I too, have no budget. I've never had one. And, as far as I can remember, my parents didn't have one either.

I'm awful with numbers, so it isn't likely I would do anything with them unless someone held a gun to my head.......and I'm WAY more inclined to save than spend, so a budget really never crossed my mind.

I have read here, during the past year of others working over their detailed budgets, being over.......being under.......and couldn't relate at all.

At any given time, I can state how much I have in savings, and the approx balance in my checking account. (I've never had a bounced check) I'm also pretty aware of the totals in any investment account, as well as the value of current real estate.......So, I'm not blindly heading down my financial road here.

But, month to month.......item by item isn't the way I work my money in.....money out situation. I just know what comes in, and I hold the expenses to well within that every month. I'm frugal to the point of cheap most of the time (although I've long ago reached the stage of having everything I need, so there isn't much spending going on)

I know the expenses too.....and have charted them in my Bills Folder for years. Seeing them in black & white is a big part of my Finance Plan (for the lack of a better word).....I think the key to my plan has to be in the Knowing. Knowing what comes in when, and knowing what has to go out when. Making sure the in is more than the out each month is just about it in a nutshell.

Anything left over at the end of the month just stays in the normal checking account and if the total gets above an imaginary line I have......I auto transfer it into my savings account. Then, from there it makes its' way into investment accounts. The reverse is also true, if I am going to need more in the checking, back the money comes.....

Which brings up the common thread throughout my Financial Plan....knowing without a doubt if an expenditure is a need or a want. I don't have much these days that falls into the want catagory, so the entire Plan is pretty painless and almost without a thought these days.

No Budget........It works for me.

This is a Non List for me.......although I've enjoyed Thrifty Rays' topic and the start of some interesting posts here.

For decades now, I've had other peoples' kids in my home, (up to 6 at a time).....and frequently other adults too for that matter.
I knew it was important not to instill all of MY ideas into holiday celebrations, so would start around Halloween asking kids what they would like to see included at our house for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So, consequently, over the years.....we've tried to incorporate the suggestions which gave us some unique foods, different music, gifts on different days, and some VERY odd guests. I guess the "tradition" was that everyone who lived there at the time, felt like they were a part of the planning as well as the actual holiday.

Our truly odd tradition involved opening the bulk of the presents. My kids usually had some type of family locally & most spent at least part of Christmas day with them. Many spent the entire vacation with relatives.........making my house sort of vacant for anyone left back. We let kids enjoy their Stockings on Christmas morning, but kept the tree & the gifts until all the kids were going to be home for Our Christmas. One year, this wasn't until February! (very bad year that year, but we hung in there! Got to be pretty funny actually)

We put carols on, made hot chocolate and pulled out Christmas cookies from the freezer........sat around and DID the Christmas gifts as a group whenever we could get the bunch together for the first time.

One of my personal traditions was to Un Schedule the household for the month of December. With the type of kids I had, they all came with a miriad of appointments, meetings and therapy sessions. I wouldn't make any of them for December......allowing us to take a break from the routine and enjoy the holidays. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a free day to stick in even a trip to town to see the lights. Pretty sure none of the kids were even aware this was orchestrated; but it was a hard and fast rule with me.

I'm so laid back now with holidays......ours can take on a new life each & every year. This year is no exception! I'm just along for the ride!

Blast. A power surge, failure, bleep, whatever......but it was exactly as I pushed save & publish here with a current entry.

Was pondering the fact we are in December already, with just over 3 weeks til Christmas. Enjoying the low key approach this year, and the head start I have re; preparations.

Ventured into the sewing room today, since the weather was much warmer. (I'm in the garage, with no insulation & a space heater!) Got most of the work done on a couple Bed Buddies (rice filled sock affairs, to warm in the micro) to use for presents, plus a couple to use for back ups in case I need an extra gift somewhere. Frugal note here: I find I save money & time if I do multiples, no matter what it is.

Made a deal with the 2 young women that are staying here ........they wanted to know if I decorated for Christmas & I told them they could both do whatever they wanted to this year. I'll just watch! They were thrilled, as neither of them has ever had a house, nor a yard to decorate. The catch is they need to pick up, clean up and pack things away before New Years Eve. Sounds like a good deal to me!

I have tickets for a Holiday performance of a local chorus tomorrow night, planning on taking my mom & her sister to it as their Christmas gift from me. This is a gift to me too.......as I've not been able to do things like this with all the kids over the years. I had to limit my holiday things to stuff the kids would be appropriate at & then I really didn't get to enjoy much of it anyway with trips to the bathroom, meds & you name it. Can't wait for tomorrow....only adults! And a gift that 'fits' is the 'right color' and won't add any clutter around the house.

Only the first of December and I'm enjoying the holiday season more than ever. Think I'll dig out the Christmas CD's, sit back & knit and watch the decorations going up this week end. What a deal.

Paid bills on line (as usual) today, so it really isn't a no spender here. Scary to see the amount of money it takes each month to keep this place going.

I did notice this months cable bill has jumped up, must have had some sort of special for a year when I moved in. Have the bill out & on the TO DO list to see if I can get it reduced. Will make some other calls or check out a few websites, so I have some numbers on hand for other providers. I have all 3 services with the same company, so we should be able to come up with something a bit more budget friendly.

