I can tell that working two jobs has earned me some endurance. I was dragging a for a few days after I started working at Walmart now I can make eleven o'clock with no problem.
My coworkers have had a tough time adjusting to twelve hour shifts but I've done pretty well getting through the day. It's not easy but by the time it's over I've still got a little left in the tank.
Another two weeks of this and I'd be fine for all twelve hours but as I said yesterday I'd probably have to start working a earlier shift so I could get my hours in and make it to Walmart. They probably won't take me off of the schedule again like they did this week. Well I do work there right after work tomorrow but I get off earlier too.
The overtime count so far is twelve hours. That's the exact same money wise as twelve five hour shifts at Walmart that I've been working. So three days overtime is the same as a little over two weeks at Walmart.
Strange how that works but that's it, almost down to the dollar in fact. I'm serious about this financial change taking place, for the first time I've got more than just me to consider and it's important to get these ducks all rowed up and standing at attention. A few months of this is worth the rewards later!
Eye on the prize!
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Two More!
Tonight and tomorrow and then the overtime spigot might close off for us. This is a three day weekend approaching and they will measure the overtime to the progress worked thus far.
If we get overtime next week I'll have to stay on the Walmart schedule at the same time and my company will have to let me adjust to that. I would likely come in and start work at six, get my twelve in and then work until eleven that night.
Yeah that is possible, unlikely though as my company doesn't like to pay overtime. It'd be great though as it'd be a lot of extra cash and that debt snowball would have a turbo boost down the hill for a couple of checks!
We'll wait and see what happens though.
I slept a lot better last night. Right after I got home I took some Nyquil and went to bed. I couldn't handle today being as rough as yesterday was. I needed sleep and rest badly. I got that! I'm good to go today for a twelve hour shift! Yeah I've still got the symptoms of a head cold but at least I've got the sleep I needed to help my body recover.
I'll be ok today, I'll repeat the process tonight and then on Friday it's back to working two jobs as I go to start my Walmart shift right at five o'clock.
Eye on the prize!
If we get overtime next week I'll have to stay on the Walmart schedule at the same time and my company will have to let me adjust to that. I would likely come in and start work at six, get my twelve in and then work until eleven that night.
Yeah that is possible, unlikely though as my company doesn't like to pay overtime. It'd be great though as it'd be a lot of extra cash and that debt snowball would have a turbo boost down the hill for a couple of checks!
We'll wait and see what happens though.
I slept a lot better last night. Right after I got home I took some Nyquil and went to bed. I couldn't handle today being as rough as yesterday was. I needed sleep and rest badly. I got that! I'm good to go today for a twelve hour shift! Yeah I've still got the symptoms of a head cold but at least I've got the sleep I needed to help my body recover.
I'll be ok today, I'll repeat the process tonight and then on Friday it's back to working two jobs as I go to start my Walmart shift right at five o'clock.
Eye on the prize!
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Little Sleep
My first twelve went well at work. The downside is that I've got a quarter of a head cold going on and it has kept me awake most of the night. I'm feeling in bad shape this morning and could sleep for a few hours but I can't afford to miss today at work.
I'll tough it out because that's what I do. That's the kind of stuff I'll do for my family and our goal.
Eye on the prize!
I'll tough it out because that's what I do. That's the kind of stuff I'll do for my family and our goal.
Eye on the prize!
Monday, October 03, 2011
Wonderful Day Off
Yeah I didn't do much but made a roast and potatoes in the crock pot for supper but by golly it was a great day off! I'll be home late tonight but over all I'll be making more money and it'll roll that debt snowball along faster and faster! Yeah the overtime starts today, we'll hit it hard for the next four days and I think it'll likely be over with after that.
Sixteen hours is a lot though and I'm happy to have it.
My fantasy teams did ok yesterday. In the keeper league I'm up by eleven points. Ten and his Legend team have one player left tonight. I can lose easily if the player does well. In the other league I'm up by one point and on the verge of my first win. One league my team is good, in the other league I suck. Tough year!
Sixteen hours is a lot though and I'm happy to have it.
My fantasy teams did ok yesterday. In the keeper league I'm up by eleven points. Ten and his Legend team have one player left tonight. I can lose easily if the player does well. In the other league I'm up by one point and on the verge of my first win. One league my team is good, in the other league I suck. Tough year!
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Still Employed
Yesterday was a super busy day at Walmart. Not only was it the day I was supposed to talk to my immediate supervisor and get a decision on next week's schedule change but it was also a Saturday and food stamp day. Those three factors combined in a very rushed and frantic shift.
First off I talked to my manager and she said she hated to let me off as I was closing but she did take me off of the schedule. So that's all good. I'm still a Walmart employee. I told her that I wanted to be seen as reliable and if she needed me to be there to call me and I'd come in after I clocked out and work the last two hours of the shift from nine to eleven. She didn't think it would come to that but said she would call if she needed me there.
