Setbacks Frustrating

I know firsthand how things in life don’t go as planned. My year of savings has gotten off to a slow and very frustrating start. 

I also know that this is due to self-inflicted fiscal wounds. I also accept that the expenses (most of them) were needed and/or not that bad. 

After all, not one of them is an “epic weekend in Vegas," nor am I back in debt, for I am, and shall remain, debt free.

Yet, it is also very frustrating to come to (closing in on) the end of the first fiscal quarter of this first year of savings and have made shockingly little progress on actual savings.

I have upgraded a few things and yes fixed Wanda, and so, those were expected or should be anticipated expenses/rewards for getting debt free.

Yet, I know that my journey is not at an end and I do not wish to live in an RV for the rest of my days. 

This trailer has always been a means to an end, a way to get myself ahead. 

I will buckle down and refocus myself on my savings as I continue to move forward. I need to see some significant progress on this savings front.

I hope that things will be markedly better come the end of the second quarter of this first year of savings.

The one thing I know is that when you experience setbacks, you must acknowledge them, understand why they happened, but then leave them behind and move on.

That is what I will do.

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

Pesky Persistent Power Problems

So, as is true with life, there are times when things happen that you don’t want. Or rather, expenses come at you when you don’t want them to. 

This blog-entry is about one of those times.

For the last week or so I have been having to run my generator more often. 

I thought that this was a result of the cold and my batteries not wanting to keep a charge when they are cold. Turns out, I was wrong.

 My first indication that the source of the problem was in a different location came at me one of the times that I started Jenny.

I noticed that the voltage gauge was hovering around half of what it should have been. Instead of reading 120VAC it read 40 – 60 VAC. (As in half of regular wall voltage).

In my typical “I don’t feel like dealing with this problem right now, so I will just ignore it and hope it goes away on its own,” style I did nothing. (I get into those moods now and again.)

Well, this past week I was running jenny every other day for two hours, this was becoming a real problem. 

The other indicator that there was a serious problem was the fact that devices that typically run fine (like my microwave clock) was turning on and off on its own.

This led me to believe that I had some sort of wiring issue or what have you within Wanda. 

Then when I started to notice that Wanda wasn’t charging, and the battery indicator (which usually reads full when the Jenny is running) was reading almost dead, I had to investigate. (This was Saturday afternoon.)

I looked at that voltage gauge on Jenny and this time took it seriously. I then pulled out my multimeter and then checked the voltage coming out of a wall socket in Wanda. 

This confirmed it, I was getting 40 – 60 VAC. In essence since Wanda and her systems were getting half of the voltage they expected all of her systems were browning out. 

Thus, while the engine of the generator was running fine, the actual thing that generates the electricity was faulty. 

Thus I spent some time doing some online research looking for a replacement generator. After searching and weighing cost vs. what I would get, I ended up getting a larger generator. 

Here is a shot of the old (and faulty) Jenny Mark II (on the left), and the new Jenny Mark III (on the right). 

   

The new Generator is a 7000 Watt Generator (I got it on special) it will kick out more than enough power to power all of Wanda’s systems fully. 

Its engine is twice as large as the old Generator but it kicks out almost three times as much power (2400 Watts VS 7000 Watts). 

One other nice thing (and was the kicker) was the electric start (with a pull cord backup).

As you can see, this new Jenny is as tall as I can fit in the back of the truck and still close the tonneau cover. I had to take the wheels and extra foot off just to drop it down a few inches. 

I gave the old Jenny to the store for them to try to sell for the motor itself, or who knows. This is me salvaging the almost full tank of gasoline from the old Jenny.

   

I can’t haul around junk and so everything has to have a purpose and a use, or it has to go.

Why did I buy so large a generator when a 2400 Watt one would do? 

I figured that as long as I had to buy a new generator (I can’t function without one) I might as well upgrade. After all, I can afford it these days (and that is a nice thought). 

Yet this pushes my fiscal plans back even further, but I will be able to make up time, later this year. This year and the next is all about savings. 

