Four Years of Marriage

Today C. and I have officially been married for four years. It's been quite a journey. Many highs, and lows, that all couples I'm sure experience. Losing his mom last November was rough. It probably has been one of the most difficult experiences I have been faced with. Losing someone you love really puts things in perspective. The budget, the house, a new career none of that seems to matter. Life truly is short. This was not one of our most frugal weekends, but there really is nothing frugal about the casino. We spent yesterday at the casino with my family. I was hoping to come out ahead, "free money" but ended up $60.00 behind. Ugh. I should have stopped while I was ahead. I witnessed my first Pow Wow which I found astonishing. Had a great visit with my parents, nice lunch, and realized I was truly blessed to have so many loved one in my life. My parents have been married forty-four years. Can you imagine forty-four years? My dad tells me not to blink. One minute its four the next its forty. Life truly is short. Today we spent the day in. Relaxing, and spending no money. Back on track of the goal to become debt free.

Back to Blogging

July has come and gone without me posting once on my blog. I'm still stuck in June. I would like to report that I was sailing across the ocean or mountain climbing in Colorado, but I was simply on a break. Taking a break from blogging, a break from budgeting, a break from reaching my goals. I'm starting to understand what happens to bloggers. The same thing has happened to me. We start out strong, committed, we can barely stay away from the computer, but than life steps in. We have to work, pay the bills, make dinner, fold the laundry, call our mothers and the list just keeps going and going. We put off writing even though that is what we really are passionate about. In the end what we want the most comes last. Why is that?
Lately, I feel restless. I'm no longer sleeping well, and I realize my lifestyle has changed. I have been given more responsibilities at work without a pay increase which I find frustrating. I'm not writing like I use to. I'm no longer walking in the evening. For August I'm just trying to get more on track. I might not be able to change my job right now, but I can change the way I feel about it. I can start writing again, commit to my blog, start a new one, submit short stories and articles as I have always planned on doing. I can start walking again. I can go back to school and make a career transition. I can get back to budgeting. I can eventually be financially secure. I can make sure I live, love and laugh more, only I can choose to do that!

Always Changing!

Being thirty-five, I don't consider myself old. But boy, how things have changed in my lifetime. I can't imagine what the world will look like in thirty-five years from now! Manufacturing jobs have left the country, GM has declared bankruptcy, and the world keeps right on moving. I suppose that change is unavoidable. My seventeen year old niece does not believe me when I tell her I did not have a cell phone, or even Internet access at her age. She stares at me blankly when I tell her all of us had land line phones, and I can remember when we didn't even have a cordless. Yes, you actually had to stay in the room where the phone was to use it. I receive another blank stare when I explain if your were out and needed to make a call you had to locate a pay phone. She thinks she might of seen one of those before, but is uncertain! Her big concern is how did we keep in touch with one another. With no Myspace, FaceBook, Instant Messaging or texting. Yes, I explain, it was difficult, we had to pick up the phone and call people and sometimes we would even drive over to visit our friends and family. I know, I know, it sounds like madness. The only thing that is for certain is that things are always changing.

Reality Check-The Budget Isn't Working.

Yes, I've mentioned before, from time to time, that our budget doesn't appear to be working. After spending the last couple of days looking over the budget I realize that I haven't been realistic about what we really spend. For example, we spend $75.00 every month for arthritis medication for our dog, that I hadn't even calculated into our budget. I know, some of you may be frowning, but he just recently turned 14, which is very old for a big dog and I can't bare to watch him suffer. The medication helps him a lot, so saving the $75.00 a month is nonnegotiable. Also, I gave myself an allotted amount for groceries but I didn't account for items like laundry soap, toilet paper, toothpaste. You know the necessary items that everyone needs and always seems to be out of. I am having what Oprah likes to call an "AH HA" moment. Really, how can I honestly do a budget when I'm not accurately keeping track of what I'm spending. So once again I tweaked the budget. I'm on track this month so it will be nice if I can report we stayed in the budget. We are down to one credit card and are planning on doubling up on the payments to get it paid off as soon as possible. We are so tired of paying interest. We have some money in savings that would allow us to pay this card off sooner but with C. still out of work I really am not planning on touching the savings. I sleep better at night knowing we have an emergency fund. If I have learned anything from working with the unemployed it is to be prepared for a job loss. We have been lucky. We have been able to stay on top of our bills and even pay some debt off. I have talked to so many wonderful individuals this year who have not been so lucky. Losing their savings, homes, and livelihood after a job loss. We are hanging tight for now. We are hopeful that the economy is about to turn the corner.

