Catching Up

OK, I got some great suggestions for additions to my blogroll. Plus I realized that I've been reading some cool blogs that I hadn't yet put onto my site. For example, LC often comments here. I'd been reading her Retirement Daze for some time when all of a sudden, she had a stroke. Instead of putting her blog on hold, she has been writing her way through her treatment and continued recovery. I'm so sorry the stroke happened to her, but I'm still fascinated by her posts. (Just for the record, there is a serious history of strokes in my family going back three generations on both sides--I should probably be taking notes!)

Also check out I'm Losing It Here, Tessie's Awesome Blog, and Last Third of Our Life.

For those looking for Judy at "Finally Frugal," she is apparently on a temporary hiatus. Why that means she took the blog away with her, I don't know. But she says she will be back shortly, so I'll leave the link up for a bit longer.

March was the month in which I turned 63 though it was something of a non-event. However, I did get a new microwave from my sister, which I've been coveting for awhile but was too cheap to replace the old (but working!) model I've had for more than 10 years.

March was also a good month on the debt front--I paid down $1,694.55. Of course part of it came from my meager $300+ tax refund, but no matter--I love seeing the figures reduce. I now owe $88,142.76 on everything, including my house.

And, in some very good news, my retirement funds recently topped $250,000, which should mean that by the time I retire at age 69, I will have more than $400,000 in my 401(k).

So in spite of the fact that it is storming outside, March is leaving like a financial lamb.

They Went Which-A-Way?

Here's the thing about blogs--I love writing mine, but even more, I love reading the blogs of others. I am offered interesting, if brief and narrow, glimpses into the lives of those very different from myself--people who are younger, richer, older, more settled, well-traveled, less sensible, much smarter, of different genders and races, whatever.

So, I take it badly when writer leaves the blogosphere. I want more!

Sadly, not everyone cares what Grace wants.

Hence--a new clean-up of my Blogroll.

I have trouble believing that Morrison can actually stay away for long, but I have eliminated "All Doors Considered" until she changes her mind.

Julie from "Beside Still Waters" has left for the second time. Too bad. I like the perspective of someone forced into retirement too early who is struggling with the financial consequences.

Karissa from "Keeping It Seriously Simple" has the best reason to stop blogging--she paid off all of her debt, which was the reason she started her blog in the first place. You go, Girl!

"Blogging Away Debt" is here, but with a new blogger, Claire. Her financial situation is different from Beks, but still compelling.

"Living Almost Large" is gone, though its author still comments on various financial blogs. Ditto Dog from "The Dog Ate My Finances."

Master Po from "The Po File" has posted what he says is his final post. He has, however, left his blog up, which I appreciate. I'm curious why other folks don't. Still, unless I hear he's coming back, I'm deleting him from blogroll.

Judy, formerly of "Poor But Happy" got hacked, but is back at a different location with a new name, "Finally Frugal and Happy."

Some bloggers definitely seem to be losing steam. One of the first blogs I found was Jane Dough's "Boston Gal's Open Wallet" but her posts have become increasingly sporadic. Her most recent post was last November. Still that puts her ahead of "Debt Hater", who was all set to get married and hasn't blogged since. Shouldn't the honeymoon be over by now? And what about "Sistah Ant"? She became a lawyer, got married, and found a job. Shouldn't that give her enough to blog about, but her last post was in September.

Neither "M Is For Money" nor "Oh, My Aching Debts" have posted in over six months, so off my list they go.

Hmm--Now I need replacements.

Suggestions, anyone?

Never Too Late To Do What You Always Wanted to Do.

Mother Martina Roy died

I never knew her though friends of mine did.

There were a lot of things important in her life--like her marriage and her four children.

There were things that wentwrong in her life--the marriage didn't work out and one child pre-deceased her.

But here's the part I find the most interesting: her earliest dream-career was to be a nun. Her family was against that, and real life intervened. After her divorce, she was the sole support of all of her children.

Once her children were grown, she took positions as housemother at various fraternities. At age 72, when she decided to once again pursue that dream of becoming a nun, she not only knew how to handle rowdy college boys, but thanks to them, she was up on all the latest technology.

She was the United States' (and maybe the world's) oldest postulant both when she entered the convent at age 72 and when she took her final vows at age 84.

