frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Sounds like you had a great Christmas and received very thoughtful gifts! The social thing can get old - but ya made it!
hqueen's collection of Far From the Usual stuff.
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hqueen13
<Insert Snazzy Title Here
Yes, the social thing does get old for me. I'm glad to take a break now for a while.
We had a nice weekend. His parents, brother, and the girlfriend from Estonia came over for dinner on Saturday night. I made chili and mashed potatoes and corn bread and it turned out really nice. I was pleased with how everything turned out, and we got the house cleaned up in time. We busted our butts on Saturday morning to get it done. We got up much later than I wanted, and after breakfast I headed out to get down to Cowboy and Coyote, and then stopped at BJ's and the grocery store. It was busy but I was still mostly able to sail in and out. The BF stayed at home and cleaned while I was out. He gets distracted so dang easily, but he still got a lot done. We managed to get everything finished JUST in time before his family got here. I do enjoy entertaining, I just don't feel like I'm all that good at it, and I end up preparing at the last minute (i.e. cleaning like crazy and barely having enough time to cook) before people show up. If I could manage to keep things cleaner I might not have that issue... Hopefully I'll be able to do so in the new year. We'll see.
This year has certainly been more challenging than I expected, but we've survived, and done pretty well when you look at the bigger picture. All the bills got paid on time (except for when I was a day late on the credit cards cause I forgot... but beside that!), and we never couldn't pay a bill. We refinanced the house, and managed to pay the car insurance in a lump sum. We also replaced the air conditioner. We managed to pay off quite a bit of debt, mostly through the tax return from last year, and didn't accumulate TOO much more through the course of the year. We were gifted enough money at Christmas to be able to replace the hot water heater (depending on what he decides to do) and probably get some insulation for the hot water pipes and windows to help seal up the house a little better to reduce the heating costs. I purchased a new to me vehicle, and have kept up with payments while still juggling my other bills. My business is still in existence, and while I haven't "turned a profit" it continues to pay for my horse, and a lot of other things. I've made some investments in my business for me, and that continues to help me grow and get in a better position.
I do need to make some investments pretty quickly in 2019 I expect. My boots are about to fall apart, and I think they're already leaking. My computer is barely gimping along, and that hinders my ability to work in my business because I can't use programs the way they should because it's too slow. So I will need to figure out a way to make those things happen, but I'm hopeful that my tax return will help.
So here's to more onward and upward in 2019!
We had a nice weekend. His parents, brother, and the girlfriend from Estonia came over for dinner on Saturday night. I made chili and mashed potatoes and corn bread and it turned out really nice. I was pleased with how everything turned out, and we got the house cleaned up in time. We busted our butts on Saturday morning to get it done. We got up much later than I wanted, and after breakfast I headed out to get down to Cowboy and Coyote, and then stopped at BJ's and the grocery store. It was busy but I was still mostly able to sail in and out. The BF stayed at home and cleaned while I was out. He gets distracted so dang easily, but he still got a lot done. We managed to get everything finished JUST in time before his family got here. I do enjoy entertaining, I just don't feel like I'm all that good at it, and I end up preparing at the last minute (i.e. cleaning like crazy and barely having enough time to cook) before people show up. If I could manage to keep things cleaner I might not have that issue... Hopefully I'll be able to do so in the new year. We'll see.
This year has certainly been more challenging than I expected, but we've survived, and done pretty well when you look at the bigger picture. All the bills got paid on time (except for when I was a day late on the credit cards cause I forgot... but beside that!), and we never couldn't pay a bill. We refinanced the house, and managed to pay the car insurance in a lump sum. We also replaced the air conditioner. We managed to pay off quite a bit of debt, mostly through the tax return from last year, and didn't accumulate TOO much more through the course of the year. We were gifted enough money at Christmas to be able to replace the hot water heater (depending on what he decides to do) and probably get some insulation for the hot water pipes and windows to help seal up the house a little better to reduce the heating costs. I purchased a new to me vehicle, and have kept up with payments while still juggling my other bills. My business is still in existence, and while I haven't "turned a profit" it continues to pay for my horse, and a lot of other things. I've made some investments in my business for me, and that continues to help me grow and get in a better position.
