East Coast Saver (Wink)

In my county in Maryland our property tax cycle is from July 1st through June 30th, so I went online today to see if the new bill had posted and it had. Property tax and various fees for this year's cycle are $3214.14. Last year it was $3194.85, so a modest increase of just $19.29, which was actually an increase in the Water Distribution line item. I should receive the paper bill in the mail this week and then I will just pay it in full online. I just like to be sure the paper bill and online bill are the same before I pay. One year there was a discrepancy and of course it took a while to get everything straightened out.

I had a very nice weekend that included a small birthday party for my niece at my brother’s house yesterday. There were 6 of us, just family, and we sat outside (safe distances apart) and had some cake and ice cream. The weather was beautiful, and we really enjoyed the day together. I hadn’t seen my niece and her husband for months and it was great to see them.

Today my best friend and I met at the park for a walk and then our usual sit and chat at one of the picnic tables. After that I ran my car through the car wash and then stopped at a local farm stand for some fresh produce. I’m lucky that while I live in a populated suburb, I am only a few miles from farmland and in the summer, there are usually several small outdoor farm stands selling the most delicious fresh fruits and vegetables!

On July 4th my brother and I would always co-host a big party at his house, inviting lots of relatives we don’t get to see very often as well as friends. This year we won’t be able to do our usual big bash, but we will have just a small family cookout instead.

My sister lives in Texas and they are getting hit really hard with the current spike in COVID. It's doubly hard for her because her husband has cancer and they must be extremely careful. He only leaves the house to go for treatments, and my sister has to strictly limit her outside contact as well. She has groceries and prescriptions delivered to the house, but she still must wipe everything down before she can bring it inside (per the oncologist's instructions). It’s been really, hard on them. I’m still hoping that they will be able to come home for Christmas this year.

I had some CVS extra bucks that were about to expire, and a bunch of coupons so I went early (the store was empty) and got some great food deals. I usually don’t buy food at CVS, but they were having a great sale on items I use. I got a case of water, 5 boxes of my favorite cereal, and 6 bags of Chex Mix (all on sale). After coupons and extra bucks applied, I paid zero! All free. Then I went to the grocery store and spent $44.01. I used my accumulated grocery store rewards points and got a free gallon of milk. I should be good to go for food for the rest of the month, except for one more stop to pick up fresh produce next week sometime. I’ll be donating the bags of Chex Mix to the food distribution center where I have been volunteering. It felt good to do a little couponing again.

This is my first month of my new budget since retiring and I’m right on track. So far, my spending this month is at $1106.41. The only bill I have left to pay is my cell phone, and a small grocery run next week and that should be it. I should come in well under my goal of staying under $1500 for the month. Any money I have leftover at the end of the month I will be saving toward a possible 2021 summer beach vacation! I was talking with my brother and they have been thinking about a family beach vacation next year and asked if I was interested in going. Yes! Something to look forward to.

Back to work? I’ve been contacted by my former supervisor to see if I would be interested in teaching an on-line class in the Fall. I’ve taught this class before, so I don’t need to go through any training. I was also contacted by a friend in the Continuing Education Department about a part time Career Coach position, this would be partially on-line and partially in person. I haven’t made any decisions yet as both positions have pros and cons and I’m just not sure I want to go back to work so soon after retiring, even if it is just part time.

I finished cleaning out and organizing my master bedroom closet and linen closet. I have so many towels! A lot of these were my mom’s, she loved buying big fluffy towels. I will never have to buy another one. I also found that I have two sets of sheets that are missing the fitted one. I have the top sheets and the pillowcases, but the bottom, fitted sheets are nowhere to be found. I think when I moved in here, they must have been put in a donation bag by mistake. So, I’ve been looking for where I can just find a couple of fitted sheets to buy and so far, I can only find them on Amazon. Anyone know other stores (preferably on-line) that sell single fitted sheets?
I met up with my best friend in the park and we sat at one of the picnic tables to visit for a while. We wore masks and stayed at opposite ends of the table, so I think we were fine. It was good to see her and catch up.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

I really miss my couponing and deal hunting! When I was still working, I really only had time to focus on CVS deals and sometimes Walgreens. On Saturday night I would get all my coupons and extra care bucks together, check the new CVS circular for the upcoming week and plan out my Sunday morning shopping trip.

