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Home > Mic check. Check check.

Mic check. Check check.

August 1st, 2021 at 07:08 am

Wow, so I still have access to this thing?  So cool.  It's been like forever since I have been here, but life goes on, and so did I.

For the record though, I still have not forgotten the lessons in frugality that I have learned here. These are some of the most important life lessons I have ever learned from some of the most supportive online community that I have had the pleasure of er "meeting".  So, thank you all again, and HI HOW ARE YOU GUYS DOING?

As for me, the reason I haven't been around is because I changed jobs. Basically, I went from one that allowed me to actively blog to one that does not. I am currently typing this entry on my phone, which is a pain to do.

Due to said new job though (which actually I have been here for at least 2 two years now), I have also moved.  My one big financial challenge was getting my housing situation nailed down, and at long last, for the first time in my life, it is finally done.  I now live in a small condo that I paid for in cash, and because it was a cash offer, I was able to get the seller to agree to well below what my neighbors paid for their condo unit.

So yeah, huge milestone for me to know that I will never have to deal with either mortgage or rent, ever again!  Yeah!  Feels so good!  Sadly, this is something I can not share in real life, as most of my coworkers are struggling financially.  Actually, there is one that isn't, and is actually a millionaire.  However, I have sworn to keep his financial status a secret, because he is the rare exception to a sea of fellow coworkers that sadly still struggle from paycheck to paycheck, with maxed out credit cards, and still pinning their hopes on lottery tickets and cryptocurrencies.

Not all is rosy with this picture, because my HoA fees are absolutely killer.  In a bad way.  However, it is ideally located close to my job, and so that is why I bought it anyways.  Fees aside, the tiny house-like condo lifestyle really does suit me.  Overall, the expenses are still very doable, especially without a mortgage to worry about.

Now, I just need to be a good little boy and stay accountable to my monthly expenses.  And that is partly why I checked back here.  But how are things around here with you guys?  Did I miss anything good?

27 Responses to “Mic check. Check check.”

  1. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1627803182

    Well, look what the cat dragged in! BrokenArrow! I'm up in the wee hours here putting up food from the garden. (brining radishes and dehydrating greens) and took a break to read the blogs. What a surprise!

  2. Broken Arrow Says:
    1627803571

    Hi Joan! Yes, I remember you. The woman who was really good with words haha.


    Gardening sounds lovely. Now that I officially have a place of my own, I think I would like to start up the container garden idea again. I just need to look into it and such.

  3. Wink Says:
    1627814082

    Welcome back! I always enjoyed reading your posts about your housing choices. Congrats on the newish job and the condo!

  4. latestart Says:
    1627818637

    Welcome back.

  5. james.hendrickson Says:
    1627823413

    Welcome back!!!

  6. Turtle Lover Says:
    1627826195

    I remember you and it's good to hear from you. I don't blog ... I just read ...
    but I often miss people when they disappear.
    Glad you are well 😀

  7. Broken Arrow Says:
    1627828232

    Hey thanks for the warm welcome back!

    Wink, I still window shop cheaper places to live. The one great advantage of where I currently live is my proximity to my work place, but of course, that will not be the case forever, and so, it never hurts to have an excuse to look at where I may head to next, right?

    So yeah, I've looked at all kinds of weird places, from de-commissioned missile bunkers to vibe-positive Mongolian yurts. Life's a journey, but I'm still working on it.

    Thanks Turtle. I just wanted to say that I didn't mean to make anyone feel bad when I ghosted or anything. Right now, I also can not guarantee that I am actually back for real either. I am still uncertain as to who I am and what I am suppose to do with my life or anything. However, regardless of the future outcome, I haven't forgotten about this place, and the good people in it.

  8. CB in the City Says:
    1627851678

    Hi Broken Arrow, it's good to see a post from you, even if you're not back for sure! It sounds like you're doing well. I'm living the little condo life, too, and pretty happy with it.

  9. Broken Arrow Says:
    1627859455

    Hi CB! I remember you as well. Didn't know you lived in a condo though. I avoided condos in the past due to the close proximity to others who may potentially make noise since I tend to be a very light sleeper. Fortunately, I lucked out in that I seem to be having no problems sleeping at all here. Still got the occasional car alarm going off though, but overall, very manageable.

  10. Dido Says:
    1627867093

    Well, THERE's a name that's a blast from the past! Good to see you! I'm glad your condo has worked out well! Hopefully even with the high HOA fees, being an owner has allowed your overall net worth to increase. I've owned my home nearly 16 years and that's long enough to really see the benefit of lower monthly costs compared to renting--even though it's also long enough that I'm starting to have more repair and maintenance costs as well.

  11. Broken Arrow Says:
    1627871266

    Hey Dido! I remember you as well.

    Yes, my net worth has gone up to another milestone that I didn't think was possible from since I first arrive here. Of course, this is due to the unusual pandemic situation, but much more importantly to me is the simple fact that now I am also, at long last, actually financially free! House paid off. Car paid off. No debt. I am by no means wealthy, but it's such a farcry my early days of feeling hopeless. Yeah, everything I need in life, and perhaps even a few things I wanted. I feel very blessed and grateful, and I am trying to give back as well.

  12. Dido Says:
    1627929046

    BA, Nice!! Congrats on your progress and your attitude towards it!!

