Saturday, October 8, 2022
Friday, July 19, 2019
hello Blog
<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:2.0cm 42.5pt 2.0cm 3.0cm;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style></head><body link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'>Blog<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><a href="https://u.to/3KXhFQ">https://u.to/3KXhFQ</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:2.0cm 42.5pt 2.0cm 3.0cm;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style></head><body link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'>Blog<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><a href="https://u.to/3KXhFQ">https://u.to/3KXhFQ</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Friday, May 4, 2018
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Monday, August 31, 2015
Friday, May 29, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
How much do kids cost?
The blog isn't dead. Not yet anyway. I had the goal at the beginning of November to do a post every other day--30 posts by the end of the year. Utter FAIL. But let's look ahead, not in the past.
Last year, one of my unpublished posts was about our 2007 spending report and how drastically it would change with the arrival of LBA, and where would that money come from--$10,000 as an estimate. This was based largely on the reported cost of raising a child to age 18--$250,000. The Simple Dollar covered this topic recently, and made many good points about how tax benefits and change in lifestyle habits are cover a lot of that cost. To some extent, it's shifting money around, but the point is that you don't have to come up with an extra $250,000 to raise a child. Thankfully.
But let's look at some real numbers--our comparison of 2007 to 2008. The net earnings are within a couple hundred dollars of each other--any raises received balanced out the lost income from Joanne's short-term "disability".
My exactness in accounting doesn't really say how close we came to the $10,000 estimate. Muddying the issue is whether to include 529 contributions as a child expense or savings. Including it as an expense means, at minimum, Owen accounts for 10% of our budget (a chunk of the merchandise line is attributable to him, as there were a lot of charges at Target and other places). THe other way to look at it is we redirected our mortgage overpayments to Owen's 529--it's almost an exact match. (Digression #1, I took a look at my retirement savings calculator and adjusted for the market collapse. Assuming my other assumptions are OK, it means we have to work to 61 instead of 60. So that's not super horrible).
And to be fair, we don't incur the biggest cost of infant/toddlers--daycare. At least not yet. So that's quite the boon to the savings line. And I'm shocked by the large difference there. One of the reasons I don't see it is because of how we have our savings structured (equities in taxable accounts; fixed income in sheltered), so that took a hit, and we already funded our 2009 Roths. That gives me some optimism in our 2009 budget that when Owen does finally start daycare, we have the resources available to not have to scrimp too much (although a place over $900/month would more than eat up the savings), and we maybe able to continue fully funding our 401k's. That one perhaps a little more questionable, though, as I'm reassessing if we need to direct that much there, and I wouldn't mind having a little more liquidity. Just in case.
We did skip major purchases in 2008, which probably won't repeat this year--we're already considering getting a new refrigerator (digression #2: A Maytag side-by-side is heavily discounted at Home Depot as an internet special. At an appliance store I visited today, I asked the salesperson what I get for spending $1200 versus $800 on a fridge. His answer: features. Not quality. "It's all the same box". Illuminating!). I/we may also be a little more active in home projects and what not. And I might get a hankering for Blu-ray (probably not).
So, yay!, Owen hasn't broken the bank.
Yet.
Last year, one of my unpublished posts was about our 2007 spending report and how drastically it would change with the arrival of LBA, and where would that money come from--$10,000 as an estimate. This was based largely on the reported cost of raising a child to age 18--$250,000. The Simple Dollar covered this topic recently, and made many good points about how tax benefits and change in lifestyle habits are cover a lot of that cost. To some extent, it's shifting money around, but the point is that you don't have to come up with an extra $250,000 to raise a child. Thankfully.
But let's look at some real numbers--our comparison of 2007 to 2008. The net earnings are within a couple hundred dollars of each other--any raises received balanced out the lost income from Joanne's short-term "disability".
My exactness in accounting doesn't really say how close we came to the $10,000 estimate. Muddying the issue is whether to include 529 contributions as a child expense or savings. Including it as an expense means, at minimum, Owen accounts for 10% of our budget (a chunk of the merchandise line is attributable to him, as there were a lot of charges at Target and other places). THe other way to look at it is we redirected our mortgage overpayments to Owen's 529--it's almost an exact match. (Digression #1, I took a look at my retirement savings calculator and adjusted for the market collapse. Assuming my other assumptions are OK, it means we have to work to 61 instead of 60. So that's not super horrible).
And to be fair, we don't incur the biggest cost of infant/toddlers--daycare. At least not yet. So that's quite the boon to the savings line. And I'm shocked by the large difference there. One of the reasons I don't see it is because of how we have our savings structured (equities in taxable accounts; fixed income in sheltered), so that took a hit, and we already funded our 2009 Roths. That gives me some optimism in our 2009 budget that when Owen does finally start daycare, we have the resources available to not have to scrimp too much (although a place over $900/month would more than eat up the savings), and we maybe able to continue fully funding our 401k's. That one perhaps a little more questionable, though, as I'm reassessing if we need to direct that much there, and I wouldn't mind having a little more liquidity. Just in case.
