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Well that's the Easter "holidays" over as of yesterday. It's a strange time. We played Brain Challenge the past few days, which was good for eldest.

I have been making notes on J's progress to update his teacher.

L is copying J a lot. Toddlers pick up things quickly.

We have a musclefood order coming in a few days. I need to defrost the freezer. Tesco order due next week. We now have to go onto their website at midnight to try to get a slot three weeks in advance. I'm...
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I have to say I don't think i can watch to much more tv/dvds, do many more puzzles...I am bored...being home is driving me crazy and it has been getting cold here which doesn't help...we are all going stir crazy...just wish we had something else to do...the only time we leave is for medical appointments and shopping...we don't really need to shop much at all other than fresh stuff which we usually do once a week...not spending any money anywhere....so how does everyone else stopping...
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Hi, everyone.

It definitely has been awhile. I believe it has been at least a month since I last blogged. I have been working at home for a little over a month now. Like many others, I am also concerned about my job.

Since we are dealing with this type of situation in one way or another, I was wondering if we could also make a list of our strategies of how we have been dealing with higher food costs, healthcare issues, and loss of income or a job for some. Maybe pooling...
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Had sort of a blah, nothing day yesterday. I didn't feel very good, mostly due to a bad night's sleep, I think. Started to feel better as the day went on. Since I think I already had the virus, I am not worried about this little blip.

I talked to Oregon son yesterday. He was very upbeat. They are all done with the virus at his house. Everyone is on the mend and feeling much better. As an essential worker, he has gone back to work. He mostly works outside, but they maintain...
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On easter saturday we had the first baby born for the year my niece had a little girl manaia...they only stayed in hospital for 1 night and now staying home due to the covid virus...so some good news...have another due in june and another in october..so excited...doesn't matter how many babies they are all a blessing!!

Hubby is having his 3rd treatment today, so far so good but they say nothing really hits you till the 10th day so we will see what happens right now he goes by...
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I honestly lost count on how many days we've been in quarantine. I think it's been 33 days with many more to go. As you may already know, New Jersey has been hit hard trailing New York. It seems that everyday, there are over 3,000 people testing positive for COVID-19. The last count for our town is 367 positive and 11 deaths. Our county is the ninth in the state with positive COVID. Our governor said that the curve has been flattening, but the amount of stories of people losing...
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My wonderful daughter and her friends held a virtual senior prom last night. One of her friends decorated their whole living room with lights and all three of their girls and the parents dressed up. They had big "Class of 2020" signs, and then zoomed six more girls in. It was a lot of fun as they laughed, chose dance numbers, and just enjoyed hours of teenage chatter and dancing together.

I'm plugging away at classes, seemingly cooking all the time, and trying not to think...
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I’m so thankful for this blog, you all often provide great advice.

I’ve been saving as much as I can. Outside of my grocery and electric bill, my expenses have been extremely low. I’m hoping my manager will continue with the work from home option. So far I’ve saved about $150 in gas alone.

I notice that there has been a spike in the cost of food, an 18 count of eggs 🥚 were just over a dollar now it’s $2+. I understand the supply and demand has impacted these...
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Even from home on a weekend, I’ve been able to do some small things that should improve our finances:

(1) Turned off the pilot on the gas fireplace. It’s still getting down into the high 30s for the daily low but it’s mid-April! We can kick on the heat for a few minutes if we get uncomfortable.

(2) Sent an e-mail to our auto insurance agent to remove Bertha from the policy. I assume that’ll save us a few bucks, but I don’t know. We’ll see.

(3)...
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After a cool, dreary week, it has been nice to see the sun yesterday and today. Well, so far today. It's supposed to get cloudy as a cold front moves in with a chance of showers, but right now it is bright and looks springy.

