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Almost to tax day, which (working in financial services as I do) is somewhat of a marker for busy-ness, but not as much as it was when I worked for an accounting firm or tax department.  At least most of the "administratrivia," as I call it, is over for the year.  That's all the tax forms (1099s and K-1s) that I need to send to clients and their CPAs early in the year.  The 1099s are out in January or February, but the K-1s continue to trickle in, with several coming...
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We tired of winning yet?  This latest Trump-manufactured Epstein Files distraction-of-the-month has taken me down a bit of a rabbit hole about America's oil supply chain.  For example, I learned just how speculative the gas market is, because according to the internet:
* While 20% of the world's oil supply comes out from the Strait of Hormuz, only roughly 7% is actually destined for the US.
* It takes at least a month or more for a typical oil tanker, traveling at the...
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MM(22) Feb 2026 'Gifted College Fund': $2,600 (+$5K ROTH)
MM(22) Mar 2026 'Gifted College Fund': $1,347 (+$5K ROTH)
Rent is paid through 4/30.
There are ample funds to pay May rent.  & I am feeling pretty *shrugs* about June rent.  I've accumulated ~$500 interest in DL's 'college rent fund' (that he currently has no plans to use).  So I will put the $500 and remaining funds to MM(20)'s June rent.  I think his returned deposit will cover July. ...
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So we got our tax return into the bank it was $192 where we figured it to be $522 so hopefully we will get paperwork to say why it is so low...but I guess happy that it has finally been processed since they had it for 10 plus weeks, frustrating but cant say it suprises me...will probably take a couple months for the letter to get here..so will see
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Ever had a friend who is always longing for adventures, and for some reason, they always want you to come along?  Or perhaps you are that wonderous, adventurous friend?  If so, I just hope you will understand that, well, some of us have budgets we have to adhere to.  Yeah, it really is a shame we never managed to be born as trust fund babies or win the powerball lottery.
Jokes aside, a friend of mine called me up again, asking if I wanted to go camping... again. ...
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So I was watching this old show (filmed in 2010) called homeless - the motel kids of orange county. They live right by disneyland in california. This hotel was a dump, they had bed bugs, so many people on drugs/drinking etc..some of the families were working they were all cramped in 1 room sometime a couple of families...the kids were picked up and went to a free school that went all year and they got breakfast and lunch (not that it was great food) it was sent to the school the...
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I don't typically do monthly net worth updates, but this month is slightly different so I figure I might as well make an entry about it.
Back when Trump kidnapped Maduro, the president of Venezuela, I thought this might cause a shockwave of economic blowbacks that would result in drops in the stock market, and therefore, my portfolio value.  Fortunately for us all, this magically did not come to pass.  However, I would not have known that at the time, and among other...
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I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter.
My friend dropped off his dog, on Saturday, and so I've adjusted my schedule to revolve around her pee breaks outdoors and her one big walk I take her on around mid-day. I'm afraid she  might be a bit bored with not much else going on today.
Made plans to meet for another lunch with a friend in town this week. We both want to try a new-to-us Italian restaurant that's supposed to be quite good and has a price fixe menu for lunch....
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Last week I flew to Reno to meet up with my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces. We rented an Airbnb and had a wonderful time together.  I hadn't seen any of them in 2+ years.
The company I work for was owned by a husband and wife in their 60s.  Unfortunately, he died about 3 weeks ago.  I am uncertain what changes may be coming as a result.  I have been surprised by how sad I am over his death. He was quite a character and apparently grew on me more...
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Today has been a fun day. With the rain forecast, doing much outside was sort of a risk. DH and I had tried to get as much done earlier in the week outside so we could do stuff inside. 
As mentioned before, I have been making greeting cards. I wrote down all the people from now until the end of the year and as I have time, I make a couple here or there. It's not really a cost savings, but I enjoy making them. Dollar Tree has had some cool little embellishments so I add those...
