I lost my job last month. It wasn't a complete surprise, but I wasn't ready for it either. My "position was eliminated" along with a few others to save the company some money. Good for them, bad for us. So, I've spent today trying to make our budget work without my income. It's not going very well so far.
We have a nice tax return coming, not huge, like some I know, but nice. I've decided to put more away in savings than I usually would and the rest is paying off some credit cards. My Darling's bonus also comes this month and will be handled the same as the return. Normally, Dave Ramsey would recommend that we take the amount we were paying on the paid off credit cards and apply it to the next smallest balance. This is the "snowball" method of paying off debt. We currently have a negative $371/ month balance. Sooooo, I'm applying that money to, maybe eating every day. Once our budget is in the black, we will take Dave's advice. The extra savings that I'm putting aside will be used to help cover the deficit in our monthly budget. There, nuf said.
On to more fun things...PLANNING THE GARDEN!!
The seed catalogs came last month. I poured over each one, reading the descriptions carefully. It's garden porn, really. I made check marks and circles on the items I wanted. I had images in my head of a gorgeous garden, brimming with food all year. Then I remembered that I a. suck at seed starting b. live in Ohio c. lose interest in the garden around July and want it to care for itself. and d. I just lost my job and can't afford to spend a billion dollars on seeds and plants shipped from who knows where. Luckily, before I started crying, I remembered that there is a guy on a road I travel frequently that sells plants every year 4/$1!! Granted, these are not the awesome sounding, heirloom varieties that I circled in my catalog. These are standard Big Boys and Bells. Still, in the current economic condition in which I live, they will provide fresh food for my family and save me a fortune. I will purchase my seeds from Walmart and they will be fine. I will not attempt to start plants myself, because...I suck.
I am determined this year to do a better job of rotating my crops, planting early and planting frequently. In the past, I do not take advantage of "odd" crops that would do well early in the season or late. Mostly, I ignore these veggies because they aren't my first choice in nutrition. This year I'm determined to broaden our veggie eating options. There it's out there, now I have to do it.
On to things I HAVE to do. I must lose weight. Really, I'm getting humongous. I decided this year to lose 2 pounds a month for the next 3 years to reach my goal weight before I turn 40. Sounds easy, 2 pounds. Well, I've gained 2 so far. The complete lack of attention to my eating and lack of self control have led to this heinous number on the scale. In order to prevent Diet meltdown and the binge that follows, I'm trying the "baby step" method. This week I'm going to add a salad to my lunch(or dinner) everyday. I know I should add some exercise, but I'm not ready. The weather here is grey, cold and yucky. It's weather that makes me want to knit, not run.
