Shaz's journal

[shaz]

May 2022 Update

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

Mortgage - PITI 31.7% of total expenses
Home Maintenance 12.9%
Groceries 9.9%
Utilities 8.9%
Vehicles 8.3%
Gas 7.7%
Horses 7%
Personal Care 3.3%
Cats 3%

Debts = $88k remaining on the mortgage

Savings rate = 67%

Months to planned retirement - 19

EXPENSES NARRATIVE

Mortgage—This is the same every month. I also am making additional payments on the principal (which I don’t include in this category) and intend to have the mortgage paid off by the end of 2023 (earliest contemplated retirement date).

Home Maintenance—Got the septic tank pumped. This is an expected expense every few years. It sparked conversation between DH and I about ways to get out from under the expense and time involved in maintaining a house.

Vehicles—Also regular expected maintenance. It sparked conversation about selling the luxury car and replacing it with one that costs less to maintain. This is a difficult idea for DH because he is very proud of the great price he got on the car and he likes that it is the lowest-mileage car we have ever owned.

Groceries—Analysis of our groceries expenses has revealed that DH and I each go over budget in different ways. I spend too much on specialty baking ingredients (real vanilla, fancy flour, macadamia nuts, dried fruit, etc.) and DH spends on convenience foods due to his lack of cooking skills (pre-made bars at $2 per bar, almond butter, chocolate-covered almonds).

I have been trying to reduce my wish for a wide variety of fancy ingredients by reducing the range of things I bake. This is difficult for me because baking is one of my main creative outlets.

We will try to reduce DH’s buying of convenience foods by teaching him how to prepare more foods from scratch. So far he has enjoyed learning how to make overnight oats, rice in the rice cooker (he hates stirring or watching something on the stove), pork shoulder in the instapot, and bean dip. He was less thrilled with learning how to make flatbread and chocolate chip cookies. I thought the cookies would be a win because he loves to eat them but it turns out making them involves too much active participation. He is happy to pull a tray out of the oven when the timer goes off, which is nice for me because I find it annoying to have to stop whatever else I am doing just to pull out a tray.

OTHER AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Health and Fitness—I am cycling much stronger than last year (I had hardly any red blood cells at this time last year, so not much of an accomplishment) and also I am riding stronger than 2 years ago. I don’t track any numbers because I find that messes with my head and takes all the fun out of riding.

ERE projects—I started foraging for yarrow due to a post in a different thread (the foraging log perhaps?). I enjoy adding it to my salads and it helps the purchased greens stretch to more meals. I’m not sure I should call it foraging since I pick it from my flower bed but I didn’t know it was edible when I planted it so perhaps it is repurposing.

I washed and waxed and tuned up our mountain bikes. I rarely bother to wash them because as long as the drivetrain is clean-ish the dirt doesn’t actually matter. I am loaning my bike to a friend for a week and thought it might be nicer for her if it was clean. Loaning it out is causing me some anxiety but I want to support her effort to go compete at the Quarterhorse World Congress. It is the first time she has ever qualified and she was having trouble scraping money together to cover expenses. The venue is huge; you can rent a golf cart to get around but I told her it would cost a lot less to just ride a bike from her trailer to the barn. Now I am keeping my fingers crossed that my bike doesn’t get stolen or something while it is away from home. DH says it has served me well for the past quarter century and we will simply buy me a new one if this one gets stolen but I HATE getting used to new bikes and want this one to last for another quarter century.

I’m still trying to perfect my hummus recipe. The latest batch was too salty and the one before was not salty enough. I like the texture of this batch and hope I can remember how much olive oil I used.

Reducing—I got rid of another 50 or so comic books. The boxes are slowly emptying out. Goodbye, She Hulk. You made me laugh but now I must move on.

GOALS FOR NEXT MONTH

• Try taking in the armholes on a dress. I don’t know if this adjustment is as easy as it appears to be. We will see. If I mess it up too much I can wear a jacket over it which is what I have to do now anyway with the armholes being too large.
• Keep putting in bicycle miles.
• Get rid of some more comic books.
• Donate to the ReStore 3 boxes of tiles that the previous owners of our house left behind. This one is a carryover from last month.

[mountainFrugal]

I am glad you are back on the bike enjoying it and getting stronger. I am in a similar boat with cleaning our mountain bikes. I would rather use that time and water for veggies in the garden. One good bath a year at the end of the season is usually good enough with interspersed stream crossings.

