All Entries

The weather here in Central Illinois has been nothing short of gloomy until yesterday. We actually had an afternoon of sun after a morning of pea soup fog. DH got a chance to go out and work in the yard which delights him. He found two baby bunnies in the front yard. They've since moved which is good. He will be planning his garden and hopefully when it warms up, planting a garden and he doesn't like bunnies to use it as their personal buffet.

Illinois has been ordered to shelter...
[ Read More ]

If you live in the US, when/if we actually get checks from the government, what will you spend it on?

It sounds like they are basing it off our 2018/2019 taxes so I'm not sure if my new baby will count or not...

But I will probably save $500 for animal expenses, and the rest I will use to pay down debt. If we get the amount I've heard then it would be enough to pay my construction loan completely and we will be down to just medical debt.

I am out of work right now, except...
[ Read More ]

Last night I learned that my Oregon son and his whole family are sick, with symptoms in line with COVID-19. He is very sick, with high fever and shortness of breath. They went to an ER but were sent home to recover. They were not tested because rural Oregon does not have any test kits.

I'm worried because of how sick my son is, and also because my DIL is dealing with low immunity already, due to a series of surgeries she had before they moved to Oregon. Factor in all the...
[ Read More ]

Well, we closed on our Florida home and although a bit sad, I am relieved and grateful to find a well-qualified, conventional loan buyer. Due to COVID-19 lockdown state order we closed through a conference call Notary service. Different experience but efficient and painless. Our furniture is in storage but we hope to be able to retrieve it during the summer (hoping and praying). My brother has been a huge help with moving things out of the house. As I mentioned before, we lost...
[ Read More ]

Having worked in HR for many years, coupled with a MS in HR management, and HR designations that keeps me abreast of new laws, guidelines etc. I highly recommend that employers follow the guidelines coming down the pipe from DOL, OSHA , EEOC and other agencies. Unhappy employees equals, more complaints that equals if you’re not doing your due diligence lawsuits, hence huge pay outs.


Trust me on this.
[ Read More ]

I realized I haven't posted for a couple of weeks. Heck, I haven't even been reading anybody else's blog. Obviously, it's been a crazy time, and being a healthcare worker, I'm not on lockdown like so many others including my wife and daughter. I've still got to go to work every day and that's been a whole new level of crazy with the rules and guidelines and policies and procedures changing pretty much daily.

On the plus side, patient volume at urgent care has plummeted. My theory...
[ Read More ]

One positive piece of financial news in the midst of chaotic meltdown in our net worth otherwise: I received notice that some stock options I received from the company last year are 25% vested now. When combined with previous stock options, I have a total (only on paper) of $8k. I’m planning to wait 3 years until they are all vested before cashing out.

Our March spending like most others I’m sure is odd. We’ve spent $1200 in my grocery category! That includes toiletries...
[ Read More ]

There are now 64 cases of Covid19 in my county and 2 deaths. There are 2469 cases statewide and 123 deaths. 1277 of those cases are in King County (the county with Seattle in it) and 94 of those deaths belong to them. It is the most populous county in the state.

We found flour and bleach yesterday and those were the last holes in my pantry/cleaning cupboard so we are good for a 14 day stay at home order now. It was official at midnight. We have enough for a month without...
[ Read More ]

The Governor of Maryland just extended school closures (k-12) through April 26th. I’m pretty impressed with his handling of this pandemic in my state so far. He is proactive, calm, helpful, level-headed, and doesn’t get sucked into political drama and the blame game. It’s interesting that we have a Republican Governor in a historically democratic state. My college is closed this week for spring break, and as far as I know I will continue to work from home starting Monday.
...
[ Read More ]

I'm so much better. I do have a lingering cough. I don't know if it's a leftover from the virus (if I had the virus) or if it's just my allergies acting up.

