About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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November 17, 2014
Change from October: 1.67% increase
Change from January: (367.80% total); 1.05% decrease
On Money
I’m working away at Swagbucks to earn Amazon money for household, Little Bean, and dog things we need. Feel free to join using my referral link if you like!
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We’ve nearly recouped the investment losses from last month. See, nothing to worry about.
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Chatting with J.Money about his Craigslist challenge, I realized we’d been doing pretty darn well at it ourselves. (We = PiC, but I get to claim…. writer/banker credit?) I proudly present The Craigslist Sales Tracker!
This changed to Our Sales Tallies and then again to Our Side Money Tracker. Like anything with money, it keeps evolving. Check out our progress page in the top navigation bar there.
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Venturing into I-Bonds: I have been what you might call “a lazy git” at maximizing certain investing avenues. Jonathan’s regular update reminded me that I’d always intended to start buying I-Bonds and with CDs paying so little in the “basically-cash” investment vehicles category, now was a decent time to get in there.
Buying right before the end of October means that if I keep the I-Bond over a year, which I plan to, it’ll earn 1.94%.
I maxed out my contribution limit and am waiting to see what the new rate in November will be. If it’s a decent rate, I’ll max out PiC’s contribution limit.
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Investing is where my head’s been lately. I know it’s all slow and steady wins the game but I’m a bit twitchy. Reminders that we have quite a few irons in the fire and it will be ok:
I-Bonds – one bond to have and to hold til a better almost-cash vehicle comes along.
CDs – a strange CD ladder: one will CD mature next year, four will mature in 2016, and the last one matures in 2019. Never let me build an actual ladder for you.
Real Estate – one property with a trickle of cash flow.
Stock Portfolio – tiny, but growing.
Retirement accounts – his and hers, medium-sized.
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We all knew this was coming but with the increase in property value? Yep. Increased property taxes. To the tune of $700. OUCH.
By the way, not that I’m complaining, but it’s a little weird that the actual Payment Is Delinquent date is more than a month after the due date, isn’t it?
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We’re looking down the barrel of nearly $1500 in increased medical insurance costs for 2015.
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Mr and Mrs PoP asked an interesting question about how comfortable you’d be sharing your income. I’m not totally sure that anyone’s actually interested in reading these Net Worth posts but I’m still on the fence about declaring actual numbers. Seems like it’d be more useful (to me) but I’m not sure. Pros? Actual milestones!
Cons? We’re not poor anymore, not the way I used to be, so it makes me wonder (like Abby did a couple months ago) whether I’d be alienating people by sharing our actual numbers and progress. Your thoughts?
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On Life
We celebrate three years of marriage this year. I don’t think that I’d ever anticipated coming around to the notion of having kids or being this content with our family life. We’re not about excitement and big thrills, we’re happiest spending quiet time together and getting things done. And on occasion, a bit of fancy food to commemorate how far we’ve come.
We’re lucky and grateful to have met and, over time, become good fits for each other. I don’t think it was anything as arcane as “meeting the one” so much as learning how to mesh our lives. Sure we started out as a couple that really clicked but that doesn’t make a life. We worked hard at making our differences work for instead of against us, and making each other’s needs a priority. It’s not easy but it’s worth the effort.
November 15, 2014
A five minute geeky money chat with J.Money inspired this post. Most of the time, I just take our savings as a routine thing and forget that creative stuff to bring money back in that’s not just job-centered is fun.
Yes, I’m still all about the big wins in money:
- Increasing salary (then increasing it again).
- Building a solid professional reputation that helps catapults you from one serious promotion to another.
- Slashing costs for things like cell phones, cable, internet.
Over 15 years, spanning retail to professional office work, busting my butt on those bullet points resulted in killing off a huge pile of debt and then making savings happen. This is Excellent.
But I absolutely do not scoff at the little money. I’ll take a minute to:
- Ask for a discount.
- At checkout for items that are imperfect.
- Get a refund on a late fee or whatever fee.
That stuff adds up quickly over time if you ignore it which is antithetical to my policy of My Money is My Money. Note: Fees are no longer the absolute devil BUT if I’m going to pay one, it’ll be for something of value like a travel rewards credit card that makes rewards redemption easy and is stellar at handling disputes.
While we are somewhat conscientious about not buying crap we don’t need, over time, you find that “need” was really a “want” or that people gifted you things they thought were needs but were really “eh?” etc.
