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January 1$53 MH Allowance Spending$18 Monkey Mama Allowance Spending
I ended up buying myself something on Etsy.  MH made a few purchases.
We have some "forever" personal spending budget of $600 per year (no questions asked) spending that we generally stick to.  I'd say that most of my allowance spending is clothing (when it comes to clothes I clearly don't need) and most of MH's allowance spending would be movies.  The kind of stuff that we just don't *get* about...
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I think I am going to do a tracking spending month.  A little late to the table, with it already being the 10th...   But I think it's just a good way to dive back into the minutiae and to get some more regular blogging.
In the end, our 2019 spending was the same as 2020.  We are boring like that.  We did actually spent $8,000 less in 2020, but the only reason was because we paid cash for braces (x2) in 2019.   Random one-time large expenses aside,...
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I know people don't like what I have to say and that is okay!!
Australia (SA where I live) has hardly been in quarantine since april 2020...and I know so many family and friends in the US that sre trying to quarantine and complaining about it...I seriously try to be compassionate about what they are complaining about...but I just can't as someone with a chronic illness that is my life 24/7...many don't worry about what people with chronic illnesses go through and as I have told...
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I am thankful that 2020 is over.  I am thankful that everyone I know is still alive and kicking and healthy.  I am happy that everyone I knew who got covid recovered and are doing better. I am just thankful that 2020 is over.  It was not an easy year but there is SO MUCH to be thankful.  I drank a big drink and cheered with DH. I am thankful I saw my parents. I am thankful they made it out alive. I am just glad everything so far knock on wood has been good.Retirement...
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Last week was a rough first week of the New Year. I hope that this second goes better. I'm feeling a bit run down & when I'm tired, my emotional health seems to suffer first. I think it's time for me to step back from working so many hours. It's hard for me to say no when I know people are in need, but my well is getting dry. I also need to make time to get my home ready to put on the market.
The stock market seems to have weathered all the turmoil this week very well. My...
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I am almost two weeks post diagnosis of Covid.  I am happy to say that my family has bounced back quicker than I did, and that my daughter with asthma didn't spiral badly out of control which was my greatest fear.  My cough is gone mostly and I am not only tired; the extreme fatigue tired symptoms lessened two or three days ago.  Finally today I was motivated enough to make a batch of chili and help pack up my son who is returning to his college campus.
Our stimulus...
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What is that old expression about making plans and then God laughing at them?  Well, my plans for 2021 just got thrown for a loop.  Not completely, and it is something we can cash flow through March for, but it means only putting $195 a month into the Emergency Fund.  For the first time ever we will be owing taxes.
It isn't an exact amount just yet, and won't be until DH gets his W-2, but with the numbers we do have, he estimated we will need to pay $2304 in taxes. ...
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What an awful week this has been! I'm sad and angry, but also deeply grateful that the democratic process continues despite the repeated assaults on it. Here is a roundup of this week's frugal things1) Harvested the rest of the carrots, and a third of the mustard greens this week. There weren't a whole lot of carrots left - about a dozen or so, and most were little ones, but still enough for sides for 3 meals. Cooked up the mustard greens into a frittata. I've still been eating...
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Okay, so we have the actual numbers with the paycheck today and it was actually a couple hundered less than DH had calculated, but I am still able to make it work.  I have readjusted my 2021 budget template.  This is what went out today:
$271.48 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
_300.00 Medical Fund
__75.00 Household Envelope
_280.00 Monthly Family Chiropractic Plan
_115.17 Internet
__65.90 Garbage
_150.00 Car Insurance Fund
_100.00 Gas Money...
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The way I have my monthly budget set up, I can only make a small deposit to the EF on the first payday, but on the second payday I can make a large one.  I'd rather do it the other way around, but the bills have to be paid on certain dates, and this way is just more practical.  I also rolled the coin in my coin jar.  So I guess I start with a whimper and end with a bag as opposed to the other way round in the poem by Yeats.  Also the world's not ending, maybe,...
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Hi everyone. My current contract is up 1/29.I did a few interviews before the Xmas break and found out yesterday that neither of those turned out. I am being put in for 2 more jobs today. Hope to hear if I am called for an interview next week. Both jobs are 'ok' and pay more than what I make now. All are contract jobs which pay per hour vs salary. In IT you can make more money that way as you always work at least 8 hours a day but some days you work more and if you are on contract...
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Let's see--the last time I spent any money was ....Monday!  I stopped at Aldi to pick up a few things.  I'm not the world's biggest Aldi fan, but I can get in and out in a jiff and only needed basics.  And they certainly are cheaper on most basics.  Our standard grocers charge from $2-2.59 for a container of half and half.  Aldi is $1.59.  I haven't encountered a problem with their quality yet.
We got the bill from the plumber which was quite a bit...
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Ting has offered some new cell phone plans and after talking about it a lot we decided to go with the one of them.  The unlimited talk, text, and data.  Right now we pay around $43 to $53 a month for our four phone lines and have data turned off.  The plan we chose is $45 and then each phone has a line fee of $6 a month, so $24.  So our base fee will be $69 plus tax.  We pay about $9 in taxes right now, so I figure it will now be somewhere in the $80 to...
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Payday today and I am taking out half of our grocery money, we haven't been using it all since we are trying to use up most of our stock so we can add a bit more to savings...its going to cost a bit to move..so hoping to have some savings afer that...
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I decided to take a look at my expenditure for 2020. Interestingly, though I have been keeping accounts of every purchase I make for the past 15 years, I have never done this before. While I was in debt, this might have been more a depressing experience than an uplifting one - I imagine I was putting away far far more towards debt than I was to living expenses. But, doing this today has been quite an eye opening and pleasant experience, and makes me feel even more confident that...
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Does anyone know how I can change my password? I got a weird spammy email from someone claiming to be from Wordpress saying my SavingAdvice blog password had been changed; it hadn't, but made me want to update mine anyway since it's been a while. I can't for the life of me figure out where to do that! I went over to Forums but was unable to post a question and got logged out of the blog section, which in itself was a challenge to figure out how to get back into.
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Hi SA family, 
Awhile ago I posted ago contributing to my IRA vs 401(k). Someone shared with me the cons in doing so; however, I can't find the post. 
my company has a 401(k) no match and I thought it would be best to contribute to my IRA instead. Can someone share with me if this is a good idea or not? And why not 
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This was not the best day.  I decided to go to the Immediate Care center for what was termed "acute constipation."  While getting reading to go, I pulled a muscle in my thigh while pulling on a pair of boots.  Really weird that this happened; it was hardly a strenuous movement.  The pull is so bad I can barely walk.  It's been a miserable day.
As for the problem I went for, I got an x-ray which showed no obstruction.  I just have to drink more water...
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For the past few years, I've been using bank account bonuses as a way to make a little extra cash without too much effort on my part.  I have access to update my direct deposit on my own via ADP, and I'm already used to managing multiple accounts, so it's worth it to me.  I tend to stick to those that don't require minimum balances, and only want you to have funds directly deposited.  I also don't mind transaction requirements if they're within reason.  Since...
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We have three adults and two kids so we got $3,000. Our January budget is looking pretty good so I flowed $1,400 into our February budget and doled out the rest as personal money -- $400 for each adult and $200 for each kid.
The kids' money is split up: $120 each into savings, $20 each for giving, and $60 each to spend as they want.
The adults just get theirs as spending money. Well, for me and NT it mainly goes toward our personal money deficits -- mine from self-publishing...
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