At year end 2025, I posted "total debt under $30,000."  Today, one month later, I can post, "total debt under $20,000."  That's $19,555, of which $19,500 is the mortgage, and the other $55 is credit card charges that are still pending (charged last night or today which have not yet posted to account.

Tomorrow there will be another mortgage payment, which I will add another $40+ to, so that by Monday, the mortgage balance will be down to $19,000.

It took two plus years of concentrated focus on paying down debt, but finally I'm where I want to be:  the only active loan is the mortgage and credit cards to be paid off on a rolling basis each month.  I also have a Home Equity Line of Credit, current balance $0, but it is there for when there are home projects to tackle.  I might have some electrical work done  (I still have some knob and tube wiring in my 1915 house) and replace the exterior doors later this year, plus I need to declutter (which is not a "capital improvement" project, so I won't use the HELOC for that.

Our 1/30 pay check included our annual bonus plus our annual merit increase (4%, less than other years but we have a new corporate owner as of August 2025; bonus was also less generous but not to be sneered at.)

Since all the non-mortgage loans are now paid off, that frees up about $300/month to put towards savings, plus I lowered my 401k contribution to 6%, the minimum to get the full employer match.  [This employer might not be as generous with raises, but a maximum 5% employer contribution is a nice improvement.  We'll just see if they make a profit sharing contribution as well.  The last employer matched less but made both safe harbor and profit sharing contributions.]  With the lower 401k contribution, my paycheck is larger, and I'm going to see if I can put away $1,000 per biweekly pay--$850 to long-term savings in my Schwab brokerage account, and $150 in a Cash Plus account at Vanguard, which is where the new employer is moving the 401(k) to in February.  I also put $6,500 of my bonus in the Cash Plus account, which I hope will serve as a sinking fund for large annual expected an unexpected expenses.  For example, I pay for long-term care insurance with an annual premium that increased to over $4,000 two years ago (but, unlike Genworth, Mass Mutual has only raised premiums once in the 11 years I've had the policy.  I have clients with Genworth policies and Genworth raises the premiums more often than not.)  Plus that's money for travel and decluttering help and whatever additional home and car expenses come up during the year.  Plus, hopefully later this year, to pay initial expenses for new kitties.  I'm not entirely sure the $150/pay is the right amount to save here, as one of this year's projects is getting a better handle on my expenses and trimming things like unused subscriptions.

Other miscellaneous notes:  With some snafus with the management company, a snowstorm that kept me out of the office much of the week and my schedule, I have yet to actually USE the new workplace gym.  I tried last Saturday and the fifth floor access was blocked.  I'm heading up there now to try it.

Also did my usual Saturday-morning thing and had breakfast at the little diner I have been frequenting on weekends since COVID.  It's the kind of place where you become a "regular" and they know your order.  For the first 5 years, Lisa was my usual waitress.  This past year, it's been Emily.  I learned this morning that today is Emily's last day.  She actually owns a restaurant of her own 10 miles away, but a year ago on 2/11, there was a fire in the apartment upstairs and she had to close the restaurant for a year in order to fix smoke damage.  She's re-opening this coming week.  Ten miles is a ways so I might not see her again, but if I'm ever over by the town where she is located, I'll stop in.

Oh, and Patient Saver, that thought led me to think about Mr Lee's Noodles, where we ate dinner last April.  They will finally re-open on February 21st--another case of a restaurant closed for nearly a year because of a fire in a residence in the building.

As everyone in the US knows, you are eligible for Medicare at age 65.

The Medicare system is *extremely* confusing, and there is not just one "Part" to Medicare--there are actually four parts, A, B, C, and D, and you end up having three of the four, eventually.  Either A, B, and C (Medicare Advantage), or A, B, and D (traditional Medicare). Traditional Medicare covers only 80% of expenses, so it is highly suggested that if you go the traditional Medicare route, you also get a Medicare Supplement policy, sometimes referred to as "Medi-Gap."

While Medicare Advantage premiums are cheaper, the coverage is more restrictive--it's like HMOs vs PPOs.  IF you can afford it, it is often suggested to go with traditional Medicare.  While technically you can change plans, this is fully true only at your initial enrollment.  Later changes may need to go through medical underwriting (some states restrict this).  As with all things insurance, once you really NEED it, you cannot GET it.  (Or, it doesn't help to close the barn door after the horse has bolted.)

If you are still working, as I am, and you have "creditable coverage" (a regular employer health insurance plan AND you work for an employer who has more than 20 employees), you only need to enroll in Part A, provided that your work plan is less expensive/provides as-good or better coverage than Medicare.  

