Retire@50

Missed walking again today due to rain. I don't think I'm going to make my walking goal this month, between mom and dad going camping and the rain I'm missing too many days. This will be the first month I've missed in 16 months. I like the rain, actually love it, just wish it would happen either earlier or later.

Went to dinner at Chili's with parents. Spent $9.02

I know some of you shop at Catherines. I saw this deal on

Finally was able to walk again after several days of rain or vacation. Felt really good. Walked 55 min with mom.

Got a free sample of Nivea Body lotion in the mail today.

Also got my electric bill. My days of $9.00 monthly bills are over. I finally used up all my surplus from last year and the new budget billing is $37 a month. Still pretty reasonable.

Finished reading the library book Captain of all Pleasures by Kresley Cole. Romance. OK, not great.

no walking again today. We planned on it, but then got a big lightening and thunder rainstorm. First one in several days.

Got a sample of Fibersure from WalMart in the mail.

I found out my direct boss was laid off on Friday. I guess the company laid off a bunch of Managers. Going for the high salaries probably. So I have a new boss. Don't know much about her yet. Suppossedly she will be visiting each of the sites to meet people. Could be good, could be bad. Too early to say. It does mean I have to impress a new boss though.

My old boss knew my capabilities and saved my job once when layoffs where happening, I had moved to another group that they were cutting out and he intervened and brought me back to his group. He's always gotten me pretty good raises and several bonuses also. I had built up a lot of trust and goodwill with him over 9 years so I'll miss that. But he was kind of laid back and too many things fell through the cracks, rumor has it the new boss is more on top of things. As long as that doesn't mean micro-managing, that should be good. I'm pretty used to being given a job and left alone till it's done.

Finished reading the library book The Hard Way by Lee Child. Mystery. Very good. These books really suck you in.

another relaxing day, although I did a bit more than read and sleep, my contentment from yesterday remained, making me feel very happy and relaxed about now.

Went to King Soopers this morning. Spent $30.46 on groceries. $7.80 on a book of stamps and $4.50 on a magazine and a newspaper. I can't find the 20 Ct Advil PM anywhere, it's always sold out. I wonder if the stores aren't stocking it because of the rebates.

The magazine I bought is Arthur Frommer's Smart Shopping. I really like this magazine. I'm going to have to subscribe to it. This is the third one I've gotten. They come out quarterly. Lot's of good ideas and websites for saving money. They had a site called shirtsuppliers.com that sells Hanes T-shirts for $1.55 each. Next time I want some new hangout at home t-shirts I need to remember and check them out.

I found out why I couldn't buy the Entertainment.com book for $7.99 + 1 shipping. On the last page they tell you if you order the 2007 book you get $5 off the 2006 book. That's not mentioned on the first page and seems like false advertising to me. Definetely turns me off when companies do that.

I did a lot of food prep work today.

Chopped onions, tomatoes, celery, green onions and watermelon
Boiled eggs and cooked oatmeal
Made taco meat, tuna salad and potato salad
Grilled two hamburger patties to have for lunches this week.

I read the new magazine I bought and the newspaper plus the other 2 magazines I got from the library yesterday. I also read the library book At Risk by Patricia Cornwell. Mystery. Ok, not near as good as her Kay Scarpetta series.

I had a very relaxing day today. Went to the library and browsed for an hour. Got 4 magazines and read two of them, plus a bunch of books. I'm a big magazine fan, but I try not to buy them too much anymore. I used to drop $20 or more on magazines and then toss them. I like the concise information they provide.

Made a big pot of beans and sausages. White beans, pinto beans and black-eyed peas.

Took a nap. Make menus and grocery lists.

Finished reading the library book The Simple Life edited by Larry Roth. Simplicity. Good. An anthology of advice from simple living/saving money authors including Amy Dacyczyn, Joe Dominquez and Vicki Robin.

