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I am now well stocked in my favorite brand diced tomatoes, Muir Glen. They are pretty expensive (over $3 a can) but they go on sale to half-price (!) in the fall, so I took full advantage of that recently and should have enough organic, sodium-free diced tomatoes for the entire winter's worth of soups and stews. I use 2 cans per pot of soup with a whole lot of veggies.

Generally speaking, my diet is as low sugar, low salt and low sat fat as possible, and it's very hard to eat...
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Taking a cruise has always been on my bucket list.  To be clear, I'm not suggesting that I need to take a cruise every year or anything.  Rather, I've never been on one, have no idea what to expect really, but just want to do it at least once in my lifetime before I croak.
However, I also don't want to do it solo.  Yes, I know that is a thing, and yeah, maybe some day, I just might do it as a solo, you know, just to finally check it off me bucket list.  But...
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'Big Splurge' Anniversary trip was a success!
It was fairly low key.  The only spending was fuel, hotel, and food.  100% just nature and the great outdoors, otherwise.  But the hotels were expensive.
This trip really narrowed down my focus.  I had wanted to travel and explore the central coast more.  It's always been my happy place.  So...  We expanded and explored a bit.  & nope.  This is the place.  If we redid the same...
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Wow, the Shark cordless vaccum (the PowerDetect) that I bought 3 months ago (which I love) has jumped in price by $80. I gave it a 5-star review on Amazon.
Violet's owner picked her up 2 days ago. We had a nice chat about the dog and also their travels to Berlin and Prague. I am definitely missing the dog, but I am also enjoying me freedom again. I would not be opposed to dog sitting again should the opportunity arise. 

Didn't do a heck of a lot today. I am STILL sick;...
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Just  a quick hello to check in on how I am doing.  
 
I have not increased my water.  I do a poor job of tracking my water.
I have not really lost any significanct amount of weight.  I have lost a few pounds just not enough.
On track to add over 1200.00 to my savings.
 
I rhink I am a little behind on hittting my roth goal.
 
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It's so weird, I know that I lurked here even before I started my blog (peeking over at the stats - 2015). I recall before CeeJay and her family had children, when they still lived in the small condo and oh my goodness, their oldest is 15!!! I can't believe I've been here this long. 
I had read all about how much you should be investing in retirement but as a single parent, I couldn't even imagine that. Money was too tight back then, in the beginning. I recall a supervisor...
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Laundry before:
 
 
Laundry after:
 
 
   
It's a tough room to photograph because it's so narrow.
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On Monday, my TSP balance passed the $1.5 million mark for the first time. Pretty exciting! It first reached $1 million less than 2 years ago.
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So our lease is up in a couple of days we have been looking for houses but prices are outrageous here to rent and buy! So we applied for a home...it was unsuccessful so I emailed and asked why, he said we didnt send all documents through, I said yes we did and extra notes because some of it is in US $, he also said that our real estate agent said that they wouldnt rent to us again and that I hate gardening so yard looks a mess. When she did our inspection about a month ago I told...
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I am nearing the end of dog duty this week but unfortunately came down with a cold (!) that forced me to curtail the twice daily walks totalling about 70 minutes to just a single, 25-minute walk. (She still gets out 4x daily to pee and poop.)
I've gotten a little attached to the dog and in some ways will be sorry to see her go. She is so exuberant when she's going for a walk and is very easy to care for. She follows me around the house wherever I go. I could see myself pet-sitting...
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So this one is not a seminar but a free training course. It’s called ‘The Changing World of Retirement Planning’ and it’s taught on a local college campus. The course is two sessions, each one 3 hours (!). I received the invitation in the mail and I assume that I was targeted because of my age. The course is provided by two organizations: The National Society of Financial Educators and The Society for Financial Awareness. Is anyone familiar with these? The...
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Happy first day of fall! After suffering through extremely hot and humid temperatures, we are finally receiving some rain, rain we haven't seen in almost a month and a half. It's deary out today and sort of cooler, so it feels like fall.
Since the end of July, I've been keeping a running tab on how much I've saved using coupons, digital and paper. I'm not counting mark downs, just coupons. I hit just a few cents over $74 this weekend. This is for stuff we normally buy, but I'm...
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As you may recall, I opened an IRA account with Fidelity and rolled my 401k into it a few months ago. I have to say, I’ve been impressed with Fidelity in the short time I’ve had the account. The website has been intuitive for investing and for making withdrawals.
This month I received an invitation from them to attend a free tax strategies webinar. It was informative and they didn’t push their advisory services hard, which was my only fear going in. [I’ve...
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I like to make my money work for me, especially when I don't really have to do anything to earn more/get more back, aside from being alert to various promotions.
Today, in a single trip to BJs, I was able to take advantage of 3 separate offers:
The 1st was spending at least $100 at BJs to earn $10 off. Done.
The 2nd was to purchase $30 in "baking goods" to get $10 off. Since I was already getting walnuts and Truvia, I threw an extra bag of walnuts into my cart to earn that....
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tabs said of course people like spending money.  Yes and no.  It's hard to explain but when you live frugally your entire life it's really hard to change.  What do I mean?  When you are raised and it naturally fits your personality to be frugal you live that without seeing it as a hardship.
By nature I'm a saver and so is DH.  Our first instinct with our first job was to save the maximum and live on the rest.  Then we got bonuses and stocks and never...
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Yesterday we went to Hobby Lobby so I could buy some yarn and some orange paint. Our craft store choices are limited here in Central Illinois, so I shop where I can. I was shocked at all the Christmas out at Hobby Lobby. I would bet almost half of the store. DH wondered if they ordered stuff ahead of the tariffs so they had plenty. 
Needless to say, we didn't buy any Christmas decorations; we have plenty already. But, I wanted some orange paint for my fall project.
One of...
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I haven't been able to get into the blogs -- I guess others have had problems, too? Anyway, it went on so long I stopped trying. Then Dido's post appeared in my email, so it looks like I'm back in business.
My August report was unspectacular. Housing and utilities were as usual. I spent only $105 on groceries. I did a little traveling but it was only $74. Gas was $60, personal spending was $36, I spent $33 on footwear from Goodwill, ate out a little to the tune of $25. Nothing...
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Kitchen done, laundry room to complete next week.
BEFORE

 
AFTER

 
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I haven't seen your August report yet.  You have been one of our most consistent bloggers, so I am hoping you are ok.  I know you are in the Chicago area, so I have been thinking of you as 47 makes his threats against the city.  I hope you are well!!
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Last weekend, I drafted my HELOC application.  I had a few questions, so I brought it with me to a bank branch to ask those yesterday, and ended up submitting the application.
I'm on target to have all current non-housing debt paid off in January.  That's when I typically take my Required Minimum Distribution from my inherited IRAs for the year and use them to pay down debt.  My RMD for next year will be about the amount of the remaining non-mortgage debt as of...
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