Why Frugal Living?

I’ve read a lot on frugal living lately and I have to say it’s all getting to be a bit confusing. Some of the methods people use are reasonable while others make you wonder what tragic event they encountered that made them afraid to live. Then I began to take a closer look.

When it comes to earnings and savings there are a lot of factors in play. Married people are often assumed to have more income when in fact that’s far from the case. Some married people working age make about the same as a retired person living on the fixed income of social security. Add kids to this lower level of income and you have a formula for fear.

Then there are the single parents that seem to work so much they feel as if they never get to see their kids. It always seemed to me that when I left the house to go to work and put my baby in a daycare that I was missing out on something. The last few years at home with my Autistic little one have proven that I was right.

I spent the last three (almost four) years home with my little angel. When you go to work you miss the firsts, crawling, steps, words and boo-boos. So maybe even the most extreme of the extreme ideas aren’t that extreme if it means you can stay home with the baby for just a little while longer.

Relearning How to Meet a Deadline

I'm stuck lately on what to write, when to write and finding time to write. I am going back to research and deadlines. I have to have deadlines or I'm never going to get back to earning enough to make a living. I have a very limited time line to work in so I have to make the most of it.

I have two mornings a week to work uninterrupted that lately I've been using to catch up on housework. I have to clean the house but I need to get a lot of stuff thrown out so that I have less time cleaning up and more time working when I can. I also have a tendency to go to bed early lately and get up earlier although I don't seem to get much done getting up earlier.

I used to do my best work late at night I'm beginning to wonder if I can't do that again. Oh, well I've got to get ready to go before the kid gets home from school so I'll be back later.

Sold an Article and Did Most of the Budget

I managed to sell an article on the Gluten/Casein free diet to Associated Content this week. It seems to have taken forever to get it processed. I figured out that I don't see a difference in pay when I choose non-exclusive or exclusive. I also figured out that at my current rate I'd need to write and have approximately thirty a week excepted to help supplement my income enough to keep up with my rising costs.

I got most of my budget redone last night. My light bill has finally gotten the new budget amount; it's $200 a month and we were around $50 under budget for the current bill. That's good so hopefully we'll continue on that path so that we end up with a month we don't have to pay the bill so we can buy a few things we're gonna need by then. I know it seems silly to pay $200 a month for utilities when you don't use that much but if we don't we end up not knowing what the bill is each month. We also end up with just one month when the bill can be outrageous instead of several of them. My dryer hasn't worked in months so that's one temptation I don't have to worry about and the weather has been nice enough just to use fans for most of this month!

The afternoons are a little warm but the mornings and the nights are just right. I'd leave a window open at night but it's been too cold although my heat is only coming on once for about ten minutes. The bad news is that I have to pay the remaining $32 on my eye doctor visit next month and we get to start paying my auto insurance by the month on top of Theresa's supplements. One of her supplements went down to once a day which means it'll last 100 days at $15 a bottle which is less than $7 a month, I think that's just an estimate.

OK I have rambled long enough it's time to think of something else to write about.

Change of Plans

I've had a change of plans once again. This week I managed to sell one article to Associated Content and submit another that's still should be reviewed in the next week. I've found I work better listening to music so I'm going to be really tired with very little sleep as I find the times I get to listen to music uninterrupted.

Actually I can work while listening to a television show with the headphones as I type up an article. I figured out that I want a new computer, that way I have one to work on and one to watch shows on. Yes, I know it's not needed but it'd be nice to have so I'll dream. Oh, yeah I'm supposed to be talking about a change in plans so I guess I should get to it.

Monday and Wednesday mornings will be spent by taking two hours in front of the computer to write whatever comes to mind with my headphones on and the television set off. No exceptions for hubby since the baby will be at preschool during these times. Then I have from around 8pm until well midnight or later to get more work done. That's at least four hours.

What am I focusing on now? I'll be reviewing the items I'm buying of course since that's one of the easiest ways to earn. I may even review some television series if I can stop watching them long enough to write about them. There are a number of older shows that I could those "where are they now" articles about the cast; sadly enough I'm just old enough that those actors have started passing away.

The holidays are closer so a lot of stuff will be holiday related. I think I can find the time for two more blogs provided I pick the subjects carefully. Starting with one more should be best since I have very specific ideas for the next two. It shouldn't be that hard once the new schedule I have planned for the new year goes into effect. I'll be getting a new appointment book soon to keep up with everything or maybe I'll just buy an ink refill and print one out since the ones you buy never seem to have what I actually need in them.

