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Originally posted
April 30th, 2019 at 09:06 am

Assets:
NT's UK pensions:
AV: 22,397 pounds ($27,996)
SW: 28,134 pounds ($35,168)
FL: 6,462 pounds ($8,078)
NT's 401(k): $75,205
NT's Roth IRA: $35,010
AS's trad. IRA: $20,205
AS's Roth IRA: $55,304
AS's SEP IRA: $31,447
AS's cash: $2,259
CJ's 401(k): $143,702
CJ's Roth IRA: $39,254
NT's flat: $212,500 (200,000 pounds value x1.25 -15%)
CJ/NT/AS house: $427,281 ($454,554 value -6%)
---
TOTAL ASSETS: $1,113,409

Debts:
US...
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The interest rate on my husband’s truck loan is 3%. I think that is low (not as low as mine though – 0%  ) – but we are at a point now where the pay-off amount is something we could really get aggressive on and pay it off within 12 months.

We owe $10,336 on the truck. Currently his monthly payment is $608.44.

If we upped the amount paid each month to $1,000 ($391.56 more than what we currently pay), we could have this truck paid off in 10 months.

We will be...
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I did an Amazon return at Kohls the other day. I had never done that before. They gave me a 25%-off coupon for Kohls, for one transaction in-store. I was going to look around anyway so I used it.

I don't know any of the details, if you can only return certain things to Kohls or what. But it sure makes it easier to shop on Amazon.

Today I paid a handful of annual bills. When I went to pay to renew the registration on MH's car, they were trying to charge a $5 fee for...
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After my outlay for car repair yesterday, I spent nothing the rest of the day.

Today I'm taking care of the boys -- the first Wednesday of every month there is no school; I think the teachers have meetings and professional development.

GS2 has an orthodontist appointment at 10, and afterwards I am to take him to a friend's house. I will have GS1 for the rest of the day, unless he figures out something else. I figure I will at least be on the hook for lunch.

I called...
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Long day at the university today, but I spent nothing. Long talk with a colleague about money; she's the only sensible one of all my university colleagues, but she noticed I was eating a salad from home while she'd got one from the Farmer's Fridge vending machine. I also had coffee from home and had to leave briefly to move my car.

Sometimes we all spend money to make our lives a bit more smooth, but I had to laugh when she estimated she spent $20 today vs my zero outlay....
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SO came over and cleaned out the AC, it appears as though that’s what the issue was. Fingers crossed 🤞🏾 I’ll be sure to put that on my monthly to do list.

We ended up chatting a little. I was surprised to hear him say that he told his mom that he’ll be moving soon. I thought he’d never leave her house.

He also mentioned that sometimes he goes into a store and picks something up but realizes that something else is more important and that he’s working on...
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My statement for charges in September 2019 has posted - I am trying to use this credit card for as much as possible for the travel rewards (Husband and I want to start traveling more - and if we are going to be spending the money anyway - might as well get some rewards back - of course we pay the balance every month).

In September, my husband and I took a trip to Hawaii. While the majority of the trip was paid for well in advance (flights, hotel, activities) - incidentals and...
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Between the robo calls and the mailings, we must be considered rich because they are so many requests for money. I was tricked last week, there was a name on the caller ID I recognized and I answered it, only to be spoofed. Grrr.

I normally don't answer the phone when I don't recognize the number, but this one got me. I politely declined, asked that our name be taken off the list, and hung up. Grrr.

I know this makes me sound selfish, but I'm about ready to quit giving to...
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I was coming home from the gym this morning when my tire light came on. I stopped at Midas, and they determined that a TPMS sensor had to be replaced. They tried to repair the stem first, but it was so stiff and old it broke. That was $157.

Yesterday, I took Iggy to the vet. The visit was $75 and I bought food for $30. The good news is, he has gained a little weight. I have to call later today to get the test results.

Anyway, these two things have convinced me not to...
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SO called Sunday and asked if I wanted to go to Sweet Tomatoes 🍅, he had a coupon. One thing I noticed he made “jokes” about it (having a coupon) but for some reason I think the “jokes” about saving took the onus off of him that he needs to be intentional with his money.

