My husband and I come from families of very modest means. We are the first and only people in our immediate families to graduate from college.

We worked our way through undergrad (both) and grad school (me), got all the scholarship money and employer tuition reimbursement money we could and only borrowed what we truly needed – not the max amount the financial aid office said we were entitled to.

It took nearly a decade, but we paid off every last dime we owed. Even as a teacher, I never qualified for any loan forgiveness program because the criteria were always changing. By the time I actually met the criteria, I’d already paid it off.

Today, several million students will see their loan balances go poof – courtesy of Mr. Biden.

It doesn’t resolve the issue of why college (like medical care) is so expensive, nor why we as a country, push our young folks toward college, when most aren’t cut out for it?

Where are the safeguards and education programs in place to explain to 18 year olds what the ramifications are of signing on the dotted line to borrow a sum of money for college? Oh, wait… based on today’s actions, why bother, when you aren’t going to be expected to pay it back?

I have no problem with loan forgiveness based on specific criteria. One of my former colleagues met the criteria for teacher/public employee loan forgiveness. It was such a blessing to her and her family when the loan balance was finally zeroed out.

Today’s actions leave me shaking my head. With blanket loan forgiveness, we, the taxpayers are on the hook to bat clean-up yet again.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Sadly, It appears to be lost, along with its cousin, common sense.

Numbers don’t lie. If you looked at our retirement expenditures for the past five months, it’s pretty clear that TRAVEL is our #1 core pursuit. My quilty bucket list/retirement trip is coming up in mid-September and our delayed anniversary trip aboard the Rocky Mountaineer is the following month. Hubby is tagging along when I go to Lehi, Utah for the Garden of Quilts at Thanksgiving Pointe. He’s meeting up with a friend to go backpacking during the 3 days I’ll be focused on quilting. We’ll get to spend a couple of days together in Salt Lake City before flying home. Hope I have time to visit the Intermountain Therapy Animals national office while we’re in town. They sponsor the R.E.A.D. program in which Sadie & I participate at our local library. That would be so cool!

Hubby’s already asked where I’d like to go next year as we have a companion pass we need to book before it expires. We’re keeping things stateside for now. Glacier National Park in Montana or visit Alaska perhaps?

Walking is another one of my core pursuits. I have my own personal walking partner – a 65 pound Labradoodle. Other friends and their dogs/children also join us on occasion. Sadie and I like to explore the various parks and walking trails in the area. Big Girl is good for about 3 miles. If I want to go farther, I go by myself with a favorite playlist cued up.

I guess this core pursuit could also be referred to as health and wellness. Walking, good sleep, proper hydration and healthy food definitely keep me feeling good. So does seeing a doctor on a regular basis and remembering to take my multivitamin, fiber gummies and BP meds. It did take some time and experimentation to find the right BP med for me and the best time to take it (after dinner). Alleviating stress and cutting way back on caffeine also helps control BP.