Second off Saturday is a very busy day for Walmart. Everyone does their shopping at the same time. What happens when you combine a Saturday with the state's first of three food stamp days is nothing short of frantically paced stocking and refilling! It's almost a video game in real life. You grab a cart, grab what needs to go out, rush it out and stock it then head back in where something else has to go out right after! It's all day and it's hectic.
By the end of the day your back hurts, your legs ache, and you want to chill. And chill I did! I brought home some pizza materials and made The Date and I a Boboli pizza. After that I texted Abostang and told him I was probably going to start my day off, my first day off since late August, with a slight hangover.
He texted me back and said that he was at a local club with another friend that I've had for over twenty years just hanging out. So The Date said she would drive me up there and pick me up when I wanted to come back home! She even gave me a few dollars for the evening:) How cool is that for a wife to do!?!?
Today is very sweet so far! I feel great, no hangover. I was a little buzzed but not falling down drunk. Not even really staggering around drunk, I could walk fine. Nice morning out, I had coffee and an apple for breakfast and now I'm getting ready to watch some football and get my laundry going. Next week is going to be a huge boon for the debt snowball. Sixteen hours of overtime will be a great boost to what gets paid off next and is one step closer to being debt free!
Eye on the prize!
First off I talked to my manager and she said she hated to let me off as I was closing but she did take me off of the schedule. So that's all good. I'm still a Walmart employee. I told her that I wanted to be seen as reliable and if she needed me to be there to call me and I'd come in after I clocked out and work the last two hours of the shift from nine to eleven. She didn't think it would come to that but said she would call if she needed me there.
Second off Saturday is a very busy day for Walmart. Everyone does their shopping at the same time. What happens when you combine a Saturday with the state's first of three food stamp days is nothing short of frantically paced stocking and refilling! It's almost a video game in real life. You grab a cart, grab what needs to go out, rush it out and stock it then head back in where something else has to go out right after! It's all day and it's hectic.
By the end of the day your back hurts, your legs ache, and you want to chill. And chill I did! I brought home some pizza materials and made The Date and I a Boboli pizza. After that I texted Abostang and told him I was probably going to start my day off, my first day off since late August, with a slight hangover.
He texted me back and said that he was at a local club with another friend that I've had for over twenty years just hanging out. So The Date said she would drive me up there and pick me up when I wanted to come back home! She even gave me a few dollars for the evening:) How cool is that for a wife to do!?!?
Today is very sweet so far! I feel great, no hangover. I was a little buzzed but not falling down drunk. Not even really staggering around drunk, I could walk fine. Nice morning out, I had coffee and an apple for breakfast and now I'm getting ready to watch some football and get my laundry going. Next week is going to be a huge boon for the debt snowball. Sixteen hours of overtime will be a great boost to what gets paid off next and is one step closer to being debt free!
Eye on the prize!
Saturday, October 01, 2011
New Dilemma
At work yesterday, the main job not Walmart, I was informed that we'll be working sixteen hours of overtime this upcoming week. I knew right then I'd have to inform Walmart of having to be taken off of the schedule for three days in the evenings.
I'm already off Monday evening and we are not working overtime on Friday so I'd only be gone from Walmart on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. I'd return back to Walmart on Friday for my normal shift. I told the managers and they were less than thrilled but said they'd give me an answer today.
Here's the dilemma, overtime at my main job is five times the pay, literally. I can work one single overtime hour and it's the equivalent of working a five hour shift at Walmart. So sixteen overtime hours is the same as working sixteen shifts of what I've been working at Walmart. That's a little over three working weeks as I work five days and get two off per week.
It's a no brainer, if they won't let me off I'll give them my badge and tell them it's been great, thank you for the job while it lasted. I can find another eight dollar an hour job without a problem. Yeah this job has been pretty solid, not going to lie about that. I'd hate to see it go away right now. It's a needed job and it's been a huge help in the debt snowball.
Wow, didn't think I'd say that but it's true! The managers have been coming around and getting to know they can depend on me lately. They aren't like someone I'd go have a drink with or anything but they've been decent people lately, they are doing their jobs and have a ton of responsibilities to do each shift. The dirty secret is, and one I keep to myself, I probably make at least three times what they make as well and put in less hours to do it. These people work a ton of hours.
For the right people Walmart is a good career move. It really is and I'm happy I'm there right now. It's really up to them if I keep this job or not. I'm one of the better workers they have now after I've gotten up to speed. I'm reliable, I don't call in like one of my coworkers has repeatedly the past two weeks, and I don't hide and screw off for a whole shift like another coworker does when I'm around.
I've got three great coworkers though and they can really do work, they are diligent and do good jobs! All in all I'm really thrilled that overtime has come up at work, I'm getting to the point now where Walmart is an easy job and the challenge is going away a little.
My choice is simple and clear but one way or the other the debt snowball isn't stopping until it's finished. By the end of my shift today at the latest I'll either be in the job market again or I'll be the same as I am now:)
Eye on the prize!
