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I forgot to add interest income to the last EF update.  Even though my account balances keep going up, my interest income keeps going down.  It's sad.
$10,656.32 Previous Balance
+__,__2.28 Interest Added
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$10,658.60 New Balance
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My stimulus posted to my account today. They are certainly getting these payments out quickly this time!
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I’ve been off of work since Friday, December 18th, only logging on here and there.  My company was technically closed from the 24th on, so I really only missed 3 business days, which means there isn’t a lot that happened while I was out.  Thankfully, everyone is on the same struggle bus today, my boss and I were laughing about trying to remember how to do our jobs today.  It should be a busy week, but thankfully quiet meetings wise. 
My $600 stimulus...
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The stimulus is now deposited so I transferred that money to my C1-360 account where I keep the bulk of my EF.  We are officially at three months' expenses.  Haven't been there since the end of 2015.
_$9456.32 Balance Forward
_+1200.00 Amount Added
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$10,656.32 New Balance
$10,261.35 is 3 month's expenses so we are $394.97 into the 4 month.  That means I need an additional $3025.47 to hit 4 months.  So that is my next mini-goal, on the way...
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Student loan update 
Principal: 43,128.76
Interest: 0
Total due: 43,128.76
 
Interest rate: 3.21 %
Daily interest: 3.79
I have been thinking about my goals for this year, but it's hard to plan without knowing how things will go in the world. Keeping my current 2021 financial goals simple:
-Pay off student loans
- Start investing in non-retirement accounts (have been investing in 401K concurrently with debt paydown)
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My hubby left his bank card in the atm over the weekend while trying to help an elderly lady next to him..he just forgot to get it from the machine...the bank called today and someone handed it in so he can just take his id and go pick it up....so happy I was hoping this would happen but you never know these days....still so many good honest people in the world...so that is one less thing to worry about.
We are going to look at a rental today and tomorrow...thinking we are all...
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Looks like 2021 has finally gotten here. 2020 was a challenging year on so many fronts and I think most of us hope that the new year is far healthier. 
One thing I noticed before Christmas were so many of the advertisements and emails and messages is how many claimed people deserved to buy this and that because "you deserve it" after the year we've had. I wonder how many succumbed to the persuasion. I have a friend who does subscribe to that theory, and has for years and...
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I thought I'd share my budget for the year. It's an annual budget so each month is a little different; for instance, in February (the month shown below) I'm setting aside $800 for our summer CSA share. But this shows what our fixed or predictable income is, the necessities we need to cover first, and then the variables, listed in order of priority so we fund the more important ones first and go down the list. So far, we are fully funded for January and everything but groceries...
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Health update: All of us who have tested are positive for Covid.  I can say that I am not feeling as though I am dying quite as badly or quickly as several days ago.  The shortness of breath is the worst - and as a person who has SOB due to anxiety, this is a double-edged sword.  We are monitoring the oxygen saturation levels here and I have done a breathing treatment or two with the nebulizer, but the albuterol causes an edge.  No win situation for anyone. ...
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For 2021 and going forward, I made an adjustment to my variables plan.  Currently, in addition to fixed or regular expenses, I subtract $200 for taxes and insurance.  Now I'm adding another $200 for projects.  That will make my variables -- my "everything else" spending -- pretty low, but doable, I think.  If it's too tough, I can adjust again.  It should be a good discipline, though.
Yesterday I did one load of laundry and had a picture made into a 5x7...
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I've already done some commentary on 2021 goals, but this is the "pretty" version.
For now, these are pre-college goals.  To be re-evaluated as college decisions sort out in the next few months.
This is also a one-income goal year, presuming that MH is unemployed and that his unemployment funds are exhausted.  (You will see with the 'lower income' tax savings that the bottom line won't change much.  Goals will remain largely unchanged from prior year).
 
$12,000...
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or number 15 since the refinance.
The regular monthly payment posts today, 1/3/21, bringing the principal balance down to $10,915.37. Since the previous regularly scheduled payment, I managed to pay an extra $1,363.03. The last payment date has moved up to 6/3/23; that is 2 years and 5 months to go if from this point forward I pay only the regular monthly payments. 
Still no ability to upload pictures, so my "5th Wheel Amortization" page can still not be updated.
 
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Januarys bills are already paid and we are now putting everything into savings except that grocery and gas money that comes out fortnightly out of one of our pays...also decided to take out the birthday money this month as well...although we don't need till april and july...but its how I do it..Everything else is going good do have so many medical appoints this month which will cost out of pocket but hopefully will have that covered...as some are new I don't have exact figures...
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I checked my bank account this morning and to what should my wondering eyes appear, but a pending stimulus payment. DH and I got $1200 together.  I'm a little disappointed that they couldn't get their act together and do the $2000, but free money is free money.  That will go into the EF, minus the tithe, and that will put us at a little over three month's expenses.  I plan to continue to save for six month's expenses, which will take to the end of the year or thereabouts. ...
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Hello fellow SA'ers,
I haven't blogged in a while because unfortunately our beautiful dog started to get sick with a paw infection around August-Sept, and we got her to the vet a couple of days after the last blog entry.  The vet gave her lots of meds for the paw infection however gave a disclaimer that it was possibly a tumour but only time and a proper diagnosis would tell.  After a month of giving her the meds, going backwards and forwards to the vet we got the cat...
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Well hello all! I'm going to catch up on everyone's blogs, but thought I'd get a post of my own up before I get distracted.
Not really much to report. Life is marching on pretty much the same as always. Unfortunately, with one less cat in our family - our 19 yo Baby finally couldn't keep going any longer, so he took his journey on the Rainbow Bridge on Dec 20. He is definitely missed.
I turned the big 45 on the 15th ... yikes. Time stops for no (wo)man.
DH and I are starting...
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Since I retired my finances are pretty much on auto pilot, so I needed to really think about what I wanted to accomplish for 2021. In reviewing my 2020 year end numbers I decided to try and reduce my spending in the following categories:
Groceries: In 2020 I spent a total of $2897.22. For 2021, I want to challenege myself to a monthly budget of $200, ($2400 for the year). My grocery spending is only on food, I don't include personal care items, paper or cleaning products etc....
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!Here is a roundup of this week's frugal things1) Started out the New Year by starting a free book through Hoopla.(2) Started seeds for shallots on New Year's Day. They will go out into the garden on the 1st of March and all being well will be harvested at the end of July. These are my first seeds for the year. Last year, I started them in mid-Feb and had small-ish shallots. So, decided to start them sooner this year. It was a lovely way to start the new year. (3)...
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I am just going to mix in current commentary with prior year commentary.
2019: +$105,000! Wow, what a year! My money worked harder than I did this year, for sure.
2020:  +$104,000
2019: We paid down the mortgage by $9,000 and the rest was stock market contributions and gains. 
2020:  We paid down the mortgage by $10,000, purchased a newer vehicle, and the rest was stock market contributions and gains.
 
2019: Today we could pay off our mortgage and still...
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Day 2 od 2021 and hubby was doing the banking...was helping and elderly lady who was trying to use an atm...but they were both down...he told her she needed to go to another bank as she was almost in tears...and he forgot his card in his machine and now its gone...I transferred all money from that account to another one...no-one has tried to use it so we will go into the bank on monday and see if anyone has handed it in if not will cancel it and order a new one....we can use mine...
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