My incentive plan, that is. Not by much, but a little. My total gain will be $23,577, as opposed to the $21,000 loss of income. I will sign the forms and turn it in on Monday (first day they will accept them). I hope I will be accepted, because otherwise I will feel like I'm working the final six months for nothing....

Getting back in the frugal mindset .... I was tempted to get a muffin & coffee at the station but resisted. There is no excuse any more for doing that. I had oatmeal at work, and that's what I had for breakfast.

I did not spend anything yesterday.

My gloves and the bathtub pole have been delivered -- that is the last of my Amazon spending for now.

Tomorrow I will meet some board members at a bank in a neighboring suburb, to get some new names on the account, and debit cards ordered. As the Treasurer I have to oversee all that. The reinstatement project is on hold while I wait for a response from the Secretary of State. We paid $225 in filing fees, and will have to pay another $400 to the IRS once the state reinstates us. This could have all been avoided, but the previous board did not do what they were supposed to do, and we inherited their mess. I will fix this and document the procedures, if it's the last thing I do!

I went to the presentation about the early retirement offer yesterday. I don't yet have my individualized packet which would detail my payout offer, but here is what I have figured out from what they said:

I would get a cash payout of $10,500. I would get another $12,000 to go toward medical insurance, but it would not be designated in any way. In other words, it would be on me to set up my own plan. They would also put an extra $525 into my retirement fund.

Since my monthly medical expense would only be $108 per month for a Medicare supplement, the $12,000 certainly sweetens the pot for me.

On the loss side, I would have to quit on June 30, therefore losing six months of income. So it's basically a $22,525 gain and a $21,000 loss. Almost a wash. BUT -- I would have the luxury of quitting six months earlier for basically the same benefit.

I think I'm going to go for it, if the packet actually comes up with the same numbers.

My numbers are low, because my length of service here is short. Others will get much bigger payouts.

They are only letting 25 people do this, and 79 are eligible. If more than 25 apply, they will make decisions based on the financial welfare of the College and the needs of the departments. Since my payout is so low, I figure I might be one of the chosen.

Freedom in July???? Mind-boggling!

I got my $400 reward! Well, the notification, anyway. It will not actually appear on my Discover account till the next statement on Feb. 11.

I'm so relieved to have this done. Now it's time to get out of the spending mindset and back into the frugal mindset.

This morning I am going to a presentation on early retirement, which is being offered by the College to people who meet the 70-rule -- age + years of service equivalent to 70. I don't think there will be any incentive for me to retire any earlier than the end of the year, but I'll see what they have to say.

I'm on hold now to the IRS, still trying to get the tax mess straightened out for my nonprofit. I'll have to hang up soon and go to the presentation! Oh, for the good old days, when people actually answered the phone!

I found two cents this morning. I find it amazing that I still find coins in winter. One was outside the Walgreens drive-up window. The other was inside the station.

My SmartWool socks were delivered yesterday, which was a nice surprise, since the site indicated it would take 5-10 business days. The socks are thinner than the ones I am used to, but that will be better for work, actually. They may not be as warm as the thick ones, but should be warmer than regular socks.

I drove yesterday because I thought I might need to go to the bank to get a registered check. But I am not ready yet to send the tax/reinstatement forms for my org. It is such a mess. We may need to get help from a professional.

So I drove home, and stopped at a Goodwill on the way, to drop off my old coffeemaker, and to shop. It is not my regular Goodwill, and it's clear that the donations are not the quality I'm used to. Nevertheless, I found a nice Land's End sweater (in yellow! I've been looking for a yellow sweater for ages!) And I found a couple of shirts for my BIL and some gift bags and tissue paper. I spent $22.

Afterwards I went to Subway and got the sandwich special -- Chicken Teriyaki -- for $3.

I also ordered replacement mittens from Amazon yesterday for $33. I think one final thing I might buy this month is a replacement for the bath tray "tower" (holder of shampoo, etc.) in my tub. I noticed it is starting to rust in places.

So, do you remember my $3 lottery win? Well, I got TWO forms from the state that I have to fill out and return before I can collect my $3! What nonsense. One of the boxes I checked was that I understood that I may be contacted by the media. I'm sure! I should have just taken it to a place that sells tickets, but with my schedule, it's easier to mail things. Well, not this time -- I've learned my lesson.

Well, I met my fellow board member in Oak Park on Friday night. We made a visit to the bank, but were told that our organization could not open an account until we were reinstated. We have a bank account now, but were hoping to switch banks.

