Retire@50

Got a free Icy Hot sample from WalMart in the mail this week.

Went to WalMart this morning and got the following for free

2 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats cereal - had $2/1 coupons. The cereal cost $1.97 so .06 overage. This will be given to brother for xmas

2 Wellness patches, (similar to Icy Hot) .97 cents each. I had 2 $1/1 coupons so again .06 cents overage.

1 Icy Hot patch. $1.00 I had $1/1 coupon so free.

I got Adidas deodorant which will be FAR and given to brother for xmas.

I got a 10 pack of Orville Redenbacher individual popcorn with will also be FAR.

I got another 4 cans of the Muir Glen tomatoes for .24 cents each. 4 coupons $1/1 and the original cost was $1.24 each.

Some more quotes from the $600 a year book.

"When we undertook to keep house on the small income of six hundred a year, i knew that it would require the strictest economy in order to make our expenses come within that sum, and so, from the beginning, I kept a close account of everything we bought. At starting we had this advantage,--and I mention it here for the benefit of the great family of young housekeepers who, like ourselves, must make the most of a little, Arthur had saved a hundred dollars before we were married, and with this little capital he laid in the following supplies to begin with: a barrel of light-brown sugar, five tons of coal, a pot of lard, ten bushels of winter potatoes, a box of brown soap, and a firkin of good butter. With these supplies we were able to start fairly, and, by my good management, I contrived to keep ahead. I soon ascertained that we were able to consume about two pounds of sugar a week, and in my weekly settlements I was careful to charge myself with that amount; also for the potatoes and other articles; these sums being laid aside, week by week, until, when the original supplies were exhausted, I had enough saved to buy more. By thus purchasing by wholesale I saved many dollars, in the year's expenses. But the accounts must be kept, and these amounts reserved, just as conscientiously as if the articles had
been purchased every week; else this plan of wholesale supply will prove a positive disadvantage to the housekeeper, by creating the impression that there is a surplus of money in the treasury. In the beginning I laid the following plans, which at once furnished me with the key to my future operations. The house-rent was reserved first, and that left me just $600, which, divided by fifty-two, gave me $ 11.54 for my weekly expenses.

Our coal for the year-- five tons,at $7 each - cost $ 35, or a fraction over sixty-seven cents a week; -and this also I deducted and laid aside, together with the other reserves, for sugar, potatoes, butter, lard, and soap. We had laid in ten bushels of potatoes at fifty cents per bushel, and as we used but one peck a week, they cost only twelve and a half cents. The lard, in these hard times, had cost eighteen cents a pound, and we used, on an average, a half-pound every week; this was nine cents more. Then the butter -three pounds at thirty cents -came to ninety cents; brown soap cost ten cents, and about three quarters of a pound sufficed for all the wants of the week, including washing. I know I saved at least a quarter pound of soap each week by my plan of always cutting up a large quantity of it into pieces of convenient size, and spreading them out in the attic to harden well. A piece of soap thus hardened will not melt away in hot water as rapidly as a freshly cut one is sure to do. Well, by the time I had prepared my list of weekly expenses it stood somewhat as follows: * At the date of which we are writing, when we really began our housekeeping, - -1860,- prices'of provisions were not quite so high as we have here stated; but by the time we came to lay in our second or third supplies they had risen much higher. Intending these rules to be some guide even in these times, we have therefore given prices to correspond more nearly with subsequent and present rates, taking a medium between the lowest former prices and the extremes which prevailed during the war.

Coal . . . . . . . $ 0.67 Potatoes . . . . . . .. O.12 Lard . . . . . . . . 0.09
Butter . . .. . 0.90
Soap . . .07
Two pounds Sugar, at $ 0.13 . . 0.26 Girl's Wages .. 1.50

Total, . $3.62

When this sum was deducted from the grand total of $ 11.54, it left me just $ 7.92 for the remaining household expenses. Of these my account book furnished me with the following list, for one week:-

Wheat Flour, twelve pounds . . . . $0.30 One dozen Eggs 0.25
Half-pound Coffee . . . . 25
Eighth pound Tea .0.15
Meat or a Substitute, $ 0.25 per day . . 1.75
Milk, one quart per day at $ 0.07 - 0.49 Salt, Rice, Indian Meal, Vinegar, Spice, Lights, &c. 1.00
Occasional Expenses, such as Brooms, Brushes, &c. 0.50

Total, . $ 4.69

I was thus in possession of $3.23, as a, reserve fund for clothing and other incidentals. Allowing seventy-three cents of this every week for extras that might be needed in the house, we had at least $125 per annum for our clothing; and with careful management we were able to dress ourselves very genteelly on that Amount. For myself, a few good dresses were better than many poor ones, and I have always found it the cheapest to buy good material, even if the first cost is rather\greater, than to get a coarse or thin article, which will last but a single season. I do not mean by this, however, that I bought expensive or extravagant dresses, or showy or costly shawls and cloaks. One dress of a season, of alpaca, cashmere, or all-wool delaine, cost about $ 12, including mak- ing and trimming; for I could sew it entirely myself, merely pta:ing a dressmaker to cut and fit it for me, at a cost of twenty-five cents. For summer, a nice barege, or some similar mate- rial, could be had for about $ 6, and a calico for $ 2 more"

I love reading old home economics book. They always seem almost current. The things they talk about are high prices, inflation and how to make the most of whatever they have.

