Saving...

I'm a saver.  Not a saver of money necessarily, a saver of 'stuff'.

I now have to go through all of the 'stuff' that I have saved over the years and decide what I really want to keep.  I have things that I haven't seen in years, but the thought of getting rid of them makes me shake.  What if I NEED them someday?  What if I can never replace them?

How to determine if something is important?  Are there really guidelines for this?  I know they say if you haven't touched something in 6 months, you should get rid of it.  And what happens if 6 months from now, I find out that I needed what I disposed of?

I know that I definitely want to keep all my photos that I have taken ever since I became fascinated with the photographic image some 50 years ago.  Yes, I do have photos that old.  Do I really need to keep the 4 yearbooks from high school?  What if I want to spend a day reminiscing some day in the future?  Will I regret that I disposed of them as "unimportant"?


Of course I know that there are many things that I need to let go of - video games for a system that I no longer have, gadgets that have been purchased over the years that I really didn't need, have never used and most likely will never use in the future.

I have a full week, plus a day or two off, over the Christmas holiday.  Hopefully, I will be able to struggle with all the options for all this 'stuff' then.  Wish me luck.

Where?

I'm doing a lot of reading about the different areas/cities/towns for retirement.  My target point changes almost daily.  Today I am thinking of San Miguel de Allende.  It so sounds like someplace that I want to be.  Of course I would like to go back to the same area that I lived in previously, but the prices on the Caribbean coast have sky rocketed and the whole point of the move is to be somewhere affordable.

San Miguel de Allende is in the mountains and boasts a year round temperate climate.  Not too hot, not too cold.  No need for air conditioning or heating.  My kind of place.  And of all the places in Mexico that I have been to, I have never been there.  Sounds like a 'real' adventure and a new beginning.

Of course, I am still reading and may change my mind yet again.  We'll just have to wait and see how it goes.  I seem to change my mind depending on what I am reading, and right now the book that I am reading features San Miguel de Allende.  Let me read a book about Merida and we just might wind up there as well!

I'm still dealing with butterflies as the days seem to be flying by.  I have 176 working days left before I retire and there seems to be too much that needs to be accomplished before we can set a target date.

Wish us luck and please don't recommend too many books that recommend other cities/towns in Mexico for retirement!

What Do They Know?

I find it amazing that so many people think that they know the reality of the situation in Mexico.

"Oh my goodness, why would you go to Mexico?"  "Do you know that you could get killed down there?"  "I could NEVER go there, with all that is happening!"  "It is so unsafe!"  "What about the drug cartels?"

Well, I would like to let everyone know that it is still quite safe down there.  The 'unsafe' areas are all near the border of the U.S. and in the state of Sinaloa.  We do not plan on going anywhere near Sinaloa and we feel that we will be safe in the border area as long as we start out in daylight.  I am not afraid at all.  I have several American friends that still live down there and they have not encountered any problems at all.

I embrace the idea of traveling through Mexico, I have been there before and I have no doubt that our experience will be the same.  Everyone who expresses the concerns have never been there or done what we are planning on doing.  They just believe what the media has to say about it.

My life will be better for the experience.  After all, what is life worth if we do not face our fears?  Life without experience is not worth living.  I'm just saying.

I'm Old

There is  no way around it.  I am getting older.  I have just one more month to apply for Medicare or I will face a 'penalty' for applying late.  What is wrong with this country?  If I elect to take Part B, it will cost me $115.40 per month.  Part A is free.  If I put off signing up for Part B and elect to take it later, there is a monetary penalty.  So it's decision time. 

Fortunately, as I plan to leave the country, neither is important to me.  I will be able to get full medical care in whatever country I wind up in for less than  $300.00 a Year!  What is wrong with this picture?  Does our country think so little of the people that have worked hard to make this country as strong as it is, that they take away our dignity in our old age?

So, I will apply for Part A since it costs me nothing and not worry about anything in the future.  I know that whatever country that I wind up in, they will have more reverence for their elders than the U.S. has.  They will value my wisdom and my hard work, and welcome me with premium health care no matter what.  I will be looked upon with respect instead of discarded as no longer useful.  It is the major reason for why I am leaving...

Butterflies

It has started...

I had a thought the other day of "This is it."  Time is just flying by and before I know it, it will be time to check out.  I felt a slight flutter in the pit of my stomach.  There is so much to do and so little time.  I am at the helm of it all, having done this before, I know more of what needs to be done and my husband is just following my lead.

I downloaded a new book to my Kindle and it is full of so much information about retiring to Mexico (where we will start) that I have numerous bookmarks throughout it already!  I am excited and nervous, all at the same time.  Are we doing the right thing, will it all work out, etc., etc.

