About a month and a half ago the company announced a contribution matching initiative for donations to Covid-19 support organizations. The employee contribution can be to any qualifying organization that is helping prevent the spread of Covid-19 or addressing other damage caused by it. The match from the company though will go to one of about half a dozen organizations that the company has chosen. The employee can select which one. And it’s clear from the wording of the memo that the company thinks that those organizations would be ideal for the employee’s contribution too.

So here’s the rub for me: First, we just all took 10% mandatory pay cuts. But more importantly, while the organizations chosen by the company are reputable, they don’t reflect my personal values around the pandemic. In my opinion, all the guidance provided by the government and health organizations has been a defensive strategy – avoiding the virus. That’s fine. But what seems to be missing is a complementary offensive strategy – planning for the encounter that is likely to happen and making all of us healthier so we aren’t taken down by the thing. I wish we’d spend some of the money being thrown around to provide Vitamin D (& C and zinc) for free to anyone who wants it. This is my view – I know everyone doesn’t think like I do.

I opted not to contribute and instead our family found ways to support our local community. Now I wonder though: will it hurt me at the company? Do they keep a record of who participated in the initiative they promoted?

Have you ever skipped a work fundraiser and worried that it could negatively impact you at work?

When FIL died at the end of January, he left most of his assets (IRA & other accounts, vehicles, etc.) to his wife. In his will he left one savings account to be split among his grandsons. Noone expected this. Our boys will each receive about $10k in the next month or so. They each inherited a gun from FIL too but they weren’t surprised because they’d been asked in past years which one they preferred. (FIL was an outdoorsman.) His will might be entertaining for another hunter to read because one line after another says something like “To my GS1 I leave my Winchester blah blah rifle with the blah blah scope, serial number blah blah” through about 20 guns. He covered all his grandsons, his sons, his son-in-law, former son-in-law, step-son-in-law, former boyfriend to his daughter, and his daughter.

I’m not eager to have those guns in the house – I resisted this with DH for the past decade because our boys were the have-to-touch-everything type of little boys. I guess I’m glad at least that they are older now and two of them don’t live at home any longer.

As for the money, because two of our boys are minors, we will be given the money on their behalf. The other three will receive it directly. I told the twins (DS4 & DS5) that I would allow them to spend some of their money if they chose to but that I would be doing it on their behalf. I’m not trying to be controlling but I just don’t want them to be vulnerable to someone taking advantage of them. In fact I worry about DS3 in that regard but he is 18 and typically not receptive to advice from me.

This is what each boy plans to do with his windfall:

DS1 - $5k to Roth IRA now for 2019 since the deadline is extended, $2k student loan debt, $3k current desires including $1k to “play” with stocks

DS2 – All of it to top off Roth IRA for 2019 and 2020

DS3 – undecided, but has talked about a newer more reliable car

DS4 - $1k to buy the bed he wants, $9k to savings for a car purchase after he’s 18

DS5 – up to $3k for a fancy gaming computer setup, $7k to long-term savings with no goal yet


I’m curious to see if all their plans stick when the money arrives.

A few weeks ago I was celebrating the arrival of unexpected money: $212 from the car insurance for cancelling Bertha (minivan that departed), $54 voluntary refund from insurance to account for the stay-at-home order, and $40 refund from the school for the pay-to-play fee since the sports season was cancelled.

I also cancelled the 0% CC that was paid off which didn’t bring in money but did simplify my financial life by removing an account.

Then it went the other way and in a big way. The company implemented a 10% pay cut on total compensation across the board. The reasons were valid – they are trying to avoid layoffs and foresee the revenue being much lower this year. The pay cut is supposed to be for this fiscal year only and if the revenue doesn’t fall as sharply as anticipated, we may get some of it back later. Other cuts were made too – travel, hiring, and summer interns were some of them.

As a result, I had to make tough decisions about items in our family’s budget to cut or eliminate. No more ordering in dinner from local businesses once a week. No more family trip planned for this summer. Of course it wasn’t fun relaying this information to the kids but despite it being unpleasant, I did think it was a teachable moment. They got to see my response (as our family’s CFO) to a sudden unexpected reduction in income. And we’ll be fine.

