We had an easy May staying in, finally enjoying the great weather in the Pacific Northwest. This is really the reason we live here, for the great Spring and Summer weather. I feel that it is sacrilegious to leave the area during this time. We endure the gloomy days for these and I still think it is worth it.

Some end of school events also happened like the school’s art walk, spring soccer, school field trip and MBP’s annual concert. In a couple of weeks, the kids will be out of school and we will have a full summer ahead. We don’t have plans yet, but I expect it to be similar to last year, enjoying all of the Pacific Northwest.

As for our expenses, we spent $4,339. About normal spending for us at this point. Let’s take a look.

Groceries – $1,192.01

This is about normal now for our spending. I’m still on AIP diet and have been eating meat and seafood regularly. I’m hoping that this can go below $1k, but at least it is trending down. I still exclusively shop at WINCO and Costco and have not really been comparison shopping.

Gym – $643.46

This is for our YMCA membership and Mr. MMD’s hockey membership. I will cancel our adult membership after this summer and see if I can get a membership at a cheaper gym. I do use the YMCA a lot for their sauna and gym equipment, so I might still keep it. It cost us $173 for 2 adults and 2 kids. The kids get some discounted rate on their sports league though so I will keep the kids, but I might cancel the adults.

Kids Activities – $541.91

Various camps for the kids. I signed up MBP for a cool camp so he can learn ice skating. I also signed up the kids for basketball at the Y this summer and baseball at the neighborhood school district.

General Merchandise – $577.19

A catch all of everything else that we order. I’ll look at this at the end of the year.

Education – $356

This is for AHP’s preschool tuition. I only need to pay June and we are done with tuition expenses as AHP enters kindergarten this September.

Utilities – $351.14

These were for water, sewer, electric and gas. Our electric and gas were higher since the rate increased. It is still not as bad as our other neighbors who are paying $400 ++ for electric and gas.

Healthcare and Medical – $305.17

These are for dental and medical insurance, co-pays and pharmacy. My doctor prescribe a bio identical progesterone to help with my sleep and temperature regulation.

Gasoline – $151.20

We drive more since I’ve been going to the gym/sauna multiple times a week. Mr. MMD also drives to play hockey and the gas prices just increased overall. We are still driving our 2011 Toyota Prius and 2011 VW Jetta. We are slowly starting our search for a new to us electric car and / or van. I’m hoping to get at least another 2 years from our Prius.

HOA – $88

Yes, we live in an HOA community. I wish it wasn’t this high but I just found out that some people are paying $300 ++ for their HOA. So I guess ours isn’t that bad.

Mobile Phone – $45.34

We used 2 gig of data this month for our 2 lines of phone. I’m not sure how we pass 1gb, but oh well!

Home Improvement – $27.17

Some items from Lowes for Mr. MMD’s bookshelves

Dues and Subscription – $26.25

We are paying $18.6 for HBO Max subscription and the rest is for Amazon prime membership

Online Services – $16

I paid $13.76 to renew this domain and $2.24 to host this blog at Google Cloud Platform

Internet – $14.95

Monthly internet from Comcast.

Restaurants – $3.85

I met up with a friend at Panera and ordered tea. I actually just drank water and honey since they don’t have the tea that I can eat.

We had a great April and spent 10 days in Maui for the kids Spring Break. This is our first time visiting Maui and second time visiting Hawaii. Last year, we spent 10 days in Oahu. This time, we split our stay between Wailea and Kaanapali. Our airfares and hotels were all paid using points. Hawaii is EXPENSIVE with all caps and we saved a ton by using points. Our first hotel were going $800/ night while our 2nd hotel was at $1500/night. It makes more sense to pay our rental car from Costco and save our points for a more higher redemption rate.

This was also the first time that I travelled with a ton of food restrictions. I didn’t want to cancel this trip because of that. I just really planned ahead. Our first hotel, the Residence Inn in Wailea had a kitchenette and grills. We hit up Costco and Safeway to get groceries and ate all our food there. This hotel also have free breakfast and the boys and Mr. MMD were able to have it, while I ate my packed pork patties with sauerkraut and rice. The grounds of this hotel was really nice. MBP played basketball everyday. There was also a little put put and of course the pool. We spent our days going to Wailea beach in the morning and spent our afternoons in the hotel and enjoyed their amenities. We also did a couple of hikes and visited some waterfalls.

Our next hotel was on the other side of the island. I originally booked a room at Hyatt Regency but realized that the hotel doesn’t even provide a microwave. I cancelled the room three days before (I mean we were already in Maui at this time) and upgraded us to a 2 bedroom villa at the Hyatt Vacation Club. This place is swanky! The appliances on this villa cost quite a bit more than ours. it was beachfront with 6 different pools. We enjoyed this stay. AHP is already asking to come back and told me that next time we should stay longer in the second hotel.

Overall, this trip cost us $1,784.79. Our biggest single expense was our car rental, but groceries was also expensive. I mean, we paid $17 for a cantaloupe!! And you think that fruits should be very cheap in Hawaii, right. They actually import majority of their food. It is unfortunate since the islands used to be self sufficient. I think the locals grow their foods and the imports are mainly for the tourists like us!

We stayed at home after Spring Break and got busy with Easter. We went to our local high school again for their annual Easter Egg hunt and we also had one here at home and at my parents house. We went to MBP’s friends birthday parties and enjoyed our garden with a great weather back home.

For our expenses, we spent $9,874. Another expensive month for us. Let us take a look.

Property Tax – $3,771.6

We paid half of our property tax in April. This is only half and our house is the smallest house in the cul-de-sac. Washington State actually has one of the lowest property tax rate, but it is base on the value of your property and our property is probably on a $650k+ range. Again, that is the lowest in the cul-de-sac.

