Frugal Freedom

Busy Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:29:00 +0000

I really should put more thought in to my birthday weekend. In hindsight, I should have taken Friday off instead of Thursday and sent my nephew to stay with my parents for the weekend so I could do whatever I wanted to do. Instead, I took Thursday off because I had to take the puppies to the vet. I had one puppy who didn't have to go to the vet and she was lonely (translation: barked all day). I put her with the rest of my dogs so that she wouldn't be lonely but that just upset my own dogs. After a few failed attempts at a nap, I got up and made myself bacon, eggs and hashbrowns (something I rarely do) and then took a nap in the spare bedroom with the fan on high to drown out any noise. I got to sleep for an hour but when I woke up it was time to retrieve the puppies and then pick up my nephew.

On Saturday, it was another trip to the vet and then a puppy delivery since one has been adopted. Then I had the bright idea to go out to my property to get a few more things. It was hot and I got overwhelmed by all of the work needed out there again because I didn't have a plan.

The next day we went to visit my parents, went to lunch and helped them move some boxes to their new townhouse. Then back home to take 2 puppies to another foster home and to the grocery store. I think I drove over 3 hours on Saturday and around 2 1/2 on Sunday. I was very tired of driving.

I don't like my birthday right now. It just reminds me that I am another year older and I still don't like my job. At least I have a plan. By my next birthday, I expect to be self employed and have a more flexible schedule. And next year I will plan out my birthday better so that I don't spend so much time in my car.

Took The First Step

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 06 May 2013 04:49:00 +0000

I did it. I signed up for the online course on setting up an online store. This was no little investment. This course costs $500. I used $300 from my credit card rewards (I now have $1 left) and sold my dog run, kennels and dog house. I was still $15 short of $500 but I signed up anyway because the price of the course is going up tomorrow. I still have $50 worth of stuff posted on craig's list so when it eventually sells I can pay myself back.

I haven't had much time to read the book that came with the course and I only watched the welcome video. It was nice to look at the forums and read about problems that the other people are having. Everyone is at a different stage so the ones who are farther along can give the rest of us advice. I'm not going to have a lot of time to work on my online business right now but Summer break is coming soon and will be ready to get to work.

Mini Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:46:00 +0000

Since I know that 2 hours is pretty much the maximum time that I can spend out at my property without getting overwhelmed, I had one goal in mind for Saturday. Take down the dog runs and bring them back to the house to sell. Turns out that even that was too much. After taking down one dog run, I was hot, sweaty and tired. It is getting too hot to work outside. I am going to have to start getting up early on Saturday. How I wish I had 3 day weekend again like at my old job. Well, my goal is to have a more flexible part time job so if I just hang in there, I will have more days to sleep in.

The dog run came down without too much problem. The big problem was the dead rat in the storage space of my RV. I should have expected it really, After all, I did put poison out for it. It was quite stinky and gross to clean up. The smell should go away soon. That's one good thing about the dry heat. It will bake it until there is no smell left. The other dog run will have to wait a couple of weeks. I listed the first dog run on craig's list and immediately got 3 people who wanted to pay less and one person who offered payments. Good thing I listed it for more than I expected to get. I'm sure I will settle for one of their offers in the next few days.

My goal is to use this money to sign up for an online course on how to set up an online store/business. I need help with all of the details. I feel like my progress is going painfully slow but any progress is good so I will just keep making mini-goals and completing them and I will get closer to my giant goal.

Inching Through Another Week

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:38:00 +0000

This has been such a wild week with all of the news from across the country. It is amazing how quickly we get information now with the internet. Still, my nephew rarely hears about current events since we don't have network TV and I guess none of his teachers or classmates mentioned anything. He starts high school next year. Maybe he will start to care about things that go on in the world.

Last week I got a few things accomplished. I made a simple business plan for my business and I set up a spreadsheet for expenses. I decided to go with BigCommerce for my online shopping cart. I tried hosting my own shopping cart but it was too confusing. My free trial with BigCommerce will be over after this week but I am not ready to sign up yet. I'm planning the shopping cart set-up when school gets out at the end of May.

My nephew and I went to the eye doctor on Friday. I took a half day, went home and took a nap before the appointment. The doctor said that my nephew is near-sighted and needs glasses and I can get reading glasses if I want them. My insurance pays for glasses so I ordered reading glasses. I haven't noticed a problem. I am worried that my nephew is going to lose his glasses. My benefits only pay for one pair a year. He hasn't lost his cell phone yet (just misplaced it a couple of times) so maybe there is hope. I must factor in the cost of the eye exam and glasses for my nephew for when I quit my job and get my own insurance. I don't believe it covers vision.

