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This turned into another TLDR post, but I did include a "Still a Handyman" near the end.  If you want to just see that part look for that label.  But if you would like to hear about travelling across the USA this March - read on...
 
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Travelling across the USA (or: Now I'm a tour-guide)
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Well now that I am retired I am trying to use the time and...
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Tax season was busy so I haven't been on in a bit.  That being said gosh my last post was about insurance.  And this post about insurance.  That same kiddo?  Hit 2 parked cars trying to park between them yesterday.  What can I say?  Except I'm glad she's okay.  I'm glad no one was hurt. It was an ideal accident of hitting two parked cars.  I would never have tried but you know with age comes wisdom of not trying to squeeze in a spot.Oh yeah...
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One of the main reasons why nobody in real life knows I have money is because I am well-aware of how people can start to look at you like an ATM machine if I am not careful.  Often times, the people around me don't mean to do that on purpose.  It's just that everybody gets into a financial pinch once in a while, so out of desperation, they start to ask everyone they know for money, especially with those who seem to have some.
That and I don't actually think I'm rich...
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Starting a venture often requires more capital than what is currently in your bank account. A Business Loan is a helpful tool that provides the funds to buy inventory or rent a better office. However, many owners in the country fall into traps that make their debt hard to manage. This guide highlights the errors you should skip to keep your company's finances healthy.
 
Lenders have strict rules and look for specific details in your application papers. A Business Loan can...
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As quick recap, I actually moved earlier this year.  However, due to all that moving hub bub, a lot of things were put on the back burner until things finally settle down.  One of those back burner things was me switching to a new phone provider.
My old one (T-Mobile) was rather expensive.  However, it was the most reliable provider for where I was living and working at the time.  Once retired, I was finally ready to switch providers, but other things kept...
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I slept so poorly last night. I think thoughts of this morning's early arrival of the power company crew was on my mind.  Would they cut down the tree or leave it to me? Would I be out of power long or not? Would I be able to clean up the mess before taking dad out to lunch today?
I didn't think I slept AT ALL, but my Fitbit said I slept for 5 hours. It doesn't take much to mess up my sleep, believe me.
A crew of 4 arrived (maybe a little overkill, but I assume they had...
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Remember that friend of mine who wants to go camping?  The thing about him is he would tell me all kinds of things he would really like to do, but we usually don't end up doing anything about it.  In fact, I even drove 500 miles this one time, just to meet up with him and go camping, and we still ended up not doing it.
After all these years, I basically know that when he tells me something the first time, it's usually just him sharing his ideas for adventure.  However,...
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It wasn't until I cropped this photo that I noticed his little white patch showed up in this picture.  I was looking through photos (with his white patch) and had given up.  
He's still got some wild kitten energy.  I found him the other day making a game out of the toilet bowl.  He would drop his toys into the toilet and then fish them out.  *sigh*  
I'd say that we had a couple of weeks of peace on the home/emergency front.  Not...
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I have a Japanese maple that I noticed earlier this year was possibly touching the power line going to my house. It's not huge, maybe 20  to 25 feet high? It's growing directly underneath it. I spoke to the utility company and they said don't try to take it down with live power lines above, we can schedule a date with you where a crew will come and "drop the line" so I (or my tree guy) can cut the tree down.

It's just starting to leaf out now... Now if the tree were growing...
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Well, with Trump's announcement of the Strait of Hormuz being open and the war effectively over (true or not), the markets surged and my total financial assets hit over a million for the first time.  My total assets first hit 1MM in May 2024, my net worth (assets minus liabilities) hit that checkpoint in September 2024, and this is the first time that just the financial assets (disregarding the house and other property) minus liabilities totals that much.
As for going back...
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I mentioned earlier about a giant dead tree in my backyard that needed to come down.  Well, the day finally came, and for an entire morning, my backyard look like a construction zone:

The tree removal crew was very effective.  In fact, they were a little TOO effective.  There was a flower patch and a couple of bushes I wanted to keep, but they already cut it down before I could come out and tell them that.  In fact, they even accidentally chopped down a neighbor's...
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Whelp, my dog-sitting stint is over, and Violet's dad stopped by yesterday to pick her up. He told me his wife said to pay me more, so I got what I consider a very generous "tip" for my trouble.
The house felt kind of empty when she left, but truth be told, I'm glad to be able to get back to my usual routine as I'd put a lot of chores/errands to the side so as not to leave the dog alone any more than necessary. Even when I stayed home, I modified my behavior because she followed...
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As a retired educator, I want to remain a life long learner. 
There's a new studio about 25 minutes away that has classes and I've attended a couple of them. But they are expensive and basically a treat. But since I've married DH and we live in a small town, I'm on the lookout for more economical things.
I know many of us have talked about what a money saver the local library is. We live outside the city limits so I have to pay $60 a year to use the library, but it is a...
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When my fridge piles up with too much leftovers, especially perishable items, I would cook them in what I call leftover nights.  Uh, cooking is most definitely not my area of expertise.  In fact, the reason why I am blogging about it tonight is, by some miracle, it actually came out pretty good!  That doesn't always happen....
So what's on menu tonight?  Well, imagine leftover onions and tomatoes, sausages, leftover pasta sauces in jars, and ramen noodles....
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Feeling both annoyed and triumphant this morning after calling my local paper to cancel.
I really want to support local journalism, so I have stayed subscribed to my local paper (digitally) while also having digital subscriptions to the NY Times ($29/month, family edition = 4 log-ins), Wall Street Journal ($12.27/month), Washington Post (included with Amazon Prime), as well as supporting a handful of independent journalists writing through Substack.
But the local subscription...
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Almost to tax day, which (working in financial services as I do) is somewhat of a marker for busy-ness, but not as much as it was when I worked for an accounting firm or tax department.  At least most of the "administratrivia," as I call it, is over for the year.  That's all the tax forms (1099s and K-1s) that I need to send to clients and their CPAs early in the year.  The 1099s are out in January or February, but the K-1s continue to trickle in, with several coming...
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We tired of winning yet?  This latest Trump-manufactured Epstein Files distraction-of-the-month has taken me down a bit of a rabbit hole about America's oil supply chain.  For example, I learned just how speculative the gas market is, because according to the internet:
* While 20% of the world's oil supply comes out from the Strait of Hormuz, only roughly 7% is actually destined for the US.
* It takes at least a month or more for a typical oil tanker, traveling at the...
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MM(22) Feb 2026 'Gifted College Fund': $2,600 (+$5K ROTH)
MM(22) Mar 2026 'Gifted College Fund': $1,347 (+$5K ROTH)
Rent is paid through 4/30.
There are ample funds to pay May rent.  & I am feeling pretty *shrugs* about June rent.  I've accumulated ~$500 interest in DL's 'college rent fund' (that he currently has no plans to use).  So I will put the $500 and remaining funds to MM(20)'s June rent.  I think his returned deposit will cover July. ...
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So we got our tax return into the bank it was $192 where we figured it to be $522 so hopefully we will get paperwork to say why it is so low...but I guess happy that it has finally been processed since they had it for 10 plus weeks, frustrating but cant say it suprises me...will probably take a couple months for the letter to get here..so will see
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Ever had a friend who is always longing for adventures, and for some reason, they always want you to come along?  Or perhaps you are that wonderous, adventurous friend?  If so, I just hope you will understand that, well, some of us have budgets we have to adhere to.  Yeah, it really is a shame we never managed to be born as trust fund babies or win the powerball lottery.
Jokes aside, a friend of mine called me up again, asking if I wanted to go camping... again. ...
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