I do need to make some investments pretty quickly in 2019 I expect. My boots are about to fall apart, and I think they're already leaking. My computer is barely gimping along, and that hinders my ability to work in my business because I can't use programs the way they should because it's too slow. So I will need to figure out a way to make those things happen, but I'm hopeful that my tax return will help.
So here's to more onward and upward in 2019!
baymule
Sustainability Master
2018 overall was good to you. 2019 will be even better! Paying off/down debt is always good. Hopefully you can retire some more debt this year.
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hqueen13
<Insert Snazzy Title Here
Yes, @baymule I'm very hopeful we'll be able to make some more headway without sliding backwards. We continue to make small improvements, and while it never feels like it's huge, it is making changes.
I saw an official report that we had over 71" of rain last year. Our average is 41". And we're starting off the year in the same pattern. Rain expected Friday into Saturday again. I don't want a drought, but this is excessive too! I'm a bit grateful the horse hasn't been with me because the mud would have been HORRID, and I don't think I would have had the funds to do anything about it, and I would have likely missed out on quite a few lessons because it was POURING when KN was here. So it goes.
I managed to mostly get the financial tracking finished for December. That always makes me feel good. The BF brought home about $3000 more than he did last year, and I brought home about $5000 more than last year. Of course, mine was pretty much eaten up by my truck payments, but that's ok. We hung in there, even if we didn't pay off as much debt as I would have liked.
Interestingly in my business I grossed just over $14,000. I'll be expensing just over $15,000 worth of mileage. More mileage expenses than I actually made income. I made around $10,000 in farm sitting alone, which was primarily from Cowboy and Coyote's owners. I need to go back and double check, but I believe when I was running the boarding business I was bringing in right around $30k, so to be able to make half of that on mostly farm sitting and a few other things makes me pretty happy. I did come up about $2600 in the red in my business, which I can say was primarily from business coaching. Needed expenses, but over and above all of the necessary stuff. Now to get my new business really cooking and I'll be doing really good!
So my financial goal this year is to get rid of my personal debt. It sits right at $1700.00. I don't want to add any new personal debt, and I want to try to eliminate it as much as possible. I have one credit card that is charging me interest, and that one has about $1300 on it, so I'll be focusing on that first. I'll be getting an extra $50 bonus from my bank for putting $500 on my bank credit card in the month of December, so that will go towards that card, as will any other extra funds. I'm hoping that my tax return is big enough that I can eliminate a BIG chunk of that, but we'll see. I'd LOVE if my tax return was enough to pay it ALL off, but who knows. So I'll keep chipping away at it. If my tax return doesn't make a dent in it, then it will likely take about 2 years to pay it off, unless my personal income increases (which I WILL be asking my boss for a raise again... it's been 2 years since we've had this conversation and it's high time that we do!), which would help pay it down faster, and help keep me better balanced to be prepared for everything else. Since I've been using my budgeting software for over a year now, I need to go back through and figure out some averages to see what I need to put away on a monthly basis in order to keep things covered better. Hopefully I can begin to work on that so I'm not so stretched all the time.
So here's to bigger and better in 2019!!
I saw an official report that we had over 71" of rain last year. Our average is 41". And we're starting off the year in the same pattern. Rain expected Friday into Saturday again. I don't want a drought, but this is excessive too! I'm a bit grateful the horse hasn't been with me because the mud would have been HORRID, and I don't think I would have had the funds to do anything about it, and I would have likely missed out on quite a few lessons because it was POURING when KN was here. So it goes.
I managed to mostly get the financial tracking finished for December. That always makes me feel good. The BF brought home about $3000 more than he did last year, and I brought home about $5000 more than last year. Of course, mine was pretty much eaten up by my truck payments, but that's ok. We hung in there, even if we didn't pay off as much debt as I would have liked.
