Firefly's Personal Finance Blog

I have never in my life been collections, but on November 6th Sunrise Credit reported me as in collections due to owing $112 to AT&T U-Verse DirectTV. Thursday I got the alert from Mint. I remember that I disputed a bill over a year ago and after discussions with the company they agreed to dismiss the debt and they even sent me a Visa card for $91 my trouble.

Recently collectors called & I explained that we settled the issue. They kept calling even after I explained the situation so I started blocking & hanging up on them. Then I got an alert that I had a collections account opened up. I immediately filed a dispute with Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. Experian & Transunion have already deleted the collections from my report.

I also emailed the company directly & they said that they don't have a collections against me on their books & I should contact AT&T. But it was Sunrise Credit that reported the debt so I didn't understand that response. I responded why then was I just reported as being in collections by Sunrise Credit? They didn't respond. I also complained that they didn't send me a Notice of Debt which has been the law since November 2021.

It looks like this will be fairly easy to resolve so far. It also makes my decision to leave AT&T, my cell phone provider for approximately 2 decades, easier. I've been wanting to move to Verizon as they seem to provide better coverage post-hurricanes, but I due to loyalty & a federal employee discount I had been reluctant to leave AT&T. No discount however is worth seeing my nearly perfect credit card drop by over 100 points in a day.

In other bad news, I tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday. I'm already feeling better, thankfully. I had spent Thursday night with my parents' and when I woke up feeling awful at 4 am I took one of their home tests. My first symptoms were actually sneezing, which had me thinking of allergies. I had slightly itchy, watery eyes. Then Thursday morning my nose started running, then by that night I was coughing. I went to bed then woke up with chills and feeling very unwell, which prompted my taking the test. I'm still recovering at my parents' home. I wanted to go home to isolate, but they didn't want me to be alone. Last summer we lost my cousin that was younger than me by 2 years due to Covid-19 & I think it made me parents more anxious.

I'm doing much better & will head to my apartment tomorrow for the rest of my recovery period.

I gained $83,955 over September's net work to finish the month at $1,129,958. $22,000 of that was cash while the rest is investments. 

Pardon me, if I already posted about this. I've thought of it often but can't recall if I ever did. My former co-worker FIRED! By that, I mean she & husband retired early. She was my first lead tech when I got out of school at 22. She was about 5 years older & pregnant at the time. She never spoke much about money, but I recall her mentioning that she & her husband were paying off their home early. I never knew anyone so young talking about paying off a home. Fast forward 22 years later and she has officially retired! They were both state workers so retired with a pension. Their boys are both in college I believe. I wouldn't be surprised if they both had scholarships. She has been posting pictures of their travels on Facebook since they retired. They seem to go non-stop. I'm so excited to know someone who actually FIRED in real life. It's so inspiring. 

I was scrolling on Facebook and an ad for a Kate Spade Monica crossbody bag popped up on my feed. I've never bought a Kate Spade handbag. I have 2 Coach handbags that I bought many years ago at the Coach Outlet when they were on clearance. Same style, one is brown/deep orange and the other is black/gray. I have 2 matching wallets for the black/gray purse that I use with both purses. 

I ended up buying the purse in all 4 colors. It was retail $279, on sale for $89, and a one day special of $59. I thought they would make good Christmas presents for my sisters and also for myself, but I may keep all 4. The colors are black, camel brown, a deep dusty pink, and a light blue. I was going to keep the standard black & tan and gift the other two pretty colors,  but I may spoil myself and keep all of them as an early 45th birthday present. I do love cute purses & jewelry. Thankfully, my tastes don't run very expensive for either. 👜👝💍

Roughly 10 days out from the November election & it can't come soon enough.

There's a certain very popular radio personality that I l just got back to listening to in the past couple of years. I had stopped listening to him over a decade ago because I got tired of his political rants. Well with the upcoming election he can't seem to stop making comments about politics. I think I'll take a break from the show until the election is over. 

