Keeping It Frugal

When I got home today from taking our 19 yr old cat, Baby, to the vet (who we were thinking we'd have to let go of two weeks ago .. but he's holding on,) I got a Facetime call from my mom.

I had literally just walked in the door. If she'd called a few minutes earlier, I would've missed the call.

I think I've mentioned before that I was adopted by my dad. My mom, is my biological mom, but the man who was my dad, adopted me when I was 2 1/2, shortly after marrying my mom. He died back in June of 2012.

So ... the news my mom had for me today. My biological dad, who still lived in the town I was born in, had died. His memorial service will be on Saturday.

I wasn't really sure how I felt about it when she told me, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it now.

He never made any attempt to reach out to me over the years - not even when I attended college for two years in my birth town. (Not why I went there, but ... still...) So, I don't know that I feel a sense of loss per se ... unless it is the loss of the opportunity to ever show off what he missed out on (if I ever actually lose enough weight to feel like showing off ...)

--
Sammy, mama cat, is doing okay. After getting a shot (pain meds? antibiotics? don't recall) she perked up a lot.

Our cats (Baby and Sammy this year) are sure eating through our pet funds this year.

So our 15 year old Siamese (chocolate point my husband thinks)usually sleeps on the pillow near me. Two nights ago she wasn't there when I woke up. I thought that was weird, but we're in the time of year where the cats don't sleep on the bed so much.

Then I couldn't find her when I fed everyone breakfast. Very unusual, but I had to get to work.

When DH came up shortly before going to work, I asked him if he'd seen her - he hadn't. He went looking and found her in the one place I hadn't looked.

(Already) long story short - I took her to the new vet at Petco (Thrive.) They couldn't do too much because they were closing early due to the curfew (first curfew ever in our city.) They did bloodwork and x-rays - the vet told me he was really concerned, and that we should take her to an emergency vet to be rehydrated over night.

So ... I rushed back home. DH then took the car (and Sammy) to the overnight vet, and went to work. (We currently have ONE working vehicle out of 4....)

It looks like Sammy most likely has cancer. DH will be picking her up tonight and bringing her home (then back to work.) We're going into wait and see mode, but the likely outcome will be the Rainbow Bridge.

She's such a good cat, and she's mama to one of our other cats. It'll leave a huge hole in our household.

It's also taking a huge bite out of our vet fund ... just as we got it fully funded again. Sigh. So far - $250 for Thrive vet, $457 down payment on emergency vet - probably another $500+ when DH picks her up tonight.

If she was only 8 or 9, maybe we'd look into finding the cancer and treating it. But she's 15, why put her through all that when there's no guarantee it'll do any good.

---
In other news ...
I made my monthly contribution to my IRA today - and decided to buy a share of VGT etf stock with part of it. The 4 shares I bought with my fun money already made nearly $45.

Time sure does seem to be passing quickly. It seems like I just barely finish the data process for one month when its time to start the process all over again.

I took a couple days off this week to attempt to get some home projects done. I did actually manage to accomplish a few things - changed out my winter clothes for spring/summer clothes, and used a Rug Doctor on our upstairs carpets. I also strongly hinted to my DH about wanting to have someone come and tile our bathroom - get rid of the carpet!! (No, he doesn't want us to DIY - he thinks it would be too easy to do a bad job.)

---
So ... I had a Zoom with my supervisor yesterday. I found out that they are not replacing the second receptionist at our office due to budget cuts (she retired in January I think.) Guess what? I get to be the main receptionists permanent break giver now - and back up if she's gone on vacation or sick. Woo hoo! (can you read the sarcasm? if not, add a lot and you'll get close) It doesn't start until we are all back to "normal" working in office.

I just have to repeat to myself - at least I still have a job. We did actually technically fire someone - although the term was = we chose to not renew her contract (after 19 years!)

--
I was looking at paydays - it looks like we're going to have a 6 paycheck month in July! I told DH if he wanted to take 2 or 3 days off, July would be the easy month to do it without affecting our budget. I doubt he'll actually do it though, it would cut into his spending money too much. (which, I will say, he's been putting a lot of it into the stocks/etf's and has done pretty well)

But, he can't say he didn't have the opportunity!

