Still Hibernating The Cold Snaps Away

Okay, I’ll admit it . . . I hate the cold. I can handle it, I just hate it. For the most part I do okay in it, but I don’t embrace the cold and snow.

So, my way of getting through it is to hide under the covers . . . for 12 hours. Yep, when it gets this cold (South of -20C) I just hibernate.

I have my cold weather gear, so when I am dressed up and moving about, I am okay. it’s just that being out in the cold sucks. 

That and when it is that cold, I can’t run my laptop, because my fingers don’t like being that cold and have trouble typing . . . go figure (yes, I have tried).

Again, while you may be thinking that I am acting like a bit of a wuss, keep in mind that I have no heat in Wanda.

What history and experience have taught me that trying to heat up Wanda when it is that cold, is a waste of propane and electricity. 

Wasting the electricity at a campground is one thing, running my generator so I can run my furnace is another.

The weather will rise again and so I too will come out from under the covers. This is the most economical and efficient way to deal with cold snaps. 

So, on a plus, this new mattress and down quilt is working out great!

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

Take The Win (Even a Bare Win)

So, Yesterday, after work, was my running around for Payday. Since my actual Payday was on Sunday and my bank was closed, I deposited my paycheque yesterday.

I know that there are a thousand ways to deposit my cheque and do my banking, but I just like walking in and dealing with a human. 

In this age of the rush to digitalization and automation, I like doing my small bit to resist that trend . . . I like a world that has bank tellers and cashiers in it.

What that means is that at the end of my running around I sit down, pay my bills and shuffle my cash around. 

Each time I do a particular entry or task, I check off a “done” box on that line. So as to keep track of what is done and what is not.

This also lets me keep track of what payment has gone through and what has yet to go through. 

Again, this is so I can keep an eye on what my bank balances should be at all times . . . and that I don’t do something stupid which will bounce a payment. 

Yet, there I was staring at a budget sheet with all of the boxes ticked off (other than the ones I tick off at the end of this budgetary cycle).

This meant that all of what I had to pay in this budget cycle was done . . . on the eve of payday. 

This is a stark contrast to just a year or so ago, when there were always automatic payments going out.

I have what I need to get through until the next payday, so all I have to do is just muddle through and not spend anything (out of the bank).

I was a bit off in my estimation of fuel and so I had to dip into my personal overdraft for all of $5.00. 

Since this is my personal overdraft I can sit there until next payday and it will not cost me anything. I like that . . . the bank doesn’t.

I also like the fact that this budget saw me put 88% of my take home pay into savings.

I like that too. Especially when four years ago I couldn’t even save 2% let alone 12% . . . the thought of saving 88% would have been so foreign it would feel like winning the lottery. 

So, while I may wake up a bit grumpy due to the cold, my grumpy spells are much shorter. While I may be in my overdraft for $5.00, I am starting my savings plan.

My savings phase is starting and things are heading in the right direction. With the ouch season that is the early parts of the year (tax wise) being able to do any of this is a win. 

So, I will take the wins that I see, notice them and then keep moving forward, towards my goals.

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

Wanda, Meet Anastasia

So, I did a fairly large purchase over the weekend . . . in my books this was a massive purchase, one that has been three years in the making. 

I bought this . . . 

  

I mean, I bought a mattress. 

To put this into context, here is the mattress that I have been sleeping on since I moved into Wanda on July 12, 2014. 

  

And this is my new mattress . . . 

   

Okay, one thing you may have noticed is that it is thicker, as in one and a half times thicker. But, I don’t feel the plywood at all (so that’s a win).

One challenge of this new mattress is that getting to the storage under the bed is harder as this mattress does not bend and it is also heavier, much heavier. 

So this means more strong-arm lifting in order to get at that stuff, so I find myself lifting it less and doing more each time I have to lift it.

This is the mattress all made up.

   

I bought new down pillows as well as a down comforter (not in the picture) and I have to tell you, this was an amazing sleep. 

It was well worth it and I didn’t wake up stiff (or grumpy). Okay, it wasn’t all that cold last this weekend so, we have yet to see, but there is something to be said for a good mattress and a good night’s sleep. 

Again, I do not plan on going crazy, and this will do me on my extravagant spending for some time to come. 

This was necessary, though, and I will keep on with my savings plan so as to build for my future. 

By the way, that thing on the bed in the last picture is my frying pan that I have wanted to buy for some time too.

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

Focussing On Building

I will admit, that I do not do well in the cold, at least, getting out of bed in the cold I do not do well, I am grumpy (it is just as well that I live alone).

Come to think of it, I am also a bit snarky when I am stripping down to my skivvies to get into the sleeping bag 

(Hint, you will be warmer all night in a good sleeping bag, the less you wear. This is because your body heat will warm up the sleeping bag and thus that warm air will keep you warm.)

Once I am situated in my warm clothes and moving about I am fine, but it is just that transition period, which causes me to question my life’s choices that lead me up to that point. 

I will be fine. I will survive and I will move on and in so doing, I will steadily improve my life. I just need to change my focus, to keep myself motivated and positive.

I will now turn my focus from debts to savings. This is a shift in mindset that needs to happen. 

I will keep in mind my personal debt limit that I have set out for myself with regards to my line of credit, but I will overall focus on putting cash into the bank.

This is a happy phase for me as I am debt free and I should enjoy it, be relaxed and less stressed, yet I am still a bit stressed. 

I know that I am not technically totally debt free, as I will be carrying a bit of debt moving forward. (I will be buying that mattress today after work).

The difference there is that my debt is backed up by savings that could pay it off at anytime. 