I'm already off Monday evening and we are not working overtime on Friday so I'd only be gone from Walmart on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. I'd return back to Walmart on Friday for my normal shift. I told the managers and they were less than thrilled but said they'd give me an answer today.
Here's the dilemma, overtime at my main job is five times the pay, literally. I can work one single overtime hour and it's the equivalent of working a five hour shift at Walmart. So sixteen overtime hours is the same as working sixteen shifts of what I've been working at Walmart. That's a little over three working weeks as I work five days and get two off per week.
It's a no brainer, if they won't let me off I'll give them my badge and tell them it's been great, thank you for the job while it lasted. I can find another eight dollar an hour job without a problem. Yeah this job has been pretty solid, not going to lie about that. I'd hate to see it go away right now. It's a needed job and it's been a huge help in the debt snowball.
Wow, didn't think I'd say that but it's true! The managers have been coming around and getting to know they can depend on me lately. They aren't like someone I'd go have a drink with or anything but they've been decent people lately, they are doing their jobs and have a ton of responsibilities to do each shift. The dirty secret is, and one I keep to myself, I probably make at least three times what they make as well and put in less hours to do it. These people work a ton of hours.
For the right people Walmart is a good career move. It really is and I'm happy I'm there right now. It's really up to them if I keep this job or not. I'm one of the better workers they have now after I've gotten up to speed. I'm reliable, I don't call in like one of my coworkers has repeatedly the past two weeks, and I don't hide and screw off for a whole shift like another coworker does when I'm around.
I've got three great coworkers though and they can really do work, they are diligent and do good jobs! All in all I'm really thrilled that overtime has come up at work, I'm getting to the point now where Walmart is an easy job and the challenge is going away a little.
My choice is simple and clear but one way or the other the debt snowball isn't stopping until it's finished. By the end of my shift today at the latest I'll either be in the job market again or I'll be the same as I am now:)
Eye on the prize!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Two Days
Just today and tomorrow and I'll get my first day off in over a month! Tonight though I'm scheduled to go to work right after I leave work. I'm taking my clothes with me to change after I clock out.
The upside is that I don't have to work until eleven! I'm actually kind of happy about that and the fact that I get another payday in a week!
THAT I'm very excited about! Anyway it's getting easier but last night sucked. Two days before food stamp day they decided to change the entire section I work in around. I spent all night trying to figure out this telxon price gun thing and getting the portable printer to work right. Of course I had no training on important things like that. Not to mention my scheduled coworker called in and was a no show, so it was just me with a huge mess to figure out and no training to do it with.
I DID figure it out though! I kept messing with the options, printing test labels, and finally got it all to work! That was a system that was seemingly more complicated than the Apollo missions but it attaches to your wrist and with no help or instructions I did it!
Chalk one up for the old brain rolling around in my head!
Eye on the prize!
The upside is that I don't have to work until eleven! I'm actually kind of happy about that and the fact that I get another payday in a week!
THAT I'm very excited about! Anyway it's getting easier but last night sucked. Two days before food stamp day they decided to change the entire section I work in around. I spent all night trying to figure out this telxon price gun thing and getting the portable printer to work right. Of course I had no training on important things like that. Not to mention my scheduled coworker called in and was a no show, so it was just me with a huge mess to figure out and no training to do it with.
I DID figure it out though! I kept messing with the options, printing test labels, and finally got it all to work! That was a system that was seemingly more complicated than the Apollo missions but it attaches to your wrist and with no help or instructions I did it!
Chalk one up for the old brain rolling around in my head!
Eye on the prize!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
One More Day
Last night at work went well enough. It was a busy night and flew by. The Date cooked a great supper for me when I got home as well! Chicken fried chicken and fried potatoes! She pickled the peppers from the garden and in a couple of weeks we'll use them in an Italian beef dish!
All in all things have gone well. Nothing pressing has gotten us down really. Everything is flying by on schedule. Today is payday and it'll take care of one bill and groceries. Next payday, next Friday will be the big payday that will clear up the big bills and take care of at least one small bill altogether according to the budget! That's an exciting day to look forward to!
Eye on the prize!
All in all things have gone well. Nothing pressing has gotten us down really. Everything is flying by on schedule. Today is payday and it'll take care of one bill and groceries. Next payday, next Friday will be the big payday that will clear up the big bills and take care of at least one small bill altogether according to the budget! That's an exciting day to look forward to!
Eye on the prize!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Ben Hur
Last night I made some decent chili for supper. The only thing that was missing was the twenty degree weather to make it really good chili.
Thing 2 said when it gets cold we needed to make a big pot of chili and go outside Beersnob style and light the ball o' fire and a lot of friends and eat it with hot coffee. She actually said that.
I had everything ready to pickle the banana peppers but Thing 2 and I started watching the epic Ben Hur and really that made for a great night with me and her. The only movie I consider on the same level with Ben Hur as far as the epic scale of it and the era of Hollywood from which it was produced is The Ten Commandments. I even place that movie a slight bit more epic even. It was more groundbreaking in terms of scale, special effects, and the actors are more widely known and were mainstream at the time.
