Jittery Anticipation

It is less than a week to go before Wanda goes into the shop for repairs. She goes in on the 3rd of June. There are so many thoughts going through my head, so many wonderings and fears. I won’t list them as I am sure that you can imagine a few yourself.

I just hope that the work is done right, in a timely and doesn’t cost that much, that and that the guy who hit me actually pays me, as he said he would. I will not call him until the 1st, as I said I would wait until June for the money and would not bother him until then.

I know that I need to get Wanda fixed and that I will be fine sleeping in Trea for a few days. I just want this chapter, this challenge over and done with. 

I will enjoy this weekend in Wanda and try to do some bike riding as well as cleaning, organizing and preparing for my short separation from Wanda. 

Don’t Wish For a Do-Over

Now and again I look back on my life and wonder how I got to this place of living in an RV. I try not to think too hard about the past and the choices and mistakes that I have made. Sometimes it is irresistible to play the “what if” game and I unwisely play it.

What if I had gone into a more lucrative field when I was young? What if I had put more of an effort into wooing a woman in my early twenties? What if I had started saving years earlier? Why didn’t I do this Urban Nomad thing right out of Film School? Why did I wait three years to start this process of financial renewal?

All of the things that have happened to me, all of the choices that I have made, the struggles and triumphs of my life have shaped me. For better or worse, I am the person that I am because of what I have faced. Take them away from me, and I cease to be the person I am.

I still look back on my life and wonder what my life would have been like if any of these “what ifs” had come true. What if I could have a “Do Over”? What if I could go back to the time in my life of just graduating high school with all of the knowledge and experience that I have now?   

Such thoughts are pointless and while fun to entertain for a while they are counter-productive. Thinking and wishing to change the past will not affect the future. This is just as bad as “victim mentality” of blaming someone or something else for the state of your life. You shape your life by your choices, period. Both of these thought patterns will avert and divert your attention from the here and now and prevent you from making changes in your life. 

Don’t wish for a “Do Over” instead, chose a “Do Now.” If you don’t like the way your life is heading, make a change. Do something to change your life now, don’t wait. There is never a good or easy time for change. All you have is now, so make that change that you know that you need to make in your life. Do it now, don’t wait.

As for me, I will trudge on and keep going until my bills are paid and I am debt free. It is hard though as the date for Card #3 to be paid off keeps being shoved down the road. It looks as though that I won’t have achieved victory over it until somewhere in either October or November. That is coming close to that two year anniversary of starting this journey, of being an “Urban Nomad.”

I will eventually break the cycle of perpetual debt and “Corporate Indentured Servitude” that such debt really is. I will continue to change and reshape my life. For while my lifestyle is not easy and some say odd, it does help me get ahead. I am always taking one step further towards my ultimate goal of “Financial Independence.” 

Remember, there is no Do Over, only a Do Now!

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Camping.

I have decided to go camping this weekend, I have reserved my spot and will be at Mclean Creek this weekend. This weekend will give me a chance not only to: get water, dump and charge batteries but some other needed tasks as well. 

I also need to do some minor repairs and cleaning of Wanda. Then there is the necessary task of putting aside what I need to camp out in Trea for the next week or so while Wanda is fixed. Here is hoping it is only for a few days, but we shall see.

I will look for a new place to dump next week or if I get brave tonight, after the rush hour traffic has died down.  One way or another I will find a new place do dump and buy water, of that I am certain.

I have had a few meals from this latest batch of “Taco Filler Stuff” and it is not looking good. Part of the problem of “experimental cooking” that is my style is that sometimes you can end up with stuff that doesn’t turn out. I mean, usually I pull it off and it tastes okay, but this batch just tastes off. 

It is not spoiled or “turned bad” but the flavours didn’t blend well and there are too many beans in it. This has resulted in a hash taste and giving it a hard paste-like consistency that doesn’t cook nicely. I will see how I feel after a few more days, but it looks like this batch will not survive. 

I have food so I will survive, that is certain, as always, we: live, learn and move on. 

Another Day, Another Challenge

I saw it and I sighed. I grumbled (in my head) and shook my head as I stood there and read the simple sign. It politely said that there would be no water at this RV Dump Station due to an underground pipe crack. 

The added bit of “niceness” was that I found this lovely bit of news out as I was patronizing their business by buying propane there last night. (They are the cheapest around, so I still will.)

The way the sign was written indicated or hinted that they were not going to fix it. After all why should they? If they fix it, it will cost them money by giving people water when they dump their tanks. As it is now, they can just sit there and take the money (same price) for just for letting people dump their tanks. 

This is the station that I have been waiting months for them to turn their water back on, only to find out that they weren’t going to do that. Now I need to find another RV Dump Station, with potable water, and soon.

This is going to be challenging as there seems to be very few RV Dump Stations in Calgary and none in my area of the city. Again, I don’t just need a place to dump my tanks but fill up my fresh water tank as well. As with all challenges that I face I will figure this one out and find a solution to it. After all, this is what I do. 

On a happy note, the large payment on Card #1 went through and so I paid it off again. The bounce was not much, just shy of $15.00 . . . I think I can handle that. So now I officially have only one Credit Card to go, the dreaded and dastardly Card #3. 

Well, that is until I get the bill for fixing Wanda, and the guy who hit me somehow can’t pay. A crowdfunding campaign would hot right about now . . . (I won’t hold my breath).

One challenge at a time, first find a new RV Dump Station, then fix Wanda then pay off Card #3. Onward and upward to victory over debt!

