Our 'last minute reasonable college move-in hotel' from last year was not so reasonable this year.  & we have stayed there a few times but I wasn't really excited about the hotel cost this September.  It would have worked in a pinch (far more reasonable than anything else).  But other than that...  Meh. 

MH keeps insisting this is a one-day trip and I keep insisting that we aren't 20 any more.  I gave in for this one time and I mostly regret it.  

All else being equal, would leave it at, "Well that sucked, but glad to save the money."  But as we were driving home I saw in the college parent group that the whales were putting on quite a show at the beach where we usually stay at our forever hotel.  Which is significant because we went on the most amazing whale watching (trip of a lifetime) some years ago and...  I wouldn't know because I puked the entire time on the boat.  So I am super bummed we didn't just spend that $200.  I could have watched whales.  From land! 

Probably not as relevant, but then later (during the week?) I saw that the ocean was glowing with bioluminescence.  I didn't even know that was a thing that far north.  I later saw that it is also a Bay Area thing.  Never heard of it when we lived there.  I presume it's a little extra spectacular right now, and probably more common down south.  But I don't know, this is what I presume based on pictures, social media chatter, and literally never hearing of this before.  

As to the biolumiescence, they call it the red tide.  Well that's going to the top of my bucket list.   The pictures are magical.

Anyway, the week before move-in was chaos.  MM(20) had disappeared the weekend prior, and then disappeared all day Monday.  We cornered him Monday night and figured things out (whatever he needed to buy).  It was more useful to ship things here and then move them in the car, but we were running out of time.  We scrambled and we got it done.  Move-in went as well as it could have.  At least we didn't hit any traffic.  

The short money summary:  MM spent about $450 on the bed tax, bike supplies (lock, helmet), a microwave, a wifi router, and some misc, items.  Used his $1K annual college gift, so has about $550 extra spending money for the rest of the year.  MH and I chipped in $500 for a mattress.  (If we didn't, he would have slept on the floor.)  It seemed most prudent just to order from a furniture store and have that delivered, but then the mattress arrived several days early.  As did several other things we shipped.  But we got it all figured out, and it was nice his bed was already there when he moved in.

While MH was on the phone with the mattress store for what felt like hours...  (While I bought up everything else).  MH found out he got into the Tucson film festival.  So he is going this weekend.  & had to scramble to figure all that out too.  The airfare was very reasonable (even though this ended up being very last minute) and so it was a no brainer.  But all the hotels were booked up that weekend (don't know what else is going on) and the hotel ended up being quite expensive.  We even tried to get a free timeshare stay but the place we stayed last time was booked up.  So this is going to be a  $1,000+ trip.  But this was by far the best film festival we went to and I still think it was worth it.  I am just relieved I didn't plan to go.  Would have been another $400 for me to fly.  

Then we started making plans to visit MM(20).  Time to find another reasonable hotel that we can book last minute.  Thinking maybe we could try something more "on the way" versus the "30 miles south" gem we found, that keeps raising their rates.  Back to the drawing board.  But I finally figured it out.  They have a very nice Motel 6 near the college.  It was $100+ cheaper than any other option, and it's in the college town (very convenient).   We are also going to an art installation while we are there.  Missed all the nature stuff so will go see the fake plastic stuff instead. All that came up to about $200 (hotel + excursion).  We got a $300 cash gift for our anniversary (and because MIL felt bad about the Tucson timeshare).  I wasn't necessarily planning to use that money for this trip, but it should cover most of our expenses.

Oh yeah, MM(20) left behind one piece of furniture (wouldn't fit with everything else) and forgot some minor things.   I don't even know if he will want the furniture re: small apartment.  But we just figured we'd do another trip and would be happy to go back on a less busy weekend.  I believe we abandoned this plan last year due to Tucson.  

It's nice to get to some of these things we thought we'd be able to do while MM(20) went to college in the area. 

I was thinking the other day that we succeeded this year re: vacation lifestyle.  It's my preference to do a lot of smaller trips and staycaytions, versus saving up big dollars for just one big trip.  My personality just wants to spread it out.  So I was pondering our success on this front in 2023 (after some years of failure on this front).  And duh...  DL(18) got his driver license.  So we can go and do whatever the heck we want.  That is the very obvious change that set things in motion.  We certainly took advantage of this freedom this year.  In the past, we probably just did more things with the kids.  & some of these awkward in-between (kid) years just coincided with a lot of other crap.

Note:  It's been a busy year and there's a lot I did not blog about.  We did some big concert weeks (that I never said much about) and things like that.

