Money & Life Report: August 2023
September 5, 2023
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, cash back sites (Rakuten, Mr.Rebates) and affiliate links to Bookshop and Amazon sometimes pay a micro-commission to keep the blog running. The sidebar has ways to support the blog and our charitable giving.
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 $864.54 in dividends from the stocks portfolio.
Both of our Well Fargo bank bonuses paid out this month. I transferred out the whole kit-n-caboodle to savings: credit card and banking bonuses, the seed money to replenish our precariously low Emergency Fund.
PiC picked up $35 worth of gift cards in bike commuting rebates from one program and separately. Thank goodness he is able to, I couldn’t have, and also loves the bike commuting. Both his health and our finances thank him.
He also finalized $500 worth of gift card health incentives from his employer. I’ll be using that to pay some bills!
Spending
I’ve allocated a modest monthly budget for our Lakota sponsee as we slowly get to know each other. I’ve sent them a few items each month, and have been slowly preparing a birthday box because if I don’t work on that now it’ll get here before I realize it.
Future spending … Smol Acrobat is more years away from being eligible for kindergarten than I thought. I had a moment thinking it was only 24 months away. “Only” $55k give or take a few hundred or thousands depending on how much they hike tuition. Nope. 36 months and more like $86k. ðŸ˜ðŸ«£
Giving
We have worked really hard and been very fortunate that our hard work paid off in significant ways that I only dreamt of when I first started this blog. Though we have not reached our FI number where I can feel like all income is gravy, we’ve always felt it was important to lend a helping hand. Many people say they’ll give back later, when they’re financially set. I say that if we don’t practice and prioritize giving now, we won’t give later either.
We donate to organizations that help people and animals in need and do direct aid.
The Lakota Giving Project is year-round now and we always welcome donations to support Lakota families. See how you can help at the link.
I got so mad about the Madam Secretary episode on Child Separations, where they actually GAVE A HOOT and DID SOMETHING about the children detained in unthinkable squalor, that I went to donate more money to The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. We’ve been donating to them since Amy Jo Cousins (the author) shared ongoing news (on Twitter) of their work to protect children.
It’s always been infuriating how badly this country treats immigrants, refugees, and especially children in both groups. This was just fresh outrage.
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I haven’t had a chance to pick new families to buy for, this month has been brutal, but we did take a whole weekend to pack up about 100 pounds of donated goods (clothes, shoes, household goods, books) and shipped them to the Allen Youth Center on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Saving and investing
We’re continuing our trickle-charge version of savings. I scheduled weekly withdrawals to siphon income into the savings account. After years of adjusting, the weekly withdrawals are the best way to navigate the ups and downs of paychecks and bills being paid.
The current state of the Emergency Fund is a compromise. I invested more of our cash than usual the past few years because we didn’t know when a suitable car in our price range would be available. My pessimism after multiple attempts was a bit too high, so I overinvested cash. It would feel precarious but we’re holding i-bonds that can be cashed before the five year term is up with a small penalty. We have a reasonable amount of cash and cash equivalents, even if not a full year of expenses, which is not a thing I’d ever thought I’d be comfortable saying.
That’s a big change from my usual need to hold two or more years of cash. We’re now 25% of the way to repaying the emergency fund, so that’s also helpful to allaying some of my natural anxiety. It also makes me ponder how nerve-wracking that latter 75% would be if I was worried about about layoffs. We’re always a little worried about that, because generally you don’t see it coming.
Net worth
We’re slowly paying down the mortgage and even more slowly rebuilding that cash. I think the only thing that moves enough to register on the graph are the investments but I was puzzling over why
On Life
Reading and entertainment.
Batu and the Search for the Golden Cup, Zira Nauryzbai and Lilya Kalaus, Translation by Shelley Fairweather-Vega (Amazon, Bookshop). I always love an adventure involving mythology. This wasn’t the best I’d ever read but it was engaging enough and had me wondering about when you decide to trust someone is going to or willing to change.
A Castle in Brooklyn, Shirley Russak Wachtel (Amazon, Bookshop). Well written but… I hated this book. The whole time I was looking for any kind of happiness or real resolution in the end and it felt like repeated exercises in enduring misery. Maybe that’s what life looks like when zoomed out to capture only snippets and I’m just figuring that out but, if so, I prefer not to repeat that in my fiction as well. I think I’ve got to figure out how to identify the genre this falls into and avoid them because, it’s really no knock on the books themselves, they’re just not my cup of tea.
The Ventifact Colossus, Dorian Hart (Amazon). This was engagingly written even if it jumped around a bit too much and needed more meat on the bones. Is that a legitimate complaint from someone who likes to read ridiculously long books? I don’t know.
Just One Damned Thing After Another, Jodi Taylor (Amazon, Bookshop). I did like this one a lot and want to read the rest of the series.
Love, Comment, Subscribe, Cathy Yardley (Amazon, Bookshop). A nerdtastic delight! The prose was a little bumpy now and again but it was a fun read.
Is Smol eligible for free public TK in 24 mo, or is that still 36 months away too? That’s what we would have had this year, which varies a bit from district to district but tends to be very similar in terms of hours as K. Which is much fewer hours than daycare/preschool combo. I really don’t understand public school hours versus working hours and juggling that.
I’m finally coming up for air after a very busy 2 month – hope to post something soon!
Probably eligible but enrollment space is another story. I don’t think they’ll have space for them by the time we get there. But even if they do, having to go to public school hours IS a worry.
Can’t wait to read your update!
Just a quick note re: are you weird about your investment in characters in books. You are not alone! I laugh out loud, cry, and experience the story right along with the characters when I’m burrowed into a book. It is actually a big part of the reason I’m taking a reading break right now.
That’s kind of comforting that I’m not alone in this! Sometimes I have to reread very old favorites when I can’t take the tension.
Love reading your updates! You’re so honest and candid about it all, and I really love the focus on giving. Right now I just try to help out a local feral cat org but I want to try to get more involved with my community, find ways to get others involved too, and you’re a huge inspiration!
Also, I had no idea bike commuting rebates were a thing?? Neat!
Oops this comment was missed in my list! Helping feral cat orgs is great!
I don’t know how many cities do the bike rebate but I think ours is doing it because there’s a pretty strong community around biking here. I hope it grows!
Sometimes rereading a book is like visiting with old friends. Thanks for sharing your reading list, I might look for the well recommended ones at my library.