This month has had some big spending due to work expenses, most of which as being reimbursed for our laboratory's recognition week. I also paid the first installment of next season's theatre tickets.

I'm excited about the season which includes: Six, Moulin Rouge, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lion King, Tina, Pretty Woman, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Fiddler on the Roof. I passed on the season option of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I've seen it before (as I've seen many of these shows) and the holidays are busy enough as is. If the Christmas show was White Christmas I probably wouldn't pass it up. I love that movie. ☃️ 

Our Easter was nice & quiet filled with good food and beautiful spring weather. I love this time of year before it gets crazy hot. I am trying to think of a getaway before the temps start rising. I would say Maine, but we already have our trip to Maine booked for this fall. I am looking forward to it, rustic as the trip may be. I have been wanting to visit Maine for a while. Maybe I will venture further north, like Quebec. 🇨🇦 

We have not yet received our retention incentive, but I continue to work overtime and my PRN job. This month is also a 3 paycheck month, so yay! I'm not making any big money moves right now, but I may get back to adding to my brokerage account for a future home purchase. Right now it stands at $75k.

Another payday and I had forgotten how nice it is to have the ability to bring in extra income when needed. This Saturday I'm going in to do more training at my PRN job, then Sunday I'm working OT at my FT job. My weekend partner - I'll be working the weekends opposite her - is on the schedule to work weekends through the end of April. That's great because it means plenty of training time for me, as well as I don't have the obligation to work Easter Sunday. 🐣🐰

Our incentive pay wasn't on this paycheck, hopefully it will get coded in time for the next paycheck.

I am home today awaiting a furniture delivery. I ordered this furniture in August & it was supposed to arrive back in October/November. They still have to replace the damaged furniture delivered in October, but I just got another notification for a delivery next week. I wish they could have gotten it all coordinated for one delivery, but I'm just glad to finally have everything taken care of. My sister had to just sleep on a mattress when she came to stay with me at Christmas. 

The market has been up, but who knows for how long in these times of uncertainty. I had been avoiding news, but when at my parents' this week I watched the news with them. It's horrifying what's happening in Ukraine. I pray that this conflict & others come to a swift end and that justice is done to those that perpetrate violence. 

I see the website has been upgraded in my absence. I like what I see so far!

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet as usual. We continued our new tradition from last year of Rock Cornish game hens instead of turkey, along with ham, cornbread dressing, carrot soufflé, and my homemade cranberry sauce. I usually do the fresh snap beans with potatoes & bacon, but my dad said to just cooked the stir-fry veggies we had in the freezer. Fine by me! Everything was delish & I'm eating my leftovers today. 🍗🍖🥕

My last two paychecks have had OT on them & that adds up quick. I'm always surprised by how much of an impact it has, but at a rate of 1.5 pay plus the shift differentials, it is significant. Much better than my pay when I had two PRN jobs. Work is about to get busier as my lab manager retires at the end of the year & I am the assistant lab manager. 

I traveled for the first time since 2019! My friends & I met up with my sister in New York. We had a great time. We saw 4 shows, ate great food, & did a ton of walking. 🍎🚖🗽

I have two more trips booked: Nashville in January & Maine next fall. 🎸🪕🦞⛵️ It is also my parents' 50th anniversary this summer so we may do a family trip.

I thought I might hit a million dollars by the end of the year in my TSP, but then the market pulled back due to Omicron. It still may hit those elusive 7 figures in 2021, we shall see. 

Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby & Michael's looking for a Christmas tree. I had thrown my tree out last year as it had seen better days. I got a 7.5 ft pencil tree at Michael's and a tree skirt at Hobby Lobby. Michael's was much less crowded than Hobby Lobby. The pencil tree will take some getting used to, but it's decked out in rose gold, gold, & silver this year. It's a very pretty color combination, if I do say so myself. 🎄

My birthday is next week & I will probably have a quiet dinner with my parents. 🎂

I hate losing a blog just as I'm trying to post it! Ugh.

Friday was the end of the month as far as investing so I've been crunching my numbers already. I'm such a numbers need that I really love this time of month. Mint has my net worth increase for the past 30 days by $118,900. This is incorrect, but I attribute it to having a lot of money moving through accounts & my mortgage being paid off due to selling my condo. I also was having issues updating my credit union accounts last month.