I wish our local school board had enough fiscal maturity to go through that exercise. They also have realized that revenue will be impacted by the shutdown this year and instead of making tough decisions on budget line items, they are planning to raise taxes in hope of making up the difference! I usually don’t have strong feelings about local politics, but this time, maybe because of my situation, I am annoyed by them. One of every five neighbors is unemployed and probably wondering how they will pay the whopper property tax bill this year without selling their homes and you’re going to raise it? Such a lack of compassion and responsibility.

It was time for my annual purchase of sneaker shoes and I did it online since stores are closed. I typically order clothes online but shoes have been different – I feel like I need to try them on to make sure the size is okay. The shoes arrived and they’re fine. It was actually a time-saver so I’ll consider purchasing online next year.

Each year in the spring I purchase a new pair and my current pair becomes my yard shoes. That pair eventually gets green soles from fresh-cut grass and dirt stains from the flower beds. I use them until Octoberish when the last mowing is done for the year, then I throw them away. The following spring my everyday sneakers become my yard shoes when I buy a new pair.

Do others rotate shoes? Or do you purchase a pair to be yard shoes from the start? Or do you stay cleaner than me in the yard?

Chipotle spread

I track our spending and overall we’re spending less but we’re spending a lot more in two budget categories: home maintenance and restaurants. It’s to pay for local places that are open like house & yard services and restaurant delivery/pick-up once a week. The once-a-week food delivery is expensive because we have big boys with big appetites but it’s becoming a homebound tradition, and I feel good about supporting the local businesses.

I usually order a variety of options instead of full meals, then we put everything on the island in the kitchen so we can each sample a variety of interesting items. So far our weekly meals have been Japanese for DH’s b-day, Indian twice (now it’s pick-up only), Italian once (not as healthy but fresh & super tasty), and Chipotle this week. I’m avoiding fast food places that would admittedly be cheaper but are also unhealthy.

For next week I’m looking at a local Mexican restaurant that initially closed for the shutdown but has just reopened for delivery or pick-up. I doubt they anticipated the shutdown lasting so long when they closed.

For the house, we had pressure washing done and we just had mulch delivered in anticipation of yard work this weekend.

Even from home on a weekend, I’ve been able to do some small things that should improve our finances:

(1) Turned off the pilot on the gas fireplace. It’s still getting down into the high 30s for the daily low but it’s mid-April! We can kick on the heat for a few minutes if we get uncomfortable.

(2) Sent an e-mail to our auto insurance agent to remove Bertha from the policy. I assume that’ll save us a few bucks, but I don’t know. We’ll see.

(3) Redeemed our everyday CC’s points for two Lowe’s gift cards totally $75. They are physical cards that get mailed so it may be a couple of weeks before we receive them.

DS4 and I mowed the grass today for the first time this year and I found an egg! (That’s how tall the grass was in some places.) No money, but a Twix candy was my compensation for mowing.

She made 274,000 miles. We had to let her go this week. DH said that watching her leave was like putting a pet down! It was sentimental but not really THAT sad.


almost like a part of the family

I’d made the decision to do it in August when $1100 of work was estimated for her to pass inspection. After some consideration, DS3 offered to pay for the work if I let her be his vehicle to drive. He’s been driving (and driving and driving) her since that time. But the transmission went so it was time.

We reluctantly made the purchase of this van new, even financing, after having learned to enjoy having paid-for cars for several years. But a surprise twin pregnancy required a bigger vehicle and neither of us had mechanical skills so the risk of breaking down with small children was scary to us. At least we did pay the loan off early.

Getting us to vacation spots, serving as our home base during sports tournaments, moving big boys into and out of dorm rooms… Now we just have the Fit – Lola – since our needs are small. If we need a minivan for a few excursions, we’ll rent one.

A couple of pieces of small positive financial news: While the company has announced that annual profit sharing as it’s implemented now is being discontinued, we did get an annual payment this year. I used a portion of mine to purchase a new laptop. I have been limping along with this one far longer than most would I think – it’s soooo slow and it crashes if I try to view a video. And the already replaced battery is bad so it must be plugged in. I’ve just ordered a replacement and it should arrive next week. I don’t look forward to the productivity curve for a new device but it’ll be nice to let go of the worry that I’ll lose things that are important to me suddenly.

