my 403B net worth jumped 12K. During those two quarters, I contributed 8K to the mix, so about a 1/3 my net worth jump is due to injections of new money. Still, we are talking about a 15K increase in just those 2 quarters. (I'm in the 90K range).

The mix has shifted to 52% stock/25% bond/8% gov bond/15% cash. Still fairly conservative, if you believe conventional wisdom. Now I have several choices - if I think that we are in for another stock crash, I can rebalance back to the old 60 yr old man portfolio mix, and wait. Or I can re-allocate the new money into something more conservative, or I can do nothing and wait until I'm at the 65% stock/35% everything else range (my target). And if I wanted to not wait, I could deploy the 15% cash into stock.

Right now I see issues with everything. Stocks could crash (stock), bond values will drop as soon as interest rates go up (bond), no interest, no FDIC-like insurance, and the dollar is weakening (cash), and a whole lot of federal debt (gov bonds). Might just as well stay the course, keeping myself conservatively diversified. Worst comes to worst, the 403B is a glorious tax deferral.

Monday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.11 (sidewalk, bus stop)

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $3.88 bagel, coffee + $6 croissant, coffee + $2.50 financial paper
Found money - $0.12 (sidewalk, road)

Well, I took a look at the change-finding blogs around. ZZZZZ. However, most find about $25 - $30 in a year, along with a bill or two. In my 90 days of change hunting, I've found $5.48, or about 6 cents/day. With my lack of bill finding skills, that pace puts me a bit under, coming in at $21 for the year.

In the last 90 days I've found 123 pennies, 4 nickels, 23 dimes, 7 quarters. Lately I've had a string of 17 days straight where I've found a coin. To find money, you do have to be out and about, walking around. Some days change appears within minutes; others, I'm looking hard; for 31 days out of the 90, I didn't find any. My walking habits are very routine, it really is a case of being alertly relaxed.

I've noticed in my routine walks some hot spots. Most bus stops are hot spots, some much hotter than others. The gutter, about 2-10 inches from the sidewalk, is another great place especially along the patches of road contiguous with the bus stop. One can imagine the bus glides in, opens the door, people leave, one or two drop a coin or two, coins land in the road. Often the coins are so beat up that you know it took a rare person to stop and pick them up. (Its safe - look for oncoming traffic, put a foot in the road when the traffic eases, and pick up your profit.) Edges of all sorts - floor overhangs, counter edging, shadowed spots, edges between sidewalk/street appliance (eg wastebasket, parking meter, still alive payphone), sidewalk/grass and sidewalk/road tend to be very fruitful.

The interesting thing, though, are those hot spots. I cut through three parking lots on one of my routes - Greenwood Market, Fred Meyer, the Taproot Theater. Fred Meyer is the hot parking lot, the others - meh. I shop at both the Greenwood Market and Safeway. I never found any money on the Greenwood Market floor, while the Safeway floor can be a veritable ATM. I wonder why the hot spot - is it just more foot traffic (paying in cash), different lighting, ambient noise levels, an environment of distraction?

Saturday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $13 breakfast, coffee
Found money - $0.03 (sidewalks, a penny in our driveway)

Friday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $15 charity soup lunch + $20 cookbook
Found money - $0.04 (sidewalks)

Ate an outside lunch with the old gang: lawyer friend, lawyer friend partner, screenwriter friend. We ate a fundraiser lunch - all soups and bread donated from the restaurants in town for an entrance fee of $15. As soon I heard there was a cookbook compiling the recipes of the soups on sale, I had to spring for that.

We all asked the question: what's the difference between cream of x, chowder, bisque, and veloute? Smart ass me said "anywhere between a $1 and $3 a cup." I kid because I love.

Today I tried to hit the taco truck rally. Actually I made it to see what it was about and take a picture of it in the middle distance.


There were 7-8 trucks in the lot with a lot of people. I was aiming to try a Korean taco (bulgogi beef with kimchi in a taco, I think), but when I got there, they had no more. I could have gotten ice cream, but I've learned that consolation eating is the worst possible reason to have something. So I enjoyed what I got - the adventure and the picture - and considered it a win. FYI - the Taste of Seattle Taco Trucks sounds like a hoot. Look for it 2012.

Thursday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $.45 apple
Found money - $0.36 (quarter by the parking meter, dime on sidewalk, penny in lobby)

Wednesday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $.03 (sidewalks)

Duck 4 beef will occur Saturday Oct 17.

Got a lot of fresh lima bean pods from sister, along with beets, carrots, potatoes, and a few peppers. I shucked the limas out of the pods, and did this with them:

Lima beans with bacon and garlic

3 c shelled fresh lima beans
3 thick strips bacon
4 garlic cloves, chopped
water, salt

Boil limas in salted water for about 20 minutes. Drain.
Fry the bacon - I like it crispy. Remove bacon from pan, set on paper towel to drain.
Remove all but 2 tbsp bacon fat from pan. Saute garlic in bacon fat for a couple of minutes. Add back the limas to the bacon fat and garlic to heat the limas through. Stir, deglaze the pan - add a bit of water if necessary.
Crumble the bacon over the limas and serve.

