Friday 30 August 2019

The Dreaded Day

So, it’s that unhappy time of year: Inventory at work. The end of August is the end of the our corporate year end. So that means that our stock must be counted.

Now, the act of counting and recording the inventory is not that bad and so the work itself I don’t mind. It’s Boss’s behaviour that makes me dread this day.

You see, without getting into too much, the way we (Boss) orders stock leaves a lot of room for error within the inventory system.

So, when it comes time to count that inventory, and count the stock on the shelves, it can be way off. 

Which then means you have to take into account stock that is on the books but hasn’t arrived yet. (Don’t get me started).

So when there are times when the count is off by more than one or two, Boss freaks out and blames me and the sales guy.

I dread and resent this as while I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect, I take multiple steps during the processing of each order to ensure accuracy in inventory and invoicing. 

So to have Boss rant and rave about all this and blame just about everyone but Boss themselves, grates. 

Yet, as always, as a small business owner, Boss is the one who suffers for the mistakes and fumbling of their idiot staff (I’m paraphrasing).

Anyways, that gives you a taste as to why I dislike this day, and this time of year, as I usually end up counting the inventory three times.

I will endeavour to keep my calm and try to just not let anything bother me. I will try to look at this as just another ordinary day and I just need to keep a better frame of mind about it.

(And just get through it, but it is Friday, which means it is an early day).

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward.

Thursday 29 August 2019

Old Folks Working in Retirement

I am not one to say that people over a certain age should not work. I am saying that people over a certain age should not HAVE to work.

There is a difference. 

Before I started on this journey towards Debt Freedom (and beyond to wealth building) I always joked that I was on the “Freedom 85” retirement plan.

(A twist and satire of the “Freedom 55” package from some mutual fund company.)

In all seriousness, most of us don’t really think much about retirement. We, or rather myself, are (or were) too busy dealing with surviving today to think about post age 64.

We tend to think that things will take care of themselves. Now, a company pension has all but gone the way of the Dodo. (If you’re lucky enough to have it, good for you.)

So, for those of us without pensions, we keep getting told to build your RRSP, and save for your retirement. 

Yet we are still just trying to be able pay for today, let alone to be able to put away for retirement. 

People have become conditioned to believe that carrying debt is normal and acceptable. 

I will say that having a mortgage is fine, as it is for your house and there is an end date (but being house poor is not).

Yet, if people do this, carry debt until they retire, what happens when they get escorted out the door of their job (kicking and screaming that they still have debt)?

What then? Is there some magic law or loophole that says that debt evaporates at age 65? If there is, I haven’t found it. 

No matter how old you are, the banks are going to want their money.

It is one thing to get part time job in retirement to fill the day and for a little extra cash. 

It is quite another to now somehow to try to deal with the pile of debt that you never dealt with when you were working.

That though alone should scare you into doing something about your debt. You too deserve to be not only debt free but have a nice savings account.

You can do it, if you want some advice, message me and I will offer what advice I can, at least let you know what has worked for me. 

(For starters read this blog from the beginning to now, as it chronicles my successes and mistakes.)

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Wednesday 28 August 2019

The Next Few Milestone Goals Set

So, with me focussed on “refunding” my savings to their minimum acceptable levels, I have set a few of my basic milestone goals.

This is yet another little game that I play to keep my focussed and motivated and moving forward. 

If you just look at the overall goal, you will be discouraged at the meagre progress that you have made and are making and will give up.

Or you will go slower as you feel that nothing makes any difference. 

So, I set smaller goals, goals that are along the path to the overall goal. 

The grand goal that I am working towards, I call my Crossroads Goal (as when you get there, your life is at a crossroads as you figure out where to go from there. 

The smaller goals along the way, the ones that measure my progress to my Crossroads Goal I call them Milestone Goals (as they measure my progress).

So, the next few Milestone goals are as follows:

1. 12.5% : Mid-Term Account Fully Funded
2. 15%    : Long-Term Back to, Minimum Acceptable Level
3. 17.5% : Savings Back to Where I was before Investing Project
4. 20%    : Next “zero” marker (as in multiples of ten)

Again, I find it is these small little mind games that keep me motivated in the here and now and working in the here and now towards that lofty goal that is years away from being achieved.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Tuesday 27 August 2019

The Frustration of The Illusion of Stagnation

Very few things are more frustrating than the feeling like you are stagnating and not getting anywhere. It is quite aggravating and can lead you to get negative and give up.

