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My Ancestry.com subscription hit my Discover card yesterday. I knew it was coming in March, but I guess I assumed it wouldn't hit within this credit card cycle. So my spending balance is cut down to $115. Still no problem; I won't need to spend nearly that much during the next five days. Unless I get another surprise!

I had some aging apples in the fridge, so I made applesauce yesterday. I'm going to have some for breakfast this morning, along with biscuits from the freezer....
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I haven't been posting much at all. February was an atrocious month for my health. I had bronchitis, then influenza a, then a 3 day stomach bug (vomiting the whole time), then a sinus infection. It never stopped, just went from one thing into the next, all the while I didn't have Enbrel for 5 weeks. Getting it okayed by the new insurance was an absolute nightmare. And not because they ever planned to deny it, but because everyone involved but me kept dropping the ball.

First...
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This carona virus has been causing havoac over here for us...my hubby has cancer and it is the beginning of the flu season for us so trying to get him masks and hand sanitizer has been impossible...we had to order them online but it means he can't really go out until they come in...these idiots that are out stockpiling things who really do nothing when it is the flu season which kills many more people just don't think of anyone but themselves..some people really need these things...
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$4364.77 Balance Forward
+___2.87 February Interest Added
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$4367.64 New Balance
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It's the end of the teaching week, but the grading week likely won't end until, well, May. And today was endless meetings with students, ex-students, instructors who report to me, you name it--then policy meetings. I think I have people overload; I just want to sit somewhere quiet and grade papers.

I brought my lunch, bought the cheap but good coffee, and ate leftovers for dinner. My students are worried all sick and tired and worried. But spring break is 7 days away. Deep...
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I woke up this morning in a great mood! I slept well, felt rested and was even singing in the shower getting ready for work. I stopped and treated myself to an iced coffee on the way in and had some early morning laughs with coworkers. Then I decided that today was the day I was going to give my boss my official notice that I am retiring, and May 1st will be my last day. I have been holding off because she has been out on medical leave, and wanted to wait until she came back, but...
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Wednesdays are normally our grocery shopping days. Mostly because I am retired and I don't have to shop on the weekends or evenings, and also because Wednesday is when the ads come out for the new sales. We usually go about mid morning before there is a huge crowd except during holidays and snow forecasts where people panic.

Well, I'm wondering if panic is the operative word as far as the Coronavirus. Yesterday our Aldi was really, really busy. It normally isn't when we go....
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A family member, whom I lent money to a while back, Venmo me $250. Repayment is sporadic, but anything I get back is a plus. I am going to keep $50 of it to spend on a meal out or a treat for me. I am trying to enjoy a little bit of our money lately. My husband’s cousin is terminally ill and his stepchildren are fighting for some antique cars he has. Good grief, the guy is not even dead yet. I told my husband that there has to be a balance in life and he should enjoy some of...
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Not much on my plate today. I'm planning to take a walk, make applesauce, and do a load of laundry. And of course keep studying my election manual.

I texted the election technician yesterday and he did not answer, so I'll call him today. I assumed he would be a techie who was always texting, but apparently not. I need to nail down when he plans to set up and how much help he needs. It's quite a process, and at least one other judge is needed, if only to co-sign the forms...
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As of 5 march 2020
Ice $3,978.64
Car $344.74
house $222.74

Total $4,546.12
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Well all the extra we got and put into our ice account we had to put it on a fine it was $545..we were in an area that had loads of construction and an area that we never go to and we must have gone through an orange light that turned red while we were driving through it...we never do that but we did it so have to pay it...so it sucks but thats life...also payday today so was able to put another 300 into our ice acct...so close to our $4000 mark...next month we will reach the $5000 mark..yah
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This isn't quite a financial topic, though everything is to some extent, but I'm looking for everyone's thoughts.

How do you spend your evenings? After work and dinner, what do you do for the rest of the day?

I've really been struggling with this for a while. I feel like we don't do much of anything except watch some TV and spend time on the computer or our phones.

We do go to the gym regularly, but not at night. My wife does a lot of sewing and quilting, but not typically...
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Every year my work offers $200.00 that we can use for Wellness. They are very liberal with what it can be used on, anything from tennis shoes to sports equipment, exercise classes, etc.

I used mine to get a Fitbit (I had an Apple Watch that I got for cheap through a discount program and I HATED it, it never worked right) and also a paid of Brookings shoes! My local sporting goods store had great price on the watch and also was giving $50 off your purchase when applying for...
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Graduation for our oldest daughter is coming up soon in early May! I just happened to think to look for flights the other day and there were some decent prices for the dates we needed, so I booked them. We also have a one way flight for our youngest daughter to return home for the summer. Our oldest daughter can move here with us if she wants, but none of us think that is the best idea because she ultimately does not want to live here knowing we will eventually move again.

Back...
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I had some EBs to use up at CVS and found a few smalls deals to help use them up.



Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste (Bought 4)
Regular Price $3.59 Each
On Sale for $2.99 Each
*Received $2.00 EB Each
Final Price + Tax = $1.20
(Marked $2.50 for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 1 for $2.50 on FB on 4/12/20

Mens Nivea Bodywash (Bought 1)
Regular Price $5.99
-$3.00 CVS CMC Coupon
*Received $2.00 EB
Final Price + Tax = $1.06
(Marked $3.00 for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold...
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Yesterday I spent .50 on parking, but it came from my coin purse, so I still haven't spent any of the $304 designated for the coming week. I drove my grandson to a branch library so he could check out a book for his book club. In this particular area, there is no free parking. But we found the book!

Today I'm going to go to the gym and then I'll come home and study my manual. I haven't contacted the election team yet; may start today with the technician. The team still...
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Last night DS1 finally made the time to come over to create a budget. I have been nagging him so his participation was somewhat reluctant. I asked him to bring his laptop and I started him with an Excel workbook that I created with sample categories populated. I preached my truth about budgets not being restrictive but instead giving control so the funds are allocated to the things we believe to be most important in our lives.

I am cautiously optimistic that the session was...
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My hubbys son owed us $620 from when we helped him and his daughter after him and his wife split a couple years ago...he was injured and unable to work and his wife is just horrible the way she treated them...and still does..she makes my blood boil especially when it comes to her daughter...so frustrating..but they are finally divorced and everything was settled yesterday so he sent the money to us...we didn't expect it so it went into our ice acct which means we are now over $4200...
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So through a set of circumstances that my mom is calling divine intervention, almost the entirety of my debt was revealed to her. Of course I was...there is not a word that could accurately describe what I felt. My debt is definitely a source of shame & fear. Not fear in that I can’t pay it, but that it’s a cycle that I’ll never get out of.

So we had a discussion over the phone. She wanted to wait until later to talk since I was at work, but I hate that. When people have...
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Today was the day for my monthly net worth calculation. I time it each month to be just after the automated house payments. I expected ugliness so I actually was almost pleasantly surprised. I’m down $24k since last month. The retirement accounts did take a brutal beating but it was countered by the company stock price increase, house value increase, and debt payoff. The company is private and the stock price is evaluated only twice per year. That happened last month so the impact...
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