January Frugalistas 2020

[prairiewindmomma]

My Fitbit band tore this morning. I have an older Flex. Has anyone tried the generic bands off of amazon?

[mommyoffive]

On 1/11/2020 at 11:23 AM, prairiewindmomma said:

My Fitbit band tore this morning. I have an older Flex. Has anyone tried the generic bands off of amazon?

 

Are you asking if anyone has tried the bands?   Or a generic watch?

[mommyoffive]

$190 on groceries this week so far. 

$25 on gas

Edited January 14, 2020 by mommyoffive

[JustEm]

We had a spendy weekend because of ds's birthday. Usually birthdays are low key in our family. One small gift, homemade dessert, and homemade dinner of their choice. But this D's doesn't like stuff and he recently really got into ice-skating so dh took him and his siblings ice-skating as his gift. Then he wanted to eat out for his dinner. Which normally we'd say no and probably will should have but with a gift card I had it was almost comparable to eating at home since we just did carry out and skipped drinks.

I'm still stressfully waiting for dh's first new paycheck so I can really figure out how to work with the take home amount. Until then I just feel stressed about it all. But January bills are all paid! And we have a few hundred until his paycheck for groceries and if a few Abit for if something comes up.

Dh's sister decided to tell us that we(meaning his siblings and him) are having a party for their moms 60th bday. Where they'll order food, invited her siblings and a few friends. This is with no thought at all that we have been not making enough money to pay for our own normal daily stuff let a line a damn birthday party with more than just the immediate family, which we would have been prepared to throw in a bit of money for. I just don't understand how people can be so oblivious and inconsiderate. We'll offer a small amount to throw in for food but not be guilted into more. But that means we can't get mil an actual gift for her bday.

[mommyoffive]

5 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

We had a spendy weekend because of ds's birthday. Usually birthdays are low key in our family. One small gift, homemade dessert, and homemade dinner of their choice. But this D's doesn't like stuff and he recently really got into ice-skating so dh took him and his siblings ice-skating as his gift. Then he wanted to eat out for his dinner. Which normally we'd say no and probably will should have but with a gift card I had it was almost comparable to eating at home since we just did carry out and skipped drinks.

I'm still stressfully waiting for dh's first new paycheck so I can really figure out how to work with the take home amount. Until then I just feel stressed about it all. But January bills are all paid! And we have a few hundred until his paycheck for groceries and if a few Abit for if something comes up.

Dh's sister decided to tell us that we(meaning his siblings and him) are having a party for their moms 60th bday. Where they'll order food, invited her siblings and a few friends. This is with no thought at all that we have been not making enough money to pay for our own normal daily stuff let a line a damn birthday party with more than just the immediate family, which we would have been prepared to throw in a bit of money for. I just don't understand how people can be so oblivious and inconsiderate. We'll offer a small amount to throw in for food but not be guilted into more. But that means we can't get mil an actual gift for her bday.

 

Great job on celebrating your son's birthday on a budget.  I am sure he enjoyed his special day. 

I hope your dh's check comes soon, so you can plan everything out.  I am a planner too so I understand the stress.

Ugh to your SIL.   I am sorry she was insensitive to your family.  Good job being true to yourself and not getting in a bad position just because someone is telling you to.   

[prairiewindmomma]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Are you asking if anyone has tried the bands?   Or a generic watch?

I was asking about the bands. I ended up ordering some watch-style bands to hold my Fitbit flex. So far so good...but I don’t think they will last more than a year.

[prairiewindmomma]

Boo on your SIL! 

[mommyoffive]

Dental life, and health insurance went up $30 a month for our family.  I guess I should be happy about that. 

Edited January 17, 2020 by mommyoffive

[mommyoffive]

3 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

I ordered the shoes for the kids.  I ended up getting the rainbow ones for the girls and then had to find a pair that was $25 before the half off for DS7.  But all together with tax and shipping, the whole thing was $42.  Which, gosh, that still feels like a lot but I think that's a "having multiple kids makes the expenses grow" kind of thing.  