Making turkey enchiladas today with leftovers.......have all the rest of the ingredients either in the freezer or pantry. Cheap AND Yummy, can't beat that.

Still pretty much snowed in today.....with approx 12" on the ground. Beautiful! I'm so grateful we still have power, as many in our county don't. No power would mean no water for all of us with wells, so I'm very happy we're still flushing without thinking here!

My week end young man is going to stay over, as his mom is really no good in the snow, so technically, still working here. Also spending time finishing up a large sewing order, should be able to call the client & arrange a pick up time (which means a paycheck too) for anytime after the snow melts.

Might do some fine tuning on my Christmas list here today.........cashing in on My Points account, using some gift certificates, etc. Have a couple ideas of things to make for a few people, might even get to cracking on those. Definately in the Christmas spirit here, my classical radio station has begun to play carols and with the weather outside; I do feel like getting busy. Might even set up the 'wrapping station' here.........& start with the gifts I've already finished or stashed around here.

Grateful I'm ahead of the gift game, grateful I've never had a Christmas on Credit and grateful I've got friends and family who don't keep track of gifts, costs, etc. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas!

My week end is beginning to wind down......which is nice. I love the work leading up to the holidays and I truly love the company; but it is so nice to not cook and have a turkey sandwich all by myself with a book & some quiet music.

I am so blessed, my family doesn't have 'issues' like so many I know. There are never incidents or personalities to work around. We have a terrific time, yesterday being no exception.....laughed so hard, played some great games of Upwords, scrabble and even rummy. Lots of free fun.

Grateful everyone enjoyed the conversation, food and fun and didn't care one whit about the mismatched corelle ware, dinner served right off the stove or the Freecycle table & chairs. The important things truly weren't 'things' at all.

Grateful that our Christmas celebration is as low keyed........so I've got no hurdles to leap, no entertaining/decorating/gift giving contests to participate in prior to 12/25. Looking forward to another house full of guests, great food and more of that free fun my family is used to.

I didn't think this Bzz Agent thing was going to turn out to be anything at all, but the last 30 days have shown me to be wrong.........again!

I'm involved in 4 campaigns now & am finding it to be fun, informative and the freebies don't hurt either.

First off, there was the paint......which is going in my bedroom (slow project here) but it is going to be great. And, the product seems to be just as advertised. Says it only takes one coat; which isn't a problem here as I'm covering white walls.......but the no odor is pretty cool. I can work in here during the day and still sleep in the space at night. (this is pretty significant, given how many other people are staying at my home...there are no empty beds for me to move to!) Successful all round on this one. Since I have so many people in and out of this house, there is no shortage of folks to chat with re; the paint.

Number 2 is the Swiffer all in 1 duster deal. I was waiting for this, as I was hoping it would work on my piano. And, it does a bang up job. Good thing too, as my housekeeper is out of the country on a missions trip for a month. Good Gads, we're doing our own cleaning here. Thank goodness for the novelty of the All in One........Everyone wants to dust!! (works for me!!)

Number 3 was just waiting for me I think.......an American Express Business Card account..........which I do believe I am going to open for the new sewing/Knitting business........which now has a name..........- - -Stitches- - -
Don't know enough about this account yet to share info with other small business owners I come into contact with. Soon......

And, just today, I got signed up for a sonic care toothbrush system. There won't be many areas of my life that aren't Bzz-ing pretty soon.

Since I'm an overly chatty person anyway.......and I do come into contact with many people, this Bzz-ing activity seems to be pretty darned normal to me. I have to remember to log in the conversations, etc.......because I just seem to have them, not schedule them or anything. All in all........a fun way to try new products and services!

It's been 3 full weeks & here's the updated picture, taken today.



Today was also moving day for the chicks, as they have outgrown this tub they are in. Got some much needed assistance & created a contained area of the coop for them, so they are no longer crowded. (somehow forgot how quickly they grow)

They are old enough to be eating all the kitchen scraps now, in addition to their grain. Nice that they earn their keep!

Thankful the weather has warmed up, or I'd have to be knitting chick sized blankies or something to keep these little ladies warm. Have a heat lamp on all the time, as they are still too little to generate much body heat. Just getting their grown up feathers now....and looking way less cute & fuzzy.

I either counted wrong, or we were sent an extra chick....... I ordered 24, they advertise they send a Fancy Breed Chick along with each order........which would make 25. One was dead in the box when it arrived, so I assumed I was down to 24......and when I transferred them to the new abode, I counted 25 again. (never have been good with numbers!!)

This should be the last month I'm having to withdraw funds from savings to pay monthly bills. I hate this..........

I'm actually paying November bills this week and looking forward to the first of December.......as the tenants in the other house will start paying rent then. Still feel like I made a good decision on this rental, but I'm definately excited to not have to "carry" this bill myself.

Everything is up to date, bill wise, and the dreaded property taxes have been paid. Sewing and knitting business is picking up.....it's a slow climb, but it is on the way.


