All Entries

So I went to Winco on Sunday and I had a few surprises, but I guess I shouldn't have been since it has been in all the other stores, it just took a long time for the shortages to catch up to Winco.  The wall of deals at the front of the store was missing it's stacks of canned green beans, corn, potatoes, and all beans but black beans, and fruit.  In it's place they had Chef Boyardee and Nally chili and tomato products.  It was shockingly noticeable.  The regular...
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Not with oranges or bowling pins, but with my budget.  I had previously logged my train tickets as "big ticket" items -- not coming out of variables  -- but after finding out yesterday that my dentist visit was totally covered by insurance, I decided to transfer the train tickets into variables.  That brings variables to 106% -- but my average for the year so far is only 84%, so I think it's a good move.  Big ticket items come out of savings, and I want to preserve...
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My stepson needed to move to a town with cheaper rent as he had a stroke and could no longer work and rents in the city are outrageous...he has cognitive inabilities now so we do a lot of all his paperwork as he can't process it properly anymore, although it is not done through the courts or anything. Anyway his ex landlord charged him over $1900 and she knew she had to go through me but didn't so when he got the bond saying that it was taken out we were all upset and once we found...
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Today I took DS to his consultation with the orthodontist.  As the people here on the blogs told me, it will be around $6000, the amount I saved.  If we didn't pay up front the cost would be $6180, but since we are we get a 5% discount.  That is $309 off.  So our total is $5871.  Which means I have $129 to figure out what to do with.  He will be doing Invisalign, but the cost of regular braces was only $200 cheaper and I don't think he would tolerate...
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A whole week and not being able to get onto the blogs/forum to post or reply..Thankyou to Jon & james for fixing the issues for me it was greatly appreciated!!
Pay week this week but only for groceries and gas still deciding if we want to go to costco or not as its a 45 minute drive one way and we don't need a lot, so will see, might just get what we need from local grocery store although it comes in much smaller packaging and sizes.
We have been doing a lot of research on...
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Sorry in advance for the super long post!
This last week was EXPENSIVE! We were on spring break, and I feel like we were hemorrhaging money!
During spring break, our whole family had eye appointments. The Kids had never been to see the eye doctor prior to this appointment and had only had their vision checked at their yearly physical. I haven’t had my eyes checked since before our daughter was born about 18 years ago and The Husband went about 4 years ago. 3 out of the...
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After a really awful night's sleep (too much stimulation!) I managed to get up this morning and get to the gym. I also stopped at the doctor's office to pick up a stool testing kit -- so much better than a colonoscopy. On the way home I went through Burger King's drive-through and bought an Impossible burger for $7. And I got gas at Sam's for $27. Variables are at 64%. Tomorrow I go to the dentist, which will not be cheap, but I'm going to try to cash flow it. I'm also going to...
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Well, the freezer that was supposed to arrive in May has now been pushed off until the end of June.  But they do have some of another brand with the same size coming in this week.  It has a similar layout with the 21 cubic foot capacity.  We went in to look at the smaller version and decided to go ahead and switch to it.  So on Thursday we will be getting our new freezer. 
We have been without an upright since July and I wasn't sure we would ever get one,...
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Pantry challenge update so far:
-Used up some odds and ends of leftover sauces by making homemade fries from a potato and having a dipping sauce buffet for them
-Rescued a cup of leftover disappointing crepe batter from the fridge, jazzed it up with various seasonings, had a nice savory pancake
-Mixed in the noodle pack from another weird instant noodle flavor with my own seasonings, egg, and some vegetables and a packet of leftover soy sauce from old takeout
 
I love...
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Paid an extra $25 on the mortgage and student loan each, now I'm officially under $8000 on student loan number three (3). See sidebar. 
 
I have to invoice my client on Monday. They're pretty good with paying the bill timely. If I get it before I leave for my trip, I'll pay another $2,000+ on student loan number 3. 
 
I'm so excited to see this number decrease. It's a matter of weeks by the time I pay this loan off then it's officially onto the last loan,...
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Life will never be the same.  My brother-in-law died suddenly Wednesday night.  My heart is broken.  I cannot imagine the pain my sister and her children (boys 24 and 21) are feeling.  
 
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Hi all,
Just wanted to say that I got the second contract with a client whose contract ended in March. I'm so excited and looking forward to it. 
That's it for now 
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So I don't understand how people who have a family of four talk about how cheap it is to travel.  Okay maybe if we only used points for every plane ticket.  But how do you get so many tickets to travel every year if you aren't a big spender and no longer have work travel to help gain points?  I don't get it at all.  
We are planning on a 5 day trip to Las Vegas.  Tickets for the family will be $1669 roundtrip for 4.  Hotel will be $1215. ...
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I was asked to visit the Turks and Caicos, but really didn’t plan on it, since I’m heading on vacation next week. I treated myself, to this trip after paying off so much debt and not taking a vacation in about six years. 
 
Well my client, whose contract ended last month, asked if I’d be interested in another two month contract and of course I said yes. That’s about $6k extra a month. 
 
So with that, I’ve decided to take the...
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Hello everyone! I am still around and reading the blogs, though it has been a while since I posted.
 
Financially, I have switched my focus from student loan payoff to retirement savings catchup.
 
My kitchen (er, whole apartment) has been in serious need of some spring cleaning, which I finally got around to starting this week, and I realized that I have a lot of food items that I have been kind of ignoring. Some were pandemic buys, some I was gifted, some were purchased...
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This month has had some big spending due to work expenses, most of which as being reimbursed for our laboratory's recognition week. I also paid the first installment of next season's theatre tickets.
I'm excited about the season which includes: Six, Moulin Rouge, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lion King, Tina, Pretty Woman, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Fiddler on the Roof. I passed on the season option of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I've seen it before (as I've seen many of these...
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I haven't made a post in almost a year.  (In my last post, I had just booked a cruise.  Now it is almost time to embark.) For most of that time, I had nothing much to report.  Things were just chugging along as planned.  Go to work, get paid, save as much of it as possible.  As exciting as watching paint dry. 
More recently, I have had a health issue to deal with.  I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  The good news is that it was detected...
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So I am not a keeping up with the Jones person or else I wouldn't live where I live and drive what I drive.  I alsotruggle with spending money on stuff I deem unworthy (it is an individual thing and I am not a spendthrift, nor frugal but I try to be cognizant of my spending). 
That being said I got an email that "your DK2 has been taken off the wait-list for the sleepaway camp, please register by April 23rd, 2022 to hold your spot."  The camp is a 1 week sleepaway...
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Well, I wrote what I thought was a nice blog entry on my investing and retirement goals but it did not save/post so I will try again. 
In this post, I will discuss our various retirement accounts and our investing strategies (hopefully it does not bore people!)😁 Again, we both will be retiring in 5-7 years which will put us at ages 57-60. What are our retirement goals? Well we are trying to figure that out. It will include some travel, some volunteer work, and some paid...
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Welp, I thought my check wouldn't clear until Friday, since I'd deposited it late last night. Well it cleared today and I paid $2100 towards student loan (number 3), now I wait patiently for the balance to show $8k. I'm so happy, I should be able to meet my goal of paying this off before June. After crunching the numbers, student loan number 3 should be paid off next month, right after I return from vacation.  
Wow, is all I can actually say. 
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