I'm so glad the weekend is here. My house is reasonably clean, no one is coming over, i'm not going anywhere. No major chores to deal with. I plan to devote the weekend to reading and sleeping. My two favorite pastimes

Finished reading the library book The Taming of the Duke by Eloisa James. Romance. Humorous.

walked with mom for 55 min

I saw that the Entertainment books were on sale for $7.99 + 1.00 shipping so went to buy another one for me and one for my parents, but the checkout says $12.99 + 4.99 shipping. Since the main page says $7.99 and click here to buy I was rather frustrated. Sent them an email to find out how to get the $7.99 price. If I buy them thru NestEggz I get an extra 21% rebated back to me. We'll see if they reply.

Walgreens has a sale on the 4.6 oz of Aquafresh this week. .99 cents. My dad said he was going so I gave him two coupons for $1.00 off. One for him and one for me. We he bought the larger size for $1.99 cost of .99 after coupon. It's a learning curve matching prices and sizes and coupons. I made him keep both of the toothpastes though since I have several tubes and I'm not going to pay for more, free is a different story. The boxes had more of those get 3 free music downloads though. So I will use those to get 6 more music downloads.

I also pointed out the Advil free after rebate and $2.00 coupon so he got a raincheck for that since they were out. My mom lost the $5 Nature Made coupon she got after I signed her up for that program. That's a high value coupon to lose. Oh well, live and learn.

Finished reading Rational Simplicity by Tim Covell. Simplicity. OK.

One of the things I liked in this book is a saying I've heard before and is what motivated me to go back to school to get my computer degree.

"Sometimes people complain that waiting 15 years for retirement is too long. They say, "in 15 years I'll be 45!" I reply, "how old will you be in 15 years if you don't save? Wouldn't you rather be 45 and free of work, than 45 and doing the same things you are doing today?"

walked with mom for 55 min. She invited me over for steak and baked potatoes. Yum. My oldest niece is there alone, the younger one is at camp this week.

My youngest niece constantly steals from the older one and I was talking to her about different hidden safes she could store in her room. We looked for some on the internet but they are pretty pricey for a teenager. The book safes all have ridiculous titles that would stick out on her bookshelves. We did find a candle one that I will probably get her for xmas. I'll look around for some other options too.

Finished reading the library book Crazy Kisses by Tara Janzen. Romance. Good.

walked with mom for 30 min. Had a huge rainstorm and that's all we could fit in before it got dark. Now of course it's gorgeous out, the moom is fantastic, big and round and full.

This Friday is our release deadline, I've been working like crazy for the last several weeks. Today I knew that I would make the deadline with my remaining tasks. Then I started looking into one of the last areas I need to test. In order to get to this area I have to go through another area that was supposed to be tested last release. So I started looking for the test cases to find out what I needed to know in order to pass through this area. I couldn't find any. Turns out the person this was assigned to never wrote test cases or tested this area. I know that it wasn't tested because as soon as you click on the link you get Page cannot be displayed. Big Clue there that it's not working.

So now, since this person quit last week, my boss wants me to test this area. This totally stinks. I'm going to test it, but I refuse to put in anymore unpaid overtime this release. I've worked 60 extra hours in the last 6 weeks, 1/2 of my vacation time.

It was the bosses job to stay on top of the assignments and make sure people are doing their jobs and all new features get tested. I can't believe how often I find stuff like this. I think that other tester should be required to return some of their salary. In my opinion it's theft.

Finished listening to the library book on tape For the Roses by Julie Garwood. Romance. Good, very cute.

walked with mom for 55 min

Went to Safeway and spent $6.74 on groceries. Went to the 7-11 and got a newspapter for $1.50

My friend and her niece came over today as well as my oldest niece. The two girls are about the same age and we had wanted to get them together for awhile.

We went to Chili's for lunch. Spent $25 and then back to my house were we watched My Fair Lady and everyone worked on craft projects. I keep a bunch of things around for the girls to work on while they are here.

After my friend left, I took my niece to Village Inn for dinner. Spent $17

walked with mom for 55 min in the drizzle. I don't mind walking in rain as long as it's not freezing or pouring. No headache again today so I feel Good! Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nuh (James Brown boogie here )

Worked about 3 hours today and then did some cleaning since I'm having company tomorrow. Nothing provides more incentive to clean the house than having people over.

