All Entries

I have already spent 39% of my variables, which is basically my monthly spending allowance. And it doesn't really seem I have bought much.
Yesterday I got the car washed for $5, spent $2 on laundry, and ordered a fascia blaster from Amazon for $13.  The day before, I spent $5 at Cold Stone Creamery (had a $5 gift card, but the smallest container of sorbet I could buy was $10.) I also spent $1 on parking that day.  And the day before that it was time to buy aquarium filters....
[ Read More ]

I make exceptions for No Spend September, one of those is gifts. Two co-workers have birthdays this week, one today and one tomorrow. I am closer to the one with a birthday tomorrow, but she won't be here, so I brought her gift today. I got her Starbucks, a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and a plant in a cute toadstool planter.  My other co-worker I just brought Starbucks.
I had $34 on my Starbucks app. (I rarely go there anymore!) I did get myself a drink as well because...
[ Read More ]

Investments $1,333,367
Cash Savings $28,987
Total 1,362,354
Monthly Gain/Loss -$30,326
[ Read More ]

I’m so anxious about my student loans, why I don’t know. In the three year period when loans were on pause, I continued to pay, never missing a month and paid off two. 
 
Now that interest has resumed I’m freaking out. I have checked my balance, the interest rates daily and it’s given me pure anxiety. I pray I don’t end up with another inflated loan. 
 
It really sucks because once interest starts accruing it’s difficult...
[ Read More ]

I discussed with MM(20) and we are just going to send him a $1K monthly allowance for rent and groceries.  Just for simplicity, as we switch to monthly housing costs.  I was just paying quarterly (with tuition) when he lived in the dorms.  
MM(20) only spent ~$80/month on food last school year.  🙄  & he looks starved.  So I am leaning on him to spend more.  I don't know that he will spend more, but I am trying.  I will be sending...
[ Read More ]

We had a lovely trip to Singapore and Thailand at the end of August. I'll post some photos and notes in the next few days.  But I have to write a bit about my experience reading blogs about travel and traveling with kids.I read a lot of posts about "saving" money while traveilng.  Mostly about transportation cost, using miles, hotels, etc.  Of course there are a bunch of bloggers writing about traveling with kids first class because of miles and getting free airline...
[ Read More ]

MM(20) had an estimated $4K state (middle class) grant per his college.  I mentioned in a prior post that $4K was my "pulled out of my butt" estimate and didn't know what to make of it.  His grant had been $2K his first year, then $3K.  Well, it sounds like the school basically used my estimate method.  Figured he might get another $1K this year. 
In the meantime, MM(20) was out of town for the long weekend.  I cornered him when I got home from work...
[ Read More ]

I'm participating in a savings challenge, rather than saving the money I'm throwing it at my student loan, $41 was paid towards my loans today. It's just a little over the anticipated weekly interest incurred. November is my first official payment, I honestly thought it was October, either way I'll keep chipping away at it. 
 
[ Read More ]

Now that I've got a lot of meat in the freezer and only need to buy chicken which has been going on some pretty good cyclic sales around here, we can focus on better fruits and veggies during the rest of the year.  I want to bring my grocery budget back down from $500 to $400 every two weeks and then I want to bring it down to $300, but with that extra $100 going for food to can or dry goods to put away, like pasta and rice and such.  But another goal besides spending...
[ Read More ]

For my No Spend September, I will check in with my spend totals as the month goes on and I make purchases. In years past, No Spend September has been a great way to reset our spending habits and dig a little further out of debt.
My goals with this particular No Spend September are increased debt payoff and to slay the Amazon habit! I recently looked at how much we have been spending on Amazon and wowie was I surprised! And I am not talking about pre-planned expenses or even necessary...
[ Read More ]

Between September 1st and the 4th my student loan interest has accumulated $18.15 in interest. That’s about $4.53 a day, or about $135.00 month. I’m not sure if this is right since Monday was a holiday. It’s  ridiculous how the interest works on these loans, but here we are. 
 
