It's nice when cash flows in!

I sold three items recently on eBay this month. Net profit was $20.77. None of the items were worth much, but yet they sold for a little bit better than garage sale prices. I'll take it!

I sold a heavy duty shelving unit from our garage. We had three and really only needed two since we have downsized so much. I sold it within a hour for $20. It was probably worth more since I had so many people interested.

The other unexpected money flowing...
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Going to the doctor today. I don't know if it was my excited anticipation about this milestone, but I couldn't go to sleep last night. I slept so well when I was still on strong opioids! I was kind of hoping my body had learned how to sleep, but apparently not.

I did a little spending yesterday. I ordered 20 pads for the Breeze litter pan ($16), and I paid a medical bill, this time for one of the CT scans I got ($105). I figure no matter what appears on my medical account...
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I finally went and got my hair cut. The haircut and style was $59, plus I gave her a $15 tip. Then I bought some Moroccan Oil Intense Curl Cream which was $37.96 (with the tax for the haircut and cream added in). So a total of $110.96. The hair cream is wonderful, it holds the curl without it getting crunchy like most styling products. My hair is super soft with it. It's a fairly large bottle, too. I figure it will last a few months with my hair being so short now.

The...
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Yes! We past $18K!

We have been having a lot of luck at the casino lately too and were able to pay a bunch of weeks to the 52 Week Challenge and also have $400 set aside to pay extra on the mortgage for Rental #1!

Current Balance $17,865.00
+$40.00 Phone Savings
+$270.00 FB Sales
+$50.00 My Payday to Our Savings (4/19)
+$75.00 My Payday to Mom Loan Savings (4/19)
+$50.00 MO Payday to Our Savings (4/26)
Balance $18,350.00

Local Savings $9550.00
GC Savings $890.00
Capital...
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Just a quick check in. I noticed that it looked like pictures were working again (but no one mentioned it was fixed).



I did my first spring break in about 20 years. I hadn't realized it was Easter weekend when we booked. So it probably magnified things, but I learned I wasn't missing much. Crazy expensive and kind of crowded. The last couple of times we went to this hotel was around Thanksgiving and we had the place to ourselves. & the weather was better in November....
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Pay day is tomorrow so I got my stub yesterday. This is the first check since my raise went into effect. I was estimating my take home would go up by about $900 and that was accurate. This check included some per diem hours so I don't have an exact number but it comes in right around $916. That works out to $1,985/month.

We already run a monthly surplus of nearly $4,000 so this bumps that up closer to $6,000. And as soon as the mortgage is paid off, another $700 gets added to...
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Another pay day! Yay!

Here is last month's recap:

Housing: $321
Medical/Health: $253
Utilities: $175
Groceries: $99
Household Supplies: $63
Personal: $46
Eating Out: $40
Gifts/Charity: $40
Gas: $26
Entertainment: $24
Clothing: $23
Vet/Pet Supplies: $16
Laundry: $9
Fares/Parking: $5
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor: $1

Grand Total: $1141

It was a low-spend month, mainly because my assessment fees did not hit within this cycle, nor did the phone. Medical was...
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Sold an item on Poshmark for $10, I made $7.05 and received a five star ⭐️ rating. Super excited.

I ended up spending $20 at Walmart for a swimsuit 👙 that I’ll be returning. 1) I’m doing a no spend challenge 2) I didn’t like the way it fit and 3) I’ll just wash the one I have and shop around for reduce one.

I can’t wait until next week to throw about $700 at CC9. I have two months to get this baby paid off

I’ve also decided to keep my sinking funds...
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Amber was asking on her last post about how much is too much to save in your sinking funds and was it necessary to do that when you had an emergency fund, after listening to some speaker who did not think they were. My answer got so long I decided to just make it into my own post.

As for the sinking funds, they are very necessary. To me the emergency fund is for true emergencies, not the expected expenses that can come up over the course of a year or two. Emergencies like...
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I've been super busy with work and getting ready for the rummage sale, plus now softball has started so things are just crazy here! I haven't been posting anything new, so next week's sales will be low. I need to focus on getting the garage cleaned out and all this new stuff marked for the rummage sale.