A week or so ago I read a blog (I can’t remember the site.) that had a list of things that could bring in cash. One of them included a link to a site with the unclaimed property pages for every state. I checked our current and former state pages with our name and guess what? I have $20 of unclaimed property from our former state. I have no clue what it is. But I completed the form and just received an e-mail that there is a payment on its way to me.


Rambo, the office helper

Well I purchased Norton Lifelock for my computer’s antivirus protection since it was only $20 and I already have buyer’s remorse. I can’t get it to complete the install – it keeps requesting a reboot again and again – and the online technical support isn’t available because of the coronavirus according to their website. If ever there was a job that was conducive to working remotely, I would’ve thought that online technical support would be it, but apparently not. Needless to say, if I can’t get it working I’ll ask for a refund. I suspect that I may be told (if I ever talk with a live person) that my computer is too old.

We’re still being vigilant about vitamins to stay healthy. And DS1 who still is expected to work in a customer-facing role says that he’s receiving an extra $300 per paycheck for working during this outbreak. He’s taking the high-dose Vitamin D he received in his stocking and so far is symptom-free. We also talked about him using any stimulus money that might come his way to start his new EF.


Mine and boys

Tomorrow I’m invited to a virtual retirement party.

I’m a planner by nature so I’m directing any anxiety about the current situation to our logistics. The boys are off school for at least two weeks. DS2’s college extended spring break so he just extended his visit with our families in the south. He’ll fly home in a week. I’m hoping that travel is safer then with international flights discontinued. He also connects in Charlotte rather than one of the mega-airports. If his college makes a decision to complete the semester virtually and travel becomes more restricted, I suppose he could stay there. DS1’s current job is customer-facing so I do worry about that although it’s not in a big city. Fortunately, my job with the exception of occasional travel being canceled isn’t impacted much. I’m most productive working from the home office and that’s the typical work day for me. I will need to creatively replan some projects that have tasks normally done at the customer site though.

This weekend I’m cleaning. Our house is grubby most of the time. Women who value a pristine home environment would be appalled by our place. But with a crew of boys I learned years ago that I would be a ball of stress if I insisted on keeping the place like a showroom. Usually my cleaning efforts are focused on keeping dishes and clothes caught up with an occasional vacuuming. But this weekend I’m dusting, wiping, scrubbing, and disinfecting door knobs and light switches.

We’ve never had an emergency food stash despite the fact that we live far enough north that a snowstorm could potentially force us to be homebound without power. We once lost power but the snow wasn’t too deep to get out and we moved to a hotel for a couple of days. Every year I say that I’ll make one before the winter arrives and I don’t. Laziness I guess. Knowing that we could be forced to stay home for a month or more, we created a stash now. It includes an extra round of household items we purchase every couple of months – garbage bags, laundry & dishwashing detergents, and pet food. And some healthy food that can keep awhile – rice, beans, applesauce, figs, peanut butter, mixed nuts, carrots, onions, potatoes, and one box of Girl Scout cookies so we don’t feel deprived. I also ordered some organic coconut milk powder. Really I think we’d be healthier is we were forced to fast a couple of days or eat beans & rice only! I’m not saying that I hope it comes to that though.

In addition to the food stash, I created a small cash stash. That’s another thing I’ve always intended to establish. Eventually I’d like to have a month’s basic expenses in cash. Maybe I’ll consider that as a goal next year.

To prepare ourselves for exposure to the virus which may be inevitable, we’re all taking vitamins and an anti-viral herb each day. Last week I also ordered replacement filters for the Berkey water filter.

Since we’re hunkering down, I’d like to plan what to do with boys during their time off. Maybe working on scout merit badges with DS4. Or having a game night. I’ll check out our game cabinet and see if we have all the Monopoly pieces.

I’ve just returned from another business trip. It was an experience – especially the trip home. I loaded up on high doses of Vitamins C & D before traveling and used Airborne daily while I was away. Just in case. On the planes, many people were wearing masks and all of us used sanitizer repeatedly. Very few tray tables were used on the planes. On the trips home one flight was 2/3 full and the other about ½ full. I’m happy to say that I didn’t see anyone that appeared sick. The Washington Dulles airport was like a ghost town last night. While I was traveling, the company issued a memo banning all travel through the end of April. So that will be my last trip for a while.