Groceries – $1,498

This grocery is high because this includes our food from Hawaii. We spent $623.87 in groceries, which includes a visit to Costco, Whole Foods and Safeway (2x). This is high considering we were only there for 10 days. There were some food that we donated to the food pantry on our way out. The rest are groceries here mainly from Costco and WINCO. I was also able to go to Trader Joes and got a lot of organic spaghetti because it is the one that the boys like. I’ve been wanting to increase my probiotic intake too and experimented on making some coconut yogurt. I discovered a coconut yogurt that I like but it is $9.99 per 8oz bottle. I just can’t imagine eating 4oz of that everyday. Anyway, I was not successful with it, but I also started making my own sauerkraut. I have another 2 weeks of fermentation for my next batch. MBP and I have been eating sauerkraut from Wildbrine that I get from Costco. This is the real fermented kraut and it is only $8.99 for a 50oz jar. It lasts us about a week and a half to two weeks. it is not as costly as coconut yogurt but I can only really get it at Costco and sometimes they change inventory and stop carrying them. Anyway, I’ll let you know once it is fermented. Crossing my fingers that I don’t get sick from it.

Travel – $813

This includes our car rental, parking and luggage fee. Parking in Maui is also pretty steep but we’d rather have a car since it gave us more flexibility to travel in the island.

The spring on our garage broke. Mr. MMD said that he heard a snap in the garage and then suddenly we can’t open or close the garage door. We were able to call some one to repair it the next day. Funny enough that the guy fixing our door plays hockey in the same league as Mr. MMD.

Utilities – $468

Whoa – this is high. All our bills were paid this month which includes water, sewer, garbage, electric and gas. Our electric and gas was pretty high and everyone on our neighborhood complain about it with some neighbors paying $600+++. Apparently PSE raised the gas rate. Good thing that we switched our heating and range/oven to electric, so ours is still just $258.

General Merchandise – $433

Catch all from everything else. Probably an interesting thing piece of equipment we bought is a Vitamix. We bought it from Costco a couple of months ago for $399.99. This time it was on sale for $299.99. They can’t give me price adjustment anymore since it is past 30 days, so I returned it instead and bought anther one on the sale price. Costco will take everything back within a year so it is interesting that they don’t just do price adjustment. I did got the price adjustment for a portable Ninja blender that I used in Hawaii. I bought it for $79.99 for a 2 pack and it is now $59.99. I only needed one so I sold the other one to my neighbor for $25. Mr. MMD also bought some new hockey gears and I bought some seeds and 100 sweet potato slips. I planted 50 of them and I’m hoping that it gets warm enough here so we can actually get some yield.

Education – $382

This is tuition for AHP and $26 for MBP’s class field trip. I’m going to chaperone him and his classmates.

Gym – $320

We continue to pay for our YMCA membership and Mr. MMD’s hockey league.

Restaurants – $273

These are all from Hawaii. We ate out for lunch twice and went for ice cream or cookies after dinner in our hotel. I wished I can spend more here and visit a local restaurants more, but it just doesn’t make sense with all my food restrictions. I had a really good poke but didn’t feel well a couple of hours after. Nothing wrong with the poke, I just have sensitivity to eggs and I asked for an aioli which is a mayo based which is an egg. Oh well.

Pets/ Pet Care – $242

This is food and medication for our 10 year old Corgi.

Healthcare/Medical – $231.27

Our healthcare insurance was $92.9 for myself and Mr. MMD. MBP has a $20 monthly premium now too, based on our annual income of $78,000. We will probably spend more than $78k given our current spending. I also paid $50 for my dental copay and the rest are for labs and dr. visits copay. I went to see an ENT for my ear ache. I want to get it checked before our flight to Hawaii to make sure my ear drums are fine. Apparently it is still just the TMJ manifesting as an ear ache because it is so close together.

Clothing / Shoes – $204.39

Mr. MMD bought pants from the GAP for $94.57 and some hockey gear. His pants are starting to torn apart. I also bought some shorts from Costco for $10 and a couple of bathing suit from Marshalls.

Home Improvement – $193

Some trip to Home Depot and Ikea. Mr. MMD built raised beds for our garden. We keep adding more and I’m really enjoying the garden.

Gas – $178

This includes a tank of gas in Maui for $41.46. We are spending more in gas since I go to the gym almost every weekday and Mr. MMD drives to the city to play hockey.

Entertainment – $126

MBP’s PTA has their annual fundraising event to the Rainers Game. I bought 4 tickets for $20 each plus fees. We also paid to visit Iao Valley State Monument in Maui for $31.78 and we spent $8.30 to rent Space Jam 1 and 2 since MBP really wants to finish watching Space Jam 1 in Maui. He was watching it on the plane but wasn’t able to finish it. We then watched the 2nd one back home and it was horrible!

Kids Activities- $90

Soccer fees for AHP through our local YMCA.

HOA – $88

Dues and Subscription – $27.71

This is 2 months subscription for HBO Max and a month of Prime Subscription. Mr. MMD already canceled our HBO Max subscription.

Mobile phone – $25.34

We only used 1gb of data this month.

Gifts – $19.47

MBP and AHP were invited by a Campfire buddy to a pool party. The kids had a blast.

Auto – $10

I put money on our good to go pass.

March started and I felt some progress on my health, felt the spring coming and celebrated birthday and spent a LOT of time in the kitchen.

