Shaz's journal

[Scott 2]

I don't know if financial assistance can be applied for proactively. I believe it is a standard portion of the medical pricing model. Nobody expects the average person can realistically afford list prices for medical care.

This is what a quick search for Cleveland clinic showed. In state resident, income tested:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/patients ... assistance

[shaz]

@Scott 2 thanks! Our whole medical system is such a complicated confusing maze that it gets tempting to stay employed just to have an employer to simplify insurance. I'm almost certain I won't do that but the temptation is there. You make a good point that I can research specific financial hardship programs before I lock myself into a healthcare system.

[mooretrees]

Shaz, I’ve been following your medical insurance journey with interest. I also struggle to figure out how to deal with insurance and it’s so so hard to get concrete answers! Another option I’ve found useful are non-profits who are set up to sign people for the ACA. We have a local one that I’ve spoken to several times. They were more useful than insurance companies or the local hospital. In the end, I decided to stay at my job, but I had the information regarding insurance that I needed. So, it might not be easy to find those non-profits, but they might be another useful source of information.

Also, your lists of what you’ve gotten rid of is so long and fun to read, great work! What’s August’s theme?

[shaz]

@mooretrees it's nice to hear from you. I've been following your struggles and haven't known what to say that wouldn't just be maddening, but I am over here wishing you well.

Thanks for the suggestion about finding a non-profit that might be able to help sort out insurance. I probably won't have anything concrete to report until the beginning of 2024 but I will plan to share developments in case they change help others.

Also thanks for the encouragement to keep reducing possessions! I'm probably doing it more slowly than anyone in the history of ever but I'm happy to keep plodding forward. The August theme is "reminders of being sick." It's an intimidating pile to tackle because it feels a bit like tempting fate.

[guitarplayer]

Hi @shaz, your comments in my journal brought me to your journal. Admire your efforts at de-cluttering, it is too easy to accumulate stuff. I like the themes of getting rid of things, like 'fragile' or 'brown'. DW and I don't own much but should still own less.

Regarding cancer, I notice you focus a lot on insurance and medical treatment. Without trying to evangelize, there are some ERE (=cheap and easy to implement on their face, but involving behavioural change which can be challenging) ways of reportedly proactively decreasing chances of cancer and fighting it once it's there. Some people on the forum like to read or listen to Dr Greger, e.g. https://nutritionfacts.org/ but more notably the book 'how not to die' and 'how not to diet', it works well for me.

Also, there are some studies on fungi with Turkey's Tale being one species as described in this touching speech. Turkey's Tale is very common, it can be found easily on decaying logs. This is anecdotal but years back DW sensed some lumps in her breast, that was before we went on the whole food plant based diet. After drinking Turkey's Tale tea for some time they were gone. Then again, it might have been anything else.

I am just putting this out there but sure you were looking into many approaches so might have come across these ones and are either implementing some of it or decided this would not work for you.

[shaz]

@guitarplayer thank you for the suggestions. I hadn't heard of Turkey's Tale previously; I will read up on it. I'm definitely interested in all of the proactive ways to minimize health risks.

I used to take health insurance for granted. It was provided by my employers and I never used it much because I had a generally healthy lifestyle and good health. Then I watched a quarter of a million dollars in medical bills roll in and now I am a bit jumpy about it. I expect I will get more relaxed again over time.

[shaz]

August 2023 Update

Savings rate = 62%
Months to planned retirement = 7

DH had lunch with one of his friends who left the workforce in December 2022. The friend said that once he decompressed, he realized he had been like the frog in a pot of water that kept gradually getting hotter until he was boiling without realizing it. DH is getting more and more eager to retire and be done with the boiling water. We have been talking a lot about our retire to. The main thing I can do at this point to prepare is keep reducing possessions in anticipation of moving into the horse trailer to travel with the horses. Also I am trying to improve my medical condition so that boondocking will be a realistic option.

One of our biggest annual expenses is hay. The cost of hay has gone up 50% since 2 years ago. Once we quit working we want to find some land with good pasture where we can feed the horses with pasture instead of hay for at least half the year. It will be easier to find the right land once we don't need to be within commuting distance of a city.

August reducing log:

~Reminder of being sick~
Bedding and bed in office
Sharps container
Clothes worn to chemo
Head scarves
Knit cap
Hospital socks
Hair products
Face masks
Medicines

~Plastic~
Food storage containers
Other storage containers
Ice/snow scrapers
Gardening boots
Hooks
Sandals (2pr)
Boot/skate dryer
Laptop
Dental floss

~Non-theme items~
Bedding
Inline skate accessories
Lingerie
Drying rack
Clothes storage
More extension cords (are they multiplying in dark corners? Wtf?)
Box of books
Throw rug
File organizer
Shirt
Socks
Scarf
Earrings
Notepad
Refrigerator magnets
Shells
Dish towel
Expired first aid supplies

I haven't thought of a reducing theme for September yet.

[mooretrees]

Maybe fall colors for a theme? I hope something strikes your fancy and suits the reducing mood.

[OutOfTheBlue]

An idea for a theme: "In the dark and in plain sight".

[shaz]

@OutOfTheBlue that is intriguing. Are you thinking things that somehow are both in the dark and in plain sight, or things that are either?

@mooretrees thanks! I hope so too because I feel like I could start losing momentum. It is a lot of work to find good homes for everything and also emotionally tiring to select things to reduce. I didn't find brown to be a very inspiring theme so not enthused about doing another color theme at the moment. But if I can't come up with something that I spires me more I will go with fall colors.

