Tuesday, December 25, 2018

survived peak

I have been with FedEx Express now through 3 peak seasons. I'm part-time with a M-F schedule, so this year was the first I worked on Christmas Eve. Considering I am usually the last courier to leave for home each night, I started reconsidering my being with the company of late.
It's an easy job when I'm not spraining my shoulder or hitting fixed objects, but I find myself wondering how long I can do it physically and emotionally. Spraining my shoulder in May was an eyeopener. I didn't miss any days, but I lost hours due to restrictions and I woke up with pain for 6 months. The turnover for my work group seems mind boggling. We can't keep people, and decent people aren't exactly being hired. I seriously find myself wondering how I fit in given my background being unlike 99% of everyone else. I've been pondering going back to school, but given I live in fear of light induced migraines, I don't know if I can ever do a desk job again.
Today, I read about a loser who thinks he's better than me. I found it sad.
I also go a Christmas greeting from my friend who has been very sick a very long time and is dependent upon her parents who are getting advanced in age.
My problems pale in comparison, so it's embarrassing to think of my own problems as being anything significant.
I binged Stranger Things after being drawn in while Betsy was watching last week. I find the whole cast repulsive in some fashion, but it reminds me of my "hick" hometown and how I never felt like I belonged there. Heck, a classmate even went missing my sophomore year for several weeks only to be found in a body of water.
Actually, one classmate lost her father and brother in a boating incident during 3rd grade, while another lost her mother and grandfather to a jealous boyfriend in 4th grade. My school was small, too small for an AV Club considering Physics wasn't going to be offered one year I scheduled to take it until I threatened to transfer schools.
I almost found myself thinking maybe I have been stuck in the upside-down dimension since the day I was born. No one seems to understand me and I have panic attacks for no reason. I mumble, I've been told, yet I swear I clearly understand what I say. I've been able to get though life without people commenting on my mumbling for so much of it, that I wonder how much anyone really cares to know what I'm saying, let alone thinking.
I need to fix he matter.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

now forklift certified

I've had the same route almost since I got taken off of limited duty  back in June. It's easy, since it's a bulk route with the box truck, but I hadn't been able unload pallets until Wednesday.
I had to come in at 8am to get forklift certified, so I had to be off the clock by ten both Tuesday and Wednesday nights to avoid 10/14hour time clock violations.
It was nice seeing my girls before bed, but getting up before 8 is rough on me, considering I usually go to bed around 2.
Friday, Betsy's school had donuts with dad. Thankfully, Jennifer was off so I didn't have to take Darcy.
Donuts are my weakness. I have to avoid sugar and cholesterol the next few weeks until I have my blood work done for my annual physical.
I had a long Friday. Kohl's had 5 skids waiting for me but I was waiting in a cage for 30 minutes before someone let me in.
They would have filled my truck if they had given me everything that were supposed to have had ready for pickup.
Jennifer worked yesterday, and Kiefer was camping, so I had the girls. They didn't let me sleep in. I slept in today so naturally Jennifer was mad at me.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

some days I'm afraid Don Quixote had better sense of things

I pick fights. Usually I feel like I'm taking a logical stand against tyranny, but the end never comes to such an equation.
I won a long feud with Samsung. I've lost against Menards. I've come out ahead against Humana. I'm sure there are other matters that I got into a back in forth, but the most recent has been with Chase.
In early 2017, I consolidated the majority of our credit card debt with transfers to my Freedom card at 0% interest for 15 months in exchange of a mere 2% transfer fee. I was saving money, regardless of the fee, so I was happy with Chase until I noticed a $3250 charge for a hotel in New York state. I've never been there, nor would I charge on a card I was carrying a balance. Chase never contacted me. I contacted them prior to getting my statement a couple days after the charges posted.
I had the charges waived, but I had hours of phone calls over several months to fix everything associated with the fraud.
With the matter cleared, a puzzle still lingered. How did my credit card get used when I only used it for online balance transfers? It was a brand new chip enhanced card. Only explanation is that Chase was compromised.
Chase stonewalled me about the particulars, so I dropped the matter. I expected a big announcement like the Equifax or Wells Fargo scandals, but nothing ever came to the media's attention of that nature, so I gave another go at finding out how my card was used and how CARD laws were broken.
I've been given very suspicious replies rather than answers. Rather than deny my concerns of internal theft, I've been told only a law enforcement agency with court authorized subpena power can get any info regarding my fraud charges.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