 

Oh I hear you sister.   Currently I am counting down the years until they are adults and our expenses can shrink. 

[Ethel Mertz]

Deductibles for health insurance. $1,000 due before my sleep study can be done. Plus, another $250 for the orthodontist and $500 for HOA dues. And then there's our tax snafu... I've cancelled our Netflix subscription ($9 a month) , our Amazon pantry membership ($4.99 a month), the MISFITS vegetable subscription ($46 a month), and am about to cancel our NYT digital subscription ($9 a month). I'm thankful for our full pantry, full freezer, a grocery outlet near us, and an Aldi's not too far away. 

[JustEm]

Not worrying about health insurance costs is one thing I'm thankful for right. Dealing with underemployment has qualified us for Medicaid. Sorry to all those dealing with cost increases.

So, since I've been anxious about what dh's first paycheck will look like yet can't do anything about it I decided to do something I have control over, our taxes. They are basically done, just waiting for one more form from the state and dh's W2 so I can  confirm the numbers are all correct. But the refund we are getting, which is really just tax credits, is pretty big. It is much needed to relieve the stress of underemployment. 

So, I've already allocated where all that money is going. A portion will sit in our debit account to supplement any income disparity. A portion will pay off the credit card we've been using to get us through the disparity. The largest chunk will go into our emergency fund, which thankfully we haven't had to touch since we went the 0% credit card route. The smallest amount will go towards education and gift fund for the year. Setting that aside so early in the year will make it easier than trying to budget that category monthly.

Edited January 16, 2020 by hjffkj

[prairiewindmomma]

2 hours ago, Ethel Mertz said:

Deductibles for health insurance. $1,000 due before my sleep study can be done. Plus, another $250 for the orthodontist and $500 for HOA dues. And then there's our tax snafu... I've cancelled our Netflix subscription ($9 a month) , our Amazon pantry membership ($4.99 a month), the MISFITS vegetable subscription ($46 a month), and am about to cancel our NYT digital subscription ($9 a month). I'm thankful for our full pantry, full freezer, a grocery outlet near us, and an Aldi's not too far away. 

Sorry, Ethel. We're in the same boat. We can take turns bailing out the water. 

I'm incurring so many medical bills right now that I'm probably not only going to hit my deductible this month, but also max co-insurance.  Ironically, once I do that, I'm going to do a bunch of other medical stuff that I've been putting off for financial reasons and try to cram it all into this financial year. We're also hitting dental and orthodontics pretty hard. Thankfully dd can wait to get her braces until ds gets his off this summer.

 

[SamanthaCarter]

We got hit with $750 dentist bill this week. Cleanings, checkups and xrays for all three kiddos. This was way higher than I expected, partly because of a charge for the fluoride treatments the hygienist did that I didn’t know was billed extra, and they charged for some special toothpaste that I thought was a sample. 

Also they found three cavities. One per kid. Of course. My mom thinks dentists are money grabbers. I wonder....

Anyway, we don’t have dental insurance (past experience makes us believe it’s scammy), but we can file this toward our high deductible health plan. Which at this rate, we might actually hit that deductible, we’ll be 10% there! 😂 If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry. 

Next up, optometrist and fillings. And some labs for me. Might have to cancel my hair appointment this quarter. No non essentials left to cut that we can find... I’m struggling to just go ahead and order my seeds for the garden. That would be a stupid thing to cut, right? 

Edited January 16, 2020 by SamanthaCarter

[Ethel Mertz]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Sorry, Ethel. We're in the same boat. We can take turns bailing out the water. 

I'm incurring so many medical bills right now that I'm probably not only going to hit my deductible this month, but also max co-insurance.  Ironically, once I do that, I'm going to do a bunch of other medical stuff that I've been putting off for financial reasons and try to cram it all into this financial year. We're also hitting dental and orthodontics pretty hard. Thankfully dd can wait to get her braces until ds gets his off this summer.

