Fun or Frugal?

It is now August and the constant pace of life is starting to drag on me. My thoughts have thus turned to perhaps spending a week at a campsite to rest and relax. I certainly could use it, and it has been a long and rough year, so I have earned it, right? 

That is when my other side kicks in, the one which has been dominating my thinking this past two years . . . the frugal side. 

The fun side of me says that I only live once and that the summers are finite and so let’s go. Heck, let’s take two weeks and go to the coast to see the family! 

The frugal side then runs the numbers and gives the fun side a smack up side the head.  Either choice would push me back paying off my credit cards, as it is I am in the dangerous territory of not having my debts finally under control by that two year anniversary of starting this journey.

This is the inner struggle that we all face, between our fun side and our frugal side. I may still take a week off and try to find a nice spot of crown land to stay at, or just stay in my western home. Most likely I will just keep pressing on, in order to save cash and keep this journey moving forward. 

Just to show that I do notice the nice things in life, here is your sunrise shot.

    

Sluggish Progress is Okay.

I have now completed half of a chapter that I started Sunday and worked on yesterday morning. I am sure that it will take a few mornings to finish it, but I have a good idea on what to do with the second half of this chapter. The pace of this book is going slower than the previous book because this book is all new material.

The previous book was heavily based on a screenplay that I had written, thus it was just a matter of converting the screenplay to the novel form. This is an in-depth look into the world of The Sisterhood, which is delightfully disturbing, and is mostly new material, going in a new direction. 

I know that the pace will increase as in the past chapters have flown out of me. This story is a bit more complex and not as straightforward, there are so many options and possible directions on how to take it. 

The pace of my writing will pick up, and let’s face it, I do not have a deadline to meet. My goal is to write the best book that I can and make it a book that I want to read, and hope others do too. 

As long as I am steadily moving forward on this project, that is okay. Just like paying down my bills, as long as I am steadily working on it, slow progress is okay. 

I Made the News Again!

I was contacted last week by a reporter from Metro News here in Calgary wanting to do a follow up article to the one done a year ago. In essence they wanted to see if I was still at it and how things were going.

On Wednesday I had my interview with Lucie, from the Metro News team, in my western home. I sat down with Lucie and talked to her about my journey as we had a great chat. We talked about: what motivates me, how I have been able to do this, the high points, the low points and yes the people I see on the same journey as me.

Lucie asked a lot of great questions and was genuinely interested in my journey and what I had to say. She had a keen and inquisitive mind, key traits needed for a successful reporter. She did, however, make one mistake . . . she asked me what book I was writing . . . there went ten minutes.

It was nice to talk to her though, so I could get the word out that there are more people than just me out here living in RV’s full time. The numbers of people I see living full time, even in winter, in these RV’s are growing. I am out here by choice to pay down bills, but I wonder how many of them are doing the same thing as me, or just can’t afford to rent a place.

It wasn’t until the following day that the talented and enigmatic ‘Jenny’ came by, also in my western home, to take pictures of me and various aspects of Wanda. As far as I understand, her camera is still working, thank you very much.

Jenny had a great eye and a talent for taking interesting shots of common things. Most of them are not displayed here, but her talent was clearly there as was her natural curiosity to explore the world through her camera lens. I wonder if she works in film or has thought about getting behind a film camera.

I will now have to find a copy of this newspaper, so I can frame it and put it up on the wall, next to last year’s article.

Here is the article

Chipping Away Works

This is payday for me and so this means that I do my little ritual I have done for years. I look at what I have and see how much I can squeeze out to put on this card and/or that one. Today I will be putting money on all three cards. 

I had to borrow a bit of money from Card #1 to keep my hinny out of overdraft. I still choose to live as if there is no overdraft. So I borrowed a bit (a pittance really) from Card #1 so that when that extra Wanda payment went through, I would still be in the black. Card #1 will be back down to zero today.