least favorite things

I hung pictures today. It's been a while since I felt like it. I hate measuring and all the spacing involved. In the end, I am glad, but it always goes slow. I tend to hang 9 at a time. Here's the first couple:
It rained, so I had nothing better to do. Wife was happier than normal, but still annoyed at my speed. Steelers were playing and I did have to eat.
She wasn't too annoyed with me yesterday, for I took our son out to do some volunteer work towards his Life Scout Ranking. I am not a morning person, yet I spent my morning spreading seed in a future wetland for the MetroPark.
It felt good to be doing something, but I ended up taking a nap in the afternoon.
I think I have worked 40+ hours the last 4 weeks. Normal people do it every week, but I'm not fulltime and my job involves manual labor. Using a hammer on the weekend isn't something I pursue.

Friday, September 14, 2018

I had no idea my boss had a degree

Had a ride along today. I haven't had one since April. I've had several ride alongs over the couple years, but mostly when I'm going to a new to me stop or as punishment for having an accident. I think I've had 3 ride alongs for the sake of having him say he had a ride along. Probably more. I just find it few and far between that nothing sticks out.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

September starts off hot

September is generally my favorite month of the year. It's mostly still summer but not usually hot. Days are almost even with night. There's a certain balance. Growing up without central air conditioning/heating, made September particularly nice. Most of the rain was from hurricanes, but Ohio isn't really affected by hurricanes much.

So far the month looks to be hot. A year ago, I donated plasma for the first time, and the saline felt real cold. Pictures from this time last year shows us wearing hoodies in the car.

It was a warm summer. I didn't take a walk at all like I had in previous summer. My Fitbit days are over, so I'm not reminded of my idle ways.

My Fitbit ceased working when we went on vacation last October. I didn't bring it since I didn't have a charger to take. It never recharged back to usable. Reminds me of the Nook's dying in the old days.

We were supposed to go to Jenn's folks' yesterday, but migraines and weather happened. Never heard about being able to go today until we were settled on being home.

Jenn finished painting the girls' room yesterday. I helped by taking down molding.  Today I put it back up and hung pictures and decorative things back up.

I'm not much for being too active on my days off. My shoulder still isn't great. We'll probably cancel our YMCA membership given we don't use it aside for the discounts on sports and activities. Kids aren't doing those at this time, since we're busy as it is.

Running errands is the only running I do. Today we got paint for Jenn's room, and I got some things to hopefully help the main bathroom's toilet flush better.

I'm a systems guy with an outcome in mind. I don't do goals for they're empty and void of consequences. I don't seek stuff as much as events force me to choose a path that looks to provide the better opportunities when my options aren't open-ended.
I strive for simple living over complicated stressful living.

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

40

In a week or so, I turn 40. I have nothing to really say on the matter. I'm tired a lot of late. I manage my time poorly. I don't do goals, so I need to strive towards a general outcome.
Year in review: Kids are doing well. They have things to do and do well in school, at least. Wife doesn't always seem annoyed with me. I can do much better. I work more than I like. I had an accident and an injury at work. Hopefully, I learn from my accidents enough to avoid future one. I haven't walked much. Have a lot of stuff to do around the house... tiling bathroom and staining the deck are the two biggies.
I don't see how we can take a vacation without pulling kids out of school. My work schedule sucks like that.
Year preview: Probably should give up on time bandits like Twitter, blogger, MLB, and following politics. Need to work on the things that have meaning, like THAT NOVEL I've been putting off a couple decades.

I miss my uncle Howard. I miss my cousin Byron. My dad missed them too before he choked on his last grilled cheese sandwich.

I may never be famous, but I hope to leave an impression upon my children to strive to be better than me. I drive a truck for a living. It's not bad, just not meaningful beyond a paycheck.

Monday, August 20, 2018

power outage just as the TV gets mounted.

For a few days, our Roku 3 remote ceased working for stretches of time. Rather than replace the controller, or even replace the Roku device, we got a Roku TV.
The space where we have had our TV is a bookcase with a cabinet designed for the old box variety of televisions which existed back in 2003. Rather than destroy the cabinet, we got an expandable wall mount. Spent a bit of time doing measurements and such to get the mount perfect, only for the power to go out in the neighborhood a couple hours.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Youngest had ballet during the summer, but we're not sticking with it.

A few weeks ago, we saw Hotel Transylvania 3. Later that Sunday, I decided to play some PTV, and Darcy found it dance worthy. We went to the movies 4 Sundays in a row, I think.

