Well, it's been a month ago since I last set foot in an office to work. Can't say I miss it. I have yet to get my first unemployment check, but will be doubling up next week (I filed my claim late and didn't know the timing). Since I don't have the money to do the things I'd like (although I can survive in relative comfort owing to savings and frugality), I've begun working on stuff that I can do for free or nearly so, and I thought I'd share.
1. Library card: I haven't had a library card since my first marriage many years ago. I'm an avid reader, and the library is literally five minutes away. I usually try to buy used books, but even that seems stupid right now, given that I have eight six-foot tall bookshelves that are straining to hold what I have now. So it's off to the library.
2. Exercise: Although there have been a few lapses, I have been working out on the treadmill and with free weights for three weeks. I've lost six pounds so far.
3. Writing: I don't expect to ever submit it for publication, but I have a rather lengthy, often-revised version of my life's story that I keep thinking I'll finish for kidlet to read as an adult. I think I'll get back to it, since a lot has happened since I last touched it.
4. Frugal Shopping: I love to cook, and the combination of trying to reduce calories (I've cut mine in half) and eat healthier has been a challenge. Fortunately, I find that eating less expensively and healthier work well together. It's not as hard as big agribusiness would have people think.
In addition to all of that, I'm probably going to be putting together a fairly intensive study plan for kidlet this summer, since school grades are miserable and there is a substantial lag in maturity (and no wonder....WHO is the primary parent again???). I'm going to do a 5K walk next week that's free, and that, in turn, may lead to more of the same over the next few months. In a couple of weeks, I'm going to replant my herb garden, and I'm seriously considering tackling the disaster that is my front yard (the prior occupant put down lava rock, which is now about four inches beneath a layer of soil. Can't plant, can't pull weeds).
Any other suggestions? I thought about volunteering, too, but I'm not sure how that would affect my availability to work according to state law.
Hugs all!