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Archive for October, 2016

Side Income

October 31st, 2016 at 03:52 pm

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Health:
Breakfast - The usual.
Lunch - grilled cheese, banana, pear
Dinner - beef stew and rice
Extra food - Halloween candy
Fitness - getting up off the couch several times to open the door to trick-or-treaters.

Well, today is the last day of the month and it is payday for DS1 who does a lot of the inspections. I managed to do three. He did 11 inspections and one shed tear-down and haul (with DS2 as his helper). Needless to say, he had a very good month.

In total, I earned from the side biz $150. He earned $625 and his brother earned $75.

DS1 is in college and has pockets during the day he can do these jobs. The schedule has evening and Saturdays open but most people opt for mid-day during the week.


Emergency Savings Update/Snowflakes

October 28th, 2016 at 03:14 pm

Health (Yesterday):
Breakfast - The usual.
Lunch - Grilled cheese sandwich and a coke
Dinner - Fettuccini Alfredo with shrimp
Extra food - 2 snack cakes
Fitness - Cardio for 20 minutes and personal trainer for 30 minutes

My dad gave me $40 towards gas (even thought I told him several times it wasn't necessary).

My aunt gave me a gift of $70 cash.

I paid back DS1 $20 because he put gas in my car while we were away.

I spent $10 on junk food and lotto (basically I threw it away).

So I have 80 "snowflakes" left which I deposited in my emergency savings account. My sidebar is updated.

Getting Back to The Swing

October 25th, 2016 at 01:35 pm

Today's health:
Breakfast - Scrambled egg and toast, coffee, good belly.
Lunch - TBD
Dinner - TBD
Fitness - Personal trainer at the gym

My expenditures from the weekend trip were minimal. My parents paid for the hotel rooms and food. I paid the rental car and fuel. They wanted to pay all of it but I put my foot down on that. The hotel and food was way plenty. I haven't tallied everything yet but I estimate about $500.

The weather could not have been better. It was cool, crisp and dry - not typical.

At the hotel on Saturday morning, there were four iguanas sunning themselves and roaming under tables while people ate breakfast. It amazed me at how they were unfazed. I asked a family that came inside after awhile if they were bothered by the iguanas and they said that where they are from, they are like chickens and they eat them.

My thoughts for those considering moving to South America as an expat to retire, spend some time in Miami just for a taste of the lifestyle because, trust me, it is different!

Over Halfway

October 20th, 2016 at 12:40 pm

Health:
Breakfast - The usual
Lunch - Salmon with cream cheese on toast
Dinner - 2 slices of pizza
Snack(s) - banana and a pear
Fitness - nothing

I was able to add $44 extra to my savings this payday in addition to the $25 that I automatically transfer which put me over $600. I know that I can put in $25 per pay day and I have five paydays left which is $125. That would leave an additional $250 I need to find to reach $1k by December 31st.

I have an to do today inspection today (side hustle). DS1 has been doing nearly all of them so I need to get on the ball.

Tomorrow we depart for Miami (finally)for the weekend. Teacher planning day is tomorrow so I'm taking DS3 along with my parents. DH and DS1 & 2 are staying home.

The reason for the trip is to see my uncle with Alzheimers. My dad is the oldest living sibling and my uncle is the youngest son. I think they are about 8 or 9 years apart. My aunt from NYC is here to sit with my uncle (my mom's brother).

I am renting a car instead of booking the train. Last time it was 8 hours late. Though my mother would rather take the train but I can't stand it. It's boring and it feels eternal. I would have a hard time with delays. Its a 6 hour ride by car and a 9 hour ride by train.

Lame Supper

October 19th, 2016 at 05:15 pm

Health:
Breakfast - The usual (overnight oats, good belly, orange juice, coffee)
Lunch - can of fruit cocktail, chicken salad sandwich
Dinner - Tater tots.

My mom fed DS3 leftovers from their last night supper after school. DS2 ate a large and late lunch at school. DS3 was still at school come supper time (but he packed a substantial lunch including snacks). DH and I were not particularly hungry. So as a totally dysfunctional and lame attempt at a masquerade of a supper, DH put some tater tots in the oven.

What can I say? Some days are like that.

In other financial news:
We received our checks from our clients from last month.

DS2 received a refund check from the college for a course that he dropped.

Yesterday was a no spend day.

Surprise Gifts

October 18th, 2016 at 12:47 pm

Health:
Breakfast - Overnight oats, coffee, good belly, orange juice
Lunch - chicken sandwich and diet Snapple (I bought a case at the thrift store for $1.00 ... yes... 24 bottles for a buck)
Dinner - beef stew, beans, and rice

No spend day yesterday.

Anyone heard of "Birchbox"? My co-worker subscribes to receive beauty samples for $10.00 a month. She gave me samples that she says she knows she wont use and gave them to me in one of their cute boxes.