Edited to add:  Probably could have just done AirBnb in Tucson because it is a lower cost region.  MH realized too late.  (An Uber driver was telling him he had an inexpensive AirBnb.  Which was my "duh" moment.)  It's not top of mind because none of these vacation rentals have ever been reasonable in our state.  Making a note so that maybe this jogs my memory in the future.  

Nesting tapered off, presumably with the hot summer weather.

I then moved on to office nesting.  

Side note:  It's so funny different personalities.  A woman in our office was upgraded to her own office about a year ago?  She immediately threw a bajillion dollars on the company credit card and filled her office to the brim.  Just looking at her office stresses me out.  (Personally, she is in debt up to her eyeballs.  Probably more than anyone I have known.)  It's just fascinating to me how her entire being just screams spending money.  Not in a luxury kind of way but just in an excess kind of way.  There's been other instances where it has been extreme. 

She's very nice.  We just have polar opposite personalities, on this front.  

In contrast, I just crossed my 5-year anniversary and I had never bought a single thing for my office.  It's a little complicated.  My prior job was more of an art museum for the owners and I was mostly forbidden from peronalizing.  (So I had never accumulated any office belongings.)  There's that, and there's also, "Who the heck has the time to go shopping?"  Maybe especially my first year there.  But for the most part...  Who has time for that?

I ended up seeing an advertisement for a pretty sea scape canvas print.  I had some Kohls gift cards left from end of last year.  I usually ask for these gift cards to use to buy the kids shoes, stuff like that.  I decided I no longer have these kinds of expenses and I have these gift cards just sitting here.  So I bought myself the print.  Once I had it, I decided it would probably work better in my empty office.  I don't really have any where to put it, at home.  

Then that nesting mode kicked in, and I just got it done.  I have a couple of other larger prints arriving tomorrow.  & then I shopped around for some fake plants.

I am digging this one Etsy shop so much, I might take some inspiration from my "lots of stuff" coworker.  I could probably get some kind of plant stand and just bide my time and order things that strike a chord with me.  I can buy one plant stand (as opposed to ten plant stands).

It will be nice once I get all the pictures hung on the wall.  

For my 5-year anniversary, my employer is taking me out for an extravagant dinner.  

& yes, I could have gotten this all ordered for my office 5 years ago.  But I guess it will just be an extra 5-year treat.  I put everything on the company credit card and was delighted not to care about the cost.

Side note:  My employer is a bajillionaire that needs tax write-offs more than anything.  In a different situation I would still care about the cost.  (In most any other situation?)  

MH just told me that his sick pay was bumped up to 80 hours annually.   Which is pretty nice for a job that is only ~20 hours per week.

The timing is good because he wants to take two weeks off to work on this movie.  They always let him use his sick time for any time off because part-time employees don't have any vacation time.

He was just telling me they don't have any COVID policies at this point but I guess his location is being conservative.  & just instituting the sick pay (probably company wide) so that people can just stay home when they are sick.  Which applies to more than just COVID.  No one wants your germs.

I just wanted to jot this down because I know that I will never remember.  

Success!

Not only did I have a peaceful week.  But was able to finally redo jinxed LA trip.  Third time was the charm.  Had planned this trip originally in 2019.  Was initially supposed to be Hearst Castle, Solvang, LA.  (We skipped Solvang this time, but we made it at some point.) 

If money were no object, the central CA coast is where I would live.  It has always been my favorite place.  It's more complicated than that.  Living close to family is more important, among other things.  I don't foresee ever moving to the central coast.  But maybe some extended (weeks long) vacations during early retirement, is probably how it would realistically translate.

Writing down before I forget: Ventura was beautiful.  Never noticed it before, but it was stunning when we drove though last week. 

This was the view from our hotel room.  It's our 'forever hotel' near the college.  The price was has quintupled on the weekends, in recent years.  But weeknights can still be reasonable.

This part of the trip was particularly magical.  The sky was so clear and the moonlight was so pretty.  As we were wrapping up packing the next morning, I looked outside and just happened to spot 2 dolphins swimming by!  

My niece is working at the college this summer.  She's pre-vet, and stayed there to take care of the animals.  After Hearst castle, we met up with her.  We got to meet the kittens she was fostering (OMG) and the baby goats she is taking care of.  

Not much to say about the rest of the trip.  I holed up in the LA hotel for 3 days while MH attended the film festival.  It was over in a blink.  I guess that's how time is any more.  But I did relax and enjoyed the peace.  

We were not able to charge at the hotel and I thought that would be more challenging.  But we ended up in so much LA traffic that it added a lot of range to the car.  (Braking generates electricity.)  Because of that, we drove about 60 miles (from last charger) and ended up with 20 more miles (range) than we started with.  Got the battery up to 85%?

