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I'm holed up in my office at the computer while Home Depot's vendor replaces my 2 back doors. I did stay down there and watch for a while and he said he didn't mind, but I figured my questions and comments would only slow him down, and that back patio will really heat up by noon.
Luckily this is a very pleasant day with low humidity and not too high temps. He is working alone.  His company has 6 installers like him, and they do much of the door and window install business...
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A buddy called me up out of the blue and asked if I wanted to hang out today.  It was a little surprising because I know he is normally very busy, but come to find out, the temp agency he works for decided to pause his work schedule for roughly a month so as to not pay him any benefits.  I've never heard of this, but then again, I am also not surprised at all.  He's not happy about it either, and hopes he can remedy this in the near future.  For now though,...
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Fidelity Investments started their own YouTube finance channel not too long ago.  One of their videos is about "single finances".  I thought it was interesting that not only is "single finances" a subject matter, but that somebody out there would actually make a video to talk about it.  Sadly, I can't say I found it all too helpful, but please let me explain.
What they are saying is that personal finances for single people are basically no different than personal...
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July 9 
$9 Lunch Out
I ate out and redeemed my free soda.
TM(21) requested homecooked chicken and dumplings (birthday dinner).  A newer recipe of MH's, that is more of a chicken soup gravy with biscuits.
The cake did not last long. 
 
July 10
$20 Groceries 
Another chaotic day.  My employer will be out of the country next week and so was pushy about needing certain things done.  While also having planned a work event.  & then...
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Before I forget, I am switching DL's name to TM.  From Drama Llama to Teacher Monkey.  He's more had an evolving identity over the years.  I think Musical Monkey or something like that would also suit him (more of his long term personality) but MM is already taken.  
July 8 
$3 McDonalds - coffee for cake
$16 rental liability insurance
TM(21) is the only one in the house who likes coffee at all.  I ordered him a cake (with coffee) last year...
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The Northeast is again blanketed with wildfire smoke said to be extremely unhealthy to breathe. For the most part, I've been wearing a mask when having to run out for an errand, and not spending any unnecessary time outdoors, though yesterday I joined a friend for lunch and we were enjoying each other's company so much that as we walked out, I suggested we go for a walk, and so we did, with her dogs. We were in woods with a lot of shade, so I'm hoping the dense canopy above us...
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SOOooo my 990T tax penalty finally got wired out, and my balance has been updated now.  That and plus the latest war update in Iran has created a net drop in my portfolio by -$20k.  Fun times. I hope to never hear of 990T anything again in my life, if it's the last thing I do.
Speaking of which, Dementia Don keeps taking credit for supposedly clearing up the Strait of Hormuz situation, but does so by paying them vast amounts of American tax payer money, only for them...
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Here the month is half over and I'm just now thinking of posting my June recap. I've been distracted. Let's blame the heat.
June was kind of a high-spend month. I paid the balance of my gift to my unemployed son. He is not unemployed at the moment, but he took a lowly position that he hopes he will not have to keep. It's in a casino. It doesn't pay much and the hours are terrible. But it's a job. He had a phone interview today for a job in his field, and I am hoping so hard that...
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We were supposed to close tomorrow but it's been delayed.  This is the first time in all of our home purchases journey that we have not been able to close on time.  Technically we are still early sinec we initially said 7/24 then 7/17 and now 7/15.  It's a little frustrating.What is missing?  Seriously they told me today that they couldn't get our taxes from the IRS.  It wasn't processing. I was like I uploaded it. They said we need to see that you recieved...
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July 7
$2 Lunch Out 
$8 Groceries
$10 DL Birthday Gift (chips & salsa)
$33 Dinner Out
$50 savemooncamp.org
I've always been surprised by the 'rewards to spending' ratio when it comes to loyalty accounts and apps.  Historically not much of an eater outer, this means Round Table rains free pizza on us, though we might average one pizza every 8 weeks.  & then I signed up for the McDonald's app when it was clearly easier for their employees.  (Hindsight...
