Firefly's Personal Finance Blog

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? 

So for the first time in a very long time I did some portfolio re-balancing. I've been using my contributions to slowly change my target allocations the past few years, but that is a slow process with the size of my portfolio versus the amount I'm contributing. With the market down I decided to make some changes. Long story short I went from 71% domestic allocation in my mutual funds to 78%, and from 29% to 22% international allocation in my mutual funds. This will still keep me on target for the 20-40% international stocks that most recommend. I had changed to a 60% domestic/40% international allocation back in 2017. Slowly I drifted from that allocation just due to US stocks outperforming international stocks. I was at about 34-35% international when I just stopped contributing to them entirely, then it had drifted down to 28% by the end of 2022 first quarter. I know that I wanted to get it closer to 20% so I just bit the bullet & did a re-balancing this week. Right now I'm just contributing to the S fund in my TSP and VTSAX in my IRA, though I still hold C,S, and I, as well as VTSAX and VTIAX. I also hold VHYAX in my taxable brokerage account. That is the money from the sale of my condo for a future home purchase. It is holding nicely despite the downturn. I'm actually still up from when I invested back in September.

In income news I still haven't received the 10% retention incentive that we signed for back in March, and the salary survey for our special pay scale has been completed, but mum has been the word on that. We shall see. Despite not doing any OT, I am still making extra at my PRN job. It would be nice if I can start contributing to the brokerage account regularly. I could scale back my monthly savings contributions and maybe split them between cash savings and the brokerage fund. I'll probably finish out this year of fully contributing to cash savings, though. Then maybe get back to investing in the brokerage account in 2023. I'm trying to get close to being able to pay cash for my next car and with these car prices, that could be a pretty penny!

According to Mint I am down $138,880 over the past month, but still holding well over $1.111 million in investments.

I've gotten in the bad habit of waking up in the middle of the night, in which case I end up on my phone, like now.

Still no retention bonus on our checks. I believe that once is goes through the process that we will get retroactive payments, which will be nice. We were under the impression that it could happen a lot quicker than it actually has so that leaves people feeling frustrated. 

I'm still not quite sure how I would like to allocate this money. I am saving $1,000 cash monthly already. I'm not sure that I want a lot of cash on hand, but at the same time I feel like my cash reserves are minuscule compared to my investments. Perhaps I should keep building it for a future car purchase? It's either that, or fund the brokerage for a home purchase.

In hindsight I do have a little regret about front-loading my IRA in January, right before the market started tanking. Maybe next year I'll go back to monthly contributions. If only we had a magic ball to predict these things!🔮

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.

I can't recall if I've been using my car value in my net worth as does Mint, but when I calculate it myself I never do.

Investments $1,271,591

Cash $14,888 

Total $1,286,479

Net Gain from February $29,318

My gains include my contributions which are $800 to my TSP every two weeks & $1,000 to my cash savings monthly. The TSP is going to open up an investment window this summer, but I am planning on sticking with their low cost options. I am big on low cost index funds & I don't plan on changing that strategy anytime soon.

We still haven't received the 10% retention incentive on our checks, but I've been training on my PRN job steadily, which means most Saturdays. So there's still some extra income coming in.

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. 

We are experiencing a staffing crisis at the hospital so we got offered a 10% retention incentive to commit to a stay a year. That's a much bigger raise than we see at any other time. Add that onto my step increase due in 3 months & it's a nice increase in income. Almost $1k a month. We are also awaiting the results of a salary survey which we hope will bring an additional adjustment. 

I'm not on the schedule yet at my new job. I'm still in training mode. Actually more like orientation mode as I'm just trying to get through the online trainings. Tomorrow I think I will actually get to start training on the bench. I'm told that the job isn't stressful at all, which is nice to know. Everyone has been very nice.

I unexpectedly already got paid this Friday. For some reason I thought my paycheck would be on the opposite Friday for this new job. It's always a pleasant surprise to get an unexpected deposit in your bank account.

The market remains down. I'm not worried about it, but as I mentioned earlier it would have been nice to hit that $1 million mark in my TSP before everything started dropping. It was sooo close. My one fund that hasn't dropped significantly is my high dividend yield fund which I bought at the end of September.

Net Worth $1.257 million 

On January 31st I interviewed for a PRN job. On February 1st I got a call from the recruiter that they were offering me the position. On February 1st, President's Day, I went in for a few hours to speak to my new supervisor & read over SOPs. I'll be going in tomorrow morning to start my training. I've heard that it's not too stressful of a job & the pay is better than my last hospital PRN job at 28% more per hour. The weekend shift differential is just slightly less.At my last hospital PRN job I also worked alone in my department while at this job there will be 3 working in my section. That is nice to have. I'll be working every other weekend with some flexibility if I have plans. While I did enjoy working just one job, I'm looking forward to having a little extra income to play with.

My investments are down over $100k from the high in November. I'm not worried, but I was sooo close to hitting the $1 million milestone in my TSP. A little disappointing, but I'll know that I'll get there eventually.

I am praying for the people of Ukraine and for peace. It's a very scary time for many people.

I usually have to pay even more in taxes when I file, but this year, I actually broken even...or as close to it as possible. I'm actually getting two small checks from the state & federal. 🙌🏾

And despite my complaining, my corrected W-2 from 2020 caused no issues & I didn't have to do an amended return. 👏🏾

Since I just finished paying back the SS taxes  from when they didn't withhold them the last few months of 2020, I got a corrected W-2 for that year. I really hated that supposed tax holiday. It has caused more issues than anything else. I hope that I don't have to go back & refile for 2020. The guidance says that you don't have to if you had just one job, but I was working three jobs in 2020. Thankfully, the other 2 jobs were smart enough to opt of the tax pause. As a federal employee I didn't have that option. (I think only one agency was able to opt out.) What a mess!

Happy New Year! I wish you and yours happiness & health in 2022. I meant to post at least once in December, but with the busyness of the holidays time got away from me. 🎄 

I celebrated a birthday last month. I celebrated by going out to lunch with my parents. They rarely eat out since the pandemic began & with Omicron I doubt they'll be doing it again anytime soon. 🎂 

My sisters came home for Christmas. It was so good to see my niece & nephew for the first time since Christmas 2019.  My younger sister flew home, while my older sister & her family drove from Virginia. We had an outdoor Christmas Day gathering with extended family. For once I was thankful for a warm Christmas! The high was 80 degrees here on Christmas Day. ☀️ 

I leave Wednesday for Nashville. There's a 40% chance of snow there on Thursday. I'm looking forward to my trip. I ordered some KN95 masks to wear. While I wore cloth masks in New York & was fine, with this new more contagious variant I thought it would be good to get more effective masks. Where we are going is requiring vaccination for entrance & I'm thankful for that. 😷 

I did my budgeting this morning since it's the first of the month & year. Nobember & December were high-spending months. I appreciate the cash my parents have me for my birthday & Christmas. My investments grew over $56k last month. I placed a trade for $6k to my IRA today. I was going to do $500 monthly contributions, but got inspired to go all in today. 💰

I get an annual raise of 2.2% in the new year & I will get a step increase in June. I have increased my retirement contributions to meet the $20.5k limit this year. I decreased my FSA contributions & I hope I don't regret that. It's always a gamble as you never know what will happen. I appreciated when they allowed us to change our allocation mid-year. 

Net Worth $1.388 million 

Investments $1.340 million

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. 🎂