26 July 2020
Day 21 Results
It worked. Our car gas bill and house gas bills both came in small this month and those two amounts offset the grocery highs from the last two weeks. We're actually on target to finish the final stretch of the month with full money. We also still have our date fund in place, so this weekend I get to buy the foods we need for the house, but I can also buy us some fun dinner food items and some beer. July was rough, but it did turn out okay. My wife's major goal of finishing out our funds for the month still happened, so I kept my promise to her. In the end, it was a happy ending. August can be even better, but I don't feel like we lost. This thing is starting to work.
27 July 2020
Day 22 Results
Things this week are going okay. I'm excited that I'm getting closer to the end of the month. I see August as a second wind. I can reestablish my goals as a milestone and re-look at everything. I am beginning to understand what this blog is and what it isn't. I think people would prefer videos over written blogs. I may still end up doing that, but my goal right now is finish out the 66 days and then if I decide to make videos maybe use the blogs as the content for the videos that I do later. With the kids starting virtual school in September I don't see having alot of free time. This might be something I undertake in 2021. We'll see.
28 July 2020
Day 23 Results
Been following the rules pretty well. I'm excited that we're getting closer to the end of the month and all of our major goals happened like we wanted. My wife is very happy. We've had some challenges and there were some hiccups but the stuff that mattered remained safe. A small win. Still need to win the war, but each victory still should be celebrated. I'm excited to see what August looks like.
29 July 2020
Day 24 Results
Today we got hit by a bill from AAA for $200. I think we would have normally ignored it and paid it, but today it irked us and we decided to look into it. I think I'm going to write an article about downgrading subscriptions and my attitude about subscription payments in general. By downgrading our membership today we found out we're probably going to get the same level of service when it comes to the stuff we care about, but we won't be paying for the extra stuff that the company was sneaking onto our bill because of the exclusive sounding name. In other words the core service was the same, but the extra stuff had nothing to do with the core service. How many times do we do that? I know we do it with cable and internet. I assume we do it with our phones. How much could we save a month if we backed things down? Interesting.
30 July 2020
Day 25 Results
Was able to successfully fight off a store urge today. It was easier this time. I know we have enough to do it, and not hurt ourselves, but the trip I'll do on Saturday will be epic if I just wait and do it then. Nice to see that I'm gaining control over myself. One more day and this month is over. Super exciting.
31 July 2020
Day 26 Results
Tomorrow will be August. I have great plans for next month. I intend to take my blow money. Split it into thirds. One third will go into investing. I'll set aside money for beer at the beginning and then just sit. My major plan is to do as little as possible with money until the very end. I want the feeling of scarcity and month length to vanish. It's gotten annoying. If I want to make extra cash this month I'll be doing survey work to earn new money outside of my pre-established money. This is the last month before school starts, so I want to make sure I'm chill, that I'm waking up early in the morning per the new schedule, and that this has become normal before September. I do not want to try to figure this out last minute. It won't work. New beginnings. Very exciting.
01 August 2020
Today was the first day of August. I felt good. I don't feel as panicked as I have been getting when things were just out there. I have my money in hand, and I feel like I can slow things down, and manage them better. It's a good feeling. Going to see how this thing works out. I have a plan to sit down and come up with a slowed down version for the month. I want to be real careful this go around. July got a little messy. It worked out, but I was a little nervous, and I'm tired of feeling that way.
02 August 2020
So far so good. I committed to a plan where I get to hit the store two times a week. Saturdays are official grocery days, and I have what I need to cover them. Wednesdays are also permitted. I can go out, give myself some breathing room and split the week into smaller bits. I'm hoping I eventually get away from needing that crutch, but for now it's a welcome addition to my week. I'm not breaking a rule, the rule allows me to do it, so it feels different. Still need to cut this alcohol stuff down. It's expensive and pretty silly, but until I can manage it, this works for now.
03 August 2020
Day 29 ResultsIt's kind of funny. Behaving with money can feel like astrophysics. If you believe that everything is created from particles that work together to form more complex things, money seems to work the same way. Dave Ramsey talks about how if you do good things, then the heavens tend to work in your favor because your good action gets rewarded. This appears to be one of those things. I started to behave with money, and my budget has been surprising me with wins that I didn't expect. My insurance company gave us a refund. My water and gas bills both came in low. I expected to pay a little bit more on the house this month, but we ended up being able to scrounge up 600 bucks that I didn't expect to have. It's really cool. I hope it keeps happening. Either way. Awesome.
04 August 2020
Tomorrow I get to go grocery shopping per the plan. I'm excited to see how it goes. I really want to get this grocery shopping stuff under control. My life would be so much more simple if that things stopped being a worry. I enjoy the trips, and I love buying stuff, but I really hate having to manage things when I spend too much, and when I have to figure out other weeks because I didn't keep the numbers good. It would be so much better if I went in with an amount, and only spent that much. Then I'd feel confident about things and I could use my brain in a better way. That's going to be come a goal for August. Get the groceries good.