My plan when I retired was to branch out to other stores because I would have more time to learn their policies and how things worked. But all of that has come to a halt as I am trying to stay out of stores as much as possible. Also, a lot of the best deals included products that are now either not in stock, or very limited per person, like TP, paper towels, cleaning products, etc. And I just want to note that this was fun for me! I really enjoy finding deals and saving money on things I use. I didn’t shop just to shop...if that makes sense.

For the past year (before the pandemic) I had been actively building a stockpile of products that I routinely use through couponing combined with sales to prepare for retirement. I built this up slowly with the goal of paying as little as possible for things I regularly use so I wouldn’t need to spend money on these things for a while after I retired when my budget got much tighter. I didn’t stockpile food, only things like TP, paper towels, cleaning products, personal care products etc.

I never really thought of myself as a “prepper” in the traditional sense of the word, I was just a couponer building a stockpile to save money. But having this stockpile has served me well during the pandemic, and it also allowed me to help my family and a few neighbors.

So now I’ve been thinking about slowly building up a small food stockpile with some shelf stable items, and look at a few things that I probably should have anyway, like a really good battery operated radio (I have a very old one but could use an upgrade), and an indoor lantern of some type for light in case of an extended loss of power. Because I live in a condo, I can't have a generator. I know many of you garden and grow your own food, and do some canning, but I am limited due to not having a yard to grow things.

It’s one thing to be financially prepared for emergencies but having savings won’t help if you can’t purchase what you need. Who would have thought that we would not be able to easily buy TP, or hand sanitizer or Clorox wipes, or that we might experience a shortage of some foods due to a disruption in the food supply chain due to a pandemic? I surely didn’t.

I’m wondering if anyone else who typically hadn’t done any prepping or stockpiling (not hoarding, there is a difference) is now considering it to some degree? I’ve seen some very interesting conversations about this on some other sites I frequent. People in certain parts of the country who are prone to extreme weather events like hurricanes prepare, so why not prepare for other types of disruptions?

Something to think about.

Total Spending: $778.21
Total Savings: $10,000 (includes $8000 vacation payout)
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $100 (cash out to paypal)

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): $158.83
Cell phone: $61.28
HVAC and water heater contract: $27.95
Condo Fee (includes water) $190.00

Variables:
Utilities: $68.62
Gasoline: 0
Groceries: $183.65
Health: $39.26 (scripts refills, vitamins and personal health care items)
Dining Out: 0
Shopping (on-line): $48.62

NOTE: I received a final payout from work for accrued vacation time. After taxes the total was $8077.97. I transferred 8k of that to savings.

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

Now that I am retired my monthly budget will change starting June 1st. When I was considering retirement, the biggest financial concern I had was the cost of healthcare. My cost for healthcare now looks like this:

Medical Coverage (Includes a Prescription Plan) through the college: My Monthly Cost: $422.00. The college pays $381.81
(The total monthly cost for Medical with Prescription plan is $803.81, of this I pay $422.00 monthly, the college pays the rest)

Dental Coverage: Monthly Cost: $25.75 No College subsidy for Dental

Vision Coverage: Monthly Cost: $3.15 No College Subsidy for Vision

Total cost to me monthly is: $450.90

I searched on the healthcare exchange to see if I could do better there, and I found that a comparable plan would cost me almost 3 times as much. The benefits on my current plan are excellent.

Once I reach age 65 and switch to Medicare my price will reduce significantly, and the college will pay toward a surround plan with prescription coverage.

The college also offers me other retiree perks, such as free use of the gym and pool, library, free tuition for classes and use of computers and printers. I will definitely start using the gym when the college reopens, and it is safe to do so! For now, I am walking every day, weather permitting.

Before I retired, I was pretty easily living on around $1000 a month, so my new goal will be to stay under $1500 a month. This will start in June.

In preparation for retirement I saved up a sizable amount of money to pay for yearly property taxes, car insurance and condo insurance. Since I pay these in full, once per year I don’t count them in my monthly spending budget. I estimate I have about twelve years' worth of these expenses saved. After that I can easily pay them from other investment sources. I also have $30k saved up in a different account as an emergency fund. This is for car repairs, replacing appliances etc. I don’t keep a separate car maintenance fund. It took me a very long time to save up this money, with lots of scrimping, frugal living, and at various points along the way I worked 2 jobs, but now it was all worth it.

