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At year end 2025, I posted "total debt under $30,000."  Today, one month later, I can post, "total debt under $20,000."  That's $19,555, of which $19,500 is the mortgage, and the other $55 is credit card charges that are still pending (charged last night or today which have not yet posted to account.
Tomorrow there will be another mortgage payment, which I will add another $40+ to, so that by Monday, the mortgage balance will be down to $19,000.
It took two plus years...
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My handyman never came over here yesterday; he called to tell me another customer had a no-heat issue. He was still going to come, with a more uncertain arrival, but I let him off the hook for now. I'm going to bundle a few odd jobs together so it's more cost-efficient having him come over, so it'll be fixing a sticky kitchen drawer (if I absolutely can't pull it out myself), weatherstripping 1 or 2 doors and possibly sealing the leaky greenhouse window (if I don't do that myself)....
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It's been a wild week, but I was able to make another payment, $200 on my student loan. I am very happy that I'm finally able to make some progress. 
Other news, I've been super sick. It's not COVID,and I'm thankful.  I have been down like four flat tires. I haven't been able to work my part time job, which sucks, health is a priority. I'm looking forward to a restful weekend. 
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I did my monthly expense report a few days early cus I want to get started on my taxes soon.
It was a very spendy month, mostly because January is when I'm making the 2nd big pre-payment of $5K on the car loan. The reason I'm doing that is to overall reduce the amount of interest I pay on the loan. In 2025, I spent $871 in interest. My balance is down to $4,800, though, so I'm getting pretty close to payoff.
The other big expenses were the quarterly Medicare premium of over $600,...
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Well it's the end of the month and our last payday and we didnt need the money so just put it into savings and I do have $320 in cash to put into the bank as well from some stuff we sold will do that maybe tomorrow or the next week. That will make our savings up to $8k so that is noce that we were able to save some this month should be able to add to it each month...slowly but surely and we have not added to the debt so even better. 
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Wow I think this year is going to go as fast as last year. It's going to have some major moments for us this year, so my daughter & her fiance are moving back closer to where we all live (right now an hr away) and will sell their home and save up to buy their dream home...my oldest will be travelling for her business in march its a couple she did work for and they have asked her to come help them for a week, they will pay airfares & for the work, so excited for her. She...
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Drum roll please.  My DK1 gets her license today.  Woot Woot!  I am so excited yet at the same time TERRIFIED.  I am scared and nervous all in one.  Anyone who has kids knows the feeling. It happens when you give birth and the world falls away from your feet and you are free falling into parenthood.  NOTHING and NO ONE can prepare you.  She turned 16 on sunday (my world changed in moments of a push).  The unreal feeling of a baby moving became...
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I don't want to hear crap from any Trumpers who think that this execution of this young man justified!
I have been in tears all day, trying to comprehend when, how and why are we at this state in this country. 
As a Black woman I have experienced racism, in the workplace, friends of friends, school etc. I didn't learn about what my parents endured until later on in life. You read about the Little Rock 9, sit ins and you think, this was so long ago. And now here we are real...
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I already shared the numbers and the reality of the debt. This isn’t another confession. This is the context. The part of the story that explains how I got here and why this season looks the way it does. Not to excuse it. Not to justify it. Just to give an ide of what that season of life actually looked like.
 
Before everything fell apart, our life looked very different. I was a stay at home mom. My world was my kids, my home, our routines, our rhythms. My...
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Feeling the urge for comfort food ahead of last weekend's storm, I was GOING to make split pea soup, only to find I didn't have dried split peas. So I improvised and made a really good "Morroccan" vegetable soup with carrots, parsnips, onions, mushrooms and quinoa and it came out really good. I partially pureed it with immersion blender but it still has chunks of veggies. Meant to add potatoes  or chickpeas but forgot. I guess I could have added tofu, too, as I have it on...
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It seems that half the country will experience snowstorm Benjamin. Here on the East Coast, he isn't expected to arrive until late Saturday night, dumping a foot or more before he leaves. Our meteorologist is very excited. We are lucky in that here in the northern part of the county, we have a weather guy who covers just our small area, so his forecasts are hyper-local.
There isn't a whole lot I can do to prepare, but there certain small steps I will take:
1. Rather than park...
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My aunt had a medical situation occur and I ended up traveling unexpectely for eight days. My mother can't really travel on her own and so she and I flew from different points to the same airport, where I met up with her. We rented a car (which I drove) and stayed at a motel. Our days were spent visiting my aunt in the hospital. On the first day we spent almost the entire day at the hospital, but after that I put us on a routine of two visits per day, interspersed with meals and...
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Well we will be moving house soon as the title suggests, we got a call yesterday saying that the owner wants to sell. It doesnt surprise me this house has so many issue and the last one where we had our front light that was hanging down which we reported in august last year but was never fixed. It was hanging by a wire and hit the door everytime it was opened. They sent someone out who knocked on the door, said he was there to fix the light, next thing I know 2 mins later I hear...
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I'm not the best with money but I'm trying. The mentally of some people baffle me but that's a different story. 
Though I kept at it with my student loan, I still fell off track. I just canceled a few subscriptions, Amazon Music $10 a month and Cricut $10 a month. Though I listen to my Amazon Music often, I figured out how to stream the YouTube Music app, which I prefer and pay for to my device.  I don't have cable because I love listening to music. I received my...
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Obviously we have all been watching the news about trump wanting to take green land and what may happen if he tries, I mean the implications of going against another NATO country is insane. many are saying that others will call in the US debt which will bankrupt the country...I don't know a lot about it but it seems to be all over the internet. I am just curious how you all feel about that? I know many of you have saved for your lifetime and some have just started saving for retirement...
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Here it is, January, the first month of the year is already half over. Did you make any resolutions? I did not because in the past I have not kept up with them. I do have a few goals, but I don't think they are resolutions.
One of the goals is to try and cut grocery costs and use as much as we have. As I've aged, I don't eat quite as much as I used to. Which I guess is good. So, there is less waste. I try to cook once and we eat twice. And sometimes our meals are little creative,...
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As everyone in the US knows, you are eligible for Medicare at age 65.
The Medicare system is *extremely* confusing, and there is not just one "Part" to Medicare--there are actually four parts, A, B, C, and D, and you end up having three of the four, eventually.  Either A, B, and C (Medicare Advantage), or A, B, and D (traditional Medicare). Traditional Medicare covers only 80% of expenses, so it is highly suggested that if you go the traditional Medicare route, you also...
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This is just a journal entry about how I get things for so little cost in my life.  It's not about buying at yard sales / craigslist / etc... but instead in actual stores.  And its not about finding sales, using phone apps, or coupons either.  Sorry that this is long, and probably boring to most, but I thought it might be an ok post for some.     And with that....
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When I was a young...
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I started blogging 2014 but was on SA since 2006, so this my 20 year anniversary.  WOAH.  When I started I was newly married, student loans a boat load, i think we had over $100k, and no kids.  I'm said to myself when we have kids we're going to pay for 4 years of university at a public school in state.  Things change and it depends on the kid now.  So parents don't beat yourself up.  I am the the classic example of parent with curveballs!  In...
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This year will also be the first year I embark on my journey towards eventually converting all my traditional IRA money into my Roth IRA.
My plan is to convert $10k chunks every year, and when I file my taxes this year, I basically pay $1k in taxes, right?  I am no longer working, and paid no taxes on last year's tax return.
Likewise, the process seems very easy.  I made the money transfer on my phone app while lying in bed.  In fact, the whole thing seems TOO...
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