Movin' On Down the Road

It is time to move. This week I'll be packing up and getting ready to make the big move to the big house. I'm feeling fairly good about it, but a it nervous too.

My apartment has already been rented out. This is a very, very good thing. You see, I screwed up. With all the hullabaloo of the divorce, I forgot to tell my landlord that I was moving out. I finally remembered to call her the day the divorce was final - June 5. That's when she gave me the bad news - my lease specifically says that she has to have a full 30 days notice before moving, which technically meant that I would be responsible for payment through August 1. I was just sick to my stomach. I understood where she was coming from, after all my landlord is just running a business and in this economy getting new renters might be tough. Still, just because I understood it, doesn't mean I liked it. I was pretty mad at myself, I can tell you.

We worked out a deal though - she could show the apartment any weekday during the hours I was at work and I would do my best to keep it "show ready." If she could rent it before the end of the month, then we would just proceed as if I had given her notice on time. It seemed like a good deal, until the first time she went to show it was the one time I could have really used the apartment to myself!

Last week I wrote about spending the afternoon hauling wood. What I didn't tell you was that I dropped mom off and drove towards home, looking forward to a hot shower and dinner before going down to the theatre to House Manage. You guessed it... that's when I noticed I had voice mail. I can't check my voice mail at the cabin for some reason, so once I got into town I took a listen. It was my landlord telling me she would be at the apartment with people to view it at 6:00 and 6:15 - the exact times I needed to be there to clean up. It was 5:15 when I got the messages and I was still on the road. I called my landlady and explained the situation, letting her know it would be fine but please, please don't come up until 6:00. She promised to call first.

I walked in the door at 5:35... and was indeed out the door, fully dressed and looking professional by 6:00 on the dot. I saw the woman who was coming to see the apartment and thought to myself that she looked like just the kind of person this apartment would be good for - she looked like me. Not like we had similar features, but we were cut out of the same cloth: mid-thirties, professional women, nicely dressed, and with that "recently divorced" look in our eyes. I don't know that she was, she just looked that way to me. In any case, I was right about her being a good match for the apartment - she took it on the spot! My landlord called to tell me the great news and said I must have good karma!! I don't know about that, but I was thrilled it turned out to be so easy, even if it did mean that my "dinner" that night consisted of a crude sandwich, made from meat and cheese I had in my car from the cabin, that I put together on the top of a cardboard box on the way to the theatre.

The cardboard box in question was one for packing up. Now that my apartment is rented, I have filled it with the detritus of moving - boxes, crates, packing materials and plastic bags. It looks like a UPS truck exploded in the middle of it! Tonight I am going to go home and try to put together a plan. I have friends helping me and I would like to have a somewhat organized process before they get there.

This is the big step - what I have been gearing up for all month. This is the whole reason I am keeping this blog and struggling for every penny. At the end of next Monday, I'll be up and running for real!

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How Much Wood....

Yesterday I took the day off work to spend some time up north at my cabin. My goal is still to get it "rent ready" and try to earn some income that way. As Tracey pointed out - if I can't get it rented the worst thing that could happen is I get the cabin cleaned inside and out and the yard looking great. Not a bad trade-off in my opinion!

My mother came up with me because I wanted her opinion. When I was a kid we used to regularly rent a cottage for a week in the summer. I thought she could help me walk through and see what might stand out to her as things I needed to do beforehand. She also volunteered to help me work on the yard and get things done.

In most ways having my mom up there was fantastic. She is great company and was a hard worker. She got tons and tons of raking done and helped trim a bunch of unruly bushes. The areas she worked on look so much better. There was one little thing that I found frustrating though... she wants to remodel the entire cabin. She may be right, but I can't afford it.

My mom has a great eye and is a marvelous interior decorator. She also is very good at quickly seeing what can be done to a room to make it more appealing. The thing is though, I just don't have the money (or time) right now for the projects she is proposing. As she walked through the cabin talking about replacing flooring and putting in new cupboards I had to remind her over and over that I wasn't looking to remodel this year - just get it "renter ready." It was like talking to a wall. I could see her looking around and replacing light fixtures in her head. Finally I had to burst out, "Mom, unless it is FREE I am not doing it. I can't. My goal is to make money - not spend it. I cannot afford to do anything else." She said something about helping me, but I just had to stop her. There are things I will need her to help me with, but frankly, replacing the kitchen cupboards is just not a priority.

It was hard for me on a couple of levels. Remember that whole Shame of Frugality thing I wrote about awhile back? Yeah.... there is also the Humiliation of Being Poor. I don't like admitting that I can't afford something. I hate having to say that I don't have money to spend - that my bank account is empty. (Even saying it to my mom stinks.) I doubt I am alone - it does help explain our fondness with credit cards, doesn't it? "Mastercard means never having to admit you are poor."*

The other thing is, to be perfectly honest, I don't think the cabin looks bad. Yes, there are things that could and should be done.... but it is a cabin in the woods. It isn't supposed to look ultra modern or have perfect rooms. People should feel like they can track dirt in and put their sandy feet up on the coffee table. I am okay with that. It is a place to kick back - not a showpiece. It is hard to explain to my mother though.

She and I concentrated on working on the yard while we were there. The weather was cool so it was just right for working outside. I decided to run the mower to make sure that there weren't any mice rebuilding homes inside of it, and while in the shed I heard an odd sound. It sounded like my propane grill was on. It hasn't worked in a long time so I knew it couldn't be. That's when I realized that bumblebees had built a nest in it. Oh yes, I need that now. I didn't have any bug-b-gone or anything like that, so I just concentrated on moving the mower out very carefully and not bumping the grill. Next time I go up I will bring some spray along. That should be exciting. Anyone got a HazMat suit I can borrow?

As I was blowing any forming mouse houses out the mower exhaust and trying to flatten the yard to a more presentable height, my neighbor came over to ask me if I wanted to go in with him on a log splitter. Last fall he and I had some trees taken down. I had the wood hauled away, but he kept the trunk of his. Back then he offered me as much of the wood as I wanted - the only condition was that I had to split it. I talked to my then husband, and he told me we could rent a log splitter. Well, time passed and the only thing that got split was my marriage. Those huge pieces of trunk were still piled up along I and the neighbor's property line.

So yesterday Justin, my neighbor, offered me the wood if I'd go in with him on the splitter. I agreed, little knowing what I was getting into!! I ended up spending hours loading red oak logs into a wheelbarrow and taking them over to my woodpile. I have no idea how many trips I made, but when all was done I had two stacks 12' long and 5' high. Believe me, my shoulders are feeling it today!!

Still - my half of the rental was $25. I am guessing that I got well over $100 worth of wood there. I will be loving it this fall! There is nothing like being quiet and cozy under a quilt with a nice fire going in the fireplace.



*I am getting better at admitting that I am broke. And you want to know something interesting? Once you start saying it - and do get comfortable with it, lots of other people feel comfortable saying, "Really?? Me too!" It can be freeing... when it doesn't completely stink.

Photo by humbolthead.

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Whooo hooo!!! Over halfway there!

I got a big, big help from eBay today. Tommy had given me a couple pairs of glasses to sell to help me meet my goals - and one of the designer pairs fold for $103.50! Yay! Who knew that empty eyeglass frames could be so popular?

I sold a few other items as well. The total came to $133.71 for today. Now, my profit will be slightly less because I still have to ship them out, but I am trying to do that as inexpensively as possible. My plan is to get a few more items listed yet today and then take a bunch of photos tonight of some other items I need to put online.

One of the items I have yet to list is my father's steering wheel from his 1968 Shelby Cobra. I am hoping to have that online this week or next. Now, that is going to be a tricky item to ship!! I did however contact a Shelby Restoration website to see if they would be interested. They weren't but they gave me a good idea what to list it for on eBay. You'll have to keep an eye on this blog to find out how much they suggested!