So, I am feeling pretty good about my plan for expenses in retirement. If I spend under the goal of $1500 per month, that amount will go into savings to be used for vacations or other fun activities. I am often asked about travel plans now that I am retired, and people are usually surprised that I really have no big desire to travel. When I was younger my husband and I (now ex-husband, we were married for 20 years) traveled extensively, all over the world. We wanted to explore while we were young and able to walk all day and didn’t mind roughing it a little. I am so glad we did! The experiences we had were priceless. Now, I am more than content to take shorter day or weekend trips. I dislike flying now and prefer to drive when I do take a trip. When I was at my brothers on Memorial Day, we started discussions about a summer 2021 vacation to the beach! Something to look forward to.

May 6th was the one-year anniversary of my mom’s passing. I miss her terribly. On that day it was cold, rainy and windy and a planned trip to visit the cemetery was postponed until the next day. My brother and I drove separately, wore masks, and stayed the recommended 6 feet apart. We placed fresh flowers, said some silent prayers and then sat on a nearby bench (still distancing) to talk. My brother and I are very close, and I have missed seeing him in person, even though we talk and text frequently. It was great to see him, although not being able to give him a parting hug was sad.

After that I went to the grocery store to pick up some fresh fruit and veggies and a few other things. They were still out of the usual things, TP, hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes. I was surprised that they did have a pretty decent amount of meat, and I scored a couple of packs of my favorite, organic chicken strips that they have been out of for a while. Everyone wore masks and kept a safe distance from each other.

In keeping with my zero food waste quest, I used up a small piece of chicken, a small amount of left over mixed veggies, and a last handful of cooked pasta by throwing it all into a pan with some seasonings and giving it a quick stir fry. It was surprisingly good!

I was curious as to when the last time was that I bought gas for the car. It was March 18th and I still have almost a full tank! I do go out and start her up every few days just so the battery doesn’t die, but I’m mostly only driving to the store and back. I wonder how long I can go until I need a refill. At this rate it could be a while yet.

I had ordered some sketching supplies that came in, and I have really been enjoying rediscovering this hobby. I am pretty rusty, but it’s slowly coming back and I’m happy to have the time to do this again. When I was working full time, I just didn’t seem to be able to access my creative side and I’m glad it’s still there!

Under these circumstances (not really being able to safely go out and do much yet) I think the thing I enjoy about retirement the most so far are my peaceful mornings. I’m still waking up early, but I don’t have to rush around to get ready. I can enjoy my morning coffee, get caught up on the news, check my emails, and slowly ease into the rest of my day. I am already calmer and happier!

Today was my last day! I am now officially retired! I have worked at the college for 19 years, and I will miss my co-workers very much. They threw me a virtual party, which was very thoughtful and fun! I received a $250 gift certificate, lots of calls, texts, emails and e-cards. When it is safe to gather together again, I have been promised a celebratory lunch.

I never imagined that my last day of work would be from home during a pandemic. It just drives home that you never really know what life has in store, and to value each day!

Total Spending: $831.44
Total Savings: $4300.00 (includes $1200.00 stimulus)
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $100 (cash out to paypal)

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): $158.83
Cell phone: $61.28
HVAC and water heater contract: $27.95
Condo Fee (includes water) $190.00

Variables:
Utilities: $75.21
Gasoline: 0
Groceries: $182.78
Health: $15(scripts refills, vitamins and personal health care items)
Dining Out: 0
Shopping (on-line): $120.39

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

*Shopping category includes a box of 50 disposable masks. My state is requiring us to wear one when we go into grocery stores, pharmacies, or to pick up food. I gave some of these to my brother. I also bought my sister a birthday gift and had it shipped to her. I bought myself some sketching supplies. I used to sketch a lot when I was younger and decided now was the time to rediscover this. I’m happy to have the time to resume this hobby, I enjoy it very much!

*Now that I am working from home I had zero gas expense for April. I last filled my tank up in March I think, and still have 3 quarters of a tank left. Zero dining out expense because everything is closed.

I received my stimulus deposit today. It will go straight to savings.