My calculations show a gain of $68,616 for October. it's a good thing to do your own calculations and not just rely on the budgeting apps as they can be wrong. I love my Clever Fox budget planner and am already looking for next year's planner. Last year they were pretty late releasing their products. It seems like they would want them on the market by Black Friday, but choices were limited or even sold out in December last year. 

Yesterday's paycheck was larger due to coming in that one Saturday for a few hours. Next paycheck will be even larger because I picked up some evening hours for OT. Our evening shift differential is 10% and weekends are 25% base, on top of the OT rate. It works out pretty nicely. Also, we have shift incentives because we are so short. I'm happy to have the extra money & to help out.

My trip to NYC Is rapidly approaching. I have missed the city so much. I last visited the summer of 2019. We fly out on Veteran's Day. My sister is taking the train up from DC. We have tickets to 3 shows and reservations at the Met and a couple of restaurants. 🗽🚖🍎🎭

I have lost 13 pounds in the past month, but I will indulge a little on my trip. I have been pretty strict on plan with the exception of this Thursday when we had our Halloween office party. 🎃👻🍁🍂🥳

How is the weather where you are? Here it finally turned cooled yesterday. I'm glad that my dad gave me some gumbo for my freezer when I visited this weekend! His gumbo is of course my favorite gumbo. 🥘

My investments are almost back to the high of September 6th. Today they stand at $1,300,918 which is almost my entire net worth with the addition of my car & cash savings. 

I applied for a PRN position (you knew I couldn't stay away from a second job for long!), but turned it down when they told me the per diem rate, which was the same rate I was paid in 2008. You'd think with all these healthcare shortages that they would up there rate.

This past Saturday I did some OT at my hospital and that rate is more than twice the per diem I was offered. Our ENW supervisor, who is desperately short-staffed, asked me to work as much as I could so it looks like I'll be pulling some OT. One good thing about my promotion is that by losing my supervisory status I can make time and a half overtime, whereas I used to just get comp time. I am always in use or lose territory with my annual leave by the end of the year, so I don't really need to earn more time. 

I am setting into my new apartment. Furniture keeps trickling in & I am doing a little updating in my decor. I had some rowdy upstairs neighbors, but after a few complaints it looks like they have settled down. The leasing agent said she would contact the dad. I guess that worked. It's super annoying to be kept on weeknights by kids who have their daddy to pay their rent. The rest of us have to get to work in the morning!

I took some time this morning to update my budget in Mint. So many categories were obsolete now: homeowners insurance, alarm system, property taxes, student loans (which I paid off over 4 years ago!). Then others needed to be adjuste: mortgage & rent, which more than doubled. 

One of my credit union accounts won't update in Mint, which is frustrating because it's my largest cash account. It is, however, updating in Personal Capital.

I finally figured out how to add my car value in Personal Capital this morning. It's crazy because the Kelley blue book value today is almost the same as it was when I bought it 5 years ago. Supply & demand, I suppose. I think this is the first time in my lifetime that cars have held their value. Usually they are rapidly depreciating as soon as you drive them off the lot.

My new mattress will be delivered today. Mattresses have become quite expensive, but at least I get interest free payments for 4 years. The furniture will be no payments for one year. I don't expect to pay for that long on the mattress, but will take advantage of the one year payoff for the furniture.

My furniture went from expected delivery in October to full delivery expected in January. I should get some pieces this month. That is one thing that hasn't changed: furniture deliveries getting delayed. They blame it on the pandemic, but I remember prior orders. I'm looking forward to getting my second bedroom & sun room (office) furnished.

My investments for Q3 were up, partly because I invested the profits from the sale of my condo just before the end of the month. Since it's only 5% on my portfolio I decided to try something a little different & invest in Vagaurd's high dividend yield index fund. It's pretty new having began in 2019. It will be interesting having a new fund to follow.

I was able to transfer the funds from the sale of my condo to my new brokerage account just in time to invest before the end of the 3rd quarter. The proceeds ended up being just 5% of my total investments so I played with the investments just a little rather than sticking to my usual index funds. I still selected an index fund, but not the total domestic stock and total international stock index funds I'm currently invested in for my IRA. 