--
I have something like 16 vacation days left (and still accruing) since I didn't use 9 days for Ireland. I need to look into it more, but I think we can sell back vacation days in August - though with the budget cuts, maybe not?? I really need to get a better handle on that - I usually use all my vacation time each year, so don't worry too much about it. (My supervisor was telling me that the receptionist is wanting to take the week after Christmas off and wanted to know if it would conflict with my vacation plans - I told her nope, the only day I plan to take off is the weekend of my birthday (15th.) But then we looked at the date, and it is a Tuesday, so we were both saying - may as well take Monday and Tuesday! Do up my 45th birthday big! -- likely not actually do anything ... but will be nice to have a really long weekend.)

---
So ... by September 22 I need to have lost about 20 pounds or I will be saying say'o'nara (sp?) to nearly $1k (HealthyWage.) Yeah, I don't like that idea. (About $300 of it would be my actual money, the rest would be winnings.)

I've been fighting the same five - ten pounds most of the past five months. (Mainly because I keep jumping off the cliff into junkfood'ville and have trouble climbing out.)

At any rate, I am committing to absolutely NO:
Dairy
Processed foods (that means Amy's, Laura!!)
flour of any kind
sugar (this includes my beloved date sugar ..)

My focus is going to be on eating as much as possible foods without labels - legumes, whole grains (not processed into flour), vegetables, greens, and fruit (not dried, but whole.)

This is for the month of June. I will reevaluate at the end of June to see if it is actually working, and if I want to keep going with it.

I do hope to eliminate processed food and dairy completely from my diet, but one way or the other, whole grains flour will come back into my diet, and possibly the "healthier" sweetners like date sugar.

My DH is doing keto - one meal a day. He eats around 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. So ... we aren't eating together at all anymore. This makes it so I can change my eating timing to around ten a.m. to six p.m. - which is healthier than going as late as 8 p.m. and pushing up against bedtime.

(DH has lost 25lbs in two weeks. He is ecstatic. I'm happy for him, but also worried about what some of the weight he's losing is actually comprised of. Not to mention the copious amounts of meat he's eating ... and fat - but - silver lining -- he's eating spinach!!)

This will definitely save us money in our date night category! (i.e. no eating out, even if I was willing to go to a restaurant right now)

So on Thursday I had my 6-month evaluation meeting. I got a high enough score for a raise. It should be about $.60/hr.

I'm glad I have the supervisor I have and don't have a particular co-worker for a supervisor.

It looks like we'll still be WFH till at least the beginning of June. I wouldn't mind longer ...

---
DH asked me to convert his index funds in his ROTH into an ETF a few months ago. So ... I looked at our accounts a few days ago and saw that my index funds had lost around 7% this year, while DHs ETF had gained 11%. HMPF! (We're down about $30k from our high.)

I didn't want to sell any of my index funds at a loss, but I did want to play a little with his ETF. So .. I used $1k of my fun money (thanks to no Ireland trip) to buy 4 shares. I'm going to possibly buy 1-2 a year. I don't want to tie a lot of money up in it - but a little bit won't hurt.

---
DH has decided to do time limited keto - eating within a 4 hour window to start. So that eliminates our meals together, and probably eating out too. ( He was talking about we still could do Chinese buffets ... um a buffet?? I don't know when I'll be ok going to a buffet again.) Plus I don't think he was thinking about timing.

I really hope he focuses on getting the full 30% of low-carb veggies/greens ("allowed") and doesn't just eat meat. Sigh.

He probably has a kidney stone again. He had to have a laser procedure in Feb? to get rid of one. Helpfully completed his out of pocket for the year. Yay? It was not pleasant and he doesn't want to do it again. He may have no choice.

--
Mom just HAD to get a haircut on Monday.

She and her hairdresser started with masks ...

Yesterday she got a call saying that the person who had an appointment directly before her had tested positive for Covid.

Her hairdresser is in quarantine, and of course has had to cancel all her appointments.

Mom didn't understand why she needed to self-quarantine.