It has been about 3 weeks since I went to the grocery store and I was totally out of fresh fruits and veggies, bread, coffee creamer, eggs, chicken etc. I still have enough other food to stretch another week or two but decided to go today for the staples. The store was not at all crowded, I was able to find everything I needed (but noticed they were very low on the usual TP, Paper towels, wipes, hand sanitizer). I didn’t need any of these items, so I didn’t pick any up. Most shoppers were wearing face masks and were keeping the proper distance from each other. I won’t need to go again until next month. When I run out of fresh produce, I still have frozen veggies, and frozen fruit for smoothies. I think I actually like only going grocery shopping once a month and might just keep this up even after this is all over.

Still working from home and after this week I only have 2 weeks to go until retirement. I never in a million years would have envisioned that my last workday would be spent working from home due to a pandemic! One day, when it’ safe to go out to a restaurant again, my friends at work have promised a proper send off! When the college eventually reopens, I will need to go in and clean out my office and turn in my keys. I can then say some goodbyes to some coworkers.

I received a notification from my auto insurer that customers will be receiving a 15% discount on 2 months of installments. Since I pay mine in full for the year, I will receive a refund for that amount. I paid my homeowners insurance for the year today. I haven’t been doing any driving and still have almost a full tank of gas, so I won’t need to fill up at all in April. I’m hoping my utilities don’t go up too much since I’ve been home all day.

Not much else going on, just keeping busy at home. I hope everyone is well and staying safe.

Posting a little early but everything is paid for the month, and I won't be going out.

Total Spending: $1432.24
Total Savings: $7300.00 (includes a tax refund)
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $104.75 (odd amount due to a $4.75 payout from a reoccurring panel survey)

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: 83.92
Gasoline: 26.01
Groceries: 386.90 (stocked up)
Health:40.02 (scripts refills, vitamins and personal health care items)
Dining Out: 61.56
Shopping and Entertainment: 95.39
Hair: 130.00 (cut, color, style, tip)
Tax prep fee: 95.00
AAA yearly renewal: 75.00

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

*The grocery category was way high due to stocking up. April will be much lower!

*Dining out occurred very early in the month.

*Shopping included purchasing a new air circulator (Vornado floor fan). My old one that I know I had for probably ten years finally died. I got a larger size this time and using this in the summer really cools well, so I don’t need the central AC as much.

*I had my taxes done by my CPA friend and received a $3800 refund. This is why my savings was so high this month.

*I’m glad I had my hair done because this won’t be happening again for a while!

The Governor of Maryland just extended school closures (k-12) through April 26th. I’m pretty impressed with his handling of this pandemic in my state so far. He is proactive, calm, helpful, level-headed, and doesn’t get sucked into political drama and the blame game. It’s interesting that we have a Republican Governor in a historically democratic state. My college is closed this week for spring break, and as far as I know I will continue to work from home starting Monday.

On Monday I went to the grocery store. It was raining, and I went very early right after stores opened hoping for no crowds. It was a good strategy, with only a handful of shoppers and only one person in line in front of me at check out. I was happy to see a good selection of fresh fruit and veggies which I was completely out of. While there, I stocked up on chicken, ground meat, milk and eggs (there was a 2 per item limit on each of these) and other items. I’m good for at least a month, and I could easily stretch it out much farther if I need to. My goal is to stay home and out of the stores. I only need to go out to walk, get my mail, and take out the trash.

Each day this week I have tackled a particular chore. Monday was grocery shopping and I cleaned out and organized my fridge, freezer and pantry. Yesterday, I stripped the bed, turned the mattress, washed the mattress pad, blankets, sheets and pillow cases. Today I am deep cleaning the master bathroom. Tomorrow I will deep clean the guest bathroom, and Friday I plan to start on the living room. I like to keep busy as I do much better with a structured routine.

I miss getting together with my friends and family, but we call and text frequently. Everyone is trying to do their part by staying home as much as possible.
Please take good care of yourselves, and don’t forget to check on elderly and/or disabled family, friends, and neighbors if you are able.

The Governor of Maryland was one of the first in the country to shut down public schools across the state. Many people thought he was overreacting at the time. Not so much now. Many college systems soon followed, with classes cancelled or entirely moved to on-line delivery. My employer (a very large community college) is allowing most of us to work from home through the end of March, which is what I will be doing starting Tuesday. I have to go in tomorrow to collect some materials that I will need and pick up a college laptop. They will reevaluate things in 2 weeks. Public libraries, churches and some government agencies are all closed.