I found this one many years ago in our library but wasn't able to check it out again. It may be in a special section now. It was written in 1865. It's called "Six Hundred Dollars a Year A Wife's Effort at Low Living Under High Prices" It doesn't say her name though. There's a website where this book is stored now and I'm re-reading it there.

http://www.letrs.indiana.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=wright2;idno=wright2-2235

Some highlights so far

The banks were paying 5% interest which was thought to be measly.

"My husband says that oil is to become a greater staple than cotton or coal. People are getting to use it for everything; he is half inclined to think they will take to drinking it some day."

The neighbor's wife started investing in oil stocks. "The furor of a female stock-speculator was an entire novelty. My husband and myself often talked over the unnatural interest which Mrs. Wilson manifested in such things, and he was not slow in predicting some kind of disappointment." Their servant girl also invested in stocks. Of course there was a downturn and they all lost thier money except for the author and her husband. Thus showing how prudent they are

They had a nice house which they rented for $200 a year. Since rents were going up they called their landloard and took out a 5 year lease to lock in the price.

It had parlor and dining room, large kitches, a shed for wash-house and summer cooking, 3 good chambers upstairs with bath and 2 attics. They had a garden in the backyard.

She furnished the entire house at the time of their marriage with a $700 dollar inheritance.

PARLOR FURNITURE.
Forty yards Tapestry Carpet, @ 1.00 .40.00
Walnut Hair-Cloth Sofa . . .. . . 30.00 Four Walnut Chairs, at $ 3.00 12.00 Walnut Centre-Table 5.00
Cloth Cover . . .. . . . 2.00
Small Pier Table with Marble Top . . . .. 8.00
Piano and Stool 200.00
Two Window-Shades of White Linen . . . . 2.00

Total, $299.00

FURNITURE FOR THREE CHAMBERS.
Seventy yards Ingrain Carpet, at $ 0.75 . . . . 52.50
Three Cottage-Sets, at $40 each . 120.00
Beds and Bedding . . . . . . . 50.00 Crockery Ware . .6.00
Muslin Curtains . . 3.00

Total, $231.50

DINING-ROOiM.

Twenty yards Carpet, at $0.75 . $15 00
A Good Second-Hand Table . 5.00
Six Cane-Seat Chairs, at $1.50 . . 9.00 Cutlery . . . . . 10.00
Stone-China Dinner Set . . . . . . 10.00 Tea Set, white French China . . 5.00
Window-Shades . . . .. 1.00

Total, $ 55.00

Kitchen Furniture, and Cooking Utensils . . . $30.00
Hall Furniture, and Stair Carpet .. . . 30.00 $60.00

Total cost of House Furniture . $ 658.50

This left me just $ 41.50 for table-linen, sheets, pil- low-cases, and towels; which was little enough, it --is true, but as muslin was cheap ,then, it bought me a dozen sheets, a dozen pillow-cases, five table-cloths, a dozen napkins, a dozen fine huckaback towels, a dozen crash ones for kitchen use, and left me some twelve dollars for sundry knicknacks, such as brushes and combs, waiters, dust-brushes, and lamps.

More Later......................

I finished reading the library book Retire on Less Than You Think by Fred Brock. Finance. Very good

I finished reading my book White Hot by Carla Neggers. Romance. OK

I'm reading a book called The Margin of Happiness The Reward of Thrift by Thetta Quay Franks. It was written in 1917

"Time, money, and health add to living a margin of happiness. The more time and money on can reasonably save, and the more perfect the health, the wider the margin of happiness."

Good quote. After I retire I will have a lot of time to spend as I please. I hope to spend some of that time on improving my overall health. After my living expenses are paid I will have $400 a month as my margin of happiness. This is the money that I have set aside for all other expenses after basic living expenses.

This money will go towards items such as:

books
jigsaw puzzles
miniature supplies
garden supplies
oil changes
clothes
haircuts
household do-dads
movies
outings with nieces
car registrations
classes

This includes all the little things that make life more enjoyable and is the part of your money that gives you the most enjoyment. I don't get much enjoyment paying utility bills, but it has to be done or I would be miserable thru freezing etc. I do get enjoyment in going to a movie with friends or reading a good book and enjoy spending money on those things.

The difference between paying all your living expenses/bills and the amount of your income is you margin of happines. The margin can be small or large dependinig on your wants. $400 to me is a lot and should more than cover my monthly wants.

In the book the author gives some examples of a low cost balanced meal served at a restaurant.

Tomate Soup .05 cents for 1 cup
Macaroni baked with chees .05 cents for 3 heaping tablespoons
Ice Cream .05 cents for 2 heaping tablespoons
Whole Wheat Bread with butter 2 slices included in the meal.

.15 cents for the meal. I'm not sure how nutritious it is.

She then gives an example of a high cost meal

Tomate Soup .05 cents for 1 cup
Roasted Beef .20 cents 3.5 oz
Creamed Spinach with egg .05 cents for a heaping tablespoon
Ginger Bread .04 cents for 2 oz
Coffee .04 cents for 1 cup
Whole Wheat Bread with butter 2 slices included in the meal.

Cost for the meal is .38 cents

Finished reading the library book Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. Supernatural. Excellent.

Finished reading my book The Hollow by Nora Roberts. Romance. Excellent. 2nd book in the series. Love the series but now I have to wait till December for the 3rd one to come out.

Went to Walmart Tuesday and found some good bargains.

22 oz can Bush's grilling beans 1.25 - $1 coupon = .25 cents - got 2 cans
14.5 oz can Muir Glen diced tomatoes 1.25 - $1 coupon = .25 cents - got 3 cans
1 14.5 oz box Ronzoni pasta 1.50 - $1 coupon = .50 cents

2 Toby Keith 35 Greatest Hits CDs for 12.99 price match with Kmart ad. Saved $1 plus tax each

Got 2 geraniums for Mother's day.