We did skip major purchases in 2008, which probably won't repeat this year--we're already considering getting a new refrigerator (digression #2: A Maytag side-by-side is heavily discounted at Home Depot as an internet special. At an appliance store I visited today, I asked the salesperson what I get for spending $1200 versus $800 on a fridge. His answer: features. Not quality. "It's all the same box". Illuminating!). I/we may also be a little more active in home projects and what not. And I might get a hankering for Blu-ray (probably not).
So, yay!, Owen hasn't broken the bank.
Yet.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Small Wonder
Last week, a co-worker, Steve, gave me the RCA Small Wonder, a mini camcorder. We've played around with it for the past week. We missed some things like Owen taking some steps while holding onto a walker toy he has, and climbing up the stairs. But we did manage to get more laughter tonight. That's the best, anyway, right?
Odd things will make Owen laugh. Tonight it was me smacking myself in the head. Hopefully he won't become desensitized to it and I won't have to ratchet up the self abuse to continue to amuse him.
Odd things will make Owen laugh. Tonight it was me smacking myself in the head. Hopefully he won't become desensitized to it and I won't have to ratchet up the self abuse to continue to amuse him.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Red Rock Country
Owen, Grandma Kozlik and I made Owen's first trip up to Sedona this past week. The reason for the trip was three-fold: to use up vacation time (I can only carry over 20 hours into the new year), to get Owen out of town for a mini adventure, and to play around with the camera outdoors. Originally Keith was going to go instead of Grandma, but Keith had something pop up at work. We couldn't change the date because we reserved a night at my parent's time share.
I will never tire of Sedona. Even though I've been there over a dozen times, the scenery still amazes me. Which made it easy for me to have fun playing with the camera. I took ~120 pictures, although many of them were of the same scene, I just changed the settings to see what effect it would have. We started off at Bell Rock. We tried to find the trail that went around Bell Rock (and not around Courthouse since we didn't have time), but apparently it doesn't exist. We took BR "Pathway" to BR "Trail", then went back the way we came.
Then we headed to Red Rock State Park, which now costs $8 to go to. I'm not sure we got our money's worth due to the time we spent there and our lack of desire to do much hiking, but the view of Cathedral Rock is pretty spectacular. I was surprised at how good the fall colors were - we saw some very bright gold trees. Based on our hike a couple of weeks ago at Seven Springs I would have thought all the leaves would be off the trees.
Even though we didn't have the correct connector piece for it, I brought our tripod anyway, so I wanted to catch some good sunset and twilight pictures. Our plan was to go up to the Airport lookout, which has some beautiful views. Unfortunately we missed the actual sunset, but I was able to play around with some twilight pictures using the tripod (I just sat the camera on the tripod and used the timer function). Didn't catch anything spectacular, but it was neat to see how things turned out in that light. We now have the right connector piece, so I'm looking forward to playing around with it more.
As I mentioned earlier, we stayed at my parent's time share, which is just outside of Sedona. After unloading everything (it's amazing how much stuff we had for one night!), we had a quick McDonald's dinner (my first time having McD's probably since college), and put Owen to bed. I took a nice soak in the jacuzzi tub, watched the end of The Christmas Story, and went happily to bed.
The next morning we went up to the Catholic church, which is up on a hill with some great views. It has to be the most beautiful church I've been to, at least in the States. The plan was then to do some shopping at the Sedona Outlet mall, but Owen fell asleep right before we got there, so we decided to keep driving and go to the Anthem Outlets.
Then it was back home to check out the pics!
I will never tire of Sedona. Even though I've been there over a dozen times, the scenery still amazes me. Which made it easy for me to have fun playing with the camera. I took ~120 pictures, although many of them were of the same scene, I just changed the settings to see what effect it would have. We started off at Bell Rock. We tried to find the trail that went around Bell Rock (and not around Courthouse since we didn't have time), but apparently it doesn't exist. We took BR "Pathway" to BR "Trail", then went back the way we came.
Then we headed to Red Rock State Park, which now costs $8 to go to. I'm not sure we got our money's worth due to the time we spent there and our lack of desire to do much hiking, but the view of Cathedral Rock is pretty spectacular. I was surprised at how good the fall colors were - we saw some very bright gold trees. Based on our hike a couple of weeks ago at Seven Springs I would have thought all the leaves would be off the trees.
Even though we didn't have the correct connector piece for it, I brought our tripod anyway, so I wanted to catch some good sunset and twilight pictures. Our plan was to go up to the Airport lookout, which has some beautiful views. Unfortunately we missed the actual sunset, but I was able to play around with some twilight pictures using the tripod (I just sat the camera on the tripod and used the timer function). Didn't catch anything spectacular, but it was neat to see how things turned out in that light. We now have the right connector piece, so I'm looking forward to playing around with it more.
As I mentioned earlier, we stayed at my parent's time share, which is just outside of Sedona. After unloading everything (it's amazing how much stuff we had for one night!), we had a quick McDonald's dinner (my first time having McD's probably since college), and put Owen to bed. I took a nice soak in the jacuzzi tub, watched the end of The Christmas Story, and went happily to bed.
The next morning we went up to the Catholic church, which is up on a hill with some great views. It has to be the most beautiful church I've been to, at least in the States. The plan was then to do some shopping at the Sedona Outlet mall, but Owen fell asleep right before we got there, so we decided to keep driving and go to the Anthem Outlets.
Then it was back home to check out the pics!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