Oy vey.

May 14 will mark six months in my new job. I had a Soom call with my supervisor yesterday (we do this bi-weekly) and she brought up that it was time for my 6-month eval so I can get my raise. I'm glad she brought it up so I didn't have to!

Overall, I am SO much happier in this job than the bus company. There is a co-worker whom I'm probably going to have to have a strong conversation with once we're back to in-office operations. I'm so not looking forward to that.

--
Our May budget looks really good. We had enough to cover all the basic amounts fully, with $100 leftover, plus the $2400 stimulus money. That money is being doled out to car repairs, pets, medical, income bridge fund, and a little bit to vacation.

If my raise hits in May, then our June budget will look pretty nice too. (It'll be about a $.60/hr raise.)

--
I've been doing well with my eating reset. 8 days I haven't bought chocolate, soda, junkfood or fastfood/takeout.

When I was at Aldi yesterday I ran into a church member with whom I worked with when I was at the bus company (he worked in the mayor's office doing communications.) It was nice to chat and catch up a bit. He's on our church board - it sounds like they are talking about having church services at a locally owned campground (where we can effectively social distance.)

It'll be weird to go back to church after all this time ... it'll be harder still to go back to working in the office. But from what I'm hearing, that won't happen till at least the end of May. Cases have been multiplying here lately, and our peak is predicted to happen around May 11. (Although our governor is capitulating to the minority asking to reopen. Our Mayor is kicking back on that ... I'm actually pretty impressed with her - a first year mayor. I'd vote for her again. Nearly 70% of Americans polled would rather stay closed down and kick this thing NOW, rather than reopen too soon.)

I watched a youtube video about the 1918 Spanish Flu. OMW! I only pray that Covid-19 doesn't follow the same pattern. Horrific. I'd heard/read about it before, but not to this level of detail. I'm actually curious why there aren't any fictional / real life books about it (other than scientific non-fiction) - at least that I've come across. There's books revolving around the Chicago fire, around the 1906? San Francisco earthquake, etc., but not the 1918 flu. I'm going to have to do some searching on that, because that just doesn't seem right - that big of a thing being ignored by fiction writers?? I mean the reality of what happened with it makes the movie Outbreak seem mild in comparison.

Youtube video - 1918 Spanish Flu historical documentary | Swine Flu

DH and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on Thursday. It was a really good day. I took off from work a few hours early. Then we drove to Glenwood, Iowa and got carryout from our favorite Mexican restaurant and then went to a nearby park to eat.

DH surprised me with flowers, a really sweet note in a card, and ... (long story) he bought himself a wedding ring. Overall, since we had our CA trip in September, things have been going much better. And in the last few weeks, even better. I'm looking forward to seeing where this coming year leads us.

DH is still doing his delivery job, although a few less hours due to early closing. I had changed some things on my paycheck prior to this whole pandemic ... so it is evening out. Plus of course the $2400 stimulus (which came in time to pay the $1100 medical bill for an outpatient procedure in March.)

We have maxed out our 3% Kasasa checking account. So I did some looking, and saw that Capital One was at 1.5% - so opened a savings account there. (I still had my checking account open from when it was ING. That's how I fund my IRA - it has my maiden name on it and was already attached. Vanguard won't let me add our joint account since DHs name is primary or something like that.)

---
My eating has been pretty bad recently. But I have made a conscious decision to stop and regroup. For at least the next two weeks, my focus is to: 1. Not buy chocolate/junkfood - not an option; 2. Fast food/takeout on my own is not an option; 3. Eat the food we already have on hand. Once these seem to be going well, I'll add in an exercise intention/focus.

Today I finally opened my Gridler I bought a few weeks ago. I used it to make waffles. Yum! It was so much easier to use than my mini-waffle maker.

I made a big pot of Great Northern Beans for DH (he found a cheap source for them.) I also used up some leftover lentils to make a "meatloaf." I'll be freezing it tomorrow after the flavors meld some (though I'm not sure where I'll put it, since the freezer is pretty full.)

I'm really going to miss working from home when we have to go back.

