All Entries

Let me start by saying, credit cards aren’t inherently bad. Actually, when you manage them correctly, they are good. I, however, have not been a good manager. In fact, I’ve handled them poorly for more years than I have handled them well.
Dear 18-Year-Old Self,
Don’t sign up for credit cards yet. You don’t have enough experience with finances: paychecks, bills, reconciling bank accounts, etc, to make informed decisions with credit.
Among other things,...
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I reported earlier that my "maintenance required" message lit up while I was on my road trip. I intended to take my car to the dealer as soon as I got home, but the vicious cold snap that arrived at the same time I did kept me home for a few days. Yesterday I finally took the car to the dealer. I have to say I didn't expect the cost of 70K maintenance to be quite so high, but they did address and correct other issues -- brakes and alignment being the major ones. All told the bill...
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I’m starting to get “debt-pay-off-fatigue”. (I don’t know if it’s a real thing, but it sure feels like it!) We have been slogging away for 20 months and it’s still not gone! (We know it’s our own fault and that we did it to ourselves. We take full responsibility but are just sick of it!) We have paid off 57% of our total debt and are hoping to pay it off this year, but we are tired.
When we first got deep into credit card debt, we worked...
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I make a lot of free money from credit card rewards for a little bit of work.  I have a lot of credit cards and we don't carry a balance and I do NOT recommend this for anyone who carries balances.  It's a nice bonus of tax free money if you are responsible enough.   This is dense post, but if you have questions ask.
Let's start with Costco rewards.  We have a executive membership which costs $120 a year.  We make 2% in rewards which this year appear...
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Yesterday I thawed some Rhodes rolls that had been stored in my freezer. They were the rolls I didn't bake for my Christmas dinner. I set them out to thaw, but later in the day I noticed they were still hard little balls, and quite dry on top. The kitchen was so cold they were not rising. I moved them to a warmer spot and spread some olive oil on their tops. They revived somewhat, and I baked them. I had some for breakfast today, along with prunes for roughage. For lunch I had...
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Funny how things change. 
I never used to mind grocery shopping. Now I dread it.
It isn't the shopping per se, it is the check out that unnerves me. It seems like each week the cost goes up a little more. I know the experts claim inflation isn't as bad, but I know my grocery bills have risen. I'm not buying anything different. In fact, I'm trying to cut back. For example, I'm trying to use less meat. Kroger had a buy one, get one free as far as chicken this past week. The...
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At the end of December I had about $19k in my checking account, which is about double my goal of $10k. So I decided to up my savings goal to $1000 a month from $500. I continue to end up with more money in my checking account at the end of the year than I need. In 2022 I did a transfer to my brokerage account at the end of December. Since I'm looking to buy or build a home this year I'll keep that money & just increase my monthly contributions. 
Now my revised goals look...
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Same goals as last year, mostly.   Bumped up IRA goal to new contribution limits (thanks to MH's raises). & added a dollar figure to keep mortgage moving down by $10K per year.  
1 - Pay cash for college
It's not a "goal" to me so much as just how we do things.  But it seems so weird to everyone else, I write it down.  
This year is probably going to be very low-spend on the college front.  I think technically I will be spending $2,000...
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Now that I'm settled at home, I'm back on the pantry challenge. Today I made chicken corn chowder, using ingredients I had on hand rather than following a recipe -- though I did print off a recipe to get the gist of it. The only thing I was really lacking was potatoes. I used potato flakes instead, which gave me the taste and also thickened the broth. It made quite a bit, so I'll have some tomorrow and maybe the next day and then freeze the rest.
Tomorrow the temperatures in our...
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I've tried posting this entry twice.  Not sure what happened, but it never posted.  So here goes another shot:
I've been terribly sick all week.  Coughing, sneezing, runny nose - the whole bit - completely run down and lacking energy.  I went to the doctor and he thinks it's viral, so I just need to wait for it to run its course.  In the meantime, he prescribed me a ZPac to hold on to in case it doesn't go away, along with some cough medicine and eye drops.
As...
