It’s been over a month since my last entry and what a month it’s been. I’m currently down south helping care for my dad as he deals with serious health issues. I arrived in time to prepare and then narrowly miss two hurricanes. One of my brothers lives here but Dad’s condition worsened to a point that my brother didn’t know what to do.

The good news is that Dad is somewhat stable now. I monitor his meds and diet and I’m proud to say that I’ve gotten him to enjoy green smoothies. His mental clarity is back but he’s tired and weak all the time. The best-case scenario is that he’ll qualify for a transplant list so his overall condition is still quite serious.

Everything needed attention: his house, his finances, his health, and a couple of relationships. Dad is generous and gullible and he’s been taken advantage of repeatedly. Some things were obvious to us but the more I organize, the more I find out. I am thankful that he’s thinking clearly now so I can ask questions and support by doing things with his approval instead of just taking over.

One of the next tasks on my Dad to-do list is to move his IRA to Vanguard. He has an advisor account with someone he met who is charging thousands of dollars each year in fees. His money is invested in about two dozen funds. It looks needlessly complicated for a modest retirement account. Dad has agreed and he trusts my judgment. Any suggestions for good funds for retirees? (once I get the funds transferred to Vanguard) My own retirement account is more aggressive since I’m not retired and I’m willing to take on some risk. That’s not Dad’s situation.

I’ve made good progress in my time here so far:
++ gotten Dad to retire. He’d been eligible for a healthy pension but enjoyed working.
++ paid off his mortgage
++ given notice to the 30-something woman with toddler that has been living here rent-free for 18 months
++ locked the credit card that was being misused by others
++ reclaimed two bedrooms that had been taken over as storage facilities for others
++ most importantly: improved Dad’s diet and lifestyle

Soon I’ll be making a trip home to get our household up-to-date and to retrieve personal items before returning. I’m not sure how long I’ll need to stay – I’m being flexible. And DH is being really understanding. I’m glad we chose online school for the boys this year. I'm also glad that I have a job that allows me to work anywhere with an internet connection. I saw a photo of a shirt that had ‘2020’ and 1 of 5 stars beneath it with “would not recommend”

Yes, I know it’s August! I’ve had a couple of busy weeks and didn’t get around to this.

My 2020 goal #2 is to adopt a permanent health-enhancing habit each month. My new health habit for July was to disconnect one day a week. For me it’ll usually be a Saturday since I work and I’m often getting prepared for the week ahead on Sundays (unfortunately).

On my disconnected day, I will avoid screens. Computer screens, TV screens, ipad mini, and phone.

NEW HEALTH HABIT #7:
Have one disconnected day each week.

BENEFIT:
• Spending more focused time in my relationships
• More likely to spend time outdoors
• Less stress caused by reading ratings-seeking controversial news stories
• Increased productivity since there aren’t distractions
• Less guilt from wasting time on thoughts and activities that really aren’t important
• More time for reflection
• Become more present and authentic.


COST:
Upfront – zero
Ongoing – zero

There might be a cost savings because I can’t order online! 😉

2020 health habits so far:
(1) Fast one day per month
(2) Consume fresh organic juice at least 3 times a week
(3) Stop storing food in plastic containers
(4) Spend at least half an hour outside every day
(5) Drink 32 oz filtered water every day
(6) Do strength training exercises twice a week
(7) Disconnect one day each week.

I remember that CJ once did something similar to this one year for a resolution.

My 2020 goal #2 is to adopt a permanent health-enhancing habit each month. My new health habit for June is to have two resistance training workouts each week.

I have a book that illustrates a few no-equipment-needed strength-building moves for different body parts. I have a health club membership too where I can use machines. This is an area of weakness for me. (I feel like I’ve said that about several of my health habits!) DH is disciplined with workouts but not with diet. I tend to be the opposite. If we could combine ourselves, we’d be the ideal, or the worst…!

The reason I chose strength training is that as I get older it seems like my muscle tone is deteriorating before my eyes. And I want to maintain my strength so I can remain active as I move into my retirement phase of life. So, it’s for both aesthetic and quality of life reasons.

