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, but we were glad to be back home with our house intact. It was a terrifying week.
Back to School
MBP also started 3s class. We were lucky enough to be part of the coop that held an outdoor preschool with limited students. There were so much thoughts and efforts that were put in planning the outdoor preschool and we are very appreciative of the school, the teachers and parents involve. This is our second year in the coop and my first year holding a board position.
In September our early retirement spending was $2,319.77
Tuition – $573.42
Our biggest spending this month is MBP’s preschool tuition. I prepay the tuition through December. We get 10 percent discount by prepaying, but I donated the 10 percent back to school. Our coop is very affordable as is and we want it to continue as long as it can, not just for MPB but for other kids in the area. I love being part of the coop because we get to work with the teacher, get to know the parents, and watch our kids learn. MBP has been going to a coop since he was 1, back in Seattle and I’m so glad that we found this school here in the burbs. It is a little bit of a drive for us, but totally worth it. MBP love love love his school. He seems to be more happy now that he have something to look forward to.
Food – $476.13
I was surprised to see our food spending under $500. We continue on our plant based meals except when we were at my parents house due to fire. There were also some McDonalds drive thru breakfast when we left the house. Maybe we stocked up enough last month? I really don’t know, but I’m glad to see this go down.
Kids – $396.71
This consist of $200 college fund, outdoor clothings for MBP and crib mattress for AHP. I bought MBP an Oaki Rainsuit, an REI down jacket and Bogs boots. He needs proper rain gear because his class is 100% outdoors. I did a lot of research and asked around for proper rain gear, especially boots that are not heavy. MBP has a rainboot but he had a hard time walking and complains that it is too heavy for him. His teacher mentioned Bogs boots and he really like it so far. We haven’t tested it on downpour rain, so we will see if it holds up. I also bought a crib mattress for AHP because he is using MBP’s old mattress that sags down in the middle. AHP is rolling over a lot now. He is seating by himself, love solid food, napping by himself and even slept through the night for 3 nights in a row!
Pet – $250.78
This consist of our furbaby’s annual exam, annual supply of heartworm and flea medication, annual shots and some treats. We go to a mobile vet clinic for her preventative care. Apparently our furbaby is very overweight. It looks like all adults in our household, including the dog are trying to lose weight. We do need to take her weight seriously because she is getting older. Being overweight is not good for her little legs.
Shopping – $232.42
My husband found a way to wired his internet connection on our modem. He constantly complain about our internet access especially when he is in the middle of a game. I don’t have any problem with our internet, but I’m also not a gamer. I’m just glad that it is working for him.
Others – $390.31
My little sister graduated from college this spring and celebrated a virtual graduation ceremony. Go Zags! We gave her $100 as a gift and celebrated with her at my parent’s house. We also renew our Costco membership this month for $60. The rest are normal utilities, supplies and blog hosting fee for $.57. This is the last month that I will pay for blog hosting fee since I moved this blog from AWS to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and I’m only using the free tier. It doesn’t make sense to pay for hosting until I get more readers.
The detail spending are below.
| Description | Amount | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Preschool Tuition | 573.42 | |
| Groceries | 442.72 | |
| Shopping | 206.52 | |
| Veterinary | 227.00 | |
| 529 College Fund | 200.00 | |
| Kids | 120.21 | Rain Gear |
| Gift | 100.00 | |
| Baby Supplies | 76.50 | Crib Mattress |
| HOA Dues | 68.25 | |
| Sewer | 60.16 | |
| Subscription | 60.00 | Costco Membership |
| Gas & Fuel | 54.70 | We actually gas up this month! |
| Internet | 30.00 | We receive $15 credit because the internet was down for 3 days. This happened during the fire and we were not in the house. |
| Household Supplies | 25.00 | Paper products |
| Pet Food & Supplies | 23.78 | Treats that we need to stop buying! |
| Alcohol & Bars | 22.00 | |
| Mobile Phone | 16.28 | Our very very cheap mobile plan from Xfinity |
| Fast Food | 11.41 | McDonalds! |
| Parking | 1.25 | Street parking in Seattle when my husband visited our rental |
| Electronics & Software | 0.57 | AWS fee for hosting this blog. |
| Grand Total | 2,319.77 |
