"Today is the beginning of the rest of my life".

Always loved that quote.  It seems so applicable to me.  For years I looked after my two disabled children, then when they were finally grown, my husband got sick.  Not that I resented any of this, but it did place limitations on my life.  Now, my husband is gone and I am at home with my son for company.  I am so blessed to have two children who have turned into well-rounded individuals.

When I received my husband's insurance I did some hard thinking.  What did I want to do with the rest of my life, and how could I achieve this.  Firstly I made a budget to see what was achieveable with my current income.  Then I looked at what money I had and made some decisions.

Did I wish to continue the way I had been living my life.  No.
Did I wish to make my life more self-sustaining.  Yes.
Did I wish to make my life more self-fulfilling.  Yes.
Did I wish to give more to others.  Yes.

The question was - how to achieve this?