NEW HEALTH HABIT #6:
Do strength training exercises twice a week.

BENEFIT:
Strength training can do all this & more:
• maintain lean muscle mass
• preserve bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis for women
• raise metabolism (once muscle mass is improved)
• reduce risk of injury
• improve balance
• improve the muscle’s ability to use glucose, decreasing blood sugar levels
• reduce cancer risk by lowering visceral fat
• increase mental resiliency (anti-anxiety effect)
• improve flexibility & mobility


COST:
Upfront – zero
Ongoing – $20/month health club membership


2020 health habits so far:
(1) Fast one day per month
(2) Consume fresh organic juice at least 3 times a week
(3) Stop storing food in plastic containers
(4) Spend at least half an hour outside every day
(5) Drink 32 oz filtered water every day
(6) Do strength training exercises twice a week

I’ve been on a slight hiatus due to feeling overwhelmed and discontinuing unnecessary tasks as a result. And it wasn’t directly because of the country’s 3-month turmoil either but instead my fretting about family members I love. In two separate situations (DS3 and my dad), I watched consequences from poor choices while I was powerless to do anything. But pray, which I did. Both situations eventually resolved themselves better than I thought possible but boy – I feel like I lost a year off my life from the stress. I really wish I knew a secret to truly let go of situations out of my control when they’re close to me.

The good news is that I have been keeping up with the high priority items directly in my control. So back to regularly scheduled programming…

My 2020 goal #2 is to adopt a permanent health-enhancing habit each month. My new health habit for May is to drink 32 oz of filtered water each day. (in addition to any other liquids I consume)

I think the ideal water intake for an adult is more than this but it’ll be a step up for me. I have a good quality water bottle that I keep at my desk. Two fill-ups should be at least 32 ounces.

NEW HEALTH HABIT #5:
Drink 32 oz of filtered water every day.

BENEFIT:
Drinking water positively impacts brain function, energy levels, digestion, and metabolic rate. Water intake eliminates headaches caused by dehydration and can prevent kidney stones. It aids in detoxification and lubricates joints, eyes, and skin.


COST:
Upfront – zero (I already have a filter.)
Ongoing – zero


2020 health habits so far:
(1) Fast one day per month
(2) Consume fresh organic juice at least 3 times a week
(3) Stop storing food in plastic containers
(4) Spend at least half an hour outside every day
(5) Drink 32 oz filtered water every day

Today was exciting because it’s the first CSA delivery of the year. Our first box contained spring onions, Tuscan kale, green chard, wintered kale, radishes, and gold potatoes and one butterkin squash from winter storage.

I’ve already made green smoothies for us with an assortment of the greens. I feel healthy just knowing that we’ve got just-harvested organic greens in our bodies.


Smoothie raw materials – 2 types of kale + radish greens

My 2020 goal #2 is to adopt a permanent health-enhancing habit each month. I’ve decided that my new health habit for April will be to spend at least half an hour outside every day.

It’s a shame that I have to work to make this a habit but I do. Even working from home, some days I realize that I didn’t get out at all except to pick up the mail. Especially when the weather is cold. So now unless there’s a bad storm or the temperature is in the single digits, I’m going to spend time outside. It doesn’t have to be for exercise – I could just drink my coffee on the deck. Part of it is covered so I could do that on a rainy day too.

NEW HEALTH HABIT #4:
Spend at least half an hour outside every day.

BENEFIT:
Provides a de-stressing effect, might improve short-term memory, creativity, and the ability to focus, reduces inflammation, helps eliminate fatigue, may prevent depression, may protect vision, lowers blood pressure, may boost the immune system

COST:
Upfront – zero
Ongoing – zero

Cheap and simple.