After living in my condo for 15 years, it's interesting that my equity was such a small amount of my net worth, when I always read that most people's net worth is largely tied up with their home. I'm not anxious to own again, and I've done much better selecting mutual fund investments that investing in my home. That's not to say that I'll never own again, but I always been told that renting was throwing away money. I don't have that perspective now.

I am no longer a homeowner! Closing went off without a hitch. Just a small glitch when they got my new street address wrong, but that didn't delay anything. 

When I was searching to see what my credit union's hours were I found that they had opened a new branch even closer to the title company's location with later hours. It's an interaction center which was a new thing for me. My mom said her credit union is the same now. You walk up to a screen that is something like an ATM, and you interact with a teller via video. I'm sure the tellers feel a lot safer. 

My money is on hold for a week then I have access to it. All this time I've been thinking about how to invest it & I'm still undecided. The market has been kind of blah lately so maybe this is the perfect time to invest.

After a one week delay, today is closing day. I'm excited, but a little nervous. I think more nervous than when I bought my condo for some reason. I'm heading there this toning to make sure that I have the mail box key identified correctly. Then my parents' may have an extra key, which I will pick up. My realtor has a set as well. I hope the bee buyer enjoys the condo. It was good to me for many years.

I'm still undecided about how to use my funds, but I will definitely invest some of the money from the sale of my condo. I am not thinking to buy anytime soon.

I am looking forward to traveling again. I have a trip to New York planned over Veteran's Day weekend. I have my flights & hotel booked. I also booked my hotel & flights for Nashville in January. I've never been to Nashville & I know many people love it. I just booked the flights yesterday using miles that are expiring in January. I had enough to book first class tickets so that will be a treat. 

Have a great weekend.

Thursday afternoon my apartment complex got back power. I was so grateful! I never realized that I could sweat so much doing absolutely nothing. And then to add insult to injury, it would be hotter inside than outside! I now have all my creature comforts back: air conditioning, hot showers, & internet to binge on Netflix. When I moved I got rid of cable & got first an antenna (tried 2 & returned both) then I got a Fire Stick. I loved it so that I am getting one for each television.

The day before I got power I had met with a friend that came into the city. She does insurance claims so she was deployed to New Orleans. She had been in Lake Charles still working on Hurricane Laura claims. I borrowed a battery fan & lantern from a mutual friend of ours. She also lent me another lantern & several batteries. I was so thankful. Tuesday night I would wake up as soon as I fell asleep due to the heat. Wednesday I finally had a restful night. But I'm happy to longer need any of it!

My closing has been rescheduled for this coming Friday, the 17th. I hope everything goes smoothly over the next week.

I was scheduled to close on the condo this Friday, but it has been delayed due to the lender not having everything accounted for. I'm disappointed as I was looking forward to closing that chapter & getting some cash to invest, but I have no other choice but to be patient. It was a rather short closing date target to begin with, maybe a little too ambitious.

I came back to the city yesterday morning. My apartment complex has few residents staying here. It makes me feel a little nervous, but I don't get out after dark. We are still under a curfew from 6p-6a.

Last night without power was miserable & it looks like it may be a week or more longer before I get back power. Outside my window is the Jefferson Parish office buildings which ran on generator power all night. So close, yet so far away. I was envious to say the least.

My friend is an insurance adjuster & she got into town last night. The Air BnB where she is staying got power a few hours after she got into town. After work I went by & picked up a battery operated fan, batteries, a couple of lanterns, & some hurricane snacks. So thankful for her & the mutual friend that lent her the fan. I am now shopping online looking to buy the same to get me through the next hurricane. 

if I don't get power back by Friday I will head back to stay with my parents for the weekend. I can sleep in peace for a few nights & wash my clothes.

My loved ones are all okay. We lost power for less than 24 hours at my parents' home. My apartment is without power & under a boil advisory for the foreseeable future as is most (all?) of Jefferson Parish. I am back at my parents' home after venturing into the city to check in at the hospital. After I learned of the water situation I requested leave for the week. I hope the situation will be better in a week, but as I understand it, it could take up to 6 weeks to get the power fully restored in Jefferson. With a boil advisory I would need power for my apartment to be habitable. There is also a curfew from 6p-6a daily. I just left my apartment at 6p yesterday, after picking up some things & cleaning out my refrigerator. There was no way that I was staying the night. I'd rather risk getting stopped, but thankfully it was smooth sailing all the way back to BR.

