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We have a storm coming in today lots of thunder and lightening and maybe rain...can already smell it..but we are all down sick...not sure what is going on with us but none of us feel good...not looking for another change in weather...it has been crazy here

Still need to try figure out taxes before hubby starts his treatment and also need to finish up banking but that can wait a day or 2 no hurry everything is paid so will update later when I have done it.

Its officially autumn...
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Happy Saturday everyone,

It’s the last Saturday of the month. I had so much I needed to do, but was feeling blah.

I needed to complete my taxes, wrap up the income driven plan application for my student loans, balance my checking accounts, review my cash envelopes, bill my client and update my March budget.

I got most things completed that were on the list. I decided since I have the side hustle, it might be best to let an accountant complete my taxes vs TurboTax....
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It's March re-set time around here, a day early. DD's university choices and their payments are looming, DH's contract job, though safe now, usually wavers with the stock market, and I'm not teaching any adjunct classes for a while. Today we got the bill for DH's ear surgery. I love when the insurance company says they'll pay for it all, and then it ends up still costing another $1000. On the positive side of that, his hearing is great. Except for some tinniness which is...
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Total Spending: $959.49
Total Savings: $2800.00
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $200.00 (good month)!
CVS Giftcard from Fetch: $5
Credit Card Cash Back Rewards: $72.50

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): 159.16
Cell phone: 61.33
HVAC and water heater contract: 27.95
Condo Fee (includes water) 190.00

Variables:
Utilities: 101.11
Gasoline: 32.94
Groceries: 208.16 (includes entertaining)
Health: 83.50 (scripts refills,...
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Right now we are fully funding our IRA's, plus at work I have 7% taken from my salary plus a 9% employer match (which is required), and then an extra $300/month pulled pre-tax to a 457 plan.

However, a number of our monthly bills have been going up. This is causing us to not be able to fully fund some of our categories more months than not. I do all the budgeting each month, and allocate the money in the MUST categories, and then have DH decide the allocation for the remaining...
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I bough a very inexpensive Sam’s Club membership through my work, though I only seem to make it there once or twice a year. Last night I picked up toilet tissue (will last me about a year) and some non-perishable food items. I also need a new comforter as mine is torn. I bought it about 14 years ago at TJ Maxx & loved it. I found a comforter for $29.98, but it was all white which is a definite no for me. They look beautiful, but any little thing getting on it would require a...
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Today has been an atypical day, filled with a number of unexpected events.

Dell Technical Support
This morning I tried calling Dell technical support as I was having issues printing from my new computer. The first person was on with me for 45 minutes, after which she told me since I was having a software issue, not a hardware issue, she'd have to transfer me, and the next person told me since my warranty doesn't cover software, i'd have to pay $239 to upgrade my warranty!!...
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My investments updated today & I am down more than $100k from recent highs. Oh well, I’m staying the course through all the ups & downs. I sent an IRA contribution in last Friday & I wish that I had sent it in this Friday. But you never know what will happen & can’t time the market.
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Spent the morning listing my tea towels on EBay. Hopefully will make a few sales. Have not yet listed and candles of FB Marketplace, but one step at a time. I am serious about decluttering in 2020!
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One of my goals this year was to blog at least once a month. Today is the last day of the month so I need to post an update.

Hitting daily step goals this year so far.
Have not really lost any weight.
Debt is not going down as fast as I would like.


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My main goal yesterday was to make bread. It's been almost a year since I've done that, so I wanted to make sure the yeast was good. I proofed it with water, sugar and flour. It responded, so I went ahead with the recipe, but I goofed up when I didn't add enough water. I tried to add water after I had started kneading, but it didn't work very well. In the end, the bread is edible, but quite ugly. It rose, but it was never smooth. Oh well, I will eat it anyway.

It was...
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It was pay day for both us. Here is the rundown:

Disclaimer: We still had $215 left in our checking prior to payday and that was swept to our savings account.

