Monday Post

hoffse · February 2014

1) How MM was your weekend?

2) Any progress toward goals?

3) What's your favorite winter olympic sport and/or olympian?

lifeonthehill · February 2014

1) How MM was your weekend? Not good. We got our tax refund so we spent $16 on storage boxes for the shelves by H's home desk. $20 on my prescription and $18 on other groceries and body wash. At least everything but was budgeted for.

2) Any progress toward goals? YES! Tax refund came in and we were able to put more int savings! We have $1,000 to go and that will be saved on Friday morning! One step closer to TTC.

3) What's your favorite winter olympic sport and/or olympian?
I love figure skating. I am just amazed that they are able to spin, jump, and bend the way that they do.

ETA: Our state tax refund just came in! Earlier than expected. SAVINGS COMPLETE!

smbenevides1989 · February 2014

1) How MM was your weekend?

Pretty decent. I spent only $3 more on groceries, but we spent $5 less on food out so it evened out.

2) Any progress toward goals?

Not since last time. I am putting in my tax return today and that money will go for a DP on DH's car. DH had worked extra overtime last week, so this paycheck will be a happy one and we will pay down some more debt because of it.

3) What's your favorite winter olympic sport and/or olympian?

I actually don't watch the Olympics so I can't really answer fairly, but I do like snowboarding and I enjoy watching Shaun White. Other than that, curling comes to a close second.

Xstatic3333 · February 2014

1) Many expenses-but all were budgeted except that I went $20 over on groceries. I bought a ticket to a beer festival in April that my best friend invited me to ($60). I feel a little guilty about it but I say no to so many of her invites that I figure one coming out of my fun budget won't kill me. I also processed my passport name change ($115) and got some needed fish tank supplies ($25).

2) We are making progress-$200 to the house savings this week and $150 to short-term expense savings-but it is slower than I'd hoped. I am maintaining my 10% to retirement goal, but fell a little short on my extra SL payments this month due to the unexpected news that I need to pay estimated taxes to the state of MA (Taxachusetts!) starting this year. The budget will account for this going forward.

3) I just love the Olympics in general, so it's hard to pick one sport! One I've recently gotten into is Biathalon. The tension in those races is so exciting! I also think ski jumping is amazing.

cbee817 · February 2014

1) How MM was your weekend? Good- groceries and we bought my parents lunch on Saturday when they came over to visit the girls. Had a Target run on Sunday for DD#2's diapers and a few other things, but nothing unusal.

2) Any progress toward goals? Waiting for our Roth IRA checks to clear. Calling a lawyer today to make our appointment for the wills. Going to finalize the taxes this week and submit those- should get back about $550 from Feds and State... not as much as last year, but still a little something.

3) What's your favorite winter olympic sport and/or olympian? I like short track speed skating and moguls.

uncreatedsnow · February 2014

1) How MM was your weekend?
Ate out unexpectedly, but it was budgeted for so not too bad. Other than than AWESOME since that's all I spent all weekend!

2) Any progress toward goals?
I found out that I got an unexpected and late grant for this semester, and since my classes are already paid for I'll use that towards my car(TWO EXTRA PAYMENTS!!!!) Heck yeah!

3) What's your favorite winter olympic sport and/or olympian?
I'd have to say speed skating and figure skating. Though I love the Summer Olympics so much more than winter.

jessica490 · February 2014

How MM was your weekend?

Ugh, not great.

$35 Gas

$126 shopping for myself (not budgeted for)

$25 Babys R U gift card (not budgeted for)

Boy I feel guilty, but usually we are pretty good, just not this weekend so I will live

Any progress towards goals?

I put $756 into our house fund which were refund checks from switching insurance companies early January.

My dad said we owe about $150 on federal taxes- Ugg, but we should be getting a few hundred bucks from the state so I guess thats ok

Favorite Olympic sport?

I don't want the Olympics much anymore, but I like the Bob-sledding and skiing.

brij2006 · February 2014

1) How MM was your weekend? Urgh. We went out Friday night for H's birthday, and MIL told him Wednesday that she wanted to pay for his birthday dinner. The bill came and she had ours put together on a separate bill (we were fine paying for my dinner). So we spent $50 on dinner we only planned on spending $20 at. But then she paid for his 25 year old brothers' dinner, who ordered 3 beers and an appetizer (he still lives with her).
So that was $50 of our $75/month eating out budget, already gone.

Eating Out: $55 ($50 Friday for dinner, and $5 for a breakfast meeting)
Hobby Lobby for craft project: $10
Harbor Freight for car tool: $10
Gas: 90 (budgeted)

2) Any progress toward goals? Close on our refinance tomorrow, then I'm planning to either pay off H's car or a significant amount of our student loans with the money sitting in savings.

