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When I thought that MM(18) would blow through his college dining dollars too quickly, I decided to cash out the kids' high school lunch money.  I had about $250 prepaid.  MM(18) never went back to school (in person) and so I transferred his money over to DL(16).  But he's getting free lunch indefinitely.  Initially I liked the idea to have senior year just paid for (while also having big expenses like college).  But I don't even know if DL will have to...
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November is flying by! I feel like I'm on a speeding train or something.
We had our Stitches of Love group yesterday at church. We have made 851 hats this year, 37 baby hats, 46 scarves, 30 blankets, and 186 dish cloths. The hats and scarves will be donated to kids' charities. I am working to make 14 more dish cloths so we have 200 for Christmas baskets for one of our food pantries to put in their Christmas baskets. The blankets we sent to a nonprofit called "Blankets from Ben."...
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Yesterday we met with our FP and he has given us a 3-5 year recommendation for retirement. We went out and celebrated by having lunch at a restaurant we like but that is closing after this month (sad). I'm guessing we could do it sooner too if we were really motivated but I think taking time to prepare will benefit us and only position us for less worry. 
It's a bit weird because I feel too young and while I will certainly miss aspects of my job, as we all know...there will...
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My dentist is out of town until Tuesday, so I have an appointment then to have my crownless tooth examined.  I continue to have no pain, so this really isn't an issue, as long as I chew only on the left side!
I had a busy morning yesterday.  I  started the day with a stop at Walgreens, which is where I have bought Christmas lights in the past, but they had none at all.  From there I went on to a drive-through breakfast at McDonalds ($3).  I did not have...
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I have completed my Christmas shopping – even stocking stuffers. Never in my life have I accomplished this before Thanksgiving. The news of supply chain issues and potential shortages gave me a sense of urgency I guess. But it feels good to be able to enjoy the time now.
 
We will still have expenses for a tree and our traditional Christmas Day seafood gumbo ingredients. Maybe we’ll get a couple of gingerbread house kits this year too. The boys used to decorate...
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I got an economic impact payment of $1400 for my DK2.  It was weird. I filed a tax return for her because I wanted to carryforward losses I took for her in 2020. I want to capture some gains this year as well and pay minimal taxes for her.  So last March I sold VTI and bought VOO and QQQ.  I now have about 60% gains so I'm thinking of harvesting the VOO and buying SPY and then using the losses from last year to reset my basis.
These are just some tiny things. ...
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On Saturday there was a break in the weather and DH and I went out and cleared out the dead plants from the two new raised beds.  I had to sit down a lot due to my back and my leg weakness, but I was able to sit there and pick up all the windfallen tomatoes without it hurting too much.  We filled half a bucket with them, most of them cherry tomatoes.  They were all split and rotting due to the two weeks of unrelenting rain, so there was no salvaging anything for...
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I keep putting off posting here. We've got several big money-related and other things that are in process right now, and I keep thinking when they're more settled I'll post, but honestly some of them are going to be months or more before they're settled, so I should just post now, and then post updates as things move along!
Let's see...I'll start with something that's pretty settled.
1. AS applied for a top job at a local nonprofit this summer, and she got it! She's been involved...
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As mentioned in a previous post (2020) I have a deadline set for the start of my retirement. And I have a list of prerequisites to determine whether I’m in a safe-enough-for-me position to retire sooner. Each quarter I evaluate my progress against those prerequisites, and my quarterly check-in for this is aligned with my birthday instead of the standard calendar quarter. That’s because a couple of my prerequisites are based on my 60th birthday so the calculation is...
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I recently posted about the Alaska airlines gift card offer at Costco - $449 for each $500 gift card.  I had originally bought 6, but the limit was 10 per membership.  I decided to buy the additional 4 gift cards to get the full benefit of this discount.  Since the hub flies roundtrip  to Anchorage every 6 weeks, it made good sense to save on as many gift cards as possible.  I pulled the money out of savings to pay for the cards.  10% return is way...
