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Income Total: $1829.00


     * $1500 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  


     * $225 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal) 
     * $104.00 Credit Card Cash Back Rewards


      


Total Spending: $1411.13


Total Savings: $417.87 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending)  Fixed...
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I keep thinking to myself that I should write an entry, then I decide I don't have anything interesting to write about.  But then I go to do one of these entries and realize I have too many topics haha.  Oh well, I'm wordy sometimes.
August Spending:
Hopefully this month is the last month that spending is this high (she says naively....).  Actually I know that's false, I am going to be ordering an expensive piece of workout equipment this month, just waiting for...
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August did not feel like a particularly low-spend month, but it was lower than usual.  Here are the details:
Housing: $795
Utilities: $192
Vacation/Travel: $150
Groceries: $142
Personal: $93
Fees/Services: $83
Car Repair/Maintenance: $81
Medical/Health: $55
Phone: $52
Household Supplies: $51
Vet/Pet Supplies: $37
Gas: $32
Eating Out/Takeout: $29
Entertainment: $16
Gifts/Charity: $15
Clothing: $15
Laundry: $14
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor: $5
Grand Total:...
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I was reviewing my month-end expenses and investments today when I noticed an unexpected deposit of $2,900 in my checking account from the IRS. Umm, I have no idea what this is. I got my tax refund of about $300 back in March, and there aren't any stimulus checks lately.
I'll call the bank tomorrow; maybe they can shed some light on this. Just hope it's not a mistake of some sort (!) but I really can't imagine what this is!!
So, my cousin has departed after spending 4 days with...
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The HVAC guy from our neighbor gave us a couple options.
1.  $3k - install neighbor's 10 year old furnace, 5 year old a/c
2. $6k - install new furnace, 5 year old a/c
3. $15k - install new furnace and new a/c
DH and I are at a crossroads.  Our furnace is more thn 20+ year old.  We are on borrowed time.  We are planning on doing a/c and furnace, but unsure what to do.Next week I get one more quote and then we probably need to make a decision.
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I know it's probably really mean of me to post about having terminal cancer and then disappear. 
I just wanted to pop in and let you all know I am still alive and still in remission, from stage 4 kidney cancer. Still no sign of cancer, for over a year now. I'm still getting infusions, and life is still insane with kids and pandemic 2020/2021, but I'm alive. And we aren't bankrupt yet from cancer treatment, which in America, is a miracle in and of itself. 
So yes....
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Wow! How has it been three months since I blogged? I had no idea it had been so long until I looked at the date of my last entry!
Things have been slowly chugging along. We have made barely a dent in our debt over the summer, but it hasn't increased, so that's a small win.
As I am a teacher, I had summer off, which was really nice. However, I only had my whole family together for 10 days all summer, 5 of which both of the kids were recovering from having their wisdom teeth pulled....
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My loved ones are all okay. We lost power for less than 24 hours at my parents' home. My apartment is without power & under a boil advisory for the foreseeable future as is most (all?) of Jefferson Parish. I am back at my parents' home after venturing into the city to check in at the hospital. After I learned of the water situation I requested leave for the week. I hope the situation will be better in a week, but as I understand it, it could take up to 6 weeks to get the power...
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Debts
Mortgage −$119,977.62 (-$232.14)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$21,330 (+$179)401K +$43,486 (+$764)Emergency Fund +$8,997 (+$206)Maternity Fund +$1,425 (+$425)Animal Fund +$1,462(+$201)Car Fund +$20 (-$0)HSA +$2,662  (+$362)
Overall: +$2,369.14
 
 
Feels like time before the baby is slipping away. Still so much to do at home to prepare such as get a car seat and clean the house. We are in the home stretch which is both exciting and scary!
My old dog has...
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The theme continues:  Life is chaotic and difficult, but finances continue to be doing great. 
Mortgage dipped below $130K, into the 120Ks...  Woohoo!  Next year we should drop below $120K.
We also officially hit our $500K retirement goal (one year ahead of schedule).  🎉🙌🥳  Actual retirement balance is something like $505K.
I am still resisting thinking about the big picture and coming up with our next goals.  Taking a break for a...
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I went to CVS early this morning for some items. Here is what I purchased: 
 


2 Colgate toothpastes (these were 2 for $7.98, but CVS sent everyone a digital coupon for $7.98 off 2 to your CVS card, so these were free) 


1 pack of 4 Charmin TP (mega rolls) (on sale for $4.99) 


1 small bottle of Palmolive dish soap (on sale for .99 cents) 


7 cans of Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore tuna (on sale for .99 cents...
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I had another migraine within a day of recovering from the last one.  This one was brought on by fragrance.  I had ordered some unscented body wash on etsy, because it was the only one I had been able to find that didn't have any coconut oil in it.  Unfortunately she gave a overly scented soap bar as a gift with it and packaged it so poorly that the bottle was broken open and it soaked the entire package, an unpadded envelope with a tiny bit of biodegradable paper...
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Well I have ordered many of my christmas presents...some are things I have been wanting to do for a couple of years just haven't been well enough to get done..but I have used the CC so will have to pay that off again...but thats ok...my hubby is so worth it....savings is way down as we have had so many specialists to see that our mrdical acct was cleared out as was a majority of our savings...but we will get back on track in next couple of months..fingers crossed looks like buying...
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My birthday was this past week.  It was a pleasant enough day.  Everyone at my office knew and wished me a happy birthday when I arrived at work.  I have a couple of friends who have promised to take me out for a meal, but since my birthday fell mid-week, I didn't have any plans for the day itself.  Rather than being upset at being alone on my birthday, I decided to treat myself to a dinner at a nice restaurant in town that I've always wanted to try, but one...
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MOVIES:
--------
$100 Regal
$25 Fandango
 
RESTAURANTS:
------------
$50 Cracker Barrel
$50 Olive Garden
$25 Chili's
$ 25 x 2 Jamba Juice (Birthday Gift)
 
RETAIL:
---------
$ 100 x 1 Target (Emailed/paper gift cards)
$20 Target gift card (loaded to online account)
 
Note: Edited over time to remove used gift cards. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I won 3 gift cards at a work event.  It was actually...
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As of this week, my 401k balance topped the $200,000 mark for the first time.
I started this account when I started working here per diem in April 2016. I went part time in February 2017 and full time in November 2017. I contributed the maximum allowed in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
So 200K accumulated in under 5-1/2 years. Not bad at all.
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Braved the heat today with a trip to the gym and Sam's.  It was awful!  But I got some all-important toilet paper, as well as probiotics and sparkling water.  Total spending was $39.  I really shouldn't spend any more till the month ends.
My son's family is having work done on their bathroom, so I'm seeing them pretty often, as they dash over to use mine.  It's nice to see them so often!
Tomorrow I'm having breakfast with them and my ex and his wife. ...
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I am back after a long period of having my financial head in the sand.  The initial covid market drop did that to me!  But I need to get my act together before I can retire!
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Whew it’s been awhile but I wanted to check in. 
 
As you all know, I quit my job, very toxic work environment. After I left most of my team quit.
 
Well I took a job about two weeks ago, my gut told me not to but fear had me to do it. Everyone was nice but the job itself I just couldn’t do. It was very antiquated and well below my skill set and I struggled. So I resigned. 
 
The very day I resigned, I landed a job paying $5000...
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We have a hurricane headed this way. It is expected to make landfall Sunday as a category 3. I am prepared as I am going to be at the point, but I will make one last trip to the store & gas station when I get off work this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be too crazy. I just want to grab any last thing that I can think of. Stay safe with these fires & hurricanes out there! 💨🔥
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