There are times, however, when your best laid plans will be thrown a curveball, despite your best efforts. For me the key is to balance savings Vs comfort.

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

Actually Looking Forward To Monday

Yep, I am actually looking forward to Monday, and I am saying this on a Friday. Why? 

Because Monday is the day (supposedly) that the bitterly cold weather will leave, and leave us with the cool weather (of Anti-Fall).

At least that is the plan and what the weather prognosticators are telling us . . . at the time that I posted this blog entry.

I hate the cold . . . I loathe it . . . I can handle it; I know what to do to survive it, but I hate it, despite living in it for months at a time. 

Again, I do this, so I can get ahead. I live in the cold in this RV so I can live as cheaply as I am willing to, so I can use that freed up cash to move my butt ahead.

So, I am looking forward to the non-deep freeze and beyond into the warm weather, which will make my life nicer, and easier. 

I am also looking forward to seeing my savings steadily grow. That is something worth enduring some cold for, let me assure you.

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

The Average and The Long

So, payday is this Saturday, but as sometimes it happens, I have my paycheque in my hand early. 

I can’t cash it (legally, morally or ethically) but it at least lets me finalize my budget. 

As some of you know I have a spreadsheet attached to my timesheet, that lets me estimate what my paycheque will be. (I used to call this tab the “Will I Make Rent” tab.)

On there I just calculate out my Gross Pay: (Hours Worked X Hourly Rate) + the sum of Daily Commission on Online Sales.

Of course we don’t get paid our Gross Pay, but our Take Home Pay. I calculate out my take home pay by lopping off a certain percentage. 

At the start of the year I take off 27.5% yet in the last two months of the year this is closer to 18 – 20%. 

This is because the government takes off more at the beginning of the year than at the end (they want their money quicker . . . go figure).

From experience I can guess what the accurate (or closest to real) percentage that will be. 

I like to take off more than realistic in my estimations, so my projected pay will be less than it most likely will be.

I do this so that: 

1) I will not be shocked when/if my actual paycheque is lower than my expectations.

2) My actual paycheque is a little bit higher than I had estimated, so each payday I get to figure out what to do with “Extra Cash.” (It feels like Christmas each payday).

This payday my cheque was higher than expected, it was a good payperiod. So much so that I was able to put my entire “Budgetary Minimum” into savings and fund my expenses with the cash that was over my Budgetary Minimum.

What is my Budgetary Minimum? That is a budgetary holdover from five years ago, as that number was the minimum amount I needed to bring home to pay my bills and exist.

Since I have worked so hard at eliminating my debts and monthly bills, that actual number is around 10% of my take home pay. 

I keep that number there, as I insist that I pay myself what I have been paying my previous debtors. I have a massive debt that I owe myself, and goals and dreams to accomplish.

The interesting thing is that I must contrast the wonderfully overflowing paycheque that I have in hand with the drastically short one that is coming. 

My next paycheque looks to fall short of my Budgetary Minimum by around the same amount that this one overflowed. 

I will still do what I can to make my Budgetary Minimum (I still have till then end of next week on that paycheque’s payperiod) but in reality it is beyond my control.

I say this all because when looking at these higher than average paycheques and these lower than average paycheques, one must keep in mind the Average and the Long.

The Average is just that over the Long Term, these two extremes will balance out. Make hay (or savings) when you can, for there will be times when you can’t. 

Keep in mind that there will be large and small paycheques for a variety of reasons. All you can do is do the best you can with this paycheque in hand. Things will work out in the end.

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

The Winter That Never Ends

So, for those of us out on the prairies, we are experiencing an extended winter. 

It is still cold and it looks like the winter weather will stick around for another two weeks at least.

Joy, just what I want to hear, I am fed up with winter and I just want it to go away. 

Yet, I will stick it out and persevere out here, because I know that I can and will endure this. This stuff now is but a nuisance to me, I have seen worse.

So to, I find, is the best way to look at the other problems in your life. Look at them and compare your current tribulations to the ones you have bested in the past.

