Wow, mALX. You've been a busy squirrel. Nice wood work. I bet mirocu will want to hire you now.

Nice workbench, mALX! Now I only need that 9mm pic you promised

Project: Prepare Fed & State Tax Returns
Status: False Alarm

Today's snail-mail included an envelope of the right shape and size from Fidelity Investments. That being the only thing I'm waiting for before tackling this season's returns, I retrieved the folder containing everything else needed from my filing cabinet. Opening the Fidelity envelope, I was greeted with a report on one of my two rinky-dink funds. (Both stank during 2022.) I then visited Fidelity online for a tax statement. I'm to check back on the ninth, one of my funds not being finalized yet. If memory serves, it was close to March before both funds were finalized (for tax purposes) last year.


Project: Balance Jan 2023 bank-account ledger.
Status: Done, but oh the humanity!

Did so a few days ago. I've not been reporting these, since for some months balancing has been super quick and easy. Not so this month. I forgot to enter a number of transitions. A couple had incorrect amounts. At least one was entered under the wrong date. And so on. When all was said and done, it took 50 minutes to sort out my checking account. Savings took a minute or so, but that's practically impossible to get wrong. If for some reason I did goof up, it can be spotted and corrected in seconds.

Project: Add "sure" deposits and debit to my computerized bank account ledger to the end of 2023
Status: Done, at the moment

I've been doing this early in the year each year for decades. Stuff like my Social Security and Military Retiree payments, a $5 monthly debit to Patreon for the four independent news outlets that most appeal to me, and my monthly home/car insurance. SS and MRT will change in Dec, but those are simple edits. Insurance will change at least once. Still, these being automatic payments and deposits, I tend to forgot to add them to my ledger if I wait until the proper month. Which is part of the reason it took so long to balance my Jan ledger this year.

Why did I wait so long to do this? Between my long bout of constipation (which hit late 2022 and lingered into Jan 2023) and the mysterious illness that has plagued me off and on since mid/late Jan, I simply forgot about it. The hassle of balancing Jan's ledger reminded me. Then, early this morning, I received an email from DFAS saying that my recent FITW change has been processed. DFAS website allowed me to print out a new pay statement containing the change. With that in hand, it was time to act.

Project: Prepare and Submit 2022 Fed & State Tax Returns
Status: Done

My mutual funds' tax statement at last available for DL, I devoted pretty much the whole of yesterday afternoon to the task, stopping not far short of suppertime. As has been the case for decades, I relied on TurboTax Deluxe. I like its handholding and "safety" features. If not for my two mutual funds, suspect I could prepare the "paperwork" faster the old-fashioned way. Then again, TurboTax is far better at math than me. Heck, my front doorknob is better at math than me. In any case, those MTs automatically bar me from unassisted preparation.

Things weren't made easier by my never getting around to tracking down the exact source of my primary PC's issue. (I've narrowed it down somewhat, but...) Staring at a shimmering (if that's the correct term) monitor for hours on end did my eyes little good. By the end, I had developed a mild-medium migraine that took a while to vanish, even after taking what is normally sure-fire attack-ending medication. My eyes remained sore even longer.

As was the case last year, I'm getting little back from the Feds. (Prior to last year, I had been getting a generous Fed refund for quite some years.) This somewhat surprised me, since my mutual funds earned appreciably less DIV and INT during 2022 than 2021. And, for the second year in a row, I was taxed on 85% of my Social Security benefit, the highest allowed percentage. I suspect this is the primary cause of my small Fed refund.

On the other hand, like last year, I'm getting back decently more from the State. Not enough more to compensate for my Fed refund, but it helps.

As with every year since I began e-filing returns, I'll be paranoid over having possibly entered incorrect bank routing/account info up until my refunds are deposited. If they are.

Project: Car Repair
Status: In the shop

I visited our local auto repair/parts shop after putting away groceries yesterday morning. Why? Its "Service Engine Soon" light came on again. It's a periodic problem. I take it to the shop, they attach it to an Auto Code Machine. Nothing amiss is found that might trigger the Service Engine Soon light. The light is then reset to off. A week or two or three or four later it pops on again. I take it to the shop. Bla bla bla. The good news is that I'm never charged for these repeat visits. The bad news is, of course, that whatever triggers the light remains undiagnosed.