I continued on the elimination diet and sticked with meat and veggies. I had some test done for food sensitivities and it turned out that I am eating a lot of food that my body can’t process, like milk, oats, peanuts and flaxseeds — all of these are recipe for our overnight oats that I ate almost everyday. I also have some sensitivity to chicken, shrimp and wheat — so yes, a lot. The good news is that these are sensitivities. My hope is that my gut will heal enough and that I can reintroduce these food at some point. In the meantime, I am spending a lot of time in the kitchen finding different recipes.

We celebrated AHP’s birthday in March. His actual birthday was February, but we decided to celebrate in March since there were some illness going around. This was his first birthday party with friends and he had a LOT of fun. He really love blowing his birthday cake and being surrounded by his friends.

The boys also continued playing basketball. I definitely saw improvements on their skills, especially MBP. March Madness also came to Seattle and Mr. MMD got tickets for the 4 of us to see the game. MBP really enjoyed it. AHP lasted about 15 minutes before he got bored and just wanted to run around. We are back and forth from our seats to the hallway.

This month we spent $6,595. I’m pretty sure we are going to spent 6 digits this year. Let’s take a look at this month’s spending.

Groceries – $1,878.35

This is a really big increase from our previous spending of under $1k/month on groceries. I took over meal planning and grocery shopping and I’m still learning the prices of meat. For this month, I got a lot of meat from Costco. Unfortunately, I got it before my food sensitivity test. Turned out that I have food sensitivity to chicken and now our freezer is full of chicken. I’ll slowly cook this for the boys and Mr. MMD while incorporating some of my meals. I’m learning the prices and eventually, I’d like this to go under $1k again.

Automotive – $752.25

We paid $569 for our 6 month auto insurance through Progressive and $183.25 to renew the license and registration of our 2011 Toyota Prius. The mileage of our Prius is hitting 130k and we are starting to look for a new to us car. Our plan is to get an electric car but I’m not sure when will we actually hit buy. I think we have another 2 years on our Prius, maybe (hopefully) more.

General Merchandise – $711.95

This is another category that is increasing. These are our catch all.

Home Maintenance – $623.83

We had our roof cleaned. It was way overdue and paid $450 for it. It was less than I expected since we are a repeat customer even though it has been three years since our roof and gutters got cleaned. I really need to do this every year. The rest are some items for the house.

Home Improvement – $412.4

Mr. MMD put together 2 more garden beds for us. We had our soil delivered and purchased a bunch of supplies for the garden. We are a very novice gardener, but so far, our arugula, spinach and kale are sprouting. Even our beets and carrots are growing.

Healthcare – $391.1

These are for health and dental insurance, some copays for doctor and lab work. I also got a new glasses from Zenni for $33.85.

Education – $356

This is AHP’s tuition for March.

Utilities – $333.99

These are for electric and gas, water and sewer.

Entertainment – $206.64

These are for 4 tickets to watch March Madness. It was fun and MBP got really into it.

Pets/PetCare – $184.02

Mr. MMD took our furbaby to her annual exam and vaccines.

Travel – $136.9

I booked a campsite for 2 nights this coming July and we paid $42.9 for parking when we went to Seattle to watch the game.

Gas – $111.52

4 tank of gas for our Prius

HOA – $91.21

Restaurant – $85.57

Some concessions and lunch for the game and we added some $$ on MBP’s account for his school lunch.

Kids Activities – $83.71

Some items that are specific for kids — you know like diapers.

Taxes – $76.6

I purchased H&R Block software to complete 5 taxes – ours, my parents, and my 3 siblings.

Clothing / Shoes – $71.07

I bought a couple of swimsuit from Marshalls and got AHP a new trunks from Target.

Dues and Subscription – $43.75

Quite a bit of subscription this month since we paid for Paramount, HBO and Apple to watch the March Madness

Internet – $14.95

Our internet increased by about $5, but still a very affordable rate.

That was our March! Expensive but this might be our new normal.

This was a better month. I felt some progress from my diet. The first two weeks were really hard, but after 2 weeks, I was able to sleep better. In 3 weeks, my anxiety decreased. For that alone, I think it was worth it. It’s mainly meat with 9 cups of fruits and vegetables, daily. The vegetables are evenly divided to 3 cups of leafy, 3 cups of sulfur and 3 cups of colors. I followed the AIP Diet and the Wahls Protocol. We were mostly vegetarian before this but never consumed this much vegetables. We were a lousy vegetarian. This time, I focused on nutrient density.

Along with the diet, I also had my Prenuvo all body MRI scan. The result had 2 things that I need to follow up on. The cost of this was reflected in 2024. The biggest expense I have this month is for my functional doctor. After the initial consultation along with the test result, I committed to it. It was $4,664. Unfortunately, insurance do not cover this, but I do think that this should be part of preventative care. All my labs were showing normal, but was not necessarily on an optimal level. Similarly, there were some test that my PCP don’t really look at. The program will end in June and I’m hopeful. I was also able to see a Rheumatologist. She ordered some tests and it came back normal.

On a fun note, I had the energy and was able to decorate MBP’s class door for the month. We also celebrated AHP’s 5th birthday. The boys continued to play basketball and I can actually open my mouth and cheer them on! MBP started selling Campfire Candy and everyone recovered from illness from January. The boys are still getting some snots but they were able to fight it.

For this month, we spent a whopping $9,472. My goodness! This will definitely the most expensive year ever! Let’s take a look.

Healthcare – $4,851

As I said, this is big. The functional health cost $4,664. I have some copays for $95 and $92.9 for our health insurance. I am so so grateful that we can cover this with no issues

Groceries – $1,172.64

A little less than last month, but probably because there are less days. I’m shopping most of the days now and this is mainly from Winco and Costco.

Home Improvement – $1,084.57

We broke our microwave and bought one at Costco. This will show 2 orders because the first one didn’t get delivered and the refund will not show up until March.

