Money Matters
als1982
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Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Monday Accountability
1. How MM was your weekend?
2. Any progress toward goals?
3. Will/have you been lucky enough to enjoy unseasonably warm weather this week and last? And if so, what will/have you done with it?
2. Any progress toward goals?
3. Will/have you been lucky enough to enjoy unseasonably warm weather this week and last? And if so, what will/have you done with it?
HeartlandHustle | Personal Finance and Betterment Blog
Re: Monday Accountability
1. $7 car wash, $10 movie ticket, $40 b-day gift
2. Nothing new. Not sure if I said this already, but we finally invested H's traditional IRA. I am cleaning our house top to bottom so I can start painting trim inside. I would like it done before the weather gets nice. 3 months until vacation!
3. Yes, we were in the mid 50's this past weekend, and will be in the 40's, 50's and 60's this week! Such a tease...I don't want spring fever to start already and we still have snow on the ground from the 14" we got 2 weeks ago....
2. Got a couple life insurance quotes last week, but want to get more this week.
3. The weather this weekend was glorious! We spent most of it outside rehabbing my grandpa's old work bench. We acquired it when my grandma moved last fall, and it needed a good brushing/sanding/painting/staining. All that's left to do is varnish the top. I can't wait to put it together and organize the tools! Currently we have tools in random places all over the house so we can never find anything when we need it.
2. Last week was a pay week for me so that meant more money into cash non-emergency savings to build our buffer now that we've saved enough for our trip in August.
3. I'm in Georgia...so the back and forth between hot and cold isn't...completely abnormal...but it HAS been more warm than usual for sure. Yesterday I went to the park with the dog and I've been spending a lot of time on the front porch just enjoying the weather. I wore a tank top and sandals to work today (our office is casual).
2. $250 to the house account and $100 to the cash stash.
3. Yes! We really lucked out yesterday. My cousin and I did the Polar Plunge, benefitting the Special Olympics. Obviously the water was still terribly cold, but at least it was 60 degrees when we got out! It's super nice today, too, so I may take the dog for a nice long walk.
2) Making progress on our HELOC application. Our house actually appraised high enough just through comps that we won't need to do a separate walk-through appraisal, so that's nice. The comp appraisal came back $48K higher than we paid for the house 2.5 years ago. It feels like a good investment, but now we are talking about cashing out lol. We won't do it, but it's fun to speculate.
3) Great weather this weekend - mid-70's and sunny. We were in shorts and T-shirts. I think spring has officially arrived here. It's a few weeks early, but stuff is already starting to bloom.
2) Well we did our taxes this weekend and the federal government wants another $3k from us. Oops. Out of sheer spite I am not sending it in until April though!
3) It was unseasonably warm in Boston. I succeeded in doing some good decluttering, organizing, and cleaning this weekend and had the doors open to get some fresh air in. I also took the dog on a few long walks and a trip to the park.
2. We'll put the rest of H's last paycheck in savings tomorrow. At the end of the week, I'm hoping to send an extra $500 to the mortgage.
3. The weather here has broken a record for the most consecutive days in the 70s in February. I spent a good chunk of time this weekend raking the leaves that I should have bagged in December...
$275 on the cheap seats for Lady Gaga tickets for the concert later this year. $100 on tickets for a play H wants to see next month. $100 gift for our dog sitter (a bargain at half the price of the kennel) and $191 on a mystery shop dinner last night ($170 of it will be reimbursed next month).
2. No progress yet. I have a goal of getting all the tax stuff together this week.
3. It was a lovely warm weekend. We went on a nice walk yesterday with the dog and I turned the heat off...hoping for some lower utility bills as a result!
2) Not a pay week.
3) It was beautiful here in central IL. Had a fire in the backyard Saturday and cooked out hot dogs and s'mores. Sunday we played disc golf and sat out on the front porch. Windows open both days. It was glorious.
2. Any progress toward goals? DH's 403b paperwork is all set. Once the account is set up, we can take care of the new withdrawal (15%) and transfer of the old account. Target bill was under $50 this month(!), gas and electric were lower than average too for February. I also got the internet bill down $10/month and our cell phones down $15/month.
3. Will/have you been lucky enough to enjoy unseasonably warm weather this week and last? And if so, what will/have you done with it? DD#1 had a b-day party on Saturday, we took the girls ice skating Sunday, got our cars washed (nice to have all of the salt off of them and their bellies all clean. I never washed my 2003 civic and the undercarriage was rusting by the time I traded it in.. lesson learned!). DH and the girls are home this week- they are at the zoo and will probably walk to the library on Wednesday. We're supposed to get rain tomorrow, so they'll spend some time painting at the art space in the basement. Friday is a day off for me and we'll be going to the children's museum. Good week!
1. How MM was your weekend?
Big hits, but not unexpected. I sent $1,372 to my Canadian pharmacy, ugh. But they are 3-4x cheaper than the US and it is enough to get me through about 7 months. I also spent another $106 at Wal-Mart's pharmacy, plus $74 for a partial grocery stock up.
2. Any progress toward goals?
Yes! Good progress. I paid $2,450 to my HELOC and paid one of my cc's down $150. We also got an executed lease for our 3-bed unit on the new duplex. They are moving in March 10th and will be paying $1,050/month. I also have a strong potential for our 2-bed unit. I might have an executed lease and deposit from her by Tues./Wed. (crossing fingers!). That unit is $850/month.
