Usually when I'm trying to live better or eat better or exercise I always say I'm going to start on a Monday. Or on the first day of a new month. But really you are just putting things off even further than they need to be put off.
But things have been spiralling a bit. And I need to start getting it together now.
So tomorrow is the 31st of October. Halloween. And I have decided I am going to have a wondrously productive day tomorrow. I'm gonna start small. Get some work for school done, maybe do a load of laundry, stay away from the netflix. Anything is better than nothing. Most of the time I would use the last day of a month to be extravagantly lazy and cozy.
Starting my new productive self at the end of the month? What is the world coming to.
Today I watch at least 3 Harry Potter movies. Lovely.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Debt.
I really hate the amount of debt I'm in. And my boyfriend too. I'm not unhappy about how most of the debt was acquired. Mine is almost all school debt and a little bit of frivolous spending. The boys debt is not school debt - he paid that off years ago. It is vacation and having fun and living debt. Some people wouldn't think that a good thing. But I do.
But now we think it's the time to work hard on paying down the debt.
We'll call the boys debt "present debt." It is a number in the $60,000 - 70,000. So a lot.
My debt we can call future debt. My debt is school loans. I'm not paying interest or principal on them until I finish school. And who knows when that will be... (April - if I don't mess things up! And lets face it, I'll probably go to more school after this school). Future debt is an equally high number as present debt.
So present debt is being paid off really aggressively starting a few months ago. And I'm trying o figure out a budget so that we don't add more debt to present debt and try to pay off $40,000ish in a year.
So the amount we have to work with take home (minus my OSAP loan money and not including the boyfriends bonus) is approximately $70,000.
Which means we have to spend less than $30,000 on the rest of living for a year. Which is possible.
So I've been doing a quick budget and this is what it is looking like at the moment (This does not include tuition and other since they are paid for with the OSAP money)
Rent(with some utilities): 13080
Phone/Internet: 600
Cell: 650
Hydro: 650
Other: 1000 (this is line of credit interest and stuff like that)
Dog Expenses: 700
Metropass x 2: 3000
Entertainment: 3000
Food: 6700
$29,380.
I think the food and entertainment budgets are reasonable. But extras like coffee and the like will surely screw us up a bit. And so we have to start living within these budgets.
We don't have cable. We can cut hydro easily enough. I am gonna cut my cell phone cost to about half in January. I would cut the home phone but the boy is determined to keep it. We have a storage space that costs another $2000 a year, so we need to get rid of that as soon as possible. We don't need it.
This is a rough guideline. But this should just about do it.
But now we think it's the time to work hard on paying down the debt.
We'll call the boys debt "present debt." It is a number in the $60,000 - 70,000. So a lot.
My debt we can call future debt. My debt is school loans. I'm not paying interest or principal on them until I finish school. And who knows when that will be... (April - if I don't mess things up! And lets face it, I'll probably go to more school after this school). Future debt is an equally high number as present debt.
So present debt is being paid off really aggressively starting a few months ago. And I'm trying o figure out a budget so that we don't add more debt to present debt and try to pay off $40,000ish in a year.
So the amount we have to work with take home (minus my OSAP loan money and not including the boyfriends bonus) is approximately $70,000.
Which means we have to spend less than $30,000 on the rest of living for a year. Which is possible.
So I've been doing a quick budget and this is what it is looking like at the moment (This does not include tuition and other since they are paid for with the OSAP money)
Rent(with some utilities): 13080
Phone/Internet: 600
Cell: 650
Hydro: 650
Other: 1000 (this is line of credit interest and stuff like that)
Dog Expenses: 700
Metropass x 2: 3000
Entertainment: 3000
Food: 6700
$29,380.
I think the food and entertainment budgets are reasonable. But extras like coffee and the like will surely screw us up a bit. And so we have to start living within these budgets.
We don't have cable. We can cut hydro easily enough. I am gonna cut my cell phone cost to about half in January. I would cut the home phone but the boy is determined to keep it. We have a storage space that costs another $2000 a year, so we need to get rid of that as soon as possible. We don't need it.
This is a rough guideline. But this should just about do it.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
If at first you don't succeed...
So,
I cooked dinner. And walked the dogs. I also organized some old mail and managed to get rid of a bunch of junk.
But I have not studied. Or prepared for my week.
We'll try again next Sunday.
I cooked dinner. And walked the dogs. I also organized some old mail and managed to get rid of a bunch of junk.
But I have not studied. Or prepared for my week.
We'll try again next Sunday.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Friday? Sunday... Saturday!
Friday is not my favourite day. It almost is. But it normally feels like it's still attached to all the bad of the last week. Until about 5pm on Friday I don't feel like I'm out of the woods.
It does feel hopeful though. If I can just get through this Friday, I have a whole shiny new week ahead of me. And in the new shiny week I will probably be happy, motivated, skinnier, awesomer, organized, fun, amazing and pretty.
Ya know?
What I now need to realize, or what I have realized, is that it is not just a crazy idea that next week I can be all those things. The key is the motivation and the organization. Start as you mean to go on?
