Not Completely Hideous

Okay, so I have three working days (including today) left on the payperiod that is for the Sept 22 paycheque.

I started this week with a number of “charge backs” . . . not good. 

Anyone who has worked in sales will know that when a sale is returned, you must give back the commission you earned on that sale. 

I had a few large sales come back all on Monday and that wiped out any of the commissions I earned on Monday and even put me in the hole. 

Meaning that I actually lost money on sales that on Monday . . . as in I and my paycheque was worse off (other than my hourly rate) than I was when I started . . . joy.

Yesterday was my saving grace and I had a few good sales. 

So, it looks like my paycheque, while it will still fall very short of Budgetary Minimum, I will still make a bit more than disastrous. 

As in, I will actually have some sort of a commission bonus that may even approach triple digits (you know, before taxes, of course).

Again, I just keep reminding myself to just trudge forward and take things one payperiod at a time. 

All I can do is just do the best that I can with the funds I have in my hand. That’s it. So, I will keep trudging forward and keep building my savings. 

And in so doing, build my dreams. (Be it a Fantastic or Hideous Paycheque.)

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

The Measure of Their Resolve

So, I did go to my Western Home and test the waters of parking (and shopping) there for the weekend. 

On that front things went well, as I saw the usual regulars as well as a few new ones, both: RV and vehicles. 

As I walked around the place in order to get a bit of exercise, I saw something that made me chuckle.

    

This is the parking lot of the big box retail store that closed last winter. 

This is the parking lot that I and everyone who usually stayed in Western Home, moved over to when they freaked out. 

As you can see in that picture all four entrances to the parking lot are blocked with those large concrete barriers. 

There barricades are three along the front, near me and the store itself, with the last one being in the back right. Right in front of me is a thick chain with two large and solid padlocks on either end of it.

Again, this is their private property and they can do what they want with it (as long as it is within the law, of course).

Yet, to do this tells me and everyone that you really do not see you renting this space anytime soon. 

I mean really, if you were just about to put a tenant in there for, say selling Halloween decorations, would you bother putting these blockades up?

Then again, this would not really stop a spontaneous tent city, would it?

I just found it funny is all. 

I am simply glad that I was able to spend the weekend in my Western Home (blockades and all).

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

Grand Savings Project Update!

Okay, so here we are, the next blog entry after my Payday! So this means I get to be annoying and let you know how much I have increased my savings by.

So, the question is, what percent of my savings goal am do I have in my savings now? 

   

Just for review, this is what it was from last week . . .

   

So, this is what it is this payday . . .

   

So, the pattern seems to be holding that each digit went up by one. So it went from 6.7% (of target saved) to 7.8% (of target saved)!

So, sure I have a ways to go, but again, I am working on keeping myself motivated and upbeat.

I know that the next couple of paydays will be lower than expected, but as long as I move that savings needle by 1% I will be happy with that. 

As long as I get to cross off a number (on that savings chart) then I will call it a win and move on. 

In fact, any amount of cash put into savings is a win, no matter how small. For that cash, the cash in savings is Doubly-Earned!

Why do I say that? Why is the cash in savings Doubly-Earned? Because I have earned it twice! 

Once when it was on my paycheque, and again when I was able to conserve enough in my budget so as to be able to put it into savings.

That is why savings is extra special to me, in this day and age, in this economy, I am still able to put cash into savings (I just don’t live all that glamorously). 

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

The Future is Not Set

 . . . There is no paycheque, but the one in your hand. 

That statement alone should scare you, hopefully it should scare you into action to do something about your fiscal situation. 

(But that’s another rant, for another day).

Any number of things could happen to make your job go *poof* and with it that next paycheque that you were counting on. 

So, all you really have is this paycheque that you have in your hand to make your fiscal life better. 

You have a good shot at being guaranteed the next paycheque but only as far as being paid until end of business today. 

I can get so caught up in my goals and looking ahead that I have to pause to remind myself that goals are fine but those yardsticks get moved around all the time.

And that’s okay.

I need to just focus on this paycheque in my hand and deal with the realistic estimates for my next two paycheques. Whatever will come, will come, and I will deal with it.

For me, at this stage in my life and journey of fiscal improvement, taking a 10% pay cut for the next two paydays (out of the blue) is a pain in the butt, but not a disaster.