Heston, Brynner, Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, DeCarlo, Vincent Price, and more! Directed by DeMille! That's EPIC and why I give it the slight nod over Ben Hur in a close tie. The peppers will get pickled though, we didn't get the garden going to just waste the products it made.
It was a fine evening though and my last evening off this week. I believe I work four straight days now and get Sunday and Monday off. That will make Sunday my first day off from both jobs since August 28th. I hadn't considered that before but wow! That'll be a good day! Tomorrow is payday and we'll put money into our grocery envelope and pay a bill. We are under our grocery budget this week so it'll be adding up now!
Eye on the prize!
Thing 2 said when it gets cold we needed to make a big pot of chili and go outside Beersnob style and light the ball o' fire and a lot of friends and eat it with hot coffee. She actually said that.
I had everything ready to pickle the banana peppers but Thing 2 and I started watching the epic Ben Hur and really that made for a great night with me and her. The only movie I consider on the same level with Ben Hur as far as the epic scale of it and the era of Hollywood from which it was produced is The Ten Commandments. I even place that movie a slight bit more epic even. It was more groundbreaking in terms of scale, special effects, and the actors are more widely known and were mainstream at the time.
Heston, Brynner, Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, DeCarlo, Vincent Price, and more! Directed by DeMille! That's EPIC and why I give it the slight nod over Ben Hur in a close tie. The peppers will get pickled though, we didn't get the garden going to just waste the products it made.
It was a fine evening though and my last evening off this week. I believe I work four straight days now and get Sunday and Monday off. That will make Sunday my first day off from both jobs since August 28th. I hadn't considered that before but wow! That'll be a good day! Tomorrow is payday and we'll put money into our grocery envelope and pay a bill. We are under our grocery budget this week so it'll be adding up now!
Eye on the prize!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Last Evening Off
We are making chili tonight and I plan on pickling the banana peppers from the garden! The sweet potatoes are just about ready to pick as well so the harvest is coming in. The tomatillos are there but tiny.
The tomatoes didn't do well at all. Too hot and they burned midseason. Next year we are going to grow more conventional crops like onions, beans, potatoes, a different variety of tomatoes. Garlic, which will be planted very shortly, and stuff we use in cooking weekly.
We started the garden too late in the growing season for those crops and it was already too hot by the time the gardens were built.
It's ok though, they are established now, the soil is in great shape. We'll be ready on the first day of planting season to get it all in the ground!
The tomatoes didn't do well at all. Too hot and they burned midseason. Next year we are going to grow more conventional crops like onions, beans, potatoes, a different variety of tomatoes. Garlic, which will be planted very shortly, and stuff we use in cooking weekly.
We started the garden too late in the growing season for those crops and it was already too hot by the time the gardens were built.
It's ok though, they are established now, the soil is in great shape. We'll be ready on the first day of planting season to get it all in the ground!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Airplane Revisited
Classics are classics for a reason. Not only do they stand the test of time but sometimes they can surpass your expectations when you revisit them again.
Airplane is one of those movies. It's a movie I saw in the theaters when I was a kid. I walked to the Esquire Theater when this disaster movie spoof came out. Actually this was the grandaddy of all spoofs when it hit the screens.
What followed since Airplane has been the Police Squad movies, Scary Movie movies, and many many more I don't want to list. I remember laughing very hard as a kid and I laughed a lot last night when I played this on Netflix streaming. Yeah I was way too young for most of the jokes but that's ok too.
It's just that good! I'm glad I revisited this old classic last night. What a spectacular time capsule movie! Give it a watch again sometime and you might agree!
Airplane is one of those movies. It's a movie I saw in the theaters when I was a kid. I walked to the Esquire Theater when this disaster movie spoof came out. Actually this was the grandaddy of all spoofs when it hit the screens.
What followed since Airplane has been the Police Squad movies, Scary Movie movies, and many many more I don't want to list. I remember laughing very hard as a kid and I laughed a lot last night when I played this on Netflix streaming. Yeah I was way too young for most of the jokes but that's ok too.
It's just that good! I'm glad I revisited this old classic last night. What a spectacular time capsule movie! Give it a watch again sometime and you might agree!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Beautiful Morning!
This morning is what I want in a fall day! Mid sixties, calm, sunny. Good grief if there is any proof of God in the universe days like today have to be in the top five! Hard to be an atheist on days like today!
I work from one thirty to six today. It'll be a snap. Yesterday most everything was stocked and finished by the time I even got to work. They had a full crew in the early mornings and they got it all in great shape and then when I got there I just had to restock once in a while. Did some straightening up of some fruit and vegetables and such.
That's what comprised my day! Today will be similar to yesterday except I'll have some help for my whole shift. I had help for the first half of my shift yesterday and then I had a guy with me who is a bit slow. Not mentally slow just doesn't want to do a whole lot. He is what he is and for what they pay that's what they'll continue to get. People who will make a career out of that job or people who are passing through such as myself. They'll have to take the good and the bad and weed them out when they get the chance.
