All Entries

My dad ran into a scam on his computer, where it showed an ad that said his computer has been infected by malware, and to immediately contact Windows tech support to get it removed.  The ad was even blaring a loud alarm audio, and included a phone number to call for said "tech support".
My parents are not exactly computer-savvy, so they immediately called me to come take a look at it, and I told them that it was a scam, and showed them how to restore the computer.
The scary...
[ Read More ]

DH and I did our taxes a week and a half ago, and less than a week later received our tax refunds. We take out income protection insurance so can claim this back on our taxes and normally get a refund back due to this expense. 
I went back to my old rule that I was taught from very young to save half of any extra money you receive and paid this down against our mortgage. I like this rule because honestly if you are not needing the money you won’t miss half and it can...
[ Read More ]

So we will be moving on the 27 sept...looking forward to it...but also not...love moving and getting to start over but hate the moving of boxes etc...so we have hired a company to move all of our "big stuff" which is also the heavy stuff as we just can't do it anymore....and we will rent a truck and do the rest ourselves...will be tough on me as hubby can't really do much and my daughter is getting ready for ivf that week as well...so I will be doing a majority of it as will my...
[ Read More ]

Ok, I just want to gripe real quick about the membership wholesale warehouse retail box store place thingie that is BJ's.
Whenever I go there, which isn't frequent, but when I do, it always shows at the check-out that my membership expires on the end of September.
However, the linked membership card / credit card shows that the annual renewal fee is at the beginning of September.
Wait, let me make sure I have this straight: The membership renewal portion is due on the end of...
[ Read More ]

Over the years as I have gone and worked on my finances sometimes I have hit milestones that aren't really milestones per se, but are ... I'm not sure what to call them ... milestones that don't add much but do give you much extra security.  Yeah, that's probably the best way to call it, an Extra Security financial milestone.
Soooooo.... this month I will be turning not only older (as we all do 😒), but I will be of age where I can apply to start Social Security benefits. ...
[ Read More ]

I haven't been around due to personal life reasons... well, if I am being completely honest, it's mostly because I am lazy haha.  However, SavingAdvice has always been my online financial home if you will, and now that my personal life has changed some more, I seem to have a bit more free time to "come home" more often so to speak.  I hope everyone who is still here is doing well.Also, I'd like to pick the community's mind with a question: I have a friend who is going...
[ Read More ]

TSP $1,230,506
IRA $360,024
Brokerage $6,141
Total Investments $1,596,671
Savings $25,823
Home Equity $138,476
August 2024 Net Worth $1,760,970
July 2024 Net Worth $1,709,201
Monthly Gain/Loss $51,769
Other Assets
Checking $9,070
Car $13,000 (average)
 
[ Read More ]

The base price for my home was $321,990. With upgrades the final price was $335,874. I put down 40% and the buyer paid the points to buy down my interest rate to 5.99%. My monthly mortgage payment will be $1,207. With escrow for homeowners' insurance ($109) and property taxes ($261) the total monthly payment will be $1,577. I will just pay $1600 monthly as I prefer even payments. I will pay additional to principle as I am able. My monthly rent payment was $1,732. It would have...
[ Read More ]

I moved on Tuesday & I'm just getting settled into my new home. It's been crazy, but I'm glad to back home. 
I will say that I absolutely do not recommend 3 Brothers Moving company. Unlike others who have their own trucks & movers they contract out their services. They don't have any sense of ownership over the quality of the move & they don't even bother asking you for feedback.
They are way overpriced. Bringing in movers from out of state makes it very expensive....
[ Read More ]

Debts
Mortgage -$110,984.55 (-$243.84)Land Loan -$7,008.87 (-$198.03)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$36,578 (+$780)401K +$73,576 (+$2,250)Emergency Fund +$19,547  (+$6,227)Animal Fund +$2,519 (+$8)Car Fund +$0 (0)HSA +$1,901 (+$255)
Overall: +$9,961.87
Money things have been going fine now that we are both back to work and I'm still funneling money from our fundraiser savings account. I get my next (and hopefully last) surgery next week. 
[ Read More ]