I am still able to pay my bills and function on 10 – 20% of what I take home. It is not five years ago when I would be in full panic mode over this impending fiscal disaster.

So, if I have to put a little less in my savings for the next couple of paydays, so what. My goals will still be accomplished, and I will build my savings to my goal and move on to the next phase of my life. 

It may just take a wee bit longer, again, I’ll live.

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

Wondering About Wandering Into Western Home

Okay, so tomorrow is Payday, Woo Hoo! That also means my running around for payday.

The end of this running around always takes me to Western Home, as there is where a Big Box Wholesale company always has the cheapest price on gasoline.

So, I always end up there, after depositing my paycheque to line up and fuel up.

Which got me thinking . . . if I’m there anyways, why not at least try to stay there and see if I can get away with it?

Again, I haven’t decided, but it may be nice for at least a night, perhaps two. If only t put the slide-outs out and my stabilizer jacks down.

We shall see, but a tiny slice of ‘normalcy’ would be nice. 

I will remain committed to conserving as much cash as I can to get through this coming fiscal shortfall that looks to be worse than I had figured . . . oh joy.

The only bright side is that I as a result of this fiscal shortfall, I am dealing with putting less into savings and not scrambling to pay bills and debts. 

That is a massively different issue to deal with . . . trust me. I am more lenient with myself putting cash into savings (not by much) than creditors are about not getting paid.

(Just saying.)

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

More Deficit Spending

Okay, so this may seem silly, but unless sales skyrocket for the next month (possible, but unlikely) I will be enacting two consecutive deficit budgets . . . after this one.

Let me explain.

Okay, so because of how the days ended up, the payperiod that produced my paycheque for this Friday was bonus. (Woo Hoo!)

That means that I had an extra two day on this paycheque and all was happy and good.

There was much rejoicing, as this meant that I was less reliant on sales to bring me up to budgetary minimum . . . Yay.

I used this bonus to do some slight overfunding of my Wallets, so that I have a bit extra cash on hand just in case.

(Don’t get too excited, I said a little extra.)

There was also the purchasing of the new wallets and coin purses. So, I spent this budgetary surplus on a project that I have wanted to do for a while.

(It was a relatively lower priority.)

Yet the next two successive payperiods (as in all of September) swings the other way). They fall in such a way as I have less than average work days on my paycheque.

(As in, the Paycheques on Sept 22, and Oct 7.)

With my afternoons off on Fridays it means I am going to get about 73 hours on each of these cheques. Ouch.

Yet I have another important (for me) Milestone Goal coming up on the payday of Putting 10% into savings as of the Oct 7 paycheque.

So one option would be to just reduce the amount I am putting into savings and . . . you know . . . miss that goal . . . seriously? Is that even an option?  . . . Miss a goal? Not bloody likely (he says in a strong Scottish accent).

So, I will just conserve where I can and try to somehow make up this shortfall until the October 22 paycheque.

It isn’t much, but again, this is why I have my Personal Overdraft. All I am doing is dipping into it for say $100.00.

That means that I will only have $900.00 in my Main Account, rather than what I expect and understand as “$0.00” . . .$1000.00.

Giant flashing red lights would go off and alarms would wail if I were to ever . . . EVER . . . get near . . . you know . . . actually having $0.00 in my Main Account or . . . shocker of shockers . . . dip into my ACTUAL OVERDRAFT  *gasp and faint*

So, again, I will live, I will do what I need to do and I will continue to make my Milestone Goals as I clomp on ahead towards my Crossroads Goal of fully funding my Savings (currently at 6.7%, so I have a ways to go yet).

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

Quiet Weekend, Short Week

So, this past weekend was Labour Day and so September has officially begun. I had a relaxing time this past weekend yet still stayed in my Eastern Home.

I have heard rumblings that Western Home has not been as committal with ticketing and towing RV’s there. 

My Canary has been spotted to still be there and it has company.

I may try again in a week or two, who knows.

For me, this past weekend was about conserving cash, and with the next two paydays looking to be bleak it is a theme that will sick with me for a month at least.

Such is life, and such is the state of my life, at least at this stage of it. This ultra-conserving and saving cash by living in my RV is not forever, just for now.

Yet, I always try to look for the positives, such as my ever and steadily increasing savings . . . that’s good. 

That and it is a short week this week . . . it’s already Tuesday, and that’s good too.

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