2020 health habits so far:
(1) Fast one day per month
(2) Consume fresh organic juice at least 3 times a week
(3) Stop storing food in plastic containers
(4) Spend at least half an hour outside every day

Well I purchased Norton Lifelock for my computer’s antivirus protection since it was only $20 and I already have buyer’s remorse. I can’t get it to complete the install – it keeps requesting a reboot again and again – and the online technical support isn’t available because of the coronavirus according to their website. If ever there was a job that was conducive to working remotely, I would’ve thought that online technical support would be it, but apparently not. Needless to say, if I can’t get it working I’ll ask for a refund. I suspect that I may be told (if I ever talk with a live person) that my computer is too old.

We’re still being vigilant about vitamins to stay healthy. And DS1 who still is expected to work in a customer-facing role says that he’s receiving an extra $300 per paycheck for working during this outbreak. He’s taking the high-dose Vitamin D he received in his stocking and so far is symptom-free. We also talked about him using any stimulus money that might come his way to start his new EF.


Mine and boys

Tomorrow I’m invited to a virtual retirement party.

We recently adopted a stray cat and today was its first vet appointment to get checked out and receive immunizations. The animal clinic sent a message a few hours before the appointment to alert us of the temporary protocol in place due to the coronavirus. After we parked the car, we called them to let them know that Bandit (The kids name our pets.) had arrived. I spoke on the phone with the technician to review concerns & health history just like we normally do in the exam room. Then when the vet was ready, we carried the pet carrier to the front door for a hand-off. We waited in the car until the vet called my phone with the exam notes and results. I paid with a CC over the phone then met the technician at the door to retrieve the full pet carrier.

I have to say that it was efficient in addition to being safe. It was strange though not to be with our pet while he was examined.

The total bill was $201. That included the visit, two immunizations, a fecal test, and a leukemia test. They’re only doing medically necessary surgeries for the next 2 weeks so I have to call to schedule the neutering for sometime later than that. We found out that he is about three years old! We guessed that he was less than a year.

I’m a planner by nature so I’m directing any anxiety about the current situation to our logistics. The boys are off school for at least two weeks. DS2’s college extended spring break so he just extended his visit with our families in the south. He’ll fly home in a week. I’m hoping that travel is safer then with international flights discontinued. He also connects in Charlotte rather than one of the mega-airports. If his college makes a decision to complete the semester virtually and travel becomes more restricted, I suppose he could stay there. DS1’s current job is customer-facing so I do worry about that although it’s not in a big city. Fortunately, my job with the exception of occasional travel being canceled isn’t impacted much. I’m most productive working from the home office and that’s the typical work day for me. I will need to creatively replan some projects that have tasks normally done at the customer site though.

This weekend I’m cleaning. Our house is grubby most of the time. Women who value a pristine home environment would be appalled by our place. But with a crew of boys I learned years ago that I would be a ball of stress if I insisted on keeping the place like a showroom. Usually my cleaning efforts are focused on keeping dishes and clothes caught up with an occasional vacuuming. But this weekend I’m dusting, wiping, scrubbing, and disinfecting door knobs and light switches.

We’ve never had an emergency food stash despite the fact that we live far enough north that a snowstorm could potentially force us to be homebound without power. We once lost power but the snow wasn’t too deep to get out and we moved to a hotel for a couple of days. Every year I say that I’ll make one before the winter arrives and I don’t. Laziness I guess. Knowing that we could be forced to stay home for a month or more, we created a stash now. It includes an extra round of household items we purchase every couple of months – garbage bags, laundry & dishwashing detergents, and pet food. And some healthy food that can keep awhile – rice, beans, applesauce, figs, peanut butter, mixed nuts, carrots, onions, potatoes, and one box of Girl Scout cookies so we don’t feel deprived. I also ordered some organic coconut milk powder. Really I think we’d be healthier is we were forced to fast a couple of days or eat beans & rice only! I’m not saying that I hope it comes to that though.

In addition to the food stash, I created a small cash stash. That’s another thing I’ve always intended to establish. Eventually I’d like to have a month’s basic expenses in cash. Maybe I’ll consider that as a goal next year.

To prepare ourselves for exposure to the virus which may be inevitable, we’re all taking vitamins and an anti-viral herb each day. Last week I also ordered replacement filters for the Berkey water filter.