I made some stir fry rice when I got home and didn't do much at all after that. Thing 2 wasn't feeling well so she went to bed around six and I didn't see her the rest of the evening.
I just took her to work a bit ago and I'm less than two hours from going to work myself now. I am making a gumbo for supper tonight! I picked up some tiny shrimp and smoked sausage yesterday after work. Going to put some crushed tomatoes, okra, sausage, seasonings, and a flour and oil base in the crock pot before work and let it simmer while I'm at work. By the time I get off work it'll be ready for the shrimp and then we'll make the rice to serve it over. Easy as can be!
Eye on the prize!
I work from one thirty to six today. It'll be a snap. Yesterday most everything was stocked and finished by the time I even got to work. They had a full crew in the early mornings and they got it all in great shape and then when I got there I just had to restock once in a while. Did some straightening up of some fruit and vegetables and such.
That's what comprised my day! Today will be similar to yesterday except I'll have some help for my whole shift. I had help for the first half of my shift yesterday and then I had a guy with me who is a bit slow. Not mentally slow just doesn't want to do a whole lot. He is what he is and for what they pay that's what they'll continue to get. People who will make a career out of that job or people who are passing through such as myself. They'll have to take the good and the bad and weed them out when they get the chance.
I made some stir fry rice when I got home and didn't do much at all after that. Thing 2 wasn't feeling well so she went to bed around six and I didn't see her the rest of the evening.
I just took her to work a bit ago and I'm less than two hours from going to work myself now. I am making a gumbo for supper tonight! I picked up some tiny shrimp and smoked sausage yesterday after work. Going to put some crushed tomatoes, okra, sausage, seasonings, and a flour and oil base in the crock pot before work and let it simmer while I'm at work. By the time I get off work it'll be ready for the shrimp and then we'll make the rice to serve it over. Easy as can be!
Eye on the prize!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Last Show
Today is my baby's last show for Dixie Swim Club. It's a special arranged show for a bus of tourists. If it is a success, which I know it will be as this is a great show, then it can signal more business for the theatre! That's always a great thing!
Sadly though I won't be as involved with one of my favorite past times as I have been in the past. I will be though once things are squared away, and I'll be able to keep to the schedule I used to keep with them. Two or three shows a season, a helping hand here and there, and a few workdays for that extra bit of help!
Yesterday I took off of work early. I came home to change the brake pads of The Date's car and decided I'd do the same on the Tahoe. It ran us over our budget a bit but they were needed on both vehicles. I literally had The Date's car finished in under a half hour. It took longer to take the wheel off than it did to change the brake pads, easy work.
The Tahoe though was a nightmare. I couldn't break loose the lug nuts on one side. Unusual that they were so tight. So I took it to a tire shop and had them break them loose and re-tighten them for the drive home. Then the caliper had star head bolts that looked like allen head bolts. One broke loose easily but the other was another nightmare. I nearly stripped it out in the effort before a buddy called me. He thought it would be easier with another head drive.
So he headed over an hour before I left for work at Walmart. The tough side took fifteen minutes before we got the pads changed. The second side took less than five minutes from tire off to pads on and back on the ground again! I made it to work easily in time!
So it was sort of a day off but I did work at home and at Walmart. Not to mention the three hours I did spend at work buttoning things up for the weekend and preparing for next week.
Sadly though I won't be as involved with one of my favorite past times as I have been in the past. I will be though once things are squared away, and I'll be able to keep to the schedule I used to keep with them. Two or three shows a season, a helping hand here and there, and a few workdays for that extra bit of help!
Yesterday I took off of work early. I came home to change the brake pads of The Date's car and decided I'd do the same on the Tahoe. It ran us over our budget a bit but they were needed on both vehicles. I literally had The Date's car finished in under a half hour. It took longer to take the wheel off than it did to change the brake pads, easy work.
The Tahoe though was a nightmare. I couldn't break loose the lug nuts on one side. Unusual that they were so tight. So I took it to a tire shop and had them break them loose and re-tighten them for the drive home. Then the caliper had star head bolts that looked like allen head bolts. One broke loose easily but the other was another nightmare. I nearly stripped it out in the effort before a buddy called me. He thought it would be easier with another head drive.
So he headed over an hour before I left for work at Walmart. The tough side took fifteen minutes before we got the pads changed. The second side took less than five minutes from tire off to pads on and back on the ground again! I made it to work easily in time!
So it was sort of a day off but I did work at home and at Walmart. Not to mention the three hours I did spend at work buttoning things up for the weekend and preparing for next week.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Bill Count
We started with twenty two bills total. The first week we paid off five. We acquired two more bills and today we are paying off three more. That brings the total to eight bills paid off in the first month. However since we did acquire two more bills we will have seventeen left now.
We were very happy to have gone over the math last night after I got off work! It was very exciting to see the math on paper right there in front of us and plan our budget until Thursday! To me it showed actual progress and why I am working two jobs.