Such is the case for me, as due to a recent investment opportunity that I took advantage of, I had to raid my savings a bit. 

So, as a result I am now going over old ground in building my savings back up to where it was before.

The most aggravating is having to refund my practically decimated Mid-Term Account. 

Fiscal alarms are going off with that thing not being up to where I consider it to be fully-funded.

Yet, it was not like I blew my cash on an epic weekend in Vegas or otherwise wasted it, it was an investment. 

Yet, as a result of that investment, it put a dent in my savings. This kind of thing can make someone feel like they are getting nowhere.

We have setbacks all the time and while this is not really a setback, more like a sidestep, the lesson is the same.

Look back at where you have come, take stock of what you have and what you have accomplished. 

I am sure that you will find, that like me, you have accomplished more than you thought that you have.

I know that I will continue my savings and my wounded Mid-Term Account will be fully funded by the October 7 Payday. 

I will be back to where I was, savings-wise, by the end of the year. So, all in all things are fine and things are moving forward.

I have to just remind myself that I have done more than I give myself credit for.

Not to the point of being arrogant, but to stave off the negativity, self-doubt and depression.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Monday 26 August 2019

Vancouver . . . The Treading Water Champions of Canada

So, I read an article the other day that made me shake my head. It said that Vancouver, as in the people of Vancouver, have the highest average credit scores in the country.

Great . . . congratulations, I guess.

It went on to say that this is because Vancouverites have found a way to meet their financial obligations.

Great . . . I guess.

The metric that I would like to see is not the debt ratio (as in where do people have the most or least amount of debt in relation to their annual income).

I would like to see the debt freedom index. Where are people the closest to or totally debt free.

(Pause for every business pundit and economist in the country to gasp in horror.)

What this article tells me is that the people in Vancouver have found a way to keep making the minimum payments on their massive debt. 

Great, now tell me people of Vancouver, how do you plan to pay off that debt?

Why worry about that?

Let me ask you this: how much do you think it pays to be a Walmart Greeter and how many of them do you think Walmart will need?

What’s that? You don’t have to worry because you house is now worth a bazillion times more than you paid for it and you can sell it, pay off all of your debts and retire early?

Let me ask you this? Could you afford to buy your home as it stands now? 

Could you scrape up even the 5% minimum down payment needed? Could you afford to make the mortgage payments on your house, if you bought it now?

How many foreign investors do you think there are out there and do you really want to risk your financial future on the bet that they will still be there when you are ready to “cash out?”

My point is this, the banks and government think everything is fine because you are paying their bills, you are paying them. 

Why don’t you find a way to get rid of your debt and start paying yourself? Being buried in debt is not the way you were meant to live. 

Banks have made it “normal” because it serves them and their interests, not you. 

Do something about your debt before you are standing on the threshold of retirement still buried in debt and unable to pay it off or even keep making the minimum payments.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive and keep moving forward!

Friday 23 August 2019

The Homestead Fund Update

Okay, so it is that time again, when I update how my progress is going on my “Grand Savings Plan!” (to build my "Homestead Fund") 

Okay, so let’s see how I did . . . 
   

For review, here is how things looked from last payday . . .
   

That is 9.9% (of my Savings Target).

And this is how things look like, after the dust settled on this payday’s budget . . . 
   
 

That’s right things jumped up to 10.7% of my savings target. 

That means I put away 0.8% of my total Savings Target this payday.

Okay, so that may seem a bit depressing as it is less than a full percentage point, but this will be the norm moving forward.

This is because this target is larger than my previous one, yet I am clomping on ahead anyways until I fully fund The Homestead Fund (to 100%). 

I have proved to myself that when I set a goal, I can hit it, so I will hit this goal (fiscal apocalypse notwithstanding).

The big moment this week is that I have hit the Milestone Goal of 10%! That’s right, I have crossed off the first row and so, I am now working on that second row!

I will keep going, as each time I move that percentage marker forward, I am moving myself closer to finally starting that homestead!

