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Tomorrow is payday. I got my final stub of 2019 yesterday. That covers the pay period that ended 12/14/19 so there are still 17 days remaining in the year but they will be paid in 2020.

My YTD income was $245,000. Add in those last 17 days and my total gross for the year will be $256,000.

At my old job, which I left at the end of September 2017, so just over 2 years ago, I was making half of that. I am incredibly happy and grateful that I made the change. My new job is so...
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I'm leaving in just a few moments for my Indiana trip.

Today was payday. I updated my spreadsheet but I will handle the bills and such when I get home. The deposit is still pending -- and anyway, I don't want to take the time, or rush the process.

I took the boys to music lessons last night and we went out for dinner afterwards. They chose Culver's. The total was $18. I introduced them to the game of twenty questions and they loved it! They could hardly wait to teach...
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As of Friday, I'll finally be under the $2K mark to fully fund my 2019 Roth IRA. I have four months left to contribute $1,870.00, which means I'll have to contribute $467.50 from January-April. I am now on a mission to make this happen. If for some reason, I cannot cash flow contributions, any remaining balance will have to come out of savings.
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I'm right there with LAL on no gifts. My mother was slow to get on board, but did realize that there are very specific and costly items that my children would like and are saving for.

Older Daughter will be living in CA by herself for a few months; additional funds will help with her food and transportation costs (she's driving her car there on a road trip with SO in February and staying in my parents' condo).

Younger Daughter puchased a dress she's wanted since high school...
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The family photos came out great..we had fun doing them its the first ones we have had done in years...so after christmas when it dies down at the stores we will get some printed and framed to put up...They will motivate me to lose weight..I'm the heaviest I have ever been and I hate it...but my hubby just says that with my illnesses and being bed ridden for 18 months its what happens..so now that I can start doing a little more now I can work on it...but he doesn't care how I...
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Good heavens, I'm really losing it. This morning I went to the post office to mail a Christmas card to a special friend. It was one of those 3-D cards so it had to go in a padded mailer. I didn't have one, so I picked one up at the post office. I stuck three stamps on it and put it in the letter drop.

When I got home I realized - duh - I hadn't paid for the mailer. I didn't even go to the window. So I went back and told them what I had done and paid for it (1.79). Then...
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I'm happy to report that DH caught a kid who was shoveling the driveway for his girlfriend's parents and asked him if he would shovel ours. He said yes and wanted to refuse payment. DH said no, you work, you get paid. What a relief.

Just finished cleaning house. I know I'm probably anal, but I have a schedule of sorts to clean and it helps me keep on top of stuff. I have an allergy to dust so that means I need to keep things pretty clean. I'm not thrilled with the process of...
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So I run a Girl Scout troop and we are hosting friends and neighbors this weekend Saturday friends and Sunday Neighbors. I told my troop NO GIFTS. No Secret Santa. I didn't want to.

Then our friends and neighbors asked me the same thing and I shrieked again NO gifts. Not for me or the kids.

I recall in college my roommate and friends I looked them in the eye and said I don't want to do gifts. I have no money and I don't like it. So we ate dinner together and ENJOYED each...
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The PVL (Previous Version of Laura) was probably at this point suffering needlessly stressing about Christmas Nonsense X,Y and Z.

I recall distinctly wondering how I'd explain to the principal at the school why my two sons wouldn't be attending the evening Christmas show when they had tickets to the long-awaited Star Wars premiere. ["They love robots more than Jesus," she commented. I should have laughed right then and there.]

I recall trying to make everything work...
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How is your Christmas shopping coming? I think I’ve mentioned before that I shop throughout the year. Kids I shop for at Christmas time. They grow so fast & change so much that I can’t buy for the littles in advance. I am done with the adult shopping & actually have a surplus for next year as is my usual. I need to not buy throughout this year...if I can help it.

Rumors are that bonuses won’t arrive until the new year. Not the best time of year, but it’s happened before....
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I realize my posts have been a bit of a bummer and was used to vent my frustration but maybe i need to try to see the possibility of lemonade out of the lemons.

I have a home / my family is doing well/ my investments just reported huge dividends and capital gains (most in retirement accts) only a bit in taxable investments/ i do not need this job but it is affording me the opportunity to sock away money to meet some goals.

my car would not start (the battery was low) i had...
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Had family photos done yesterday..haven't had them done in years so thought why not and it was on our anniversary so made the day even more special...can't wait to get them back.

Not doing much the next few days it is summer here and for next 3-4 days its around 110 so better to stay indoors as much as possible, we do have plenty of water out for the wild animals...just so they have some...will top up each night.

Not much else happening here...have done next years budget...
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I got the jam made yesterday, though I did not find the original recipe I used last year. This batch is a little thicker and less sweet than last year's -- but it is still good!

Then I grocery-shopped for the food I could buy ahead for our family Christmas party, spending $51.

This morning I went to the gym, and mailed off a rather long form to the insurance company that is handling a claim against me. I can't understand how the woman behind this can believe that I am solely...
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I haven't blogged too much lately. I guess I haven't had much to share. I've tried to keep up with reading the blogs.

Like many of you have posted, my Christmas shopping is finished. In fact, I have purchased some craft kits to start on things for next Christmas. I gave a lot of canned items away as well. My Christmas cards have been sent. I do have a little more baking to do, but not a great amount. I always give some sweet breads to some of DH's former coworkers and I'd like...
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How is your Christmas shopping coming? I think I’ve mentioned before that I shop throughout the year. Kids I shop for at Christmas time. They grow so fast & change so much that I can’t buy for the littles in advance. I am done with the adult shopping & actually have a surplus for next year as is my usual. I need to not buy throughout this year...if I can help it.

Rumors are that bonuses won’t arrive until the new year. Not the best time of year, but it’s happened before....
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I just updated our portfolio spreadsheet and the total topped $1.3 million for the first time. It's been close for a while with the gyrations of the market but it finally got there.

It means nothing. It changes nothing. We'll just keep plugging away as we're far from ready to retire (financially speaking) but it's nice to see the number continue to climb.
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Over a week ago, my husband's unit has a family Christmas party. I won a small cast iron pan with a cookie mix in it. It makes probably a four or five inch cookie. Not something I would ever buy, but I decided to give it to our youngest daughter with her Christmas check ($40). She does like to bake and I thought it would disguise and help me wrap the check! Worse case scenario I donate it.

My husband also won a $25 Target gift card from filling out a survey for our property...
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Yesterday's big event was my grandsons' recital. It was held in a retirement community, because their teacher always likes to combine performance experience with entertainment for the elderly. They actually had two "shows" yesterday -- one for the regular folks, and one for those in the memory-loss unit. She didn't require the kids to stay for the second show, just those that could and wanted to. My grandsons wanted to, so we were there the whole afternoon. It was very heart-warming;...
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We didn't make it to Costco today, so we will try tomorrow. Instead we got our Christmas tree put up. Well, not our good Christmas tree, but one we got on clearance at Lowe's for $55.00. It was one of their floor models. It's a simple four piece tree that comes prelit with both plain bulbs and multi-colored bulbs. They are bright, but then all LED lights are. It's nice to set something up so quickly, especially since our good, big tree is in the back of the storage unit.

We...
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Many years ago, I typed up a list of all of our financial accounts in case anything ever happened to me. It listed each account company, type of account, account number, and phone number. I realized recently that I haven't updated that list for a very long time.

I pulled out the list today and it was dated December 2006. Surprisingly, it wasn't terribly outdated. A couple of companies have changed names and we have a few new accounts.

I made a new list today. Instead of phone...
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