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Well this is probably my last post for 2020...roll on 2021
So much to do already for the start of 2021...we already have 15 appointments for jan...and some for feb/march/april...
we are moving in feb...yes they are not renewing our lease...and that is fine...just need to find a house to move to and we have just over 50 days...so starting to slowly pack what we aren't using and what we will donate to charity etc...that way I can spread out my energy as much as possible...or lack...
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So I sat down with everyone today and had them tell me what they absolutely needed to have in the house, that we didn't already have enough of, to get through the January Eat from the Pantry Challenge.  The kids said gluten free chicken tenders and cheese.  The husband said hamburger patties, condiments, and hot dogs.  I said bacon.
Then I sat down with the grocery ads and worked out what I was going to buy for this last shopping trip before January hits. ...
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I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!  Ours was different this year, thanks to Covid, but still very, very nice.  This was our foster daughters first with us, and actually her first in an actual home in 2 years.  (Her last two were spent in residential facilities).  I believe she had a nice one in spite of being in a system she doesnt want to be in and being a 'new to us' placement.  We tried to include some of her traditions into ours, and she seemed...
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This morning I picked up a new bag of fluids at the vet -- $12.  Since I was out, I stopped at Aldi on the way home and picked up some items that will help me repurpose my Christmas leftovers.  I got a few staples as well.  The bill was $43.
A winter storm is predicted for this afternoon, so I wanted to get the grocery shopping squared away, in case I am shut in for a few days.
Variables are at 95%.
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(1) GIVE MYSELF A "SALARY"For the past three years that I have been self-employed, one of the hardest things has been getting used to a variable income. Now that I have almost a full year of full time self-employment, I have a better idea of what to expect. I have decided to give myself a "salary" so that I am withdrawing a set amount each month rather than just take money from my business account as needed. I took my lowest earning month from the past year, and based my budget...
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I started the Beef Fund by putting $48 in leftover grocery money into an envelope.  I will hopefully be able to continue to fund it this way by being tight on the grocery budget.  And also since next month is the Eat from the Pantry Challenge, I hope to spend very, very little.  I will still buy a few items of fresh produce like lettuce, celery, scallions, maybe bread if I can't keep up with making it, and milk in January, but hope to come away with at least 3/4...
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I got a $250 cash Christmas gift this year, so this morning I deposited $200 into savings and converted $40 into quarters.  That gives me a $10 bill to walk around with.
I returned the slippers that did not fit right.  No hassle at all at UPS.
This afternoon I made cabbage potato soup.  I was planning on making potato soup, but since I had a half a head of cabbage to use up, I looked up the recipe in Fanny Farmer.  It was quite simple.  I didn't have...
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The goals for 2021 are a bit harder for me. We finished paying off our non-mortgage debt and now that we are onto savings I am a little unsure about what our priorities are. Although I've always had 5 goals a year I can only come up with 3 for now. I may add more later. 
 
Goal 1.) $3,500 for medical OOP max
We already have $4,500 being saved into our HSA but we want to save the remaining $2,500 for our OOP max plus an extra $1,000 for an uncovered medical expense. 
Goal...
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Debts
Mortgage -$121,847.13 (-$231.68)Medical Loan #2 $0!! (-$4,100)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$18,633 (+$426)401K +$34,945 (+$795)Emergency Fund +$7,514 (-$1,017)Animal Fund +$209 (-$0)Truck Fund +$1,805 (-$0)HSA +$416(-$2,358)
Overall: +$2,177.68
I was able to pay off my last medical loan which means I am debt free besides my mortgage and also completed all my 2020 goals!! This is the first time I have been able to accomplish that which I think is astounding since this has been...
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There's always a post-Christmas lull, isn't there? I've finished up my grading for my regular classes, but have some work to do for the FLEX classes I'm babysitting.  And I'll need to start planning for next term.  And there are some errands to be done.  But I'm starting it slow today and trying to think of what I want/need to do.
I've put a few things on the calendar: our teaching symposium will be virtual, there are students that will need to be talked to, we'll...
