Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Happy May 1st! Let all the Justin Timberlake memes commence! Today I am linking up with Jennifer for Currently – a fun post where we talk about things we are loving, looking forward to, seeing, reading, and wanting currently!

Loving

I shared my monthly money diaries from January 2023 until November 2023, I think? This was to help me be more intentional with our discretionary income. I’ve also written posts on saving money and my frugal bougie nature. I think people should talk more openly about money, to be honest. So, my loving is this…

We made our final college payment! We have twins who are graduating this month – I cannot believe it! They worked really hard and got great scholarships but it’s still expensive. Also, they had to take out a small loan to have some “skin in the game”. They are also signed up for a deal that their loan repayment is matched if they make under $40,000 when first out of college. No problem! We are going to help them budget to start making those payments right away to take advantage of basically “free money”. I was so scared of the cost of college but we did it. We also managed to renovate some spaces in our home and take a dream trip this Christmas. We sacrificed a lot during the last four years, though. Tom and I haven’t celebrated yet, but I plan to come up with something. I was thinking of making a “college meal” – ramen, pizza rolls, etc. and make a sign that says “we did it”! Do you know how many verbs I had to conjugate to pay for their college? Ha!

Looking Forward To

I’m nervous but looking forward to boating. We plan to take Eddie Otis out so he gets used to it. I think we will start with short boat rides and avoid super hot days. He won’t be able to swim like our pro Ernie right away. We don’t keep our boat here, but I love this view of the boats.

Seeing

Did you know that azaleas and rhododendrons are toxic to dogs? We’ve never had a dog interested but Eddie Otis has literally been pulling buds and leaves off of our front landscaping and trying to chew them. Once we found out that was not good, we stopped taking him out front to potty or we kept him far away from the landscaping. Anyway, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought to do this before. I trimmed some azaleas for a mason jar and they look so pretty!

Reading

This book – just started it but I’m already obsessed with Danish life and really want to go to Copenhagen.

Just finished this and have another Cara Bastone book coming for me at the library.

I am still continuing my streak of not buying books, but I may let myself buy a summer read or two on the really popular books that are in high demand at my library.

Wanting

I bought these silver faux Birks at Target. Silver is really trendy and I know how much I wear these – even more than flip flops these days.

These are out of stock at Target, but I signed up to be notified when they come back in. I can see myself reaching for these a lot!

I try not to buy shoes at Target, but I know that some of my fave summer sandals have come from there. This is the time of year when my dogs are always out in sandals and I will need a new pedicure soon, too.

What are you up to Currently?

Amy

20 thoughts on “Currently”

  1. I remember when we paid off our house. The relief was amazing. I hope you have the same feeling about college payments. Congrats Mom & Dad for sacifircing

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  2. My youngest was just telling me this week that he really wants to visit Copenhagen too; he’s quite taken with their whole lifestyle (and I don’t blame him at all). Yay for making your last college payment! That’s wonderful.

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    1. That’s so cool that he is already understanding their way of life – the happiest country on Earth! It seems very much like the lifestyle of our family in northern Germany, too. We can combine the two in a future trip, I think.
      It feels good. Now, hopefully we can tackle other financial goals.

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  4. Congrats on the final college payment – woo hoo!!!! Your celebration meal sounds like fun!

    That pic of the azaleas is perfect! We had azalea bushes but they were old and dying, they never looked all that good. Last month we had all of our landscaping replaced to low maintenance deer proof plants so now we have nothing that flowers – boo. Anyway…

    Cute Target sandals!!

    Happy May!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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    1. Thank you! You can relate, I’m sure.
      Sorry about your Florida heat winning! Ha!
      I really like the silver and hope the others come back in stock, but I might pay more for the brand they copied off of. I think with the Birk/raffia trends they would get worn a lot!

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  5. Congratulations on paying that final bill! I think it’s wise to do it exactly the way you and Tom did with them, and to let them have some “skin in the game”. It helps them try harder, I’ve heard. I have another friend who did this same thing, and I admired her too! I was shocked to learn that Jonah’s dog Chloe could swim when he brought her home last summer; she was only about two and half months old! She jumped in a pool before he could stop her, and she’s been loving water ever since. I’d be tempted to let EO try swimming with a long leash! I can see how a lake is way more nerve wracking than a pool. I love the azaleas in a jar; I’ve never thought of doing that either!

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    1. Thank you! I hope we did the right thing. And, we might help with the loan, but that is hard to think about right now.
      Some dogs are really water dogs. We count on it! That’s a good idea. He proved himself in the river Wednesday night! He knew just what to do!
      Thank you – loving the look of my azaleas in Mason jar!

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  6. Congratulations on your last college payment!! My youngest is getting ready to graduate next December but my middle daughter is going to grad school in the fall. It should only take her 1 1/2 years to get her graduate degree. 🤞 Hope EO loves the boat!!

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  7. I had no idea about azaleas! And we have them all over the yard. I’ll have to keep that in mind if we get a puppy. I feel you will the last payment for college. We made the last payment for Grace’s school in January and it was wonderful! We still have Jack’s tuition, but that feels more manageable since it is a public university. I add the Copenhagen book to my list. Grace is going there this summer! I just saw that the book is part of a series: https://amzn.to/4b0IC6A Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

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    1. I didn’t either and we have never had dogs that bothered them. This one loves to eat flowers. Congrats! I bet it feels nice to be down to just Jack’s. I hope she is getting grad school paid for. Oh, jealous of Grace! Oh, thank you! Of course, my library doesn’t have any of them in regular books. I might splurge and buy one for a summer gift to myself.

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  8. Our kids graduated with minimal college debt. We took on those payments as their graduation gifts. But, we were dumb and didn’t pay as they went. So, I still have college loans for them. In my defense, I was also paying for my own masters degree at the beginning. It’s a wonderful feeling, though, to pay off your mortgage! I wish we’d had an actual document to burn like they used to do! Love the faux Birks, but they just don’t work for my feet!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com

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    1. I hope they are grateful! It’s hard – you should not feel bad. I had to pay for both of my master’s on my own. The second one I was in a special program and got money for half. I think Tom helped me finish paying off the first one and he has reaped the benefit of the extra money so it’s fair. There have been two times in our marriage where Tom was unemployed, too. They were both short stints. I can’t wait until we can pay that off, too. Neither of us like debt!

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  9. I remember when my parents paid my college off. I also had a loan but they paid the balance each semester and I was so grateful. Excited to see what your boys do with their degrees!

    Pedicures are the only thing I care about in the summer when it comes to self care. I go every 4-6 weeks from spring to fall and it’s worth it to me because I loathe painting toenails.

    I have those same slide-ons in black from a few years ago and I wear them a lot.

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    1. I don’t think mine told me. We might help but we can’t even think about that right now since the well is dry, dry, dry. You and me both! What to do with a liberal arts degree these days? It’s scary.
      I also enjoy the pedicure as self care and go about that much, too.
      I wear mine a lot, too. They are flatter than my white Amazon ones – the Amazon ones have a bit more arch. But, they both are fine. The silver seem fun right now.

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