05 August 2020
Day 31 Results
Not bad. I went to the store. I followed my plan. Things came in a little high, but I think I can still do it if I'm careful. I knocked out more then half of the week's list and also spent 80 of our dollars. Only having 150 looks scary, but so long as people don't start adding stuff last minute, I think we can do it. I also bought a little bit more beer then I should have, but I noticed it, and I have a way to get back on track pretty easily. Normally that isn't something I can do, because I go overboard. I still have to do it, but I think I might stick to things this time. Won't know until Saturday, but things are looking pretty good right now. I'm excited.
06 August 2020
Day 32 Results
Tomorrow is the half way point. Spending wise it's gotten a little easier. Not perfect, but better so long as I keep doing it long term this month. Writing articles has been a lot harder. I get some wins occasionally, but I have to think alot harder then I did when I started this. I also had some social media drama pop up in the interim. Not a big deal, but I got flagged by one of the services as a spammer, and my account was temporarily suspended. I reached out to them, and it was a misunderstanding, but it didn't look like I would get it back. I was about to write it off. I have to admit, I've found this social media stuff to be more complicated then I would have though. I know some people find it really easy, but I don't belong to a community like other people do, so it's hard for me to know if my actions are correct when I try different things. I just go for it, and see if it works. I'm glad my household doesn't rely on me doing well here. I mostly do this for therapy and personal reflection. It keeps my brain quiet. The world has been going crazy. This keeps me from going crazy myself, so I find it valuable.
07 August 2020
Day 33 Results
Today is the half way point. Time to see how things are going.
I found that the spending side of things did run into some trouble, but the urge to continue has lessened. I think talking about it so much has kept it from being ignored or downplayed. I also found that writing every day keeps me from worrying or stressing about it non-stop. It quiets things down. This reduction in panic is helping me to not do things out of desperation. If nothing else happens I'm happy for that. I'm curious about how the rest of this goes. Especially with things getting closer to school.
08 August 2020
Day 34 Results
I had a major break through today. I went to the store like I have been doing, but today I stayed within our budget. I also took a day off yesterday and didn't drink the beer I had in the house. I just put it away and went to bed on time. So tonight I got to drink the beer that I didn't use up the day before, I get to watch a movie and then head to bed. I still have more beer left over, and tomorrow I head to the store to finish out our grocery list and I'm on target to complete out the entire week on budget without any problems.
09 August 2020
Day 35 Results
I did it! I went to the store with a plan, and I stuck to it. I even had four dollars left over. I got to show my receipt to my wife proudly like a little kid with a report card. I was surrounded by temptations, but I completely walked past everything and stuck to my guns. This week was a total success. Also if I don't drink this Wednesday and save what I have for Saturday I'm actually completely caught up for the month. I just need to maintain everything from that point forward and August will be clean. This is very exciting. I hope that I don't mess it up.
10 August 2020
Day 36 Results
Beginning of a new week. Still going strong. Went to bed on time and had an eventful day. Got up early. Got what I needed to get done. Kids got outside. We went on a walk. Saw some strange caterpillars. Got our chores done. Wife came home to a balanced home. Three more weeks and the weird school thing begins. Even more important that I get things working again now. I won't have time once September starts. I need to be in the game before that point. Starting to accept things. Helping me to keep calm. Helping me cope. This challenge has been good for me. It's straightening me out.
11 August 2020
Day 37 Results
Day 37 Results
My wife and I started a will using a piece of will software. I hate having to talk about stuff like that, but I know it's necessary. I lived through two versions of a funeral. One had a will with planning, and the other didn't. Two very different experiences. I'm going to put together an article about it and tell that story. Going to use this journal day to write it down and remind myself. Had a little slip up last night, but I can still make this work. I drank my beer from Saturday that was supposed to last until Wednesday. Think I'm going to skip Wednesday this week, and see how I feel on Saturday. If I can wait until the following Wednesday I'll be completely okay and I can breathe a sigh of relief. Just not sure if I'll last that long. I get weird when I have to behave for too long. It's been easier, but I'm not perfect yet.
12 August 2020
Day 38 Results
Day 39 Results
Day 38 Results
I read through the will paperwork today. It's pretty cool. You get to see how the process works at a basic level. You get to understand where you might want more attention, and why hiring an estate planner might be worth while. I do like the peace of mind that having something in place provides. It's just one more thing that I did to help people out. What a great gift.
13 August 2020
Day 39 Results
Getting closer to the weekend. I still find that I'm not perfect, but I do find the process of looking at this situation long term has been really valuable. Instead of just waking up and things happening, you have to keep talking about it, and you have to decide if you want an action to go a certain way, or whether not doing it will wreck what you're trying to do. You always get permission to do whatever you want, but a part of you watches it more carefully and keeps asking you if you want to risk it. Would you rather keep moving forward and make it happen, or do you want to do the other thing and pay for the mistake? I've been stopping myself more because of that. There are consequences and the person I'm hurting is myself. That doesn't make sense.
14 August 2020
Day 40 Results
Took our car into the shop today to get a normal oil change. Found out our car is getting old and a seal behind the engine broke and is starting to leak out oil. Earlier in the year, my wife wanted to set up a car fund in case the cars needed repairs outside of the budget. I agreed to it. Glad I did. Bill to have the car fixed is going to be around $1600. We had it, because we saved it ahead of time. The me of old would have been really hurt by something like this. It's still a lot of money, but the situation feels different, because a plan was in place. Planning really saves your hide if you do it. Have a plan.
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