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OK, time for the 2019 review (better late than never?).

To start - my investments ended the year at $1,090,000, a fabulous number. A great year for me investment wise, but given the big drop at the end of 2018 it inflates the returns for 2019. So two ways to look at it for me. For the last year they increased $265k (with $51k of additions) (amazing), OR for the last two years the investments grew $249k (with $104k of that my contributions) (pretty darn good on an annual basis,...
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Well the end of my pseudo / pretend / whatever pre-retirement. Not really pre-retirement I guess, but it will be 2 weeks being a caretaker with my mother recovering from surgery. And I am sure retirement could feel like this. Pretty easy really. After a few days she has been able to get around and take care of herself (not perfect, but she can and is mostly willing), but when you have as much sick leave to burn as I do, and you can use it to take care of a relative, why shouldn't...
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Made some adjustments, I revised my W4 form and decided to have the contribution to my retirement, $100 a month, be pre-taxed and go to my 401(k) at work. This will reduce my taxable income. Hopefully, I’ll see the bump again in my take home pay. I’m scheduling a time to meet with the accountant.

I also decided with the extra $700 a month from the consulting gig, $100 will go towards the mortgage principal and $600 to the credit card. I really think in about 5-7 years...
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Well, yesterday I cleaned off the car (not an easy task, but made easier by the snow broom I bought at Aldi -- what a good purchase that was!) But I no sooner got on the road than I noticed the tire light was on. I drove to Midas and they checked it out. There was a puncture in one tire and a leak in another. One tire had to be replaced and the other repaired. But more seriously, my front brakes were dangerously impaired, and my back brakes needed some maintenance. I actually...
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Well I spoke too soon... Now there are several thousand out-of-network bills pending on my insurance for the NICU bill. Grr. Will just have to wait a bit longer and see if insurance decides to pay or not. If not I will be calling and seeing what I can do about it. Why is medical billing always so shady?

Taxes were deposited and with the gifts we received I was able to go ahead and pay off the credit card completely! Woo hoo! This completes my first 2020 goal, and it's only February!

Next...
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I am not sure any of you will remember me, but I blogged here 2007-2011 as a single mom of two kiddos (in high school and middle school). I had declared bankruptcy and when I started my blog I was working a job that paid me less than what my rent was each month (thankfully I did receive child support). I also had over $13,000 in credit card debt when I started the blog (incurred after the bankruptcy, so the APRs were astronomical). In the 3.5 years I blogged, I secured a new...
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Happy Valentines Day! Nothing much happening here today as MO has to work the late shift and all weekend, so I will be home cuddling with our 3 puppy girls!

Great update today! We went down below the next TWO thousand dollar marks!! So excited for all these milestones! Store Loan is under $500! Only 4 more payments on the Store Loan (it is paid bi-weekly)!!

Celebrations for this update:
-$1502.17 paid off in the last 2 weeks!!
-Total Debt went under the next TWO...
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Temperature -- real temperature -- is below zero this morning. Yet I am going to go out in it -- it's a gym day, and I have to return some library books that are due today. Also, I need to pick up a few groceries. I hope I can get all this done with minimum exposure. The worst part, I think, will be cleaning off the car.

DS texted me last night to ask if I could take care of the boys this afternoon. I had fallen asleep early, so I didn't see the text till this morning....
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We don't celebrate valentines day I have always seen it as a waste of money we do things like that all year long so don't worry about it..and with the fires this year can only imagine how expensive flowers are going to be for those buying them...however my hubby has always bought our girls since they were born a rose on valentines day...its their tradition with him...we got some about a week ago on sale and put them in the fridge...they are still as fresh as the day we bought them...
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The dentist gave me a temporary crown, and I will get a permanent one on March 6. The cost was $1115, which I put on my Discover card. It closed yesterday, so that will put off the actual payment till next month. For tracking, though, I always count at the point of purchase.

I was glad I waited for my own dentist, because he was just so professional and got it all done so efficiently it was like clockwork. I really felt like I was literally in good hands.