We plan on getting at least another ten bills paid off very soon, some are as higher amounts while others are around a hundred dollars, some lower. It's the effect though that keeps me going.
Once we get everything out of the way but the Tahoe and Caliber we will be in such great shape! After they are finished we'll be in tremendous shape and paying down the mortgage! That's the big one, a paid off mortgage is worth more peace of mind than anything I can think of!
The snowball is rolling and gaining speed!
Eye on the prize!
We were very happy to have gone over the math last night after I got off work! It was very exciting to see the math on paper right there in front of us and plan our budget until Thursday! To me it showed actual progress and why I am working two jobs.
We plan on getting at least another ten bills paid off very soon, some are as higher amounts while others are around a hundred dollars, some lower. It's the effect though that keeps me going.
Once we get everything out of the way but the Tahoe and Caliber we will be in such great shape! After they are finished we'll be in tremendous shape and paying down the mortgage! That's the big one, a paid off mortgage is worth more peace of mind than anything I can think of!
The snowball is rolling and gaining speed!
Eye on the prize!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Rainy Night
On my way home after eleven last night I was watching the sky dance and crackle with lightning. What an amazing sight after the summer we've all endured! Yes we've had some rain but there's something different about rain in the middle of the night.
It seems to make you sleep better and deeper. Not sure what makes rain so conducive to great sleep but it works and I feel better this morning even though I've had less actual sleep than the night before!
Work was ok yesterday. I was by myself during the day at my main job. It was busy but no overly so. Work last night was ok as well, most everything was filled up by the time I got to work. There wasn't a lot to do but we did it anyway. The night did drag by time wise but that's what happens when there isn't a ton of work.
It's ok though, it'll be so worth it in a few months! I'll be glad it's over with but I'll be glad I did it too! A guy at work decided he was going to max out his PTO leave. To do that you have to come to work every day for a full year. Every optional day you have to come to work, every snow day you have to come to work, every single day. For a year. After it's over with though you've got nearly three hundred hours of leave built up though. It'll last you a long time once you've gone through that and you'll likely never be out of leave again unless you have some medical emergency and even that you'll be on short term disability and only lose two and a half hours a day.
That's the same thing with me. Once we've been Ramsey'ed and our bills are finished it'll be over! One tough stretch of time and it's done for good! You've set yourself and family up for a lifetime of responsible finances.
Eye on the prize!
It seems to make you sleep better and deeper. Not sure what makes rain so conducive to great sleep but it works and I feel better this morning even though I've had less actual sleep than the night before!
Work was ok yesterday. I was by myself during the day at my main job. It was busy but no overly so. Work last night was ok as well, most everything was filled up by the time I got to work. There wasn't a lot to do but we did it anyway. The night did drag by time wise but that's what happens when there isn't a ton of work.
It's ok though, it'll be so worth it in a few months! I'll be glad it's over with but I'll be glad I did it too! A guy at work decided he was going to max out his PTO leave. To do that you have to come to work every day for a full year. Every optional day you have to come to work, every snow day you have to come to work, every single day. For a year. After it's over with though you've got nearly three hundred hours of leave built up though. It'll last you a long time once you've gone through that and you'll likely never be out of leave again unless you have some medical emergency and even that you'll be on short term disability and only lose two and a half hours a day.
That's the same thing with me. Once we've been Ramsey'ed and our bills are finished it'll be over! One tough stretch of time and it's done for good! You've set yourself and family up for a lifetime of responsible finances.
Eye on the prize!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Downsized
I watched a tiny bit of this show last night. I guess the premise is that this family has fallen on hard times and are trying to get their way out of it. What I found ironic is that if they had a plan like I'm (and many millions of Americans who have found out that being debt free and on a cash basis is the way to freedom) working on they wouldn't be in the situation they are in.
They waited until it was too late though. They got caught thinking the jobs they had were forever, they got caught getting comfortable in their lifestyle which isn't bad but you can't owe the kind of money they owed and be comfortable. Think about it for a bit, the unemployment rate is hovering around 9%. That's nearly one in every ten Americans out of work.
How safe is your job? I survived two layoffs in my own job over the years. They cut right up to me twice! Now I have seniority over a couple of people again but some of the older ones have left and they never replaced them. I'm fairly safe but it's taken nearly twenty years to get there.
Examine your job, see how stable it really is. Put a plan in place to keep you safe if anything did go wrong with your job. I don't want my family to suffer if something goes wrong with my job. I want everything to be safe for a few months while I find something else to do should things go bad. Security is why I'm doing this, what kind of security do you have?
They waited until it was too late though. They got caught thinking the jobs they had were forever, they got caught getting comfortable in their lifestyle which isn't bad but you can't owe the kind of money they owed and be comfortable. Think about it for a bit, the unemployment rate is hovering around 9%. That's nearly one in every ten Americans out of work.
How safe is your job? I survived two layoffs in my own job over the years. They cut right up to me twice! Now I have seniority over a couple of people again but some of the older ones have left and they never replaced them. I'm fairly safe but it's taken nearly twenty years to get there.
