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Oops.  This quarter Discover is giving 5% back in cash rewards for shopping at Amazon or Target.  I used it to buy $900 in gift cards over the December 2nd - 3rd weekend at Target.  Target was running at 10% off special once a year.  That was $45 in rewards.  I also bought $400 in Airbnb gift cards from Target that gave a $40 gift card back as well.  This also earned 5% for $20 more in rewards.
Then if you use the discover cash back rewards to buy...
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Well I am hoping next year that we have an easier time with our taxes and social security then we did last year...we will owe again...we did ask that extra money be taken out of our pay but it doesn't look like they did it....and we never got a letter from social security saying what we will get paid this year and we never get one at end of year...so that is going to be hard to figure out how to get this done...but we will figure it out and get them done at the beginning of the...
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I signed up again for YNAB. I had done the free trial back in 2016 or 2017 and was throughly confused so after the free trial I let it go. I've been looking for something to replace Mint & signed up for Credit Karma, but I haven't been impressed. I have an account with Empower, but don't care for how they are always trying to sell me their services. I guess that's fair since the service is free. They have to make their money some way. So, I decided to try YNAB again and to...
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$994,975.78 was my account balance on Friday. Getting close!
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MOVIES:
--------
$100 Fandango
$  20 Regal
 
RESTAURANTS:
------------
$50 Cracker Barrel (small balance left)
$25 IHOP
$50 Seasons 52
$ 25 x 1 Jamba Juice (small balance left)
$ 15 x 1 Jamba Juice
$ 10 x 1 Jamba Juice
 
RETAIL:
---------
 
REGIFT:
---------
$25 Dutch Bros
$25 Door Dash
$10 Starbucks
 
Note: Edited over time to remove used gift cards. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I...
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In the midst of financial activity, my AC set me back $250, and grout cleaning estimates ranged from $330 to $680. Opting for a DIY approach, I spent $21 on cleaner and a brush. It's time-consuming but rewarding.
 
On a positive note, I got a 2.55% raise. While grateful, I'm torn—should I boost my lagging 401(k) or tackle my student loan with the increase?
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Decided to add up my credit card fees annually.  I know it's a lot because we have a lot of cards.  How much?  $1420 for the year.  Yowsa. How'd it breakdown?



Alaska DH
$95.00


Alaska LAL
$95.00


Sapphire Preferred
$95.00


Chase Ink
$95.00


CS Amex Platinum
$695.00


Amex Gold
$250.00


Marriott Chase
$95.00


 
 


Total
$1,420.00



The alaska cards we get a companion fare and I used both already this...
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Well it is only 26 days away...my goodness this year has just flown by!!
Christmas is done, I only have some fresh foods to get closer to the day but that is all...its summer here so we have a lot of salads and fruit etc on xmas day..so makes it easier...but all gifts are done.
We no longer have our storage unit we have emptied it and handed it back...so saving $330 starting next month, that is going straight to savings...will still treat it as a bill. we got all our rubbish...
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Obviously, the first thing on this list is Christmas… although it comes around every year, it doesn’t come around every month. We have been planning for Christmas all year. We have been putting aside money each month so that when Christmas rolls around, we won’t go farther into debt to pay for it. So far, so good. We won’t pay down our debt by much this month, but we won’t add to it either, and that is a win in my book. In previous years, we have...
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I was surprised to discover that Netflix offers a very cheap option, if you're willing to deal with ads. I mean, it's actually cheaper than Hulu, which I had, so I decided to drop the Hulu, where it's difficult to find interesting shows, and reacquaint myself with Netflix.
I got a ton of recommendations for feel-good type TV/movies from one of my hygge groups so I think I'm set for a good 6 months, but if you have any shows you absolutely loved, please let me know. I started watching...
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So I accomplished one of my 2023 goals last weekend.  I completed the town's Turkey Trot 5k!  And I wasn't even last.  There were about 550 runners, and I was 3rd from last.  All 3 of the last in were women over 60 and I was 17/19 in that sub-group.
I'm taking my running back indoors for the winter but I'll probably aim to run 3 5ks next year.
Otherwise I spent a few hours of Thanksgiving Day with a friend's family.  It's nice not having to think about...
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Yes, the state wants to give us $11,000 for college this year.  MM(20)'s fall quarter refund finally showed up.  I wanted to pay his winter tuition that week, so the timing worked out perfectly.
I believe it now.  It's real.
Here's an update of MM's expected college costs, with the 5th year.  He did officially get his double major approved and so 5 years is the plan.  
MM's expected net college costs:
$42,000 Tuition/fees** (4 Years)
+$10,000...
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Costco update- trip # 2 (November)

