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Well nephew has been here 2 weeks and is doing well...eating well, I forgot how much teenage boys eat..but he is putting on some weight and feeling much better, he is sleeping well and hasn't missed a day of school in 2 weeks..he is much happier within himself and my mom is feeling so much better and not as stressed, she will be down tomorrow for a couple days then back home to finish packing then move down to the city next tuesday...just need to organise storage this week and...
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I did my $20 weekly grocery shop yesterday. I spent $20.02 at Aldi and here's what I got: 
A block of cheddar
A bag of coffee
A bag of spring mix salad
A can of jumbo biscuits
A bag of flour
A bag of walnuts
Here are the adjustments I had to make:
I planned to get croutons and dried cranberries for the salad. Instead, I made my own croutons, and I used raisins in place of the cranberries.
I planned to get milk and granola, but that will have to wait another week.
I...
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In a move that surprises even myself, I am on... day 4 (?) of basically eating out of my crockpot.  It all started out when I had a craving for some crockpot soup.  Some days, I just crave some good slow cooked mushrooms (when on sale), onions, and savoy cabbage in french onion soup.  I don't know why I love Savoy cabbage but not the regular, cheaper kind of cabbage, but it's so worth the extra cost to me.
Anyway, I had leftovers for the next day, so I got some...
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I am a teacher and so don’t get raises the same way people in the private sector do. I don’t receive merit raises but do get step raises. This year I am not moving over a step, so was not expecting any kind of raise. However, California gave a hefty (but still below the rate of inflation) COLA raise to school districts of 6.56%. For the first time in my entire career, our school district is giving us the entire COLA plus a tiny bit extra. With the step I’m at,...
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What a nice little mini-vacation I just had! After totaling up the costs, I see it wasn't too expensive. The actual vacation costs -- room, food, gas -- came to $270. I also did some Christmas shopping - $32 - and bought myself some earrings and a winter hat -- $22 -- as well as a couple of plates for my set -- $11.  I also had to pay $6 for a comb, which I forgot to pack, and I bought some pebbles for the aquarium, which was a great deal at $3. That's it!
I came home very...
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Just dropped $500 on my student loans. If feels good to be able to start this back up aggressively paying it off after a few months hiatus. 
Though I’d love to see my lower balance loan knocked out, it makes more sense financially to tackle the larger loan since there is interest involved, and payments will resume in January. I’m still hoping I see some forgiveness but if not at least I know I’m working on it 
 
I wish there was a change in the...
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We were given a truck for our daughter, but it needed some major repairs before she could drive it.  It is actually the truck my husband took his drivers test in about 28 years ago. It has been sitting in the driveway at his parent’s house for 7 years and hasn’t been moved since. Not to mention, it wasn’t taken care of very well before that either.
Over $1200 was owed on it to the DMV for overdue registration and fees. The DMV took off about $400 in fees...
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Yes!
MM(19) applied for a credit card today and received a $1,000 limit.  That is much more useful than his $500 limit.  He has an excellent credit score but income is the limiting factor.  So we just crossed our fingers and tried.  (I guess when he turns 21, we can count parental support, but we can't now if we aren't on the card?  Weird rules.  Something to keep in mind when he turns 21).  
My plan is to shut this other card down, once...
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Received $67 bank interest for the month of August.
Received $180 I Bond interest for the month of August.
 
