So I may not go out and spend money and it's super easy to do that during covid.  But I still find NSD hard.  Why?  Because I notice a lot of little things pop up here and there.  Like I have two medical copays that came in and I should pay today.  I already paid $610 for 2 summer camps for the kids today.  I also had to give a neighbor a check for $345 for our share of the fence repair.  So in one day I jsut spend about $955 without leaving my...
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BIL has been improving every day.  Yesterday they were able to take out the feeding tube and today he was able to sit up and talk and eat.  They have moved him out of ICU.  He will still have to stay in the hospital, but there is no more talk of him not surviving.
On the 13th at 1:30 p.m. PDT my daughter has a lumbar puncture.  That's tomorrow, but the time stamp here is never right so putting the real date.  If you can keep her in your prayers that would...
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I got my second Pfizer vaccine on Satuday.  Had a headache almost immediately after receiving vaccination. Sunday had a low grade fever all day.  Took some Tylenol Sunday before bed and work up feeling good this morning.
Unfortunately one of the plans I had for two weeks after the vaccination will not happen.  I had planned to watch a movie my cousin sent me of my aunts and gradparents with my dad.  He passed away Friday. 
 
 
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I don't know if others find it hard to plan spending for the year.  I guess because I don't have a straight budget plan yet.  I also am unsure how disciplined I want to be with "savings".  I definitely want to save for things like property taxes and sink funds but the retirement?  
So here's our basic budget and I need to figure out how to make things work.
$10914 Income
-$3850 Mortgage
-$1000 Property Taxes (Savings account)
-$725 Sink Fund
-$1500...
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We had our second pfizer done on Saturday. Low grade fever, feeling queasy and headache although it didn't really start until Sunday at 1am. I spent most of Sunday in bed. That's how I prefer to heal, sleep it off. 
We've gotten our state refund back but still waiting on the federal refund. 
I pulled up our zestimate through mint, our home has increased by almost $25k since we bought it 9/19. That just blows my mind, real estate is increasingly out of reach for the...
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Be sure to read the recent comment left on Ima Saver's last blog post here:  Text is https://imasaver.savingadvice.com/2016/07/26/i-am-still-here_209394/#comments and Link is https://imasaver.savingadvice.com/2016/07/26/i-am-still-here...
Sadly, Julie has passed away.   icantsave thoughtfully left a link to her obituary:  
https://www.mountainviewfuneralhome.com/obituary/julia-denski
 
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I just arranged -- finally -- to have my table picked up for repair and refinishing.  Because of the shop's workload, it won't happen until May 17, but that's fine.  That will be after I come back from Oregon, and I will be ready!
I just redeemed $14 in cashback rewards from Discover.  I've been keeping track of extra income this year, and so far it's been $3,068.  Most of that is the two stimulus payments.  I don't have much extra income anymore. ...
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I worked a full week last week to cover for the person who shares my job. I won't be paid any extra for doing so. Why am I okay with this?
It was part of the agreement I made with my manager at the start of the pandemic, after I began working from home. The deal was that I'd be paid a fixed weekly amount regardless of how many hours I worked. Billable hours don't include the time I wait for work and am essentially on call roughly 8 hours a day, 3 days a week.
The fixed weekly...
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Last Friday I received my second Moderna vaccine. I had some mild side effects for a couple of days but am feeling mostly back to normal today. I am so thankful to be fully vaccinated. Most of my family and close friends are either fully vaccinated or have their second one scheduled. We are looking forward to some get togethers very soon! My sister and BIL will definately be coming for a visit this summer and I cannot wait. I miss my sister so much.
I still have not received my...
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It was 15 years ago that I started this blog.  It took a little over 14 years and 2 months of that time to get out of debt.  I really never thought I'd wake up one day and actually be here.  It was all so overwhelming.  We kept plugging and kept plugging and even took on new debt in there a couple of times, but eventually we stopped that and got where we needed to be.  The freedom from it is like no other.  And I don't think I would have made it without...
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After April payments were applied, my student loan balance is down to just under $20,300! (A previous post with exact numbers got eaten by the website and now the lender site is down for maintenence, but close enough!)
 