One of my pet peeves in life is people who think that everyone wants to hear their political opinions all the time. I listen to him for financial advice, though I certainly don't always agree with his. It's probably  more like 50-50 with this particular money guru, but I still enjoy the discussions. What I'm not interested in is hearing his political opinions.

Just vote how you want to & be quiet. I'm pretty well set on my political leanings & I only discuss politics in certain venues. Other than alluding to having some strong feelings after the 2016 election I try not to discuss politics here.

I am in a TSP group & the administrators are militant about no political posts. I love it. If there's even a hint of politics in a post it gets taken down. There's a certain group of people that get mad, but I think it keeps the focus on the group's real intent. 

Read more at the WSJ: https://apple.news/AtzbVF-0tRNS9FbyJo3e75A

401k $22,500

401k catch-up $7,500

IRA $6,500

I'm excited to be able to save $2,500 more next year in my retirement accounts. It will make good use of my recent raise.

I paid $664 for my 2 nights in a hotel for my short trip to Portland. It wasn't even a weekend and it is the off season. I don't think I paid that much for a hotel in NYC. I paid $509 for my B&B in Manchester, but I did find a much cheaper hotel there that I canceled because I wanted the experience of staying in a B&B. That price included a ticket to the Frank Lloyd Wright homes for $28. I had a wonderful time & enjoyed every moment, but it was not a budget vacation!

I lost $100,824 in my investments, but still maintained 7 figures - just barely. September was my biggest one month drop yet, despite contributing 3 paychecks' worth of retirement investments & beginning contributions to my brokerage. Whew! My past paycheck on the 30th was pretty nice as it contained my new increased salary as well as some retroactive pay.

$1,046,003

I am back from an absolutely unforgettable trip! First let me share an article that my friend wrote for our local paper:

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/article_3be53d0a-445a-11ed-8197-4bdb49cc5497.html

We all took our own journeys before & after the four nights on the schooner Stephen Taber. I started with 2 nights in Manchester, NH and ended with 2 nights in Portland, ME. I enjoyed both cities but I will say that although Portland is maybe half the size of Manchester there was so much to see & do in Portland. Portland, and Maine in general, is very proud of their  heritage. Maine is very well marketed. There are so many shops & everything is all about Maine.🦞🫐🌲

I'm not sure why New Hampshire is so different. I went searching for my favorite souvenir item, magnets, in Manchester & came up empty-handed. It's the first time I've visited anywhere & didn't come home with a new magnet. It was strange how hard it was to bring home a piece of NH. I ended up buying a sample of maple syrups as my memento from NH, and even had to get that from the B&B where I stayed. Who knew NH was known for their maple syrup? I thought that was a Vermont thing. ME & NH also produce a lot of maple syrup. 🍁 

In Manchester, I toured the Frank Lloyd Wright homes and visited the Currier and Millyard museums. In Portland, I did a walking tour and the self-guided Portland Freedom Trail. I also toured Victoria Mansion, which has a New Orleans connection.

I was honestly nervous about the schooner portion of the trip, but it turned out fine. It turned out better than fine as a wonderful time was had by all. About half the people on the trip was from our group. We visited Buck's Harbor, Stonington, Deer Isle, and Hurricane Island. We actually didn't go ashore at Hurricane Island. I'm not sure there would have been much to see either. During our trip we saw seals, porpoises, so many sea gulls, and even spotted bald eagles which was fun. 🦭🦅

The food was fabulous! We had early morning fresh baked pastries & coffee for sunrise, breakfast at 8, lunch at noon, apps & wine at 4:30, the dinner & more wine at 6. The captain presented a variety of cheeses each day, which really made me want to up my cheese game & try more cheeses. 🧀

The weather was perfect on land, but quite chilly sailing the coast line. Of course, you need the wind to sail. If I ever do a trip like this again I would try high season, in July or August. 

