Here we are, April 1st. Signs of spring here in Chicago are everywhere, finally! Baseball season is right around the corner. Now we just need the warm weather. And in true Chicago fashion, there’s a chance of snow showers tomorrow.

I enjoy the mornings, sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee and reading a magazine. I like reading magazines. I have a few I receive digitally, and a good handful we receive in the mail each month. I always have people look at me funny when I tell them we receive 5 or 6 magazines a month at home. When they ask why so many, I tell them well, because I enjoy reading and I get them for free. They stop looking at me so funny when they find out I receive them for free.

I been using Reward Survey for years. Just with signing up and completing some surveys and profile information you could be eligible for credits that can be used on magazine subscriptions. They do have a limited selection of magazines but add new ones from time to time. For me, every Friday I receive an email with another survey to complete for a $20 credit towards magazines. The weekly surveys I complete are quick, literally just a couple minutes. If you’re interested, click the picture below.

Joe-

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Just a random post about nothing in particular. I’ve found myself really digging the following things lately.

Green Tea
You see articles about the health benefits all over. Ranging from lowering your cholesterol to helping to prevent heart issues. The biggest comes from it’s antioxidants. I like two brands, Uncle Lee’s Teas (Walmart – $5/100) and Stash (about $15/100).20160331_114849 (2)


Google Play
I was a regular Pandora user, but the amount of ads which were coming up was starting to be a bit much. I know, that’s what I get for the free version. Google Play has commercials as well, but not nearly as many. And it seems like there are a wider range of preset channels to choose from. I turn GP on in the morning and just let it run all day. google-play (2)


Exercise
I’ve been really watching my diet and trying to exercise more since about October/November last year. But since having more time, obviously I can find the time easier. I think it’s because I don’t feel as rushed, I’m enjoying it much more. I lift twice a week and do yoga twice a week. I don’t have much experience with yoga, but there’s no doubt it relaxes me. I’ve been doing the P90X2 yoga and love it! It kicks my ass!
*In full disclosure, the man in the pic below is not me. : )p90x2-yogax2


Cooking
I admit, I was pretty spoiled when it came to having my meals made for me. I helped clean up though, so it’s kind of like I helped cook. Hmm, maybe not. Anyway, I’ve been trying my hand at making dinners. I think I’ve done pretty well. Not some two ingredient meals either, some pretty good ones. Earlier this week I made Chicken Parmesan that turned out awesome! I know chicken parm usually comes with more of a spaghetti noodle, but we had some leftover macaroni to use up – just explaining the pic below. Today, I’m doing my first repeat recipe, pesto salmon, mmm good stuff. Let’s see, I also made some home made Sloppy Me’s I call them. “Me” because I’m Joe. Creative, I know. No canned sauce for me, this was all homemade. Let’s see what else, there was General Tso chicken, corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s day, chili mac & cheese, cajun shrimp alfredo pasta, And I have two soups I’ll be making over the next few days, broccoli cheddar, and minestrone.
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We’ve all seen them. Those pesky little articles and calculators showing you how to calculate the amount you’ll need at retirement to manage x dollars a year. I kind of view these calculators and articles like I do a winter weather forecast here in Chicago. I look at all the forecasts from the local news outlets, and then pick the one I like most. That seems to work! Well, it may not work with retirement, calculating the money that you think may work – but it feels like it should with how overwhelming it is to review “estimates”.

Seriously though, Nicole and I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing, reading, estimating, running all those calculators just to make sure our comfort level with savings will be enough. I am hopeful in having enough by the time we retire so we can manage. But ideally, Read More →

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Need a Job Sign

Being thrown into a position where I had no more income coming in brings a host of thoughts to the forefront of someones’ mind. Nicole wrote about some of the things she felt. I’ve been compiling a list of things that came to mind, and some that dawned on me later. Here are those things and some of my suggestions.

Three big questions kept circling my mind – How am I going to pay my bills? – What do I do about healthcare? – How do I find a new job?