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The Large Print Giveth... and the small print taketh away*

Actually it isn't print that is giving and taking - it's life. I've had a weird financial roller coaster couple of weeks. For example:

Sending in my emergency room visit bill to Flex Plan is smart.
Holding onto the cashed check in my savings account through the end of May to get the interest on it (since the bill wasn't due until June 9th) was also smart.
Forgetting to pay said bill until June 13? Dumb.

Lesson learned - I pay all my bills online, so I set them up and forget about them. Either always do that or pay the bill right away. Thinking I will remember a week later is a recipe for disaster.

I just got the bill for the balance of what I owed my lawyer for handling the divorce.
Paying him half when I had the cash was smart.
Hoping he might forget about me and just not send a bill for the rest? Dumb.
To make matters worse, the bill is $200 more than I expected. (Court fees.)

Lesson learned - People are going to want to get paid. That is just the way the world works. Hoping someone will "forget" a debt is just naive. Plan on paying it and make the arrangements to do so. (And per the first lesson I will set it up in my online bill pay today.)

Awhile ago I wrote about going to Cedar Point. This was a hard decision for me - I am trying to be so, so frugal and careful about extra spending, but on the other hand Maureen had asked me to go and had offered to help offset my costs. While there, I did end up spending my entire entertainment budget for the month, which seems dumb, seeing as I am only halfway through the month, however while on the trip:
I found out my friend Stasia has moving boxes I can use. Free boxes with little hassle. Smart.
My friend Randy offered me the use of his gym/pool at his apartment. Free gym? Smart!
I also chatted with someone out about a business opportunity.** It is a great opportunity, but I am not sure I am in the best space to take it on. Still - being open to new ideas? Very smart!

Lesson Learned - Sometimes you do have to just say yes. I had a wonderful time on my trip and it was like a mini-vacation. It also put me in contact with friends and opportunities I would not have known about. Being open to what the universe has to offer is very, very important.





*Tom Waits, "Step Right Up"
** I am not going to write about it here until I make decisions about it.

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Prosperous Lending

One of the things I am going to do is set up passive income streams so I don't burn myself out trying to make my goal. Working another 40 hour job might do the trick and get me to my $900 goal, but it might also kill me in the process. (And I very much like being alive.)

I thought I would write today a bit about Prosper.com. I am a bit new to the program but so far I love it. The concept is one that I can support - basically it puts together people who need a loan with people who want to lend. They do it on a large scale of course, so it isn't one to one. The borrowers then can avoid the big banks and the lenders make a nice interest rate - simple. Personally, I like it from a business perspective. I'm the type who believes that people can take things into their own hands. I'm not a big fan of big banks - especially with the credit crises of recent days. I like the concept of people working together.

As I say, I am new to this so I don't know how this whole thing is going to pan out. Just because I love the concept and so far my experience has been positive, but that doesn't mean it guaranteed by any means. As things happen, I will try to post about them so people can see my experiences.

Here's what I have found so far: Frankly, the sign up process takes a bit longer than expected. In order to transfer money to Prosper.com you have to create an account and then give them your routing and account numbers. They then make a deposit in your bank account and then withdrawal a small amount. (It was less than $.25) It worked very similar to setting up a Paypal account or setting up an online savings account. The actual process of creating the account was easy - they walk you through all the steps. But I will say that it took several business days for me to see the deposit and withdrawal. This may have been because I did it just before Memorial Day weekend, but the process took about a week. I was checking it every day and starting to get frustrated. I might not have been if someone had warned me about it.

Once that was completed then I had to transfer money to my Prosper account so I could bid - and that took another 5 days. Basically it was almost 2 weeks before I could lend. I found that a touch frustrating since I like to get going on things right away.

Once the money was in the account though, Prosper gave me a $25 welcome bonus, which meant my $50 went straight up to $75. Not bad! You have two choices then - you can choose the loans you want to bid on, or you can use one of their Portfolio Plans and let them do it for you. With a Portfolio Plan you choose your own template: Conservative, Balanced, Moderate, Aggressive or make one of your own. I'm madly busy right now with the move and everything else, so I chose the Moderate Plan and let Prosper deal with the rest rather than choosing and bidding myself.

Here is some of the information on my first loan that I helped fund:

Purpose of loan:
This loan will be used to pay down my car so that I can sell it. I have a new company car and no longer need my 350Z. It is worth about 16,500 but I still owe about 21,000 on it. The rest of the money will pay off my biggest interest credit card.

My financial situation:
I am a good candidate for this loan because I have good credit, I have a career in a company with a low turnover rate, I make good money, and I have never been late on a payment before. I also do make more money than I have listed, but I was not sure how to list commissions, so I only listed my base salary.

It gives a lot of other financial data as well - monthly expenses, salary, debt to income ratio, etc. It also has a nice photo of him and his wife on their wedding day. I like that - it gave it a personal touch.

I then transfered over another $25 so I could add it to my referral bonus and make another $50 bid. This one I put in a Balanced Portfolio Plan so I could see the difference between how the two perform. I just did that today so I don't have details yet. I will let you know how it works as time goes on.

If you have questions, I recommend checking out Prosper.com at their website. (If you do sign up after reading this article, please use my link so I can get credit for the referral.) As things happen - I will keep you posted!

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Combining Finances - The Divorcee Has Her Say

Moolanomy has an interesting article on his blog on Money and Marriage: On Combining Finances. I feel like I should chime in here, since I, as one recently divorced, have a unique perspective on it. My ex and I never combined finances. In the long run, this turned out to be a good thing for me, since that would have been another nightmare to deal with during the divorce, but I also wonder if that wasn't a sign in the very beginning that I didn't have 100% faith in the relationship.

We didn't mix finances on my request. My feeling was that we were two adults who had been handling our own finances for a long time. We each had our own ways of paying bills and savings, and I didn't see why marriage should change that. We still split expenses, which made things equal, and that seemed enough to me.

Looking back on it, I am not sure that was such a good idea. Here's why: I didn't find out until after we were engaged and heading towards the alter at full clip that he was considerably in debt. I won't give numbers here, because that wouldn't be right, but let's just say it shocked me to my core. After hearing how much, I was determined more and more to keep things separate. Not asking about and discussing financial matters is just plain dumb. You know what? I knew better.... but a bunch of things kept me from asking before; I was in love, we were getting married, and my ex seems so capable and together. He never seemed to worry about money. (Maybe that should have been a red flag?)

Speaking of signs - the fact that I didn't trust him enough to mix our funds tells me that there was a flaw at the core of our relationship from the beginning. At the same time, I do believe that married couples should have some of their own money. A woman doesn't want to explain every time she splurges on a new lipstick or a guy buys a new tool for his shop. Couples don't want the other to see how much they spent on that birthday present they bought for one another or the "I'm sorry honey" roses. I think everyone needs the power to have a little "mad money" - the possibility to save up for something special.

Here's what I think - couples have to be honest and open about the money they make, and most importantly, the debt they have. Once they get married, statements and bill paying should be shared. Both people should know 1.) how to pay the bills, 2.) what the bills are, and 3) when they are being paid. The goal here should be that both people are equally comfortable with finances. You hear all the time about one spouse dying or a divorce happening and the other person has no idea what their financial situation is - that shouldn't happen. In my humble opinion household bills and expenses should be paid out of one joint checking account. At the same time, a small agreed on "allowance" should be given to each person to use as they see fit. The amount can be readjusted annually as the yearly budget is made.

My belief is that there has to be financial openness and joint responsibility - otherwise, it is time to really revisit your feelings. If you can't trust your spouse with your checkbook, can you really trust them with your happiness?