I’m thankful for the three year freeze, and am thankful that I was able to pay off two loans, I can’t imagine much my loan would grow had I not done this. Not...
[ Read More ]

The seller must have come home early, because my realtor called and my offer has been accepted!  I am under contract for this little house:
Text is https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/437-North-St_Murphysboro_IL_62966_M89223-45366 and Link is https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/437-North-...
My realtor is scheduling inspections. A major problem will be cause to re-negotiate or cancel. Minor repairs are to be expected and will not scare me off.
What do you think? I like it so much. 
[ Read More ]

It's been a quiet Labor Day weekend, the centerpiece of which was taking a ride (my fourth of the season, actually) on a mule-pulled canal boat at the National Canal Museum.  I *was* thinking of going kayaking but the hot forecast deterred me.  I might try to do that kayak trip (through LL Bean) later this month. 
I also started Phase 2 of my decluttering project.  Phase 1 occurred during July, when I cleared the surfaces in the living areas in my house. ...
[ Read More ]

Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day weekend.
I started off the long weekend by unexpectedly deciding to tackle a long-neglected home project: finishing the paint job on my tool shed. I painted 3 sides about 3 years ago now, but the fourth side is very difficult to do because there's a slope and a large shrub I don't want to cut.
I decided that with summer coming to a close soon and the beautiful low-humidity day we were having that I should try to do this now. I wasn't even sure...
[ Read More ]

I reviewed our 8/31 Vanguard statements this morning. Year to date as of 8/31/23, our Vanguard accounts generated a combined $37,135.13 in investment income (interest, dividends, capital gains). If I extrapolate that out (which isn't quite how it works), that would mean about $55,700 for the year.About 68% of our total portfolio is with Vanguard. I haven't looked at the other 32%, and a lot of that is taxable mutual funds that will pay out most of their income in December, but...
[ Read More ]

I began the month with some spending on skincare. I bought scar cream, to tackle the surgical scar on my face that is threatening to become keloid, and I bought two jars of retinol night cream. I also bought some brow gel, in what I hope is my last attempt to find a solution for my graying eyebrows. Maybelline XPress Brow, in their lightest brown. It's better than anything I have tried before. That's $104 altogether, jeesh. I've also done a couple of loads of laundry and bought...
[ Read More ]

Enjoying a nice bout of cooler weather.  & the clouds/sunsets that come with the cooler weather.
I got some more firm college numbers for DL(18).  Woohoo!
I've been following actual CSU college numbers (over the decades) and planning for $30K (sticker price) degrees for my kids. 
Actual cost = $30,400 at DL's specific college.  It looks like it will be closer to $32K with parking permits (over 4 years).  I am considering that as part of tuition/fees,...
[ Read More ]

Yesterday was my last day working for El Dorado County.  I'm not certain that it has sunk all the way in yet. 
Since my last entry, I found another cute little ranch and made an offer.  It was listed at 50k; Zillow estimated its value at 47k.  My realtor told me that they were expecting multiple offers and I should make my very best offer if I wanted it.  Well, I was somewhat skeptical.  Was that just a ploy to get me to offer more?  Besides,...
[ Read More ]

For many years, from 2013 to 2020, as a family we chose to do “No Spend September”. As we all know, 2020 was a crazy year that we still haven’t all quite recovered from. It changed the way we looked at life and money. And somehow, we fell out of the habit of No Spend Septembers after Covid. This year I suggested to my husband that we do another No Spend September and he really wasn’t on board. I’m okay with that. Like I said, we did it for 7 years...
[ Read More ]

Well, technically I bought a steer after saving up for him for a year.  And he fills up 2/3 of my ginormous garage chest freezer (the biggest on the market), and 1/3 of my mini chest freezer in the house.  The rest of the mini chest freezer has what is left of the last beef we bought, mostly a grocery bag of hamburger, then round steaks, round roasts, bottom round, top round, eye of round, can you tell I don't like round cuts?  I also found some sirloin tip roasts...
[ Read More ]