October MM Randoms

[midwestmama]

Share your October wins/losses/randoms.

[midwestmama]

Win: DH's pay will hit the SS tax limit this month, so his second paycheck this month and through the rest of the year will be a bit higher than usual.

Win?: DH was told that his company is changing bonus targets for managers and directors at his company. His bonus target is going down 5 percentage points starting Jan. 1, but they are giving impacted employees a 5% base pay increase to "make them whole" (compared to target). It will be a win for us when the company pays bonuses below target, but will lose out on upside pay potential in years they pay above target. Overall, I'm glad the company did something to off-set the loss of bonus target. At this point, we're planning to put the additional pay in our money market savings account and will likely just keep it there for home improvements & repairs/mortgage pay down/vacation money like what we would use bonus money for.

ETA:  We are finally back to normal hourly rates for electric, the summer premium of 1.5x regular rate from 2-7 pm on weekdays was done at the end of September.  Now I can finally not cringe when DH decides to do laundry during the "peak" hours in the summer (because at this point, I feel like I can only remind him so many times, although maybe I should resort to making a magnet to put on washing machine as a constant reminder during the summer months with the "peak" hours rate).

[aprilsails]

@@@

Eventual Win: I've been offered the opportunity to become an equity partner in my firm. It will pay off in the long run in spades but means I need to take on a fair chunk of debt for the next five years. Working with my financial advisor to get my ducks lined up in a row. We had saved a fair chunk of cash to get started on finishing the basement in 2024 and doing proper landscaping in 2025. It's going into the cash buy-in. Sorry @@@children and neighbours!

The timing could not be better. DS just started school so I can service the loans entirely from the money we're not paying for daycare. I was really looking forward to loosening our belts and getting a house cleaner though.

[ellipses84]

Win: We have a lot of random unexpected money coming our way. It’s like $100-200 each, but helps make up for how expensive everything is lately. Our insurance and our electric company both sent us refunds. We also got some delayed remaining covid relief.

DH’s car will be paid off this month.

I’m going to re-evaluate our car insurance and change companies which I’m sure will save $$.

Student loan payments resume but mine is way less than it was before (and the majority of my loans were forgiven via PSLF during the pause).

Losses: One day in and October is very expensive! We went to a concert last night and tix were bought ahead of time but the @ babysitter was expensive. A new stadium is walking distance from our neighborhood and they started having lots of concerts there recently so we didn’t have to pay for parking (win). In the spring we are going to a concert at a different outdoor small venue and we decided to bring the kids because tix for them cost less than a babysitter. In a year, I think DS1 will be mature enough to babysit so this may be one of the last times for a babysitter (win)!

We are spending a weekend at Disneyland soon because extended family is visiting for a special event. Tix and hotels are paid for but I know it’s going to be a non-mm weekend for food and stuff. It’s all so much more expensive than it used to be.

TBD: I’m waiting for a full time offer from my part time job. Yay for benefits but I’m hoping the pay will be ok.

[Susie]

Congrats aprilsails!

I went through that when my first was about 1 year old, I became an equity partner in my firm and bought a 5% share.  It was rough taking on the debt for that while paying for my own student loans, infant daycare, and later, paying for two in daycare, so your timing sounds great.

I've now paid off my first 5% and am on the cusp of buying another chunk soon, but it's easier to do when you have the profit stream from the first chunk coming in free and clear.

[mommin]

Dh moves 1700 miles away this weekend to start his new job. I’ll still be here with the kids until June when DS1 graduates. We are moving to a smaller town with WAY lower cost of living and DH will still be making the same amount. Overall, it will equate to a 25%+ pay increase.
Unfortunately, we have to float two houses for the next 8 months. Yikes! There aren’t any houses that we like for sale right now so DH will do a short term rental. That will be cheaper than a mortgage and covers his utilities too. Hopefully something will come available to purchase in the spring and will be ready when the kids and I move next summer.