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You ever have just one of those weird days that is just kind of spooky?  I had my follow-up Echocardigram this morning and then went over to pick up my c-pap supplies.  When I got out of my car I heard my name shouted.  It was close, like in the parking lot, which is small.  Only it wasn't my name, it was my nickname, and it is pretty rare.  No one calls me that name but my mom, my dad, and my sisters.  My dad is dead, one sister doesn't speak to the...
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I'm back from an 11-day road trip that had some ups and downs. Unfortunately, enough downs that I decided it was my last road trip. The ups -- getting to visit with my cousin and my sister, having a delightful breakfast with my sister, attending my nephew's beautiful wedding, spending two days at a luxury resort, getting to see some old friends who came to the wedding. The downs -- it rained constantly, I drove through terrible rainstorms amid warnings of flash flooding, I got...
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I don't know if others every have doh! moments but I do occasionally.  I've had a lot of them lately.  The most recent one was that I bought 4 tickets awhile ago to the Lion King.  Thought the kids and DH would want to go.  They didn't want to it turns out and I am stuck with 4 tickets.  Things have come up and tickets you buy months in advance well when you have other activities don't seem so desirable like a week before.  It happens!
Anyway I start...
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Let's do a recap on my 2023 goals.
1.       Increase Net Worth
My net worth went up $30,038 in 2023! Mostly market gains but I'll take it.
2.       Save $1,000 Extra in HSA
I was able to do this as well! 
3.       Save $3,000 in IRAs
Front-loaded this with my tax return.
2024 Goals
I am still a bit undecided on my goals for this year but here is what I am currently...
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Cash/Liquid Savings:$1,034 Animal Fund ($1,686)$4,898 Escrow Fund ($6,042)$2,056 Checkings ($2,062)$240 Car Fund ($20)$1,740 HSA ($1,119)$9,968 Total Liquid Savings ($10,929)Retirement:$59,560 DH's 401K ($42,860)$6,171 DH's IRA ($5,050)$23,104 My IRA ($16,122)$88,835 Total Retirement ($64,032)Liabilities:-$112,931 Mortgage (-$115,833)
-$8,389 Land Loan (-$10,861)
-$441 Hospital Loan (-$1,263)
-$121,761 Total Liabilities (-$127,957)
Assets:
$185,000+ House$20,000 in Cars (not...
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So we went to Singapore and Thailand and had a lovely time.  I had fun posting only some of the photos.  The photos were better than I posted. But I guess I have to do a financial wrap up.
We flew to Singapore on Singapore Airlines connecting through LAX.  I used miles for me and both kids.  I bought a one way ticket for DH.  Miles on Alaska airlines for me and both kids were 47,500 each one way plus $54 cash.  Then I bought DH's ticket for $786.50. ...
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I am memorializing goals in my sidebar.  
Pay cash for college ✔
$10K to Savings ❌
Final tally was $4,742. 
The plan was to use this money to pay cash for college.  At the end of 2023 we had roughly -$0- cash plus emergency funds.  So that's about how it sorted out.  That we had just enough to cash flow college.
We most definitely failed at this goal.  But I just copied the commentary from last year and it still held true. ...
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I know this is a weird topic to write about on a financial blog, but I have found for myself that I start to spend more when I am not taking care of myself. These are some of the ways I recharge my own battery without spending too much money.
Renewing yourself and self care are super important in this fast-paced crazy world we live in. But when you are on a budget, it can sometimes be difficult to find ways to do so frugally. In a lot of ways, I’m really lucky that I am...
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Although we did do the pantry challenge for the first few days of January, I wasn't posting and then of course, I didn't do it while we were in Seattle, because how can you when you are away from your pantry?  And I didn't do it the last two days as we settled back in.  So I am integrating some leftovers in as well as cooking from the pantry now.  My MIL bought us Sushi last night, so...
Breakfast/Lunch was leftover sushi.  I don't get the raw kind, because...
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It's been a long few days, but my daughter made it through her surgery and hospital stay with flying colors and her recovery is going very well.  Her hormone levels have already stablized and I haven't seen her this emotionally stable since she hit puberty.  She will never have to worry about bleeding out again and she did get to keep her ovaries, but everything else is gone.  Since she can't take replacement hormones due to one of her other medical conditions, this...
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