well it took a month but i finally received my refund from item i ordered but they never delivered.

Still never found any help with IRS to tell me why we never received any stimulus check. I guess i will deal with it in spring when I do taxes. I really wonder if many of these checks (prepaid card) went missing.

I keep fighting my urge to give notice. I met the 1 year contract date and have been offered new positions that sound more interesting work situations but the money is about $5 an hour lower. I had to go in 3 times this week and the new hoops they want us to do are IMO ridiculous. I need to reserve MY own desk in an app as a way they track how many people are coming on site. we have been asked by security if we feel ok and if we had any contact with someone with any symptoms and have temp taken which is not fool proof since many with it never had a fever now they want us to fill out a 15 question survey every day we show up on computer then show guard we did it.
It is so over the top for the fact this area has very few cases and not a problem. Seems super late to implement this i could have seen it in may but now seems like only keeping score in the last quarter.

Again a meeting pushing us but trying to make it seem like it was our idea to load these various apps on our own personal phone......
NO thanks I do not use my phone or my printer etc for their business.
I am amazed at how many people seem willing to do that. The team knows if they said we had to they would need to reimburse us for use of our personal phone so they just nudge some to do it on their own.


I have beefed up my cash position and recently made some investment changes that have worked out very well. I just cannot stay motivated to just sock away savings or contributions. I think it is actually easier and more inspiring to watch debt fall then just adding to accounts.

i need to just bite the bullet and leave or find a reason to stay by creating better goals since i keep reaching the ones I set

Well when texting with my daughter she slightly mentioned that her and SIL have been discussing looking for their own house as they have " rented" at a huge discounted rate our house for the last 5 years.

I knew sooner or later they may move was just not really thinking it would be now. They have OK jobs and thanks to low rent and such have grown a fairly decent savings.
It was ironic since she was just talking of a friend whose hubby was just laid off and the friends don't know how to make their mortgage. Many of SIL and DD friends bought too much house and will struggle in bad times like now.
I do not want to hold them back and they have not really started looking but i think personally they feel super flush NOW but a down payment will wipe out most of their nest egg and both cars are older with a decent amount of miles so i would hate to see them with a mortgage and needing a new auto.

I feel somewhat torn as much as i want them to be careful discouraging taking on big debt seems like i am just protecting my interests.

I can rent for twice what they pay but will need to go in and update some items etc. i offered to do any small updates for them but they have not responded back. should i just approach it like they are moving and make plans for updates or should i wait and see.

We usually break even with taxes in most years I was curious as how this year would turn out.
Since I temped with 2 different placement groups I could no longer log in to get a look early for one group so had to wait for mail.
It is super bizarre I always fill out withholding the same but I made more money at that placement overall and they took out way less tax, then they should have.
So a quick calculation shows us owing big.

I can cut total owed down by adding to my (2019)IRA as I can deduct the full contribution. It is not a dollar for dollar swap and we will end up paying something but I can bring it down by a good chunk.
It is frustrating since it will take my focus and funds from my regular savings plan or I can dig into one of my savings accounts. It also means now is not the time to leave this job even though I hate it.

I also had a small medical visit that I am not sure how the new insurance will pay. I just feel somewhat defeated at the moment.

So as the new year starts I want to hit the ground running...

I have not hit the maximum for IRA/ Roth for 2019 but from experience last year even with notations it is for 2019 sometime in the processing they credit 2020.
I am thinking forgoing trying to finish 2019 contributions but jump to this year.
I toy every other month with slowing down the extra house payoff and throwing more in retirement accounts but I feel cautious that I do not want to throw too much at investing buying at high prices.

Which brings me to the job front. I do not want to stay but the money is good and I have flush funds to invest... so i could find something else but for same hours i would be making less per hour. my contract lasts until July I have lasted this long unless they offer a permanent position i will decline.

we had a quiet holiday went across state to see the grand kids.
We have been really cutting back on holiday purchases simply because our immediate family has no real need of items that they do not go out and buy themselves. Spent money for a breakfast out today before we headed home and we brought some items that we had on Christmas dinner.
SIL and daughter both had colds so they gave us a cold for Christmas!
I know it was not on purpose but i feel like something is seriously coming on. Hopefully i can just rest up before I return to work on the 2nd.
I enjoy reading the other blogs and although I could probably add up the total of expenses throughout the year it would take some detective work.
I do know that I paid $7040.21 towards principal on house #1. with just regular payments would have been $3600.
I also was able to contribute a good amount to my IRA and a Roth IRA. I will check to see how much I need to meet the max for 2019 since i still have a few months to meet that.
my investments capital gain/ dividend netted about $9800.00 in December.
DH got a call when we were traveling the owner of his company has a surprise bonus check for him so I guess we will see what that is next week.

