I just called my flex spending provider and was told that the 2018 claims I submitted on Tuesday that totaled $1300 were all approved and will be paid out tomorrow via check. Yahoo! That’s a relief to have that finished before the March 31 deadline. I have $1200 available for 2019 and have already have EOBs that I can use for reimbursement of $1100 of that money, so I need to make a note to do that soon rather than wait until next year at this time. That will be a first for me!

I will review my taxes this weekend and make sure they are finished with the possible exception of the IRA contribution decision.

Last night I booked a flight to Florida to visit my mom in mid-April to celebrate her 85th birthday. Wow. I will be down there for 12 days! The only drawback is leaving my cat alone for that long. She gets sooo sad. I will hire my usual pet sitter to visit and take care of her every day, but she hates being alone for that long. And, I miss her when I’m away! I hope she will be ok. I wish I could take her with me to Florida – she would love my mom’s place, especially her screened in porch. When I drive to visit my mom in her summer location, I take the cat, but flying is a different story. I think the travel would be too stressful for her, she’s easily frightened.

Time for lunch!

BTW - if you happen to read this Dido, I did see your recent comment and will at some point post a job update. Thanks for asking!

I have been really busy the last few weeks and I feel exhausted. Most of the busyness has been work-related, but I have also managed to squeeze in some fun along the way.

On Friday, March 15, I attended the concert of a favorite traditional band with a few friends ($44 for 2nd row seat). Joyful music was just what I needed to start that weekend. Then this past Saturday I went cross-country skiing after a big Friday night snowstorm (have a season’s pass). The conditions were fabulous! I wanted to go again on Sunday, but decided to stay home to relax and get some things done around the house. On Saturday evening, I took myself to a nearby tiny venue for some Bach music played by two women on piano and cello ($15).

Tonight I’m meeting with a few members of my knitting group. For the potluck dinner, I’ll make a salad from veggies I already have in my fridge and I will take a scarf project that I’ve been knitting for about two years now. We’ve been getting together for probably over 15 years and it turns out that I don’t enjoy knitting! We always have delicious food, though, and great conversations. Of the five women who are available this evening, four of us are beginning ukulele players and the other is wonderful singer/musician, so I suggested that we all bring are ukes and do a little jam session!

I worked at home on my sun-filled porch yesterday. I’m still busy, but it's a quiet week overall at work because my boss is on “vacation.” I’ve worked with her for 20 years and last summer she took her first legit vacation where she actually did not check in via email at all for about four days. It was heavenly! This week she is staycationing and has only sent a few emails so far.

I finally just submitted my 2018 medical flex-spending claims. The deadline is March 31, so I hope that they all get approved without a problem and that I receive the entire $1300 available for 2018. It’s not “free” money – I elected that amount and a little was withdrawn from my paycheck each pay period.

I recently hit my 2019 out-of-pocket maximum, so I should probably submit claims for the $1200 I elected for this year while the process is still fresh in my mind. I’ll have to go through my 2019 EOBs, which will total $1100, and then remember that I have an additional $100 kicking around if any other expenses appear throughout the year. I always wait until the very last minute just before the final deadline to deal with these medical reimbursements, so it would be very unusual to get the money an entire year in advance.

I also need to finish my taxes. I entered all of the information about two weeks ago and just need to review and decide whether or not I’m going to contribute up to $6500 to my traditional and/or Roth IRAs. I go through this song and dance Every. Single. Year. Do I or don’t I contribute? Traditional IRA and get a refund or Roth IRA for future tax-free withdrawal? I put the max amount into my work retirement plan plus my company contributes an additional 15% of my salary amount. My IRAs are not well invested – I should really look into that this year.

My lunch break is over – back to work!

Edit: Adding this because I just realized that today is only Tuesday, not Wednesday - yahoo! I'm so relieved - more time for some work projects with upcoming deadlines and one extra day for making sure the med reimbursements get processed! I thought this week seemed to be flying by...

Long time no blog!

I do still enjoy reading and being inspired by other SA blogs, though. Thanks to those of you who are consistent.

This is a reminder to myself that I need to:

1) Do my taxes. Usually very easy except for the decision to contribute to an IRA.

2) Submit forms for medical reimbursements for my 2018 flex spending account. I think I have $1300 available! Oh good, writing this has just spurred me on to find some old emails and figure out how to log into my account, so that's one step done. I do have $1300 in my account for 2018 and the deadline for submission is March 31. $500 will roll over, but I don't want to lose the $800 since it's taken from my pay. I collected invoices for a recent dental crown and prescription sunglasses that I bought just before the new year (on December 31, I believe!). Now I have to figure out what else I can submit. We used to be able to use EOB forms from my insurance company, but now I think I need to use receipts/invoices.

Just noticed my blog "author" info and wish I was still only 51!