I went out before work last week on Thursday morning to do my grocery shopping. It was a good time to go. Few people were there that early. I stocked up on what I needed for 2 weeks. The only thing I needed that they were out of were eggs. I will stop in later this week to see if they have any.

Because I already have a stockpile of toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products, toiletries etc. that I have been building up over the past year (to prepare for retirement) I didn’t need to purchase any of those items. My friends who used to poke fun at me for couponing and having a stockpile (in a friendly way) are now wishing they had done a bit of that preparation too! I will of course share with my friends and family if they need anything.

I’ve been seeing lots of posts on social media from people in my area with pictures of long lines to get into the local Costco, Walmart’s and some grocery stores. Shelves have been wiped cleaned of bread, milk, cleaning products, TP, meats, and fresh fruit and veggies. Some stores have shortened their hours of operation somewhat so they can clean and restock.

I made a big pot of chicken soup yesterday, and today I’ll be making chicken salad. I still have some chili in the freezer. I’m sure I can easily stretch my food out for a good month if that were necessary, and although I prefer fresh fruit and veggies, I picked up some frozen ones to tide me over if need be. So, I feel like I am in good shape to stay home and ride this thing out. I am “older” (almost 60) and had a pretty bad case of pneumonia last year that was really hard for me to heal from so I don’t want to take any unnecessary chances.
I hope everyone stays safe and healthy!

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 she keeps delaying her return, although she has e-mailed us that she is feeling better and "will be returning soon". She encouraged us to e-mail or call her with anything important. So, I did just that and now it is all official! I had already met with HR, and filled out and turned in all of my paperwork. All that was left was to notify my boss.

So today was the day! I think I took that great mood as a sign. I sang in the car all the way home!

Total Spending: $959.49
Total Savings: $2800.00
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $200.00 (good month)!
CVS Giftcard from Fetch: $5
Credit Card Cash Back Rewards: $72.50

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: 101.11
Gasoline: 32.94
Groceries: 208.16 (includes entertaining)
Health: 83.50 (scripts refills, vitamins and personal health care items)
Dining Out: 46.56
Shopping and Entertainment: 48.78

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

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 and basic service)
Shopping:126.70 (some gifts and some house things)
Personal 130.00 (Hair color, cut, style and tip)


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

There hasn’t been much going on so I haven’t blogged for while…. but I did decide to bump up my retirement date to May 1st! I had initially targeted June 1st, but since I meet all the eligibility requirements toward the end of April I just didn’t want to stay any longer the absolutely necessary. The burn out is real! I have had some discussions with a few friends across the college in different departments than mine and I am excited about some potential part time opportunities down the road.

My finances are pretty much on auto pilot, I continue to save and keep my expenses low, although I think January is seeming a bit more spendy then I initially thought, nothing crazy though.

A new Lidl grocery store just opened a few weeks ago just a mile or so away. It is very close to the Aldi. I haven’t been yet because I want to wait until it gets a bit less crowded from the grand opening shoppers. I’ll be interested to compare products and prices. I’ve been increasingly buying more organic and gluten free foods so I’m looking for ways to save since they seem more expensive.

My sister has expressed the possibility of coming for a visit soon after I retire. I miss her very much and this would be so much fun to spend some time together without having to cram everything in in a short visit due to work.

The weather on the east coast continues to be wonky. One week it’s close to 70 degrees and the next week it’s below freezing. We haven’t had any real snow to speak of, and I’m hoping it stays that way!
That’s about it, not much exciting happening, just typical life! Hope everyone has a good week.

Total Spending: $1572.31
Total Savings: $6500.00 (See note below!)
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $100.00

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): 159.94
Cell phone: 61.46
HVAC and water heater contract: 27.95
Condo Fee (includes water) 190.00

Variables:
Utilities: 85.58
Gasoline: 27.95
Groceries: 405.53
Health: 0
Dining Out: 26.89
Shopping: 230.64
Cash Withdraw: 200.00
New Vacuum: 154.75

Groceries: Includes hosting Christmas Eve dinner for 9 people

Shopping: I bought myself some clothes and a few things for the condo
Vacuum: My very old one finally died, it couldn’t be repaired.

