April 2023 Progress Update
BY Ms. Vine
Monday May 29, 2023 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle, Progress Update, Uncategorized
We kicked off April with a weekend getaway to the Branson, Missouri area. We made a road trip out of it and picked up our teenage nephew along the way. It was a fairly budget friendly trip. Another friend flew down and met up with us. Between not having much time and staying in our... Read More
5 Tips To Manage Your Money Like A Pro
BY Ms. Vine
Monday May 22, 2023 0 Comments Blog, Personal Finance, Uncategorized
Personal finance is a topic that can be daunting for many people. However, it is important to have a good understanding of personal finance in order to achieve financial success. Here are five tips for better personal finance along with ways we’ve implemented these tips.  Create a budget and stick to it. One of the... Read More
How to Improve (or Not!) Culinary Skills from Home
BY Ms. Vine
Monday May 15, 2023 0 Comments Uncategorized
I have been working predominantly from home since March 2020. Remote work began as a result of the pandemic, like it did for so many of us. A job change, relocation and fast growing company resulted in my working remotely for the foreseeable future. We are now at three years and counting. My productivity and... Read More
Broken Ankle: Not Recommended
BY Ms. Vine
Monday May 8, 2023 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle, Uncategorized
After a break last week to review our March progress update, I am back to recap the third and final challenge we experienced while we were away from the blog. Previously, we shared about our endless renovation and our cat's illness. The Instagram updates I wrote during recovery provide a real time summary of what... Read More
March 2023 Progress Update
BY Ms. Vine
Monday May 1, 2023 0 Comments Lifestyle, Progress Update, Uncategorized
I am still working on rebuilding the habit of regular writing. That is most difficult for these monthly updates. When the habit is solid, I write the update throughout the month. But as I write this, we are already one week into April. This means I am late setting monthly goals and have a hard... Read More
Coping with a pet’s chronic illness
BY Ms. Vine
Monday April 24, 2023 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle, Uncategorized
Last week, I shared about the first of three major challenges we experienced during our extended silence. Today, I am talking about the second. One of our cats was diagnosed with a chronic and degenerative health problem. Everyone has different ideas about how pets fit into their lives and finances. We acknowledge that our cats... Read More
An Endless Renovation
BY Ms. Vine
Monday April 17, 2023 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle, Uncategorized
I’ve written previously about some of the changes and challenges we experienced during my two year absence from this space. Today, we will go into more detail on the life lived between posts. There were three major challenges we got through during this two year period. This article reviews the first of those; our new... Read More
Three years, 54 tasks
BY Ms. Vine
Monday April 10, 2023 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle
A little over 1001 days ago, I created this list. By my count, I completed fifty-four items from the list. Some of these items were left incomplete because life got in the way or they felt less meaningful. Sometimes, I was true to the spirit of the goal but didn’t actually accomplish it. (Looking at... Read More
February 2023 Progress Update
BY Ms. Vine
Monday April 3, 2023 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle, Personal Finance, Progress Update
Rebuilding the blogging habit is full of stops and starts. Our whole life changed in 2020–including our financial numbers. We also reevaluated our goals. As a result, it has not been easy to find a new blogging rhythm. What this blog is about also feels changed. Early this year, though, we are spending time getting... Read More
Welcome Back!
BY Ms. Vine
Monday March 27, 2023 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle
When I lose a habit, do I ever lose it! The upheaval and new routines of the past couple of years completely shook my blog. It affected our early retirement plan, too. I will say, though, that our finances did not go quite so far off the rails as my writing did. Given our long... Read More