All Entries

I first bought my printer in 2007(!), and up until now, it still printed.
Technically, there is nothing wrong with it.  At first, I thought it was a driver issue, so I went online to download it, but the company says it's been discontinued, and driver support is no longer offered.
I also thought maybe it was a hardware issue.  I opened it up, and all the ink lights are red.  However, I still have ink.
Much to my dismay, I am faced with the possibility of having...
[ Read More ]

An assortment of tasks was completed this week.
++ The flooring transitions were installed between the kitchen ceramic tile and the dining room, foyer, and basement openings.
++ The laundry closet door – a pocket door – was installed.
++ The cabinet toe-kicks (lower trim) were finished.
++ Beadboard was installed on the two walls in the laundry room. I wish I’d had this when the boys were young – it’s so much easier to keep clean than sheetrock.
++...
[ Read More ]

I don’t know WTF it always takes Nelnet days to post my student loan payment.
Meanwhile my loan is accumulating at a higher dollar amount each damn day it is delayed. 
This is ridiculous, they can calculate the daily interest with no issues but cannot process a payment without delays? I made my payment on Tuesday, it is now Thursday and nothing. My loan accumulates about $4 a day based on the balance. Though it's a few cents, I still want my payment posted when I pay it. 
[ Read More ]

Okay so everything thinks social health is great in australia and in some aspects it is. Especially when private health is so expensive, so if you go into the ER it wont cost you a penny you walk in, you walk out and you are done nothing to pay. However if you need non emergent surgery it can take forever. So my daughter needs reproductive surgery (a few things need to be done), she is on the waiting list since july...I had a gut feeling and got her to call and ask how much it...
[ Read More ]

This was the week of the floors. All the tiling was done for both the kitchen and laundry room. The tiling continued from the family room that was done last year so now the flooring is the same throughout the three rooms.
When making decisions on tiling, there is more to consider than just the color & pattern of the tile itself. Fortunately, I already made these decisions a year ago so I didn’t need to add them to the list for this remodel.
There’s the size of...
[ Read More ]

I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but when I took $10k out of my savings to pay off my credit cards I changed my monthly contributions to replenish my savings. I was contributing $100 a month to my savings and $500 a month to my brokerage account. I reversed the contributions to build my savings back up. So now I'm contributing $500 to my savings and just $100 to my brokerage account. I am still maxing out my TSP & IRA so I am still investing a significant account monthly even...
[ Read More ]

TSP $1,451,175
IRA $424,517
Brokerage $12,455
Investments Sub-total $1,888,147
Savings $2,043
Home Equity $141,000
August 2025 Net Worth $2,031,190
July 2025 Net Worth $1,975,090
Monthly Gain/Loss $56,100
 
[ Read More ]

This week I reviewed Kiva loans from Philippines and Kenya, about half and half, and one from Uganda. As is typical of all Kiva loans, about 90% of the borrowers were women. All of the Philippine borrowers were people who fished for a living and wanted money for a boat engine. All of the Kenyan borrowers were farmers wanting about $175 for fertilizer and good quality seeds.
The average annual income in Philippines is about $4,000 and in Kenya, it’s closer to $7,000, so...
[ Read More ]

I thought I'd check in.
 
We've been living with our new kitchen for about a month now. Still loving it. There are definitely some little things here and there that aren't perfect or that we might have done differently in retrospect but nothing major. The biggest thing is that because we redesigned the room, the workflow isn't quite as smooth as before. Previously, the cooktop was on an "L" near the sink and the fridge was just to the left of that. Now, the cooktop is on...
[ Read More ]

We our postal service is stopping all packages to the US and peurto rico until further notice.
It is because of the tarrifs that come into affect friday so it is starting today. It is sad because we have always a great free trade agreement with the US until Trump came in and decided to put tariffs on everyone. I think we are also being punished  because we support Ukraine and Palestine....I am hoping they can come to some agreement before to many businesses in both countries...
[ Read More ]