And so Crap Accumulates. In getting rid of it, mostly I’m happy to donate the little things but we have a lot of bigger things this round, and so PiC took on the job of Craigslisting. Craigslist is where he lives on the internet.
So add to the list, for entertainment’s sake:
- Earning via programs like Swagbucks and CC rewards.
- Craigslisting!
Y’all, that man has been on a ROLL unloading the stuff we unearthed during The Purge (still ongoing). He does all the work, brings me the cash and I log it in Mint. And now I’ll log it here!
We didn’t set anything like J. Money’s Craigslist Rule (List 1 item for sale on Craiglist every week) since this is more of an EVERYTHING MUST GO approach.
Benefit #1 is the cash coming in, of course.
Benefit #2 is the space it’s clearing up.
Benefit #3 is the demonstration the cost of buying things (new) that you don’t actually need. Resale is not what you’d generally call competitive. Though, probably just to needle me, PiC decided to call it “renting” goods. *scowl*
After setting this page up, I was inspired to add a couple tables of my own.
For those, on a much smaller level, I’m recouping some change by selling little things and earning non-taxable gift card rewards as part of my daily routine. As much as buying discounted gift cards saves some cash for important things, so does earning gift cards outright for those piddling household things that add up. As much as the masochistic part of me likes to wander through say, Target, and gawk at things I really don’t need, we’re all better off if I spend that time doing something else.
November 14, 2014
Seamus is still with us, still going strong.
He’s a dear dog, in his own silly ways, and is doing surprisingly well with the transition considering he’s had to be shuttled hundreds of miles and spent a lot of time with near-strangers over the past few months.
We’re working through his health problems, it’s taking a lot of elbow grease, and an incredible amount of cooperation from him. Doggle was always a sweetheart but even he occasionally had opinions about being tended to.
His ears have probably never been cleaned. We spent an hour with his head in my lap as I worked out all the guck with cotton balls, gauze pads and the occasional Q-tip. (Word of warning: Vets don’t really like for people to use Q-tips. They’re easy to lose in long ear canals. But since I’ve done this a million times and have done it both professionally and with professional supervision, I’m comfortable with it.)
His nails have probably never been trimmed. I snuck up on him during a nap and trimmed them… a few minutes after I was done and left, he cracked open an eyelid.
His skin still looks pretty bad. All the scabs and bumps from his condition are still not resolved, but it doesn’t look red, angry and patchy anymore. We think he may always be on some kind of medication, given the as-yet undiagnosed condition and how slow it’s been to respond to a LOT of care.
Regular medications. Without Doggle around, it takes a LOT more effort to get this guy to take his medications. Doggle always lurked during the pill rolling (I use pill pockets so we didn’t always have to pill them), so Seamus was convinced anything I offered was going to be fantastic and he couldn’t swallow it fast enough. No competition = no motivation, apparently! The plus side, though, is that PiC has learned how to pill a fairly cooperative dog, so there’s that 🙂
Needles needles needles. With no vaccine history that I know of, we had to subject Seamus to the full battery of vaccines and he’ll have to get boosters next year. After that, he’ll be fine to transition to a 3 year schedule.
But the biggest thing was his surgery. At his age, I hated to put him under anesthesia but he really needed to be fixed for obvious reasons and as he was at risk for cancer. PiC’s convinced that being the drop-off man means that Seamus held a grudge about the surgery but after a few days on pain meds, the old boy is nearly good as new. The vet gave us a huge discount (about 33%) and the bill still pushed $900. Thank goodness for savings.
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It’s been a rough few months but he’s such a trooper and chock full of personality. I’m still glad we decided to commit to it.
November 12, 2014
As much as I hate sharing my limitations (weakness, in my mind) with other humans, there wasn’t a lot I could do about hiding the evidence of Little Bean after a time. And despite my reservations at the time, it’s been a strange, almost surreal, experience of rather positive support.
PiC’s friends
I like these people, I really do. We spend time with them together mostly but I actually like them enough that, back in the day, I enjoyed their company sans PiC, too. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that when we attended an event together recently, they were thoughtful and solicitous of my well-being, making sure that someone was always checking to make sure I was managing ok without being weird about it. They didn’t hesitate for a second to use me as an excuse to hang out in the temperature controlled room and to leave early, either. Win-win!
Chosen family
There’s family, and then there’s family. The latter are the ones I chose to make my family: long time friends I grew up with; friends who have welcomed me/us into their homes and family without hesitation and who actually listen when I talk. Friends who I’ve only gotten to know because of the blog and are more considerate than anyone I’m actually related to by blood.
