All Entries

I bought my house 15 years ago this October. Before that, I had had no long-term debt for well over a decade, only credit cards that were paid off monthly. The initial mortgage was $92,800, and, until this year, I had never gotten my debt total below $90k for more than a couple of months. A career change involving periods of unemployment, and the illnesses/deaths of several pets as well as my mother, meant that the debt would creep up and came to include some non-mortgage debt--a...
[ Read More ]

I have been trying to figure out a new normal. It has not been easy. I feel like I do not have a purpose when I am not working. It is hard to stay focused or busy when I do not have a family to raise either. If it were not for the pandemic, I might have found a place to volunteer. I do plan on looking into this further.

Anyhow, I finally decided I needed some sort of routine, even if it was simple. I am doing this and it has helped my mental status, although I do have chemo...
[ Read More ]

The last month or so has been complete insanity. But... What else is new? *shrugs* Honestly, it's been more calm overall and I have any time and space whatsoever to deal. I can recognize the improvement, though it's still insane and I am exhausted.

We are in the middle of some house murphy. So far the count is a broken toilet flapper ($4 to replace), a sink hose that is covered under warranty (if we could ever get through), and two bug infestations we handled. At least...
[ Read More ]

I've found a way to make a little cash on Saturdays. I drive my Amish neighbors to a Farmers Market where they sell baked goods and locally grown organic produce. The market is 33 miles away (66 miles RT), the total day is about 8.5 hours, and I pull a trailer with my pickup. The pay is $140 for the day.

I don't know what to figure for mileage/wear and tear on my pickup, because I'm pulling the trailer, and that uses extra gas. I'm ball parking it at $0.70 per mile. So that's...
[ Read More ]

My belated birthday party at the park yesterday was fun, but I also got very tired. I don't know why since I was just sitting. I think maybe I was tensing up a lot when the conversation turned serious. (Nothing bad, but stressful.)

My kids gave me a set of sheets, and my ex gave me another check. This one was $271. He says this is what he does for other family members -- $200 plus age. It makes me a little uneasy, but I can't deny that I need the boost.

When I went...
[ Read More ]

Tropical Storm Isaias left many of us without power the week before last here on the East Coast. I prepped for the storm as best I could (no generator here) by turning my fridge/freezer to their coldest settings, charging up my phone and that's really it.

I lost power Tuesday at 2:30 pm. The wind was just ferocious.

I was praying I could save at least my freezer food, but alas, that was not meant to be. I planned to empty everything out of it Thursday morning, but my freezer...
[ Read More ]

having my carotid ultrasound tomorrow afternoon...should be free which will be great...but have to pick up a few things while we are out...which my daughter plans on doing while I am having the ultrasound...she has put me under strict instructions..we went shopping today and I didn't do well and we were only gone 20 mins total...she does keep an eye on us...so thankful for all that she does for us.

I have decided to stop one of my medicines..I emailed my doc and told her that...
[ Read More ]

Most of our extra money has been going to pay down our mortgage. We’ve used a great amount of our savings to knock the principal way down as well. We still have enough to see us through an emergency. From now until December, the goal is to be under $100k. If our plan continues to go well, we hope to be mortgage free on our primary home by July of 2023. We will be living on my income and using our rental property income and my husband’s income to add extra principal payments each month.
[ Read More ]

Our infection rates are up around here, so I'm trying not to go out much. I did grocery pick-up today for the first time. Last spring we stuck to Instacart, then I ventured our for almost everything, but thought I'd give pickup a try. It worked out really well. I ordered online, and when I went to pick up they even took my paper coupons. I've been doing most of my big grocery shops at Costco, but have been spending too much--and that combined with efforts to donate a bag of...
[ Read More ]

I’m back. Though only temporarily Baroque.

We have purchased a townhome and close on Sept 4. It’s in our desire location with desired amount of space as we’ve still four young adults/teens currently at home (22/21/18/16). We are purchasing it cash and our portfolio is currently very barren. We’ll replenish it with equity from the current home sale (expecting to be on market 9/8).

We did rent our rental property with a two-year lease so that’s an additional $2k...
[ Read More ]

I have never heard back from the local water district. I accept that if it were the right job for me, it would have just fallen into place.