How am I going to pay my bills?
Don’t wait for any of this, you never know how long you’ll be out of work. The sooner you make lifestyle type changes the longer the money you may have saved will last. Of course, there’s always an option of finding another job. That’s not listed here under BILLS since I cover jobs further below.

Unemployment – First, be sure to file for unemployment benefits right away, regardless of how you left your position. Let the state decide if you qualify or not. Here in Illinois, you can start the filing process the day after you left the company.

Sell stuff – Ebay, Craigslist and garage sales are all decent ways to not only clean up around the house, but have a few extra bucks coming in. I was able to test the waters with Ebay and plan on selling more.

Expenses – look hard at all your expenses. Sure, cable TV is nice, but you don’t need it. Streaming services have much to offer as does your local library. Yes, you will still need internet service. But internet service alone is still cheaper than video and internet together. Cut the cord. Keep an eye out for any other expenses, not necessarily to eliminate entirely, but just to cut back on. Do you have any vices you can reduce/remove? It’s probably a good time to stop smoking or cut back on your alcohol consumption. Did you notice I said cut back on alcohol but quit smoking?? Can you guess which one is my vice which I’m not ready to give up? : )

Misc money items
Retirement plan – what to do with it? Did you have a 401k plan? Depending on your company and the plan holder will depend on your options. Typically though, if you have under $5k, you will have to cash it out or roll it into another qualifying account. If it’s over $5k, some companies will let you leave it while some will require you to move it as well. Check into what your requirements are and be sure to follow-through quickly to avoid any tax implications. Check with a tax pro to be sure which is best for you.
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Well, the determination of my unemployment benefits is in and it’s good news! Approved!!

Such a relief, as this will help offset some of the monthly expenses we will still have even after cutting back. Now I can go back to the Healthcare Marketplace and shop around for medical benefits and get that going.

Joe-

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Admittedly, I am a bit worried about not utilizing my Excel skills each day. My old job pretty much required me to know a good deal of Excel. Excel was probably the one program aside from Outlook which I couldn’t live without.

Nowadays, it truly amazes me when I would run into co-workers who didn’t know how to use Excel for what it is, an easy way to collect and calculate data. You know that person, the one who sends you a spreadsheet that is busy as hell with colors, different size fonts, and worse yet – hard coded totals. WTH? Did the person actually break out a calculator (and I don’t even want to know if they used the calculator on the computer or an actual calculator). Ugh, you get what I mean.

So, I figured I would start putting out some quick how-to’s with Excel formulas. It gives me some Excel practice and can also inform others if they weren’t already aware of some Excel formulas. Now, I am starting with some of the basics. As time goes on I’ll expand and get into the more complicated formulas. But for the first few Excel posts, we’ll keep it pretty straight forward.

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Say you were unemployed. You’re watching your expenses, maximizing your trips out with the car to take advantage of being out and watching your gas use, being responsible in general. But like most people, you have a vice…or two. When do you cut those? Do you cut those?? What qualifies as a vice? One could argue that having a fast tier of internet speed is a vice.

One thing I’ve been spending quite a bit of time thinking about is expenses. Cutting back where we can in order to have what money we do have saved, last as long as it can. In the back of my mind, I’ve also known there are a couple of *personal* expenses I have. Yeah…yeah…vices that I have which I could easily cut back. The thing is part of me doesn’t want to cut back on them because well, I enjoy them! The responsible side of me knows I need to cut back, at some point. Nicole has jumped in with both feet and cancelled her monthly box subscriptions. Darn it! That would have made me feel a bit better about keeping my vices.

For the record my two vices are alcohol and ammo. Typical American eh! I like my beer, there’s no doubt. The ammo, I haven’t really bought in quite a while. But I still look for a particular round whenever I’m at Walmart. While I don’t buy often, when they do have it in stock I load up.

What vices do you have which would be hard to part with if you had to stop??

Joe-

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