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I grocery shopped this morning. I was planning to spend $25, since there are four Wednesdays in the month, but I went over by $3. I'll make that up later. I also bought Easter cards ($4) and I spent .50 on parking. Variables are at 24%.
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We did two grocery shops in the last 3 days.  One was on Friday, which was payday and one was a smaller one today.  Both had items I needed to stock up on.  The items at Fred Meyer had some sales that if you bought five you could get them at a discount, so some of the quantities will seem high.  The large amount of avocado oil from Costco is so we can replace the oil in our fryer and also we are low on the bottle we use for cooking.  The fryer takes 2 1/2...
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The stock market ended on a high note Friday to end the first quarter.
Net worth for March was $1,247,432
Investment savings $1,221,478
Cash savings $25,954 
Contributions were $4,125 for the month
Total gain was $28,593
Obviously still off from the highs of late 2021, but headed in the right direction this quarter. I haven't seen that the latest interest rate increase affected any of my savings accounts, however. 
 
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I am going into April with a positive mindset, because nothing can be as annoying as March was.  Everything broke in March except me.  The microwave quit working.  2 of the jars of potatoes I canned after I came out of my episode detailed below had the bottoms fall off and make a mess all over both canners.  They were 1976 jars so were old, but they've held up for a long time.  I think I will have to buy new jars this year.  My daughter fractured...
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Slightly better retirement gains this month, though our CoastFIRE date moved from 8 years to 11 away...probably because I turned 49. Oh well.
It's been a pretty meh year financially so far... we still have $33K of debt for the tax bill and $3K owed on our kitchen and only $1500 in EF savings. The renters on our new place are leaving at the end of this month, so if we don't have both units rented by May 1, we may have to clean out our little EF and some other pockets of money....
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I have been meaning to talk a bit about how my CalPers pension works. The formula which will be used to calculate my benefit is:
Salary  x   Service Credit  x  Age Multiplier
The number used for "Salary" is the average of my highest 36 months.  So each time I get a raise, it takes a full 36 months for the new salary to fully "bake" into the pension calculation.  However, each month which goes by means a slightly higher "Salary" number.
The...
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March is going out like a lion. Severe storms with possibility of tornadoes forecasted. I may be spending the night in my closet. (It's large.)
Here is how the month's expenses shook out:
Housing - $769
Taxes - $561
Car - $515
Utilities - $237
Clothing - $149
Gifts/Charity - $112
Insurance - $108
Vacation/Travel - $68
Groceries - $58
Medical/Health - $41
Eating Out/Takeout - $41
Household Supplies - $36
Phone - $32
Gas - $26
Entertainment - $25
Laundry - $14
Personal...
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Debts
Mortgage −$115,106.03 (-$242.77)Land Loan -$10,299.95(-$190.25)Hospital Bill - $1,135.85 (-$75)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$25,655 (+$456)401K +$48,414 (+$2,744)Emergency Fund +$6,896 (+$263)Animal Fund +$1,701 (+$5)Car Fund +$20 (-$0)HSA +$742 (+$293)
Overall: +$4,269.02
A really good month for savings and for the market. My husband and I went on a week long vacation without the kids for the first time. It was nice to get away and we kept it pretty cheap, only going over...
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I am obviously interested in saving money since I have a blog on this site, but a lot of my decisions these days are also driven by hating waste. So many of the things in our society now seem so unnecessarily wasteful and disposable.
 
Recently the cord on my vacuum cleaner got partially cut (right into the wires while I was using it- sparks everywhere!) This vacuum was a gift about 5 years ago, and when I googled replacement cords, they recommended replacing it if the cost...
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Hello Everyone.  😀