Got a sample of Head and Shoulders n the mail today.

Finished reading my book Killing Time by Linda Howard. Romance. Very good

walked with mom for 55 min

Even though we had a big thunderstorm today I didn't get my normal weather headache. I slept good all night and no headache all day. I feel so good I feel like I should have cartoon birds flying and small animals scampering around me

Finished listening to the library book on tape The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. Adventure? Good.

another rainy day and another headache, but at least it cleared up enough to get my walk in. I miss it when I can't walk now.

Got free Nexus shampoo samples in the mail along with Nature Made vitamins and a coupon for a free package of cigarettes. I don't smoke, but will pass it along to my bother.

Met my parents and nieces at Chili's for dinner. Spent $7.71 and went to McDonalds for an ice cream cone later. $1.07

I gave my oldest niece the 3 Louisa May Alcott books awhile back. She finished little women and liked it and now is reading Little Men which was my favorite of the three. I'm glad she likes them. I signed the other niece up for the libraries reading program and she finished it in two weeks. She had to read 8 hours. Mom took her back today to pick up her prizes. A free book, a stuffed animal and some coupons including one for a free ice cream at Baskin Robbins. She signed up for the next level now.

Finished reading the library book Dead End by Mariah Stewart. Mystery. good.

no walking again today, it's great to have the rain, but I wish it wouldn't happen every afternoon and evenings when I can walk. We could get some rain in the mornings when I have to work. And along with the rain comes the nasty headaches. 6 days in a row now. Hard to concentrate on columns of figures when the back of your head feels like an elephant is sitting on it

Thanks to Stressless I've been browsing old household management books at the Cornell website. I finished reading Adventures in Thrift. I thought this was a cute proverb from the book:

Chasing the penny to its lair is the housewife's favorite indoor sport. I'm not much of a housewife, but it's one of my favorite sports too. One I wish I had more time to devote to.

Finished reading the library book Caught in the Current by Jay Bookman. Simplicity. OK

walked with mom for 50 min

Went to Safeway this morning and got the 4 12 packs of Coke for $10 and the $10 rebate form. Also got the lb of Hillshire Farm sausage for .99 cents and more tuna at .50 cents a can. Spent 15.99

Then went to King Soopers and spent $60.00. $24 on books, $16.70 on cleaners and toilet paper. I noticed that the shelves showed the price per 100 sheets of TP. That was cool. I found out that the 4 packs of Angel Soft for $1.00 were almost 50% cheaper than the 12 packs of Angel Soft TP or any other large size package of TP. So instad of buying the 12 pack for $6 I bought 4 of the 4 packs for $4

The books were all 25% off plus I will get another 5% back from using my CC and I had a $5 off $50 Safeway coupon that I used.

Hamburger was $1/lb and I got a free 2-liter bottle of 7-Up.

Spent $6.20 at McDonalds for lunch.

When I got home I saw that the Coke had reward points on them. So I went to the reward site and entered my codes and got 40 points which are good towards 3 more 20 oz bottles of coke. I think I'll see if I can accumulate more points with the rest of my free 2 liter coke coupons and see how much I can get then. I've got pop coming out my ears now, but it's very hard to pass when it's free.

Got 3 free samples of Jergens lotions from Walmart and a sample of Gevalia coffee in the mail. I also got the $5.99 CD for my youngest nieces bday from Your Music.

Finished reading the library book Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters. Mystery. Very good.

went to Safeway this morning. Got the 4 12 packs of Pepsi products for $10 and the $10 back rebate. Also got a lb of Hillshire Farm sausage for .99 cents and 10 cans of Bumble Bee tuna for $5. Spent $33.71. Plan to go back on Tuesday and get the 4 12 packs of Coke with a $10 rebate, plus another sausage since the in store coupon was 1 only.

Went to McDonalds for lunch - spent 6.82

I did food prepping for the week, oatmeal, potato salad and hard-boiled eggs. Cleaned the kitchen and dusted the living, dining, two baths and bedroom. House feels much better. Will tackle the master bath on Tuesday.