Well, this is my second week working from home. Overall I'm really enjoying it. I think it'll be hard to go back to the normal routine.

I did go into the office for a few hours yesterday and saw my boss. It's pretty obvious she's an extrovert she was so happy to see me.

--
DH is still doing his pizza delivery. He says business has picked up some this week, and tips are bigger. When all the universities shut down, deliveries took a hit.

I asked him tonight if I could locate a mask for him, would he wear it. Nope, he'd feel like a dork.

I'm keeping in mind my locus of control. I can control what I do, but not what others do.

If I knew for sure things would be okay in 4 weeks or so, and he could get his hours back, I'd tell him to take a month's vacation. But I don't think either of those are true.

---
My Ireland trip is canceled obviously. I got my refund a few days ago. Sigh.

I bought something thats been on my wishlist for several months - a 5 - in - 1 griddler w/ removable waffle irons. It should be here next week.

--
Have not been doing well with the eating. If I continue like this, there's no way I'll meet my Healthy Wage goal in September. Ugh.

---
Well, not much else to say, other than Wash your hands and stay home! Be safe my friends.

Right now we are fully funding our IRA's, plus at work I have 7% taken from my salary plus a 9% employer match (which is required), and then an extra $300/month pulled pre-tax to a 457 plan.

However, a number of our monthly bills have been going up. This is causing us to not be able to fully fund some of our categories more months than not. I do all the budgeting each month, and allocate the money in the MUST categories, and then have DH decide the allocation for the remaining categories.

Those categories are the Pet Fund, Medical Fund, Auto Maintenance Fund, Bridge Fund, Vacation and Date Night.

To fully fund all of those, we need $850. Most months we are at least $300 - 400 short. So, vacation usually doesn't get funded, Bridge fund and other funds get about 50% funded.

From conversations we've had, I know this stresses DH out.

There's only two solutions I see to this - one is DH putting all his cash tips into the family budget (which may or may not help enough); or me decreasing the extra I'm having withheld from my paycheck to my 457.

I've talked to DH about increasing the amount he puts in - and he did up it a bit. But the idea of putting it all in makes him feel like he'd have no motivation to go into work. (Sarcastic thoughts in my head about this ... but not going to say them.) So I don't think asking him to increase his contribution more is workable.

That leaves reducing my 457 contribution. If I completely stopped it, it wouldn't be a straight $300 extra back each month, due to being pre-tax. But it would be about $250.

This would make it possible for us to fully fund the important categories (pets, medical, auto, bridge) every month, and put something in vacation every month too.

I really hate the idea of scaling back on the retirement savings, but I'm not sure what else to do.

If we could get our electric bill down that would help. (It went up another $5/mo for the next 6 month period - budget billing.) And maybe in another year or so the car insurance bill will go down to a more reasonable level (as long as there's no more accidents ...) So maybe this won't be a permanent thing.

I'll have a raise in May, and again in August. So, maybe by the following May I could start funding it again?

Or should I just leave well enough alone, and hope that our current funding level in these categories will be enough?

I have 14 years to go to retirement (hopefully!) and am on good track for that. DH hopes to be retired in a bit more than 6 years (that's partly what the Bridge fund is for.)

This is when I wish I had someone I could lay all the numbers out to and the goals and obstacles and have them just tell me what to do. Sigh.

Really trying to avoid looking at current fund balances - other than knowing this is a good time to buy, buy. buy!

When I got home from church today and looked through the mail, I saw an envelope from ATT. I almost threw it away without looking at it. Glad I didn't!

Inside was a check for $12.49 - settling for throttling my unlimited data when I was with their service.

I vaguely remember signing up for this class action suit.

I also cashed out my StepBet/RunBet winnings - $82.42. (This is from multiple bets.)

---
I was at Whole Foods yesterday looking for non-dairy yogurt (taking antibiotics for a sinus infection) and decided to see if they have the vegan donuts I'd heard about.

They did. Luckily at $2.50 they aren't going to be very tempting - because taste wise ... very tempting.

---
I missed posting on my 15 year blogaversary. I've seen so many people come and go, and sometimes drift back again. I'm so glad to have found this place 15 years ago.