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It's almost 2021 & time to reflect on the wins & losses of 2020. 202 was a very good year for me with few losses except for a couple of canceled trips, which actually ended up being to my advantage.
1. Paid off my TSP loan. I took out a loan of $30k in the autumn of 2015 to pay off credit card debt. I buckled down to pay it off early in May 2020.
2. Paid off my car loan. I had an accident (not my fault) in November 2015. The insurance company totalled out my 2008 Toyota...
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Two days after Christmas and well, you wouldn't know it to see our house. Yesterday DH took down his live tree. It had been up 3 weeks and it was starting to get dry and wasn't taking up much water. This afternoon I took down my tree and put away the rest of the Christmas decorations. I am going to miss the little twinkle lights on the trees; they seemed to make the rooms a little nicer on those gloomy days, but I wasn't going to leave stuff up. We put my tree in the sunroom and...
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Happy holidays, whichever and however you celebrate! I've had a quiet and lazy time so far; I worked Monday and had the rest of the week off, and then I work part of tomorrow and have the whole rest of that week off. And I got pretty caught up on work so I can actually relax!
I'm eating and drinking a little too much and not getting much exercise, but I plan to get a little bit back into healthy habits next week and then really try to get back to normal after Jan. 1. I've been...
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A few expenditures to report -- I subscribed to PBS Masterpiece for $6 -- that will not come out of my pocket until January, however.  I also spent $12 on a Christmas gift for a friend -- a little late, but I didn't expect that she would send me a gift.  It was a surprise that arrived on Christmas Eve.  Variables are now at 87%, with only four more days in the month.
Tomorrow I'm going to return a gift I received to Amazon.  It was a pair of slippers that seemed...
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I started my blog late in the year, and didn't post my 2020 financial goals here. But, I make new goals each year and track them. Here is the recap.(1) Quit my job for full time self-employmentDONE.To be fair, this was something that I had been planning for two years. So, the work towards this goal was spread out between May 2018 and March 2020. I made the switch the last week of March 2020, and it just happened to coincide with the pandemic lockdowns. This was absolutely heavenly...
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This was the first year ever that I spent Christmas without family. I usually have everyone over on Christmas Eve, and we have dinner and open gifts. Then I would go to my brother's on Christmas day. But this year everyone decided that it just wasn't worth the risk. But, it was OK! We did a lot of face time, calls and texts, and while I missed our usual festivities, I felt at peace that we did the responsible thing. I expect a similar, very quiet New Years Eve. We will celebrate...
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Work is insane, but it's all relative.  Not as bad as my prior job was this time of year, so I am appreciating the quiet long weekend.  I suppose it's extra nice when Christmas is more than just a single day off in the middle of the week.  
Christmas Day was nice and quiet, at home.  The COVID surge is crazy here, so probably more on lockdown than ever.  COVID aside, it's not worth risking a longer drive (risking an accident) when the hospitals...
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I'm not really sick, but I started having digestive issues before Christmas.  Then, with the stress and excitement, and the rich food, it got worse.  I had a very uncomfortable night last night.  I didn't sleep much.
This morning I took Miralax and it helped, but I'm not sure I'm done yet.  We'll see how tonight goes.
Christmas itself was lovely.  I celebrated with my pod -- my kids, grandkids and ex and wife.  That's a group of seven.  It was...
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Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Here is a roundup of this week's frugal things1) A friend just moved into a new house, and I had the perfect gift for her that came from my "gift closet" - when I see something nice on sale that I would like to gift, I buy it and stick it in my gift closet. If there isn't already something specific I have in mind for someone or if they don't tell me they want something in particular, I can usually find something...
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I hope everyone had a nice Christmas, as much as they could under the circumstances. We had a relaxing day, just the five of us. We have loads of turkey leftover.
I just started following The Budget Mom on YouTube. It's payday next week.
I'm going to try to be uber frugal in January. I've signed up for it. I find the emails motivating. If anything, I want to reduce grocery spending and takeaways. We'll see how it goes.
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