I also spent part of the day catching up on blogs. I like 'My Money Blog' I have a link under Sites I frequent. He talks about how Google is starting Google checkout. If you register with your Citi cards you can get up to $10 back. You get $5 with rebate cards that give you 5% back for groceries etc. You get 1000 points or $10 if you register a Thank You points card and $5 back on your statement for any other Cite card. Google also has a list of stores that will give $10 back on a $20 purchase

worked this morning. Took a nap to make up for not getting to sleep in. About halfway through we had a huge thunderstorm that woke me up. Oh well, it was great while it lasted and the rain was needed and cooled things down.

Went to the library and picked up my holds and paid my late fee.

July goal are:

1. Walk at least 25 days for 35 min

2. Put $1000 in emergency fund.

3. Put $500 in college fund

4. Spend $450 or less on household items.

5. Get tires replaced

6. Set up new budget

Finished reading the library book Full Scoop by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Huges. Wacky Romance. Very good.

walked with mom for 55 min

I knew my parents were really busy today getting ready to go camping so I took over the ingredients to make chili pasta and fixed dinner for them.

I'm really irritated tonight. All week I've been dreaming about sleeping in tomorrow. Every morning when I wake up, I think I can sleep in on Saturday. Well, because other people can't get there work done on time, I have to work tomorrow morning. Stinks!!!

My goals for June were:

June Goals are:

1. Walk at least 25 days for 35 min
Done

2. Pre-pay mortgage - $4000 this will meet my goal for the year of $12,000. Will use all of my 3rd paycheck to help meet this goal.
Done

3. Spend $450 or less on household items.
Done Spent $435.94

Groceries - 155.09
Fast Food - 42.65
Restaurants - 26.61
Nieces - 42.20
Clothes - 25
Books - 20.80
Gas 59.73
Entertainment - 15
Other - 48.83

4. Close the Virtual bank account that I opened for a bonus
Done

5. Get tires replaced - not done, no time

6. Set up new budget - not done, decided to wait after I heard about the changes to our 401K. I will be getting more money back in each paycheck so will wait till I know how much it is before I redo the budget.

My net worth went down 1.35% and that was after putting in a larger than usual amount towards the mortgage.

Finally finished reading the library book Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon. Sci/Fi. Good. I started this book on Monday and it took me all week to finish it. Probably the least amount I've read in a week since I learned how to read which was age 3 according to my mother. Not sure I believe that. But since it took me so long, I now owe .60 cent late charge. If I had finished it Tuesday like I planned I would have been ok.

walked with mom for 55 min

She invited me over for dinner again tonight, baked chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, corn, salad and rolls. YUM and the best part was I didn't have to cook or clean. Nieces and BIL were there too.

I told them I would bring over my leftover chili and make chili pasta for them tomorrow night.

My parents are so funny though. My mom always washed the dishes in a sink of soapy water before putting them in the dishwasher. Then my dad unloads the dishwasher when it's done and dries the dishes. I asked them what was the point of using the dishwasher and my mom very seriously told me "it sanitizes them". Too funny.

walked with mom for 55 min

Safeway has buy 4 12 pack fridge packs for $10 and get a rebate at checkout for $10 on either coke or pepsi products. I'll definitly have to check it out this week.

Slightly better work day today, only worked 9 hours. Broke a blood vessel in my eye, don't know if it's related to all the computer work or not, I know my eyes have been hurting.

Sent off for a $2.99 Hunt's ketchup rebate and my Long's June rebate today.

Read the Kiplinger's magazine.

