My Tireless Retirement - Week 144

 

Happy New Year Everyone!  I want to begin this post by saying Thank You to each and every one of you who follow along with me, read my blog, leave such kind comments, Buy Me A Coffee from time to time, exchange happy mail and send me lovely and wonderful emails, cards and letters.  I am so blessed to know you and even more so that you want to spend your time with me.  A huge and heartfelt hug with loads of gratitude goes out to you.  Thank you so much.

 

Once again I began the new year debt free.  All of my bills were paid in full, I had no balances on any credit cards or my PayPal account and in 2024 I paid $0 in interest on my credit card or to PayPal.  My emergency fund remains intact and untouched, I added money to my savings account and my retirement accounts are still earning money.  I’m feeling pretty darn good about where I am at financially and more than confident I can handle whatever may come my way.

 

It was a fun week for me.  I worked all day on Friday and a few hours on Monday and Tuesday.  We got a ton of rain on Friday (super grateful it wasn’t snow) so I ended up driving to work that day.  The rain continued throughout the weekend but after that I was able to walk and ride the bus to and from work on Monday and Tuesday.  In fact, we got some much appreciated sunshine which I happily soaked up as I walked.

 

Bummer - But, Penn State played a good game 🏈

After work on Tuesday, New Year’s Eve, I met friends at a neighborhood bar and restaurant to watch Boise State take on Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.  We didn’t win, but we had a good time anyway.  Maybe we’ll have better luck next year.

 

It has been fun & tasty testing it all out! 😋

As far as my new meal plan I’ve been working on goes, I’ve tested it out and come to the conclusion that as it stands right now it’s a no go.  It makes too much food for one or even two people and it is way too much work.  So back to the drawing board I will be going to streamline and simplify.  I know a lot of you have expressed interest so I will continue to work out the kinks and keep you posted.

 

New Years Day we got snow! 😁

New Years Day and the day after were quiet and restful.  After putting away all the Christmas décor I tackled a few household chores - washed the bedding in the guest room, collected all the trash and recycling and got the big wheelie bins out to the curb for collection, dusted and vacuumed the downstairs and then I got all of the tile floors mopped.  After that I felt caught up and ready to tackle whatever comes next.

 

Nice view out my living room window watching snow fall ❆

I’m starting something new this year.  I’m assigning myself a weekly challenge for the month of January, simply as a way to enhance my quality of life.  I will share these challenges with you and let you know how I do.  I would love it if you would like to join me and share how you’ve been doing, either with your own challenge or you can use some of mine.  No pressure, of course, but it is always more fun when you can do these things with friends.

 

I had way too much fun out there ⛄

My Weekly Challenge – Take a walk outdoors three different times regardless of the weather. 

How Did I Do?  Nailed it! No problem. On New Years Day I took a long walk through my neighborhood in a snowstorm and I loved it so much.  I need to go outside and play in the snow more often.

 

I purged a tree stand & some icicle ornaments this year🎄
After 25 years I hadn't used that tree stand once & the
icicle ornaments are too big for my new smaller Christmas tree

How did your week go?  Did you celebrate on New Years Eve, stay up till midnight or did you head off to bed early?  Anyone starting to declutter around their house yet?