3 weeks of early retirement

 so i just completed 3 full weeks of early retirement and so far, so good!

what do i do all day?

a lot of dawdling, meandering. For the most part, i've walked everyday about a mile around our neighborhood with my neighbor.

i am sleeping a lot. that might be medication-induced - TBD.

i'm watching shows, and reading random blogs and podcast transcripts on the internet - mostly related to financial independence or retiring early.

i haven't mastered eating well, but i'm not bothered yet.

part of me is still collecting data before locking myself into too many routines or outcomes or expectations.

um...i travel plan...a lot of fantasy travels...

random dillemmas

- the usual... how many credit cards to take on a trip

- trying to streamline traveling and the journey itself, but also make it as convenient and pleasant as possible, even if that means spending a bit more for convenience; i am often taking larger suitcase if it's included just so i can take more outfit options...and by outfit i mean...leisure wear...

- this time i'm taking a printed list of all the clothes i'm bringing..so i can keep track of it all..

in terms of finances..i had a little check-in with myself yesterday because i forgot where my bonus went and wanted to remind myself how much i had in my lifestyle/travel budget. so that was nice.

as far as the market...i'm glad i had the forethought to keep some cash out for this year..i'm still considering this my trial or pre-early retirement year. so i haven't even touched my FIRE Cash Stash. and i also realized i have $14k in cash from the paychecks i did receive this year that i can use toward Year 1 of early retirement's Lifestyle/Travel Fund. Which is exactly the amount i need for that bucket!

- i have been hemming and hawing a bit about spending $6k to go to Yellowstone. It seemed extravagant and worth it while i was working, precisely because i was working. But now that I have free time... it seems a bit much...even with getting a summer job to help offset the cost. 

oh speaking of.. i need to change my tax form for the summer camp to exempt so i don't have to file a california return next year.

but i mostly come back to...the yellowstone trip is just an expensive trip because it's expensive to visit that part of the country...and navigating it on my own..feels too troublesome.

other things i had to place...extra money... for the most part...i'm not planning on investing this year...so i'm just storing the little drips in a savings account to decide what i want to do later; and then i think as far as my bank bonus...that's going to lifestyle...for this year...cuz i do want to live it up!!

so yeah...not in the markets at all really this year except for my 401k.

toodles!

sunday check-in and current struggles

 hi, friends...

it's been a rainy 2 days here in Mytown and i love it. i love that i don't have to go anywhere if i don't want to. and i don't want to!!

i watched a few shows yesterday but today i've been in and out of naps and it's after 1p. 

i finally got the COBRA information from my last job. i am planning to sign up for dental and vision just because i have a history of more complicated dental issues. i will likely exhaust the 18 months with COBRA. I did a precursory look at Marketplace and the premiums were about the same price for similar coverage. I'll keep vision and likely not use it because my vision is pretty much the same. But maybe i'll have another eye exam yesterday.

i've been feeling some feelings of overwhelm with a couple kitchen gadgets i asked for from my retirement party. i think i'll return the oil sprayer because i thought it was empty and i sprayed it and something liquid and wet came out in my eye and smelled like bleach. ugh. 

and somehow the thought of maintaining it seemed too much. 

and i also got a toaster oven...because i used my old one quite a lot but now i don't know. and it's taking up space and causing angst. 

cooking has just been such a source of angst and indecision.

i realized i've struggled with this for years because i have so many food plans and ideas! from decades ago. meal plans, meal ideas, way to trick myself into eating better. ways to simplify my diet to make it easier. and i can't get anything to stick. 

but yeah, i've been eating way too much sugar lately and i don't feel good. my body is actually like stop. but then i wake up the next morning craving it. ugh. i want potato chips. 

so i don't know. trying to give myself a break from trying to solve it right now, i suppose is probably best.

can't figure out how to get rid of the bloat. that's what i want to do most of all. 

but other than that..

oh!

the other thing i realize is... i tend to want things in short bursts.

after my last trip and all my lounge access, i became a bit obsessed with getting lounge access. I applied for the capital one venture x and submitted numerous pre-approval inquiries for the amex platinum card so i can have all the access.

but a month later...that interest is no longer at the forefront. so do i just let it wane or add it to a list somewhere? i think just letting it wane makes the most sense. and last year i really wanted to go to belize for lobster fest...and now..meh, there are other places that have captured my interest.

and after sydney, i really wanted to go back to have more malaysian food..but now i'm 'obsessed' with going back to helsinki...because you guessed it...that's where i just was...

so yeah...just keeping an eye on stuff... oh, and when i was at my cousin's...i loved eating out of these little pasta plates i think the internet calls them...and i just had to have them...until i didn't...

so yeah... i don't know what's up with that...