Rental monies: Not good this month. Room mate person has only contributed half of her half so far......due to her vehicle accident. Plus, she didn't assist with the property taxes like promised either. Crummy situation, but I'm unable to think of an alternative. Everyone else has paid their little bits and done their part to keep us moving forward.

Another positive step with the latest electric bill...... They lowered my monthly average bill again!! TA DA. Even with all these extra people who don't know all 'my rules' yet. We're down to $105 per month now......... Started at $150, so we're making progress. This is the lowest I've ever had this bill, for as long as I've been keeping records which dates back to the 70's. Now it gets really challenging........we'll have to get pretty darned creative to cut it any further. (I'm willing to try however!)

Crossing my fingers that this next month I'll be able to generate enough money to cover expenses and start putting funds back INTO savings instead of making another withdrawal.

I need to start moving faster, earlier and working longer days I guess. Where in the world have I spent half of October already?

I have more days in the month WITH sewing & knitting appointments than without. That is a step in the right direction. I am quoting and charging more money than I have before.....I typically don't charge enough for my time. Current jobs are almost laughable, when I'm working on them and then know what I'm going to write on the bill... I don't want to get too high, but so far, customers have been eager to pay what I'm quoting, so it must be pretty close to right on. There really isn't much competition out there to double check my prices, unless it's a dry cleaners.

The back 40 RV-ers have moved on already....one month rent from them and then we came to a mutual decision it wasn't working out. Have advertised this again.

The extra bedroom situation: I have a young couple coming this evening to move in for approx 3 months. I won't be making a ton of money on this deal, just enough to let them know they have to pay for housing. But, they are going to work on my TO DO list with/for me. With the new paint job here & my mind set changing........there are some projects I would love to get done. These are the perfect kids to do them.

RE: Room mate person....... Will continue to hold the line re; her paying half the expenses here at the house. Also hold her to paying off the personal loan from me for the now crunched truck. Also will drop her from the insurance if this effects my total bill in any way. (we have had our insurance together for decades now, as it was so much cheaper than each having insurance seperately) She has a great driving record, but I'm not willing to keep her on my policy if this accident turns out nasty. Will dole all this info out to her in teensy pieces, so she doesn't have a meltdown.

Will meet with horse people re; the winters use of the pastures here. They aren't making any steps to put in a sacrifice area, need to let them know I'll be watching for signs the pastures are going to pot and then give them their notice to move. I have learned I'm not charging near enough for the boarding......could actually be making some money on this part of the property.

It's another no spend day, with a pick up of a couple freecycle pieces of furniture. I'm working on outfitting the living room here as my knitting class area.......(currently is just a room with a fireplace) Love free stuff! Hopefully the 2 pieces I'm getting today will fit in somewhere here or at moms.

Dinners planned......finally using up a can of coconut milk (have no idea why I've got so many of these) in a Thai inspired chicken dish over rice. Should be yummy and totally out of the pantry & freezer.

Chick Update: All 24 doing well. Chirping and scurrying around and then napping in a pile of fluff. Too cute!

For the first time since I officially retired at the end of June, I had to withdraw money from savings to pay the monthly bills here. And, there will be another withdrawal for the property taxes due on Halloween.....

I'm feeling more than a little concerned about this turn of events. Especially since I am turning down the part time job event this week. There certainly isn't enough in the old savings account to continue on at this new pace....so, another solution needs to crop up: And Quick too please???

Getting another "real" job will be the last straw.......I'd still like to try to paste together some more of my fun types of money making events here, like my knitting and sewing. I guess what I need to do is decide how far down I will be comfortable taking the savings; just how low will I go??

As of Dec 1st, the other property will begin to hold it's own, with the rent covering the mortgage, taxes and insurance. I've been paying these expenses since Aug 1st, while the whole place gets refurbished. I know this isn't the entire problem; but the leak from savings will slow a bit when the new lease takes effect.

This certainly has been an interesting year........

What a combination! Hope I can keep everything and everyone separated!

The load of gravel will be delivered this AM, some for the underground "fence" to keep critters out of the chickens' area and the rest will be spread on our nasty part of the driveway out back. I wasn't going to buy a couple wheelbarrow loads of gravel when it is cheaper by the truck, and goodness knows, I need about 6 more truckloads to finish our driveway and parking area. Today will finish the chicken fence project and inch forward on the driveway.

The Navy will be finishing up the coop today....supposedly there is a ribbon cutting ceremony planned for later today!

Boys here today; hoping to access them both on the gravel moving project.

And, just in case there isn't enough going on at the 'ranch', the painters are to show up & get the bulk of the house painted today. We have a dry day today, but rain in the forecast tomorrow.....hoping it holds out for us!

I hesitate to write it in black & white, but I walked this AM for the 3rd day in a row. Hoping I can keep this up!

Will be spending a big chunk of money today on the gravel, but that's it.

Success IS in the details, isn't it? I'm a devout list maker and it seems like most of my daily TO DO list is composed of items that either save me money, figure out how best to spend my money (if there is an expenditure on the horizon) or how to continue my money making efforts here.

Each item alone isn't too much of a big deal (at least in my little financial world), but put together as a list, I can make an impact on my finances every day! I do need to get busy on my list every day if I want to see continued progress.

