Sam Squared

                    Five week countdown! I start these Friday posts right after the last one ends and add to it over the week. I inadvertently published then unpublished Wednesday so a few of you got a sneak preview. Not much excitement. I've got a lot of expenses to pay for this month, including items I put on the credit card (I pay off before any interest is charged) including house insurance, my UK plane ticket, and daughter's oral surgery. While I'll get reimbursed from my medical account and the money is in the sinking account for the other expenses, it's still a hard swallow and motivation to watch my pennies.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs Groceries and household purchases were needs only with the exception of a bag of pub seasoned pretzels. Used up more Christmas baking items and made a batch of peanut butter chocolate chips oatmeal cookies, freezing half the dough to bake later, and sent my daughter home with seve...

      At least walking alone gives me some sense of peace. Desperate for real spring but settling for a taste.      I need to get my taxes done. They're going to be relatively straightforward. While I could itemize, probably not worth the hassle as likely I don't have enough deductions over the standard deduction. I have one job, interest income, and filed for property tax rebate in August separately. I'm debating completing them myself, but then worry I'll miss something       But dang, the cost has gone up with the accountant and it feels like I'm just paying for reassurance. The reality is I'm now a single filer. No second income earner, no 1099 forms to add, no business deductions. No kids in college in 2024, and medical costs were pre-tax through employer. It's another gut punch in year three. I hate the thought of checking the single box, but not even the widow fits when it comes to paying taxes anymore as he was gone all of 2024. ...

     As my life keeps changing, or transitioning, I find I need a place to capture all the thoughts. This is noodling through the keyboard type of post but happy to have your thoughts on anything I yammer on about.  Week Days and Weekends         I'm curious how folks that are retired think about weekends and the start of new weeks. Most people in my life will still have the Monday- Friday fray. My son has a varied schedule, so can work 14 days, then no work for multiple days, so he's an outlier. So is my photographer friend, who works with her clients availability at certain times of the year. There's surely going to be a lot of benefits time wise. I figure I can take advantage of free time to avoid crazy times at grocery stores, banks, post office, or other places that the workers of the world have to cram into lunch breaks, vacation days, or weekends. But, I also feel the limited structure will lead me to unproductiveness and even laziness some...

                  After today, six full weeks to retirement. Then, just two more work paychecks and I'll have nothing coming in until June 1, other than getting insurance reimbursed through my HSA for May. I'm trying not to obsess about my budget and cash flow, but the topic is there at all times swirling in my brain. It's a good motivator to keep track of where, what for, how much, and why I spend where I do. Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs With my Internet two year promotion over, it was going to be even higher ( due to price changed, taxes, and other fees🤣😭) than the jump to $95. I was able to get a better plan for $75 by contacting customer care. It's a two year rate and will save me $20 per month from what I had budgeted. Bonus, they have two years of Peacock. Even if We just use intermittently, that saves another $7.99 any month we would have used. I guess that's going to be the primary extra streaming for now.  Groceries...

        Photo by Pixabay :       None of us truly know how long we need our retirement funds to last and how the ebb and flow of life will impact even the best made plan. My parents lived to 84 and 86, respectably long lives, in their own home, without assistance, with the exception of family help with laundry and a bit of housekeeping, tasks they could have hired out had we not all helped. I feel like overall, I lead a healthier life than my parents, and barring an accident, have no real risk factors for heart or cancer. My RA and osteoarthritis are not always easy with flare-ups, but not debilitating. But, things could change. I may need assisted living, memory care, or full nursing home care before I pass away      I feel like I need to add a late life/ long term care policy to my planning. I know these get more expensive with each year, but I also don't want decades of premiums for something I may not need until much much later ...

      Nothing to do with the post, but sweetness overload.       Not a mopey post, but a coping post. My mind is full pretty much 24-7. Part is filled with worry; finances, my kids happiness and futures, my health and access to health care, the awful direction this country is heading towards. Part is filled with plans, wishes and hopes; travel, home improvements, getting a garden started, creating a backyard oasis. The last part is just day to day life admin and figuring out making the best choices for myself and being a good support to family and friends.       Part of the life admin intersects with both worry and wishes. I pay bills on time to avoid late fees. I look for better prices on services and look for ways to reduce energy and other consumption, lowering utility bills. I'm dreading what my bills will be in March with this cold snap that's becoming more than a snap. But, it motivates me to make sure I'm setting the heat low...