Also got 2nd book in Nora Roberts trilogy.

I picked up a copy of All You magazine. It had tons of really good coupons. It also had a survey in the front that if you fill in and mail to the company they will send you $10

If you buy a $50 GC at either Sears or Kmart before May 11 you get an extra $10.

Finished reading the library book Wife for Hire by Janet Evanovich. Romance. Good

Finished reading the library book Thrifting into a Debt-Free, Carefree Lifestyle by M.R. Hartt. Finance. Ok not a lot of information.

Finished reading my book Up Close and Dangerous by Linda Howard. Romance. Excellent. Love this author.

Finished re-reading my book Saving Money Any Way You Can by Mike Yorkey. Finance. This is pretty good.

King Soopers is allowing customers to buy Gift cards in increments of $300 (up to $1200) and get 10% more. So you buy a card for $300 and the store puts $330 on the card. There are no experation dates on the cards or fees.

I purchased $1200 worth and recieved 4 cards with $330 each for a total of $1320value and my cost was $1200. I used my credit card for this and will get 1% back from them in cash. So I made 11% on my $1200. This is about a years worth of groceries for me. But I can also use these King Sooper cards to purchase other gift cards that they sell in the store, such as book stores, restaurants, retail stores etc.

I don't think you can beat a safe 11% return on your money from anywhere else. I will pay the credit card off with my savings which were earning 3.05%. I did have a problem paying with the credit card, since it was such a large amount the fraud division kicked it out. I had to call the CC company and get it approved first and then I was able to make the purchase. So if you want to do this you might call your CC company first.

I bought my groceries using one of the cards. Groceries this week were less than $5. I got free 1 lb mini peeled carrots, free cherry tomatoes and free bagged coleslaw. If you are on their mailing list King Soopers sends you coupons about once a month. This month I got a $6 off a $60 purchase, which is very difficult for me to use, since you can't buy gift cards, a lot of times I give these kinds of coupons to my parents. But I also get coupons like .65 cents off carrots, or $1.50 off produce when you buy $5, or $1.50 off dairy when you buy $7. Very good coupons.

I got my stimulus rebate check deposited on Friday. It's just going to savings.

I got two free samples in the mail this week. A box of GM Fiber One cereal and a bottle of Gillete Body Wash.

Found a penny at the library yesterday and picked it up - baselle

I went to two garage sales yesterday. I was late so slim pickings but I did get a brand new 3 roll package of xmas paper. Green foil designs - very pretty for .50 cents.

Finished reading the library book A Slice of Organic Life by Sheherazade Goldsmith. Good.

I also read my book Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts. Romance. Excellent. I love her books especially her dialog. It is so funny and real.

100 days till retirement

I am a magazine junkie. I love to read magazines but don't do it as often as I would like because of lack of time. Once I retire I plan to do a lot more. Library magazines of course I got a list from the library of all the ones I want to read each month/quarter etc.

ARCHAEOLOGY
BACKWOODS HOME MAGAZINE
CONSUMER REPORTS
COUNTRY
DISCOVER
DR ANDREW WEILS SELF HEALING NEWSLETTER
E /ENVIRONMENTAL MAGAZINE
FAMILY CIRCLE
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
KIPLINGERS PERSONAL FINANCE
MONEY
MOTHER EARTH NEWS
REAL SIMPLE
SMART MONEY
SMITHSONIAN
UTNE READER
WOMANS DAY

Finished reading the library book Dead Time by Stephen White. Mystery. Very good.

Sunday shopping got a free Zone bar at grocery store. Reciept says saved $30.48 and spent $39.30 saved 44%. Mostly because I stocked up on TP. $12 worth.

Went to Walgreens and got 2 full size Lady's Speed Stick deodorants for taxes. .15 cents.

Finished reading my book An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James. Romance. Very good.

I went to Staples for ink today. I got 2 of each color, black, red, blue and yellow. I had a coupon for 12% off the entire purchase for customer appreciation week. So I saved $15 there. I also signed up for their reward program which will save another $11.

Walked with mom outside and it was freezing. It started out about 39 degrees but by the time we finished walking it was snowing. Then later on today it got warmer again and blue skies. Weird Colorado weather.

When did the meaning of the word retirement change? My dad was talking to someone the other day and they asked what he did. He said he was retired. Then they asked him if he worked part time. Well no, then he would be working, not retired. I get that question a lot when I tell people I plan to retire. They always ask if I will be working part time or if I will get another job. So when did the meaning of the word retire change from not working to working part time?

I finished reading the library book Mona Lisa Craving by Sunny. Supernatural/Romance. Very good.

I bought $5000 in Treasury I bonds today.

You can read about why at this link

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2008-04-21-inflation-adjusted-bonds_N.htm

Basically they are an inflation hedge and I'm using money that I don't forsee needing for at least a year and probably not for many years.

I will make 4.28 between now and Oct after which I will make 6.06%. No taxes until I cash them in and no State taxes ever.

Lot's of articles on food rationing and inflation in the news right now. People are doomed to repeat the past. This is the same cycle from the 70's. We all made it thru then, we'll make it this time too. I know gloom and doom sell, but we need some perspective. We get regressions every few years, then we get good times. If you only pay attention to the news you would think we are constantly in a state of crises. That the world as we know it is going to end.

