nikiz628
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 26, 2021 16:04:37 GMT -5
Welp, we are back in quarantine. DS2 tested positive today. I am not surprised, his best friend tested positive on Monday and they are inseparable at school. They let them drop masks outside at recess, so sharing is what they did apparently. Half of his kindergarten class is now in quarantine. So stressful! How’s it going? Well DS1 tested positive on an at home test yesterday, so we are going tomorrow for a real test. His school doesn't accept at home test results. It's not been too bad, I just feel like I am disinfecting in circles. Thankfully, I am vaccinated and my at home test was negative. It must be doing something for me to avoid it when everyone else in the house has had it. I will be getting a real test tomorrow as well just to be safe.
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nikiz628
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 25, 2021 12:08:52 GMT -5
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 23, 2021 14:22:12 GMT -5
Welp, we are back in quarantine. DS2 tested positive today. I am not surprised, his best friend tested positive on Monday and they are inseparable at school. They let them drop masks outside at recess, so sharing is what they did apparently. Half of his kindergarten class is now in quarantine.
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nikiz628
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 22, 2021 18:32:16 GMT -5
UPDATE RACE #2
RACE #2 | INTEREST | STARTING BALANCE | LAST UPDATE | THIS UPDATE | DIFFERENCE | Auto Loan (SUV) | 4.00% | $32,991.93 | $4,096.27 | $3,688.83 | -407.44 |
NikiZ628 (2): 9/22/21 $3,688.83 (3/26/18 $32,991.93)
Total Paid in 2021: $3,612.78 Total Paid Overall: $29,303.10
Inching closer to my 2021 goal of having this loan under $2,700!
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nikiz628
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 22, 2021 18:19:45 GMT -5
Ok, I think I am ready to post my altered debt race! If you missed it, I was able to get a consolidation loan through discover to pay off our Discover and our Quicksilver balances. Quicksilver and Discover both had 22.9% interest rates. This new loan, while still higher than I would like, is at 12.99%. We will save $ in the long run, and psychologically it makes me feel a little better. I am also going to add the current balances of our Care Credit, which is DS1's orthodontic work and Affirm, which is our pool payment. I think having them all in one place will be helpful, and I haven't raced them up until this point. This covers all of our debt now, minus our 2 cars, our mortgage, and our HELOC. RACE #5: New NumbersRACE #5 | Interest Rates | Starting Balances | Last Update | This Update | Difference | Citi Best Buy | 0% Promos Only | 1803.93 | 775.00 | 742.00 | -33.00 | Discover (loan) | 12.99% | 15,000.00 | 15,000.00 | 15,000.00 | 0 | Care Credit (DS1's Ortho Work) | 0% Until 1/2022 | 4160.00 | 4160.00 | 4160.00 | 0 | Affirm Pool Payment | 27.97% | 3804.44 | 3804.44 | 3804.44 | 0 | TOTALS |
| 24,768.37 | 23,739.44
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**not sure what the heck happened with my table. the THIS UPDATE total is my tagline update. NikiZ628 (5):9/22/21 $23,706.44 (9/22/21 $24,768.37 WIR271)My next substitute teaching check should wipe out at least half of the Citi Best Buy balance. I know it's 0% but its so close to being gone, I want it paid off so we can start tackling the ridiculous pool payment interest rate.
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nikiz628
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 19, 2021 19:34:40 GMT -5
Dealing with some discontent. Not sure what's going on. I only recognized it because I put $500 worth of clothes in the LL Bean shopping cart with the idea that it might fix things. I made no purchase. I recognized the feeling soon enough. I think it's partially attributed to a comment that my stepmom made while I was visiting...that she could "never live that way"...in regards to my house being mostly furniture-less for the past year (because I see no point in getting a bunch of furniture moved in only to move it out to rip up and replace carpet). This is the same woman who once said her daughter was sometimes a better daughter to my dad than me. The shit that resonates even years later... She sounds like a real treat.
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 12, 2021 20:25:20 GMT -5
The "time to change the oil" notification came on yesterday.....I did think I had another month or 2 but will need to get appointment with dealer, perhaps this upcoming week. If there is any other things to be done, I'll have that taken care of too. I have 12,000mi on the car and it is 2 years old. I escrow (my term) for car repair at $400 year so the money is there to have all of this done. I need to call our place tomorrow and get my SUV in for one as well. I am.... overdue.
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 12, 2021 20:24:31 GMT -5
Hello, everyone! I just finished the Women In Red Racers & want to transfer here to continue being motivated with my financial life. I see some familiar names here from that thread. I have a variety of sub-savings accounts that I won't post about here since they are revolving (Property Tax & Ins, Car Ins & Maintenance, Health Expenses, General Savings [covers cost of items that don't fit in a budget category], Savings for Summer [since I have no income during the summer]) .I will be increasing the % taken out for my Deferred Compensation Plan at work which goes for stocks & bonds. Since that is automatic, I won't be tracking it here either. What I will be tracking is my Emergency Fund ($7000 which covers more than 6 months of expenses), House Maintenance Fund ($7613.54 for eventual large item replacements), & Travel Fund ($1221.44). I won't post goals yet for this year since I need to see how my paycheck will change from the retirement increase. Total is $15,834.98. nooccar: 9/12/2021 $15,834.98 WIRS 2021 Welcome to the party!
