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October 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Fall 2017 Update

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Life

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Welcome back folks!  How have things been for you?  Super crazy?  Oh, good…. same here!

Our last update came in July, and I shared with you that we survived the spring soccer season even without a microwave, and had suffered through a Lyme disease care with Lady Bug, I had a sinus infection, we all went on a family vacation, and Hubs had a weird reaction to a bug bite.  Turns out, Hubs had contracted Lyme from a tick that was attached and gone in record breaking time.  After that diagnosis and a second round of antibiotics, all was well with him.

fall 2017 update

At the end of July, two days after Hubs ended his second treatment, Monkey got this weird eczema patch on his shoulder blade.  This isn’t unusual for him because, like me, he has super sensitive skin.  But the size was a little odd.  So Hubs marked the outer edge of it with a pen, I put some calendula cream on it, and we watched it.  Four days of watching it grow, marking the new area, and applying cream, I started to get worried.  He had no other symptoms besides a huge mood shift, but his spot was getting bigger and bigger each day, and had some faded areas in the middle.  So just to play it safe, I called his pedi so we could get it looked at.

fall 2017 update

The pedi had determined he had Lyme.  And again, we saw absolutely no tick.  The one time this summer I see the tick, we go through antibiotics as a precaution.  The times I haven’t seen ticks, and we’ve been obsessively checking, someone gets Lyme.  And what’s even more peculiar, is that Monkey’s symptoms were considered night and day compared to Hubs, who was laid up in bed for 2 days with a fever, nausea, and a huge rash that spread so fast.  Monkey’s started out as a mood shift, and a slow progression to his rash.  Absolutely nothing alike.

I had decided after his appointment that I was just going to take another hiatus from the blog.  The deciding factor there was that I didn’t want to have to worry about trying to keep up with this and making sure he was okay, so I just decided to step away for a bit.  It turns out I made the right decision because not only did I not sleep well with “mom-guilt”, but he also had some pretty wicked nightmares {a side effect of the medication}, and so sleep in general was very rare during his treatment.

Three weeks of antibiotics later, he had been deemed as cured.  By the time he was ending his antibiotics, we had shifted our focus to gearing up for school with more doctor’s appointments, open houses, orientation nights, kindergarten orientation appointments, numerous forms to fill out, bus route changes, and the list goes on and on.  In between all the crazy, we still had tons of harvesting and preserving from our garden to do, as well as  adjusting to a new soccer schedule.

fall 2017 update

It wasn’t all crazy-busy though.  We took some time during August to just step back and enjoy the moment.  Ladybug was super excited that we found some monarch caterpillars, and insisted that we bring them back to the house.  It was hard to say no to her, and a month later they still talk about watching the caterpillars metamorphose into butterflies.

fall 2017 update

We also took a day to enjoy the solar eclipse in our back yard.  Since we weren’t able to get the eclipse glasses, we looked up how to use Bookworm’s telescope to project the eclipse onto a box that we hand on hand.

fall 2017 update

With all that craziness done, and after hunting down some first-week-last-minute school supplies, I think we’re adjusting to our new schedule okay.

Now we’ve hit the stage where they all bring home germs.  We’ve had two stints of pink eye, a chest cold that’s made its rounds through the family, and I’m currently battling some laryngitis.

I’m not used to the quiet that occurs during the day.  I still have things to do around the house that need done in order to keep on top of everything during the crazy soccer season, but I thought I’d start making it a habit to get on here a few times a week.  I’ve got a ton of topics that were had lined up for the summer, so there’s no shortage of content to come.  But I also loved the accountability that coming here and showing our budget and debt payment for the month gave me.  It really helped with motivation, which is what I really need at this point in order to crush this last credit card before moving on to our student loans.

So now it’s your turn: how was the rest of your summer?  Super insane, crazy, relaxed, or working in your favor?  I’d love to know in the comments below!!