Cash Withdraw: I gifted my niece and nephew $100 each for Christmas

Savings: My sister gifted me $5000.00 for Christmas! This was totally unexpected and so generous. My sister and her husband are quite wealthy, but we’ve never gifted like this before.

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

I'm using some vacation time from work, off today and all next week, then the college closes for the winter break so I don't return to work until 1/2/2020! Today was rainy and chilly outside so I spent most of the day putting up my Christmas decorations. I love decorating my small 4 foot tree with ornaments that go all the way back to my childhood. It brings back happy memories! I took a lovely nap this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed my leisurely day.

Since my retirement date is June 1st, 2020 it's really getting close. I am so ready to be done with the daily grind. Like a lot of people, I've been working since I graduated high school, and for many years worked full time and attended college. I feel like I've been going full steam ahead my whole life and I'm tired! I'm excited to move into this new phase of my life.

I'm looking forward to hosting my usual Christmas Eve dinner for my family. This year I'm doing a traditional ham dinner with sweet potatoes, green beans, mashed potatoes and dinner rolls. Everyone will be bringing some kind of desserts and some wine. We always have such a good time, even without all the gift giving, which we decided not to do anymore. It's amazing how stress free the holiday season is now without trying to figure out what to buy for people who don't really need or want anything!

Total Spending: $1192.45
Total Savings: $1600.00
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $50.00
Ferrara Candy Settlement $16.20, Cash Back Rewards $68.12

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): 159.94
Cell phone: 61.46
HVAC and water heater contract: 27.95
Condo Fee (includes water) 190.00

Variables:
Utilities: 59.91
Gasoline: 30.59
Groceries: 273.94
Health: 99.63
Dining Out: 56.87
Shopping: 67.16
Cash Withdraw: 40.00
Hair:125.00

Groceries includes food for entertaining, having friends and family over for football watching on Sundays and a potluck gathering

Health was higher due to $45 in co-pays for the health issue, doctor's visits. The rest was script refills.

Hair was cut, color, style and tip

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

Back in early November I went in for my yearly mammogram. It came back with a "suspicious" spot. I then went in for a second mammogram which further confirmed something suspicious. I then went in for a needle biopsy. Not terribly painful but still pretty uncomfortable and left me pretty bruised. After a long week of waiting I found out today that it was benign, no cancer! They do still want me to see a breast surgeon for a consultation but I finally feel like I can breathe again. I am especially thankful this Thanksgiving! I also realize how fortunate I am to have a great healthcare plan though my employer. Everything is covered, and I only had to pay 3, $15 copays. I did call my insurer every step of the way before each visit to be sure I was staying in-network and I have to say they were incredibly helpful. My primary care doctor is awesome as well as the office staff and I am so thankful to have such a great network of caregivers. Ladies, never put off those yearly mammograms. There is no cancer in my family. I am low risk, I don't smoke or drink much and am overall pretty healthy. You just never know.

Spending: $999.08
Total Savings: $2800.00
Additional Income: Swagbucks earnings: $200.00

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): 159.94
Cell phone: 61.45
HVAC and water heater contract: 27.95
Condo Fee (includes water) 190.00

Variables:
Utilities: 93.04
Gasoline: 27.29
Groceries: 229.78
Health: 80.35
Dining Out: 65.69
Other: 63.59

Savings was high due to a last account of my mom's that closed out for $1700.00

Health category included restocking vitamins, a co-pay and a script refill

Dining out was a little higher then usual, just enjoying life and socializing!

Other category: Had to buy a new smoke alarm/carbon monoxide detector.

*condo paid in full
*car paid in full (2017 Toyota Camry)
*no other debt

I took a day off work yesterday and spent some time switching out my summer and fall/winter clothes. I have a pretty nice size walk-in master closet so everything is in there, I just needed to bring the fall/winter clothes to the front.

Several months ago I adopted a healthier lifestyle. I needed to lose some weight and wanted to just improve my overall health. I didn't follow any kind of a strict diet. I concentrated on cutting out processed foods mostly. I also committed to walking 5 days a week. To date, I have lost 17 pounds! There were a few weeks when I didn't lose any weight, but I didn't gain any. I pretty consistently lost 1-2 pounds a week. I didn't restrict myself completely, but instead of eating 3 slices of pizza I would start with a salad and have one slice of pizza every now and then. As I was trying on clothes that I couldn't fit into last fall/winter, I was delighted that they now fit. I was so happy to not have to buy any new clothes.