The previous board did not know what to do in terms of filing to the IRS and the Secretary of State, so unfortunately we are officially dissolved, while still taking membership dues and planning professional development programs. I had a wad of papers to go through to get us reinstated, so we went to a Starbucks and went through them the best we could. Most of it, we did not understand. We got a chunk of it done, but today I have to add some financial data and then we'll send it off with crossed fingers. Oh yes, and $220 in fees.

It was a long night; after the paperwork was done, I had to wait at the train station for about 40 minutes for the first train. It's kind of an open-air station, not warm and pleasant. I bought a bagel and cream cheese and the shop owner very nicely gave me a free cup of tea. Once the train came and I got to the downtown station, I had another wait of about the same length. Once you get into the evening hours, the trains really start to get more infrequent.

While I was at the downtown station, I bought my pass for the next month. There was a big fare increase. So glad my train-riding days are numbered.

Once dropped off in my home town, I stopped at Walgreens and bought a birthday card and an Old Navy gift card for my Florida son.

On Saturday, I was feeling woozy in the head and didn't do anything but a couple loads of laundry and lots of TV watching. Starz was having a free preview weekend, so I saw quite a bit, including three Jane Austen-related movies -- Austenland, Becoming Jane, and the Jane Austen Book Club. The third was the best -- sweet and funny. So weird that all these movies were available while I am reading Austen.

On Sunday I did my ten-items shopping at the grocery: toilet paper, creamer, kitty litter, clementines, mushrooms, spinach, oatmeal cookies, pizza, tomato soup, and egg noodles. $34 in all. Then I put another $100 on a gift card I already had. Afterwards, I began to worry that the charge to the gift card might not be counted in the Discover challenge. I know they will not count any cash back, and now I wonder if an addition to a gift card is off limits, too. And that made me wonder if the $50 on the Old Navy card at risk, too. I'm going to try to find the rules.

I tried out the Shark steamer, and liked it very well! It's a little clumsy to use, but I think I just have to change to the other mop-head for some places.

Found a nickel!

Last night I turned on the TV, and every channel had the message that it was momentarily unavailable. This morning, the same. I looked at my Comcast account, and there is no outage reported. Sigh. What a hassle, just trying to figure out what's wrong. Their website is not user-friendly at all, and calling them is a nightmare. I'd switch, if AT&T weren't just as bad.

I checked for my mittens in Lost & Found last night, but none had been turned in. It occurred to me that I might have left them in my home station, but there is never anyone there -- at least not at the hours I am there. I'll try Lost & Found again on Monday -- tonight I will be too late; the office will be closed.

I am meeting the President of our board tonight to switch our association's bank account to a new bank. This was mostly at the urging of our outgoing President, and it is probably unnecessary, but the wheels are in motion and I will carry it out. The new bank will be Chase; maybe we can get a bonus!

We also have to go through a pile of papers to file in order to get our chapter reinstated. It's a mess.

I checked on the PurMist site and distilled water is okay to use, so I stopped and got some at Walgreen's. I picked up a bottle of wine, too. Total cost was about $8.

I bought 7 pairs of SmartWool socks from the Trekt site yesterday. They were 20% off and shipping is free. The total was $94! Yikes! But they should last me a long time. I go through cheap socks in record time. Holes in the toes seem to be my specialty!

Shucks! I left them on the train. I wouldn't mind so much, but they are the heavy-duty polar-vortex mittens I invested in last year when it was so cold. I hope that they will be in Lost & Found tonight, but I'm not counting on it.

I think I had a no-spend day yesterday. I TRIED to spend -- I stopped at Walgreen's on the way home to buy demineralized water for my PurMist, but they only had distilled. I believe there is a difference; I thought, anyway, I had better check before buying it.

I put on my only pair of SmartWool socks this morning, and it occurred to me that I should buy more, with all this Discover money to spend.... I'll get on Amazon today. I would replace my mittens, but I still have hopes I will find them tonight.

I could also buy demineralized water on Amazon, but the shipping costs as much as the water -- and I have Amazon Prime! It is one of those items that comes from a vendor that doesn't qualify for free shipping. I just can't do it!

The other night a group of us got Chinese takeout and I took home the unused rice and all the extra packets of soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce. Last night I fried the rice, along with onion, carrot and zucchini, added the flavor packets and two eggs, and had wonderful fried rice! I had enough for dinner and for lunch today. Practically free! Love doing stuff like that.

