Just as a refresher, my husband pays the mortgage and other big bills. (Not a car payment anymore because we paid that off! Woot!) I just pay for groceries and pets and big car expenses, I guess.
A weird thing that is also causing me some issues is that my credit card is currently in flux a bit. I used to have one credit card - I've had it since college and having long-term good credit is good if you're a person living in these United States in 2024 - but recently the card switched its APR, switched from Visa to Mastercard, and some of the benefits changed. At first I thought this was not a big deal, but it turns out that Costco does not accept Mastercard and Costco is one the main places I use it, so it turned into a very big deal to me.
So I asked my SIL, the banking/financial investment guru, what card I should get and she recommended Chase Freedom, so that's what I did. But I'm still going to keep the other one and just put like a tank of gas or something on it every month to keep that long-term credit. In the meantime, it's been sort of hard to figure out what card is being used where and this is a Me Problem because I am not a detail lady. So August got confusing is what I'm telling you. This may not be the most accurate snapshot, but it's all I've got.
Cars (31.8%) - This is a big one because we got new tires for one of our cars.
Groceries (26%) - People gotta eat.
Pets (14.3%) - Our girls gotta eat and get meds. We bought Hannah's expensive allergy medication twice in August (for dumb reasons having to do with consolidating Costco trips) and that adds up quickly, but hopefully it means we won't buy it in September. Once it starts freezing regularly at night, we can wean her off this, too, so maybe we'll only need it for another couple of months?
Savings (7.5%) - Regular contributions. I am going to start increasing this someday, I swear.
Traveling (5%) - I was in Michigan for a weekend and had to get a hotel room for one night.
Bills (4.4%) - Insurance - car and home.
Eating out (3.5%) - Coffee a few times and I took my mom out to dinner a couple of times.
Personal care (3.8%) - I bought some oils and lotions for my face, some new foundation, and some new eyeliner. Don't hate me because I spend more than the average woman on personal care!
Gifts (2.9%) - Someone got a new dog and someone's having a baby. I got them presents. Do you want to know what those presents are? Of course you do.
Dog: A dog toothbrush and toothpaste, an LED collar, and some toys from Costco
Baby: Some burp cloths I ordered from Etsy, a teething toy, Sandra Boyton books, and a Llama Llama book
***BREAKING NEWS*** While I was trying to find gifts bags for the dog and baby gifts, I organized the tote under the bed with gift bags, boxes, and tissue paper. One tote is organized. It only took me 21 months.
Health (.9%) - Remember that cyst thing? I had to get some ointment and bandages. Not to get into too much gross detail, but I was using Nexcare bandages, but they started to irritate my skin and then my skin started BLISTERING and then I switched to some other bandages and I had a rash and then I gave up and said fuck it all, I don't care if the pus and blood stain my clothes and I stopped trying to find an adhesive that wouldn't irritated my special snowflake skin.
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Do you buy people gifts when they get new pets? What is your go-to baby shower gift?
That's so strange - here in Canada they take MC but not Visa at Costco! Isn't that weird? Gosh, I've never bought anyone anything when they get a pet, and I haven't been to a baby shower in an age. I don't even remember the last one I attended!
ReplyDeleteWhat??? How strange. Is MC more common than Visa? I kinda remember not being able to use an MC instead of a Visa at a grocery store up north in the late 90s...but my memory may not be accurate. In the US the Costco credit card is a Visa.
DeleteHuh. I feel like Costco in Canada and Costco in the US are entirely different experiences!
DeleteI always buy gifts for any even semi-appropriate gift-giving occasion. Get a pet? Gift. Have a baby? Gift. New job? Gift. I saw this thing and thought of you? Gift. It's my love language.
My Go-To Baby Shower Gift (if there isn't a baby registry) is a bunch of stuff for a sick baby because no one usually thinks of that. I put together a small humidifier, good thermometer, medicine syringe, nose mucus syringe, and stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteThe whole VISA vs. MasterCard thing is irritating. One of our grocery stores is going to stop taking MC pretty soon because of merchant fees being so high. I don't often use that grocery store, but when I do, I use my bank card, which is MC. So I understand your concern.