A Good Weekend

I did get my test letter on Friday, so that meant that I changed my address on my Driver’s License and registration over. Happily, it didn’t cost as much as I thought it might. Filling up my fuel tank on the other hand cost slightly more that I had hoped it might. 

So that meant that Friday was a busy afternoon for me, with a bit of extra running around. I did go grocery shopping for my new batch of taco, filler . . . stuff. This batch turned out more of a solid and paste consistency which means it is more filling and ‘stick to your ribs’ but it also means that it is harder to cook and deal with when frying in the pan. 

  

Again this batch should last me at least two months, I looked back in the blog but haven’t been able to see the date that I cooked the last batch.

  

As far as the bills are concerned I did go with the option number three, so I finally have a bit of a contingency fund. It is also good to see that Card #1 and Card #2 are back down to zero. Well, there was a bit of bounce on Card #1 that I need to take care of this week. 

Literally the same day that I paid it off to nothing, a few hours later there were the interest charges and other monthly charges (that you get when you carry a balance). So when the large payment actually hits the card I will then pay it off again (it is like $30.00).

I filled my fresh water tank with my blue jug and this went really well with the help of my little table.

  

I was able to pour the smaller bottles into the blue jug and so this again. I didn’t bother to pour the other large jug into the main tank, as I am still somewhere near full. Later this week I will pour that water into the tank. If I am conservative I should be able to stretch out the need to dump and fill until next week. This is good, as I would like to dump just before Wanda goes into service next week, on third.

I did go for a few walks and tried to keep active but I did no writing at all. Even this morning I didn’t do any writing. For now, book two is still paused, and this is frustrating to me. I need to force myself to write and get this book moving forward again.

I have achieved victory over two of my three cards (again) and that is something to celebrate. 

Debt or Savings?

Today is payday, that means that I enact my budget that I crafted last night. As expected I got my paycheque yesterday at the end of work. While I can’t deposit or spend any of it until after work today, it means that I was able to plan out what to do with it. 

All of this planning and budgeting left me with an interesting dilemma and a few choices that I am facing. This dilemma was brought about by a happy circumstance that my paycheque was larger than I had anticipated. So in fact I have a bit of extra money, and I must decide what to do with it.

For fun I will put the choices facing me, to you to let you mull over what should be done. I will let you know what I actually decided on Monday, when I blog again. Each of these choices has both good points and bad. They bring with them both advantages and disadvantages. There is no clear winner . . . thus the dilemma. 

Option 1

My first and most sensible option is to pay my planned (and first) $1000.00 on (the dreaded) Card #3, and keep its paydown on schedule. Then I will pay $500.00 on Card #1, this will take a large bite out of it but not pay it off, I will carry a balance of a few hundred dollars. There is a miniscule amount on Card #2 from one of my reoccurring payments, that will be paid off regardless. This plan keeps my Card #3 paydown on schedule but leaves me with a balance on two cards. This means more interest paid.

Option 2

Another way to go would be to pay off Card #1 entirely, pay off Card #2 and put $500.00 on Card #3. With a bit of economising I can make this work. This would leave me with a balance on only one card but set back my paydown schedule on Card #3.

Option 3

This option is a modification of Option 2. I would pay off Card #1, pay off Card #2 and ignore Card #3. Instead I would put that $500.00 into my savings account and actually start a contingency fund. The trouble with this option is that it would set back my paydown schedule on Card #3 (already delayed) back a month. In doing so I would pay even more in interest on Card #3. Yet in recent months it has become apparent that a contingency fund is a valid thing to have. 

Conclusion

I welcome your thoughts on this but at the very least I hope that it lets you see that there are many ways that you can manage debt. You can do many different things with your money so take a bit of time each payday and plan and explore a few different options before you actually spend your paycheque. A spreadsheet is a great tool to help you do this. If you don’t have one but would like one, contact me and I can send you mine.

Busy Weekend Ahead

Okay, I have a few things planned this weekend, for one it is payday so there is the usual running around and bill paying associated with payday. 

I have decided to pay off Card #1 completely and leave whatever extra, if there is any, in the main account. This will certainly push my card payoff date back, but it has to be done. I have been living on Card #1 in small bits over the last six months, using it to augment and supplement my stringent budgets. Again, this is because I have no contingency fund; again, I reiterate how important this is. 

I am now on the last of my taco filler, stuff that I have been eating. That means that this weekend I will make and freeze another batch; this should be fun. In my usual style I will try to improve this batch from the stuff that I have learned from the last batch. 

I had planned to change my addresses over on my driver’s licence and what have you, but what is giving me a reason to pause is that, as yet, I have not received my test letter. 

I always send a letter to myself to ensure that I have the address correct and that mail will actually get to me. This way I can avoid spending the money and going through the fuss of changing my address, only to do so to an incorrect address. 

I will check the mailbox tomorrow after work, and just add it my list of Friday payday errands. If it is there then I will change my address over tomorrow, if not I will wait a week, I can do that.  

Another thing I hope to do this weekend is to get book two moving forward. I have an idea for the next few chapters, it is just working up the gumption to force myself to sit down and write them. I know that it will get done, the progress on this one is jut slower that it should be, I know this.

With no idea how book one is being received by a friend of mine who is reading and reviewing it, it seems to affect my progress on this book. I know that I need to just write the book that I want to read and hope others will want to read it too. 

As May winds down, June approaches; so too does Wanda’s date with the repair shop. I will wait until the first of June, as agreed, before I call the guy that backed into me to see if he has the money to fix Wanda. Either way, Wanda will get fixed. The only thing which is up in the air is if he has the money he said he would, when he said he would. 

The happy thing of note is that the warm weather has returned and that is something to smile about.