General Merchandise – $621.27

Wow, this is high. We just really spend as we wish now. A lots of order from Amazon and stuff from Costco.

Education – $381

This was higher than normal because they charged me a late fee from last January. Because of all the illness, I forgot about the tuition fee. This should end in June.

Home Maintenance – $365.13

We bought a kitchen aid from Costco as a replacement of our broken bread maker.

Kids Activities – $271.81

We signed up MBP for summer camp. We also bought some presents for AHP.

Utilities – $156.86

This is for sewer and garbage.

Automotive – $98.54

Our Toyota Prius needed an oil change.

HOA – $91.21

Normal HOA dues for the montn

Gas/Fuel – $90.45

Gas for our Prius three times.

Pets/Pet Care – $87.59

Food for our furbaby.

Clothing/Shoes – $68.69

I bought the kids some pajamas from the GAP. AHP asked for new pajamas since he grew out of his old one.

Personal Care – $54.50

I took the boys for a haircut at my salon. $20 of these are for tips.

Gifts – $46.49

We bought some gifts for AHP and MBP’s teacher.

Restaurants – $20.30

Mr. MMD had lunch with our friend.

Dues & Subscriptions – $7.65

This is our monthly Prim Subscription

Online Services – $2.23

Cost to host this blog at Google Cloud Platform.

We had some challenges during the first month of 2025. My joint pain continued from my wrist to my jaw. Once it reached my jaw, I spent some time looking around the internet for any things that I can do to stop the inflammation attacking my own body. It led me down to an Auto Immune Plan (AIP) diet. I was pretty much open to anything to stop further joint pain so I decided to give it a try. Mr. MMD helped me a lot on this since I was already feeling very discouraged. Once I printed the 2 week meal plan, he shopped and we cooked the food for the week. I’m now on my 3rd week on the diet. I was losing weight, because I have to give up grains and dairy, but I think I got it under control now. It is still too early to tell if the diet is working. I still have some pain that moves around my body but it’s not as bad as the first 2 episodes. However, I don’t have any new big joint pain and I’m not on any medication, aside from the supplements that I’m taking.

Aside from my undiagnosed disease, our household also caught some nasty virus. MBP missed school for a week, Mr. MMD caught the same bug and was in bed for a couple of days and AHP had a mild fever. I also got some cough and cold and ache and stiffness on my joints. It was tiring but I’m hoping that we have better days.

Aside from being sick, the kiddos also started playing basketball. I was at least able to go to all the practices and games. It was hard to cheer while my jaw was in pain, but I’m thankful that at least I was there.

We spent $4,296 in January. We don’t really have any big purchase this month, but I expect some big changes on groceries and healthcare as we navigate my illness this year.

Groceries – $1,524.53

This is a pretty hefty increase on our budget. We used to eat very little meat, but my diet basically consist of meat and vegetables, with a focus on nutrient dense meal while eliminating foods that are high on lectins or food that can cause inflammation. We are still getting use to this and it is hard cooking different meals for everyone. I’m actually enjoying some of the meals here, especially bringing back the meats. I am hopeful that this diet can at least minimize the joint pains and helped me heal.

Healthcare/Medical – $795.25

As I mentioned, I had some health challenges and decided to see a functional doctor. This is a different doctor than a primary care doctor. I paid $299 for the labs and initial consultation. I also had some genes testing done. Mr. MMD bought a couple of eyeglass from eye buy direct for $122. One of the glasses were transitions. Our health insurance for Mr. MMD and I were $92.9 I also paid for 2 months of dental insurance for $73.64. I bought some meds and supplements from Costco at $32.9. I also paid for labs copay and labs for $35.02

Education – $356

This is for AHP preschool. This is his last year of preschool. He is super excited to go to Kindergarten. Time flew by so fast.

Gym – $320.91

Our YMCA membership are $173. Mr. MMD’s hockey league are $147.91.

General Merchandise – $270.54

This is the catch all of everything and this time includes the kids diaper.

Gifts – $200

My sister cashed the check from last Christmas.

Automotive – $129

Our 2011 Toyota Prius were due for renewal. This is the cost of the annual renewal.

Utilities – $127.24

Our sewer and water bill.

Clothing / Shoes – $114.87

Mr. MMD bought some shoes for $103.97 and I bought some joggers from Costco.

Dues and Subscription – $102.65

I paid $95 for the annual credit card fee of our Chase Sapphire Preferred. This is for Mr. MMD’s card. Amazon Prime is $7.65.

HOA – 91.21

The cost of living in our neighborhood. This pays for the park and trail maintenance.

Mobile – $85.32

We used quite a bit of data in November / early December

Restaurant – $74.14

We actually found a good restaurant that served really good ramen. This was before my diet. It will be a while since I can actually eat out in a restaurant.

Home Maintenance – $73.11

Some item for the house.

Gas – $30.05

One tank of gas. We didn’t go out a lot this month.

Online Services – $2.17

Cost to host this blog from Google Cloud Platform

2024 was rough, health wise. I ended the year on antibiotics and started 2025 with it as well. I caught a stomach bug just a week before Christmas and had some joint pains shortly a couple of days after. I woke up with my thumb and my wrist in pain without any trauma. I went to my PCP the day after Christmas and I was put on antibiotics. A couple of weeks later after seeing an Orthopedic, she mentioned that it is possible that it is reactive arthritis. A day later, I woke up with a jaw pain. 4 days later, I was on steroid to calm it down. It was so bad that I can’t even put a teaspoon of food in my mouth. I just completed my steroid prescription. I also changed my diet based on some research on auto-immune disease and started a Tumeric supplement.