Today I will be out running the usual errands and I am having dinner out with some friends at a new restaurant that opened a few weeks ago. Should be fun!

I did switch over from the AC to the heat and changed the furnace filter. I made sure the heat cranked on properly and everything is working fine. Cold weather is coming. I usually just set thermostat at 65. I'm comfortable with that and a sweater on. And I sleep better when it's cooler.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow so I'll be staying in and doing some meal prep for the week while football is on.

Have a great weekend!

Do you ever walk into your house and look around and think, "how in the heck did this mess happen"? I came home from work today and thought, who broke in and messed up my house??? But seriously, I am usually pretty on top of things, I like things to be in order and too much mess makes me anxious! But the last few weeks have been so incredibly busy at work, and I have had people over every Sunday for football, and I have just been too tired this week to keep up. My dining room table is covered with junk mail, and my couponing stuff, and receipts that need to be scanned and other random stuff. There are dishes in the sink and clean dishes to be put away. There are still clean clothes from last weekend that are still in the laundry basket to be put away....and the list goes on. So I was determined to tackle some of this tonight instead of waking up to all this mess tomorrow. After about an hour of full speed ahead I am happy to say that I made great progress and now I feel better about plopping on the couch! I'm sure I'll be asleep early tonight. I still have a list of things to do tomorrow but at least I made a dent tonight. I'll probably work some more on getting my coupons organized and write up my grocery shopping list for tomorrow so I can get up and go and get that done early before the store gets crowded.

Total Spending $1277.18
Total Savings: $2000
Other income: $100 swagbucks

Here is a breakdown of September spending.

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon Bundle: 159.53 (Internet, home phone, cable)
Monthly Condo Fee: 190.00 (includes water)
Cell Phone: 0
HVAC and water heater maintenance contract: 27.95

Variables:
Utilities: 94.73
Gasoline: 32.65
Groceries: 334.57
Health: 39.30
Dining Out: 28.61
Other: 269.84
Cash Withdraw: $100.00

Groceries were high this month due to having people over every Sunday for football watching. I serve food and drinks for 4-5 people every Sunday and while this is entertainment, I also eat leftovers during the week so I don't try and separate it out.

The "other" category includes a yearly McAfee subscription, hair cut, color and tip, and some other shopping.

I was far enough ahead that my cell phone bill wasn't due until October so no payment in September. This happens sometimes.

I gave my nephew who had the stroke $100. He is struggling and has no income right now. He is waiting for a ruling on his SSDI claim.

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

My mom was finally released from the short term care facility yesterday! She is so happy to be home in her own bed and not eating hospital food. My brother in law started chemo and thankfully he is tolerating the treatment well so far with minimal side effects. My sister can now relax a little without having to run around all day. I've been staying on track financially, still keeping my monthly spending around $1100 per month give or take. Things at work have been pretty peaceful the last couple of weeks as well because my boss has been away at a convention, then she took a week off. Heaven! Tonight I am going out to dinner with my friends to a place we haven't been to try out something new, and enjoy a fun evening. More bad weather heading to the east coast tomorrow so I will be staying in and taking care of some chores. I hope everyone has a good weekend!

I haven't updated in a while, life has continued to throw punches. My mom was in the hospital for 2 weeks and is now in short term rehab working on getting her strength back so she can return home. And my sister's husband was just diagnosed with cancer. Just a quick recap...my mom is 92 and lives with my sister and her husband half way across the country from me. I offered to try and take a leave from work and go there to help my sister, but she said to wait until her husband starts chemo, and mom is back at home. She said she may need the help then depending on how her husband tolerates treatment. Unfortunately, his particular type of cancer is incurable, and the goal is to get him into remission. The average 5 year survival rate is about 50%. But, we are choosing to focus on him beating the odds!

My nephew who had the stroke is struggling. He seems to have hit a plateau in his rehab progress, and may be facing a permanent disability. My brother is exhausted being the caregiver to both his son and his wife, who also has health challenges.

