Hello everyone!
Today was a little more productive as I received the opportunity to do a little extra outside the home for a little gain. I also found a little luck and won a little extra to help me through the next day or so on a scratch ticket (I have won 4 times my whole life so that's saying something!)
I have been thinking quite a bit about the numbers that revolve around my head, the numbers that define me. I am 25, my husband is 27, our social security numbers, pay stubs, receipts, sizes of shoes. All these numbers have meaning in my life, but what my life seems to revolve around are not these, easily memorized, safely stocked away numbers. The numbers that drive me mad are the cost of rent, the utilities, phones, the car, gas, internet, insurance, and cost of food. These numbers, THESE numbers drive me wild. Please note that they are in order of significance. (rather, what gets paid first, and what gets put on the back burner) They only seem to go up while the size of the paycheck goes down. These numbers make living the life I want seem so close and so completely impossible at the same time.
How can I make them go down? Make them into bite sized, manageable pieces. Well, I've thought about that. My electric bill is a staggering $200 a month and has been $150 and above since I have lived here. My water bill is $50 a month, and it used to be $35. My house is small, and some of my family members have homes roughly twice the size of mine and pay less than I do. I am lead to believe that firstly, my house is not well built, and I am no contractor and it is obvious. I am unable to afford repairs at the moment so here are my intentions to bring down my utilities: First, shutting off the air when hubby is not home. I don't care if I am hot, and I can wear more clothes if I get cold. Second, I am going to cut back on my laundry. Unless something is visibly dirty, I am not going to wash it. I am trying to convince the hubby to erect me a small clothes line for drying purposes. Sun dried towels will dry you better! I can honestly cut down my shower time, I really don't need to stand in there until the water is boiling hot. And maybe, just maybe, finding a more efficient way to do the dishes. Of course, my son doesn't need a bath after every time he eats. Cloth wipes work just fine. Those are my first steps, I'll keep everyone posted if it works.
I think my next step is to talk to my bank about refinancing my car. I don't have a good credit score (a handful of poorly thought out decisions will do that fyi) Because of said bad credit scores, we are paying 22.725% interest. Yeah, it makes me sick too. If that doesn't work I haven't come up with plan B yet. Although, my bank does offer free financial advice from a licensed advisor. Hello Plan B (maybe it should be plan A) Thank God for USAA!
While I thought about how to make my monthly payments go down (I am roughly 600 in the hole every month) I searched, and searched for things to make me money from right here. And duh, freelance writing. I am not educated, but I am well read, articulate and damn, I have a LOT of opinions on things. There are people willing to pay me for what I have to say! As shocked as I was that I have found someone to pay me to not close my mouth, I am venturing down that path. I have plenty of people willing to proofread for me and plenty of things I want out in the open!
Oh and one other thing, my wonderful vehicle that I am paying damn near loan shark rates to have, couldn't get my amazing hubby to work today. But it's ok. I would much rather worry about what we are going to do, than worry about his safety on that long drive. God is unveiling a path before us, and we are so incredibly scared, and so stressed we can't get to sleep before 1am. Yet, it will all be ok. I have faith that as I pray, my prayers are not falling on deaf ears.
The remainder of my day is going to consist of finding a ride to the grocery store, and looking for craft ideas to sell some merchandise, and of course give to my mass of people for Christmas gifts :) These things are going to work. I am going to find a way up from this sinking ship and bail us out with my own two hands and all the elbow grease in the world. In case you were wondering, change does not happen over night, but bit by bit. These life altering realizations have accumulated to what most would call an epiphany.
Thank you for reading! May God fill your day with blessings and your heart with peace!
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