I don't know if I've updated about this here, but I have kept in touch via email with the professor I visited at my alma mater last summer. He is teaching a course on Jane Austen now, and I am reading along, hence the Sense and Sensibility on my sidebar. I downloaded the whole set of Austen on my phone for $1! Talk about a bargain! (I've read all of Jane Austen before, but it's been a long time. I'm really enjoying the re-read!)

I will meet with the prof again soon, and I hope we will become friends! We seemed to hit it off!

Yesterday's spending, aside from the big splurge on Austen, was $1.50 for parking and $3.75 for a scone (which I ate for breakfast today). I had to meet a friend at a coffee shop, and that's what it cost to park the car and then to park myself in the shop! It was a good scone, though.

I returned my old modem to Comcast, which was a lot more complicated than I though it would be. I thought I would just drop by the Comcast outlet near work and drop it off. Well, there was a huge line, and people near the front said they had been waiting two hours! What? What is wrong with that company?

So I went to UPS and had it mailed instead (which is free). Finding the UPS was the problem. I asked Google to direct me to the nearest UPS store -- it took me to the airport (and there apparently WAS a UPS inside the Hilton there) but I couldn't park and got caught in the loop around and around. Finally went to the next closest, which was in a very heavily traveled area (at rush hour) but once I got there, the staff at UPS handled it all so quickly and professionally. They even went through with me what documents to hang on to, in case Comcast claims they didn't receive it. Whew! Glad that's done.

Today is meeting-free. Love that!

Sure does feel like Monday, though.

I went to BB&B yesterday with my DIL and her mother. I wanted to buy a tablecloth, cookware, a crock-pot, and to look at comforter and duvet covers. I ended up buying a skillet, a tablecloth, and a Shark steam cleaner!

The skillet is one size larger than the free Cuisinart I got from the grocery store. It doesn't match, though -- they didn't have the stainless, just the anodized steel (in stock, that is). Doesn't really matter, my cookware is never matched. I wanted to replace a couple of saucepans that I got at IKEA. I like everything about these pans, except that they are so light and flimsy. I want a heavier version. I found a good replacement in All-Clad, but to buy the single saucepan was $194. And then I would have to get it online, because it's not in stock, so I would pay shipping, too. Uh, no. It's possible I can get through Amazon, haven't investigated that yet.

The tablecloth was easy-peasy; they had a good selection in the long size I needed. I bought it in a gold shade, which I hope won't spot as badly as a white one. My DIL talked me out of buying matching napkins -- she proposed picking up different colors and patterns at garage sales. She is so smart!

As for the steam cleaner, I wasn't even in the market, but that's what my DIL was buying, and it looked like such a good replacement for all the crappy mops and Swiffers I'm dealing with, I bought one myself. I haven't taken it out of the box yet, but I'm very excited to try it out. It has the DIL seal of approval, as she has used one at her friend's house. It will work for all my floors, tile and wood.

Talked myself out of the crock-pot (too big, where would I put it?) and the comforter/duvet (didn't like any of them).

I had three 20% off coupons, so my total spending was $188. Then we went to Red Robin and indulged in a burger/onion ring orgy for $60. My DIL's mom insists she will pay me her share, but I treated DIL.

We went to Dick's Sporting Goods afterwards, where DIL bought some workout clothes for herself and my son. I did a lot of looking, but didn't buy anything.

My PurMist inhaler arrived yesterday and I tried it out. I was expecting to get a cleansing feeling in my sinuses, which didn't happen -- it is a much slower process, but it works. I was breathing comfortably through my nose after I was done. However, I did spill most of the demineralized water that came with it when I knocked the bottle over. Shoot! Now I will have to buy some, earlier than I thought.

I have to spend $370 more on Discover before the month closes. I'm running out of ideas, so I think I'll be buying gift cards. Grocery store, PetSmart, Home Depot, Corner Bakery would all be good options.

Yesterday I charged more than $250 at Target, planning to use my Discover card. When I checked out, I agree to apply for the Target card, but I was firm that I wanted to charge this order on Discover. My card was denied! Turns out Discover had triggered a fraud alert, apparently because it was so out of character for me to spend that much at Target!

I had this happen before in Florida, but never so close to home.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time it was Discover's fault, thinking that Target had messed up somehow because of my Target card application, so I didn't know till I got home and looked at my email that Discover had blocked my card. So $250 that could have gone toward the bonus went to Target instead! I was steamed. I talked to a service rep, but there was nothing they could do.

