I paid in full for my car and auto insurance today, totalling $1,526. I always pay in full, even though it hurts, because you get a discount for doing so. I used a credit card (just a normal, non-bonus one) but I should get some kind of points for it.

My agent felt I was over-insured a bit on the house, so we achieved some cost savings there, but he said I seemed a little low on the car, so we beefed that up.

My overall costs are about the same, but when the plan actually renews in October, Safeco (part of Liberty Mutual) will mail me the Right Trak gadget which I'll drive around with for 3 months. No matter what, I'll save an additional 5% just for signing up for the program (that's at least $44), and I have the potential to save up to 30% ($266). You can track your progress online and see how much you're saving, so to me that's fun and very motivating.

It's based on total miles driven, time of day you drive and how fast you brake and start. These are easy things to control so I'm confident and hopeful I can reduce my car insurance down from the current $887 for a 3-year-old Honda.

Next year, I will probably drop my collision, for which I'm now paying about $250, so that would be a big cost savings, though not without some risk.

Another day of not feeling like I accomplished very much. I did some reading for my job search, attended another webinar and got some groceries and gas. I am simultaneously taking webinars on looking for a job and visualizing my future retirement lifestyle. I much prefer the latter, naturally.

Lunch today was finishing up my delish baba ganousch with some healthy crackers (yes, there is such a thing) along with my homemade coleslaw. Dinner was a half cucumber and about a half cup of kidney beans with some salad dressing, along with a half a cantaloupe and a half pint of some really good non-dairy salted cashew/caramel ice cream. Didn't feel like cooking or fussing in the kitchen, I guess.

I'm supposed to be walking 6x weekly and have fallen a bit short of that at times, sometimes for no good reason. I think I have better success when I get out first thing in the morning to do the walk; when I leave it for end of day, I wind up lacking the energy and am thinking more about supper than anything.

Am disappointed I haven't heard back from the Lutheran pastor I emailed in the small town in Germany where my grandfather grew up. Maybe he's busy and will get to me eventually.