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I did take pictures through the end of the month, but then time got away from me.  Today I am going out of town and tomorrow I have an 8-hour class.  So I don't expect much down time this week.
My takeaway is that sharing a photo is a much smaller time commitment than blogging.  & it was also enjoyable, so I will infuse my blog with more photos.  Once a week is probably more realistic, though I don't have any reason to stick to that.
Oh yeah, and October...
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MM(22) Sep 2025 'Gifted College Fund': $14,897 (+$5K ROTH)
MM(22) Oct 2025 'Gifted College Fund': $13,759 (+$5K ROTH)
Rent is paid through 11/30.
🤯
I will blink, and the school year will be over.  I suppose our biggest expense is rent, though school didn't start until mid-September.  The rent part is about halfway done (July thru July).  I pay all the bills the first of the month, so basically December rent is already taken care of (covered with...
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Is it me just thinking this or is it just our country or all over the world that it is happening. 
So all our bills have risen, our food prices have risen, rents...everything basically has risen in cost. I have has several elec bills that have been wrong and they have charged me on average $1200 more than what they should have, lucky I look at the bills and check them. But it seems like no matter what the businesses and banks are all in record profits for the last couple...
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I was happy at a recent gym workout because I was able to raise the weight pulled, pushed, pressed or lifted by 5 lbs on every machine. I say this because I feel I'm already lifting near the maximum possible, but then I go and surprise myself. I noticed today when I went to the gym that they are putting solar panels on the roof. 
This week I reviewed loans from Pakistan, Albania, Uganda, Ghana, Liberia and Kenya.
I had to cut loose one of the men i got together with. I don't...
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Yay I just got $251 covered by my Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.  It cost me annual fee of $95. I got it to run all my business expenses on and keep it separate.  But I put our cell phone bills on it so if we need a replacement for theft or repair.  There is a $100 deductible.  So the total repair was $351.  But still getting back $251 today approved was a win for me.
Okay so maybe it's a small win but I feel like a big win.  I mean yes...
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Looks like if I keep my current silver ACA plan for 2026 my monthly premium will be $356, up from $110.  Part of the increase is due to my expected income for 2026 rising to 50k.
There were several gold plans available at a lower cost, which does not make sense to me.  Has anyone experienced the same?   I ended up choosing Blue Choice Preferred Gold PPO 204 at a cost of $5 per month. Yes, $5.
 
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TSP $1,532,632
IRA $449,349
Brokerage $13,383
Sub-total Investments $1,995,364
Savings $3,057
Home Equity $141,000
October 2025 Net Worth $2,139,421
September Net Worth $2,096,356
Monthly Gain/Loss $43,065
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Debts
Mortgage -$107,506.14 (-$1,007.70)Land Loan -$4,131.17 (-$840.55)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$48,162 (+$4,127)401K +$98,664 (+$10,623)Emergency Fund +$21,355 (-$7,605)Animal Fund +$2,574 (-$2)HSA +$1,630 (-$44)
Overall: +$8,947.25 (This is for July-October)
Wow I didn't realize it had been several months since I updated. It's been an expensive couple months. Roof was replaced and I had to pay out the other $7,200 half. Had to buy a new computer since windows 10 is going away....
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Welp, I scheduled a payment of $219 for today (pay day), and was assuming it wouldn't hit my student loan until Monday or Tuesday. Well guess what? The payment hit my account. I'm officially under $15K. I want to cry. 
I can now officially say, I believe I can do this. I believe that next year, I will be done with this loan. Almost a 100k and years later, I can finally feel it, taste it as the saying goes, and it feels great. 
Thank you to everyone who have been on...
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I have to play catchup on photos again! Hopefully I'll find time tomorrow. Meanwhile here's our net worth update.
It was another pretty good month thanks mainly to retirement gains. I still expect the bubble to burst at some point, but we have a nearly $190K surplus on our CoastFIRE balance, so I'm not too worried. Also there's always a rebound after a downturn, and we've got at least another decade before we fully retire.
Next month our debt will go under $700K, which would...
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Happy Halloween everyone. I will be having a very special trick-or-treater tonight; my son and grandson will be spending the evening with me.  Both SB and my DIL will be working, so it will just be the 3 of us. We will have pizza, watch movies, and hopefully pass out a little candy. 
Today is payday so I thought I would give a little summary of how my paydays go now. My deposit was $1,434.81. $225 will automatically be transferred to sinking funds, $200 will automatically...
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Oct 25

I did not take a single picture on Saturday.  So I pulled this one from Friday.
I developed a sudden intolerance to avocado in recent years.  😭 A couple of years after developing a banana intolerance.  Apparently these are related.
Anyway, my employer buys lunch every Friday.  I quickly realized that most sushi has avocado.  *sigh*  But I finally found something I like on this particular menu.  Mango sushi.  It's a vegetarian...
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Another milestone! I recently hit $2 million net worth, but today when updating my accounts I now have $2 million in investments on top of my other assets. My total net worth is now approaching $2.2 million.
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OMG my student loan payment actually hit in one day. I cannot believe my payment actually hit so soon. My new balance is $$15,102.84. I'm so excited. 
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Its a small win, but we are under $100K on our mortgage!  Yay!
 
I got paid today so I will work on posting some numbers.
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Earlier, I showed a photo of my snake plant with a couple of leaves that mysteriously collapsed overnight.  I was going to trim those leaves off, but over the following days, they are slowly making a comeback!  Here is its current status:

My plant may not be the prettiest around, but it's a fighter.  You go, little plant! I'm cheering you on!
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I made the decision to go to the grocery store last night.  We are celebrating Halloween with my parents and making homemade pizza.  And I had in my brain that I wanted lasagna.  I spent $54!  I didn't have $54 to spend.  It was a bad decision.  I spend more than I have.  I made the lasagna and will be able to eat it for several days.  And my mom contributed $10 for the pizza.  But I should have been smarter.  How do you all stick to a budget?
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My current student loan balance is $20,310,94.  
I was just able to pay $5210.94 on it. Of course my payment won’t hit until maybe Monday which means there will be an additional $10 or so applied to the unpaid interest balance. This annoys me. 
 
Friday is payday so I’ll be able to drop another $200 on it. I can finally see the end to this thing. God’s will I’ll be done by February 2026 
 
My estimated balance as of today after...
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Took a few minutes and balanced my checkbook.  I have $127.44.  I get paid Thursday, but after my husband's last minute dentist appointment and bills, I will be short ($261.60).  That is only with the necessities.  I am going to go through our pantry and see how many meals I can come up with.  Not that it will save me much....I only have $35 budgeted for the grocery store.
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So we bought our second EV last month before the tax credits expired.  We qualified for it based on our 2024 income and had been considering it since 2024, but decided in May 2024 to buy a used Tesla instead for $30k because paying $50k seemed a lot.  Anyway after we bought our 2021 Tesla DH really enjoyed the self-driving and foudn it useful.  So we made a plan to buy a new tesla end of 2025 right before we would lose the $7500 tax credit.  Since they moved...
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