In January 2010 I was single and woefully underemployed. I was working for minimum wage at a small local health club - I'd started the job over a year earlier, a few months before being laid off from my oil and gas job. I was renting a room in a lady's home - loved her pets! She was jealous I think of the attention her pets gave me (sorry, but dogs tend to gravitate to those who consistently walk and play with them ...)

I was also taking classes towards my Master's in Library science, and mostly living on savings. My networth was approximately $45k.

Fast Forward ten years.

I bought a used car, had three different main jobs (plus the tutoring in 2010/11), earned my Master's, moved to two different states, lost my dad, got married, and bought a house! (Mom got divorced, married, divorced, married and finally widowed.) Oh, I am again taking classes towards another degree.

Our networth is approximately (not including house or cars) $350k. A good portion of that though comes from the stocks I inherited from my dad. (Go figure, they are up nearly $100 from when I sold them a few years ago. Could've gone the other way.)

Here are my goals for 2020. I found a Google template which I used to break the goals down further, and to be able to track them on my phone. There's two sheets - 1 with the goals, and one for tracking my chore cards (part of one of my goals.)

For some of these goals I actually chose a number that is 40-50% less than what I'd really like to achieve. However, in an effort to actually ACHIEVE these goals, I made them for a lower amount.

Here is a link to my goals spreadsheet -
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_pqIPMk0x2svMftBFBiL_-XLa8Zk26y_3GRwoX3hHZk/edit?usp=sharing

Health:

1. Win my HealthyWage bet (Approx. 3.5lbs/mo) (Ends Sept 22.)
2. Eat healthier -
a-Reduce dairy intake to 2x a week and limited amounts.
b- Reduce processed food products to 2x a month i.e. Amy’s or store bought veggie products.)
c - Reduce junkfood intake to only stuff others buy. IOW - no money spent on chocolate or other overly junky food products.
3. Run for 30 continuous minutes at a 17 mpm pace.
4. Win 5 Stepbets.
5. Win 5 RunBets.
6. Do a weight routine 25 times.
Personal Enrichment:
7. Fund Ireland Trip by April. Go on trip in May.
8. Read 25 books - at least 5 non-fiction.
9. Memorize two complete songs on the piano from the simplified Hymn book.
10. Complete Lead Sheet 1 and Classical 1 in Simply Piano app, as well as at least 2 stars on all songs up to those levels.
11. Complete three classes with an A or better.
Home / Financial:
12. Complete 3 Chore Cards each week.
13. Scoop the litter boxes 150 times.
14. Digitize 250 slides and upload to FB group.
15. Finish basic financial info backup system for DH - including a binder putting all important documents in one place. (Possibly use The Big Book of Everything as a guideline.)
16. Clean out - sort, shred, file, one file drawers worth of stuff in home office.
17. Dishes - Go to bed with an empty sink, or a dishwasher full of dirty dishes being washed, AND no dirty dishes or silverware anywhere upstairs but the kitchen - 120 times.
18. Write 3 real letters - handwritten, not email.
19. Make the office into a “homey” space - i.e. look like someone who knows about homemaking lives here. (i.e. purchase and hang artwork or other decorations, clean off, sort, organize bookshelves so they look neat and organized, keep desk clear of stuff, maybe replace dad’s 13+ year old office chair, make the makeshift monitor stand look less makeshift …)
20. Make 10 real recipes I have not made before.

About 5 weeks in to my new job, and I'm still quite happy. I spent a day at old job training my replacement last week. They made a really good choice.

We're not going anywhere for Christmas, per our usual. I purchased and sent mom our Christmas gift already. She sent us a check - which is what I had asked for - money towards my Ireland trip. She specified that some of the money was for DH which I think made him feel good.

I was approved for the BOFA $200 bonus card. I'm also debating about the Chase savings/checking bonuses.

I won a RunBet on Thursday - $8.87 profit.

Not much else to report.

Not to much going on.

I'm loving my new job. and getting used to being a bus commuter. I've had my warmer clothing be useful several times.