This blog was all travel. Next blog will catch up on my September numbers.

This week my co-worker & I changed our shifts because we needed to come in to accommodate the night shift nurses. Tuesday & Wednesday were fine. We worked 5a-130p. Then Thursday & Friday we worked 430a-1p. Somehow that half-hour earlier wrecked my schedule. I got off track with my walking, was taking naps in the afternoon, & was just tired in general. The small change was necessary as we were running into the nurses getting busy when we came in later, but I'm surprised what a difference it made in my body. I'm glad that I don't have to do that often.

Wednesday I leave for vacation! I feel a little guilty as there's never a good time to go on vacation. We are always so busy, but I am again in use or lose territory with my leave and the year is quickly winding down. Next weekend it will be October already!

Wednesday I fly into Manchester, NH where I will stay for 2 nights. Then I travel to Rockland, ME for our 4 nights on the schooner. Then I stay in Portland, ME for 2 nights before flying home. I'm so excited. Maybe a little less excited about the boat as it's a little "roughing it" for me. The scenery & food will be wonderful though. As is time spent with friends.

I walked into my office Friday morning & the first thing my co-worker said was that we got our salary increase. It turned out to be a little over 16% which is better than I expected. I had hoped for at least 10% to make our current (temporary) retention pay of 10% a permanent increase. Once we start being able to fill vacancies due to the increased pay, we'll lose the retention pay. The increase to salary is more important as it impacts your retirement pay, matching for retirement contributions, and more. I am very excited & so thankful. 

I had made some stretch savings goals when I started looking at my budget for next year. I am going to be able to meet that & more. People that were looking to retire are also reconsidering as their retirement pay is based on their high 3 years of salary. We'll be able to retain employees when we've been losing them. Everyone seemed to be in a jolly mood all day.

We federal employees should get a 4.6% increase in January. It will be slightly less for us as we are on this special salary scale, but that is another added bonus. I'm glad that retirement contribution limits are increasing so I can take advantage of this increased income to save for my future.

I was down for the month of August.

Net Worth: $1,126,879

Gain/Loss: -$42,350

After President Biden's announcement about student loan forgiveness my former college roommate posted on Facebook about her situation. I graduated from college back in 2000, I think she took a year or two longer to finish. She still has over $25k in student loans. I was shocked. I know that she came from a single parent home & they didn't have a lot of money, but I was surprised as I thought our college was pretty reasonable to attend back then. She said that she has paid more that she initially took out & then some. She has deferred when she was unable to pay.

I am very sympathetic for those that continue to be bogged down with student loan even though I was able to pay mine off. I had only $5k for my undergrad due to having scholarships, then $20k for grad school. I got some repayment funds from the federal governmentfor my grad school loans. I think something like $4k in exchange for committing to continue my employment for a few years. I had every intention of retiring from the VA & still do so it was a no brainer to commit at the time.

Back to my friend, her loans were largely from undergrad though she attended and didn't finish grad school. Her undergrad degree was in education, but she was never able to teach because she couldn't pass the exam. With the teaching shortage I think she would be able to get a job now, but I'm not sure she is interested after all these years. She is hoping, and I as well, that she'll get the $10k loan forgiveness.

It's back to the grind tomorrow. I took off all a last week and enjoyed spending time with my family. My sister stayed the night with me Thursday, then flew back home Friday morning. We enjoyed low-key family time, talking, having lunch, watching movies. It was so relaxing. 

I had a terrifying experience on the spillway Monday night coming home. There was a tanker trucker that came up behind me, no headlights, with hazard lights flashing. I didn't know why his hazard lights were on. Had he lost his brakes? He was so close that I got over as I was scared that he was going to run into me. Then he started coming into my lane & blaring his horn. It was terrifying. He had plenty of time to get over before he was on my tail, which was why I moved over. I really should have called the state troopers. He had no business driving so haphazardly without headlights at night on a dangerous over-water bridge. I was in tears by the time I got home, but so thankful that there was no accident. My heart felt like it was going to come out of my chest during the incident.