Money photo by Darren Hester.

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Trashed!

Last night I ran into my ex - who generously gifted me with the trash bill. You know, I've been living in an apartment too long - I didn't even think to calculate trash into my budget.

So, now I had to decide what to do. The trash bill was $152 a year or $40 a quarter. Paying for a full year only saved me $8. Considering the fact that we are well into June here, the added expense was not at all welcome and $40 sounded like a pretty good deal but, then I thought about it more. I am a firm believer that "out of pennies, dollars are made," and I would be happy if I sold one of my books for $8. Plus, this month is really just a trial run. See, the mortgage on the house for June has already been paid by my ex - this month I only had to pay rent on the apartment. That's a huge difference and it means that I have a little extra money to play with.

Most of that extra money will all be going towards creating a cushion for next year. (I am sure there will be months where it will be hard to make my goal.) So, ultimately I decided to pay the bill in full. It just made sense. Now I don't have to worry about it being in my budget - it is already paid for the year. I save the money and it isn't something that will sneak up on me four months from now.

Speaking of trash, and therefor recycling.... I am about to admit something embarrassing:

I don't bring my cans and bottles to the store to recycle them.

Now, before treehuggers everywhere come after me - I do recycle them. It is just that rather than taking them back to the store, I put them in recycling containers. Now why would I do this since I live in a state with cash refunds for bottles?

Simple - because usually I don't have enough of them to matter. I don't usually drink things that come in returnable bottles at home - I rarely have beer or pop in the house. On the rare occasion that I have a returnable in the house it is usually from a friend leaving a bottle of pop or something like that. I have 2-3 a month at best. It hardly seems worth it to bring back one pop can when I go to the store, so I put them in recycling bins instead.

However, as of late I seemed to have accumulated a number of them, so for the first time in quite awhile, I saved cans. I ended up with a half of bag full of cans and bottles so yesterday I decided to bring them back to the store. As I walked down the back steps I noticed one PBR and one Coke can in the recycling bin - apparently I am not the only one who feels this way.

Laughing at myself the whole time, I walked over and fished them out. How's that for frugal?



This fantastic photo is by bucklava

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What Goes Up... Must Come Down

I know! Let's talk about insurance!! Yeah!!!

(You know you want to.)

I've been talking to my brother-in-law, who is also my insurance agent, about what to do about my insurance post divorce. The first thing is house insurance. The house and the the cabin are in my name. My rates will be dropping by about $100 since my ex's camera gear and electronics won't be on the homeowners policy. Yeah!

The down side is my car insurance rates are going up now that I no longer have that multi-car discount going on. (I tried but he would not accept my bicycle as a second vehicle.) The rates are going up about $14 a month, but naturally I found a way to get around that and drop it down to a smaller increase of $6. How you ask? Simple. I am not paying monthly.

Each week I have a small amount auto transfered out of my checking account into my "insurance holding tank." Basically, my bank lets me divide out little accounts for various things - so, I added up my car and life insurance bills, divided them by 52, and set it up so that when the bills hit, I have the funds. It is nice - I hate unexpected bills. Somehow my life insurance bill always snuck up on me.

So anyway... the ex and I were still sharing car insurance and he liked to pay monthly. However, I'm not going to do that. I am going to pay 6 months all in one lump sum. It is going to have to come out of savings of course, because I wasn't prepared to do this. But I have a plan! I am just going to continue my insurance payments... except rather them going to the insurance company - they will be going back to me! Basically, I am loaning myself the money and paying myself back. (At the same time I am going to move things around a little so I am better prepared 6 months from now.)

I am also working on the life insurance policy. I have a universal life policy.* I have a bit of cash value in it, but am still in the penalty period if I surrender it. I don't want to do that right now unless I have to. Instead I am going to drop my payments down for a year, but keep the policy in force. In a year when I have a better handle on things I can reevaluate what I want to do - kick it back up or what have you. I think this will work well for me - I will remain insured, but I continue to have flexibility.

I'll write more about the final details once my brother in law and I get together to hash them out.

(There now, wasn't that fun?)




*Insurance people - yes, I know all about Term Life. I was licensed in Life, Health and P&C once upon a time. This is the best fit for me right now for a bunch of reasons - but we'll leave that for another post.

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This is Why I Love Blogs

Seriously, go check this article out on The Simple Dollar on Frugality's Perception Problem. I feel like it is all about the things I have been thinking about and writing about lately. Wow!

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Ah Gas Prices, How We Hate Thee

So, I blew my gas budget for June. To be perfectly honest, I am not feeling too badly about it. The truth is that I wasn't entirely sure how much to budget - I was completely winging it! My gut said that $100 had to be too much, but I was sure I was spending at least $50... so I went with $75. Despite driving a pretty fuel efficient car, I am currently at $89.89 on the twelfth day of June. Sigh.... I have a full tank, so we will see how that does. I may have to modify the gas portion of my budget once I have really tracked my gas usage over the next few months. I have been doing a lot of traveling the last couple of days so that has an impact, but for the most part it has been for money making opportunities - trips to the post office to mail Amazon and eBay items, trips for my second jobs - things like that. Summer months are undoubtedly going to always be higher months for gas consumption for me since I have a cabin as well. I guess the best I can do is just keep practicing riding my bike!

So, I tracked how many miles it takes me to work - it is almost exactly 6 miles one way. I would love to think I could ride my bike, but we are talking about some major hills in between, and right now I am still panting hard when I hit a sloped driveway! I did, however, find a great riding path that is about 3 miles long (one way.) It also has some steep hills, so it might be a good training ground. Am I saying I will ride my bike to work? No.... not yet. Not only are there big hills to tackle, there is also the time and the heat. I don't want to arrive at work a sweaty mess, but it is something to consider anyway.

Unfortunately I didn't get any good bike riding practice in last week - too much going on in the evenings. I might have to start getting up early and taking a trip around the neighborhood. Goodness knows I could use the exercise!!



Thanks to TopSpeed for the photo of my car! Ok - this is the "Type R" version, but that is just the UK name for it - and I liked this photo the best of all the ones I found.

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Divorce War Stories

As I've said, this is not a blog where I am going to dwell on the particulars of my divorce. All the ugliness really happened quite awhile ago... it just took awhile for the paperwork to catch up. Occasionally, however, something happens that I just have to mention.

The "big day" of the divorce was last Thursday. That night Catie and I went to opening night of a play. (The beauty of it was that her mom, the fabulous Maureen, gave us her comp tickets. Total cost of the evening was under $10.00.) So anyway... after the show we are milling about and talking and sipping red wine. I'm hitting up Mary Jo for a second job House Managing in the fall and basically enjoying being around people I haven't seen in awhile. That's when one of the actresses came up to me and said, "So, how is your lovely husband?"

I burst out laughing. I didn't mean to, but it just took me by complete surprise. Not that I expect everyone to know - I am not that egotistical! It was just that several people that day had commented on my divorce and since theatre is a small town within a small town, it took me by surprise. I explained the situation and I could see by her face she was terribly embarrassed for having asked. I felt bad for Bernie, she was only being sweet. I should have handled the situation a lot more tactfully; I could see my laughter embarrassed her, and I would have if I hadn't been thrown for a loop. As she walked away into the crowd I wanted to find her and pull the foot out of my mouth - but it was already too late.