DH and I ate at IHOP for Thanksgiving .... we were going to go to Golden Corral, but we left too late. DH wasn't a happy camper. But he did get his turkey. I didn't really care one way or another.

I spent part of Thursday updating the budget. At our budget DH had $200 to play around with once all our baseline categories were funded. He divided it between car maintenance and medical - which is exactly what I would've done too.

I might go to Aldi this afternoon for some groceries, but otherwise this is a no spend day for me (well, I do need to pay a car registration renewal)

So far today I got a load of laundry and dishes done, vacuumed, and got all my warm weather clothes put away and put out my cold weather clothes.

I still need to get in a 30 minute run, but otherwise, I'm ready to relax.

What can I say? So far, so good!

Best thing so far - I have my own office!!
Next best thing - once I get trained on the databases, I will be BUSY!
Next best thing - my new supervisor seems easy to get along with so far
Next best thing - people seem happy for me to be there - very friendly so far
Next best thing - Flex time!! I worked an extra 15 minutes on Friday, so tomorrow I get to leave 15 minutes early. This Friday I'm going to my former supervisor's retirement party - and am able to use my two breaks plus work an extra 30 minutes - so I don't have to use vacation time.

I've taken the bus every day. So far the weather has only needed a light jacket, but I think that will change on Thursday. Brrr!

---
I made my deposit for the Ireland trip! I have u7ntil Dec 16 to make the first installment payment. I'm going to be looking into a credit card rewards for that. Maybe BOFA - $200 after spending $500 I think. Then maybe a second one with a bigger spend requirement / bonus for the remainder.

---
My DH has been sick this last weekend. I told him to stay home. That our budget would be fine next month if he misses a few days. He wouldn't do it. He wanted to know how we could afford it, if I'm bellyaching about finding $90 / month for parking downtown. Ugh! Not the same thing! Even after close to 4 years, I'm not sure he gets the whole budget thing.

He did finally agree to go to an urgent care place where he got antibiotics for his issue, and is now feeling better.

I really wish he had paid sick days.

Today was my last day at the bus company. So weird! Some people stopped by especially to say bye ... others not so much. Oh well. I got to say bye to those I really wanted to.

I *think* I left it to where the new supervisor and whoever is the new me will be able to be successful. The new supervisor has my email and permission to email me if needed.

Something seriously funny - I was on my afternoon break and had just finished my Lara bar when an important trick hit me that I hadn't told J. I ran to her office to tell her before I forgot ... C was in there and had JUST finished telling her the same thing! (Essentially the trick is how to forward calls to the answering service - esp. for route questions. At least until she gets more familiar with it all.)

I had a lot more at the office than I realized - took two trips to get it all out!

DH is going to drop me off tomorrow so I can take a box of stuff with me - which would be a bit impractical on the bus. I'm going to have to be much more organized ... no more leaving my purse or phone at home ... or waiting til morning to make my lunch or decide what to wear ...

DH asked me if the hassle was really worth saving $3/day ($90/mo parking garage) -- I asked him where exactly that $90 would come from? Date night? Vacation? Where?? With my last paycheck increase we are just now hitting our basic budget. (We had enough to cover the essentials before, but now we have enough to cover the essentials plus the basic funding level for sinking funds like pets, car repair, medical, etc.)

So .. the bus it is, plus DH willing to drop off once in a while.

The temperature has seemed to get better today, and the forecast looks decent (high of 40 tomorrow) so a good way to start my bus adventures. I ordered some high waisted silk long johns that should be here tomorrow.

--
OOOHH!

I saw this on the YNAB forum and signed up for it - took a few days to get it, but I used it today and it worked!!

If you use Synthroid and have insurance, sign up at this link (synthroid . com before breakfast club) They'll send you a membership card which makes your Synthroid only $25!! (I've been paying $38 .. and it seems to be a little more every month.)

If you don't have insurance, I think there are other prescription savings cards you can sign up for. But this is the first I've seen for someone with insurance. (I take that back, my DH has a couple meds we were given a coupon for which lasted a year.)