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 12, 2021 20:23:14 GMT -5
It appears our quarantine time is winding down! Today is DAY 10 since H started feeling sick, and it's the first day that he was able to stay fever free without medicinal help. The boys and I have managed to stay healthy (knocks on all the wood) while H has been down with COVID, so we can return to our normal lives tomorrow. I managed to get the house cleaned up and sanitized a few times, the boys helped me put up our fall decor, and I clean cleaned my desk area. I tossed a bunch of random crap that was just sitting there collecting dust. And our upstairs playroom got a cleaning finally. It's so easy to ignore that mess because I rarely go up there lol. What I REALLY need to do is go through the hundreds and hundreds of toys that are sitting up there and donate the stuff the boys no longer play with. That will be a project for another day.
I am wore out, touched out, and just plain over being the only adult capable of keeping the family going right now. Super props to anyone who is a permanent and long term caregiver, I just cannot imagine the stamina that must need. At the end of the day, even if I feel like I didn't accomplish anything these last 10 days, my kids are alive, fed, clean, and healthy. H is on the mend. And although I feel like I've lost my marbles, I am surviving too. That's all that matters.
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 12, 2021 20:15:17 GMT -5
nooccar - CONGRATULATIONS on that beautiful zero! I originally ended up here (well MSNmoney) in 2008 as well, so I know what you mean when you say at times, you just wanted to quit. It's been a long haul but LOOK WHAT YOUR PERSEVERANCE HAS DONE FOR YOU!!!
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 9, 2021 13:20:14 GMT -5
Nikiz, we did this exercise when we met with a financial planner the month before Covid hit, so Feb 2020. We were right about at $4000. Our property taxes are high so $500/month is for that. We have no debt, but live comfortably on that budget. Of course after Covid we stopped eating out and running around wasting gas so it may be lower now. I am always blown away by people who spend 10k/month. We are only able to retire this year because of our low expenses. We don't even bring home that much a month so that definitely blows my mind!
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 8, 2021 20:37:25 GMT -5
We were offered a consolidation loan through Discover (where we hold a card), that will cut our APR on our two major credit cards in half! So, my races will be changing themselves up a bit in the next day or so. I am SO excited!
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 8, 2021 18:04:08 GMT -5
Oh THEO, I am so sorry to read that. Such a tragic way to go.
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 8, 2021 18:03:18 GMT -5
I am participating in a free budget bootcamp through Good Budget and the first task was to figure out how much you would need to save for 1 month's worth of expenses. I sat down and budgeted it all up, including roughly what we pay per month on each CC. We need approximately $3700-$3800 for 1 month's expenses. Now I am curious, what would you need? I wonder how average our amount is or if we are WAY HIGH/WAY LOW compared to others.
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 8, 2021 15:03:05 GMT -5
Update: A girl in DS1's class tested postive today, over half the students in that room were sent home to quarantine. So my guess is he would have been sent home today had he not been here already. We also just got a notification from the school corporation that they are shutting down our middle school due to "50% or more out with symptoms or exposure". It's closed and the students are on e-learning until the 20th. It's getting bad here again.
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Post by nikiz628 on Sept 8, 2021 12:29:07 GMT -5
H has been sick since Friday and tested postive for Covid yesterday (after a negative precautionary test last tuesday- a co-worker in his building tested positive so they all went and got tested). So the kids are not allowed back at school til the 13th. Thankfully, the moment H started feeling ill, I locked him in our bedroom and moved myself to the couch. So our exposure to him has been limited. I am hoping I can use this stuck at home time to work on organizing and decluttering some more. And to work in our backyard and get caught up on the weeding/piles of random things that need put away or tossed. Yesterday was also DS1's 11th birthday so that was tough on him. We had to postpone his party that was scheduled for this weekend. But thankfully, he understands why and didn't get too upset.
So my goals for the rest of the week:
Catch up on all my open business orders (LOTS) Finish weeding the driveway Clean up the junk in the driveway that needs trashed Pull weeds in all flower beds Wash my car/Vacuum interior List more of my items on fb sales group
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 26, 2021 23:37:56 GMT -5
UPDATE RACE #4 8/27/21RACE #4 | INTEREST RATE | STARTING BALANCE | LAST UPDATE | THIS UPDATE | DIFFERENCE | Truck Loan | 4.8% | $24.945.53 | $17,831.42 | $17,510.39 | -321.03 |
NikiZ628(4) 8/27/2021 $17,510.39 (6/26/19 $25,195 WIRR197) Total Paid in 2021: $3,064.64 Total Amount Paid Off: $7,946.53
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 23, 2021 8:12:30 GMT -5
nidena- Happy WIRR-versary!!!!