In better news, after 3 weeks of diet changes, exercising, and weekly Ozempic injections my blood sugar is running consistently within range. Three weeks ago no matter what I ate my glucose was high. I was worrying that I would never get it under controls. I get my labs again in 3 weeks so my doctor can make sure there are no advisers effects from the Ozempic.

During the month of August they are having Coolinary in New Orleans, which is much like Restaurant Week where they have prixe fixe menus at restaurants throughout town. My sister and her friends were in town for a few days so I met them for dinner at Commander's Palace. I tried a couple of new things this time, but stuck with the bread pudding souffle for dessert. For appetizer I had the creole gumbo (wouldn't order this again) and for entree I had the boudin-stuffed quail which was very filling - almost too filling since I still had dessert so I got my entree to go. 

My friends & I never split a check, just pay our own meals, but the waitress asked if we wanted to split it so we did. I'm not complaining, but I see why people like myself who never order alcohol or extras, object to splitting bills equally. When we went to NYC last fall my friends always had a drink at dinner while I never did. Since our reservations were so late - after 8pm - dinner lasts a good 2 hours at this restaurant, I was plenty tired already for the quick drive home. I didn't think it would be a good idea to add alcohol on top of that. Especially since alcohol does nothing for me except make me sleepy. I'll occasionally have a drink at home late at night, but it's pretty rare.

I'm having a bit of a career dilema. I've been asked if I would be interest in taking on a supervisory position. Since it doesn't add anything to my salary it seems like a crazy idea to even contemplate. I'm already at the same grade as a supervisor based on the specialized work I do. I honestly don't relish becoming a supervisor again. I honestly don't want to get stuck with a bad employee again. It always seems that the good employees are free to move on as they have plenty of opportunities, while the bad employees stick around because they are in a job where they are protected. It's something to think about...I hope that I am at least in a position to be able to ask for an increase in steps. I always think it's a good idea to make yourself as valuable to your organization as possible so when you have an ask they have good reason to want to say yes. At least that's my theory.

I had my semi-annual primary care appointment on Tuesday. I decided to ask my doctor about Ozempic & if I qualified. Many people seem to be taking it. I qualify due to being diabetic & overweight. And full disclosure, I have not been taking care of myself as I should the past several months. After seeing my weight gain & lab results I started back walking this week. It's so hot outside, but if I go after 7:30 in the evening it's not horrible. I'm getting well over 10,000 steps daily. The last two days I've been over 13,000 steps.

I requested the Ozempic prescription to be filled. It was $1,250 before insurance, $200 with insurance. My doctor put me on the injection, which is supposed to be more effective than the pill. I'll try it & see. Taking care of your physical health is an important part of financial health. I definitely got a wake-up call this week.

It is August already! This summer is flying by. I don't like to wish time to pass, but I always enjoy the autumn. It is my favorite season. 🍁🍂🐿

I'm looking forward to our trip to Maine at the end of September. I am encouraged to read that airline tickets are decreasing in price. I need to book my ticket to Boston or Portland soon. 🦞⛵️

In June my investments & savings were down $83,439. For July I gained $90,928. I read this article this morning & a BoA executive predicts we're still at least 6 months out from an economic recovery. Who knows? I am glad that at least my cash savings, which isn't a huge amount, are getting more in interest. It can't combat this rapidly rising inflation, but it's something.

Net Worth $1,221,187

The Finance Buff has released his annual predictions for contribution limits for retirement plans. As he mentions, so far he has predicted these with 100% accuracy. I enjoy reading his posts every year. 