 

 

Misery loves company.  At least DS is getting some personal finance lessons from our situation. 

[Ethel Mertz]

1 hour ago, SamanthaCarter said:

We got hit with $750 dentist bill this week. Cleanings, checkups and xrays for all three kiddos. This was way higher than I expected, partly because of a charge for the fluoride treatments the hygienist did that I didn’t know was billed extra, and they charged for some special toothpaste that I thought was a sample. 

Also they found three cavities. One per kid. Of course. My mom thinks dentists are money grabbers. I wonder....

Anyway, we don’t have dental insurance (past experience makes us believe it’s scammy), but we can file this toward our high deductible health plan. Which at this rate, we might actually hit that deductible, we’ll be 10% there! 😂 If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry. 

Next up, optometrist and fillings. And some labs for me. Might have to cancel my hair appointment this quarter. No non essentials left to cut that we can find... I’m struggling to just go ahead and order my seeds for the garden. That would be a stupid thing to cut, right? 

 

My sympathy to you and yours. I just remembered that we are also way overdue for the opthamalogist and new glasses for all 3 of us. And, yeah, cutting out the garden seeds would be a bad idea. I'm going to look into seed saving this year. 

[mommyoffive]

6 hours ago, hjffkj said:

Not worrying about health insurance costs is one thing I'm thankful for right. Dealing with underemployment has qualified us for Medicaid. Sorry to all those dealing with cost increases.

So, since I've been anxious about what dh's first paycheck will look like yet can't do anything about it I decided to do something I have control over, our taxes. They are basically done, just waiting for one more form from the state and dh's W2 so I can  confirm the numbers are all correct. But the refund we are getting, which is really just tax credits, is pretty big. It is much needed to relieve the stress of underemployment. 

So, I've already allocated where all that money is going. A portion will sit in our debit account to supplement any income disparity. A portion will pay off the credit card we've been using to get us through the disparity. The largest chunk will go into our emergency fund, which thankfully we haven't had to touch since we went the 0% credit card route. The smallest amount will go towards education and gift fund for the year. Setting that aside so early in the year will make it easier than trying to budget that category monthly.

 

That is awesome that you are getting a big refund.   You have a lot of smart plans for it.  

[JustEm]

32 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

 

That is awesome that you are getting a big refund.   You have a lot of smart plans for it.  

Yeah it is a nice break from the all the stress over income. None of it is actually a refund, it is all from child tax credit and eitc. If it were a true refund we'd be changing out withholding immediately so it didn't happen 

[SamanthaCarter]

I have an actual frugal thing to share instead of me coming on here to whine. 😉

Since last year was our lowest income (and tax rate) of the last decade, are going to take the retirement we have and convert to Roth. I need to do a preliminary tax return to find out just how much to convert so we don’t bump “ordinary income” high enough to trigger a penalty on our health care subsidy. We’ll probably not get a tax refund, we’ll use 2019 withholdings to pay the income tax for Roth conversion. But it’s a smart move when you take the view that things can only get better income wise, and our tax rate will be higher later 

Edited January 17, 2020 by SamanthaCarter

[JustEm]

18 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

I have an actual frugal thing to share instead of me coming on here to whine. 😉

Since last year was our lowest income (and tax rate) of the last decade, are going to take the retirement we have and convert to Roth. I need to do a preliminary tax return to find out just how much to convert so we don’t bump “ordinary income” high enough to trigger a penalty on our health care subsidy. We’ll probably not get a tax refund, we’ll use 2019 withholdings to pay the income tax for Roth conversion. But it’s a smart move when you take the view that things can only get better income wise, and our tax rate will be higher later 

I don't know how converting other retirement to Roth works but I do know that funding a Roth is smart when you're at a lower income. It is the first place our money goes. We always aim to Max both out but rarely so. This year we likely won't since we'll be playing catch up on general living expenses. The aim for this year is to earn as much as dh earned last year, either through his full time job or with my pet sitting as well.