I only have two days left working at the bus company! It's been a busy time trying to prepare information for my successor. I wouldn't be so concerned about it if it wasn't for the fact that one week after I'm gone, my supervisor is retiring. So the lady who got my supervisor's job knows little about the bus company or about buses in general. The big kahuna has said he might try to arrange with my new supervisor for me to come back for a day to train my replacement once they've hired one.

The application closed on Friday, and apparently LOTS of people applied. We had several anxious people call this week wanting to know the status of their application. Obviously never applied for a government job before. I'm kind of curious to meet whoever gets hired.

---
We had a day this week where the morning temp was 12 degrees. So I decided to test out my new coat and hat/muff thing. Toasty warm! And not too bad hat hair.

I still need to work on keeping my hands warm though ... That's always an issue though, so nothing new. Sigh.

---
I won $10.45 in my RunBet which finished on Wednesday. Then turned around and started another one! The treadmill sure is coming in handy (for me at least ...) My current Stepbet closes this Sunday, and it looks like about a $6 profit.

I'm still doing Intermittent Fasting (from 8 pm to 12 noon approximately.) The scale is moving SLOWLY in the right direction, but even better is my stomach seems to be going away too (again, SLOWLY.) I do think I;ll need every bit of a year to win my Healthy Wage bet at this rate ...

----
Anyone who is a member of the original YNAB forums - they are shutting them down on November 30. Check the forums for an alternative solution people have come up with.

------
In case you are a The Crown fan ... the new season starts on the 17th!!

I'd also like to recommend Holiday in the Wild. Sweet and not too sappy.

Netflix + treadmill = RunBet WIN!

My day started with luxuriously enjoying a little extra sleep. Then I got up and got the budget updated and ready for our belated November budget meeting. I was very happy to note that we were actually able to meet ALL the basic budget funding with $20 left over.

Our medical fund got very low though because we ran out of FSA money in September ... but now we have a new influx so we can rebuild the fund.

November will have a 3 paycheck month and 5 weekends for DH, plus one paycheck for me from my new job. So .. I think December is going to be FLUSH!

After playing with YNAB, it was time to get ready ... to go see Phantom of the Opera with a friend from church! She arrived right at 12:30 and we found parking for only $5!

The Phantom was phenomenal as expected.

When I got home DH was awake and working on the CRV trying to fix a melted headlight wire (
I think ...) Once it got dark, he gave up on it, and then we did the feeding of the cats. (They get the special treat twice a week - canned food with supplements ...)

Next we headed to the restaurant I'd chosen for my celebratory dinner - a sushi place we'd been to before. I ordered the vegetable sushi plate and DH got the mongolian grill. I used the chopsticks to eat and didn't make too much of a mess. We splurged and ordered a piece of cake. Yum. A couple of the sushi rolls have slices of mushrooms. After the first time we went there, I bought some dried shitake mushrooms and tried to replicate .... not so much. I still have half a bag of dried mushrooms I need to figure out how to cook so they aren't like rubber ...

When we got home I checked my grades to see if anything new was graded - my teacher takes FOREVER to grade things. My midterm was graded! I got a 97% which put me at a 97% average. Sweet!

Our evening ended with DH and I spending a few hours doing our budget meeting and just hanging out.

All in all, a very wonderful Sunday.

(Made all the better by having taken Monday off work so I could fully enjoy my Sunday.)

So with my new job it'll be easiest for me to walk 4 blocks to the bus stop, take the bus downtown, and then walk two blocks to work. I have sneakers and snow boots for walking. But my winter apparel isn't great for possibly standing for ten minutes in blowing snow or freezing wind ... It works for a quick walk from car to building ....

So .. I was wondering what should I look for in a good jacket. I'll want a hood of course. Do they make hoods with detachable face masks?? I'm okay with spending a little $$ on this because I don't want to have the excuse of being cold ...

Also, I have several decent pair of warm leggings (tights without feet??) but hate how they don't seem to stay up. With a 4 block walk I don't want to get to the bus stop with them halfway off my backside. So ... any ideas on how to get them to stay up while also being able to pull them down easily when needed? (i.e. not having to practically get undressed to use the toilet.)

Help please!