All Entries

Home Repair/Maintenance (Electrical) - $2462
Auto Insurance -$814
Housing - $746
Utilities - $208
Fees/Services - $138
Eating Out/Takeout - $107
Vacation/Travel - $100
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor - $98
Medical/Health - $63
Gifts/Charity- $58
Vet/Pet Supplies - $58
Groceries - $55
Gas - $53
Phone - $32
Personal - $28
Entertainment - $17
Laundry - $12
Grand Total - $5049
Variables - 91%
 
Fees/Services were my AAA renewal and replenishment of my Illinois...
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Income Total: $1415.00


     * $1200 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  


     * $200 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal) 
     * $15 Health co-pay refund


      


Total Spending: $1232.73


Total Savings: $182.27 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending)  Fixed...
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July expenses and income do not look pretty.
I'm in the hole for the month for $9,400. Partly because a) I had no earned income this month; my first paycheck with the new employer will be delayed as they pay once monthly (!) and you have to wait up to a month after submitting your bill for the first month's work. and b) July is traditionally the most expensive month of the year for me because that's when I pay my car insurance, homeowner's insurance, semi-annual property taxes...
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I'm wrapping up this month with more expenses -- I sent birthday flowers to a friend ($54 for a small bouquet!) and bought a few groceries for $3. Then my tollway pass replenished for $40. These things pushed my variables up to 91%.  Tomorrow I'll do my recap, and it won't be pretty.
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Well, we all got Covid in July. We are all vaccinated and one booster. For me the fatigue and nasal congestion was the worst and it took me exactly 10 days to test negative. Covid is not fun even on its milder side.
On a financial update, it looks like it will end with a little over $200 surplus. We met our savings goals and I was put $100 ($5K to go to fully fund) towards my Roth IRA. Summer are very lean for us because I do not work during the summer months. 
We have...
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My big splurge yesterday was $41 spent on aquatic plants for my aquarium. I did this for two reasons -- I am tired of fighting algae -- and my DIL's aquarium, which was filled with plants, was so lovely. It inspired me.
I had some trouble getting one plant to stay down -- it wanted to float on top. But I finally got it anchored with some pebbles. I just hope the fish don't disrupt it. The aquarium looks so much better with some greenery in it, and I hope the algae will fail to...
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Oh, we've been gearing up for some baby shower fun, and it's costing us a bit of a pretty penny. All cash, tho (well, card first for points/cash back, but then immediate pay off). I think we are at $2500 right now, and once we have the food purchased, I think our final cost for this big baby shower (plus part wedding reception) will be about $3500. 
I was last week years old when I found out that Roth IRAs have an income limit! And here, I just opened up two new ones. So,...
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Debts
Mortgage −$117,032.04 (-$238.37)Land Loan -$11,778.85 (-$181.61)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$22,154 (+$665)401K +$42,353 (+$1,659)Emergency Fund +$7,598 (-$1,635)Maternity Fund +$1,570 (-$1,430)Animal Fund +$1,670 (+$2)Car Fund +$20 (-$0)HSA +$2,216 (-$853)
Overall: -$1,172.02
Retirement accounts were actually up a bit. But not enough to counter the dumpster fire that July was. One of the kids needed an ER trip. Then we all caught covid again and husband was out of work...
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It’s been so long since I have posted but it is for good reason… because we moved house!!  (Big long detailed post warning - it has been a big few months so it is hard to write a short post)
 
DH has wanted to move to the country forever and it has taken me a long time to come around to the idea. Probably about 7 years of discussions, so it is not something we have taken lightly.  As time went by and more family and friends moved  away...
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It has taken forever, between our first upright freezer breaking down, to having it replaced after many months when no one could repair it, which also took months because they were on backorder, to me ordering the hog, to the butcher dates being pushed back several times, to today, when my hog is actually being butchered.  It will be about 3 weeks before I actually get it, since they have to hang it for a while and then have to cure and smoke hams, bacon, and hocks. ...
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Oh dear. This hasn't happened for a long time. I lost a pretty wordy entry about my train trip and the visit to my son's home in Oregon. I didn't select and save it, so it's gone. So I will give you a really short version.
The vacation, while too short, was super fun. I spent only $100 on food altogether. I couldn't sleep on the train seats, so I'll never try that again. I would consider doing another train trip in a roomette.
When I got home, the electrician arrived shortly...
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I have been living in my home for about 11 years, it’s only been the last three that I’ve actually owned it. 
 