DH is impatiently waiting until the chance of frost passes so he can start to plant part of his garden. We picked up some bell pepper and herbs as well as a few tomato plants before the governor has said lawn and garden places can only sell online or do...
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I have been calling this a plant stand/wine rack, but I really don't know. Does anyone know what this is? It doesn't have the curved cutouts you would expect on a wine rack. It is too lightweight to handle a plant. What is it? Is this why it was in the alley?

Anyway, it looks better in blue. I'm going to take it back to storage and figure out what to do with it later.



In addition to painting this piece, I painted the top of my dresser. The top was scarred and...
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I try to follow all the suggestions to get a good night of sleep, but it has been a struggle lately. I’m working from home so my brain is busy planning lessons and designing behavior programs. But still not enough activity with my brain and body. I try to get exercise in each day through walks or a workout video online but the rest of my day is more sedentary than it has ever been. I really think my brain and body are not getting as much activity as in the past and so at night...
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The garden is starting to really come along with the clean up and getting dirt moved. I am ready to plant one bed now and have transplanted the strawberries. There is a lot of work ahead, but I am determined to have a big garden this year. With the food supply chain being disrupted, I want to have as stable a source of fresh vegetables and fruits as possible.

I have my first garden video up of for this season if anyone wants to see it. It's only six or seven minutes long....
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DS3 forgot to close his door before backing out of the garage this week. I can’t remember a time that I ever forgot to close my door before driving. Maybe the trunk or the gas cap but not my door! He assures me that he was paying attention to driving and not his device. Ahem. I was working in my office space which is above the garage and felt the walls shake while I heard a loud crunching noise.



My initial reaction will not go on record as one of my best parenting moments....
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I spent $50 yesterday, ordering pet supplies on Amazon. Iggy and the fish should be well stockpiled now -- better than me! You just don't want to run out of pet supplies, because you can't explain shortages to them.

I haven't reported on my variables in a while. They are right at 50% now, with 12 days to go.

Some of my free OTC products arrived yesterday -- two bottles of Banana Boat sunscreen and a bottle of CoQ10. Two more have been shipped and should arrive today --...
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$285.22 Tithe
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
__75.00 Household Envelope
_600.00 Autopays
__66.55 DH Life Insurance
__60.46 Me Life Insurance
1000.00 Emergency Fund
__50.00 Car Maintenance Fund
_100.00 Computer Fund
------------
2637.23 Total Money Out

While I am still putting money into the Car Maintenance Fund and the Computer Fund those will be available to be raided for additional Emergency Fund dollars if it comes down to that. I have no intention of buying a new laptop...
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$6806.29 Balance Forward
+1000.00 Emergency Fund
-----------
$7806.29 New Balance

This is the money that would have gone to an extra loan payment on the Monster Mom Loan (the loan is a monster, not my mother!). So that gets it to the $7500 mini-goal. Next mini-goal is $10K. I have $2193.71 left to go to hit that goal.
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Current Balance $14,720.00
+$45.00 To get GC Savings to $4000.00
+$50.00 My Payday to Our Savings
+$75.00 My Payday to Mom Loan Savings
Balance $14,890.00

Local Savings $1795.00
GC Savings $4000.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3035.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$3710.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$850.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $14,890.00

52 Week Challenge
2020 Total = $0
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I paid my mortgage this morning, and my balance owed is finally under $60K. Just under - $59,955. It's taking a long time to bring it down, but I haven't been throwing much extra on it lately, just rounding up to the nearest $10. When I pay off the CC I put my car expenses on, I will throw that $300 extra at the mortgage.

Big expenses are coming up, though. You see in my sidebar that replacing my living room ceiling is a short term goal. For a long time the ceiling...
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I put the stimulus payment to good use – the balance on the 0% CC expiring in May is history. Woohoo! That means that my annual goal #4 - pay no CC interest or fees – will be achieved so long as I don’t take on additional CC debt this year.

I’ll close the CC in the next few days. I don’t need the credit since I have another card with rewards for everyday purchases. Next focus for unallocated funds is the EF: annual goal #1 - get EF back to 3 months’ basic expenses.

Our...
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