Yeah it is, just look at your own life. The world is completely different than it was in the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s. So what? It didn't end, it's just different you adjust and move on. Some things are better, some things not. A lot depends on your attitude. I want to be prudent and save money, food etc for bad times. But I don't want to go overboard and become a hoarder or be constantly depressed because - hey! the world's going to end

Finished reading my book Dawn's Awakening by Lora Leigh. Romance. Very good.

My dad finally called King Soopers/Kroger to check on senior discounts associated with their card. They told him that's a rumor that's been going around and is not true. But they also told him that the rumor about getting 10% more if you buy grocery gift cards with your stimulus rebate check is true. So when you get your check if you use it to buy their grocery gift cards they will give you 10% more. Up to $120 for a couple who get $600 each. Good deal. If you planned to save your rebate check then every week you use the gift card to buy groceries, put that money in savings.

Finished reading my book The Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing. Back to the Land. Very good.

We had our FVO this weekend which is when we put our code out to the public. Normally this is supposed to take 1 - 2 hours. It took 7 1/2 hours. My part only took the expected 1 hour but because I'm the so called 'expert' I had to stay on and work everyone else's issues. The biggest problem was the idiot we had doing the installs. We all knew he couldn't do this after 6 months of doing it 3 or 4 times a week and failing everytime. But management is still making excuses for him. Anyways he didn't install half the code and made typo's in the other half and it took time to figure out all the problems. I sat here for 7 1/2 hours with one bathroom break - no lunch and no dinner. When we were finally done I stood up and almost fell over. I was so stiff from sitting here all day. Not good. I still feel like someone beat me today.

Yesterday there was a local Antique show at the high school. $5 admittance and $5 for an appraisal of one item. Mom and I went and the show was one of the best we've seen in a long time. Real antiques, not just collector crap from the last 30 years. Unfortunately the jewelry appraiser didn't show so I wasn't able to get my grandma's old jewelry set of necklace, bracelets and screw on earrings appraised. I did find a crystal sugar shaker for my mom for mother's day for $18.50.

Finished reading the library book Green Living by the editors of E magazine. Good.

I also finished 2 of my books. Predatory Game by Christine Feehan and Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole. Supernatural/Romance. Both were excellent.

had to walk at Walmart on Wednesday because of snow. Found 4 boxes of Pop Weaver microwave popcorn for .75 cents each. Each box has 4 bags. That's a good price.

My mom met a woman the other day who had quit working for my company recently. Mom said she was telling the exact same stories I tell. I didn't know her but it's interesting to hear other people are frustrated by the same things you are. One of the people in my group is working on her resume. So I expect several people to leave in the next year or so.

Basically the issue is too much work and not enough time. On top of that the company has a policy to outsource 50% of the jobs. But they don't hire people who have the skills to do the work. So not only do you have a serious language barrier, and not only do you have to train them on the product, you also have to train them on test skills. The company doesn't expect these people to be productive for 3 years. Insane. No American would be allowed 3 years to come up to speed on a job. And then to make the situation even worse they decided offshore people are limited in they types of work they can do so the difficult stuff is left to assign to a smaller and smaller group of onshore staff. And to make matters even harder they added about 3 times as much overhead to the job thru metrics reporting to management and added twice the number of releases to complete during the year, even though we had trouble completing the 3 releases we had previously. Basically they've made it impossible to succeed at your job. You can do a passable, cover the basics job, but you can't do a good job.

I have to put the product out to the field this weekend so basically working several hours tomorrow. But the good news is this is probably the last time I will have to do this. I hope to be retired before the next one

I finished reading the library book Unto the Breach by John Ringo. Adventure. Good

I also finished A Deeper Blue by John Ringo. Adventure. Also good

To me one of the weirdest questions I get ask when I talk about early retirement is "What will you do?" There are so many hundreds of things to do I can't imagine not having something to do. My parents say they are busier in retirement than they ever were while working.

Here's a list of some of the things I plan to do.

I love to read and there is never enough time to read all the books I would like. The last few years I've read mostly fiction since I have a hard time concentrating on harder stuff with work junk constantly going thru my mind. So along with reading more fiction I want to go back to some of my other interests. I used to read a lot of biographies, history, how to, archaology and nature books.

I want to learn how to cook better and more heatly. My health is going to be a major focus for me in retirement. I want to do more reading/learning about it. I want to eat better, shop better, exercize more. Take charge and try to eliminate some of my health problems. Many of which are caused by constant stress.

I would like to learn to container garden. I've made a couple of experiments with this, but plan to do much more.

One of my hobbies is creating miniature rooms. I plan to spend much more time on that.

I like to do jigsaw puzzles.

I want to go to farmer's markets, garage sales and thrift stores. Things I can do now, but don't very often because of lack of time.

I plan to spend much more time with family and friends.

I plan to spend a lot time relaxing and paying more attention to my life.

I may go back to school and take classes in subjects that interest me.

I plan to spend more time on the internet, learning/researching.

I plan to do whatever interests me.

I've been reading my book First Course in Home Making. This is classroom book on Home Ec written in 1941. Very interestng. For example they have a family food budget.

If the Salary is from $1200.00 to $1800.00 a year and the family size is 5 the average to spend per day is .35 cents apiece. Per month is $52.50 for the whole family

If the family size is 2 for the same salary then you can spend .50 cents a day per person.

They have a family budget based on an income of $150 a month and 5 people

Savings is first - $10
Food - $55
Shelter - $35
Clothing - $25
Operating - $15
Advancement - $10

Interesting stuff.