First day back to preschool was Monday. I finally have some time to myself in the afternoon. Probably will start doing plasma donation again since my schedule seems to allow it. One week of donations equals a session of speech therapy. Already spent a few thousand dollars via HSA savings account this year, just don't have much in HSA now. It's worth it to hear her speech improve. Nothing worthwhile is without sacrifice, right?

Saturday, August 11, 2018

caves and mud

On Sunday, we went to West Liberty. I wasn't too impressed with the caverns. Jennifer wanted picture taken. No one gets my jokes.

Jennifer bought a bag of dirt from the gift shop. The kids sifted flint, shark teeth and various rocks from the dirt. Kiefer was gross with his rock candy on a stick. Darcy lost hers to the muddy water.
 It was hot, but the caverns are 54 degrees year-round, so they brought jackets.

 Kiefer felt left out, so I spent $10 on his wrist band.


Sunday, July 29, 2018

end of summer, longer hours and lingering shoulder pain

Not sure how times flies, aside from being constantly busy and having to be places and such.
Since I've been back on-road, I've been working 7 hour days, again. Last week I had a few 8 hour days. Considering I'm part-time, and I get up before 9am during the week, working until 10:30 at night has been taking its toll.
I have no idea how much I weigh, but I seem about the same. I've been consuming a can of Coke with a Premier Protein bar for my evening meal. I eat 3 other times during the day: an hour after I wake up, an hour before work and 15 minutes after I get home.
Eating 4 times a day is a habit I started at the carwash. I was always coming home at 2:30 hungry
I worked without a break a couple weeks ago. I felt horrible until I had a mini break with my Coke and Premier Protein bar.
My shoulder has become sore. I try to do my doorway exercises when I think about it, but I think I will be sore a very long time until cease doing physical work 5 days a week.
Since she leaves as I get up and goes to sleep when I get home, I don't see Jennifer throughout the week. Our communication is limited to texts or a quick phone call. During the summer, Saturdays start with us alternating between going to ukulele or ballet lessons for our daughters. Ukulele is the easy one, though it's at 10am. Dance is a long 10:30-11:15 given the 4 year old needs help focusing.
Yesterday, Jennifer said something snide for I was up before 9.
Tomorrow marks the last day of rowing for our son, but he had it every Monday and Thursday at 10:30 for 2 months. 
My youngest has had speech therapy sessions at 9:30 every Tuesday and Friday this year.
We've gone to the movies the last 4 Sunday mornings.
For being Summer, I've not really rested. Kids start school August 8th, so I will have to be up before 8. I won't have to leave the house early aside from the days my youngest has speech therapy.
I've been in a bad mood. B broke the headphone plug in her's iPod Touch's jack on Tuesday. I had slim hope of fixing it, but it was slimmer after circumstances occurred. Now I've conceded defeat on fixing it.
I ordered contact lenses after trialing a pair for 10 days. I couldn't see well when I was in the office in the beginning of month, but got a quote on costs and was told they had some in stock. When I called to order them, I couldn't since the script wasn't on file and doctor wasn't in until the next week. When I got my lenses, I was under the impression I'd get a $100 rebate, then it turned into a Visa card, then it turned into an application for a Visa card. I looked at the paperwork on Wednesday after I had the kids gone to their grandparents. Paperwork said I had to have purchased the lenses in June to get the rebate. Eye doctor's office probably thinks I'm jerk for not knowing that B&L extended their rebate timeline.
I get pissy when it comes to money. I've been in debt for so long, I'm tired of costs of things being piled on. I've been very lucky to have a job where I am wanted and am able to get fulltime hours though I'm only part-time. My kids are mostly healthy. My wife is a loving mom. I need to manage my time better, for I'm up too late and not getting out aside from shuttling kids or running errands. I'm on my phone too much around my family. I need to make my schedule with pen and paper and avoid electronics as much as possible.
I can see the light at the end of debt tunnel. I just spend too much time thinking about it and my 401(k)s. Twitter and Drudge Report also zap my time. I need to designate a better time and place for such activities along with blogging.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

biology

Wife has been mad at me. I hadn't felt like doing stuff between the kids being home, my shoulder being hurt and the weather making my work environment hot... I'm mostly exhausted during the day. Last week was better, but she's mad again.
We saw The Incredibles 2 last weekend and The Avengers this weekend. Both have left me feeling less than wonderful, I'm thinking my light sensitivity may be causing my detached mood.
Ever since the bunk bed got put up, the basement was a mess. We got me a mattress when we had to clean up in the laundry room, but had no where to put stuff until my daughter's old bed was put together.
Weird to think I didn't sleep on a bed aside from when I was taking a trip for 12 years, but after my sleep schedule changed drastically from Jennifer's, I never wanted a bed when I was content with the couch or air mattress.
My night owl personality may have caused my photophobia to get worse.

