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Not much to report here.  Everyone is peeling off, with MH going back to work and the GF starting a new job tomorrow.  It should be a lot more peaceful on the home front.
I just looked up the teaching credential deadlines, out of curiosity, re: TM(21). It looks like the deadline might be 3/1.  & then the deadline for the school district money (they might pay for most of his expenses) is in early July.  He has some time.
I went to the dentist a couple of...
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Well, here August is almost over, and I'm just now getting to my July recap. I'm slowing down for sure.
My big expense was my semi-annual auto insurance - $1751. Ouch. Also I gave my son $1000, as he is still in his low-paying employment predicament. He has been interviewing with one particular company which would give him a better job with much better pay and benefits. But who knows who else is interviewing for the same job? It's rough. He also has opportunities to move up in...
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My local grocery store is already putting out Halloween candy.  It's still August though!
A buddy of mine asked me if I would be interested in adopting a 4 month old Labrador.  You know, I've been mulling over the topic of pets for a while now.  However, this has always been a topic that I just kept putting off for another day.  Now, I was finally pushed against the proverbial wall to make a definitive decision on.  It was then that I realized that I am...
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I'm feeling a bit melancholy today. 

Yesterday I went to the back garden and although I noticed things were changing, yesterday it was brought home that most of my plants are about "done." The cucumber plants are starting to die back. My cherry tomatoes which have been very generous are running out of tomatoes to ripen and the plants themselves look weary. I had been watching a cantaloupe to see if it was ready to pick. Apparently it was because it "picked itself." So,...
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So according to opensocialsecurity.com, if I want to maximize my Social Security payout, I should start collecting Social Securityy next year, even though that's well before I turn age 70. As you may know, conventional wisdom is to wait until age 70 if you wish to maximize your payments. If I go to my SS account, I can see a chart showing that the difference between claiming next year vs claiming 2 years after that is an extra $650/mth if I wait.

They have a little chart that...
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Yep we closed on the house.  I love it.  It's my dream house.  For the first time in my life I get how people live in LCOLA.  I get the big home thing and it's incredible.  I never thought I'd ever live in a big house.  And then we bought one.  Seriously it's really nice to have all the space and privacy.  DH complains he never sees us there is so much space.  But it's because we are all unpacking and doing stuff to get settled. So...
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Well its been a long hot summer, and I'm ready for fall and football season to arrive.  In the meantime now that I can access my blog again, here's some random updates.
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---Non finances first---
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For my workouts I have added a few more exercises.  I now return home a little over two hours after I leave for the gym.  I am so tired for an hour or two afterwards, but just chilling and then having lunch is good. ...
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Last year about half way through the year I decided to keep a spreadsheet of how much we saved using coupons, digital or paper. I feel like it is a challenge to see what I can do. Nothing like those extreme couponers from years back however, but pleased we've saved some. Each month whatever we "saved" I deposit in our money market savings account since I figure that is saved money we wouldn't otherwise have. There is some criteria for this...I only use a coupon if it is something...
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This morning, rather early, I headed over to the Toyota dealership to get a few important things done before my upcoming New York Finger Lakes trip: an oil change, a recall fix for an audible sound when you back up (mine was so faint I wasn't even aware there was supposed to be a sound) and most important of all, for months I had lost the sound on my GPS. Turns out the sound worked but was muted, and the tech showed me how to go into Google Maps to fix it should this be a problem...
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MM's FINAL net college costs:
$43,242 Tuition/fees** (4 Years)
+$11,589 5th Year Tuition/Fees 
+      644 Misc. Fees & Supplies
-10,506  Tax credits 
-19,642  CA middle class grants 
-  7,500  Scholarships
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$17,827 Net Tuition cost  
**Includes $1K for one summer school class
Side note: MM(23) only got that 4th year middle class grant because he added a double major and extended another year. ...
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View from our CA hotel (This is just 2 hours from our home)
Not pictured:  A large hammock I was delighted to lounge in for a chunk of the day.
I can't even remember what prompted this trip, but I was impulsive and booked a mid-week trip to Tahoe.  To the north shore, where I don't think I have been before.  We really enjoyed the trip and the property but it was way too hot (even on cooler days) and they wouldn't let us open windows overnight (on the ground level)...
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It used to seem like something in the distant future, but here we are. I am 59.5 today. 
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I havent been able to open anyones blogs am I the only one??
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I took advantage of a nice promo offer DSW was having today. One was advertised, the other was only advertised in the store. I went in with a $5 birthday discount coupon I got in the mail (you can sign up for this discount  on their website) just to browse, but then I saw lots of signs saying that if you bought a regularly priced pair of sneakers, you'd get a 6-pack of socks for free.
So that's what I did. They are crew socks, in case you're wondering, and you get your choice...
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Sunday, after we got home from church, our plans were changed. A grandson said he wanted to come down which means I would be making lunch. I had already changed out of my "Sunday go to meeting clothes" (thank you Beverly Hillbillies) and had put on a top that was white with light flowers. However, once I learned I would be fixing lunch, I changed blouses since I would be making sloppy joes and didn't want to permanently stain my light blouse in case there was a splatter or spill....
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Now that the blogs are back, I can catch up a bit.  I actually had written a timely post about my second week off, but SA "ate" the post even though I tried to save the draft.  So here it is, reconstructed and added on to.
Anyways, my second week off:  This started with a night away at an Inn along the Delaware River, about 20 miles away from home--not far but far enough to "get away."  The Inn has new owners so they were offering a special on the room rate...
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August 4
 
MM(23) got a job!
 
We never got around to ‘the talk’ and setting expectations with him.  Though it came up in passing that we expected him to take a job (any job) in September.  Was giving him 3 months to go full force on the job search.  But for the most part, ‘free room and board’ means taking any job in the interim.  We were adjusting our expectations re: the job market, and also MM(23)’s seemingly lackadaisical...
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We're in another heat wave here and I haven't ventured out much, so much so that today I was really getting stir crazy. So I got my first cone of the season. Mint chocolate chip, in case you were wondering.

It was not my first choice place to go, just over the hill at a working dairy farm less than a mile away. This one was in town, but it lacks the lines of the other place, which has received all kinds of awards and likely attracts folks from out of town because I drove by...
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Very glad the blogs are back. Not sure why they were down, but as Tabs said, it's nice to have them back and we do enjoy them for free. Like many have said, I feel like we are community or a group of friends who live away from each other.
I've blogged before about keeping things since we don't have a recycling program in our town or county. One of the items is cans from soup or baked beans or whatever. DH's daughter is going to get married and she said she wanted to have a rustic...
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Huzzah for our blogs being back! I would really hate to lose this community and the hundreds of blog posts I've done over the past 9 years or so...
Due to good cashflow I paid back everything we borrowed from the HELOC this year (not counting the $27K total borrowed over previous years that we're still carrying). We've got the boiler to pay for in September, so I'll definitely borrow from the HELOC again, but it's nice to have it even temporarily paid down!Net worth increased...
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