CB in the City

When I came home from my Indiana trip yesterday I noticed an electrical smell. It went away quickly -- that is, I got used to it quickly! But this morning I noticed it again.

I checked around and I thought the hall ceiling light might be the source. I was afraid it held bulbs with too much wattage. So I went to Home Depot and bought new bulbs, stocking up with several boxes for other places as well. I also bought a home theater surge protector, in case the tangled mess behind my TV is the problem. All told, I spent $60 there.

I called an electrician, but they cannot come until Monday. I am on the list in case they get a cancellation. It will be an $89 service call, but they will do a thorough inspection.

While I was out, I went to Aldi and spent $49. And then I went to the bank and got another roll of quarters for laundry.

I forgot to drop off my library books, but I'll do that tomorrow. Since I won't have to get out of the car, it doesn't really matter that I didn't get it done today. I try to bundle errands so that my exposure to other people is limited to one day.

My shopping today brought my variables up to 45%.

I had a lovely day with my BFF. We went to the same restaurant we went to last time and ate at a sidewalk table. My lunch was $28 (including tip) because I bought a full salad and crab cakes. Afterwards we went to a nearby mall, which was huge and pretty empty. We did a little shopping, but I didn't buy anything. After shopping we sat on a bench and talked for more than an hour, and then we finally forced ourselves to go home our separate ways.

I bought a Dr. Pepper for the trip home ($1.60) and, since we were parked near a grocery store, I went in and bought some borax for $7. It's been recommended to me for killing mold in the bathroom. I also spent $20 on gas and $5 on a car wash.

All this brought variables to 32%.

This morning I bit the bullet and bought a new laser printer from BestBuy. It was $143. I will pick it up at the store on the 15th. This will be my first experience with a laser printer and I hope it will be a good one. It comes with a sample toner that will make 700 copies, so I didn't spring for the toner yet. It will be quite a while before I reach 700 copies.

Variables are at 25%.

The weather has been so nice -- we had a family party at the lakeside park yesterday. We were celebrating my grandson's birthday, and at his request we played a board game -- "Avalon" on a picnic table. Frankly, I never really knew what was going on in the game, but I had fun anyway. I ate too much cake and I paid for it later, but I seem to be back to normal today.

Tomorrow I'm going to meet BFF at the halfway point for another lunch on the patio. It's a little rainy today so I hope it's clear tomorrow.

I'm cramming in all the fun I can before our long, hard winter!

I've been in the habit of posting every day. For many years, it has helped me stay on track with my spending. Just knowing I would have to 'fess up has kept me from doing things I shouldn't do.

But lately I find I am struggling to find something to say. My life has narrowed considerably with the advent of the coronavirus, and there is a sameness to my days that doesn't translate well to the written page. My finances are mostly on autopilot and I have few decisions to make.

So I have decided that I will only post when I have real financial news to post. I only say this because I don't want anyone to worry about me. I'm fine.

That said, I don't have any financial news today! But I expect I will soon. I'm not going away....

This was an uneventful Monday. I washed my sheets and towels. I heated up a pizza. I took a walk, this time into the city -- yeah, it's a very short walk to the Chicago border. I immediately turned around once there, but I did notice that there has been a lot of remedial work on the lakeshore where there was significant erosion. I was glad to see that. I also saw a guy who looked like everybody's stereotype of a white supremacist (leather vest, American flag patches, shaved hair, big bulky muscles) so nicely and and graciously helping out a black guy who was having car trouble. It really did my heart good.

I made arrangements with my son for him to come over tomorrow and get the storms back up.

This morning I woke up feeling more comfortable than I had in a few days, and I discovered that the one radiator I had turned on was giving off heat! I immediately turned on all the others. It's still pretty cool in here but just knowing the boiler is on has made it more bearable. When it gets really cold outside, the heat inside will surge. But in fact we are supposed to get a warmup the next week or so.

There were no financial events today except that I got a letter notifying me that a credit card was canceled. It was a travel card that I haven't used for the past two years. I haven't been traveling! I won't miss it; it was never much of a money-saver.

It turned out I could not drop off my ballot until October 19. Since I didn't want to wait that long, I took it to the post office. I decided to go to the post office in a neighboring suburb where parking is easy and which is near my favorite burger place! I spent $10 on a drive-thru lunch, a nice diversion. It gave my car a little exercise, too.

Variables are at 7%.