On the financial front, I paid our spring property taxes today: $1300. That represents a 2% discount for paying earlier than the target date. We have two property tax bills – spring and summer. The spring is the smaller one. The summer bill is close to $4000 for us.

I need to go through my receipts and get my expense report submitted now. Also, I received notification from Ally that the online savings account interest rate is decreasing to 1.5%. I appreciate their transparency. They also are offering a 1% bonus for transferring more than $1000 into an Ally savings account before the end of the month. This might be a good deal for someone like CCF who has sizable amounts in a variety of banks. I’m not sure it’ll work for me given their timing coinciding with my paying off a 0% CC.

Today was the day for my monthly net worth calculation. I time it each month to be just after the automated house payments. I expected ugliness so I actually was almost pleasantly surprised. I’m down $24k since last month. The retirement accounts did take a brutal beating but it was countered by the company stock price increase, house value increase, and debt payoff. The company is private and the stock price is evaluated only twice per year. That happened last month so the impact of the volatile market isn’t reflected in the price yet.

As much as I know that it’s risky to try to time the market, the three days of huge losses was too tempting. I spent a few thousand of funds in the money market to buy more index funds. (all within the retirement account). I must not have been unique in that thinking given the big gains yesterday. I don’t regret doing it since the (much) lower value of the account overall made the cash position a little lopsided.

In other financial news, DS2 just received an unexpected scholarship. It was $1500 so with our split arrangement that’s $750 for me. I had money set aside for his food costs for the remainder of the semester so I’m redirecting that money to the 0% CC to be repaid by May. The balance on that card will now be $4900.

Maybe this is a morbid topic but FIL’s recent death along with our ages too I guess is prompting some discussions about our wishes for a time that we might not be capable of expressing them. I never have created a living will because I want to live! I figured that that is what doctors are supposed to do by default. But I didn’t think of more detailed aspects for a time when I could be bedridden and not able to either think clearly or communicate clearly. I decided that I am going to document how I want to be treated if I am ever bedridden. From getting fresh air, to music, nourishment, being at home, etc. I am going to write it down, tell my family, and show them where the file is kept.

We wrote wills almost 20 years ago. At that time we didn’t have much in the way of assets but we were concerned about our children (only two of them then) being cared for in the event that something happened to us. So we had relatively simple wills drawn up to name a guardian and to provide him with all assets and life insurance proceeds to use for providing for our children in the event that we both died. Otherwise we each left everything to the other.

Not only have we added children, but most of those children are 18+ so considered adults now, and we’ve moved to a different state. Watching both of our dads remarry after our moms died opened our eyes on how assets pass around. For example, if I died it would be fine with me for DH to remarry. But would I want my mom’s jewelry to go to his newer wife when he died later? No! I would not. So I’d like to have some possessions included in my will that would not go to DH in the event of my death if he outlives me. Also we’re seeing how very important it is that you appoint an executor that will carry out your wishes even if he doesn’t agree with them. I want to change mine now.

And on top of those things, we now live in one of the six states that has inheritance taxes for estates, even on assets (IRAs for example) that are not included in the will. The tax doesn’t apply to items inherited by spouses but it does apply to items inherited by children.

So actions for us now: (1) Rethink our second phase of retirement when we plan to downsize to a cottage. Let’s consider neighboring states that have similar climate and terrain but are more tax friendly for our family. And if one of us dies soon, God forbid, the surviving one should move. (2) Rewrite the wills this year. Plan to revisit them every 5 years – could be on all my milestone birthdays.

I’m curious to hear of your experiences with wills – creating your own or unintended consequences of others that you’ve witnessed. Anyone have a story to share?

I can see that our federal tax refund is expected to be direct-deposited in two days. We’re getting $2606 back this year which means I had too much withheld, but next year we’ll lose $3500 in child/dependent tax credits so I’ll need to adjust withholding to prevent owing a thousand bucks, assuming all other things are equal this year. I’ll take a closer look at that during the summer after I know whether there is any increase in income and after I take some time to research any tax code changes that could impact us.