I’m still experiencing some joint pains and do not have an official diagnosis until I see a rheumatologist in end of February. I am really hoping that this is a one time thing and not a chronic condition. Suffice to say, I had a pretty lousy mood depending on my body. What gets me the most is the mental challenges that comes with being sick. I get extremely anxious and get depressed. I’m grateful that Mr. MMD pick up all the slack and really carry me through it. He was the one who called my dentist, did the grocery on a Monday night after he coached my kids basketball game and meal prep my food. So far, today is a good day and I am really hopeful.

Now that I think of 2024, there were some rough roads, from my dry eye, 5th disease, a course of antibiotics and now this unknown diagnosis, which I’m hoping is just reactive arthritis. All of it regarding my health that I can’t control. We eat pretty healthy and I exercise. I don’t necessarily have a lot of stress, but it is hard for me to give up control. It’s hard when I can’t and that is the root cause of anxiety. I thought that 2024 will be the healthiest year ever. Turned out, it is a year with some health challenges, that really made me take a step back and accept that there are certain things that I can’t do. I can’t choose my genes and I have one body. I need to accept it, nourish it and be thankful for it.

This also made me reflect on our situation. We really are very blessed to have the time to go to Dr’s appt, take care of my body without worrying about the financial burden it may cost us. We will probably not be buying a new Tesla this year, but I’ll drive our Prius to the ground if it means that I feel good in my body. It also made me think of so many internal battles each individual faces. No one can really see it but your immediate family or worst sometimes its really just in you. I cried a lot this month. I cried in front of my parents and I am pretty sure that it was my first time crying in front of them as an adult. I cried in front of my in-laws, my husband, my kids. It was an emotional battle. I was angry and felt very discouraged. I’m sure that this will be a roller coaster emotion.

On to our financial update. In December we spent $11,996. We ended the year spending $68,880. This is $5,048 less than we spent in 2023 of $73,928. I am sure that we are going to spend at least $80k, so this is a nice surprise. Let’s take a look at our December spending.

Category	Sum of Amount
Gifts	$5,914.39
Home Improvement	$1,861.85
Groceries	$1,288.05
Automotive	$862.27
Education	$356.00
Gym	$295.91
General Merchandise	$223.31
Clothing/Shoes	$220.67
Utilities	$204.91
Restaurants	$172.94
Gasoline/Fuel	$159.01
Christmas card	$103.21
Entertainment	$100.00
Pets/Pet Care	$97.43
HOA	$84.00
Personal Care	$60.50
Home Maintenance	$59.13
Kids Activities	$36.99
Mobile Phone	$25.32
Internet	$19.90
Dues & Subscriptions	$7.65
Online Services	$2.04
Healthcare/Medical	($158.90)
Total	$11,996.58

Gifts – $ 5,914.39

It’s the season of giving. The biggest one of course is our cash gift to my parents. I also gave an Amazon gift cards to the kids teachers. This also includes our gifts to them. Since I was sick, I basically just bought everything from Amazon. MBP got a NBA2k, Chiefs beanie and gloves and a drum. AHP got a Spot it game, Seahawks beanie and gloves and a piano. They also got more stuff from everyone else. We also did quite a bit for the holidays like going on a Polar Express and visiting Santa.

Home Improvement – $1,861.85

We finally changed our gas oven and stove to induction. It only took us 5 years before finally doing it. We got the oven from Costco and paid for a plumber to cap off our gas. I can’t believe we delayed it for so long. We got the Samsung Bespoke. It takes a bit of time to get used to the touch button but so far we are enjoying it. I also paid for the shipping of our mattress from Latex for Less. I bought this mattress a year ago and notice a sag in the middle. After about 2 months of back and forth we finally got a replacement mattress. We also got some stuff from Ikea.

Groceries – $1,288

This is really just $1,088 since I bought a $200 Visa Gift Card from Staples to be used at WINCO when we shop. WINCO don’t take credit card and I get 5 times points if I buy the Visa GC at Staples. I was already there buying the kids presents to their teachers so I just added it here. It’s fairly high but that’s ok. We don’t necessarily budget for groceries. We just buy what we want. We still buy almost exclusively a Costco and WINCO.

Automotive – $862.27

We bought 4 new tires for our Prius, in preparation for winter driving and our trip to the mountains. Unfortunately, the trip was canceled because I got sick. I actually felt better when the trip was canceled. I realized that I really don’t like the winter weather and or any winter sports. I took up skiing back in the day and never went farther than a “beginner”. I’m more city type, beach weather and good weather hiking type. I also renewed my license.

Education – $356

AHP’s preschool tuition. 6 more months and he is off to Kindergarten!

Gym – $295.91

Our YMCA membership and Mr. MMD’s hockey fee. We have been enjoying the Y membership, until recently when I got sick. I usually go 3 times a week, but have not gone since Winter break since all of us got sick. That said, we are going to continue our membership. The kids play basketball through the Y and it is a great gym. I just wish that it is a little closer to us.

General Merchandise – $223.31

Everything else that I don’t bother to look at. Mostly some orders from Amazon.

Clothing/Shoes – $220.67

I bought 2 shoes from Xero. It was on sale. One is specifically for winter. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to use them yet. Hopefully, I’ll be back on my feet next week and I’ll be able to walk to and back from school.

Utilities – $204.91

Water, sewer and garbage. I paid our electric and gas using our rewards from our health insurance company so it is not included here.

