All Entries

I've been diligently tracking my student loan, and while the way interest accumulates can be frustrating, I'm making progress.
With an upcoming bonus, I've decided to prioritize paying off my Home Depot debt since the 0% interest period is set to conclude in January 2024. I'll continue allocating any extra funds towards reducing my student loan balance.
On the business front, I've identified two potential new clients. I've already sent a questionnaire to one and an introductory...
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Received $111 bank interest 
Received $240 I Bond interest 
 
Snowflakes to Investments:
--Redeemed $40 credit card rewards (cash back) from our grocery card 
--Redeemed $138 cash back on Citi card
--Redeemed $26 cash back on dining out/gas card 
 
Other Snowflakes to Investments:
+ $16 Savings from Target Red Card (grocery purchases usually, plus college apartment purchases this month)
 
TOTAL: $0 Snowflakes to Investments
Note: ...
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So I did my budget and thought that finally we could start saving in november...but yesterday our toaster and microwave both broke down...so we were pricing them and our youngest daughter decided to pay for the ones we wanted and have them delivered....we will pay her back but she said no hurry...I love that we have great kids that do this and we should have her paid back by next week...so no real inconvienience to her...but more out of our pocket again...and our electricity went...
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I read somewhere (in a Pinterest article I think) that people are 42% more likely to accomplish their goals just by writing them down.  Now, I didn’t fact check this and I have no idea if it’s true, but it definitely got me thinking.
What are my financial goals?
I decided writing down my goals was important. I know my “why” in my head, but I want to see my “why” staring me in the face. If I’m having a bad day, I want to be able to...
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Just wanted to update that it looks like MH's movie will be funded!
🤯
I feel like this is just the first battle in a very long war.  
They reached 90% yesterday.  We have been willing to contribute the last $5K and talked about it a long time ago.  If $5K is the difference between grabbing hold of this opportunity and getting this movie made...  The difference between that and giving up.  It's a no brainer.  (Talking about less than 0.5%...
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(Above, winterberry)
I've been extremely busy as of late, one big reason being escorting dad to all of his doc and dentist appointments. It's like a little mini job on the side. This week I'll be with him 3 days as he has started physical therapy, plus he has a dentist appointment for another cracked tooth. He has a lot of muscle atrophy as all he does is watch TV. He's become very frail, and the goal of PT is to help him gain more balance (to ward off falls), strength and flexibility,...
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DL(18) is my far more balanced child. 
Of course, he wasn't spending anything at all re: summer camp job.  Was just the nature of the job.
But then he came back home and started college.  His first (college) credit card bill is a gnarly $400.  I need to go through it with him and figure out what charges are for books.  We want to cover college books and supplies (as long as he doesn't have a job and is just living at home).  Can revisit if circumstances...
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MM(20)'s mega I Bond interest expires the end of November.  Will cash out and move to his high interest savings account.  It used to be 'mega interest', but is below average these days.  & the cap is $5K (on what used to be mega interest).  I just put it on my calendar to have him open a high yield cash account when he is home for Thanksgiving break.
This reminds me, I've seen that Chevy is starting to release Bolts that they bought back during the recall. ...
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It looks like most of our mega interest will expire the end of November.
We've accumulated $4,000 I Bond interest that will have to pay taxes on when we cash out.  I was thinking that maybe I'd cash out half this year (December) and half next year (January).  But that if taxes were already covered and no crazy tax cliffs, might be easier to just sell this year.  But then I realized it's moot because I forgot about 1 year holding period for latest bond purchase. ...
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As you all know I had the new car itch, it comes and goes. 
 
A family member recently bought a new car, a Lexus, and I’ll admit I was a tad bit envious, and even considered a new car as well. Long story short, i didn’t buy a new car, and got the sense that this person wasn’t happy with the purchase, they’d make little remarks. Well, finally yesterday the person mentioned that it was the worst thing they could have done. 
 
I said...
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I have ordered almost all the christmas gifts we will need this year....have one to go for my hubby but want his opinion so that will be done today then I just have money, which I will do over the next couple months and the animals...everything else is done...so feeling good about it.
My mom has moved back to my nieces house now....it was just easier with the animals...my niece doesn't have any and they can just run around out there in the yard....so everything is so much better...
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I spent a hour on hold with my student loan provider and still no luck. 
This is absolutely ridiculous. I was told that this is common practice. Meanwhile my student loan is accumulating $11+ a day in interest. 
 
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I am thinking about saving up to buy land.  I mean, once the EF is saved up for. So in the future.  It's kind of a dream.  Not necessarily land to live on.  But maybe some land in the county with one cleared acre, where we can put in a cistern and a greenhouse with guttering that harvests water through a series of filters and into the cistern.  Then we can grow a big garden and always have the water to water it without tapping into city water.  Getting...
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I think I’ve probably written about this before, but it never ceases to surprise me. My finances do so much better when I am paying attention to them. I’ve never been one to incur late fees, but there is a difference between paying bills on autopilot and truly being on top of your finances. When I am on top of our finances, things go so much smoother. We seem to save more, spend less, and get rid of more debt. There really is something to be said about “out of...
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I am currently under contract for a little house in Illinois for the 4th time.  This house does not really have any charm, but it was built in 1983. (That's decades newer than the other houses I have been looking at).  It seems to be structurally sound.  The inspection is scheduled for this coming Monday, so I will know soon enough.  This house is a 3/1 with a 1 car attached garage built on a crawlspace (no basement).  It has a fenced-in backyard which...
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I know I made at least one report between the side bar and now, but I can't remember what it was, can't find it in the blog post, and forgot to update, so I will make sure I update it this time.  I am going off of the side bar for this, though.
Our 401K now sits at $110,046.18.
Our IRA has been all over the place, but currently rests at $12,409.31
Our total retirement now sits at $122.455.39 up $9111.88 from the sidebar total of $113,343.51.  Excluding company stock...
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I diligently monitor my student loan balance, interest, and payments on a daily basis.
On average, my daily interest rate used to be approximately $5.80, but it has now surged to $11.70, nearly doubling.
This increase is perplexing, especially since my loan balance has decreased. I plan to reach out to the service provider for clarification. Does anyone have information on where I can report this matter?
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Friday was payday and I am slow to get this up, but I really do want to get back into the habit of this, but I certainly am not fast off the mark in posting it.  At least I record it fairly quickly into my spread sheet.  DH worked a lot of overtime on this paycheck as well.  $1734.03 was overtime.  I think this will be the last one with OT on it, or if there is any on the next one it will only be a couple of hours.  I will miss the bigger checks, but it...
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This debt update is based on our most recent credit card statement which posted on 10/16/23.  . I do these mid-month because our credit card closes on the 15th. I can’t wait for the day when we are consumer debt free and I can do our financial savings updates at the beginning of each month and I don’t have to take into account when our debt cycle closes!
Although we are not paying off our debt as fast as I would like, I am happy to say that our debt decreased!...
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I just came across a post where a mom shared that her mortgage is three months overdue, and she's seeking a remote job. She lost her previous job in January 2022. When someone suggested looking for an office job, she explained that her daughter uses the car for school, cheer practice, and basketball.
I've made my share of financial missteps, but if I were in her shoes with a three-month overdue mortgage, I'd consider finding a way for my kid to get to school for example the school...
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