Housing
784


Furn/Equip/Décor
652


Utilities
225


Groceries
159


Medical/Health
140


Eating Out/Takeout
63


Fares/Parking
60


Personal
52


Phone
49


Entertainment
31


Gifts/Charity
19


Laundry
16


Insurance
16


Household Supplies
6



Grand Total                  2270
My computer is fixed! My son knew what to do.
August's spending wasn't too bad, considering...
[ Read More ]

I posted my net worth update on the 1st & again a blog has disappeared. It's so frustrating when that happens. This one had my first numbers for the house as well. I am finally moving today, but I will repost the blog when I get a chance.
[ Read More ]

My laptop is giving me problems, so I'm entering this post on my phone. I lost a long entry this morning because it took so long, so for now I'll say I will post my August recap when the problems are resolved. I may just need a new laptop. Added to that, I will probably have to call a plumber because my downstairs neighbor is getting water in his ceiling. I'll probably have to pay for repairs, too. So this month is not starting out great. It is what it is.
[ Read More ]

Net worth is now around $989,400--so I'm expecting to hit a million this year at last.
With the company acquisition, we have all new benefit plans--same benefits essentially but different custodians.
I spent a couple of hours setting up my new 401k.  It's annoying that my old company managed the details of the allocation for me--all I needed to do was to pick a target risk allocation and they'd do the specifics, while I need to manage the allocation for the new plan.
I...
[ Read More ]

I spent a wonderfully productive couple of hours this afternoon organizing my kitchen to be more attractive to a prospective home buyer. Suddenly, a layout that worked for 30 years seemed cluttered and unattractive.
I only made a few little tweaks, but what a difference. Remembering how positively meticulous and clean the homes at every open house I've attended looked, that boxy oversized toaster oven that was my mother's, stuck in a corner next to the stove, was too much. I mainly...
[ Read More ]

I haven't been paying attention to the markets at all this month, but we had a pretty great gain in our retirement accounts! Combined with about $2K of mortgage paydown, our net worth increased by just over $30K! I checked the CoastFIRE calculator and we're still coastin' along.
No word on the car accident lawsuit yet. Both our insurance carriers are on the case now. Hopefully between them they can sort it out and get a settlement that doesn't ruin us. This situation has convinced...
[ Read More ]

So last Saturday was my birthday.  It was lovely to have it fall on a Saturday so that I had the day off!  Too many times in recent years the company president schedules a trip to PA during the week, which makes it extra busy.  He *was* up the week before, but all the extra busy-ness was over by the time my birthday arrived.
I took last Friday off (as I have been doing for much of the summer) and went to an AirBnB within about an hour's drive--just far enough to...
[ Read More ]

I read the blogs however I forget to blog.
My net worth has been increasing and debt has been decreasing.
I went on vacation.  Ended up getting ill.  Somewhere along the way I came down with Covid. I rarely get sick or take time off because I am sick..  I missed 2 full days.  Just starting to feel normal just no engergy.  
[ Read More ]

Debts
Mortgage -$111,228.39 (-$244.92)Land Loan -$7,206.90 (-$199.98)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$35, 798 (+$731)401K +$71,326 (+$1,797)Emergency Fund +$13,320  (+$3,025)Animal Fund +$2,511 (+$1,204)Car Fund +$0 (0)HSA +$1,646 (+$417)
Overall: +$7,618.90
Late to the update but better late than never. July was pretty crazy. I did end up going across the country for surgery, and they did not find what they were expecting. What they did find was that my lung was so damaged...
[ Read More ]

I had a great family trip this summer and will post photos later.  But I just wanted to say that it's still a really rough year for my family.  I'm back in Hawaii and I'm certain my grandma is about to pass.  I'm glad we literally caught her on one of the few moments she's alive and awake and aware.  In one year 8/26/23-8/25/24 my mom will have lost her husband and brother, and soon her mom.  
I bought a last minute ticket and I did spend more than...
[ Read More ]