Friday, June 29, 2018

handler days

Sorry, a work heavy post.
I drove 4 different trucks one day last week. Had been a while since swapped trucks a couple times in a day. Seems I havea semi regular gig of going to Monroe for pick-ups then breaking and meeting up and swapping trucks after my break. Mostly easy stuff... stuff I used to do when I was a handler, essentially.
When I get back from my truck swap, I do handling. I probably do more handling than I used to do considering I have unloaded truck a bit since getting off restricted duty.
It's easy, so I expect it to change.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

X-rays, hanging pictures, and going in a circle

On Friday, I saw the chiropractor. He said my claim was approved, so he wrote me a script to have x-rays of my AC Joint.

After four weeks, the separation is visible. Shoulder felt good for a while on Thursday, but chiropractor made the pain and soreness still there after the visit.
Actually felt well enough to hang pictures on the wall.
I hate hanging pictures. I'm not OCD, a crooked picture is beyond annoying. I'm quite happy I started and finished the wall in a reasonable time frame.
On Saturday, we went to Carillon Historical Park for some reason after we had gone to Old Navy to spend SuperCash and Burger King. I rode the carousel twice with the girls. Jennifer rode twice with the kids afterward. Would have cost $14 if we weren't carousel members.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Beds and such

Jennifer fixed up the bunk beds she had as a child so that our daughters have more space in their room. She spent quite a bit of time painting and such. They were a rustic looking stained brown, now they are a more posh white and pink.

Took apart the day/trundle bed and the 3 in 1 crib/toddler bed before putting the bunk bed in. Had to cut slats since the plywood I had made Jennifer weary. Bought a new twin mattress.

Looks nice. Might have been cheaper to buy a new bunk bed... only because I bought a miter saw to trim the slats. I need the saw to complete odds and ends around the house, so it's not a frivolous purchase.

My shoulder is still being a pain. Work is still day to day. Boss seems to think chiropractor isn't a person who should be treating my separated shoulder.

Summer has made the kids be home and annoying, it seems.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Shoulder update

I've been on light duty, so my shoulder has been getting less strain upon it. Crazy to think I separated the thing doing something I've done many times. Aside from my shoulder popping, I wouldn't have thought of how I hurt my shoulder for sure. My shoulder didn't exactly hurt, but rather felt different. I noticed an ache. The ache was always a dull pain that spiked when I raised my arm. A body ache that lasts longer than a week is when I start to think something is more than a mere ache. I then noticed I had a red spot on my shoulder from my rubbing a bump. I didn't notice the boney bump as being out of place until I realized it was unique and not on left shoulder as well.
I sound silly, but the injury isn't something I would conjure having from pushing boxes on a conveyor belt. It's a football type of injury....

Monday, May 21, 2018

shoulder confirmation

Shoulder still bothered me after a week, so I started looking into the matter on Google.
Given I have a bump, I figured I probably did something to my AC Joint.
Got into chiropractor this morning and he said I was correct in my assessment.
Very mild shoulder separation, but I got a note for work to limit my pushing and arm raising.
I feel sad. Not sure why. Just tired, I guess.

Monday, May 14, 2018

stomach bug

I wasn't on road Monday or Tuesday. When I got home Tuesday, I vomited. I went to bed without eating. I awoke to go to the restroom around 3 or 4. Both my daughters had issues at that time.
I took off Wednesday. I took off Thursday.
I went in at my normal time on Friday, and felt ok enough to work, though my stomach still felt less than wonderful.
My night at work ended after I heard and felt my right shoulder pop. I wasn't in anymore pain or such, but I've never had the experience and figured it was worth mentioning in case something about my shoulder prevented me from working in the future, thus I needed documentation.
Not sure how much I weigh. I haven't donated plasma this month. I went 8 times in April, thus taking off as much time as possible until I get lured back.
I was around 170lbs.
I would like to drop under 150lbs. to be able to donate less volume.
My stomach bug has made me consider it possible.
My shoulder problem makes physical activity less than wonderful.
Temp outside has been hot the last couple days.
So much to do this summer. I need to prioritize my priorities.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

a day off to think

Finally heard from my boss about my accident. I'm on probation of sorts and will have to write a letter about whether I want to remain employed.
I don't hate driving. I just don't do well when under stress.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

