Firefly's Personal Finance Blog

NSV: co-worker notes that I didn’t seem to be having the quarantine weight that everyone else seems to have gained, then asked me if I’ve been hitting the gym. I told him that I just went back this week & have only been walking (not running yet), but I’ve been watching my diet.

Tonight I made a new lean & green recipe: Salmon Florentine. It was delicious & even looked like a chef made it. Picture perfect! It made 4 servings so enough leftovers for the next 3 days & I still have half of the salmon filet in my freezer. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

I put myself back on next month’s schedule at my second job. I was supposed to take July off, but I got called in twice. I’m not getting as many hours at the third job since they’re having problems getting reagent, I’m glad that I just took a break & didn’t quit my second job. I want to keep making headway on getting my debt down & increasing my credit score.

From a high of $22k in credit card debt earlier this year I’m now down to...[drumroll]...$12k! And I now have a $5k buffer in my checking account that I haven’t had in years, plus I have $2300 in savings that I haven’t had in years. All of this has happened in less than 6 months, y’all! 🤯

Amazing how quickly you can see changes when you buckle down & make the changes. Also, I would never wish the devastation of this pandemic on anyone, but it honestly had a role in changing my behavior & contributing to my success. With nowhere to go, canceled trips, and all the available hours to work it made a big difference. Also, the $5k gift from my mom that she will match at the end of the year. I’m so blessed!

And my investments are up to $840k this morning. Who knows how long they will stay there, but they’re chugging right along for now.

And in other good news, my latest credit score updates was 836. If I pay off all my debt maybe I’ll see a perfect score of 850?

I made my own taco seasoning for the first time & I’m not sure why I never thought to do it before now. Thank you, Pinterest. Last night I had taco salad minus chips for my lean & green. I made enough for the week. I bought the fat free ranch for dressing, but then remembered that usually reduced fat products are better than fat free as they replace the fat with sugars. I’ll do better next time. 🥗🌮

I’ve been doing some cooking since I’ve started working with a health coach. The goal of my meals are to keep them lean & green. I’ve made sheet pan chicken fajitas, garlic burgers with lemon butter zucchini noodles, shrimp with mashed and riced cauliflower, and roasted broccoli. I keep finding shrimp on sale which is good because I love it & you can eat a lot of it for your lean protein. I’ve bought so many variations of mashed & riced cauliflower. The two that I have tried so far are the Green Giants cheddar & bacon mashed cauli and the white cheddar riced cauli by Alexia. Both were good, but especially the mashed cauli.🧀🥓 Not sure what’s next on the menu, but I am looking forward to trying something else new!

After 4 months of wrangling with the travel insurance company they are cutting me a check for my canceled flights to Montreal. 🇨🇦 I only got a credit for the Switzerland trip, but I can use the money for any destination. 🇨🇭 I have no plans to travel anytime soon. Probably not until next year at the earliest.

I am staying busy with work. Making plans to have some work done on my patio and trying to decide on a new comforter. The latest one that I tried to purchase they canceled the order. I never knew deciding on a comforter could be such a task! 🛏

I started my health program on June 29th & lost 9 lbs my first week. Monday is my second weigh in.

I am steadily paying down debt & have paid off $9k since this pandemic began. I am on track to have it paid all off before my 0% interest rate expires in April 2021. My TSP loan was paid off in May. My car will be paid off at the end of the year. My investments are almost back to February’s highs. All in all, financial things are on the upswing for now.

I received 2 of my paychecks this Friday. I will receive the third on Monday. My credit card debit is down to $15k with yesterday’s payment. Monday I will send $500 to my Roth IRA. I have set up recurring transfers again on the 15th of every month.

I am contemplating taking a break from my second job in July. The third job is keeping me plenty busy with 20-25 hours weekly. Having a break on the weekends would be nice.

With the lack of gym time I’m looking to make some changes to my diet. I’m speaking to a friend today that has lost a lot of weight through dietary changes. And with my weekends free maybe I can get back to taking my evening walks on weekends at least.

From a high of over $22k my credit card debt is down to $16k. With my next payment I will have paid off one of my two cards. Then I will tackle my card with the largely 0% interest from a balance transfer. I can’t recall exactly when the 0% interest rate expires. Sometime next year. I may not do anything but work right now between my 3 jobs, but I will be debt free in 2021!

It’s payday Friday & I received 2 of my paychecks. Hopefully they’ll have my third check for me at my new job this evening. I thought it would be direct deposited, but maybe it will take another cycle before that starts.

