Moving, New Kitchen, Dining Out and Dating…

I have 1,212 days left until retirement. The biggest challenge right now is keeping my expenses low as I’m getting settled into the new condo. There are things I need to fix and there are furniture items that I’d like to have. I feel like I’m striking a good balance so far.

I had a recent car-rental blunder that I posted about. I am going to owe a few grand on paint & body repair. The annoying part will be dealing with the insurance companies but so far they have been professional.

My kitchen is quite functional but I have been lazy, eating out a lot of my meals. My goal this week is to look up some very easy and fast recipes and make enough food for the week to minimize dining out.

Dating is expensive!! I just went out with the girl who I’ve been dating and spent nearly $100. She did offer to pay for half but she drove all the way out towards me so covering the bill is the right thing to do. She is an engineer, makes good money and doesn’t seem too concerned about saving money. When I was in my early 30’s I was exactly the same.

My work will soon pay for our cell phones which is really helpful. I am using Ting right now and I have no complaints. But once I have a phone with unlimited minutes and data I can be a little less careful and less dependent on free WiFi.

I’ve been picking up 1-2 extra shifts every week. That equates to about $500-1,000 of extra income per 2-week paycheck. The downside is I get less free time which means I end up eating out more and feeling a little more stressed.

Speaking of having less free time. I value my downtime more and more as I get older. The question “wouldn’t you get bored?” in reference to my desire to retire early still boggles my mind. I had a nice routine for a few months of waking up, going to the coffee shop, going to the gym and then either watching Netflix or hanging out with friends. Even since the move I have had to make adjustments. There is a coffee shop near me that’s nice and comfy but their coffee is so disgustingly acidic that it’s not palatable.