Interestingly in my business I grossed just over $14,000. I'll be expensing just over $15,000 worth of mileage. More mileage expenses than I actually made income. I made around $10,000 in farm sitting alone, which was primarily from Cowboy and Coyote's owners. I need to go back and double check, but I believe when I was running the boarding business I was bringing in right around $30k, so to be able to make half of that on mostly farm sitting and a few other things makes me pretty happy. I did come up about $2600 in the red in my business, which I can say was primarily from business coaching. Needed expenses, but over and above all of the necessary stuff. Now to get my new business really cooking and I'll be doing really good!
So my financial goal this year is to get rid of my personal debt. It sits right at $1700.00. I don't want to add any new personal debt, and I want to try to eliminate it as much as possible. I have one credit card that is charging me interest, and that one has about $1300 on it, so I'll be focusing on that first. I'll be getting an extra $50 bonus from my bank for putting $500 on my bank credit card in the month of December, so that will go towards that card, as will any other extra funds. I'm hoping that my tax return is big enough that I can eliminate a BIG chunk of that, but we'll see. I'd LOVE if my tax return was enough to pay it ALL off, but who knows. So I'll keep chipping away at it. If my tax return doesn't make a dent in it, then it will likely take about 2 years to pay it off, unless my personal income increases (which I WILL be asking my boss for a raise again... it's been 2 years since we've had this conversation and it's high time that we do!), which would help pay it down faster, and help keep me better balanced to be prepared for everything else. Since I've been using my budgeting software for over a year now, I need to go back through and figure out some averages to see what I need to put away on a monthly basis in order to keep things covered better. Hopefully I can begin to work on that so I'm not so stretched all the time.
So here's to bigger and better in 2019!!
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Sounds like you've got things under control and are working towards even better control of the finances. That's a good thing! Happy 2019!
baymule
Sustainability Master
Money, never enough to go around. Sure would be nice to have NO bills! We have no debt, but my car is a 2008, DH's truck is a 2004 and we have car insurance, house insurance, taxes, fuel for car and truck, groceries, kids and grandkids and utilities. Even when you "pay it all off" …………. ummm…….not quite.
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hqueen13
<Insert Snazzy Title Here
Thanks ya'll!! 
Not all that much happened this weekend, and I'm totally ok with that. The BF and I ended up in one of those conversations you don't want to have but need to have on Saturday morning. That started things off bumpy, but we came out of it in a better place. But as a result, we didn't eat breakfast, and then headed down to help his brother move his ex-girlfriend's stuff out of his parent's house (long story...) with the pickup truck. We finished that about 11, and swung by Cowboy and Coyote's and then grabbed a late breakfast and managed to squeeze in just ahead of the lunch rush so it was perfect. Not eating and doing so much stuff gave me a headache, and so when we got home we both laid down for a nap. I got up and got in the shower a few hours later, and then we headed back down to his parent's house for dinner since his brother is getting deployed for 3 months. That was nice, and I didn't have to fix the meal, so I'm totally ok with that. We got home later than I would have liked, which set me up for getting out of the house a bit later on Sunday morning, but I managed.
One horse left last week, so now I only have to turn out 3 horses, and clean stalls for them, which is nice. I haven't managed to get the work done any faster yet, though, because I've been straightening stuff up. I moved Storm's stall to where the other horse was because it's a bigger stall, which is nicer for him. I've always been worried he's going to lay down and get cast in the stall and not be able to get back up and I'm going to get a phone call that says they had to dismantle half the wall to get him on his feet again. This is much nicer for him, and he didn't destroy his stall as bad as I expected, I think because there was just more room.
