Navigating life and finances
By: Lucy14 Comments
Ugh. Last night I received a call from the kiddo’s mom. She had had some (very) limited contact with a coworker who tested positive for COVID and now needs to self-isolate. Based on when this happened, she can’t return to work until Thursday. What this means for me is that I miss out on three days of work. While I don’t mind being home, I’d much rather be earning a paycheck. I guess I’ll have some extra time to see if I can make a little from my long-neglected Amazon Mturks. [Read more…]
By: Lucy5 Comments
Yesterday I wrote about selling the car, and that we have an idea of what we want to do with the proceeds. In trying to be a bit more transparent (because I know you all want to know how much we got!), it wasn’t a huge amount. The car was in excellent shape but did have a smidge over 100,000 miles. We accepted an offer of $4,500. Nothing earth-shattering, but still a nice amount to add to our savings. We are also getting $467 back from our auto insurance, as I had just paid our six-month premium. Since I already accounted for that money, I’ll throw that into savings as well.
Now for the big idea. It is about our future house renovation. [Read more…]
By: Lucy2 Comments
Today we sold our summer car. We sold it directly to the same guy who sold our 5th wheel for us a few years ago. While we could have gotten more selling it on our own, I’m thankful not to have the hassle. We would have done this months ago, but then all this COVID stuff got in the way. For a vehicle nine years old, it was in excellent shape. Of course, it helped that we didn’t (couldn’t) drive it on snowy roads, and we stored it in our garage. Along with the check, I’m happy to gain some desperately needed garage space. [Read more…]
By: Lucy8 Comments
After an almost four-month hiatus from blogging, I think it is a good idea to review my 2020 goals. Not keeping up with A Dime at a Time hasn’t been good. I know I lost a lot of my focus, and it put these goals a bit of “out of sight, out of mind.” So, about those goals. Here is what I started with, and where we are now: [Read more…]
By: Lucy7 Comments
Goodness. I can’t believe I haven’t written in almost four months. Do I have a good excuse? Yes and no. [Read more…]
By: Lucy10 Comments
Since my dad’s passing, I’ve often found myself thinking, “it was x amount of days since this or that happened.” Life does continue, and we have to do so the best that we can.
My “job” of overseeing my father’s healthcare and final arrangements is now over, so that is one less thing on my plate. My brother will finish taking care of the financial end of things. Since the main focus of this blog is financial, yes, there is an inheritance.
The money will be coming to us from a few sources. The main one I knew about, plus there are at least two others. Last week was simply not the time to discuss all the nitty-gritty details of our father’s will and trust, but we did touch on a few things. As with any estate, it will take time to settle.
Hubs is now on his way back to the East Coast for work. With the craziness of the Coronavirus, he chose to rent a car rather than fly home. His job generously gave him three days of bereavement pay, plus he gets his travel days paid as well. It is worrisome having him head to this hot spot. I did my best to load him up with a lot of provisions that he couldn’t have otherwise taken had he flown.
As for me, well, I’m thankfully stuck at home. Since I had been in an area where there are numerous Coronavirus cases (and deaths), the kiddos family understandably wants me to self-isolate for 14 days. Honestly, had they not made that request, I would have suggested doing so. This virus is nothing to be messed with, and we all need to do our part to stop the spread and flatten the curve.
To end on a positive note, we got our taxes back from our CPA and we don’t’ owe! 🙂
By: Lucy23 Comments
My father passed away one week ago today. I received a call on Wednesday as I was getting ready to leave work that he had taken a turn for the worse. With nursing homes being on lockdown from receiving visitors on account of the Coronavirus, receiving word of his change was our permission to see him. I made calls to Hubs and my siblings while hastily packing a bag. I am so glad I had made an emergency list of things I’d need a few weeks ago. Choosing only to stop for gas and to use the restroom, I made it to my dad’s bedside at 3:15 AM. [Read more…]
By: Lucy12 Comments
Good grief. The world seems to have gone crazy over the need to stockpile ~ especially toilet paper! I almost hate to admit it, but with all the hysteria, I felt a bit “forced” into doing some of my own stockpiling. Toilet paper was actually on my list of items to buy after work on Saturday. Given all the images and reports of empty shelves, I decided to do my shopping yesterday. Good thing I did, since several items on my list, were challenging to find. [Read more…]
By: Lucy15 Comments
We bought a new car! After several days of looking, we settled on a 2020 Subaru Outback. Yes, we purchased new. We compared several makes and models and felt that the Outback was the best fit for where we live. Additionally, we looked at used, but for the price difference, buying new (and getting better financing and a full warranty) made the most sense. Surprisingly, they gave us $2750 for our 2009 Outback, and it is now on the dealership’s website for $6,990. With knowing all the problems that the car had, well, buyer-beware! [Read more…]
By: Lucy16 Comments
Guess who came down with the flu? Yep, me. It hit me on Saturday. I spent three solid days in bed, and today, I am finally starting to feel better. Aside from (obviously) being exposed, I think my body didn’t have a fighting chance with everything I’ve had going on. I’m seriously considering wearing a mask whenever I need to be around people. At the very least, I am going to start using curbside grocery pickup, the pharmacy drive-thru, and will do the same when I need to go to the bank. While pretty near impossible to avoid all contact with others, the less contact I do have with others, the better~at least until the cold and flu season is behind us. [Read more…]