I don't know if we'll ever cure proverty, but the way prices and taxes are going we're sure to cure wealth.

I finally got my taxes finished last night at 3AM and am glad to have been able to catch up on one of my biggest, 'need to do' items on my list. I'd let a lot of things lapse over the years, so it was good to have this beast finished. I was even able to get in my maximum $5000 IRA contribution (money I won't see again for 35 years but helps save a good bit in current taxes) set up at my new favorite banking institution, Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Not only did they have about the best current rates on CDs, but I also just picked up a credit card through them that has the best cash rewards program right now. My old Citibank dividend credit card simply gave me a basic 1% cash back on my purchases, however I had to wait until $50 worth of rewards accrued before I could request a check. This new card not only provides 5% back in gas purchases (saving about 11 cents a gallon at current prices) but also 2% in grocery store and drugstore purchases and 1.25% on all other purchases. The nice part is that the cash back is applied to the credit card balance every month, so I don't have to wait any period of time to get the benefit.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been busting out the home cleaning and repair projects that have been put off for far, far too long and cost me more than I would have expected in terms of the delay. I've caught up on finishing the kitchen cabinet baseboards, repainting most of the baseboards in the house, scrubbing the floors and cleaning out old grout, repainting/touching up the walls, and various other things. I've also been spending my days at a new potential job location and even traveled to Sebastian for a day trip to get involved with a property management project on Monday as my first official task, pics below. On Tuesday I attended a pre-audit as an opportunity to learn a bit more and participate in the process. Sometimes the small things have to be fixed before the bigger things can sink in, but I do have a certain optimism for the future; which right now is pretty much all I have. I'm a bit excited and saddened at the same time; excited for the opportunities that might be coming up soon and saddened for the things lost, even old free time, but it is indeed progress.