3) What's your favorite winter olympic sport and/or olympian? Probably gymnastics, but I don't watch much of it.

mana8503 · February 2014

1) How MM was your weekend? Pretty good. Everything within budget, but forgot MIL's bday, so we got a giftcard for her and we send a giftcard to neice as a welcome baby gift (they are fostering their first baby). I don't budget to $0 so it's months like this I'm glad theirs some wiggle room built in.

2) Any progress toward goals? We got our state refund - yay! Now we can pay Federal, and put the rest aside so I can pay off Jeep next month. I'm going to go in and pay if off then close the account. I just need more one regular payment this month to be able to pay it off.

3) What's your favorite winter olympic sport and/or olympian? All of them. I can't even imagine doing half the things they do.

emily1004 · February 2014

1) We had to take the dog to the vet and buy her some food. We went over budget for the month, but it will even out over the next month. We both worked a lot this weekend. H had some "breaking sports news" and my office has a client that waited to the last minute to respond to a complaint so we had to get the paper work done by today.

2) Just retirement. We're good for the year.

3) We've been pretty anti-Winter Olympics this year because H has friends covering the games in Sochi, and it's been a complete debacle. They are pretty disgusted by the conditions over there. But as for athletes, I like Lolo Jones. I was rooting for her this year, but I just read she has the flu now!

Tucker Fredricks too, we went to the same high school. He was a freshman when I was a senior.

SmrBrd2012 · February 2014

1) Eh..it was okay. We took SIL out for dinner with her bf on Saturday and then went out for a few drinks = $50. Gas for car = $36. Sunday we got some new pillows (ours were REALLY gross..) and some other necessities at Target = $75

2) Not really. We put an offer down on a house we loved which will be the culmination of our money goals for the last year. Don't know if we'll get it though...We definitely won't go over asking and it was very popular during the OH.

3) Don't really watch them but if I had to pick I'd choose figure skating or bobsledding. Both are so much fun to watch!

vlagrl29 · February 2014

1 - we went to dinner out on friday night but not sure how much it was because DH paid for it, I'm guessing around $20. Spent $15 on pizza at a friends house Saturday. Got a tank of gas for around $30. I got some stuff at Target on Saturday for $75.

2- I put $75 in our efund

3- Figure skating. I really enjoyed the Russians free skating last night. It was beautiful.

abrewer5 · February 2014

1. Weekend was pretty bad actually. Had a party on Friday at my house so I spent a little money on food/drinks, $30 at Walmart and $12 on a bottle of wine. Bought gas $30. And we ordered pizza Saturday $17. Not terrible, I have plenty of money until I get paid again and all the bills have been paid.

2. Progress towards goals- Upped my retirement contribution to 10% and put my money into a more aggressive investment that will become less aggressive the closer I get to retirement. That will be a while though, 2048. Also met with our tax lady and appears we'll be getting a decent refund from buying the house and an educational credit, so hopefully I'll have enough to pay off my credit cards and start a small emergency fund.

3. I don't watch the Olympics so I can't say, though I have always enjoyed ice skating.

Wulfgar · February 2014

1. Very bad, spent $60 over on groceries and $65 at Target.

2. Filed our tax returns to help boost savings and pay off my credit cards.

3. I like most of them.

hoffse · February 2014

1) Mine wasn't great but could have been worse. Parents came to visit, so I spent about $30 on groceries for breakfasts and a nice dinner. I also picked up some work clothes and spent about $100... but I ended up with 3 sweaters and a scarf from Talbots and 3 knit shells from Brooks Brothers... so I feel like I did pretty good for that price.

2) Got my first paycheck from my new job so I finally know what I'm making. I also booked our flights and hotel for our trip to London this summer! That was crazy $$$$$ but I don't care - we are so excited, and we've been saving for months.

3) I looooove figure skating. And I will second vlagrl that the Russian figure skater was phenomenal. So phenomenal that I'm now cheering for her instead of Ashley Wagner. I saw an interview with Wagner (who, by the way, didn't place at the American nationals, but they sent her to the olympics anyway) and she was all "I'm a winner. I'm a champion. I will redeem myself. And I'm a woman, so I will skate like a woman." .... and then she got completely schooled by a 15-year-old girl. And let's not forget that Wagner isn't a particularly graceful loser. It's probably unpatriotic to cheer for the Russian (Yulia Lipnitskya), but she's miles ahead of anybody else this year. They're calling her a prodigy, and I believe it.

emily1004 · February 2014

hoffse said:

3) I looooove figure skating. And I will second vlagrl that the Russian figure skater was phenomenal. So phenomenal that I'm now cheering for her instead of Ashley Wagner. I saw an interview with Wagner (who, by the way, didn't place at the American nationals, but they sent her to the olympics anyway) and she was all "I'm a winner. I'm a champion. I will redeem myself. And I'm a woman, so I will skate like a woman." .... and then she got completely schooled by a 15-year-old girl. And let's not forget that Wagner isn't a particularly graceful loser. It's probably unpatriotic to cheer for the Russian (Yulia Lipnitskya), but she's miles ahead of anybody else this year. They're calling her a prodigy, and I believe it.