I didn't notice I had 500 blogs until someone commented on it - thanks.

Since I stocked up on groceries last week, this week only spent $6.53. Got 2 64 oz bottles of Welches Grape juice for free with coupons. Milk went up from $2.00 per half gallon to $2.29 - 15% increase.

I got my haircut at Great Clips they had a coupon for $6.99. Normal price is $12 so a very good coupon.

I'm starting to count the weeks till retirement. My estimate is I will retire Aug 8 unless someone really ticks me off, in which case i might leave earlier So 16 more weeks.

Finihsed reading my book Simple Prosperity by David Wann. Anti-Consumerism. Overall this was good and had some good information. I agree we Americans are wasteful and complacent and could be more efficient with our resources. I just don't like the knee-jerk liberal phrases and anti-americanism so many of these books spout. Europe does everything better than us. We are too religious as a country, blah-blah-blah. Humans are the root of all evil and white men are the most egregious of them all.

Finished the library book Kildar by John Ringo. Adventure. Good.

Since I won't have DirectTV any longer I will need a converter box as of February 2009 to recieve Network stations. I went to www.dtv2009.gov and applied for two $40 coupons off a Converter Box. Hopefully some stores will start having sales for these so it's free or very cheap. Suppoed to cost between $40 and $70. At least I won't have to pay the full cost. I only have one TV so will give the second coupon to my brother. You can apply for two coupons.

Finished reading my book On the Loose by Tara Janzen. Romance. Good. Not as good as some of others but still good.

This was an excellent week to stock up at King Soopers. I spent #37.67 and saved $63.73.

1 lb hamburger $1 - got 5 lbs

Fresh Express salad - BOGO

Radishes - BOGO

Nature Sweet cocktail tomatoes - BOGO

Baby carrots 50% off cost $1 plus had coupon for .65 cents off so only .35 cents

3 lb bag of apples - BOGO 6 lbs for $4.00 so about .66 cents a lb.

15 oz Country Crock spread .98 cents each. got 3 - normally $2.59 plus I had a coupon for $1.50 off dairy products, so only 1.44 for 3 or .48 cents

Free Zone bar $1 - $1 coupon

4 pack Cottonelle TP on sale $1 - .25 cent coupon doubled. price = .50 cents - purchased 2 packages

3 single serve Stouffer's lasagna at $2.43 each - $1.00 stouffer's coupon and - $1.50 coupon off frozen foods = $4.97 or $1.66 each.

King Soopers had a Mega Deal sale where you purchase 10 partipating items and they give you $5.00 back. I got the following.

3 jars French's mustard $1.00 each - $.50 cent coupons doubled = all 3 free

2 packages Betty Crocker sugar cookies mix. $1.50 - .50 cent coupons doubled = .50 cents each.

1 package Keebler fudge cookies - $1.50 - .50 cent coupon doubled = .50 cents

1 package Texas Toast - $2.00 - minus $1.00 coupon = $1.00

3 bottles 64 oz Welches grape juice - $2.50 - minus $1.00 coupons = $1.50 each

1 package Eggo Waffles - $2.00 minus .50 cents doubled = $1.00

Total spent for the 10 items = $8 - $5 for mega deal = $3 after coupons

After that great deal I went to Walgreens where I needed to use up $7 in Register Rewards before they expired. They had Kleenex on sale .89 centse each and I had .50 cent coupon when buy 3, so 3 boxes of Kleenex for .73 cents each. I still needed to use up the RRs and I didn't need anything else from Walgreens so i got a $10 Border's gift card that I will be sure to use in the future.

Went to Red Lobster for lunch with parents and used a $4 coupon.

All in all a very good shopping day and my freezer and cupboards are stocked up.

Finished reading my book The Labyrinth Gate by Alis A. Rasmussen. Sci/Fi - OK

Finally got the 2 dwarf apple trees I ordered and planted them today. They look like sticks and it will probably be a least 5 years before I get my money back in apples produced. But it was an experiment I wanted to try.

Got two samples in the mail Garnier Nutriste wrinkle cream and Glad ForceFlex bag.

I read somewhere that if you have a King Soopers/Kroger card and call the number on the back you can get senior citizen discounts everytime you use the card. Have to be over 55. It said in Texas the discounts were 10%. That's a good deal, if true. I told my parents, but they haven't called yet.

Finished reading the library book The Bountiful Container by Rose McGee and Maggie Stuckey. Gardening. Very good

I read the library book The River Devil by Diane Whiteside. Romance. Good. Not as good as the Irish Devil.

I also finished the library book The contrary farmer's invitation to gardening by Gene Logsden. Gardening. Very good.

And I finished listening to the library book on tape Night Game by Christine Feehan. Romance. Excellent.

It was very cold last night so walked at WalMart. They had 1 lb wild caught salmon on sale for $3.98. Unfortunately when I got to the register it was ringing up as $6.34. I caught it and made them change it. My mom went thru before me and paid full price and had to go to customer service to get her money back. Yesterday was Tuesday and the sale was Sunday, which means they charged people full price at least 2 days and are probably still doing so. This is a very good price for salmon around here. My usual buy price is $5.99. I got 3 lbs. Each package contains 4 pieces. At 1 a week this is 3 months worth for me.

Before being ready to retire I created a cushion account. This account is cash in a MMA and it's purpose is to handle emergencies and known big-ticket items that might occur prior to me turning 59 1/2. One of the biggest things to consider for early retirement is the phases of retirement and how to best maximize your income to pay the least amount of taxes.