Why do I bring this up on my blog about finances? Well, I've been thinking a lot about how my ex and I aren't really done with each other. There is still the impending move, utilities to switch over and public confrontations to work our way through. We think when that stamp hits the paper that POOF! everything is done and final, but it isn't really, and debt is kind of like that for me. Twice in the last 5 years I have had my credit cards all completely paid off. I revelled in the zero balances for a good couple of months... and then slowly started using my cards again. I paid them off in full at first, but then somehow balances grew and didn't get paid off this month (thinking, "maybe next, or the one after that for sure.") Currently I have $1,500 in credit card debt.* It is at a low interest rate and I have always paid over the minimum payment on my credit card, and I know compared to many, $1,500 is just a drop in the bucket, but still, it bothers me.

I haven't stopped paying over the minimum even with my goal to get $900 more a month, instead, I have budgeted in the over payment. (I do have on The List to decrease my payment on my card, but this is one of those rock-bottom choices, just slightly above borrowing from mom.) My new super-frugalness will theoretically keep me from putting any more on the card and the over payment will help shrink it down. Like the divorce, this is going to be a long haul, and once it is done - I still am going to be dealing with the aftermath for a time to come. It is the right thing to do, but a long, long ways from being easy.





*Whew... there I said it. Do you have any idea how hard was for me to admit that? To write it down and see it in black and white? UGH! Still, lots of other bloggers are being open about their debt, it is time I am about mine. I was inspired by their courage and the fact that the other night Catie said she was going to ask me for actual numbers when she and I were sitting and talking about all this stuff. I've decided to try to be as open and honest as I can. Perhaps getting rid of some of the shame will help me pull this out of the closet and deal with it like I should.

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A Good Day

Moving day is looming closer and closer. My ex is paying the bills on the house until June 30th, at which point I take over. Am I nervous? Oh my yes! Starting July 1st I will be making all the house payments - that is when I will see if this new plan of mine can really work.

Sometimes I think about the worst that could happen - I mean really, let's look at this. The first thing is that I could have to sell a place at a loss. Selling a home right now though is hard - even under value. Many friends have asked me if I will sell my cabin, and the answer is, I will if I have to. My mom has pointed out that I can always get another place later on when things aren't so tight. However, there is a big difference between saying "Okay, I will sell the cabin." ...and then actually doing it. Look at the house that I am moving into - it has been on the market for months and hasn't moved. Putting it on the market doesn't mean it will instantly sell. The other thing I fear is foreclosure - debt that I can't handle - black marks on my credit report - it scares me a lot. I am a practical woman, I don't believe in taking on more than you can handle... and yet, here I am with $2750,000 of mortgage debt and an income that won't cover it.

That's right - over a quarter of a million. The number makes me want to faint away in a Southern woman swoon. The house was $199,000 and the cabin was $75,000 - at the time it all seemed so manageable. Now, I am ecstatic because I earned $100 as an extra in a car commercial. (The windblown blur in the lavender shirt - that's me!)

Don't get me wrong, the $100 is a huge boon to me right now - hey, I am gleeful when one of my books sells for $7, so $100 for a few hours of work walking around a car lot and pretending to be interested in used Kias is a huge windfall for me, but when I compare it to how much I owe... well, it all seems a bit overwhelming.

That's why I can't think of it that way - instead I have to concentrate on each day, each moment. Here's today's victory:

After the shoot I was starving. I hadn't eaten since 10 and we got done about 3:00. I was diving back to work and decided I didn't have a choice but to pull into some fast food joint and grab something to eat on the road. I hate fast food - the service is lousy, the food is terrible, it isn't fast and it isn't cheap, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I pulled into McDonald's. I hate McDonald's the most - just in principle, but I admit, I do love a fillet o' fish. I sat there in line, waiting and waiting, and I thought, "What am I doing?" I didn't want to waste my dining out budget on bad food - I would rather spend it having a glass of wine with Shelly tonight.* I knew I had a salad in the refrigerator at work, all I had to do was tough it out for another 30 minutes and I could eat that instead - not only less money, but healthier for me. I pulled out of the drive through line and sped off.

I guess I should be grateful that McDonald's is so slow and their service so poor; if I had gotten right up to the box to order I would have - and spent the money. I was so hungry that it really didn't occur to me to not stop for fast food... not until I was sitting in the barely moving line. Then it hit me - it would be a good 15 minutes or more before I could even think about eating. All that to save time - how foolish is that?

What's more, after I left the line, I thought about stopping somewhere else for a coffee. The day had been long and I was feeling pretty low energy, the caffeine sounded great. Instead I just drove to work, (where the pop is free,) and grabbed a Diet Coke. I wasn't entirely good though, after my salad I splurged on a $.85 Milky Way bar since I was craving chocolate.

I think my defenses are less when I am hungry and tired - and that is something I will have to watch for as I try to curb excess spending.

The good news is I have a $100 check in hand and it looks like some of my eBay stuff is moving today.







*Tonight Shelly and I are meeting up at the theatre so I can get a course in house Managing. Yay!!

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...in which Dawn does a goofy dance around her office -

I got great news today!! Maureen the most fabulous casting agent ever (and dear friend) needs some extras for a car commercial and I got called! Sweet!! It means I have to take a half of day vacation from work, but vacation time is something I have a fair amount of. (And money is something I don't.) My boss is understanding and gave me the go ahead.

One thing I should note - I don't put any money up in that right hand column until the check is pretty much in my hand. So, for example, I won't add the pay from this work until the check arrives. Same thing with House Managing - I'll add in the amount when the money is in my warm little hands. I got teased about this slightly* but there will be no counting of chickens until I can look into their beady little black eyes. I would rather have a surplus then plan for something that doesn't come, you know?

One other thing I am doing: I have a flex plan through work - now I am trying to use it properly. My flex plan reimburses me for health costs that aren't covered by my insurance - therapy, co-pays, prescriptions - that kind of thing. I love my flex plan - especially this year when I've had no end of weird medical ailments. So, for example, I go to the dentist and they charge me $45. I take my receipt and send it in, and they send me back a $45 check in a day or two. (My flex plan is super fast.) But here is where lays the problem....

I know that $45 is not budgeted for, so I would try to do "good things" with it - put it in my "high" interest savings account or pay off credit card debit. Except because it wasn't budgeted for, that was just like randomly taking out an unplanned $45 out of checking. Once upon a time when money was rolling in and I was rolling in it, this was just fine. But now that I am feeling the pinch of my bills and looming house payments, this hurts my bank account. It means I would get tight at the end of the month, when I got tight at the end of the month I would simply solve the problem by taking money out of savings. It was a vicious cycle and one I am working really hard to break. One way is by not taking money out of savings, the other is to use my reimbursement checks like reimbursement checks - and put the money back where it belongs. It was a real case of trying to do the right thing, but having it backfire.

So, tonight when I get out of work, I am swinging by the bank and dropping off my flex check - and just letting it go back into checking where it belongs.


*You know who you are, Irish!

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Setting up Online Selling with Amazon and eBay

Passive Family Income asked about my experiences of selling items on eBay and Amazon, so I thought I would write a little more about that.

Amazon:
Setting up an Amazon store is really easy. They also make it very easy to list items - especially books, where all you need is an ISBN#. I sold my first online item through Amazon and it happened within the first day or two, so at first I was very excited about it... but since then I haven't sold anything.

*** One of the things I am taking away from Amazon and Half.com is that from now on I will endeavor to never buy a new book at full price again! Both sites show you what other people are selling the book for so that you can price yours accordingly. Books that I paid $15 for and more are selling for $.50 or less - NEW. It is crazy! I am still going to go to the bookstore and relax and shop with a cup of coffee, but then when I find something I want I am just going to jot down the ISBN# and look it up on Amazon - even with shipping it is far, far cheaper than buying it at the store.***

ISBN# are on the back of every book - it is a universal media tracking system. So, to sell on Amazon or Half.com all you have to do is jot down the ISBN and the condition of the book. Then set up an account, plug in the ISBN and you are up and running.