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Thursday 22 August 2019

Plan For The Mid-Term

It is one thing to have a goal, an airy-fairy dream that you want to have. It is another to say that you’re going to take daily action towards that dream.

Yet, a key factor to success is to keep planning the near future. Always look 3 to 6 months out and map out the steps and places that you want to be at that time.

What smaller goals will you have wanted to accomplish by that point? How are you going to get there? 

What steps do you need to take to make sure that those smaller goals are met? Most importantly, will accomplishing those smaller goals move you closer to your larger goal?

Since my goals (at this point) are financial in nature, I look at the budgets for three payperiods at the same time:

1. The payperiod I am currently in
2. The next payperiod
3. The payperiod after the next one

I like to keep an eye to the future and see what troubles are coming down the pipe, so to speak.

I focus on the payperiod that I am currently in, as that is the only one that really and truly matters, as this is one reflects what I am doing with my finances right now.

I focus on the one after my current payperiod because that one is my next paycheque, and I always have an idea as to what it will look like. 

This estimation changes each workday, as my estimation on what that paycheque is going to be changes daily (daily sales affects my paycheque).

So, as more or less income is projected or expenses are projected, this will affect and impact that payperiod’s budget.

I focus on the one after that to take a first cursory look at how it may or may not shape up to be. I take into account any estimate expenses and income and adjust it accordingly.

I look at these budgets daily, including the ones yet to be, in order to help make them real to me, as in convince myself that this is going to come to pass.

It is by standing on the top of one payperiod budget and climbing up onto the top of the next one that I continually improve my financial standing.

I also do these budgets for years in advance, knowing that they will be changed before I come upon them.

I do this so that I can see, I can glimpse at a possible future of what I can have, in a year or two, if I continue to be fiscally responsible in the here and now.

So remember: Dream for the future, plan for the Mid-Term, yet work on the Now.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Wednesday 21 August 2019

Dream For The Future

But find happiness in the now. This is something that I am still struggling with. I have many dreams, many grand dreams, and I am working on them.

It is because of my current lifestyle as an Urban Nomad, that I can finally achieve them (eventually). 

This is due to the increased disposable income I have as a result of the drastically lowered expenses (because I don’t pay: rent/mortgage, power/gas (okay, I buy propane), or other expenses related to a fixed address.

I am building up my savings so I can have a great future . . . someday . . . in the not too distant future. 

Yet in order to do that, I need to keep doing what I am doing now. It is not all that comfortable or glamorous a life, but it is a necessary one.

Yet, I also know that if I do not find a way to find happiness in the now, in the here and now, it may always elude me. 

For there will always be things that aggravate and get under our skin, that is life. That and nobody wants to be with a grump, and I do want a woman in my life (pause for laughter).

Seriously, it is the visions of the dreams of my future that keep me motivated, that keeps me going, even through the dead of the depths of winter.

Yet, I also need to find a way to be present in the present, to enjoy the now, the here and now. 

It is one thing to work towards and achieve a goal, it is something, arguably just as important, if not more so, to enjoy the process.

That is the dance that I am learning to dance, with two left feet.

As always: keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Tuesday 20 August 2019

Focus On The Now

The path of success, is not really found the large overarching “grand plan.” It is instead found in the here and now. 

What I mean is, it is fine to have a goal and a dream that you are working towards. What is more important, however, is what you are doing right here, right now, today.

How are you moving yourself, even a small step forward, towards that goal? Is this being done in a way that you can measure it? 

If so, do that, measure your progress, so as to show you, to remind yourself, of the progress that you have made over time.

It is aggravating how slow progress is on the path of success, but that is how you not only find success but change yourself as well.

Success is really a pattern, a lifestyle and a way of living. It is not really a destination; those are the Crossroad Goals, that I have spoken of.

The only way to true success is to keep doing something: today, this week, this payperiod which will move you, even a baby-step, towards your goal.

It is through this constant, steady, albeit small, movement that you will be able to reach your goals.

So . . . 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Monday 19 August 2019

You Are Mobile, So Be Mobile

So, a couple of friends of mine are taking advantage of one of the key aspects of this lifestyle . . . namely the “Nomadic” part. 

They have been having trouble finding steady work in the area where I live and so have decided to head to another area; specifically to the west.

It is not a decision that they have undertaken lightly, but one that they feel they need to do for them. 