[shaz]

Thanks! I don't have any stream crossings within riding distance of my house but my recollection of them is that they are generally a net neutral as far as dirt goes because what washes off in the middle gets immediately replaced by the mud on the other side of the stream. But maybe I do it wrong and at least it does freshen up the dirt.

[shaz]

I told our CEO that my husband is retiring in a year and that I will have no interest in commuting ever at all after that but that I might be willing to work for another year as a 100% remote employee.

It was interesting that his first reaction seemed to be to start thinking about his own retirement. He is 15 years older than me so it shouldn't be the first time the idea has entered his mind but it seemed like he hadn't ever considered it.

[shaz]

June 2022 Update

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

Mortgage - PITI 25.7% of total expenses
Horses 21.9%
Groceries 13.8%
Gas 7.5%
Vehicles 6.5%
Recreation 5.8%
Insurance 4.6%
Cats 2.6%
Utilities 2.5%

Debts = $84k remaining on the mortgage

Savings rate = 53%

Months to planned retirement - 18

EXPENSES NARRATIVE

Mortgage—This is the same every month. I also am making additional payments on the principal (which I don’t include in this category) and intend to have the mortgage paid off by the end of 2023.

Groceries—We still struggle with getting this under control. June was an expensive month in part because I increased our stockpile of dry/durable foods. In theory this should mean we can spend less in the future but I am not sure it works out that way. It seems like we keep buying the same amount of groceries each month even if we have more on hand already. This might be a problem of having a “set point” in our minds of how much groceries we need to buy.

Gas—Keeps creeping up even though we have curtailed almost all unnecessary driving. We haven’t been going to the reservoirs to paddleboard or taking the horses to trails as much as usual in an effort to conserve gas. This is decreasing our enjoyment of the summer and we may have to accept the expense for a few months in order to get out and do the things we like best. DH and I have been having discussions about how to minimize driving as soon as he retires and that once he retires we can probably sell the commuter car and just keep the truck for pulling the horse trailer and also doing whatever small amounts of other driving we need to do. We have been rearranging our life so that we only drive to commute to work and for recreation (trail riding with horses and paddleboarding). We do any errands such as stopping at the grocery store and picking up horse feed on the way home from work. We are practicing going to the grocery store only once every 2 weeks. Learning to plan well for that takes practice.

DH talked to his employer about working from home more often but they are very much not open to that. We keep reminding ourselves that a big motivator to have him retire as soon as possible is to eliminate his 4-day-a-week commute. My employer just approved one of our staff to move out of state and be 100% remote. This bodes well for me being approved to be 100% remote once DH retires and I can no longer commute with him. I could probably get an ADA accommodation to be 100% remote before DH retires due to lingering issues from cancer treatment, but I like helping DH drive a couple of days a week and I like getting to the gym on the days I go to the office.

Overall, gas is an ERE failure partly because of work and partly because some of our favorite recreation involves using gas to get to the trailhead or body of water.

Entertainment—Canceled Netflix.

OTHER AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Health and Fitness—DH and I have been getting out on our bikes more and more. We added in a big hill that I had been avoiding. I have to get off and push my bike up the steepest part of the hill which is emotionally difficult for me but I feel good about doing it nonetheless.

My friend returned my bike safely after borrowing it for a week.

I pushed a little too hard increasing my weight for back squats and made my knee hurt. I am backing off on that for a couple of weeks and doing kettlebell swings instead of squats. Hopefully that will set me right.

I have been struggling with side effects of cancer treatment that are potentially crippling. It is frustrating because it often seems like medical professionals are mainly interested in selling me expensive products and services or push treatments for the sole reason that my insurance will pay for them. I especially don't want to start taking medication that I would need to continue taking for the rest of my life. Let's try other things first.

Reducing—Fail. I can’t think of anything I got rid of in June.

Pasture improvements—Our efforts to remove invasive weeds by pulling them by hand are resulting in noticeable improvements. We had to pull many fewer weeds this year than in prior years. The grasses and native wildflowers are filling in nicely. I didn't do any seeding this year because it has been too dry.

[Scott 2]

Gas prices have been changing our plans as well. Running out for a one off trip feels frivolous, when I know leaving the house costs $5 minimum.