Yes! Stuff for sick babies is key. I know someone who gives all the different sizes of diapers because you never have the size up exactly when you NEED the size up and someone else who gives an assortment of different bottles because every baby wants/needs a different bottle/sippy cup. I think those sorts of gifts are so thoughtful.
DeleteOur "main" grocery store only accepts debit cards and Discover. *sigh* Maybe I should get a Discover card just for those trips.
Ooh! I haven't been to a baby shower in ages, but you can't go wrong with Sandra Boynton books (and, you can never have enough burp cloths.) I don't usually buy present for people with new pets, but I will from now on.
ReplyDeleteSo is your cyst... gone now? There's a reason I keep asking about it- over the years, I've had two sebaceous cysts removed from the top of my head (ew) and now I have another one. Are you telling me that it could get infected and cause all sorts of problems? I should probably get it removed. Sigh.
Okay! The cyst! It's mostly gone? But I can still feel stuff below there (like a zit). My worry is that it's going to come back and if it does, I'm contacting a doctor ASAP. My SIL the doctor said that they can get infected, so watch for fever if it's actively inflamed.
DeleteMy husband has had a sebaceous cyst that was causing him extreme discomfort, he had it removed, and then IT CAME BACK and causes him discomfort again.
I love baby gifts--usually something off the registry plus Goodnight Moon and Very Hungry Caterpillar with accompanying stuffies because my kids loved those books and things so much, and I want the new babies to be happy too. And a nice Kong and treat is nice for new furry babies...
ReplyDeleteEngie, I found myself thinking about your exercise bra situation (which sounds so weird to write out) and wondered if binding might be a solution (you know, basically using the bandage all over the chest area the way non binary folx do to flatten breasts).
I have a small number of bras that I can wear right now and I'm hoping that the number will get larger as it gets better. We attempted binding with some brown stretchy athletic tape, but it didn't go particularly well - I think we need more practice. Fingers crossed I don't need that practice, though!
DeleteI'm hearing you say it's getting better... Cautious "Yay" and fingers crossed that it continues!
DeleteI actually don't have a go-to baby shower gift. I feel like all my close friends are done having babies and it has been...years? Since I gave someone a baby-shower gift. And I have literally never given someone a new pet gift, though I love the idea.
ReplyDeleteAND YOU ORGANIZED THE TOTE? WITHOUT ME. I'm proud of you, but also a little sad it's done because I keep daydreaming about making it to your house and organizing totes with you.
Elisabeth, don't feel terrible. There are a half a dozen more totes to organize! You're welcome to do that whenever you want.
DeleteGetting new credit cards is my hobby! Hey, lemme explain, I'm doing it to get new account bonuses and to dabble in the world of travel hacking. All of the travel hackers like the Chase Freedom b/c it's a hack on top of a hack. The Big Deal Chase travel cards earn a lot of points on certain categories, but only one point on everyday stuff like gas and groceries. The Freedom earns 1.5 on everything so it's a thing to use the Big Deal card for stuff that earns more points and then use the Freedom for all of the stuff that would otherwise be 1 point and then transfer the points to the Big Deal card. So you're hanging with the Cool Kidz.
ReplyDeleteBooyah for organizing the tote!
I wouldn't have thought that getting gifts for new pets was a big deal until we got our sweet little puppy who lives to play. She never met a toy that she didn't like and a few of our friends brought us gifts that were much appreciated. I plan to pay this forward. My go-to will be a soft toy and a chew toy. For baby showers I get whatever for the baby and if I know that the mom is a coffee drinker, I get her a Starbucks gift card. Then I wrap both gifts and tag one "for baby" and one "for mom".
I'm exhausted thinking about credit cards and hate it all. It will not become my new hobby.
DeleteSo, Hannah doesn't play with toys, so I always get toys, but I also add other stuff because some dogs are persnickety little jerks. The LED collar is SO USEFUL when it's dark out and it's really my go-to for new dogs.