They’ve been there for me during a huge stint of unemployment, coordinated thoughtful deliveries when I became a member of the Dead Parent Club, celebrated when I got the job or we tied the knot, commiserated during the hard times and mentored me when I needed wisdom. (Some of them are you. And I can’t really explain how some people who are only there virtually are more like family than blood but I think it’s just the great side of having the internet: we can find good people all over.)
These are the people who have been happy for me/us about Little Bean, helpful without trampling my boundaries, share the fun of the weird pregnancy stuff and listen without judging the ICK factors.
The Kids
There’s a group, and during one event, I was bemused to see how much these younguns, many of whom are just starting to wrap their heads around the idea of starting a career, were looking out for me. I lost track of the number of times one of them would shout: make room for Revanche to sit! Or would ask if I was sure I was ok? Did I need water, food, anything?
Most of the time I’m a grumpy “THESE KIDS THESE DAYS” sort but these kids? Pretty good kids.
PiC
Of course, he’s been a saint.
Can’t fix a meal? He’s got it.
Can’t tie my shoelaces? He’s got it.
Can’t carry luggage? Don’t be silly, I was never to carry luggage.
Have a craving, ever so slight? Why, here it is.
Too tired to walk the dog? He’s all over it.
Frustrated and having a rant? He understands.
Frustrated and feeling useless because dammit, I should be able to DO this (that or the other thing) by myself? Reminds me that I AM doing a job that he can’t so he can darn well shoulder everything else.
That’s just the stuff I can remember off the top of my head.
Doggle and Seamus
No, they’re not people. But they are/were daily companions and as such, they get some credit.
Early on, when it wasn’t obvious, Doggle would stand between me and rowdy dogs, pushing them away from me when they got too out of hand. This is a dog who was completely oblivious to most normal cues, but he always seemed to have some small innate sense about the worst health days. He literally refused to leave my side when I was extra-sick for days, long before the pregnancy, refusing food and walks until he was assured that I was still alive and kicking. Once LB came around, he was protective of my mid-section even though I doubt he actually knew why, literally shielding it with his body.
Seamus is the stolid sort and not really aware of what’s changing either but whenever I get stuck sitting down and I tell him to “Come here and help me up”, he comes and stands right next to me so I can use him for leverage. Or he’ll willingly lay however I want him to lay so that I can reach his head for petting.
Some days it’s the little things that make such a difference.
Other days, it’s the sum total realization that despite all the other dysfunction, we do have good people in our corner.
November 11, 2014
Actually, I don’t mean Guy Fawkes Day at all. That just reminds me that it’s November which, for us, means the days of open enrollment!
I used to do a comprehensive analysis with pen and paper: comparing all possible copays and deductibles, estimating the cost of possible treatments and coverages, etc, etc, etc. We always ended up signing back up with the HMO.
This year? Hell with it.
I know what our HMO covers for medical services and it’s fine. I’ve never had trouble getting a referral to a specialist when I need one and they have a pretty awesome (read: they have one at all) department that specifically deals with chronic pain. Don’t use them much but they’re there to provide support.
I could have wished to go with a provider who would let me have my regular OB deliver LB but it’s way the hell too late to worry about that and besides, I’d really want that because I LIKE my OB. She wouldn’t be available if we went with a PPO.
Our prescriptions are made as easy as I could ask for generally, except if I forget to order a medication refill far enough in advance for mail order delivery, then I just have to wait a few more days. Prescriptions are basically $10 or less without fighting over getting this brand or that generic. I don’t have to deal with approvals and the hassle of hit or miss, inept retail pharmacies, we get pharmacy folks who are dog people so they understand the plague of the paw-licking dog, and remind us that people are kind of ridiculously stocking up on wound cleanser in their fear of Ebola. (What the hell is a wound cleanser going to do for you if you get Ebola?)
Our dental coverage is the more expensive one but it’s good for our needs as far as treatments being covered. They are really stupid at billing, sending us bills that say we owe 100% but I ignore those and three weeks later, I invariably get a zeroed out bill.
We have basic vision coverage for literally less than $5 a month and this is sufficient to keep PiC in glasses or contacts every other year. I have been lucky enough only to need my eyes checked for medication side effects (none) and have thus far avoided glasses.
