It took nearly 2 months, but at last today a notary is coming to the house for me to sign the papers to finish my refinance on the mortgage.

Finance wise it is a very odd time.

As we get to the end of each year I dial back how much is going into my retirement as I near the yearly max; that leaves me some 'extra' cash, so the battle is do I put more towards the mortgage or use that to refill the coffers after laying out cash for the interior painting (which I continue to be very happy with by the way).

I may not have mentioned this before, but there was also an unprecedented situation with work which -- long story short -- resulted in them requesting our efforts which would earn some overtime.  It's a situation where I admit I feel obligated to help, I want to see it succeed, but it sure doesn't hurt to get a few extra bucks.  That of course means a bit of a challenge getting that extra time in, especially if we go back into a lockdown that closes schools/daycares.  I am not putting in much time yet on that, but hopefully that little bit extra can help make progress on something too.