When the baby is born, I'll get the new mom and the new big brother a present and drop off some cookies and leave. The baby will not get any more presents from me!
I feel like this is dumb and naive, but I'm so confused by a card switching from VISA to Mastercard - like, don't you GET either a VISA or Mastercard? Clearly not, but ... what?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the burp cloths and teething toy, and I always got Sandra Boynton books for new babies, and these gifts are SO PERFECT. LED collar is great too, took me a while to realize we really needed one.
You said you're not a detail lady. You...not a detail lady? What am I, then, an actual dusty whirlwind with no distinguishing features? Does this whole series of posts not nail down your status as a detail lady?
I don't know, friend. I was just as confused as you were. They literally switched everything about the credit card! I am not sure how that's legal, to be honest, but it happened. And now they're going to lose most of my business.
DeleteI also am not a detail lady. I know some detail ladies. Like my SIL, the one who told me what card to get - she's a detail lady. She's organized, balances her bank statements, and knows the dates of everyone's anniversary. I'm just...barely adulting? Haven't you heard about the unorganized totes?!
Oooh! I can help! Visa and MC are credit card networks, and the credit card itself a) uses one of those networks, and b) is issued by a financial institution, like a bank. Chase is a bank. Citi is a bank. So yes, they can change which network they use.
DeleteIt did feel like a bait and switch, though, to go from one to the other without any real notice!
DeleteWe have this little mini storage room under the basement staircase (not our big, main storage room- but this little one is the home to our water heater, our ginormous SOLAR water heater tank and our furnace- plus there is this little cut out space under the stairs, which has become our gift/wrapping paper area. I also store gift boxes there (like shirt boxes and a pile of some other smaller ones). Anyway, it used to be organized but over time turned into a disorganized mess. Fortunately, one day this past year when my dad was working on our bathroom, and my mom was here with nothing much to do, she pulled EVERYTHING out and completely reorganized it for me! I now have a small box with tissue paper, one with gift bags, a long plastic tote thing with rolls of wrapping paper, and even a small plastic tub with bows/gift tags etc. And then a bigger box with the other boxes all neatly stacked inside. It's such a silly thing to get excited about but it's just SO NICE!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway! lol. I really need to get Charlie a light up collar or leash. I know you mentioned this when we got him but I never got around to getting one. But especially now that darker evenings are approaching again (in the summer I sometimes would walk him more in earlier evening or dusk time when still pretty light out), I can see how important this is. Also, I haven't been to a baby shower in ages now. I feel like most of my cousins + friends etc are now well past the baby stage mostly!
It IS nice having it all organized, to be fair. It was just annoying to have to organize it! Ha ha. I also know we have a ton of wrapping paper. Way more than I thought we did.
DeleteI just ordered Charlie a collar. It's going to get to the point where poor Hannah will be walked only in the dark in just a couple more months and I love the visibility of the LED collar.
I always buy clothes for new babies because I love buying baby clothes! I may also buy something like a book or a stuffed animal, but always clothes. I rarely look at a registry. The last time I did, I saw that the couple had picked some sloth themed things, but I didn't buy anything off of the registry, I went out and found a cute outfit with sloths on it, and a stuffed sloth, and a sloth gift bag. I love sloths.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Birchie on the credit cards and points. It's a game to me that I enjoy. My husband does NOT use up valuable brain space this way. He mostly pays for things with his debit card, though occasionally will use his one points credit card. I have 5 points credit cards, which I use for different things.
1. My Capital One Venture Card - This gives me 2 points per dollar spent if I reimburse myself on a travel purchase. I save those points for travel. I use this card for everything EXCEPT...
2. My Chase Freedom Card - This gives me 5 points per dollar spent in rotating categories. My favorite is when the category is groceries. I easily max that sucker out (meaning, you get 5 points per dollar up to $1500 spent, which I do easily in the 3 month time frame.) I've had this card FOREVER, so there is that aspect to it as well.
3. My Amazon card - This gives me 5 points per dollar spent at Amazon or Whole Foods. I only use it at these places. Oh, I think this is the card that gives me collision insurance on rental cars, so I use it for that too. Unless that's card #4. When the time comes, I know which one to use.