  13. LuckyRobin Says:
    1628115627

    I ignore the blogs for a few days and what happens? You come back. It's nice to see you again, and see how you are doing. Are you going to post much or just pop in monthly? You've been a stray thought every once in a while for the past couple of years. The biggest thing that happened around here is we had a major hack that knocked out 6 months' worth of everyone's posts because they weren't backing up every day like they should have been, or for six months, very bad. And they've kind of revamped the blogs since, but lots of little things still don't function. The blogs lost a lot of people over all that. I don't hang around as much as I used to since we've been out of debt for over a year now, but still blog somewhat consistently, a couple times a week instead of daily.

  14. Broken Arrow Says:
    1628138083

    Hey Robin! Glad to hear that things are going much better for you! I still remember your early posts, and I did feel bad for you that you were going through such difficult times.

    As for the hack, that's rather surprising. Of course, I wasn't around so I literally missed all that haha. Too bad many left though.

    As for me, I don't know what I will be doing here, if anything at all. Then again, you're also talking to a guy who doesn't even know what he wants to do with dinner sometimes, so maybe that's not surprising.

  15. Fern Says:
    1628374878

    Welcome back, BA. So does this mean you'll no longer be sleeping in a closet? I hope your condo lifestyle suits you...and being close to work is even better. Congrats on buying mortgage-free. Ideally, that would allow you to really ramp up your retirement savings, but maybe the condo fees will put a damper on that.

  16. Broken Arrow Says:
    1628381773

    Haha, sadly no. The closets here are so small, they won't even fit half my mattress. My place has a living room and a bedroom, but everything that I have fits into my bedroom, and that's where I actually live. The living room is literally bare right now. I just don't have a use for it yet. If there was something even less expensive, but is a smaller space, I would have purchased that instead. As it is, what I have here is the least expensive dwelling available, but the space is still more than double of what I need.

    However, the upside is that I do have plenty of room to expand if I need it.

    Another factor that I have to consider with small spaces is the issue of CO2 level. Yes, this was something I was aware of in the past, but I've never really measured it until now, and I never realized how big of a deal it is. As I type right now, I am looking at my CO2 monitor, and it's registering 940ppm, which when it passes 1000ppm, it will ring an alarm at me.

    And if that's already an issue with a bedroom of around 80 sq. ft, I have to wonder just how much of an issue it was with the closet in the past. Anyways, I better go and open up some windows to let the fresh air in lol.

  17. Dido Says:
    1628427116

    By the way, B.A. in SA news that you might have missed:

    --ImaSaver passed away (https://petunia100.savingadvice.com/2021/04/12/sad-news-re-ima-saver_222414/)

    --Thrift-a-Rama had been diagnosed with terminal cancer but she's been on a drug that has helped her a lot. She hasn't posted on here in about a year, but she's a horror novelist and has been actively publishing and just posted something on her instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/d.m.guay/?hl=en), so she must still be doing well

  18. Broken Arrow Says:
    1628431770

    Wow, that is incredibly sad news. Thank you for letting me know. I really do appreciate that.

  19. rob62521 Says:
    1628444613

    Welcome back!

    I'm with you...hate typing on the phone!

  20. ceejay74 Says:
    1628651994

    Hi BA, glad you checked in! I'm not on too often anymore either; just got a lot of hobbies and projects that keep me busy! I only saw you were back because I got an email notification when you commented on Thriftorama's blog. :-)

    Dido thank you for posting about ImaSaver...I'd think of her from time to time and wonder if she's all right, so I'm glad to know but very sad.

  21. Broken Arrow Says:
    1628653498

    CJ, my favorite triple lol! Glad to see you are still around! Doing well I hope.

    Ima was so very kind to me. More than necessary really. That news really saddened me.

  22. Dido Says:
    1628728935

    Agree, very sad news. She was definitely an inspiration to those of us around during her very active posting days!

  23. livingalmostlarge Says:
    1629087570

    I thought I posted but it didn't seem to go through. But hello! So excited to see an old poster. A lot has changed since I started in 2007! Back then I was in my 20s without kids. Sigh, now I'm in my 40s and with 2 kiddos! Nice to see you.

  24. Broken Arrow Says:
    1629088623

    Hey LAL! Hang in there. My kids are all actually grown up now, with my youngest turning adult just this year! Life sure can change quite a bit, but for me, this also kind of presents an interesting situation since I no longer technically have to stay put for them for example. I haven't figured out what to do next yet though, and who knows what the next 20 years will have in store for me? But yeah, just saying, everything can be a blessing in disguise as well. Kids are hard work but they are wonderful, but kids growing up and creating their own life with me empty nested can also mean a second at my own priorities for once as well. Anyways, just saying to hang in there.

  25. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1629557591

    BA! So good to see you ( Smile )

    I'm not around very much anymore here, but do try to pop in every so often to see what is happening.

    I'm no longer working at the bus company, but am now working at an agency which helps seniors age in place, and also runs senior centers to help seniors socialize. Because of my position (doing data mostly) I was able to work from home for about 9 months - which I loved. We're back to normalish now - everyone back in the office - although a new mask mandate went into effect on Friday.

    We're down to only 5 cats now (from the 7 we had when DH and I first married.) Still tons of fish though.

    Anyway, it is great to stop in here and see a post from you!

  26. Broken Arrow Says:
    1629574621

    Howdy, Texas! Nice to see you got to work at home. I wish I could work at home, but I am grateful that I at least had a reliable job throughout all this. In fact, due to staff shortage, I will be working overtime today as well.

    I didn't realize you had so many cats and fish. Do the cats ever try to snatch the fish? I would imagine so right?

    In any case, glad to hear from you and hope things continue to be well for you!

  27. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    1630446359

    BA i recall you had 3 kiddos. I can't believe time has gone by so quickly. I swear I blinked and it was like I was 25 and starting out. I'm solidly middle age and perspective and time have changed.

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