We finally got the AC repaired and it did cost us a little extra. We were fine with that but also we've been spending time in another state with my elderly mom. She's been having health issues that might impact her ability to live independently. I have a sibling there who works full time and is also working on a doctorate degree. 

We did buy our van, set it up and took a brief trip but otherwise we've used it while we've been out of state with my mom. We thought we might keep track of the days we've used it instead of a hotel room. So far 13 days and that's a good savings. 

I'm back to work next week and so I'm pushing my way through preparing. This included taking a big bin of paper to be shred to the credit union. I'm grateful for the complimentary service. 

Our old home is sold. The balance of the proceeds is in the HSA until we make decisions on things. I'm hoping to save some of it. We're planning on buying a van for travel and buy a few things for the new house. Summer is for rest and recovering from the year. Our AC is currently out and it's nearly been a week since we called the warranty company. We knew the furnance and the AC was original and so we wait for replacement. I hope it won't take as long as the furnance did this winter. We're hiding in the lower level where it's as cool as it can be. 

I found this really interesting interactive article in the Washington Post - Are you Rich?    I hope this link worked.  If not, here's the link to copy and paste. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2024/are-you-rich-american-wealth-net-worth/?fbclid=IwAR3HXcCb5xnufXwSrBIi5ZqDoxXlk_0AhaDGLB71xS-gaghokhNXeSi_sz8 

My net worth is higher than 86 percent of American households, more than four times that of the typical American household.

My household’s net worth is close to the middle for households like yours. 

Compared to households like yours, you have a very low income and a net worth near the middle.

You hold a greater portion of your assets in retirement savings and a smaller portion in cash, your home and investments than the average household with similar levels of wealth.

I feel pretty proud of that. 

So I work for the state and because of covid, there was less usage of health insurance so they decided to "give back" the surplus as a premium vacation. This month of March we don't have to pay our insurance premiums. I think that will reflect around a increase of $250. I'm not sure what our plans will be for that. I know my spouse wants to purchase a different couch for our main floor. When either of us can't sleep well  (sick, wiggly, insomnia) we leave. I go to our lower level but they don't feel comfortable there so they sleep on the couch but it's not comfortable for sleeping.  I'd rather not have to buy a new couch when the one we have is perfectly fine except for the need to sleep there.  They want to get a small sectional and to be honest, I hate shopping. 

There's been a few folks who have been gone for a while....or maybe just not posting. Folks who haven't posted in a long time, one more than a decade. It's fun to read about them catching back up here. Congrats on your retirement Priceplus!  And just like Commute I-78, I like looking back too. 

Nothing here happening too much. My household is tracking our spending this month, next month we'll get a little more granular about the spending. It's been good for my spouse and admittedly they are paying better attention to how they spend money. What a great bonus! I usually do the bills but I always think it's important that we both know what we're spending and how to pay for it. If anything happens to either of us, we should know how to manage independently.

This week we're meeting with an attorney to figure out wills and other legal documents. We've been having some of those challenging conversations about end of life and etc. It's good to do this planning. 

It's been forever since I received a property tax refund. We're supposed to get one this year. A few months back we received a letter than we had to fill out so I'm guessing it delayed it some. Normally the refunds are sent in August. I've got to go find the paperwork that will tell us what we should expect to receive back so I check the "where's my refund" page. It's supposed to be like $400 or so. 

My spouse injured their ankle about 7 weeks ago, this has put more on my shoulders around the house. It's been a bit tough. We fortunately know a friend who works for an organization which takes things like shower chairs and crutches and sends them overseas. Instead of purchasing the following, our friend brought them over - 2 shower chairs, crutches, walker and a knee scooter. We will give them back when we're done with them. What we have purchased was numerous pillows, socks and elastic bandages to support the ankle. MRI was done this week so hopefully there will be confirmation that all is good and healing is happening. 

So we're doing okay here and I did write a post that got lost in the switch over. I don't remember exactly what I wrote about but my spouse and I have talked about a challenge of a month of trying to spend as little as we can just to see what we can do. We have mostly fixed expenses and some food. We'll see how it goes. If we do it, I'll report back.