I felt better today after having a discussion with coworkers about where this country is heading, given the financial and political situation.  I have acknowledged that we are going to see the crime rate go up and more and more people taking their own lives over the hopelessness of the situation.  How much can those of us that are not in that percentage of 'the wealthy Americans' going to be able to take before we crack?  I remind myself that soon it will not be a problem for us because we will be far away from it all, living very comfortably on what little money we will receive every month, along with my pension and 401k (unless the 401k is completely diminished before I retire).

I've already opened my bank account with the credit union.  Higher CD rates (even at their lowest right now) and not having to pay to use my own $$ when presenting my debit card.  I have now found out that Banamex (the national bank of Mexico) has an office in Los Angeles, where I can open an account and have funds deposited to draw on down there.  No fees and no caps on how much we can draw out!  I can keep the credit union account for the savings and CDs and just transfer over when, and if, we need additional funds.  Don't think that will be a problem if we have our SS checks deposited to the Banamex account.

So, yes, I am excited, nervous and anticipating fun and adventure over the next several months.  Stay tuned!

Life is Not Fair Sometimes

Life is not always fair.  We learn that somewhere along the way, but sometimes it hurts more than at other times.  Today is one of those days...

My husband suffered a stroke 2 years ago this month.  We made it through that crisis with flying colors.  He is back to normal, without any side affects and on numerous medications.  Unfortunately, he has not been able to secure steady work since then.  Today, he had to go to court to defend himself in not being able to pay alimony to his ex wife.  They made him fly from Phoenix to Albany, NY to appear in court for a total of 45 minutes, without the judge even asking him one question!

I won't go into all the details, but the judge refused to rule on the situation, stating that he strongly suggested that they come to some sort of settlement to prevent this from going before a jury.  She does have to provide a sworn statement stating what she did with all his belongings that she was supposed to provide to him and which, she has stated up to this point, that she gave to Goodwill, without notifying him!  Some of those belongings include silver ingots.

So, they had before them a broken man financially, who has had to borrow from me to pay for the lawyer and the trip to NY today and the judge said he couldn't rule on the situation because he didn't have enough information, even though numerous documents had been presented to prove my husband's financial hardship.  The only income he has at this point in time is his SS check of $2,100/month!

New York truly needs to revamp their divorce and alimony laws to take into consideration that she is currently working in a management position, owns a condo, all new furnishings, new car and a pedigree dog, but somehow thinks that he should be paying for her lavish lifestyle while making him suffer to support that lifestyle.

I'm going to end this now before my nasty side comes out.  I understand that previous wives deserve something, but there has got to be an end to that support within a given time frame.  Enough is enough!

I'll step down off my soapbox now.  Please forgive me for my anger over this situation.  And you wonder why I want to leave this wonderful country...

Dust Storm

Yesterday we had a bad dust storm here in the Phoenix area.  In the 18+ years that I have lived here (my goodness, has it been that long?), I have never, and I mean never, seen a dust storm like what I saw yesterday.  Usually, there is a wall of dust that comes through and then we get some rain.  Yesterday it wasn't like that.  This was a wild storm, with dust blowing everywhere where you looked.  As I have already said, I have never been in something like this.  Driving home from work at 20 miles an hour once I left the freeway, it took me almost an hour to drive 26 miles!

The only upside of the whole storm was that not only did we get rain after the dust blew through, it POURED!  I am still in awe over what I saw yesterday and the photos below document it all...

Quandries

We have 2 cats and a dog.  While I took a dog and a cat with me the last time I moved to Mexico, for some reason I am having reservations about it this time.

Our dog is not very well behaved.  My husband spoils her too much so she doesn't listen too well.  She's very smart, but listens only when she wants to.  I taught her to sit, lie down, give her paw and roll over all in a 4 day span.  But call her to come to you and you get a look like "You talking to me?  I will damn well come when I feel like it!"

The cats are lovable, but I don't know how well they would travel.  They are both rescue cats that I think are under 6 years old.  One is a lap cat to the point of being annoying and the other won't let you hold her and will only accept pets and strokes when she feels like it.  Both have their claws which could prove to be a problem in a vehicle when attempting to restrain or contain them.


So I am wondering if you have have ever had to give up a pet, however reluctantly it might have been?  Was it a difficult decision or was it easy?  Did you regret doing it?

                                    Brandi - she's half Queensland Heeler and half golden Lab

  Bitsie is the black & white tuxedo cat and Oakley, the beige one.  Sisters and companions.

                                                                  Bitsie relaxing...

                                                        Oakley with her gold eyes...