Since we’re hunkering down, I’d like to plan what to do with boys during their time off. Maybe working on scout merit badges with DS4. Or having a game night. I’ll check out our game cabinet and see if we have all the Monopoly pieces.

My 2020 goal #2 is to adopt a permanent health-enhancing habit each month. I’ve decided that my new health habit for March will be to stop storing food in plastic containers. I’m going to use glass containers instead.

I don’t think it’s unhealthy for food to just touch plastic but I’ve read that temperature fluctuations can cause plastic to leach into the food. I stopped microwaving with plastic containers years ago but the rest of the family will do it if it’s most convenient. My dad personally knew a woman who was taken to the hospital (I forgot the symptoms.) and the cause was her consumption of bottled water that had gotten very hot in the trunk of her car then cooled back down before she drank it.

NEW HEALTH HABIT #3:
Stop storing food in plastic containers.

BENEFIT:
Prevents consumption of plastic (microplastic) that is toxic to the body

COST:
Upfront – $95
Ongoing – zero

The upfront cost is the total for the purchases I made of glass replacements for my plastic containers. I bought a set of Pyrex containers with color-coded plastic lids for leftovers, six canisters for storing rice, pasta, & legumes, and two glass carafes with plastic lids to replace our yucky stained plastic pitcher.

This new habit is easy compared to the others.

2020 health habits so far:
(1) Fast one day per month
(2) Consume fresh organic juice at least 3 times a week
(3) Stop storing food in plastic containers

I’ve just returned from another business trip. It was an experience – especially the trip home. I loaded up on high doses of Vitamins C & D before traveling and used Airborne daily while I was away. Just in case. On the planes, many people were wearing masks and all of us used sanitizer repeatedly. Very few tray tables were used on the planes. On the trips home one flight was 2/3 full and the other about ½ full. I’m happy to say that I didn’t see anyone that appeared sick. The Washington Dulles airport was like a ghost town last night. While I was traveling, the company issued a memo banning all travel through the end of April. So that will be my last trip for a while.

On the financial front, I paid our spring property taxes today: $1300. That represents a 2% discount for paying earlier than the target date. We have two property tax bills – spring and summer. The spring is the smaller one. The summer bill is close to $4000 for us.

I need to go through my receipts and get my expense report submitted now. Also, I received notification from Ally that the online savings account interest rate is decreasing to 1.5%. I appreciate their transparency. They also are offering a 1% bonus for transferring more than $1000 into an Ally savings account before the end of the month. This might be a good deal for someone like CCF who has sizable amounts in a variety of banks. I’m not sure it’ll work for me given their timing coinciding with my paying off a 0% CC.

I think I will be able to continue my new juicing habit without needing to increase the grocery budget. This is good news because I predicted that the budget would increase by $50/month. That increase would be realistic if I weren’t flexible about the veggies used. But I have discovered that Sam’s typically has 5-pound bags of organic carrots for only $3.50 and that carrots are a good base for most juices. My juice is usually mostly carrots with apples, celery, and/or raw ginger. Cucumbers are good with apples, but organic ones have been especially expensive. Perhaps in the summer when they’re in season the organic ones will be cheaper.

I’m not having any problem getting in 3 glasses each week – I usually have more. And while I’m at it I make extra and offer a ‘shot of health’ to another member of the family. I’ve gotten used to cleaning the new juicer too. It’s still not fun, but it’s not hard to do.

I can see that our federal tax refund is expected to be direct-deposited in two days. We’re getting $2606 back this year which means I had too much withheld, but next year we’ll lose $3500 in child/dependent tax credits so I’ll need to adjust withholding to prevent owing a thousand bucks, assuming all other things are equal this year. I’ll take a closer look at that during the summer after I know whether there is any increase in income and after I take some time to research any tax code changes that could impact us.