In response to Lots of Idea's good comments, I decided that putting the full $300 extra on my mortgage each month was probably not warranted, since, at my age, even with extra payments, I will probably have to move before I can pay it off. I looked at a few mortgage calculators and can't find a good deal for switching to a fixed rate. Maybe because I have less than $60K to pay off? The fees, too, are prohibitive. For the time being, I'll raise my payment from $350 to $400, which will make me feel like I'm doing something to mitigate the interest, and it will give me some extra cash to do the things I need to do around the house.

My other plan is to win the lottery. Haha, just kidding, I hardly ever buy a ticket.

GS1 had a baseball game at 8 this morning, but DS forgot to put it on the calendar, so when I woke up at 7:30, it was already too late. It was a playoff game, and they haven't won any in this season, so it was probably the last game.

It's another cold day, but a warm-up is expected this coming week -- I can hardly wait!

I never heard anything about the window washing being redone, so I'm going to ask DS to put the storms back up. Truthfully, when the boiler is on, it will be so hot in here I don't need storm windows, but I might as well store them in the windows instead of dragging them down to the storage unit. Anyway, the windows look sort of weird without them.

I got my mail-in ballot in the mail yesterday. I am going to devote some time today to researching the judges who are running for election/re-election. When I am done with my ballot, I'm taking it the drop box at City Hall. I doubt there is any real problem with the mail, but this way I won't be adding to the perceived burden.

I picked up my new reading glasses yesterday. What a crisp, clear image they create! I can get a pair every year -- much cheaper than the drugstore glasses -- so I will get some next year, too. I like to have multiples.

It remains unusually cool, and the boiler is not turned on yet, so I am wearing sweats and using lap blankets. Next week it is supposed to be warmer.

My trip to Walgreens yesterday cost $12 -- $7 for groceries and $5 for Halloween cards for the grands. It was a beautiful early autumn day, and made for a very nice walk.

Today I'm going to walk to the same plaza to pick up my new reading glasses.

I got a notification that my payment for the cancelled Amazon order is being refunded. I haven't checked the credit card account yet to see if it's still there. I realize it may take several days for it to disappear. It's a small relief that I don't have to take on more litter pellets!

It's been more than two weeks since my flu shot, so I can get my first Shingrix (shingles) shot any time now. Since I'm not sure how well it is covered by my insurance, I think I'll wait till pay day. Just in case. Also, because I'm not really looking forward to it, as it is a rough shot, like the tetanus shot, or so I've been warned.

Housing - $1074
Insurance - $213
Medical/Health - $212
Groceries - $161
Utilities - $159
Home Repair/Maintenance - $109
Gifts/Charity - $95
Clothing - $52
Phone - $51
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor - $34
Eating Out/Takeout - $33
Personal - $23
Household Supplies - $20
Laundry - $18
Entertainment - $16
Gas - $12

Grand Total - $2282
Variables - 91%

Well, it was a better month than last, and I ticked off a few items. First of all, I paid $300 extra on my mortgage for the first time. This is the $300 that used to go to paying off the car.

I paid my annual condo insurance.

I had a dentist appointment, with x-rays.

I paid for service on my dishwasher, which ended up being just flipping a switch.

I had two birthdays in the family.

I bought some t-shirts and shoes

Bought a set of kitchen towels.

Got a haircut.

The charge for the litter pellets is still on my credit card.

I'm doing a load of laundry today and I'll take a walk to Walgreens later to pick up some creamer. That's one thing I don't like to be out of.

Yesterday's run to the library yielded five more books to read! Woo-hoo!

Well, the delivery from Subscribe & Save has been cancelled. However, the charge for it is still on my credit card. I looked on Amazon's site, which said it may take 3-5 days for a credit to come through, so I'll keep an eye on it.

Another book I had on hold at the library has become available, so that means I have an outing today! Yay! I have dressed in real clothes (otherwise I wear pajamas). Usually I try to add on another errand, since I am making the effort go out, but there really isn't anything else I need to do. I will need gas soon, but that can wait till my next Sam's trip.

I had plans to meet BFF this Friday at the halfway point for lunch. However, she is still recovering from her knee surgery -- still icing and elevating her leg -- so it's not a good time for her to take a drive. I hope we can do it in the near future; I really depend on these little treats!

Tomorrow I'll do my September recap. The days are passing so quickly.