This payday I wrote checks for my state & federal taxes, as well as a donation to my high school alma mater. They took out my full loan amount for my TSP, so they will need to refund me the overpayment as my loan will be paid off. My increased TSP contribution didn’t go through this pay period so I expect it to go through next pay period.

My first week at the new job was a little rough. We got slammed with Covid-19 samples due to a cluster, but this week has been much better. I’m getting into my groove with it. My introvert nature doesn’t mind working alone in the lab, either.

Hope you have a relaxing weekend!

Hope this Memorial Day finds you & yours well. I spent most of today & yesterday napping. My first week working 3 jobs was more tiring than I realized apparently.

This week I will pay off my TSP loan. One loan down, one to go. I expect to have my car loan paid off by the end of the year. My credit cards should be at least half paid off by the end of the year as well.

I am now watching the first of the three night series on Ulysses S. Grant on the History channel. I really want to visit Gettysburg one day. Maybe next spring or summer.

I received the job offer last Friday & filled out the HR paperwork that night. Today, less than a week later, I was handed my sign-on bonus. The manager told me it was probably just the paperwork with my info but no check since I had missed the pay period cut-off, but when I got in my car I opened the envelope & there was a check. So surprised & pleasantly so. I am banking the money until I complete the one year period.

I had decreased my TSP contribution to just enough to get the full match while paying down credit card debt, but with the new job, the sign-on bonus, the stimulus payment, canceled vacations, & the gift from my parents I decided to increase it to meet my limit again this year. I may have to adjust it again closer to the end of the year to make sure I max it out.

I also will have finished paying back my TSP loan at the end of the month. I sent an extra $500 payment last week. That will give me another $250 per paycheck.

We ordered a Mother’s Day dinner from a classmate’s restaurant. We had smoked filet tenderloin, Parmesan whipped potatoes, stewed okra & tomatoes, smothered green beans, Sensation salad, garlic dinner rolls, bread pudding, & white wine. It was absolutely delicious! Since I just tested negative for COVID-19 & am asymptomatic I decided to break bread with my parents for the first time in 2 months. I really enjoyed spending the day with them. Hope your Mother’s Day was special as well.

My meter was changed out last month & I got a crazy bill. I called to ask for a review almost 3 weeks ago &
I’m still waiting. The bill was outrageously high (almost 3 times last month’s bill!). The issue is with what they charged me before the meter was changed & now it’s gone so I can’t check it myself. They charged me for 2449 kWh for 23 days, then 102 kWh for 7 days. The 102 kWh lines up with my usually usage. If they can’t verify what they charged me with my old meter I’m going to ask them to prorate me based on the 7 days use.

I was offered the job! I’m not used to everything moving so quickly. It took me 6 months to get on at the federal government & I’ll be starting this job only a week after applying. I’m not sure if they checked references & I can’t recall if I put any down. There’s a sign-on bonus that I’m not touching until I complete my first year. It’s a big commitment going from PRN to part-time, but as I told them I wouldn’t have applied if I didn’t think myself capable. I’m nothing if not reliable. I can’t see myself keeping my PRN job, but I’m committed through May. We’lll see how this month goes with all 3 jobs!

I saw a posting for a part-time position at a private laboratory with great pay so I applied. I chatted with one of the administrators & she called back to ask me to be tested for COVID-19 before they brought me in for an interview. So I went by today & got my NP swab. Dear God, that was the worst feeling! At first it was just very uncomfortable, then I was uncontrollably coughing & dry heaving, with tears running down my face. I can see why people refuse to be re-tested. I get my results in the morning before my interview. If I’m positive, I’m definitely one of the asymptomatic carriers.

I couldn’t resist the *N Sync title, sorry! It would have been more appropriate if I posted it yesterday, but better late than never!

My mom called today & asked me if I wanted my $10k for my wedding. Now there’s no fiancé in sight, not even a boyfriend, but when my older sister got married 14 years ago she promised me & my younger sister the same amount my parents spent on my sister’s wedding. Younger sister has said she doesn’t even want to get married, but it’s for us to use as we’d like - though my mom wants me to use it to pay down my credit card debt. She’s giving me $5k now & another $5k in the new year. I’m very grateful & maybe if I spend it all on my credit card debt as I plan to, then my boyfriend/fiancé will appear. Like Murphy’s Law, right? 😄

My stimulus was deposited in my checking account today. I spent $239 on my Roomba (ordered from Kohl’s Monday & received on Tuesday!). I also sent $1k to my TSP loan. I’m so close to paying it off. Then I can pay off my car. She’ll be all mine free & clear! Then I can throw everything towards my credit cards. I can see why people like Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball. Those $0 balances are so motivating!