Of course the $2606 is allocated. I budgeted $900 for our annual CSA membership and the rest to the 0% CC. I over-budgeted slightly for the CSA and I also got a discount for paying it early and in full instead of using a payment plan. It was $815. That’s a ‘full share’ size box of organic veggies every week from April 22nd week to the week before Christmas.

The local delivery site is easily walkable from my house so on veggie day I block an hour in my work schedule to leave my desk and go pick them up. I like having the commitment because it insures that I get exercise and fresh air that day. I bought a used stroller at a garage sale last year just for this purpose because the bag of veggies gets heavy in the middle of the summer.

Now that I have the juicer, I may try juicing some things this year. And by the way, I’m loving the juicer! My favorite so far is carrot-apple with a little raw ginger.

The only thing financial about this post is that it’s something for FREE.

Chris Wark from the Chris Beat Cancer website has the first of ten modules of his Square One program (which costs around $100 I think) available for 24 hours for free. So if you’re interested, the link to the video is here: https://squareone.chrisbeatcancer.com/first-things-first/ He only does this a couple of times a year.

My mom died of cancer at age 61 so I am all about prevention.

My 2020 goal #2 is to adopt a permanent health-enhancing habit each month. I’ve decided that my new health habit for February will be to consume fresh organic juice at least 3 times each week.
We used to have a Jack Lalanne juicer but it bit the dust a few years ago. I’ve just purchased a juicer that’s a step up and recommended by some of the health gurus that I follow – the Champion juicer. It’s pricey so it’s only going to be a smart purchase if I really do make frequent use of it.

NEW HEALTH HABIT #2:
Consume fresh organic juice at least 3 times a week

BENEFIT:
Easily boosts absorption of vitamins, minerals, & antioxidants to provide energy and detoxification. Hydrates the body, improves digestion, keeps body in an alkaline state, promotes longevity.

COST:
Upfront – $350
Ongoing – $50/month

The ongoing cost is a guess. I already buy organic fruits & veggies but I do recall being surprised before at how much produce it takes to make a glass of juice. But on the other hand the juice will be a replacement for calories I’m currently getting elsewhere. I’ll update this number once I see the actual change in our grocery bill.

This new habit is an expensive one, probably the most expensive one I’ll acquire this year because it has both an upfront cost and an ongoing cost that are substantial. I was going to wait until later in the year to pull the trigger on this one since I have financial goals too, but I want the health benefits now. Expensive, but still cheaper than medical bills!

2020 health habits so far:
(1) Fast one day per month
(2) Consume fresh organic juice at least 3 times a week

For our family January ended on a sad note: FIL died yesterday. He was in hospice so it wasn’t unexpected but still tough to accept.

Yesterday was my fast day too (new habit – one of my 2020 goals) and I survived. Going for two days to get my February day in too was not an option though – 24 hours was as much as I could take. So I’ll plan for another day in February. And I’ve got to decide what my second new health-enhancing habit will be beginning this month.

On the financial front (since that’s the focus of the blog!), DS4 had an interview today for a summer job. He feels good about it. He was nervous but prepared. I’m really proud of him, no matter what happens. Hopefully he’ll get an offer after they check his references.

I’ve stopped using the Ally CC and I’ll redeem my points for cash to the online savings account once my last purchase moves from ‘pending’ – a nearly $300 vet bill for our feline’s annual check-up. Then I’ll be done with that account.

I’ve started doing taxes and hope to finish them within a few days. And I’ve sent principal payments to the 0% CC with a balance and to house debt. I’ve also just been reimbursed for my business trip earlier in the month so I need to send that to the CC before it’s due.

HR hosted a Medicare webinar this week that all colleagues were invited to attend. Though I’m a decade away from Medicare, I’m not knowledgeable about it and it’s an aspect of retirement planning I should consider. So I attended. I was surprised at how few people attended and I think I was the youngest one. The person presenting the information was not from the company but from an organization that offers Medicare consulting services. The positive aspect of that is that she knew the topic inside & out. The negative aspect is that she was presenting an informational seminar to sell their services, so it was clearly in her best interest to make the topic complex and to be biased toward over-insuring.