Right now I've got an article on hold to write this. I couldn't figure out what to say next so I decided to come here and update this thinking maybe I'd get an idea. Well, I have one now so it's back to work.

One article Day so Far

Well so far today I've managed to write and save one article to be edited later. I noticed lately that when I managed to submit an article that was accepted for upfront payment that I had tiny typos that while barely noticeable stuck out like a sore thumb to me. I have an idea for an article related to the one that I wrote which will give me two articles to submit for upfront payments at Associated Content.

I did some math today and figured out that in order to supplement my income enough at the current rates I'm getting I can write 30 articles a week. That is provided that all thirty are accepted for upfront payments; I can also submit at least five a week just for performance payments in areas that don't usually get upfront payments to help my earnings. The whole point of sitting on the articles I'm managing to write today is to see if I can increase the earnings rate and make sure I haven't left anything relevant to the article out of it.

I bought a few bottles of Theresa's supplements today. Finally I had the money to replace three of the four she ran out of. Still need the fish oil, that's why I'm trying to force myself to write. I've got to pay hubby's phone bill too while still getting us where we need to go.

What did I spend today?
zinc $4 (bottle will last one month; hoping that they get the 30mg capsules in soon)
magnesium citrate $6
acetyl l $15 for a grand total of $25.

What's left to buy? The pro-omega fish oil for approximately $63 to ensure it last the month. There is also the matter of paying hubby's phone bill. It's only $21.80 and he's about out of time because he  seems to use it more when he has no choice but to conserve it.

I have a better idea now of how much I'm spending on supplements each month. The complete powder ($35), zinc ($4) and pro-omega fish oil ($63) are the only ones that I have to buy each and every month. (I think I could be wrong.) That comes to $102 each and every month. I may come off better when/if they get the 30mg zinc capsules in so she just gets one instead of two. I'm beginning to wonder if they are some supplements that would cover two or more areas that she has issues with. The next time I have to buy supplements I'll make it a point to figure out the average monthly costs.

It's time to go update everyone on the family side of the day now.

One article sold none written

Well, I just accepted an offer from Associated Content that I probably should have declined and resubmitted on to see if I could increase the rate. Oh well, I know what I'm writing for them next and the article should be live by tomorrow so that I can begin earning performance payments on it. One is an editorial and the other two I have in mind for upfront offers to see if they'll except them. Holiday related should do well in searches provided I don't get forgetful and lose focus. I have to get as many articles for upfront payment written as possible.

The article that was accepted is How to make it through the holidays broke. It's not my best but it's not my worse, I think I can do a few more along those lines.

I'm wondering if I can write enough to put hubby's cell phone back on a monthly plan before he runs out of money in his account for it. He's the whole reason I pay for roll over minutes, he doesn't do well conserving his time for emergencies. Two cell phones only cost me $43.60 a month for a total of 400 minutes that roll over to the next month when all of them aren't used up to 1000 minutes. That's not too bad but given the way he went through the money in the account this month I think next time I lower the bill I'll change my phone plan to $15 every three months and add a little bit of money for text to save the minutes.

I didn't write anything today I started to then I forgot what I was doing. I tried to join the call for the "How to" guides but my Google voice couldn't complete the call. It worked fine to call my cell phone however. Not sure what the problem was and I can't find the right place to ask the question.

My auto insurance is due next month, I usually pay it every six months and save about $100 overall. Well, this time we won't be doing that. The closest estimate I can get is that it'll cost me about $60 a month at most for basic liability. I meant to do some shopping around but I haven't had the time to gather all the information that I need to get an accurate quote.

We went grocery shopping today. I had a budget of approximately $63 to get enough food to last us until this time next week. I spent almost $89, that's what I get for waiting until the cabinets were nearly empty to go shopping. Theresa has healthy snacks she can actually have, the problem is I still have to go back to the store on our way home tomorrow.

I've been redoing the budget as best I can estimating everything. The good news is the bills are under $500 if I got all of them but that doesn't include buying the supplements, groceries or basics for the house. I have a feeling this month and the rest of the year are going to be kind of crappy. Maybe not if I can manage to get back in the mood to write. I'm almost there but I feel like crap thanks to the weather being hot then cold. Oh well, I've updated my work and saving progress now it's time to

Not a complete loss

Well, even though I didn't manage to write any articles today it wasn't a total lost. The journaling I did this morning gave me some ideas. I did manage to read through one article that was rather helpful this morning before I got kicked offline. I already carry a notebook with me to watch Theresa's therapy sessions. I go over the budget makes a couple notes on the session, etc..