She would be a mid-March move-in; however, I probably wouldn't see any rent money until April 1st or even May 1st, because her rent is paid by Section 8 (Housing assistance) and it is a "process". Though usually all or most of the rent is backdated to her move-in. Just depends on how the timing works out with the inspection. They're very frustrating when someone first moves in but, after that, the rent is directly deposited around the 1st like clockwork.
3. Will/have you been lucky enough to enjoy unseasonably warm weather this week and last? And if so, what will/have you done with it?
The weather has been perfect! In the 70s. No heater or a/c needed. Staying that way for the next 10 days. Quite frankly though, I don't think that's way off from how it usually is this time of year. Maybe 5-10 degrees warmer than usual, on average.
2. Moved $250 to savings.
3. Yes!! it's so strange, and hoping it doesn't mean awful weather later in the spring. On Saturday after I got back, H and I took a RZR ride around our neighborhood to look at all the new houses on the east side, and then followed the outlot that runs next to our house down to where they are digging out a new water line to the west of us. Until we ran into a cranky old man that was mad we were driving out there (it's a dirt lot about 40' wide). Then we sat down with some drinks by our firepit til about 9:00pm, and our pups got suitably worn out from running around in the yard all day.
2. Any progress toward goals?
- Continued paying down car loans and contributing to 401k, roths and savings
3. Will/have you been lucky enough to enjoy unseasonably warm weather this week and last? And if so, what will/have you done with it?Nothing on Friday, we ate at home and watched a movie. Spent $90 on groceries on Saturday, and then $90 for dinner with friends Saturday night.
Didn't spend anything yesterday, went skiing on our season passes and brought snacks with us. Nothing spent today either.
$120 at Walmart for groceries, some clearanced clothes for DD, and a few birthday party items. $12 for a car wash. $24 for lunch for H and the guys helping him with a car.
2. Any progress toward goals?
We're on track to hopefully put $1,000 toward savings for the birth of baby. So happy! We originally though we'd only be able to do $250 this month.
3. Will/have you been lucky enough to enjoy unseasonably warm weather this week and last? And if so, what will/have you done with it?
We have. I've raked leaves, realized we had a gas leak where the gas comes into our house (fixed by company), pooper scooped the back yard (gross), swept out the garage, aired out the house, washed curtains in 2 rooms, and played outside with DD a lot. It was a good weekend.
TTC since 1/13 DX:PCOS 5/13 (long, anovulatory cycles)
Clomid 50mg 9/13 = BFP! EDD 6/7/14 M/C 5w6d Found 11/4/13
1/14 PCOS / Gluten Free Diet to hopefully regulate my system.
Chemical Pregnancy 03/14
Surprise BFP 6/14, Beta #1: 126 Beta #2: 340 Stick baby, stick! EDD 2/17/15
Riley Elaine born 2/16/15
TTC 2.0 6/15
Chemical Pregnancy 9/15
Chemical Pregnancy 6/16
BFP 9/16 EDD 6/3/17
Beta #1: 145 Beta #2: 376 Beta #3: 2,225 Beta #4: 4,548
www.5yearstonever.blogspot.com
1. We built a lot of wiggle room into this month's budget for random purchases that would come up when we were desperate and tired, and let's just say we've used pretty much all of it. Between the expired inspection ticket I got two days before the birth (ugh), a desperation run to BRU to get a rock 'n play, the hospital newborn photographer that played my emotions perfectly, sushi delivery, ordering some more cloth diapers since he was born too big for most of my newborn stash, etc. etc. we were in survival mode but will be ready to get back on the horse now that we're settled.
2. We received notice that my hospital admission has been approved by insurance, so that's great news that *should* mean we only owe our inpatient maternity copay ($500), plus perhaps a $250 emergency room copay for the time I went to triage but got sent home the day before real labor. I wouldn't be surprised if circumcision is extra since it's optional, but we'll see. Just waiting on the final bill. Starting with H's paycheck Friday we'll be adding to savings again, and we will only add to our e-fund until the end of my maternity leave just to be safe.
3. Yes! We have been able to get outside with the newborn for some very short walks, which I was not expecting to be able to do in February but has made a huge difference for my mental health. I love my walks!
@Xstatic3333, yay Baby Sam! So glad to hear you are both doing well and have even been able to go out on some short walks.
I'm laughing at your description of the newborn photographer's technique. The last time I was unemployed, I saw want ads for a position like that. I remember being really curious about it at the time. It was either commission only or mainly commission, but I couldn't find any clue of what people typically make, so I never applied.
@short+sassy the photos were nice but it was a pretty crazy hard sell. The guy was trying to get us to buy a $200 package while my midwife was coming in to check up on me. No boundaries. We spent about $50 in the end, but H kept saying he felt like we bought a timeshare.
Yikes, thanks for the input! Glad I didn't apply, if that is what is expected. I like sales, but I'm not a hard sell kind of person. I was also concerned there'd be occasions where I'd feel like I was intruding, which isn't my style either.
Though it sounds like it was just as well you all paid for some professional pics, since Sam is already so much bigger.
I read somewhere that if humans grew as fast as we do in the womb once we are born, we'd be the physical age of 13 by our first birthday.