Without John watching over my spending, I’ve gone through quite a bit of money on several big ticket items and projects.

First, I bought a computer because mine died a couple days after I lost John. (Hard drive had failed.) I went for the best laptop I could find (a Surface Pro) with 2 TB memory. It’s a real work-horse and I am glad I got it.

I had to spend a lot of money on improvements to the Michigan house. New air conditioner was the most expensive, but I also spent money on plumbers and septic workers. Those weren’t things I wanted but were necessary to sell the house.

After arriving here at my condo, I had storage cabinets built in the area off the kitchen. (Love the way it turned out and John would approve.)

I bought a large file cabinet and put it in the master bedroom beside the bed (in place of the bedside table), got a new bedroom lamp to set on it, purchased a new 4 TB back up drive (when my old one quit working), and bought four new bar stools. (I consider those sensible purchases.)

There was one luxury item I bought, a reasonably priced (under $200) 14kt gold chain to replace the two that were stolen from me by the furniture movers. Now I’m sorry that I bought it. When it came, it wasn’t as impressive as it had looked on line. It’s ok, but not great.

I also ordered a new golf cart when mine died. It should be coming within the next week or two. The cart will provide security because the other kept quitting on me and I was afraid I’d end up stranded a distance from home.

I’ve also ordered new master bedroom carpet to replace the original off-white builders’ grade and have started the procedure for adding a roof over my back patio.

I’m not through but some stuff will wait. I hope to have pavers installed on the driveway and if I can find a loveseat (or two) that will look good in my great room, I’ll definitely buy it/them.

Eventually I want to get a Murphy bed for my guest room so I’ll have more space for music stuff.

The garage floor needs work. There’s a big noticeable crack which could be filled then covered with a poured coating. It would be easier to keep clean. (Actually first the whole garage needs a good purging.)

– UPDATE –

Today I bought the newest Samsung phone, the Galaxy Note 9 with a terabyte of storage. It’ll have a better camera, longer battery life, better sound, better stylus, and other features. It won’t be here until October 12th.

When talking with the Verizon customer representative I mentioned that I have John’s phone set to forward to mine so none of his calls will get lost. I was thinking about buying a cheap phone to replace his since I can’t find the one he used. After talking with her, I purchased a land line box which will plug in to electricity, and I’ll be able to have John’s 813-727-0007 calls come in to that line. It will ring as a “house phone.” I can place calls either on it or from my new Note 9. The phone box is also on back order.

I must be frugal. No more shopping for a while! I’m shocked by how much I’ve spent, but my life will be more comfortable because I’ve purchased these items/services.