                The world is crazy now. I'm trying for sanity in my little corner of it, taking care of my needs and helping family and friends when I'm in a position to do so. I'm still a bit nervous about my financial picture when I have no paycheck and will need to live entirely off retirement savings, give or take a bit of side earnings. Life's sure expensive, but I'm focused on maximizing my finances without being like Scrooge. This is my summary for Friday, February 7th to Thursday, February 13th. Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs Skipped an in office trip this week, saving gas My thrifty but ample and dare I say decadent Super Bowl spread was well received. I used what we term "orphan" paper plates, napkins,  beer and wine left from other events. I did have some football napkins and serving piece's to pep it up a bit. It was just my family and a friend but still made an event from it. You never know what Dollar Tree may have. I l...

      Photo Pexel.com      I've lost some weight in the last two years. Part was just no interest in food while trying to just get through the early days. Then, living alone, meals were very simple and just enough to feel satisfied, often just eating a piece of fruit and vegetables with something like an egg and toast. When the knee surgeon requested that I lose another five between the scheduled and actual surgery day, I took it to task and lost 10. Despite limited exercise outside of the PT exercises, I kept it off during my recuperating, probably because I didn't have a good appetite with the serious meds to manage pain and swelling. The time from Thanksgiving through New Year's though was not good, and at one point I weighed in 7 pounds heavier. I've lost four, but honestly I'm still far from being in what is considered the normal weight range for my height. I can't use the excuse that it's muscle weight, because I have a lot of strength to get back....

      I've nothing to post about really, but trying to get back into a Sunday-Wednesday-Friday routine. It's one of the things I'm doing as part of my overall therapy and mental alertness as I age. Spo's Sunday morning post,  Spo Reflections on Being Older Than Usual started me down these aging thoughts this morning. I need to get a good walk, and get my balance, strength, and hip exercises done. I'm doing my ankle flex as I type. Using every opportunity to move seems more important with each year.      My oldest sibling, my brother as you've read, has been ill, hospitalized since January 18th. Finally, he broke out on Saturday, but alas, just to a care facility. It was decided his daily care needs for a while are too much to put on my SIL, even with help. It's a tough situation as he needs to heal enough to start chemo, but then that starts new challenges. He's in town so much easier for his kids, grandkids, and other family to visit. He can have a r...

              The last few weeks I was very off kilter and not posting.  I'm trying hard to wrap up work and not be all things to all people. I feel bad when I look at the new manager  as she looks positively terrified. It was, is, a huge job. After today, just 8 more full weeks...I can do it.              It feels important to take any control in my life I can. I should be able to have a certain degree of control on my finances, but we all have seen the crazy up and down swings of investments, insurance costs, groceries, and every other good we need just because big business can charge what they want, so I'm trusting nothing. My spending recap is for self accountability on how intentional I've been the last week and if I can find flaws that might help me make fiscally better decisions in the future.  This is my summary for Friday, January 31st to Thursday, February 6th. Avoiding Spending/ Sav...

      Doesn't this look serene? I'm looking forward probably too much when I can flop in my bed, mornings with coffee and free evenings with a glass of wine, and just write and write.          Photo Pexel.com      Other than my brief post yesterday about the shit show of the first weeks of the new executive branch, that became a shit show of it's own via the comments, I know I've been quiet the last few weeks. I've had a rough time of it the rest of January and the start of February, and was not fit company in person or on-line. With that political post, I was in a fighting mood, and crossed lines I don't normally cross in my comments, so unpublished the post. Then was told I must not stand by my words, so I hit the publish button again. Not my finest blogging day, taking the bait, but as I would say the same thing face to face as behind a keyboard, it seemed appropriate to keep it published.       I've always ha...

      The shit show since January 20th has been a big reason for my reclusiveness the last few weeks. Let the comments fly. Create a crisis. Lie that you resolved it. Get your sycophants to suck it all up. Rinse. Repeat...for four F' ing years.  Oh, and let's shout, "but her emails" while a foreign oligarch is raiding our private personal data with his hoard of teenagers. Let's pardon January 6th criminals, several of which immediately committed additional crimes.  I said it was going to be my only political post election post but man, it's even worse than I could have imagined.