After the eye doctor, we spent the evening at a school function for science, math and engineering. He spent the whole time on the inflatable jousting, obstacle course and jumping castle. At least he got some exercise.

Yesterday I took the puppies for their first shots. A couple of them got car sick on the way so they were a mess by the time I got them to the vet. Only 3 more weeks and they should be ready to go to new homes. One of them is already pre-adopted.

I am trying to figure out when to go to the fair. It is going on all this week. I'd probably have to take another half day off to go though. The weekend crowds are too much for me. So far, I don't think I have anything else scheduled for this week except taking my truck in for an inspection. I mustn't forget that or the registration will expire.

This evening we will be finishing up his book report project. He read one of the Redwall books and we built this scene. He just needs to add mice, rats, badgers, etc...and some explanation. I think it is coming along quite nicely.

Jigsaw Puzzles

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:59:00 +0000

I was out at my property last Saturday and as I was looking around at all the stuff, a thought came to me. All the stuff at my house and at my property is like a jigsaw puzzle. Except it isn't just one puzzle, it's like 2 or 3 puzzles all thrown in together. No wonder I feel overwhelmed.

Every time I go out there I take my list with me but after I gather those things I don't know what else to bring. This time I decided to group the stuff by category. I brought all of my sewing stuff and started to bring my craft things. Next time I should gather all of my old documents to shred. I have a lot of those. Then books and old Mother Earth News magazines. I have 3 boxes of magazines.

I am starting to have more room out there in the mobile home. I can actually see progress. It is starting to get hot here so I will probably only go get a couple more loads before Summer and then get to work sorting the stuff at my house. I also brought the gutters with me and a piece of lattice to shade my garden. Maybe I'll have better luck growing things at my house.

Oh, and I got $250 for rent this month after all of the expenses were deducted. That's encouraging. I cut my expected savings for this month from $2,000 to $1,000. It didn't make any difference on my savings spreadsheet. I still need to save until April of next year in order to have a big enough emergency fund so that I feel comfortable going down to a part time job.

Progress for March

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:27:00 +0000

How is my savings plan going? Well, last month was tough with the rental house expenses but I managed to save $400 which was $100 less than my estimate. April is going to be tough too because although I have a new tenant (yay!). Since they moved in after the 1st, they only paid partial rent. I was notified that they paid $750 today. Take out 10% for the management company and subtract $780 for the eviction fiasco and I still owe the management company. There is also the lingering matter of the last renter's deposit verses the "imaginary" rent that my management company paid me for November when the check bounced. I probably still owe a couple hundred dollars difference. In May I expect to be in the positive range again.

My online business idea is creeping along at a snail's pace. Once my nephew came back from his grandparents my mind became cluttered with school routines and homework again. My next step is to take photos and write descriptions for my products and then I must pick an online shopping cart and start putting the store together. I must admit it is scary to think about launching a store. I might not get any orders or I might get a lot of orders. Either way, it means more responsibility for me.

This weekend I plan to go out to my property again and retrieve more boxes and my gutters. I must get those gutters up before it gets too hot. But first I have to finish painting the fascia boards. One step at a time. I can't imagine ever running out of things to do on my weekends.

The Wheels on the Bus

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:05:00 +0000

Since the boy doesn't want to do track this quarter (that is the only sport offered), his after school options are school tutoring or take the bus to the bus stop and walk an hour and a half home. At the end of last quarter, when soccer practice was over, I often received panicked text messages that tutoring was cancelled and how was he getting home??? It dawned on my that the city bus is just around the corner from his school bus stop and a 10 minute ride for a dollar fifty will get him within a 15 minute walk from home. This gets him home around 4pm and he gets some exercise in exchange for an hour and a half of free time before I get home from work. I'm ok with that because I have security software on my computer and so far he sticks to the free games or cartoons on TV which I can monitor with the Netflix's Recently Watched page.

On Monday we tried the city bus. He was apprehensive but got to the bus stop and then started the text messages, "What time does the bus come?" "Can you pick me up if I miss the bus?". The bus comes every 30 minutes so I told him I could pick him up at 5 but three buses will have passed by then. The next text said he made it off the bus and was headed home.