So we’ll keep the same coverage options. With the projected increases in medical and prescription premiums for 2015, and then a new one to cover, we’ll be paying an additional $857 annually for the privilege. Yay.
Edit: It could actually cost us $1457 extra depending on one thing out of my control right now. ARGH.
Have you made your elections for the upcoming year? Are you looking at some serious increases?
November 10, 2014
Every time I get annoyed about something to do with our income or expenses, or am reminded that I have to keep holding a job I currently resent for whatever reason, I go back to the drawing board to see how we’re doing with income replacement.
I’ve never been an early retirement fanatic, precisely, but I do want all the freedom of choice that I dream comes with having loads of money squirreled away. Then there are days I want that freedom to walk and not look back at the workplace in any form.
At the moment, we’re drawing regular and miniscule dividend income from the stock portfolio. I’m proud of my few picks, they may bump up and down, but they do continue earning some money.
Look, a visual!
In 2010, I earned a whole $4.40 of dividend. I’d pried loose as much money as I could from bills to buy two lopsided sets of stocks. I couldn’t even buy a whole 20 shares! When I dip my toes in, it’s a very timid dip. Though, remember, this was just about the time I’d just come off a huge stint of unemployment. Clearly, my financial behavior holds – in times of uncertainty, invest in growth.
In 2011, I earned $18.80, just hanging onto those stocks, and throwing a little more cash into the account in a burst of enthusiasm.
In 2012, I earned $20.40.
In 2013, we earned $56.00 (gross) and thanks to the hit of an inactivity fee ($50), $6.00 (net). Way to go, inattentive me.
In 2014, we’re at $31.60 gross earnings and I don’t intend to get hit with any other stupid fees, so we may log record earnings this year… record earnings meaning a whole dollar more than last year.
The dividends just get reinvested regularly, but I still think this calls for a reprise of my song: All I want for Christmas is a great stock portfolio.
What shall we get this year? More of the same, or a new dividend paying stock?
November 5, 2014
PiC and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to parental leave.
He’s eligible for all state/federally mandated leave, and will have some days or weeks of vacation accrued if I carry to term as long as we’re careful about what we do up until then.
I have none of these things. I work for a small shop and so they aren’t bound by any of the state/federal leave laws. It’ll come down to a conversation with my generally accommodating and awesome (grumpy strikethrough) boss to work out something.
No matter what we work out, I’m staying on top of our saving right up until I can’t, in case anything happens and I can’t go back to work or I need more time. I hate this uncertainty.
Worst case scenarios.
If none of my leave is covered, I’ll need to work out the budget for being without income for 2, 3 and 6 months just to project how much money we need. At this stage, my feeling is that we’ve saved enough that I shouldn’t forgo a minimum length of leave (2 months?) just because of the money. It’s a luxury to take that time whether or not we have income but these are the first months of LB’s life, I probably want to be there. (And if I don’t, well, work should always take me back!)
A warning from experienced mothers
Try to prepare things before the third trimester, you won’t want to need to do too much at that stage:
This wars with my preference not to get ahead of ourselves preparing for something that, well, might not really … work out. As first-timers, we’re pretty cautious about the outcome; I think we’re both so cautious we won’t truly breathe easy about this whole pregnancy thing until we’ve got a healthy baby at the end of it. We also don’t want to accumulate too much stuff, either. We don’t have a lot of room to begin with, so it really makes sense to purge everything we’d been meaning to move along and then add just a few essentials. On the other hand, ebbing energy is absolutely a concern and if I can expect to be even *more* tired at that stage, well… we’ll have to figure something out.
I’m grateful for some online resources that give me an idea of what on earth might be going on in there as I wait for time to pass. Though it’s always a great reminder that on some forums, people are dirt stupid and seem to think that all science was just a joke – be leery of those folks.
I’d read the scary stuff like SaverSpender’s first time mother notes and while I’ve had a ton of childcare experience, obviously I’ve hadn’t had any in the actual birthing department. Despite having heard what I thought was “it all” from so many mothers, there were still a lot of “ewwww ….. !” notes.
Reading also doesn’t prepare you to live through the bumps in the road, but having now done a certain amount of reading, I find that I”m not interested in reading all I can get my hands on anymore. I’m grossed out enough by the realities, there’s only so much one can take!
I’m not one of those people who either glow or enjoy their pregnancies. I’m doing my best to be healthy, be active and be responsible and I’m sure the end result will be cherished, but no joke, this is hard work.