Had dinner at mom's with nieces. Sister is out of town and mom has them for 2 days. Stayed for awhile and worked on crafts with them. They are both very talented and creative.

walked with mom for 55 min

I finally got the first issue of my 3 year contract with Kiplinger's that I paid $4 something for. Almost 10 weeks ago, but it is finally here. Unfortunately I don't have time to read it I'm still working at 9:00pm started at 8. I have tests running on the other computer. So tired I can hardly think. I can't keep up this pace too much longer. When I was younger 50-60 hours a week were normal plus the occassional 80+ hour week. I just can't do it any more, nor do I want to. I think by Friday I will be caught up and can catch a breath. But then all the home stuff will be waiting for me to catch up on it. Bitch and moan, bitch and moan

Went into work today. Got gas for $2.63/gal. Spent $25.31. Went to Super Salad for dinner on the way home. Spent $6.36

Got free Necafe coffee in the mail. Gave it to my dad, since I don't drink coffee. He was telling me how he used the $100 in gas cards he got for test driving Fords. These were deals that I got for him, so he was pretty happy that he got the gas for free.

walked with mom for 55 min

Made my new 401K choices today. The new company charges higher maintenance fees, which is a bummer, but I found funds that closely duplicated the ones I had. I was invested in the Dodge and Cox stock fund though and I'm really going to miss it. It did very well for me.

Canceled the trial membership to Shopper's Advantage. They even said they would return my $1 trial fee.

Got a free sample of Move Free from Walmart. This was 28 pills a weeks supply, a good size sample. I gave it to my mom. I also got The Healing Garden skin moisturizer sample.

Worked 11 hours, so no reading

walked with mom for 55 min

Went to the grocery store this morning. Spent $56.65. Saved $63.08 more than 50%.

I got the following items for free.

2 packages Ball Park Franks - because the sale price didn't ring up, I got these free.
Sara Lee hotdog buns - free with purchase of 2 Ball Park Franks
2 64 oz bottles Tree Top Apple juice
2 packages Dentyne gum
1 package Dentyne mints
3 ready to serve packages Zataran's Rice
5 4 oz cans Ortega chilis
And I have a FAR for Hunts ketchup which will make that free and give back $2.00

Went to Chili's for lunch and spent $7.83

Spent the day preping for the week. Did laundry, cooked a huge batch of Chili, chopped veggies, boiled eggs, fixed oatmeal for the week. My house is getting really behind on cleaning. I just can't keep up with it and all the hours I work, plus the down time I require to be able to concentrate on my work. I'm seriously considering getting a cleaner in for one time just to get me back to an even starting place.

Finished reading my book Dangerous Tides by Christine Feehan. Romance. Very good.

took my youngest niece to see Xmen. It's rated PG-13 and we checked it out on line and her mom agreed she could see it. She is 11. I liked the movie and so did she, but I was a little surprised at the ending. I wasn't expecting that level of violence and I'm not sure what she thought of it. I was also upset about the previews that they showed for movies like the Omen, very disturbing images for children. We had lunch at the theater and I spent $22.00 for tickets and food.

Next we went to Claire's. This is an accessory store and both of my nieces can spend hours in there. I let her look for at least a half hour before I told her we needed to get going. She bought several small girly items.

We went to Coach House gifts after that and I got her a cool watch for her bday. Spent $10.73

Then on to Barnes and Noble where I spent $14.48 using my free GCs.

Best Buy was next were I got a CD she wanted for her Bday for $15.36 - $10.00 reward certificate I had.

On to Cold Stone for ice cream. I had a coupon to get a free kids ice cream when you buy a medium ice cream. So we did that, only I ate the kids ice cream and she had the larger size. This was perfect I'd like to do this everytime I go there. The kid's ice cream was just the right size and was only $1.50 vs the medium which is $3.96 with tax.

At Longs they had the new collapsable rubbermade containers as a BOGO and I had 2 $1 off coupons so I used those and also bought a couple other items. Total $11.58

Target was next where she bought some flip-flops for a $1 and some nail junk.

Then we went to Big Lots and I spent $8.87.

Last stop was Jason's Deli for dinner. Spent $16.20

By the time I got home it was raining so I wasn't able to walk with mom.

I was asking my niece about college or if she had any ideas what she wanted to do for a living and she really surprised me. She said she wants to go to the Air Force Academy and then be in the National Guard. Who Knew? That's a very unusual career choice for an 11 year old girl.

Finished reading the library book Beach House by James Patterson. Mystery, great book with a very surprising ending.

walked with mom for 55 min

Got a Shower to Shower sample from WalMart in the mail today.