[midwestmama]

Oct 2, 2023 12:39:45 GMT -5 mommin said:

Dh moves 1700 miles away this weekend to start his new job. I’ll still be here with the kids until June when DS1 graduates. We are moving to a smaller town with WAY lower cost of living and DH will still be making the same amount. Overall, it will equate to a 25%+ pay increase.
Unfortunately, we have to float two houses for the next 8 months. Yikes! There aren’t any houses that we like for sale right now so DH will do a short term rental. That will be cheaper than a mortgage and covers his utilities too. Hopefully something will come available to purchase in the spring and will be ready when the kids and I move next summer.

Such a big change, and I can understand the 8 months might have some challenges, but it sounds like a good change in the end!  My dad took a job in a different city at the beginning of my senior year of HS, and my mom and I stayed "home" until I graduated.  I really appreciated that my parents made the sacrifice for me so that I didn't have to change to a new HS as a senior.  My parents also had a hard time finding a house - my dad started the job in August and they didn't find a house to buy until April (it was a smaller city, and low inventory at the time).  Hoping the length of time makes it so that something you like comes on the market! 

[dr.girlfriend]

My husband left his salaried position and became a professional speaker in 2021-ish. He made bank in 2021 because all his talks were virtual. Now he keeps getting invited to international conferences which are super cool but he barely breaks even between travel and expenses and his speaker fee. Hopefully they generate more business and enhance his professional reputation in the long run, but for right now it's kind of a bummer. He's in Budapest this week and Munich next week and I think he's likely to run both trips at a loss. :-P At least he really enjoys it!

For my job, our incentive can be zero or it can be 20k, and we never know what's coming because it's based on profitability of the organization as a whole, etc. and a whole bunch of other metrics that are not at all transparent. I'm kind of expecting zero this year but if I get something it'll be a nice surprise!

[mommin]

Oct 2, 2023 13:59:19 GMT -5 midwestmama said:

Oct 2, 2023 12:39:45 GMT -5 mommin said:

Dh moves 1700 miles away this weekend to start his new job. I’ll still be here with the kids until June when DS1 graduates. We are moving to a smaller town with WAY lower cost of living and DH will still be making the same amount. Overall, it will equate to a 25%+ pay increase.
Unfortunately, we have to float two houses for the next 8 months. Yikes! There aren’t any houses that we like for sale right now so DH will do a short term rental. That will be cheaper than a mortgage and covers his utilities too. Hopefully something will come available to purchase in the spring and will be ready when the kids and I move next summer.

Such a big change, and I can understand the 8 months might have some challenges, but it sounds like a good change in the end!  My dad took a job in a different city at the beginning of my senior year of HS, and my mom and I stayed "home" until I graduated.  I really appreciated that my parents made the sacrifice for me so that I didn't have to change to a new HS as a senior.  My parents also had a hard time finding a house - my dad started the job in August and they didn't find a house to buy until April (it was a smaller city, and low inventory at the time).  Hoping the length of time makes it so that something you like comes on the market! 

Thanks! We could buy a super fixer-upper right now in an area that isn’t our top choice but we feel like waiting will be better. We really want to stay there at least 10 years, until all of our kids graduate, so we want to make the right housing choice.
DS1 is a great kid and will do whatever needs to be done but, like you, I think he will look back and be grateful he didn’t have to leave in the middle of his senior year. I appreciate you sharing your real-life experience and reassuring me on this decision.

[mommin]

Oct 2, 2023 14:06:29 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

My husband left his salaried position and became a professional speaker in 2021-ish. He made bank in 2021 because all his talks were virtual. Now he keeps getting invited to international conferences which are super cool but he barely breaks even between travel and expenses and his speaker fee. Hopefully they generate more business and enhance his professional reputation in the long run, but for right now it's kind of a bummer. He's in Budapest this week and Munich next week and I think he's likely to run both trips at a loss. :-P At least he really enjoys it!

For my job, our incentive can be zero or it can be 20k, and we never know what's coming because it's based on profitability of the organization as a whole, etc. and a whole bunch of other metrics that are not at all transparent. I'm kind of expecting zero this year but if I get something it'll be a nice surprise!

Out of curiosity, does he get to count the loss on his taxes? I’m assuming so but have never known someone that is a professional speaker. I’m intrigued.