She was in her mid-ninties and had suffered from dementia for the past few years before she recently died. Her last years were spent among the nuns on Shaw Island, WA.

Those that knew her described her as funny, social, physically active, and a true delight.

There's definitely a lesson here--and not just for Catholics.

February Wrap-Up--Back on Track

I finally feel like I can breathe financially.

February is always hard because that's when property taxes and various insurance policies are due.

I not only managed to get everything paid, I did it without incurring more debt. In fact, I once again reduced my debt below $90,000 (including my house)--albeit just below, at $89,837.31. That is a monthly reduction of $996.69, though given the increase in debt in January, the net reduction is $204.69.

My retirement funds hit new highs in February, which also feels good. My general goal is to have at least $400,000 in my retirement 401(K)s when I retire in six years.

So I'm feeling pretty fine right now, and I'm hoping the rest of the year works out as well.

A Story for Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day, and do I have a romantic story for you!

Last Saturday I received a wedding invitation from a college dormmate. The wedding will take place on the east coast in August.

What makes it special is not only do I know both parties, I'm the one who introduced them.

Picture Grace as Cupid.

The introduction took place 38 years ago, and to say that these folks were slow to get with the program is an understatement.

L. lived across the hall in the graduate dormitory.

C. was a cute, bright but very shy law student I'd met in the library.

It just seemed to me that they would be a good couple.

So I introduced them.

They went on a couple of dates but nothing clicked.

OK, so Grace isn't the world's swiftest Cupid.

L. married, had children, then lost her husband three years ago to cancer.

C. married, divorced, and kept working his way up the corporate ladder.

I kept in touch with L. but lost contact with C.

Two years ago, he found me through our alumni association and we renewed our friendship. He casually mentioned L. and asked if I knew what had happened to her. Indeed I did so I passed on her e-mail address.

As they say, the rest is history. And part of that history will be made in August when the two of them finally get married.

I am definitely planning to be there.

Let's see. Am I ready? Wings? Check. Arrows? Check.

Grace/Cupid is now on her game!

City/Small Town/Country

Morrison at "All Doors Considered" has an interesting post about taking a trial run at retirement. But aside from the main points in her post, I was struck by one sentence where she posits that it is better (and certainly less expensive) to live in a small town rather than a big city. In her case, the big city is New York City, and the small town is in Rhode Island.

I agree that it is less expensive to retire to a small town, but you won't see Grace doing that.

Frankly, moving to the largest city in my state 20 years ago is one of the smartest and most soul-satisfying things I've ever done.

I didn't know how it would turn out, so I kept (and still have) my home in the much smaller coastal town where I grew up, reared two of my five children, and worked for 18 years.

I have good memories from that town, but I have better ones from the big city.

More to the point, I have better access to quality healthcare, public transportation (I'm something of a menace when I drive now--I can't imagine that it won't get worse as I get older), an amazing library system, local universities, not to mention great restaurants and an active cultural life. Not all of these things are more costly--I scout out all the freebies, which are more numerous here than they were in my hometown.

I've never quite understood the retirement dream of moving to a small town. A friend of mine did that a couple of years ago. He retired as a university professor (not from my city but from the second-largest city in the state) and moved to the beach. Financially, it was a success--but socially, not so much. He just moved back to his college-town and bought a condo. These days, if he wants to go to the beach, he drives the two hours there and gets a motel.

January 2012 Wrap-Up

1. Moving quickly through the financial update (because I don't want anyone paying too close attention!) my Christmas spending caught up with me. I added $792 to my outstanding indebtedness and am now back up over $90,000. But my promise to myself is that this is the last time I will have to say that. My plan is that every month from here on out will have some kind of a reduction. Let's hope Murphy isn't reading this blog!

2. I cancelled my US Bank credit card. I haven't used it in years so it's no big loss. US Bank apparently felt the same way because they sent me a letter saying that beginning in April, they were going to charge me an annual fee of $39. Hmm--I think NOT! There's never been a fee before and I don't intend to pay one now. When I called them to cancel, the sweet young thang who answered the phone didn't even try to talk me out of it. I guess the financially frugal are not part of US Bank's target consumer base. I'm curious to see if the cancellation will negatively impact my credit rating.