This was an earlier post I did estimating DL's college costs:
DL's expected net college costs:
$32,000 Tuition/fees
-10,000  tax credits
-16,000  CA middle class grants
---------
$6,000 Net cost
Probably minus some increased middle class grants in the future, which could easily net out this cost to $0.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DL's actual net college costs (Years 1-3):
$24,686 Tuition/Fees
+  1,100 Parking...
[ Read More ]

This week I reviewed Kiva loans from Phillippines and Kenya, many for people wanted about $175 for a sanitary toilet. Many of the borrower photos show the borrower standing in a thatched hut or sometimes an outhouse built of cinder blocks. It will have the toilet itself but there is no plumbing. I have often wondered how they make do and I guess they must dig a pit in the ground under the toilet (?) and use a bucket of water to wash it all down. In any event, it's a good example...
[ Read More ]

I can't lie and say I don't like spending money, I really do. It's funny.  I still have the saving muscle. It's innate.  It's next to impossible to turn off.  But I like spending money.  The problem?  How much guilt I still feel when I do.  My DH?  No guilt.  He doesn't know what anything costs and just goes along for the ride.  Huh, we sure are staying at nice hotels.  We sure buy nice food for the house. Hmmm my beer is always...
[ Read More ]

Hummingbird Hills has become pickle palace! Our two cucumber plants have gone wild and besides eating them now, I have made sweet pickles, bread and butter pickles, dill pickles, and sweet relish. My pantry is filling up and hopefully there is enough to share during the holidays with family. 
DH and I have already had serious talks about the garden for next year. We started a compost pile, but it won't be ready for when we tear up the garden and pull the plants. We don't...
[ Read More ]

After a couple of really terrible jobs (many broken employment laws, measly pay, etc.)...  DL(20) landed a real job at the end of last summer.  It was a teacher's aide type job (I think his job title is 'recreational aide') and the interview sounded far more difficult than any job interview I have ever had.  What!?  But he's a smart and articulate kid.  That won't get you a job at McDonalds (fast food was literally only hiring 1 out of every 6 that came...
[ Read More ]

I listened to Nick Maggiuli on Afford Anything with Paula Pant https://affordanything.com/629-nick-maggiulli-the-wealth-ladder-has-six-rungs-and-most-people-never-climb-past-four/
I read the book as well from the library.  It was very interesting.  The levels?
1 - $0-10k
2 - $10-100k
3 $100k - $1m
4 $1m-10M
5 $10m-$100m
6 $100m+ 
His point is most people never get beyond level 4.  And the advice changes as you go along.  The bottom 2 levels how...
[ Read More ]

MM(22) will end the summer with about $15,000, as I expected.
I am advising him to keep $10,000 set aside for a car replacement.
I presume that $5,000 will cover his expenses this next school year.  I just looked it up and he spent $3,500 the past 12 months. Considering that he has a car now (for the last 8 months or so), I will just round up to $4,000.  Realistically he will spend $4,000 this last school year.  But for planning purposes we can round up and add...
[ Read More ]

I confirmed rent numbers with MM(22).  Did some rough math and I think rent will just zero out earmarked college funds.  Crazy how that works out.  I am probably getting way too much credit for 'planning ahead'.  We obviously have a tendency to plan ahead and erred on the side of not touching 'money saved for college' for as long as possible.  But...  that we will have just enough 'college' funds to cover Year 5.  That is very random. 
I...
[ Read More ]

Selling a property can be stressful enough without watching your profits disappear into unnecessary expenses. Between agent fees, legal costs, and last-minute repairs, it’s easy to overspend — but being smart and frugal doesn’t have to mean cutting corners.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to keep costs low during a house sale while still attracting the best possible offer.

1. Choose the Right Selling Strategy
One of the fastest ways to eat into your...
[ Read More ]

This "friend" who I've written about before is currently on a vacation with her boyfriend right now.  The original plan was to spend two weeks in a nice hotel somewhere, sightsee, and eat expensive foods that looks like it comes out of Instagram.
However, she doesn't have the money for this.  Crazy enough, but neither does her boyfriend.  So, what to do?  Well one idea was to turn to me.  Why, I don't know.  She's used to other guys paying for her,...
[ Read More ]