Blog
We paid off the house
The last $893 payment went out in March. The phone call, the paperwork that came after and the escrow surprise nobody mentions.
Do we still need life insurance with grown kids?
The term policy we bought in 2004 runs out in 2029. What it was for, what's changed and how we thought about letting it go or keeping it.
Going from four phone lines to two
With both kids on their own plans, we cut our phone bill from $140 to $70. The plan we left, the questions I asked and one surprise fee.
Smaller bakeware worth buying for two
Retiring the 13-by-9 pan, mostly. The smaller pans I actually use now and the ones I gave to Emily.
Our first tax year without dependents
No more child credit, no more education credit, and a refund that shrank. What changed on our return and what I'll plan for next year.
Learning to like a quiet Saturday morning
For 25 years Saturday meant games, errands and laundry. Now it's two cups of coffee and a cat on the windowsill, and it took practice.
Picking a health plan when we barely see the doctor
Open enrollment for two people in their late fifties. Deductibles, a health savings account and what we expect to actually use.
A January cold snap and our highest gas bill ever
Four nights in the single digits pushed our gas bill to $286. What the fixed rate did and didn't protect us from, and what I changed.
Soup Sundays: one pot, four lunches
Every Sunday this winter I made one pot of soup. The rotation, the cost per bowl and the one Greg asked for three weeks in a row.
Our first Christmas with both kids home as guests
Emily is driving down from Columbus, Josh is coming up from Cincinnati, and for the first time they'll both leave again on the 26th. A different kind of holiday.