My budget of $1500 - 1750 is only for basic monthly/yearly expenses and is not meant to cover emergencies or big ticket items. The reason the cushion is designed to last only till I am 59 1/2 is because after that I have unlimited access to my Roth IRA. I expect to use the money in that fund for any big ticket items after I turn 59 1/2 because there will be no tax consequences when I withdraw that money. Since it will be growing tax free for the next 12 years it should be pretty big by then.

So the following are the categories in my cushion account.

Health - meant to cover large deductibles.

Maintenance/Repair/Replace - $5000 - meant for applicace replacement/repair, car repairs, big ticket items. I own a townhome so don't have to worry about roofs or exterior paint.

Vacations - I usually take a nice vacation about every 3 years

New Carpet - My carpet is getting old and I know it will need to be replaced sometime before I am 59 1/2

New Car - I bought my car new in 2007 and I have had no problems with it. I drive it around $6000 miles a year and may want to replace it sometime in the next 12 years. So I've put the money aside to do that

College - I originally saved $10,000 for each of my nieces college, (total $20,000) but my sister recieved an inheritance that will let her pay for them now. So I'm only putting $3,000 away for each of them now. I may supplement living expenses or something. If I don't use the money before they graduate I will absorb it back in to my retirement.

I have the following amounts saved for each area

Health - $5,000
Maintenance/Repair/Replace - $5,000
Vacations - $8,000
New Carpet - $3,000
New Car - $18,000
College - $6,000

Total - $45,000

I finished reading the library book Wealth on Minimal Wage by James Steamer. Finance. Pretty good. The philosophy is good, most of the ideas are known to me. Overall worth reading.

I finished reading my book Choosers of the Slain by John Ringo. Adventure. Good. This is a man's book though, lots of sex and violence, but the storyline is good.

Went to Walgreens yesterday and bought 4 packages of the Mr Clean Magic Erasers for $10 and got $4 back with a Register Reward. I also had a .50 cent coupon so 4 for $5.50. I love this product, especially for cleaning showers and sinks and flat-top stoves. Wonderful.

Got a Colgate toothbrush for 2.99 which is free after rebate. Had a $1.00 coupon so paid for taxes, postage and bit more.

Also purchased a 20ct of Advil PM for $3.99. Recieved a $3.00 register reward plus had a .75 cent coupon so .24 cents + taxes.

I now have $7.00 in Register Rewards I need to spend by 4/14

At King Soopers I purchased two Claim Jumper frozen dinners that were on sale 2/$5. I got a $1.50 coupon to use on my next order of anything at King Soopers. Good Deal.

I stopped my 401K contributions since I've already reached the 6% that my company will match. I prefer to keep the cash for the rest to use when I retire later this year. So my next paycheck should be significantly larger since it will include my raise and the 25% I was contributing to my 401K.

My networth decreased 3% since December. I hope by the end of the year the economy picks up and I get most if not all of this back.

I finished reading the library book Live Your Life for Half the Price by Mary Hunt. Financial. OK. It had some interesting web sites. No new money saving ideas. The thing I found weird was how often she gave information about products to buy to do financial things for you that you could do yourself. Such as purchasing a Price book. Or buying other books or products. Strange advice when advising people to save money.

I also re-read my book Getting a Life by Jacqeuline Blix and David Heitmiller. Financial. Excellent. I like to re-read this book every year. It tells the story of people who done the steps from the Your Money or Your Life book and have either retired or are in the process of getting there. Inspirational.

I got my DirectTv bill today and they've raised the price to 47.99 from 44.99. I looked at that and thought 50 bucks a month for TV that's ridiculous. Do I watch $50 worth of cable TV each month? So I started to think about what I watch on TV. Mostly it's food shows, decorating shows, History and news. Did I really want to pay $50 for that? Nope. So I'm going to call Monday and cancel. If I find I really miss it, I can always purchase it again. But I'm going to try doing without for now.

For the Food shows I can always get the Chef's books from the library. History and Discovery often have their DVDs which I can get from the library also. I don't think I will really miss it.

I got several free samples in the mail today. Dove Intense Damage Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner. Enough for at least a week.

Pledge Multi-Surface wipe. This also came with a $1.00 coupon. I have a rebate to refund the full price of this product, so if I buy it and use the coupon it will pay for tax and postage also.

Tide 2X concentrated laundry detergent. It says it's for one load, but I can probably get 2 or 3 out of it.

Tide 2X concentrated with Dawn. Again 1 load, but I will probably get more.

A very good haul today

I got my tax refund deposited yesterday. $406. It took about 5 weeks.

I modified 2 of my mutual funds to quit re-investing the dividends and instead post them to my checking account from now on. I got those posted yesterday too. Before I always just paid the taxes on the dividends each year. Now that I plan to retire, since I have to pay taxes on those I will use them to cover some of my living expenses.

Lots of questions regarding Cobra and health care. I have lots of questions too. I had Cobra when I was outsourced about 12 years ago. I worked great, just like my empolyment health care. I was re-employeed before the 18 months ran out so I never had to look for independant health care. I have done some research on what it will cost for health care once Cobra ran out. I expect to get a high deductable package. Current estimates are $250 - $300. So obviously Cobra is the best choice for as long as it's available to me. Cobra is an option when you voluntarily leave employment, but of course every employer is different so everyone will need to check out thier own situation.

I have several other employee related questions about retirement and plan to meet with HR about 2 months before I plan to give my notice. I don't want to discuss it too soon and have word get back to my manager just yet.

Finished reading the library book Many Bloody Returns Edited by Charlaine Harris. Vampire short stories. Very good.