vacation

I had an accident a couple hours before I was to start my vacation. I was almost done with my site pick-up when my powerpad froze. I went to move my vehicle to the dock doors only to find myself locked out. I was in trouble since I had everything I needed to take back to the staion inside the building. After ringing a buzzer and calling dispatch for help, I was now at the point of being late. I droved my vehicle to the other side of the building and found the security staff outside smoking. They were happy to open the dock bay for me, so I drove the half mile around to the other side of the building and as I was backing up to the dock, I grazed the tail light of a parked van, thus shattering it. Nothing horrible, really, given the lack of body damage, beyond shattered transparent red and clear plastic.
I was so already late, so the accident didn't really matter. I got my pick-ups and headed straight to the airport.
I shouldn't have been in such a rush that I didn't notice how close I was to the van I hit, but I was late and not exactly thinking straight.
I had time off and now I'm set to return to an extra long day.
A four day weekend isn't much when today J had to work and called me that she had a flat tire. Tire place is closed, so I shall call Monday to see if my tire can be fixed or needs to be replaced. Doubt I'll have time to get it done Monday between my morning being taken away from me due to a webinar I have to attend.
First world problems are annoyingly trivial when you consider how lucky one is to have a car and a job in the first place.
The vacation was just time off that I don't get to have when my wife and kids are around. We did a few things but nothing too vacation-like. Ohio is having an extended winter, thus being outside is not fun of late.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

A day starts early, if you feel the mood.

Today started rather early. I got up at 7:15.
I meant to get up early. I had intentions to go donate plasma. I woke up to my youngest being next to me sleeping snuggly. Or I would have gotten up at 7:05. So 10 minutes later after going upstairs to take my medication. I considered what I want to do because I saw the kitchen sink was full of dishes.
I was tempted to go back to sleep. I was tempted to leave with the dishes in the sink. 
I figured it was best to do the dishes then go do the plasma. It made for a later start but 1 thing was out of the way.
I kind of get a anxious when I go to the give plasma. I answered yes when I should have said no on the questionnaire. So that delayed me a little bit. No harm no foul. I had a bad stick. Evidently the needle was in the vein a little deeper and causing issues. So I had to sit longer than my most recent visits.
When I get home we went out to the outlet mall shortly afterward to buy Kiefer boots. We bought him shoes shoes that I can wear because they are the same size as of those I wear.
Meh. The day was uneventful. 
I made the mistake to tell my mom something relating to taxes in Saturday, thus spent part of my afternoon helping her with her taxes.
She apologized that spent as much time as u did, but she didn't need to. I like doing taxes. 
My mom has a higher AGI than we do. I don't know what she does with her money, but she lives well within her means.
I won't feel guilty when she buys me stuff.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Year is moving fast.

March is tomorrow? One more month until I get my raise from FedEx.
I mentioned finances last time or so, but I never stated that it's my primary interest outside of my family. I don't really watch TV or sports, but I love to follow my finances.
I probably dinged my credit rating by opening a new Bank of America credit card and nearly maxing it with a transfer, but the 0% rate for 18 months coupled with ZERO transfer fee makes the ding worth it, if I plan to be CREDIT CARD DEBT-FREE in 18 months.
For having a credit score of 800+, the non-promotional interest rate is insanely high.
I only carry a balance on cards that have low fixed interest rates.
I haven't carried a balance on my Discover Card in over a year. They offered me an insane cashback deal that made me use the card, so I had to zap the balance that was at a modest promotional rate. It was a zero transfer fee for a 5.99% rate that was too high for my liking anyways, but I was intending it to be a temporary transfer from Chase since I couldn't transfer a Chase debt to another Chase card.
Chase used to have decent transfer offers with 2% transfer fees for a 0% rate for 15 months, now they offer for 0% for maybe 12 months with a 3% fee. BOO!
I currently dislike Chase. Not sure if I mentioned their FRAUDULENT ways, but they absolutely suck and I had to spend several hours fixing their mistakes, hence the newest B of A card.
Yes, Chase is on MY ENEMIES LIST.
The Discover Card promotions I have had since 2011 have been rather AWESOME. The card has gotten better, while Chase has gotten worse.
Hard to explain all the details, but Discover has saved me hundreds of dollars and has given me insane amounts of cash back. Chase used to be decent, but they are sad in comparison to Discover.
One day, I'll post about my credit card exploits beyond the fact I average roughly $20K in credit card debt, yet now get way more in cash back than I owe in transfer fees and interest charges. It involves kicking cans and such, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to my great employer: FedEx.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Free time makes for discontent