[Roc A Bee]

Loss: Well I started October by accidentally over-drafting because I selected an account I only keep a couple hundred in to pay off my cc. Oops. That was a $30 mistake.

Win: My COLA should be approved tomorrow evening and hopefully my October check will be $400ish more.

[jewel]

Loss - contractors finally finished our fence repair from the storms last winter.

Double loss - the ground is apparently so rocky, that we had an additional charge for 19 hours of jackhammer time, at $75 per hour. We knew we would be charged for jackhammer time “if needed” but I certainly didn’t expect this much.

The fence guys also broke a lot of our drip lines, which we sort of expected, but also sheared off a hose bib and sprinkler valve units. They fixed the hose but said the valves are beyond their skills. My H can fix them and they’ll deduce the cost from our bill, it’s just one more thing on our long list right now, so it feels like a bigger deal than it actually is.

Win - we just got back from 5 days at Disneyland and 3 days at Legoland. The entire trip was paid for months ago, so it was almost a free trip this month.

[Mushe]

Win: I hit the SS limit in my paycheck this month, and H’s company is walking back a 5% pay cut this month too, which is great because this summer was super expensive and we’re still in catch up mode to build up our cash on hand.

Win: We went to a small festival this weekend and saw some really cool art made with reclaimed redwood and wine barrels. The one I like is $500, but I referred two people to a service we use and I’m getting $500 in referral credit, so whoop whoop! I hate the term girl math, but this probably fits into that concept - the art is now free!

@ related $ loss: I found out about a rec soccer team that needs new players and my 11yo agreed to go to a practice this week, but I wasn’t able to find used cleats for him to try, so I’ve spent $75 or so on cleats, shin guards, and socks, and there’s a possibility he’ll say he doesn’t want to join. 😬⚽️

[dr.girlfriend]

Oct 2, 2023 17:52:22 GMT -5 mommin said:

Oct 2, 2023 14:06:29 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

My husband left his salaried position and became a professional speaker in 2021-ish. He made bank in 2021 because all his talks were virtual. Now he keeps getting invited to international conferences which are super cool but he barely breaks even between travel and expenses and his speaker fee. Hopefully they generate more business and enhance his professional reputation in the long run, but for right now it's kind of a bummer. He's in Budapest this week and Munich next week and I think he's likely to run both trips at a loss. :-P At least he really enjoys it!

For my job, our incentive can be zero or it can be 20k, and we never know what's coming because it's based on profitability of the organization as a whole, etc. and a whole bunch of other metrics that are not at all transparent. I'm kind of expecting zero this year but if I get something it'll be a nice surprise!

Out of curiosity, does he get to count the loss on his taxes? I’m assuming so but have never known someone that is a professional speaker. I’m intrigued.

To be honest, we've not had a great accountant for these two years and I'm hoping there's more we can do.  He does get to subtract his business expenses from his income on whatever form we file for his business income.  I don't think he's actually running at a loss overall, it's just that some of these international trips net zero.

[Roc A Bee]

Oct 3, 2023 11:45:25 GMT -5 Stan said:

Roc A Bee,

I bet your bank would give you that OD fee back. As a banker I could give those fees back twice a quarter for any client and my manager had many more. I always gave them back to people who rarely did it and had a reason like yours!

Oh good to know! It’s a credit union I keep very little money in just to keep an active account. I could ask though!

[EvieEthelGarland]

I left a job in 2015 after 3 months, before I was in any way vested for my 401k match. I rolled over my contributions and Fidelity would not let me withdraw the match (obviously). Yesterday I received a notice that I have until 12/1 to roll it over or they will send me a check less 20%. I called and as far as Fidelity is concerned it’s my money so I initiated the rollover.

It's about what I spent on Taylor Swift tickets. Can I Girl Math this into them being free?

[aspentosh]

Still a loss for now: the never ending saga of my car warranty refund continues. The warranty company sent the check to the bank that held my auto loan instead of me. WHY? I paid it off back in 2020. We called the bank but they have no record of the check so the person recommended going to our local branch and seeing what they can do. This is not a small amount of money and I am so worried it's just ::poof:: gone.

Win: H's annual review was fantastic so hoping for a slight increase which would start later this month or early next month.