I’m still working, 6 days a week in fact. I know I could work 7 days a week if I wanted to, but I’m just not physically/mentally able.

I’m eating at home a lot more. I am also getting a lot of sun & exercise with our daily walks. They are not leisurely walks. We cover 4 miles in an hour. Today we tried, but ended up turning around before getting caught in a downpour just before we made it to our cars. My friend joked that it was my initiation.

Our shelter in place order was extended until May 15th & I wouldn’t be surprised if it keeps getting extended as people aren’t taking proper precautions.

I think my stimulus payment might hit my bank account this Friday. I did my part to stimulate the economy by buying a Roomba that was on sale.

I was able to enter my direct deposit information into the IRS website yesterday evening. So now I wait. Tomorrow is pay day & I expect two nice sized checks so that’s something to look forward to. I have already scheduled a $1k payment to one of my credit cards.

So our departure flights to Switzerland🇨🇭via Air France 🇫🇷 were canceled yesterday. They aren’t offering rebooking at this time. The travel company didn’t take my final payment which was due yesterday. I contacted them & hey basically told me what I already knew. They were looking for other flight options & aren’t charging me until that is resolved. Also, they aren’t cancelling trips until it’s within 14 days of departure. The travel bans seems to be extended in 2 weeks increments. Right now they are only canceling trips out through April 30th.

I have not received my stimulus check, but my friend did Venmo me my share of the refund for our canceled event. It was about $60 less than what I paid because they apparently charged us a fee for them canceling an event. Go figure. So that was $977.20 deposited into my account today.

I am still awaiting a decision on my claim for the airline tickets. I know airlines are allowing you to rebook within a year, but I purchased travel insurance & would rather have the money. I filed my claim March 11th & I was supposed to hear back within 10-15 business days. I have been patient since I figure they are overwhelmed, but I finally decided to give them a call tonight. I got a voice message that they were closed even though it’s well within the business hours posted on their website. I’ll try again in a few days.

Happy Easter! 🐇🐰🐣🐥 I hope that you enjoy your day with your loved ones. I will stop by my parents to wish them a happy Easter, maintaining social distance, of course. I’m looking forward to relaxing on my one day off.

I have worked 40 hours at my PRN position in addition to my regular FT job these past 2 weeks. Good Friday I worked for 1.5 holiday pay. So it works out to 44 hours. They definitely got their money’s worth out of me on Good Friday. In addition to non-stop COVID-19 testing they received large supply shipments. I didn’t get a break Friday or Saturday, but did get a lunch at least. I got over 10,000 steps Friday without doing our usual walk.

My co-worker & I meet his friend everyday to walk around our university lakes. It takes about an hour to walk the 4 miles & it is hot! 🥵 Yesterday we got a little cool front & I hope that it lasts for at least a few days. 🤞🏾

I tried to post on another blog that the IRS website is going live with the site to enter your direct deposit information sometime in mid-April, so any day now. I haven’t received a refund in years & won’t be paying what I owe until July. So thankful for that extended deadline!

I worked a 12 hour shift at the hospital today. 🏥 Every time I work there seems to be another added layer of protection. In the lobby they stop all employees. 🛑 We have our temperature taken & are given a mask to wear. 😷 🌡 They also give us a meal ticket for the cafeteria. 🎫

My event tickets for my canceled trip to Montreal will be defunded. 🇨🇦 That should be about $1k. Also, I bought trip insurance for my flight so that will be refunded. ✈️ I plan on putting the money toward my debt. I bought insurance for my trip to Switzerland, we’ll see how much it actually covers if Switzerland is still closed to travel. 🇨🇭

Yes, same subject...part 2.

Random thoughts & updates in no particular order of importance:

1. My state has the fastest growing rate of infection in the country. Mardi Gras really increased the infection rate exponentially.

2. Still working both jobs as an essential health care professional.

3. Schools closed for 4 weeks under an order from the governor until April 13th.

4. Stay at home order began at 5 p.m. this past Monday.

5. I am quarantining myself from my parents for their safety.

6. I will get probably less than half of the stimulus money for singles if it all passes as is.

7. I am appreciative of 90 extra days to pay my federal taxes. I've heard no word about state taxes. I already contributed the max to my IRA for 2019 even though the 2019 deadline is now extended as well.

