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Archive for June, 2018

Stockpile

June 24th, 2018 at 12:06 am

I confess. I have a stockpile. I estimate I have a good six months worth of TP, paper towels, laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, trash bags, batteries, tissues. I don't stockpile a lot of food though. And I purchased all of it with Swagbucks gift cards, so it was all free. My best friend teases me about it (good natured kidding). I got to thinking why I do it. Some people talk about being influenced by parents or grandparents who were effected by the depression. In my case, I think it was the last great recession. I saw so many people come into the career center who had lost jobs, were going to lose their homes, who actually felt they were doing things the right way by having a six month emergency fund but who still could not find employment and were running out of money. It was heartbreaking and it also scared me. I set my mind to paying off my house so I wouldn't be homeless. I saved up a very large emergency fund just in case I ever lost my job. When I recently bought my car I payed cash so I wouldn't have a car payment. I think stockpiling things gives me a certain sense of safety. It's all neatly organized in my storage room. I guess some would call it odd, but I just like having it. Anyone else profoundly effected by a particular economic circumstance?

Random Updates

June 7th, 2018 at 07:58 pm

I took a week of vacation time this week. It was "use it or lose it" and I certainly wasn't going to lose a full week of vacation time. So I have been thoroughly enjoying a staycation. It's been wonderful to be able to sleep in, enjoy some lazy mornings, catch up with some retired friends over lunch, and get some things done. I marveled the other day at how quickly I was able to complete some errands because there were no lines! I was in and out at the bank, the grocery store, JC Penny for a return, and the car wash at the dealership.

June is a 3 paycheck month so that extra check will go to savings. I redeemed $61.99 in credit card rewards (cash) and a $9.11 check for a faulty product reimbursement. I did some shopping today for some much needed household items and spent $65.67 at Target so that was about equal to the cash in.

Not much else to report. Work continues to be challenging but I'm staying out of the drama and tussling as much as possible. Day by day! Overall life is good and I'm happy and content.

May Spending

June 1st, 2018 at 11:11 pm

Total Spending $1125.35

Here is a breakdown of May Spending. My goal was to stay under $1000 for the month.

Fixed Expenses:

Verizon Bundle: 172.71 (Internet, home phone, cable)
Monthly Condo Fee: 185.00
Cell Phone: $59.35
HVAC and water heater maintenance contract: 27.95
Pocket money: 0

Variables:
Utilities: 61.63
Gasoline: 36.24
Groceries: 239.25
Health: 78.80 (scripts and co-pays)
Dining Out: 15.60

Mom's Medications: $177.82
Dryer vent cleanout $70

The $70 dryer vent cleanout is a required maintenance item by the condo board, agreed upon by the owners. A company comes in and professionally cleans out the dryer filter in the dryer, they remove the tubing that vents to the outside and vacuums that out and reattaches it to the wall, and also vacuums out the vents on the outside of the building. Dryer fires are one of the leading causes of home fires and I'm glad this is required. We have it done once every two years. Please remember to clean out your vents!

Every so often my mom needs some help paying for her medications so my brother and sister and I always chip in. That expense put me over my goal of staying under 1000.00 per month, but that's ok.

I still need to get my grocery spending under control, so I'm following Lucky Robin's lead and will be using the envelope system for June. I get $175 firm!! It's just too easy to go in and swipe the card.

I haven't updated in a while, I've just been so busy at work and time just got away from me. But I do always read the blogs.

* Condo is paid in full
* Car is paid in full (2017 Camry)
* No other debt