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If I can swing two $270 payments by April, I'll have a shortfall of $520 for a full contribution to my Roth IRA (2019). I feel certain that I can contribute $100 from the checking account making it a $420 shortfall. I got this; I'm going to make it happen without withdrawing from the savings account. Once done, I'll battled it with 2020 contributions. It's a must for me to continue fully funding as I am playing catch up.
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As I said earlier, I was proud of him no matter what because he took initiative and prepared himself for this opportunity. I’m glad it paid off. He’s going to be a lifeguard at a local fancy-pants hotel.

The vet bill finally cleared on the Ally CC, so I redeemed my last rewards – 80 bucks to the Ally savings account. Ka-ching.



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Last night I bought my Oscar ticket ($38) and saw the first movie in the series, "1917." It was fantastic -- hard to watch, because it was very graphic and didn't pull any punches about the horrors of war -- but it was uplifting, too. Riveting.

I also bought the tickets for the four movies that BFF will join me for this weekend, but she will pay me back.

I didn't do much during the day, other than the lab visit. I hope to get the results today. Also on tap: gym, laundry,...
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Although below is my plan for the week, with Mom's surgery and us unsure what day she is coming home for sure, things may get swapped around so that an easier meal is made that day. And there is the very real possibility that exhaustion may lead to one or two nights of take out. I hope not, though, because I feel much better when I cook myself. We do have two gluten free options for restaurants, though, so at least there is that.

I am trying to find other restaurants that...
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I love pay weeks, have managed to pay just about all our bills for the month, other than groceries and gas which we take out every fortnight in cash the first which will be this thursday

So far this month we have managed to put money into our
ice account 1799 (should reach the $2000 by end of month)
Car $170
house $107

Our goal is to work on the ice acct to $2000 then the car to $15000 then a house deposit...

we are thinking about moving in august when this lease is...
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Very busy at work translates into very little time to spend. But I did get one thing checked off my list: consolidating an old 403B into my IRA. Swift and simple with one phone call.

Instant Pot soup for tonight for all of us. And thene back to grading, writing up class observations, and annual reviews. It never ends.
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We went down a chunk due to vacation. But we had a great time and it was a much needed break from the cold!

Current Balance $17,475.00
+$50.00 FB Sales
+$30.00 Phone Savings
+$50.00 My Payday to Our Savings (1/24)
+$75.00 My Payday to Mom Loan Savings (1/24)
+$6.82 Cap360 Interest
+$8.18 Even Out Amount
-$3770.00 Laughlin Trip
-$180.00 House Cleaning
Balance $13,765.00

Local Savings $4650.00
GC Savings $570.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $2935.00
Capital 360...
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We were gone for vacation for a week so just recording the sales for the week before we left.

Sales were $97.00!

Sale #1625 (KK) $4.00
Star Wars Valentines Boxers (Joint with my Mom) - We paid $1.06
Sold for $4.00
Profit = $2.94

Sale #1626 (KG) $4.00
Scunci 3-in-1 Headband - I paid $2.27
Sold for $4.00
Profit = $1.73

Sale #1627 (RD) $6.00
Ducky Hooded Towel and Washcloth Set (Joint with my FSIL) - We paid $2.66
Sold for $6.00
Profit = $3.34

Sale #1628 (PB) $30.00
Magic...
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As I mentioned in my last post, I refinanced my federal student loans with CommonBond. They disbursed the check to Great Lakes at the end of January, but I am still waiting for the payoff to go through on the website. The estimated payoff period for that is Feb 4-mid February because they physically mail a paper check and it can take some time to receive and process it. Meanwhile, my new private loan is officially active, so I’m updating my loan chart:

Consolidated Student...
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Total Spending: $1293.47
Total Savings: $3000.00
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $100.00

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): 159.16
Cell phone: 61.33
HVAC and water heater contract: 27.95
Condo Fee (includes water) 190.00

Variables:
Utilities: 95.75
Gasoline: 29.43
Groceries: 295.75 (includes entertaining)
Health: 82.45 (scripts refills for 90 days and vitamins)
Dining Out: 40.37
Car Service: 54.58 (oil change...
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Nothing too much to report this time. The next update will have our 3 biggest payments, so that one will be great!