Extra Wanda payment you ask. Well, my Wanda payments are bi-weekly, as in ever second Thursday but I get paid on the 7th and 22nd What that means is that every few months there is an extra payment that falls within a pay period. 

This must be accounted for in your budget, or you will end up with a whoopsie, as I did. This is where that contingency fund would come in handy. I do have my payments set out as reoccurring appointments on my calendar on my phone so I can see when these payments are in relation to payday. 

I am also putting as much as I can on Card #2, and I have vowed to make sure that it is gone and done by the end of this month. I know that I can then keep Card #1 and Card #2 down to zero, as I have done this before. I can and will maintain a zero balance. When I choose, I can and will charge something on them only if I vow to pay it off within a few months. Again, I have proven that I can do this.

I will be paying my usual amount on Card #3 as well. This steady paying is making a difference, not as much as if I had not had a few unplanned expenses (some of which were my own doing). I have been steadily and consistently working on Card #3 since April. It is already down to about two-thirds of its previously maxed out balance. 

What this means is that small efforts do work over time. It is a frustratingly slow process to put that little extra on a card and keep doing it. It may not be much but whatever you put on a card over and above that minimum balance will go off of your principle. 

Remember, that minimum payment is just the interest on that credit card loan and it gives you no benefit whatsoever. Imagine taking that amount in cash and throwing it in a fire just to watch it burn. That shock and horror should hit you each time you see that number on that credit card statement. 

We all know that Credit Cards are a one-sided and bad business deal for you the consumer. Keep in mind that nobody forced you to agree to this deal but you did (as I did). There might have been mitigating factors that nudged your hand to use your credit card, but you did (as I did). In the end each of us chose to pull that card out of our wallets and use it. 

What this all comes down to is that each of us got ourselves into this credit card mess, so each of us must get ourselves out of that mess, by chipping away at it. Don’t give up, you can do it, credit cards can be beaten. 

As far as should you cut up your cards, that is up to you. I say that credit cards are like loaded guns, they can save your hinny or blow it off; it all depends on what you do with them.

Not Unscathed, But Still Okay

I was driving after work yesterday towards an appointment when the rain hit. I was on the freeway and in the middle lane when the hail hit. I was then stuck siting a few hundred feet before an overpass as it continued to pelt down. 

A few cars took refuge under the overpass and refused to move further, blocking up the freeway. All I could do was sit there and hope for the best as it hit. Each hailstone sounded like a boulder hitting Trea or Wanda. I glumly sat there and awaited my fate, unable to do anything else. 

I got to where I was going on time and that was good, but it wasn’t until later that evening that I noticed it, this.

   

This is a shot of my bathroom vent, from the inside, that light area is the hole in my bathroom vent. I have been lucky so far with regards to these storms. If this is the only damage I have sustained, I am still lucky. 

I have a garbage bag taped up on the inside of the vent to keep the water out. This weekend I will buy another vent and figure out just how to put that up there. I hope I can replace it from the inside, as I have no ladder to get on the roof. 

With regards to writhing, I did get half a chapter written today and have a clear idea on what to write for the other half. The title of this chapter may change yet, depending on how this other half goes, but we shall see what happens.  I am just happy that this minor rut is over and that the progress on this book continues. 

I always do strive to keep a positive attitude and not see the negativity that is in the world. This is a challenge when some of that negativity comes from me. 

Your reality shall be what you focus on, so if you focus on negativity, you will only see, and be surrounded by, negativity. If you instead focus on being positive and progress, you shall manifest that. 

So I will focus on my debts being eliminated and churning out book after book. I will not always be mired in debt and living in my trailer, but for now it is what I need to do, to get where I am going.

So, This Happened . . .

After work I went out to do a bit of grocery shopping and while trying to navigate a tight turn in a parking lot, while not hitting that inconsiderate car coming towards me, I jumped a curb. 

No big, deal, I have done this before, one side of Wanda’s tires goes up and around a curb. Well, this time I heard a crash coming from within Wanda.