Thus, if I ever choose to, I could simply pay it off all at once. In this, I control this debt, it does not control me (but that was yesterday’s blog).

I will try to get myself into the happy mindset of focussing on growing my savings, and in so doing hopefully relieve my stress. 

I also know that this living in an RV is grating on me, as I am not out on the open road travelling where I like when I like, I live in an Industrial park and weekend in a parking lot.

My days of living in an RV on the roadside are numbered; it’s just that that number has at least three digits in it.

Thus I need to simply focus on the coming of Anti-Fall! (That time when the real cold leaves the land and the not so cold comes in).

I will do better in the warmer weather . . . I always do. 

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

My Personal Debt Ceiling

Okay, so this year going forward I am going to try a bit of fancy-dancy fiscal trickery (at least for me). I am going to keep my large payments into my savings.

I will first be putting those payments into the Mid-Term Savings Account (up until that 2 year Living Expenses Target).

After that, I will be putting those payments into my Long-Term Savings Account. I sometimes refer to this as my “Dream Account,” as it will fund my dreams.

If I am able to keep these payments up, then by the middle to late of 2019, I will be able to start shopping for land.

Yet, in order to do this, I will be putting the large, expenses, onto my low-rate credit card. This one has an insanely low interest rate, so I will be treating it like a Line of credit.

I will be putting at least $100.00 onto this card each payday, as well as all of the extra cash that I can spare from my payday budgets.

This will ramp up when I near the end of the year and put a serious bite into this card. Once I hit my target in the Dream Account, I will then pause that savings plan and pay this thing off.

Yet I have decided that I will not put more on that card, than I have in my Mid-Term Savings. My max limit on this card is two thirds of my target for the Mid-Term Account.

I will not go crazy but there are a few things that need to get done, so the decision had to be made: Savings Vs Expenses. 

Do I pause my savings plan in order to pay for things like: the repairs to Wanda, or that Mattress that I have needed for the past two years? 

This way I can do both, and since I will have more in savings than on that credit card, I will be able to pay it off at the first sign of trouble. 

This is key, I think, when dealing with credit: Don’t have more on credit than you have the ability to pay off in a short period of time. 

The reason why I am doing this, trying this approach is so I am able to keep those savings payments on track. That is everything. 

Again, I will see how this goes and I reserve the right to change this plan, if it doesn’t seem to be working. 

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

If I Could Ever Have Scheduled a Cold Snap

So, it got a might bit cold this past week. Oddly enough it was cold from the beginning of my Christmas Break, until the end of it.

So, on one hand it was bad for the Christmas Break, as I never left the campground. Yet on the other hand it was perfect for me . . . I had electricity.

This meant that I could use my electric heater which was a lifesaver. Sure it was cold and some mornings it was literally freezing when I got up (as in 0C or 32F).

At first I used my portable propane heater and while that did help raise the temperature, it used up a lot of propane, so I stopped using that.

I figured out how to get my electric heater and my electric hotplate going at the same time. That was able to help, but not by much. 

The most I was able to get my trailer up to was 10C. So, I just bundled up and stuck it out. I was fine but you could feel the chill that was literally at the walls. 

The other downside of a trailer that has a slide-out is that wind can get in through the sides of the slide-out, where slide-out meets trailer.

All in all, I was able to get through it and it was a much more pleasant experience than braving -30C temps without electricity to help heat me up (at no extra cost to me).

I have done it, and I know what to do to endure -30C temps, but I was thankful that I didn’t have to . . . this time. 

Winter is not over, however, and another cold snap or two is likely before the end of it. 

Whatever happens, I will manage and I will make it through, because I have seen this before, and I know what to do, that doesn’t mean that I like the cold (I loathe it) . . . but I know how to handle it. 

However, if I ever had the chance to schedule a mandatory cold snap . . . that would have been it.

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

The Dawn Of the Year of SAVINGS!

Okay, so happy new year to everyone and all the best in 2018. Not to rub it in or anything, but this year, I will be focussing on building up my savings, (come hell or highwater).

Why? Because I have spent the last seven years mired in debt and the last 4 years living rough just to dig myself out of that debt.

Newsflash: I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life. 

So, this year I will focus on stuffing as much as I can predictably put into savings. Thus this is the dawn of the year of savings . . . 

   

I still have some things to take care of and other expenses to look after. So, 

What I am going to do is to put them on my low interest credit card and budget $100.00 a payday to pay on each card. 

Also, I will put whatever extra cash I can save in my budget. I am not going to go crazy, or anything but there is that mattress, and a few repairs that are needed on Wanda.

I could and probably should pause my savings to pay these as I go, but I just can’t stomach doing that. I am doing this to buy land and I will do that. 

This credit card is an extremely low-rate card and so the interest is negligible. By putting cash into savings, I could, if I so chose simply pay it off at any time. 

At least, this is the theory that I am going forward with. My goals going forward are as follows:

1. Put 2 years worth of living expenses in Mid-Term Savings (by April 22, 2018)

2. Put 45% of my “Land Buying Goal” into the Long-Term Savings (By Dec 22, 2018)

3. Contribute to my RRSP 

4. All extra cash to go to knock down that Credit Card. 

Again, as with all plans this one will be evaluated as it goes. It may work or it may suck, I don’t see me carrying this card for all that long a time.

However, if things continue like this, then by Sept 22, 2019, without dipping into my Mid-Term Savings I should be ready to start shopping for Land. (1/4 Section Minimum). 

What I do know is that I feel like I have turned a page on debt, I may have one credit card, but it is a low rate card (not maxed out) and can be paid off at anytime. 

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

PS: here are some mountain shots from my Christmas Break.