In the box:
Amika Dry Shampoo and Conditioner
Lip Laquer lip gloss
Brazilian Bum Bum Cream (LOL!)
Purifying 2 in 1 Charcoal Mask
Dr. Brandt Pore Dermabrasion Exfoliator
Dermae Sunscreen SPF 50
Marcelle Liquid Makeup Remover
Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask (for hair)

I may give this box away as a gift to my uncle's neighbor who has been so helpful caring for him. I'm keeping the lip gloss though.

My aunt also gave me a lip gloss last night and it gives a gold tone to my lips (elegant).


Stuff to Do Saturday

October 15th, 2016 at 01:46 pm

Health:
Breakfast – Omelete and toast, coffee, Good Belly and orange juice
Lunch – Fish and fries
Dinner – macaroni and meat
Extra food - Chocolate candy

Spending :
Gas = 39.45 yesterday
Today will be spendy

This morning, I will take my uncle to his doctor (he is open on Saturdays).

Then my aunt, my mom, DS3 and I will go to lunch and shopping. I need to pick up a replacement cell phone for my uncle and I wanted to buy one for my aunt. I need to research a frugal plan for her.

DS1 and DS2 will be going to a property mid-day to dismantle and haul away an old shed. DS1 is out now doing a home inspection (scheduled for 9:00 am). Then DS1 has to be at his part-time job later at 4:00 and comes home around 10:00 pm. I know he’ll be exhausted.

DH and my co-worker are friends so they are going a couple of hours south of here to my co-worker’s mom. She is in her 90’s and had several falls lately. So they are going to pick her up, secure the home, and she will stay with him until they find a better solution for her (round the clock care).

No Spend Day

October 14th, 2016 at 12:44 pm

Health:
Breakfast - Overnight oats, coffee, Good Belly and orange juice
Lunch - Assistant manager did a cook out so I had boston butt roast, baked beans, potato salad and coconut cake and Coca-Cola. (Healthy? not!)
Dinner - 1 plain hot dog without the bun
Extra food - Chocolate candy and wine.
Fitness - went to the gym/personal trainer

Yes, yesterday was a major eating disaster. It will be better today.

Other than that, yesterday was a no spend day.

Today, I need to buy gas which will set me back between $35-$40)

Tomorrow, I will take my mom and my aunt shopping and I will need to pick up a replacement cell phone for my uncle since his died a couple of days ago, and I want to buy a basic one for my aunt. My uncle will reimburse me but the one for my aunt will be a gift.

That's pretty much it for now.

Tragic Update to Yesterday

October 13th, 2016 at 04:18 pm

Not financially related but extremely upsetting. My last entry, I mentioned that I treated my family to lunch yesterday at the Golden Corral. We were there around 2:00 pm and left before 3:00 pm.

At 5:00 pm that same day (yesterday), a man came in to the very same restaurant location and set a woman on fire. She is now in critical condition. Apparently the victim was in a relationship with this man.

The irony is this. I normally don't look at someone's nametag, but I think this may have been the lady who was the server at our table.

Here is the news story: http://www.news4jax.com/news/woman-working-on-grill-at-golden-corral-suffers-burns

Prayers for this lady.

Exhausting Day

October 13th, 2016 at 12:47 pm

Health:
Breakfast - Overnight oats, coffee, Good belly and orange juice.
Lunch/Dinner - Golden Corral (spent $65.00 there)
Snack - none
Fitness - nothing

I left work at 10 am to pick up my aunt and my cousin who "escorted" her through the airport and rode with her on the plane. He is a retired NYC police officer so she could not have been safer. So I took them over to my mom's, then my uncle's, then went to buy some lunch for my uncle, and then we had lunch at Golden Corral. I treated my sons, my aunt and my cousin. My parents did not want to go.

My cousin wanted to fly right back to NY since he works tomorrow which interfered with taking my son to his therapy appointment. The only solution was my cousin to come along to the therapy appointment and then we take him to the airport afterwards. He made his flight on time.

My town is enormous and all that driving made me so tired! After that I check in with my mom and my aunt to pick her up (my aunt) to take her to my uncle's house [are you guys following so far or did I lose you two paragraphs up?] I helped settle her in and I gave her my uncle's house key and then I went home, got in my bed clothes, flopped on the couch in front of the TV and zoned out for the night.

I'm so glad I'm at work today because I get more rest here than at home sometimes.

Little Splurge

October 12th, 2016 at 01:41 pm

Stopped at Wendy's for a Frosty Float. So good! $2.78.

Did my one inspection and there were trees down all over including on the roof. The place was already condemned and slated for demolition anyway. I didn't enter but I have a feeling that my client wants me to. I encountered that issue with another property before and I fought it. They still paid me. But honestly, why would you want an interior inspection on a property that is condemned? It doesn't matter anymore if there is damage or not. The city has determined the structure to be unsafe and uninhabitable. I would think that the municipality's warning signage is enough.