Todays list started off with recording one more little check for one of the tenants out back...........(now only one pesky little one left for Sept) And, while I was recording this check, the phone rang & I signed up another private knitting student, to begin tomorrow! Woo-Hoo...

I've also made a decision to get some help in getting my house painted. I haven't had to do this at my old place because I made a huge leap years ago and put vinyl siding on it, saving $$ over the years I know. But, this new place has a miserable paint job on it, ugly color, new trim around new windows that have never been painted or treated........and it is making me cranky to see it in such nasty shape each time I think about it (which seems to be often). So, I'm calling for bids today & will spend some money on this place.

A few more phone calls, all relating to taxes & possible money for another house as an investment and I can see todays TO DO list is totally related to my finances.
Not really surprising, just interesting how my days activities are all connected to spending, saving or making money. Call me driven, obsessed or whatever.... At least I'm focused!

My progress in this area continues to surprise me. I have no doubts re; the power of writing down my goals. As soon as I make the goals public; I'd better be ready, as progress will happen with, or without me!

I've now got just 2 small amounts of $ still owing for Sept. & know that they will both be coming in pretty soon. Have spoken to both parties.

I've updated the boarding agreement for the horse people & have one signed one on file. One to go. Met with both horse people & re defined my responsibilities here.........which amounts to nothing but having the property. Cleared up what their TO DO list is on a daily basis. Could further tighten this up by having a consequence if they don't hold up their end here.

Talked to the parking space rental person, he gave a sort of notice............he is looking for a space closer to Seattle. It would actually clear things up here if he did move, as the space could be rented to a horse person for feed storage.

Had a productive conversation with room mate person which resulted in one of her OLD vehicles being towed off the property today. (her choice) One down, a few more to go.... She is to be clearing all of her junk out that is sitting outside the one building we agreed was hers to use. This amounts to an incredible amount of stuff.....will keep the pressure on here.

All in all......a very good month. I have had to step way out of my comfort zone with these landlord type issues this month. I hate this part, but I survived and here we are almost at the end of the month; things are being addressed, accounts are almost all current and most of my people here are happy campers. Now I just need to keep this up so little things don't become big things and I start to ignore them and they become disasters.

My next big thing on the list here for me is to see if it is really possible to buy another property (I know, this puts me further in landlord territory) and lease it out. Started researching today, will make some calls when I get back home next week.

I may not be spending money today, but wow is my TO DO list a long one!

I'm scheduled to go "camping" (read this a bit tongue in cheek........it's a coast to coast resort deal, with mobile homes we rent that sleep 9) next week end, so I'm starting to set things aside for that.....

I've got 2 sewing orders to complete today for appointments tomorrow AM.

Will have my 2 boys here all day today, but I've cooked ahead, so meals should just be a microwave sort of deal; love that.

We're trying to do the first phase of the Extra Vehicle Dance here today; aiming to get most of the rarely driven, excess trailers, etc into a newly carved out section of property........ So, I need to get the rocks picked out of it and mow it to a manageable level prior to noon when the truck with hitch & a backing trailer up sort of brain arrive.

I need to pack for a couple days at my moms, starting tomorrow........which cuts down my prep time for the camping trip to Thurs, Fri & Sat. In one of those days I need to get my van in for a service date; as I'm the driver for this upcoming excursion. My tires are doing a shimmy sort of thing when they hit a certain speed......and I need an oil change sort of pit stop too. If I can find a spare scrap of time this week, I'm getting dangerously close to Have To Have A Haircut time.

With all that said, I'd better get off my duff here and park myself at the sewing machine. Taking coffee & some good listening music with me so I can enjoy my morning...........prior to switching gears and picking rocks!!!

Hope everyone has a blessed Sunday!

I know I'm not the only one that has noticed this............. But, when I write something down and it goes "public" or "live", it takes on a brand new level of importance in my life! I've journaled my entire life, at least since I was in the 5th grade....but this is so much different.

When I write here, especially listing goals, or plans; I'm compelled to make some progress and make it quick, so I have something to come back here and report on!

Magic, mysterious power this blogging business. I'm definately hooked, and my life is so much more organized because of it.

This whole business was in my face again today as the very last of my issues on my Landlord 101 posts has been addressed today. Amazing to me; left to my own devices, I would have ignored a pesky situation or two until they had got totally out of control. And, with the items listed here......I just got busy paying attention to each one until just today, the last little situation got attended to.
(I have added one more piece; but can't address just yet......but it does involve the horse boarding situation since the horse lady sold one of her horses to someone else, I now have 2 horse boarding people....just need to work on some of the boarding agreements to get them up to date)

So, the progress looks like this:
-Horse lady is up to date on rent
-Added horse person paid through the end of 2006
-Parking space for van: talked to the owner, he thought he had auto payment set up, but it had only been set up for a one time payment. Is changed to monthly now & will be caught up by Oct. 1.
-Room mate person has paid for Sept now...and will continue paying half the expenses here from now on. She will also begin paying me the money I helped her with to purchase her vehicle, starting in Oct.
-New RV renters out back: met with them re; the Things That Must Be Changed...and they are making headway. They are paid up too!
-Helped mom with the Please Move Out Letter for her pesky tenant, got that mailed and also listed her vacant apt.
-And, the last little piece here is the Navy rental.........he will pay, he just has no set schedule that I know of. He is more help than anyone else around here, so I should be paying him, technically. But, the agreement was for him to pay half of the electric bill, so we'll stick with that.