I've had luck extending groceries out to 3+ weeks, by eating in phases. Examples:

Fruit: Week 1 - fresh berries and banana. Week - 2 citrus and melon. Week 3 - frozen mango, frozen berries, and raisins.
Grain: Week 1- fresh bread, Week 2 - tortillas, Week 3 - pasta

Waving the food makes me more tolerant of cheap, shelf stable options as well. I had rainier cherries this week. So raisins next week doesn't feel like much of a sacrifice. There's definitely a quality of life consideration, that I struggle with. If I can afford fresh fruit every week, is missing out rational?


Have you tried using compression on your knees while lifting? Like a light knee sleeve or wrap? I find that often lets me lift through minor pains, especially if I break out variation in the movement or strength curve. Maybe a paused box squat will be ok. Or maybe de-loading the bottom position by using bands or chains. Or squatting with a booty band, so the glutes fire harder and prevent knee drift.

[shaz]

@scott2 thanks for the suggestions. I will try box squats this week; I should have thought of that. I'm not feeling any pain in my knee this week which is an encouraging sign.

I get produce through delivery from a local farm every 2 weeks. I like your idea about consciously eating it in phases.

I get all the eggs I can use from a neighbor. If I learn to live without milk in my coffee and without meat I could go a very long time without ever going out for groceries because I get bulk staples delivered and make a lot of foods from scratch. The things I keep thinking I need to get at the store are mostly frivolous and I should do better about realizing I don't need them. For instance, last week I bought a frozen pie crust because I wanted to make a quiche and it is difficult to make a good crust when the house is too warm. But the store bought crust wasn't all that good anyway.

[shaz]

July 2022 Update

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Horses 39.7% of total expenses
Mortgage - PITI 21.3%
Groceries 7.8%
Vehicles 6.3%
Gas 6.2%
Cats 3.5%
Clothing 2.5%
Eating out 2%
Communications 1.7%

Debts = $76k remaining on the mortgage

Savings rate = 45.5%

Months to planned retirement - 17

EXPENSES NARRATIVE
Mortgage—This is the same every month. I also am making additional payments on the principal (which I don’t include in this category) and intend to have the mortgage paid off by the end of 2023 (earliest contemplated retirement date).

Horses—We bought the year’s worth of hay, making this hopefully the most expensive month of the year when it comes to horses. We will probably pick up another 20 bales or so of a different kind of hay that (lower calorie density) that we will feed on very cold winter days when we want to give them extra food bulk but minimize the amount of extra calories. Horses generate heat through the fermentation process in their gut so feeding extra bulk can help them stay warm even if it doesn’t contain a lot of calories. It is always a very good feeling to see the barn full of hay and know we can feed the horses for another year.

Groceries and Gas—These are both probably as low as they will get while DH and I are both still employed.

Clothing—I bought an apron because I am tired of ruining shirts when I cook. I spent a few months looking for one at a thrift store but I didn’t find any so I bought one new. We bought DH a shirt and belt at a thrift store.

OTHER AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Health and Fitness—I still have some nagging knee pain but I have decided to ignore it for now and see if it clears up on its own.

ERE projects—Replaced some poorly-constructed parts of the barn using materials we had on hand from other projects.

Cannibalized my track bike to replace the seat on my mountain bike, rather than buying a new seat. I would like to put in hours on the track once I retire and have more time but for now the track bike can provide parts for the bike I actually ride.

DIY’d alterations on some office wear that I bought at the thrift store. I never previously had the confidence to do alterations myself but I decided to give it a try and am happy with how it turned out.

Reducing—Got rid of more comic books and some paperback books. I am using the books to restock a couple of little free libraries that I had noticed tend to empty out regularly. Hopefully someone is enjoying the books.

Gave away pots and pans that I wasn’t using. My cupboards are much more pleasing now that they are emptier. Luckily I have friends with offspring who are setting up their own households for the first time, so it is easy to give away household goods and know they will be used.

GOALS FROM LAST MONTH
None.

GOALS FOR NEXT MONTH

• Stop expending so much mental energy on work.
• increase hours on my bike.

[shaz]

August 2022 Update

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Mortgage - PITI 25% of total expenses
Health 15%
Vehicles 10%
Clothing 10%
Groceries 9%
Gas 6%
Personal Care 5%
Horses 4%
Household 4%

Debts = $77k remaining on the mortgage

Savings rate = 60%

Months to planned retirement - 16

EXPENSES NARRATIVE
Mortgage—This is the same every month. I also am making additional payments on the principal (which I don’t include in this category) and intend to have the mortgage paid off by the end of 2023 (earliest contemplated retirement date).

