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Well, December was quite a month. Here's how it played out.
Gifts/Charity/Hosting - $984
Housing - $769
Taxes - $505
Utilities - $212
Groceries - $99
Home Repair/Maintenance - $85
Medical/Health - $56
Household Supplies - $33
Phone - $32
Gas - $27
Personal - $22
Laundry - $18
Vet/Pet Supplies - $17
Entertainment - $14
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor - $13
Eating Out/Takeout - $7
Fares/Parking - $1
Grand Total - $2894
Variables - 65%
My analysis - well, obviously,...
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Happy New Year.
My new worth in 2022 went down by around 20,400.  Hoping this trend will turn around in 2023.
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I asked MM to get me an accounting of what I owe him for groceries.  & for Christmas, we wanted to pay for his round trip train ticket for New Year's.  He sent it to me late last night.  $42 for 30 days of groceries.  🙄  This is my kid who is $350/month to feed at home.  ??? (If anything, he's living in a more expensive region now.) Roundtrip train ticket was $88.  Was about what he paid one-way last time.  Different prices on different...
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I will be staying home today and tonight for a quiet New Year's Eve so no spending will happen today, 12/31.
 
Income Total: $1476.21


     * $1200 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  


     * $150 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal)
     * $126.21 Credit Card Cash Back Reward 


      


Total...
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I expect that I'll keep coming back with year end blogs so I'm calling this part 1. I forgot to bring home my paycheck information yesterday evening, but I made approximately $119,500 gross last year from my two jobs. 
I checked my checking account yesterday & I had a balance of $15,740. Well over the $5,000 balance I need to maintain to avoid fees. I transferred $5,000 to make an end of year buy to my brokerage account to bring up my savings for the year to $39,500....
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I got notice in the mail yesterday that my lease is expiring on the 4th of February. I signed an 18 month lease for $1600 plus $32 water/service fee. The rent is increasing to $1680 and the water/service fee to $52, for a total increase of $100. When I first moved in they called it a water fee, now they call it a service fee. While I am hoping I can relocate back to my hometown before then, I may just sign the renewal for 18 months to lock in the rate for the longest time. The...
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Closing out the year in a not so good of a shape. 
 
I added both the kitchen remodel and shutters to my credit cards, brining my balance to just over $7k. One card, Home Depot, is interest free until December 2023. Shutters still isn’t complete, I have a call to company. Once complete it will be another $3k, remaining balance. 
 
I didn’t hit my EF savings goals of $5k, I just made $4k, new balance is $18k. Goal for next year to get to $27k. 
 
My...
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Upon reviewing our income and spending for 2022 and forecasting for 2023 I am feeling very discouraged. I track everything and so I know the numbers are accurate. With our estimated income I am putting us at $4,800 short in 2023 for our budget NOT including vacation spending, home improvement or IRAs.
Adding those three categories makes our deficit a whopping $17,200! Which is almost half of our total budget.
Well how did we get here? The main thing I can figure is that we have...
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2022 should be well sorted.  I have updated my sidebar.
Who knows...  We had the double whammy of a sudden car repair *and* they could only take cash.  Ugh!  That is really throwing off my accounting! 
I have mixed feelings about it.  MM(19) told us the 'check engine' light was on in the kids' car.  His cheapie attitude was to ignore it.  Maybe we are lucky he said anything.  I said, "MM, do you know why we have a car with 200K miles...
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For the first time ever, looks like we will just be taking the standard deduction for our taxes.  It's about $26,000.
Last year we itemized $34,000.  The obvious difference is that we had $9K in medical bills last year and has ~$0 this year (miracle of miracles.)  $9K was extreme, but $0 is a miracle.  Both were very extreme years compared to our average.   Usually we hit our $3K deductible. 
{Knock on wood.  The year isn't over so won't...
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As the year comes rolling to an end, I have made my last grocery trip. I spent $19, making my monthly total $99.  I also spent $4 on half-price Christmas gift wrap for next year. My food purchases: bread, carrots, brown sugar, instant potatoes, frozen green beans, shredded cheddar, chicken bouillion cubes and strawberry preserves.
I still have lots of food in the freezer, so these were just regular pantry items I was out of or running low on. I probably won't do a lot of...
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Well my budget is done and ready to go, I have gone back to cash for my groceries and gas....easier to keep track of, I have started menu planning again this week which makes it easier to do the grocery shopping. 
My nephew has his licence test this saturday...my hubby is suppose to be taking him out to practice (he has been teaching him) but doesn't want him to be nervous....but hubby ended up in the hospital yesterday...they thought stroke..but it wasn't but he has a narrowing...
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Hello, to all SAers! 
I decided to simplify my goals for 2023 by narrowing them down to just three. Do you have goals set for 2023 yet?
1) Pay down cc #1 to $00.00 by 06/31/2023.
 
2) Replenish emergency savings. Date TBA.
 
3) Open an IRA. Date TBA.
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I had a quiet and lovely Christmas Day. My actual family celebrations took place on the 11th and the 18th, so the 25th was just a me day. I opened the presents that were delivered from my Oregon kids and some friends in different states. I had long telephone conversations with those close to my heart. I watched some Christmas movies and I made a Christmas dinner of sorts -- sauteed chicken breast, mashed potatoes, carrots and wine. It was actually a delightful day.
But very cold....
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Merry Christmas to all my Saving's Advice Family and have a Super Sunday to those who do not celebrate. 
It is very cold with some snow.  Hard to figure out how much snow actually fell since there has been much blowing of snow.
 
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It is christmas eve here and I am taking a break from all the meal prep/sa;ads etc that we are making today ready for tomorrow...yes most sa it is weird but we are in summer here so a cold lunch is always better for us and so much easier...it's going to be a small christmas with about 8 people but that is enough...christmas gifts are wrapped and under the tree (including the animals), we have given gifts out to our vat/chemist/doctors and local hospital ER (we do this every year)...and...
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Covid kicked our butts so hard.  I am finally feeling almost normal again.  I still tire very easily and if I go out in the cold my cough comes back and my lungs don't feel like they will ever be the same when I exert myself.  This is my fourth go around.  The first and the last were very bad, the two in the middle not so much.  This last one, though, was worse than the first and I thought the first was horrible.  But we are functional just in time...
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Wishing everyone here a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Tomorrow I will have a houseful of family over for the day for lots of eating, football watching, opening gifts and giving thanks for each other! On Christmas Day I will be going to my niece's new house for dinner. Her and her boyfriend just closed a few weeks ago so this will be my first visit at the new place. 
I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family, friends and the means to have these celebrations....
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$3584.10 Paycheck Amount
$1188.48 Christmas Bonus after Taxes (was $1700)
$1048.66 Extra Bonus for Being Exemplary (was $1500)
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$5821.24 Total Money for Working Budget
So DH did very well for himself this year with the bonuses.  The company did very well for itself so they had extra money to divvy up and while everyone got a Christmas bonus based on a percentage of their pay, DH got an extra one based on those who did work above and beyond, showed leadership,...
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Like many, we were inflicted with a Polar Vortex yesterday and today. Fortunately we didn't get a lot of snow, but that wind was horrific. I went out and shoveled the little bit of snow that had drifted here and there.
Three of us play Wordle each morning and all of us had the same thing to say -- how thankful we are that our power didn't go out and that we have a nice home that is warm and safe. Hopefully that continues to be the case. 
Other than a few presents to wrap...
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