While at the property, I accidentally locked my keys in the car and I could not find my little magnetic box with the spare under my car so I had to call DH for rescue. He was on his way to his side gig so I caught him in time before he got too much further. He found it and placed it where I could find it. Crisis averted!

Did my workout at the gym and some laundry. That was my day.

Extra Income

October 11th, 2016 at 12:44 pm

Health:
Breakfast – Overnight oats, Good Belly, Orange Juice, Coffee
Lunch – Chicken breast sandwich
Dinner – BBQ Pork Tenderloin and tater tots
Fitness – Gym and personal trainer

Financial: Several developments came about yesterday.

I received a work order for an inspection from a client that hasn't sent one in a couple of months. That one should pay $25 and luckily it is near my neighborhood. I'll do this after work.

A potential new client is a landlord who needs help cleaning out his rental properties and preparing them for new tenants. We will meet with him at one of his vacant properties which is ready for work to provide him an estimate.

A work order from another client to remove a shed. My husband will decide how much to charge and will likely do the work on Friday or Saturday.

And my son has one inspection tomorrow, three on Friday and one on Saturday. That is a total of $250 that will go in his pocket at the end of the month. We pay him the full amount on any inspection he does.

That should help build up the account very nicely!

In other news, my aunt was supposed to fly in from NYC to help us with my uncle but then came the hurricane. So she is flying in tomorrow. I can't wait to see her! I love that woman because she is like a second mother to me.

Paying and Saving

October 10th, 2016 at 02:18 pm

Well now that the hurricane is gone and things are back to normal in my world, I need to get back on track on my finances, my eating habits, and my fitness.

Health:
Breakfast – Overnight oats, Good Belly, Orange Juice, Coffee
Lunch – Chicken breast sandwich with chips and a coke
Dinner – Beef Stew and rice
Fitness – Thinking about fitness

Financial:
Good news is that now I am over half way toward my $1,000 savings goal. $25 is automatically deducted from my checking account and deposited to my savings account each payday. Last payday, I was able to add an additional $100. This payday, I was able to do the same. If I can continue this steadily, I could reach my targets in 4 more paydays (2 months).

Well, the wheels are turning on how to build upon that. However, there is still the debt to tackle. By the end of the month, CC1 should be under $14k.


We Are Safe!

October 9th, 2016 at 03:05 pm

Just a quick update on Matthew and some quick facts:

We live in the southwestern side of Jacksonville, Florida (Duval County) and in Evacuation Zone D - the SAFEST area!

No flooding and no loss of power or cable tv in our neighborhood.

Some trees downed from the roots. At my house and my parents and uncle's house, only some small branches.

Evacuations mandatory for zones A, B and C.

The beaches area was zone A and we lost our pier which was rebuilt after Hurricane Floyd. The dunes are completely wiped out. Part of A1A south (highway along the beach) of us in Flagler was torn apart and is unpassable.

Our family and neighbors were very blessed and fortunate and I have prayers of gratitude.

Many many others are devastated and I pray for their quick recovery.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts during this very stressful time!


Storm Readiness

October 6th, 2016 at 01:16 pm

Fueled up cars
Bottled water
Ready to eat meals
Snacks
Beer
Wine
Sodas
Charged up phones and tablets
Secured patio furniture, trash bins, and plants
Caught up on laundry
Medicines ready
Stocked up on toilet paper
Batteries for radio and flashlights
Candles and matches
Books and magazines
Cleaned the house

Now we wait.

Spending and Matthew

October 1st, 2016 at 01:55 pm

Health:
Breakfast - coffee
Lunch - 1 slice bacon & 1 egg on 1 slice toast and green tea
Snack - apple
Dinner - International potluck at church. I’ll bring spaghetti & meat sauce because its what I have on hand. I’m going to keep away from the dessert table because I gained a lot of weight in the last couple of weeks due to stress.

Spending (Start $70, End 18.52):
A flat of jumbo eggs = 3.99
Chicken nuggets (not the frozen Tyson’s type) = 4.50
Gas = 35
Haircut = 7.99 (My uncle received a coupon from Great Clips and he let me have it). Price includes tip.

Looks like Hurricane Matthew may be messing up our weather mid-week. I’m on an audit team at work on Tuesday and Wednesday which requires me to be outdoors and traveling from building to building. Normally I work indoors. I sure as heck don’t want to be out in the rain. As of this writing, the storm is a category 4 and if it follows the projected trajectory, Florida is in the outer cone, meaning that we will definitely feel the effects. I guess depending on the forecast, the emergency weather team can make the call on what operations need to be postponed. For Hermine, they closed for one day. You know what? I’m not worrying about it.