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, SamanthaCarter said:

I have an actual frugal thing to share instead of me coming on here to whine. 😉

Since last year was our lowest income (and tax rate) of the last decade, are going to take the retirement we have and convert to Roth. I need to do a preliminary tax return to find out just how much to convert so we don’t bump “ordinary income” high enough to trigger a penalty on our health care subsidy. We’ll probably not get a tax refund, we’ll use 2019 withholdings to pay the income tax for Roth conversion. But it’s a smart move when you take the view that things can only get better income wise, and our tax rate will be higher later 

 

What are you converting to Roth?   A 401K?     I didn't know that you could do that.   We have Roths, but lots of other investments too. 

[mommyoffive]

10 hours ago, hjffkj said:

Yeah it is a nice break from the all the stress over income. None of it is actually a refund, it is all from child tax credit and eitc. If it were a true refund we'd be changing out withholding immediately so it didn't happen 

 

Gotcha.  We always get a huge refund.  Not sure what it is because.  Our CPA has told us to change withholding, but it still happens.  I am mostly fine with it.  Maybe it is credits.  I totally don't understand taxes at all.  Hence why we go to a CPA. 

[SamanthaCarter]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

 

What are you converting to Roth?   A 401K?     I didn't know that you could do that.   We have Roths, but lots of other investments too. 

We have some money in a 401(k). You can convert that into a traditional IRA and then to a Roth. At least when I did it 10 years ago when I got out of the workforce, that was the process. 

[SamanthaCarter]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Gotcha.  We always get a huge refund.  Not sure what it is because.  Our CPA has told us to change withholding, but it still happens.  I am mostly fine with it.  Maybe it is credits.  I totally don't understand taxes at all.  Hence why we go to a CPA. 

It’s because very few people can withhold $0 in federal withholdings. Even if you don’t end up paying any federal income tax and get it all back, there’s still a token amount taken from every paycheck. 

Oh wait, I thought you were someone else. In your case it’s because the CPA would rather you get a refund than deliver the bad news that you owe. So he’s conservative in withholding estimates. It’s about managing client sentiment toward himself, the CPA. 

Edited January 17, 2020 by SamanthaCarter

[prairiewindmomma]

3 hours ago, SamanthaCarter said:

I have an actual frugal thing to share instead of me coming on here to whine. 😉

Since last year was our lowest income (and tax rate) of the last decade, are going to take the retirement we have and convert to Roth. I need to do a preliminary tax return to find out just how much to convert so we don’t bump “ordinary income” high enough to trigger a penalty on our health care subsidy. We’ll probably not get a tax refund, we’ll use 2019 withholdings to pay the income tax for Roth conversion. But it’s a smart move when you take the view that things can only get better income wise, and our tax rate will be higher later 

Well done! We have been considering doing a back door conversion also because tax rates are at historic lows....it just got delayed on our end because you have to have the money upfront to make the conversion. 🙂

Oldest drops off our child tax credit this year. 😞  We are seriously hoping we don’t owe....we are a bit worried on that point because quite a few things have changed.

 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

SamanthaCarter, have you thought of hanging your shingle out during tax season? Are you certified?

Edited January 17, 2020 by prairiewindmomma

[SamanthaCarter]

38 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

SamanthaCarter, have you thought of hanging your shingle out during tax season? Are you certified?

I’m CPA -inactive status. Meaning I put it in stasis when I went SAHM so I didn’t have to pay too much money and time to comply with continuing education requirements. I’m reactivating it as soon as possible. 

[prairiewindmomma]

12 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

I’m CPA -inactive status. Meaning I put it in stasis when I went SAHM so I didn’t have to pay too much money and time to comply with continuing education requirements. I’m reactivating it as soon as possible. 

Best wishes! 

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, SamanthaCarter said:

It’s because very few people can withhold $0 in federal withholdings. Even if you don’t end up paying any federal income tax and get it all back, there’s still a token amount taken from every paycheck. 