Restaurants – $172.91

We watched the Snowflake lane and ate out at Cheesecake Factory. I made this reservation 6 weeks ahead and boy I was so glad that I did! The wait was 2 hours and I feel bad for the host as she was navigating a lot of angry customers. Snowflake Lane is very popular during the holidays. Last year, we weren’t able to eat there and have to buy a really bad and expensive Mediterranean pizza. It was definitely a better experience this year. We also had some take outs this year.

Gas – $159.01

It is gas. We probably gas up more last month since I’m going to the gym.

Christmas Card – $103.21

I did buy our photo session from Groupon again and I bought one for next year too. I printed the cards from Staples this time. I also got some stamps. I actually mailed a couple of cards outside the country too. I do like receiving cards so it is nice to also send one.

Entertainment – $100

Mr. MMD withdrew some cash to play some poker with his old roommate.

Pets/Pet Care – $97.43

Food and stuff for our furbaby. She will turn 10 this March!

HOA – $84

This will keep going up.

Home Maintenance – $59.13

Some stuff for the house. Mainly cleaning supplies

Mobile Phone – $25.32

We are still using 2 lines of Xfinity Mobile and used 1 GB this month

Internet – $19.9

This is for 2 months worth of internet

Dues and Subscription – $7.65

Amazon Prime Subscription

Online Services – $2.04

Google Cloud Platform fees for hosting this site.

Healthcare / Medical – ($158.93)

This is a credit because I got an email from Prenuvo during Black Friday that they are having a $400 discount. I already have my MRI scheduled but I called and they gave me the credit. The rest are for our Health Insurance, doctor and PT visit and some prescriptions and supplements.

This wraps up our 2024. Overall our top 3 spending for the year are groceries, healthcare and gifts. Apparently, this shows our priority in life. I think healthcare will increase this year as I’m thinking of seeing a functional doctor in Seattle. I already had my first call. The initial labwork is not bad at $299, including a 40 minute call with my doctor to review results. However, the plan after that will not be cheap and I do expect this line item to increase. That said, health is my priority this year and will gladly pay for this if it makes a difference in how I feel.

I started November feeling relief that elections are over. I was not surprised with the result as I am more realistic this time. We also moved to a somewhat red/purple part of Washington State and I actually met people supporting the other party. We are still neighbors and our lives move on. I’m still hopeful, but of course realistic.

On another note, we celebrated Veteran’s Day with our Campfire Troupe and watched Salmon go back upstream to lay their eggs. It was really fascinating. It was my first time seeing salmon in the river and whoa, we did see a bunch of them.

November also brought us to Central Illinois for our annual visit to my in-laws. Our trip is always pretty relaxing. Life in the farm has some advantages. There was no traffic at all. It was quiet and cozy. But it was cold! I can’t imagine living there during the winter. The wind was brutal. We stick to indoor activities like the Children’s Museum, swimming at the local YMCA and staying inside. MBP, his Grandma and myself also watched the Charlie Brown Christmas. It was a good show and MBP really enjoyed it.

For our spending, in November, we spent $3,816. This was on the low end of our spending. Let’s take a look.

Description	Amount
Travel	849.57
Healthcare/Medical	613.84
Groceries	445.05
Education	356
Gym	313.91
General Merchandise	256.88
Utilities	236.27
Restaurants	217.73
Kids Activities	145.57
Automotive	102.25
HOA	84
Gasoline/Fuel	75.75
Home Improvement	43.96
Mobile Phone	25.32
Home Maintenance	15.9
Clothing/Shoes	14.2
Christmas card	11
Dues & Subscriptions	7.65
Online Services	1.99
Total	3816.84

Travel – $849.57

We rented a van from O’Hare to Central Illinois. Mr. MMD was in charge of renting the car and he paid Enterprise $12/day for the toll fees. It was a mistake because he thought it was for the entire trip. We also paid for gas on our way back.

Healthcare/Medical – $613.84

Our health insurance was high this month. I updated our income based on the previous stock sale so we paid $468.84. I also paid for 4 PT sessions and and a Dr. visit copay. Apparently, I’m still paying for my eye insurance. I didn’t realize that it automatically renew and they make it hard to cancel it. That will be on my to do list.

Education – $356

This is for AHP’s preschool tuition.

Groceries – $445.05

This is really low because we were out for 10 days of the month. We also tried to eat as much of our food in the fridge before we leave for our trip.

Gym – $313.91

This is our monthly membership for the YMCA and Mr. MMD’s Hockey games.

Utilities – $236.27

This is for our electric and gas, water and sewer.

General Merchandise – $256.88

This is catch all for everything else that buy. I should probably try to track this closer.

Restaurants – $217.73

We ate out for during our trip and before our trip. On our way to Central Illinois, we stopped by the Old Route 66 Family Restaurant.

Kids Activities – $145.57

We signed up the kids for the basketball league at the YMCA.

Automotive – $102.25

This is for our annual registration of our Volkswagen Jetta.

HOA – $84

Monthly HOA for our trail maintenance

Gasoline / Fuel – $75.75

Three trips to Costco Gas Station for our Prius.

Home Improvement – $43.96

A trip to Lowes and Ikea. I’m returning some stuff from Ikea.

Mobile Phone – $25.32

This is for our 2 lines of phone using 1GB of data from Xfinity Mobile.

Home Maintenance – $15.9

Mr. MMD ordered a camera that can go on our walls.

Clothing / Shoes – $14.2

We got AHP a Seahawks Beanie from Costco. We will probably get him the youth version.

Christmas Card – $11

We also had our annual picture taken. This is for “shipment fees” of one hardcopy that was included in our package.