Groceries—I would still like to get this expense lower but we have at least gotten stabilized at a lower level than we were able to achieve prior to 2022.

Utilities—This was the lowest electric bill we have ever managed in this house.

Clothing—I bought clothing that I didn’t need due to feeling insecure about my professional wardrobe. Clearly the better solution would be to retire before I need new professional clothes. It’s interesting that I almost never feel insecure about my appearance outside of the office. I don’t know why I care at the office; appearance matters for politics/ridiculous meetings where everyone is trying to be dominant, but really I shouldn’t care about those things now that I have no possibility of upward mobility and also almost no possibility that I would get fired or demoted before I plan to retire. Telling myself to just get over it is not the same as getting over it but I can at least try to control my impulses to spend money on appearance.

Health—I spent a big chunk of money on some healthcare equipment. I feel some anxiety about how much it cost, but it definitely helps me manage a condition that otherwise is debilitating.I spent a year trying every other management technique suggested in the literature or that I could imagine and finally gave in and spent the $.

OTHER AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Health and Fitness—I rode my bike at least 3x per week all month. It feels good to enjoy cycling after many years of doing nothing but beat myself up for not being as strong or fast as I was when cycling was my full-time occupation.

When I look back at the progress I have made in general strength and fitness, I am amazed. A little over a year ago I could barely stand up without passing out. I strength trained at least 1x per week and 2 - 3x per week most weeks in August. I’m plateaued out with some of my gains but still steadily adding weight in the squat and deadlift.

DH and I have largely replaced meat with eggs and beans in our diet.

ERE projects—I recently realized that I haven’t bought any cleaning products other than baking soda and white vinegar in over a year. At some point I will buy a refill of our laundry soap and dish soap, but other than those I think the baking soda and vinegar can meet our cleaning needs.

Reducing—I got rid of more books and also some comic books by keeping a little free library stocked. I also found a good new home for some professional clothes that don’t really suit my current role.

GOALS FROM LAST MONTH

• Stop expending so much mental energy on work.—Success
• Increase hours on my bike.—Success

GOALS FOR NEXT MONTH

• Continue cycling at least 3x per week.
• Invite friends to our house for a meal.

[Scott 2]

I don’t know why I care at the office; appearance matters for politics/ridiculous meetings where everyone is trying to be dominant, but really I shouldn’t care about those things now that I have no possibility of upward mobility and also almost no possibility that I would get fired or demoted before I plan to retire.

16 months is almost 3000 working hours. That's a big chunk of your life. Few things get so much time. I bet doing it well, rather then waiting around for the next phase to start, will be better in retrospect. It's your last chance to do this stuff. Make it as enjoyable as possible.

[mountainFrugal]

It is a great feeling to rekindle the love of bicycle riding. I felt the same years after getting burned out racing bikes in college. Now I say to myself: "This is no longer a priority in my life, I no longer specialize in it, so relax and enjoy the wind and/or the dirt".

[shaz]

@Scott 2 thanks for that perspective. It's a little depressing to think how many hours I still have to go, but it makes me feel better about dumping effort and money into it.

@mountainFrugal it's nice to know I'm not the only one!

[shaz]

October 2022 Update

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Mortgage - PITI 31% of total expenses
Vehicles 18%
Horses 13%
Groceries 9%
Gas 8%
Household 6%
Clothing 4%
Health 4%
Communications 3%

Debts = $72k remaining on the mortgage

Savings rate = 65%

Months to planned retirement - 14

EXPENSES NARRATIVE
Mortgage—This is the same every month. I stopped making additional payments on the principal (which I don’t include in this category) in order to put more $ into stocks. Figuring out how to keep our post-retirement income in the ACA sweet spot is a challenge. For now, it seems like maximum flexibility to respond to the many unknowns comes from not tying up money in traditional IRAs or 401(k)s or in the mortgage so that I can access as much as possible without it counting as income.

OTHER AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Health and Fitness—My use of the gym at work has become sporadic due to never knowing if it will be open on a given day. I hate unpredictability in my workouts and find it to be very demotivating. I have a gym at home but most days I decide to go for a bike ride instead of using the gym. I expect bike riding to decrease as the weather gets colder and windier; I plan to shift more to using the home gym as that happens.