So this is the new normal. Just because my 14 days of self-quarantine are wrapping up, I don't plan to do anything much different. But I will go to the grocery store tomorrow, during early senior hours, to try and get 20 items on my list. We'll see how many I get! While I am out I will also get gas. I am also supposed...
[ Read More ]

Hubby has day surgery today...we will drop him off at the door and pick him up from the same door when he is done...the hospital is keeping all non medical patients from the hospital which we understand...although I hate that my hubby has to be there alone we get it...they will call when he is done and we go pick him up call when we get there and they will bring him down...its to protect the doc/nurses & patients...they have screenings etc to go through so feel confident he should...
[ Read More ]

My husband's cousin has a confirmed case of Covid19. She is a receptionist at a doctor's office. She's in her late 50's. She has two daughters and 3 grandchildren.

We are under a stay at home order here in Washington. We can go to the doctor, the pharmacy, and the grocery store, but that is all. We have enough food in to not have to go to the grocery store for two months if it comes down to that.

They are going to close down the airports and ground flights.

So far...
[ Read More ]

I got a nice little bonus at work and threw it into savings.

Current Balance $11,550.00
+$10.00 FB Sales
+$30.00 Phone Savings
+$1000.00 Work Bonus
Balance $12,590.00

Local Savings $1635.00
GC Savings $1710.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3335.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$3560.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$850.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings = $12,590.00

52 Week Challenge
2020 Total = $0
[ Read More ]

For the second week in a row I only had one sale picked up which is completely fine with me. We are taking the social distancing very serious and I am staying home 100% of the time. My hubby is a grocery store manager so he has to go out to work everyday but showers and changes as soon as he comes home and washing his hands frequently at work, it's the best we can do with him being a front line essential worker. I am still "selling" a lot, and will just have to hope that people...
[ Read More ]

I have been watching the news and reading online and they are saying that this virus could be around till the end of the year!!

What do others think? I think if people do what they are suppose to then it shouldn't last that long...but everything I hear and read contradicts itself...and that is to be expected as it is a new into the community and no-one has an immunity to it...but I hope that it doesn't...in saying that an asian lady over here that has tested positive for the...
[ Read More ]

Yesterday was a good day. I did a lot of socializing via texting. I took a walk in the sunshine, and I visited two little libraries along the way and got three more books. Don't worry, I sanitized the books and washed my hands. I looked up online how to sanitize the books. Some people microwave them, but I chose to wipe them down with antiseptic wipes. If you microwave books, you may melt the glue, or there may be staples inside that kill your microwave.

I will let them...
[ Read More ]

So many people have lost jobs over here due to this virus...the govt is doing what it can to make sure people have money coming in to feed themselves etc...but their website and phone lines keep crashing so its going to be a long week...everyone keeps going to the offices which they were told not to do due to social distancing but I guess when you need to feed your family you do what you can...hope things improve
[ Read More ]

We're pretty darn low-key around here. We've been walking, and cooking, and working a bit. Yes, I'm worried about stock, and retirement accounts, and college savings, but it seems like I don't need to sweat it now. Let's just take it one day at a time.

The weekend's highlights were a couple of phone chats with friends, the arrival of a tomato soup sample that I'm doing a survey about, and death of the toaster. I've ordered a new toaster from Target.com, we've eaten the tomato...
[ Read More ]

Nothing much to report today. I did some laundry yesterday, wearing gloves, and I took a walk, keeping away from people. I doctored my mac & cheese with vanilla almond milk (by mistake) and got a rather odd result. I'll try to fix it again today by adding mustard to counteract the weird sweetness.

Our state is hard hit by the virus, with more than 1,000 cases now. And that doesn't count all the people like me, who aren't sick enough to get tested, so we don't know. It does...
[ Read More ]

I'm glad that our govt has stepped up and is trying to help out individuals, sole traders and small businesses..they are giving people on welfare extra money, no time limits for those that have lost jobs or that are casuals, they get payments straight away...giving businesses money to keep people employed...I know it probably won't do exactly what they want but if we all work together then we could save some of the small businesses...we do our bit anyway by buying from local butchers...
[ Read More ]