Of course the $2606 is allocated. I budgeted $900 for our annual CSA membership and the rest to the 0% CC. I over-budgeted slightly for the CSA and I also got a discount for paying it early and in full instead of using a payment plan. It was $815. That’s a ‘full share’ size box of organic veggies every week from April 22nd week to the week before Christmas.

The local delivery site is easily walkable from my house so on veggie day I block an hour in my work schedule to leave my desk and go pick them up. I like having the commitment because it insures that I get exercise and fresh air that day. I bought a used stroller at a garage sale last year just for this purpose because the bag of veggies gets heavy in the middle of the summer.

Now that I have the juicer, I may try juicing some things this year. And by the way, I’m loving the juicer! My favorite so far is carrot-apple with a little raw ginger.

This week included payment of my quarterly bonus from the company. I used it to pay the remainder of DS2’s apartment rent for the 1-year lease period. The only remaining college costs for him now are food and electricity – about a thousand total, and I have most of that set aside. So DS2’s college costs are essentially done.

His apartment lease is an odd one to me because it is one contract for all the boys and requires every parent to be a cosigner. Apparently housing is scarce enough around this major campus that the property management companies can make these unreasonable requirements. That was not the case at DS1’s college where each roommate had his own contract with the property management company. DS2’s roommates are good kids from our town that he had already befriended before college. It’s been an education for him though to see how differently they approach money. One waits until he sees the rent is past-due before paying it. The notice is his reminder. And there is a charge – something like $5/day for each day it’s late. Because we pay ahead that’s actually helped him avoid late payments but he has told DS2 that he wishes we wouldn’t do that because it messes him up not to get the late notice.

Also this week DS3 signed his NLI (National Letter of Intent) for his college that included some scholarship money. It feels so nice to have the college decision official and behind us.

This week I purchased dog food and entered it as part of our grocery expenses. It was a first – up until this point I’ve transferred money from DS3’s account to mine to cover the cost any time I purchased dog food.

About a year and a half ago DS3 had a GF and the two decided to get a puppy together. Well, it was not vetted with us and I was more than a little annoyed when the dog arrived. I love dogs (but not as much as cats!). And DH really loves dogs. I think DS3 knew that once we saw the puppy that we wouldn’t have the heart to tell him to get rid of it. He was right.



As typical of kids, even older ones, after the first week or so, DS3 was not the one tending to the puppy. DH did and still does the brunt of the work to take care of her and she’s high maintenance. We don’t have a fenced yard so she has to be walked and it gets COLD here on winter mornings. I was determined though that DS3 would take on the entire cost for this unplanned pet and I stuck to that. He didn’t debate it at first. He paid hundreds of dollars (some with help from the GF) for vet visits and vaccinations and then either bought himself or refunded me for dog food. I insisted that she be spayed, and that cost him over $600. He told me I should have shopped around. I told him HE should have shopped around.

Unsurprisingly, the relationship with the dog outlived the relationship with the girl. There wasn’t a custody battle – the dog became ours and stayed here. And to be honest, there’s no way DH would allow that dog to live anywhere else. The two have bonded.

So now DS3 no longer receives an allowance and he’s preparing to leave for college. My original intent was to make him take financial responsibility of the dog forever – even expecting him to find a place to live that accepts dogs after he graduates. Now, I’m rethinking because for one thing – DH considers the dog his now, and for another - I don’t want DS3 to feel pressured to get a job while he’s in college to support the dog. So after I grabbed that big bag of food this week, I didn’t transfer any money. I also haven’t said anything yet so I could change my mind. But perhaps this is a point we can agree that the dog changed owners. Now that my anger has subsided and she’s become part of the family.

I’ve just completed our 2019 taxes. I use an online service called TaxAct to create the returns and file them electronically. It cost $72 for the federal and state filings this year. Then I did the local taxes myself on their website. Those are easy because there are no credits or deductions. I used to do our taxes manually because I didn’t trust a forms-based wizard to care as much about my numbers as me, but after TaxAct found deductions/credits that I didn’t know about resulting in hundreds of dollars for us the first time I used it, I was hooked. It also stores all our data – personal and employment – so it’s defaulted for the next year’s tax form. That saves time and reduces the risk for inaccuracy for sure.