He is predicting an increase to the 401k contribution limit of $2,000, not the $1,500 I posted recently from another source. And an increase to the IRA congribution limit of $500. That would be an annual increase of $2,500 or a little more than $200 a month. 

https://thefinancebuff.com/401k-403b-ira-contribution-limits.html

Tickets to Hamilton $360 (for the two additional tickets, my ticket was part of my season pass)

Hotel $324.27
Dinner $233.10
Lunch $49.88

Parking $10.50

Cash tipping $15

Nearly $1000. That will be a couple of weekends at my PRN job. It was more than I figured in my head and probably doesn't include everything, but the cost was priceless when my mom told me is was the best weekend ever. 

Once again I realize that everything came together at exactly the right time for me. I think I mentioned how my neighbor got in contact with me to get the statements for our closed homeowners association accounts. They were closed when they fired the management company after they realized that they were paying other HOAs expenses from our accounts. They initially said that we would have to pay $850 for the statement, but after repeated requests for an invoice they just gave them to me when I stopped in this Friday. Hallelujah! That's an expense that the HOA couldn't afford. 

After work yesterday I met my neighbor to hand over the statements. He says it's been a nightmare & he's telling them that he's stepping down at the next HOA meeting. I don't know how I last over a decade as an officer. He's been on the board for less than 2 years. It will be 2 years that he bought his condo in December.

They are battling both roof leaks & termites. I asked him where the termites were & he told me that my unit was one of the units infested! Several years back my neighbor 3 doors down had an infestation, but I've never had an issue. He said that you could barely open your door this year when they were swarming in May. They are the aerial termites.

I am so thankful that I sold when I did. I don't think I will ever buy into a condo association. Having to get dozen of owners to come to a consensus before you can take care of your property is a struggle that I won't miss. I had one owner tell me that he was voting no on a dues increase because he couldn't afford it. Understandable, but I had already explained to him that we could not maintain out property without a dues increase. Dealing with people who actually couldn't afford to own their homes is not a good situation. It seemed to happen fairly often even though the condos were very affordable. We also had a high tenant to owners ratio which is another negative.

Looking back, selling whe I did was absolutely the right decision.

My parents celebrated their golden annoversary this weekend. They were married on July 8,1972, 50 years ago. 💛

Friday afternoon they arrived at my apartment. We sat around & chatted. They had a few snacks as they didn't have lunch. We didn't want to spoil our appetites for dinner. I think took them to The Roosevelt to check-in. The Roosevelt is a historic hotel in New Orleans. All of the staff were wonderful & very accommodating during their stay. Their room was lovely. I had upgraded them to a superior room which had a nice sitting area with pull-out sofa. My mom wants to stay there when the kids come home during the holidays.

I went back to my apartment, took a shower & got dressed. Then I traveled back to New Orleans to pick them up for dinner. We went to Commander's Palace, another historic New Orleans restaurant owned by the Brennan family and the restaurant where Emeril Lagasse really found acclaim. The food & service were outstanding. 🥂

The next day I went to pick up their luggage & meet them for lunch. We had lunch in an Italian restaurant at the hotel, Domenica. The food & service were very good as well. My parents then walked the short distance to the theatre while I parked the car. It was their first time seeing Hamilton, my fourth. They thoroughly enjoyed it. The only negative was the amount of up & down during the performance. Some people don't understand that live theatre isn't like attending a movie. I think one of things that makes Hamilton stand out is that every song is memorable, which is what makes it such a spectacular show. Others kind of have filler songs, but with Hamilton every song stands out on its own. ⭐️

After the show we came back to my apartment where they were able to relax for a few minutes & get ready for the trip back home. It's a little over an hour drive. My mom said it was the best weekend ever, which made me feel good. I was very anxious planning everything, making sure that my mom was accommodated with her Parkinson's. Everything went off without a hitch! 🙌🏾

I was just sitting here this evening, thinking how content I am. In the last 13 months, I took a new position, moved to a new city, and sold my condo. My life is so much better for it. Yes, I miss & worry about my parents, but all things considered, I'm in a much better place financially & professionally. My new position is constantly changing, we're always busy, I'm never "done", but I absolutely love it. It's so nice to work with hard-working people that just do their best to care for our veterans. No matter how crazy it gets, I don't get stressed. I really am so grateful that this door opened for me at just the right time.

