Well changed how we are going to budget since finding out about my hubbys cancer, going to get $5000 in our ice acct then save to update our car its a 2005 and starting to show its age...but have the money there just in case and then start saving for a house which we are hoping to be able to buy in next 18 months...the fees are a killer over here which you need up front..around $20000-$30000 dollars just for the fees and then the deposit as well...make it so hard for people to...
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GIFTS:
------
$50 Barnes & Noble
$20 x 6 Target


MOVIES:
--------
$100 Regal


RESTAURANTS:
------------
$50 Cracker Barrel
$50 Olive Garden
$25 Chili's
$ 25 x 2 Jamba Juice (Birthday Gift)


RETAIL:
---------
$50 Kohls (Christmas Gift)
$ 50 x 4 Target

Note: Edited over time to remove used gift cards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the "Digging Out" edition of "Gift Card Balance" Updates....
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‪I made a commitment to an organization to donate $500 last year, in honor of my dad for 2020.

I wanted the reward to be offered in his name. I’ve been speaking with the committee member and expressed my wishes, multiple times. Well I spoke with a member and reminded her this was what I wanted, last week. Today I get a call that it can’t be done, will I be wrong to ask for my money back? ‬

Please no judgement on why the $500 wasn’t paid towards debt. I love my...
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It was a no-spend day yesterday other than $1.50 to run a load of laundry. It was also a gym day, and I got in 5800+ steps.

I did sign up for training for election work. It will take place next Saturday, up in one of the more northerly suburbs. Once that is done I'll be assigned for election day on March 17, and perhaps for early voting at one or two nursing homes (two-hour stints) on March 13. If I do get three different assignments, I will make $330 altogether.

I...
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$19,108.94 401K
+10,021.12 IRA
---------------
$29,130.06 Total Retirement

$30K is so close I can taste it.
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I had money left from the previous pay period, so $285.55 of what is paid out here is from there. There was no overtime on this pay check, between DH helping take care of Mom and getting sick. There will be on the next one.

$318.53 Tithe
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
__50.00 Household Envelope
1285.55 Citi
__61.74 Life Insurance DH
__60.46 Life Insurance Me
_100.00 Adult Spending Money
_120.00 Kids' Allowances
__50.00 Car Maintenance Fund
-----------
3446.28 Total Money Out
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I was still able to make a $1000 payment this payday despite blowing out the takeout budget. I just didn't add anything to the clothing envelope or the laptop envelope this payday. That means we have paid of $2000 this month.

$6000.00 Balance Forward
-1000.00 Payment Made
-----------
$5000.00 New Balance
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There was $18 left in the grocery envelope when I re-funded it today, so I transferred that to the Emergency Fund.

$4346.77 Balance Forward
___18.00 Amount Added
-----------
$4364.77 New Balance
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I expected today to cost me at least $10. It was award ceremony day for our professional writing students, and I had to park in the ramp, haul the trappings for the ceremony upstairs and help set up.

But the barrier at the ramp was up as we were holding a fair for incoming students, so parking was free. There was leftover food which I patched together for lunch, and even coffee and a quart of cream. These small bonuses are so fun.

On a frugal front, I had to meet a new...
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Hubby had his scan yesterday..it cost $200 so not a great expense and worth it to not have to wait another 6 weeks..we get results next friday and hopefully a treatment plan...parking was free so no cost there. If he has to have daily treatments at the hosp he gets free parking as he has a disability sticker..so that will help...not sure what other kind of expenses we will be looking at so have decided against paying off the CC completely and just adding to our ice accout for now...
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I met with our CPA today to do our taxes. They aren't actually done. He and his crew need to actually do the work and then get back to us with the results. That will take a week or so, but my end is done. He has all of the data he needs.

I'm super organized when I go there, which he greatly appreciates, so we zip through the actual tax part of the meeting pretty quickly. We then move on to the discussion portion: How much do we have saved for retirement? Do I have a retirement...
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College funding is a priority for our family. I hate student loans so much – it seems like they hold young adults back right at a time in their lives that they should be future-focused and optimistic. We communicated to the boys early that we would do everything possible to pay for college so they didn’t need to start their adult lives fighting debt. In order to do that, there are things we sacrifice but we’re okay with it because our priorities are in line with our values....
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Yesterday I copied all the cards and ID's in my wallets (I have three) and filed them away. Now I'm ready, if someone steals my stuff! Why do I have three wallets? One is a little one that fits in my pocket; it contains my most-used credit cards and membership cards. The second is a large one that also contains my checkbook. It holds my driver's license, medical cards, AAA card, library card, ride-free card, and one store card. My third wallet is a zippered case that holds...
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Made the adjustments on my W4, and added the $50 per pay date to my 401(k) vs my IRA. Once CC10 is gone, I’ll bump the dollar amount to a $100 contribution per pay check.

Today is pay day, I paid an extra $200 to CC10. Finally, this card is under the $5,000 mark. Next month, I’ll be able to drop an extra $1,000 on it.

This weekend, I’ll be finishing up my taxes, my refund is about $600, I’m okay with that. I was hoping to break even but hey it’s better than owing....
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These are my to do lists for the next couple weeks. I will likely get all of the financial ones done this week and hold off on the more physical activities until next week. I am finally able to drive today to go to the doctor. I still have a full head and runny nose and exhaustion, but the worst from having the flu is behind me. I spent a good ten days in bed. That was the worst flu I've ever had and I am behind on everything.

1. Get ready for taxes
--gather my Youtube/Google...
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My 2020 goal #4 is “Pay no CC interest or fees”.

Since I have a balance on a 0% card that expires in May, I’ve decided to do a combination of paying it off and transferring to another 0% card with no fee involved. I applied for a Bank of America card (I mentioned it on Amber’s blog earlier.) that has a 0% rate with no fees for balance transfers before mid-March. It was approved and they just completed the balance transfer.

The original total amount parked on the...
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Yesterday was pay day. I paid my mortgage, my property tax, my Discover card, and my "car payment" to AMEX. I still have $2230 in checking for utilities and assessment fees, when they come due, and then to apply to next month's bigger bills, which include paying for the crown and car repairs.

It looks like if I can keep my spending under $340 from now till the 12th, when my Discover card closes again, I can pay off my bills next month without touching savings. I also have...
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Well good news today, my biospy came back normal no cancer present just sun damage which is great news..especially since my hubby has just been diagnosed with cancer...he has a scan tomorrow to see if it has spread or not and then find out next week treatment options etc...so that will be around $200-400 not sure till tomorrow...not looking forward to that but at the same time just want to start getting treatment started and knocking the cancer on its butt!!

Hubby got his new...
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We took a short trip to Atlanta this past weekend; the kids had a couple days off work, and we wanted to get a break from the cold and snow. It was only in the 50s and a bit gloomy there, but that felt heavenly to us!

Here's the spending totals for a four-day trip (left Friday night, came back Tuesday afternoon). Travel can really add up for a family of five!
Airfare: $994
Lodging: $655
Checked luggage: $60
Taxis & rideshares: $284
Food & drinks: $947
Tickets (aquarium...
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Dinner out with the boys last night was pretty inexpensive. I had a $5 coupon for Corner Bakery, and I used the balance of my gift card from the House Calls program, so I only paid $7 out of pocket. I had soup, and the boys had mac & cheese and linguine with meatballs.

My prescription was cheap as well -- only $3 -- but the CoQ10 is not cheap. I did remember this from previous flirtations with it. I bought a double pack of 100 mg tablets because it was the lowest unit price....
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