Oh wait, I thought you were someone else. In your case it’s because the CPA would rather you get a refund than deliver the bad news that you owe. So he’s conservative in withholding estimates. It’s about managing client sentiment toward himself, the CPA. 

 

Ha.  Yes, I would think they get a better feeling from people telling them they are getting money back then owing.  I would rather that be the outcome too.  I am always happy to get our taxes done because of that. 

Also does it make it harder when your income has a bonus in it?   Dh is has that, so maybe that is part of it? 

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Well done! We have been considering doing a back door conversion also because tax rates are at historic lows....it just got delayed on our end because you have to have the money upfront to make the conversion. 🙂

Oldest drops off our child tax credit this year. 😞  We are seriously hoping we don’t owe....we are a bit worried on that point because quite a few things have changed.

 

 

 

That happens at 18 right?   I am already dreading the day.  I feel like it needs to be older.   You don't just stop supporting them they day they turn 18.  Ugh. 

[SamanthaCarter]

46 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

 

That happens at 18 right?   I am already dreading the day.  I feel like it needs to be older.   You don't just stop supporting them they day they turn 18.  Ugh. 

Ha! I can guarantee that an 18 year old is more expensive than your average 3 year old. 

[Ethel Mertz]

7 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

Ha! I can guarantee that an 18 year old is more expensive than your average 3 year old. 

DS will be 18 when he starts his senior year of high school. Definitely,  we'll still be supporting him!

[prairiewindmomma]

You can claim the last year that they are fully 17. The year they turn 18 = nope.

[mommyoffive]

15 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

You can claim the last year that they are fully 17. The year they turn 18 = nope.

 Oh no that sinks!

Edited January 17, 2020 by mommyoffive

[JustEm]

5 hours ago, SamanthaCarter said:

It’s because very few people can withhold $0 in federal withholdings. Even if you don’t end up paying any federal income tax and get it all back, there’s still a token amount taken from every paycheck. 

Oh wait, I thought you were someone else. In your case it’s because the CPA would rather you get a refund than deliver the bad news that you owe. So he’s conservative in withholding estimates. It’s about managing client sentiment toward himself, the CPA. 

 

 

It took us a few years to figure out our exemptions to get to $0 for federal taken out each paycheck. So, our credits pay for whatever taxes we owe and then we get the rest in the form of a check. I hope that is the case with dh's new.paychecks because it is nice seeing $0 taken out every two weeks.

[Shoeless]

$1700 car repair bill.  🙄  And then my washer overflowed. 🙄  Come on, now...

On the bright side (Ha), I've been without a car this week, so we didn't have to pay for art class ($35 per class). 

There's been progress with DH's job saga.  I hesitate to act overly confident because nothing has been signed yet, but a) we won't be moving to NJ (I like NJ, but it's so expensive!) and b) DH negotiated a raise for his new position at work that is very substantial. It's more than what Amazon was offering him to move to Seattle or DC, but we'd be staying here in Texas for the time being.  DH can work remotely if he wants, so when we decide the time is right, we can move anywhere we want in the country and he'd keep his job.  I really hope he likes the work! 

Now I get to daydream about where I want to move in 2 years. 

[mommyoffive]

3 hours ago, MissLemon said:

$1700 car repair bill.  🙄  And then my washer overflowed. 🙄  Come on, now...

On the bright side (Ha), I've been without a car this week, so we didn't have to pay for art class ($35 per class). 

There's been progress with DH's job saga.  I hesitate to act overly confident because nothing has been signed yet, but a) we won't be moving to NJ (I like NJ, but it's so expensive!) and b) DH negotiated a raise for his new position at work that is very substantial. It's more than what Amazon was offering him to move to Seattle or DC, but we'd be staying here in Texas for the time being.  DH can work remotely if he wants, so when we decide the time is right, we can move anywhere we want in the country and he'd keep his job.  I really hope he likes the work! 

Now I get to daydream about where I want to move in 2 years. 

 

Ugh that sucks about the car and the washer.  I am sorry.

