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Jeff and Sue's Journey:
Planning & Preparation Goes a Long Way
This last week we got a serious wake-up call that winter is right around the corner. We got hit with nearly eight inches of snow and there are still leaves on our trees. Ugh…this is just too early! This is not the order in which things are supposed to happen, but nonetheless, we have to respond. It’s a good thing that Jeff and Christopher got their deer hunting stands on their land last weekend when the weather was nice!
The weekend was spent cleaning out the garage to make room for the snowblower and shovels. Our closet of wood (that we store inside our garage) was replenished so we are ready to go when the real cold hits. We love to use our wood-burning stove when the temps get in the teens and below…it really offsets the heating costs for our home. We have learned to use our resources to save money along the way. We have the wood, so we might as well use it!
We also spent the weekend food prepping for the upcoming week. We made a chicken pot pie, salmon and risotto, and chicken with gravy and homemade stuffing. We added in an extra batch of blueberry pancakes for quick breakfasts, a double-batch of ginger cookies, some breakfast burritos, and the dogs got a new batch of their peanut butter-pumpkin treats (we cannot run short on these). This system of having meals pre-made for the week ahead works great for us with our busy schedules.
As a little treat, we attended the local fire department semi-annual Poultry Bingo event. It is a fun event for a great cause. We get to meet new people from the community, have the opportunity to win some amazing prizes (turkeys, chickens, and hams), and it doesn’t cost a lot. We spent only $25 for a “night out” and we had a blast! We didn’t win any prizes, but it was still a win-win for us!
With Christmas just eight weeks away, we started discussing the upcoming holiday shopping that we will be doing. Our Christmas shopping has to be done by the first week of December because we have family in Italy that we send gifts to. Our box has to be on its way no later than December 5 in order for them to receive it in time for Christmas. It can bring a lot of pressure to get this accomplished so early, but then it is nice when we get the next couple of weeks to relax because our shopping is all done! Thanks to Project Money, this year is going to be extra easy! We have been putting money aside in our Christmas savings account since June. We set ourselves a budget to include all gifts as well as for the food and beverages we will need for the holidays. No credit card debt for us this year!
Have a great week, folks, and don’t forget to tune into NBC 15 on Monday, November 11 at 5 pm to learn how we are preparing for our retirement!