Katie

Oh dear...this sounds like we're going to all start having power grid problems in December that have nothing to do with your neighbor's Christmas lights. Just make sure all of your gadgets are charged up and normal AI use is done by 9pm EST, because it's going to slowwww down.

My favorite deal scores in this week of bargains:
- 2 hardcase spinner suitcase sets. My sisters are always "borrowing" mine (and trying to keep them, because that never ends). $228 inc tax, $208 back in Staples rewards. Christmas ✅✅
- 8 packs of Tate's 🍪 chocolate chip cookies from Amazon for $25!

I'm now buying my other nephew a 3D printer for either Christmas or his birthday. I'm taking notes! Lol.

Unite and Rise with League of Women Voters! I made a commitment today to defend our democracy and work to empower voters. Would you join the movement with me?

I've never ever been remotely "political", but I really didn't want to have anything in common with the quiet German citizenry of 1933. Declaring blue cities a "military training ground" was the final straw for me. #HatchActOf1939 act.lwv.org/page/84217/a...

WTF, @doordashhelp.bsky.social - I've been getting this message for a month. My phone is a 2024 Revvl 6 (very updated), how is a major app like yours not supported??

I narrowed it down to Bambu, Creality and something Forge. Then I picked the best deal - Creality, being sold by the manufacturer.

My youngest nephew turns 9 in a few weeks and wants a 3D printer - "Not the $200 one, I want the $400 one." Aunt Katie just cashed out $400 of CapitalOne Shopping rewards for eBay gift cards. The way his brain works, the outputs will be fascinating!

When I went to Japan 2 years ago, I asked my then-6yo nephew if he'd like me to get him something. "A piece of volcanic rock from the last eruption of Mt Fuji." I offered a souvenir and he sent me on a freaking QUEST. I'm on my way to Scotland, he better not want a toenail from Nessie...

I filed my tax returns 2 months ago. I've been expecting a refund of about $320, direct deposit. No dice yet. Is this "normal" for 2025, or do I need to worry? Just paid my quarterlies, so I'm feeling annoyed at how we have payment deadlines and they don't. A minor peeve, all things considered.

I skimmed our Bill of Rights after a #ShowerGods epiphany about my right wing sister. I embrace the first amendment, she embraces the second. Then I looked at the bigger picture, and it looks like the only other one that hasn't been trashed this year is #3, quartering soldiers.

Ugh, thanks - I always forget that "quarterly" is a very loose term in the world of estimated taxes.

I thought I could hear monks chanting and hitting gongs either quietly in a browser tab or somewhere in the distance. This made absolutely no sense at all, so I had to sleuth it down.

It was a fly caught in an empty soda can. A cool coincidence, or a sign of hearing problems? To be continued...

I ate a little "colorado candy" about 50 mins ago. That means I need to *not* participate in the family group text, so here I am. It's 2am. In 4.5 hours, the 6-8 stray cats who adopted me will start launching themselves (or each other??) at my front door, aka waking my ass up to serve breakfast.

I just saw an ad for a power-lift recliner for $290, which is extremely useful post-surgery (like, a ton of surgeries - rotator cuff, knee, hysterectomy). But...this one comes with a remote control, so kids of all ages can dump their snoring dad on the floor. Yes, it's the first thing I thought of.

Considering they hide behind masks, it's totally valid to take self-protection measures. Think...Home Alone. Large bowls of decorative marbles around the house, wasp spray (works from 25' away) next to the beds. I do this anyway. Time to up my game though - many undocumented in my neighborhood.

As someone who *used to be* middle-of-the road, I'd be delighted to vote for Booker, AOC, Mayor Pete, Warren, Rice...

Experiment: Living Car-free Without Public Transportation I don't think my transportation needs + wants are worth what a car costs in 2025, so I'm living car-free - with no buses or trains.

I moved to a co-housing neighborhood (NOT a commune) in Georgia. There is zip zero nada for public transportation here, and I don't have a car. I don't *want* a car, it really isn't worth it for me. So here's the lowdown on the why and the how. passportsonfire.substack.com/p/experiment...

If you think it's weird that people use snail slime as a face moisturizer, 2025 just told them to hold my beer. Now it's #beeftallow. BEEF TALLOW.
As someone who found out the hard way that a guest put bacon grease in her jar of coconut oil, used both for cooking and skin... NO. #CommonSense

I'm having a Beavis & Butthead moment. I did a Kohl's pickup order, self-service style. When you open the pass, it takes you to a website, pickuppass.kohls.blahblahblah - an of course my brain reads it as Pick Up Ass. I kinda hope some intern was in charge of picking that URL.

Lessons Learned from *My* Money Influencers Many actually showed me what NOT to do - which is just as valuable.

Lessons Learned from *My* Money Influencers open.substack.com/pub/passport... (Psst, I've started posting over on Substack!)

Always check your credit card offers and clip them all, you never know!
Chewy + Chase Sapphire Reserve card = $72 of my dog's kibble + fave toys for $35 + tax. Combination of $20 off my first subscription, 4-for-3 deal on toys, and a $15 back on $49 Chase offer!

I'm not sure my mom should be living alone. And here I am, 1785 miles away.

The guy who spearheads it got a few folks to buy and hold for us, just renting out to anyone for now. I'm one of three new FIRE residents, another has bought but isn't moving in right away, another is closing soon, another is renting my place for the fall while. 3-4 others are seriously circling.

EAGLE Cohousing EAGLE COHOUSING "CAMP FI EVERY DAY " ACTION ITEM: We are looking for the first 7 households to move here in 2025! The first ever official Financial Independence community residential cohousing project...

I haven't posted much about it because it sounds like I'm moving into a commune or cult. But it's really just moving to be neighbors with FIRE friends. eaglecohousing.com if you want to poke around.

In 6 hours, I'll be landing in Atlanta with 2 suitcases and a stoned little doggy in my backpack. About 90 mins later, I will enter my new house as a founding member of a co-housing community for FIRE folks. Excited. Nervous. Guilt-ridden. Exhausted. Car-less.

I did that thing again, where I find stupid little balances on Visa gift cards. This time it was under $5, which would have been a challenge to donate except we all know @Wikipedia asks for $3. Bonus: they are despised by a billionaire.

I have $350 in CapOne shopping rewards, thinking of cashing it out for a @Lowe bys gift card to buy super high toilets for my new home. I'll happily spend real money on a bidet seat, but prefer to use "found money" on a couple of cra- ...um... commodes.

Miami airport, D gates @ 1:30 pm on Superbowl Sunday. Priority Pass lounge (Turkish) at capacity, couldn't get in. No bottle fillers. 2 out of my nearest 3 charging stations were dead. Uncushioned seats. Score: 3/10.

Ordered a Lyft from Port Everglades to FLL, price came up as $23 - as it did for everyone. Then surge pricing really hit and everyone's driver canceled and switched apps to do $50+ pickups. My driver didn't cancel on us, so we gave him a $20 cash tip. Fair?

Hah, I mean I gave up badgering my mom to quit 10 years ago when she and I became roomies. We had to be more roomies than mother-daughter, and that meant respecting each other's autonomy. I have never touched those nasty things.