I dream of helsinki

 so as you may remember i had a layover in helsinki on my way to zanzibar. i got to get out of the airport and it feels like i have unfinished business there. and i mistakenly thought it was where i was when my flight got cancelled and I momentarily thought about flying to paris for a night or two. but as i'm recalling in this moment...it was london... anyway..

so this thought of returning to Finland AND this thought of hopping to paris for a weekend have lingered somewhat.

it turns out that call center job i applied for last friday is real and the range really is $162 to $180/ HOUR! can you believe it. 

so i have been daydreaming of what a salary like that would be like. at full time, i already dreamed of leasing a G-wagon and living in a hotel for like a year... i seriously looked it up...and you can stay at the W sydney for like 2 or 3k for 9 days... 

anyway... i had the phone/video screen with the recruiter today. she confirmed the salary. BANANAS!! and i asked for 170-175/hr. but she said it's part time about 20 hours a week for 3-6 months. sooo, doable!

i got moved on to talk to the next guy..some kind of VP. he's not typically the demographic that hires me...but oh well. 

i am still letting myself daydream until i get the final answer. i think my shot is about 25% depending on how urgently they need the position filled. 

anyway...it was an exciting couple of days. 

i will still prep and try to do my best. it's going to be on the phone..so that might move the needle a little both in terms of bias on his part...and my being able to use my notes.

anyway. 

i've already decided...i want to spend all the money i make. i already maxed out my 401k for the year. Plus some. so i don't feel a pull for an IRA or any additional savings. 

And since I was already planning to be away for the summer at summer camp... i think i'm going to keep with that same vibe. 

and since helsinki is on my mind...seems easy...

anyway... that's what i've been up to.

i've been magically tidying up my apartment. switched winter clothes out for spring/summer. i am loving the cool nights and mornings. i'd put the heater away but i just brought i back out because it's still pretty cool in the evenings and we have some cozier weather coming up. so i'm going to enjoy myself.

i really want to curb my sugar intake as that has not stopped! 

but yeah stay tuned... i guess it'll be good i'll have my cruise to look forward to in case this goes sideways... 

oh well...i'm retired and don't need the money...and i mean...work.. blech. 

spending more

 i impulse bought a vera bradley cross-body bag to hold my passport and phone when in transit. i've just been steadily working on making the actual journey required for travel more convenient and enjoyable. that time when you are going through TSA or boarding is stressful because i don't want to lose documents. so i've been loosely thinking of ways to streamline that process.

i prefer to secure my boarding pass and passport as soon as i show it to whichever officer. so that ends up with me stepping to the side and zipping up everything. and then inevitably, you have to show it again. so i want it secure but also convenient.

last international trip i used a separate wallet for my passport, cash, and cards. and decided that would just be my international travel wallet. and i left my domestic wallet at home. since i knew this year would be filled with travel, i've been getting 2 of some things so i don't have to worry about packing. 

anyway, last night, while winding down for bed i searched for a passport carrier. after some clicking i landed on vera bradley outlet (didn't know that existed). there was a little satchel for about $10 but what made me buy it impulsively is when i checked to see how much shipping was...it was FREE. so i thought that must be a mistake. not wanting to pay for shipping when i actually made up my mind, i just went ahead and bought it. 

the site clearly has a banner that says orders over $50 is free, so i'm not sure why this was shipping free. it was only about $13 with tax. 

anyway...so yeah... with more time on your hands to think of life's little inconveniences...my appetite for little items under $20 has gone up. and so starts the potential money leak... oh well.

the other thing that's been on my mind...which may just be an idle mind...is spending $6k on my trip to yellowstone. i went ahead and got this summer job to help pay for it! 

but now...i've been wanting to go back to sydney and questioning whether $6k for a week in yellowstone is worth it.

even 9 days in sydney at the W was only $2k...so i'm thinking...i could spend almost 3 weeks living in a hotel for that much! and that was a hotel suite!

so i've been trying to decide what i want to do...

i think $6k seemed okay when i was working because i didn't want to take the time to DIY the trip...there's just a bunch of driving... but this morning... i had the itch to try to figure it out again...

there are just parts of montana that i want to see..so i've been trying to see if i want to break the trip up into separate trips...see montana... and then see yellowstone another time...

trips are interesting...for me...cuz i don't really have much of a bucket list left...so i hear of a place..run it through my mental filter...if it sticks..i plan for it...but some things have fallen off when i couldn't make them work for one reason or another (price, waning interest, logistics too tricky)...

so this morning i'm going to run the itinerary through chat gpt and see if they can plan it for me...

april 11

 it's friday...

first full week of official retirement...

starting to feel a bit restless

got out to walk every day this week and did one small social thing

so that's not it...

overeating way too much junk

i think eating better will help me feel better and more motivated

oscillating between financial blogs and travel posts...

i don't really have much interest in doing more money stuff at the moment...

and travel gets me excited...

i want to go now!!!

that's about it...

the usual....

wahhh...chores...

wahhhhhh...i ate too much sugar...

wahhhh, what should i do today??

apr 8.. first full week of retirement

 weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 

i love it....

i discovered Jingle jangle from trader joe's...if you love chocolate... you will love it... 

it's tuesday...i'm having a good day

taking my meds

the market is down 10%...so i'm no longer in the double comma club...cuz i mean... that's still a ton of money...

i have enough money for this year so i don't have to worry much...

i think i like taking out the money before the next year in full so i don't have to deal with feelings like this... lesson learned..

and i'm just workshopping some tax ideas... now that i'll have the marketplace plan...there's an apparent minimum you have to hit... so gotta keep that in mind..

otherwise yeah...my mind just kind of jumps on this idea or that...and it makes it seem important..but so far not in a bothersome way...i already know all my thoughtful actions are optional...