When the going gets tough, the tough gets going… :)

Or so the saying goes.. πŸ™‚ Since the year began, I’ve been hard at work with a new (to me) course for the Spring Semester. My job’s physically demanding and thankfully, I’ve been up to the task. I love all my bosses especially as I feel really appreciated. The students I’ve been working with also appreciate the work I put in to making the laboratory a comfortable place to be despite the circumstances. lol. Matt’s been acing his tests and exams. I couldn’t be prouder of him and how far we have grown as a unit. Not too long ago, I posted a status message on my Facebook page about how nothing beat taking a stroll in the woods with the one you love. That continues to hold true and I couldn’t be happier with my choice of a life partner. Alright, enough sappiness. πŸ™‚

In personal finance management news, our heating bill saw a $20 spike in the month of December and we continued getting heating bills in the ~ 60s for a while until last month when it finally came down to $58. However, that didn’t give me much consolation because our energy usage per day was still higher i.e. ~ $2 per day. In any case, we’re doing pretty good considering I’ve sorta given up being so strict.

With news of the American economy tanking, Matt & I have continued our habits of keeping our credit card debt as low as we can i.e. 22% of our credit limit which is just enough to let the credit card company that we are actively using the card, but low enough for them to understand that we are not in trouble & maxing out the card. Our savings are not where I’d like them to be, but that’s to be expected when unexpected expenses arise. It didn’t make it easier when our federal and state tax refunds were less than half of what we received last year. Thankfully, we have a good grasp on our finances and it didn’t really matter whether we received a tax refund or not. As a matter of fact, I’d rather keep more of my paycheck and receive a smaller tax refund because I’ll be able to put the money to better use when I have ownership of the funds right away!

In retirement account news, my Fidelity 401(k) has been tanking. My rate of return for this year is ~ -14%. Thankfully, my employer’s match takes the sting out of seeing the funds drop because the way I see it, it’s not my money that’s disappearing although it kinda is. lol. Does my weird logic make sense? I haven’t even looked at Matt’s retirement accounts lately although his accounts should do well. That’s about it for now. A ‘thicker’ post to come!

A follow-up

So, we have taken the plunge. We have found a sweet pad (650 sq. ft.) and it’s affordable (despite the LL’s sudden concern about affordability). We (read I) broke the news to LL and he took it well. We gave him the courtesy of a month’s notice although we’re very eager to begin living at this new place. He took it well although he did try to plug the ‘advantages’ of staying As they say, fool me once … lol. I did like living at LL’s though. Initially, rent and utility bills were under $170. Then, we ‘upgraded’ which added $100 in rent. Utility bills increased because we soon started ‘sharing’ items and in particular, our internet bill was another source of silent malcontent. Again, rent at LL’s was dirt cheap although there was another situation that caused us (read me) to feel slightly weird. However, when your utility bills started to equal your rent or get close to it, it bears a second look. That second look is what LL was unwilling, it seemed, to do and rather than turn into a harpie, we go pack our bags and jejely comot for dia. You for see LL last night. Hin con start to dey yarn some kain opaks about smaller bills, kini kan kini kan. Well, good luck to una then. I no wan do again oh. At least if I go dey chop $200 heating or cooling bill, na my own body I wan make the thing heat. Not furniture or dog. Wetin come happen to common sense? Hin use him mouth talk say wen na only him and our resident baba, den use heater to dey save money. Wetin happen wen him get extra persons? Common sense fly for window. Abegi jo! Na bet I get with M say hin no go turn heater on the way hin dey turn am on before. The tap done dry and him eye don open. No be day money dey dry am. I mean, na d same work him and M dey do so I know say na around d same pay den dey carry bring. To top with our rent plus baba rent, hin get pocket change. I no go badmouth him because he do good tin for us. Na me be the first one go tell him straight up say hin do well. But wen we dey almost beg u to help, make heating bill no kill us, u no listen, u dey carry on, dey go say “split between 4 people, it’s not much”… well, e done do. I no say I dey bring money home but the ting wey him no understand be say I dey look at the issue from one person eye. At one point with the drought threat, my baf style don dey reach rob and shine levels oh. lmao. I kid, I kid. Una get my drift sha. My point be say sake for say we for get our apartment tay tay, na one person’s worth of utility bills go dey show for bills because I no dey use things like that. So, for him to dey split everything say me, m, him and baba, e no good for my eye. Anyway, all good and bad things must come to an end. With this post, I bid adieu to the residents of Hotel California. πŸ˜€