3. The November, 2011 US Housing Report came out. My city showed greater losses in housing values for October/November than almost any other urban area. Oddly, Detroit showed the largest uptick--I'm guessing because there wasn't much further for their values to fall. I occasionally go through the Detroit listings just to see the amazing values to be had in their market. In mine, sellers are holding onto their homes in hopes that prices will raise in the future, leaving foreclosures as the hottest part of our market.

4. January is the month I schedule all my health check-ups. All turned out well. I may not have much money, but at least I have my health. And my health insurance! I cannot stress too much how grateful I am to be fully covered by my employer. If there is one thing I think is wrong in this country (which I love dearly), it is the lack of universal health care. No one, at any income, should have to worry about the cost of taking care of their personal health.

Blogging, Books, Writing and Age

As longtime readers know, in my other other life (you know, the one apart from being mom to five adult kids, working full time and worrying about my finances if and when I ever get to retire) I love to read. Even more than that, I love to write, and I occasionally find a market for my science fiction short stories--not that I'm giving up my day job any time soon.

But my dream is to one day have a novel published. Over the years, that dream has gotten pushed farther and farther back, until now it is on my To Do list in retirement.

Which brings me to this list of late-blooming authors. For the longest time, I held onto Ursula Le Guin as a role model since she didn't start publishing science fiction until she was 37. But as my thirties (and forties) slipped by, I latched onto Harriet Doerr--not only was "Stones for Ibarra" a wonderful book, but the lady was 73 when it was published! Go Harriet!

It's not that I'm doing nothing right now to further that novel-writing dream. I've attended a monthly professional science fiction workshop for the past 30 years. I do write, albeit at an excruciatingly slow pace. I keep my hand in until life gives me some clear blocks of time to actively pursue this particular dream.

Oh, and I am constantly seduced by journals, blank books and the other accoutrements of writing. Which is probably why I like these blogs: "Notebook Stories" and "Make A Book A Day." (With regard to the latter, I am unfortunately NOT a crafty person. But I admire many of this blogger's products. Wouldn't it be fun to fill some of these blank books up with stories?)

Dreams are good. Keeping Harriet in mind, I've got another 11 years to achieve the reality.

Sometimes You Just Have to Hold Your Breath & Jump

I mentioned back in November that a friend of mine was moving her family to the Pacific NW from California and would be living with me while she looked for work and housing.

It worked out very well for both of us. She now has a job in her field, a house in my neighborhood, and a new lease on life. She's been working for the past month, and will move to the rental this coming week-end.

I bring up my friend's case because she has been talking about moving here for years. It took the loss of a job she'd held for more than twenty years in California to give her the impetus to finally move. In doing so, she left the city she'd been in for quarter of a century, the state where she was born and her family still lives, and her home which was underwater (and being short-saled). She brought with her two children who were not at all sure about their mother's new "whim."

But here they are, two months later, and everything is different.

After suffering a massive ego-tromping when she got fired, my friend wasn't even sure she'd be employable in her field. But this isn't California. People with her credentials and experience are harder to find here, and it helped that she was used to commuting in California traffic, such that a 20 minute drive to her new job didn't phase her. In fact, her new job, which was offered to her the same day she handed them her resume, makes even better use of her skills than the position she held for some twenty years. She's still learning the ropes, but she can already tell that this employment is less stressful and more fulfilling than her previous job.

She hasn't quite adjusted to the weather, though I keep telling her that one does get used to the rain. I haven't the heart to let her know that so far, this has been an especially dry winter.

But she's found the neighborhoods and schools more integrated (her children are African-American) and much safer than those she left behind. Even rent (which I consider outrageous) appears reasonable to her, based upon similar housing in California.

Right now, she trying out the local churches to see where her family fits in, and expanding her circle of friends beyond those two or three (including myself) she knew before she got here.

It took courage and a lot of planning to make such a drastic change in her life. It probably would not have happened had her job situation not been so traumatic.

But the real point of this story is that not every financial setback is a tragedy--with the right attitude and a willingness to take risks, it can be the start of something much brighter.

Fifteen Good Years?

I read this post from Super Saver with some consternation. Not to mention some recognition.

My father had a heart attack at age 58 and died from a stroke at 68. My mother died during heart bypass surgery at age 78. This does not bode well for Grace.

While I do think I take better care of my personal health than my parents did at this age, genetics can be a bummer.

Thanks Dad! Mom!

So thinking about the next fifteen years, maybe I should consider the possibility that they are the remaining 'good' years I have left.

