what my life used to look like:
5 am get up...slap the shi* out of that stupid alarm clock, choke down
coffee, take
shower, get dressed
6 am head to work...realize i am out of gas...stop to get some...$30 ching ching...need more coffee 1.50 ching ching...need to pee...go to the public bathroom and smell that intolerable smell as i step over the overflow in the floor and wonder if i am going to get a disease from touching any thing...but, goodness i need to pee...and 30 more minutes till i arrive at work...
7 am made it to work...i am a teacher...already there are kids getting off of the bus...and my day begins...i work my heart out...teaching kids to march nicely to the sound of a drum beat i don't even believe in myself...how i wish i could just tell them the truth...as i know it...but i don't...cause...well....i'm a teacher
12 pm lunch time...ya know...teachers
should get free lunches 5.00 ching ching
4 pm day over...time to go home...oooppsss need to pee...better do that before i get on the road
4:15...sure need a cup of coffee...ill get that now...pull over...1.50 ching ching...and i know i am trying to quit smoking...but, shi*...it has been a horrible day...6.00 ching ching...a little comfort food for the road? yep...5.00 ching ching...
4:45 need to stop by walmart and grab a gallon of milk and few groceries 150.00 ching ching
5:00 it is winter...getting dark...arriving home...feed the dogs (50.00 mth) ...feed the horses (200.00 mth) ching ching
5:30 cook for the family...crap...i forgot to get the olive oil...need it for tonight...so, in the dark...head back to town...olive oil $6 ching ching...anything else? oh yeah, i need some more toothpaste...and think ill try that new shampoo...$50 + gas...i live 5 miles out...ching ching
6:00 back to the dinner thing
7:30 dinner over...dishes cleaned...time for laundry...throw out the scraps...sweep the floor...break up a fight amongst the kiddos...fix broken things....always a daily chore...get kids ready for bed...shower tuck in etc
9:00
lights out...fall into bed
AND THAT IS A GOOD DAY!!!
once a month pay the mortgage on farm (40 acres of land that will never have anything done to it...I DON'T HAVE TIME AND CANT AFFORD IT!!!) and house (good thing i finished before i moved in) (600) ching
student loan (250)
insurance for the month (200)
car pymt (500)
insurance for car (175)
electricity (250) i have a well...so no water bill...ill just burn my trash...that'll save me 20 a month...ooopppss....there goes a new pile to burn...i WILL get to that someday...
food (400)
misc (150)
repairs and maintenance on the place (250) one year i replaced the aircon/heat unit (8500.00) year before that the well
pump needed replacing (1500) and year before that...i had to get the septic tank/fill lines replaced (4000)
yep...credit card payments (700) ching ching
clothes for work and for the kids (150 mth avg) ching ching
recreation (football games...gas...snacks...eating out...movies...proms...senior pictures...xboxes.....NO LIMIT!!!) JUST ADD THAT TO THE CREDIT CARD!!!
property tax (1500 yr)
sales tax (10% or more on EVERYTHING i buy)
interest to the banks...well...it all goes to interest...
50% of my paycheck goes toward, insurance, taxes and medicare
that is the tip of the iceburg....i lived rural...sweet country home not mortgaged out...as a matter of fact...only 50% was owed when i sold it after the boys left home...my life was considered 'simple' among many...i wore nicer clothes...i got my hair and nails done in a salon ( oh yea...150 mth....ching ching) was important though...had to keep up those appearances for all involved)...car was dependable...that was my life...
now...
i sold the farm...the mortgage...the car...pretty much everything i owned...bought a little
cabin and 10 acres on the mountain...not much to look at, but it has potential...but paid cash...and it has potential...(had been dreaming and researching AND experimenting for over 5 years) got me and old car to go to town in...an old truck and trailer for goin places with the horses if i want too...but, i haven't...plenty of space up here...national forest and all...everything else i barter for! oh yeah...got me a tiller, and hand tools for the shop...which was falling down...nothing a few trees couldn't fix ;)
electricity 100 mth
gas 50 mth
food 75 mth
WHO GIVES A CRAP WHAT I LOOK LIKE :) IF I MISSPELL A WORD...LOL...DO IT ON PURPOSE.....JUST CAUSE I CAN! :) I AM ALIVE :) work harder than i ever have...and it feels GREAT!!! can ya make money at it...i dunno...i guess if you are talking bout the green back kind...it is a trade--you would have to give up your solitude...your personal space...your life--never was much of any returns on those investments for me...could have just lived in a tent for a few years in the ditch and worked in the rat race for what return i got on that farm after uncle sam and creditors got a hold of their 'fair share' ...only thing i like trading for these days are things i need instead of things i want...
3 am...wake up...fix coffee...stoke the pot bellied stove...amazing smells fill the room...i sit down in my rocker in front...and soak in all of the wonderful things i have done to the cabin...just my own little space here on this earth...pull out my laptop and communicate with the world for a while...
5 am...back to bed for a nap
7 am...start my day...bacon, eggs and homemade bread this morning
8 am...fresh cup of coffee in tow...step out to feed animals...smell that clean country air....breathe...deep...for however long i want
8:30 all must to do morning chores over...and my time is my own...so...i play with my little
yard critters...or i dig in the dirt....
12-1 lunch time
1-2 nap
2-dark...play and dig...or go fishin....
ummmmm.....dinner...wine ( i make my own) or moonshine (lol...got from an unrevealed source) i dont really like killing things...and i would pretty much have to be starving before i did...so i barter for meat...
hmmmmm....
what else
oh yeah...back to that monthly payment thing
property taxes 800 yr
food for animals (300 mth)
student loans (250 mth)
yep....that's about it...
LOL....there is not much more of a monthly payment thing...sure wish i had done this sooner!!! thing is...i don't want a MORE life any more...that takes
marketing and time and
energy and dealing with osha or epa or some crazy crap like that...usda...dah da dah da da....Lordie knows i don't wont employees who don't show up or give a crap about my losses...i no longer desire that big nice yukon or lq trailer...or 40 acres of NOTHINGNESS...i now have everything...the greenback does me no good up here...a doz eggs, a basket full of fresh veggies or berries...a horse riding lesson or two...manure...a few home made items...etc....whatever needs done...a little job...a sell or barter of whatever...now....that is my new monetary system...and it is REAL :) yep, i work...i work HARD when i work...do i make ends meet...you betcha...AND ALWAYS HAVE SOME LEFT OVER AT THE END OF THE MONTH...LOL...it is AMAZING...and even i dont know how i do it....sitting with an elderly person for a day...mowing a neighbors yard...bushhogging his pasture...feeding his cows...cleaning a house...etc...whatever...whenever...always available to do whatever...just no substitute teaching...lol
soooooo....ummmmm....i dunno...LOL...i suppose 'LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS'....even if it means a SOD HOUSE and homeschooling your children...should mean something here :) most folks don't get that...
opportunity cost comes to mind...or was that opportunity lost...LOL