Moving to another city or area is difficult and a hard process if you live in a fixed address, as you need to have a fixed address to move into.

That is not the case when you live in an RV, you can move to another area, heck a region and not have a specific place in mind.

In essence what they are doing is moving to an area and will look for work there. Once there, they will pick a place to settle down in, once they find the work they like.

That is the power of flexibility that living in an RV affords you, because wherever you park, you are home.

So, you can drive to a certain region, look for work, find it and then decide where the best place to park is. 

It is as simple as that. 

So, to my friends that are heading off to another adventure, I wish them luck. You are mobile, so go be mobile, and succeed.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Friday 16 August 2019

Geoffie’s Rules For The Urban Nomad

Okay, so I read a story yesterday about some Urban Nomaders in B.C. Now, to be fair, I haven’t seen or talked to talked to or seen them. 

Just to be clear, an “Urban Nomad” is the term I use for people living in RV’s full-time in a city or other urban setting. This is because you are nomadic in an urban setting.

Anyways, the article stated that they were annoying local residents (as in those living in houses and/or apartments) by how they were living. 

So, I thought that I would offer my two cents in on this as I put forth a few rules I live by when it comes to being an Urban Nomad, that others might consider.


1) Unless You Own The Land That You Are Parked On, You Are A Guest, So Act Like One.

This one affects everything you do and is the core of my philosophy of how to be a considerate Urban Nomad.

If you are in a parking lot, then park far from the building. Park where the regular shoppers don’t want to park. Don’t make noise or otherwise draw attention to yourself. Lastly, for the love of all things holy, keep your area clean and tidy!


2) Park Away From People

If you are parked on a street, pick a street where you won’t bother anyone. This is why I prefer light industrial areas, as residential areas make people (in houses) nervous.


3) Be Ready To Move

Since you are mobile, and you are a guest wherever you go, you can be shooed away from your current parking spot. 

This is the way of things, and is the nature of this lifestyle. 

That means that when you have to move, be able to move right away, as in within a few minutes, half an hour max! 


4) Keep A Clean and Tidy Area

One of the stigmas about living in an RV is that you are a bum. It does not help shed this image when there is a bunch of junk around the outside of your RV unit.

I have a tonneau cover over the back of my pickup truck (which is my tow vehicle) in order to keep things in the back of it covered. 

I also will pick up garbage that blows in to around my truck and trailer. I do this to be a good neighbour and because that wherever I park is my house and my home.


5) Move Regularly

I move on a regular basis, perhaps not as much as I should. 

The people in the area I spend the most amount of time in know me, or at least know my truck and trailer and don’t hate me. (At least they haven’t yelled at me or egged my trailer).

I move twice a week, once on Friday Afternoon moving from Eastern Home (where I work) to Western Home, where I shop and can spread out. 

I then move back to Eastern Home on Sunday Evening, to get ready for the workweek ahead.

I do this to be seen to move around (which people like to see) but also to free up the spaces that I park in so that others can use them.

Wherever I park belongs to someone else (even on the street, as the street belongs to the city and therefore everyone and no one).


Conclusion 

Above all, be considerate, be a good neighbour and be a good guest. 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Thursday 15 August 2019

I’ve Been Told Not To Bother, Many Times

The first incident that I can remember was when I was the sixth grade and a teacher told me that I would never do anything technical because I didn’t have the fine motor skills.

I remember feeling sad and that there was something wrong with me because of this. The teacher was referencing my bad handwriting as to proof of my “lack of fine motor skills”. 

I still have bad handwriting, so I type whatever I can. It took years for me to realize that I have bad handwriting because my hand can’t keep up with my brain. 

My mind wants to get the information down much faster than my hand can write, thus it is scribbled. When I type, it forces my brain to slow down to the speed of the typing.

I’ve also been an office equipment and computer technician for years, so yeah, I do have the fine motor skills.

My point is that I have been told that what I was trying to do was impossible or so hard that I might as well not bother.

I have also found that it is much easer to do the impossible, when you don’t know that what you are trying to do is impossible. 

(This is because you will just find a way to make it work, a way that nobody had ever thought of before.)

Dreams are not easy to accomplish, they are hard. This is because they are hard to achieve, and something that we don’t have. 

