Keeping The Personal In Personal Finance

Last week my mom was texting with me and with Mr. PiN. This was a bit of a first, as she much prefers talking on the phone.

Anyway, some of the discussion was about streaming services. We had just signed up for Acorn (7-day free trial, we will see if we keep it), because we were watching a series and impatiently waiting for the next DVD to be ready at the library. When we saw we could get the next episodes streamed to the home, we gave in. My mom texted: it’s a bargain. Just think about all the money you are saving not going to the movies or eating out.

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Fitness Log #106 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so.

I started the Friday Firsts sections as a way of keeping track of some of my “firsts” as I dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Things seem to be settling down, but I will keep it for now–more as a way to be aware and thankful of what is happening in my life.

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When You Feel It’s Your Partner Who Is The Spender

When you start to notice that the extra money leftover from paying off the mortgage is disappearing every month, and your spouse’s credit card bills have gone up by several hundreds of dollars. Nothing suspicious, like Strippers R Us. Just Costco, Lowes, etc. Places they shop all the time, only the bills are going higher and higher, while you are trying to move towards FI/RE.

Do you:

A) Go ballistic and demand receipts from all shopping trips, going over each purchase line by line?

B) Melt down, asking if they want you to work forever while sobbing uncontrollably as you ponder another 20 years of taking call?

C) Try to schedule a calm, loving budgeting meeting over dinner? Which they have prepared with the food they purchased, in between fixing home maintenance problems you were too busy working to notice?

D) Say eff-it, if they are going to spend more and torpedo our plans to retire early, then I will stop curbing my purchases and buy whatever I want?

E) Realize you had a tough week at work, and tell yourself to chill out and ignore the household finances for at least a week or two?

Asking for a friend.

Monday Melange, Money Matters Math

I have been saving a number of blog posts that caught my eye, and I think it might be time to share them. Saving blog posts without sharing seems to me like saving yummy leftovers in the fridge but never eating them–the saved item loses much of its value.

I read lots of articles about personal finance, and only save some of them; mostly it depends on how organized I am when I read them. Here are a few of my favorites, though there were so many I will probably have another round up soon.

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Fitness Log #105 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so.

I started the Friday Firsts sections as a way of keeping track of some of my “firsts” as I dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Things seem to be settling down, but I will keep it for now–more as a way to be aware and thankful of what is happening in my life.

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5 Lessons Learned From Emptying My Closet

A few weeks ago, I up-ended everything in my home office.

I had previously gotten the office under some semblance of control: the bookshelves were thinned, the floor was mostly cleared, I could position my chair for video appointments pretty much anywhere.

And then, I decided I had had enough of my super-stuffed closet. I said I wanted space to put away my ironing board when I wasn’t using it. Suddenly I was emptying out my super-stuffed closet and had to deal with whatever crap was in there. In the process, I turned my nearly tidy office into an unholy mess, which prompted some reflection.

Here are a few of the lessons I am taking away from this experience.

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Fitness Log #104 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so.

I started the Friday Firsts sections as a way of keeping track of some of my “firsts” as I dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Things seem to be settling down, but I will keep it for now–more as a way to be aware and thankful of what is happening in my life.

Continue reading “Fitness Log #104 And Friday Firsts”

Fitness Log #103 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so.

I started the Friday Firsts sections as a way of keeping track of some of my “firsts” as I dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Things seem to be settling down, but I will keep it for now–more as a way to be aware and thankful of what is happening in my life.

Continue reading “Fitness Log #103 And Friday Firsts”