You can barely see Rascal (black dog)..just his eyes reflecting the flash LOL . It's a 3 dog night most nights but Rascal has always left the bed after he thinks I am asleep and Wilbur (boxer) has taken to getting up and going to curl up with Hubby on the couch. Hubby sleeps sitting up due to health issues. Charlotte (white fur) sprawls and she's only going to be 6 months on the 18th.She was suppose to be a medium size dog like her parents but the husky is coming out in her with her LONG legs . She's as long as Rascal and Wilbur and almost as tall.
Our days have been medical appointments as much as we can squeeze in this last month on the better insurance. Medical for the 5 infections I have picked up Thanks to having strep throat and not knowing it and another medical for my surgery arm that was doing good but has locked up now on Thursday. ADD dogs out (especially Charlotte as she is still potty training lol and does NOT bark will growl and yip but no bark) and dogs in.Add to that we are looking for a house...might have found one but still looking until the day it closes. Hubby has added attending a sporting event for each of the 3 grandsons that is playing. I've been able through the years to catch at least one for each but he hasn't with working. One of the positives of being retired. Plus he will be having breakfast with his 3rd shift coworkers once a month and breakfast with die cast coworkers every 4-6 wks
Pantry is over stocked... (I do have a place I can get boxes for the 1000 plus canning jars I have full ). I have canned goods where I don't normally have them so made a list and posted it on the side of the frig of what and where and the date I put it there. We have found a menu does not work for us as we end up stretching the meal for 2-3 more meals.Good to stretch the food might also be bad to stretch is as the food isn't getting used up LOL
Money is tight as we won't get regular income for a year maybe two. Add on to needing 2 vehicles and the down payment for a house.We have a budget, it's the amount Hubby would get if he collected social security at 62. Daddy was living on his investments and in 2008 lost everything except the assets so had to live on his social security. It was not a pretty picture but he did it. He still only spends $35 a week on his groceries, eating soups mostly. My niece does his grocery shopping once a week with her own shopping as she is within 5 miles of him when she is shopping. Gives her excuse to stop in and check on him also.
I am watching as we seem to nickle and dime ourselves by going to the store...so now it goes on a post it on the microwave and WHEN we go to town for another appointment we can decide to either go get it or wait until the next trip. I pitch the store ads when they come in the mail. Don't need to think wow ...that's on sale...I can shove it somewhere .
I haven't been to the store since Dec 1st. Mom O who has been retired now going on 20 yrs said this is really good. I have to make sure the milk expiration date is at least a couple weeks out to stay out of the store.
Deciding where to put the investments is hard. I read JL Collins The Simple Path to Wealth . I used to read the Morning Star online and I have watched CNN about the stocks. Stocks is risky but treasure notes. money markets and annuities are not going to make you money for the long haul. I interviewed 4 financial advisors and picked the one closest to my decisions that does sort of want to bang his head against a wall when I bring up paying cash out of investments instead of paying interest and private mortgage insurance for 10 yrs like they suggest we do.
I decided since Hubby is clueless and wants to remain clueless (not really he just doesn't want the stress ) that we would be invested with 50/50 mix, 50 stock and 50 bonds. PLUS we were going to pull the down payment and enough money to get a new to us car (Daddy can't get in the truck) along with the taxes. I read JL Collins book The Simple path to wealth and read Frugalwoods blog about retirement. Might pay cash for the house. Then we wouldn't have to worry about a down swing (remembering 2008) and not having money to make the mortgage. We could easily live off Social Security.
Blessed Be
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We downsized from a four bedroom family home to a two bedroom, much smaller, retirement home even before we retired. We were able to pay cash for the smaller home. There is nothing in this world that feels as good as having no mortgage payment. It lets you sleep like a baby at night. Of course you have to do what is right for you.
ReplyDeleteIt also occurs to me that with your health problems, you are certainly unable to work at this point. I should think you could apply early for social security as a disabled person. You might want to look into that.
I have looked into disability. Not disabled according to the SS standards because I can garden the amount I do. I did get offered a job for 2019 tax season if I want it and I would have to take refresher classes of course. My son just told me tonight he might deploy next Dec. and if he does I will be living at his house taking care of his cats until he gets back. He actually pays me when I am taking care of his home and cats so that might be all I do since it's not close to where we live. We can pay cash for the house and we will most likely make the choice tomorrow after seeing how the mortgage and FHA 203K rehab loan works out. We have paid cash for everything for the last 8 yrs and our credit score took a hit because of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anne on the paid for house. It is awesome. Our income went to half when my husband was disabled by is brain injury. I am thankful that we had not been living n all he made so that adjustment was not very difficult. We are debt free but keep up our credit score by running all purchases through a Citibank card that gives us 2% back on everything. I subtract everything we charge from the checkbook and when the bill comes I just write the check and send it off. No stress. We find that milk keeps a good week past the date if we put it in glass containers when we open the gallon. If it starts to taste off I pour it into a green glass bottle that indicates that it is for cooking and baking. We rarely waste milk that way.
ReplyDeleteI very seldom have milk go bad, I will use it for making yogurt when it starts getting on the old side which is very few and far between since both of us has issues with low calcium levels.I also keep my milk on the bottom of the frig as that is the coldest and not the top or the door
ReplyDeleteWe have all been lied to by the dairy people because humans cannot absorb the calcium in pastured milk. Do your own research on that. I was really surprised that such a huge lie has been told for so long and they have never been called on it.
ReplyDeletedepends on where you get your research from ...
Deletehttps://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/
is against milk...
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-full-story/
In particular, these studies suggest that high calcium intake doesn’t actually appear to lower a person’s risk for osteoporosis. For example, in the large Harvard studies of male health professionals and female nurses, individuals who drank one glass of milk (or less) per week were at no greater risk of breaking a hip or forearm than were those who drank two or more glasses per week. (2, 3) When researchers combined the data from the Harvard studies with other large prospective studies, they still found no association between calcium intake and fracture risk. (4) Also, the combined results of randomized trials that compared calcium supplements with a placebo showed that calcium supplements did not protect against fractures of the hip or other bones. Moreover, there was some suggestion that calcium supplements taken without vitamin D might even increase the risk of hip fractures. A 2014 study also showed that higher milk consumption during teenage years was not associated with a lower risk of hip fracture in older adults. (27)
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-dairy-good-for-your-bones#section5
this one goes both ways.
The one thing my Daddy's doctor said was he didn't break his hip when he fell because he eats dried bean soup on a regular bases and eats his greens (though he hates them) and he does drink 2 gallons of milk a week