And so Sunday. Sunday always feels like a day to do as little as possible. But this Sunday will be different. This Sunday needs routine. Sorta like this:
1. Sunday morning dog walk for an hour
2. Clean bathroom, vacuum and organize laundry (for Mondays!)
3. Lunch
4. Make to do list for the week
5. Dog walk. Again
5. Spend 2 hours doing prep work/homework
6. Roast dinner. (The british person in me wants this to become a thing for my boyfriend and I, not just my family back home)
7. Teevee and mindless organizing tasks like binders, bags and mail.
I mean, there are things that will have to change. But at its core Sunday needs to make me ready for the week. Ready to be awesomer and skinnier and better. Sunday is taking control.
At least Saturday is still mine.
It does feel hopeful though. If I can just get through this Friday, I have a whole shiny new week ahead of me. And in the new shiny week I will probably be happy, motivated, skinnier, awesomer, organized, fun, amazing and pretty.
Ya know?
What I now need to realize, or what I have realized, is that it is not just a crazy idea that next week I can be all those things. The key is the motivation and the organization. Start as you mean to go on?
And so Sunday. Sunday always feels like a day to do as little as possible. But this Sunday will be different. This Sunday needs routine. Sorta like this:
1. Sunday morning dog walk for an hour
2. Clean bathroom, vacuum and organize laundry (for Mondays!)
3. Lunch
4. Make to do list for the week
5. Dog walk. Again
5. Spend 2 hours doing prep work/homework
6. Roast dinner. (The british person in me wants this to become a thing for my boyfriend and I, not just my family back home)
7. Teevee and mindless organizing tasks like binders, bags and mail.
I mean, there are things that will have to change. But at its core Sunday needs to make me ready for the week. Ready to be awesomer and skinnier and better. Sunday is taking control.
At least Saturday is still mine.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Because Tom Hanks is the solution...
So instead of studying I'm watching Sleepless in Seattle.
Mostly I am doing this to avoid the stress I am feeling about school and money. I woke up this morning feeling on the edge of panic. I do this to myself of course. The stress is not good. It makes me feel sick. It makes it easier to get sick. It makes me want to eat poorly. To spend. To avoid.
People always say that it's never bad as you imagine when you get stressed about things. My experience would suggest this is only sometimes true. Most of the time things aren't as bad as they seem. And then sometimes they are. This year has been the year when things were bad. Sometimes. So the stress seems more reasonable.
I definitely think my obsession with the "FUTURE" is the reason for the worry. Instead of worrying about today or even tomorrow, I find myself worrying about 3 years from now, 5 years, 10 years.
So, as part of the healthy part of the project I do need to worry less. And so in the words of 'Sam' or Tom Hanks if you will - "I'm gonna get out of bed every morning... breathe in and out all day long."
And that is that.
Mostly I am doing this to avoid the stress I am feeling about school and money. I woke up this morning feeling on the edge of panic. I do this to myself of course. The stress is not good. It makes me feel sick. It makes it easier to get sick. It makes me want to eat poorly. To spend. To avoid.
People always say that it's never bad as you imagine when you get stressed about things. My experience would suggest this is only sometimes true. Most of the time things aren't as bad as they seem. And then sometimes they are. This year has been the year when things were bad. Sometimes. So the stress seems more reasonable.
I definitely think my obsession with the "FUTURE" is the reason for the worry. Instead of worrying about today or even tomorrow, I find myself worrying about 3 years from now, 5 years, 10 years.
So, as part of the healthy part of the project I do need to worry less. And so in the words of 'Sam' or Tom Hanks if you will - "I'm gonna get out of bed every morning... breathe in and out all day long."
And that is that.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Need vs. Want
This appears to be the starting motto of this project.
Do we need three new DVD's? Or do we want them?
Do we need to eat out today? Or do we want to?
Do I need to buy marshmallows? Or just want them?
You get it.
This is the beginning. At the very least if this idea is planted into our heads over the next couple of months we may save some money. Or eat less junk. Or waste less time.
'Need vs. Want' post it notes are now planted on the door. Put in my wallet. And on the fridge.
Do we need three new DVD's? Or do we want them?
Do we need to eat out today? Or do we want to?
Do I need to buy marshmallows? Or just want them?
You get it.
This is the beginning. At the very least if this idea is planted into our heads over the next couple of months we may save some money. Or eat less junk. Or waste less time.
'Need vs. Want' post it notes are now planted on the door. Put in my wallet. And on the fridge.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
And so we begin to dig ourselves out of the hole...
..or realize we are in a hole at least.
It is time to really get to business.
I mean really.
This next year is going to be a project in getting healthy. And also wealthy. Wealthy is loosely defined for our purposes - but lets say we would be happy with no negative balances. No debt people.
It's also time to be happy. And kind. And good.
Instead of actually planning how to do these things I am starting a blog talking about doing these things. Eventually I'm sure this will lead to something helpful.
So - from weight loss to exercise to budgets and school and fun. This will inevitably be a lifestyle, bit of everything blog.
Stick around!
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