Well nothing broke during the time I was here and renting but now it seems like everything is falling apart. 
 
I’ve mentioned my kitchen cabinets before and have been holding off. Well yesterday, underneath the sink, it collapsed completely. SMH. There was some minor water damaged but I think after the pipe debacle it got worst....
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I'm at home sick today (2nd day - not Covid) and can't sleep anymore ... so I thought it was a perfect time to check on my SA family.
Although I have been absent, you all have been on my mind. It's just this site is more difficult to keep up with on a phone, and that seems to be what I mostly use anymore.
So ... updates:
1. I have a new job! It's at the same agency I started working at in 2019, but a step up. I started it in March. I've been training my replacement for the last...
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Well I got the job, not the work from home position but hey. Salary, $105k a year with the potential to earn up to 15% bonus. 
 
I was confused about which job to take but this one, though in office, I was leaning towards since the role paid more. 
 
There’s still a chance that the other company may make an offer. If so, I can weigh my options. Though less, my earning potential is greater because I can pick up additional clients. 
 
Other...
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I guess  the countdown to my last day at the university should begin.  I think we're at 16 days.
I spent the day reviewing applications for one of our open positions.  Man alive, people need a class on employment communication.  One of our applicants had a picture of blue bird on top of her CV while another named the wrong university, not ours, as the one he was applying to.  But it does make them easier to sort through!
I also handed off a bunch of paperwork...
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We have hit that time of year where we have hit our threshhold for prescritions and they are free except for one of mine which I have to pay $20 for....it saves us so much money every year, thankgod the govt has that incentive. 
I have been looking at new phone/internet plans haven't decided on anything yet...but looking, I am going to change our contents policy...we don't need to have it so high...to replace everything if we needed to..so going to lover it and save round...
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I cut out, or cut back on buying these things to save money, for health reasons, or have found alternatives. 
 

1. Bottled water: I finally bought a filtered pitcher. 

 





2. Cleaners: I buy these 4 things: bleach, vinegar, blue Dawn dish soap, and baking soda. I make my own cleaner and it works great. My house is clean and sanitized. DISCLAIMER: This does not work on all bathroom surfaces. It depends on your type of tub and shower materials. 

 





3....
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There's a slogan about not letting stuff go to waste, something to the effect "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" or something like that. That is my go to slogan lately.
My mom died a number of years ago. She was a quilter and she had all this material she had purchased and never used. I gave it away since I don't quilt. But there are lots of jokes about people with yarn, material, etc. and how much they have stashed. Or hoarded.
I have purchased some material...
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Things have been cruising along pretty well.
 
Thankfully my wife is feeling much better. Not 100% pain-free but able to do just about everything pretty normally. She's downstairs sewing as I type this.
 
We were able to go away for a few days earlier this month for our 30th anniversary. It wasn't the 2-week land/sea Alaska trip we had planned, but we had a really nice time just getting away and spending quality time together.
 
My last day of part time work...
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The Finance Buff has released his annual predictions for contribution limits for retirement plans. As he mentions, so far he has predicted these with 100% accuracy. I enjoy reading his posts every year. 
He is predicting an increase to the 401k contribution limit of $2,000, not the $1,500 I posted recently from another source. And an increase to the IRA congribution limit of $500. That would be an annual increase of $2,500 or a little more than $200 a month. 
https://thefinancebuff.com/401k-403b-ira-contribution-limits.html
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