We attended an extended family Christmas get together and were asked to bring broccoli and green beans. I prepped the broccoli florets but left the stems at home. The gathering was about 20 people so there were a lot of stalks/stems. Tonight I made Potato Broccoli Cheddar Soup with a recipe I found on the internet, using the leftover stalks in the place of florets. Years ago I discovered that broccoli stems are edible if the tough outer skins are peeled off, and tonight I found out that broccoli stalk chunks take longer to get soft than potato chunks. The soup wasn't bad and tomorrow I may add a few more ingredients to the leftovers to jazz it up a bit.

I've spent some time reading through my old posts - the earliest date back to 2008! which is almost 20 years ago now. In my last post I mentioned that Mr. H and I were at odds with how to pursue preparing for retirement. Reading my old posts that really comes through and I'm surprised how forthcoming I was about all of our differences of opinion. Some of the posts were amusing too, like how I helped fix my car using google, or Daisy's Star Wars birthday party, or cobbled grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup out of random bits of things in the fridge (something like today's soup).

As I mentioned we've kind of coasted through this past year. Early in the year I decided I needed to get with the program and track our expenses much more closely. It was eye-opening to say the least. As of November, health insurance, medical expenses, and taxes (income tax & property tax) were 51% of our expenditures. That was - disheartening. Am I really going to care if I spend 50 cents more on a can of tomatoes? Still, tracking that closely does make you aware of how you are spending money.

We will be eligible for medicare in a couple of years, but health insurance costs (20% of expenditures) are a pain point now. Mr. H is not interested in looking at other health insurance options, and I have decided to put my energy elsewhere than in trying to talk him into this. To be fair, after his last two years of doctor visits and procedures I can understand why he would not want to change insurance plans.

Gosh, I can't believe this is still here!

First, thanks to Fiscal Fitness / Dido for figuring out how to change a password. I used that information to find my account and update my password. Usually I keep pretty good track of usernames and passwords, but - I haven't been here in quite a few years and I suppose I can forgive myself for not keeping track of them.

I see a lot of familiar names here, and I look forward to catching up.

Let's see. . . when we last met Daisy had graduated from high school, and was still living with us while working and attending college. She's a college grad with a "big girl job" (her & her friends description) - she's an auditor. Worked for a few years at a mid-size firm then took a job with the county. Lives on her own now, about 1-1/2 hours away, in an apartment with two cats.

Mr. H's business slowly decreased in size until it was not viable - that was Nov/Dec of 2023. He ended the contracts with his three remaining clients, but one asked him to stay on a bit longer and for that he was paid a substantial bonus. The client work was finished in August of 2024, and the business closed officially in October of 2024. At about the same time Mr. H discovered that he had several health problems, which meant actually going to doctors. (He'd been pretty much avoiding medical care for the entirety of our marriage, now at 30+ years.) He's had a few medical procedures between Jan of 2024 and now, and sees his doctors regularly. 

I have worked at temporary and part time jobs, off and on, interspersed with travel to help my mom who is now in her mid 80's and can't really be left alone. Mom lives with one of my sisters. I have also consistently done volunteer work since Daisy's HS graduation.

We are now in our early 60's. We were definitely at odds with how to pursue preparing for retirement. . . and that could be a whole series of posts, because I'm both annoyed and not surprised at where we are. Still, where we are is where we are. We are not in the worst shape of anyone ever - just listening to Dave Ramsey tells me that. Mr. H expected to go back to work after the business closed, and has applied for a few jobs but hasn't worked since October of 2024. We've kind of coasted through 2025 but I don't think we'll be able to do that in 2026.

I have a lot more I could & expect to say on various financial topics. Stay tuned.