All Entries

has been a busy week for us all but so far not an expensive one....unless your our DD...her cat got out of her area and into next door yard and got attacked by their husky...all I heard was blood curdling screams from my daughter and I went running just in time to see her cat jump over our fence and hear their dog bash into the fence...so lots of vet bills..luckily she only had a few not to serious puncture wounds...lots of bruising but no broken bones...but was expensive for her....also...
[ Read More ]

Looking out in the yard it seems bare. DH has spent the last two afternoons pulling up all the garden plants. It is getting more and more chilly here and there is supposed to be a freeze on Tuesday. We spent Thursday picking anything worth picking since there was a chance of frost then. We lucked out, but it's coming.

My counter was full of bell peppers and tomatoes, either ripe, almost ripe, or green. Last couple of years we have put them all together on the counter and they...
[ Read More ]

October 13
$100 Segway Tour
$ 18 Parking SF
$ 5 Tolls
$ 70 Lunch
$ 20 Dinner
Dinner: OUT

MH owed me a raincheck, because he was working any time off I got this year. I mean, I think I took an unpaid week off in May and another week off during summer. Not sure if time off between jobs counted because I never ended up with any down time anyway. But had told MH at some point (May?) I really wanted to do a segway tour in Golden Gate Park. Just something fun to do. So...
[ Read More ]

October 12
$27 Fuel (hybrid car)
Dinner: chicken enchilada casserole

Friday was pretty uneventful.

I did need to make an unscheduled fuel stop because I was mostly out of gas after work trip. Though I don't need gas fuel to run the car, I believe it is important to have some gas in the car to keep everything working properly (uses the gas generator for some car function). I filled up all the way because we had two Bay Area trips planned in the next few days.

Thursday...
[ Read More ]

October 11
-0- Spending
Dinner: Tortellini with cream sauce

No spend day!

In the end we did a re-do of work field trip (was canceled prior week due to weather). Drove out to new home construction site about an hour out of town. Completely in the middle of nowhere.

One of the realtors took 10 of us out to lunch (our office + sales staff).

This is the tiny town:


As to the homes, WOW! Got to tour the models. It's a small home builder. Although we loved buying...
[ Read More ]

October 10
$ 12 movies
$ 36 Fuel (gas car)
Dinner: Chicken artichoke pasta

DL(13) skyped us again from Finland. They were able to see the Northern Lights their first night in Lapland.

MH and I went to a free movie screening. It was the "Hate U Give" movie. MH saw a rare super advanced screening of that one many months ago (probably not even the final cut) and said it was exceptional. But MM(15) didn't want to go two nights in a row. In the end, they chose to show...
[ Read More ]

October 9
$ 8 New scanner/printer
$10 Lunch Out
$88 Groceries
Dinner: Taco Rice Salad

I got a new scanner/printer for side work. I had asked MH to research and maybe pick one up for me. I was running out of time so I believe he picked it up Tuesday and set it up for me Wednesday. I tested it out Thursday. Phew!

It only cost $8 out of pocket because I had a $100 Staples gift card (credit card reward).

This is a very nice upgrade from the 1990s era copier I had from...
[ Read More ]

October 8
$4 Lunch Out
$10 Gymnastics
$27 Groceries
Dinner: Shepherd's Pie

Monday was a very uneventful day.
[ Read More ]

My mother was removed from the ventilator at 1:20 PM Friday afternoon. We were shocked she didn't pass within minutes. My oldest son (youngest had to get back on road for rest of trip before heading to Germany), daughter and I stayed the night. My oldest son finally went home with his family early afternoon yesterday. The kids needed to get back to some normalcy.

My dad left at six. He was exhausted. He said to call when we saw the vital signs deteriorate more. He lives within...
[ Read More ]

Now that it is lighter longer I have started going to early morning meditation again. Afterwards the center gives us breakfast, so I just had marmelade on toast.

In: found 20 cents

Out:
bananas $2.11
bread roll 69 cents
coffee $2

left in my cash envelopes:
food $12
misc $110
medical $320
change dish $4.30
mta vouchers $30
bus card $20.03
[ Read More ]

It's been very easy not turning the heat on as the Northeast has had a very warm October. That may end tonight with a frost advisory overnight. Ahh, this is the sweet spot between seasons, when I am running neither the furnace nor the air conditioning. My wallet thanks me.

Nothing definitive yet on the possible new job. Recruiter says a phone interview could come Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, which would work out well since I have that week off from my current job. Recruiter...
[ Read More ]

I still have not heard whether the trip to India is on in December. One of the leaders is very ill and the other is 104 so it may be postponed until new leadership is decided. It's ok by me if it doesn't happen till next year, as I should finish my EF by the end of next year.
[ Read More ]

$875.04 paid off in the last 2 weeks!!!

Celebrations for this update:
-$875.04 paid off in the last 2 weeks!!
-Our Mortgage went under the next $1000 mark!!
-Total Debt went under the next $1000 mark!!

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 $4,667.06
Mom Loan #2/#3 $37,616.58
MO Mortgage $82,020.71
My Mortgage $146,250.00
Our Mortgage $242,675.12
Total...
[ Read More ]

I just set up a credit card payment to pay the statement balance in full for the credit card that we use for everyday things. Technically, there's another $150ish set aside for the payment, but I just did the statement balance. The money was set aside in YNAB for current purchases put on the card, so this officially means I'm riding the credit card float. It's strange that this is a big milestone, but I certainly consider it one. This is the first time since early last year when...
[ Read More ]

I am getting used to spending very little money; in fact I get a kick out of not spending, knowing every dollar saved brings me nearer to my goals.
[ Read More ]

In truth, there is no right age or time to buy. The condition depends from person to person. You might afford a condo now but you might prefer a house and lot. Meanwhile, your peers are happy to have a condo but they don't have the means to purchase one. Moreover, buying property might not be best in the long run. If you consider your financial aspect, you'll find that renting can help you save more money than you would when you buy.

If you really want to have a property of...
[ Read More ]

In truth, there is no right age or time to buy. The condition depends from person to person. You might afford a condo now but you might prefer a house and lot. Meanwhile, your peers are happy to have a condo but they don't have the means to purchase one. Moreover, buying property might not be best in the long run. If you consider your financial aspect, you'll find that renting can help you save more money than you would when you buy.

If you really want to have a property of...
[ Read More ]

We have some things up in the air right now, so this isn't completely accurate, but I wanted to track as best I can until everything is square. One of our renters pays by automatic payment through their bank, so typically we get their rent check from their bank around the 2nd of the month. We never got the check this month, so we are waiting for them to send us a replacement check. In the meantime we had to pull from savings to cover the missing rent so that we could pay our...
[ Read More ]

Today I'm going to be carting boxes to my car, and I'll leave early in the morning to head to Indiana and start getting my yard sale set up. It has turned cold! I hope that doesn't scare away people! We will bundle up and get through it.

I'm also running a load of laundry.

Later today I'm going to stop at the library to return books and check out an audiobook, and then at the bank to cash a $20 bill into ones. I've got my change all ready -- $12 worth to get started.

I...
[ Read More ]

As I was updating my debt balances on my side bar, I realized that I can see a faint light at the end of the tunnel.

So I examined a couple of scenarios which I believe to be attainable give or take a couple of months.

I met my goal of reaching $3,000 in my emergency savings account so I can redirect those deposits toward debt payments.


[ Read More ]