Well, the problem is I may have to many ideas while I'm watching and waiting. I think that I'll start outlining at least one of those ideas to turn into an article when I get home.

Friday is hubby's payday and it's not going to help. The check is spent and it's not even here. On the bright side I got my performance pay from Associated Content even though it was less than I was expecting. I think the totals for last month and this month come to what I was expecting. Oh well, it'll be there next month. I have a few ideas for article to write for upfront payment. I just have to make sure that they're edited and on subjects that are actually being searched for.  I wonder just how many articles can be gotten out of the holiday season.

I'm thinking of starting a "how to" guide tomorrow but I'm not sure of the subject that I want to write about at the moment. I had a clear idea and I can't find it now. Well, it's time to end the work day and go to bed. Well, after I play a few games to clear my head.

no work done today

Well, I didn't manage to do the first bit of work today and that's fine too. I did find the time to check my earnings and so far I seem to have all the basic needs covered. Theresa is out of a few supplements that I'll have to get a little later. She'll be fine until I can get them. She just needs 3 I think.

Pro-omega fish oil - $62.53 for an 8 ounce bottle that'll last all month and into the next (I think)
Acetyl L - $15
Magnesium citrate - $6
Zinc - $5 to $7.50 (depends on where I buy it)

That's $88.53 minimum. It'll be Friday, at the moment I have the $9 to cover the rest of the $3 per week ABA co-pays and $5 for an emergency. I'm not sure how I managed to run out of funds before payday this month. Actually I think letting hubby have some decision making power helped. One day I'll sit down and pound the expenses into his head, until then we both agree I'm in charge.

slowing down to nearly a halt

Well, today I managed to write one new article about Christmas gifts. I'm still on the Christmas theme. I was going to do a few editorials but I'm too sore. Last night I tried to hook my spare monitor up to my laptop so I could see it better without having to make the items on the screen so big that I constantly have to scroll to read what I want to. I can't get a picture on the monitor. Not sure what's wrong with it, and I can't figure out which wires to use to hook my computer up to the television set.

I think I would be more productive with the t.v. for a monitor, a wireless mouse and keyboard for a better angle. The mouse and keyboard will have to wait. I have a feeling that I can get the right wires faster than the rest. Any increase in productivity right now would be welcome.

I have to write at least five articles a day average to finish the month correctly. It would be better if I could have a few more 13 hour days every week until the end of the month. Well, I'm taking the rest of the night off to think so I'll be back to bore you more later.

Can't budget without all the facts

Well, I keep saying I'm going to redo my budget but I can't. I don't have all the facts of my budget at the moment. There are changes to it right now that I can't get until later in the month and next month. The best that I can do is to estimate them as best I can. I know about how much money I have coming in on a regular basis now I have to figure out how much more I need to come in.

What are the bills that I know each month?

Debt $20.00 (it's gonna take a while to pay off at that rate but that's fine to)
My phone $21.80 (can be reduced if I think hard enough)
Hubby's phone - undecided at the moment it's gonna be a while before it's put back in the regular bills
Cook's pest control - $33.00 (could cancel but then I'd have to deal with wasps and things myself, not sure about that)
that's $74.80 if I could leave it at that then I'd be doing flips.

The co-pay for ABA therapy is $3 a week, that's not much only $12 to $15 a month which isn't bad considering that the full cost of the therapy is $55 an hour. The light bill is being figured again and I should have the new monthly budget amount about the middle of the month so that I can figure that into my budget. Then there are Theresa's supplements and her diet, the food is a bit expensive but she does great on it.

How much are Theresa's supplements every month? I have no idea how much they average out to; I just know they help her so I buy them. I think I figure it out though, well when I have all of them and the prices in front of me. Of course I'd also have to have her doses in front of me to figure it out, the best I can do at the  moment since they just increased is to get myself a rough estimate.

She has one vitamin C tablet a day which is $7.50 for 100 tablets or $14.75 for 250 tablets. The larger bottle works out a quarter cheaper than the smaller bottle. Which bottle depends on the budget that particular month since the drive to get it involves going farther than I would on a normal week. One pharmacy carries it or I can order it and pay shipping that's more than the gas I use to go get it.

