November Wins and Losses

[sadlebred]

Here's to a good month!

[EvieEthelGarland]

I am going to Italy this month, getting drywall in my kitchen and finalizing the payment for my cabinets. I am sure there's probably a lot more little things that will add up to $$$ for this kitchen and this trip, but I am calling all of it a W.

L: I wanted to order from VS last night. 10 for $31 but it wouldn't let me add more than 7 to the cart. Today it's back to 5 for $30.

[Beeps (WOT?*)]

W: Hubs and I have date nights at the casino. (L: I sucked but,,,) DH was sitting on a golden horseshoe and ended up walking out of the casino $1200 ahead of what he walked in with. (The actual win is that we go only with a predetermined amount we plan to play with so it's all "fun" money even when the machines hate me as much as they did tonight, the emeffers.)

Yay: Booking a trip to Hawaii in January within the next few days and trying to decide what we want to do for a "long weekend" in December since DH blocked a week or so off (that we *were* going to use for Hawaii but we're pushing it out a month because holidays, eye procedure, broken foot, oral surgery...)

On an MM front, finally broke down and got a card for Alaska Airlines (after *years* of shredding their offers) since it's our hub airline, I fly it all the time, and I got a good deal with extra bonus miles (10K over what they normally offer) PLUS 50% off one ticket; since we're flying to Hawaii in January I can either use the 50% off or I can see if I can get a companion fare since the card does one per year for $99. The savings on tickets and baggage fees will more than offset the annual fee. I've told myself I'm not getting any more credit cards, but I broke down when I decided we're going to travel more and I want the companion fare since DH likes to travel FC because it's more comfortable his larger-than-mine frame.

[cricketwife]

We have lived with an unfurnished living room since moving in 3 years ago next month. But today, my new sofa arrives! Then I will do the rest of the room. So a $$ loss, but a lifestyle win!

[Covergirl82]

L: I had to buy new tires for my car (AWD, so I have to buy 4 tires), and it was about $1,050 (including installation) after two discounts. Merry (early) Christmas to me.

[chpmnk1015]

W: only spent 13 at grocery store this week for a couple thing
L: Did go to BJs and spent like 300- but all stock up stuff with coupons!
W: paid extra on DHs truck today... plan to pay more this month as well if we can
W: Not really me but.. kids have been getting a lot of ref games so they havent been asking for money to go out w friends and they have to save at least half or more.. DD has been saving all mostly for a car.

[simpsongal]

W: DD and I had our trip to NYC - expenses were not too bad, about what I expected with cabs, dinners, etc.
I splurged for afternoon tea knowing it wasn't a good deal - but it was memorable and she loved it all. Why do we work and save if not to create those types of moments?

W: We're in debt repayment mode which feels better than money hemorrhaging. And my credit score has more than bounced back from all the reno lines of credit and loans.

L: My retention bonus runs out this month, so my pay is going to drop considerably.

L: Holiday spending surely, trying to keep it in check though. I just restocked on makeup/creams from Sephora - but at least it's 15% off. I'm hosting Thanksgiving too, but I don't think the cost will be too nuts, mostly my free labor.

[sadlebred]

L: My COBRA is going up by $150 in Jan. Ouch.
L: I still haven't booked any side gigs, not for lack of trying (minus one babysitting gig for some friends).

W: I haven't bought a Learjet.

W: My ex-company counted this year towards my pension. Small victories.

[lolalolalola]

W: We just made our last mortgage payment today!

L: DH got laid off from his job of 10 years yesterday.. he got paid severance but it’s still going to be a financial hit even if he finds another job quickly.

[marathon55]

Nov 6, 2024 16:29:04 GMT -5 lolalolalola said:

W: We just made our last mortgage payment today!

L: DH got laid off from his job of 10 years yesterday.. he got paid severance but it’s still going to be a financial hit even if he finds another job quickly.

Congrats on the mortgage payment. DH just went through that in June after 9 years at his company. He got a nice severance of 10 months but didn’t get his LtI payout so that suck but he took some months off and just started a new role which is remote. Job pays a bit less but so far so good. Tell him
To decompress a bit and see what your budget is like without his income. We were pleasantly surprised to not need his income and just invested the severence but he was depressed for a while to, it’s not fun but it happens to so many people. The job market will be picking up in Q1 so if he doesn’t find anything soon, just update the resume and enjoy the holidays with family.

