Sam Squared

      Photo by Pixabay     Wooo, I juggled to pay the start/ end of month bills without touching all the sinking funds that can't be replaced before the next big bill. It means a very slim discretionary fund for September so I'm looking ahead at being creative with every non fixed budget item, possibly through October too. My plans are to not touch the contract income because I'll still need to pay taxes on it, so don't truly know my net, and it's earmarked to pad travel funds for 2026 and 2027. I'll put it in a CD and earn a touch more passive income until it's needed.       I'm still not clear what the expectations are for MILs 85th birthday party expense wise. I'm doing the cake, cake plates, forks and napkins. That'll be about $100 and have worked it into my September spending window. Since I wasn't part of any planning on venue, food, guest list and decor, I'm making a "playing dumb" decision to assume that her two children...

                                             For Friday Fiscal Wellness Check,  I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset, I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, August 22 to Thursday, August 28. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs I need to do some juggling because with the insurance savings, all got processed at one time and the refund from the old policy hasn't been returned toy credit card yet. But, I've got it figured out timing wise without having to draw from CD's. It'll mean a tighter September but that'll be good for my self discipline.  Groceries and Household purchases were just top off and fresh items like milk, bread, eggs, fresh veg and fruit. Nice pro...

      Does this look comfortable? If the old dog could get up I'd have a third pet tucking me in tight under my covers. Little Miss is very greedy with bed space. The blankets at the end are of course for extra warmth if needed, touch of soft decor when not, but really they provide a barrier between my feet and her determined attacks with full claw.       August is winding down quite busy and also not if that makes sense. My kids are very busy so I'm on more pet detail, but that means I can stay home weekends and evenings guilt free and with no fear of missing out. I'm not feeling very sociable anyway though last Thursday meeting my friend who I hadn't seen since December was very nice and needed.       I forgot how tiring and feeling in demand working is. The good thing, I have a calendar stop that's firm, and the other is outside of meetings, I can work on the project deliverables at my time. I plan to spend a significant number o...

                                            For Friday Fiscal Wellness Check,  I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset, I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, August 15 to Thursday, August 21. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs Still on target to reduce my monthly HHG budget by $75. I'm trying to do this for a couple months before a big stock up again in late October before I leave  Here's a biggy and a WHY DO THEY MAKE IT SO HARD savings. I really pushed for an evaluation of my car and homeowners insurance. Voila, a cummulative $1800+ annual savings because I  got a competitive quote. My husband always did this stuff and I feel like I've been taken advantage of ...

      I've gotten completely sucked into Outlander. Once again, I'm always five years to a decade late watching series like this. I didn't see Game of Thrones until it was completed for five years. Anyway, whenever I watch historical fiction, I go down the side rabbit holes looking for the actual history or the real connections. Now, having a part of my family line that comes from the British Isles, I really get sucked into period pieces set there. I don't believe there's any Scottish blood specifically, Wales was where I've always been led to believe our family came from, but of course I go down rabbit holes on that as well, to see the Scots, the Welsh, and even the Irish, may all have derived from the same indigenous inhabitants, thousands of years ago. I don't know where that leaves the English.       Fueled also by my upcoming trip, my ancestry and possibly seeing from where long past relatives lived is on my mind.y cousin that recently passed was ...

                                          For Friday Fiscal Wellness Check,  I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset, I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, August 8 to Thursday, August 14. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs As July was a huge spend on pantry, freezer, and household needs, I'm only trying to buy needed items to round out stocks and fresh food keeping the spending to $65 for the week. But wow, does fresh food, basic restocks, and must haves like coffee add up quickly.  Opportunities to add Funds/Windfalls  Entered Fetch receipts and MS Rewards  Logged 17.5 contract hours. I'll send an invoice at the end of next week month, then ever two weeks ther...