Unfortunately, my laptop got dropped and the screen got a huge crack. I thought about looking into replacing the screen (how much it would cost, etc.), but then decided no, I don't want to do that. I allow Google to save all of my passwords, so dropping my laptop off at a repair place means I am vulnerable to complete strangers logging...
[ Read More ]

My eldest is going to college in a couple weeks. She applied for a bunch of scholarships, and has about $84K in scholarship money. That will go a long way in paying for her education.

She'll be attending Michigan State University. The biggest issue looming is, of course Covid. On or about August 4, the University president sent out a message to students that if they had the ability and desire, they were encouraged to stay at home and learn remotely. DD has decided to go to...
[ Read More ]

I got paid yesterday for my third job. I only worked 4.37 hours due to the kit shortages. I paid 75% of my pay in taxes because I have it set up to take an additional $100 out each paycheck. So I netted approximately one hour’s pay. Oh well. Even though I’ve only worked there 3 months I’ve already made over $10,000 for the year.

TSP says my personal investment performance for the last 12 months is only 6.26% but it sure seems like a lot more with the recent gains.

Net...
[ Read More ]

For the week of 8/8 -8/15 I spent $0.00!! Yay! Last week I did a large stock up, so I really didn’t need anything else so far. My goal for August was to spend $20 less for groceries then I did in July. My July total was $198.21, so I have $75.24 left for the month of August to make my goal. I will need to go this week sometime for a few things I am running low on, like fresh produce and bread.

I’ve been really focused on zero food waste. I think that volunteering at the...
[ Read More ]

I don't want to jinx it, but...

We are headed into a big heat wave this next week. I saw last night that our state was having rolling blackouts to handle the electricity needs that are exceeding capacity. (Which is kind of insane, because the heat wave barely just started).

This is not affecting us. We have a non-profit utility company that is inexpensive and great. I didn't mention anything when long-term blackouts were widespread in our state (last summer/fall?) because...
[ Read More ]

I’ve been painting my kitchen cabinets and they’re turning out okay. First I learned, if the paint has streaks, use a sander, then it was use a sponge brush. Now I’ve removed the hardware. All in all, it’s coming out pretty good, and I’m happy I’m able to revamp my kitchen without paying a arm and a leg to do so.

This past week was slow, I completed a survey in that I earned $20 so I paid $20 towards the student loans. Next week is pay day, so I’ll be able to...
[ Read More ]

This weekend is all about getting back on track in every aspect of my life..especially health and finance

My first goal is to save enough to have a deposit on a house..it is hard paying rent and saving the fees that go along with the deposit (around $20,000) plus the deposit...but that is our goal and we are working towards it..I am hoping when we buy we can pay the house off in 7 years...(2nd goal) after that it will just be trying to put away as much money as possible for...
[ Read More ]

So after having my tea towels listed for quite some time I had a big sale of 6 tea towels at a very good offer. The tea towels are fall themed with rich, vibrant maple leaves. 🍁

I think the seller will be pleased with her purchase. I was a little sad to let them go, but I already had one for myself, gifted my older sister one a couple of years ago, and kept the remaining tea towel as a housewarming gift for when my younger sister purchases her home. 🏡

Net Worth: $969,143
[ Read More ]

So I just dumped a ton of money into the stock market and gave up on waiting to buy investment property and moving. Was talked into it by a CFP that our 15 year time frame is ridiculous to be sitting so heavy in cash. So I pulled the trigger. I guess the market could crash but then at the same time he's right in that the market has 15 years.

I also started to reinvest more for the kids 529; $250/month into each account so $3000/year each and $2000 into ESA. This is my biggest...
[ Read More ]

I found these awesome deals on jewelry on jcp.com. I have never sold jewelry before so I am a bit nervous trying a new kind of item, but I figured with savings this steep now would be the time to branch out! I saved over $1600.00!!! I am going to hold onto these for a bit and maybe post closer to Christmas time.



1/10 Carat Diamond Earring (Bought 5)
Regular Price $124.98 each
Clearance Price + Tax = $15.93 each
(Marked $40.00 each for reselling)

1/10 Carat Diamond...
[ Read More ]