I am sure that you will find that you have been through worse before, so you can get through this current patch of troubles.

They trick is to keep focused on your greater goal: the reason why you are going through all this. For that will keep you motivated . . . in amongst your winter that never ends.

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

I Swear That I Am Not Collecting Anyone’s Data

In the light of all of this “Mass Data Collection” scandal, I thought that I would point out that little old me, running this blog, is not collecting anyone’s data.

Seriously, I don’t even know how many people actually read this blog, or from what country. 

I have a good bet that there are some Canadians and Americans, but that’s only because . . . you know . . . I have chatted with them. 

(Then again, everyone could be Russian bots).

The point is, the point of this blog is to just put out there my experiences and what has worked (and perhaps most importantly) what hasn’t worked being an Urban Nomad.

I have toyed with the idea of turning the blog address (www.theurbannomads.ca) into a homepage of sorts for those living this lifestyle to gather together, share stories, ideas and experiences about this lifestyle . . . but that sounded like a lot of work . . . and expense. 

I will admit that I have looked for some sort of third-party phone operating system that I could load on my android phone so as to stop a certain “lettered” company from knowing my every move and bowl movement. 

Then there is the desire to find a web search engine and social media platform that doesn’t track my every search and movement online. 

I am tired of being constantly watched and marketed to. We are all getting pretty good at ignoring the ads and spotting the inflammatory propaganda dropped into out newsfeeds. 

I, for one, chuckle at the general notion of “well, you’re out there online, so you did this to yourself by living in a digital world that tracks everything, you only have yourself to blame.” 

My official response I cannot post in public, but suffice it to say, I reject that notion. 

Yet, take heart, folks, I am not collecting your data, other than a name or two that I recognize as I say hi. (but that is only in my mind and memory).

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

The “When You Need It, But Can’t Google It” Library

Okay, so a week or so ago, I got the idea to start to buy books that I may need for starting that homestead (which I plan to grow into a town).

I ended up buying a few more books than I had intended (just to qualify for the free shipping  . . . yeah . . . that’s it).

Here they are: 

   

The one in the upper middle “The Encyclopaedia of Country Living by Carl Emery” is the one that I really wanted and I have started reading. 

This one was started back in the early seventies, and has been worked on and tweaked every since. 

It has all kinds of stuff in there for growing your own food, and yes for going back to be as much of a “Pioneer” as you want (as in doing everything yourself, on your own land).

For me, I thought that it was a good place to start for someone looking to homestead and be as self-sufficient as possible. 

Yet, I don’t want to live like a pioneer or like and Elf in the trees, forsaking all modern tech. I want to move forward and build the future. 

I want a fully modern place with technology that we develop, in a town focussed on science for the sake of science in the pursuit of: Science, Technology, Knowledge and Understanding. 

For me, I want to break the cycle of: Work -> Debt -> Work More = Working Poor (AKA: Modern Peasant). The town idea is to help break that cycle for more people than little old me (but I digress).

You have to start somewhere, and since the primary goal is to be self-sufficient, you go back to the basics and build from there. 

The other books were mostly for interest or stuff I figured was a good idea to have on hand. 

The one I am most amazed at (other than the encyclopaedia) is the Pocket Reference by Thomas J. Glover (ISBN# 978-1-885071-62-0) If you do a web search for that, the book will come up.

This thing has all sorts of charts, lists of info along with formulas covering a wide (and I mean wide) variety of information, and it is quite small and cheap. 

I recommend everyone pick up a copy and have it on hand. You know, for when you may need it but can’t Google it.

As far as my “When You Need It, But Can’t Google It” library, I will keep adding to it as I move forward, with all manner of things that I may need once I am there.

As far as reading the encyclopaedia, it is good that I can actually get into reading it. I can actually start to work on that homestead idea without it hurting, because it seems so far away into the future.

I may truly be three years away from living on that land, but at least, I am moving towards it. (If others banded together, with me, this would happen a whole lot faster.) 

For now, I will work towards it by keep trudging forward. 

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