I had an Amazon subscribe-and-save order for kitty litter pellets. I thought it would be convenient, but twice now I have received shipments WAY before I am ready for them, and I didn't see any warning that it was coming before it was coming. So I cancelled it. I tried to cancel the shipment that is on its way, but I will probably get stuck with that. It's going to cost me almost $50.

I decided I would rather pay the little bit extra that not having a subscription will cost me, and be able to choose when I want to order.

Also, my cat has kidney disease, and I just don't know how much longer he is going to be around. It doesn't make sense to have a huge backlog of supplies.

That said, when the month turns I will go ahead and order probiotics for him, since I am almost out, and I do feel it helps with his tummy problems.

I did receive one of my prescriptions from Optum-RX, which is also on automatic. But I don't pay anything for that, so there really isn't any issue if it comes a little early. Better early than late.

The window washing turned out to be a disappointment. The windows are pretty spotty/streaky due to their new washing method. I actually wish I had not removed the storms, because I could take those out and wipe them down, but I am stuck with what they did to the windows. Oh well. I have put in a request to my son to get those storms back up.

The window washers are here. This time, for the first time, they are using long, long brushes rather than climbing on ladders. I applaud the company for the commitment to safety for their employees. It looks like I'll have to live with a few water spots, though, since there appears to be no wiping/drying process.

My brother called yesterday to talk about Thanksgiving. His son in Florida wants to come up and bring his new girlfriend. Before he buys plane tickets, though, he wants to know if there will actually be a gathering.

I am torn. I really, really want to see my brother and his family. But I know it's a risk, especially since his family seems much less concerned than I am about the spread of the virus. If I went, I would have to keep my distance, wear a mask, and wash my hands a lot!

Another reason I want to go is to see my man friend, whom I haven't seen since last Thanksgiving. Again, I would have to be careful with this visit. He is in a retirement home now, and his health is somewhat fragile.

Reason tells me to wait it out until there is a vaccine that will make life safer. But my heart is aching.

Anyway, I put myself down as a "maybe."

I'm doing a couple of loads of laundry today. Later I'll make some mac & cheese. No other plans.

Rain is predicted for this afternoon, and for tomorrow. I really hope it does not rain tomorrow, because that will cancel the window washers. Until their job is done, I have to keep the windows shut (no screens). Thank goodness it won't be hot, at least.

I'm finally coming toward the end of "Turn" on Netflix. After that's done, I plan on checking out "Enola Holmes," "Away," and "Utopia."

Lots of books on hand. I'm set!

Yesterday, which I thought was going to be so calm and tranquil, turned suddenly busy when I got late word that window washers will come on Monday. That means taking down the AC units and taking out the screens and storms. I have nine windows, and most of them have two or three storms, and all have a screen. My son came over and helped me get down the ones that were too stubborn. When it comes time to put them back, I am only putting back two storms per window, one each for upper and lower. This unit gets hot as blazes in winter; there is no reason to have multiple layers of storm windows. The screens and the AC units I will store till spring.

It's been several years since I was this responsible about the windows. For the last couple of years I've just been letting them wash whatever they could get to. As you can imagine, the windows never looked clean. This year they will be clean, and I will enjoy them. No bird better mess them up!

I tried to forward this info to a neighbor who doesn't get the emails from the property manager, for some reason. She's a renter, but she still should be informed. However, the owner of her unit lives on the East coast and isn't vigilant about happenings in this building.

So I forwarded the email, but it wouldn't go because there was something about the attached document, an FAQ about the process, that the email service didn't like and wouldn't forward. So I decided I would just print the document and walk it over to her. Well, wouldn't you know it, my printer decided to act up! It grabbed a chunk of papers instead of just one and then jammed. I got them out, but the printer, I think, is toast. It's old, it's cranky, it's unreliable -- I am so done with it. I will replace it eventually with a compact laser printer, but not right away. I don't use a printer often and I can wait.

As for my neighbor, I just told her the basics.

This morning I went to the dentist. I got a cleaning and x-rays; the total was $184. No problems with my teeth. Won't go back for another six months.

With that, variables shot up to 91%. But the month is almost over.

I went to the library yesterday and picked up my book on hold, plus three more from the stacks. Thank goodness for the library! I'm so glad it's open again.

GS2's family birthday party will take place when the grands from the other side of the family are available -- they are traveling -- but I had him come over and pick up his gift, anyway. I know he wants to count his money for whatever it is he's saving for. Something video-related.