8. I had a trip to Montreal canceled & I predict that my trip to Switzerland in May will be canceled as well. Switzerland is being hit hard.

I hope all is well with you. I pray that you & your loved ones stay healthy and unaffected by this virus. I haven't been here as much. I find myself consumed with watching & following the news on social media. I should probably take a break.

I know everyone is tired of hearing about COVID-19, especially us health care professionals, but it affecting all aspects of life. This week my facility had the first positive patient in our state.

I was supposed to leave for Montreal tomorrow, but that trip (and the event I was traveling for) is now canceled. Also looking very iffy at the moment is my trip to Switzerland booked for May. It may be a blessing in disguise that I can stay home & focus on paying off debt rather than traveling.

I’m down nearly $200k in the market. Sure wish I had been sitting on some cash that I could have dumped in the market.

I am home sick, yesterday & today. Doctor says it’s allergies, but I feel whipped. Cough, chilly, achy, low energy. And now a runny nose I guess from the cough medicine breaking up the congestion. He gave me a steroid shot, prescribed cough medicine, and gave me a chest x-ray because I didn’t like the way my breathing sounded. After he examined me he sent me out to the waiting area with a mask. That got me a lot of wary looks. 😷

So through a set of circumstances that my mom is calling divine intervention, almost the entirety of my debt was revealed to her. Of course I was...there is not a word that could accurately describe what I felt. My debt is definitely a source of shame & fear. Not fear in that I can’t pay it, but that it’s a cycle that I’ll never get out of.

So we had a discussion over the phone. She wanted to wait until later to talk since I was at work, but I hate that. When people have something serious to say to me I want to hear it now, not later. Anyway, after the discussion I went in & cut my TSP contributions down to the minimum I needed for my full match. That will put $600 more in my check before taxes. Once I finish paying off my TSP loan in July I’ll have another $250 a paycheck after taxes. Once I pay off my car I’ll have another $150 per paycheck, also after taxes of course. If I suspend my IRA contributions that’s another $500 a month.

I’m going to pull out my Dave Ramsey book & get serious. I may even take the course offered at church. I’m tired of this debt yo-yo & I’m going to nip it in the bud once & for all.

My mom asked me about my travel & will take the next 2 trips that I have scheduled. After that I’m on hiatus. It will be hard to pass up trips with my friends, but I’m so determined to do this. Also, I think my mom is somewhat in shock & I’d like her to not worry. She says that she isn’t, but like me, she’s a worrier by nature.

I have a trip planned to Montreal. I leave in exactly 2 weeks. I’m not sure what will happen in the next 2 weeks, but I am still planning on going. I actually started packing yesterday as I was thinking of how busy the next 2 weeks will be for me. For some reason I couldn’t find my hand sanitizers yesterday, but it just dawned on me where they are. I always bring liquid hand soap as well as I prefer it to those little hotel bar soaps - also it’s more hygienic.

I am preparing for the coronavirus like I prepare for hurricane season except this time we’ll still have power. That’s a huge bonus! I have a lot of beans in my cabinet so I’m going to pick up some rice. I’ll also pick up some peanut butter, canned fruits, & frozen veggies. I work in health care so I will continue to go to work unless I get sick myself. I stay well stocked on toiletries so no need to stock up there. I think I’m all set whatever comes.

I bough a very inexpensive Sam’s Club membership through my work, though I only seem to make it there once or twice a year. Last night I picked up toilet tissue (will last me about a year) and some non-perishable food items. I also need a new comforter as mine is torn. I bought it about 14 years ago at TJ Maxx & loved it. I found a comforter for $29.98, but it was all white which is a definite no for me. They look beautiful, but any little thing getting on it would require a cleaning. I then I found a 3 piece sage set for $49.98, but decided to hold off. I was thinking of maybe trying Dillard’s as I have $70 in gift cards, but Macy’s is where I usually shop so I browsed their app today & found a 3 piece set that I really like for only $19.99. I have gold status at Macy’s so all my orders ship to my home for free. I love a great deal!

My investments updated today & I am down more than $100k from recent highs. Oh well, I’m staying the course through all the ups & downs. I sent an IRA contribution in last Friday & I wish that I had sent it in this Friday. But you never know what will happen & can’t time the market.