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Browsing posts in: Income

Hope’s Debt Update – mid-November, 2023

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Things are still pretty dire. I am still significantly behind on several “four walls” bills. So there are debt payments that are just not getting paid.

Figured I would get that out of the way, so you wouldn’t wonder why some of these debt numbers are going up!

Debt DescriptionOctober, 2023 TotalInterest RateMinimum PaymentPaid This MonthCurrent Total
Personal Loan #1$2,5000%6 months to pay$2,500
Personal Loan #2$2,5000%6 months to pay$2,500
CC - AMEX$89429.24%$93$954
CC - Wander$1,63029.24%$124$1,834
CC - USAA$5,00019.15%$135$131$5,190
CC - Amazon$1,49729.99%$53$55$1,519
CC - Sams$1,106*29.99%*$40$40$1,113
CC - Frontier$3,85729.99%$338$170$3,994
Car Loan$19,58112.69%$500$563$19,581
Student Loans$22,1212.875%$306Deferred until Dec, 2023$22,186
CC - Apple**$500$500$497
Total$61,186$61,868

A couple of notes:

*The website to get my statement and these details was not available so these are estimates.

**I pay this CC off every month and reuse. This and the USAA CC will be left open. But the goal is to pay off and close all other lines of credit.

Catching Up

On the flip side of that, I have contracted out enough work to pay the bills through the end of January. Most of these are one off projects. My regular monthly intake has increased from the $2,200 per month from my part time job to around $2,700. (I will need to allocate some of this additional income to self-employment taxes.)

I am hoping to be caught up with everything by mid-December. This really depends on how timely I will receive payments for these projects. And I’m hoping to resume saving with the $200 from my part time job. I will definitely feel more comfortable when I have some sort of emergency fund again.

I continue to literally pound the pavement on a daily basis. Hitting up and few brick and mortar stores and introducing myself and dropping off a flyer details my service offerings from web design to social media management and everything in between.

 

Tween Girl Gift Guide 2023

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My twin girls are 11.5, but going on 13 in attitudes, interests, desire for independence, and everything else that comes along with the transition into teenage years! They’ve mostly outgrown their more “kid” toys like playing with dolls, but still love a good activity or family game night!

I hate clutter and love the idea of buying things that can be used, are some form of entertainment/activity, or an experience type gift. With that in mind, I’ve put together a little Tween Girl Gift Guide. None of this is sponsored or affiliate-related. It’s all just things my kids have put on their Amazon Wishlist and/or ideas I’ve given to family members. I wanted to share it here, in case it is helpful to others!

Tween Girl Gift Guide

 

Woobles 

I bought a penguin crochet kit for $30 for my daughter who loves sewing and knitting. She hasn’t tried crochet yet, but I think she’ll love this activity! And how cute is that penguin!?

Clay Kit

I recommended this clay kit for one of the Grandma’s to buy. It’s under $30 and comes with a whole assortment of clay that can be modeled and baked, along with kit items to help use the clay to make jewelry or a fun sculpture. This isn’t your “kid” play-doh set. This is the more adult version that, once baked, will keep its shape.

Makeup

I guess I could’ve named this list “Tween Gifts Under $30” because this kit, too, comes in right at $30. It’s more adult than the “kid” version of make-up kits – this includes foundation and concealer, for example!

Shark Snuggie

This is just a riot! Again priced right at $30 – this Snuggie is perfect for my shark-obsessed daughter! I can’t wait to see her face when she unwraps this one!

Blank Slate 

This is a game that’s perfect for family game night! We tend to like fast-paced games and this one is a winner for parents and tweens, alike! Only $20 right now! We were gifted this by a neighbor and play it often.

Bead Kit

My T. Swift fans begged for a bead kit that included letter beads so they could make bracelets with coded messages from Taylor Swift lyrics. We already owned a “normal” bead kit with regular colors. Adding this bead kit with elastic string and letter beads was the perfect extension of our current bead collection. Only $8!

642 Things to Draw

This was recommended by another mom’s friend. The book gives prompts for things to draw and leaves it to the kids’ imagination for how to complete the picture. One of my girls is quite artsy and into drawing, so I think this would be right up her alley!

 

The Finances of Gift-Giving

I think my kids have more than enough, and I hate bringing “stuff” into the house. Anything with lots of pieces is likely to get lost and then thrown out. And I don’t like clutter or junk just laying around.

For those reasons, I go pretty minimally on Christmas gifts. I mostly stick to one bigger thing (often an experience gift), and then wrap up more practical things I would likely buy anyway just to have more stuff under the tree (e.g., clothes that they’d need anyway, new socks, underwear, etc.). I even put necessities in their stockings, like new toothbrushes and mouthwash. Maybe it’s not super exciting, but it’s practical and keeps costs down.

Families and Gift-Giving

The grandmas, however, like to buy the kids a physical item to unwrap. Given all the Grandmas, the kids have plenty under the tree. The toys and activities above include some of the top ideas I gave to family members who wanted to buy the girls physical gifts (as opposed to experience gifts).

We’re lucky in our family that it’s normative for none of the adults to buy for each other. For that reason, there’s no expectation or “requirement” to purchase gifts for siblings, in-laws, parents, etc. We keep the focus on the kids and spending time together, which is all most of us want anyway.

What are the norms for gift-giving in your family?