Breaking Rules and Re-visiting Goals

Just back from a whirlwind visit home (near Houston) to visit my folks. The trip is exactly three hours and twenty minutes from my door to theirs. Most of the time I have to make a pit stop along the way. When I take Dobby, I stop off at a rest area so I can take him with me into the restroom.

I pulled into a rest area as usual and for the first time noticed a sign that clearly stated “No Pets Allowed in Restroom.” What?? But I can’t leave him in the car! What if he were stolen? And during summer months the car interior heats up far too quickly. Impossible to leave an animal in a car, even with the windows cracked. I might have to disguise him as a human baby and carry him in a pouch. Think it will work?

Time to check in with April goals:

Create a routine, writing at least three hours every (work) day. Still no routine, but I did manage the floating three hour period on days I wasn't on the road, plus more on occasion.

Close e-mail during writing sessions. Yup. 

Close internet during writing sessions, or use internet blocking or my alphasmart. Nope. The internet is like chocolate to me - irresistible. I cannot bring myself to use an internet blocking program; I don’t know why I even wrote that down. I haven’t yet unearthed my alphasmart. I really like typing on my laptop. A lot. And I use Scrivener. Though I know I can transfer my alphasmart stuff to Scrivener, I like working in Scrivener. So, I’ll have to figure this one out. I suppose if I’m hitting my writing goals (I’m now into daily word counts for my fiction), I can ease up on this one.

Practice mindfulness. I googled for some resources and came up with a bewildering number of books and blogs about mindfulness. Finally I downloaded Mindfulness for Dummies to my Kindle, figuring it would give me the basics. So far I like what I’m reading, but I’ve only just begun putting it into practice (as in yesterday). I plan to review this more fully in a future post.

I will now turn these goals into May goals. They’ve been helpful, and I want more time with them. 

Money Goals and How We Save

I am writing down specific budget goals for the year. April’s not too late, right? Kat’s buy-in is critical of course, but I’ll discuss with her after I’m satisfied with them. I’ve been sort of working toward these goals already; just haven’t taken the time to record them.

Most have to do with savings — increasing what I call our “cushion” savings as well as our larger "emergency" savings. The former is a savings account where our checking is. I dip into it easily via on-line banking and use it to chunk surplus income into (Kat gets overtime, so some months are better than others), then to take money out for large unexpected expenses.

The “emergency” savings is intended to support us for a few months in case of a major event that might lead to losing a steady paycheck. It is in a separate bank which I cannot access quite as easily. I have an automatic payment plan set up with my primary bank that sends money over with each paycheck.

Automating our savings is something I wish I had done much, much sooner. Since I started doing it two years ago, the account has grown to nearly $7,000 (which equals only about three months of pared down spending). If it weren’t automated, we would be lucky to have $2,000 there. The other $5,000 would have been frittered away.

I also want to increase our targeted savings for the kitchen update. The problem with this targeted savings is the current set-up. I separate it in Quicken from our cushion savings, but in reality it’s in the same account. I will be tempted to dip into that for “cushion” type expenses if my cushion account doesn’t bear up under the weight of those pesky financial hits that seem to keep coming.

The latest is a kitty issue. Our sweet, thirteen-year-old cat Beano (Kat named her; long story) has an abscessed molar. The cost of finding this out and fixing it will probably be close to $700. We’ll find out the extent of the damage after her blood work comes back, the results of which will determine the vet’s approach to the surgery. Fortunately  we just received a bit of a bonus. I paid the last of my real estate taxes, and I had over-saved, giving me an unplanned for $400.

I’ve mentioned before that we’re in a better situation with savings and debt than we’ve ever been before, and yet my worry over this latest set-back feels about the same as it would have a few years ago. As I left the vet’s office, I worried about Miss Bean of course, but then I started worrying about the fact that we have five senior pets, and are we well enough prepared for the inevitable increase in vet expenses? (Not really). What happens if they all get sick or need surgery at the same time?

So I indulged in a little hyperventilation.

Going back to what I wrote about Murphy vs Providence, I am determined to cultivate gratitude. I will be grateful for the bonus we received just in time to defray the cost of Beano’s surgery; grateful that it wasn’t worse than it is; grateful that we are in a decent financial position and have the resources to handle home and auto and pet and health issues, even if doing so means we can’t have some of the things we want. How many people don’t have these resources? How many have to deal with problems I can’t even imagine dealing with? I say “Thank you” through gritted teeth and hope that the practice  becomes an orientation toward life -- without the gritted teeth.

