I have a confession....

.....and it's hard for me to admit.

I am kind of getting used to empty nest.

shhhh! I know. pure craziness.

I am not over missing them.

I am not over not having a do over for so many parts of their childhood I know I could have done better at.

I am not over being a much more important part of my sons' lives.

but I am getting used to them coming and going, and, I kind of like the idea that when they are not here, my time is purely MY time. super selfish thought, I know.

I can get up when I want. go to bed when I want. I don't have to feel guilty about not giving them more 'summer fun' (that one was the most difficult for me). I can make supper, or not.

I never thought I would even start to feel this way.

It's interesting.

July Goals

Well here we are a third through the month and I have finally gotten around to posting my summer goals. I have had them jotted down on one of my many little notepads.

They are quiet goals - reflective of my diminished health conditions. Most times I am at peace with that. Most times :-)

• clean out 'the paperwork' bin.  Summer is when I like to go through and get rid of the previous  year's documents... bills, statements, insurance forms etc. Keeping what is needed and shredding what is no longer necessary. It's amazing how much paper that tub can hold, but it has proven invaluable. More than once I have needed something from there and it makes me so happy to be able to find it.

• Read Read Read Read. I need to rediscover the joy of losing myself in a book, preferably while sitting outside at my little patio and getting some sunshine. Some will be for personal pleasure. Some will be YA books that I can recommend to my students. Some will be professional development books.

• Walk Walk Walk. Ok I don't do well in heat and we are in the middle of a long heat stretch. That means I need to get my butt out of bed earlier so I can walk before the heat comes. My walks are short....the longest is 30 min or just under 2K. Those are always risky colitis walks. But heck even if I can get out for a 2 x 2 (two blocks down, 2 over, return home) a couple times  a day, it is something. I need the walks for so many reasons..health...weight...forcing myself to leave my 'safe zone'.  I will admit to being 'lame' and using pokemon go app to encourage that. Noooo I don't go battle and such but the walking 'hatches' eggs and it is oddly motivating for me. Rather like my Nike walk app but, animated. If it gets me moving, then I'm game. Hatching four 5K eggs a week means I am walking 20K a week at least. That's not impossible.

• Fitbit 10, 000 Steps. This piggybacks off the above bullet. I have no problem getting that many steps during a work day, but summer doesn't provide that for me, so I have to provide it for myself

• My computer room. I rarely use the room anymore. I use my laptop instead. I am surprised that desktop hasn't died yet. That room is a storage room for all things now that the boys are not around to pit in down there. I could probably get rid of 20 bags of stuff just from that room, and it's 4 x 8 feet, with a closet. DH needs a place to study for his next waterworks course he has to take for work and it's cool down there. A good motivator.

• Make a tentative money plan for the rest of 2017. I have some money goals left. I have college for DS1. I have a trip down to see DS in October. And of course I have the ever mountain college LOC to hack and whittle away at.  I know that as soon as I make a plan, Murphy will wander by to dip his finger in the plans and swirl away, but if I don't plan, it's hard to make goals.

• Lose 6 lbs. I started off this summer 20 lbs lighter than last July 1. Of course that was a super high for me. I figured I would use the 'loss' to springboard a push to lose a bit. I have college gear I bought with my son's team on it and as it is his last year there, it would be nice to fit it before he is done :-)  

• Delve into Ancestry. I splurged for a one month membership with international access. This will give me a chance to peek at the usually inaccessible sources that pop up, usually from USA or UK. A good part of my family on my dad's side moved to Canada from Upstate New York and I have found some great pics of the ancestors. On my paternal grandfather's side, thanks to the work of a genealogist, we can trace to Bern Switzerland in the early 1300s. It's pretty darn cool. I find it amazing how the surname as evolved over the years. Some of it, in part, due to poor spelling of the census takers throughout the years. 

You will notice there aren't any traditional summer activities on here. No go here, do this, celebrate that. no camping.   Have to regain my strength first.

Where the money stands

as of July 8th

Here comes the debt. As mentioned last month the LOC took a kicking to pay for DS's summer classes.

One more year left of college.

Debt
Mortgage - $12 717.74
College LOC - $22 693.51

Total Debt - $35 411.25



Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $8200 
RRSP -$13 473
Back to School 2017 - $450
XMAS 2017 - $700
Plates 2017 - $700
Summer - $500

New...I have $1500 waiting to go in the RRSP when I get a chance to do the paperwork at the bank.

My 9th Blog-o-versary

Last Thursday one of my colleagues wandered down to visit me on Teacher Work Day while we were getting marks in for report cards.

I can't recall how the conversation started but I remember clearly her words "of course to someone like you who reached a financial epiphany about 8 years ago...."

This colleague has known me for over 15 years. She knew me when I had two young kids, no permanent teaching contract and no clue about money.

She was a fountain of all kinds of advice when I was asking about RRSPs, RESPs and TFSAs. She was excited for me when I 'found' Gail vax Oxlade and started to turn my life around.

She was.,,,,,.dare I say..........proud of me. And that meant the world to me.

It was also validation for ME on how far I have come. I shudder to think of what kind of screw up I would be if I hadn't started to make sense of money.

There would be none of the savings vehicles I mentioned above.

I would undoubtedly have credit card debt.

I would still be living paycheck to paycheck, anxiously waiting for that next pay period.

I would still be holding my breath as I swiped my debit card, not having a clue if there would be enough money to pay for my purchases.

I have NO clue, none, of how I would have gotten my boys through college.

and on the other side....

I would have no clue how good it feels to plan ahead and have the money when  insurance is due, or Christmas comes around.

I wouldn't know the fun of saving up....of anticipating a goal or a purchase.

I wouldn't have that sense of satisfaction about paying down debt.

I wouldn't have the freedom of knowing that for the most part, I control my money.

I wouldn't have the joy of following so many wonderful blogs over the years.

I wouldn't have over 3000 1300 (holy misread batman) entries that chronicle the (boring) details of my journey.


It has not been an easy journey. Lots of ups. Lots of downs. but it has been an amazing one.

All I had to do was take one step, to start.

thank you

a new favourite blog

I have long had a deep curiosity of life in New York City.

Never been there. Would love to go.  I find this odd fascination with the city and love books set there. Super weird, I know.

I stumbled across this wonderful blog called Tracy's New York Life.


I think what I love most about it is the focus on the little neighbourhoods. As a small town girl I think of NY as this massive overwhelming metropolis. I love that she reminds me that even in a city this size, there is still a sense of neighbourhood. Of community.