Congrats!! Is the next interview an in person one?

Didn’t make it to workout last week, but worked out yesterday afternoon. And now I’m sore, but I guess it’s a good kind of sore. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I’m going to try to work out again tomorrow, otherwise will aim for Thursday.

Thanks for the update, azucena. Giant hugs to you. I’m glad he’s extubated now. Here’s hoping he continues to recover well and he’s discharged sooner rather than later.

Emily Ley 2020 Simplicity Challenge


www.facebook.com/emilyleypaper/


Our Annual Simplicity Challenge is HERE!#ASimplifiedLife #SimplicityChallenge2020. 1 step every day for 30 days. Each one takes 15 minutes or less.


Day 1 - Walk your home with a trash bag or five. Be ruthless. Papers. Receipts. Tags. Empty bottles. Go.

Day 2 - Clean out your fridge. Check expiration dates and throw things away.

Day 3 - Clear the clutter from your nightstand.

Day 4 - Simplify your phone. Delete old contacts and unused apps. Refresh your lock screen.

Day 5 - Make a list of anything that needs restocked in your bathroom. Restock what you can from items you already have in your house (if possible), or add to your next grocery list.

Day 6 - Make a list of anything that needs restocked in your pantry. Restock what you can from items you already have in your house (if possible), or add to your next grocery list.

Day 7 - Walk your house with a donate bag. Schedule a pick-up or drop it off as soon as the bag is full.

Day 8 - Don’t let all of your laundry pile up throughout the week. Find a laundry system that works for you stick with it.

Day 9 - The tone of your morning impacts the rest of your day. Set a recurring alarm for every weekday. If you’re letting your kids wake you, set it one hour earlier.

Day 10 - Make it a habit to clean out your car every time you fill it with gas.

Day 11 - Create a perpetual birthday list of friends you’d like to reach out to on their special day.

Day 12 - Put your number on the do not call list. While you’re at it, turn off the notifications on your phone, too.

Day 13 - Do something with all those precious photos and videos on your phone. Print. Back-up. Store.

Day 14 - out your purse. Throw away trash. Create a little bag of essentials. Make your bag work for you. And clean out your wallet while you’re at it.

Day 15 - Pull out all the formal dresses in your closet that you’ll never wear again and donate to charity.

Day 16 - Clean our your medicine cabinet. Trash anything expired. Restock essentials.

Day 17 - Quit something that drains you today. Just say no.

I already know several people/families where this is happening, for one reason or another. My mom is retiring next month (she’s 68), and will likely move in with us within a year. She can afford to stay on her own if she stays in my small hometown/her paid for house, but my sister and I both live in the same metro area about 2.5 hours away, and she wants to be near her kids and grandkids. The reality is she can’t afford anything near us, and frankly, I could use an extra driver to help coordinate kid activities or even make sure dinner happens in a timely manner, so the plan is for her to move in with us. We bought our house knowing we’d likely have a parent move in, so there is a guest bedroom and a full bath on our main level that will become hers.

One of my coworkers lived with her mom when she got divorced and was a single mom to a toddler. Then when she earned more and decided to buy a house in a better school district, her mom decided to move with her to help with the grandkid and because she was close to her daughter/grandkid. When my coworker switched jobs and moved 2 states away, mom moved in with another daughter in our area. This mom can afford to live on her own, but likes being around her family and helping out. From everyone I’ve heard, it’s working really well for this family.

My SIL’s (wife of DH’s bro) mom lived with her and BIL and their kids. Mom had a late in life divorce that left her in bad shape financially, and she has MS on top of that, so it’s easier for SIL to help care for her mom when she’s in the same household.

I have a coworker who lived with one of her sons, DIL and grandkids to help out with with the kids, and again, because she likes being around people and not living by herself. Definitely not the norm yet, but I do seem to hear about multigenerational living more often.

Welcome, steph!

No prom dresses to declutter for me, taxpro, but I do have several bridesmaid dresses I need to declutter.

Yikes, debt, that stinks about your DD’s car.

Went to a circuits class at my work gym yesterday, so yay! My right hip still hurts, which is probably just one more indication I need to get in better shape and keep working out.

Congrats! The house is very cute and looks so well-suited for you!

M is 3 and I didn’t have clogged ducts when she was younger, so I’m guessing not that, but anything is possible.

Emily Ley 2020 Simplicity Challenge


www.facebook.com/emilyleypaper/


Our Annual Simplicity Challenge is HERE!#ASimplifiedLife #SimplicityChallenge2020. 1 step every day for 30 days. Each one takes 15 minutes or less.


Day 1 - Walk your home with a trash bag or five. Be ruthless. Papers. Receipts. Tags. Empty bottles. Go.