New Orleans had a total black-out after the storm blew through & the mayor is asking people who evacuated to not return. I was told there was some looting going on, which is another reason I wanted to leave before dark.

It's still hard to get gas in Baton Rouge, but it is available if you're willing to wait. I don't plan on going anywhere until maybe Laber Day so I'll wait. Hopefully it will be more readily available. 

This truly was a devastating storm. Thankfully there were not many lives lost, but the damage to infrastructure is pretty significant. The (huge) bright spot is that our levees held.

I will see if anything gets postponed with my condo sale. I went by yesterday morning after the storm & all looked well.

We have a hurricane headed this way. It is expected to make landfall Sunday as a category 3. I am prepared as I am going to be at the point, but I will make one last trip to the store & gas station when I get off work this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be too crazy. I just want to grab any last thing that I can think of. Stay safe with these fires & hurricanes out there! 💨🔥

Thank you for the kind condolences on the passing of my cousin. It still feels unbelieveable. We had the funeral on a Wednesday night & the gravesite dismissal the following morning. Immediately following the dismissal I got on the road to pick up the key for my new apartment. I had packed my car with some cleaning supplies & some important papers that I didn't want transported by the movers. I made it back to my condo that night.

The following morning I was up at 5 to finish last minute things. I still wasn't finished when the movers arrived after 8, but I was done well before they had everything moved. They didn't have the additional wardrobe box on the truck like I requested, but other than that things when pretty smoothly with the exception of a little damage to my footboard. The entire move took 8 hours. My mom thought that 5 hours would be too long, but I was actually surprised that we got it done it only 8 hours.  I had a lot of boxes & moved from a 2 story condo to a second story apartment. In August. In south Lousiana. It was hard work. Many of my boxes were books. I gave away plenty of books prior, but still had a good number of them. Maybe before my next move I can let go of even more of them. 

So move day was Friday. I was hurting so much the next few days that I couldn't turn over without groaning. Then Sunday I was back at the condo to clean before pictures & pick-up more items that I had left at the condo. I still didn't clean as well as I'd like & the carpets needed a good cleaning, but we got the pictures done Monday morning. Tuesday morning I had the carpets cleaned & Thursday morning I had a lady come in to clean the condo, including the refrigerator & oven. Thursday evening my realtor had the first showings scheduled. Friday afternoon I got an offer at full asking price, waiving an inspection & not asking for any of the repairs that I was trying to get approved through my insurance. What a relief! I was so estatic, especially considering that another unit had been on the market for almost 2 months. That same weekend the other unit also went under contract. I believe it was one of the buyers that viewed my unit. I think that commission should go to my realtor as she was really hustling so to speak to get my unit exposure. Closing is scheduled for September 10th.

I've been busy getting settled into my apartment. The grounds are beautiful with a creek, fountains, and gazebos, as well as a beautiful pool. It's a nice spacious 2 bedroom/2 bath with over 1300 square feet. The carpets are new & the walls freshly painted. I finally have enough room in the kitchen for more than one person & enough storage to get all the appliances off of the counters. I made a coffee & tea bar in the kitchen, which I can't wait to invite guests to use. The living room has a large sitting area off of it where I will put a desk. It's got a lot of closet space which I have made use of: a coat closet, walk-in closets in each bedroom, very deep linen closets in each bathroom, and another closet off of the sitting area where I am storing all of my Christmas stuff. The washer & dryer are a huge upgrade from my set, which I included in the sale of the condo along with the refrigerator. I am planning to purchase another bedroom set as I sold my nearly 30 year old guest bedroom set to my friend's daughter. She's in college & just got her first apartment.

My new neighborhood is full of shopping & restaurants. The shopping center adjacent to the apartment complex includes Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, Ashley furniture, and a Starbucks. Then across the street is a plethora of other big box stores and restaurants. The parish office building where I can register to vote & conduct other business is also across the street. Everything I need is in a very short radius from my apartment. On moving day when I was looking for a gas station to buy the movers some Gatorade I found the post office which is also very close. There is the same family of hospitals that I used to PRN at in the neighborhood as well. I don't plan to pick up another job at this time, but it would be convenient.

