The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Happy Things Friday: 30 January

Well, that was a doozy of a week!

My part of the world (and honestly, most of North America, it seems) got walloped with winter. It was absolutely frigid and, to add insult to injury,…

FIG Collective, Happy Things Friday, Life
Jan, 30, 2026
49 Comments

How (and Why) Did We Pay Off Our Mortgage?

It always makes me so happy to get a post idea from a reader, so a huge thank you to Maura!

(Her request stemmed from my 2025 Financial Review/Money Pie.)

Thank you for posting. As…

Frugality, Home, Money
Jan, 29, 2026
31 Comments

Demerits and Gold Stars: January 2026

When I did a bit of navel-gazing about the past year of blogging, one thing that came up multiple times was how much people seem to enjoy reading about my Demerits and Gold Stars.

Let’s…

Well, Butter My Butt and Call Me a Biscuit

Years ago, when we were visiting my sister in South Carolina, we came across a book of “country sayings,” and we still laugh about it to this day! Turns out there are a lot…

We’re Really Doing This!!! An Update on Our Epic European Adventure

So much of my mental bandwidth lately has been going into planning for Europe. While all the regular rhythms of daily life continue as usual, I feel like my brain is also subdivided—one part…

Five FIGs At the End of a Heavy Week

A quick reminder that one week from today—next Sunday, February 1—we’ll start tracking FIGs. For more information, here are all the details about our online gratitude crew.

The world has felt especially heavy…