Does that make a difference in my future financial plans? Right now, the plan is to get everything (residence, car, credit cards) paid off by (or, more likely, during) age 65, then spend four years saving for fun stuff like travel, and then retiring at age 69.

But would it make more sense to spend now for the things I want to do that will require relatively good health? I'd like to take a major car trip across the US--not so much to be outdoors (I don't like sunburns or mosquitos) but to spend time in all the cities I've missed: San Diego, Taos, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, to name just a few. Can I put that off for another 7 years or is the time to do it now?

If there's just 15 'good' years left, do I really want to spend half of them paying down debt or saving money? Would I really have to? If my last years of retirement are likely to be sedentary, and given that TV and the internet are not all that expensive, wouldn't that be the time to concentrate on debt reduction?

But I have no track record as a seer. I could get hit by a car tomorrow, or live into my '90's' (I'd say 'hundreds,' but I think that's pushing it!)

What I do have is anxiety. Letting my debt follow me into retirement produces more anxiety than I'm willing to have, particularly if those retirement daysare going to be among the best of my life.

I guess I'm stuck with just plugging away.

And pushing out the boundaries of that 'fifteen good years.'

If You Could Hit the Reset Button

Bob Lowery, over at "Satisfying Retirement," has a most provocative post. What if you could do some parts of your life over? Would your choices be different the second time? Do you regret some of the decisions you made the first time around?

This particular exercise is only for those of us over fifty, because only then do we have the distance and experience to see the consequences of our earlier decisions.

Personally, I have often felt that I didn't so much make decisions as allow life to carry me along. I regret not taking charge a bit more.

But hey! Let's go way back. My first big regret is not paying closer attention to Tommy S. I took him to my 9th grade Sadie Hawkins Dance and he took me to the Sophomore prom. We were both losers who felt sorry for each other. Who knew he'd grow another foot and a half, clear up the acne, and start riding motorcycles in college?

I regret not working harder at writing science fiction--I've been in the same writer's workshop for thirty years. I've sold maybe twenty stories over that time while many of my fellow workshoppers have written books and some even make their living as writers. I keep thinking that I will write more NEXT year without realizing that NOW was the time.

I would love to go back and redo aspects of my parenting. I feel like my first two daughters had to grow up along with their mother. By child #5, I had a much better sense of what I was doing.

I wonder what my life might have been if I'd remained in New York City to practice my profession instead of returning to my hometown. I don't regret that choice so much as speculate about what might have been.

Then there's always the question of marriage. Would my life be more financially secure if I had married? Or would a divorce have cut even deeper into my finances? (Never mind that I cannot think of one person I've met with whom I'd really want to spend my life!)

Enough of my regrets.

Yours?

The Old Year in Numbers

2011 is almost gone, so here's how it all wound up financially:

My overall debt decreased by $7,258 over the course of the past year.

My retirement funds in my 401(K)increased by $10,616.

My net worth decreased by $7648--a function of NW housing prices which have gone down steadily for the past two years. I'm not feeling too bad about this since I own my rental outright, and my current home will be paid off in 2.25 years. I'm still over the half-million mark which sounds fine to me.

I did not meet my 2011 goal which was a desired debt reduction of $10,000.

But hey! There's whole new year coming up!

New Year but same old goals because I am still determined to lower my debt by at least $10,000 a year.

A Few Great Gifts

A funny thing happened on the way to Christmas Day--my sister and my friend/roommate of the past two months ganged up to buy me all the things they think my home is missing. Which is how I wound up with a full-length mirror (which I used to have before a running grandchild accidentally collided with it two years ago), silicone spoon rests (thereby retiring the pottery ones I got from my great-aunt thirty years ago that were shaped like apples, but the stems had all gotten broken), a new set of dishes (to replace the remains of four separate sets I'd acquired over the past twenty years), linen dish towels (because I think hand towels are uselessly small for the bath, so I hang them in my kitchen) and a set of silverware for 12 (Really? Silverware is supposed to match? Who knew!).

And then, my wonderful sister bought me three new bras. (Guys, you can skip this paragraph. The women know whereof I speak!) In 62 years, I've never actually had a fitting session before purchasing a bra. And I've certainly NEVER spent $65 for a bra. But my sister took me for just such a fitting, and in the package under the tree were THREE, count-em, THREE brand new, well-fitted bras. BTW, I read somewhere that most women wear bras that are one size too large around the back and one cup size too small--that turned out to be exactly true for Grace.

