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So anyone who reads my stuff knows that us and the IRS are just at odds most years and hard to sort out when living in a different country....last year was the best year yet in dealing with them. 
So in july this year I wrote and asked them to take my itin back, I didnt want to be on my hubby's taxes, Ive never lived in the US, never worked in the US and frankly don't want anything to do with their tax system. They have sent me 2 letter latest being in nov saying they need...
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Gosh, I can't believe this is still here!
First, thanks to Fiscal Fitness / Dido for figuring out how to change a password. I used that information to find my account and update my password. Usually I keep pretty good track of usernames and passwords, but - I haven't been here in quite a few years and I suppose I can forgive myself for not keeping track of them.
I see a lot of familiar names here, and I look forward to catching up.
Let's see. . . when we last met Daisy had graduated...
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His last day at work will be this December 31.  Truly the end of an era.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od3jjn7sAPU
Bonus topic, because I don't think it's worth making a separate entry for it:  I noticed how a lot of people are calling luxuries "Billionaire's ... [insert luxury item name here]".  I totally understand why most people don't think the term "millionaire" has the same shock value as before, but what if someone has $999 million?  They are still...
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I live in a state that has a car property tax you pay each year, and it's based on the type of car, I guess, but also specifically, its age. The longer you own a car, the lower the tax gradually becomes. In 2024, the car tax on my little 2013 Honda was down to $204. I just got the bill for this year with my new 2024 Toyota SUV, and I'll be paying $405. Ouch. Call it a new car penalty tax.
Saw Dad in rehab the other day. They had just brought him down to another floor for his first...
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I have a good idea where things will land this month.  
Pay cash for college ✔
Just one more tuition payment left for MM(22).  Crazy!
$10K to Savings ✔
Final tally was $15,100. 
Saved at the last minute, by a cash gift.  Which made up for a wild spending year.
Note:  I do not count money we deducted from our savings account to pay for college.  This '$10K per year' is pretty much what we need to save to keep afloat and cover...
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It was a very good money week.  
I mentioned my work bonus.  This is how it shook out:
Taxes: $4,900
401K: $600
Taxable Investments: $2,500
Car Repair $1,000 (we already paid for the other half)
Savings $2,000
Me: $1,000
I know, I know.  A 'chunk' did go to taxes.  But I don't think any of that tax was for my salary the rest of the year.  That's just all the taxes (including FICA) that came along with the bonus.  I did a tax calculation...
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This weekend I plan on getting myself back on track. I did a really bad job at tracking my spending and income this year. First time in a long time that I was not on tope of a lot of things. A few things I've done tonight 
- Jotted down when things are due 
- Cleaned out emails ( work in progress)
- Unsubscribe to junk emails (e.g. retailers)
- Cleaned my bedroom and master bath 
- Working with ChatGPT to create the perfect budget, well at least that's...
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I have a male friend who is recently going through divorce.  Basically, from now on, he will not have Christmas with his kids or ex-wife anymore.  (He will have the kids on Christmas Eve though.)  For a man who is very family-orientated, this is a huge blow to him, and it will take time for him to adjust.
I myself have gone through that as well, where from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day, it's just an emotional slog that I have to get through, year after year, with...
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Well we have 1 payday left for the year but it will be going into savings as we dont need to put it anywhere else.
I have been working on my 2026 goals, they are usually the same each year or similar but it's how I keep myself on track.
So these are what I am doing
1. Going back to menu planning (havent done it in a few months)
2. Going back to using a budget, we had no bills as all paid so going back to using one
3. saving $40k....hoping to get to $50k but that would be a...
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One thing I've learned is if you want your student loan payment to hit immediately, pay it just before a holiday. many other time it takes 3 days to process. I can't figure how they're able to ensure the interest calculates and post timely but not your payment. Any how the  loan payment I made yesterday was credited to my account today, my new balance is $10,966.02, accruing $2.06 a day. Imagine incurring $10-$12 a day, and your payment is $319 a month because you can't...