The commute has been great as well as they have an express way into the city which keeps me off of the interstate. I'm very happy with my relocation so far in all aspects. Getting on the interstate to head back home is convenient & I've already been back a few times since my move. I'm looking forward to my family staying with me from time to time when I get my guest bedroom furnished.

I was off on Monday. Tuesday morning we had a supervisors' meeting then I met with my supervisor to discuss updating a policy. My mom called & left a voicemail during the meeting. Then my dad left a text message to call them. I excused myself from the meeting then as I knew it was something urgent. When I called my mom told me that my cousin had passed away. She & her fiancé had tested for Covid-19 & were recovering at his home. She lives with her parents, but once they tested positive she moved out to quarantine. On Monday she started to feel bad, then that night she started to have issues breathing. By Tuesday morning she was gone. It took her just that fast. She was 41.

My aunt & uncle lost their youngest daughter at the age of 30 only 3 years ago. Two of their three children gone in just 3 years. It seems unbelievably cruel. My uncle had C19 last fall & was hospitalized twice. Once for the virus, the second time for getting a blood clot due to the treatment. He was taking all precautions & had no idea how he got it.

I last saw my cousin on May 1st when we had an outdoor birthday party to celebrate my aunt's 70th birthday. She was beautiful inside & out and had her life ahead of her. Her doctor recommended she not get vaccinated due to having Crohn's disease. I don't know what concerns her doctor had, but hindsight is 20/20. I wish she had been vaccinated.

I am off this coming week because I was preparing to move as I have been for weeks. The funeral is Wednesday night in New Orleans. I will attend, but I'm nervous about my parents attending even though they are both vaccinated as am I. I will drive back to Baton Rouge that night, attend the gravesite service in the country the next morning, then head to New Orleans to start moving into my apartment. 

I pray that you & your loved ones remain healthy.

It's amazing what you can accumulate in a home after 15 years. I moved into this home with only the bedroom set I had in my parents' home. I have accumulated so much stuff, some that I didn't buy myself & never used. Such as a silver gravy boat. I don't even make gravy & if I did, I wouldn't serve it in silver! So that has been my life the past 3 weeks. If anything will cure me of my love of shopping it's weeks of having to give things away. 🛍 

I hope to get repairs done soon so I can list my condo soon after I move out. It's so hard to find reliable people that follow up. 

My rent will be more than double my mortgage, which I can afford & am okay with. Since I applied 3 weeks ago they have already raised the rent by a few hundred dollars. (On another note I hope I don't regret passing up on the 3rd floor unit with the vaulted ceilings & skylight.)

My 401k rollover has been deposited in my TSP. It was only a little over $1k, but I'm glad to have the money consolidated in my TSP. I was being charged a $1.25 fee for what I'm not sure. It's not much, but I try to avoid any fees.

Stocks were up & down this week, but ended up at a high. My accounts are at an all-time high. 

Investments $1.193 million

Net Worth $1.335 million

My weekends now consist of purging & packing. Purging involves dropping off my discarded items to the local charity consignment store. I have packed more books than anything else. I have donated many as well. I bought a CD organizer & have been able to get rid of all of the cases. I just ordered a second one for my DVD's.

Yesterday I got a call from the apartment manager that she should be sending me my lease. After all those papers I signed I thought that I was done. Apparently I have 16 more pages to go through. I think I signed less paperwork when I bought my condo.

I initiated the rollover of the small employee plan from my weekend job. I am consolidating with my TSP. My investments are at an all time high of $1.189 million. Net worth is $1.329 million.

I hope my condo sells quickly. Repairs are coming along. I got a lot done this Monday & it only took him about an hour. Funny story, my handyman turns out to have two degrees as an MD & PA. But he started this business & it's doing so well that it may be his full-time career now. I love seeing people pursue what makes them happy. And it seems to be quite lucrative for him.

I signed a lease for an apartment on Friday. I will not move in until August 5th. The commute from where I live now is about 1.5 hours to the hospital. Luckily with school out traffic has not been horrible. But it is surprisingly, somewhat tiring. I'm usually not motivated to do much when I get home, though I will now need to pick up the pace on packing my things.