 

This entry is a little delayed, but better late than never! I went to Costco once in November, mostly to get easy snacks to donate to a community event, although I did pick up a couple items for myself that were good deals. I was very pleasantly surprised by their pesto, it is EXCELLENT and comparing it to the store brand as a I do here is probably incorrect. To get a similar quality you would probably need a premium brand. Prices...
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Contribute $23,000 to my Thrift Savings Plan. My match will be a little over $6,000. 💰
Contribute $7,000 to my Roth IRA. 💰
Contribute $2,600 to my Flexible Spending Account. 💰
Save $6,000 in my brokerage account. 💰
Save $6,000 in my savings account. 💰
Buy or build a new home with $100,000 down. 🏡 
Keep dancing! 💃🏾 
Cherish every moment & memory made. 💗
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One of my CDs pays the monthly dividend on the 1st so I'm always a day late.
TSP $980,827
IRA $290,549
Brokerage $86,295
Total Investments $1,357,671
Cash Savings $30,835
Total Net Worth $1,388,506
Monthly Gain/Loss +$117,446
Checking $16,841 (included this month just to give an idea of what I usually have for cash flow, not included in my net worth calculation)
Car $15,062 (checked Kelley Blue Book value this morning, also not included in my net worth calculation)
My...
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It's official. I'm now an elected board member of a new statewide environmental group I got involved with last summer. We've had a few monthly zoom meetings since then, so I've really only met the founder of the group in person, at a beach cleanup, but we're planning an in-person holiday get-together at a restaurant owned by one of the board members.
I'm trying to decide if I should look to get involved in another group in town. There's another environmental group I was involved...
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Housing
769


Gifts/Charity
660


Taxes
356


Utilities
199


Vacation/Travel
115


Groceries
74


Personal
71


Medical/Health
56


Fees & Services
56


Furn/Equip/Décor
54


Entertainment
51


Phone
39


Eating Out/Takeout
31


Gas
26


Clothing
21


Laundry
18


Car
6


Vet/Pet Supplies
6


Grand Total
2608



I made it through the month spending 99% of my variables. My average for...
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I had an alert set on my phone to open another CD at Capital One today, but have been thinking that I would just keep it liquid while looking for a house. I have two CDs maturing on January 2nd and February 1st and those are both set to transfer to savings rather than renew. That will give me a nice cushion for the new home purchase. Also, I checked rates this morning and the 5.30% 10 month CD is now 4.30%, which is what their savings account is paying. I can go to 12 months for...
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I finally made it to the cardiologist for my second follow up appointment after my procedure during the summer.  I had to cancel once because I had the flu, ironically 2 weeks after getting my flu shot.  I had a pretty severe case of it.  I was well for ten days only to get slapped down with Covid the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  So that makes two Thanksgivings in a row ruined by Covid.  But I tested two days before my appointment and I was negative so...
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Finally some gains! After our values sliding for many months, we finally clawed back some net worth. A bit was Roth contributions and debt paid off but most of it was market gains.
I'm scrambling with tons of catchup on my tasks and chores after finishing NaNoWriMo, but I'll post a longer life update when I do my end-of-year net worth update next month!



Assets
 
 
 


NT's UK pensions:
 
 
 


AV1: 25,760 pounds (new number 22,000)
$32,200
 
 


SW:...
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