It is because it is hard that the taste of victory of actually achieving your dream is that much sweeter. 

People told me that nobody pays off credit card debt. Nobody is debt free, you are supposed to be in debt, that’s just the way that it is. 

(I’ve become totally debt free, and remain so.)

I was also told that you can’t live in an RV and certainly not in winter . . . not on the Canadian Prairies. 

(I’ve done so for five years and counting.)

I’ve also been told that I can’t start a town/homestead.

I don’t know about that one, because I haven’t done it yet . .  . yet being the operative word.

I know that there are a thousand things that I don’t know and even more skills that I don’t have. All of which are necessary to success in this endeavour. 

I also know that we grow and develop on our way, through the journey, towards our dreams. 

It is the journey itself which is more important and more valuable than the destination, when it comes to dreams. 

I will keep doing what I always do. Dream for the Future, Plan for the Mid-Term (3-6 months), but Work on the Now (Today, this week).

Everything else, all that stuff I need to know in order to make my dream a reality, I will learn on the way, when I need to know it.

This is because there is one final thing that is key to achieving any dream, and that is  . . . 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Wednesday 14 August 2019

Everybody Wants To Be Generous (With My Money)

Everybody seeks to have ideas for me to improve my life . . . better living through spending as it were.

I know that I live a simple and very frugal existence, perhaps a bit on the extremely frugal end of the scale.

After all I just recently decided that I would only fill up on the payday of the 7th of each month. (This last payday my fuel bill was approximately $40.00).

People tell me to run out there and live a little, go out and do stuff . . . again, I perhaps could and should, but I won’t.

I know that life is not guaranteed and I may drop dead for any of a thousand reasons. (If that happens my last words will be, “Seriously? Like this?”

Rest assured, I am not planning on living the rest of my life this way, (otherwise I would buy and convert an old school bus or a cube van.)

I am doing this for my future, short term pain, for long term gain. I want that house, I want that land, I want a wife/family (of some sort) and all that. 

I just refuse to go into debt to get that.

I can live better in a few years, if I just keep doing what I’m doing now, for a few years more. 

I’ve endured a great deal just to pay the banks back, I can and will endure more so I can get ahead. 

I am the only one who will help me get ahead. I’ve long since learned that lesson the hard way. Many people will help me spend money, very few will help me make or save it.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Tuesday 13 August 2019

Mealstarters, Oh Where to Make Thee

So, I have been thinking about making another batch of my Mealstarter. It’s been a few months since I’ve run out of it, and I’ve been making do without it.

I’ve been wondering if I should do the traditional thing of going to a campground to do it, or just stay here in town.

If I go to a campground, I can use the electricity there to run the fridge day and night while I’m there. (Helpful in the freezing of the Mealstarter once It’s done.)

I can also use the electricity there to run the hotplate that I use to simmer the mixture for 4 hours.

Yet, if I stay in town, it will not cost as much as a weekend at the campground. 

Even if I blow through a full 30 pound tank of propane, that will be at best a bit more than one night at the campground.

Yet, I haven’t been to a campground since I de-winterized and while I don’t need to go, due to my solar charging system, it is still nice.

There is the serenity and the lack of traffic and people walking and driving right by my trailer. (That’s nice).

Yet, I am in (when am I not) a savings drive to build my savings accounts back to their minimum acceptable levels. 

We shall see what actually happens, but I am thinking about going to a campground for the Labour Day Long Weekend. 

One way or another, I will likely make another batch of Mealstarter that weekend.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Monday 12 August 2019

The Painted Lines Saga Continues.

So, as none of you may remember, I was kicked out of Western Home on Saturday Afternoon by an individual claiming to be a manager.

Why? Well they were going to be painting the parking lot lines that night and needed everyone out before nightfall. 

Usually this would be a fine and straightforward request, but the trouble is that friends of mine were kicked out of that very same parking lot for the same reason, weeks earlier.

Yet, no parking lot line painting took place, so I had a great deal of trouble believing this guy (who looked suspiciously like the guy who kicked my friends out).

I left, as it is their right as the owners of that parking lot to kick people out. It is their land after all, despite the few hours notice to move (after being settled in for the weekend). 