Initially I was listing all my books with Amazon, thinking that because most people think of Amazon as only being businesses online (as opposed to "just folks") that I might be able to get more for my books on that on eBay. The other thing I like is that the listing doesn't expire - it just stays up until you remove it. Since things haven't really been moving though, today I listed my first book over at Half.com. (which is a site for books and so forth, that is run by eBay.) My goal is to get all my books and DVDs on both websites, then I will be able to track which site has the better performance.

eBay

eBay takes a little more work. Once again, they start things pretty easy - they walk you though setting up an account and make it very easy to post your items online. For one thing, you need photos. I have an incredibly cheap, low-end low-tech camera. (But I got it for free, so I am not complaining.) To put one photo up of your item is free, after that they cost $.15. I believe in good photos, since from my own shopping experience I never bought anything off eBay that didn't have good photos. I think people want to see what they are are buying. If the item is pretty self explanatory, then I might just put one photo, but if I think it is a collector's item I will use more. Basically, the more I want people to spend - the more photos I put up.

Then I write a good description. I try to use words I think will search well, and try to use obvious descriptors. If there is a brand name involved I make sure that is in there too. I try to make it sound personable - but no huge fonts or crazy colors. I hate that stuff, just simple, clean, honest and to the point.

When you are a new seller you have to use PayPal - that keeps them safe in case you turn out to be a shyster. I like that anyway because then they handle all the transactions with bank accounts and whatnot. I already had a PayPal account so it all ties in. From PayPal you can also print shipping labels for UPS or USPS.

I find eBay addictive. You can see how many people are looking at your items, if anyone is watching it and you can see the bids go up. It is really fun. However, I am finding that it is better for me to put one or two items up at a time, that way the auctions don't end all at once. As soon as I see something is going to sell, I box it up and get it ready to go so it can be shipped out ASAP. I know from my own experience that fast shipping is a plus.

I don't know that I would ever want to be one of those professional online sellers - it is a lot of work. Although, I call it "passive income" - it isn't quite that easy. However, as a way to raise extra cash and clean out my apartment at the same time, it can't be beat.

I will keep updating on here how it goes - what works and what doesn't. If there is something you want to know about how it all works that I didn't mention - shoot me an email or ask a question in the comments section. I'll be happy to answer it!


EDIT: Looking for more information on online book selling? I am compiling all my articles about my experiences in one place. Check them out at The Online Bookseller.

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Begining of the Week Reflections

The number to the right is slowly growing. I finally got my t-mobile check. So that adds another $50.00 - and I have sold several eBay items. I've been offered/given a few more eBay items from dear friends and family so that is exciting - especially as the Amazon books don't seem to move much. I may have to look for another outlet for those.

One of the big things I am thinking about is the impending move. My ex is going to be out on the 21st, and I will have the following week to move in. Have I mentioned that I hate moving? A Penny Closer has an interesting article about his brother's move. Fortunately, mine isn't that bad. I am only moving about 7 blocks or so, and I don't have that much furniture - I don't even have a couch! When I moved out I did one of those "rent a truck for $19.99" things. You know what? It came to a lot more than $19.99!! Charges per mile and whatnot piled up and it ran me nearly $100. A friend of mine said that when she and her husband moved recently they ran into the same thing.

I am trying to figure out my options. The way I see it, I could move most of my small things myself and with help of friends. The things that won't fit in my car, I am going to have to get a vehicle for. I need to see if someone in town has one I could borrow, or I saw a moving company on Craig's List that looks like they are looking for work. I might jot down what I have and get a quote from them. If I can have them move the heavy stuff cheap enough, it may be worth it. It certainly won't be any harm getting the quote and I'll see where I go from there.

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Passive Income Continues

Well, I have been keeping up my goal of posting 3 or more things on Amazon or eBay a day and I am building up a nice inventory of items. Does anyone else find eBay obsession forming??? I want to check it hourly!! Books are a lot easier to list, since all you really need is the ISBN#. Items on eBay are a little harder, since I need to take good photos of them first and all that. I find I tend to put several eBay things on at once and Amazon items regularly everyday. I need to do that differently, I think. Otherwise, what happens is the auctions all end at once and I am scrambling to mail things out. A better way for me to do it is to take a lot of photos of things all at once, but then post them one at a time so the auction expiration dates are spaced out. The good news is, I just heard from my mother (who is my eBay item source) that she has in her basement an incredible, amazing item... the steering wheel from my father's orignal 1968 Shelby Mustang.

This was the car he agonizingly had to sell when my mother and he got married. I had heard about the car for years - that my father was the original owner and had driven up to the factory to pick the car up - and how angry he was when he found the speedometer had 5 miles on it when he got there. What I never heard was that my father had apparently kept the steering wheel - and my mother still has it.

It is odd to me to think she not only packed it, but moved it. Steering wheels are not exactly the most convenient things to pack. I am going to have to do some research before I post it. This isn't just a common everyday drain stopper.

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I Have a Second Job!!!

Two of them, actually.

Shelly is amazing. She came through yet again for me - or maybe it is fate working through Shelly? In either case, I am incredibly excited. She emailed me and told me she is really, really short handed for the summer and is looking for someone to help out a couple nights and House Manage at the theatre. Would I be interested? Heavens Yes!!

I was a House Manager at a different theatre for years. It's a job I like and I feel I am good at. I enjoy working with the volunteer ushers and helping the patrons. It's one of those jobs that can be pretty hectic for an hour, quiet for two hours, then back to being hectic - which frankly, makes for a nice pace. It is also the perfect part-time temp work which is exactly what I need right now. So, emboldened by that opportunity I went after another one!

I doubt there will be much work for Shelly. I really wish there was, but I am assuming come fall she will have her full contingency of workers again - it is just during these summer months she is short handed. So, last night when I was at the theatre where I used to House Manage way back when, I ran into Mary Jo and asked if she needed help again. She does!! She said she would be happy to use me She'll have work during the fall, so it should all work out.

It won't be enough to get the nine hundred I need by a long, long shot. But this kind of thing will really help my bottom line - on top of being work I like and places I love.

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Well, It Finally Happened

I am divorced.

It happened today at 1:30. The whole thing was a bit anticlimactic, but I knew it would be. You can't spend years working through all this to have it done in 5 minutes and it not be anticlimactic. I think there should be some sort of ritual when you get divorced - there is with weddings and deaths, why not divorces? If it was up to me there would be incense and chanting... and marching bands. Something to indicate that this is a big occurrence. My ex wasn't even there. I am glad I went, however. I am glad it I was there to look the judge in the eye and realize this is a start of a whole new life.

There is a lot happening with me right now, but it feels good - as though I am returning to who I was - except better, stronger and more sure of what I want. Financial freedom is definitely part of it. Finding the way to make these house payments is a struggle, but also a way I am growing into myself.

And now, I feel I need to say a bit about lawyers: I know in some ways this isn't about my goal to get $900 a month, but it is something I feel I need to talk about. As I sat in that room, I could easily pick out those with lawyers and those without. The lawyer people were reading books and relaxed. The non lawyer people were clutching their forms in sweaty palms and looking nervous. I was a lawyer person.

I can't say that everyone should have an attorney - there are plenty of reasons, and money is the biggest one, to do a divorce yourself. It is certainly possible. But I have to say I watched those folks coming in, confused by the terms, not knowing what they were supposed to do and was very grateful for mine. Honestly, I didn't know what I was supposed to do either - but I knew my lawyer would tell me. (And he did.) I would say in any case where there is any kind of disagreement or going to be fighting over anything - talk to a lawyer!

...but not just any lawyer.