[sadlebred]

lolalolalola I'm really sorry. I feel for him! I'm still looking for a job.

L: I told you something would come up. My furnance is going on 14 years old. I feel like it's held together by duct tape and bubble gum. During the annual fall inspection (+a spring one), he found the ignitor was on its last leg. Add that to an oil change and tire rotation to the car today, and that was a dent in the $$.

[orval]

Nov 6, 2024 18:19:59 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

lolalolalola I'm really sorry. I feel for him! I'm still looking for a job.

L: I told you something would come up. My furnance is going on 14 years old. I feel like it's held together by duct tape and bubble gum. During the annual fall inspection (+a spring one), he found the ignitor was on its last leg. Add that to an oil change and tire rotation to the car today, and that was a dent in the $$.

Are you at all handy?  My dh replaced our ignitor on his own.  I think he you tubed it and found it was easy to do. The part is pretty cheap too.  

[sadlebred]

Nov 7, 2024 8:24:47 GMT -5 orval said:

Nov 6, 2024 18:19:59 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

lolalolalola I'm really sorry. I feel for him! I'm still looking for a job.

L: I told you something would come up. My furnance is going on 14 years old. I feel like it's held together by duct tape and bubble gum. During the annual fall inspection (+a spring one), he found the ignitor was on its last leg. Add that to an oil change and tire rotation to the car today, and that was a dent in the $$.

Are you at all handy?  My dh replaced our ignitor on his own.  I think he you tubed it and found it was easy to do. The part is pretty cheap too.  

Nope--not handy at all, and this is what I have the service agreement for. I get a discount on the service call and parts in addition to the twice yearly servicing. Because he was already out there was no service call fee like there would have been if it died this winter.

[simpsongal]

I'm sorry sadlebred, you need a win. I hear ya re service agreements - we have one too. I hate that we had to replace our HVAC this year. We were looking decent heading into next year re debt payoff. But it's yet another $$$ 0% debt on a short fuse...grrr.....

[sadlebred]

simpsongal My entire HVAC system was replaced around 14 years ago including zoning the house. I've had issues with the furnance for the last 10 years. I've replaced two "motherboards" (don't know what it's called, but that's what we call something similar in IT) and another part or two. The motherboard is about $900 installed. Ouch. I'm hoping to get another 3-5 years out of it before I replace the entire thing again including some ductwork. I don't even know how much it would be anymore. Everything was $11-12,000 back then.

[Pom]

Loss: I just got notice that our current ACA insurance policy will increase $200+/month. That’s with a more than $1k subsidy. That will be most likely be unavailable soon.

Then I got another notice mailed 11.6 that they will no longer cover our Mounjaro which we both take for T2 diabetes. It has improved our numbers radically. Even my vision. Actually they will cover it after we meet our $9600 deductible

Wins: none that I’m aware of…

[lust2hart]

Back in, somewhere around 2013, we bought Tesla stock. We've been through two splits and now have 75 shares. At one point in 2021, it hit $400/share. We didn't sell at the time because, well, we wanted to see how much higher it could go. And then it tanked. And stayed tanked for years. And we started seeing more of who Musk really is. I've been wanting to dump the shares for a while because I don't want to be associated with him, but DH wanted to wait since the stock had dropped SO low compared to where it peaked.

Well, after Tuesday, the stock has taken off and is currently bouncing around $340-$350/share. We're probably going to sell this week and will be able to pay off the majority of our mortgage balance. I know this isn't the most MM thing to do, from a couple of angles, but you know what? I don't even care. I can't wait to be rid of these shares and be that much closer to being totally debt-free.

[heygrey]

lust2hart, I always preach that money isn't just about making the most financial sense, sometimes it's about the emotions that are tied to it as well. If it's a decision that doesn't effect anyone outside your immediate family and doesn't put your families' financial security at risk (I know from your previous post neither of these are true), 100% go with the decision that makes you feel the best. Having your mortgage paid off is going to be amazing!