Dues and Subscription – $7.65

Our monthly Prime Subscription

Online Services – $1.99

Payment for online hosting for this blog from Google Cloud Platform

On to my update. We settled into routine during October. The boys were back in school and sports activities during the weekend. They did soccer, swimming and Campfire. This actually ended up being too much for me. Soccer have weekday practice and Saturday Games. Swimming is also every weekday after school. There were a lot of driving involve. They missed some of it because of the inevitable illness that comes when school starts.

I also managed to get in a hike this month and visited Mt. Rainier. The fall colors were lovely. This was my only hike during the season because of some back and neck issues I’ve been dealing with. I was surprised that I was not winded on this hike. I managed to keep up with my father who is also surprisingly fit.

This month, we also had our annual tradition of visiting a pumpkin patch. We’ve been going to the same patch every year since MBP started the coop when he was 2 years old. We did it as an annual field trip. Now that none of the boys were no longer in the coop, we visited it with our Campfire Families. Four families were there with 8 kids and fun were had! The boys were big enough to enjoy the big slide, apple sling and we even did the corn maze. The corn maze was hard, but we had a lot of fun doing it. We paid $30 for our family visit. This is cheap because we went with a group. Otherwise, the cost of entry is $20 per person.

Halloween was long this year. We started celebrating a week before the actual day and went to the YMCA and the kids schools for the fall festival. Then there was the actual Halloween day. I coordinated MBP’s class halloween party and the kids went trick or treating at night. We went to our neighbors 55+ lodge and another retirement home’s lobby. They had enough candy during the visit. AHP didn’t want to go house to house so MBP and I went. We managed to go to 2 houses until he got scared and wanted to go home. MBP watched football and AHP gave candies to trick or treaters. I bought over $100 worth of candy. About half of it went to MBP’s school. We went through 1.5 bags of Costco candies. I ended up returning 1 bag because we didn’t open it.

On to our expenses our total expenses for October was $10,488. Wow that is a lot of $$$ in one month. Let’s take a look.

Description	Amount
property tax	3,149.80
Other Expenses	2,000.00
Groceries	953.49
Automotive	907.69
Education	876.00
Healthcare/Medical	635.74
Kids Activities	357.11
Utilities	322.98
Gym	313.91
Restaurants	232.73
General Merchandise	225.63
Gasoline/Fuel	149.71
Pets/Pet Care	86.49
HOA	84.00
Clothing/Shoes	73.43
Home Maintenance	39.62
Mobile Phone	25.26
Christmas card	22.49
Internet	19.90
Dues & Subscriptions	7.65
Total	10,483.63

Property Tax – $3,149.8

This is the second half of our property taxes. We live in a suburb of Seattle and the cost of living here is higher than average.

Other Expenses – $2,000

We finally met up with an estate lawyer to get our Wills and other estate documents taken care of. We should get the documents around December.

Groceries – $953.49

Our family of four continue to shop at WINCO and Costco with some shopping here and there at Walmart.

Automotive – $907.69

I paid for our 6 months auto insurance for our 2 cars for $623. Our 2011 Toyota Prius also needed some new batteries, which cost us $284.69.

Education – $876

AHP’s monthly tuition was $356. MBP also had his annual PTA fundraising and we contributed $520 for it. We decided to match any donations that he gets. We pick which fundraising we support for the kids school. We really like this annual “fun run” event that the PTA put together. The kids don’t need to sell anything, but it is really just fun for the kids. We are lucky that the kids schools have a good PTA and parents are involve for the most part.

Healthcare / Medical – $635

I paid $250 for my Physical Therapy sessions. I have been going to a physical therapist twice a week since September and my copay is $25 per session. I really like my PT but found out that he was leaving this December. I only have it until November. Mr. MMD paid for some contact lenses. We paid $99.48 for our health insurance, $77.52 for dental and $5 for my vision. I also paid $20 for a blood test copay.

Kids Activities – $357.11

MBP is playing basketball for the rest of fall quarter. We also got him some inline skates because he has been asking to play hockey. He can’t really play hockey if he doesn’t know how to skate. Mr. MMD got him some inline skates so he can easily practice at home and we don’t have to take him ice skating. The rest are some photos for soccer and items for activities for CampFire.

Utilities – $322

This is for Electric and Gas, Water, Sewer and Garbage.

Gym – $313

Our YMCA monthly membership were $166 and Mr. MMD plays hockey for $147.91 per month

Restaurants – $232

We’ve been eating out almost every week after the boys soccer games. We tried out 2 local restaurants in the neighborhood and we were pretty happy with it. We also got some take outs and ate out when we were at the Pumpkin Patch. I’m enjoying it and will probably continue for some good local eats going forward.

General Merchandise – $225

Some stuff that I don’t want to itemize.

Gas – $149

We’ve been driving more for the kids activities, PT sessions, gym and hockey. As much as I hate driving, there are really no other choice. We live in a very non-walkable area with almost zero utilities. In fact there are only two stores here, Wendys and 7-eleven.

Pets – $86

Our furbaby’s food

HOA – $84

Monthly HOA for being here in our neighborhood. This will probably go up next year.

Clothing – $73

I got some winter gear for the kids at Costco and MBP got some Dallas Cowboys socks when we went to the mall.

Home Maintenance – $39.62

Bulbs and some Halloween Decorations

Mobile Phone – $25.26

This is for our 2 lines of data from Xfinity Mobile. We used 1GB of data this month.

Christmas Card – $22.49

I got a Groupon Deal for our holiday photos from JC Penney.

Internet – $19

This was posted for 2 months, one in October and one for November.

Dues and Subscription – $7.65

Our subscription for Amazon Prime

That’s our October. It’s expensive but it evens out through out the year.

