tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 31, 2022 12:42:18 GMT -5
I read Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay and First: Sandra Day O’Connor (by Evan Thomas). Both were in interesting reads for me.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 31, 2022 12:39:50 GMT -5
I just finished Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. I enjoyed it very much. It is a Memoir of her Life. It has been made into a movie, but I don't think I want to sit through it anytime soon. The father was an Alcoholic and the Mother was probably Bi-Polar or depressed, I think it might be a lot to watch the same story a second time shortly after reading the book. I don't know yet what I am gong to read next. I read this about 6 years ago and thought it was so well written and one I did not want to put down.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 30, 2022 19:26:25 GMT -5
Hope it all goes well, Rae, and you’re resting now.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 29, 2022 21:10:25 GMT -5
I am pretty sure M has croup. And she turns 6 tomorrow, poor thing. She had cold-like symptoms last night, and then crawled in bed with DH and me in the middle of the night with the classic barking cough that sounds like a seal. I ended up keeping her home today, and she was mostly fine, but definitely more tired/lethargic than normal, and her the cough 1-2 times.
Tonight in bed she definitely has a deeper/louder breathing than normal. I’m guessing the cough comes back again at some point during the night. She really wants to go to school tomorrow, so I’m hoping she isn’t too bad. She hasn’t had a fever at all, so that seems promising.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 28, 2022 14:51:14 GMT -5
Hugs, drama. Sounds like a rough day for everyone. M is almost 6, and I’m already dreading the attitude and emotional rollercoaster that I’m expecting when she’s a pre-teen/teen.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 26, 2022 23:09:09 GMT -5
Lol, that sums it up perfectly! 😂🤣
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 26, 2022 21:48:38 GMT -5
On a different note, I’ve been trying to give away things on my local Buy Nothing group we don’t need anymore. After our vacation this summer, we figured that was the last time we’d take a car seat on a plane. Our next flight with kids is November, DD turns 6 next week (how did that happen?!?), and we’ll just take the BubbleBum booster. So tonight I posted the Britax car seat bag we’ve taken on dozens of flights between the two kids - I was way more nostalgic and sad about that than I realized I would be. I’m super happy about not having to lug a giant car seat around anymore, but it also means both my kiddos are growing up.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 26, 2022 21:43:17 GMT -5
Hugs, mpl. Sounds like my house tonight. DS got invited to the Chiefs game yesterday (best friend’s dad scored suite tickets at work in the morning, and best friend is an only child, so they invited C), so he was out way past bedtime and got up at his normal (early) time this morning. When he got home from Cub Scouts, I sent him up to shower and then told him to head to bed right after. He decided to take out the trumpet and practice, so then got cranky when I yelled at him. I apologized for yelling when he called me out on it, but of course got the “you always yell at us” comment. Okay, kid.
Then DD was using every delay tactic at her disposal, and decided to tell DH to shut up when he told her to speed it up. That led to her crying at bedtime until she fell asleep. All I can say is thank goodness they’re both finally asleep.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 22, 2022 23:29:02 GMT -5
Hugs, Rae. That is rough to lose a friend.
And I hear you on the frustrated with the kids not listening/ignoring what they don’t want to hear. I lost it and yelled at both kids yesterday and today for that. I’m so tired of picking up after them and/or nagging for them to do stuff. 😞
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 22, 2022 15:29:24 GMT -5
How was the first day, azucena?
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 22, 2022 15:29:03 GMT -5
Pleasant surprise the last few days that DH (without my prompting or asking) has been sending me Outlook calendar appointments for the kids’ half and no school days for the semester. I usually have to send them to him - feels like we’re making some progress on division of kid labor!