I'm excited about my apartment. I've actually never rented an apartment, even in college. I've lived in dorms or homes that were owned (house, condo). The rent is expensive, but I wanted to be in a quiet, safe part of town. I will have 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. I looked at a 3rd floor model with vaulted ceilings. I ultimately took the 2nd floor apartment with better views. I was a little worried about electricity costs & my mom walking that many stairs when she visits. 

The grounds are beautiful & there are creeks and jogging paths that run through the property. It feels so peaceful. I will think about maybe getting a second job when I've had some time to settle into this job, but that may be at least a year in the future. For now, I will buckle down & budget to accommodate my increased expenses. The move was worth any increased expenses for me. Some things go beyond money, such as our happiness & peace of mind.

I am planning on taking some furniture and giving away or selling the rest. I would like to replace my guest bedroom, living & dining room furniture. I have picked out some not expensive replacements at Rooms To Go. Some things are available now, others have availability at the end of the year, though they could come in sooner. I'd rather wait to get what I want. 

I am praying that my condo sells quickly. I am having work done on Monday, then a few more things to do dealing with water leaks. It's just one thing after another. I'm ready to be free of all these issues.

My first week went well. It's a lot of new information, but I love point of care testing already. It's always interesting. 

My promotion took effect 2 weeks before I actually started the position. So I had increased pay this week, including holiday pay for working the new Juneteenth holiday. I also had increased contributions to my FSA take effect. My matching TSP contributions increased due to my new base pay.

Investments were up over $32k this week & my condo also increased in value a little.

I got the job! I actually posted that here on May 7th when they made me the tentative offer, but when I went to post it the blog disappeared. So I took that as a sign & decided to wait until I got my final offer. I got my final offer Monday & it was actually effective the day prior. I have one week remaining in my current role as lab supervisor.

A series of things has happened that has made me determined to sell my condo. I will then rent an apartment where my new position is located. Until then I will commute. I took today & tomorrow off to get ahead of moving out of my condo. I will take my time over the next couple of months.

I am really looking forward to my new role. It's a very exciting time for me. So many new things ahead!

I've tried to write this blog a few times this. Every time I thought to do it I felt exhausted thinking about it. I'm lucky that I didn't drown or flood, but it was still quite an experience to process.

I'll say I did know that we were expected to get heavy rains Monday night with chances of flooding. That's not unusual for this area. I've just never actually been caught in one.

I left work Monday night/Tuesday morning at half past midnight. It was raining, but not as heavily as it had been. About half way home I start seeing a lot of emergency vehicles. For part of my trip home briefly get on the highway that runs the length of town. I was quickly detoured off the highway as soon as I got in. As I got on the service road I realized that the medians were now lakes of water. There cars submerged with their lights still on. It was a scary sight to see.

I made it back on the highway where they allowed us & took the next to last turn to my home. The water was heavy on the road, but passable. Before I could turn on to my street I realized that it wasn't passable. Cars were already flooded out. Water was rushing into a store to my right. I turned into a parking lot to my left, which was the higher side of the road. I was so close l, literally just around the corner m, but couldn't make it. I got in the Next Door app & realized that all routes to my home were flooded.

I got out of my car thinking to walk it the short distance to my home. No go...water was too high & I didn't know what was in the water. After 1.5 hours I decided to backtrack after checking the roads. I was going to attempt to make it to my parents', but every route was blocked (I tried 5) & they shut down a portion of the interstate. 

I turned around & headed back to the open gas station that I passed. I had a bathroom, food, & water. I napped intermittently in the back seat of my car until light broke.

I went back & the roads were clear of water, though full of abandoned cars. I was able to get home, take a shower, get dressed, then head straight to work. It took me 1.5 hours to get to work. Usually a 15-20 minute trip. 

On my way to the clinic we had to turn around at an underpass that was full of cars. They found a young man in one of the SUV's that had attempted to make it through the water. So tragic.

After a week of rain we finally have sunshine today. I worked late again last night until 3 this morning. I slept in & now will attempt to do some cleaning. My rug at my French doors was full of water. I was able to hang it out today. I am mopping the floors as the smell lingers. I definitely will be purchasing that awning very soon. I'm hoping to take a few days off to take care of some things after our inspection this coming week.