In addition to all of these just falling into place, we've worked together to come up with a parking area for everyones added vehicles, trailers and assorted "other" things that came with everyone. Fences are moved and this weekend should see the rocks get picked up and the area mowed, then everyone can start moving things in and clean up the entire piece of property in the process.

I had listed what seemed impossible to me, and given myself all of Sept to begin working on THE LIST.... and here it is the 15th and I'm done with the list, have taken on a bit more in almost all the situations and we've still got half a month left! TA DA and a thank you to everyone who reads this and makes me accountable. Thanks also for all the terrific pointers & suggestions along the way; it is so true, a couple of heads working together on something makes such a difference!!!

Wow, be careful what I write here.....my note to me...

My entry yesterday was about my Sept. goals re; my lack of guts and follow through as a landlord. Well, guess what? My first opportunity actually walked in last night for a meeting with me!

The newest of the new tenants came in, carrying their total rent with them~ in cash even! I had a chance to visit with them a bit and I made it through half of the things on my list here! Yeah for me! They already made a couple of the changes this AM, and will be working on the others. I will give them the other half of my list after they finish this group. We covered parking places, dog barking, night time noise cut off time, neighbors & relations with them.........a biggy here........and the general mess around their unit. Plus the 4 vehicles that appeared in the horse pasture. We also covered the water hook up from the house, he will fix the leaky faucet for me! So, I managed to cover a laundry list of topics I consider to be Hard! (at least for me)

I do have to add one more to the big Sept list however..........I couldn't sleep well last night & came up with another issue. The gentleman that rents a parking space for a van here.....hasn't paid for Aug, nor has he been here this last month to work on his vehicle. So, contacting him, bringing it up to date, or having him move are now added to the list.

Since the parking rent sort of slipped by, I also will come up with a chart of some sort for me to use as a tracking tool each month. I have had a piece of paper I kept track of payments in my usual bill folder here, but it isn't detailed enough and it is too small for all my "people" here. So, that is on my list today too.

But, for the first day........I feel pretty successful & that is a good way to start on my new goal here. It reminded me what a useful tool this journaling is!!

I hate being a landlord. I love owning property and I love to make money with it, but boy.........I hate the landlord role with a passion. I'm not good at it, I end up with tricky little situations because I let stuff slide and hate confrontation.

So........my landlord role needs some work. And, I'm going to write about it so I actually feel compelled to do something about it all.

All of my landlord decisions are pretty directly tied to my finances. So....if I got better at one, the other would benefit, right?

Some things on my initial TO DO list here:
1) Call the horse lady who is boarding 3 horses now but still hasn't paid for August. Also has appropriated a parking space in the carport for hay, not paying for that either. Come to a workable agreement or give her 30 days notice to move 'em out.
2) Review boarding contract with new guy that bought 1 horse from 'horse lady'. He has paid rent through 12.31.06 and has asked to rent one carport space for hay. (need to work that out here, I'm giving one space away as it is, now he wants to rent one....ick)
3) meet with the new RV man & come up with a written rental agreement or have him move. He had agreed to pay rent, but so far I haven't seen it. Many more vehicles than we had talked about have shown up here. Plus a barking dog, no bathroom facilities and a long list of other difficulties. This will definately be my toughest task, as there is a young girl involved and I was in hopes I could assist to see that she got to stay in school.

September will be landlord in training month here.......I've got plenty of issues to work on. Good thing I've got 2 situations that ARE going well, or I'd feel like throwing in the towel.

And, the other goal related to real estate is to make contact with the previous owners of this place. She called last month saying she wanted to buy it back...and I've made 2 attempts to reach her, but haven't connected yet. I want to know if she is serious, so I can start making some headway on that deal. I've had the comparisons done on her current place as well as this one, so I've done my homework, just need to see if she has done hers.

Can't believe August is almost a done deal. I was out today and saw the trees beginning to take on some fall color already. Once that happens, whoosh......it will be Christmas and then the new year. I need to remember to take time to enjoy life and not get caught up in all the busy stuff.

I moved the things out of the antique booth up north....and wouldn't you know, August was my best month there! Took everything out none the less and will re price with the others stores price tags and pop them all into the other booth by next week.

Finished a quick little survey on line for an easy $5.00 today. Nice surprise. I don't usually qualify for many of these.

Even tho I paid the mortage this month for the old house (the new tenants are working & paying for repairs in exchange) I'm still doing OK budget wise. More money in than money out and that is always a good thing.

I've continued to keep my automatic savings funded, as well as my money market and my stocks......so far so good. I can stop these if things start to feel tight, but I would rather cut anything else first.

Finished off my month with a quick trip and lunch with my kiddo that moved out in June. Just a couple hours with him and I'm totally exhausted. A nice reminder why I'm retired.

