FEBRUARY’S 10 THINGS

Another month has come and gone friends! How is it that January felt like the longest month of my entire existence, and then February, just two calendar days shorter, FLEW by? Doesn’t add up. Nevertheless, it’s time for February’s 10 things. As always, just 10 things on my mind, some personal finance related and some not.

(1) I’VE SPENT 8+ WEEKS ON BED REST.

If someone asked me, “what is your definition of hell?” for me, it would be having to lay down literally all the time– especially when the sun is out and the weather is amazing and it’s prime time season for hiking in this lovely valley I live in. 

(2) VALENTINE’S DAY WAS LOW KEY.

Because of bed rest, our Valentine’s Day was pretty dang low key. Danny actually had the day off but had to go into work to let some IT guys come fix a computer problem. That took much longer than anticipated but we will got to squeeze in a 45 minute lunch date at the pool (one of the only places I was allowed to go) before M was done at school. We had some rewards points to use at Cafe Rio so our whole romantic lunch date in the pool cost about $10. We try not to get sucked into Valentine’s Day anyway. Yes we want to show each other that we love each other, but at the same time, it’s pretty much a totally made up holiday. I would rather Danny bring me flowers or go on a hot date on any other random night of the year– it means more to me. Anniversaries and birthdays are important to us because they’re more meaningful holidays that don’t feel like a scam ha. 

(3) WE’RE MORE THAN 1/2 WAY DONE WITH THE APP!

I’m happy to report we are more than half way done developing the app! We intend to launch this bad boy by late spring/early summer. 

(4) M FINISHED HIS SECOND SEASON OF BASEBALL.

Cute little M finished his second season of baseball. He did intro to couch pitch and it was the cutest thing ever. He played on a parent-run league which is only $55 for the season. At his age (5) I think parent run leagues are the way to go.

(5) WE LOWERED OUR STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES BY 1%.

We re-refinanced our student loans for an even lower interest rate this month. All this panic around the corona virus has helped lower interest rates as everyone is panicking and pulling out of the market. But it has only meant good things for us. We re-refinanced with Laurel Road because they were offering the lowest interest rate we could find. If you’ve been thinking about refinancing or re-refinancing, you can check your rates here with no impact to your credit score. [Related: Why You Should Refinance Your Student Loans].

(6) I READ THE GIRL WITH 7 NAMES AND EDUCATED.

The Girl with 7 Names is a memoir about a young girl who basically accidentally escapes North Korea and all of the crazy things that happen to her and her family in the decade following her escape and how she ultimately gets her family out of there.  It was the type of book that had me thinking about it for a few days afterwards and was a total page turner. I think I read it in 3 days! 

Another wild memoir I read was Educated. It’s about a girl who was raised in this ultra conservative survivalist family in a small town in Idaho who doesn’t believe in public education or any form of established health care. She quietly takes the ACT and gets into college and escapes life on “the farm” with her family. She goes on to Harvard and Cambridge and everything about her life blows my mind. How are there people living in the same country as me experiencing life so differently? It was a total page turner. 

(7) I GOT OFF BED REST! 

We had the big doctor’s appointment we’ve been waiting for for weeks to see whether the placenta has moved (that’s what was causing the bleeding and my hospital stays and why I had to go on bed rest) and how the babes are growing. The little boy is enormous– in the 90th percentile at around 3 pounds. Our little girl is teeny, in the 20th percentile, under 2 pounds. So we’ll keep an eye on her growth but the doctor wasn’t worried for now. I am officially off bed rest!! Yay!! 8 weeks of laying down watching life happen around me was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Would not wish that on my worst enemy. 

(8) I’M THANKFUL FOR PEOPLE. 

There is no way we could have survived bed rest without all of the help and support we received. Friends who helped me take care of M and cleaned our house,, brought us dinners, and kept me company. Kind text messages and DMs. It meant more than you know! I was sincerely blown away by everyone who reached out to see what they could do to help and it made me realize that I need to do a better job at thinking of others and helping people. People really are so good and the world is a good place. 

(9) I FULLY DON’T UNDERSTAND THE PANIC AROUND THE CORONA VIRUS

Am I missing something about the corona virus? Like why are we dooms day stocking up on toilet paper? From what I understand it’s just basically a cold unless you are elderly, an infant, or have serious respiratory problems right? So why is the general population freaking out and buying all the toilet paper at Costco so that people like me who genuinely need toilet paper have nothing to wipe our bums with? And then the people who are freaking out are making the normal people like me have to buy extra TP just so that we know we’ll be able to get it. Stop overbuying all the TP PLEASE. [Related: Things You SHOULD Buy At Costco].

(10) SHOPPING SECOND HAND CAN PAY OFF. 

I’m trying to keep our baby gear to a minimum. We don’t have a lot of space around here and we’re still trying to pay off our mountain of debt. But still, there are some things that we totally need– like car seats, a twin stroller, etc. This month we were able to score a twin stroller that looks brand new for only $60 from Facebook Marketplace, and I got a nursing pillow that is normally $100, for only $15 at Once Upon a Child. Shopping second hand for baby stuff can save you tons! [Related: How to Save Money on Baby Stuff].

That about sums up my February! Now that I’m off bed rest March is going to be all about getting ready for these babies to come. I’m 28 weeks this week and the goal is to make it to 36 weeks. Lots to do personally and professionally before these little nuggets arrive! How was your February? What’s been on your mind? 

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