We had a nice drive getting DD2 and a friend back to college. Her new friend reminded us of a cross between two of her high school friends. The friend was just going to dump what she didn't need for their camp weekend at my daughters room as she lives on the other side of campus, then they were going to grab lunch in the dining services building, still open over break but with more limited hours and menu, then walk to the camp department a couple blocks off campus to meet the other workers and their ride. We filled the gas tank and headed off fairly soon as we wanted to avoid as much traffic and possible, though that didn't work quite so well. Still, we were home by 5:30 and supper was the soup I had made on Wednesday but not eaten, with a grilled cheese for DH and the other half of a leftover muffin from DD1's breakfast outing with her grandma for me.
I froze a few portions of soup but now my freezer is completely full. We must eat down the leftovers in the refrigerator to avoid waste. There's still at least a meals worth of chicken noodle soup for the two of us, plus a serving of curry from Wednesday and a bowls worth of the wild rice soup from Monday. With several odds and end spending, I'm down to $11 left in my H&G low target budget. We shouldn't need anything but milk, bread, eggs, and hot dog buns for the Halloween cheddar brats. I have a free papa Murphy's pizza voucher to use by the 31st as well. With the freezer stocked for lunches, it should be a very low spend week including the few items mentioned, church offering, gas for my car, and perhaps a few drinks out tomorrow night if we decide to go downtown.
I'd like to go out tomorrow, though with all my running around this week a quiet weekend wouldn't be a bad thing. Our old high school choir teacher plays piano on occasion at the local American Legion. Many of my old high school friends and spouses are planning to go. He has to be near 80, but still plays wonderfully and gets people singing along. Plus, I can imagine there will be good people watching with folks out and about in costume. I'll see if I can coax DH out.
I'm fully funded in my 401K now, so my last five paychecks of the year will be considerably higher in take home. Depending on how we allocate funds, I just might be able to make the $30,000 2019 target, even with paying back the savings for spending more on home stuff than originally planned. DH won a couple promotions at work, though he'll technically be 990'd for the value for taxes. We need to tuck aside a bit more to make sure we don't have a harsh reality come tax time. $650 is with Best Buy gift cards, so as we think about Christmas spending, we will look towards using this bonus to off set cash spending. We decided we will use some to replace our TV in the bedroom with a small smart TV. The older one, still fine, can be used to hook up games since we put that TV in the spare bedroom since it has a built in DVD player. We'll have to see what my nephew, our godson wants and see if there is anything useful for DH's mom.
I enjoyed having my daughter home, while at the same time it is nice to know she has settled so well into school. I had the Saturday with both girls plus the bonus time Wednesday night. Life evolves and changes, but that is natural and good. We'll clean up our financial records this weekend and I'll report out later, but overall October has been a good month.
I love how upbeat this post is. What a gift you've given your adult children by happily moving into "birdwatching."
ReplyDeleteI feel like October is flying by. We've had a fairly cold autumn so far. I don't think the weather has been rainier than previous years, but the temperature sure has been lower. It'll be interesting to have our first round of holidays in this place. So far, I'm happier in this place, but I miss some things from our old place. I really miss our woodstove from our old place--something comforting about sitting around it. We have a propane fireplace, but it's not the same. Funny, earlier in the month we had a gray, gusty, gloomy day, and I *really* wondered why we moved, I missed the old place/woodstove so much. But, that night we lost power due to 60 mph winds. Our house is so well built that I didn't even realize the winds had picked up until I heard our standby generator kick on! In the old place, we'd have felt the house rattle. Moreover, we'd have had no water until power was restored. (Private well = private pump = no water = no flushing the toilet either.) Pining for the old place was curtailed, let me tell you!
We've had quit a few sunny, but cool days. I'll take them. I love the sun and can always put on a warmer jacket. While I love a good rainy day, the cold rain gets inot my bones. I hope you get a fall warm spurt.
DeleteSounds like a good week, Sam. Congrats on fully funding your 401K already this year. That's terrific.
ReplyDeleteWe were aggressive with the % taken out each pay check, so that helped. I'm toying with increasing the % to match my raise-minus the slight increase in benefits cost. That would get us there quicker next year, but not change my take home. There's something about the boost to take home at the end of the year that motivates me to save more. I could see how it easily could be permission to spend, but I won't let that happen.
DeleteI think it sounds like you had a marvelous week on all kinds of fronts!
ReplyDeleteI really did. I love Meg's term, Bird watching. I guess that's what I am now, and that too can be OK.
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