Monday

It's a perfect rainy fall day. Coming home from the pool was a bit of a traffic situation but I just put on my Whatever hat and willed myself to relax. Worked fine and probably it only took and extra 10 minutes total if that.

I dropped the last of the return to Zappos boots to the UPS shop. My slippers are working great. My feet pretty much love them. I need to make a little spreadsheet to track the money going out and coming back from Zappos. I also think they may be playing fast and loose with the sales tax. I'm sure they aren't but I need to see the nums.

And then I need to call my new insurance company. Probably not a smart thing to do on a Monday but I've got this question on my brain. I hit the other side of the Medicare donut hole and so from now until the end of December, as I understand it, any prescription drugs will cost me $0. My plan is to get all my prescriptions refilled when I go for my semi annual checkup in December. My out of pocket for that little foray will be about $250 with my new insurance EXCEPT, will it? Since I'm at $0? OR would it be better to wait until January when my $250 will satisfy my insurance deductible for the year?

Insurance shit just confuses the shit out of me. I'm going to call and ask.

And my swimsuit. I need to finish it off. I got all carried away last night looking for new swimsuit fabric. I found an Etsy shop that has everything I could ever want. Some place in Kentucky. Comes out to about $20 per suit. I'm not really making my own suits to save money but I hate to spend where I don't have to. I ordered two suits worth from the Etsy shop and one from another shop. I have been wearing the same suit every single day for six months. It's been fine. Now I need a different one for every day?? I need some self control.

While I was swimming today, I think I figured out how to use the fabric bits of the one I fucked up when I cut it out. I'm going to have to start swimming twice a day to wear all these suits!

I am starving. Lunch at 10:30? Why the fuck not?

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At 12:05, I checked the UPS website to see that they "attempted" to delivery my package at 11:55. NFW. I was sitting right here, the building manager was in his office, no notice left on front door or back or the door to my unit. Attempt, my aunt fanny! (and I actually did have an Aunt Fanny...). I 'chatted' with UPS to log a complaint and that guy pissed me off more than not getting the package.

Fed Ex delivered a package with zero problems at 12:00. GRRRR And to add insult to injury, Amazon has sent me two notifications and one email saying that UPS says it's my fault they couldn't deliver. Whatever. Don't care.

I really don't care about this particular package but it's one of the few. Mostly I care a lot and I do not want UPS to fuck up and especially now. From here on out all delivery services will suck and blame the holidays.

But, I don't care. (I'm clearly trying to convince myself.)

On the up side, I called my new insurance company on a Monday at 1:30 pm. The telephone tree had me punch 1 for current member. And in seconds I was talking to a human who could answer my question!! (I often wondered if at the end of that many multi limbed telephone tree, there even was a human. And no way would I have tried on any day but Wednesday.)

She allowed as how if I filled the prescriptions in December it would cost me about $25 for a 90 day supply of all 5 drugs. January, it will cost me $500. Now, there's an easy decision!! I'll have to pay the $500 in March or April when I get them all refilled but heck I could get hit by a bus by then.

The new swimsuit is done. It's a rough draft really but it sure feels nice - all silky on my skin and it fits me! The next one will fit even better and have nicer edges. I lined both the front and the back of this one. I think the next one, I'm only going to line the front.

Tomorrow's swim will be the real test.

Now I need to walk. I don't want to but I've got to get off this giant ass. So I think I'll take the garbage down and walk around the block. I wish I could swim twice as long instead of having to walk. Sigh.

Whining about a whiner but first, a nice thing

I just got a text from one of the lifeguards at my old pool saying she misses me! That's so sweet. I'd go back except it's never open when I want to swim, crowded, chlorine, on a street that's currently ripped up in an 8 month road repair and cost me money. I do miss seeing some of the lifeguards and pool keepers - a fun bunch.

But, now for the whine. There's a woman who lives down the hall. Ann. She used to drop in here constantly for visits. I enjoyed parts of the visits and none of the drop in parts. She's nice but while I don't think she's really homophobic and racist, I just go so damn tired of hearing about towel heads and guys who are 'light in the loafers, if you get my drift' and Asians who can't drive... etc. And she has an iPad that she has very little idea how to use so always needs something fixed. Her husband died a couple of years ago and now she's always in the halls looking for someone to whine to. (She has a grown son who lives an hour away. They aren't particularly close and she has no other family.)

She's been gone for the past two weeks and the hallways have been blistfully safe for roaming and now she's back. I just came up in the elevator with her.

She leans against the wall with a look on her face of complete doom and in her whiniest voice says: "I just spent two weeks in Mexico and I really wish I was there now... " So I said "Why don't you go back? What's stopping you? "Oh... I'd need money.... [whine]" Well, you could just move and live there - bound to be less expensive than here and you'd be where you want to be!

Problem is that professional whiners don't want answers or really even sympathy (which they are NEVER ever getting from me) they just want to hear that whiny noise coming out of their mouths.

Being happy is such a nicer way to be. For everyone. Plus, I think whiners get really really annoyed by cheerful chipper people. And that's my go to response every time. Chipper Cheerful

Here's what I pay every month in 2015

I spent a long time this afternoon with my finances - some planning, some looking, some checking and some getting ready for 2016. (Also checking on Zappos - who's numbers, by the way, came out perfectly. I am being made whole on every return. I should not have doubted you, Zap!)

For posterity. Here are the bills I have committed to pay each month. When my Dad taught me basic budgeting (thank you so much, Daddy), he called these fixed expenses. Thee are my current fixed expenses:

Mortgage - $950
*HOA - $503
Electric - $80 (avg over 12 mos)
Cellphone - $30
Cable TV - $117
Internet - $60
**car insurance - $36
*house insurance - $55
house cleaner - $225

*actually pay annually
**actually pay biannually

Semi fixed expenses include:

domain name and hosting: $60 a year
Pandora: $55 a year
Audible: $230 a year
Amazon: $100 a year
Google Music: $10 a month
Costco: $50 a year

These all add up to $52 a month

So... my per month nut comes out to a little over $2,000. I think that's a lot of luxury for not so much money, honestly.

I'm afraid to tally up what I spend on food and stuff. And there is no way in hell I'm taking an honest look at what I spend on technology.