So things like taxes, and problems with my boss at work, and other of life's little problems seem pretty insignificant to me right now. But life goes on and I had a long list of errands to run today to get some things done that I had been neglecting. I try to just take life one day at time now, because thinking too far ahead just causes me worry.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to just enjoy a quiet day at home!
Another round of bad weather is headed our way, with a mix of snow and ice moving in Sunday night into Monday morning.

I wish I had something more positive to share, but life is a bit difficult right now.

Here are just a few, trying to think of some that haven't already been listed:

1. Turn your heat down in the winter and put on a sweater! And try to use a fan in the summer and keep your AC usage down.

2. Line dry clothing if possible. The dryer is an energy suck. I live in a condo and still find ways to hang clothing to dry.

3. Pack your lunch for work. And buy decent containers so you aren't buying and using plastic baggies or wraps. Use a thermos to take soups and/or coffee.

4. Take care of your health. Eat good foods and exercise. It could save you on medical costs and prescriptions.

5. Have some fun money put aside if you can and reasonably treat yourself once in a while. If you are too restrictive it can lead to binge spending.

Just a few simple ones!

We had a moderate snowfall last night and today. About 6 inches so far, but it looks like a second round is coming with the potential for a few more inches. One of the reasons I decided on a condo was having a maintenance free lifestyle. It was so nice today to watch the parking lot get plowed, the sidewalks and steps cleared and salt put down. All I had to do was go out and clear off my car. I pay for snow removal through my monthly condo fee, and it is well worth it! I did many years of hard labor shoveling snow, and as I age I knew I just couldn't manage it any more.

I made a pot of vegetable noodle soup today and will have this for lunches and/or dinners this week. I really don't mind eating the same things several times a week.

Financially, I will be seeing another $165.00 per month in my paycheck. We received a 3% COLA effective January 1st, and I selected a less expensive health plan through work. Still the same provider, just an in-network plan instead of the open access one. I'll just have to be very vigilant about specialists and so forth. The cost of the open access plan was going up substantially, so I switched.

I am going to continue to keep myself on a rather tight monthly budget. Work continues to stress me out, especially my boss, no matter what I do. So even though things will be very tight for me, it's still my plan to retire from the college at age 59.5, when I am eligible for the health care subsidy. So with that in mind I am still saving every last dime I can. At some point, your physical and mental health becomes more important then trying to "stick it out" because you don't have a million dollars for retirement.

Well, I am babbling...thanks for listening and have a good week!

This is just a really quick overview:

Wins:
Fully funded Roth and 403B

Saved $27,200 in cash (I use this to pay yearly property taxes, car insurance, Condo Insurance and just keep a very large emergency fund)

Earned $1475 through Swagbucks

Fail? Not sure I would really categorize this as a fail, but I tried an experiment for 2018 to see if I could keep my monthly spending below $1000 per month. As a note, my condo and car are both paid in full. I successfully stayed below the goal for 5 months. I went over the goal by less then 50 dollars for 4 months, and 3 months I was way over. When I looked at the months I went over, it was due to helping family, an unexpected tax payment (my fault) or I just did some shopping for things I needed.

My biggest fail was my grocery spending. I haven't tallied it up yet for the year but I know it's way too much for one person. So this will be my focus, and financial goal for 2019. I do have people over for dinners and potlucks, and football Sunday's quite frequently, and since I usually have leftovers that I eat during the week, I don't separate out my food entertainment costs, vs. my own food consumption costs. I intend to keep combining it, but look for ways to reduce overall food spending. I'm going to shoot for $200 a month and see how it goes.


Happy New Year Everyone!!

I found my holiday spirit! After a not so great Thanksgiving, my holiday happy finally kicked in. When I started decorating, playing Christmas music, and enjoying many of my mom's tree ornaments that she left with me when she moved across the country, my mood improved. I miss having mom and my sister here for Christmas, but we call and send lots of texts and pictures. I took this week off from work, and the college closes next week until after the new year, so I have a very long break. What a difference it makes! I'm caught up on sleep, have all my shopping done, and just feel so much more relaxed in general. I'm now finalizing my menu for Christmas Eve, when the whole family and a few friends come over. It's a family tradition, and then we all do our own thing on Christmas day. I neglected to post my November spending update, but total spending was right around $1200 for the month. Not bad for this time of year. I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday!