Thoughtful Thursday

Thinking of my DGM today, today is the anniversary of my father's death.  I know it is hard on her and on my brother and my dad's widow.  So for all of them I pause and say a prayer for peace and happy memories.  As for myself, I just try not to think to much on it and also pray for happy memories. 

I am going to have to search for NYC airline tickets soon and get those locked down.  Then DH and I will literally concentrate on paying off our 2 credit cards and putting a couple of his paychecks aside for Oct and Nov (we don't get his pension until end of Oct and SS until end of Nov).  He is not worried, I am a little.  We should get a check for his unused sick time and a check returning our money in escrow from city house.  Maybe even some from retirement house.  It is really hot and we need rain in the Midwest.  I am usually ready for fall by the end of June.  While I am at it, I can add patience to my list of prayers!  LOL. 

I have not done it for a while, but my stop and smell the roses lately is just lounging in our meat locker cold hotel room and just accepting...don't focus on the unfortunate part of this experience and we have been enjoying fruit and salads/smoothies, cool meals.  I especially enjoy relaxing after my late but still hot walks I am now doing at 8pm.  I am loving the long days still, but noticed that last night it was pitch black at 9:15.  Tonight I am having a relative help me with my flights search (my internet is bad at hotel), so I will enjoy a visit with her after work. 

What are you doing to take care of yourself?  Hope you have a moment to relax today.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30

Money Matters

Money especially matters when you treat it with respect.  It is crazy how when I was a young adult and made twice the money I make now, I never had any.  Once I met my DH and we began sharing we realized we had some goals in common and some bad habits in common.  Having another person made me want to become more accountable and responsible.  So, we discussed our goals and I wrote down our plan to get us out of debt on a napkin early in our dating relationship, as a preparation to discuss marriage.  My DH was going to just turn it over to me, but I wanted us both to work on it.  Not just one dictating to the other - that would spell disaster.  If not sooner, then later.  So, we both have become much more about saving some and spending some.  Making some investments and eventually we have a path to retirement.  Looking back, I think that even just little daily poor decisions about money had a cumulative effect.  Similarly, making better decisions has a cumulative effect.  As a young career person, one presentation by our HR department at our Fortune 500 Insurance Company made me commit to a 401(k).  The concept of compounding interest is powerful  displayed in tables for comparison.  Today, I am all about the bucket system.  Some buckets are literally stashes of cash and some are virtual buckets online, but the idea of saving for something separately from a combined pool of money has been very helpful for me.  Little daily decisions turn into yearly decisions and that behavior becomes habit.  I have a friend I enjoy coffee with, he said that when he was growing up and learning the right way to behave, instant gratification made him consider everything as negotiable.  You are negotiating with yourself for what you value.  I relate to that a lot.  Today I can consider long term goals over instant gratification and having a little money put aside here and there is my new value.  It is NOT negotiable.  I told DH that when we pay off our retirement home later this month after our city house sells, I already have a years worth of home insurance and real estate property taxes saved up.  Then right away, I will begin saving month to month small amounts to pay 2019 amounts.  He was pretty happy when I told him our plan. 
Happy June and happy pay day everyone!

D for Debt

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/?m=1
I realized I am a letter behind.  I will catch up Monday.
Debt is a symptom.  Maybe people go into debt because they don't know anything else.  Maybe people go into debt to avoid dealing with something.  At the basic level, debt is spending more than you make.  Or, at least choosing to pay later instead of sooner. 
Speaking of debt, now my girl Chihuahua is sick.  In the last 2 months, between getting cat all her shots so she could live safely with my friend's cats for a few months and my 2 dogs being sick, I think we have spent over $1300.  All of it charged...then the usual expenses confronted in the first part of a year...taxes, continuing education, professional licenses, HOA...then the bathroom tile...I am on a strict no spending plan now.  Which means I have to work to earn...so after being up most of the night with my sick female dog, I sure did want to stay home today.  But I managed to get up and in on time.  I am glad DH has a work from home day, he can keep an eye on her.  All she did was whimper last night.  We took her to emergency vet, they ruled out anything obvious/life threatening, so we brought her home.  She has been increasingly uncomfortable last 3 days, culminating in extreme discomfort and vomiting last night. 
Also speaking of debt, the opposite of it.  Before I got home to find my little girl sick, I spent time with my dear grandmother.  She and I went through a coin collection of hers and counted it all out and catalogued it so that DH and I can liquidate it for her.  it was $70 and some change face value but included some old coins, steel pennies, some Mercury and Liberty dimes and other silver coins, like some old quarters.  She will be happy to get that done, she said she might as well do it now and enjoy a treat - I wholeheartedly agree.
How will you treat yourselves today?  I am going to say some prayers and breathe deep and go to 2nd hot yoga this week, tonight and bed at 8:30pm!  I do have a man that saw my "coming soon" house listing.  He wants to see it when we are ready to show it.  That is a little treat, even if nothing comes of it.  I realized a certain number of people going to have to see our listing before we find "the one".  Have a great Thursday!
Psalm 50:10-11 “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.”