October is a month of getting into a routine and anticipation of the election results. We are starting to get comfortable with our new normal. Our routine includes going to outdoor preschool 2x a week, seeing my family every 2 weeks and getting groceries once a week. This month, MBP’s class visited the Thomassen Family […]
The Monthly Expenses of Early Retiree – September 2020
Pacific Northwest experienced some fire this September which was very unusual. We were 5 miles from the evacuated area, which is too close in my opinion. We left our house and stayed with my parents for 3 nights because I was being overly cautious. The kids had fun with the sleep over with the grandparents, […]
The Monthly Expenses of an Early Retiree – August 2020
We enjoyed the sunny month of August. There were very warm days and we had to turn on our portable air conditioner. We don’t have central AC. In fact majority of the houses in the Pacific Northwest do not have AC. We rarely experience 90 degree weather and it always cool down at night. An […]
The Monthly Expenses of an Early Retiree – July 2020
July 1st marked our first year anniversary of early retirement. It was fastest year, yet many slow days with a toddler and an infant. Our spending is not normal. This is the year of paying Cobra, giving birth and the pandemic. The first two contributed to an increase in expenses while the pandemic probably decrease […]
The Monthly Expenses of an Early Retiree – June 2020
It is still hard to believe that the first half of 2020 is over. It was the quickest and yet the slowest year at the same time. AHP is officially out of the newborn phase and we celebrated MBP’s 3rd birthday in the middle of the pandemic. Spending wise, in June we spent 1,812.03 Preview […]
The Monthly Expenses of an Early Retiree – May 2020
In May we spent, $2,059.62 Groceries – $623.89 Food is still our biggest spending. My husband shops at Costco, WINCO and Amazon for our groceries. He goes every two weeks, or longer if we can. Home Insurance – $537.72 We also renewed our home insurance for the year. Surprisingly, I got an e-mail from our […]
The Monthly Expenses of an Early Retiree – April 2020
We incurred many one time expenses for this month and our spending is A LOT higher than usual. In April we spent $8,666.55. 529 College Plan – $3200 Our contribution to the kids 529 college plan was high for this month. I opened AHP’s 529 account with a one time contribution of $3000. Vanguard has […]
The Monthly Expenses of an Early Retiree – March 2020
We hit our lowest retirement spending this month. Our spending was very bare bones given the stay home stay safe order in Washington state. The whole chaos was hard. I was very much looking forward to being normal after being on a modified bed rest. The COVID-19 virus also brought some anxiety in our family. […]
The Monthly Expenses of an Early Retiree – February 2020
Our second son, Adam Henry or AHP completed our little family on February 15, 2020. I made it to term at 39 weeks and 3 days. AHP was born at 7 lbs 12 ounces and 20.5 inches long As of this writing, we already survived one month with 2 kids, and a month of sleep […]
The Monthly Expense of an Early Retiree – DECEMBER 2019
December is quite the opposite of November in terms of our spending. If November is low, December is high and the highest since we retired. This is expected because of the holidays. In December 2019, we spent $8,748.80 Gifts It is the holidays and the highest line items we have is our holiday gifts specifically […]