At least now I know to call Discover immediately, if this happens again.

My purchases at Target, besides groceries, were a set of sheets, a coffeemaker, and a suitcase. The suitcase matches the one I have, only bigger, and it was on my wish list. I was delighted to find it on clearance. So I guess it wasn't a totally bad day, after all!

I scheduled my Discover bill payment for the 20th -- just to make sure that all the money I'm moving around will be there when the payment hits. My slush fund took the biggest hit -- $1200. I'll work to rebuild that first. I took $600 from the E-fund.

I'm glad to have that behind me.

I bought the PurMist inhaler on Amazon yesterday, but I still need to spend $649 this month on Discover, to complete the challenge. I plan to shop at BB&B this weekend to get some sheets, some cookware, a coffeemaker, and maybe a comforter. I have a comforter I like, but it's old and it has a hole in it. Then I should have everything I could possibly need for the next few years, barring any surprises. If I still have a balance to spend, I will buy gift cards.

For all this, I will get back $400 cash, which seems paltry, but I am confident that I spent the money wisely, and I am glad I've taken care of the big things that had to get done. The coming months will be all about frugality again.

My room-size humidifier worked fine last night, so I'm not going to buy a bigger one. I think the PurMist will give me immediate relief when I'm blocked up, and the humidifier will help make the bedroom comfortable at night on a regular basis.

Even though it's winter, I'm still finding change. I found .02 this morning, and passed up another penny because I would have had to jump in front of other people to get it! I don't do that. I have SOME pride.

It's the first pay day of the New Year, the first one after my 3% raise. I predicted the new amount of my paycheck within $3! I wish I had been surprised by a bigger amount, though!

No sweep into savings this month. I will be scrambling to pay the Discover bill. This morning I deposited a $600 check from my E-fund. They won't credit the full amount till tomorrow, so tomorrow I'll sweep some more money from the slush fund and pay the bill. It will make me sad. But when that's done I can start climbing up again.

I had a crazy eating day yesterday. I was so hungry in the morning, I bought two sausage biscuits at McDonalds (they're so cheap!) Then at noon, I persuaded myself not to buy lunch, but had some fruitcake from the break room and also made myself some oatmeal. On the way home, I was starving again, so I stopped at Culver's and spent $11 on a burger, onion rings and a shake. Turned out I couldn't eat more than half of the burger, but I did scarf down all the onion rings, and the shake. Winter does this to me! Today I am feeling more in control. I bought a muffin at the station, but I carried in some soup, some dates and some granola bars, so I should be ready for the hungries, when they strike again.

Last night I set up the humidifier I had been using in the living room in my bedroom. It didn't seem to do much good in the night. In the morning, I was shocked to see that the water level was about the same, even though it was on, and it was oscillating. I fooled around with the controls and suddenly saw a plume of mist. I guess it wasn't really working in the night. Hoping tonight will be better. I'm still interested in getting a bigger, better one that will be more dependable and will cover a larger space. And I'm still interested in the PurMist handheld appliance, because my sinuses are really suffering.

The board meeting yesterday was actually very nice and non-confrontational. Nothing is actually resolved, but there will be plenty of time to work out the issues later, in more private conversations.

I not only got a free lunch, but a free dinner, as there was a happy hour afterwards, and I made the wine and appetizers my dinner. But today I forgot to bring any food, so I ended up buying breakfast for $4 and will have to buy lunch as well.

I had a really awful night, with pain in my legs (too much walking?) and exceptional dryness in the air. I got up to check the humidifier and found that it had leaked all over without doing any misting. It was cheap and it's going in the dumpster. But that clarifies what I need to buy. A really good humidifier -- maybe even one that will double as a dehumidifier in the summer. I think I will also buy one of those handheld misters that you place over your nose and mouth when you are especially dry. I also think I might get a "tiger tail" - sort of a mini foam roller -- which would help alleviate my lower body pain. I'll do some online shopping/looking today.

I drove this morning, because it is in the single digits again, and my hair was still damp when it was time to leave. I had to chip a lot of ice off the car and never got the windshield wipers working. After I got to work, and the car was a lot warmer, I chipped off more hunks of ice around the wipers and I think they will be okay. I was lucky I didn't have to use them on the way in.

Anyway, I'll need to get gas again on the way back, as I don't like the tank to be more than half-empty when the temperatures are low.