So there’s my number one financial goal — to continue to practice gratitude and to trust in life’s abundance. Trust that what we need will somehow be there, and to be grateful when it is. I do have more specific goals to work toward and will post them after chatting with Kat.

Of Ferals and Fixed Expenses

Earlier I went out to feed our four feral kitties. I fed three, turned the corner to feed the fourth in his accustomed spot, and my heart sank. Another one. A black male, un-neutered and thin. I fed him, though he wouldn't come to the bowl while I was out. We'll borrow a trap to have him fixed, but I don't know if he'll make it. His eyes look bad and his breathing is labored.

This sounds terrible, but I almost hope he has to be put down (almost). We've rescued many animals over the years. Several have gone to homes or to no-kill shelters, others we've kept. We have three dogs and six indoor cats. Earlier this year, ferals started showing up in the neighborhood. We joined the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition to deal with the problem, and now are caring for four (possibly five) outdoor kitties.

As you can imagine, this is not cheap. We spend an average of $300 a month on food, litter, and treats. We buy high-quality food for our indoor pack, and I'm convinced this has saved us a lot in vet bills over the years. We haven't had a significant vet expense in well over a year (knock on wood), but I know that won't last. Two of our dogs and three of our indoor cats are seniors.

I've been working on our budget, going item by item deciding where to slash. The pet expense is fixed; no way to cut that one. So far I've cut $15 from the cable bill, and Kat and I are discussing slashing it more. That's a pitiful start, but it is a start. This weekend I'll finish up quarterly taxes, then I hope to sit down with Kat and get serious about sketching out new budget goals. Hoo boy. I'd say our biggest challenge is having slightly different philosophies for handling money, but that's a blog post or two (or several dozen) on its own.

Awash in Cash (Sort Of)

Here we are into July, and I'm no closer to making a decision about my business.

Tomorrow Kat and I go on a 5 day vacation with my family -- parents, siblings and their spouses, and lovely nieces and nephews. It's a frugal vacation for all of us. We meet at campgrounds on the nearby San Marcos River, rent tiny duplexes (with the required AC), and haul our own groceries. Five days of visiting, napping, playing cards, reading, and tubing down the river. Bliss!

The sticker shock for us is the price of providing care for our pets while we're gone. Our two big dogs are geriatric now, both with arthritis in their back legs. I researched the best place possible to keep them and found a kennel with private suites and in-door play areas that will give them quiet rest and air-conditioned exercise. For both girls, it's $75.00 a night -- choke! That's almost the cost of our own accommodations!! It's worth it though. We also pay our neighbor's kids $120 to take care of our cats, fish, outdoor ferals, and plants.

We've thought about a house sitter for all the pets, but we have one cat who is very crafty about dashing out the door. She is a house cat and would not make it outside, and we're afraid to lose her if we had someone here letting the dogs in and out. Also, the neighbor's kids are able to make money for back to school stuff, and I know their parents more than appreciate it. So this is just the cost of our going places, which is why we do so little of it (Something I am fine with, being a homebody and not liking to travel much).

We have better cash flow this year than we've had in a long time, and much less worry as a result. All of our travel expenses, including the pet care, will be paid cash, and at the same time, we've managed to bring the balance of our credit card from over $9,000 at the beginning of the year to $2,900.

But I've taken a look at our finances, and a lot of our increased cash comes from sources other than my real estate business. Kat received a significant raise at work last August, and in January of this year, the city extended medical benefits to domestic partners. My being on Kat's health insurance saves us nearly $200 a month, and the insurance is much better than my private insurance, so we're paying less out of pocket for physicals and such.

The cash flow has felt so good, I thought I was making more than I am. If I take my gross and subtract ALL business-related expenses, taxes, and tithe, I've made nearly $5,000 in profit so far this year. The expenses are more than I realized. As you know, $5,000 is not a living wage!! It's a nice supplement, and a big part of the reason that we're not worrying over money nearly as much, but is it worth it for the aggravation and the hours I put in? Could be too early to pull the plug, but I don't feel momentum going forward, and that's my fault. If I can't be passionate about this, I don't think it will work, but God I don't want another failed thing.

So as not to end on a glum note, I have to share that I feel unreasonably happy right now. Well, maybe not unreasonably. I WILL be with family tomorrow, with the very people who would not at all see this as "another failed thing" (and neither would Kat). That's one bad thought I need to somehow bar from this decision-making process.