Living with his mom and her dysfunctional lifestyle has opened his eyes, he’s mentioned that, not to mention that he’s lost a ton of weight, so it’s obvious. It’s sad because is lack of...
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(originally posted July 19, 2019)

I tend to avoid spending, even when it’s absolutely necessary. My car is making a subtle noise and I have been procrastinating taking it in for service. I don’t want to know what the noise is or how much it’s going to cost to repair. The main problem solving skill that I learned as a child from my mom and grandmother was “ignore it and hopefully it will go away or solve itself.” Guess what – that doesn’t work. 55 years later and...
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Glad SA is back, and I guess I'll update things slowly as I get more time.

The last couple of weeks have been devoted to DD's college stuff. She's chosen five US schools and five UK schools to apply to. And we've gone over the costs a bit. It's so hard to know until the financial aid offers come through, and I'll need to finish her FAFSA soon. I wouldn't mind seeing her go to a large public university in the Midwest, but she has lots of ideas. The bottom line on all of this...
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I went ahead and used some of my allowance that I have been saving to buy a new fitbit. It cost $108.50 with tax. I ended up getting the white one since my son has a black one. It's easier to not get them mixed up if we accidentally leave them in the bathroom after a shower that way.

I really like it so far. I especially like that it tracks the heart rate since the doctor wants me tracking my heart rate since I've had some incidents of racing heart. If I can just look down...
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I just noticed that my last few blog entries are missing? Darnit. I had just started getting back into blogging here!

Well, I guess it is time to start again, again.
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Last week I was on Jury Duty... I got selected for a trial. It was an interesting and rewarding experience for me - I do believe in the constitution, after all.

After all the testimony we went to deliberate and 7 of the jurors voted not guilty and 1 juror voted guilty. After about 3 hours of discussion, it was evident that no one was going to change the 1 jurors mind and 7 other jurors were not going to change theirs - so we ended up as a hung jury.

Luckily, I get paid...
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Yesterday I sat at the two baseball games for about four hours. Plus, the ride there was about 40 minutes each way. That was a big chunk of time. DS and I were the only fans there for GS1. But it was a beautiful day! There's something invigorating about being out in the open air.

I bought coffee for myself and DS ($2). In turn, he bought me a hot dog when it got to be lunchtime.

After the games, I came home and did laundry and I washed and seasoned my new pans. I used...
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A few years ago i worked for a company that was great at hiding all their debt and bad practices. I had many friends at this place.

I left as I felt this company was very sleazy. Many friends stayed bought the lines that every company did these things whenever someone was about to get a glimpse of their DARK side. Most people whom left after me found out first hand the company was NOT whom the pretend to be to either employees or the public.

Well as I had predicted...
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Well, thanks to CeeJay, I was able to recover quite a few entries. Some I found were not cached so I could not recover them, and I don't doubt some I just did not find. Oh well, it isn't as if the world has lost anything or even noticed.

Yesterday I went over to a friend's to help her with her QuickBooks. This is the same friend I mentioned a few months ago who was living in a 5th wheel while building a new house. The house is still not done, but it is done enough that they...
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This afternoon I went out with some others from my church collecting money for a local charity here which helps people who have been vicitimized by domestic violence. The woman and her two boys who are my partners (and have been the past 4 years) were actually helped by this charity. So it brings it really home.

After I was done with that, I stopped at the mall and found out that JC Penny's does still have a hair salon. (I wasn't sure .. it had been years since I'd used it.)

The...
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I loved Lucky Robin's latest blog title, "Blah, blah, blah! because I too struggle with coming up with something witty and creative and I'm often unsuccessful at both!

My husband loves his garden and his yard and is so frustrated that we have a squirrel (or more than one!) who has eaten tomatoes and dug holes in the yard. So, I've watched DH chase the squirrel around the yard. Talk about cheap entertainment! I bet that squirrel thinks my husband is a crazy man.

We went to...
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