Wednesday, 31 January 2018

Where Has The Month Gone?

Here we are on the last day of January and 2018 is already 1/12th over. I will admit that this month has not turned out as I had expected, yet this is somewhat “normal”.

I am used to things not quite going as planned, yet somehow levelling out to being at least somewhat okay, if not better than I had planned. 

I have spent on stuff that I hadn’t planned on spending on (the mattress, etc) and still plan to spend more (the repairs and upgrades). 

At first I was going to carry that debt, but soon I quashed that thought. 

I choose to be debt free, if I can help it and I will remain so, if for no other reason than for my own piece of mind.

So I am back to shoving my savings plan back and hoping that a few good bounces can help makeup that lost time.

Things will work out and just because things don’t go as you had planned, as the good book says “Don’t Panic!” 

(No, not “that” good book, but “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”) 

But seriously, if things do go awry, just deal with what you have to deal with and move forward from where you are. Berating, or belittling yourself (or anyone) will not help at all. 

As for me, I will fix what needs to be fixed, and I will build up my savings and I will buy that land and start the homesteading process as I found that town. 

It is all a question of when and exactly how.

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

Tuesday, 30 January 2018

The Bitterly Cold Weather Returns

Here we are, after two days (sorta) of warm (sorta) weather we are heading back down to the bitterly cold weather (tomorrow).

The good news is that it looks as though this cold snap will not last much past Monday morning. 

After that the not-so-cold-weather returns and hopefully will stay as we continue towards Anti-Fall and on into spring and summer beyond.

Due to the fact that Wanda’s batteries don’t hold a charge worth anything when it is bitterly cold, combined with me being  . . . frugal . . . 

I am thinking of just disconnecting Wanda’s batteries tonight and waiting until the bitterly cold weather passes before connecting them again. 

I just don’t feel like wasting that much generator fuel to try to keep some sort of a charge in those batteries. 

Let’s face it, when things are this cold, all that electricity is doing is: 1) turning on the lights (I have candles) and 2) running the radio (I have an FM tuner on my phone).

I can get through this, this too shall pass. I will just bundle up and grumble through it . . . as I always do.

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

Monday, 29 January 2018

Bed Storage Problem Solved

Okay, so as some of you know, I have recently upgraded my mattress. It is a lovely mattress that is three times as thick as my previous mattress. 

(It’s heavenly to sleep on).

Yet, with it being thicker it is also heavier . . . much heavier. So this makes lifting it up and holding it up there much harder, and getting at the stuff under the bed much more difficult.

Thus, I came up with this solution . . . 
  

Yep, that is a table leg that is holding up the mattress. I bought it at the local home improvement store . . . who knew they sold spare table legs.
  

There it is, nothing special, just an ordinary dining room table leg that screws into a socket. 

This also presented a small challenge, what to do with that screw in top.
   

As you see there is that threaded end sticking out of the top where it would normally screw into its holder. 

This is a problem for me as that end would then be sticking into and damaging the wood of the flap of the under the bed storage area.

So I bought a spare leg holder (thing). As in that silver thing is what you would attach to the underside of the table.

I have used it to simply be the top of my leg. I just leave it screwed into the top of the leg. This way it is now the top of the leg and no damage is being done to the wood.

It just flops down to store nicely.
   

This is also important because I have to grab and position it with one hand (as quickly as I can) as I hold up the mattress with the other.

I was thinking of just getting a piece of doweling, but then I would have needed some sort of end on both sides in order to protect the floor and storage flap roof.

Attaching the metal piece to the top permanently would be silly as then I would have to hold up the mattress as I screw in the leg . . . then unscrew the leg when I am done.

This solution is simple, yet it works, a reoccurring theme I am finding these days.

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

Friday, 26 January 2018

Cost Vs Benefit

Okay, so I got a partial estimate yesterday for the repairs and upgrades to Wanda. There is still one key item for which an estimate has not come back yet. 

So, the repairs are still on hold, for now. (Call me crazy, but I am not giving the repair shop a blank cheque with regards to this last, yet important, item.)

One of the things on the estimate was solar panels. I had inquired about having them put two solar panels on the roof (two was all that would fit).

They had a special and while I knew that the RV Dealership would not be the cheapest place, I talked to them for one very important reason. 

I talked to them because they know how to work with my RV and not damage it. As in I don’t want careless holes in my roof which will leak and therefore damage the whole trailer.

Yet, when the estimate came in for $995.00 for each (160 watt) solar panel plus ten hours of shop labour at $155.00 an hour totalling $3668.00 (plus GST), I balked.