No new plans for Sept, just keeping up with all my little part time jobs and spending the bare minimum on monthly bills.

I can't believe it is already feeling like fall here in WA state.......a tad foggy/misty like this AM and chilly enough people are searching for slippers here.

August has been interesting here:
-did pull in rental for the extra room
-I had the disaster from the old tenants at the other house, but am already seeing a huge leap in value there, due to the work & money the new tenants are putting in. I am grateful there were no down days at that place.
-did find out the part time recruiter job is ending Sept 30th. Will continue to search out who is awarded the new contract for this & contact them asap
-Jobs are getting tackled & finished, thanks to the Navy man staying on the property! (and he pays rent, can't beat this!...plus he is great to have around, nice, funny, patient with my DD kids)
-room mate person has paid entire amount of her half of the rent!!!!! Can't tell you what a first this is.
-Sewing business is becoming a bit steadier. Advertising now in 2 places regularly. Forget to put it in on Craigs list....dumb when that is free.
-Antique booth, already better at new location, will pull out of old one this next week and be in one place. Should be able to make rent and a profit at the new place the first month, much more traffic.

Think that's it for August.......mainly it's been busy, which feels so odd for me not working full time. I see that it takes more time to paste together these part time efforts of mine, than it did to do the full time job.

Looking ahead to fall here...........
-I've got the room rented til Sept 7th at this point, and a potential new person coming today to talk about the coming year here. Fingers crossed
-I will have to pay the mortage on the other house until Dec, as that was the agreement with the new tenants. But, in trade, I'm getting all the supplies and work done for the remodel over there. I am getting the work done, which I couldn't have done myself, and if I had to pay someone, it would have been WAY more than 4 months mortage. It will be a huge nice house, or 2 smaller nice houses when it's done. They are adding a kitchen to the downstairs, which was never finished, just plumbed in and they are putting a laundry room upstairs so there will truly be 2 entire houses. One 2 bedroom and a 3 bedroom upstairs. Nice. It could almost double the rental income possibilities.
-When the new tenants do start to pay rent at the first of the year, the number we have worked out pays for the monthly mortage, insurance and taxes so there shouldn't be anything I am coming up with in addition. That will be nice.
-And, then there is the possiblity of selling/trading this place to the previous owners. I'm having fun already looking at new properties! Nothing on the horizon that sparks my interest, but I'm actually looking forward to moving, which is soooo totally out of character for me!
-Keeping my resume out there, looking for something else to do (with all my free time) to add to the income stream here.

So, life's full........I'm enjoying this retirement bit and bills seem to get paid. Not sure how, since there really has been a decrease in income as of July, but I'm not going to argue!

Good thing I'm not into House Beautiful & Martha Stewart sort of entertaining here.
With the beginning of the new & improved Antique Booth business, the odd and interesting "collectables" have been collecting, right here in my office/living room area.

I can see everything from a table full of things that are offered for sale on Craigs list, since they are a tad too new to be an antique........or vintage.......We're just hoping there is someone out there looking for just the peculiar collection that is on that table.

Then, there are boxes and bins and tables and buckets and shelves..........oh, my goodness. I am sure stuff is multiplying overnight here!

I did get another truckload of absolutely priceless (????) treasures.......read with more than a touch of sarcasm please........taken into the booth today. Things are looking a bit better. The space has enough furniture pieces now; but could use a few more boxes of small stuff, and then there are the walls. I only have 1 print hung at this point, so need to come up with some other eye catching sorts of things....

We did have at least one sale since yesterday....obviously, we had the vintage glass doorknobs priced right, someone bought all of them! I didn't notice any other holes in the display and I don't like to go ask the staff. I can wait til the end of the month; in fact, I love trying to guess if there were sales or not when I visit the space.

So far, it feels great at this mall....I'm looking forward to spending some time there each week, re stocking and just playing with my displays. Fun stuff AND it makes money. Can't beat that!

I just need to remember the fun part when I look around my house! Neat & tidy we aren't.

Moving and all it entails makes me crazy with just the pondering it phase.......and here I am jumping ahead to thinking about it in real terms now.

After last weeks Oddest Phone Call EVER.........I have to admit I'm really, really hoping the whole offer thing comes to pass & I can truly move. I must be sick!!

Waiting impatiently for my realtor to get back from a week end in Vegas, just playing around ..........and get back to work on gathering comps & such, so we can make plans to go view the potential swap property. I think that will be the first step; to either entertain the swap, or put that idea to rest....and think of buying something else totally.

I am spending spare time searching real estate possibilities already, and I will not buy something else without a bathtub in the master BR. Gads, have I missed that.........and that alone will spur me on to get this bunch of deals moving.

I had the chance to talk with my mom last night and share this whole event with her, she was as surprised as I was with the previous owner now offering to buy back the house! (she is a retired realtor so she has a bit of experience...but nothing like this she said!) We had a few good laughs, looked up the property on a map, made plans to do a 'drive by' and she topped it all off with an offer to use any money she has to make something beneficial happen with this new offer.

