financial wellness

Continuing the theme of how I've gotten my shit together lately, here are some steps I've taken financially.

First, I decided to focus on retirement. Specifically, early retirement. Marrying a man 15 years older than you is pretty motivating. I want to retire at 55. Maybe even 50, if I can swing it. In order to do that, I have to start taking steps now. 

What am I doing?

1. Maxing out my 401k.

2. Maxing out my HSA. The idea is that I can use this to pay for health insurance until I'm 65 and am eligible for Medicare. In addition to maxing it out, there is an option to invest HSA funds further into mutual funds once you reach a certain point. Which I'm doing.

3. Opening and maxing out a Roth IRA. The money will earn more this way than sitting in a savings account.

4. Speaking of, I also transferred the majority of my savings into a high-interest account. Earning 4% interest on something that's sitting there anyway is just smart.

5. Miscellaneous investment strategies: I have 2 and they're kinda silly. 

The first one is, if I splurge on something, I have to put that same amount into stocks or mutual funds. I have an Acorns account for this.

The second is, if I buy something off of Amazon (vs supporting a local or small business), I have to put that same amount into cryptocurrency. Diversification, baby. I use a Coinbase account for this. Same goes for gambling money. Equal amounts go into crypto. And honestly, I get a better return from crypto than I do in casinos. Of course.

Our monthly expenses are fairly low right now, and we're pretty frugal so it works. I thought it would hurt to max out all those retirement accounts, but if the money comes out before I see it, I don't miss it.

Long term, we plan to sell the river house and use that money to buy some acreage/build a tiny home, so that once we retire our monthly expenses are even lower. The goal is no mortgage by that time. Plus we will have lots of space and freedom to live a little more off the grid. Getting crunchier by the minute over here. Plus I would LOVE to not have to set an alarm clock anymore... only 10ish more years!

6. In addition to the financial preparations, I've been really motivated to start working out/ seeing the doctor/taking better care of myself. Because what's the good of retiring early if I'm too tired or sick to enjoy it?

chickies

Been researching chicken coops and have started drafting the ideal space-saving coop + run configurations to fit our space. Simple, right?

I've looked at a LOT of pre-fab chicken coops but they're very expensive and none have had the exact configuration I want.

You know what that means. Project time.

Unfortunately, that means, "Add it to the List."

Which means I'll be getting chickens next year because if I'm weighing them against the outdoor shower/bathtub, I'm choosing that. Mostly because we already have all the stuff for that and I miss baths.

But when we're ready for chickens, we'll have a solid plan!

physical and mental

Since I turned 40, I decided it was time to get serious about a few things. Mostly health-related.

I found a new doctor. Got a checkup, complete with bloodwork. Got a mammogram. Found a dermatologist. Still need to find a gyno, especially because I think I'm heading into perimenopause. Healthcare provider options are not plentiful out here.

In addition to adopting a new workout routine (that includes lifting weights bc bone density), I wanted to find a way to exercise my brain. The simplest option was to take an educational course, and it was easy to decide what topic- plants. The best way to maintain enthusiasm is to pick a topic that already interests me, right? I looked into taking a class at the local community college, but that doesn't fit into my schedule and they don't really have any botany-related paths.

So I found a course on Coursera. Since I'm doing it for fun right now and not looking for any documentation, I opted to choose the free option. Online learning is not my favorite, but the flexibility works for me right now. And honestly, it's fascinating.

I'm taking steps to maintain both physical and mental health, but one of my main complaints right now is fatigue. According to my recent bloodwork, there's no major deficiencies or anemia, and I'm taking a few supplements to boost those borderline levels. But I'm still struggling to get through the day. It's not a fatigue like I've experienced before. I'm wondering if it's related to the hormone fluctuations. Exercise has improved it a bit, but it's still noticeable. It's to the point where if I can't get an afternoon nap, I need an afternoon coffee to get through the day. Which is probably not helping with my sleep quality. And the cycle continues. Once I get to the gyno I might get answers, but with my health history, I'm not optimistic.

snow dayyyy

We got proper snow in Houston for the first time since I've lived here. And the first snow at all (for us) at the river.

Even though we're further south, we got enough snow to make it worth a trip outside. Some evidence:

I was thankful for our ski clothes at this point

We had to do a lot of prep to make sure the pipes didn't freeze (the well is more complicated than city water), and we prepared for the power to go out. It did, but not for a long period of time. Thank goodness, because even though we ran it a few days prior to test it, the generator wouldn't start. It was too cold and the battery died. Lesson learned.

watcha gunna do

We are going to get a deep freeze (and it will probably snow)!

So I harvested a lot of the greens that will not make it. Looks like I'll be eating a lot of salad soon.

Skillz

Add "replacing a threshold" to the list of things I now know how to do.

The youtube videos described cutting out the old threshold, but this one was so rotted and wobbly that I could almost kick it out. Too bad, I was looking forward to using the hammer and crowbar.

The frame was pretty rotted on one side and that required some creative repairs. Three different caulks and 2 types of paint later, we're all pretty and new. And functional. The air used to blow right through that door and with the *snow* coming, the timing on this project was perfect. 

I work out

We work out now. (They just don't make quality content anymore)

We bought ourselves a little home gym- FitVids LX770, on major sale at Walmart. My job has a wellness reimbursement program so we didn't even pay for most of it.

Lots of discussion figuring out where to put it. We decided to reconfigure the storage half of the igloo and set it up there. That was a workout itself. 

After researching a TON I came up with a collection of exercises and we picked our favorites. Then we figured out our starting weights, and divided them up between days. Several tweaks later, we have a solid workout plan. 30 minutes, 5 days a week. Friday we pick our 4 favorite exercises and do planks. Or do yoga. Or whatever we feel like doing.

Each exercise is 3 sets of 10 reps. We take turns and when one person is lifting weights, the other one is doing cardio, pulling up the FitOn app on the TV for inspiration. Circuit-style.

I printed out a really big version of the workout plan to post in the igloo/meathead central, and we write in our current weights. 

Since we hate going to the gym and will never drive 30 minutes into town to work out, this is perfect for us. If I get hot, I take off my shirt and only occasionally get groped. We never have to wait for equipment. We can work out in our jammies. All we have to do is motivate ourselves to go downstairs and it turns out that's pretty easy.

I also printed a very small version to take with me when I travel. Small enough to fold around a room key. Hotel gyms are pretty variable, but I do my best to target the muscle groups and at this point, the goal is movement. 

The other goal is to not be sore. I hate being sore so much and that will absolutely derail me. So far I've been able to moderate that and I'm pretty proud of myself. Slow and steady.