But why did she have to use the song in Schindler's List, from the most haunting scene in the movie for her acrobatic figure skating routine? I hope she trips and falls.

hoffse · February 2014

emily1004 said:

hoffse said:

3) I looooove figure skating. And I will second vlagrl that the Russian figure skater was phenomenal. So phenomenal that I'm now cheering for her instead of Ashley Wagner. I saw an interview with Wagner (who, by the way, didn't place at the American nationals, but they sent her to the olympics anyway) and she was all "I'm a winner. I'm a champion. I will redeem myself. And I'm a woman, so I will skate like a woman." .... and then she got completely schooled by a 15-year-old girl. And let's not forget that Wagner isn't a particularly graceful loser. It's probably unpatriotic to cheer for the Russian (Yulia Lipnitskya), but she's miles ahead of anybody else this year. They're calling her a prodigy, and I believe it.

But why did she have to use the song in Schindler's List, from the most haunting scene in the movie for her acrobatic figure skating routine? I hope she trips and falls.

Really? That's so kind of you.

Figure skaters have been using that song for years. She is absolutely not the first. Her routine with that song gave me chills. I thought she did an excellent job blending the emotion/seriousness of the song and the technical aspects she was required to have in her routine. Simply because you either disagree or don't understand what she was trying to convey doesn't mean you need to be hateful. She's 15 for god's sake.

emily1004 · February 2014

hoffse said:

emily1004 said:

hoffse said:

3) I looooove figure skating. And I will second vlagrl that the Russian figure skater was phenomenal. So phenomenal that I'm now cheering for her instead of Ashley Wagner. I saw an interview with Wagner (who, by the way, didn't place at the American nationals, but they sent her to the olympics anyway) and she was all "I'm a winner. I'm a champion. I will redeem myself. And I'm a woman, so I will skate like a woman." .... and then she got completely schooled by a 15-year-old girl. And let's not forget that Wagner isn't a particularly graceful loser. It's probably unpatriotic to cheer for the Russian (Yulia Lipnitskya), but she's miles ahead of anybody else this year. They're calling her a prodigy, and I believe it.

But why did she have to use the song in Schindler's List, from the most haunting scene in the movie for her acrobatic figure skating routine? I hope she trips and falls.

Really? That's so kind of you.

Figure skaters have been using that song for years. She is absolutely not the first. Her routine with that song gave me chills. I thought she did an excellent job blending the emotion/seriousness of the song and the technical aspects she was required to have in her routine. Simply because you either disagree or don't understand what she was trying to convey doesn't mean you need to be hateful. She's 15 for god's sake.

Have you seen Schindler's List? Do you even know what it's about? It's about the death of 11 million people. Not a figure skating routine. She offended me and a lot of people.

hoffse · February 2014

Yes I've seen it. Many times. And notice that it's a movie - which is a form of entertainment and a major source of profit - about the death of 11 million people. Maybe chew on that for a bit.

I'm sorry she offended you. She did not offend me. I thought she did an excellent job with her routine, and there's no need to say hateful things about her.

emily1004 · February 2014

To a lot of people Schindler's List was not "just" a movie. You're not Jewish, you don't understand. I'm sorry I offended you, but I am not going to get into all here. But I will say this, I don't take to kindly to people being tasteless and anti-Semitic. It's suppose to be "Goodwill Games" not offending a whole group of people and another country.

tigerfighter · February 2014

1) How MM was your weekend?

Not good. Got Fed Tax return on Thursday, and it went to lawyer today. Got a new winter coat from Burlington Coat Factory (Regularly $160 paid $40). Found out I need to get an apartment and not renting from dad.

2) Any progress toward goals?

Got my CC I was working on down to $1200, but now need to save to get new place. So now all money is going into savings.

3) What's your favorite winter olympic sport and/or olympian?

Women's ice skating.

hoffse · February 2014

I'm sorry you saw it as anti-semitic. I didn't get that at all. If anything, I saw it as a tribute to the movie. I don't assume that because she is Russian she is anti-semitic. On the contrary, I have read that her routine was actually choreographed by a Russian Jew. Russia suffered terrible losses through WWII and then it kept going because Stalin continued on in power. There are a lot about the games that have recalled Russian history - did you watch the opening ceremonies?

And I'm not offended by you - I simply don't understand the outrage or the need to take it out on her.