I wrote a really long blog & it all disappeared. So frustrating, but I'll at least re-write about my Facebook Marketplace sales this week. It's been my first week offering shipping & I get inquiries all day long. I've made 5 shipments and made $318.03. People are really into their Yankee Candles! I did have one package arrive damaged with broken candles. I was so upset for the customer. She really wanted those discontinued scents. I packed the box very well with a ton of bubble wrap between, under, and on top of the candles. From the damage I saw I believe it was dropped/thrown from a truck despite being marked as "fragile". I submitted an insurance claim for $50 and refunded her money. Candles are super expensive to ship. Shipping them any way other than flat rate priority mail in bundles isn't cost efficient, so I encourage buyers to buy in bundles of 4.

I worked another late, stormy night with bad weather. There were tornado warnings & my mom texted to see where I was. I told her I was at work & she told me that I should stay there for a while. I told her that I had my co-worker there (I always work alone except for last night) and we were going to be there a few more hours. I ended up leaving after 2 a.m. and he was hoping to be gone within the hour. The rain was pretty heavy, but not nearly as bad as the storm a couple of weeks ago. 

My co-worker was doing a big batch run (almost 200 patients) on the PCR analyzer while I was doing smaller runs on the quicker, but smaller capacity analyzer. They want me to come in again this afternoon/evening. We are staying so busy because we contracted with a film company. We are testing the entire cast & crew multiple times a week for COVID-19. Great for my cash flow, but I'm a little tired. I also have a 12 hour shift at the hospital tomorrow.

We had a quiet, but nice lab week at the clinic. I was talking to my manager about how event planning isn't my forte. She felt the same, but we got it through it successfully. On the career front, I qualified for an interview for a potential promotion. I owe a lot of people my thanks in the entire messy, complicated process. Our biannual lab next inspection has been scheduled & I'm looking forward to getting past that successfully. 

My investments are at an all time high. I don't know where things will go from here with the changes being proposed, but I'm just chugging along & staying the course. I continue to vacillate between staying or selling my home. I am consistent about wanting to move forward on a few needed repairs, though they may wait until work is a little more settled.

Investments $1,143,270

I have pre-populated my budget worksheet for the month & I believe that I will be able to send an income surplus of $3,000 to my savings. At this rate I will exceed what I had planned to save in 2021. This has me thinking about what I can do with that money once I fully fund my emergency savings. I will have other expenses: purchasing my next car hopefully later rather than sooner, and other home projects.

I am really thinking about paying off my home early. I get so inspired listening to the Dave Ramsey show. Seeing so many people even younger than myself having paid off their homes is so inspiring. Especially when many own homes worth far more than mine. My condo would be paid off by the time I retire, but paying it off sooner is even better. It's definitely something to consider.

Happy (early) St. Patrick's Day & may the luck of the Irish be with you! I've been reminescing on my trip to Dublin a little over 4 years ago. It was a great, but too short trip. I would like to go back & see the Irish countryside.

My goal was to have one thing done to my home each month & I've done nothing this month. I will reach out to some awning companies to get quotes. An awning is something that I've needed for 15 years now! I think it will cost less than my painting based on quotes I received a few years ago, but everything goes up in price, of course.

I really have blown through my FSA this year with my shoulder problems. It makes me all the more eager to sign up for an HSA eligible plan for next year. I have seen some progress. The worst of my symptoms will take longer to resolve of course. I had an appt with my primary care doctor today & I definitely need to get back to my lower carb eating. I'm disappointed that I have regained what I lost last summer & fall. Plus I'm not making as much progress in my Lyra classes & I attribute it to the extra weight. It makes moving around in the hoop harder!

Friday is my last paycheck of the month and I'll end it slightly in the red due to writing checks for my federal & state taxes for a total of $1,410. Next month is a 3 paycheck month. 

Net Worth: $1,209,196

Investments: $1,097,199

It looks like we all have the same idea of posting our monthly reviews on the last day of February.

February was a spendy month. I paid $875 for the painting (expensive I know, but few painters are willing to deal with wallpaper & he ended up having to deal with two layers of wallpaper). It took him 3 days of prep before he could paint. I also purchased a few home items: rugs, trash cans, to improve the look & function of my home. I have a list of future home improvements & will try to get something done every month.