[OutOfTheBlue]

I was mostly thinking of things that are either! In the dark as with the cables that multiply in dark corners. So an invitation to dig into places not often seen. Or on the contrary, to look with new eyes at what might me obvious, but maybe overlooked ("hidden in plain sight"), like with Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The purloined letter".
I like your playful themed approach!

[shaz]

@OutOfTheBlue "In the Dark" sounds good for September. I have some containers and also my tack room in the barn that I have been putting off sorting through. The worst part about those is I can't blame anyone else for any of that excess. Oh my weakness for pretty tack.

[Veronica]

Wow, congratulations on being so close to realizing your retirement dream @shaz.

In another life, I would have loved the idea of traveling around with horses haha. But I sort of jinxed myself by learning a lot of skills which tend to bind me to a city center. But maybe my version would be a tesla with autopilot and my dog hanging out in the backseat? IDK, could be fun to just travel around to a new city every day, letting the autopilot take me all around the country. And we would get to see so many places!

[shaz]

@Veronica the autopilot plan sounds like a fun way to explore a lot of different places. I like exploring; if my horses would fit in a Tesla I might try that.

[guitarplayer]

@guitarplayer thank you for the suggestions. I hadn't heard of Turkey's Tale previously; I will read up on it. I'm definitely interested in all of the proactive ways to minimize health risks.

I found some today and having a tea with it now.

[shaz]

@guitarplayer I have been looking for Turkey's Tail but haven't seen any yet. I've never foraged for mushrooms so maybe I'm just not any good at it.

[shaz]

September 2023 Update

Savings rate: 55%
Months to planned retirement: 6

We bought our hay for the year in September, making it hopefully the most expensive month of the year. The price of hay was up 50% over last year.

We packed the paddleboards away a couple of weeks earlier than most years because I was developing a repetitive use injury in my wrist. The real problem is using a keyboard too much for work but I can't pack that away until Spring.

DH and the horses and I got in some really nice ~5 hour rides in the national forest exploring game trails and enjoying the aspen going to gold. It's nice to be healthy enough to enjoy long days in the saddle.

I have been doing a lot of internal work in recent months. I don't want to go into detail but wanted to note it here in case I need the reminder. I think I am better prepared to deal with my family in a way that won't be destructive to me (fingers crossed).

I've started building a berm on the west side of our property that I plan to plant with bushes as a windbreak. I probably won't start planting until spring because there is still a lot of building up to be done. I'm using composted horse manure to build it. Hopefully once the berm is built and planted it will give me a nice sheltered down wind microclimate.

I have my next CT scan in a little over 3 weeks and I can feel the anxiety building up. Overall I think I am regaining emotional and mental equilibrium along with building back up physically but scanxiety is still a thing.

~Reducing Log~

Theme: In the Dark
Tie rings
Cross ties
Horse boots
Blanket
Candy molds
Skewers
Tea ball
Duplicate tools
Colored pencils
Boots
Drinking glasses
Rope
Bucket and tack hangers
Saddle blanket
Horse brush
Lead rope
Bell boots
Trailer ties
Fencing supplies
Various scoops
Outdated training manuals
Padfolio

Off-theme:
Spatulas
Weird ceramic jar
Duplicate baking supplies
Plastic food storage
DH yearbooks

[shaz]

October 2023 Update

Savings rate: 63%
Months to planned retirement: 5? 6? DH is unsure whether he wants to retire in March or April and I will be following his lead on this unless he tries to push it out a whole year.

My end-of-paid-employment date is quickly approaching. I don't have the kind of detailed plans I have read about in other journals. My plan is to decompress, work on health and fitness, and continue preparing to take advantage of any great opportunities that fit my WOG.

For a long time I've dreamed about moving into the horse trailer and traveling full time with the horses. That isn't something I can realistically do until most of our cats pass, probably a few years from now. Also I don't know if it is realistic given my post-cancer health complications. But I will keep preparing as if it could happen because everything I do to prepare for that will also prepare me to take advantage of other opportunities that might come my way.

It seems like a waste of time to make very specific plans. There are too many unknowns and I don't want to lock myself into considering only one possible future.

In other news, I've used up all of my available berm-building material. That project is done until next year unless I somehow get my hands on more dirt. I did divide some of my pollinator-friendly plants and add them to the mini-berm. I want to dig some swales for more efficient use of rainwater but the digging probably won't begin until after retirement. Also I add a wheelbarrow load of horse poop to the compost pile each day so I should have a generous supply of new compost to add to the berm in the spring.

~Reducing log~

Definitely losing momentum here. It might be time to regroup a bit and get used to the new reduced amount of possessions before I can see what else can go.

(October)
Wedding photos (25% of the total so still a long way to go)
Coffee mugs
Stash of paper bags
Fancy gift bags (I keep thinking I have purged all of them and then I find more)
Coasters
Books
2 bookcases
Garment bag
Hangers
Milk crates

(Anti-reducing)
Obtained a NordicTrack rower. It was free due to being broken; fixing it took a couple of hours of work but now it is completely functional. It takes up a lot of space but I had made a deal with DH that he could bring a rower into the house if we got rid of the guest bed.

[theanimal]

How’s the ongoing decluttering going? Any more thoughts given to what you want to do when you and your DH finish work? Only 2 months left!

[mooretrees]

Another person interested in your decluttering journey! I’m still decluttering even in our tiny school bus. Also, what thoughts and feelings are you both experiencing as you wind down your working life?