Life in America

In the last two years, January 2020 through December 2021, my wife and I have received $3,200 each in stimulus money or a total of $6,400 and since we did not need the money, we simply put it in our savings account in the Credit Union...  but, it was really nice for our Federal Government to give us that free money and if they want to do it again, then we will gladly accept it and eagerly put it in our savings account again...

My wife and I have been retired since 2015 and live off of our Savings and our Social Security income which is around $3,000 each month and our current lifestyle has us spending about $4,500 each month so we are depleting our savings by $1,500 each month or $18,000 each year...  however, because I am being treated for two different cancers simultaneously, my cancer insurance which we took out 20 years ago on a whim pays me $10,000 each year, so I actually only need to reduce our savings by $8,000 each year.

Over the next 20 years, our savings will be reduced $180,000 and the current value of our completely paid for home is somewhere between $200,000 to $250,000.  At 74 years old, living for the next 20 years is questionable but entirely possible, even with cancer.

Did I plan for this?

Not really...  it just sorta happened...

In 1990, I left NC for TN because I was going to add somewhere between $12-15,000 to my salary but I did not think about TN not having a state income tax which adds 7% to your take-home pay.  Nor, did I realize that the cost of living was about 13/14% less (on average) than anywhere else in the USA...

Where we live in East TN:

• the Knoxville airport is 50 minutes away
• The Knoxville hospital is 40 minutes away
• Walmart supercenter is 2 miles away
• Weigles Convenience store (gasoline) is 1.5 miles away
• Interstate 40 is 7 miles from the house
• Gatlinburg, TN (Smoky Mtns) is 1.5 hours away
• Bristol Motor Speedway is 2 hours away
• Nashville, TN is 3 hours away
• Atlanta, GA is 4 hours away
• Myrtle Beach, SC is 6 hours away

Because of the Cumberland Plateau on the west side of us and because of the Smoky Mountains on the east side of us, all the major storms either in the winter or in the summer have a tendency to shield the TN Valley from adverse weather conditions.

Life in America for my wife and I is pleasantly satisfactory...  I would say that we look for deals and never spend our money unwisely.  We purchase year old leased cars with low mileage when we need to replace our vehicles.  Our lifestyle is simple and we have controlled our greedy desires that plague so many Americans.  We have no desire to try and live like the wealthy nor do not do what we want to...

• We have been on 12 cruises
• We have been to Europe twice
• We have been to Hawaii three times
• We have been to Alaska
• We have been to the Caribbean often
• We have been to Mexico several times
• We have been to Canada
• We have been to Vegas three times
• We have been to the Gulf Coast/Florida often
• We spend most of our summers at Myrtle Beach, SC

What has helped more than anything else was the fact that we became debt free 15 years ago and have never gotten into debt since.  We use credit cards, but always pay them off at the end of the month so we never pay interest.

We don't fly around in private jets nor are we members of a country club or spend a lot of money on clothes and accessories.  We typically go out to dinner once a week but never pay more than $30-$50 for those meals including tips.

Instead of an inground pool, we have an above ground pool but with a deck that completely surrounds the circular pool.  The deck is large enough for a 15X15 gazebo along with a 6 person hot tub.  Both the hot tub and the pool are over 10 years old because we make sure we properly take care of them with proper preventive maintenance.

It feels nice to live like this...  and, it feels nice to live in a conservative state...  and, it feels nice to live in an area where there is hardly any crime and violence...  I am glad for the convenient location of our home...  and I am glad that I live between two relatively large man-made lakes...  and, most importantly, I am glad to be a SOUTHERNER...

Back Porch Cogitations

The Valley was hot today...  in the 90's but the humidity was low so it was rather comfortable out on the back porch.  However, the cats prefer outside in the warmth rather than inside in the air.  The day reminded me of some of those old movies that take place in the south and there is always a big ole hound dog or two laying around on the wooden porch or dirt ground.

I waited until after 6:00 pm to mow the lawn to keep out of the heat of the sun so that I could continue to wear shorts and a t-shirt rather than cover up with long sleeves.  There was no one else outside, but then again, there seldom is as our neighbors like to spend most of their time indoors.   And, for that matter so do I but for different reasons, I suppose.

I watched only a little news this morning as it was SOS and please don't confuse this with the SOS served in the Navy mess halls...  but, it appears that national news stations get fixated on one or two topics and then spend the rest of the day and week, running those topics into the ground with redundant coverage.

Chicken Noodle News (CNN) was the first to do this when they started 24/.7 news coverage.

We have had several Hollywood actors decide to get into politics and their reasons are unclear other than they want to use their celebrity status to acquire votes so that they can attempt to force their thoughts and beliefs on others whether they are right for the people or not seems not to be of any concern to them.

I suppose they have a "right" to do this but I doubt very seriously if they would be kind towards a politician who tried to make it in Hollywood...  but for many...  turnabouts is never fair play.    Still that does not seem to matte...  especially to those who woke up being WOKE.

I have no sympathy for woke  people, nor do I have any sympathy for those cities where crime and violence is on the increase because they have defunded the police departments so that money can be diverted to helping black people can have better SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS on their way from childhood to adulthood.

I also don't give a rat's ass about being told that I am an oppressor because I was born white and free, like the lions in Africa.  I am not who my father was nor his father nor his father nor his father or the one before that.  I am me from 1947 to the present...  no more no less...  and, my grandfather was a druggist but neither was my father or me...  so, there was no influence there...  

My father worked for the federal government all of his career while staying in the naval reserves and when he retired he received TWO PENSIONS...   I did not work for the government, nor did I work anywhere long enough to have received a pension.  How frigging different can I be than that?

I was born in NC which makes me a Southerner.  And, like I said, I was born white and free.  I was born with natural athletic abilities that were never developed and I was born with artistic abilities that were never developed either.    I am not as wealthy as my father was and I have no idea if I am more happy or not.

I enjoy who I am and what I have become.