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

Monday was the federal holiday to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I took off Tuesday & Wednesday as well. My friend was here each day doing work on my house. I had my kitchen cabinets & a few doors painted. Everything looks nice. Looking forward to getting more done in preparation for putting my home on the market. Still have more to do.

I was inspired by Monkey Mama's chicken fajita subs so I made a recipe I've tried before & really enjoyed: chicken fajitas made in the oven on a sheet pan. Turned out great once again & I ate them on whole wheat flour tortillas.

I was up early enough to watch the inauguration events starting with Trump's departure from the White House. I'm glad that everything went off without incident. All the ladies looked so lovely & everyone seemed to be on good spirits. I liked seeing the gifts presented to the President & Vice-President. I'm be never seen that before. It reminded me of the feeling in the city during Obama's inaugurations. I attended both.

But today was mainly a wonderful day because my grandpa is still with us. He was rushed to the hospital yesterday evening. The doctors had an idea what was wrong, but couldn't be sure without performing exploratory surgery. Problem was: he's 90, his heart briefly stopped during a procedure last week, and he's lost so much weight that he isn't even 100 pounds. So one doctor wanted to go ahead, while the other doctors weren't sure he would survive. I spoke to my aunt, who is making the decisions because my mom was too upset. We both agreed that among the choices not doing anything was not an option. We weren't going to let him suffer. So my aunt gave the okay. Miraculously, he survived the surgery & they were able to fix the issue which was as they thought. He has a road ahead of him, but we are happy that he is still with us. Today was a wonderful day!

Happy last day of 2020! It's been a tough year for many & I'm happy that so many will be able to turn the page on what has been a difficult year.

My sister lost her mother-in-law on Tuesday. They had a very good relationship, which is not always the case with daughters-in-laws and mothers-in-laws, so she was very upset. Praying for my brother-in-law, sister, and my niece & nephew to ease their pain.

I got paid my final paycheck of 2020 today so I can start crunching my final numbers. I hope that the market ends on a high note!

I met with a real estate agent yesterday & signed the agreement for her to be the listing agent today. I also unexpectedly sold 2 candles on FB Marketplace yesterday. I sold for the same amount that I initially declined from another buyer, but I'm even more ready to pare down now. Contemplating contacting the interested party to see if her offer is still good. She was interested in buying 5 candles.

I will do my 2021 goals in another post tomorrow. Happy New Year!

ETA: I also just sent $1,500 to my Roth IRA today to complete my 2020 contributions. Now I can start out fresh in January, without playing catch-up.

A good day for the markets meant I reached my investment goal of $1 million! It was so close only a week or two ago, but then the markets pulled back.

Investments: $1,004,409

I received another Clever Fox planner, this time the financial planner. It was a special gift bundle that came with the cash envelopes. I weighed the pros & cons of both and have decided to keep the financial planner and gift the budget planner. I gifted the cash envelopes & extra stickers as well. With achieving so many goals this year I'm looking forward to achieving more in 2021.

I got confirmation of my performance award on my next paycheck. That will be a nice bonus at Christmas. I will also be working Christmas Eve since my employee that recently returned from maternity leave wanted the day off. I get holiday pay so that's nice. Usually I want off because my family is in town, but that's not happening this year.

Every once in a while I get a letter from a realtor saying they are looking to buy in my complex. This time I responded & she will call me today. I am ready to sell. I'm not sure what my next step is, but I'm open to the possibilities. I have $70k in equity if I sell for what I bought it for.

Net Worth: $1,109,739

Well, I am less than an hour into my birthday. I just got home from work. So much to be thankful about & to reflect on. When I think of where I was a year ago, I've made huge progress financially & in other ways. 

Today I am less than $2k away from having $1 million in investments. So very close. It would have been nice to make that goal on my birthday, but I know it's just around the corner.

I just wrote a check for my property taxes. I did finally get the bill in the mail. I like to pay my bills as they come in. I know some people do theirs monthly. 

Net Worth $1,101,715