Snowflakes to Investments:
--Redeemed $61 credit card rewards (cash back) from our grocery card 
--Redeemed $70 cash back on Citi card
--Redeemed $8 on dining out/gas card 
 
Other Snowflakes to Investments:
+ $2 Savings from Target Red Card (grocery purchases)
 
TOTAL: $141 Snowflakes to Investments
 
Snowball to Savings:
+$0...
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Payday has come and gone and I have re-funded all of my envelopes, funds, and sinking accounts.  I had money left in my grocery envelope, quite a lot actually, so I started my savings for the next beef, hencetofore to be known as "Beef Envelope" because I am fancy like that, with $208.  We just didn't buy that much.  Part of that was bad sales at the grocery stores both weeks, part of that was picking up our hog, part of that was having a lot of produce to go through...
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My short trip to northern Indiana and Michigan is starting tomorrow. BFF will be my travel buddy. I'm going to visit an old friend who is in assisted living, visit my SIL's antique store, as well as spend a couple of nights in a hotel. It will be a bit costly, but this is not a good time to stay at my brother's for various reasons, and I'll have BFF along, anyway.
Besides the $20 grocery shop, I haven't spent much at all. I got my flu shot the other day, and not only was it free,...
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Hope y'all are having a good Labor Day weekend if you live in the states. 
Most of my week was spent working with things around here. Our CSA box afforded us a few cucumbers and I made sweet relish and canned it. My husband's cherry tomato plant has been prolific so I juiced them with a couple of larger tomatoes and canned a pint of tomato juice and had a little over half of a pint in the fridge which we enjoyed with our brunch this morning. I decided to try a new recipe...
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After President Biden's announcement about student loan forgiveness my former college roommate posted on Facebook about her situation. I graduated from college back in 2000, I think she took a year or two longer to finish. She still has over $25k in student loans. I was shocked. I know that she came from a single parent home & they didn't have a lot of money, but I was surprised as I thought our college was pretty reasonable to attend back then. She said that she has paid more...
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I have been unhappy at my job for some time.  I have found a new position and will be starting on September 12.  I will be taking an overnight trip with my sister between jobs.
 
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I'm confused about which student loan to tackle. 
student loan 3 has a balance of $7700 with no interest. Student loan 4 has a balance of $27,600 with interest. 
 
I don't think I'm eligible for the loan forgiveness and I'm not upset about it. However, my dilemma is whether should I pay the loan that has no interest or the one with an interest balance in hopes that I do get forgiveness. 
 
Another part of me is telling me to knock this $7700 balance...
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I just typed out a VERY long post, and it’s NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. Oh, Savings Advice… do better. 
Let’s try this again.
With August in the rearview mirror, we are feeling a bit beaten up. It was a very spendy month, but we knew that going in.
Baby Shower… when it’s all said and done, and it is - I think we spent about $4500. Thankful my son-in-law’s family contributed $700 and my parents $400. We had a great time, and my daughter and...
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We got a dog on Saturday.  Less than a than a week ago.   I put a short post on the forum but I'll go into detail here what happened.  
He is an awesome 3/4 poodle 1/4 golden retriever mix from a breeder.  He is 16 weeks old and we call him Parker.  He is super cute.  I found him on FB adopting doodle/poodles rescue group.  Well LAL how did you get a rescue dog?  Well Friday 8/25 a post was put up on a puppy needing to be rehomed. ...
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So, there are five Thursdays in this month, so I will shop five times, $20 a pop. (Or less, if I can do it!)
Today I went to Aldi, and I spent just under $20. I bought eggs, apples, creamer, raisins, bread, butter, and cookies. I also bought toilet bowl cleaner for $2, but that doesn't come out of the grocery budget. For household supplies, I buy them when I need them; it's not a category in which I ever overindulge.
Next Thursday I may be out of town -- I'm planning a short...
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Income Total: $1425.00


     * $1200 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  


     * $225 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal) 


      


Total Spending: $1462.67


Total Savings: $0 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending)
Total Overspent $37.67   Fixed Expenses: Verizon...
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I have my harvest totals for onions and garlic.  I did not lose any garlic to rot and it is now dried.  I have 10.1 pounds of it.  I am setting aside 4 heads of elephant garlic to replant.  I only planted one last year, so I want to have a good amount to plant this year.  That leaves me with 3 to use, one of which I had already used (but recorded the weight of).  The ones I am using soon or did use had split their skins and would not store until planting...
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