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Archive for November, 2006

Hardly Spending Days

November 28th, 2006 at 12:19 pm

I did my part over the holiday weekend. I spent nothing on Friday and Saturday. Sunday, I bought the local newspapers and, when a valve under the kitchen sink broke, I spent $6 on a new valve that I installed myself, using borrowed tools. (That's the first time I ever attempted this type of plumbing job, so I saved about $100 minimum doing it myself.) I spent $10 to top off my gas tank yesterday morning. I plan on spending nothing today.

This is NOT the same as bringing in more money, but it is the second best thing.

Blue Thanksgving -- Edited

November 25th, 2006 at 02:23 pm

[for some reason I couldn't edit this post the usual way, so . . .]

Well, I haven't moved an inch in resolving any of my money situations since I started this blog six weeks ago. I haven't even kept up with a committment to continue posting here . . . or to start tracking what I spend.

This year, like all Thanksgivings, I got paid on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Made the week before go by effortlessly -- woo-hoo! I get paid early. "Splurged" and got shoes for all three of my kids. Bought unbudgeted tickets for a holiday performance my daughter is performing in. Made good on a couple of unpaid bills. Paid some current bills.

Thanksgiving morning, I realized I had spent all my paycheck, except maybe enough to but gas for the car for two weeks.

And, of course, the next paycheck, coming on the usual Friday, is two days LATER than this one.

My wife (we're estranged but still living in the same place) is a proponent of the Laws of Abundance, that mystical (though some might say self-evident) approach to money. I've read the books she has pushed on me and I've made faint-hearted attempts to greet each day with an acknowledgement that the world is an abundant place, that every dollar I need is already there in the universe.

But it doesn't last.

What gets me through the weekend is knowing that I have only one unpaid bill that is likely to generate a phone call, and that I may get through the weekend without having to spend any more money.

But mentally and psychically, I feel bankrupt. Which, of course, is the opposite of feeling abundant.

- - - -

An important addendum -- the Friday before Thanksgiving my wife was in a serious car accident. She's fine -- she walked away from a crash scene in which four cars were totalled. Insurance will take care of any lingering health issues, as well as the car replacement. There is the mental trauma she has to overcome, plus the inevitable hassles of dealing with insurance companies and car dealers.

So, the basic thanksgiving this year, especially for our three kids, was that she survived. Material goods and needs pale in comparison.