Summer is flying by! I haven't checked my retirement account balance in a while and it finally hit the $600K mark! As of Friday, the total is $611,412.18. That includes my work 403B plus a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA. I have a free meeting this Wednesday with an investment advisor from my retirement plan's firm. I need to collect some paperwork and information before then, but I'm procrastinating.
I've been enjoying watching the Olympics. I don't have a television and I don't have a cable subscription to be able to stream the games online. But I did some research and for $8 I bought a month of a VPN. I choose Canada as my country when signing in and this allows me full access to CBC's coverage. It’s been great except that I miss the N B C Olympic anthem. 
I used my mom's cable subscription info to watch the last Olympics, but I couldn't find the credentials and she was away when they started, so I splurged and spent the $8. It's been worth it.
I haven't been paying any attention to my finances and have been carelessly spending money this summer. Not anything too extravagant, but spending a little here and a little there is probably adding up. I never made the decision to sign up for the new web-based YNAB and I haven't been using my older version for budgeting or tracking spending. I still feel annoyed that it switched over to a yearly subscription and I can't seem to decide whether or not to make the switch. 
I'm treating myself to a walking tour in Portugal this fall. It's definitely a splurge, but I have had quite a few friends and acquaintances die over the past few years and have decided that I want to start making sure I live even while I save for the future because you just don't know how long or short the future may be. I'm embarrassed to say, though, that I haven't bought my plane ticket yet and now I'm terrified to look at the prices. Doh. I've been struggling with massive depression this summer and one of the consequences for me is procrastinating on decisions. I hope to figure it out this weekend and I'm going to have to accept whatever price I end up paying. Life will go on.
I'm off to have an exciting Saturday night of cleaning and watching the Olympics.
Retirement account milestone
August 20th, 2016 at 11:35 pm
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I'd say you certainly got your $8 worth. You have to enjoy yourself too once in awhile.
Hope your planned trip is wonderful. Your paragraph reminded me of a couple who lived in our neighborhood. They both had great jobs as far as money and benefits. They had time off for paid vacation. We live 40 minutes away from Springfield, Illinois, which is the state capital. It has a bunch of Lincoln sites like his home, his tomb, and the Lincoln Presidential Museum. Forty lousy minutes away and other than the museum, most of the sites are free. When she became ill after retirement in her late 50s, she bemoaned the fact the only place they went was to Texas a couple of times for vacation. She said she wished they had toured the Lincoln sites and went to stuff in Chicago. Nothing kept them from it except her wanting to wash the cars inside and out every weekend and keep the house so tidy. I don't think I would want to go spend crazy and use all my money, but DH and I have been on trips, short and long, because one never knows when one could become too ill to travel or when one's life is to end. So, good for you planning your trip to Portugal.
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