[lust2hart]

Nov 11, 2024 16:54:25 GMT -5 heygrey said:

lust2hart , I always preach that money isn't just about making the most financial sense, sometimes it's about the emotions that are tied to it as well. If it's a decision that doesn't effect anyone outside your immediate family and doesn't put your families' financial security at risk (I know from your previous post neither of these are true), 100% go with the decision that makes you feel the best. Having your mortgage paid off is going to be amazing!

Thanks, I totally agree! I always feel the need to say that "I know it isn't the most MM decision" on here! Probably because I have a friend who legitimately thinks we're stupid for paying off our mortgage. He gets all riled up about how "you could be making so much more money if you were putting your extra funds into the stock market instead of paying off your house!" and we're like, "Yeah, we know," /shrug. He truly can't believe that some people don't have a goal to make as much money as possible. 

[ssmjlm]

We're just bleeding money this month, but it's fine. We had a pre-planned weekend in Charleston and had a blast shopping and eating. Grabbed some early Christmas gifts.

Then cruise stuff is on black Friday, so we booked one excursion and are debating the drink package. Which would be pricey, but no cost on the trip in April.

[Susie]

Small win:  we used to have cable + land line + internet bundled with Verizon Fios for just over $200/month.  We rarely ever watch anything on network TV, and the house phone just annoys me when it rings.  It's only ever charities or campaigns seeking donations, solicitors selling auto warranties, or one of our parents serial-dialing us because they just called our cell and we didn't immediately answer.

So we dropped cable and phone, saved about $110/mo., AND cut down on aggravations!  

[RockNVoll]

Win: Mostly thanks to DH's discipline, we've cut back on eating out A LOT. We don't really track our spending per se but I'm very confident we've saved a pretty hefty sum YTD.

Win: A work friend offered her lawyer mom's services to review my separation agreement from work. I'm incredibly grateful she offered because it would never have been on my radar otherwise to ask for my severance to be paid out on Jan. 1, 2025 instead of Dec. 31, 2024. My former company agreed to that and it'll make a significant difference come tax time.

[trissie18]

W: With some significant budget overhaul, spending cuts, and CTJ talks with DH, our cc bill this month is ONLY $1k. This is a major win for us after many months of unchecked spending that required savings to cover each month.

[ssmjlm]

Win: I had some credit in Mercari and now they charge you $2 to withdraw funds. My kid wanted a Kendra Scott necklace for Christmas. I found a NWT necklace, made an offer, it was accepted, and got a brand new with tags necklace for her for $20, but no actual out of pocket costs.

Also trying to teach her about shopping secondhand and that you can find some great deals.

[simpsongal]

ssmjlm, I love instilling these lessons - I bought DD some nice winter coats on ebay for a fraction of what they would cost new. And I always start w/shopping at the thrift store. I bring DD w/me now, and it's so fun.

I used to like Amazon's used option, but I've had 2 orders cancelled after long waits recently

I also cancelled prime, not only over the endorsement issue, but they're completely whiffing on 2-day delivery. So WTH am I paying for?

[Susie]

Nov 15, 2024 9:13:31 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Also trying to teach her about shopping secondhand and that you can find some great deals.

I love doing this with Buy Nothing too!

My kids are aware I'm an active giver on BN, they help me prep the stuff to give away.  They are also beneficiaries - my son's current winter coat is from BN, and when DD needed costume elements for a RBG school project last year we hit up BN with a request for a black robe, which I altered down to her size  

[mlkgls]

Loss: I paid my annual real estate taxes this weekend and between taxes and insurance it amounts to paying 2.5% of the home value every year. Even after the house is paid off, it won’t really feel like it.😭

Anticipatory Loss: Christmas shopping during Black Friday week. lol. I swear my family adds pricier items to their wish lists each year. 

Win/PSA: If anyone has a critical insurance supplemental policy through your benefits, you may be eligible for a small cash back benefit just for having a routine checkup. During open enrollment I discovered mine and my husband’s policies both offer this. $50-$100 annually. It wasn’t widely advertised for either, but was in the fine print if you read the entire 16 page policy. lol. Perfect timing before the holidays!

Win: I received a $40 gift card for participating in a short survey.

[chpmnk1015]

L: A little black fri shopping today on AMZ.. but, think i am done w my family now...

[sadlebred]

W: Small win. I had two side gigs this week and earned enough $$ to buy the Kizik shoes I want. And....of course...they aren't on sale for Black Friday. I want them anyway.