Here is the thing - you are paying lawyers to be on your side. I suppose this is true in any circumstance, but especially in the case of divorce. An attorney is not a third party opinion - s/he is yours, to fight for you, to defend you, to steer you in the right direction. They are there to look after your best interests, and if they aren't - then just walk away.

I watched one woman walk up with her lawyer. The judge swore her in, and her attorney asked her some questions: did she file for divorce on such and such a date, did she understand the agreement, was she aware there was no child support on this, and was she pregnant. (That was a biggie - all us ladies got asked that.) The judge then declared that it was in his jurisdiction and he had the authority to grant the divorce. The end. The attorney turned around and headed back to the lawyer corral and started chatting with other attorneys. The poor woman stood there, sort of stunned. A court clerk tried to hand her a copy of her paperwork so she reached limply to take it. Her attorney saw and wheeled around and took the papers herself - then turned her back on her client and went back to chatting. The newly divorced woman looked lost and unsure what to do now. She literally went up and stood behind her attorney (who persisted in standing with her back to her) and tried to get her attention - she was ignored. Not knowing what else to do, she left the courtroom. The woman sitting next to me and I looked at each other in horror.

This should not have happened. Look. you are paying these folks to help you. It is so easy to be overwhelmed by professionals when you don't know the language - whether it be lawyers, doctors, mechanics, roofers or pool boys. I know that attorneys get put on a pedestal, but they are just folks - like you or me.

My attorney talked to me ahead of time about what was going to happen. When we got to the judge, my lawyer noted he had found a problem with the file. He explained what happened to the judge and I and how he would fix it.* After the divorce was degreed, he had me sit and wait while he filed another divorce for one of his other clients that was there that day. When we were both done he took us outside and explained what had happened and what we needed to do - and how he would be following up.

How did I find my attorney? I asked a friend - I got a great referral. And for me that is one of the many lessons I walked away with - there are times you have to hire someone. When you do, get a referral from someone you trust and then make sure you are a 100% comfortable with who you pick - otherwise it is just money down the drain.




* One of the people who did not have a lawyer got asked about some particular form she didn't have. She told the court clerk that she didn't know how to fill it out. The clerk said, "Well it is your job to find out. When you are acting as your own lawyer it is your job to make sure everything is done correctly." Frankly, she was really snotty about it - but ultimately, she was right.

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In my Not Robbing Peter to Pay Paul post I talked a little bit about my stimulus check and how I am going to make that work for me. The easiest thing to do would have been to just chuck the $600 in my account and say "Hey! I only have $300 of my $900 goal left this month!" But you know, that just didn't seem very effective to me - throwing that windfall away on one measly mortgage payment. So, here is what I did - I used it to pay myself first.

As I mentioned in the post, I took $250 of it and put it in my savings account - that will be my short term emergency fund. I thought I had been putting $100 into my emergency savings each month but in fact, I realized I changed it at the beginning of the year and was only putting in $50. Still - that should have meant my emergency account would be about $300 in June - not closer to $18!! My new vow (much stronger than a goal here) is to only use emergency money for gen-u-ine emergencies. The $50 each month that was going into savings will stay in checking where I can monitor it better and it won't get frittered away. I am adjusting my goal on the right accordingly.

Then I had to decide what to do with the other $350.

This really wasn't a hard decision. One of my life goals is go back to school and get my Masters degree. It is something I have always wanted to do. As I talked about at the end of last month I know I can't do it right now, there is just too much going on with this divorce and figuring out how I can afford this house without going bankrupt. So, I have a plan. My plan is to hold onto the house for about three years. I think by then we will begin to see the housing market turn around - especially in my neighborhood, which is one of the few areas that is flourishing. Then, I will sell the house and use the proceeds to purchase a smaller house - a house that I love. The additional profit (and there will be additional profit - I have declared it and it will be so) will go towards my schooling. This plan to get me back to school is what makes this whole crazy venture worthwhile. Sure, it is good to avoid foreclosure and dropping credit scores and all that stuff... but fear as a "stick" only takes you so far. This is the "carrot" that will take me through the long haul.

So, what does this have to do with my $350? Well, while I am getting my life in order, I want to still be able to go back to school. My plan, before all this happened and I found out I was getting stuck with the house, was to go to our local community college and take a class at a time in my field of interest. It serves two purposes: 1) I get to put my big toe back in the academic waters again and 2) I can start building a resume of knowledge. You see, my Bachelors degree is in a far different field than the one I want for my Masters. I currently have a BA with a major in Marketing and a minor in Humanities. All my experience is in these two fields, but I am getting my Masters in Library Science with a concentration in Archival Studies. Quite a difference.

Currently if I were to apply to college I don't have much I can apply towards this new field other than my personal declaration of a love of libraries, books and information. So I did some research, paying close attention to professional organizations, government websites and job qualifications, and looked to see what sorts of classes and job experience I should get to make me a good candidate. Some of the classes I saw listed were archeology, anthropology and art history. (Fun!!) So, I decided to take these kinds of classes, and others that fit with my career goal, while I am waiting to get back to school full time. Currently I am signed up for Archeology 101 in the fall. The cost of tuition?

$350.

I thought about this a lot. One of the ways on The List to save money is to not go to school. But I feel like this is a long term investment - an investment in myself. On top of that, I am cutting out so many things in my life, I really wanted to hold onto this one. So, here is the plan -

I put the $350 in my "high" interest savings account. Tuition isn't due until August, so the money can work for me until then. By then, I should also have a good idea of where I am each month and know if I can do this for sure. I will also research what my textbook will be for this class and budget for it (always hoping I can buy it cheaper online, of course.)

Since this money isn't coming out of my monthly budget I feel pretty good about it. The hard part, of course, is going to be figuring how to swing it for winter semester!

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My 2008 Budget

Passive Family Income had a great post about his family budget. I've always enjoyed making budgets, but mine have worked differently. Typically I took a legal pad, wrote my monthly income at the top and then subtracted all my expenses. Then what was left was budgeted between food and entertainment and so on. To be perfectly honest, as much as I enjoyed the process the result was a bit depressing. There is something very negative about that process. What I like about his is that he lists everything, what the actual amount was, and then puts the difference in his expense fund. Somehow, that seems a lot more positive to me.

So, this week I have been working on my budget. It's coming along well, and as I am working on it I have learned some very interesting things.

First off, when I put in only fixed expenses - mortgages, car payments, insurance, things of that nature, I was able to almost make the budget work. Not quite, but close. It was when I started adding in the other things - groceries, gas, entertainment, savings, pay off the credit card, schooling, car repairs - things like that, that the budget shows my $900 deficit. So in other words, if I don't eat or go anywhere, I would only have to dip into savings by about $275! Oddly, I found that really comforting. Of course it isn't practical to not have those things in the budget (at the very least I need gas money to get to work) but it is somehow good to know that it isn't quite as scary as I thought. This is, of course, is not including extra income made by the methods I am working on, both passive and non-passive. So really, I am working (and saving) to afford the good things in life. I like that. It makes it a little easier. What is more, those are expenses that I can control to some degree and work on lowering.

One thing I can't do is know exactly how much utilities will be at the house. My ex gave me a 10 month average on what he spent, but that doesn't really reflect what it will be like when I have the house. For example, his average electric bill is $52.40. Mine last month was $8.35. Now granted, we are talking about the difference between a 2300 sq. foot home and a 400 sq. foot apartment - but I am pretty sure I can cut those bills down somewhat. Still, I am going to use his numbers at first and see how it goes. Personally I don't use utilities that much. I'm the type that unplugs her microwave between uses. At the house, however, I won't be able to do that (the plug is behind the microwave mounted on the wall) and I am not sure how many other things I will have to do differently there. My best bet as I see it is to use his numbers and then adjust accordingly after 3 months or so.