I am tempted to throw more money at it to get below the $20K mark, but have a big tax payment coming out of my account April 15, so may just be patient. I am not sure why my employer withholdings are so wrong when I request zero exemptions every year. 
 
I...
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It's 10 o'clock in the morning & I'm just waking up. I didn't getting home until after 4 this morning, after getting caught in a horrible storm. So thankful to have made it home okay. I left & it was raining, but not horribly. By the time I got halfway home I had little to no visibility due to driving rain coming in waves, lights were going out as I drove putting everything in complete darkness, & the winds were terrifying: knocking traffic lights askew & debris...
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It is very nice to live life without the mortgage monkey on our backs.  We closed on the house on March 24th and it took a week everything to be moved around.  I repaid the kids and deposited their funds back into their Vanguards.  My parents lent us money to do repairs and cover unexpected expenses, so they are paid back.  I upped the 401K contribution to 11% for SO.  I deposited the rest into the money market and need to meet with a finanical advisor...
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I sent in my Federal, State and County taxes as well as the estimates for Quarter 1. I also fully funded my SEP-IRA for last year. This has left my bank account almost completely empty. That money was never really mine to use - I just had it saved up and earmarked for these things. But, seeing about $50k disappear from my bank account is quite heartbreaking. This is one of weird psychological things about self-employment. This year, my estimated taxes will be much closer to the...
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Well so for the 4 day weekend we spent $759.03 total.  That includes gas, groceries, and eating out.  The VRBO our share was $710.  That means for four days we spend $1470.  Ouch.  Well that's how the cookie crumbles.  Mostly it was staying with people who spend like there is no tomorrow.  Like I told DH it solidified why I normally don't stay in VRBO with people.  First time and probably last time.  Our sleeping habits has always been...
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I got my windshield replaced today.  The plan was for them to come to me, but it rained all day, so the technician and I agreed to meet at the company site.  It was a bit of a drive, but I took the opportunity to stop at Panera and get my free bagel.  I am entitled to a free one every day this month, but since our nearest Panera closed, it's not easy to just pop in.  I'll get a bagel when I am somewhere near a Panera.
I also did a load of laundry.  
BFF...
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Popping in to say hello and share a few updates.
I received word from my debt consolidation company that they were able to negotiate settlements on two more of my accounts in the past few days.  This takes me down to 3 that are left to be settled, and a total unsettled balance of just over $14k.  Already way past where I thought the year would end up, and it's only April.  I guess later in the year I'm going to have to switch my tracking mechanism to how much is...
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I was just reading this article:
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/07/biden-tax-plan-may-spur-boost-in-roth-retirement-accounts.html?fbclid=IwAR3ktxa8YcXrwoDfM9XMdZ-z-bEmV97gHHwJvnFbSoR5dlbUel-ldHLqqZE
Some of these changes would negatively affect me. The change in tax deductions  on the retirement accounts as well as the estate tax.
I could easily see myself leaving having more than $3.5 million in my estate. Maybe that will just inspire me to spend it down in my old age! Hopefully...
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Feeling much better this morning, I headed out to do some grocery shopping.  But when I got in my car, I saw that the windshield was cracked!  I got out and checked all around the car to see if there was any other damage, and there was not.  I don't know what could have happened!  I called my insurance company and someone will come out tomorrow to replace it, but since I have a deductible I will have to pay $250.
I went ahead and drove to Aldi, where I spent...
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So we went away this weekend and I haven't quite sorted out everything on that.  However I did manage to compile some.  So here is our spending for the month so far.
$252.40 for Groceries$20.50 Eating out $70.92 Alcohol$66.09 Dog$45.57 Gas$427.31 Utilities (water, internet, xm subscription)$14.90 Home Depot$35.27 Haircuts$6.60 Auto (windshield blades)$77.13 Home Goods$75.57 Gifts (Bought some stuff)$9.61 Misc$173.49 Kids ($135 piano lessons)$71.56 Gas for road Trip$494.79...
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