I checked with HR and found out I need to give a two week notice in writing when I'm ready. After that they may decide to let me go immediately or have me work out my time. I'm fairly sure I will have to work out my time.

I also found out what COBRA will cost after I retire. 182.26 a month for health insurance for up to 18 months. This is excellent.

I've been checking eHealthInsurance.com and most online quotes are between $250 - $300.

I went over my budget once again and on paper I have more than enough, will just have to see how things go after I retire. I expect to live on between $1500 and $1750 per month in retirement. No house payment.

I need to find out how to deal with a very small pension left from 10 years ago before we were bought out the first time and it was froze and also how the 401K is handled.

Busy, busy week. Trying to finish up my last release and prepping for the next one at the same time. In their infinite wisdom the company decided since we have so much trouble getting 3 releases out a year, we should do 6 instead. ARGGHHH.

This is the last straw. Instead of retiring at 50 I am now going to retire at 47 and 8 months. I plan to give my notice late July and retire the sometime in August this year. I would have liked to have more in reserve, but I am at the point where I hate my job, hate the way the work load is going and hate the policies that don't allow me to be good at my job. So it's better to just quit now.

I went to Walgreens Tuesday and got two 24 ct bottles of Excedrin for .15 cents each. The cost of the taxes. I had coupons for $2.00 off and they were 1.99 each.

Went to Goodwill and got a book for .50 cents

Went to a used bookstore and got a school course book on Homemaking written in 1942. It should be interesting. Paid $10

Got a free sample of Curel moisterizer in the mail this week.

Finished reading the library book Into the Forest by Jean Hegland. After civilization fails type book. Didn't really care for it. It always ruins it for me when characters do illogical, stupid things. For example, the two girls worked all summer to grow and can/preserve vegetables and then decide to burn their house down without taking those out to preserve them. Considering they almost starved while waiting for the vegetables grow, it was pretty stupid.

I also read the library book Rural Renaissance by John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist. About a couple who start an organice B&B in the country. This was quite good and very interesting.

I finished my book Bitter Waters by Wen Spencer. Sci/Fi. Excellent, very good interesting, unique story line.

I got 14 radishes out of my last batch so doing better. I think I'm still planting them too close together. Eventually I will figure this out. My green onions are looking good, probably get a few of them in the next month. My cherry tomato plant is about 6" tall and my regular tomator plant about 3". Planted another cherry tomato today and some more radishes and carrots.

My company added 2% more to our 401Ks for last year as part of the company incentive program so instead of matching 6% last year, they matched 8%. Good deal

Finished reading the library book The Unatural Inquirer by Simon R. Green. Sci/Fi. Very good.

Finished reading my book The Sky People by S.L. Stirling. Sci/Fi Good, but like some of his others better.

Finished reading my book The Complete Tightwad Gazette for about the 10th time. I usually re-read it every year. It always excellent. It always inspires me.

Walked with mom at Walmart

Finished reading the library book Stretching the Family Income by Robert and Helen Cissel. This book was written in 1953, but the attitudes are so familiar it is quite interesting that 50 years later people are still dicussing the same things. The rising cost of inflation, how real income doesn't keep up with prices. How saving small bits of money add up. How doing it yourself saves.

Speaking of which one of the chapter titles is "The Home Barbershop, If at first you don't succeed..." I love this. Then they go on to say, "While a little merthiolate will mend any surface cuts from misguided snips, only time will replace the patches of hair that should still be on the victim's head"

Very interesting read.

snowing again so walked at Walmarts today. It was beautiful with blue skys yesterday and did a longer than usual walk outside. Very nice.

Today I used the 2 Register Rewards I got from buying soap a Walgreens last week. I like the gift cards better than the RRs. The RRs expire in 2 weeks and if you don't have anything you want to buy at Walgreen during that time, you spend them just to use them up. Instead I bought a Red Lobster gift card for $10 with one of them. I also got two razors that are FAR and that came with free $4.00 cans of shaving gels. I couldn't use the RRs on them because when you try to do rebates that show a total less than the amount you are asking to be rebated a lot of companies won't rebate the full amount. Both razors and the shaving cream will go to brother for xmas.

Went to Red Lobster for lunch with parents. Had the popcorn shrimp which I adore. Red Lobster is still a great bargain for lunch. $6.75 for a large portion of popcorn shrimp, a salad, a baked potato and the biscuits. Plus i had a coupon for $3 off 2 meals.

Visited one of the Thrift stores by the Red Lobster. Found 3 sealed boxes of 150 count Glad sandwich bags for .99 cents each box. The boxes looked like they had water damage, but since they were plastic bags there was no damage to the bags. That's a very good price. The cashier said they got a whole shipment and they had sold out in 2 days. I got the last 3 boxes.

Went to Borders and got one book and one magazine. I had a 30% off coupon and used a gift card I got for xmas.

I see walnuts went up another $1. $3 in 3 months - unreal.

I'm reading a financial management book written in 1953 and it's really funny to read about the high cost of inflation. She talks about bringing home a big box of soap for .23 cents instead of the normal .25 cents and how the small savings repeated hundreds of times adds up. It's always so intereting to see how people think alike regardless of the times they live in.

I finihsed reading my book Alien Taste by Wen Spencer. Sci/Fi Excellent. This is one of the most interesting and unique story lines I've come across in a long time. All of the characters are very well written and fortunately it's series so I can read more of them

i had yesterday off and went to Denver with mom and dad

Got one book at Borders for 25% off. Made a list of 10 more to get from library.