A bottle of her multivitamins is $14 for the chew-able and $16 for the capsules that are easier to get in her. They last two months when she takes them like she's supposed to which makes the average cost $7 to $8 a month which isn't too bad.

The fish oil is cheaper to order online and have delivered to the house. A 4oz bottle is $35.96 and a 8oz bottle is $62.53. The 8oz actually lasts all month and part of the next month. One 8oz works out cheaper than 2 of the 4oz.

Complete Powder is $35 for a month supply. That's a big savings over the 4 bottles of HLC at $38 each she was going through because of the dose.

75 days worth of calcium powder is $13.

OK this is getting to be rather confusing. I need to sit down with all the supplements and the costs then average them out by the month to get a true picture of the monthly expenses once again. I know how much money I have for groceries each month now it's time to make the amount I spend on them match that.

It's also time to get back to work.

Overall the day was productive

I wrote 12 Christmas articles that didn't take that long and one article about playing catch up which is what I'll be doing the rest of the year. All and all it was a rather productive day even if I did end up needing a nap.

My nap was short, the work day was too. I managed to accomplish most of my work by noon which I think was rather good. I also figured out that in the morning I have no choice but to go over my budget again. I think I have to keep up this pace for the rest of the month to be on track for next month.

I have to buy zinc again. I have to call Wednesday and make sure I can switch zinc. The one Theresa has now is $7.50 plus tax, the one I want to put her on is $5. That's a help to my budget, I can get the vitamin D drops for less than I paid for them the last time when they run out. I still have to order her fish oil. I think the 8oz bottle would work better now that her dose has increased so much. It works out less than two 4oz bottles and would last the entire month, possibly into the next month.

I have to figure the cost of her supplements again and then figure them with a monthly average. Next month I do believe my auto insurance is due. I have the feeling I'll be paying it by the month since I doubt I can come up with the entire six month premium in one lump sum. I was supposed to get a quote for a different company but I never had time to get all my information together and make the call.

I have got to go grocery shopping but first I have to find a bunch of recipes from people that have actually used them so that Theresa's food doesn't take like crap. Noticing serious behavior issues with things that she's not supposed to have in the house. Well, time to go ramble about the kids day now.

Not very productive

I managed to write two new articles today and make a list of six to try and write tomorrow. I started an article this morning. I think I managed to get half way through before I left it and went to write something else. Of course since it's so close to Christmas all the articles that I picked for tomorrow are related to the holiday. I chose some that are dated but once I write those I'll find some that aren't.

I'm looking at the empty and popular titles to see where I want to write. I think I'll do a few diary pages at wikinut this weekend. I can break the week up into individual pages. Today Theresa has a schedule change that she took well so I can write about that.

I'll be redoing the budget tonight and tomorrow. This month saw a $320 light bill and over $100 in doctor's bills for my eye that weren't planned for. I've got to pay $53 next month that wasn't in the budget. I'm not sure but I think my auto insurance is due next month. Instead of paying it off for the next six months I'll be paying it by the month because I can't come up with the entire amount. I have to get brakes on my truck too.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to get brakes. I just know the last estimate was about $250. I think I'll start hiding some cash until I have enough to replace them. Well, it's time to go ramble about Theresa's day and then call it a night.

Broke and the month isn't half over yet

Great I've got $5 until I get paid. $3 is going to Spectrum for the ABA co-pay in the morning. $2 to get by until Sunday. I can manage that. I just have to put gas in the truck, a tank should last next week and the next. Then I have to pay for my pest control, phone bill, the rest of the ABA co-pays and one more bill. About $75 worth, this is going to be a rather fun month.

Next month I shouldn't be this broke this soon. Well, I may be I really need to put brakes on my truck. Last time I checked that was about $250 just for the front. I can do that. Oh well, I'll be redoing the budget yet again.

My air didn't work right all summer but the heat is working just fine. It's almost enough to make me a bit ill.

One Article Day

I managed to write one article today. I'll know in about a week if it's been accepted or not. I have ideas for articles that aren't coming together. Research is slow for some of them even the ones that don't actually require more than a few definitions and a check on my spelling to make sure I got it right.

I washed some shirts by hand this morning, that in itself makes an article. It wasn't fun but I wanted to wear them this week and I didn't feel like doing a load in the washing machine when there wasn't one.

Friday the ABA co-pay will be $3, I've got to make sure I go by the bank the next week to get it out. I don't feel like writing a $3 check. Well, time to go waste some time and come up with more ideas.

