Money & Life Report: December 2020
January 5, 2021
On Money
Income
Our primary income comes from our full time jobs. We have minimal income from investing in index funds and dividend stocks (all reinvested). We earn money on the side to supplement our main incomes. We get a bit of income from Swagbucks and cash back sites (Rakuten, Mr.Rebates). Some posts have affiliate links that pay a micro-commission to keep the blog running and I’ve added a way to support the blog in the sidebar to the right!
Our long term goal is to replace our day job income with passive income before my health prevents me from working. I know from my Mom’s experience that qualifying for or relying on disability is incredibly tough or near impossible here in CA. Aside from that, I aim to do my best to make the most of what we can do while we can.
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Dividend income. We received $909.60 in dividends in December from my individual stocks portfolio. That’s definitely higher than the usual because Costco paid out an extra large dividend. I would say unexpectedly except it was only unexpected by me – they announced it in November and I simply wasn’t paying any attention to such details.
Our YTD monthly average is $422.
Spending
Invisalign. I put down a deposit on an Invisalign treatment this month. A lot of pieces had to come together for this treatment plan.
A) We are choosing a premium dental plan. For an extra $200 a year, I get $2500 towards orthodontic work.
B) We got a referral from a family friend who has been using this orthodontist for many years and their kids are current patients. This saved me $500 (friends and family discount!).
C) We have the option of a Limited Use FSA for vision and dental next year. This will cover my patient portion for ortho work.
D) Because I am willing to pay my portion of the fees in full in 2021, I was given another small discount.
This worked out to a total that wasn’t totally staggering compared to earlier quotes that landed between $7000-10000. We will end up paying $3340 including the extra annual premium so long as nothing changes with our dental insurance during 2021.
Clothing. I purchased a few more pieces of really warm clothing for myself because I am constantly cold. None of the stuff I have is adequate to keep me warm inside without three layers plus a jacket.
Giving
Personal Giving. We rounded out our personal year end contributions to several more organizations: more food, more water, more shelter for people who are in need after the awful that has been 2020. We also gave creators with Patreons via one off tip jars. I might also sign up for their Patreons this year.
Lakota Families. Our last family was a mom of 7 who is expecting a new baby in February. She’s having a high risk pregnancy and cannot work so we supplied their family with 6 large boxes of diapers (3 each of size 1 and 2), 6 cans of formula, 12 bottles, 4 bottle brushes, 16 pairs of baby socks in two sizes, 2 baby blankets, 4 fleece pajamas, several lightweight onesies, a bunch of heat and cold packs for use after labor and delivery, some hand me down bottles in case they work better for the baby than the new ones we purchased, and a little health kit (nail clippers and thermometer).
Saving and investing
Behavior modification. I’m not sure why it worked but several weeks of consistently investing in our index funds helped me get over my almost pathological need to hold onto the cash from the rental sale. It might help that we have completed a large project and still have money left as projected. Maybe viscerally I needed to be on the other side of it to believe it would work out. I feel more comfortable about investing larger amounts of it than before.
Net worth
On Life
Most of this month felt hazy. My time dilation feeling is just getting worse now that sleep deprivation has come into play thanks to Smol Acrobat.
Entertainment.
Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop, Roselle Lim (Amazon, Bookshop.org). Magical gifts and family, plus a bit of mystery. This was a lovely read.
A Song Below Water, Bethany C Morrow (Amazon, Bookshop.org). This was Really Good. Highly recommend.
The Inheritance Trilogy, NK Jemisin (Amazon, Bookshop.org). I had already read “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms” and had been waiting for the other books to come in at the library. Well worth the wait. It’s so good.
Dactyl Hill Squad, DJ Older (Amazon, Bookshop.org). I can’t believe I requested the first book of this series and not the other two! FOOL. Dinosaurs, orphans, the Civil War, and DJ Older’s writing magic.
Shadowhouse Fall, DJ Older (Amazon, Bookshop.org). The second book of the Shadowhouse Cypher does not disappoint. I can’t wait to read Book 3! Luckily, there are two more books to enjoy and they are great too: Ghost Girl in the Corner (Book 1.5), Dead Light March (Novella 2).
Children of Virtue and Vengeance, Tomi Adeyemi (Amazon, Bookshop.org). I wished I had re-read The Children of Blood and Bone first just to refresh my memory but this second book stands up on its own just fine.
Kingdom of Souls, Rena Barron (Amazon, Bookshop.org) I held my breath through this whole book hoping the main character would make the “right” choices but I couldn’t quite tell what they were, to be honest. Then there was a twist that I didn’t see coming for about
Ikenga, Nnedi Okorafor (Amazon, Bookshop.org) This is a middle grade book but like many well written MG books, it holds up quite well for an adult reader.
Lagoon, Nnedi Okorafor. (Amazon, Bookshop.org) The publisher summary: “A biologist, a famous rapper, and a rogue soldier become the honor guard and interpreter of humanity’s first contact with an alien ambassador in this thriller that combines magical realism and seemingly end-of-the-world high tension”.
Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid (Amazon, Bookshop.org) This was an unsettling book. The meddling, the self righteousness, the justifications to oneself about how their selfish actions were for someone else’s good. I didn’t like most of the characters and felt terrible for the kid.
The Marriage Code: A Novel, Brooke Burroughs (Amazon, Bookshop.org) I’m not sure why this is considered a novel, it seemed like a pretty textbook romance? It was just ok, there were parts of the book that made me feel vaguely uncomfortable, there was an appropriative sense to the writing.
Tiger’s Curse, Colleen Houck. I couldn’t finish this one. The writing was just bad. I’m not even concerned about whether the plotlines hold up, the prose itself was weak and disjointed and juvenile, like this was a first draft that hadn’t been edited.
