Today Went OK

I began today with my new lifestyle and money-saving goals in mind. I did drive my car but I spent a lot of time paying attention to the things I would need to do differently when I ride my bike. I am going to ride my bike to work for the first time this Friday. Very exciting. 

After work I drove directly to the bank/grocery store where I spent 17 bucks on groceries most of which I cooked directly after I came home. But there is enough in there for at least 3 lunches through the rest of the week. So I've got that part covered at least. And I have an overly plentiful supply of cereal so I think I can make it a week without getting more groceries.

But most importantly, my main goal was to come home and be home. I wasn't thinking about how I'd rather be eating pizza or that I should be out and about. I'm just learning to be grateful for the simple things I have, like my house, my dog and my one-dish meals. I came home, talked to the dog, talked with my roommates and let the chickens out.

Now I have eaten, put the chickens to bed, cleaned the kitchen, set aside lunch for tomorrow and even talked to a friend on the phone. And its only 8:30. I now have plenty of time to relax with my Singlutionary blog. 

I do love being at home but our culture is so against it. I miss being in high school and being in college when we were too poor to go out all the time and everyone would just come over to hang out. I think that might also have a lot to do with living in quiet towns with nothing to do  . . . the home become the center of social engagement. The only problem is that I don't want to go to other people's houses. The pets have a lot to do with that. When I am done with work I want to come home and hang out with my dog. 

But when I was younger and dog free and lived in an apartment, I really enjoyed spending a lot of time at more "grown up" friend's houses. 

Anyways. So far my financial cutbacks have been a blessing and I am looking forward to carrying these blessings through out the week. We'll see how the whole bike ride thing goes. To be honest I am not looking forward to it at all. There are hills and I have a beat up old beach cruiser. I am going to have to get off that thing and walk in some parts with my head hung in shame.

Goals. Debt. Work.

I've been employed for a little over three months now. I have health insurance which is nice. But I also get $50 something taken out of every paycheck to pay for it. That wouldn't be that bad but I still don't have any kind of sick or vacation pay and the last holiday was before my 90 day period closed. So my last check was, uh, minimal. I am also dependent on bonuses which have slowed due to a slower season.

I am trying to find new ways to motivate myself at a job which I find a little bit boring but very much needed. I am trying to find ways to fight through the bullshit and be grateful and also feel rewarded.

Its hard to feel rewarded when you're in lots of debt. When I get a big bonus, I immediately put it towards my credit cards and I don't get to play with any of it. I want a new sofa, a vacation, a bed for my dog, a bed for me (I sleep on a twin mattress on top of another twin mattress) and I want to go camping sometime this year. Oh. And something needs to be done about my car who is older than I am and attains a new noise/problem every week (but still gets me from point A to point B-- most of the time -- thank goodness).

Like most folks who were out of work for a long time or who had to go back to work after being self employed (like I was) due to the economy, I have debt. Oodles of it. As of right now I have just over $40k in credit card debt. Yeah. So stop feeling so dreadful about yourself. I am pretty sure that I trump most people when it comes to debt. 

I didn't get this debt buying designer handbags. I paid the rent with it, invested in myself and in my future, invested in my house and took care of the basics. I just had more money going out than coming in for too many years.

I figure that if I am super frugal I can pay it all off in about 3.5 years. If nothing goes wrong. If I am able to keep earning what I am earning. If nobody gets sick, I don't miss any days of work and I never buy anything nice for myself. 

Sometimes I think about picking up more work but I really really don't want to sacrifice my health and my sanity. Plus, I already have my acting gigs which are pretty few and far between but that IS extra work and it derails my routine enough as it is. 

So. Two questions: how can I spend less and how can I reward myself for smaller things.

There aren't many places where I can cut back. I don't have a car payment (although I do have a car) but I can drive less and save on gas and maybe a bit on insurance. I can try and spend less on food and eat more frugally, quit drinking and never eat out. 

So. Here are my new goals, their timeframes and the rewards:

August-March: 

Goal: Ride my bike to work 4 out of 5 days a week. This will save me any gym membership fee (I already put mine on hold to save money) and will save me about $70/mo on gas.

Goal: Only eat at home, try and socialize at home as much as possible and no alcohol or sweets. Learn to cook and eat more frugally. This will save me about $100/mo  and maybe more.

Goal: Recommit to writing on Singlutionary and to writing in general in the hopes that I can lay the groundwork for another website which actually generates revenue. 

Reward: Pay off highest interest credit card. Save enough cash to go to India for my roommate's wedding. Use my vacation pay for the trip. Get fit and skinny in the name of debt reduction. 

Motivation: A once in a lifetime experience of attending a friend's Indian wedding and traveling to India (mostly) by myself (except for the wedding part).

April-June:

Goal: Find or create one additional source of income even if its really basic like dog walking or pet sitting or working Sundays someplace (I only have to do it for a few months which makes me feel better about it)

Goal: Save enough money to get my car fixed so I can quit riding my bike!

Reward: Not having to ride to work in 100% plus weather all summer. 

Motivation: Feeling like the end (of having sketch transportation and/or other financial trauma is in sight)

July-September:

Goal: Continue paying down debt at the same speed

Goal: Save enough money by trimming the fat in ALL possible places to buy a used faux leather sectional for my living room (way easier to get the dog hair off of and way better looking than a faded black futon and an even more faded loveseat with a torn slipcover). Oh. And buy a new dog bed for the poor dog (her current one is lumpy and has been mended twice). 

I LOVE this plan. It feels good and it feels do-able. But then I remember that in June I have a wedding that I have to fly to and in July I have a family reunion that I also will have to fly to. 

Maybe by then I'll have a raise. Or maybe I'll sacrifice the awesome dog-hair-repellent sectional for friends and family. Urgh! The sectional might have to wait until Christmas.

But my overall motivation is that once I pay off all this debt, hopefully the economy will have recovered and I can go onto my next adventure!

So India, a repaired car and a leather sofa are my carrots. But the ultimate destination is being debt free!

Writing at Work (Instead of Working at Writing)

Before I got my job, I had a lot of time to myself and I also had a lot of time to write. I miss writing more often on my blog, I miss having time to compose my posts. I miss having personal time, time to think AND time to write. Lately, it seems that I have to choose: Think, reflect OR write. Sometimes the two go hand in hand but lately they seem like to separate things, like chores. Maybe that is because if I am writing, I am sacrificing sleep and if I am thinking I am also sacrificing sleep. So maybe I am just too half-asleep to do two things simulaniously.

So, I started blogging on my lunch break. I've set aside my hour break to stuff some food in my mouth and then catch up on emails and then do blog related activities. So far, so good. But an hour really isn't that much time. I'm having to learn how to write, compose, read, comment and build readership in smaller doses. So far, it feels good to just to be online again in the company of my online Singlutionary friends. And I know that over time I'll "catch up" and it won't feel like an hour is just a tiny drop of water on my skin when I'm wanting to go swimming in the ocean.

Speaking of my hour, its up.

But my point is that I am trying to figure out how to utilize smaller portions of time so that I can still enjoy writing and blogging and sharing Singlutionaryness. Its another adventure. We'll see how it goes!