June Goals

Okay. Here are the June goals...

1. Revise the budget-We are down to one credit card!!!Yippee...But I really thought we would be farther along. I need to revise the budget. Where could we be saving more?

2. Look for some new challenges...I'm really not feeling challenged at work any more. I'm busy. But I'm looking for something more. I really need to focus on some new opportunities. The goal is to send out twenty resumes by the end of the month. Which may not be easy in Michigan's economy.

3. Look at some opportunities with working at home or starting my own business. I looked into this months ago, but became frustrated with all of the scams. If anyone is promising me $2500.00 a week, I have to believe that this is to good to be true. I also do not want to send in $49.99 for employment information. If anyone can recommend any good websites I am open for suggestions.

4. Write Everyday..This is a must.I feel better when I write. I want to be a writer. I need to be writing. I have managed to write everyday this month. I really need to keep this up so it becomes a habit.

5. Reflect on my goals. What do I really want? Should I finish my Master's degree? Will it benefit our future?

6. Work on the organization..I started out strong in January but since the weather has turned nicer it has been more difficult.

7. Spend time with loved ones...This is really what it is all about.

Wow..I have made quite the list for myself. But I really feel it is important for me to reflect on the future. Hopefully, I will be able to figure everything out.

Time Never Stands Still

I can't believe the month of May is already over. It came and went in a blink of eye and now June has arrived. As much as I welcome summer, I'm left wondering where did May go? No matter what, time never stands still. The one thing we can always count on. I never even posted my May goals. It was a whirlwind of a month. We celebrated Memorial Day and went to visit family on the other side of Michigan. We have been having a lot of fun, along the way I have accomplished some goals, like paying off another credit card and finishing my financial aid application for school. But as June begins, I feel like I need to become more settled, more focused. What really are my goals? And am I truly working on achieving them? These are scary times, with GM official claiming bankruptcy many people are wondering what will happen to their future. I'm discovering even in bad times you have to overcome the fear. Sometimes taking the risk and plunging into a new direction is the only way to achieve your goals. C. is still laid off, and we certainly have learned to get by for less. Maybe going through the tough times is when you really learn the most about yourself.

The Second Great Depression?

I have really been slacking on my writing lately. I realize I have not posted in awhile. Joining FaceBook, working, organizing, budgeting and simply living have been taking up a lot of time. I always feel better when I'm writing. But somehow the writing always takes the back burner. I really need to start making my writing a priority. It's the middle of May and I haven't even posted my monthly goals yet. Yikes! The good news is I have found a lot of friends on FaceBook that I have lost track of over the years. Friends I went to high school with. Friends I have worked with years ago. The bad news is I'm finding FaceBook a little addicting. Hopefully, the newness will where off soon. More bad news for the economy, especially Michigan, my home state. It really is beautiful here. We have the four seasons, and don't forget The Great Lakes. But all of the jobs we are losing keeps the numbers growing of people fleeing the state. I just read an article that fifty percent of all college graduates in Michigan will be leaving the state. That number is alarming. To make matters worse the governor announced last week that there will be more cuts to the school systems, and they will be laying off hundreds of state police. On top of that Chrysler has officially filed bankruptcy, and GM looks like it isn't far behind. It sounds like Chrysler will close hundreds of dealerships in the near future. So more uncertainty and job losses loom in the air. C. is laid off for now. We are hopeful that he will be called back to work soon. We are hopeful that we will not have to leave Michigan. But we are being realistic that we might have to relocate. We will have to go where the jobs are. Thank goodness for FaceBook so I can stay in touch with people. I'm thankful that we started budgeting months ago. We are now down to one credit card. It would be nice if we didn't have any. But things could certainly be worse. Have we entered the Great Depression Two?