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The temperature is glorious today, due to cloudy rain throughout the day.  I should be out there somewhere, but it's also wet and rainy.  Where though?  It's almost 2pm.  Quickly what should I do?  Where would you go?  The rest of the week is going to be atrocious at 95F+ (35C+).
edit: Hmm, so I ended up going to this mall that I rarely go to, because it's mostly outdoors, and therefore, it kind of sucks when it's really hot or really rainy out.  Even...
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July 5
$22 Movies
$31 Groceries
$57 Target
MH & went to the movies today.  I had sticker shock.  $14 for a 9am matinee?  Something like that.  We saw the new Minions movie.  (I very rarely buy a movie ticket, so in my mind a matinee is still $6 or something?  I don't know).  MH has his unlimited movie pass, and I bought a snack.
The most amazing cheesesteak place *was* by my new office, and then it went out of business quickly. ...
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It's been hot and humid here and apparently the garden loves it!
I planted three cucumber plants and they are going wild. I canned 6 quarts of dill pickles yesterday from the garden. We've been eating cucumber and onion salad for a few weeks now. Some of my onions are getting very large. My garlic is almost ready to harvest as well. Our lettuce has produced quite a bit...it's leaf lettuce. And finally, we've gotten a few cherry tomatoes. I've missed the distinct flavor of homegrown...
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Dad and I enjoyed another nice lunch at Mercato's the other day. I like taking him there because there are no steps and it's relatively uncrowded if we go a little later. And the food is pretty good.
I finally got a chance to get my hair cut. It was getting rather long.
I am feeling super obligated to help my plant group do something this morning that involves probably an hour or two of outdoor work. Even though it's at 9:30 am, the heat is still oppressive. So I don't think...
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I can't remember if I've mentioned this already or not, but I am painfully aware that I am still in what is arguably the most dangerous financial phase of my life.  Yes, early retirement sounds so rosy and great, until you actually do it, and the cost really starts to bite in.  Until I am "of age" and am eligible for SS, retirement accounts, and medicare/medicaid for example, I am basically floating by using nothing but my own money, one month at a time.
The good news...
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July 3
$31 Dinner Take Out (x2)
MH wasn't feeling great Friday and of course he would have eventually figured it out, but his smart watch ended up telling him his skin was a little hot, late at night or when he woke up the next morning.  So he took his temperature and he had a fever, a reaction from the shingles vaccine.
There's a local burger place we have never tried and MH was in a "Whatever, nothing sounds good" mood.  I treated myself to a milk shake and it was...
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We bought a house.  We close and move in next week.  We are super excited.  We had been looking since January and it finally popped.
This is the view from the front deck.  What can I say?  It's everything we were dreaming about.  My DH said he knew he'd made it if we ever happened to buy a house with a view.  Well we did and I told him he made it.  Incredible.  The ride has been wild.  26 years and now this.  We are 2 blocks...
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I thought I was going to entirely give up re: hectic week.  Nothing new or unusual, but it's a big birthday month, plus a few outings thrown into the mix.  It doesn't take much to throw off our minimalist preferences (usually reflected by a lot more downtime and a not crowded calendar).
Anyway, Wednesday is always more of a breather, and I suppose I will have a lot of downtime while I am caring for my mom later this week.  So I will soldier on.  
July...
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It's probably ambitious during a busy month, but I figured I'd dive into 'spending tracking'.  Just as a way to jump back into blogging.
Unlike in the past, will be focusing on my own spending (versus other household spending).  & maybe weekly, or 'every few day' updates.  & I mean, I can share grocery (household spending) but that is depressing right now.  😁 With a 5-person household.  MM(22) devoured all of our food for a couple of weeks,...
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I made it through another scary storm last night, the kind where an emergency alert suddenly lights up your phone and tells you to get to the basement NOW. At the peak of the storm, I watched the top halves of some very big trees on my property violently swaying to and fro. That's when I went to the basement. Yet this morning, I noticed that an empty plastic nursery pot lying on its side on my back patio had not rolled away. 
The "feels like" temps in the 100s with high humidity...
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