But YES for your dh.  Congrats on the raise!!!!  Awesome to be able to move anywhere.  Right now I am dreaming of a place with no snow!

[Shoeless]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Ugh that sucks about the car and the washer.  I am sorry.

But YES for your dh.  Congrats on the raise!!!!  Awesome to be able to move anywhere.  Right now I am dreaming of a place with no snow!

I hear ya!  I have lived in Buffalo, NY and Chicago, Il. I have seen enough snow to last the rest of my life! 

The washer ended up being a quick fix. There was a clog in the drain pipe that I was able to unclog, so no plumber needed, thankfully. 

We're still going strong with out "Eat at home" challenge for January. We have a bunch of debt to pay off from "The Summer When Everything Broke" (HVAC, car ac, big vet bills, new windshield in my car, house damage from Harvey). I will feel a lot better once that stuff is paid off. 

Edited January 18, 2020 by MissLemon

[Carrie12345]

I managed to pay off a credit card yesterday! 😄 

But other things did come up, of course. @@. The dog got himself An overnight trip to the vet for what may have been a seizure. They estimated our bill to be $660-$1200 dollars, or up to 10% more.  Had to put down a $330 deposit.  Actual bill came in at $200-something, so now we have a credit on our account for the cat’s check up next week. It could have been so much worse. (Well, it still can be!)

I don’t remember if I mentioned it, but this dog was also just at the vet for a ruptured anal gland. 😮 He’s about to be 5 and has apparently decided that it’s now safe to cost us a fortune.

I also bought dd’s textbooks for DE last week, and other dd needs supplies for her EMT class. We don’t really have college funds, so we do try to cover pre-graduation college expenses To the best of our ability. It’s still hard with kids just a year apart!

My food budget is doing great, though.  I’m making fewer “formal” meals (for lack of a better term) and going more modular than I already was, then pushing for each and every item to get used up. I never felt that we wasted a lot of food, but we’re wasting even less now.  And I stopped going out for milk runs. The threat of powdered milk seems to have cured everyone of their willingness to waste any milk, lol.

ETA: I also went on a payment plan for hospital bills.  I intend to get them paid off early (and was going to just pay it,) but my credit card debt is on temporary 0% interest and I don’t want to risk missing my target date.

Edited January 18, 2020 by Carrie12345

[mommyoffive]

I got back into clipping coupons.   I think I saved $5 on my last trip.  

Returned $25 worth of things.

Spent $125.  Dh will have to go shopping again today, as I didn't get things for meals for the week.  

[JustEm]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

I got back into clipping coupons.   I think I saved $5 on my last trip.  

Returned $25 worth of things.

Spent $125.  Dh will have to go shopping again today, as I didn't get things for meals for the week.  

 

I keep thinking I should get back to coupons but I just don't want to. If I did, I know I could get many household items for next to nothing, stuff like toothpaste, soap, shampoo, cleaners, etc. That would really loosen the strain on the budget overtime if I was able to get a few months worth of a stockpile with those things. But the thought of doing it just bring negative feelings so I've avoided it for a while. But eventually I'll decide it is worth it

[mommyoffive]

3 hours ago, hjffkj said:

 

I keep thinking I should get back to coupons but I just don't want to. If I did, I know I could get many household items for next to nothing, stuff like toothpaste, soap, shampoo, cleaners, etc. That would really loosen the strain on the budget overtime if I was able to get a few months worth of a stockpile with those things. But the thought of doing it just bring negative feelings so I've avoided it for a while. But eventually I'll decide it is worth it

 

I haven't done them in years.  Usually it is stuff we don't get or need.  But I found some on things we always buy.  I need to do the cash back apps too.  But yeah there is so much of the cheap household items at the Dollar Tree too.   I am someone that loves a stockpile.  I have one for all household things and food and it is great.   Instead of kids running to tell me we are out of this or that, check the stash.   I don't like having to run out to the store on Christmas Eve to get conditioner.   True story.  

