All Entries

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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Well it was bound to happen. My Social Security number was found on the dark web. Not the first time my personal info has appeared there, but it is definitely unnerving. Every time you turn around there's another data breach. I'm so sick of some company, hospital or whatever mailing you that letter and the only advice they give you is to check your credit report, which is basically looking for damage after the fact.
I already have a credit freeze in play as well as a credit alert,...
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If there's one thing I've learned about life in general, it is that there is no shortage of people who are willing to telling me what I should or should not be doing with my life.  Most of the time, it's unsolicited advice coming from the same people who also happens to love telling everybody else not to tell them what to do.  I always wonder if they are aware of their own irony in this?  The typical conversation is usually along the lines of:
Them: What you been...
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Well sat down today and redid our budget have spent a bit of money on things we probably shouldnt have but would help us a bit, like our woolen car seat for my daughters car they really help my hubbys hips and spine when sitting in a car to stay more comfortable, had the in our car until we sold it..although it was money spent its a once off it was still money spent. We have also eaten a lot more takeaway food then we have in a very long time since the move, by end of day I am...
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The planned sale of my gym fell through, I think due to financing issues, so I consider that a good thing since new ownership would have a good reason to raise the monthly rates, in my mind. The equipment is pretty old, with some of the machines having developed rips in the vinyl padding, but they still work just as good. 
Today I did the treadmill for 45 minutes (!) at a 3.5 mph walking rate and peak heart rate of 107. As long as I have something to watch on TV, I can do...
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We just had a tornado watch, and now the temperature has dropped again.  Kind of wild with one day at 90F (32C) during the day, and now it's like 30F (-1C) at night.  I'm back to dripping my faucet and turning my humidifier back on, and going from shorts and T-shirt back to sweat pants and sweat shirt with a jacket again.  This has been a wild week.
I am also trying to get my HoA to approve of a tree removal in my backyard.  It's already dead, and while we...
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Hey, everyone!
I decided to change my name from Rob62521 to DK62565 since my last name has changed as has my zip code. 
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Years ago there was a little slogan that made the rounds that said, "Happiness is Homemade."
I think for a crafter, that is often the case. There's something immensely gratifying about making and creating something whether it is in the kitchen, the craft room, or the shop.
My mom taught me how to crochet many years ago. I'm not an expert by any means, but I've made quite a few things throughout the years. My mom could have been the expert crocheter; I'm not as talented as she...
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I'm looking forward to Violet's arrival in a few weeks. Her jet-setting parents are headed to France this time around and she and I will be visiting for about a week-and-a-half, during which time I envision many enjoyable long walks. I had her last September also.
I waste a lot of time watching other people's reels featuring their incredible cats, dogs or donkeys doing amazing things. There's the very hard-working Turkish man who helps his aging parents run their farm, and every...
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Just to wrap up loose ends, I expressed concern here in the past about the Qingping air quality monitor I'd bought and the consistently yellow ("slightly high") VOC readings I was getting from it. This won't likely be of much interest to anyone except possibly Tabs since I think he may have also picked up an air quality monitor.
I think my air is fine but it's good to know there are 2 units of measure you can choose your readings in: parts per billion, which is what I'd set...
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Here in Australia you have to have your spouses permission to do anything when it comes to joint accounts etc, my hubby has a hard time understanding (his hearing isn't great) foreign workers talking on the phone so he tells them to talk to me but they say they can't he has to discuss things if it is his card or account ( we have seperate mad money accounts). We use to be able to sign a form giving permission but they don't do that anymore and now they say if he wants me to discuss...
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Every year we have issues with the IRS seriously thinking of never doing taxes there again...they received our taxes 7 weeks ago and we know this because they have to sign for them, we can't do them online and we can't have an online account (because we dont have US address) and yet they aren't even acknowlee dging that they have them yet... we can't call because it is way to expensive calling overseas on a cell phone and that is if you can get a hold of anyone. So how long do...
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I recently bought a pair of double-walled, insulated, borosilicate clear glass mugs. They are oversized but quite lightweight, especially compared to a ceramic mug, and will hold not quite 2 cups, so that's perfect for me. Because they are double-walled, not only do they look cool when you are drinking out of them, but they will keep your tea/coffee hot for longer. Kind of like a thermos. I remember many years ago at work some people liked to use those plug-in mug heaters at...
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We are finally settled enough into the new house where we are back to cooking each day, which is great..we all really missed our vegies everyday...the weather is coming in cooler now so we can do more slow cookers which makes life a lot easier...so we spend around $1200 a month on food for 3 adults, now granted that covers everything we use food/cleaning etc...but I would like to get it down even with prices going up. I do have to start menu planning again which can be hard because...
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MM(22) Dec 2025 'Gifted College Fund': $7,900 (+$5K ROTH)
MM(22) Feb 2026 'Gifted College Fund': $2,600 (+$5K ROTH)
Rent is paid through 3/31.
Final tuition payment - Done!
There's enough money left to pay rent through May.  MM's annual utilities (he still hasn't gotten me any numbers) and his June/July rent are to be sorted out.
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DL(20) Nov 2025 'Gifted College Fund': $20,587 (+$5K ROTH)
DL(20)...
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