Tuesday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $.80 coffee, bagel (finished up a gift card) + $13 grocery & misc shopping + $2 large iced tea + $10 sushi lunch
Found money - $0.26 (sidewalks, Safeway)

Monday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $7 curry lunch
Found money - $0.03 (sidewalks)

Took a day off today and I just kicked around. I bought a breakfast and coffee and finished off a gift card, so my meal only cost 80 cents. I told the cashier that I hoped she didn't mind a batch of dimes I found on the street! She was as amazed as I was - so many dimes. I joked that the obesity epidemic will only improve my odds - soon no one will be able to touch their toes. ... This before I found two dimes today.

Found a screaming good deal at the Pike Market today - 4 cukes for $1, so I bought two. After gym and the late lunch I popped into a QFC in the sushi lunch neighborhood, thinking that I would pick up some salad for the cukes. I looked at the prices and left the store. Despite picking up sidewalk change for laughs, I have my pride.

One my stocks has now been bought by another company. As part of the buyout, I get 1.35 shares of the other company, which also pays a dividend. Last I checked, they didn't have a formal Drp, so I suspect I will get dividend checks. But one never knows, things can change. Time to watch the mail to see who the new transfer agent is.

Sunday
Saving log - $125 moved from checking to savings
Spending log - $4 bagel, coffee + $2.76 garbanzo beans, apple
Found money - $0.23 (various sidewalks, Safeway floor)

Another great day for finding change - again, I found two dimes, one on a residential sidewalk, a place where I assumed I would find nothing. (the other was on the Safeway floor, a place nearly as good as an ATM) I don't understand why I've been finding so many coins these days. Dimes especially. Perhaps with the weather change, it changes everyone's wardrobe, and everyone has to be re-introduced to their jacket pockets.

I also found a great deal on canned garbanzo beans at the normally pricey organic food coop - $.89/can. Usually $1/can has been the low price over the winter and spring. October seems to be the bridge month for some food deals - its a good time to prepare for the deals of November.

Got off my duff and planted some lettuce for the winter/fall harvest, and watched my blueberry plants' leaves turn a gorgeous flame red.

Saturday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $12 coffee, breakfast + $28 groceries
Found money - $0.51 (sidewalk, road, parking lot, bus stop, Coinstar machine)

Friday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.10 (parking meter, sidewalk)

No dice on the Washington unclaimed property search, so I guess I have to take potluck amongst the really unclaimed coins along my walk. I walked along 15th Ave NW to about 55th - a fairly rich source, including a quarter so beat up that you couldn't really tell it was a quarter except for the weight and parts of the ridge. It will be fun trying to get the bank to take it. And yesterday I found 8 pennies by the parking meter. Since I've been keeping track of how much and where I find change, I've found $4.28 in just under 3 months.

I set up the ability to electronically transfer money to buy stock for my newest Drp stock - Sysco. All the other stocks that I hold as Drps seem pricey. It sounds very strange to others, but I'm really hoping for another serious drop in stocks so I can buy more of what I like.

Thursday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $2 fruit
Found money - $0.01 (sidewalk)

Wednesday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $.80 onion
Found money - $0.02 (sidewalk)

Quiet really, just a lot of a little. Payday, and with with the end of the 3rd quarter, I noted how my 403B finished the quarter (even better than last quarter).

Cracked open one of the pounds of ground beef and made spaghetti sauce with it. A couple of weekends from now, we'll have dinner with the Duvall friends and trade off our beef for some duck. Sister is finishing up her garden for the year.

One of the QFC grocery stores is closing. Its not one that I shop a lot at, but I did shop there once in a while. I don't see the recession easing, I see a grinding sameness with the legs down disguised. I hear the recession easing talk as a whistle in the dark. Better to hope than not, but I'm not going to be the first to spend freely.

But all is not doom and gloom with the recession. Don't try any of these fixes at home... or at least, not in my home!

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $7 salad fixings
Found money - $0.01 (gym floor) + $.26 (Safeway - another quarter by the Coinstar machine)

Fall has arrived in Seattle, today with a vengeance - cloudy, rainy, cold. After a day like today, as I walked to catch my bus tonight, I look to my little red fall beacon:


More good health news today - my cholesterol is a non-threatening 182. The big health issue is with V.I. - she hasn't been defecating in the litter box, and it turns out she has giardia. So our entertainment has been to catch her and give her her medicine to clear it. And wash our hands afterward. :P

DH sent me a highly entertaining sin link for a data geek like me. As you look, remember that Seattle is in the upper left corner. We hold our collective heads high!

Monday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.02 (bus floor) + $0.04 (sidewalks) + $0.02 (Safeway floor)

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $3.88 coffee, bagel + $20 groceries
Found money - $0.01 (sidewalk) + $0.01 (road)

Found eight cents the hard way - a few pennies here and there. Soon fall will come, the leaves making finding pennies extremely difficult, and the dark making finding silver difficult too.

Three months ago I learned a shocker: the bulk bin usually is not the best price for the staples. I tested it out yesterday afternoon with plain ol' brown rice. I wanted two pounds - $1.99/lb in the bin ($3.98), $2.49 for a 2 lb plastic bag on the shelf... and not an eye-level shelf either, the lowest one.

Such are the tricks of the grocery man.