We did brainstorm about the 1031 exchange bit, as well as thinking of swapping for the 11 acres and then taking my equity and her $$ and picking up another piece at the same time. I can see over the decades that mom & dads biggest regret when purchasing anything, was to not put less money down on several things, scrimping just a tad more and ending up with twice (or more) stuff in the long run. Mom is a great cheerleader when it comes to real estate deals like this potential one for me........nice to have support all the time!

I need to watch my enthusiasm however, as I don't want the old owners to think I'm too excited. My realtor has already added in an emotional charge, for having my life totally upset by this offer to buy back the property! HA. The idea of moving is becoming an obsession! Off to check the new real estate listings!!!

I don't do the grocery shopping for our household. I do make out the lists however........but today, I did both.

What an amazing place grocery stores have become, at least in my area. My mom took me to her favorite store after we had gone out to an impromptu dinner and I just wandered around sort of in a daze.

The already prepared stuff area was bigger, by far, than the sections with plain food in them. When did that happen? The cafe was as big as the produce section used to be and there was even a take out sushi bar!! This isn't even in downtown Seattle, but way out in the suburbs.

I managed to find all 3 items on my little list, and then splurged on a 'gift' for our Navy man here, I couldn't resist.
He said he has been asking the cook on board his ship to provide him raisens for his oatmeal in the AM and has been told "Sir, the Navy doesn't have raisens". So, of course, I bought him a little package of those little boxes of raisens. I can't wait til he finds them in his in box area here in the house! Worth the money in my book.

So, I made it out of the store with 4 things, and my moms milk. I don't care if I never do the grocery store run again....it was just TOO much stuff for me. I'll be content with listing the things we need in the kitchen on my list; posted on the fridge and then putting the items away when they arrive after someone goes shopping. I'm definately spoiled!

Spent most of the week at my moms again, helping in the gardens as well as getting a few odd jobs off her TO DO list.

I did squeeze in a haircut and an evening of working at one of the part time jobs I seem to be collecting. I also checked out an antique mall in moms town and rented a booth starting this week.

We've got a pretty full house this week end......the young couple are still here, both respite young men are here and the Navy man is back from the trip to Oregon. His ship is now getting a make over so he hasn't got access to showers, etc on board, so we have one more using the bathrooms i& laundry. A quick meeting among all the folks and I think we have a workable bathroom schedule for the near future.

My lousy landlord skills are cropping up again, I've got folks that owe rent and I really, really don't like this part. I would rather not do anything and have them pay me when they could, than say anything. So far, money seems to be coming in at a rate that takes care of the bills, but it would be nice if all the parties paid up without a reminder. Makes me think about doing more retail rental types of investments?? Using a management firm??
Both are sounding inviting now.

My efforts at the $20.00 Challenge began with renting space at a local antique mall here...........and stocking it with 'free to me' items to sell.

Just one catch. Most of it isn't doing that.........selling that is.

So, today I gave my notice and I'm pulling out at the end of August. Admitting failure on this front......but not giving up totally. I like doing this so much, I'm going to give it one more try in a different city, hopefully one with more foot traffic.

This might work out better, since it will be in the town my mom lives in. We can fiddle with the booth together and I'll be a little more attentive to the space, since I'll be at moms anyway. Could end up being a fun thing to do together too...although she hasn't shown any interest so far (and when I started this venture a few years ago, it was originally to sell her things for her.......she didn't wnat a garage sale but needed to clear out 60 years of stuff)

Bottom line...........My Challenge cost me money. I only made rent and a profit one month. The other months, I paid for the privilege of displaying my collectables for other to LOOK AT, not buy. So, a definate money out sort of day here, as I paid the last months rent..... Good thing we're not talking BIG money here, but I the whole experience ended up in the red.

I needed a thank you for an aquaintance & cashed in enough MyPoints to get a $25.00 G/C for Home Depot for the gentleman. He was thrilled, so it was just the ticket.

That left me with a meager number of points, however..........last night my aunt called & asked me to order flowers for her on line... Well, having learned from other MyPoints junkies, I did a simple deal of ordering the posies through 1-800 Flowers, off the MyPoints site. Whoosh........just like that, my point total is looking better and definately on the way back up.

I remember thinking "5 points for reading an email....that will amount to nothing!" when I started this venture. HA. I'm a convert.

Just the G/C for others is a painless little deal here. I can zip through my email list while taking phone calls, or updating lists for work....Like making money for just sitting here. Too easy. No gas to use up, I don't have to go shopping.......just easy money.

I'm no where near the advanced sort that some of you are on here, with the triple sorts of deals & the multiple site savings plans for things..... But, I don't do much shopping in the first place. I'm more than satisfied with my little place in the scope of things and will happily await my next total for another gift card!! 5 Points adds up fast....it's amazing how ones perspective can change.

As a matter of course now, there was no spending again today. With my change in work status, (30 days today) I decided to really tighten up on everything until I could figure out how much I was able to make. Still can't tell what the money in aspect is going to look like, too early to guess too.....need to give my ads probably 6 months to be accurate.

So, no spending it is. I can do this. I've done it before out of necessity, and later on by choice for different reasons each time. So, nothing new. Spending money is truly what is out of character for me. It does show me I have all I need, and then some. Blessed indeed here and more than content.