Looks like this will be a calm and uneventful day. I have at least one more serving of spaghetti on tap. No laundry to do, no errands to run.

In one more week I'll meet BFF again for lunch. I hope the weather will be nice so we can eat outside again.

In other news, my cousin who was laid up with broken bones and then COVID has been released from rehab and is finally recovering at home. And my nephew who was almost burned out in Oregon will be going home to his undamaged house when the air quality improves.

No financial news, except that my one stock-related investment is trending down. But my condo seems to be increasing in value. I don't know how reliable it is, but Zillow's lowest estimate is $50K more than I paid. I'm not going to change it on my net worth statement, though, until I see hard evidence that that is what condos are selling for in my building.

Today is GS2's 11th birthday. I am giving him $50 in cash in a $4 card. Variables are at 69%; very good for this late in the month.

The shoes I bought at Goodwill are a little larger than I thought. I couldn't try them on in the store, because I wasn't wearing socks. However, with my orthotics and heavy socks, they fit well. I will just have to remember to always wear my heavy socks with them. Actually, I needed something that would accommodate my thick socks, so this is good.

I'm thawing spaghetti sauce for my main meal today. Had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. Later today I will pick up a book on hold at the library, and look for a few extra. I'm reading a lot -- I go through them fast.

My examination was free -- covered by my insurance -- and my eyes are well and healthy. I did spend $2.40 for a pair of prescription reading glasses. The drugstore variety are not performing as well and with the insurance coverage, it's cheaper to get prescription lenses.

I still don't need glasses for distance vision. It is a little less clear than it was last time, but only a little.

Dentist on Saturday. I wish that appointment would be this cheap!

As planned, I went to Panera this morning to get the Tuesday special on a baker's dozen of bagels. After I got home, and I was figuring things up, I realized that I didn't get the special -- I was charged full price. I went back and got it straightened out. Long story short, I ended up paying $4 out of pocket, but I had $5 reimbursed to my gift card, so came out basically free.

After my first trip to Panera, I was planning to go to the bank, but it was too early. So I went to the Goodwill, which is nearby. I was expecting just to browse and perchance find one or two little things. Well, I ended up spending $60! I found a brand-new pair of Van's tennis shoes, 7 new Land's End t-shirts, a full set of Tupperware measuring cups, two trays, two picture frames, and a new coconut-mango scented candle. I really don't need the candle, since I have quite a few, but I couldn't resist the scent.

You might think I don't need 7 t-shirts, but they are pajama tops for me, and the ones I'm using now are getting seriously old and ratty. I will be throwing out a bunch. These shirts are good enough for regular wear, too, so they'll probably do double-duty. I figure each would cost $20 or so at a store or online. I got all 7 for under $30. Beautiful colors, too!

Before I came home I stopped at Aldi and got cream cheese for the bagels and some crackers -- $8. And I did make it to the bank where I was allowed to "buy" one roll of quarters. Sigh.

I called and made appointments for the eye doctor -- Wednesday -- and the dentist -- Saturday.

Hope that those two appointments do not lead to a host of new expenses.

I did a load of laundry today and put fresh linens on the bed.

Nothing much else going on. Tomorrow is a street-sweeping day, so at 9 AM I'll move the car by driving to Panera. On Tuesdays I can get a baker's dozen of bagels for $6.99 -- and I think I have about that much left on my gift card. It's also time to go to the bank again and get some quarters for laundry. Maybe by the time I complete those two errands, the sweeping will be done.

Just got back from GS1's baseball game. I thought it was the last, but actually, there are going to be playoffs. Since his team hasn't won a game, they probably won't last long in the playoffs.

I spent $4 on coffee for myself and my son. When I came home, I started laundry -- $1.50.

This evening I am going to make cornbread chili -- that is just cooked-down chili baked with a layer of cornbread on top. When I mentioned this to my son he pricked up his ears. It was always one of his favorites. So I am going to send at least half of it over to his house, via grandson express.

I researched toilets yesterday, and the one that interests me most is $600, and that doesn't count the bidet seat or attachment, or the installation (because I'm not going to do it myself). So now I'm hoping that the sluggish flushing is an easy fix, and I'll stick with this old monster which is homely but solid as a rock. Then I looked to see if I could glaze it to make it prettier. You can, but it would not be nearly as durable as the original glaze. Sounds like that might be asking for trouble.

After I complete my dentist and eye appointment, I'll worry about the toilet.