I also purchased more clothes last week than I probably purchased in all of 2020. Several tops on sale or clearance in anticipation of doing some job interviews. I am being optimistic, but they will be good purchases for career or when theatres re-open. (I miss attending shows!) The most expensive top was $16 and the least expensive was $8. I bought 5 tops, not including the 3 that I've already decided to return, but haven't yet picked up. A few of the tops have tie-backs so if I lose weight they will accommodate that.

Spring has come to south Louisiana. We now have highs in the 80's. I put my plant outside yesterday. It was one from my grandfather's funeral. I hope I can keep it alive, but I don't have a great track record with plants.

Last week was a good week if you had any investment purchases, with the market down it was a bit of a deal. I didn't have any of my automated contribution scheduled for last week.

Looking forward to this coming week I have my monthly savings coming out on the first, as well as my main credit card payment. I get paid on the 1st, 5th, 15th, & 19th in March. Investment contributions on the 5th, 15th, & 19th. I am on track to max out my TSP & IRA again this year. 

Net Worth: $1,171,458

The painting is done! I had him come back today & do some touch-ups.  I was a little embarrassed to ask, but when you pay for professional painting you want it to look professional. I was satisfied with the touch-ups.

So that's two projects in two months. Kitchen cabinets in January, the bathroom painting in February. I think next month I'll focus on getting the awning installed. Clearly, I'm not going to be ready to put my home on the market as soon as I thought, but that's okay. I'd rather spread out the costs by month, plus I started physical therapy last week.

I'm paying $75 each visit for the first 4 visits, then the price goes down. I'm seeing a little progress already so that's encouraging. I chose the same physical therapy group that helped me when I was having back issues, so I am optimistic that I will have the same successful resolution.

I have an FSA, but I definitely underestimated my expenses for the year with this physical therapy, injection, and doctor visits. If I deplete my FSA this year I'm going to look at a plan that's eligible for an HSA. I looked at it last year, but I didn't want to lose the money in FSA, which was close to the maximum rollover value. I like the idea of the no rollover limit & being able to use it in retirement with the HSA. This will give me another tax advantaged vehicle to save in. 

I feel like I'm just going to keep finding things to replace or repair! I discovered that my wood floors are water damaged near my French doors. I've always heard that any damage means having to replace the entire floors. Is it ever possible to just replace a few planks if you can find a close enough match? Other solution would be cutting out the damaged wood & replacing with tile to coordinate with the gray-red fireplace brick that runs along the wall adjacent to the door. I would just need a few large tiles. I have actually seen where they have tiles near the entrance then the wood floors begin. I guess because of this issue? That door is also exposed with no awning. Maybe I need to get the awning installed before anything else.

In more positive news, the walls are ready for painting tomorrow. There was another layer of wallpaper underneath! I really dislike wallpaper, it seems that people are always being sloppy with installing it. Now I know that there is probably a layer beneath the bathroom downstairs as well. But at least that's another thing accomplished.

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you stay warm with your loved ones today. We are expecting a freeze here in south Louisiana in the coming day or so. I have been staying warm inside, doing some laundry & cleaning. Tomorrow is President's Day so I have the day off, other than my initial assessment appointment for physical therapy and a consultation appointment with a painter.

I found a color for my bathroom walls at Sherwin Williams yesterday. It is called Maison Blanche. 

I refreshed my accounts after Friday's market close. My IRA monthly contribution came out early due to the bank holiday.

Net Worth: $1,202,264

Thinking about everything I need to do to get my home ready to sell can be overwhelming so I'm just taking it in stages. I realize that since I filed my 2020 taxes I probably won't be getting the next stimulus due to increased income. But now that I've paid off my credit card debt, my cash flow has greatly improved. I don't plan on touching my growing savings for any of these projects.

Next step is the removal of wallpaper & painting my upstairs bathroom. I got a quote prior to COVID, but it was only good for 30 days. I wasn't super impressed with him because it took days for him to come out then he didn't give me the advance notice he had mentioned, but not many painters are willing to deal with wallpaper so I need to be flexible.

I also need to replace my downstairs bath surround, have the upstairs closets painted with stain kill for past leaks, carpet cleaned, and repair a leak in one of my upstairs bathroom sinks. I've been bad about keeping up with home improvements. One step at a time...

Any bathroom paint color suggestions? I know neutral & lighter is always recommended by realtors.

Net Worth: $1,192,115