So, all last week I was working up all manner of sharp and witty comebacks for when that same individual tried to get me to move (from a non-painted parking lot).

I was going to call him out for the liar that he would be and demand that he come clean as to the real reason why he wanted me and those like me out of that parking lot.

So, as I was approaching Western Home on Friday afternoon I was intently scouring the parking lot for any hint of proof as to no lines were painted, yet again.

The trouble was that the lines looked nice and fresh. Upon closer inspection it looks as though they did paint the lines. 

Not only that but the lot had more than the usual number of RV’s parked here and there (all politely parked away from the front doors).

So, they did indeed paint the lines, and I will give them that. I don’t mind moving to get something done, just as long as you actually do what you said you were going to do.

To be shoved off for such a reason yet to have nothing being done, is an insult. It makes you feel as if there is something wrong with you, that you are an undesirable “social leper” as it were. 

Trust me, I’ve been made to feel like that, and I know others have as well. 

But, they shoved me off to pain the lines, and actually painted the lines . . . and I was not harassed all weekend. So, that’s good (the painted lines saga now ends).

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Friday 9 August 2019

Mid-Term Or No Mid-Term

So, as I get going on my reincarnation of The Grand Savings Plan (to build The Homestead Fund) I am revisiting an old question.

Do I include the contents of my Mid-Term Savings Account towards my Savings Goal? 

Since it is a savings account, the simple answer is yes, don’t be silly.

Yet, since it is not a Long-Term Savings Account, and I can raid it at any time, it doesn’t feel right to include it.

The very purpose of the Mid-Term Savings Account is to be available for me to dip into at anytime right away, for any reason. My “Emergency Cash” as it were.

Yet, it is savings nonetheless, and by including it in my calculations towards my Savings Goal, it discourages me from touching it (which is a good thing).

It is an esoteric discussion within me, and one that will bug me as I move forward. 

Part of me will still feel like I won’t have achieved my goal unless I have achieved it without including the Mid-Term Savings Account.

This is silly, of course, because as soon as I make that Savings Goal I will start to spend out of it as I go off and begin the next adventure. (Whenever and whatever that is).

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Thursday 8 August 2019

The Rebirth of The Grand Savings Plan

Okay, so I have been doing some things over the past month, as well as I have been doing a lot of thinking and planning. 

So, now that those things are taken care of (don’t bother asking unless you sleep beside me . . . you don’t  . . . nobody does) I will be enacting a new plan.

I am announcing the Rebirth of The Grand Savings Plan!

I have a new target date (or dates, rather) as in my 54th birthday of June 11, 2054 (so . . . either of the paydays in June of that year . . . most likely the payday of the 22nd)

Then of course I could say f*ck it and push things off to the following June so that I am “retiring” early at age 55. 

(Or everything could go to hell in a hand basket well before then.)

The point is, nobody knows what will happen, which is why I always say . . .

Dream for the future, Plan for the Mid-Term, yet work on the Now.

So, I will start building my Homestead Fund and keep going until it is fully funded. 

It is still undecided as to if I will buy a cabin for me and the future Mrs or found the town, the one thing that I do know is that in either case, I will need The Homestead Fund. 

I won’t tell you the target amount for The Homestead Fund, as it is irrelevant. 

The reason I post and blog about The Grand Savings Plan is not to brag and boast, but to demonstrate that building your savings is possible.

So with all that aside (along with the obligatory “don’t ask me, because I’m not giving you any cash,” statement of fact) here is the current (and inaugural) status of my Homestead Fund!
   

As you see it stands at 9.9% almost at 10%, but not quite. Again, this is a marathon, not a race and any progress is progress. It is nice to see that I am not starting at zero.

With that I wait two weeks to take another step forward on this marathon of savings.

As always: keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Wednesday 7 August 2019

Reject The Shame Of Debt . . . Just Deal With It

There is a stigma around being buried in debt, and to a degree that is healthy, as being in debt, buried in it is not a good thing.

Yet, there are a thousand reasons as to why we rack up debt and not all of it is reckless spending or impulsive buying.

There are times when you have no choice but to put regular bills on the credit card, knowing that you will have to carry that balance.

We have all bought gas on the credit card just to get to and from work. Of course we have bought food on that card. 

My point is that there are all kinds of understandable reasons as to why we get ourselves into debt that have nothing to do with poor fiscal management. 