All in all, Grace did very well this Christmas.

I hope yours was good, too.

God REST Ye Merry Grace

So much for plans to get all my shopping done ahead, and be ready for Christmas.

Here it is Christmas Eve and I still have shopping to do and presents to wrap.

I've been listening to Christmas carols and scrambling to clean house before the kids and grandkids descend upon me. Every time I hear "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," I wonder where the 'rest' part will come in for me.

I'm thinking this month's financial report will not be good, but it will have to wait until I can breathe agains. Which, of course, is all too common with Christmas budgets--at the end, the budgeting goes out the window and I'm just trying to get everything done.

I hope you all have a peaceful Christmas and a financially better new year.

Grace: An Ungrateful Recipient

I started thinking about charitable giving in response to this post at "Grumpy Rumblings of the Untenured." Nicole and Maggie listed their favorite Christmas charities.

The point being, these were THEIR charities.

So far, so good.

Grace is not so much of a scrooge that she begrudges anyone for lobbying for their favored cause, especially at Christmas when pocketbooks are likely to be open.

But I draw the line at sending donations to MY charities in the name of other people to whom I feel obligated to give a gift.

Case in point: this year a relative of mine who usually sends small gifts to my family gave cards saying that she was not gifting this year. Instead, she made a donation on our behalf to a local animal-rescue project. Now there's nothing wrong with that particular charity; it does good work. But it is SO NOT a charity to which Grace would make a donation. (Sadly, Grace is a bit of a scrooge when it comes to animals--I don't have pets, don't want pets, and have never quite gotten the "dogs and cats are just like our children" people, even though I number those types among my friends.)

It doesn't feel like a gift at all. In fact, I would rather my relative had sent a card and said she wasn't sending gifts this year--given the economy, that would have been understandable. Instead she makes unwarranted assumptions about the charities I care to support. To put it another way, I wouldn't be making contributions to Planned Parenthood in the names of certain friends of mine who I know support Right To Life.

Nicole and Maggi think I should get over it--any donation beats an ugly sweater or a bath set. (I agree about the sweater, but I happen to like bath sets!)

The truth is, I won't confront my relative. I know she means well.

But, hey! This is what blogs are for. I can at least warn YOU about my feelings on the subject.

And I don't think I'm alone.

The Great Giftcard Controversy

A few years ago, I gave my sister a giftcard from Eddie Bauer. I knew she liked their products; I needed to find another $50 item for her; and my daughter who was working at Eddie Bauer for the Christmas season could use her 20% discount to get the card for me.

Win-Win, right?

Omigod! You would have thought I'd given my sister a lump of coal.

She let me know in no uncertain terms that a giftcard is thoughtless, a lazy shopper's way out and no way for loving sisters to exchange gifts.

So, lesson learned.

Except that this year, when I queried my children and grandchildren about gifts they'd like to see under the Christmas tree, a surprisingly large number WANTED gift cards--cards to Victoria's Secret, IKEA, Amazon.com, Starbuck's and Nordstrom's.

I can understand, given my somewhat eccentric tastes, why some of my family might NOT want Grace picking out individual gifts but cards bother me a little since it then becomes clear to everyone exactly how much I'm spending on them for Christmas.

Also, how many ways can one wrap a giftcard so that it is any kind of surprise?

Finally, I worry that some of my adult children will spend the giftcards for regular living expenses, not something special for Christmas.

But is that any of my business? If one of my daughters wants to use the giftcard for her boyfriend, should it matter to me? If one uses the giftcard for groceries instead of the clothes I wanted her to buy, what of it?

I'm not a person who particularly likes to shop. Giving giftcards makes it very easy for me, and in many ways, I appreciate that.

In the end, I probably will give cards to those who requested them.

But NOT to my sister!

NEVER again, to my sister!

November Recap

OK--so far, so good for a start to the holiday season.

My total indebtedness has receded by $347.76 to $89,772.44. Not great (though I'm glad to get out of the 90 thousands into the 80's), but I'm not sure it will be even that good for December. Time (and Christmas) will tell.