The seminar was informative and I did glean some information for my planning purposes.

As to the components and their costs, I took these notes:
Part A – covers inpatient hospital & hospice care. $0 premium. $1408/occurrence deductible + co-pays after 60 days
Part B – covers doctors & medical services. $145 - $492/mo/pp premium depending upon income (rolling 2-year look-back). $198 deductible, then 20% coinsurance. Covers Part A deductible.
Part C – supplemental medical insurance. 2 types & various choices. ~$160/mo/pp premium.
Part D – prescription drugs. ~$33/mo/pp premium. $435 deductible.

Enrollment is not automatic and the initial enrollment period is 7 months long – 3 months before the birthday month, the birthday month, and 3 months afterward. After that there are forever-penalties that are tacked on to the premium if you enroll late in a component that has a premium.

It’s not a high deductible plan so you can’t contribute to an HSA any longer but you can use funds from an existing one to pay expenses including the costs of the premiums for Part B or D and some Part Cs.

Based on my knowledge of Medicare now and my personal values, I plan to take these actions:
(1) Enroll in Medicare just before my 65th birthday
(2) Make sure our income keeps us at the base premium level for Part B, beginning the year DH turns 63.
(3) Skip parts C, D and plan to spend that money on health-promoting activities instead.

Is there anyone using Medicare now that has tips or gotchas for the rest of us to know for planning?

My 2020 goal #2 is to adopt a permanent health-enhancing habit each month. I’ve decided that my new health habit for January will be to fast one day each month. This is an uncomfortable change for me but I’m convinced that it’ll be an improvement.
For January, I am going to have the 31st be the fast day. Then if I can make it 2 days, I’ll knock out February’s day too. I’ve read that 3 days is optimal, but I just don’t know that I can do it.

NEW HEALTH HABIT #1:
Fast 1 day per month

BENEFIT:
Improves cardiovascular health, improves insulin sensitivity, promotes longevity, decreases inflammation, improves cell recycling, protects brain

COST:
Upfront – zero
Ongoing – zero

It could be that there is a cost-savings, but I’m not counting on it. I’ll probably drink herbal teas during the day so that may cost about the same as food. (Coffee is allowed but I don’t like mine black.)

Since I’ve gotten my first paycheck of the year, I’m checking the accuracy of my deductions. The company where I work had an enrollment period for our 2020 benefits during November. As typical, health insurance premiums increased some. Most other benefits remained the same. But there was one odd change – the company’s contribution to our HSA accounts DECREASED by 500 bucks. No explanation. That’s like a small pay cut. I don’t like when negative changes are implemented quietly – it seems sneaky. In fact, I wonder how many of my colleagues noticed. As an aside, this reminds me of my experience with banks. PNC and Ally both have fluctuating interest rates, but Ally sends a notification every time the rate changes, regardless of the direction. PNC never has sent a notification. Guess which bank I trust more?

Anyway, since the HSA maximum contribution increased by 100 bucks (to $7100) in 2020, my company’s contribution decreased by $500 in 2020 (to $1000), and I’m eligible to contribute an extra ‘catch-up’ $1000 because I turn 55 this year, that leaves me with an extra $1600 to fund or $133 more each month than last year. About $592 total each month.

When the company moved to a high deductible plan years ago, it was a scary change. But in hindsight, it was a good move for our family. We’re a healthy bunch overall. Last year was pricey with two using braces-alternatives and the DH getting an MRI for knee pain, as well as typical doctor visits for bumps & bruises. (Boys and sports…) But we still didn’t come close to using the year’s contributions. So the HSA account has been building up. I’d like for it to reach a ‘safety net threshold’ of being able to cover 18 months of COBRA premiums in the event that the company and I part ways. Based on the company’s year-end statement, the total monthly premium for our family coverage is just over 2 grand. [I pay about $450 of that currently which admittedly is a good deal for a family of 7.] So my safety-net value for the HSA would be $36k. I’m about $10k shy of that now. Maybe within the next two years though? It would just be for peace of mind – my planned exit is not that soon.