The kids went back to school this September and we happily adjusted back to some routine. This month was full of back to school activities arrange by our wonderful PTA. I was also able to see a dermatologist, had an acupuncture and some physical therapy while the kids were in school. I have some mole that I wanted to get check and luckily found a dermatologist that can see me within a month time frame. I drove about an hour for this, but at least I have some sort of a baseline and will just need to have an annual routine exam.

I’ve also been dealing with some back and neck pain. I spent all of August doing some yoga stretches. My doctor recommended some form of physical therapy after my X-ray showed some form of arthritis. So far, I really liked my PT. I also went back to the gym for some strength training. I try to go 4 times a week, with an upper day and a lower day. I think the gym and the PT combination is going really well. I’m feeling less and less aches and pain. I have this goal of being able to do a pull ups by the end of the year. I’m optimistic, but we will see.

We also took the kids to their very first husky game. I forgot how much I enjoy watching live games. We stayed in Seattle for the weekend as well and stayed with our longtime friend. We took the kids to the University bookstore and got our purple gears on. MBP already had a jersey that I got from goodwill. He got a football instead. We had lunch at a Gyro place that I frequented back in the days and then we got some bubble tea. We walk from the campus to the stadium so the kids had a “tour” of the campus. It was a beautiful day, the fountain was up, the sun was out and both kids walk the entire time. We didn’t even have to carry AHP. During the game, AHP was giving high fives to other husky fans. MBP decided to root against the husky and had a melt down when the huskies got a touch down. Huskies eventually won and MBP decided to cheer for them after half time.

On to our expenses. It was an expensive month that costed us: $8,301. Let’s take a look.

Description	Amount
Healthcare/Medical	2,913.48
Travel	937.80
Groceries	686.52
Home Improvement	664.27
Kids Activities	584.89
Gym	516.91
Restaurants	454.56
Education	377.44
Clothing/Shoes	294.95
General Merchandise	249.35
Dues & Subscriptions	137.65
Utilities	126.47
Automotive	122.11
HOA	84.00
Gasoline/Fuel	77.67
Home Maintenance	30.02
Mobile Phone	25.26
Internet	9.95
Gifts	5.75
Online Services	2.03
Grand Total	8,301.08

Healthcare/Medical – $2,814

The main expense is for a full body MRI from Prenuvo. They are opening up an office in Seattle this December and I signed up for it. This is mainly to appease my anxiety and to address some aches and pains and constant sickness that I’ve been having. The cost of the exam is $2,499. It is fully refundable, 72 hours before your appointment. Mine is not until December, so I have a couple of months to think if I will push through it. The main complications is having a false positive diagnosis. I also spent $150 for 6 sessions of physical therapy. I have a $25 copay, every session, up until 25 sessions. I also spent $145 for various copays from doctors, dermatologists, and x-ray. I paid $15 for an acupuncture copay. I paid $99.48 for our health insurance and $5 for my eye insurance. The vision insurance should end this October.

Travel – $937

I booked our flights for our annual visit to Illinois, this November. This is always a fun visit and we spend Thanksgiving there.

Groceries – $686.52

This is a little lower. Maybe because we ate out more this month.

Home Improvement – $664

Mr. MMD replaced our pedestal sink downstairs. It cracked. We purchased a vanity from Lowes and paid to dispose the old sink. He also built some shelves for the shed.

Kids Activities – $584

These are various kid activities like soccer, ice skating, Campfire dues and other school related items. The non school related item that is here are the tickets to Polar Express Holiday train ride. I’ve been meaning to check this out and a bunch of family from Campfire will do this with us. This should be fun!

Gym – $516

Our monthly gym membership for the YMCA is $166. The rest are for hockey for Mr. MMD.

Restaurants – $454

We’ve been eating out almost weekly. For September, we were in Seattle for a husky game, so we ate out for lunch, dinner and brunch the next day. We also pay for concession foods at the husky game.

Education – $377

Monthly preschool tuition for AHP for $356. He goes everyday for 3 hours. I also paid for our PTA membership for MBP’s school.

Clothing/Shoes – $294

I bought some shoes for MBP, and clothes for me from Amazon. We also went to the mall and got the kids some clothes from a brick and mortar store. It actually feels weird buying things from an actual store now since I buy almost all of our clothes online or at Costco.

General Merchandise – $249

The biggest expense is our merch (t-shirt) items for the husky game. Mr. MBP, myself and AHP got some husky gear and MBP got his husky football. These are not cheap. I got MBP’s husky jersey from Goodwill for $3.99, while our t-shirts from the University Bookstore were $30 each. The rest of the items are various stuff from Amazon, Walmart and Costco.

Dues and Subscription – $137

We renewed our Costco Executive Gold Membership for $130. Costco is our nearest grocery store and we go at least once a week. We get 2% back which pays for the cost of the membership. The other $7 is for Amazon Prime.

Utilities – $126

This is only for sewer and water. I think I forgot to pay our electric and gas last month.

Automotive – $122

Oil change for our Prius and a $40 parking payment for the husky game.

HOA – $84

Neighborhood HOA to maintain our trails and playgrounds.

Gasoline / Fuel – $77

3 trips to Costco for gas. I’ve been driving more lately with the trip to PT and the gym. The kids also has more activities this year outside the neighborhood.

Home Maintenance – $30

Some stuff from Amazon for our house.

Mobile Phone – $25

Our monthly cell phone bill for 2 lines using 1gb of data. This used to be under $20, but Xfinity Mobile increase their rate. This is still way cheaper than our old T-mobile line 5 years ago.

Internet – $9.95

This is our monthly internet bill.

Gifts – $5

MBP’s friend broke his knee while playing in the monkey bar. We got him some get well balloons and coloring book.

Other Expenses – $2.04

My bill from Google Cloud Platform for this blog.