$49.54 And Other Thoughts

The Tuesday night knitting group meets in the middle of the mall by the yarn store. It's after hours and the other stores are closed but that doesn't mean we can't window shop on our way out the door. Last week, I showed one of the women some high heeled, grey tweed, button ups with a small zipper on the side. Gorgeous. She suggested I buy them to which I replied not without a paycheque.

As we continued walking, we talked about her finances which, like mine, have changed since quitting her job. I shared that realizing fifty dollars a day equalled over eighteen thousand a year was helping me make decisions. Her response was that I needed a job to get those eighteen thousand dollar things and when I said right now my son is my priority, I got the rolled eye look. That look is not unusual. I get it all the time.

KID, MD wrote - Deciding what is actually important as opposed to just something we desire can really make the difference between a person who is actually happy and a person who has a lot of stuff that they want. Anyway, that's what I tell myself when there is something that I want! I've chosen to be home with my children as well, and it has been a hard decision at times, but definitely the better part, I think.

It is a hard decision to stay home with children. It's equally hard to go to work. Life is full of hard decisions some for which there is no right answer and some for which the answer is not the one we want but the one we have to live with.

I have worked full time with children, part time with children, from home with children, and am now on sabbatical with children. There was more understanding for being an at home Mom when my children were younger. Now, with the last child in his final year of high school, I'm often told that it's no big deal, he'll be fine, just get a job. No.

I'm okay with my decision on many levels but particularily because I'm very aware that we live in a stuffitis society and that, with or without children, stuff has to be addressed. Plus, I hate the idea of giving up on what I believe in for things. People are more important than things and yet, I still want the things. That's the struggle.

K.Line wrote - I admire your goal to live within means and to prioritize time over money. It is, after all, just another form of currency.

I'm in my late forties. Fifty is just around the corner and after that sixty, then sixty-five, retirement and a fixed income. Am I able to live on a fixed income? Have I learned how to make need versus want decisions and how to wait for wants? If I'm honest, the answer is no, or at least not nearly as well as I'd like. I need to learn how if I hope to enjoy retirement.

Over the last few weeks, I've realized at a new level how my every day decisions affect my future. If I continue on my current payment plan, I will still have a mortgage when I retire. If I apply some "fifty dollars a day" thinking to debt reduction, it will be gone. It sounds simple and yet it's not a yes or no scenario. Once again, it's about balance - living in the now while planning for the future.

Last week, I paid attention to the things bought and then rarely (or worse never) used like two reversible black and zebra print belts in different widths. I had to have them even though I haven't belted anything in years but... I've never worn them. The purchase was an impulse. Recognizing impulse items is helping me to pay more attention to impulse spending. It's more than I thought and while I'm not sure that it can be totally eliminated, I can be more aware and wiser.

Last week, Victoria wrote about Scaling Back A Good Bit. She talked about not possibly being able to sew all the patterns she has, about understanding her body and the styles that suit it, about learning which fabric she likes to wear and to sew, and about feeling more confident with her sewing. She was writing about living with intention. YES YES YES - and so adaptable to all areas of life.




Yesterday, Howard and I drove to Vernon to visit Fabricland. It was an excuse to get out. We haven't gone anywhere since his surgery at the end of June and I have cabin fever. Before entering the store, I set guidelines - look only at sales and at things not available here at home. And, any purchases have to meet an immediate goal.

Carolyn wrote - I can honestly admit that this is why my fabric collection is so large. I'm constantly stashing against the day that money will be tight because I've been there, done that. Just knowing that it's there in case anything happens soothes me!

I bought two KwikSew patterns and five meters of belting elastic for $49.54. There it is, fifty dollars a day. It is so unbelievably easy to do and yet eighteen thousand a year down on debt is equally desirable. It will take determination and balance because when I retire, I still want a stashed up studio and the ability to keep creating. I want to buy; I just don't want to buy everything or needlessly. I totally understand what Carolyn means about knowing it's there soothes me. Living within my means, practicing balance, being intentional, and making solid decisions are all good choices and HARD.

Elisabeth wrote - I have a blog but after the summer break, I'm having a hard time getting to posting. Any tip on how to maintain a rhythm?

The big question is why do you blog? Everyone's answer will be different. I blog for myself, for daily writing practice, to share ideas, to teach in some form, and to connect with people who share common interests. I blog from a personal, non commercial, perspective about things that interest me knowing that some people will share those interests.

I post weekdays. Originally, this was for practice and reliability but I quickly realized that posting five times a week increased my awareness of the world around me. Off and on today, I'll be thinking about tomorrow's posting. Ideas will come through things that I see, read, or hear. Sometimes, there are more ideas than space so I keep a list. When not currently working on a project, I write about one of the things on the list or - like today - respond to blog comments.

Bev wrote - I spend too much time reading and writing blogs. I usually post only once or twice a week. That's because it takes me 3-4 hours to write. I tend to be overly wordy and diverge onto other topics. It takes some real gut wrenching to chop my posts down to size and then I'm not always successful.

Today's posting is long, wordy, and has very few pictures. It's also opinionated as opposed to factual. Because of that, many readers will click away without finishing. Well written, interesting, to the point, illustrated postings, with lots of white space are more easily read. Chopping our posts and editing our work is both a gift to our readers and to ourselves. We have something to share. We want to be heard. By making it easy to read what we've written, we can be heard and in being heard, we can connect with the community we are a part of.

I learned the value of clean writing through writing articles and web reviews for magazines. Writing to a word count makes every word count, which in turn makes our writing more precise and more read. So does sticking to the topic. Sometimes I'll have a fabulous idea or write the most amazing sequence of words that is completely off topic and I don't want to lose it. So I don't. I add the idea to my list and save the paragraph to a word document for later. Often, it becomes the starting point of a new posting.

Having a format can be helpful. I try to write no more than two paragraphs per illustration and put the info following so that the reader sees the illustration and then learns what it is about. I spell check and proof more than once, try to delete unnecessary words, and avoid run on sentences and paragraphs. Far too often, one paragraph is actually two or more. By breaking the words up, they are easier to read.

Mardel wrote - I guess I am more like Bev in my reading and following habits. Recently, I've put a few blogs on a second tier system, where I look at them briefly once a week or so, or less, and then they are dropped. Nothing personal, they just aren't at the same place I am at the moment and time is limited. I wish I had a consistent time for blogging, sewing, or anything really. It makes life so much easier.

Your second tier system sounds a lot like my blog document. Sometimes a blog comes, then goes, then comes back again. It's about connecting. Several of the blogs that I read are written by women dealing with situations like my own where the needs of others push aside our own and we fight to be seen, heard, and nurtured. I'm amazed at how I ceased to exist once my husband and then my son became ill. I'm rarely asked how I am. Questions are most often about them. I know this is true for these women too. The care of the caregiver is so highly overlooked.

Knowing that I'm not alone and supporting someone else in a similar situation makes my life easier. So does routine. I deal with stress and chaos far better with a routine. I'm thankful that at this point in my life, routine is possible. It hasn't always been and won't always be. I try to maintain routine in whatever form I can if only in the order in which I approach my day - write & water, read & coffee. It helps. I also get up early in order to have time for routine. Whatever works.

AND NOW... this is long enough, with a lot of opinion and few facts, not enough illustrations, and much text. I hope someone makes it to the end - VBG.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - Today is my oldest son's birthday. He's 21 and a wonderful young man. I'm very proud of him and so glad he's in my life. We're having breakfast together this morning, just the two of us.