Just coming back after a few days "off" the computer. I have been busy cleaning out closets and drawers! Amazing how much stuff I collected, and found!, while I was cleaning.

I have tons of stuff to donate to the charity's that give people clothing, blankets, sheets, pots and pans. Dang, I got this place in 1998 and now it is 2012! At least I know it will go to the people in need.

I actually never lived here full time until 2006. Then I realized I would not be going back and started OVER buying. I have a food prossecer[sp], in the cabinet for 3 years and I have not even used it yet! Yes, I am a shopaholic. I also have a small one and a medium one. The medium I use the most.

It was like an empty shell, all I had were the basics. I turned off the light in the fridge, keep the microwave unpluged, lights off and never put anything in here. I took cold showers, to save on electric. Never drove too far, and worked 2 jobs, most of the times. Then I had a good job working from 10am to 1am. All my money went for Jamaica.

I know many of you know the feeling, thinking where can I save, so I can stay longer?

What are some of the things, you have done, to make the stay or vacation last longer???

Here is a picture I found while cleaning. Street Dance in RR, Ed Kritzler(RIP) was a great writer and history buff of The Island itself. He was My next door Neighbor. His BF on Island was Ronnie Thrawts[sp]. Here goes Rasta Debra and Eddie.

Hi Debra- Our savings plan for retirement is that we hope to die before retirement comes or we are screwed-

About the closet cleaning, could you come up here and help me(hoarder) clean mine??? I lied, not really a hoarder, just lazy!

Usually my tax refund pays for a yearly vacation. A little different this coming winter as my wife and I have purchased a house in my home town (Prince Albert) and will be moving in the next few months. Our house here has been paid off for over 5 years but our new house cost almost $100,000 more than the value of our current one. We have money saved up but will still end up with a mortgage around 30-50,000 depending on how much we sell for. Add to this my wife doesn't have a job in PA (yet) so there might be no vacation this winter. (
BUT - she had a really good phone conversation with the HR person with the catholic school board yesterday. Sounds like they are hurting for french immersion teachers which would suit her perfectly as she is fluent in french. So if she gets on this fall then it will only depend on time off for her. My employer is pretty lenient so I can pretty much take time off as I please. This will be my first full year with this employer and they give very generous xmas bonuses, I can expect $3-4000 which will go straight to vacation fund.
As for retirement well thats a ways off for me. I will probably work full time in my trade for another 10 years at least. Right now our union contract dictates we get over $4 hr paid into pension fund plus I contribute a fair chunk every month. My wife has 10 yrs teaching and will probably put in another 20 then retire at 57 with a great pension.
We won't be rich by any means but barring any serious health problems we should be able to travel plenty when the time comes.

I have never had a mani or pedi in my life. I can barely stand people I know touching me let alone strangers-lol.

We do not get a tax return. We have it figured to where we get our money through the year and we draw interest on it not the government.

Shopping?? Hanging my head in shame.......LOL

Retirement seemed like a much closer goal prior to 2008. Then our economy took a dump and it affected our business (as it did many other small businesses)

Yet - we plug on. I save a percentage of each check, best I can, towards my annual trip to Jamaica plus another travel type thing in the summer (working my way back to Paris in August hopefully to see my family).

I'm always "cutting back", reviewing all my expenses. I have a bad online shopping habit but that's been cut back too, and with my discovery of eBates I even get a little back when I splurge. Always looking at TV expenses, how to cut back on energy bills and water bills...hub is on the phone with AT&T pretty regularly to lower both land line and cell phone bills.

What kills me are work related travel costs that keep going up even though I can't really raise my prices - in my field of work there's always the eediat out there with a $1,000.00 DSLR that they learned to use at a friend's wedding that convince the very occassional potential client they can do what we do CHEAPER.

I am sitting on my retirement as we speak. My house was the best investment I ever made and probably will ever make. Even though it is a ways away from being paid off it has doubled in value even with the housing market collapse and even with another 15 years of mortgage payments I have a tremendous amount of equity in the thing. So here I sit until its time to move on...

I haven't paid for a plane ticket to Jamaica in a good 10-15 years. Between all the flying I do for business and my handy-dandy American Airlines Platinum credit card I only pay the taxes for each first class flight we do there.

And when we are in Jamaica we are spending just about the same amount of money on food and entertainment as we do when we are here (well, maybe a little more on entertainment and a little less on food, but not much when it all comes out in the end). The only additional expenses I incur is my rent down there and the times we rent a vehicle there. I'm blessed to have a great house sitter who lives REALLY lightly on the land so my utility bills drop considerably while we are out of the country.

God forbid if hub or I get sick or injured we would be up a creek...my health insurance SUCKS.

I live for each day that way, a throw back to my freewheeling Grateful Dead touring days...and even back then I always paid for my own ticket and my own way to go, even if that meant stuffing 10 of us in one little hotel room. I am going to enjoy life and its joyous moments each day so if that means $45 comes out of the "fund" to see some good music in San Francisco...I'm there.

I guess I'm like RG. I'm sitting on my investment. I worked 3 jobs to pay off this mortgage. It's been paid off for a few years now. I'm up 100% on my investment. Double what I paid.

The other thing I did was listen to "till debt do you part" TV show. This woman is brilliant.

I did the 'jars' for 10 months and paid off $13,000.00. Wasn't fun but I did it. Took tuna sandwiches for lunch and made coffee at home. No take out.

http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/

no mani - pedi for me either. Massages yes

lol jitters....do your thing my dear. Never meant to make you feel bad. To each their own!! ox

I'm semi-retired now (work one day a week), so I can't afford many luxuries anymore Also am trying to save for when Husband gets here - very slow process indeed! But hopefully I'll be able to make it down for a visit in August - that's what I'm saving my Twoonies for right now! So in the meantime, no eating out, cheap haircuts at Great Clips, shopping with coupons, all of that!

i have a "louis vuitton" bag habit also,

guilty of this as well....after 3 I switched to coach lol