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We traveled south last month to celebrate my Dad’s milestone birthday with him. It was special because a year ago we hoped and prayed but didn’t expect that he’d live to see this one. My brothers and I hosted a surprise party at a nice restaurant and it was indeed a surprise. Everything turned out perfectly. My share was about $450. Worth. Every. Penny.
The boys still attended school each weekday morning while we were gone since they’re in cyber school....
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I know that our biggest budget item and most noteworthy is groceries.  Eating out somewhat.  Travel sure we probably spend $ more.  But Travel is easy to track with airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, attractions, dog boarding, etc.  But the day to day spend is the one that's easier to cut and hard to keep track of.  But this year well I've been doing reasonably well I think. I have an excel spreadsheet tracking everything and breaking down...
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Since I spent some time yesterday with open enrollment, I decided to do a little take-home pay modeling for 2022 this morning.  Mostly because I don't feel like doing the stuff on my actual work to do list, lol.
Some up front things of note - I built out a projected 2022 budget a few weeks/months ago.  I increased my AutoSave, I increased the amount to "the Mom Loan", I added a few additional sinking funds on a monthly basis, and I adjusted the extra funds I am sending...
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So, November is the month for birthdays in my circle.  Two of my grandchildren, one of my sons, and my BFF.  Plus, my sister and SIL have late October birthdays, and my mother -- no longer living --  was also a November birthday girl.  I only give gifts, however, to my grandchildren, sons and BFF.  I gave BFF her birthday gift when we met for lunch, and yesterday I ordered a gift ($52) for my granddaughter.  Later in the month I will give cash to my...
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I'm tired of working. I suppose more accurately I'm tired of never having enough time to do everything else I want and need to get done because I spend so much time working. House stuff, financial stuff, family stuff, medical stuff, car stuff, exercise, the list goes on and on. Even fluff like staying current on a Netflix show I'm watching or being able to take advantage of a special offer at a favorite restaurant. There just aren't enough hours in the day. So many people say they'd...
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So my kiddo was different from an early age.  But there are lot of other things going on that meant there was always an excuse for everything.  Everything that seemed off or was different was explained away.  It sounds ridiculous but it really was.  I was the only mom of a girl in a special needs playgroup of boys with autism.  As I write this I feel like I can finally say to every mom who talked down to me there "hey now that I'm one of you, do you respect...
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This morning, I am going through the 2022 benefits guide put out by my company (I've become the de facto housekeeping/culture/HR person on my team haha, so I was adding some info to slides for our monthly meeting tomorrow).
I was surprised (in a good way) to realize that by the time I need to take short term disability for my surgery (or surgeries, which is yet TBD), I will be eligible for 26 weeks at full pay.  It really doesn't make a difference, as I was already eligible...
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I know it’s my age/generation but whenever I hear anything about cryptocurrency, it seems like fake money to me. I don’t get it. And I do realize that our paper money is no longer backed by precious metals so in effect its value is debatable too. I admit that I’m an old fogie in this area.
So recently DS2 installed something on DS5’s computer that earns cryptocurrency. The best I can understand after asking for an explanation is that DS5’s graphics...
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Last week the IRS announced new limits for remitrement plans. The increase to $20,500 was already anticipated. I will increase my deduction in December to $800. That will give me 25 paychecks contributing $800, then my last paycheck will be a $500 deduction. I can also contribute $789 to get me to the max, but I always like a nice round number to contribute. Plus, it gives me a little extra cash around the holidays.
For 2022 I am planning to contribute the full amount to my IRA...
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But at least it was a generous splurge rather than a self-indulgent one.  I went out to lunch with DIL and the grandsons on Saturday, and I picked up the check, since it was also the fourth anniversary of her mother's death, and she was feeling a little blue.  My son is traveling, so he wasn't around to prop her up.
I had forgotten how much restaurant prices are rising, so I hope I didn't audibly gulp when the bill was $102 (including tip).  It was just Buffalo...
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