time for this to drop down

Great post! Wish I had met you years ago!....but luckily I ended up just fine (secure and comfortable), and retiring early (48) anyway.....could have been earlier, more secure, and more comfortable I guess. Now if I could just retire from this little bit of housework I quit putting off, I'd really have it made. Sue...who would rather play on the computer than 'work'

"QUOTE>The best way to save money is to... NOT spend it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you don't spend it, you save it. Don't think too hard about it. Putting it under your mattress gives a better return than spending it!"QUOTE> As a single person with no children I sort of agree with this. I'm not big on investing. Perhaps once I'm done with school (returning adult changing careers). I have direct deposit and don't really pay attention to my money. I pay my rent, credit card bill, phone bill, food bill, car payment and ins. Those checks go out every month.(except car ins. I pay that in a lump sum every three or four months, I don't pay attention) As a recovering shopaholic I don't purchase much of anything. I'm too busy anyway with work and school. So I basically ignore my money. I find that when I do finally look into my bank account I end up with so much just sitting around. Last year I looked and to my suprise I had six grand just sitting there. It accumulated over a few months. I finally did open a online account and put it in there and now it sits there being ignored again. I transfered my credit cards to my credit union, my car loan to the credit union and pay my tuition out of pocket so no bill once I'm done. All that extra income will be all mine. I just spent about six grand on new furniture but I'm paying it off monthly (union cc special super low rate until its paid :)) and letting that suprise six grand that accumulated just sit in that online account. When it reaches nine thousand I will pay off my car. Then pay off the credit cards with the extra from the no longer car payment and lower ins. extra cash. Shouldn't take long. I pay way more than the minimum now anyway. Then once again with the ignoring and we will see how much I accumulate. That will go towards a house down payment. If you have no outside responsibility other than yourself. Ignore your money and stay out of the malls. Don't look at your account for a few months. ( I didn't do this on purpose I'm just real lazy when it comes to balancing a check book and if I didn't have direct deposit I would walk around for weeks with a live check because I always forget) When you see the extra in the account you tend to spend it. I know I have enough to cover the checks I write so I don't think about what's left over. I ignore it and then one day take a peak and suprise large sum looking back at me. I don't recommend this to everyone because it obviously won't work for all. Keeps me in line though. I see money that has no obligation tied to it and mall here I come!

This isn't as easy as just saying, "Let's make the doors wide enough for a wheelchair". Consider: - What's easier than a large door? NO door. Obviously you want a door on your bedroom and bathroom . . . but look for places where you can ELIMINATE unnecessary doors; for example, extra doors in overly-compartmentalized bathrooms are a nighmare for people with walkers or wheelchaiars. Or, a compromise: Pocket doors, which you can leave open if mobility becomes a problem in the future. - If you find your doors aren't large enough, you can switch the hinges and get an extra 2" or so -- what're they called? Swing away hinges? - Remember that oversized doors take away space from furniture placement. If you're building a compact plan, this may matter to you. You are unlikely to end up using a wheelchair full-time, yet that's what people seem to plan for. More likely scenerios: - You're more likely to lose mobility due to the natural aging process rather than an accident. - You're more likely to need a cane than anything else. - You're more likely to need a walker than a wheelchair. - You're more likely to use a walker in the house and a wheelchair when you leave the house. - If you're using a wheelchair or wheelchair just for outings, do you have a spot by your everyday entrance where you can store your apparatus? These are big items to leave laying about. - If you're in a wheelchair only temporarily (or only for outings), you're likely to have an inexpensive manual chair; whereas, if you're in a wheelchair permanantly, you're probably going to spend on an electric chair. The electric chair is more narrow and needs less doorway space. - Walk-in closets and pantries are very popular, but will you be able to maneuver inside them if you need a walker or a wheelchair? Don't skimp on floorspace. - Garage doors matter too: If you end up in a wheelchair, you'll probably downsize to one vehicle. If you have ONE big garage door instead of two small ones, you'll be able to park in the middle of the garage and make use of the extra space to enter the vehicle. - Even if your garage entry is zero-degree entry, install grab-bars on both the inside and the outside. My grandmother had them, and they made an amazing difference for her. - Your floors may be more important than your doors -- they were for my grandmother, both for her walker and for her temporary wheelchair. A change from linoleum to carpet can cause a fall. Keeping your floors 100% flat is worth some effort. - Steps are an extension of your floors. Put effort into having at least one covered entrance (preferably your most convenient door, probably the one from the garage) that has no steps.