[sadlebred]

Can someone help me girl math paying for my trees getting taken down? I can't find anything.

[simpsongal]

Win: We're paying off our HELOC! That was a goal for 2023 (balance was like $36K at the start of the year).

Another win: DH has an opportunity to loan out some of his stock for a monthly income. Pretty cool.

Loss: We're immediately cutting a $$$ check from the HELOC to start our next project, hehe.

Other loss: I decided to check how we're doing re paying fed taxes this year. And despite our attempts to get it correct this year we still seemed to be under-withholding. So we withheld more....

[hbomdiggity]

Loss: I got a camera speeding ticket. Court has a program to do the online course to avoid points. I calculated the time to finish the program wrong so I was 10 days late in completing and it got reported to the DMV. I’ve sent a letter to judge (per clerks suggestion) but I have no faith it will change anything. I’m a lawyer, I should know better. So higher insurance is likely coming.

[TR]

Oct 3, 2023 21:59:15 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

Can someone help me girl math paying for my trees getting taken down? I can't find anything.

that’s because getting trees taken down isn’t fun. But if you decide not to get your trees taken down, and instead spend the money on something else that IS fun and frivolous, that thing would then be considered free. HTH!

[wanderingback]

Loss: daycare started this month. Goodbye $3100/month. Student loan payments of course also start this month. Thank goodness we don’t have to recertify our income yet. I’m very scared about that.

Win (somewhat): as per my post above asking about budgeting apps, I want to track things a little more closely, so I logged in to my retirement account (first time since 2021 per my log in record lol) and I have $65,000 in retirement!!! I mean I know that’s not much and I’m behind but I seriously thought I had like $20,000 in there. I think I have another $2,000 in another account from a job I was at for a year, so I need to track down that info and put it all in vanguard.

[sadlebred]

wanderingback $3100/daycare. That's crazy! It's more than most people's mortgage payment or even X times that! Highway robbery.....

[wanderingback]

Oct 4, 2023 21:26:53 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

wanderingback $3100/daycare. That's crazy! It's more than most people's mortgage payment or even X times that! Highway robbery.....

Yes, so expensive. There were some other places closer to $2200-$2500 but this place is 3 blocks away and we really like it, so went with it. To make myself feel better, I did the math and for 8-6 (10 hours a day), it’s $15.50 per hour. So I think that’s reasonable for something so important! At first we were thinking we wanted a nanny but that’s at least $25/hour. We had a part time nanny up until now who was great, but daycare is cheaper and we really like the place. All worth it for our little bundle of joy

[madringal]

Losses: My perfectly fine 2015 Odyssey that I paid off years ago with just 143k miles is apparently crap now. 7000 to repair it and it's worth about 9500. Or they will give me 2k for a trade. I could seriously cry. I had planned to drive this car for at least 4 more years, and given our history with Hondas I had no reason to think this wouldn't be feasible. DH is a former mechanic and says the quote and the issues are legit and track. Did I mention I have been out of work all summer for health issues and do mortgages for a living, so I am not exactly bringing home tons of cash right now. Ugh. I don't want to drain my savings to repair it and I don't want to take on a car payment either. I have the sads.

[chpmnk1015]

Oct 4, 2023 21:50:30 GMT -5 madringal said:

Losses: My perfectly fine 2015 Odyssey that I paid off years ago with just 143k miles is apparently crap now. 7000 to repair it and it's worth about 9500. Or they will give me 2k for a trade. I could seriously cry. I had planned to drive this car for at least 4 more years, and given our history with Hondas I had no reason to think this wouldn't be feasible. DH is a former mechanic and says the quote and the issues are legit and track. Did I mention I have been out of work all summer for health issues and do mortgages for a living, so I am not exactly bringing home tons of cash right now. Ugh. I don't want to drain my savings to repair it and I don't want to take on a car payment either. I have the sads.

Try selling on your own.. bet you get more. Dealership.offered me like 6k for mine and I sold to carvanna for 15k...