Day 2 - Clean out your fridge. Check expiration dates and throw things away.

Day 3 - Clear the clutter from your nightstand.

Day 4 - Simplify your phone. Delete old contacts and unused apps. Refresh your lock screen.

Day 5 - Make a list of anything that needs restocked in your bathroom. Restock what you can from items you already have in your house (if possible), or add to your next grocery list.

Day 6 - Make a list of anything that needs restocked in your pantry. Restock what you can from items you already have in your house (if possible), or add to your next grocery list.

Day 7 - Walk your house with a donate bag. Schedule a pick-up or drop it off as soon as the bag is full.

Day 8 - Don’t let all of your laundry pile up throughout the week. Find a laundry system that works for you stick with it.

Day 9 - The tone of your morning impacts the rest of your day. Set a recurring alarm for every weekday. If you’re letting your kids wake you, set it one hour earlier.

Day 10 - Make it a habit to clean out your car every time you fill it with gas.

Day 11 - Create a perpetual birthday list of friends you’d like to reach out to on their special day.

Day 12 - Put your number on the do not call list. While you’re at it, turn off the notifications on your phone, too.

Emily Ley 2020 Simplicity Challenge


www.facebook.com/emilyleypaper/


Our Annual Simplicity Challenge is HERE!#ASimplifiedLife #SimplicityChallenge2020. 1 step every day for 30 days. Each one takes 15 minutes or less.


Day 1 - Walk your home with a trash bag or five. Be ruthless. Papers. Receipts. Tags. Empty bottles. Go.

Day 2 - Clean out your fridge. Check expiration dates and throw things away.

Day 3 - Clear the clutter from your nightstand.

Day 4 - Simplify your phone. Delete old contacts and unused apps. Refresh your lock screen.

Day 5 - Make a list of anything that needs restocked in your bathroom. Restock what you can from items you already have in your house (if possible), or add to your next grocery list.

Day 6 - Make a list of anything that needs restocked in your pantry. Restock what you can from items you already have in your house (if possible), or add to your next grocery list.

Day 7 - Walk your house with a donate bag. Schedule a pick-up or drop it off as soon as the bag is full.

Day 8 - Don’t let all of your laundry pile up throughout the week. Find a laundry system that works for you stick with it.

Day 9 - The tone of your morning impacts the rest of your day. Set a recurring alarm for every weekday. If you’re letting your kids wake you, set it one hour earlier.

Okay, chiming in.


Already accomplished, or never applied to us:


4. Pay off your car loan.
5. Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
7. Fund a new computer/phone before your old one dies.
8. Pay your 30-year mortgage like it's a 20- or 15-year mortgage.
9. Save $1000 for a rainy day.
10. Get the full employer match for your 401k.
11. Cut your student loan payment term in half.
15. Open a Roth IRA.
18. Do a debt sprint.
20. Pay off zero percent interest loans.


Others:
1. No-Spend January.  No thanks, we already spend significantly less than we make, and I don't make a ton of frivolous purchases, so I'm good with where we'er at.

2. Pay off your credit card debt.  We do this every month.

3. Break a vice.  Sugar/sweets is really my only one, and we'll just go with, it's a work in progress. 

6. Use a budget. No thanks, see response to 1 above.

12. Pay for someone else's meal in a restaurant. I'm going to try that this year. I've done random acts of kindness before, but not this one.

13. Don't eat out for a month.  Not happening - young kids, 2 working parents, lots of stuff going on, adds up to eating out once in a while. 

14. Pay for your dream vacation in cash. If I could figure out just *one* dream vacation, consider it done.  But we will be vacationing somewhere this year, paid in full when we go.

16. Give more away. We try to increase our giving.  Someone I know in another forum has a goal to give away $100k this year, which just floors and amazes me.  We're nowhere near having that level of wealth to give away, but it did remind me that we need to keep being intentional about making a difference where we can in ways that are meaningful to us.

17. Rollover your 401k. I should probably consider this at some point, but as I only have 1 old 401k, and it's at vanguard where my Roth is, I'm not in a huge hurry.

19. Grant some of your wishes.  If I could convince DH that we need a cleaning lady, that would be my top wish.  We'll see - I doubt this is the year I convince him, but you never know. 

I’ve been at my employer about 12.6 years, and DH has been here 20.5 years. They tend to have a fair amount of people stuck around , though there are also people who leave after a few years. My salary has come close to doubling (has doubled if you include bonuses), several title changes, and more responsibility/now management and team leader roles. That said, as the company has grown, it’s definitely getting more and more corporate each year, but I prefer a steady paycheck to the uncertainty of running my own firm.

Right?! Same thought I have on day 6. When I run out or am close to running out of a pantry staple, I add it to my shopping list.