Today, he had a doctor's appointment for a sports and camp physical. I gave him $5.50 and told him he could buy a snack at school but to keep $1.50 for the bus. When school was out, I got another panicked text, "Does the city bus give change?". Nope. I guess he didn't have time to buy a snack. I told him to either stay for tutoring or try the front office for change. He was able to get change and off he went.

I am thrilled that this has worked out and he now has another option to get home. I expect the panicked emails to subside after awhile. This will relieve some of the work pressure I have since I won't have to leave early to get him at the bus stop if my boss needs something at the last minute. Oh and I ordered a bus pass today so that he doesn't have to have correct change in the future. Now, if he can just keep track of the bus pass...

Back to the Grind

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:49:00 +0000

My 3 day weekends are over and my alarm is set for 6am. Time to get back on the school schedule. It has been so nice to have the time to work on my house and my business idea. I tried Bondo on the suggestion of my handyman for the small patches of wood rot. It worked great. I wish I had known about it sooner. I have been looking at those patches of rot for a year now and I ignored them because I though it would be really expensive to replace the wood. Well, I had 2 large boards replaced and I patched the other pieces. Then I bought a gallon of brown paint and started painting. I still need to do a second coat but it looks great so far. Now I can look out my bedroom door and smile because the wood is protected. Next chore, adding gutters and caulking the seams of the roof.

For my business, I got a website and a online shopping cart. I got stuck trying to upload a template for the shopping cart so I sent an email to a friend who does computer work. I did more research to find accessories for my business. Looks like everything that I can buy online is also available at the local craft chain store but for a higher price. I bought a few items in order to figure out what I want to include in my craft kit. That's all I have time for at the moment. Tomorrow is Monday and it is back to early mornings, full time jobs, bus schedules, after school activities and all that goes with having a teenager. Only 8 weeks until Summer!

My Latest and Greatest Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 03:49:00 +0000

I have been looking for income ideas beyond a part time job at Walmart which is opening soon down the road. It is comforting to know that I could probably get a part time job nearby at the grocery store or a retail outlet but if I could find something that is more exciting to me then I'd rather do that.

One of my new favorite blogs is Walden Effect I like that they live in an old mobile home that looks like the one I used to live in and I like that they are making a living with their own business and hard work. I am also glad that I don't live in my old mobile home anymore because sometimes it felt like putting money in to it was just throwing money away.

Anna from Walden Effects writes how-to books and she wrote one on Microbusiness. I bought it and read it. It was a good start but I wanted more.

Last week I stumbled on this blog called My Wife Quit Her Job . I was a little annoyed by the advertising over-kill but I found the blog to be immensely helpful and inspiring. Now I want to open an online store. I don't know if I would or will pay $500 for his complete online business course but maybe I will later on if I get to that point where I need help.

I have actually always wanted to sell some sort of craft but craft shows are not my thing and etsy and ebay are too crowded. You know, even back when I was a teenager, I wanted to sell something.  I got Teen magazine and there were advertisements in the back where people said to send $1 for recipes or hair tips or some sort of booklet. I wanted to do that. It is much easier now with online stores. I have an idea too. I'm not going to say what it is yet but I found a source to buy from and I want to put items together and sell kits and maybe later sell some that I have put together. The best part about selling kits is that I just need good instructions and packaging. It shouldn't take too long to put them in a box and ship as opposed to selling finished crafts or pieces of art.

The first steps are to get a business license and then set up an online store. The good thing is that I can do this from home while I still have my full time job.  I only need to make $650 profit per month to equal a part time job.   I don't think that is an unrealistic expectation. I don't expect to do it right away but hopefully within the first year. If I reach that point then I can quit my full time job and put more effort in to the online business. If I can't reach that $650 per month goal in a year then I am doing something wrong.

We will see how long my enthusiasm can keep me motivated. Today I filled out the form to register my business name. Tomorrow I can send it in with a $10 check. I need to keep close tabs on the money that I spend on this business because I don't want it to interfere with my savings plan. One way or another I want to be working part time next year.

More Monetary Set-backs

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 08:06:00 +0000

I haven't received any credit for the last tenants' deposit so I emailed the accounting department of the property management company. The reply was both startling and depressing. They said that the deposit would be applied to November's rent when the check bounced since they paid me but didn't actually get the money. WHAT? I looked over all of my old statements and sure enough, in December there appeared a $1,100 negative balance. I thought that meant the tenants didn't pay December's rent but no. Evidently, they paid November's rent and then the rental company paid me and then the check bounced and the rental company didn't ask for their money back. They just quietly put it on the monthly statement as a negative number.

