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TSP $1,236,104
IRA $365,510
Brokerage $9,957
Total Investments $1,611,571
Other Assets:
Home Equity $140,000
Savings $10,400
April 2025 Net Worth $1,761,971
March 2025 Net Worth $1,755,161
Monthly Loss/Gain $6,810
 
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How do you know you've made it?  It's usually the big things like I contribute 10% to retirement.  10% to savings.  I pay cash for a car. I could cash flow college.  No more credit card interest.  I paid off the mortgage.  These are all easy big signs people often see quickly to realize they've made it. 
But I was cleaning my garage this weekend and I realized that are lots of little signs too.  First up was sorting stuff in the garage,...
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Bet that title make you scratch your head! 
But, I did have to spend some money so I could save some. The little town we live near has a small, but active library. Unfortunately since we live on the outskirts of town, we don't pay library tax which means I couldn't get a library card unless I paid the equivalent of what we would pay in taxes to the library. I contemplated it before taking the plunge. I didn't want to get the card and then feel like it wasn't worth the cost.
This...
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Well our voting went the way I wanted but honestly it was a landslide that no-one expected...and the liberal is no longer in politics, he lost his seat which means he no longer has a job...he will get one easily I am sure since he has a lot of rich mates...but we are safe for another 3 years...so I am glad that we have the leadership we have...and I love that when Dutton (liberals) conceded nad called to congratulate him...it was great...but when albo said that he had called to...
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I am back, safe and sound, from a 4 day trip out to see Dido. It's a 3-hour trip there, so I spent Monday night, then Tuesday we left for Gettysburg, which I believe is another 2 hours.
Gettysburg National Park was really really awesome. I especially liked seeing the battlefield, which is quite spread apart and maintained by the park service as rolling hills of green, but you can definitely see how the hills were used by both sides for defensive purposes.
We signed up for the...
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April is always a dreary month where I live.  It's a time of last-minute tax filings (though these days, I've been a good boy for filing them much earlier), wild fluctuations in temperature, and pollen and allergy season.  Ah, the pollen... the copious blanket of green nastiness that covers everything, making people here wish for days of rain to wash all that snotiness away.
But May!  May marks the end of the tax dread, the pollen plague, and Mother Nature finally...
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Our net worth went up about $13K. We regained a little over half what we lost last month in net worth, aided by some modest gains in NT's UK pension that we hadn't recorded for a couple years, plus our minimum paydown on mortgages, plus a small 401k contribution, plus a partial recovery on our retirement fund values.
We're still below where we were in November 2024, and well below our January 2025 high, so it's not exactly exciting, but at least it's not ruinous. We remain in...
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After a long day on my feet, I'm taking a little rest and decided to check the blogs. Glad to see a few more people wrote a blog. 
The past couple of weeks have been ones of working in the yard. On Easter we are invited to purchase an Easter lily and can designate it as a remebrance or a thanksgiving. We bought two since they were $8 and after Easter service, brought them home and used them as table decorations for the two tables we had for our Easter dinner and our family...
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Today I won't be spending anything, so I did my monthly accounting. I was surprised to find that I spent less than $1900, even though I had to pay for a refrigerator repair and even though I broke my phone. The refrigerator repair was $340. It could have been worse, and I am glad to say that the problem of encroaching ice in the freezer hasn't come back. As far as the phone goes, I only had to pay $49 out of pocket, because I have a service agreement with Best Buy.
I was able...
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Well had to buy a new dryer, it is coming in colder here (almost winter) and our fell off the wall and onto the washing machine and broke...it had a real bad burning smell so I dont trust it...and it is like 8 years old so I am just thankful the washing machine wasn't broken...ins wouldn't cover it because apparently we don't have accidental insurance...but it cost us over $1000...was steep but I do like that we just have to empty the water from it rather than vent it or have a...
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Mid-week I suggested to our litter board's exec director that we reschedule the litter cleanup set for Saturday to Sunday instead, on account of expected rain. She agreed.  I don't take doing that lightly because it takes quite a lot of work to reschedule anything and let people know, and since I do all the social media promotions and the PR, this has fallen on me to do.
I had to create and post new Facebook and Instagram flyers, call the first selectman's office, call the...
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Spring is here and DH and I planned our vegetable garden. Last year we planted 3 tomato plants, some green onions, and a cucumber plant and three herbs: Oregano, Rosemary, and Thyme. Last fall I planted garlic. 
This year we are expanding our garden a little bit. DH got out the tiller and we measured out the plot based on my plans on graph paper. Yesterday we planted most of the seeds for the cool weather crops. And today it rained so it watered our newly planted seeds. I've...
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I really didn't want to buy a new phone, but the back started coming off my current phone because the battery was bulging.  The only thing holding it together was the phone case.  It was still usable, but not exactly safe.  This is the second Motorola phone I've had of this design that has done this.  My husband has never had this problem with this exact problem, but I play games on my phone a lot more so mine is on a lot more than his so probably gets a lot...
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People are saying keep on buying as it keeps going down.  Great time to buy.  But for the first time I question this sentiment?  Why? Because I think that you have to look deep down and see will you panic?  If the market drops another 10-20% or more will you immediately hit the panic button and sell.  Will you reach out and catch the falling knife as the market starts to drop rapidly? If we go into a depression can you withstand the pain of watching newly...
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Oh this is new.  My anti-virus software now warns me against clicking on anything from SavingAdvice's blog section, mostly because it does not offer HTTPS.  That's never come up before, but it does make sense I guess.
While I'm here, the stock market dropped again today, because our Stable Genius of a President decided that he has the power to fire the Chair of the Federal Reserve and is "considering it". 
Like, seriously, what is wrong with this guy?  Better...
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I figured I better get this up here before the new payday hits on Friday.  I did have it all ready to go, but then Windows did an update and then I had it ready to go again when I accidentally closed the chrome window and it was gone when I brought all my tabs back up again.  I know I should just write it in a Word document, but I don't, because Co-pilot gets in my way all the time and I haven't figured out how to shut it off yet or if I even can.  I hate Co-pilot. ...
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The weeks are so chockful of stuff going on. Tonight a friend is driving over, and then we'll do about a 12-minute walk from my house up to the town flagpole (in the middle of Main St) where we'll attend an outdoor candlight vigil for those who were wrongfully deported and detained in El Salvador.
I started a fundraiser on Swing Left to raise $$ to win back just 3 Democratic seats in the House to take back the House in the mid-term elections next year, which would go a long way...
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In the past I've mentioned my sourdough starter, Sammy. He's around 5 years old. I started sourdough because I wanted something to do during the months we couldn't do anything or go anywhere during the Pandemic. I know I have learned a lot and have more to learn about sourdough bread, but it sure is fun.
The interesting thing is sourdough has become big. I mean, really popular. Just this past couple of weeks I've seen "classes" for showing people how to start a starter. I guess...
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I've always liked the idea of adopting pets, but was too busy before to take care of them.  I had said to myself that, some day, when I retire, perhaps I would finally adopt some.  Well, that day is finally here, but I am still dragging my feet.
The usual concerns would come up.  As a pet novice, would I find the learning curve a bit too much?  Would I find the cost of raising pets too much as well?  I am also concerned about pets that might be too sad...
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Net Worth down about $7,500 from end of 2024.
But in good news, debts are down about $8,000, from around $50k all-in to ~$42k all in.  Q1 is always when I make the biggest progress on debt, since that is when I receive my annual bonus (if one is forthcoming).
I have two trips coming up in Q2 (both planned before the current market mayhem):  Patient Saver will be coming for a visit again and we will go to Gettysburg for a day, and then I'll be going on a hiking and kayaking...
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