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 20, 2021 14:43:59 GMT -5
UPDATE
2021 Savings | START | CURRENT | GOAL | STILL NEED | Emergency Fund | 1600.56 | 1500.66 | 3,000.00 | 1,499.34 | DS1's Savings | 2202.03 | 2342.38 | 2,500.00 | 157.62 | DS2's Savings | 962.43 | 1092.58 | 1,250.00 | 157.42 | Christmas Fund | 1.05 | 511.65 | 1,000.00 | 488.35 | TOTALS | 4,766.07 | 5,447.27 | 7,750.00 | 2,302.73 |
NikiZ628 8/20/21 $5,447.27 (Goal $7,750.00 WIRS1)
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nikiz628
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 20, 2021 14:29:48 GMT -5
UPDATE RACE #5 8/20/21RACE #5 | Interest Rates | Starting Balance | Last Update | This Update | Difference | Citi Best Buy | 0% promos only | 1803.93 | 845.00 | 775.00 | -70.00 | Discover | 22.9% | 6501.76 | 8000.00 | 8820.00 | +820.00 | Capital One Quicksilver | 22.9% | 4200.00 | 3800.00 | 4000.00 | +200.00 | Menards Store Card | 26.49% | 2252.61 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Paid Off 8/11/20 | TOTALS |
| 14,758.30 | 12,645.00 | 13,595.00 | +950.00 |
NikiZ628 (5):8/20/21 $13,595.00 (5/13/20 $14,758.30 WIRR 227)
Well shoot. This is moving entirely in the wrong direction. I did put 1 charge on Discover, and 1 on Quicksilver that will be reimbursed by PTO at my son's school, but its definitely not $950 worth of merch. In my head, I know what we need to do to get these down. I just need to MAKE. THAT. HAPPEN.
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 20, 2021 13:34:26 GMT -5
Today is cleaning day. I must be doing a better job of not making clutter in between visits. The most time consuming thing I had to do this morning is pick up the cat toys. Now we will see if they leave them alone until the house is cleaned. Can't wait for the bleach smell. LOVE that smell!
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 19, 2021 16:59:43 GMT -5
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 19, 2021 16:58:42 GMT -5
Congratulations steph08!!! That's a BE-A-UTIFUL zero!!!!
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 17, 2021 18:37:11 GMT -5
UPDATE RACE #2
RACE #2 | INTEREST | STARTING BALANCE | LAST UPDATE | THIS UPDATE | DIFFERENCE | Auto Loan (SUV) | 4.00% | $32,991.93 | $4,902.00 | $4,096.27 | -805.73 |
NikiZ628 (2): 8/17/2021 $4,096.27 (3/26/18 $32,991.93)
Total Paid in 2021: $3,205.34 Total Paid Overall: $28,895.66
Inching closer to my 2021 goal of having this loan under $2,700!
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 17, 2021 18:26:50 GMT -5
I was able to go through ALL of my clothes (dresser and closet), my nightstand (3 drawers), and under my bed yesterday. Our bedroom feels so tidy now, as long as you don't look at my work corner for my business lol. H badly needs to go through his side of the dresser and closet, but he is so swamped at work right now. Hopefully he will find the time and energy soon, so that the entire closet looks amazing. I started listing items for sale on fb and I've sold a few things. I have A LOT more to photograph and list though.
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 13, 2021 18:58:55 GMT -5
I picked up my first 2 full day shifts this week so I hope I love it!
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 12, 2021 17:06:55 GMT -5
Now that the kiddos are in school full time, and I have 6 hours a day to myself, I am hoping to tackle some organizing. It's time for our master closet to have it's bi-annual clean out. H & I also share a 6 drawer dresser (3 drawers per person) and mine are so full they won't close. I think our room will be a great place to start and I love that I can take my time with it.
After that I would love to tackle under our bed and the nightstand drawers. My business workspace is in our room, and I am quickly outgrowing that corner. H and I are watching Facebook Marketplace for a super cheap camper that I can gut and turn into a new crafting space for the biz. (cheaply) I would LOVE to get that all out of our room so that it's a relaxing space again, but we are limited in the house. Backup idea is to frame and finish a room in our very unfinished basement. The only concern there is dampness. I've got research to do.
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 12, 2021 17:05:03 GMT -5
I ordered something that some will thing of as clutter, but it won't be clutter to me. It's a signed copy of Billie Jean King's autobiography. She was such an influential part of my becoming an adult, that I need this book. I still admire everything she does for women and women's tennis. I LOVE this!
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 12, 2021 15:30:54 GMT -5
I signed up to substitute teach in my kids' school corporation (I only plan to pick up openings at their actual school). I just snagged my first full day shift for next week for 4th grade. It pays $70 a day (pre tax). I plan to use all $$ earned from this to strictly pay down debt. It's kind of an exciting new way to race.
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Post by nikiz628 on Aug 9, 2021 21:32:41 GMT -5
UPDATE RACE #4 8/9/21RACE #4 | INTEREST RATE | STARTING BALANCE | LAST UPDATE | THIS UPDATE | DIFFERENCE | Truck Loan | 4.8% | $24.945.53 | $18,160.88 | $17,831.42 | -329.46 |
NikiZ628(4) 8/9/2021 $17,831.42 (6/26/19 $25,195 WIRR197) Total Paid in 2021: $2,743.61 Total Amount Paid Off: $7,625.50
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