Went to Container Store and got a Laundry hanger and a very cool watering can.

Went to Walgreens and got 16 bars of Ivory Soap for $8.60 and got two $4 Register Reward reciepts. Soap breaks out around 4 cents per bar instead of the normal .50 cents. That's how you beat inflation but you need to do it hundreds of times on the various things you buy.

I also picked up Colgate Total toothpaste which is FAR and I had a .75 coupon and I got Garnier Nutrisse moisturizer FAR with a $1.00 coupon.

Went to Claim Jumper for lunch. I had a baked potato and apple cinnamon muffin. Cost was under $10.00

Went to Target and got 1 book at 25% off and I bought A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for my oldest niece's bday. They had a new version out. It's one of her favorite books after I loaned her mine last year. I got 1 lb of walnuts for $5.99 - higher than last year, but cheaper than recently by .50 cents.

Got two $25.00 Borders GC from Discover for my cashback reward in the mail.

I finished reading the library book Blog Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World by Hugh Hewitt. Non-fiction. Pretty good

I read the library book Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz. Romance. Very good

I finished the library book Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb. Romance/Mystery. Excellent.

I took my niece to see Spiderwick yesterday. Good movie. The matinee tickets has gone up a whole dollar since xmas. $6.50 now. Almost 20% increase

Walnuts have gone up 50% since xmas.

Went to Rosie's Diner for dinner and got the Breakfast combo. Used to be $4.99 and now it's $5.49 and comes with 2 pieces of French Toast instead of 4.

There was an article in the paper how pizza chains are getting hurt because wheat and cheese have both gone up so much. At least triple for wheat.

Walked with mom outside yesterday - 60 degrees and sunny. Today it's snowing and 27 degrees. Life in Colorado.

Stayed and played games afterwards. Heard the news at 9:00 calling for snow today so hit the grocery store on the way home. Buyinig groceries at 9:30 at night is interesting. No shoppers there, which is nice, but also no help to ask for missing items, such as radishes.

Put in a purchase for $9000 in stocks to occur first thing Monday morning. Buying while they are down and hoping they go back up towards the end of the year.

Finished reading the library book The Newman's Own Organics Guide to a Good Life by Nell Newman. Non-fiction. This was pretty good. Straightforward without a lot of new-age, hippy-dippy stuff

I finished reading the library book Blood Dreams by Kay Hooper. Mystery. Very good

I finished reading my book Athyra by Steven Brust. Sci/Fi. Very good.

it's been warm enough that mom and I have been able to walk outside everyday this week so far.

Last Saturday my Uncle's cousin called him and his wife and invited them to thier wedding at 2:00 that day. Very last minute notice. They went and found out afterwards that the reason they wanted the wedding then was because the church was already decorated for a previous wedding and they planned to use the decorations while they were in place. The couple is 75 (him) and 80 years old(her). He gave her his dead wife's wedding ring and she gave him her dead husband's wedding ring. Talk about frugal

I finished reading my book The Irish Devil by Diane Whiteside. Romance. Good

I read the library book Drago Harper by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey. Sci/Fi. Ok I don't like this series as much now that her grandson is writing the books with her. I liked them better when it was just her. Still it's a good read.

Finished reading my book Trouble Looking for a Place to Happen by Toni L.P. Kelner. Mystery. Good

Finished reading the library book Shadow Music by Julie Garwood. Romance. Her books are always very good, but this one was not one of her best. My favorites of her's are The Lion's Lady and Honor's Splendour

This week enough snow melted that mom and I were able to walk outside Wed, Thur and Fri

I have one perfect radish from my second batch and 5 half-size radishes. They all tasted wonderful, not too hot, just right. The second batch also had fertilizer and so that's probably why I didn't get more radishes. Hopefully my 3rd batch will come out well and I'll be able to get a full crop or about 70 radishes. I saw a bunch of organic radishes at the store for 1.99 a bunch. Ten cents for a radish, if I consume 8 - 10 a day, it's worth more than $300 a year.

I plan to plant miniature carrots today. My tomato is about an inch high and my green onions are about 3 inches tall. These are all in self-watering containers indoors in my townhome.

Went to Walmart to day and got some good items on clearance.

1 woman's shirt - $3.00 - they had some really nice winter coats for $5.00, but I already have 3 and didn't need another one. They also had some bras for $5. My mom got 4 of those, none in my size.

4-6oz cans Chicken of the Sea tuna for .50 cents each. It's hard to find tuna at .50 cents any more. Used to be pretty easy

2-24oz jars of Miracle Whip mayonaisse in the sqeeze bottle for 1.50 each.

4-15oz cans Muir Glen organice diced tomatoes with basil and oregano for .24 cents each. They were $1.24 and I had four $1.00 coupons. I have some more coupons so I need to go back and pick up more. .24 cents a can can't be beat.

Walnuts have gone up 50% in the last month. I like walnuts for snacking and cooking. All last year I bought the 1 lb bags for about $4.30. Today they were $6.50 almost 50% more. Gas went up .20 cents a gal overnight. Inflation is really hitting the things I buy recently.

I got my paycheck with the bonus included. I was able to net 45%. My 401K took the biggest chunk since I have 25% going into that right now. But Federal took almost as much.

Sent off my taxes yesterday so that chore is done.

I read the library book A Christine Feehan Holiday Treasurey by Christine Feehan. Romance. 3 short stories. Very good

I read the library book Homestead Year Back to the Land in Suburbia by Judith Moffett. Non-fiction. Very good.