Hello friends, inspirations and financial confidants,
I was working through a pile of collections statements and plugging numbers into the Debt Snowball Spreadsheet when I decided to stop by LLNOE and see what was going on as of late. It's really incredible, I began this journey in 2011 and so much "life" has happened, ups and downs, stupid and wise decisions, career momentum - everything! And it is so funny, as I technically sit here in BS2 again, it does not upset me because I've been thr
Last time I poked into this LLNOE blog, it was April 2017. I was just beginning to dive into a divorce. Of course it wasn't what I wanted to have happen, and hindsight is 20/20.. If I could go back and change some decisions, I would possibly have chosen not to get married to him in the first place. (But then, would I be where I am now having learned the things I did through that marriage.. hrmmm.. head scratcher)
But now that it has been 8 months since that blog post, I can absolutely stat
So this is more of an intense update since my last couple blogs.
As the title of this entry implies... We are getting a divorce. I'm not going to go into it in loads of detail here, but it's something that needed to happen (regardless of how happy we may have appeared) and the decision will likely benefit both of us in the long term. We are being amicable, he still lives in the house today but we have a deadline date set for him to be moved-out by (Saturday June 3rd). He has plans to move his s
Winter quarter ended last week, boy am I glad! I went into it thinking it would be easy but I feel as if though I suffered quite a bit. I decided that due to a couple of planned out of state trips in the next 3 months, that going to school Spring quarter might be pushing it. So my plan is to go back this summer and either do 1 or both of my final 2 classes needed for the AA.
April brings a 2-day fitness convention [put on by the format I teach] in Pittsburgh. I am really looking forward to
I am back in college this quarter, taking 2 classes. I have done school on and off for years, but I know I need to buckle down and finish getting that associate's. My mom and I are kind of in a race, to see who can get their bachelor's faster It's kinda fun. Obviously she has the advantage of being ahead of me already, but it's fun to share and joke with her. Anyway, being a student sucks the time out of my week. There is a lot of basic structured homework (online, business algebra) and then
These words seem to be the theme of my priorities as of late. Obviously with the new year just behind us, it's fitting. But I really am getting back into my previous workout routine @ the bootcamp studio. I am even scheduled to sub a couple classes at the end of the month. I went in to class last night and was shocked at how much strength and endurance I'd lost. When you can't even do a minute of full form jumping jacks because you feel so sluggish and out of breath, that's bad! With pregnancy o
Now that Christmas holiday is over and we are done traveling for a while (went to AZ to see DH's parents and just got home yesterday morning), I am back home and I guess back to some normalcy. But my motivation seems shot and I have been keeping to myself a lot more. I'm not using social media as much as I used to and I'm not going out of my way to text or call people or attend things. Our pregnancy seems to be on the rocks - the ultrasound a week and a half ago apparently showed the fetus was n
You know, cutting some fluff...
The small stuff will be easy. We have a "bills" checking account with its own debit card that all the regular recurring stuff charges out of. From that we are most definitely chopping a small monthly charitable contribution and a quarterly winery club membership. (At least we will have a large bag of wine waiting for us next visit from the last couple of quarters.. And that will be a nice consolation..)
Our internet spiked from about $32 monthly to $66. OUCH.
...From all the ping-ponging, that is
Achieved Debt Freedom 2x and here we go again. This time, only I can be to blame - not DH.
Seems to me that I can only have laser focus on one or two areas of my life at a time. When my finances are the focus, other areas suffer. Most of 2015, my job & health/fitness were the focus. Finances suffered. It seems life always works like that, you can't juggle it all. Maybe that's a bad excuse though.
So I'd stopped the habit of withdrawing blow m
We saw it coming, gradually, but it's pretty much here now. I am loving no longer driving to work in the pitch black dark... And that gorgeous sun is pouring into the office in the mornings The trees and many flowers are blooming. Our veggie starts are thriving and the garden is getting planted in little sections at a time.
I've done some much-needed budget look-overs. Our budget 4 months ago is a bit different from our budget today, but I've still been using the numbers from that old budge
Of course I love a good bonus, who doesn't?
At work our bonuses came thru today. I won't complain about it because, hey, it's a bonus! But I had thought it would be a little more. Oh well! The manager before the one I have now, is the guy who submitted all the merit increase and bonus paperwork back in Dec-2014, right before he left. So at that time, I hadn't stepped up on a lot of projects and therefore I a got a middle of the road (just like most everyone else) "meets expectations" on ever
We're winding down tonight & I am prepping for another week out of town for work beginning tomorrow. This project is moving along quickly, and now that I've spent last week covering for someone who went on vacation, I will spend this week learning another key piece of the project... Before it becomes my responsibility 100%! I gotta tell you, I am terrified, however I signed up for this didn't I? This can only bring good things and opportunities! (I hope!!) So please wish me a lot of luck or
What a week this has been!