So I calculated my Q2 & monthly losses.

Last month I was down $84,439.

Last quarter I down $188,231.

This included biweekly contributions of $800 to my TSP and monthly contributions of $1,000 to my savings. Last quarter I contributed $8,600. I maxed out my IRA in January, which in hindsight was not a good idea, but fortunately is a very small portion of my holdings.

If the 401k limit goes up to $22,000 next year I'll increase my contributions to $850 biweekly.

I can't recall if I blogged about this, but an office from my former condo association contacted me several weeks back. It seems that our management company was paying bills for other associations out of our account. They fired them of course, but also wanted an audit done.

That's where I came in as I was one of two owners that was on the old accounts who could request the archived statements. The other person being elderly & maybe at the onset of dementia. I still do not have the statements. They had to be requested from their archives then my former neighbor needed an invoice to get the new management company to cut a check.

The strange thing is now the bank is not responsive, which is frustrating. I am not getting calls returned & when I went into the bank on my day off I was told to return. I got a strange vibe & I now wonder if they are dragging their heels because they are worried that the association may hold them partially liable. I don't know the reason, but I wish o could get this completed so I can be done with this.

The association is anxious for the records as well as they are needing money for other projects like roof leaks & termites. I have never been more thankful that I sold my condo. It was so stressful living there & dealing with all these never-ending issues. I am thankful to be renting & never having to worry about maintenance or since. Yes, it's much more expensive (and rising), but I don't know if you can put a price on peace of mind.

Speaking of rent, I recently checked out the going rate at my apartment complex. I am paying $1600 plus $32 for water. The lowest priced a 2 bedroom unit is currently listed at is $1930 and water has gone up to $47. I only moved into my unit last August! It's unbelievable how quickly prices are rising.

I haven't done the final tally, but I'm down again for Q2. I don't know if there's an end in sight so I just keep plugging away. I'm still north of $1 million overall, and also in retirement.

This is a strange economy. There seems to be no limit on jobs available, yet no people to fill the vacancies. So many people are leaving the healthcare field. It makes me nervous for the future of healthcare in this country. And I'm happy that I'm not traveling this summer as flights continue to be canceled due to a shortage of pilots.

I read an article that estimated that 401k limits will increase to $22,000 next year due to inflation. I am anticipating an increase to the IRA limit as well. We shall see.

I went home last weekend for the combined Father's Day/Juneteenth holiday. As a federal employee I was off on Monday.

I didn't plan Father's Day well. I thought we would go to the movies on Sunday since I figured the restaurants would be busy, then to a restaurant for lunch on Monday. We ended up doing the opposite. When we showed up to the theatre on Sunday I realized that I should have bought tickets in advance because the seats for Top Gun were sparse and not in a good location.

We ended up purchasing tickets for the next day, then getting take-out from Texas Roadhouse. My parents love Texas Roadhouse and order from them often. I avoid restaurants on busy days because of course, they forgot the butter and sour cream for my loaded baked potato. Also, my steak was a little undercooked. And my dad's baked potato was black through half of it. A little disappointing.

We loved Top Gun. I thought by waiting 3 weeks we would avoid crowds, but I realized that many were seeing it for a second time. I could definitely see it again myself. I think my parents thought it was a bit too long. My mom has pain when she sits for too long so she kept going back and forth between reclining and sitting upright. She still enjoyed it & was excited to tell the kids about the movies afterwards. I don't think their parents will let them see it until an edited version comes out. They are very conservative. Understandably so. 

And to make this blog financially related, I got a nice surprise on my paycheck yesterday. The 10% retention incentive did increase with my step increase. They told me that it wouldn't increase with any future increases, but would stay the 10% of my salary at the time. This is promising if we get a special salary increase this year. 