All meals out of the garden and freezer these days. Yummy home made burgers this evening with a fresh salad and steamed new green beans. Add to that; most of the condiments for the burgers were home canned too, or fresh from the garden. Again, I'm stumped when I continue to run into people that don't garden, never have and don't want to. Even when they complain about the price of groceries they won't entertain the option of planting anything themselves.... Seems like one of those simple solutions to a problem to me!

Worked in the yard today and set up a free to me bird bath in a new garden. Looks great......now it just needs some plants. Will keep an eye out on freecycle for something suitable, or put in a wanted post next Sat.

Last day of the month, I think I've done what I'm supposed to have done re; the part time job and their data base. The only time I find out any info is when I've done something wrong, or omitted something....... There are no directions, or templates to follow. What a silly way to run a business. I know if I've done something outside the lines, I'll get an email tomorrow.........I'm saving the emails, making myself my own procedure book of sorts.

Goals related to $$$ for August

#1 had better be, get the rental RENTED.
#2 continue building the sewing business
#3 send emails to local home schooling groups, advertising the sewing and knitting (thanks to a fellow blogger here for that tip & reminder)
#4 shop and purchase the supplies for the projects the Navy man is going to be taking on this fall.

I would be thrilled if I get that short list completed......

I'm slow on the goals & re capping these days....... Hoping to get this whole area a bit more exact.

I will have my last paycheck this month, which gives me all of July to see how close I get to that with all my part time jobs. Not hoping for miracles here, but at least half would be great. Will get the ad placed in the 2nd newspaper this month!

Aiming for at least half the days to be no spend days, but will have some expenses this month.
Car tabs & prior to that the emission testing and prior to that a bit of repair work, as my car has an electrical snafoo that the guys won't even put it through emissions with. Drat.
Need to purchase some supplies to have on hand for the Navy man (who is working for some of his rent starting this month) to actually work with. Sheet rock & supplies, moulding for the kitchen project, washers for faucets & the like. Have a couple G/C to offset some of these.

Getting a bin full of shoes from a friend today, hoping I can come up with some appropriate (FREE) footwear from this collection, otherwise, I need to buy 2 pair of shoes. My feet are going to complain; working at home is very comfy for feet.

I will add walking to the program here, so I can save money & not have to buy new clothing. Hmmmm what to commit to?? At least 3 times a week for this month...sounds doable. (do need those shoes however)

Thank goodness I can already feel a jump in my energy level. Only my 2nd day here and I'm just wired with the excitement of it all...... I had all my normal chores done around here before lunch!! Unheard of!


______________________
Did buy gas today..........otherwise no money OUT.

Wow, after a long afternoon, my last placement has moved out. His mother was an hour & a half late to pick him up, and naturally that left me seeing sewing customers with my guy here. (not as easy as it may sound)

Finally squeezed all his most important things into her little tiny car and off they drove. What a huge relief.

First thing on the agenda this evening was a shower. After loading that car, it was definately necessary, plus, showering is something I've had to do almost by appointment the last 15 years or so. All of my kids were in line of sight supervision when they were awake, so showering just didn't fit with that plan. It was absolute heaven not to have to fit it in a 30 second time frame~~

Passed along reams of paperwork too, which took a huge work load along with it. I won't miss working with Social Security one bit.

I can't wait to notice all the little things that I get to incorporate back into my life.........lots of things that I probably don't even notice any longer. One thing I can see just from sitting here at my desk, which is truly in what should be a dining room........is I have nothing...I mean nothing sitting around. When all the kids throw things, there really isn't anything here to pick up. A few pieces of furniture, but our house always looks like the people in it have not quite moved in yet. It does make cleaning easy, but it will be nice to bring a few of my things out of hiding and have them around me!!!

Such simple things are going to float my boat.

I got the official notice in the mail today.........It says "your account indicates that there has been a change in your energy consumption." Well, I should only hope so!

We've been trying every trick in the book, including all those mentioned on blogs here, and were just waiting for some sort of tangible reward. TA DA. Started at $150 monthly and they have refigured us at $105. monthly, beginning in Aug.

Of course, the next leap would be to get it below $100..... that number has already become the new challenge. What's $5.00 less anyway??

Not the electric bill, but the gas bill should finally be a zero.....as I bit the bullet and figured out how to turn off the pilot light to the fireplace by myself. I have no idea why that was such a hard task, perhaps because it was just very unfamiliar to me? I was more excited than necessary on this little task!! I have no idea how to re light this, so we should be saving money here!

Still working on the cable and the cell phone bills as well as moms phone & long distance service, so there is still more money to be 'found' in the budget here.

I've been paying on the 2 CC's from the closing the business/icky sister situation now since Jan. and I can see some progress.

I started out with a tad over $10,000 and todays total is $8,472. Just paying the amount due on both, as they are both in zero int. accounts now. (until Mar next year) I don't use either account, so there will be no new charges on them. (grateful I have never been one to charge things if I didn't have the cash)

The 3rd account has been paid off and left open, so I can continue using it for the monthly regular charges and occasional online purchases. It is paid off each month at this point.

Just before there is interest charged on the first 2, I'll pay them off with money from savings and truly call that chapter of my life closed.