For several years now I’ve been running a couple of calculations after the income tax forms are submitted to see how much those taxes impact our finances. I calculate our real tax rate – the actual percentage of our gross income that went toward income taxes instead of the LB household. This year our total income tax burden – federal + state +local – was 10.9% of our gross income. Last year it was 11.2% so I did improve on reducing our tax liability because our income was slightly higher this year. The best we’ve ever done was in 2015 when it was only 8.1%, and it’s impressive because that was a time when our income was lower. But the boys were younger so we probably had more exemptions and credits. I may have been maxing the 401k then too. I couldn’t keep that up once I had to begin cash-flowing some college expenses.

Another way I look at it is to calculate the percentage based on net worth instead of gross income. My thinking is that if the annual income tax burden became a fraction of a percentage point of net worth, it would be insignificant. So in 2015 – our best year for reducing taxes – our total tax burden was 2.2% of our net worth at that time. In 2018, it was 2.1%. Now, for 2019, it’s 1.8%. That’s our best result yet for the ‘how much does it hurt us’ evaluation.

Next year may be a doozy for taxes as we’ll lose the child tax credit x2 since the twins turn 17 this year. And DS2 will no longer be a dependent. I’ll need to change withholding to prevent owing money but that will wait for another time, maybe in the summer.

We just received our gas bill and it’s $208.53 this month. Ouch!! I see from the usage chart that it’s about the same as last year so I really shouldn’t have been surprised. What’s more scary is looking at February and March – if this year is like last year, we’ll have another sharp increase next month.

In addition to the central air, we have a gas fireplace, which I love. It heats up the family room and makes it cozy and inviting. So I’m not willing to shut it off, but I’ll monitor the thermostat, open the curtains on south-facing windows, make sure the garage is closed, … what else?

Since I’ve gotten my first paycheck of the year, I’m checking the accuracy of my deductions. The company where I work had an enrollment period for our 2020 benefits during November. As typical, health insurance premiums increased some. Most other benefits remained the same. But there was one odd change – the company’s contribution to our HSA accounts DECREASED by 500 bucks. No explanation. That’s like a small pay cut. I don’t like when negative changes are implemented quietly – it seems sneaky. In fact, I wonder how many of my colleagues noticed. As an aside, this reminds me of my experience with banks. PNC and Ally both have fluctuating interest rates, but Ally sends a notification every time the rate changes, regardless of the direction. PNC never has sent a notification. Guess which bank I trust more?

Anyway, since the HSA maximum contribution increased by 100 bucks (to $7100) in 2020, my company’s contribution decreased by $500 in 2020 (to $1000), and I’m eligible to contribute an extra ‘catch-up’ $1000 because I turn 55 this year, that leaves me with an extra $1600 to fund or $133 more each month than last year. About $592 total each month.

When the company moved to a high deductible plan years ago, it was a scary change. But in hindsight, it was a good move for our family. We’re a healthy bunch overall. Last year was pricey with two using braces-alternatives and the DH getting an MRI for knee pain, as well as typical doctor visits for bumps & bruises. (Boys and sports…) But we still didn’t come close to using the year’s contributions. So the HSA account has been building up. I’d like for it to reach a ‘safety net threshold’ of being able to cover 18 months of COBRA premiums in the event that the company and I part ways. Based on the company’s year-end statement, the total monthly premium for our family coverage is just over 2 grand. [I pay about $450 of that currently which admittedly is a good deal for a family of 7.] So my safety-net value for the HSA would be $36k. I’m about $10k shy of that now. Maybe within the next two years though? It would just be for peace of mind – my planned exit is not that soon.

For a year or so I've carried an Ally cashback CC. It had a $100 bonus for spending $500 when I got it but best of all the cashback rewards could be deposited directly in my Ally online savings account (in amounts of $25 or more) with a 10% bonus on those rewards added. It was a good arrangement for me - the rewards were free, the bonus on the rewards was free, and then it earned interest once it hit my savings account. Win-win-win.

Well, nothing good last forever does it? Now TD Bank has informed me that the Ally cards will be discontinued and replaced with a card of their own with more standard rewards. The last day to redeem Ally rewards is February 13th.

Today I redeemed all but $25 of the rewards (since that's the minimum to redeem). I'll stop using the card at the end of the month and then redeem the rest. I don't know if I'll even take the new card - I have others with similar reward structures.

It was nice while it lasted.