Celebrations for this update:
-$329.76 paid off in the last 2 weeks!!

Student Loan $0
Payback Savings $0
David's Bridal $0
Scheel's Card $0
Total Rewards $0
LOC - US Bank $0
Ring Iddeal $0
Best Buy $0
HELOC $0
Store Loan $617.12
Mom Loan #2/#3 $29,462.26
MO Mortgage $77,356.28
My Mortgage $140,600.00
Our Mortgage $236,391.27
Total = $484,426.93

Down...
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I was quiet this month because the baby is here!

It was a bit of a whirlwind, and although we are settling in nicely now we had a rocky start. They thought she swallowed meconium which she actually didn't. This resulted in a frustrating 5 day NICU stay with a perfectly healthy baby. Lot of tears and upset. What a long story and a disaster. Bottom line is that there was/is nothing wrong with her, and we will making a complaint about the hospital.

We are happy to home now!

The...
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Debts
Mortgage -$112,730.74 (-$156.16)
0% CC -$2,700 (-$400)
Helitech Loan -$3,550 (-$400)
Medical Loan -$1,800 (-$100)

Savings
Roth IRAs +$16,032 (-$185)
401K +$26,143 (-$65)
Emergency Fund +$3,104 (+$875)
Animal Fund +$505 (+$400)
Truck Fund +$1,725 (+$60)
HSA +$724 (+$218)

Overall: +$2,359.16

Retirement markets where down, but I was able to pay down debt and replace my emergency fund this month.
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They came out today and replaced our electric meter. My wife said the tech told her that the meter did appear to be worn out internally so he thinks I may be right that it wasn't recording properly. He said it takes about 2 weeks for them to do the analysis and he gave us a number to call to get a report.

So now we just have to wait a couple of weeks and then see what they say. Hopefully, they'll confirm a discrepancy and we'll get some money back. I'll update when I know.

The...
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Just got back from the lab. I rode the train, which is completely free and also forces me to take a short walk. Seeing all those people going to work made me appreciate my freedom.

Later today I will go to the theater and buy my Oscar movie pass. BFF promised to come up this weekend and catch four of the movies with me, so that decided me. This will be fun. I will see the first movie this evening, "1917."

My only spending yesterday was $5 for a car wash. I dearly wanted...
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Just tracking gift cards.


GIFTS:
------
$ 20 x 6 Target


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


RESTAURANTS:
------------
$50 Cracker Barrel
$50 Olive Garden
$ 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.

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

We've actually been using up some gift cards. Re-gifted a movie...
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CB's recent blog entry (January Recap) made me think about restaurant expenses.

Sometimes we eat out because it's convenient or because I didn't plan well. For those occasions of course I'd like to minimize our restaurant spending. But as CB points out in her blog entry, sometimes restaurant meals are important times spent with those close to us. We wouldn’t want to stop or reduce the frequency of those occasions. Or replace them with the dollar menu at a fast food place....
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January was a tough month and I am happy to see the back of it. I still don't have my Embrel shots coming because of the doctor's office dropping the ball, so I've had a lot of pain for the month of Jan. I lost 12 pounds, I had a nasty stomach virus and a nasty sinus infection, not at the same time, went off gluten, and I tried to do an eat from the pantry challenge and mostly succeeded. I did buy a few things, but most of the money I saved went into buying bulk meat for the...
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$4301.11 Balance Forward
+___3.66 Interest Added
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$4304.77 New Balance
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I do all of my moms online banking and her budget each year...it works well for her as it takes the stress out of her going out to pay bills etc and it is easy for me. She is currently living with 2 of her grandaughters and their kids (they have 1 each) one moved in with her a year ago and her finances were horrible I got her on track and set it up with her paying all her bills and getting rid of debt...she stuck with it until a few months ago when she stopped doing her budget...
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