This week's sales were 483.00!!

Sale #1238 (AB) $3.00
Bundt Cake Pan - I paid $1.07
Sold for $3.00
Profit = $1.93

Sale #1239 (TV) $100.00
Ozark Trail 12 Person...
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I finally purchased our plane tickets and rental car for our vacation. Thank goodness, it was stressing me out! It was about $1,200 and we only have $500 put back so far. So we'll have to borrow from ourselves until we pay it back.


I can't believe it but after 6 weeks of waiting I got a letter in the mail that my car title transfer/license plates were denied!? If anyone remembers I had a heck of a time getting the car into my name because it was inheritance from a deceased...
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I reset my mortgage yesterday. My lender offered me a deal that would raise my monthly payment only $26 and gives me 60 months at that rate, which is 4.26%. I realize I could get a lower rate if I switched to a 15-year fixed rate, but right now the crucial thing is to keep the monthly cost down. I do have to pay a one-time $250 fee, and the new rate will begin in July. (I am doing this because my 7-year ARM is running out.)

That gives me three years to get in a better place...
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How much is too much in your sinking funds?

I was listening to a live video and the admin stated not to pile up too much cash in these funds because that’s what the EF is for.

Well for me, my car repairs with oil change and tires average about $500 a year, or a little over. I’m never at the point of making the $500 saved mark, because something always happens and I have to tap into both the sinking fund or the EF. I can say though for this year so far I haven’t had...
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Let me preface this by saying that I am not looking for atta girl or other accolades. I simply want to share something that made me happy today.

It had been kind of a rough day. My sinus headache/nausea had reared itself in the afternoon. I got called a liar when I made a mistake based on what I thought I had heard. Someone else got all persnickety when I told them that no, we did not have the thing they had left on the bus.

I hadn't gone grocery shopping due to not feeling...
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So I've been working really hard on improving my diet since my last lipid panel and I've had some good results back from the one I did last week. It still has some room for improvement, but I was very excited to see that my work is paying off.

My HDL, which is the good cholesterol has gone up from 35 to 43 and is now barely withing normal range, which is 40 to 59. My LDL, which is the bad cholesterol has gone up, though, from 57 to 67, but it is still less than 99, which is...
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It feels so good to cash flow things. Needed an oil change and paid cash. I’m glad I have the sinking fund for car repairs. I also went to Walmart, it takes longer but it beats paying $42, I paid half of that. I did realize in order to win with money you have to be inconvenienced.

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I can kick myself in the ass if I could. I've been paying $20 every month for a service I have not used since 2018. How can I let this go so far and take pride of my money managing skills? I finally cancelled along with a Hulu Live TV free trial subscription that was due to be charged to my credit card tomorrow. I vow to never do this again!
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I had a lovely day yesterday -- my first outing after surgery. We went to a Mexican restaurant for a delicious lunch. No cost to me; the kids treated. Afterwards we came back to my place and ate a cake that GS2 made in cooking class, and then we played a few games. When the kids left to go bike riding, I was ready for a nap.

I didn't take a pain pill between 11 am yesterday and 6 am this morning, and I am paying for it. Wow, I hurt. I have to get off the opioids, though,...
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I spent some time thinking through all these college costs coming up and I'm getting some clarity. We have already been notified that we owe my oldest daughter's University $901.25 since we withdrew her VA benefits. They put a hold on her University charge card since it is actually an overdue debt at this point. I will pay that tomorrow. I tried today, but they must have the site down for maintenance.

I will be pulling money out of both daughter's Educational Savings Accounts...
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It seems like spring has finally arrived and here it is sunny and beautiful on a Sunday. That hasn't happened in months. It seems like every Sunday lately has been horrid as far as weather.

We had Easter services today. Our Pastor always has a children's sermon and today the kids were so excited he had a hard time keeping them on topic. But he has a good sense of humor and I do think the congregation enjoys the kids and their enthusiasm.

Normally on Sunday when we get home...
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