I wrote a blog earlier this week regarding my car maintenance & it seems to be lost. That's so frustrating.

Anyway, I spent $281.42 on my scheduled 70,000 mile maintenance for my 2015 CR-V. That included some extra things like patching a tire with a nail in it & replacing windshield wipers which were badly in need of replacement.

I guess you would consider this a splurge as I always get my maintenance done at the dealership. When I bought my first (used) car I used to get my service done at Wal-Mart, but since then I have always gone to the dealership. I think it's worth it in the long run. I don't have any problems with my car & I'd like to keep it that way.

When I was almost to work the tire pressure light came on. I was frustrated because I figure they either didn't correctly patch the tire or they just forgot to check the tire pressure on all tires. The service rep gave me his card with his cell phone number so I called him. He said to just reset it. I didn't think of that since the light didn't come on immediately, but only after driving several miles. Anyway, it worked. Lesson learned to always just reset the tire pressure even if I don't think it will change anything.

I was worried that my tires were worn & needed replacing. They checked the tread as a part of service & they are fine for now. I'm glad that they do that as part of their checklist because I forgot to ask, even though it has been on my mind for a while.

So much good news, that I forgot to share this! Last fall when we were having a lot of staffing shortages (still do) we were offered shift incentives for picking up extra shifts. Well leadership stepped in & made it difficult for our managers to get the incentives processed so we never got paid...until now!

I got another update to my employee file last week, but I thought it was a duplicate update of my retention incentive so I forgot about it...until another employee contacted me that people were getting notices of cash awards & she didn't receive hers. So I checked my file & sure enough I'll be getting a $600 bonus on my next check! This has been a very fruitful time for me. I'm very thankful.

The TSP website went down on May 26th to switch to a new management company & upgrade the site. Normally if this has happened on the 6th, rather than the 26th I wouldn't be bothered. But I like to chart my investments at the end of every month as you well know. Some people have been able to get into the new website, but many others including myself, are still having issues. I am trying to be patient & wait for the busyness to subside. Few are able to get through the helpline.

I am looking forward to seeing the new website. They have taken away one feature that I loved which was the historical look back. You used to be able to search to see your balance on a particular date & I hear that is gone. So I guess I won't be able to get my balance as of May 31st. Bummer. Hopefully the Daily TSP app has that feature when I can link my updated account again.

June 6th is my anniversary date for my new position so I'll be getting a step increase with the pay period starting tomorrow. $1.33 per hour or $106.40 biweekly will buy me a couple of tanks of gas so I'm thankful. ⛽️ 

We finally got paid our retention incentive & as a bonus they even made it retroactive! So in addition to receiving an extra 10% for this paycheck, we also got back pay for the 5 previous pay periods. It was a very nice check, even though they took out a lot in taxes. I am grateful for this added income over the next year. I want to make the best use of it.

I have mentioned that we signed a retention incentive agreement back in the beginning of March. It still has not been paid. This week we all got our personnel files updated with the retention incentive document & it looks like it will be paid retroactively. However, they forgot to put a percentage so now it's in question whether we will actually get it.

I can laugh about it, because I'm not struggling to pay my bills, but it's such a calamity of errors that occurs sometimes. For all the benefits of working for the federal government, the amount of bureaucracy is astounding. I understand we need to be accountable, but sometimes the costs seem to outweigh the good.

I've had two weekends of theatre going. Last weekend we saw two ballets: Swan Lake & Don Quixote. This weekend we saw the musical Mean Girls. The Covid-19 numbers are picking up, but I'm vaccinated and boosted and I'm trusting that if I catch it my body will be able to fight it. Of course, I'm also hoping that I don't have to find out how well my body can fight it. 

I bought an air fryer! I'm not a big cooker & it's been sitting in the box for a few weeks now as I contemplate whether to keep it. What do you make in your air fryer?