Increasing expenses and still decreasing income

I haven't felt much like writing lately. That'd be fine except for one thing.....I make my living writing. I had some time off because of a costly injury and now my vision is blurry. I'm not sure if it's because of the light or if my eye is worse. I'm hoping I just need new glasses that I've need for a while or at least since the pair I'm supposed to be wearing broke.

I have one more payday coming this month unless I can manage to get some articles submitted and accepted for upfront payments. I have four bills left to pay that won't be covered until payday, and not enough to cover the rest of the things that have to be bought. I should be writing an article right now but I'm not. I took Theresa to therapy today. I have less than a half of a tank of gas to last me until the 10th which is Sunday. We have one appointment tomorrow, two Thursday luckily within ten minutes of each other. Friday our appointments are in one building. I should have enough gas to last all week. The 10th I fill the tank and make it last the rest of the month.

I think I managed two articles today but I'm not sure. I did a load of laundry which reminds me that I'm going to need laundry detergent soon and don't have any of the ingredients. I can't buy the ingredients this month either. I really don't want to spend a $1 on a generic box that won't last the month and doesn't work very well. I may end up hand washing a large portion and using the washing machine for Theresa's clothes.

Theresa ran out of two of her supplements. The zinc is approximately $8 and I keep forgetting to get it. The fish oil if about $38 when I have it delivered and I don't have $38 to order it right now. I have to pick up two new supplements for Theresa in the morning. Together they should come to about $14.

I separated the finances from dear hubby because he doesn't seem to understand the concept of bills. Actually I know he doesn't and he doesn't actually make enough to cover any at the moment. So he's now responsible for taking his paycheck and paying his child support, cell phone bill, his portion of the auto insurance and buying what he needs. This month he's not doing so well. Of course with all the extra expenses I'm not doing so well this month either.

Oh well, all this talk of finances makes me realize that it's past time to work. I have an idea to submit to AC for upfront payment but I have to actually write it in order to submit it.

Not much working or saving lately

This month hasn't been much for working I've been rather unmotivated. I managed to write one Christmas article and submit a review today. I've been looking around for a couple of hours without any luck to find something else to write. I finally decided to write an opinion/editorial in the morning. At least I think that I have.

The injury to my eye so far has cost me more than $100 with a balance of almost $32 left to pay on today's visit. Then I have another follow up in a week. The doctor told me that if my eye felt completely fine by then I could just skip that appointment. I really hope to skip it since the eye is healing on its own and there haven't been any problems with it.

I bought what I thought was all we needed just to find out that I skipped a few things. I'll be rolling change to get those since it's just a few dollars worth of things. Then I'm hoping next month will be a bit easier to get through. I still have to get Theresa a costume for Halloween. That's going to be fun unless she doesn't go again this year. She's never seemed interested in it before so I'm not sure if she'll be going or not.

Well, it's not that late but my eyes are blurry and I'm tired so I'm going to check on my accounts. Then I may or may not call it a night depending on what I need to do.

Painful Time Off

The time I took off the past couple of days was rather painful. Thursday I poked myself in the eye with the arm of my glasses. The pair I'm supposed to be wearing is broke so I'm wearing an old pair that is actually too old. The arm I poked myself with is just metal now. Rather painful to say the least, more painful was cancelling Friday and this coming Monday's therapy sessions to go the doctor. I scratched my cornea and added to the list of things I never wanted to know. There are more nerve endings in the cornea than the rest of the body.

I don't have insurance because it usually costs me more to pay for it than it pays out as little as I go to the doctor. Well, my visit required $50 upfront and then I could pay half of the remainder to set up a payment plan. The remainder was just under $45 and I have to go back again. I decided to go ahead and pay that to make the balance due after the next visit the only portion I have to make payments on. $95 plus that was not planned for.

I estimated and I figure I have about $70 to get everything that we need to get me by until I get paid again on the 10th. Then the last bill for the month will get paid. I have to put gas in the truck to get my kid to therapy out of that $70 too. I have a feeling I'm going to end up rolling my change to get something I forget to put on my shopping list. I may take it and pour it into one of the counting machines that gives gift cards and use that to get what I need.

Well, I'm tired and I have a few things to do. I wrote one article today, it was about Christmas dinner. I still can't get into my AC account so I can't submit content there for upfront there. It'd be really nice if I could because they pay faster and I could actually use the money at the moment. Well, back to work.