Sure, it would be nice to have solar panels on the roof so as to stretch out the time between running my generator. (As well as go green, woo hoo.)

I have to say that $3668.00 will buy a whole whackload of generator fuel and that generator is only a 7hp motor and does not burn that much fuel. (4 – 6 hours a week.)

For me, living in this trailer is a temporary measure until I get to the property and begin the homesteading process. 

The benefit of having the solar panels (using the generator less as well as being green) does not outweigh the exorbitant expense. 

I am not debating the price of the panels themselves or the amount of labour. For the sake of argument I will assume that both are fairly priced and justifiable on behalf of the RV Dealership.

I am just saying that to spend that much and get not all that much in savings in return is not worth it. (Only governments can spend like this and “justify” it.)

The only way I would spend this kind of cash for solar panels is if I knew that the apocalypse (zombie of otherwise) was coming in a month or two.

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

Thursday, 25 January 2018

The Deep-Freeze Is Coming Again

As you can imagine, I look at the weather forecasts almost daily. This is to get a glimpse of what is coming, so as to prepare myself both physically and mentally.

By mid next week, it looks like the really cold temps are coming back, to stay . . . joy. Again, this is nothing that I can’t handle and certainly things that I have seen before. 

This too shall pass and with any luck I will be in a hotel (as Wanda is getting fixed) during the worst of it.

(Still no word on the estimate of Wanda’s repairs, BTW. I plan on phoning tomorrow afternoon, if I have not heard by then.)

Yet, even if I am still in Wanda, as she is, I will muddle through and make it work . . . somehow . . . I always do.

I am still doing this for my future; so I can build towards my dreams. Dreams that can and will come true: again that land, that town, that family.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward (but bundle up in the meantime.) 

Wednesday, 24 January 2018

Beware the Sting of the Credit Card Insurance

Okay, as expected, after paying off my low interest rate credit card, there was a bit of a bounce. 

A “bounce” with regards to a credit card is the phenomenon of after paying off the credit card in full, yet a few days later a small balance appears on it.

This is due to the fact that at the end of your credit cycle the credit card people will do an assessment of the interest charges that were due from the last time it was calculated until now.

In my case it was twofold: 

1. Interest Charge: $9.04
2. Balance Protection Insurance: $30.19

Yep, you read that right the amount charged for “Balance Protection Insurance” was three times more than the interest itself. 

Just to be clear that “insurance” will pay my minimum payment for me if I forget or just can’t pay it. 

It is one of those things I signed up for long ago, or just was added to this card, I am not sure which. 

Here is how it goes; a certain percentage of the outstanding balance of the credit card is charged to my card as that “Balance Protection Insurance” fee.

This will rack up that balance much faster than any interest payments ever could. I will be cancelling that insurance today, as I have no use for it; I declare myself, self-insured.

It is little tricks like these that prey on the poor and those fearful of their fiscal situation which makes credit cards such a trap. 

When you are worried about your cash-flow and whether or not you can pay all of your bills, that “Balance Protection Insurance” sounds great. 

Considering what it costs you, it is quite the racket. Something to think about.

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

Tuesday, 23 January 2018

It’s Done; I’m Debt Free Again

Okay, so yesterday was Payday, which means I did my usual run to the bank. (Yes, I’m one of those old-fashioned folks who likes to walk into a bank and deal with a human).

I also did my after-banking-in-branch-online-banking in order to shuffle cash around and pay bills. 

One of those shuffling involved paying my low interest rate credit cards off . . . again. So, there you have it, I am once again debt free. 

I am still waiting to hear back about the estimate for Wanda’s repairs and upgrades. This way I can know how much the next big expense will be.

The repairs are repairs that do need to get done and the upgrades are ones with an eye to longevity in Wanda. 

I should hear back this week about how much they will cost as well as how long of a lead-time is needed before I can book Wanda in for those repairs and upgrades.

In the meantime I will put what I can into my Mid-Term Savings (starting next paycheque). 

The actual bill for those repairs and upgrades will once again be put on that low-interest rate credit card. 

I will pull the cash out of my Mid-Term Savings to take a bite out of that low-interest rate credit card. 

I will then put what I was putting into savings onto that same card each payday until it is once again paid off. 

After that, I will begin my savings plan . . . again. 

This will then begin the rebuilding of my depleted savings. In truth it will actually begin the building towards my dreams of: home ownership, a family and starting that town.

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