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Archive for March, 2020

Payday and other things

March 31st, 2020 at 04:16 am

The USA Naval Ship Hospital has arrived in New York. It is sad to have the need for it and at the same time, it makes me so proud to be so blessed to live in a country like ours.

It is difficult to talk about money when lots of people are struggling to pay their bills. Here it's what's happening financially in our household. As you know, our house in Florida was finally sold a week ago. Aside from the money we expected to receive at closing, we were refunded $400 today for something that was itemized in the seller's disclosure, related to the HOA. I cancelled all utilities and we are expected to receive a small refund on our water bill. We also cancelled HO insurance and the remaining mortgage escrow should be refunded in the next 30 days. All of this money will be going to our savings account.

One of our tenants paid rent already, but not sure how things will be next month (his own words). Another one texted me this morning and asked me if she could pay on Friday. The third said he will pay this week as well, but he is not sure how it will be next month. We are grateful that they are paying and we are prepare to cover the next month ourselves. We asked them if paying the rent was taking away their ability to buy food and they all said, "No". If we get the stimulus check from the feds, we will save it to pay mortgages. I don't count on it until it's in our hands.

I also got paid today (the district is paying all employees). I put $100 in the 2020 Roth IRA, some in savings and paid some bills. We have a hefty credit card bill due on mid April.

I'm also on my third week of no grocery shopping and hope to be able to make it another two weeks. I'd be going for walks around time while practicing social distancing. I will tell you that I am very anxious about COVID-19 especially since I have two sons who are essential personnel; one working at a hospital. We disinfect floors, bathrooms and kitchen on a daily base and staying home.

I sincerely hope and pray that you are all well and safe and those of you with family members experiencing health issues, please know that I think of you often and pray for a safe and speedy recovery.

Sold/Tenants/TP

March 26th, 2020 at 04:56 am

Well, we closed on our Florida home and although a bit sad, I am relieved and grateful to find a well-qualified, conventional loan buyer. Due to COVID-19 lockdown state order we closed through a conference call Notary service. Different experience but efficient and painless. Our furniture is in storage but we hope to be able to retrieve it during the summer (hoping and praying). My brother has been a huge help with moving things out of the house. As I mentioned before, we lost a considerable amount of money due to realtor fees. Lesson learned.

On another note, 3 out 4 tenants are not working. This will most likely mean that we will have to withdraw from savings to pay these mortgages and we are prepare to do so. We will not pressure our tenants nor stress them out. They are good to us in terms of paying the rent and keeping up with the apartments. Besides, we have a heart. It will be an I owe you.

I'm out of work but still getting paid and I am so very thankful. Many of my family members are not working and struggling. My husband will file for social security benefits in July (75%/age 62). He won't collect until October. We are on our second week of not stepping foot in the supermarket. I hope to stretch thing until the first week of April. TP stash is very low but I found a solution to our problem. It helps that I am the only female in our home. Besides, I have a ton of paper towels and there is nothing water and soap can't clean. Smile

Well, that's it for today. Please be safe and well.

Roth/groceries/curfew

March 17th, 2020 at 01:39 am

It's official, I'm done funding all $7K on my 2019 Roth IRA. I just set up a $120 contribution (one month ahead of schedule). I won't be able to begin 2020 Roth until next month. We have some unforeseen expenses that we want to cash flow this month.

School is not in session for at least a month here and there is talk that it will be for a much longer time. The governor of New Jersey instituted an 8:00-5:00 curfew today and Teaneck, NJ is completely quarantined. That's not too far from us but in a different county. We have 4 confirmed cases in my county. Frown

We have also spend a bit more on groceries this month but we've not gone crazy buying stuff. We have plenty of food for at least three weeks or so. Nothing is wasted and we will eat normally but smaller portions. Let's hope and pray (if you believe) that this passes soon. Please stay safe and take care of yourself.

Updates

March 14th, 2020 at 02:03 am

Closing on our FL house is supposed to be on the 24th of this month. I was supposed to travel to pack our things but decided against it. My brother will be packing for me and putting everything in storage for at least a month or until he feels okay to travel from NJ to FL. He volunteered to U-haul our stuff for us and then fly back home. He's diabetic and neither one of us feels comfortable with him traveling right now.

We are under contract for about $5K above what we paid for the house, but by the time we pay realtor fees and moving expenses we will lose about $10K or more. Luckily, we will get a good portion of our down payment back, but still a loss. On the bright side, we will be able to free up $1500 a month in mortgage payments. Lesson learned.

The school district I work for will close for nearly a month, which includes a week for spring break and four days of unused winter days. All staff will be paid. It seems like the stomach virus is also in full motion this time of the year. Kids are coming down with it and so did I. I missed two days of work. The stomach ailment subsided quickly but I had a headache all day yesterday and felt very much run down. I am much better now.

Payday today for me. $500 went to savings and $475 to credit card payments. We also had to replace another water heater tank in one of the apartments yesterday, $500. This is the third one we replace among our properties in less than a year. We put it on the credit card due in April.

Well that's it for today. Please be safe and stay healthy.

Financial highs/lows

March 8th, 2020 at 12:20 am

highs:

So, I kept $50 of the $250 from the unexpected payment I received from a relative. I just set up an electronic contribution for the remaining $200 to my Roth IRA. Another $270 will be transferred on Friday. That leaves me with $120 to pay before April 15 for my 2019 Roth IRA. I can definitely handle that! I can't wait to start 2020. I am proud of myself for making this a priority even when my income is meager compared to prior years. I also discovered that I can continue to make contributions to my 403B since I am working for a board of education part-time. I can't do much. but I am going to commit to at least $100 a month to that.

I have $241 saved from the 52 Weeks Savings challenge. I am trying to reach the $1,378 in six months and repeat the challenge. That will give me a total of $2756 saved by December 31st. This money is going towards fulfilling things on my Bucket List.

We are getting a little over $1200 from income tax returns this year between the Feds and the state. That money has been designated for home improvements.

Lows:
We have to replace the entire front porch decking of our house. It's a lemonade porch so it will definitely not be cheap to fix.

A little extra

March 5th, 2020 at 05:52 pm

A family member, whom I lent money to a while back, Venmo me $250. Repayment is sporadic, but anything I get back is a plus. I am going to keep $50 of it to spend on a meal out or a treat for me. I am trying to enjoy a little bit of our money lately. My husband’s cousin is terminally ill and his stepchildren are fighting for some antique cars he has. Good grief, the guy is not even dead yet. I told my husband that there has to be a balance in life and he should enjoy some of his money. My husband tends to be very conservative (extreme) with money. I told him that he is leaving it for someone else to enjoy and that you only live once.