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I just had to add up our taxable investment income - interest, dividends, capital gains - for our accountant to see if we need to make an estimated tax payment.
It came to $46,000.
There was also about another $6,000 in dividends from two inherited stocks that are still in my late cousin's name and were paid to the estate, not to me directly.
In 2022, I have to start taking RMDs from the inherited IRA. That will be about $20,000 this year.
Finally, there's just over $550,000...
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Oh my gosh, it has been so long! I I have been busy with life but realized that I miss the habit of journaling. It really does help you stay mindful of your goals and keep you from spending without trying things through. I'll be back with a longer post when I can write from my laptop. Just wanted to say I'm glad to be back! 
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Hope y'all had a grand New Year. We didn't do much as far as celebrating, but that was fine. We had a good dinner and then watched a DVD and headed to bed at our normal time. We aren't party people, I guess. 
I've been catching up on the blogs and I must admit most who have their resolutions or goals stated have some good ones. 
It seems a big chunk of my time is spent in the kitchen, trying to stretch our food budget as much as possible and still eat healthy. A friend...
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I started the new year with a $600 donation to my Oregon grandchildren's college funds.  I will do the same for my local grandchildren when the family gets back from Florida.  I used to do this at Christmas, but it is working out better budget-wise in the new year.
And for myself, I spent $38 on personal and household supplies.
We were threatened with a heavy snowstorm yesterday, but in fact it didn't pan out to be much.  Thank goodness!  When it snows more...
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I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We had a quiet new year.
I will try to be better at posting this year.
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I didn't get this posted yesterday, but our IRA closed out the year with a 14.96% rate of return and our 401K closed out at a 12.38% rate of return.  The IRA ends the year at $13,925.02 and the 401K ends the year at $57,978.02.  The grand total of retirement is $70,978.02.
That increases our net worth to $128,199.61for the year ending 2021.
I went into the 401K and raised our contributions from 15% to 16% as the raise will start on the next paycheck.  That should...
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Assets up 13.6%
Debts down 2.7%
Net Worth up 15.7%.
Steps walked: 2,602,440, which is 7,130 on average per day, and 1,097 miles in total (3 per day on average).
Dollarwise, this is about $104k increase in assets, $2.5k decrease in debt, and $106.5k overall increase in net worth, the first year in which the increase has been over $100k.
Debt reduction was slower than hoped for because of a number of large expenses, particularly for home repairs and maintenance plus vet bills...
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Happy New Year! I wish you and yours happiness & health in 2022. I meant to post at least once in December, but with the busyness of the holidays time got away from me. 🎄 
I celebrated a birthday last month. I celebrated by going out to lunch with my parents. They rarely eat out since the pandemic began & with Omicron I doubt they'll be doing it again anytime soon. 🎂 
My sisters came home for Christmas. It was so good to see my niece & nephew for the...
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Income Total: $1350.00


     * $1200 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  


     * $150 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal) 


      


Total Spending: $1389.92


Total Savings: $0 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending)  Fixed Expenses: Verizon bundle (internet,...
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This is going to be a whopper of an entry, please bear with me!!!!  Trying to orgranize this into sections.  First, December & Full Year 2021 Spending.  Next, the usual December debt/savings summary, along with a full year snapshot of that.  Then, full year 2021 goals summary!
First up - December Spending...my spending does not include bills, just "discretionary" spending.  Some of my categories are a little wonky, but I am adjusting them in 2022 now...
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Though I am not finished, I crunched a few numbers today and in 2020 I saved over $10k and paid off $20k in debt. I'll complete my year-end round-up later, I just felt great about 2020 and needed to share 
 
Happy New Year 🍾 🎆
 
 
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I have not posted much.  I looked back at my goals for 2021 and I did not meet most goals. Did hit the debt goal.
Did get my booster shot on December 10th.  Only reaction was a need for a nap.
My arm is still making slow progress,  Have a couple more PT appointments.  
I am using  monthly goals this year.
Here are my January goals
1. Pay down debt by 550.00
2. Check in at twice a month
3. Average 30 ounces of water/decaffinated tea
4. Step...
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Well it is finally 2022...it seems sureal that it is here already...2021 just flew by so fast...but this year is going to be better than last year...today we are celebrating our grandaughters 17th birthday...yes she is born on new years day...she has decided to do a dinner at home since covid is rampant right now and most of us have compromised immune systems...and they are also moving 5 hours away on the 7th jan...so we will be busy this week helping them pack and move. 
I...
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Happy New Year to all!
I'm spending some of my New Year's Eve downloading year-end numbers for our portfolio. My goal was to end the year with $3.3 million and we just made it with a final total of $3,302,333.14.
That represents an increase of $1,677,361.02 for the year. Of course, the bulk of that came from the inheritance I received when my cousin died, but he "only" left me about $1.2 M. The rest is from growth of our existing holdings and the growth on that money once it...
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2021 has been a year of significant change in our household.  
1. Fostering - It's been a full year and without a doubt, fostering an at-risk teen is the hardest job Ive ever had.  Initially, there was a period of adjusting and our FD tried hard to prove that we were like all the others, that we would give up on her eventually, so why not push all the buttons to prove herself right.  Well, we arent like all the others and loved her through all the yucky stuff,...
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December
Housing - $795
Gifts/Charity - $788
Groceries - $233
Medical/Health - $202
Utilities - $187
Personal - $99
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor - $63
Gas - $52
Fees/Services - $40
Entertainment - $34
Phone - $31
Eating Out/Takeout - $25
Household Supplies - $24
Laundry - $18
Pet Supplies - $11
Clothing/Accessories - $5
Parking - $1
Grand Total - $2,608
It wasn't a bad month, really.  The biggest chunk was Christmas spending, which affected both "Gifts/Charity"...
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Our net worth is up $200K for the year.  !!
We are at the whim of the stock market.  Waiting to see how today shakes out. 
Most of these gains were real estate gains.  It had been pretty stagnate here post recession but got knocked loose this year.  & I mean, we were nowhere near peak real estate levels in 2020 but now we have surpassed the peak (that we hit in 2005).
I had been estimating +$250K but I am looking at recent real estate sales and I...
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2021 TALLY:
$800 Cash (Chase Sapphire Quadruple Dip, MH) 
$30 Venmo ($10 x 3 Sign Up Bonuses)
------------
$830 TOTAL *ONE-TIME REWARDS*
Ongoing rewards:
+$313 AmExRewards (6% cash back groceries/streaming services)
+$80 Target rewards (5% discount Target purchases; mostly groceries)
+$108 Visa Rewards (3% cash back restaurants/fuel).  Ended up also using for groceries in Q4 (3% cash back)
+$1,046 Citi 2% card (2% back everywhere - health insurance/medical is...
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I know mny of you are getting to start the new year but this year I want to start logging in each amount that we spend in each category..right now we just have an amount say for food $1000 per month sometimes its less sometimes its more, then we have other categories of course...so just wondering what programs they use to keep track of that which is quick and easy....I want to start it tomorrow (2022) so hoping to get it set up this week...any ideas would be great..Thankyou 
I...
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I wish they would fix the time stamps to be accurate to the poster's location.  They've been off for two years and it is driving me crazy.  I'd like my posts to reflect the actual day and time of my post.
Anyway, we had more snow almost a half an hour after my last post and it was about 2 inches, and then 1 inch later that night, and last night it started snowing around 11:30 p.m. and my husband said it was still snowing at 8 a.m. when he started work.  It's not...
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