In the meantime, having three new people living with me has meant increased utility costs but it's so nice to just hand over the bill and have my roommate pay her fair share. How come it never worked that way when my adult children lived here?

It's been easier and nicer than I thought to have my friend and her two children around the house. She cooks meals for her kids and includes me--I had forgotten that Diet Pepsi and nachos do not a meal make. How wonderful to come home to a warm home and a free meal.

Thanksgiving was the usual family madness but somewhat quieter than normal. My sister who lives in New York spent the week with me which is always fun. She comes with a list of restaurants she wants to try. Since it's at her expense, I joined her as much as possible.

We also got up at 5:00 a.m. to hit the local Black Friday half-price "socks and towels" sale. I don't get why people are proud of avoiding Black Friday, but then again, I don't get up at midnight to get the two flat-screen TV's some store is putting out either. Socks and towels are more my speed--no one is going to get killed over either of them.

Forward to Christmas!

Holiday Black Hole

I was reminded by this post at Always the Planner about the week-long black hole that follows Thansksgiving and Christmas. For whatever reason, the intense build-up to each of those holidays makes me think that's when the month ends.

But no!

I still have another week to go, and invariably, I am already out of money.

I may be able to make changes prior to Christmas, but it's too late for November.

Notwithstanding the lack of funds, Thanksgiving is shaping up nicely. My sister flies in from New York today, and, as always, Grace is hosting Thanksgiving dinner. While I like my Christmas to be small, Thanksgiving is an 'all comers' affair with my children and grandchildren free to invite anyone they want.

I do have a bit of a scam going. I sigh mightily and say in a forlorn voice that I will handle the turkey, but that means the family must come up with all the sides and desserts. As any good cook knows (which lets out most of MY kids!) the turkey takes half an hour of furious work, and then hours of doing nothing much. But it's been years and no one has caught on to me yet.

I hope your holiday goes well. Happy Thanksgiving.

Ya think? Time to Rethink Retirement?

Thanks to Mark's post at his blog, Go To Retirement, I came across this article from Businss Week.

The point is how people are having to rethink their retirement strategies.

Working longer is the main one. Of course there's nothing to rethink for those of us who already planned to work longer. My current goal is 69, but I could hold out for a year beyond that. But even longer? Hey, I want to enjoy some level of retirement so I have NO plans to work past age 70.

What I found disconcerting was the suggestion to forego the 4% rule--you know, the rule where drawing 4% of one's investments per year guarantees that we won't outlive our money? Apparently that rule no longer applies and the authors suggest that 3% would be a better model.

And I don't know what to make of the suggestion that we stop saving towards our retirment and spend the money now on travel or other things we might otherwise put off to a time when we might wind up unable to actually accomplish them. I understand the point, but for those of us who didn't start to seriously save until we were 50, there's no way we can put those savings on hold.

"Rethinking" is giving Grace a major headache.

The Dumpster

Here's the thing about dumpsters--they are such a great metaphor for any number of things. Life for one. If you're an optimist, you can see a massive clean-up as a good thing. Or, if you're a tad more cynical, you can think of the dumpster itself as life. While there is undeniable pleasure at simplifying one's life, there are also a lot of memories that wind up that huge metal can.

I thought I was going overboard when I got a 10-yard drop box--it holds 2000 pounds and it takes up most of my back yard. How would I ever fill it?

Fast forward two days, and that sucker is filled to the brim. Why exactly I was storing a broken pink desk is beyond me. Ditto the miscellaneous mattresses, all with various urine stains. And the two vacuum cleaners that throw sparks when turned on. Not to mention boxes of outdated clothing and toys, most of which wound up mildewed and were no longer usable.

Oh and then there's nearly 300 VHS tapes, which recycling centers no longer take--these were movies I copied, and since I mostly did that more than 20 years ago, the movies now resemble a Seurat painting--besides which I can't find my VHS player. But mixed among the home-videoed movies was the tape of my oldest daughter's wedding--it, too now just a mass of pixels.

A couple of my kids who were helping me clean things out got irritated when it turned out I had not taken close enough care of items they'd left behind as they moved into their adult lives. I don't recall promising to take care of their boxes, though I probably meant to. But a damp basement is a damp basement--and damage ensues. And when it does, into the dumptster the 'saved' items go.

So what am I learning from my dumpster? Cleaning house is every bit as hard as cleaning up one's finances.