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I just typed out a VERY long post, and it’s NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. Oh, Savings Advice… do better. 
Let’s try this again.
With August in the rearview mirror, we are feeling a bit beaten up. It was a very spendy month, but we knew that going in.
Baby Shower… when it’s all said and done, and it is - I think we spent about $4500. Thankful my son-in-law’s family contributed $700 and my parents $400. We had a great time, and my daughter and...
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We got a dog on Saturday.  Less than a than a week ago.   I put a short post on the forum but I'll go into detail here what happened.  
He is an awesome 3/4 poodle 1/4 golden retriever mix from a breeder.  He is 16 weeks old and we call him Parker.  He is super cute.  I found him on FB adopting doodle/poodles rescue group.  Well LAL how did you get a rescue dog?  Well Friday 8/25 a post was put up on a puppy needing to be rehomed. ...
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So, there are five Thursdays in this month, so I will shop five times, $20 a pop. (Or less, if I can do it!)
Today I went to Aldi, and I spent just under $20. I bought eggs, apples, creamer, raisins, bread, butter, and cookies. I also bought toilet bowl cleaner for $2, but that doesn't come out of the grocery budget. For household supplies, I buy them when I need them; it's not a category in which I ever overindulge.
Next Thursday I may be out of town -- I'm planning a short...
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Income Total: $1425.00


     * $1200 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  


     * $225 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal) 


      


Total Spending: $1462.67


Total Savings: $0 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending)
Total Overspent $37.67   Fixed Expenses: Verizon...
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I have my harvest totals for onions and garlic.  I did not lose any garlic to rot and it is now dried.  I have 10.1 pounds of it.  I am setting aside 4 heads of elephant garlic to replant.  I only planted one last year, so I want to have a good amount to plant this year.  That leaves me with 3 to use, one of which I had already used (but recorded the weight of).  The ones I am using soon or did use had split their skins and would not store until planting...
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Finally, it's the last day of August! I won't spend anything today, so I did my recap:
 
Housing - $4,246
Car Repair/Maintenance - $223
Utilities - $198
Groceries - $109
Fees/Services - $45
Clothing - $37
Household Supplies - $36
Medical/Health - $35
Phone - $32
Gas - $29
Entertainment - $17
Laundry - $16
Personal - $11
Vet/Pet Supplies - $7
Eating Out/Takeout - $3
Gifts/Charity - $1
Grand Total - $5,046
 
