Home Sweet Home

So good to sleep in my own bed!

My mini road trip went well.  I made it back home late last evening.  Even though I was only away for two nights, it sure felt good to sleep in my own bed again.  Have any of you ever sleep on one of those older pullout couches where you feel the bar across your back?  That’s what my dad has in one of his spare rooms, and that is what I endured!  When my mom was still living, she would put an additional mattress on top of it for overnight guests.  The only thing that made it even remotely tolerable was the scent and weight of the wool blanket I used.  The smell and feel of the blanket reminded me so much of my mom as she always used wool blankets on the beds in their home.  Funny how certain things will bring you back in time.

I had a very nice visit with my dad.  He still does quite well living on his own, but I can tell his mind is slipping more and more.  No doubt his body will outlive his mind.  I did take him and one of his senior friends out for lunch, spending around $30.  As for other meals out, I stopped at McDonalds twice.  Once during the drive there and another time coming home.  Not my favorite place to eat, but it was convenient for getting on and off the highway.

As for other costs of the trip, I went through about $75 in gas, which wasn’t too bad considering I drove almost $1,000 miles round trip.  Of course we also got the additional insurance bill of $204 for adding the insurance back on the car.  Should see a little of that back once we take the insurance off our winter car (we do keep our parked vehicles insured against theft, etc).  We still have snow on the ground so I won’t make that change for about another month.

The one thing that I did spend that was totally not planned was $250 for a brand new chainsaw.  While visiting my brother, he asked me if my hubby would be interested in buying it.  My ever frugal older brother has been cashing out points he earns at work for chainsaws and then selling them on craigslist.  He said he earns enough points to get 2-3 a year and because he sells them at such a discount, they sell like hotcakes.  My hubby has been using a chainsaw that is probably at least 15 years old and lately has needed a lot of repairs.  Right now it is again not running right.  A new chainsaw was on the list of future purchases, so after making a call  and discussing it, we decided we would go ahead and buy it.  We live on 4 acres of heavily treed land, so there are always things that need cutting.   It also helps our wood supply.  Yes there are cheaper chainsaws, but you get what you pay for.  Now to figure out where to tweak the budget.  At least we paid cash and this is one less thing my hubby will need.

One motivating thing I did do while on my trip was listen both The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind, by Dr Thomas Stanley.  I read the books a few years ago, so this was a good refresher.  If you’ve not read these books, I highly recommend them.

Thanks for all your well wishes for my mini road trip.  Now I need to play catchup with all the blogs I follow.  Sure missed reading those while I was away.  I’m eager to get back to being focused on ditching our debt again!