Got $10 of gas, just enough to last till I can get in town and fill up at a cheaper price. Spent 2.82/gal

Still working long hours so not reading as much as I would like.

Finished reading the library bok Playing Easy to Get by various authors. Romance. Cute short stories.

walked with mom for 55 min

Only worked 9 hours today. Had a Dr appt. Spent $20 for co-pay. Have to go back on medication for the diabetes, it is very high again. Blehh! Disappointed and slightly blue about that.

I need to dig out some books on diabetes and brush up on controlling it better again. I admit I've gotten sloppy because of laziness and lack of time and stress. Need to pay more attention.

Got a sample of Head and Shoulders in the mail.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich. Romance. Very good, very funny

no walking today. worked from 8am to 10pm. My shoulders are killing me from sitting in front of the computer for so long. Yesterday it was leaden legs, today's it's sore shoulders. Guess I'm getting old

walked with mom for 55 min. It was so hot even at 7:30 I just dragged through the walk, no energy. My legs felt like lead.

I was so glad i did all the meal prep work yesterday, it was so nice to just put the oatmeal in the microwave in the morning and grap a banana and then for lunch, spread some tuna on some bread and then grab some already cut up watermelon. No mess, no thinking, very nice on a busy day.

Got a $10 gift certificate from Best Buy in the mail today. Plus a list of the new funds in the new 401K and the fees they charge for each fund. That's really nice to know. I usually have to search for that kind of information.

Finished reading my book Breadwater by Carla Neggers. Mystery/Romance. Ok

walked with mom 50 min yesterday and today. We're walking faster and have cut 5 minutes off our walks.

I worked 6 hours yesterday and then went to Parents for Father's day. Had steak, potato salad, green salad, jello salad, watermelon and rolls, all very good. Plus lemon pie for dessert.

I have to return the Printer though, that I got dad for fday. The black ink was missing as well as the power cord. What a pain!

I stayed awhile after my brother and sister left and played cards. My nieces were both in very loving moods yesterday, constantly coming up to be hugged. nice!

They went to cousins camp this week. One of my cousins wives had all of the second generation cousins 18 and younger to their house for 3 days. I think there were 8 of them. She must be wonder-woman or something. I can't even imagine being around 8 teens and pre-teens for 3 days, let alone cooking for them.

I worked 2 hours today and then since I know I have to work a lot this week I tried to get a head start on the meals so I won't be tempted to eat so much fast food.

Went to the grocery store and spent $30.60. Then I hard-boiled eggs, made oatmeal, made tuna salad and potato salad and chopped celery, green onions and watermelon. I've been craving watermelon so hope it's good.

walked with mom for 55 min

Very tired today. Worked from 7:30 - 6:30 and have to work again tomorrow morning. Learning something new so brain work is always more tiring than physical work to me.

At my parents my dad finally got the $50 GC from test driving a Ford. I gave him the deal so was glad to see it pay off. He was telling me about how he lost a deal in the local free classified paper today, because he didn't get the paper until late. I asked him if they had a website, he didn't know, but went and got me the paper.

They do have one so I set it up for him and showed both of them how to use it and search for what they want. My mom has to get on craigslist every couple of days and search for him, so i expect she will have to do this too. I keep telling her to make him learn it if he wants to use it, but so far she still does it. He's still trying to buy and sell ATVs. He's made over $6000 so far and it's a nice hobby for him. Wish my hobby would pay that well. He probably spent less than 4 hours total on each deal and I think he's sold about 8 ATVs now. Good return.

I worked so late and since I need to walk while it was light plus show dad the computer I didn't get to eat till 9:00 so went to McDonalds and spent $5.86.

Got a coupon for a free 2 liter bottle of 7-up in the mail today. I have pop coming out my ears with all the free stuff I'm getting. That's not a complaint though

My parents got their CC bills from our Canada trip. We put all our meals on their CC. I owe around $150 for meals. That's pretty good for 13 meals. We had steak a couple times and salmon once.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Dark Desire by Catherine Feehan. Supernatural. Very good.