All Entries

Housing
769


Gifts/Charity
577


Utilities
212


Medical/Health
190


Groceries
100


Personal
96


Entertainment
67


Phone
38


Vet/Pet Supplies
36


Eating Out/Takeout
35


Clothing
33


Gas
29


Household Supplies
24


Laundry
18


Car
5


Fares/Parking
2



Grand Total                 2231
Variables                 ...
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Dang. In July I was all excited over a $25K increase in our net worth. Well, between August and September we lost $50K in net worth (most of it this past month), so we're now DOWN $25K from where we were in July.
Oh well. I haven't been able to contribute to retirement with our recent shifting around of job situations and income streams, but I took advantage of this low market and threw $300 in each of our Roths and a couple thousand in each of our kids' 529s. And soon, hopefully,...
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I had a few days off at the beginning of this week.  Did little day trips with my sister.  Visited some cousins.  Did a lot of walking.
Still contributing to retirement funds although it is tough watching the total value go down.  Working on paying down debt and saving a bit outside of retirement.
 
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Yesterday was payday for me. I allocated my funds by prioritizing my financial responsibilities, including tithes, my student loan, and credit card payments. In light of forthcoming student loan obligations, I adjusted my bi-weekly contributions to my Emergency Fund to $150.
 
Here's a breakdown of my allocations:
- $361 for tithes
- $500 for the student loan
- $225 for credit card debt
- $178 for my electric bill (factoring in budget billing)
- $1,200 into savings,...
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I'd budgeted for a pedicure, $40 which included tip. I try to treat myself periodically.
Well the salon was unable to provide a pedicure so I opted for a polish change which was $15, I paid $20, to include the tip.
I am going to add the difference to to my savings funds, which is $20. 
I also returned an item that I didn't need and put on my credit card, total refunded $235. Why I make these impulse purchases I have no clue. As I'm typing this I think it's my ex. I think...
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This was a mostly successful No Spend September. I did save money. I did decrease debt. And I think I have a grip on my Amazon habit. The amount of charges on our credit card is drastically reduced as before this challenge most of them were Amazon charges.
I became addicted to the convenience.  Instead of putting things on a list, and then maybe changing our mind, I just bought whatever came to my fancy. Not to mention, these were credit card purchases because you can’t...
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Debts
Mortgage -$113,651.41 (-$239.13)Land Loan -$9,162.89 (-$190.71)Hospital Bill -$666.41 (-$75)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$26,401 (-$507)401K +$52,503 (-$573)Emergency Fund +$6,876 (+$378)Animal Fund +$775 (+$3)Car Fund +$20 (-$0)HSA +$688 (+$385)
Overall: +$190.84
Market is down but we were able to contribute to savings just a tiny bit. Better than pulling from savings every month!
I got a new puppy and also had some large animal expenses which I was able to offset by selling...
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Today’s student loan balance is $31,941.17 of that $84.17 is interest. 
 
I paid $500.17 today, therefore $84.17 should go towards the interest leaving a balance of $415.83 to be applied to the principal. 
 
With the payment made today the balance  should be $31,441.00. Given that it takes 2-3 days to post any payments, I’m thinking by Monday my actual balance should be about $31,459, this includes the $6 a day accrual of interest....
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I put my night guard after washing on my nightstand as a reminder to put it in before bed. If I don't do this I won't get up to go to the bathroom to obtain it. Well I thought I had lost it, SMH.
I searched high and low for that thing. Was upset because I thought I would have to buy another, which would be a couple of hundred bucks. 
Well guess what I found it, on the floor. My carpet is white, and the guard is clear. It fell between the bed and nightstand. I found it after...
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Well we had an extra pay for some reason this month and oct will be a busy month for us so I used it to do a majority of our shopping so I have bought all the staples and meat for the month..which means I have less to put away for food in october...which will be nice can put extra on my CC instead....so that will be nice.
Also disappointed that I have been waiting 5 weeks for a package and it says it has been delivered and it never was...hard to track as it came from china (I...
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Just spent hours on a spreadsheet that I'm not even sure I did correctly. SMH. My mentor/trainer is of no help and it's been a struggle. His/her instructions are never clear and when I try to get clarification it's like pulling teeth.I am trying not to complain, I am so thankful for this opportunity; however, it's tough and it's a lot to take in. 
Keep me in your prayers. 
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I started a new job and role earlier this year and I've struggled. I've been praying that God provide me the knowledge, skills and abilities to do my job. 
My mentor knows his/her stuff; however, this person isn't a trainer. Today my mentor provided me a task, and at  first I thought Lord how am I going to do this? But by the Grace of God, I was able to figure it out. I said a prayer, took a deep breath and relaxed  
I am thankful that I had the opportunity to...
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Every month we usually have some unusual spending. I don’t call it unexpected spending because it’s not unexpected. It is just random expenses that don’t occur monthly but always occur. I used to track them each month so that I could budget for them and somehow, I got out of the habit of doing that.
In another effort to improve our financial footing I’m going to start doing that again and writing a blog post each month detailing any unusual spending that...
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Tomorrow is pay day and I’m so looking forward to paying on my student loan. Who would have thought, one would be so excited to pay on a student loan, smh. 
 
Today’s balance  is $31,935.17, interest accrued as of today is $78.17. My goal is to have this thing paid off by the end of 2024. 🙏🏾
 
Other news I finally got my fence finished, cost $3800, who’d think that a fence would be so expensive, but these are times. I’m...
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I have this saying that when you buy something on sale you don't actually save anything unless you put the "extra" monry into savings...so if something is $10 and you get it for $5...you don't save $5 unless you put it in the bank...you just get it for a cheaper price...my extended family hates it when I say that but it is the truth...what do you think??
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I decided to give social media a break, and it's been really hard. I never really paid too much attention to how much time I had spent on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook until this week. I will admit, I do miss surfing both platforms; however, the break has done some good. 
While taking a break, I've focused more on work, got my workout in, decluttered, did my Bible study, practiced my Spanish and completed some other miscellaneous items. It's been a pretty good week. 
I...
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Yesterday I finished up the month's grocery shopping and hit $100 (for the month) on the nose -- with one caveat. I accidentally double-scanned an item so I had to go back and get reimbursed. Luckily, it was no problem.
Today I bought some facial serum, and it was $28 after cashing in a $5 reward from Walgreens. I've spent $100 on cosmetic items this month, as well as groceries. But I only bought three things -- the serum, a twin-pack of retinol night cream, and eyebrow gel. What...
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Our 'last minute reasonable college move-in hotel' from last year was not so reasonable this year.  & we have stayed there a few times but I wasn't really excited about the hotel cost this September.  It would have worked in a pinch (far more reasonable than anything else).  But other than that...  Meh. 
MH keeps insisting this is a one-day trip and I keep insisting that we aren't 20 any more.  I gave in for this one time and I mostly regret it.  
All...
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Nesting tapered off, presumably with the hot summer weather.
I then moved on to office nesting.  
Side note:  It's so funny different personalities.  A woman in our office was upgraded to her own office about a year ago?  She immediately threw a bajillion dollars on the company credit card and filled her office to the brim.  Just looking at her office stresses me out.  (Personally, she is in debt up to her eyeballs.  Probably more than...
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I've taken a break from social media, so I've been binge watching The Dave Ramsey Show. Though I don't agree with Dave 100%, I do follow some of his practices. 
I just heard a caller call who had over 300k in debt, most of it student loans, and another who was almost 80 with student loan debt.
 I pray this is not me, 70+ with student loans that have ballooned out of control. I'm so waiting on Friday so I can make another student loan payment. 
Scary 
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