I finally finished the stalls, and stopped by SR's to pick up eggs and honey and chatted with him for a bit. He says he's not going to do produce for sale again this year. We'll see. He has waffled on it for the past several years. I don't blame him, it's REALLY hard with the weather this crazy. We just keep getting all this rain. It just won't stop. (As an aside, we finished out 2018 with 71" of rain. Our average is 41. On New years eve SR's got 2" of rain, and then again on Friday we got another inch. That's just how it keeps coming, every 4 or 5 days, another inch or so. That's not how it used to be, and who knows when it's going to stop)
I left there, and hustled to Cowboy and Coyote's and then home. The BF had managed to get laundry going and got the lights down from outside, which was really great. We ate some lunch, and then I soaked in the tub for a while. We decided to take another nap, and then got up and I bought myself a necklace from etsy. I had to wait until 5 when she listed it for sale to get it. I can't wait to have it in my hands. We decided to go out for dinner, and went to the tex mex place, and then stopped by Cowboy and Coyote's for the last time, and then down to my friend HR's to take care of her ponies and cats. I've got to do them this week, which is more work than my other clients, but they aren't that bad, especially when I do it for several days in a row, it gets faster once I have my rhythm set.
Not much else to report. Really, it's not even that interesting, LOL. Mud and more mud, and that's about it.
Not all that much happened this weekend, and I'm totally ok with that. The BF and I ended up in one of those conversations you don't want to have but need to have on Saturday morning. That started things off bumpy, but we came out of it in a better place. But as a result, we didn't eat breakfast, and then headed down to help his brother move his ex-girlfriend's stuff out of his parent's house (long story...) with the pickup truck. We finished that about 11, and swung by Cowboy and Coyote's and then grabbed a late breakfast and managed to squeeze in just ahead of the lunch rush so it was perfect. Not eating and doing so much stuff gave me a headache, and so when we got home we both laid down for a nap. I got up and got in the shower a few hours later, and then we headed back down to his parent's house for dinner since his brother is getting deployed for 3 months. That was nice, and I didn't have to fix the meal, so I'm totally ok with that. We got home later than I would have liked, which set me up for getting out of the house a bit later on Sunday morning, but I managed.
One horse left last week, so now I only have to turn out 3 horses, and clean stalls for them, which is nice. I haven't managed to get the work done any faster yet, though, because I've been straightening stuff up. I moved Storm's stall to where the other horse was because it's a bigger stall, which is nicer for him. I've always been worried he's going to lay down and get cast in the stall and not be able to get back up and I'm going to get a phone call that says they had to dismantle half the wall to get him on his feet again. This is much nicer for him, and he didn't destroy his stall as bad as I expected, I think because there was just more room.
I finally finished the stalls, and stopped by SR's to pick up eggs and honey and chatted with him for a bit. He says he's not going to do produce for sale again this year. We'll see. He has waffled on it for the past several years. I don't blame him, it's REALLY hard with the weather this crazy. We just keep getting all this rain. It just won't stop. (As an aside, we finished out 2018 with 71" of rain. Our average is 41. On New years eve SR's got 2" of rain, and then again on Friday we got another inch. That's just how it keeps coming, every 4 or 5 days, another inch or so. That's not how it used to be, and who knows when it's going to stop)
I left there, and hustled to Cowboy and Coyote's and then home. The BF had managed to get laundry going and got the lights down from outside, which was really great. We ate some lunch, and then I soaked in the tub for a while. We decided to take another nap, and then got up and I bought myself a necklace from etsy. I had to wait until 5 when she listed it for sale to get it. I can't wait to have it in my hands. We decided to go out for dinner, and went to the tex mex place, and then stopped by Cowboy and Coyote's for the last time, and then down to my friend HR's to take care of her ponies and cats. I've got to do them this week, which is more work than my other clients, but they aren't that bad, especially when I do it for several days in a row, it gets faster once I have my rhythm set.
Not much else to report. Really, it's not even that interesting, LOL. Mud and more mud, and that's about it.
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
I feel ya on the mud, mud, mud! Crazy that ya'll have had 71 inches - just crazy!