And in a random story, C had the kickoff match/social for fall golf yesterday. They have pizza after the first match each season, and I guess they had a ton extra. He was so excited to tell me when he got home that he “brought a whole pizza home!” Lol - no idea why that was exciting, but hey, that can be dinner tonight, so yay! ☺️😉
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 21, 2022 18:29:06 GMT -5
No advice here, Rae, on self-sufficiency. I feel like that is one of the areas we really struggle with. The kids don’t do enough, and then it adds up on me until I blow up at them like this morning. Which clearly isn’t the best method.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 21, 2022 18:27:28 GMT -5
That stinks, azucena. Did you guys switch from private to public school this year?
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 21, 2022 18:20:25 GMT -5
Trying to guess future tax rates seems like a crapshoot. DH and I ended up switching to dumping everything in our Roth 401k options a few years ago (might have been closer to 5 or 6 years by now). We both have a ton already in the traditional 401k, and the company match is in the traditional bucket, so we figured we’d try to split things up. Who knows if that will be the right choice or not.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 21, 2022 18:14:48 GMT -5
Never used or looked at Facebook marketplace but will try Didn’t think about NextDoor If you don’t care about selling it, I’ve gotten rid of a ton of stuff on my local Buy Nothing Facebook group.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 18, 2022 22:39:40 GMT -5
We were on vacation at the end of last month, so finally getting around to posting this.
Here is my July 2022 update:
ASSETS: Checking/Savings: $228,207 House: $512,700 Retirement: $1,670,644 Brokerage: $15,642 529s: $78,327
DEBTS: $0
Total NW: $2,505,520
As usual, the list above excludes our cars, which are worth around $30k combined, but I leave them out because we're unlikely to sell, and need them to get to/from work, kids schools, etc. in the land of suburbia.
We're up about 6% from last month, so yay! Finally moving in a positive direction!
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 18, 2022 21:20:06 GMT -5
My kids have been back in school for 5 full days and one half day (first day), and M has already cried on two different mornings that she doesn’t want to be in Spanish (immersion) anymore and can she just be in a different class. I’m chalking it up to overtired and readjusting, plus while I like what I’ve seen of the 1st grade Spanish teacher, she’s not as warm/motherly-like as the kindergarten Spanish teacher that M loved. And also beginning of year readjustments. But blergh, that makes for rough mornings.
C is adjusting pretty well to 5th grade, and taking it better than I expected that his best friend is in a different class (and unfortunately also not in before/after care this year as the friend is pretty far down the wait list). He’s decided he wants to play trumpet, so I have a new appreciation for my parents as my sister and I both played brass instruments all through middle and high schools. 😂🤣
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 8, 2022 1:01:19 GMT -5
I am so very sorry about your mom, drama. Thinking about you and your family, including your dad and brother. Giant hugs.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Aug 3, 2022 1:10:46 GMT -5
As someone who voted NO on this constitutional amendment, I was surprised by how large the margin was. I was cautiously optimistic it would fail, but still worried. I live in one of the bluest parts of the state, and saw more “Value them Both” signs than I expected. And I knew that my area needed to vote NO in a big way.
The Kansas legislature and Catholic Church who by and large funded this played dirty with this entire amendment. It definitely serves them right that it failed, though I expect them to try again in the future.
Also - so excited by how many people voted!
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jul 11, 2022 23:47:31 GMT -5
Holy growth spurt. C complained this morning that his shoes were too tight. Tough cookies, kid,you have to wear them to golf camp because I don’t have time to get new ones before 9am. I did have time this afternoon, so took him to try shoes on, and he went from a size 7 (too small ones at home) to 8.5 as the 8s didn’t really have any room to grow. Kid, you’re barely 10. I don’t like having to buy shoes in the men’s section. When he outgrows these, his feet will be bigger than mine - I’m generally a women’s 10/men’s 9ish, so I don’t have small feet. 🙃
Not sure I posted here or not, but at his well kid visit last month a couple of days before his birthday, he was 4’-11.5” tall. The pediatrician (not) helpfully told me he’d definitely be over 6’ tall, and that he hadn’t started puberty yet. So I could expect the amount of food he eats and his growth rate to increase when puberty hits. Gee, thanks. 😂🤣
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jul 1, 2022 21:49:02 GMT -5
I also saw the notification about wibeth’s birthday. :-(
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jun 30, 2022 22:21:37 GMT -5
I'm down like 135K this year despite putting nearly 30K in. Painful, but not much to do about it. I think Dory knows best. Love this! And just what I needed! I logically "know" this but it's still darn depressing to look each month.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jun 30, 2022 22:21:03 GMT -5
Here is my June 2022 update:
ASSETS:
Checking/Savings: $219,687 House: $512,700 Retirement: $1,533,789 Brokerage: $14,400 529s: $69,844
DEBTS:
$0
Total NW: $2,350,420
As usual, the list above excludes our cars, which are worth around $30k combined, but I leave them out because we're unlikely to sell, and need them to get to/from work, kids schools, etc. in the land of suburbia.