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Well, the good news is, I didn't lose power in the storm a few days ago. There were 60+ mile-per-hour winds, but it looks like the worst of the storm fell on the central part of the state. I'm on the western side, so we fared a little better.
However, I woke up this morning feeling really cold and i started worrying that something was wrong with the furnace. I have MANY times accidentally turned the furnace switch off at the top of the basement stairs becus I have a small bag...
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As of today, my student loan balance is $11,762.12, and it’s accruing $2.21 per day in interest.
I made a payment of $800.38. I expect it will take about six days to post, so roughly $13.26 in interest will accrue during that time (6 × $2.21). That means about $787.12 of my payment should go toward the principal ($800.38 − $13.26), which would bring my balance to approximately $10,974.99 ($11,762.12 − $787.12).
I’m a little bummed I won’t hit...
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We are within striking distance of our financial independence goal.  Probably technically there, with our assets right now.  But expecting to spend down some of these asstes on the next ~2.5 years of college expenses.
Our FI numbers is also completely meaningless while we still have kids to support and a mortgage.  But it's exciting to be so close to the finish line.
Most of our motivation is a scarcity mindset, which I think is a good thing when I look at how...
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We had an unexpected $500 expense come up in November.  That's when I knew that I give up on 2025 goals.
I had already re-evaluated goal progress when paying for our big anniversary trip.  While I felt it was silly to be stingey for our 25th, re: the big picture, I also didn't have any real plan to pay for this.  I didn't want to touch longer term funds.  I decided at the time (when paying for the trip) that we were still on track for:
**9% to retirement (minimum...
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While I may not always check my net worth monthly, I still at least do it annually.
Part of the reason I didn't look too often this year is because things were not exactly all that rosy for me.  For example, my investment portfolio's Year to Date performance fell by roughly $40k compared to January's high.
To be fair, January's stock market was unusually high, so when we fell off of that (*cough* Tariffs *cough*) I'm just kind of glad that it recovered enough that it's "only"...
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I was out doing some shopping earlier this week and heard several conversations over the day about how many of them are in debt for christmas AGAIN!!
They were talking about what the lastest things that they bought their kids & grandkids, how much money they spent on them and got the kids whatever they wanted...a few of them...and I mean several of them said that they spend all year paying off their credit card just so they can pay it use it again for christmas....so wow all...
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I was reading back through my post this year and one of the major things that happened was as of august we are debt free which has helped us out tremendously. Our focus next year will be saving for a home so going to make that our goal for the year. 
I have been really slack on menu planning, and having a budget so have gone back to doing that next year, I have our budget up and will work on our menu after christmas, its summer here so will be lots of salads and BBq's.
Daughter...
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Just sitting here pondering life during the middle of a growing windstorm. Hoping I don't lose power but it doesn't take much here to do that; trees and power lines don't mix. Gusts of 55 to 60.
Hey, does anyone want to make an easy $100? If you apply for a Discover card using the link I send you and you make a purchase in the 1st 3 months after receiving the card, we both get $100! Here are the details:https://card.discover.com/web/cardacq/referral/?page=referfriend&trafficCode=75
Dad...
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There's something I've been ruminating recently, and while it is financially-related, I think it's also something even more fundamental than that.
Do you know why men are generally not savers?  Asking a genuine question here, because I've known and spoken with a lot of smart men before, and yet, most of them struggle financially.
Sure, you could say it's simply not in their interest to do so, because it runs contrary to whatever it is they want out of life.  Whether...
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Just found out my FICO score went down 10 points because they decided that I don't have enough... what did they call it, Paid Accounts?
Basically, I have no debts of any kind, and currently have only one credit card active.  Why?  Because I'm a lazy simpleton *COUGH* er I mean Thoreauvian who enjoys the peace and tranquility of the simple life.  Uh yes.
In any case, I say this is a good problem to have because I'd rather be this than have massive debts that are...
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