4. My Chase Freedom Unlimited Card - This gives me 3 points per dollar spent at drug stores and restaurants. I only use it at these places.
5. My Apple Mastercard - I do not use this card often at all. I got it so I could open a High Interest Savings account with Apple, because you had to have both. I have since found a High Interest Savings with a better return, so I moved my money, so the Apple is useless. Unless I find myself somewhere where they don't take Visa, since all of my other cards are Visa.
The only card that has an annual fee is the Capital One card. I pay $59 a year for that. I have since found other cards that give 2 points per dollar spent with no annual fee, but if I cancel this card I forfeit the points, so I would need to time it for when I am using them. I have almost $500 in points there right now, so I don't want to lose that.
My eyes rolled into the back of my head when I started reading this. I am confused by your list and do not want a million credit cards. Frankly, I just want one to keep track of and having TWO now is going to be problematic for me. I can already predict this is going to bring confusion into my life. I do not think hacking credit cards will become my new hobby.
DeleteI know, it's ridiculous, right? I'm not sure why it makes me so happy. I am sorry that you are being put into the situation of having to keep track of more cards than you want. My husband agrees with you entirely on the whole thing.
DeleteThere are people who are wired to keep track of multiple cards and there are people who are not. The differences are what make this world great!
DeleteOh, I am so impressed you only have two credits cards. That's unsual, right? LOL Well, I have three ( a bank credit card, AMEX and the Costco Citibank Card. AMEX used to be the Costco Card but they switched to Citibank a few years ago. I also have a couple of store cards that are worth it to me, but I don't use them that often (except for the Target card).
ReplyDeleteYou know I love these detailed spending reports and it's interesting to me how different people's spending is. I obviously don't have a pet category (sadly) and I don't think I've ever bought a "pet gift".
I have a debit card and used to just have the one credit card. I don't know if that's unusual, but I am not a person who can have outstanding balances on lots of things and keep track of my finances. I do not have a single store card because (outside of Costco) I would not remember to use one.
DeleteHa ha. If I didn't have a pet category, I guarantee you that my savings category would be much larger. Oh, well. They bring me immense joy.
I only have one credit card and it doesn't give me points. I have a goal to open a credit card that will give me points but I also feel very scared to have TWO credit cards. I don't know if I trust myself with two credit cards, honestly. And I know closing a credit card isn't great for my credit so I am AT A LOSS HERE.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I don't typically buy a gift when someone gets a new pet and I usually just buy something off the registry for a baby shower. I don't have a go-to gift!
We are the same on this front, Stephany. I am unsure how things work with TWO cards. So confusing.
DeleteI never even consider looking for a registry. LOL. I'm so deadset on these presents: a teether, some burp cloths, and baby books. I am astounded that more people don't buy new pet gifts. I'm basically a nerd who will buy gifts for any occasion, though, so maybe I shouldn't hold myself up as an example.
I haven't ever gotten someone a gift when they got a pet... but I am not a pet person! For baby showers, I usually buy off the registry and then give 1-2 books. I tend to give picture books rather than board books because I figure they will get lots of board books so could use some picture books for when the baby is older. But picture books are more expensive so it's more cost effective to get board books! But books are always part of my baby gift!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe people don't get new pet gifts! I think it's literally equivalent to having a baby. LOLOLOL. I now realize how ridiculous that sounds when I type it out like that, but that's who I am and I stand by my wrongness.
DeleteI'm not a fan of this cyst hanging around and bothering you. I meant to say that when I read your Labor Day family reunion post.
ReplyDeleteI just purchased a baby shower gift and my go-to choices are always a large load of diapers, clothes/socks and some sort of The Hungry Caterpillar book and toys. This past week I found a hard copy of the book, a soft copy of the book and a Caterpillar toy. I was pleased with myself.
I'd love for someone to have a Dog Baby Shower, because I'd also load up on doggie stuff.
Next time you get a dog, you should have a dog baby shower. I would be here for it!
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