[prairiewindmomma]

I am not sure if this is going to end up being frugal or not but I just spent $20 on drugstore lipstick to see if I can wean myself off the high end stuff. If this experiment fails, I will just buy my one Clinique color I love from here on out.

I am really hoping I find a $5.99 lipstick that works for me, though.

Fwiw, my experiments with drugstore eyeshadow went badly. I have one palette I like that is higher end that I will stick with from now on.

[prairiewindmomma]

So 2/3 lipsticks didn’t hit “love” for me. But the third one did. Super happy! I really want more than one color of lipstick in my makeup kit, so I am going to try another color from that brand next month.

[JustEm]

On 1/21/2020 at 3:12 PM, mommyoffive said:

 

I haven't done them in years.  Usually it is stuff we don't get or need.  But I found some on things we always buy.  I need to do the cash back apps too.  But yeah there is so much of the cheap household items at the Dollar Tree too.   I am someone that loves a stockpile.  I have one for all household things and food and it is great.   Instead of kids running to tell me we are out of this or that, check the stash.   I don't like having to run out to the store on Christmas Eve to get conditioner.   True story.  

I tried Ibotta and it didn't work for whatever reason, so i decided it was more mental work than I cared to deal with.

Coupons for food rarely help us. But for household items it has help tremendously in the past. 

[JustEm]

Grocery bill for the week was $165, which is amazing considering we bought two pork loins and a ham to freeze for later weeks. I didn't do the shopping but I did make the list and I'm a bit worried dh didn't get enough of the things I put on the list. But we'll see. Either way, I'm not going back to the store this week so we'll make do with whatever we have.

[JustEm]

Save me please!!! Dh has had an iPhone paid for by his previous employer for the last 7 years. Well the time has come for him to drop that and find a new option. He needs a new phone anyway so it is good timing but man he doesn't know how to shop frugally. I wish I could buy him the phone, set up service, and hand it to him but he got to the task first.

I'm might lose my mind over here watching him research phones.

[JustEm]

Dh got his first paycheck from the new job and it was about what I had estimated after taxes. It is certainly tight and I don't know if u can actually make it work but I'm crunching numbers today. Thankfully, his salary actually goes up after training is over, unclear if that is beginning of Feb or March though, we'll see. Once it goes up we'll only be slightly lower than what he was making so expenses will be covered but savings will be an issue for a bit. His job does come with the potential to make up to $1000 extra monthly and his boss says it's really hard not to get at least a few hundred extra each month. So I'm optimistic that we'll be back to where we were quickly.

[mommyoffive]

10 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

Dh got his first paycheck from the new job and it was about what I had estimated after taxes. It is certainly tight and I don't know if u can actually make it work but I'm crunching numbers today. Thankfully, his salary actually goes up after training is over, unclear if that is beginning of Feb or March though, we'll see. Once it goes up we'll only be slightly lower than what he was making so expenses will be covered but savings will be an issue for a bit. His job does come with the potential to make up to $1000 extra monthly and his boss says it's really hard not to get at least a few hundred extra each month. So I'm optimistic that we'll be back to where we were quickly.

 

That all sounds really positive.  I forgot if you said already, but what is he doing now?  He was a karate instructor before right? 

[JustEm]

6 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

 

That all sounds really positive.  I forgot if you said already, but what is he doing now?  He was a karate instructor before right? 

Yes he was a martial arts instructor. He is working at bank of America in their small business accounts department. Huge career change but his 20 years working for a small business gives him good insight into the issues that arise. We don't know if this will be a long time job or if he'll continue looking elsewhere eventually. For now, he's quite positive about it.

[mommyoffive]

3 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

Yes he was a martial arts instructor. He is working at bank of America in their small business accounts department. Huge career change but his 20 years working for a small business gives him good insight into the issues that arise. We don't know if this will be a long time job or if he'll continue looking elsewhere eventually. For now, he's quite positive about it.

 

How neat to try something different.  I am glad he likes it.