So, overall my spending was about the same...
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Last time I checked in (April), I was eyeing the possibility that we were only a couple years away from Coast FIRE. We had about $26K we'd taken out from HELOC and a zero-interest card for the kitchen reno, but I felt confident about paying it off.
Fast forward to early June. We expected we'd owe some taxes on the sale of the UK flat, but we'd already paid about $5K to the UK for capital gains, so we didn't think it'd be much in the US once they factored that in. We were wrong....
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I traveled to TX a couple weeks ago to see my mom, and get a bunch of errands taken care of for her. I flew out on Friday, then on Saturday my brother and I spent the day together, partly at the local mall. Sunday we picked mom up and did a trip down memory lane ... By Monday night I was feeling very off. By Tuesday morning I was utterly miserable - but bro had to do meetings in the morning, so it was up to me to take mom to appointments.
Let's just say, I found out very fast...
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Debts
Mortgage −$116,793.30 (-$238.74)Land Loan -$11,590.87(-$187.98)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$21,965 (-$189)401K +$42,353 (+$268)Emergency Fund +$8,524 (+$926)Maternity Fund +$1,070 (-$500)Animal Fund +$1,672 (+$2)Car Fund +$20 (-$0)HSA +$2,053 (-$163)
Overall: +$770.72
Got the bonus which we used to replenish the emergency fund and save more for our upcoming vacation. Raise negotiations are currently on hold due to a different plant strike. The good news is that they will...
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My printer ran low on toner, so I bought a new cartridge from Amazon for $22. It looks intimidating. I haven't tried to install it yet. Till  now, I've been using the sample toner that came with the printer when I bought it at least a year ago. That sample served me well.
I bought an ice cream cone at McDonalds yesterday -- an impulse purchase, and I enjoyed every lick. I am still holding firm on grocery shopping, but this came out of Eating Out/Takeout, which I hadn't tapped...
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My birthday was this past week.  As a single person, my birthday and Thanksgiving are the two ostensibly celebratory days of the year that I usually dread most--the days where you "expect" to be with others who care about you (but if you are single, you might not be).  But this year was actually a relatively good birthday.
When I opened the door that morning, my mail from the previous day was in the mailbox and included a watercolor painting of my cat Buffy done by a...
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It's back to the grind tomorrow. I took off all a last week and enjoyed spending time with my family. My sister stayed the night with me Thursday, then flew back home Friday morning. We enjoyed low-key family time, talking, having lunch, watching movies. It was so relaxing. 
I had a terrifying experience on the spillway Monday night coming home. There was a tanker trucker that came up behind me, no headlights, with hazard lights flashing. I didn't know why his hazard lights...
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On an evening news program, there was a report about grocery prices and inflation. The reporter claimed that the department of agriculture claimed that grocery prices are coming down and that the cost of eggs has dropped 60%. Also mentioned was chicken wings had dropped down to prices of over a year and a half ago. Yes, you read that correctly, that's what they reported. I was aghast. That was broadcast Tuesday night and I planned on grocery shopping the next day.
The week before...
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2022 TALLY:
$15 AmEx Reward (for charing insurance)
$30 Citi Reward (for charging hotel) **pending**
------------
$45 TOTAL *ONE-TIME REWARDS*
**In addition, various monthly rewards that I will tally at 12/31
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just redeemed the insurance reward and just signed up for the hotel reward, which will apply to college move-in.  The $30 reward just happens to be for spending the amount we booked the hotel for.  
I...
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We just came home from the butcher and got everything squared away in the freezer and I've now done the math, so I can give you the breakdown on what we got and what we paid for our organic, pasture-raised meat.  Keep in mind this is not going to be the cheapest stuff you can get from the store, if you even still can.  These animals are not feed lot raised or even raised in a nice barn, but confined to a pen.
They are out there in the sunshine, with little shelters if...
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MH finally got out of COVID jail.  He had been feeling completely fine for about a week but got his first negative on Wednesday.   Phew!  
The rest of us are fine.   I might have some time now to do anything else but cooking/dishes/domestics/kid stuff.  I have time for work again. Though MH was kind and ran to the grocery store the second his mom told him she tested positive.  We still have food for days.  I ran to the store over...
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Our hog half is finally ready to be picked up, so DH and I will be going down on Saturday to pick it up.  DH was invited to go salmon fishing on Saturday, but he had to decline.  It's a little bit of a bummer, but the only other option was to take time off from work to go and he is too slammed to do that.
I am thinking about making it a date for DH and myself and going to Outback for a meal.  I miss Kookaburra wings so I would eat that, the veggies it comes with,...
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Lord, I pray that I'm eligible for the student loan forgiveness. 
Biden made the announcement and I have no clue if I'm a part of the eligibility group. 
Fingers crossed s 
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My current smart phone service with Verizon was recently increased from $59.89 a month to $67.79 per month. The reason for the increase was stated as “increased administration cost”, so I wasn’t really getting anything more. My monthly plan with Verizon included unlimited talk, text and I believe 5 GB of data. I was happy with them; the service was always very reliable. When I called them to discuss any other options to lower my bill, they basically said there...
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I went to the gym yesterday, and afterwards walked over to Sam's Club. I didn't find what I was looking for -- folate supplements -- but I bought a twin-pack of body wash for $11. Then I drove to Walgreens and bought the folate -- a BOGO offer -- for $9. Variables are now at 63%.
I continue to avoid the grocery store. Yesterday I made stuffed peppers, and today I made vegetable rice soup. I am drinking my coffee black. I'm out of fresh fruit, but I do have prunes. I'm out of sweets,...
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