I still thought we'd do a quick stop on the way out (once the battery drained enough; charging is much faster on an emptier battery).  But once we guaged the traffic (hit more on the way out of LA) and re-assessed once we got out of the madness, it was an easy 2-stop drive home.  I think last time our second stop had been much shorter.   That was probably the difference with being able to start out with a full charge. 

I think the trip will end up being about $1,750.  Most of that is hotels.  About $400 for food and $70 at chargers.  1,000 miles driven.  I am not used to paying for hotels.  So, ugh.  The trip feels quite extravagant in that regard.  But we better get used to it.  MIL has been flip flopping about her timeshare (that we just want to get rid of).  So it initially sounded like maybe we could use the rest of the year.  But last MH brought it up, he said they had gone back to getting rid of it ASAP.  Which is really all good and for the best.   I want to go back to LA for New Year's (rose parade) and so it's just going to be one of those years.  I think we spent our vacation budget on the last LA trip.  

I am earmarking future gift/bonus money to offset the whole 'loss of free timeshare' thing.  I am also not interested in traveling with my kids in the future.  (Those timeshares were the best for bigger family trips.)  Just winging it for now.  Will be able to plan better with the heads up in future years.  & I just expect a completely revamped budget at some point in the future.  But with two kids in college, it's not in our plans to actually increase our vacation budget.  It's all been far more extravagant than anything I envisioned during these college years.  I really thought we'd just be more homebodies, but there's just been so many opportunities and we have the cash to take advantage.  This is the only year I can realistically get to the rose parade (re: work schedule).  While MM(20) is building rose floats.  So it's at least a 3x LA year.  

Thankfully, MH went back to work Tuesday.  & he was actually busy.  (It usually starts out pretty slow, after summer break).  & the LA hotel was slow to show up on the credit card.  So I am probably going to kick that can down the road a month and let MH's income cover that.  It's all the same in the end (as MH would roll his eyes and tell me) but I personally like slowing the money drain.  I am looking at August and I've just got the new tires and $1,000 of vacation expenses to pay off in September.  Was able to kick off medical bills and the LA hotel to be paid for in October (charged in September).  & MH's October income might cover those extras.

Spending will slow, as everyone settles back to school and work. 

I discussed with MM(20) and we are just going to send him a $1K monthly allowance for rent and groceries.  Just for simplicity, as we switch to monthly housing costs.  I was just paying quarterly (with tuition) when he lived in the dorms.  

MM(20) only spent ~$80/month on food last school year.  🙄  & he looks starved.  So I am leaning on him to spend more.  I don't know that he will spend more, but I am trying.  I will be sending him a flat $150/month for groceries. 

Why $150?  Because it makes it an even $1,000 per month, with rent.  & I presume that about doubling his grocery budget should be more than ample.

I saw a conversation in the parent group recently, about what to expect to pay for food (for kids living in apartments with kitchens).  $400 - $600 was pretty much all that anyone recommended.  😲  I just presumed that included eating out costs, but there were comments about how "this can be done if you meal plan" and stuff like that.  Still, clearly has to be some eating out costs.  MM(20) never eats out, and I expect that is most of why he keeps food costs down so low.  

There was even a comment how if you don't give your kids at least $500/month, it's not fair to roommates because obviously your kid would have to steal their roommates' food.

I often feel like I live on a different planet, and this is one of those moments.  The only relateable comment was someone who has a $250/budget for their kid who shops at Costco.  If I can get MM(20) to actually spend $150.  & I know a lot of it is that he gets a lot of free food from the girlfriend, and some free food from clubs and so one.  I expect $250/month would be a decent grocery budget for MM(20) if he didn't have the 'free food' factor. (They aren't eating ramen.  They are eating 4-course meals.  The girlfriend is quite a chef.)  Not only that, but they also take turns cooking for 2 (or more), which clearly helps to reduce their food costs.  

It will be interesting to see how this year goes.  With less roommates and me pushing him to spend more on groceries, he may spend a little more.  He doesn't have to share a kitchen and fridge with 4 other people.  That should allow for more cooking and leftovers.  More room for leftovers, if nothing else.

The question mark this year is utilities and other expenses.  Moving from an "absolutely everything is covered with rent" situation to a "nothing is covered with rent" situation.  But the utilities should be so minimal that I think I may just reimburse him twice during the school year.  & once I have a year of utility data, might just roll that into a flat monthly allowance for future years.

The school had even covered cleaning supplies, so that will be a new expense this year.   I don't know how much MM(20) will pay for laundry this year and how much he will just do laundry at the girlfriend's house.  (Laundry was always free in the dorms).  I am sure there's things we have not thought of.