It has to do with poverty and the cost of living outpacing the increases in wages. There are stupid spending, impulsive buying and poor fiscal management issues in there as well. 

The one thing this journey has taught me is that no matter what your situation (job, income, etc) you can get yourself out of debt.

So do that . . . deal with your debt. 

Don’t give up and mire in debt, believing that nothing will ever improve, so why bother. It can get better and you will be the one to make things better.

It all comes down to cash flow and mastering your cash flow. (As in what income you have coming in and where you spend it. IE: how your cash flows.)

You can either increase your Income or decrease your Expenses. 

There are a thousand ways to do this, but to really make a difference in your fiscal situation you need to do something drastic (that is: legal, ethical, and moral)

If you can’t just magically get a better job or another part time job, then perhaps get a bunch of roommates to drastically reduce the living expenses for all of you.

Living in an RV is another example, but the point is that if you are in debt, that you can do something about it, but more importantly if you don’t do something about it, it will never get better.

I will leave you on that note.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Tuesday 6 August 2019

Chased Out Of Western Home

So, I was chased out of Western Home with barely a few hours notice, again for their favourite excuse of the moment “Painting Lines” (of the parking lot).

I wouldn’t mind moving, but A) with a more than a few hour’s notice (it’s rude) and B) actually do what you say you’re going to do.

The power that be in Western Home have been saying “You need to move because we’re painting the lines” for about a month now, but nothing has ever been done.

If I go back this weekend, and I don’t see a single line painted yet that same “representative” of Western Home tries to tell me to leave, I will call them out.

On one hand, it is their right to ask me to leave, I get it. It’s their property, I get it . . . but I’m only there for the weekend, and I don’t bug anyone. 

In return I will buy my weekly grocery shopping in their store. 

I will find other places to park, I always do, and I always will. We shall see how this upcoming weekend goes. 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Friday 2 August 2019

Another Staycation For Savings!

So, it is the long weekend, at least here where I live and I will not be heading out of town for it. (What a shocker, I know).

I really don’t need to go to a campground to treat myself to power. 

Thanks to the solar power system that I have, power just is always there and it doesn’t cost me anything (other than the cost of installing the system).

There are other reasons to going to a campground, and otherwise just getting out of town. Nice view, campfires, being surrounded by nature.

For me, saving money is more important, at least at this stage of my life than those things. I need to make some headway on my savings as quick as I can.

I do enjoy myself and I do find ways to find small joys in life, yet I stick to my mantra of living simply and living cheaply.

Again, this is so that I can get ahead and into a place where I can be comfortable and have that house and land that I want.

I am still working to be content yet not complacent, as that does seem to be the trick for happiness in the now while working for the future.

It just makes for a boring life, at least for now.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Thursday 1 August 2019

Um . . . Thanks?

So, apparently the province of Quebec has put new rules for credit cards into effect today. 

As I understand it, it forces them to set the minimum payment at 2% (of the outstanding balance) for existing credit cards and 5% for new ones.

Yeah . . . thanks . . . how about lowering those extortionarily high interest rates? (crickets chirping).

Yet, the real problem is that you will never get out of debt by paying the minimum payments, even people paying the minimum on those credit cards know this (or should).

Credit cards are a fine tool, they make paying for things easier, handy for paying for things online, paying for a large purchase (such as paying for my truck insurance). 

And yes, they are handy for emergency cash when needed, but for this use they should be seen as friendly and as desirable as going to a loan shark.

I have said it before, and I will keep saying it, getting out of debt is as simple as getting into debt . . . control your spending.

We get too much focussed on the here and now, the “survival mode” mentality of where we think that we just have to do this for now and things will be fine in a bit.

Yet, we never change what we are doing yet still hope that things will somehow get better. How is that? This is a delusion that people let themselves believe.

If you want to get out of debt you have to downgrade your lifestyle in order to upgrade your cash flow. There are many ways to do this, you don’t have to live in an RV.

If you master your cash flow, you will be able to pay down debt until you are debt free. I have done it.

So, sure pay a little more than your minimum payments if that is all that you can do. 

It will help, but for a real solution to large fiscal problems you may need a radical solution (that is: legal, ethical and moral).

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!