Enrolling in Part A is a good thing because it gives you secondary coverage.  Your employer plan is the provider of first resort, and Medicare becomes the provider of second resort, until such time as you leave work and enroll in the other parts of Medicare (B and C, or B, D, and a Medicare Supplement).

However, there is a caution to be watched out for if you have an HDHP plan with an HSA (high deductible health plan with a health savings account).  You can't have contributions to an HSA account within six months of Medicare.  I don't fully understand this, but to be cautious, I switched from my HDHP/HSA plan to a PPO back in April at our company's Open Enrollment (it was weird timing because of my company being acquired; we went through regular timing Open Enrollment again in November).

I was very busy at year end, so I didn't get a chance to enroll in Part A until the holiday break in December.  I received a notice today that there was a message in my Social Security account (you enroll in Medicare through your Social Security account log-in), and saw that I am enrolled in Medicare, effective as of August.

But what I also noticed is that there is a message that says "For Part C (Medicare Advantage) and Part D (Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage) details, please contact Medicare for the status of your enrollment."  Nothing is mentioned about Part B (Traditional Medicare)!

This infuriates me, as our government seems to be pushing people into plans that will be less advantageus for many of them.  Medicare Advantage is better than nothing, but can end up being far more costly for some, because of high out-of-pocket costs when care is needed, denials and delay in care because of greater need for referrals, and limited access to care with restrictive provider networtks.

I am lucky, at least, in that my education as a financial advisor has taught me the basics of Medicare and its alphabet soup.  When it comes time for YOU to go on Medicare, get some help from a broker (they don't cost you, as they are compensated by the insurance companies) and/or from your state's SHIP (state health insurance program) first.  I will definitely be using a broker when it comes time to enroll in Parts B, D, and a Medicare Supplement.

I'm very excited about this.  I had heard rumors a few months ago about a gym being constructed on the fifth (top) floor of the building where I work, but I had heard it in the context of another firm's paying for their employees to have access.

Then this week, we received notice that the gym is open to anyone who works in the building, in exchange, for now, for a $100 access payment.  They note that they may apply monthly charges eventually, but for now, it's a one-time payment.  They had an open house yesterday and I signed up on the spot.

In addition to the weight and cardio machines shown, there is a small yoga room as well as changing rooms with a shower.  The gym opens early next week.  They have to modify the permissions on our key fobs that we use to access the building first.  Then it will be available 24/7.

I am hopeful that this will FINALLY allow me to start making progress on my goal of adding strength/resistance training into my workouts.  I do have a Planet Fitness membership, but that is 6 minutes away in the other direction from work, and, even though 6 minutes (x 2 for there and back = 12) is not much time, I rarely make the time to get over there.  But I spend a LOT of time at the office, including about half of my evenings during the week and most of my weekend time during the days. 

This a key reason why my house has gotten cluttered--I avoid it because there is no kitty there, and then I avoid getting another cat because there are piles of things that would be unsafe for a cat to jump on...the more I avoid the house, the worse the clutter gets, the more I avoid the house, and so on.  I'm hoping to break that cycle this year.  The gym won't help with that, as it's even more reason to be away from the house, but it should make the strength training goal possible, at least, and allow me to be more efficient with my days.  Having a gym onsite means that I will feel freer to go upstairs in the late afternoon, when I often get sleepy but force myself to power through, and do a short workout up there, since I won't have to add travel time on to the workout time.  And perhaps taking a break when I am sleepy to do 10 minutes of rowing or some kettlebell swings will help me feel more energized so that I need to spend less time at work.

This is at least one good thing to the start of 2026.

I had a couple of outstanding non-mortgage loans (mostly arising from my beautiful Buffy cat's illnesses).  I paid them off this morning, so now the only debt is my mortgage (down to $19,500 so the end is in sight) and credit cards, which are a rolling balance.  I typically use the first paycheck of the month to pay down loans and the second to pay down credit cards, so the CC balance is around $3k right now and that will come down when the next paycheck arrives on 1/16.

Banks use a "debt-to-income" ratio to evaluate people for loans and this cut mine significantly.

I also changed my retirement contributions from 18.5% to my 401(k) down to 6% (which will get me the full company match of 5%).  That's because I need to build up a year's worth of savings in a taxable brokerage account, which I will be able to tap into without a tax consequence after retirement.  The ~$400 per month I was paying towards those two loans will also be redirected to brokerage savings.

I also did some calculations and I am on track to be able to retire in 3 years.  (Possibly less, possibly more; this is an approximate target.)

Also started tracking spending and have started going through my subscriptions and canceling ones I don't use.