I did give MM(20) his $1K college gift this year, to use towards furnishing his apartment.  Seemed the best use of this money for this school year.  In the end, he's found everything for free.  He even had a free bed/mattress at some point (that fell through).  & he found a free bike.  As of this moment, he still needs a mattress.  & he might need some kitchen stuff, depending on what the roommate brings.

MM(20) had an estimated $4K state (middle class) grant per his college.  I mentioned in a prior post that $4K was my "pulled out of my butt" estimate and didn't know what to make of it.  His grant had been $2K his first year, then $3K.  Well, it sounds like the school basically used my estimate method.  Figured he might get another $1K this year. 

In the meantime, MM(20) was out of town for the long weekend.  I cornered him when I got home from work and had him log in to check his grant.  The dollar amount went up by $4,000 this year.  What the heck!?

I had read somewhere over the summer that "the dollar amount depends on the specific school."  But I was second guessing this when DL(18) wound up with the $4K amount.  I just presumed both the kids would get the same $4K amount.  I was stunned when MM's grant came in at $7K!  

MM's expected net college costs:

$42,000 Tuition/fees**

-10,000  tax credits

-13,000  CA middle class grants

-  6,000  Scholarship 

---------

$13,000 Net cost

**I added in MM's $1K summer school class, so brings the grand total tuition to $42,000.  

The one thing that is really unclear is if MM(20) will get any further middle class grants.  The state is treating MM(20) like a senior because he started with so many AP/IB credits.  For planning purposes, I presume this is all the financial aid he will get. 

I suppose you never know how things will sort out with future scholarships and everything.  Lord knows I was surprised this year. 

At the end of the day, this grant is an extra $3,000 in MM(20)'s pocket.  I was paying his tuition from his gifted college fund.  With this news, he should end his junior year with $20K cash (gifted college fund), same as he has now.  I think technically will be pulling out ~$800 for tuition this junior year, but he will be able to make that back (in 12 months) with higher interest rates on cash account.  If there's anything left after college, this money is for him.

Edite to add:  Have been told that the college will sort out grants end of October.  Hopefully before we pay the next quarter.  It will be hard to believe until the college deducts it from MM's tuition.

Enjoying a nice bout of cooler weather.  & the clouds/sunsets that come with the cooler weather.

I got some more firm college numbers for DL(18).  Woohoo!

I've been following actual CSU college numbers (over the decades) and planning for $30K (sticker price) degrees for my kids. 

Actual cost = $30,400 at DL's specific college.  It looks like it will be closer to $32K with parking permits (over 4 years).  I am considering that as part of tuition/fees, since the parking is kind of necessary to be able to commute to the college. 

Up until this afternoon, that's all the info I had.  $32,000 degree minus $10,000 college tax credits = $22K max I expect to pay for this degree.  

It sounded likely the kids would have similar state middle class grants, but I was second guessing because I recently read it depend on the college.  & for all I know, DL(18) didn't get the paperwork in.  I don't know!  I had this number in April? when MM applied to college, but I didn't know if I'd get this number (for DL) until after I paid for DL's first year of college.  Or like 9 months later.  🙄 

But I saw the topic come up in the college parent group (MM's college) today and it looked people had real numbers.  What!?  

DL(18) got a $4K grant!   (I was able to log into his state grant account).  I am so relieved that everything went through. 

The best part is these grants are increasing every year.  Was more like $2K MM's first year.  Then $3K.  Then $4K.  

DL's expected net college costs:

$32,000 Tuition/fees

-10,000  tax credits

-16,000  CA middle class grants

---------

$6,000 Net cost

Probably minus some increased middle class grants in the future, which could easily net out this cost to $0.  

Of course, it's not quite so simple.  The tax credit thing gets complicated.  If middle class grants increase any further, then the tax credits will decrease.  & I mean, we won't even get the full $2,500 tax credit this first year.  But I feel pretty confident saying that DL will probably pay no more than $5K for his degree (if he can finish in 4 years).  

It sounds like most likely I won't get any refunds from DL's school until next year.  His tuition (full sticker price) and parking permit will be $4,000 for the spring semester.  Due end of December maybe?  Early January?  But the school will owe me this $4,000 (grant) refund, so that should be a wash.  Because of this, I've checked off DL's freshman year as done and paid for.  In my sidebar.  The $4K cash already paid should be all I need to come up with for the next 11 months.  Phew!  Feeling relieved because the money drain was pretty crazy in August/September.  Paid college x2, medical bills, last minute vacation and so on.  

The planner in me is very happy.  We plan to just cash flow DL's college expenses (with income).  I didn't think it would amount to much more than $1,500 per year.  But it's nice to have firm numbers and a more firm plan.

DL(18) is just living at home, so no other college expenses to figure out.  I mean, he's got a bigger commute now, but he is covering those expenses.