Taxes are done, filed. I passed on the Amazon giftcard because I was afraid I'd err and end up putting all my refund in the giftcard. Ditto on the I-Bonds. Lost internet four times this weekend and was afraid of anything getting lost, or resubmitted.
Return monies potentially allocated thusly:
* one Raspberry Pi
* x% of outstanding HELOC paid, where range(x) is 4-6%
* x% of outstanding car debt paid, where range(x) is 5-7%
It would feel delicious to see those balances down to four-digit figures before the end of the year
*Rest of $$ for family
More importantly, I am at the magic point where we have 3 months living expenses in our liquid assets. My plan now is to put 1/5 of the surplus aside for investing, where anticipated gains > 6.5%, and 3/5 toward debt repayment, and the remaining 1/5 to the assets for inflation creep or Savings Challenge. The plan for this executes 21 February 2014, when the credit cards are balance-free.
Menu planning:
Franks Paprikash
Fried Tidbits of Swordfish or Other Fish
Baked Fillet of Sole with Tomato, Oregano and Hot Pepper
Eat whatever day
Beanie Weenies
Chicken Tarragon Spaghettini
Veal al Limone
Coconut Lamb Curry
We will have eaten down most of the freezer meat by payday. I have the money for our next great meatmarket venture in the Money Market Account. Only with extreme planning can I get our monthly grocery spending below $600. I use coupons, price book and check for meat markdowns.
February 17th, 2014 at 09:56 pm 1392674180
February 17th, 2014 at 10:32 pm 1392676344
I have a stand up freezer i got from Sears for $300 years ago, and it is filled with meat, butter, and whole grain flours.
I have a new recipe for when whole chickens are cheap. Buy some fresh herbs (I can get rosemary and parsley fresh), and rub a cleaned and dried chicken with parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, black pepper and salt mixed in some olive oil and clean out the cavity of the bird and put in a lemon cut in 4ths (with the skin), a clove of garlic and half a large onion (without skin).
Cook on 425 degrees for 1 1/4 hour and it tastes fantastic.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:41 pm 1392676903
February 18th, 2014 at 11:31 am 1392723103
February 18th, 2014 at 03:48 pm 1392738524
NJ Debbie, they are the best nephews in the world, but I'm amazed at the amount of food they can put away at a sitting. Meals that would last me a week disappear with no leftovers!