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Small things

December 17th, 2014 at 04:04 pm

First there are a few small things we need to get under control.
~ We ate out too much in November. I was ridiculously busy.

~ We got notice of a big cable and internet increase

~ I did too much charity Christmas shopping. About $250 more than we planned.

* set a hard limit for eating out of $75 a month. Have a list of very easy last minute meals.

* I have researched the rates of satellite so I am prepared to negotiate with the cable company again. I also did this a year ago. They are the only choice for cable internet here. I plan to do this Monday.

* I enjoyed every bit of the charity shopping so no changes needed there!

___________________________________________________

We will be doing the FAFSA again in Jan which I expect will be again be the same as last year. A small amount of unsubsidized loans we thankfully didnt need.

There will be a small change in costs associated with one childs college beginning next fall but the other child also starts. Though he is now on his own I am expecting besides tuition he may need a little more help from us. Any savings from one child will likely go to the other.

My spouse will be getting a small !% raise. We will be bumping up the 401K 1%

I've got our $11,000 ready for the 2015 IRA's from cash reserves.

I need to get back to tracking all my extras earned!!! I'd like to do all of 2015.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Small things”

  1. snafu Says:
    December 18th, 2014 at 03:27 am 1418873224
    1418873224

    I wonder if you'd consider monitoring income and expenses via mint.com or a similar, easy input and results. We likewise had two DSs in university at the same time and just as we were about to call done, 1st the younger and then the older decided they needed grad school. They both finished their programs and I consider them both fully launched! Unexpectedly, lol
    I'm having a horrid time dealing with empty nest syndrome. I so want to give an opinion but have resolved to keep my big mouth shut!

    Do you plan to have holiday meals mostly prepared at home or shared between family and friends? In my opinion, the costs for restaurant meals are rarely worth the increased costs which is exacerbated by inflated beverage fees, tips and taxes.

  2. Bright Says:
    December 21st, 2014 at 07:02 pm 1419188528
    1419188528

    Snafu, we use YNAB fot monitoring. Glad your kids are both done with school Smile We will not be paying for grad school for the kids. We can afford what was planned for ( 4 years) and that is it. The rest is on them. The oldest is doing tech. If by the time he is 30 he doesn't decide to do more school he will get the difference between his and his siblings education as and investment or for a home. I also find it hard as a parent to keep my mouth shut. Hope the empty nest syndrome gets a bit better for you.

    I cook both the holiday meals both days. Family supplies the wine, drinks and dessert. I wish I did not enjoy going out to eat. For us the beverage is almost always water. Not because of being cheap but we primarily drink water all the time. I just get tired of eating my own cooking.

    I really need to keep a tally of the little extras I earn from surveys etc. Like giftcards etc. We do track all actual income in YNAB as well as any paper checks from these activities.

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