One other number I am working on is adjusting my insurance payments. My brother in law is an insurance agent, so he takes care of all that for me. He and I have talked about some changes I could make to decrease those payments. One bit of good news is that the ex's photo equipment will no longer be on the house insurance which means that will be going down. Yay!

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Non Passive Income AKA The Second Job

My ex moves out of the house on June 21st. I will be able to start moving in on June 22. He will be making the June payment, so that figure on the right is really my June goal for July. The nine hundred needed is what I estimate I will need monthly (above the $440 in rent I am currently paying) to make the mortgage payments and utilities. Am I nervous? Oh yes, yes I am.

That's why I am considering a second job.

Now, the goal of this project is to "avoid foreclosure by getting nine hundred dollars more a month - without ending up in jail, dying of starvation or going insane" so I am trying to find work that meets this goal. Trying to work two 40 hour jobs, for example, would drive me crazy thus breaking the "not going insane" portion of my goal there. What I would like to find is some temporary part time work.

My friend Shelly pointed out two sources of potential income to me - both on the campus where I will be going back to school in the fall. One is that there is a job posting area on campus. They frequently have part time/temp type jobs that could fit in perfectly with my schedule. The other is that the campus is hiring "Contingency Employees." They are looking for a pool of part time/temp clerical workers for special assignments, fill in when people are out - that kind of thing. I sent in my resume for that, since that sounds right up my alley.

I'm going to keep my ear out for other opportunities like this. I've seen some bloggers that do Mystery Shopping and others that do freelance work. I'd like to see if I can more things along those lines to help fill in the gaps. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them!

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Making Money While Managing My Move

I now have several items listed with online auctions, some with Amazon and some with eBay. ....anyone need a 1950's recording of Camp Fire Girls? (C'mon - you know you want it!) My goal is to try and add things on a regular basis so I can keep a constant stream of items up for sale. So far I have hit my goal of listing at least three items per day.

The beauty of this is that not only am I selling my mom's stuff I am also selling my own - even (gasp!!) cookbooks!! I love books passionately and have always hated getting rid of them. When I moved into my little 400 sq. foot apartment, I mentioned to my mom that I had no room for a couch. She (blasphemously) suggested that if I were to get rid of some books (and their bookshelves) I might have room for friends. I told her the books were my friends! And besides, we could all sit on the floor.

I also love to cook, so it should be no surprise that I also love cookbooks. Getting rid of them at first seemed wrong, but after thinking about it, it just makes sense. What I have been doing is paring down my shelves to the books I love and use. All the rest are going up for sale and there will be no more buying of new books until all this is settled. This gives me two benefits: 1) I will get income from them and 2) I will save on expenses because I won't have to move them!

Now, I just know someone needs a Salads cookbook!


EDIT: You can now read about all my online book selling experiences at The Online Bookseller.

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The Shame of Being Frugal, part 2

In a post I wrote awhile ago, The Shame of Being Frugal, I talked about how I felt awkward walking from my house, instead of driving, to a restaurant wearing high heels and dress clothes to meet friends for cocktails. While I knew I was being smart by saving gas, getting exercise and enjoying the gorgeous evening, I felt like a dork parading down the sidewalk carrying a purse with a birthday present sticking out of it. I would have been a lot more comfortable in blue jeans and sneakers.

This morning driving into work I saw a young lady walking. She was wearing a pretty sun dress, a little cardigan, strappy sandals and carrying a purse. Though she had long hair, she reminded me a lot of Audry Hepburn. My first thought was how cute she looked; how nice it was to see someone dressed up.

Then with a thunderous clap the hammer of irony hit me.

I realized that I had been projecting my fears that I would look like a dork on other people, when in fact, the only one criticizing my fashion sense was me.

In my post I wrote about the shame people sometimes feel in being frugal, about how it seems "cooler" to be broke and going down fast than to be practical and stable. Now it occurs to me - how often do we do something because of what we think other people other people think of us - and how often are we wrong? It isn't them - it is us, our own fears. That's certainly what happened to me.

I'm to make an effort to listen to my own heart when it comes to saving money and personal finance. I'm going to try to not listen to my fears, whatever, they may be. I'll see them, recognize them, and then move on and do what I want to do anyway. The only thing fear can do is get in my way!

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Money Blogs Make Me Happy

I had a therapy appointment this morning. She is the one who who inspired me to stop being afraid, and to start to focus my energy to tackle this problem. I'll be honest, there are times when I am still afraid - when this project of mine seems like a pipe dream. Getting an extra nine hundred dollars a month out of my already stretched budget to keep myself out of foreclosure and financial nightmares seems like such a huge task, but then I start reading other people's blogs and finding that they are doing it - people can do this. It can be done! And if they can, so can I!

So, one of the things I am doing in the morning is sitting down and reading those blogs on the right, and from them finding other blogs I like. That list is not just a list I am throwing on here, those are people I read every day. I plan on keeping it updated, (which will mean adding and deleting,) with blogs that make me think and keep me going.

Last night I took another bike ride. I am getting stronger and better at it, though to be honest, I am still a bit wobbly. The seat is still a bit uncomfortable, but I think I am starting to get used to it. At least five or six friends have suggested I buy a new gel filled seat for it which could be purchased for about $20. It's a good idea - but one I don't want to do. The whole point of what I am doing right now is to save money. I could get a new seat or better yet, a new set of peddles (because my feet keep slipping off) but my goal is to save as much money as I can to put it towards paying my mortgage. Perhaps later, once I am getting regular use out of my $7 bike and I know for sure it is something I will use all the time, I'll think about adding some parts. But for now, I'm going to just try and toughen up.

I turned in all my change yesterday. I have a change jar sitting on my desk and I went to move it to get at the things underneath and was surprised how heavy it was! Since I am trying to 1) make money and 2) eliminate weighty objects before I move, I decided it was time to turn in the coins. Total amount was $13.24. Change is tricky though - it is hard to count that as income, since unless I find the coins laying on the ground they are hardly "Passive Income." It is all my money - just smaller pieces of it. I am going to count what I got last night as money for June, because it was money I had forgotten about and did not have on The List. However, on a going forward basis I am going to use them once a month towards groceries - sort of like a heavy, jingling coupon.

Speaking of coupons and groceries - I did great at the store last night!! Almost half of the items I bought were on sale - and the other half I had a coupon for. I didn't buy much though, just a few things I can't get at the Farmer's Market. With my new goal of eating less meat, I'll be trying to spend my grocery dollars there instead of the store. I would much prefer to eat in season, local foods than stuff from the supermarket! I will say this, being broke is great for my shopping habits. I had absolutely NO desire to shop or buy off the list. I got what I needed and walked out - with bicycle grease on my jeans and a smile on my face.

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More Weekend Excitement

Some great things were also happening up North this weekend. On my way out of town I stopped by Kate's house. She had a big beautiful "Dragon Lady" Holly tree for me. (How cool is that name?) She also had some grape vines and lilies of the valley for me to take. I have lots and lots of room for landscaping up by the cottage, but naturally no money to spend on it, so any and all free plants are welcome!

The holly was bigger than expected, but it fit in the car fine. It will grow to be fairly large which is okay by me, as it should be a nice privacy barrier between my yard and the neighbors. Though woe on him and his soon-to-be wife if they decide to have kids - this thing has some nasty spines.

The other big news is that I mowed my lawn!! Now, to some people that would be like saying, "I washed my dishes!" ...but for me it is a very big deal.

See, here is the thing: I have never mowed a lawn before. I am slightly allergic to cut grass - and very allergic to the weeds, pollen and dust that tend to get kicked up when someone mows. Growing up, my parents did all the mowing, and because of my allergies I never had any urge to learn how myself. When the mower started up I went and sat in the quiet gloom of my room, happily reading a book.

