2021? Already?!

Well, 2020 couldn't end soon enough for my liking, but despite that, I'm a bit surprised that it's 2021 now. More truthfully, I can accept that it is 2021, but I'm having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that it is now January. It feels like it should be some other month. Odd.

So far, all of us have avoided covid-19. The county went into lockdown again in December, so there's no dining-in at our restaurants and schools have gone back to remote exclusively. I'm a bit surprised that gyms are still open, but they are now capped at 25% occupancy. Vaccines are being distributed but it's still just groups 1a and 1b: front-line medical workers and the residents of long-term care facilities. I'm not expecting a shot at a shot until late spring at best.

I was awarded my black belt in karate in mid-December. Like other belts I've earned since the dojo closed in March, I consider it to be provisional since we haven't been able to meet in person to do sparring, teaching of juniors, etc.. I plan to re-test when we finally get to practice together in one space once again.

Our ten-day Amsterdam to Bern river cruise last August was scrapped because of covid-19. However, Viking River Cruises offered us a 20% bonus credit if we rolled over to a 14-day Amsterdam-to-Budapest cruise in 2021, so we took them up on it. If we can't go because Europe is still closed to American tourists, or if we haven't been vaccinated by then, we can still get our money back, but I'm choosing to be optimistic.

Travel to Canada is still blocked. At this moment, I could enter Canada as a citizen, but I'd need a negative covid test within 72 hours to be able to board the plane, and submit an extensive quarantine plan electronically before arriving. Once there, I'd be quarantined for two weeks. I have plans ready in case I need to make urgent trips to southern Ontario or northern Ontario, but I'm hoping we get clear of this damn plague before I need to test either one.

Work continues. Our company is cleaning up all of the various bonus programs and performance metrics into a single cohesive plan, and it's not a bad plan at all. My next pay (Jan 8) will pay the last of the three year signing bonuses from our purchase by Enterprise Holdings Inc.; under the new plan, I'll be eligible for up to 20% of my base salary in annual bonuses. In the next month, all staff should receive a comprehensive benefits statement, including any pay adjustments due to title changes, adjustments to responsibilities, or to keep pace with industry averages. I have no idea what if any raise I might get, but the bonus is nothing to sneeze at, even if it's only half of what my last installment from the old plan will be.

Speaking of work, I've been on vacation these past two weeks. With Christmas and New Year's on Fridays, and with the regular company holidays, it only cost me seven vacation days. There is currently one more full day off before work resumes on Monday, and I'm savouring every hour.

I wish I had more to report about the plague year of 2020, but covid made it pretty boring. No square dancing, no travels, no skating, no visits, no bar nights, no day trips, no weekends away (except to the trailer where we'd self-isolate anyway), etc.. I have no idea if square dancing will bounce back, or in what form. I just want to be able to return to Canada again to see family.

Retirement Planning

I've recently come to a conclusion which is worrying both Kent & Michael in a fun way: I could theoretically retire right now.

It would be a thin retirement with little free cash, but it is possible. The easiest path would be to buy Mom's farm and move to Ontario: within months, I'd be eligible for the provincial health plan so my only major expenses would be property taxes, utilities & food, stretching my cash reserves much further than they would in the US. Naturally, the guys are not enthused about living in northern Ontario, and frankly, I'm on that keen on it either. But the idea of retirement has suddenly become very, very real instead of some abstract possibility decades away.

In any case, I'm still planning to keep working until I'm 60 in 2027, which is only six years away. Then things get serious.

Michael goes on Medicare this August as he turns 65, so he'll be off my work-related medical insurance. That's a slight disposable cash bump, and one less worry if I change jobs or leave employment entirely. In a year, he can claim his own Social Security at full value (he's receiving discounted funds from his late wife's account currently).

Kent just turned 60. When I retire, he could take Social Security at a discount, or hold on for just a while longer to get the full benefit at 67. I'd really like him to wait until 67, but he's had enough of working for a living since he was 30 so he may not wait.

In the interim, I'm still working to reduce our recurring living expenses, stuff as much money as I can into retirement accounts, and generally ensure we're ready when the time comes. 2,371 day left.