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I almost didn't believe it. I got my letter from the SOS saying that I am medically cleared to apply for a new driver's license. The accident that caused this whole mess took place in April of last year, so it's been almost a year.
I went to the DMV this morning. Thank goodness my town has a branch just for seniors that encourages walk-ins. I took and passed my written test and my vision test. I could have taken my road test, but I traveled there on the bus, never thinking that...
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It has been a long, long time since I have done one of these things and it is time I get back to it, I think.  Payday was Friday and this one has quite a bit of overtime on it.  Thank goodness, because a large chunk of the check went on the Citi card to pay for the adjustable bed for my daughter that I talked about in the previous post.  The rest of that bed will be paid off on Wednesday with the tax refund.  You have to do what you have to do when you have...
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Murphy struck in threes three times, for a total of nine in the last nine months.  Not that I really believe in that sort of things, but we have had a real string of broken things, which is why our Emergency fund is $1010 and not $15,000.  The most recent thing that broke was my daughter's adjustable bed.
Now she needs this because of her special needs.  Because she has ideopathic intercranial hypertension and it is pretty bad, she has to sleep with her brain elevated...
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Yesterday we went to the local theatre in the small town we live in and saw a movie that was called "The Farmer's Daughter." It isn't the old movie, but a recently made one about a young woman who was once on the local TV station as a reporter, but after her brother died, she gave up her career and came home to work for her father on the farm. Fast forward a few years and her dad became very ill, and she's now running the family farm. It was a good movie and if you are interested...
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I tell you what, when asked if I’m better off than I was four years ago, my answer is Hell no! 
 
The cost of goods has increased, work is extremely slow, interest rates on savings decreased, lost a long-term client, and my retirement accounts have been hit badly, not to mention my nerves. 
 
With all this talk about social security, I am nervous about my mom, she has small savings, no debt, and her social security. She depends on that, I don’t...
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Wow, another month gone, and I realized I haven't even posted for March.  It has been a difficult month for various reasons, but this post is just a financial one.  I am updating the retirement, the emergency fund and the net worth.  For what it is worth I have a net positive for the month, but it is a squeaker.
I came out of retirement for the month with a net gain of $1,759.63.  If it weren't for our contribution rate of 17% of monthly income, I don't think...
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On ething I like about our elections is they don't drag out like the US ones. Our PM has decided that our elections will be held on may 3rd...so not a lot of campaigning they don't really travel around to each state...I'm hoping our liberals don't get in they have more of a mindset like Trump and take care of their rich friends and forget everyone else, they will throw the rest of us scraps...so here's hoping Labor stays in and continues to do some good.
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Last year, I got hit with a tax penalty for like $6,500 USD.  I believe they garnished it out of my Roth.  I thought perhaps it was because I didn't wait long enough or something before I sold a position to buy another one.  So, I figured it might be a one-off thing, but through the entire year of 2024, I did not sell anything.  I only bought more of the same positions.
Anyway, I just received a letter from the IRS again, saying this time I owe $13k+ !  I...
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Work with 2 of my volunteer groups is heating up, and these days, my rallies, demonstrations, phone calls and letter writing is very much another p/t job, so I guess you could say 3 of my volunteer groups are heating up.
I am very excited to have succeeded in building consensus between my environmental group and another nonprofit here in town that seeks to protect a certain river that is a sole source aquifer and supplies drinking water to half the population.
More recently,...
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Let me preface this with, I believe in tipping those folks who provide a service such as a hair dresser or a server. I understand that the tip is actually part of their pay. 
But, and this is a big but, the tipping thing has gotten out of hand. I was looking to order some food for Easter. Food that I will pick up, heat,  and serve. I couldn't understand why the price was so expensive and there it was, at the end, a large tip tacked on. Fortunately I caught it, but good...
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Patient Saver's blog about trying times ... I was tempted to copy that title to mine. Again, another week of losing more money in the market than making. I know the market has ups and downs, but it seems more down and up and I don't see it getting any better.
I was watching CNBC yesterday and the CEO of Affirm was saying the economy was OK, people were still spending money. Before that, I had never heard of Affirm, but it is one of these companies partnered with Walmart that has...
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It's impossible to ignore everything that's happening in the world around us. I've become increasingly involved in local rallies, letter-writing and so on. I went to a rally yesterday in my hometown and listened to a series of heartfelt testimonials by local people. Included among them was the mother of a child killed in a school shooting here who somehow has the strength and determination to fight gun violence. 
I did not expect that this is the turn my retirement would...
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Since it's been a year since my dad passed I am fully into managing my mom's finances.  I let her use her tax person one more year.  I may even let her use him another year.  He's a nice guy and I'm not sure I'm up to doing it.  That being said we had a little scare today about it.  
Since my dad passed in March 2024, tax planning was a bit weird.  It was hard to estimate things and I did a small conversion from his IRA to a roth because my parents...
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Based on the market dropping and prices increasing, do you think we bound for a recession? I keep reading and hearing that our economy seems to be ripe for one. To be honest, it is frightening because it seems like our world is topsy turvy with all the wild things coming from the news. The trade war and prices increasing and the marketing losing money doesn't seem like a good thing in the near future. Are you planning on doing anything to combat this?
I feel like we are already...
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Though I'm fairly new to investing, this for me is not a good thing. I'm not in a position to buy anything at these low prices. I do believe things will bounce back but when? 
Eggs, which many were complaining about id now $9 a dozen, and car prices are increasing, by 12%  
These are scary times 
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DH got a very large raise and a very large bonus. 20% bonus and a 35% raise.  Quite a shocker.  His first year at the startup he got 15% raise (2022).  Then the next year it was 2% (2023).  Then the next year it was 2% (2024).  He got small bonuses as well more like 10%.  I think in 2021 when they started the company he was really, really underpaid and low even for the area. 
This sort of brings him more in line with the area. He's not making...
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Like the down turn in the market back in 2008 or so, I'm going to do the same now even if it feels really kind of scary.  I'm getting older and hoping to start phased retirement this year. I didn't watch the balances in 2008 but now I am, I've appreciated the new high but now I've lost more than $50k in the last two weeks. I'm also going to add some additional funds into my Roth. I hope I'm investing in a down turn. 
We also bought new ebikes this year. We purchased...
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TSP $1,297,598
IRA $378,475
Brokerage $9,539
Total Investments $1,685,612
Savings $10,139
Home Equity $140,000
Feb 2025 Net Worth $1,835,751
Jan 2025 Net Worth $1,866,262
Monthly Loss/Gain -$30,511
Checking $6,698
Car $11,000
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Here in Central Illinois it isn't exactly warm, but it isn't freezing either. When we don't have the usual gloomy winter days, it makes me think spring is around the corner and I'm getting excited.
We have this lovely sunporch on the back of the house. Although it is early to be planting a vegetable garden, I'm getting excited about doing so. Scratching around here, I found a metal pan and asked DH if I could use it to plant some seeds in it and have it on the porch. The porch...
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Today was the first time I heard the term, "Doom Spending." It is consumers spending more than they normally would for fear of rising prices due to the tariff threat. CNBC had an article about it and it said it was more than just stocking up, but people buying things they cannot afford because they fear the prices are going up. The issue is some of these people are already deep in debt and instead of working on paying down their debt, they are increasing it.
Things are uncertain...
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