Thankful For Friday

So, it’s Friday, and that means the weekend is here, the good old average-lengthed weekend.

I am thankful for it because I have been the last man standing at work (so to speak). 

Why? Well, life has happened, that’s what.

The Boss is on a well-eared and planed vacation and the Sales Guy has been detained all week on something that should have just taken last weekend (maybe till last Monday).

Well, it’s Friday and I’m still not sure if he will be here this Monday. Boss will be here Monday and so at least I won’t be alone.

So, all week I have been doing everything around the place (with the exception of working on the website).

I let the Web Guy work on the website as I do the other daily duties. When the others are here he still just works on the website. 

After all that is intense brainwork and programming (not just a pre-done website) so a lot of focus and thought is required. (I still say he deserves his own office).

Anyways, I have done this stuff before, as in back when it was just me and Boss went on a holiday. So, this is nothing new, I can do it, but it just keeps me hopping.

So, this weekend I will do some more flopping.

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

Heat Wave

So, it’s been hot in my neck of the woods, and I have been doing what I always do . . . just adapt to deal with it.

Sure it’s hot but in reality there is little that I can do about it. I suppose that I could run my generator and then run my air conditioner.

That, however, would be a foolish waste of resources . . . and only offer a temporary reprieve. 

It would also get me used to the cooler temperatures. Only to then be hit with the wall of heat once the air conditioner is over.

My tactic is to make/find some shade and hope for at least a light breeze. As well as, yes, wear as little as modesty will allow (and yes in as private as possible).

So I open: the door, all the windows and both vents and just let the breeze blow through. (Yes, I do keep myself hydrated by drinking water.)

I find that my body finds a natural balance and I just seem to get used to it. There is nothing I can do about the weather, so I have no choice but to adapt.

By hiding out in air conditioning, I am not doing myself any favours. 

After all, the one thing that is a constant is I am perpetually outside(ish). The temperature of my house is pretty much the same as the outside. 

I heat it a bit in winter, just to take the edge off, but I do not blast the heat. That would be a waste of resources.

My life is about conserving as much resources and cash as possible, in order to get through this savings-building phase as quickly as possible.

That means toughing it out through the heat, or the cold.

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

Grand Savings Update!

Okay, so yesterday was payday, and so that meant that it was a busy day for me. There was not only running around but also finalizing my budget.

This also includes adding to my savings in my Grand Savings Plan!

So, let’s see how I did.

   

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

   

With all of my budgetary magic, here is what it looks like now!

   

So, not only did I cross over the 5% mark (at 5.6% towards my savings goal) but I also moved the estimated “Done Payday” up (as in one payday sooner). 

The “Done Payday” is the payday I can conservatively say that I will be done this savings project. (As in put what I want to into savings).

Another thing of note is that it looks like I will be out of my Personal Overdraft come next payday, as well as put fully fund my Mid-Term Account.

I think I might have set another record, but just to show you how committed I am to this project I put 91.2% of my paycheque into savings. (Yes, that means that I lived on 8.8% of my take home pay)

*pause for reader cursing*

It has taken me a long time and a lot of hard work and sacrifice to get to this point. This savings plan is in essence me paying off one last debt . . . to myself.

Yet, there is a long road of me.

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

Mini-Break Went Well

This past weekend was a long weekend for me and so I went on a well-needed mini-break. 

I was looking forward to the peace and quiet of the forest as well as perhaps having a nice time warmed by a crackling fire in the fire pit.

I did a lot of relaxing and so I didn’t really do much of anything. 

Here was the view out my front door.

   

Here is what was behind me.

   

This is what my little home for the weekend looked like.

   

For those of you who are trapped in a city, here is a panoramic shot from the middle of the forest.

   

In the end, I did get a lot of rest . . . but I didn’t have that campfire.

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

Mini-Break Is Here!

Okay, so here I am, ready to go on my fantastic long weekend almost to the mountains. It is a place that I have been to many times, yet haven’t been to in a couple of years.

I am looking forward to getting some rest and having some peace and quiet. I plan to sleep in.

I am also more relaxed in a campground than I am anywhere else. 

My best guess is that for the weekend at least, I have a place to belong because I have paid to be there, and for that weekend at least, it is mine.

Again, only four more years before I am ready to finally have a place (fiscal apocalypse notwithstanding). 

I shall push all of that off and just get through the workday (half-day as usual) before heading out to my mini-break.

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

Deficit Budgeting For Savings

Okay, so Boss is heading out for a two week vacation, and so he leaves tomorrow, or rather he won’t be in tomorrow.

Since he is gone for two weeks he gave out our paycheques yesterday. Again, we still can’t cash them until Tuesday, but at least we know what we’re getting.

For me this means I can balance my budget, this time it doesn’t look good. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration; I’m $30.00 short of balancing my budget.

This means that I am in my Personal Overdraft for $30.00 this payday and considerably more next payday . . . but that’s okay. 

(Don’t worry, I give myself much better rates than the bank would when lending me money.)

I could balance my budget this payday but then I would not have any treats for my trip out to the mountains this weekend. 

(That counts for $20.00, the other $10.00 would most likely come from savings in the fuel budget).

As far as my next payday budget goes, well, it’s early. I still do the trick where I make the assumption that I only have the sales in hand to count on. 

So, my paycheque looks grim at the beginning of the payperiod and gets increasingly better as the days roll along. 

It is a simple trick to not only be prudent but also always get a little lift each day when any sales come in. 

(Sales = Commission for me.)

The thing to remember is that I am doing this so that I will make that Milestone Goal of fully funding my Mid-Term Account by the end of this month.

I plan to put at least that much (hopefully 1.5 as much) into my Long-Term Account before this year is out. (Assuming the fiscal world keeps spinning.)

So, I will dip into my Personal Overdraft for a short period of time in order to keep myself on track and keep moving my goals forward.

Yet, I won’t live in there, and most likely I will still balance my budget for the 22nd. 

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

New Month, Same Drive

So, it is the first of August, and I am closing in on my first major Milestone Goal. 

I have a good idea what my upcoming paycheque will be, and I also have a good guess as to what the one after that will be.

I am happy to say that it looks that I will fully fund my Mid-Term Account by the payday after this one (on the 22nd).

It is nice to see some progress and see that things are coming together, as it is sometimes dreary to see how slow progress ticks forward.

It is seems slower when I get to look ahead a few months to see what is coming. Only to then look back at this upcoming paycheque or worse . . . the current state of my bank accounts. 

Yet, progress is progress and the important thing to remember is that I am taking steps forward and even more importantly, I am making my targets, routinely.

Since I am able to budget and forecast and then stick to that budget and make that forecast a reality, I am able to do what I have been able to do so far.

It is also with this confidence and hard won victories that I will continue to clomp on forward and somehow make my dreams come true. 

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