[midwestmama]

Oct 4, 2023 21:50:30 GMT -5 madringal said:

Losses: My perfectly fine 2015 Odyssey that I paid off years ago with just 143k miles is apparently crap now. 7000 to repair it and it's worth about 9500. Or they will give me 2k for a trade. I could seriously cry. I had planned to drive this car for at least 4 more years, and given our history with Hondas I had no reason to think this wouldn't be feasible. DH is a former mechanic and says the quote and the issues are legit and track. Did I mention I have been out of work all summer for health issues and do mortgages for a living, so I am not exactly bringing home tons of cash right now. Ugh. I don't want to drain my savings to repair it and I don't want to take on a car payment either. I have the sads.

Did you get the repair quote from the dealership?  I ask because my coworker just got quoted $4000 in repairs for her 2013 Hyundai sedan from a dealership, and she took the quote to an independent repair shop where she's had other work done and knows they are honest, and they quoted her $1000 for the same work and told her one of the items was not a safety issue and she could wait on it.  (That specific repair for parts + labor was $300 at the independent place v. $1000 from the dealership.)  Might be worth getting a quote from an independent shop if the original was from the dealership.

[madringal]

Oct 5, 2023 5:25:35 GMT -5 chpmnk1015 said:

Oct 4, 2023 21:50:30 GMT -5 madringal said:

Losses: My perfectly fine 2015 Odyssey that I paid off years ago with just 143k miles is apparently crap now. 7000 to repair it and it's worth about 9500. Or they will give me 2k for a trade. I could seriously cry. I had planned to drive this car for at least 4 more years, and given our history with Hondas I had no reason to think this wouldn't be feasible. DH is a former mechanic and says the quote and the issues are legit and track. Did I mention I have been out of work all summer for health issues and do mortgages for a living, so I am not exactly bringing home tons of cash right now. Ugh. I don't want to drain my savings to repair it and I don't want to take on a car payment either. I have the sads.

Try selling on your own.. bet you get more. Dealership.offered me like 6k for mine and I sold to carvanna for 15k...

We could do this but we’d literally have to tow it home. It’s not running. Seems like it would be pretty hard to sell a car that’s not even running.

[madringal]

Oct 5, 2023 7:01:10 GMT -5 midwestmama said:

Oct 4, 2023 21:50:30 GMT -5 madringal said:

Losses: My perfectly fine 2015 Odyssey that I paid off years ago with just 143k miles is apparently crap now. 7000 to repair it and it's worth about 9500. Or they will give me 2k for a trade. I could seriously cry. I had planned to drive this car for at least 4 more years, and given our history with Hondas I had no reason to think this wouldn't be feasible. DH is a former mechanic and says the quote and the issues are legit and track. Did I mention I have been out of work all summer for health issues and do mortgages for a living, so I am not exactly bringing home tons of cash right now. Ugh. I don't want to drain my savings to repair it and I don't want to take on a car payment either. I have the sads.

Did you get the repair quote from the dealership?  I ask because my coworker just got quoted $4000 in repairs for her 2013 Hyundai sedan from a dealership, and she took the quote to an independent repair shop where she's had other work done and knows they are honest, and they quoted her $1000 for the same work and told her one of the items was not a safety issue and she could wait on it.  (That specific repair for parts + labor was $300 at the independent place v. $1000 from the dealership.)  Might be worth getting a quote from an independent shop if the original was from the dealership.

We did. They won’t even do the kind of work the van requires. And this is a shop my family has used for 30+ years.

[midwestmama]

Oct 5, 2023 9:06:56 GMT -5 madringal said:

Oct 5, 2023 7:01:10 GMT -5 midwestmama said:

Did you get the repair quote from the dealership?  I ask because my coworker just got quoted $4000 in repairs for her 2013 Hyundai sedan from a dealership, and she took the quote to an independent repair shop where she's had other work done and knows they are honest, and they quoted her $1000 for the same work and told her one of the items was not a safety issue and she could wait on it.  (That specific repair for parts + labor was $300 at the independent place v. $1000 from the dealership.)  Might be worth getting a quote from an independent shop if the original was from the dealership.

We did. They won’t even do the kind of work the van requires. And this is a shop my family has used for 30+ years.

That's a big bummer, I'm sorry.