Good morning! Another wet and cloudy Sunday. ⛪

Cloudy, damp and 36 degrees in Delmar. ☔ There is a north breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 4 pm. ☃️

Yesterday I went out to Five Rivers 🐦 for a while and then walked out along Meads Road past the cows 🐄 and then over Van Dyke. Got in 15,000 steps for the first day of the New Year, although New Years Eve I didn’t get my 10,000 in, and today I doubt I’ll walk that far 🚶‍♀️ as it’s kind of cold and rainy.

In a little bit I am going to run to Wally World 🏪 and get some groceries and supplies. I need a new belt 👖 as the one that has been falling apart for a long time now finally had part of the buckle fall off. I guess you can’t delay the inevitable forever. I want to get there before things ice up and the salt spreaders are out. Plus if I wait too loud it will be rather crazy at the store, and I don’t want to deal with the crowds, especially when you know at least a few people in the crowd 👹 have COVID hiding out behind their masks.

Maybe I’m a bad person but I like Walmart as they have nearly everything I need 🛍 and often bulk sizes that save a lot on the trash. I just like being able to buy really big bags of frozen things that I can put in the freezer and eat all week long. Not just to save money but to save on trash 🗑 which I pay for by the bag if I take it to the transfer station, especially in the winter when I’m not up in the woods as much having good ol fires. 🔥

Then this afternoon I will probably walk down to the library 📚 for a while with my laptop. As much as I don’t like going to the library with my muzzle, I’ll probably go down there for a while as there is some stuff I would like to work on with the internet, 👨‍💻 and honestly it doesn’t seem like a particularly nice day otherwise. I have the hotspot data, but right now my plan only covers 5 GB, so I don’t have that much to waste.

Been working on adjusting my retirement portfolio with the coming year. 💰I decided to switch entirely to a regular IRA for retirement savings this year – as I am making good money this days, and I’d rather have more money now to invest and save, and worry about the taxes later. Last year, I maxed out my retirement accounts – $18,500 for 457, $2,000 for the IRA and $4,000 for the Roth IRA. Plus whatever the state contributed to my pension. 📈 I used to think the Roth IRA was a better vehicle, but I hate paying so much in taxes right now, and I figure when I own my own land it will likely be in a lower tax state — possibly one with no income tax. Plus, I will try to stretch out my retirement savings, there are costs I have to spend, but hopefully my land by producing food 🐷 🐮 🌽 🍏 can help cover some of those costs.

People are like I should spend more money now, 🏦 now that I’m making good money, but I like my rundown apartment and I don’t care if my shit is old and worn out. I’d rather make do with what I have rather then buy new, use it for a while and then have to pay to get rid of it at the transfer station. 🗑 Plus I just like living simple, 🌎 and saving for a better life tomorrow, with land where I can have fires whenever I want and livestock that I can slaughter and eat. 🥩 🥓