     Plants just have a mind of their own. I'm not totally given up ever having a vegetable or flower garden, but can declare this year a pretty big bust. I won't say fail because I'm learning a bit so maybe next year can improve. The lessons cost me $12 in seeds and $25 in dirt. Oh, and the $14 for more mature pepper and tomato plants will end up yielding two peppers and probably about 8 useable tomatoes. A tad bit of mixed positive and poor results was the leafy lettuce. One of the planters while it took longer, keeps yielding fresh leaves. The other I think over crowded so not getting the full leaves, but a lot of growth. Between the two, I had enough for a big salad every other week and in between, enough for sandwiches since the end of June.       Here's my stupid garden story. I was getting excited as I started seeing flowering where the butternut squash and pumpkins were planted. I thought I had figured out what was plant and what was weed so di...

     I appreciate the space the last few days. It was an emotionally charged long weekend, though filled with love and support. The memorial open house event for life donor families where we got to see my husband's name on the wall in the healing garden, was done very well and I felt nurtured. My son and younger daughter chose to not do the open house, but visited on their own, at quiet times as it's available 24/7, 365 days a year.       I was glad I shared the invitation with his family, but also made sure to express I had no expectations. I hadn't really heard from anyone if they were coming. His mother, siblings, and members of their families did come, though at different times, overlapping for just part of it, but that was good. It gave both space and togetherness. My brother in law shared some very personal thoughts with my daughter the next day, as he hadn't really thought of what life donorship meant and that his brother was part of it. I think...

                                       I try not to do many of the posts like Wednesdays, but I blog for me and it's my outlet. As for Friday Fiscal Wellness Check,  I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset, I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, August 1 to Thursday, August 7. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs I more saved daughter and friends money by making a taco bar and offering random drinks when they unexpectedly were in town.  I renewed a maturing 4 month CD at the same interest rate.  Found comfortable but dressy sandals 40% off. I have both a wedding and a "work" event that necessitates appropriate summer shoes that I currently do not own. Opportunities to add Funds/W...

      Photo by Nandhu Kumar      For those of you that are new or don't know me yet, here's my story. I lost my husband of 35 years on January 18th, 2023 out of the blue; he was 61 and I was 57. There was no warning heart attack, though perhaps little signs that were not picked up on or if noticed, not acted upon. We were in a good point in our lives with our last child in her final semester of college and the other two managing their own lives. He finally was convinced to set a date for retirement, September 1, planning to give notice three weeks prior on his 62nd birthday. We were getting our hands around finances, intending to live off my income for a couple years until I followed him, getting our daughter launched and insured for another four years if needed. After that night, everything fell apart for a while. The kids battled depression and anxiety and still do to a point. My son having to pause to come home right after his dad died had a big blip on ...

         It was a very quiet day, following a quiet weekend. I'm feeling left behind. I know I can always go to the lake, but I have to really gear myself up for that. I never know who and how many people will be there and more and more my in-laws families bring extra guests. Plus, after my last day bringing pup there without reinforcements, meaning my kids to keep his attention, he overdoes trying to go up the deck stairs and out on the dock following me everywhere. I think those things are what hurt him so bad heading into last weekend. I can't leave him unattended for more than 4 hours now as he'll have accidents.       Saturday was nice in that I had unexpected guests, twice. My youngest and two friends had planned to go tubing south of town, but learned the water was too high/ unsafe. They switched courses to getting something to eat and the beach. They used my fridge for their leftovers and stopped to see the pets before the beach. I in...

                                    I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, July 25th to Thursday, July 31. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs I stocked up on Purex at $1.99 and used a $5 rewards at Walgreens. We shouldn't need laundry detergent for at least five months.  Opportunities to add Funds/Windfalls  Entered Fetch receipts and MS Rewards  Miscellaneous things that don't quite fit in other categories  I saw an ad for  Hygee and West  wallpaper, then an option to get three free 81/2" by 11" samples. I've been toying with wallpapering a wall in each bathroom for a little interest. These samples will help me decide plus, there's ...