I do need to...
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had to spend big bucks today (or big enough) we went to see someone about my hubbys foot, he no longer has padding on the bottom of his feet and makes it difficult to walk..so they did some tests and some moulds of his feet and are making him custom supports for his shoes, we also bought a new pair of shoes that has a deeper insole for the new supports so today was a $750 day of spending..we put it on the CC as I want to keep extra money around for the cancer scans etc...so hopefully...
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I am grateful to be able to get my job back. I was gone for five weeks. I contacted the teacher I helped (as a teacher's aide) to see if he thought admin would take me back. I was fortunate in that one of the aides was resigning and he must of put a good word in for me. I will be back next week.

The house I mentioned before has been on the market for close to two weeks. Lots of showings, but no bites. The square footage is working against us (1500 sq.ft.) It's funny because...
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...but I woke up with this awful chest cough that set in in the middle of the night. Guess DH and I won't be going out to celebrate after all. But I bought ribeyes a couple of days ago on sale, and DS will cook them, throw baked potatoes in the instant pot, and open a can of green beans to nuke, so I will still get my dinner cooked by someone else, which is all I really wanted. I might have to eat it in bed, but so be it. And DS is making these really good gluten free brownies...
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The only thing financial about this post is that it’s something for FREE.

Chris Wark from the Chris Beat Cancer website has the first of ten modules of his Square One program (which costs around $100 I think) available for 24 hours for free. So if you’re interested, the link to the video is here: https://squareone.chrisbeatcancer.com/first-things-first/ He only does this a couple of times a year.

My mom died of cancer at age 61 so I am all about prevention.

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Couple more pickups from my FIL after Christmas. A few things are already sold or already packed away so they are not pictured.

And with this I am caught up on all my current hauls from my buyers. I just have a few older hauls to finish up, but feel really good about being caught up with all the new stuff so it isn't piling up. My FIL is laid up right now and going on vaca in a few weeks so that will give me a good chunk of time to get these last items logged and organized...
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Today I go to the dentist to tackle my broken tooth. It is still causing me no pain. I'm hoping he can patch it up rather than replace it with a crown. And I hope there will be no root canal! I've never had one, but I dread the very thought.

Last night's dinner out included GS1's friend. We went to Culver's and it cost me $31. That is not too bad for four people. I'm happy to be generous once in a while. In fact, it feels good to be able to do something like this after...
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I know the media makes more money when they sensationalize, but I still get concerned when I see articles like this one posted yesterday on Yahoo Finance: U.S. Household Debt Exceeds $14 Trillion for the First Time

This chart of household debt from the article is interesting. It looks like CC debt is actually declining but student loan debt is multiplying. And auto loans haven’t wavered in popularity.



Link to article: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-household-debt-exceeds-14-160303784.html...
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Got my taxes filed and our refund is supposed to be deposited tomorrow. We are getting back about $2,150 but I had to pay in over $200 to the state and it cost around $100 this year for me to file. So $1,800ish.

We will use part of the refund for vacation savings and the rest will go towards debt. We also received several more monetary gifts for the baby. So I have $500 extra to throw at the credit card.

Husband is working 7 days of 12 hours this week. Major bummer with...
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Sigh....I am paying for a wedding. I never knew it was this crazy expensive. I am now definitely a huge proponent of eloping or small weddings. It seems to me that money would be better spent for the down payment on a house or a new car.
All in all I am doing okay. Still frugal and I still make a game of “no spend” days.
The funny part is that you get so conditioned to saving and being frugal that the thought of spending makes you uncomfortable. I guess I’ll have to...
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Things are going a lot better with my mom today. I am hoping that means the end of all the horrible, emotionally and physically exhausting days! She apologized for being so cranky and for taking me for granted. That was nice to hear, but honestly I am so used to it now I simply vent here and move on.

I took DD to physical therapy and then I went to take a three page approval thing my insurance needs to my rheumatologist's office to have them fill out and fax in, but no one...
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