$700 savings
$270 Roth IRA, $590 left to fund 2019.
$500 to cc and household bills
$100 groceries (allotted, but might go over)


No mortgages to pay until August and November. I mentioned before that prior to quitting my job I payed many months in advance to ease the transition to a significant reduction in income)....
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The low paydown weeks are no fun...lol. Only our two smallest payments get made this paycheck.

Celebrations for this update:
-$320.82 paid off in the last 2 weeks!!

Student Loan $0
Payback Savings $0
David's Bridal $0
Scheel's Card $0
Total Rewards $0
LOC - US Bank $0
Ring Iddeal $0
Best Buy $0
HELOC $0
Store Loan $375.57
Mom Loan #2/#3 $28,911.36
MO Mortgage $77,156.28
My Mortgage $140,200.00
Our Mortgage $235,960.73
Total = $482,603.94

Down $320.82...
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I've been avoiding this place because life's been hard...really hard. A good amount of it is our own fault. We went way off the rails when DH returned home, but we've also just had an incredible amount of stuff going on, and we're very much emotional spenders. I'd thought we'd made so much progress, but these past 6 months have just kicked our butts.

Just a quick rundown:
-DH came home
-We (very stupidly) leased a family car
-Excessive holiday spending
-Got a puppy (he wasn't...
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Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day. I went to the gym and then came straight home. The car wasn't too badly buried and was pretty easy to scrape clean. I did a load of laundry. I surpassed 5,000 steps.

I did not make bread. After the laundry was done, I sat down to relax and ended up relaxing the rest of the day. I am reading the Song of Ice and Fire series and watching The Walking Dead, so there is plenty of distraction available.

Today there is nothing on the agenda,...
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Our company changed its system of granting bonuses and raises for 2019. Previously we were notified about raises for the next year and received any bonus at the last paycheck of the year.

Going forward and starting with 2019, they're moving the notification to the end of February. So I'll have a decent bonus in my 2/29/2020 paycheck and a raise starting with the 3/15 pay.

Also going forward, bonuses are being granted to everyone based on the company meeting its profit margin...
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Debts
Mortgage -$112,573.97 (-$156.77)
0% CC $0 (-$2,700)
Helitech Loan -$3,150 (-$400)
Medical Loan -$1,700 (-$100)

Savings
Roth IRAs +$15,568 (-$464)
401K +$25,648 (-$615)
Emergency Fund +$3,406 (+$302)
Animal Fund +$505 (+$0)
Truck Fund +$1,845 (+$120)
HSA +$928 (+$204)

Overall: +$2,903.77

I paid off my credit card! Next goal is to pay off the Helitech loan by June, but hopefully even sooner than that. Retirement is down from the Coronavirus scare. Next...
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I think I will be able to continue my new juicing habit without needing to increase the grocery budget. This is good news because I predicted that the budget would increase by $50/month. That increase would be realistic if I weren’t flexible about the veggies used. But I have discovered that Sam’s typically has 5-pound bags of organic carrots for only $3.50 and that carrots are a good base for most juices. My juice is usually mostly carrots with apples, celery, and/or raw...
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I spent $2 yesterday on candy which a neighbor was selling. It came out of cash, so the $280 is still intact.

As planned, I did take the train to the bank and "bought" a roll of quarters. It was just an exchange of paper money for coins, so not an expenditure.

Later in the day I walked to the dentist's office and changed my cleaning appointment to the 18th.

Between these two errands and just walking around the house, I reached 6,700 steps yesterday.

Today is a gym...
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Well we got hubby test results today its stage 3 just in the lymph nodes but nowhere else so he things we have a good chance of being able to go into remission down the road, so only time will tell...hubby gets his first shot next wed (has every 3 months) and we are waiting to hear from the oncology radition team for treatment dates etc..should be 5 days a week for 8 weeks them maybe chemo..they arent sure yet...but the appointment was free, the parking was free will have to pay...
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