Yesterday I expected more of the same. This visit, the shop manager had more free time than usual to devote to me. Due to how I said the car has been running lately, he asked if I'd had the Motor Mounts checked/replaced. I had no idea. Turns out, they obviously haven't been. The motor is decidedly loose, enough so to rotate forward and down with any decent amount of acceleration, sometimes dramatically so. I witnessed this myself, standing outside the car, staring into the moto compartment, as the manager revved the engine.

I've no idea if replacing those mounts will solve my warning-light issue, but they need replacing regardless.

Project: Car Repair
Status: Hopeful

My car, in the shop for new motor mounts, should have been ready last Wed or Thur. It wasn't, the parts didn't arrive on time. I let it be known that, as I had a medical (Nephrology) appointment early Monday afternoon, I needed it back by the close of business Saturday. They promised it would be, either fixed or returned so I could drive it as-is. Come early Sat afternoon, I hadn't heard from them. Repeated calls up until around 1800 were not answered. (I found out later that they close at noon Saturdays.)

I must admit that I was rather worried. The clinic is not open on weekends. I could not contact them to move my appointment until mid-Monday morning. There are potential negative consequences for those who fail to cancel/move appointments with less than 48-hours notice. What saved me was remembering that my brother sometimes works only a few hours Mondays, sometimes not at all. He was willing to carry me to and from my appointment. (As it turns out, he might have been called in to work due to another member of his department being given the day off. Thankfully, that didn't happen.)

Thanks to my brother, I was able to tell the shop to keep the car until repaired, so long as they promised it would be on my parking slab by the close of business Tuesday, me having another medical appointment (Pulmonology) Wednesday. They promised it would. Lo and behold, it was returned to me at around 1500 Tuesday afternoon!

This morning's Walmart grocery run was the "repaired" car's first testing. What I experienced was a remarkable improvement in idling, acceleration, power, and smoothness. It didn't purr. The car's too old for that. But it came close enough to purring to appease me. No more thinking the engine might conk out during every drive. The Service Engine Soon light didn't come on, a first it quite a long time. Replacing those mounts ran me $415, but at least I got observably beneficial results for my money.

Almost purring! Great news.

It continues to show its age but, considering it's a 1998 model, it's doing quite well, motor-wise. There's barely in red paint left on it, the roof's fabric lining disintegrated some years ago, and its AC no longer cools sufficiently during hotter summer days. But despite the money I shelled out on it for under-the-hood repairs these last few years, it remains a better alternative than buying another car, especially considering what even decent-quality used cars go for these days. (I suspect that almost any used car I can afford will have appreciably more miles on it than mine, which has something like 85K.)

In other news, the bank received my Fed tax return some days ago. Also, I received confirmation about my Military Retiree Additional-FITW change. I recently unearthed what I assume is the reason behind DFAS almost halving FITW. If I'm correct, I didn't need to increase Additional-FITW as much as I did. But I did need to increase it. I might or might not lower it a bit next month.

Kitchen remodel is coming along good:


https://imgur.com/fCpCUu7


Those cabinets are 100% hand made, including the doors. Will be installing a dishwasher in the empty slot in the middle; and putting drawers in the end cabinet that is still empty. I made the drawer facings; working on the drawers still. The hardwood floor took three weeks to refinish, lol.

Careful how you do that installation, or you’ll be refinishing the floor again.

Fabulous job so far, mALX!

Lol, I know, right?





Thank you!!!






This post has been edited by mALX: Mar 1 2023, 04:58 PM

Made my own countertop = very first attempt! It looks great in the pic; but actually does need another coat due to a few total inept "pilot error" fiasco issues, lol.


https://i.imgur.com/jHSryeI.jpg


(also, you may notice we added a drawer and the cabinet door pulls/handles since the last pic).






This post has been edited by mALX: Mar 6 2023, 05:01 PM

And did some unplumbing?

Yeah; the counter takes at least 72 hours before you can set anything on it; so the sink is back out, lol.

Coming along great, mALX! I love how your kitchen is going to feel so open, light and airy when you are finally all done! Wow, and that countertop is looking smooth as Dibella's bum.

Noice

Wait, now am I going to be picturing Dibella's ass while cooking in there now?

Thank you so much for your kind words, Acadian! And yes, this was a much needed transformation, that is for sure, lol.




Thank you so much, Mirocu!!! Coming from you with your awesome woodworking skills = that really feels good to hear you say!!!






This post has been edited by mALX: Mar 6 2023, 06:37 PM

Woot! Dibella's bum! Not a trace of cellulite!

A little statue of Dibella wouldn't go amiss.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 6 2023, 06:52 PM