I'm back from an 11-day road trip that had some ups and downs. Unfortunately, enough downs that I decided it was my last road trip. The ups -- getting to visit with my cousin and my sister, having a delightful breakfast with my sister, attending my nephew's beautiful wedding, spending two days at a luxury resort, getting to see some old friends who came to the wedding. The downs -- it rained constantly, I drove through terrible rainstorms amid warnings of flash flooding, I got soaked to the skin pumping gas. My car went into "maintenance required/visit dealer" mode and I had to find a Toyota dealer on the fly. My travel companion and I suffered a few nights in some pretty cruddy hotels. I lost one of my favorite jackets. Ah well.

I was hoping to do the whole trip for $1,000, and I came close. I spent $745, and with the $308 room deposit I paid in December, it was $1,053! Ta-da!

I rushed the trip home, because of dire snowstorm warnings in my area. I got home before it hit (which happened today). It's not as bad as predicted, but soon the temperature will drop. I'm going to stay home until the whole thing gets more normal.

Before I got home, I bought coffee, creamer and bread at the grocery store ($22) to ride out the storm.

I've done my year-end tallies. 2023 was my most expensive year since 2016. I spent $35,678, which is $3,862 more than the year before. Housing and the "new" car led the list as the biggest expenses. Gifts/Charity, Utilities, Insurance, Vacation/Travel, and Medical were next in line. My groceries, however, were the lowest ever since I've been keeping records!

My net worth rose by almost $15,000, but that was mostly due to the rise in the value of my condo.

I'm all ready to tackle a new year of challenges. I can hardly wait!