After living at home I moved out and into an apartment. Once again, lawn mowing was not on my list of things I had to do. Then I met my husband - and he did all the lawn care. I love to garden but I just never had to mow a lawn, and the thing is when you ask someone, "So, how do you mow?" they mostly look at you like you are an alien. The usual answer I got was something like "I don't know... you just mow." Yeah..... that's helpful.

Up at the cottage I had purchased a rider lawnmower. I had ended up having some repair work done to it last year because mice had moved into it. The last time it had been used was... sometime last summer when my ex and I were still trying to make a go of it as a married couple, but other than that, it didn't get mowed. I just didn't have the energy. Everything was so hard this fall, I just wasn't up to it. Emotionally I was a wreck - and when I got up north, all I could do was sit quietly and just try and get through.

However, grass waits on no man, or grieving woman. The last time I was up there I noticed the grassy area over the septic drain field was starting to look like the corn in "Oklahoma!" There was only one thing to do - ask someone for help. Up at the cottage Mark volunteered to show me how to start it - and he gave great instructions. There was only one problem - it wouldn't start.

Turned out in the many, many months since the mower had been started, mice had moved back in. There was a HUGE mouse house, nay, a Mouse Mansion (complete with two baby mice - can you say "eeew?") in my mower. So, after lots of cleaning and an emergency run to Walmart* to get a battery charger and tools... and more cleaning and some battery charging, the mower started!! And I got an impromptu lesson on how to mow.

As I mentioned, the worst part was a pie slice shaped wedge in the front where the septic is. Fortunately for me Mark tackled that in a lawn mower test run, because frankly it was beyond my newbie skills. Between the super long grass, which was hiding piles and piles of leaves, and then the two sizable holes in the yard that were hidden by the leaves, well let's just say I was happy to stand on the sidelines.

After that Mark showed me how to hook up the charger and suggested I leave it hooked up all night. The next morning I went out and raked the area that had been mowed the night before. Then I did any area that still might have piles of leaves - I didn't want it getting clogged on me like it did him. Then I went to start the mower.

Singing my mower chant, "foot peddle down, gear in neutral, blade disengaged, and pull up the choke-oke-oke" I climbed on and started it! ...and then it promptly died. Then in subsequent tries I managed to flood it. It took the rest of the day, a help-line call to Mark and a fair amount of prayerful booty shaking dancing to the Gods of lawn mowers, but I got it running again! (With assistance.) And I mowed!!! I mowed the whole huge monstrous lawn!!!

Okay, now it might look like I was blindfolded and was doing it by feel when I did it, but hey - it is definitely much, much flatter than it was! hooray!

Total cost - about $42. $33 for parts and $9 for the six pack of Smithwicks I bought as a combination thank you to Mark and celebration for the mowing of the lawn!! While I am trying not to spend money, this far cheaper than hiring the lawn done, which is what I thought I was going to have to do, and a lot more satisfying.




*Walmart gives me the hives, but they had the tools I needed. Want to know something weird? I didn't even know there was a Walmart up there. I've had that cottage 4 years!! Good thing I was getting help from someone who knew the area!

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Home Improvement - DIY

One of the great things that happened this weekend was being able to take another Home Improvement Class. There is a non-profit organization in town that offers free classes on how to fix up your home. Starting a couple of weeks ago, Catie and I have been going to as many as we can. We are now being joined by David. This Saturday the three of us sat down to learn about repairing concrete!! Do I have concrete that needs to be repaired? you ask. Well.... no. There were some problems up at the cottage, but my ex fixed those back when we were together and the concrete at the house I'll be moving into in June was all fairly recently poured. So why on earth would you want to spend your Saturday morning taking a class on concrete repair?? Because it is fun! I love learning all about stuff I know nothing about; I have always been a student at heart. So far I have taken porch repair, concrete repair and my personal favorite - roofing! In the past I've assisted on home improvement projects, but didn't know anything about how to do them myself. Now I do.

Catie feels the same way, while taking the roofing class she leaned over to me at one point and whispered "Let's go re-roof your cottage!" I knew exactly what she meant. It felt so good to understand how proper roofing was done, what tools are needed - and best of all, that we could do it ourselves.

I had a small roofing problem up there that was causing a water leak in my living room - and I had no idea how to fix it. After the two hour class I understood what was probably going wrong. And you know - like many things in life, it really isn't all that complicated once you have someone show you the steps and teach you the terms. The following weekend I went up with my roofing nails, roofing cement and a head full of new knowledge - and fixed my roof!!

Best yet, it worked. I checked after the big storm and the ceiling is dry. Now all I need to do is prime and paint it and it will be back to looking good. The best part about all of this for me is learning to do it myself. Up until these classes the only way I knew to find someone to help me out up there was to find a guy with a spray painted plywood sign in his front yard. (That's how I found my carpet guy.) Honestly, it was making me feel panicked, I would see that evil coffee colored stain spreading across my white ceiling and feel so... helpless. It was so frustrating - and all the more since this was the kind of thing I used to rely on my ex for.

So, taking these classes is giving me the chance to learn how to handle these situations and that makes me feel really strong and capable. What's more, since Catie and David are taking them too, we had a little impromptu chat about helping each other out on this kind of stuff. Some of these projects are going to take a couple of us. For example, all of us are excited abut the window replacement class, but it is just not a one person job. However, each one of us has a house (heck, I have two,) and there is no reason we can't go from house to house helping each other on these home improvement projects. And as David pointed out - between the three of us we have access to just about any tool we might possibly need.

Similarly, Catie's dad offered to build her a deck for her birthday. Both David and I want to be in on that project. I really, really want to learn deck building skills as I want to put one in up north someday. This would be a perfect chance. I could hang out with people I love, help one of my best pals get a new deck and learn how to build one myself!

Perfect.

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Passive Income and Grocery Shopping

Good news! I sold my first book through Amazon. Yay! I shipped it off today. I also have three bids on items on eBay. Ok, one of them is from a friend (thanks Philip!) but still - things are moving along. My goal is to try to add a few things each day to online stores. This has a dual goal - it is earning me money towards my house payment goal and it is helping me sort out what I want to keep - and what I want to sell as I get closer and closer towards moving. I just got an email from the ex saying that it looks like I will be able to move in as soon as June 21st. Though scary, this is actually a good thing since it gives me over a week to conduct my move.

There is other good passive income news as well - $7.23 in earned interest from bank accounts. It may not sound like much, but "it is from pennies that dollars are made." Can you tell I am in a much better mood than I was on Friday?

I have lots I want to write about the weekend - so many good things happened. I will try to put all my thoughts together and post more about it later today. Mostly it is just so nice seeing a few things start to really happen - a great way to start a Monday morning.

Tonight I need to go shopping for groceries. For the last two months I have tracked my grocery expenditures. Want to know something funny? In April I spent $129.87. In May I spent $129.53. That is a difference of just $.34! The way I track grocery shopping is that it includes all food shopping whether it is at the store or the farmer's market. I include regular household items like dish washing soap and TP, but I do not include items that were bought there but for other uses - for example, I did not count the heavy duty dish washing style disposable gloves I bought to wear while doing roofing repairs - even though I bought them at the grocery store.

I am going to make it a goal to spend $125 or less (hopefully a lot less) on groceries this month. This may not seem like much of a stretch, but since I am going to try to eat out a lot less this month, I may be increasing my food bill. One way I am going to keep costs in line is to eat less meat. Meat tends to be a large part of my grocery bill. I'm not going completely vegetarian yet, just scaling back. Besides - it is summer in the midwest the farmer's market is going bursting with great veggies, now is the perfect time to enjoy them!

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