Examine your job, see how stable it really is. Put a plan in place to keep you safe if anything did go wrong with your job. I don't want my family to suffer if something goes wrong with my job. I want everything to be safe for a few months while I find something else to do should things go bad. Security is why I'm doing this, what kind of security do you have?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Quiet Night Off
The Date and Mom took Thing 2 to have a root canal done in a nearby town. I got home and made some enchiladas for supper. They were nearly finished when the family arrived back home safely. Thing 2 curled up in our bed and slept the evening away while I watched Columbo and The Date talked to Crime Reporter on the phone:)
All in all it was a typical American evening at home. I will figure out something different for this evening as I've nearly exhausted the amount of Columbo episodes on Netflix. After this evening I'll have five days in a row to work and I'll get next Monday and Tuesday evening off as well!
I hope my readers will figure out in my own small way that I'm being very public about my second job experiences in order to at least inspire those of you on the fence about getting your debt paid off and following the Dave Ramsey plan or at least a portion of it. If it motivates you then I hope you follow through with a plan of your own making if nothing else.
It's not a sugar coated account of getting a second job either, I've been very upfront with the bad as well as the good. As Dave Ramsey says, "You have to live like no one else" (meaning you have to buckle down and take the first step in the process. The Date and I put all of our bills in front of us and we decided together that we were going to do this. She doesn't want me working two jobs anymore than I want to work two jobs but that's the way out of this right now and the way into a better house in a better neighborhood.) "so later you can live like no one else!"
The rest of the sentence is the icing on a tough cake to bake. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and it's really there! It's of your own making, your own labor will produce that pot of gold. If there is two of you in a household get on the same page first of all about committing to this. Second figure up your bills from smallest to largest, and put the calculator, pen, and paper to use and see how long it would take to snowball your way to that pot of gold.
Then figure out your income and how you can add to it to make the snowball really rock down that hill of debt! If we can do this then I know you can and if you have two full time incomes then you can do this much faster than we can! I know you can! This Friday we'll pay off at least one more bill bringing the total to six I believe! In three weeks we've knocked out six bills, six bills that will never bother us again!
What can you do?
Eye on the prize!
All in all it was a typical American evening at home. I will figure out something different for this evening as I've nearly exhausted the amount of Columbo episodes on Netflix. After this evening I'll have five days in a row to work and I'll get next Monday and Tuesday evening off as well!
I hope my readers will figure out in my own small way that I'm being very public about my second job experiences in order to at least inspire those of you on the fence about getting your debt paid off and following the Dave Ramsey plan or at least a portion of it. If it motivates you then I hope you follow through with a plan of your own making if nothing else.
It's not a sugar coated account of getting a second job either, I've been very upfront with the bad as well as the good. As Dave Ramsey says, "You have to live like no one else" (meaning you have to buckle down and take the first step in the process. The Date and I put all of our bills in front of us and we decided together that we were going to do this. She doesn't want me working two jobs anymore than I want to work two jobs but that's the way out of this right now and the way into a better house in a better neighborhood.) "so later you can live like no one else!"
The rest of the sentence is the icing on a tough cake to bake. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and it's really there! It's of your own making, your own labor will produce that pot of gold. If there is two of you in a household get on the same page first of all about committing to this. Second figure up your bills from smallest to largest, and put the calculator, pen, and paper to use and see how long it would take to snowball your way to that pot of gold.
Then figure out your income and how you can add to it to make the snowball really rock down that hill of debt! If we can do this then I know you can and if you have two full time incomes then you can do this much faster than we can! I know you can! This Friday we'll pay off at least one more bill bringing the total to six I believe! In three weeks we've knocked out six bills, six bills that will never bother us again!
What can you do?
Eye on the prize!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Johnny Cash The Killer
Changing up the tempo of the blog today to talk about a TV episode I saw the other night on Netflix streaming. I do enjoy Columbo quite a bit. You see who the killer is at the start of the episode, you see their ingenious plot to pull off the perfect murder, and then you see the seemingly bumbling yet disarmingly brilliant Lt. Columbo solve the case with lots of brilliant questioning.
Lots of times at the end you see the killer catch themselves in a trap that Lt. Columbo has laid for them. They usually go quietly and are relieved that they have been captured by such a mild mannered man.
The show ran as part of the NBC Mystery Movie weekly show in the seventies. You'll likely recall the whistling theme if not then it's on You Tube and it'd bring back memories:) Columbo shared the spot with McCloud and McMillan and Wife and after a while ran an hour and a half long. Unusual for a weekly show to run ninety minutes and unheard of today.
One of the few episodes I watched the other evening was with guest star Johnny Cash as he played a gospel singer who was parolled from an Arkansas prison and was being blackmailed and used by his wife to earn her lots of money for a tabernacle. He constructed an elaborate plot to get rid of her and the blackmail material and then Lt. Columbo was on the case and yes he caught him, yes Cash confessed and was relieved at the end, and yes it was a very good episode.
