And then the Horse got sick

I was driving home from work last night, when a friend of mine texted me that my headlight was out.

"Oh, Great. One more thing," I thought.

My car is great, it's worked very hard for me; however, there have been some issues cropping up lately.  Last winter a chip in my windshield turned into a crack, which I've been meaning to get fixed for almost a year now.  There is a belt that been consistently screeching at me for a month now.  And, there is some kind of issue with my wheels.

So, I took the car to the shop today.  For three hundred and fifty dollars I received a new headlight, a new drive belt, and new brake pads (installed).  But of course, where did the money to pa for this come from?  Well, yes my job is the basic answer, but was this money already earmarked for another purpose -- probably.

Like the federal government we often pre-spend money, and pretend that we have pre-saved the money to pay for it.  I think it's rather obvious how this leads to deficit spending.  There has to be a better way, but what exactly does that look like?  Stuffing money under your mattress is not the best, though perhaps it's the most honest.  How can you make plans which require money you don't have, without spending the money ahead of time?

There is a common sense financial concept called an emergency fund.  This is the liquid capital that you keep available for unplanned expenses (broken car, plumbing repairs, etc.) -- mattress money.  How to calculate the proper amount to store in the mattress? One thousand? Five thousand? Ten thousand?  What is the answer.

Here is a proposal.  It's the amount of your most expensive month.  This plan requires that you know how much you spend per month; however, if you can cover all your bills for a month, and you aren't living beyond your means regularly, then you can spend a month figuring out how to take care of this sudden issue without missing any regular (expected) bills etc.   You can use this account for any unexpected expenses, but you have to pay it back up.

So this is another plan for the farm this year.  Build up the soil with some emergency fund fertilizer. 

Working on Kitchen

This weekend I hope to get a kitchen redo.  I've created a slideshow presentation to help myself make decisions about what I need to do (kinda like this blog it helps collect my thoughts).  Here is a before picture for those that care.

I see this kitchen as the lungs/guts of the house.  Everything comes in through here, and goes out through here.  There are several problems with that flow (besides the fact that it's a small kitchen).  It's funny how much space is covered by cabinets, and therefore inaccessible.  Wish me luck.

The Back Yard

Here's the backyard currently.  A relatively productive bell pepper patch in the middle of a lawn.  My goal for this year is to increase the number of plants, and add an outdoor deck/theater/planetarium/...

No Harvest this Christmas

I have done a poor job of saving and planning in 2015.  My desire is to go out and spend lots of money on the gifts for my family and friends, like always.  Every other year I have done so.  Standing in a field of winter grass I feel at ease with giving.  Of course, I run into problems.

First, I am almost never happy with the gifts that I give (which mostly amount to money).  There is the immediate gift of food or fun which lasts for the day.  Then there is the kind of gift that will be there for years to follow, and be useful.  I often spend too much on the former because I am unable to determine, or afford the latter.

Second, I am often running on fumes when the bills of the new year come due.  I stand there on the dirt in the same position I was 12 months earlier.  Knowing that I will not be able to provide any better Christmas that year.

Therefore, I have decided to spend less money on Christmas this year, and increase the amount of time I spend on gifts.  Of course, I cannot post what I am working on here (in case someone looks); however, after Christmas I will be posting some of what I've done this year.

One thing I am trying is buying empty boxes and spending the month filling them.

Winter Grass

Sometimes in early winter, grass will sprout and the yard will look like its getting greener, but this is false.  The winter grass will be gone before spring, and the dirt will be back.  I've fallen victim to this winter grass in the form of money and success time and again.  Life can start to look pretty good, but then the season changes and all that green is gone and you're back to dirt again.

Right now I'm looking at winter grass all around me.  I know that it will soon be gone, and I should not let it distract me from the hard work I need to do in order to get the real seeds to take root and grow.  This blog is going to be my progress report to myself.  Perhaps it will be inspiring to others as well.