I am heading home today, Seattle has been great so far. I am learning so much. There's a few calls and meetings yet to be had to discuss roles and responsibilities but it looks like I may be primed to take care of a certain task for all the work packages in my region starting... soon?! So much is still in the air. Management is still figuring things out. I think I've mentioned before, this entire project was poorly coordinated and it has people fumbling about, but we'
Yeah, that just might pretty much sum this up *laughs*
Seattle (the project @ work) is a go. I have training Thur-Fri, and for those overnights I'll be staying at my BFF's house near the office. then I will begin working in Seattle starting next week. I've gotten the hotel info for where all the other engineers are going to be, and I have no complaints about it as it's a great location with a gym, pool, and continental breakfast which were important features to me!
I also spoke with the man
Yesterday was a big unexpected adventure, but because of the DR system we're working, we got through it just fine.
I will try to be brief, I know I tend to ramble. A relative of my co-worker was looking for someone to adopt her cat within 24hrs, due to a messy landlord/breakup/legal situation. Coworker asked if I wanted a cat, and because DH and I had been toying with the idea of a pet for so long, I asked him. We said yes, and coworker set me up with her cousin or something.. After our coun
I mentioned semi-recently that there's been an opportunity presented to me at work. There's a large scale project underway in Seattle and they need help from engineers in the surrounding areas for about 2 months. Having worked here less than 2yrs and realizing what a good experience this could be for me, I volunteered. Not only can I learn quite a bit more about my job, especially more of the technical aspects of it, it's also a good way for me to step up to the plate (and hopefully score anothe
As of today, we now own 100% of my wedding ring
I didn't have any concern that we would not pay it off before the interest began accruing, but it feels SO NICE to have it off our plates permanently! DH's paycheck today was over $200 more than what we budget so we definitely feel $$ RICH $$ today! I even allowed him to take an extra $5 for a total of $30 blow this week to reward him...
$224.22 paid off Kay
$190 left in snowball to throw at the VISA
I am still choosing to 'pay off' the
Our first 'family counseling' or couples counseling appointment is in a few hours. For some reason I am all nerves about it. Here is my problem: over the past week or 2 we haven't really fought a whole lot.. Actually most all of the new year has been pretty smooth sailing. So when the counselor asks me what our problem is, I'm afraid I won't be able to name something. Does anyone know what I mean? When we are angry and arguing, I can easily find a list of 100 things he does 'wrong' or situations
Today feels pretty good! It was my first paycheck of 2015 and I am getting a clearer picture of what my usual paychecks will look like with the HSA , tax & insurance adjustments.
We will be adding to the debt thermometer at home tonight! Today I am paying OFF the hospital + sending cash to the Doctors Clinic.. and I sent $95 to the VISA already. I love updating my balances on LLNOE.
Also, I began funding the Sinking Fund which is kept in a savings account linked to our joint. I already kno
This blog entry is a mix of good & bad news ---
The good news is, my HSA finally re-loaded from last week's payday and so as soon as 8am hit, I called the audiologist and paid the bill in full. Felt nice, to mark one debt off our list. I told DH at home (he does not leave for work until about 8:45am) to fill-up the thermometer about $55's worth. Hurray for progress!
Updated my siggy.. Sure is nice!
Our auto-payment to Kay comes out in a few days so I will update again when that balance dr
People setting goals everywhere! So inspiring.
Christmas wound up being nice this year. DH and I had some issues a few days prior.. big fights.. He was not taking his medication consistently so I attribute a lot of it to that. I'm going to be reminding him daily if he's taken it or not. We have counseling appointments set for mid-January with a counselor referred to us by a friend. I know people say the first year newly-wed is the hardest but I don't feel it should be this hard. It gets pret
My last blog entries were the holidays and my fiancee and I starting the FPU class at the YMCA. Oh gosh, so much to catch you up on. If you're interested
The classes went pretty well! It wound up being VERY small. 3 participants the first night, down to 2 people the following week and then the rest of the series it was just me, Ethan and the instructor. Which worked out wonderfully because we had so much one-on-one attention and we could talk about whatever we wanted to. We missed a couple
The FPU class at the local YMCA finally began. We thought it was to start in early January but the DR website had inaccurate info. Anyway, I was kind of nervous that Ethan would try to get out of going to the class, but that didn't happen. I think he knew how important it was to me that we go together, and it had been on the calendar for quite some time. So we had some sushi for dinner at our favorite place, then went to the class afterwards.
There are only 2 other families in the class with u
I love the holidays. We've kept a pretty steady supply of egg nog in the fridge, and every evening we've developed a sort of routine. Plug in the tree & the window lights, turn everything else off, and kick back to watch something on Netflix. Or I cook dinner, while he kicks back and watches something
On my wishlist lately is a crockpot. I've mentioned it to my mom, but I've also mentioned needing curtains and curtain rods (mostly for privacy and heating/cooling efficiency). So we'll se
Things have been going fine since I last updated. Still eagerly awaiting January for our FPU class! I took the splurge and paid for the FPU kit on the DR website, so now I have the account and can “legally” take the FPU class anytime. I didn’t want Ethan’s first FPU class experience to be without the materials that accompany it, so the purchase has been made and it’s on its way!
I finished my enrollment at work. Set it up to have $1500 in the HSA and signed up for disability and life insuran