I know as a financial site we discuss saving tips /good deals /better interest rates etc.
It is fun to see some bloggers get excited and inspired as they climb out of debt or start a journey into financial fitness. Even reading about items some do for fun.

I am on good footing lately but I am not I would say satisfied or really happy.
I have been talking to others and see that all jobs have problems and perhaps I should find a distraction like e-book or game to fill my time.
I am paid well for very little work. while great for me it is emotionally draining as I know people ARE paying a lot for the products this company is developing (medication) so i can play candy crush.
Ever wonder why prescriptions cost so much?

My savings and financial picture is making great strides and I am feeling ill about it.

The area we live is congested and sucky and so we seldom go out .... no spend days are so simple for me but I am bored. i wonder if it is a phase or just the way it is.
I listen to others at work and most people seem in similar situations of boredom and dissatisfaction. Many resort to eating. none look happy or even smile.
I have actually watched some gain weight since being hired.

I guess I need to find more hobbies or something.
i am tired of going to another placement after another to find same attitudes and disappointment.
Most of the fun or engaging jobs I have had were lower end and now that my resume shows a higher level most lower end pass thinking they could not pay as well or I would leave.
Life is about more then how much you make or at least i would hope so.

We as savers carefully watch as our balances grow like a plant. Once in awhile something comes up and we need to spend some of our money.
In my case it is a long overdue furnace upgrade in house #1. In general it is a good thing and actually will be some what of an investment as it will be something I would have had to do if i was going to sell.

Not sure we will but the idea has been discussed.

i ended up taking some funds out of 2 accounts.
I simply hate the feeling of looking at the dropped balances.
I am freaking out about trying to get the balances back up and how long it will take.
i honestly do not think i have as much anxiety if i had charged it on a card instead. I somehow find it more comforting to watch a balance on card fall then how slowly accounts seem to build. i am down 5k.

In my head it all makes sense pay with cash funds... no interest etc ...........but i HATE spending an account that took almost a year to get to that point.
On the good news front after getting a letter saying my payment on house one could change due to escrow amounts i find out today it went down 39.23 a month and our car insurance also went down about $5.00 per month. i am trying to be positive that i can recoup my savings with the $44 extra helping.

So as i was planning to give notice i stopped my aggressive payoff retirement plan. Then when given a 5K estimate for a home upgrade made me stop and grin and bear this insufferable job at least til end of year.

So since i have the cash for home item, I started back on paying items and forgot I had sent a check for property tax as well. It is not a huge item as i have the money in account but it will put me UNDER my comfort level for that account. it will take two weeks to remedy this oversight.

I then switched and started using account 2 and had to buy car tabs.
I do not know why everytime it is such a hassle I have my cars registered at my primary address across the state and pay less then half what this side of state wants due to insane amounts of local taxes....
Example last year this side of state would have been $483 my cost was $98.

This IS legal to register anywhere in state if you have proof of residence, according to the state... so why these clerks treat me like i am stealing money from their pocket confuses me.
So after a very terse discussion I got my tabs and am thinking of making a complaint either on yelp or with the state as this is a group that does licensing work for the state.

i really am trying to avoid negativity but it seems to find me.
So DH ordered a couple of things on Amazon ( i try so hard to get him to quit due to their appalling practices) so an hour later I heard a commotion outside and they dropped off a pkg about 1 hour after order. 8pm Saturday ... then we wake up at 5am with a strange car in front of our house ....another package....5am on Sunday.... this is creepy IMO we did not need this item that fast.

It is exhausting trying to stay busy wish they had more work they keep saying "more is almost here" so i will wait.
I have really done math while at work to see how much extra to pay off house in 36 / 30 / 24 / or 12 months.
I have been averaging somewhere between the 36/30 month category ( if 36 month will have paid the 15 year loan in 11)
It is weird that even with 20% increase in my income i somehow do not feel the progress i think i should.
my check is split 3 ways
25% goes to my everyday checking
10% goes to one of my three savings accounts
65% is in what i call my holding tank it is split to investments the other two savings and paying extra on mortgage.
So i had some small charges on credit and now i found out i did my math wrong and almost paid too much had to stop and wait for billing to catch up.
i am paying weekly as that is how temps are generally paid, this has always worked for me but sometimes my payments get there before bill cycle. more then one bill i end up with a credit on a bill. that just offsets charges for next month.

I can see small gains each week but it might be more rewarding to see one payment per month. oh well as long as it is credited 75 per week vs lil over 300 a month is the same.
it is easy to see how as people get a raise/ or a better job it can be absorbed and not noticed after a couple months.