https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com Perfecting the art of living well in retirement... info@savingadvice.com Analise en-us https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2013/03/23/busy-living-and-loving-retirement_101795/ I decided to do a quick update or another month will go by. I am alive and well in the City of Trees. Tomorrow we leave for China, where we will spend almost a month seeing much of the country. We will be on a Road Scholars tour with a small group and an English-speaking guide. We... Sat, 23 Mar 2013 23:54:24 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2013/01/03/retirement-redux_99992/ With the New Year upon us, I've been reflecting on my life in retirement. Before retirement I worked for almost 30 years in education in positions ranging from classroom teacher to program specialist, and culminating for the final 15 years as school principal. On a daily basis there... Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:10:45 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2012/09/25/gave-myself-a-400-raise_97723/ Well, the truth is it feels like a raise. Today I signed the papers for refinancing two rentals that are my sole and separate property. I have been thinking about it for several years but dragged my feet, mainly because I didn't want to deal with B of A (the current lender), and home... Tue, 25 Sep 2012 02:06:00 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2012/07/08/those-lazy-hazy-crazy-days-of-summer_95984/ Summer in the City of Trees is my favorite season. Dh and I spend time enjoying our adopted city before our serious travels begin again in the fall. This week we are having a heat wave in our neck of the woods, with six 100+ degree days predicted. Nonetheless, I love summer and the... Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:06:29 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2012/04/03/so-what-do-you-do-all-day_93890/ Yikes! Has it really been 3 months since I last posted? I am alive and well living happily ever after in retirement. 2012 is the first year we've had only one house to deal with, so our life has gotten simpler (and cheaper). It was a good financial move to sell the CA condo last fall.... Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:43:06 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2012/01/01/a-year-of-splendid-retirement_89374/ Yesterday dh and I were discussing how quickly 2011 flew by. After all, we are retired... shouldn't life seem a little slower? So where did the year go? And how are we doing financially... where did our money go?<br /> <br /> <b>January - Our "National Geographic Experience"</b><br /> We started the year... Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:20:47 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/12/25/for-kids-who-have-it-all_88839/ ...and even for those who do not, a donation to a non-profit organization may be the perfect gift. This year I gave my grandniece and two grandnephews a symbolic adoption of an endangered animal. <div style="display:none;">Text is World Wildlife Fund and Link is http://www.worldwildlife.org/home-full-5.html</div><a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/home-full-5.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">World... Sun, 25 Dec 2011 02:07:02 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/11/24/a-snowbird-experiment_86056/ <a href="https://www.savingadvice.com/blogs/image.php?blog=3391&id=9893&original=1"><img hspace="5" src="https://www.savingadvice.com/blogs/image.php?blog=3391&id=9893&&" alt="" align="" border="2" /></a><br /> Now that we permanently live in a colder-in-the-winter part of the country, the snowbird lifestyle is gaining appeal. On Saturday dh and I will leave for three weeks in warm and sunny Cabo San Lucas. We'll stay in a one-bedroom condo at the <div style="display:none;">Text is Hacienda Encantada and Link is http://www.haciendaencantada.com/index.php</div><a href="http://www.haciendaencantada.com/index.php" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Hacienda... Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:13:55 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/11/02/castles-and-windmills_84196/ ...are some of my favorite memories. It's been a week since we returned from our European trip, and our life has fallen back into a comfortable routine. We had an amazing trip visiting 8 countries in 30 days, but it is good to be home. We stayed within our budget, but I did spend on... Wed, 02 Nov 2011 03:24:01 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/09/24/travel-avings_79859/ <div align="center"><a href="https://www.savingadvice.com/blogs/image.php?blog=3391&id=9564&original=1"><img hspace="5" src="https://www.savingadvice.com/blogs/image.php?blog=3391&id=9564&&" alt="" align="" border="2" /></a></div><br /> <br /> Tomorrow dh and I leave on our next adventure, a month-long trip that will take us to eight European countries. The first leg of the trip will be two days in Barcelona followed by a 12-day Mediterranean cruise to celebrate a friend's retirement. Then we are back in Barcelona... Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:20:15 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/09/17/recovered-unclaimed-money-_78914/ Today my dh got a check in the mail for $63 from the State of California. This came about after I read an article a few months back that said there are millions of dollars in unclaimed funds in the CA treasury. I checked and, sure enough, found dh on the list of people with unclaimed... Sat, 17 Sep 2011 18:12:42 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/09/07/we-finally-closed-escrow_77571/ on our California condo... three weeks late, but at least it's done. We had to be patient due to buyer's loan issues that necessitated signing FIVE extensions to the contract. It's a good thing we knew and liked the buyer otherwise we would have gone with the backup offer and would... Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:36:32 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/08/21/thinking-about-disasters_75803/ When dh and I moved to ID in May 2010 we applied and were accepted as Red Cross volunteers. We completed the required training and are now members of the Disaster Action Team (DAT). We are on call several weeks during year, with the dates aligned to fit our travel schedule. This week,... Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:55:55 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/07/28/update-on-the-condo-sale_72363/ Tomorrow dh and I leave for CA to finalize the sale of the condo... escrow papers will be signed on August 2. We are selling it for 95% of what I paid in 2003. That is how bad the real estate market is in Silicon Valley. Still, I'm grateful it sold, although I won't celebrate until... Thu, 28 Jul 2011 03:01:50 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/06/26/selling-ca-condo_70409/ A year ago we debated whether to rent or sell our condo in CA. We eventually decided to do neither, and just held on to it to use when we visit family and friends in the Bay Area. Now a year later, we have decided to sell it, largely due to the high cost of keeping it vs. the amount... Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:16:05 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/05/25/bubble-and-squeak_69588/ Today we deviated from our usual breakfast of oatmeal or cold cereal and had a different but delicious breakfast using left over mashed potatoes and cabbage (very frugal):<br /> <br /> <b>Menu</b><br /> ~ <div style="display:none;">Text is Bubble & Squeak and Link is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_and_squeak</div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_and_squeak" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Bubble & Squeak</a><br /> ~ Organic pork sausage patties<br /> ~ Fried Eggs<br /> <br /> I decided to make bubble and squeak after watching a British comedy where it was mentioned. Apparently it is a common dish in the UK and it gets its name from the noise it makes while cooking. It's a good way to used leftovers. There are many variations to the recipe, including using meat in the mixture. Following is the recipe I used.<br /> <br /> <b>Bubble...</b> Wed, 25 May 2011 22:28:25 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/05/08/a-busy-april_69074/ First of all, Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere. May your day be a special one. Dh and I went out for a lovely brunch and we will be having dinner tonight with my daughters. It should be a lot of fun.<br /> <br /> April came and went in a whirlwind. Early in the month I was in NYC, spending... Sun, 08 May 2011 20:26:34 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/04/07/im-still-here_67946/ It's been a while since I posted, so I guess an update is in order. My dh and I have been busy traveling. In early March, we spent a week on the Oregon coast. The weather was cold and we had some rain, but it didn't dampen our spirits. We enjoyed whale watching right from the condo... Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:09:21 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/03/01/hefty-costco-amex-rebate-_66532/ Last Thursday we received a Costco American Express rebate check for $1,019.59. These rebate funds will go straight into our travel savings.<br /> <br /> According to the year-end summary we spent 53% of our total expenditures on travel, a category that pays back 2%. It's a good rebate program... Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:17:36 PST Analise https://financiallyfree2bme.savingadvice.com/2011/02/27/american-airlines-and-expedia-are-no-lon_66454/ This afternoon, while confirming upcoming travel reservations I learned that as of January 1, 2011 Expedia and American Airlines no longer have a business partnership. An Expedia agent told me the breakup is due to "incompatible computer systems." However, I'm sure there's more to... Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:31:38 PST Analise