My First Tip For Budgeting

Is it just me, or is it really annoying to go to a website or YouTube video about saving money and living frugally and the person doing the video or writing the article are trying to get you to buy or subscribe to something they are selling? If it is a diet or health site they are trying to convince you that the only type of supplements that work are the expensive ones their company's name is on. All others are useless and you have wasted your money! The money saving one or getting out of debt are the ones that really get to me. You are there due to having no moeny or being in debt and want information on how to get out. So what do they do? Give you some information to get you interested. Then hit you with the book or subscription or coaching service that will get rid of all your problems for life. But you have to pay for it. Of course.

Whatever happened to good old fashion helping others out? If I knew the answers to everything, I would help everyone. I like thinking when I write tips or ideas I have, that others find it valuable in some way. I can’t really say I am an expert in any one subject. I have always written about the way I do things. Take it or leave it. If you know a better way then do it your way. No sense arguing with anyone about how to do things. I also see no sense in charging people money for you to share your information. I used to put affiliate links on my blogs and never found it was worth it to annoy my readers. Those darn things kept getting in the way of what they were trying to read. Like trying to read a recipe on a blog and the photos are super big and as you scroll down, all types of ads are in between the pictures and the text. Very difficult to read. I leave those sites and skip the recipe.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize many people are now earning a living online by these informational sites. For me, a blog used to be about my own life and how I did things on my homestead. I had several and I listened to all the other bloggers, who said they were making a lot of money every month on their blogs. With affiliate links, subscriptions and selling their own products like eBooks and newsletters. Well, I was never quite comfortable pushing that stuff. I still have two eCookbooks for sale on Amazon in the Kindle shop. I never promote them. With all of that, I never made any real money. I never could have lived off what I made. I still put an affiliate link from Amazon on a blog post if it is about a product I have bought or used. A small link, not intrusive on the reader’s experience.

If you are living in extreme poverty and go to the library to access the internet, I do not expect you to be able to buy a $35.00 book to learn how to pay your debt off. When you have no money to work with, I would not want to see you add that book price to your current debt load. Nope. I would rather share my information of how I did it hoping it would give you an idea of how to pay off all those credit cards on a very low income……….yes, low income in my mind is not forty thousand dollars a year! It is more like $20,00-$12,000 or less. All the well known frugal money wizards have books or courses to push upon you when all you want to know is how to get started. Like I said, I am not an expert and especially on this subject. I have been working on it myself and I am willing to share my information and if it helps you, then good. If not, maybe you will find someone else who can help you more than I.

The very first thing all financial experts would tell you (and I know this as I worked in accounting offices and was married to an accountant) is to keep track of every single penny you spend for at least three months. Whatever you purchase, write it down. This gives you a clear picture of what you are spending your money on. Do not take out cash and spend it and just write cash down. Write down every cent spent and what it was spent on. After you have done that you need to study it and categorize every single purchase. Now make a list of the categories and you have the beginning of your budget. This is your blueprint that will divide your money up into your expenses for the month. If you don’t have a plan written down, you will not stick to it. Remember that!

Copyright © 2019 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2019  Kathleen G. Lupole

Another Year Older

Birthday card from my parents in 1986

 

As my birthday approaches next week, I think back to my life and what hits me is not the thought that I will be 67, but that in all these years, this has been my happiest ever. Yes, it has. When I reflect on it I realize it is the first time in my life that I have ever truly lived alone. I did briefly a couple of times, but did not stay that way for long. I remember being very happy for those few months of living alone in the past. Now I am retired and do not have to go to a job so my time is my own. Basically I only have to do what I choose to do. That is a lot different than doing chores that are based on running a whole house and caring for a family. Even one other person takes up your time and energy.  And WORRY......yes worry was a big part of living with others. 

My son lives a couple of blocks away. I see him several times a week and if he needs something I am close by. He rides his bicycle to the stores and stops by to see me or to say hi. Living downtown in a small city was not something I ever pictured doing in a million years. I was a country girl, or so I thought. I could not tolerate my situation another year and had to take what was affordable and available. I had researched and studied many options. I have a very low income due to having been a stay at home mother while my son was growing up. I have seen many people staying in an unhappy situation due to finances. Many say they cannot do this or refuse to do that. Well, if you are unhappy and miserable where you are, at least make the effort to try something else. If you are still unhappy and miserable, then it is you. Then you need to make changes within your own self. Move out of your comfort zone.

I found moving to a location that I was familiar with but had never lived in, provided me with a sense of adventure and excitement. Since I moved to a downtown location, I was able to scratch a car off my list of expenses. Now that I have been here over a year, I think a car would have been an unnecessary expense and a headache in the winter when parking is a big problem. Living here, I can take a city bus to stores like Walmart or Lowe's that are outside of the city. It may be a small city, but it has two cab companies, which I see my neighbors use regularly. A choice I could never have made if I was not living alone. I think of those expenses a car represents and I am thankful I can live without it.

Do not think that living alone means watching television all day. I only recently got a flat screen one as a gift, but I did not hook it up to watch as a television. I have DVDs and also am subscribed to Amazon Prime so I can watch Prime Videos. I have been watching them more than I would have due to having to elevate my legs in the afternoon for a bit. Basically though, I am a reader and a writer, choosing to do that over watching videos. I spend a good part of my time on Ancestry working on my family tree. I have gone back so far on it that I am finding kings and queens in my ancestral tree now. I would rather subscribe to Ancestry and Prime than to pay for a television subscription.

It is not that I am against human companionship. I am not. I am in a relationship with a man I love very much. I just see no reason that to have companionship you have to live in the same house. For me, this is what my dream has been for so long. To live in my own space, decorate it for me. Nobody else. If you are single, widowed or divorced, there is no reason to feel you have to live with someone else. Take the time to get to know yourself first. I know many couples move in with each other thinking it will save them money. Does it? Not all the time. In fact, it can work against you. I could not get any help for medical insurance for many years due to my husband’s income being too high for help. Yet his income did not cover all the bills and there was no way I could pay for anything extra. Once I got my Social Security though, I could at least get Medicare, paying out $134. a month out of my very tiny check. Now living alone I was eligible for help and do not have to pay for Medicare. I am able to catch up on all the health concerns I had and am working on them right now.

To be honest, I do not live completely alone. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I have a “house rabbit” who is named, “Rabbit”. He is the perfect pet in my 338 square foot studio apartment. His cage and various boxes (his toys) take up some of my space, but he is worth it. I see my neighbors taking their dogs out several times a day which is not something I have to do with Rabbit. His cage is probably the biggest chore I have to do. Every day. He appreciates it though, watching me clean it for him. It takes me only about 15 minutes at the most. Hay is the hardest thing to deal with since it is very messy. But what else can I do? Hay is 80% of his diet and I use it for his bedding and litter too. It is just a part of my daily routine like making coffee or washing dishes. I talk to him all day long and when I leave for several hours, he is always happy to see me return. Of course, looking for a special treat I might have brought back for him!

Being a “senior citizen” there are many programs you have available to you if you are struggling to live with a very small income. If you are divorced or widowed, you might find that investments you were counting on do not exist once you are alone. Maybe they never did to begin with. So you must search for these programs yourself. I recommend going to your local Office For The Aging. Make an appointment for someone to help you see what you qualify for. Housing is one of the most costly expenses you will probably have. There are tons of affordable housing for elderly/seniors. Do not mistakenly think they are on poverty row! Most are not. They are usually nice and well taken care of and not owned by the government. The application though is a long, tedious chore but so worth it if you are accepted and will have a very low rent payment. Abide by the rules and you will be set.

Copyright © 2019 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2019  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2021