I do wish that Netflix would add the rest of the show to the streaming side as right now there are only forty odd episodes available. To contrast that the entire Rockford Files and Hawaii 5-0 is available as well as Magnum P.I.
When I have the spare time recently (which isn't a lot) I've been unwinding with a seventies or eighties mystery show. They are really quite the time capsule stored in my forgotten memory and make for a great diversion! I just wish Netflix would up their streaming library a bit more so I can get more Columbo without getting the DVD sent to us via snailmail.
The job went well enough yesterday, I was left with about six hundred pounds of rotten fruits and vegetables to be dumped though and it took me about forty five minutes to accomplish that. Not bad overall but I wound up with mushed up rotten peaches on my shirt which I did my best to clean off when I finished. The thought occurred to me then, this will be worth it though.
That's quite the attitude to have when you can really believe in your heart that what you are going through right now will be worth it in less than two years. No I don't believe the job will last two years at all, far from it actually but it'll last long enough to get a lot of this cleared up via Dave Ramsey's program!
Eye on the prize!
Lots of times at the end you see the killer catch themselves in a trap that Lt. Columbo has laid for them. They usually go quietly and are relieved that they have been captured by such a mild mannered man.
The show ran as part of the NBC Mystery Movie weekly show in the seventies. You'll likely recall the whistling theme if not then it's on You Tube and it'd bring back memories:) Columbo shared the spot with McCloud and McMillan and Wife and after a while ran an hour and a half long. Unusual for a weekly show to run ninety minutes and unheard of today.
One of the few episodes I watched the other evening was with guest star Johnny Cash as he played a gospel singer who was parolled from an Arkansas prison and was being blackmailed and used by his wife to earn her lots of money for a tabernacle. He constructed an elaborate plot to get rid of her and the blackmail material and then Lt. Columbo was on the case and yes he caught him, yes Cash confessed and was relieved at the end, and yes it was a very good episode.
I do wish that Netflix would add the rest of the show to the streaming side as right now there are only forty odd episodes available. To contrast that the entire Rockford Files and Hawaii 5-0 is available as well as Magnum P.I.
When I have the spare time recently (which isn't a lot) I've been unwinding with a seventies or eighties mystery show. They are really quite the time capsule stored in my forgotten memory and make for a great diversion! I just wish Netflix would up their streaming library a bit more so I can get more Columbo without getting the DVD sent to us via snailmail.
The job went well enough yesterday, I was left with about six hundred pounds of rotten fruits and vegetables to be dumped though and it took me about forty five minutes to accomplish that. Not bad overall but I wound up with mushed up rotten peaches on my shirt which I did my best to clean off when I finished. The thought occurred to me then, this will be worth it though.
That's quite the attitude to have when you can really believe in your heart that what you are going through right now will be worth it in less than two years. No I don't believe the job will last two years at all, far from it actually but it'll last long enough to get a lot of this cleared up via Dave Ramsey's program!
Eye on the prize!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday Sunday
Working four and a half hours today. That's what I worked yesterday as well. I forgot my schedule is now adjusted to the hours I originally wanted, roughly twenty hours a week instead of thirty. Now it appears that I'll be working roughly forty five hours every pay period instead of sixty.
It doesn't seem like much but believe me it is. It takes a toll on you after a while. This schedule is lighter by a few hours but I won't be rushing around after work to get back to work now.
It'll be a boost to my energy level and a bit off of my shoulders to carry.
Yesterday went well, it was nice to come into work and work before most other shifts were finished. That means that you actually get less of the junk work like carrying out the rotten veggies and fruits and more of the easier work such as stocking them. Tedious yes but it's money and it's a means to the end.
Eye on the prize!
It doesn't seem like much but believe me it is. It takes a toll on you after a while. This schedule is lighter by a few hours but I won't be rushing around after work to get back to work now.
It'll be a boost to my energy level and a bit off of my shoulders to carry.
Yesterday went well, it was nice to come into work and work before most other shifts were finished. That means that you actually get less of the junk work like carrying out the rotten veggies and fruits and more of the easier work such as stocking them. Tedious yes but it's money and it's a means to the end.
Eye on the prize!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Paydays Rock
We just figured our budget, we have leftover money! Groceries are bought, full tanks of gas, and payday is seven days away again! This week The Date and I both got paid, next week I'll get my paycheck and all is right with the world!
Leftover money from the budget! How cool is that?!
More than likely we'll hang onto the leftover until next payday and put it all onto paying off another bill, I'm pretty excited to see what bites the dust next!
I work from noon to six today and tomorrow, I get Monday and Tuesday off though in the evenings! This is working so well right now that I'm starting to look forward to going to work, how strange is that?!
Leftover money from the budget! How cool is that?!
More than likely we'll hang onto the leftover until next payday and put it all onto paying off another bill, I'm pretty excited to see what bites the dust next!
I work from noon to six today and tomorrow, I get Monday and Tuesday off though in the evenings! This is working so well right now that I'm starting to look forward to going to work, how strange is that?!
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