My list:
1. I’m 42. I am single and have no children. I am not interested in marriage or having kids but I do date frequently and would like to be back in a long term relationship.
2. I studied for a career that would take me living around the world but ended up in a career (that I love) but I live 30 miles from where I grew up! (Working on the other career after the election.)
3. I am the youngest of 4 girls raised by a single mom and that severely impacted how I look at money. We never had any growing up.
4. I wish I would have waited for grad school until a couple more years out of college to save money. I loved living in Vermont but am still paying off the school loans (and will be for a while.)
5. I was a Peace Corps volunteer who was sent home after a bus accident and injury. I don’t regret coming home – I can walk ok and am not permanently disabled but I am sad I didn’t finish my service. I broke most of the bones in my right foot and was on crutches and PT for almost 2 years. When I am tired or it is cold I have a slight limp or rotate my toes in. And you wouldn’t notice unless I pointed it out to you.
6. I bought a house and have changes I’d like to make but only if I can pay out of pocket for them. Saving for new flooring right now for the LR/DR and my office to start.
7. I love to travel and have been to almost all the European countries except the UK and Ireland. I am saving for a trip to go there but it will be several more years (maybe 4-5) before I can afford to go.
8. I am a manager and can retire from the state in 13 years at 55 with a pension. Realistically that won’t happen because I want the house paid off before I retire. My goal is 60 years old. I would like to promote at least one more time. I save each raise we receive into my 401k and 457. I dream about being able to max out both someday.
9. I love music, reading, movies and TV, game nights, books on tape (for walking client’s dogs and cats). I hate to write and work in a field where that is my primary responsibility.
10. I run a small business on the side doing house and pet sitting. I love it and hope to do it into retirement. I think it would be a great job when I retire.
11. I have a room mate who is one of my closest friends. She drives me crazy sometimes but I am grateful for her friendship and her rent!
12. I loved the Gilmore Girls show and can’t wait for the new show on Netflix. I don’t have Netflix but can watch it at a house sitting clients house. I hope she schedules something for the week of Thanksgiving when they are released!
13. I have tracked my spending for the past 12 years and can provide an accounting for how I spent about 95% of my income.
14. I have 9 nieces and nephews. One niece and nephew are married and I have 5 great nieces and nephews between them.
15. I joined SA in 2005 but blog rarely. I want to make a better commitment moving forward. I do read almost daily everyone else’s entries.
16. I have no house maintenance skills other than painting and changing light bulbs. I am scared to try something for fear of breaking something and causing a huge repair bill. I need to work toward overcoming this fear.
17. I am not a great cook and wish to get better and experiment but cooking for one (even to have left overs) sucks. I just purchased the Joy of Cooking and Mastering the Art of French Cooking so let’s see how it goes!
18. One of my house sitting clients has three cats that joins the dog and I on our walks. Yes, the cats walk through the neighborhoods with us twice a day. It cracks everyone up when they see us.
19. My favorite TV show is “the West Wing”. I watch a few episodes each year – usually when home sick. I loved the pace, the writing, the actors, everything about it. And I already love one new TV show this fall, “This is Us”. It looks fabulous. I’ve not liked anything else yet. I limit my TV watching to 12-15 hours a week – including the nightly news. I have 140+ hours of TV shows recorded I may never watch.
20. I loved reading everyone else’s lists!