We're down about 5.7% from last month, thanks to another down month in the stock market. On a positive note, I moved a few thousand from cash to the taxable account with Vanguard. Of course, that also drives DH nuts - not so much that we're investing, but it's harder for him to "track" how much we're spending - looking at our cash balances, it looks like we're spending everything we bring home, which isn't the case since I've done things like fund both of our Roth IRAs this year, fund both kids 529s up to our max state tax deduction, and start a taxable account (plus pay a crap ton in taxes in April). But I get it - he keeps track of the cash accounts, and I keep track of the investment accounts as far as day-to-day or investing stuff.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jun 21, 2022 22:55:48 GMT -5
I just finished Project Hail Mary - if you like science fiction/space type books, this was a good one.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jun 21, 2022 22:54:23 GMT -5
Just finished the Paris Apartment for out book club. Hated it. I can read anything but romance books, and this had 3 romances in it. Bleh. Part way through Mobituaries - that I like very much. We were gifted Mobituaries. DH read it, but I haven’t yet. I should find that. Ooh, me too! He spoke at a conference I attended a few years ago and everyone there got a copy. That’s still unread on a shelf - maybe I’ll get that read this year!
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jun 21, 2022 22:51:32 GMT -5
Late to the party, but I’ll chime
Where are you at? Still 15-20 years away from retirement.
What do you still hope to accomplish career-wise? Not sure. I got a big promotion in January, as part of a company restructure. I think I’d like my boss’ job at some point, but he’s only a few years older than me; as he’s not likely to leave the company, we’ll see if he gets promoted at some point (but he also just got promoted into that job last year).
What is your next step/s financially? Keep fully finding retirement accounts, funding kids’ 529 accounts, and putting some money into a taxable account.
Do you/Are you compiling a list of what you need to get done/accomplish/acheive/before retirement? Nope.
Are you interested in charting that journey, having a support thread here, sharing ups and downs and ideas? Maybe. I definitely like reading about others’ journeys.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jun 21, 2022 22:32:34 GMT -5
Awww, I am so sorry Rae. That stinks.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Jun 4, 2022 23:19:12 GMT -5
Here is my May 2022 update:
ASSETS:
Checking/Savings: $220,452 House: $512,700 Retirement: $1,671,270 Brokerage: $12,252 529s: $76,507
DEBTS: $0
Total NW: $2,493,181
As usual, the list above excludes our cars, which are worth around $30k combined, but I leave them out because we're unlikely to sell, and need them to get to/from work, kids schools, etc. in the land of suburbia.
We're down less than 1% from last month, generally thanks to the stock market. On a positive note, I finally opened up a taxable account with Vanguard, and moved a small amount of cash over and invested in an index fund, so it's a start!
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on May 28, 2022 22:17:27 GMT -5
Another vote for the vertical boards.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on May 28, 2022 21:59:10 GMT -5
No advice, drama, but thinking about you. I missed seeing that your MIL died, so also, my sympathies to you and your DH.
I’ll echo others posters who said that what is “normal” for grief ranges all over the place, but there’s never an excuse to use your grief as a reason to cause pain for others.
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