Things are chugging right along on our path towards our "un-American Dream." We will be land owners in a couple of weeks, and our current house is now on the market. We had one showing so far, and the people are very interested and may be making us an offer according to their agent. It would be absolutely unbelievable if the first people to see our house end up buying it, but if it's meant to be, who am I to question it?
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I believe our society is stuck in a perpetual "Catch 22" when it comes to technology. Most of us agree that we spend too much time on computers, cell phones, television, and the like. There are streamlining processes, but they take time to set up properly. For example, I could set up a batch file on my computer and tell it to open three programs at once every time my computer is turned on. This would save me time in the long run, but I would have to learn the programming first, then set it up and hope that it works, and so on.
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I don't really plan a budget for my family to follow each month, but rather, I keep track of what we have spent after the fact and compare it to previous months. We then review the results and see where we need to cut back for the next month. I think setting a budget could make us feel defeated if we go over budget and we would be constantly shifting things around.
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The top reason seniors give up their independence and move into a nursing home is for fear of slipping and falling. I've mentioned stair lifts, but what about the bathtub, where most slipping accidents occur? A bath lift is a battery-operated lift chair that lowers to the bottom of the tub for a relaxing bath, then lifts the user back up to the top of the tub to easily step out.
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As my readers know, I always recommend shopping around before making any purchase, big or small. Insurance would fall into the "big" category, so it is especially important to compare rates if you want cheap auto insurance. One way to do this is to go to the individual website of each insurance company and request rate quotes from each one. This may be very time consuming.
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After years of preaching about downsizing, minimizing, and simplifying, we are finally taking a major step down our path to fulfillment. We have a contract on a piece of land where we plan to build our own very small cabin for our family of four to live simply, without a mortgage. We plan on building as much of the cabin as we can with our own hands, utilizing "green" building techniques wherever we can including recycled building materials and shopping for supplies locally.
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As we age, getting around becomes increasingly more difficult. Many seniors feel that they must move into a one-level home to continue living without assistance. Rather than uprooting everything to move, why not install stair lifts to assist with the task of stair climbing?
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One of the hardest aspects of living frugally is finding hobbies that don't wipe out the bank account. Most hobbies include lots of supplies and gear. For example, golfing requires clubs, golf bags, golf shoes, and more. All that in addition to the expensive cost of playing the game itself.
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