I have been struggling with a health condition that has come on as a side effect of cancer treatment. It is incurable and progressive. It is very discouraging and I am having trouble accepting this new reality. I’m also embarrassed about it and it is causing me to withdraw from social interactions, which doesn’t help my mental state at all. I’m used to thinking of myself as a very physically capable person, and also I have always been able to overcome obstacles by working harder. Working harder doesn’t seem likely to help with this particular problem.

ERE projects—I finally started cooking with lentils. So far so good; lentils are now in the regular recipe rotation.

DH and I have set a post-retirement goal of only driving 2x per month. Groceries will be the biggest obstacle for this but as we shift more to buying staples in bulk we are getting closer to making it work. And of course relying mainly on bulk staples also gets our grocery expenses down.

Reducing—I had gotten stalled on reducing, but I got re-energized in October and found good homes for approximately 20 books, sold some winter jackets, gave unneeded household items to a young couple who are setting up their first apartment, gave a box of petrified wood to an elementary school science teacher who is excited to use it in her classroom, and donated building materials to the ReStore.

Family—MIL has found a senior facility that she likes, can afford, and that has an opening for her in November. The monthly fee includes all of her utilities and internet. It will be much easier for her to keep track of one bill per month. It also includes 2 meals per day. She hates to cook and also has had trouble getting out to restaurants so having food provided in the same building should help her nutrition status. It will be nice to have this worry off our minds for a while.

[ertyu]

Sorry to hear about the health developments :/

[shaz]

Thanks, @ertyu. Figuring out how to arrange my life around it is a challenge right now but I expect I will get better at it over time. For example, I manage my health better on days when I do not go to the office so as of this week I have arranged to work from home most days.

[avalok]

Been reading your journal, and found it quite inspiring because of the health complications you have had, and how you've continued through them: sorry to hear about the side effects you're experiencing.

Do you also find you can only manage "reducing" in waves? I go through sporadic spurts and then long periods can pass without any action. I suppose because it's not the most enjoyable thing in the world.

[shaz]

@avalok I'm glad you get something out of my journal. I don't generally share info about my health situation but I decided to be more open about it here in case it can help others on their ERE journey. I don't know yet how I will manage healthcare/insurance without an employer but hopefully I will get it figured out.

As far as reducing, I do find that it goes in waves. I get to a point where I think I have reduced as much as I reasonably can so I stop doing it. Then one day I look around and realize there is so much more that can go. Also sometimes I get tired of trying to find good new homes for everything.

I was going strong for almost 3 years and managed to sell at least one item every week. The comic book situation interrupted that streak. Now I am more inclined to give to things away because I am so tired of making the money fort to sell. Also the items that would be easiest to sell are already gone.

It amazes me that I can reduce so much and still have so much. I never thought of myself as a particularly acquisitive person but yet things accumulated. I'm much more careful now about what I acquire because I am so aware of how much work it will be to get rid of it responsibly.

[jacob]

I was going strong for almost 3 years and managed to sell at least one item every week. The comic book situation interrupted that streak. Now I am more inclined to give to things away because I am so tired of making the money fort to sell. Also the items that would be easiest to sell are already gone.

FYI: viewtopic.php?t=6255

[avalok]

It amazes me that I can reduce so much and still have so much. I never thought of myself as a particularly acquisitive person but yet things accumulated. I'm much more careful now about what I acquire because I am so aware of how much work it will be to get rid of it responsibly.

I think this is a symptom of living in the West: try as you may, you are a magnet for stuff. It does sound you have it pretty sorted in that you're coming back to this process often so it doesn't get out of hand. Early 2020 we moved into a place and were left a lot by the previous owners because the start of COVID had shut all the charity shops. A fair amount of the stuff was a boon for us, but the majority was not. I still regret not sorting it sooner; I got rid of the last of the stuff earlier this year.

[Western Red Cedar]

It amazes me that I can reduce so much and still have so much. I never thought of myself as a particularly acquisitive person but yet things accumulated. I'm much more careful now about what I acquire because I am so aware of how much work it will be to get rid of it responsibly.

One of my first ERE mastermind projects about a year ago was decluttering. I just completed another major declutter and reorganization this month. I think the most valuable part of this isn't necessarily having a clean and organized space (although that is great), but being much more conscious and selective of what you are acquiring in the future.

I hope you continue to find ways to manage the health setbacks and stay in good spirits. Happy Thanksgiving!