I parked and went inside Wanda to see this . . . 

  

I did what I sometimes do in these situations: 

1) Got mad
2) Deny, deny, deny!
3) Storm off and fume
4) Calm down
5) Clean up
6) Adjust and deal with it

I do allow myself the time to get mad and be illogical as I scream that such a bad thing hasn’t happened. It is a good, and needed, emotional release. I know that it serves no purpose. 

I knew, even as I first saw the dishes lying there on the floor all smashed up that there was nothing to do but clean up and move on. Yet I still needed that release of emotion. 

It was just one of those things which happen. Perhaps I didn’t shove the dishes back in far enough, perhaps I should have put the dishes in a different place or put a special lock on it. 

What I am saying is that when you get mad, let yourself get mad . . . for like two minutes, tops. Then, calm down, be rational, logical, sensible and deal with whatever needs to be dealt with.

I thought about buying a new set of dishes but realized that the main casualties were my large dinner plates. I lost all but one of them and only a few of the smaller plates. With it just being little old me in Wanda, I will be fine with the plates I have, after all, my bowls didn’t move at all.

Such is life and I have been lucky that this hasn’t happened before now. 

I did get back to my usual parking spot before that massive storm hit. I was going to take a picture of it, but you couldn’t see out of the windows, so I decided against it. Wanda was rocking back and forth from the wind but I was warm and dry with my windows and vents sealed shut. 

The bit of fun (and cursing) came when my propane tank decided in the middle of the storm was the time to run out. Sure, I have another tank and all it takes is closing one valve, opening the other and flipping the switch to change which tank I am drawing from. Those are located outside of Wanda, at the front.

With it being sheet rain coming down outside it was not fun and I wanted to just wait and ride it out. I was in the middle of cooking, however, so I had to brave it, so out I went. In my: hat, rain jacket, shorts and sandals, but I got it done. 

I made more of that taco stuff, for my dinners, just a small batch of only four pounds, but I have food, for a few weeks, all for less than twenty bucks. 

The writing is coming a bit slow, but I do have a good idea formed for this chapter, a fresh and new chapter. I know that it will come and that my progress will continue at a steady pace. 

Home Meh Home

It was good for me to stay in the same place for a week and I did have a good and productive weekend of writing. Version Three of Book Two is coming along with ideas flowing well. It looks like I am on a roll, finally.

I am up to Chapter eight of this new version. There is more tension and drama as we focus in on the shadow world of The Sisterhood that Brian has been dragged down into. As well, there is less fragmentation of storylines with this version.

The campsite that I have been staying in sure has some nice amenities but the sites themselves are packed in rather tightly together, with minimal space between them. The other odd thing is that you back up on the same gravel ‘road’ to your neighbour’s unit with no clearly defined boundaries. Add to this the single lane roads and you have a tough time backing in and maneuvering those long trailers.

I understand that it is a business and that they make more money with more sites. There comes point where you get that feeling when you are just packed in too tight. You could almost pass a jar of mustard from your unit to your neighbours through the windows.

It was nice to stay in one place and disconnect from Wanda for a while. Steady power and steady water were a nice luxury for me. The internet which had download limits that cut you off was a bit frustrating and even then they wouldn’t let you do much on the internet. 

Rules, limits and restrictions were the norm at this place. Again, it was a nice place but there was no privacy at the campsites and a lot of rules. Even the firepits were: small, poorly placed and even then on the grass with no gravel around it. 

Even if there was a firepit on my site, I wouldn’t dare light a fire in one for fear of setting the grass on fire. That seemed to be what others were thinking as well as I don’t remember seeing anyone using any of the firepits.

This is a campsite intended for transients, yet you could stay there longer. If their rates were a bit more reasonable and if they were open in the winter, I may have considered wintering over there. 

I packed up this morning and went to work, again it only took half an hour to pack-up and get rolling.  Back to my usual routine I go, I hope to keep the momentum of writing going so I can finish this book and move on to the next one.