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Another month has gone by. I am still watching my spending very carefully.  Here is how it went in March:
I spent $850 on housing -- that's mortgage and assessment fees. Utilities I track separately, and they came in at $257 because I paid for gas twice (timing thing). It was time to pay my semi-annual property taxes -- $523.
I spent $132 on gifts and charities. 
Only $59 on groceries. I surprised myself. I have to wonder if I forgot to count something. But I can't...
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TSP $1,515,502
IRA $446,553
Brokerage $13,371
Investments Sub-Total $1,975,426
House Equity $148,000
Savings $ 5,616
March 2026 Net Worth $2,129,042
February Net Worth $2,247,163
Monthly Gain/Loss -$118,121 
April Fool's is losing over 6 digits this month, I guess. Booo...not a fan.
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Well, it was a rough month for net worth, but not really a surprise considering who's steering the ship of this crazy country. 
Part of it was us: AS and I had a low-income start to the year, so we had to take another $2500 out of the HELOC. Luckily we've got a big few months coming in April and May so we should be able to pay back that amount soon. We also took out a loan for replacing some of our ancient windows. We had a plan for paying back a big chunk of that this year,...
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So the IRS has had our taxes for 9 weeks and I know this because they have to sign for them..we finally have online this last week that they have received them....yes they have had them for 9 weeks but only now just saying that so lets see how long it takes them to do them...honestly dont know why we would do them anymore what are they going to do if we dont pay them...they are so incompetent as a business/govt agency...I dont even go on them anymore just my hubby because I dont...
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I did a small Roth conversion last year and it worked out perfectly; I remained just inside the 12% tax bracket at tax time. This year, I hadn't planned on doing a conversion since, if I'm committed to staying within the 12% bracket (upper end is just $50,400 for a single filer), there's not a lot of room to spare between my essential annual expenses and the extra room a conversion would take up. (I'm sure there's a more elegant way of expressing that thought but hopefully you...
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I never thought I'd be saying this, but I truly appreciate AI and am frankly astounded by the depth and accuracy of my conversations with it.
I may have mentioned that in my quest to get to the bottom of why I have slightly elevated tVOC readings on my new air quality monitor, I contacted Qingping customer service, who were less than helpful. I would describe what was going in detail and they would reply back with a sentence or two, not really attempting to figure out the why.
So...
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You mean in addition to soaring oil prices?
A few of my favorite FB reels that lighten my mood in these dark days....
Patrick J. Abdo: A Dubai drummer who teaches little kids how to drum and always acts surprised when they do great. Best song: Begging by Maneskin (Drum Cover).
Wildwildwilli: 3 cute long-haired dachsunds
ccihancelik: A Turkish farmer who often shows you what his typical day is like, with one really cute donkey he likes to share his food with.
Oga Duke: Nigerian...
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Before I write too much, I'm going to apologize in case this is sort of all over the place. 
This has been a spendy month. It's not like we went out and bought anything new and exciting, but it just seems like we were buying and buying. We had a couple of big bills plus a grandchild's birthday. However, we also were hitting some sales on groceries and stocking up after using some of the items.
Today, we went to County Market near us. Not sure if there are many or any where...
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Pet loss, and grief, go hand in hand with crazy Murphy years from hell.  In this household.  Sure, a bad few weeks happen.  But given past history, I am bracing myself.  2026 so far is some crazy combo of 2013 & 2018.  I think 2018 was more absurd, but 2013 was more general Murphy and very expensive.  
Thank goodness for that cash gift from my in-laws.  The $10K is long gone, re: emergency ER spending (human and pet).  I am of course...
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The past two days have been nothing but lovely...warm, sunny, and beautiful. The hubster is thrilled because we've made lots of solar...he charged his truck yesterday after our shopping trip with little worries.
It was funny, with the weather being so nice, the folks were out shopping yesterday where we were anyway. We went to a small town about 40 minutes away to have a nice lunch and then visit an Amish bulk food store. We didn't need a ton of stuff, but there are a couple of...
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