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makingcentsmatter

makingcentsmatter
Payday is today! Actually, payday was Friday the 1 Payday is today! Actually, payday was Friday the 12th because we completely forgot today is a bank holiday in the US. The feeling of being paid and not needing it is a nice one.⁠
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Here's what our paycheck needs to get us through for bills until March 14th. For a full look at our budget over the next month, head over to my budget with me on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rb8uyi1-rNc⁠
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#monthlyincome #monthlybudget #monthlybudget #zerobasedbudget #payday #budgetwithme #budgeting #budgettips #budgetcalendar #frugalliving #savingmoney #paycheck #makingcentsmatter #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress
This weekend was focused on a pantry shop and meal This weekend was focused on a pantry shop and meal plan creation! This meal plan to get us to our February payday. We also picked fast meals, because it's a busy two weeks between doctor's appointments,. Academic Decathalon, dance, and drama. I'm unsure we'll be able to shop on payday, hence the extras.⁠
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Total spent: $112.39 for items to get us through this and lunches.⁠
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Keep in mind, just over $112 for 12 meals isn't sustainable for our family, just in times when we need to stretch the last bits of our monthly income. I really wish $112 was enough to feed two teenaged boys in our household.⁠
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The point being... do what works for you, and your situation based on your location. Don't try to fit yourself into someone else's situation!⁠
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#mealplan #mealplanning #frugalliving #frugalmom #makingcentsmatter #savingmoney #monthlyincome #budgeting #budgetmom #groceryshop
January's real numbers:⁠ .⁠ House: $511.13⁠ January's real numbers:⁠
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House: $511.13⁠
Citi: $720⁠
D NelNet: $100⁠
K NelNet: $100⁠
K Chase: $150⁠
Explorer: $343⁠
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Extra Payment to Citi: $500⁠
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Noteworthy... our car payment had a late fee assessed because the mail was SLOWED down over Christmas. Three headaches later, and we potentially have online banking finally set up with them. It is still a headache. And we are never taking another car loan out with this bank!⁠
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How was January?⁠
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#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejouney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #savingmoney #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom
Sometimes in order to see progress, you need to ta Sometimes in order to see progress, you need to take a step back.
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I'll be honest, I didn't think that we got this far in 2020. With everything going on - and more importantly, everything NOT going on - we didn't keep up with this every month. We just threw what we could at our goal. I'm simply amazed at how far we came.
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Things are still hectic, and I'm simply mentally exhausted between remote learning, extended remote learning, offset quarantining children... it goes on and on.
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But I also cannot wait to see what strides we will make in 2021.
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#makingcentsmatter #debtfreejouney #debtfreeprogress #savingmoney #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance
This is what school looks like when it's a hybrid This is what school looks like when it's a hybrid model, and your house does not have unlimited space. I was standing in our kitchen when I took this picture, the kids behind me making lunch.
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Our district is carefully monitoring our local infection rates, and we are currently in a hybrid form. That means they divided the district into two groups; half are in school on Monday and Tuesday, the other half on Thursday and Friday. They are offering an all remote option, but Verizon for some reason supplies our house with speeds so slow that it would shock a tortoise. Remote was a no-go.
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This set-up has taken some trial and error to get to where we currently are. Because no matter how prepared you are and how much you've planned, once you're in the weeds, actually doing it, there is no telling how your best-laid plans will work.
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Our home is a 1800sqft one-story, open living area, 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom, ranch-style house in a very rural area. It has no home offices. No guest bedrooms. Yes, that is a desk in the corner of our dining room. 🤣
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Each kid gets their own color bin for their school work. This includes school-issued Chromebooks and other standard items they need to get work done - headphones, pencils, and so on. When we are done for the day, we clean up everything, place them neatly in these bins, and place them in cubbies (on my current left) at night while the Chromebooks charge.
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I do NOT bother to clean up at lunchtime. It would take us more time to clean up and reset everything than it takes us to eat lunch. So we only pack it all up for the day and call it done.
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During the day, I sit between my younger two and field any questions they may have, troubleshoot technical issues we all have, and be the overall bouncer when things get off-topic. My high schooler will occasionally emerge from his bedroom, which opens to the kitchen. So he is close by when he has questions.
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Please remember that with all things in life, you need to work with what's available to you. And there is no shame in that. Don't ever feel like you're not doing good enough because it's not picture perfect. Work with what you have available to you, and you'll do amazing things.
School is in session, the garden is slowing, and I School is in session, the garden is slowing, and I’ve finally realized I haven’t shared our payoff numbers for July or August. Yeah……
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Please keep in mind, we are paid monthly on the 15th, but we don’t go by a “monthly” budget. So I have to go back and look at these numbers based off their due dates in the calendar. Because our pay falls in the middle of the month, I can’t tell you what portion of our income went to debt. It’s going to vary paycheck to paycheck anyways because our priorities vary with each check. Nothing is ever the same month to month, and pay to pay.
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That said, inJuly we paid off $2,694.43.
In August we paid off $1,673.40.
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The difference here is that our priorities shifted between the two months.
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During August, we were doing more prep for whatever school would look like this year, and we had some savings goals make their way to the top of the list as well.
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Of those goals, in August we made progress!
EF Reimbursement: $146 / $1,200
Checking Buffer Reimbursement: $227 / $500
Vet Sinking Fund: $40 / $200
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Remember this is a journey, not a race. There is no point wearing yourself ragged and still making no progress. Make progress where you can, and celebrate it. Even if it’s $5.
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It’s progress, and that’s what matters!
While I wait for the canner to finish the last rou While I wait for the canner to finish the last round... I rearranged our recipe binder. It's only taken me 8 or so years. 🤣😶😭
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I miss the days when zucchini was my problem. Now it's tomatoes. I can only find so many ways to use up spaghetti sauce! So the next 50lbs or so will be chili base and unseasoned sauce.
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On top of this school is starting with a hybrid in building & online system. And I'm seriously slacking on some things I need to do. I'm not good at juggling multiple things and the balls are falling. But I keep reminding myself... be patient. This too shall pass. This is only a phase. So I pick and choose what's the most important, focus on that and go from there.
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So if you feel overwhelmed with your current phase, remember, this too shall pass. It's okay to rearrange priorities. It's okay to take a breather.
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This too shall pass.
If you didn't start finding interesting ways to ge If you didn't start finding interesting ways to get rid of the squash, can you say you even planted any?
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Good news, I'm almost caught up! Bad news, the garden has more.
Super busy here... but I wanted to share that wins Super busy here... but I wanted to share that wins can come in super small packages. I thought I'd spend $380 to clean the band instruments in this house. I ended up spending $234. So the remaining $146 can go to reimbursing what I pulled from our EF.
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No matter the win, celebrate it!
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What are some wins you have had lately?
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