And for the record - I don't consider Schindler's List "just a movie." I may not have the connection with it that my Jewish friends have, but I certainly see and appreciate its artistic merit. I also appreciate figure skating's artistic merit. My difficulty is understanding why people are ok with one form of art and outraged by the other.

emily1004 · February 2014

We watched the OC on CBC. H's ancestors were Russian Jews. We know a little history, but what we also know are current events. It's a very difficult life living as a Jew in Russia now. You have to pay huge sum of money to move to the U.S. or Israel. It's not a good place to be. We also have friends in Sochi working the broadcast for the games and in their words,"it's a fvching debacle" there.

I'm not happy with her, I don't wish to see her rewarded for this. If she trips and falls, she loses. I never said I want to see her injured or dead. I'm not out for blood. I just think the music choice and her costume was in severely bad taste.

Xstatic3333 · February 2014

The Russian skater was completely amazing, I agree. She doesn't skate like a young teen at all! I totally agree about Wagner not coming off so great in interviews. I also loved the Italian woman.

As for the music choice, it has been very commonly used by skaters since the movie's release. Personally I'd prefer if nobody used it, but I don't hold that against the skaters-generally the coaches make those decisions. It is a beautiful piece.

I am pretty horrified by many aspects of these Olympics-both human rights and ecological costs. I'm still watching though because none of that is the fault of the athletes and I love the competition. There is just nothing like the Olympics for competition and drama.

hoffse · February 2014

Well if that's how you feel, then obviously no amount of conversation will change that. I do disagree with you, but you are certainly entitled to your opinion.

I have no doubts that it's hard to be Jewish in Russia. There is a lot of really awful history there, much of it extremely recent. Believe it or not, I'm not ignorant about that. I have an interest in the history, art, and politics of that region. I've read a lot about it, and I do try to keep up with it.

The opening ceremonies really surprised me because they really did go all in with the portrayal of the early socialist regime. Given that Stalin killed an estimated 20-60 million of his own people over the roughly 40 years he was in power, I rather expected them to gloss over that part. Instead they went for it. I expected to read a lot of outrage on the internet over that - though again, I wasn't personally offended - but instead most of the recent criticism has focused on the figure skater. Then again, maybe the references to the steam engine and gulags were lost on American audiences.

vlagrl29 · February 2014

@hoffse - I was talking about the russian pair that skated last night to swan lake or something like that. The costumes were beautiful, I was moved by their performance and they put in a couple moves I had never seen before. I'm totally for the Russians, which is so unpatriotic of me. LOL. I'm sure the 15 year old was great, I missed her performance. I love all the Russian songs. They had the song Scheherazade on last night and I just loved that song, I have played it twice.

hoffse · February 2014

Ah Vlagrl, sorry - you're right though they did a great job too. You should search for youtube videos of the 15 year old. She did the same routine at the European nationals earlier this year, so there is footage of it.

All the Russian music is amazing. That's something they did really well in the opening ceremonies. I thought they pretty brilliantly incorporated references to the art, music, and literature that Russia has produced. Their nod to War and Peace completely blew me away. And the nerdy art historian inside of me got weirdly excited to see all the Malevich references during the Russian Revolution section.

Scheherezade is one of my H's favorites - but he still hasn't gotten the chance to play it!

vlagrl29 · February 2014

hoffse said:

Ah Vlagrl, sorry - you're right though they did a great job too. You should search for youtube videos of the 15 year old. She did the same routine at the European nationals earlier this year, so there is footage of it.

All the Russian music is amazing. That's something they did really well in the opening ceremonies. I thought they pretty brilliantly incorporated references to the art, music, and literature that Russia has produced. Their nod to War and Peace completely blew me away. And the nerdy art historian inside of me got weirdly excited to see all the Malevich references during the Russian Revolution section.

Scheherezade is one of my H's favorites - but he still hasn't gotten the chance to play it!

I will youtube her for sure. I really miss playing in an orchestra for that reason! With all the wedding and corporate gigs we play I don't have time to donate my time to the community orchestra I use to play with. I'm hoping one day to squeak into a symphony at a small town close to our city. I would actually get paid for that.

ETA - Holy crap I just watched her performance from the 2014 european competition and am totally blown away. She spins so fast! I felt moved! No american can beat her. When is she skating again on the olympics. I love that schindlers list song, its beautiful.

mana8503 · February 2014

emily1004 said:

To a lot of people Schindler's List was not "just" a movie. You're not Jewish, you don't understand. I'm sorry I offended you, but I am not going to get into all here. But I will say this, I don't take to kindly to people being tasteless and anti-Semitic. It's suppose to be "Goodwill Games" not offending a whole group of people and another country.

I would never wish a fall (that can lead to injury) on anyone from any country in the olympics. That my friend is Goodwill Games.

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