Begin - beginning checking account balance
pr - my net payroll check.  This being the 3rd paycheck of the month, it is a bit larger than usual.  There are no deductions for medical on 3rd paychecks.  A bit of extra money is, of course, always welcome.
SB - my contribution towards our joint household expenses.
cash - cash for gas, personal, and misc for the next 2 weeks.  I still had $140 in my wallet, so only needed an additional...
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I went to Aldi today -- twice, it turns out, because I used a kiosk where someone had already scanned a couple of items, and I was charged -- I had to go back. They refunded me and were lovely about it. Anyway, I spent $19 and I got pizza dough, tomato sauce, sausage, peppers, shredded Italian cheese, creamer, mayonnaise, tuna and crescent rolls. I spent another $12 on Easter candy and stocking stuffers which are logged as gifts. Variables are at 95%, and I hope I'm done.
Tomorrow...
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Prioritizing financial stability is essential if you want to buy a home. You should figure out what you can afford to spend on a home and work on raising your credit score and paying down your debt before you go house hunting. Getting your finances ready can help you secure a mortgage with favorable terms and ensure you can comfortably afford your monthly mortgage payments. Below are eight suggestions to help you prepare your budget for a home purchase.
1. Determine Your Credit...
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As the month rolls slowly toward its end, I continue to spend small amounts, which have taken my variables up to 91%.  I spent $15 on my newly-named Compassion Fund -- $10 went toward the care of a neglected dog, and $5 to a homeless man. I spent $9 on two bottles of hand wash, and $4 on a Happy Meal. I don't expect to spend anything for the rest of the month, other than laundry, and that money comes out of the change jar (though I do count it in variables). Also my scheduled...
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Hi all,
I knew it had been awhile, but not since August? Oops.
I just passed the 1 year mark in my new position at work. Still loving it. The new me we hired and I get along fabulously.
DH and I are a month off from our 7 year anniversary!! We're in discussions about an overnight trip.
My 101 yo grandma (CA) passed on Feb 13. We had a burial/memorial service for her yesterday. She is sharing a space with my dad.
I had planned on going ... but a bit over 3 weeks ago DH got...
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So I did end up having a drop in income due to the loss of the retention incentive at work. We continue to lose & gain emplpyees at our lower salary ranges, but have been pretty good about gaining & retaining staff at the higher salary levels. We hired 3 employees for a section, then lost two. Que sera sera... We are at least in a much better place than we were a year ago. We can breathe a bit not feeling like everything could crumble at any minute.
My married girlfriend...
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I started feeling better yesterday, so I went to the grocery store (Aldi) after all. I spent $19, and I bought biscuits, raisins, butter, eggs, Swiss cheese, coffee, and French fried onions. With the latter, I made three small green bean casseroles. I ate one yesterday and the other two are in the freezer.
Today I picked up a prescription at Walgreens, which was $15. Variables are now up to 80%.
Lights are still out in the laundry room, so I did laundry in the dark. Well, with...
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My husband got a raise! He received a 4.26% raise! It’s the largest raise he has gotten since he has been working for this company. He’s worked for the same company for 12 years and he has gotten a raise every year, but this year was the biggest he has ever gotten.
I’m so happy for him because he works so hard this past year, and he did not feel he was compensated appropriately at work; he wasn’t upset with his salary, but with certain bonuses that were...
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Yesterday I mailed my package -- $10 -- then stopped at a Hallmark store and did a little Christmas shopping. I'm determined I'm not going to leave it all to the end of the year this year. I spent $47 there on stocking stuffers, some things on sale, some not. Then I bought lunch at McDonalds - $4. I have learned that Happy Meals are just about right for senior citizens. Except for the toy. That I give to Goodwill. If I ask the McDonalds employees not to include the toy, it seems...
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March is determined to be absurd.  In January I refused to believe that January set the tone for 2023.  That we were going to have another *crazy* year (after the last several crazy years).  But I give up at this point.
My newest employee has been out sick 3 times already this year (once for a whole week) and had her third emergency this week.  This work jinx clearly remains (this is everyone who works for me).  My other employee was hospitalized last...
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Our lease is up in 7 months and I really don't want to stay in this house anymore..2.5 years is enough...they have heating and cooling in 1 room so it hot in summer (also has a flat roof) and cold in winter...our daughter who lives with us plans on having a baby this year (early next year) and this house isn't good for that...and no matter what we do this house has never felt like a home....so we want to find somewhere else to live....so I have decided today to start decluttering...I...
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