Reboot Frugality

In May I made some huge changes in my spending habits in order to curb overspending and work towards some hard core saving.  Well, I should say that I tried.  I did take a huge step by making my finances a little more transparent, something I would have never done before.

Some crazy things happened though.  The least crazy being some medical bills that had been piling up due to the past year's illnesses.  Then my poor Honey-cat needed an emergency vet visit to fix a portion of her tail that I caught in the front door after coming home from a doctor visit in Sacramento (she's healed up perfectly, no permanent damage!).  Oh and my best friend got married (while I helped her setup and maintain a budget for her own wedding, I didn't make a budget for me or if I did I didn't stick to it...at all).  That was all in just the first couple weeks of June.  Ouch!  Obviously, July needs more discipline.

The second to last week of June, Jeff's temp assignment ended.  To date, he's still looking for work. So far it's only been a week and a half, and I'm honestly not as stressed about it  now as I was the two weeks leading up to his last day.  He's a hard worker, he can learn just about anything, and he has a really likable personality.  I'm just hoping whatever he finds next is even more enjoyable and longer term (read: permanent) than what he's done so far.  His happiness is most important.  Money will follow.  Eventually.  Right?

My work front is apparently stable.  I have a weird feeling about things though.  Nothing in particular.  Call it intuition, but it makes me antsy.  Most days I don't let it get to me.  I try to do my best (although that's admittedly difficult while being packed into a sardine, being constantly interrupted or distracted by office noise from the cramped conditions) work and just focus on my projects.

But with that latent anxiety, I would be STUPID not to have a backup plan.  I've been watching job sites for the last week just to see what skill sets are in demand so I can continue to challenge myself to stay relevant.  I'm honestly not interested in changing jobs.  Despite my uncomfortable seating arrangement, I love my job and the people I work with.  But still, the best time to look is while you are employed.

However, I am primarily looking to supplement my income through other projects.  I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a cubicle, in front of a computer, coding.  I want to have a flexible schedule doing more creative ventures, like YOGA!  Last Saturday I kicked off my first yoga class in my living room for friends.  I won't spend a lot of time talking about it since I have another blog I've dedicated to that project (and a hopeful future project in simple living/personal organization).  I also have a Facebook page you should totally "Like"!  This is something I have wanted to do for a long time.  I'm using the small class fee I am collecting to help subsidize getting my certification so I can work with a studio and a more diverse client base.

I also have other ideas I may or may not experiment with to help bring in extra income.

Why all the income supplementation?

Why not?

I'm celebrating 30 years of life come September.  While I have done a number of amazing things I am very proud of, I want more.  I'd like to spend a few days at Disneyland to celebrate my birthday (including pictures will all the Disney princesses, of course) and we're planning a tour of Europe in December.  It's possible to do this with one income, but just barely.

Maybe I want too much.  Maybe I'm just being a ridiculous little girl chasing after unrealistic dreams.  Maybe everyone will laugh at me.

You know, I'll be laughing too when I'm having lunch with Ariel or sitting with my friends in a cafe in Amsterdam or stretching into Pigeon pose among the sheep in Wales.

On the road

I am writing this from my iPhone while lazing in a hotel bed in lovely Auburn, CA. As a computer programmer, it is rare that I get to visit our sales offices throughout the state, but due to an office plague, I get an opportunity to get away from my desk and on the open road to help our techs deploy new equipment. I really do love it. Our sales personnel are not shy about sharing their feelings about our hardware and software solutions. It's an opportunity to get honest feedback to think about current problems and how to solve them.

I just love to travel. There's a lot to see in this beautiful state. Lots of interesting people to see and meet. Lots of new experiences to be had.

I used to travel two weekends out of every month. At some point it dwindled to maybe two or three weekends every year. I certainly make more than I did, but I never seem to have the money. Now I have a mortgage and a house to maintain, a family to take care of, and an endless to do list to conquer. Over the last year, I have taken steps to just do what is important and stopped stressing about non-critical tasks. Still, there is always something holding me back.

I think it started when my ex-husband started working Saturdays. Naturally I wanted to share my experiences with him but it becMe increasingly difficult to plan around his schedule. Ironically my boyfriend so works weekends. In fact in the month of November we only have two days off together. Thanksgiving Day and the day after. It's a little sad.

But I love traveling. I'm thankful for an opportunity to do some (and get paid!) this week. Maybe this will help encourage me to get out some more in the future. Afterall, I do have that annoying fear of snow I promised to work on getting over this winter.