Boredom is the root of all evil.
Sorry, I haven't reflected upon realities beyond my own trivialities, but the blog is a reflection of my own being and I'm a dull person.
Ever notice that people with too much free time make their lives unnecessarily complicated?
Anyways, I had Friday off from work so we could go to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate my spouse's 40th year of existence. The kids were off, so we worked the day off from our ends, accordingly.
Having the Passat available to take to Tire Discounters for the regular rotation, I scheduled an appointment for Friday morning at 9am. The car's tire rotation taking 90+ minutes is unacceptable in my opinion. I tweeted about it and the store manager called me after I got home. I told him his store sucked. I had too much free time while waiting, thus Tire Discounters is on my Enemy List, according to my family.
Tire Discontenters
The day wasn't ruined, but it started bad. I was hungry by the time I got home, and we had stuff to pack. Around 11am, I called Little Caesar's for the standard Pep, Cheese & Crazy Bread order. They said it would be ready in 10-15 minutes. I got there in 9 minutes and they APOLOGIZED that I would have to wait and offered me a FREE ORDER OF ADDITIONAL CRAZY BREAD.
Seriously, I got there early and they made it seem like it was their fault I had to wait.
I love my local Little Caesar's!

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Desktop revival

Having a desktop PC is a trivial thing, but I have re-found my interest in following my family's cash flow. Probably had a lot to do with the lack of income compared to expenditures, but everything looks different on a desktop.
Being married has a number of challenges. Budgeting is something which seems to make most arguments occur. Working more hours at more pay has created an opportunity to finally pay off debts that have been kicked down the road ever since we've been married.
I hadn't followed our checking account since 2014. I'd make sure there was money there, but I stopped projecting towards the following month and estimate how much could be put aside and such.
I have been the secondary income in the family. I had a baseline when I was on unemployment that all of our budgets had been based. When I started making more, my priorities had been my retirement. The debts weren't going anywhere and my debt management skills are wonderful enough to have a great credit score.
Realistically, is there a point where saving towards a 401(k) becomes overkill? I think 31% is that magic number given my circumstances, though I still have an income surplus well beyond my base income set from my unemployment days.
We paid off a car last June, which freed up money to pay off debt, but at the same time we had stuff break and need to be replaced, so the month to month debt seems the the same. We need a month or 2 where we don't spend beyond our normal expenditures, but having extra money means I'm less annoyed when we buy stuff like the new desktop.
Current debt priorities:
  1. Credit Cards
  2. Student Loans
  3. Mortgage
By the time our credit cards are projected to be paid off, I expect my student loans to be close to gone. With the extra money in the budget from not servicing those debts, our mortgage can be taken on aggressively.
It would be great to be debt-free when our children start college, but I'm not sure it's possible given house ownership means replacing stuff regularly and an annual vacation seems to be thing now, but I haven't looked at the actual numbers affecting us with regards to the Trump Tax Cut.

Sunday, January 28, 2018

new desktop PC

Bought a new PC today at Micro Center. It's still in the box. We have no place to put it, at the moment.
Called Spectrum. We're getting faster internet once the new modem comes.
Money to burn? Sure I filed our tax returns yesterday with the fed and state, but we claim three children, so we have to wait until mid-February for the return to to be reviewed.
Friday, I did see in the news I'm getting a bonus or a raise. Rumor has it that the raises set for October are being rolled out in April. I'm not sure if we're getting a bonus on top of the raise, but it's more money for me regardless.
Our Ibotta account is doing well... could do better if more people used our referral link to join.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

New Washer, influx of $ and such`

We bought a floor model on NYD. It was marked down from $499, so we added the 5-year Geek Squad plan for $99. Samsung washer died within 5-years and we were lucky it was recalled and we got a full refund sans tax. Getting $629.99 placed into our checking account without much has was nice... we were gonna buy a new washer, and we sort of came out ahead.
Whirlpool Cabrio has a low bar to exceed thanks to Samsung. Washer was installed on Saturday.
Haven't donated plasma in a couple months, and who knows when I'll find time to go twice a week, so I transferred my Biolife card to our checking and scheduled a payment of my Chase Freedom card for said amount plus $200.  Seeing I've cleared $100 more per check than when I was a handler.
Debt payment has to be a system, not a goal if I ever want to be free of debt.
Been busy. Kids went back to school but snow days and such have kept them home.
Weekend was spent waiting on washer on Saturday and Sunday was D's b-day, so we went to Newport Aquarium.
So much to do, but no time to do them.