Perhaps someone messed up and paid me before waiting the usual 10 days and was hoping that the tenants would pay it later and no one would notice. This messes up my savings plan even more because I owe the rental company my portion of November's rent plus $750 for carpet and house cleaning. The deposit will only cover November's rent...maybe. I asked when I would get the deposit and she said that they were processing them yesterday but I haven't seen it yet. I suppose I won't see it until I get my next statement. Then, the first month's rent from the new tenants will have to go towards the maintenance fees.

This tenant turn-over has cost me thousands of dollars. 5 months lost rent, eviction and maintenance fees, $1,600 for the stolen AC unit, at least $500 for the utilities which are all back in my name, plus misc. items like light bulbs, batteries, weed and bug killer, curtains to replace the laundry doors, 2 vacation days and 4 Saturdays of my own time and labor,

I am really not happy with how the property management handled this tenant turn-over. I lost just as much money as when I handled it myself. The only benefit was that it was less stressful because I didn't have to evict them myself. When the contract runs out I will definitely be switching. I need to start asking around. Someone has got to be able to do it better.

The Sound of Silence

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:04:00 +0000

It seems like every week comes with new and unique challenges. I have not made any progress on my 'switch to part time' savings account because of all of the bills for my rental house but I have made progress on getting to the point where I will be making progress. The property management company told me on Saturday that they have someone willing to sign a 12 month lease for my house. The only down side is that the management company says that the rent is too high and recommends that I reduce it by $100. I kind of expected that but still, it adds a few months on to my 'switch to part time' plan. Now I won't have enough money saved until the end of April next year. That's a whole year away and a whole year out of this 4 year span that I will still have to work full time. I'm kind of disappointed at that but maybe I can switch to part time at my current company next January. That would still give me income and I wouldn't need to save as much. We will see how I feel about my job in January.

Starting this month I am going to give myself one 3 day weekend a month. I like that better than taking a whole week off at once. I'll have something to look forward to every month. Also, I am hoping that my nephew will be able to catch the city bus to get home from the bus stop. For $1.50 he can walk 5 minutes from his school bus stop to the city bus stop and then get off with only a 15 minute walk home. He hasn't done it yet. I plan on riding the bus with him on a practice run. This could greatly reduce the "emergency" transportation problems I have been having when after-school activities get cancelled.

My nephew is off visiting his out-of-state grandparents for the next 2 weeks of Spring Break. I have the whole house to myself. Well, I did have the whole house to myself but I let a mom and puppies move in to my laundry area for the next 5 weeks. She has her own dog door and outside run so I don't have to do much, just keep the food and water filled and the area clean.

Now is my chance to get my house organized. I'm taking next Friday off so I can start on the time consuming job of finding a place for all of this miscellaneous stuff that seems to accumulate on every surface. I should start in the storage room, then when I make some room in there I can move stuff from the house out and maybe clean off the porch. The storage room is really small so I'll try not to be too much of a pack rat. I'm looking forward to making lots of progress on this to-do list in my head. It will be so nice to look around and not see things that need to be fixed/sorted/put away. It is such an energy drain.

Getting Back On Track

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:23:00 +0000

Although I intend to write at least once a week, I admit it gets away from me sometimes. Last week was a perfect example. I planned to take last Thursday off so that I could work on a few things around the rental house. On Wednesday I started feeling crummy but I had to go to work so that I could get all of the urgent things done. I was hoping that it was just a passing thing and I would feel better on Thursday but no such luck. I felt worse on Thursday but dragged myself to Home Depot and then to the rental house. I didn't get a lot done before I admitted defeat and crawled in to bed. The next day I had to call in sick. I felt a little better on Saturday and went back to the house to take down the folding door in front of the laundry area that have always caused problems and replace them with curtains (which will probably cause different problems).

I attempted to secure my new A/C condenser but I only got one post in the ground to secure my gate. I have to go back this Saturday to finish up.   We went to visit my parents on Sunday and to look at the townhouse that my mother just bought. When I got back I had a little bit of time to do the usual laundry, sweeping, clean up and I even got the cat cage put away, well, at least cleaned up and folded. The cage is still in the living room. It's too bad that when I finally felt good I ran out of weekend.

It is 90 degrees here now. That is unseasonably warm. The snow peas that I planted are coming up.  I had better get them some shade. The strawberries never grew. I kept the packaging so that I can take them back.  I'll buy something green this time instead of brown shriveled strawberry roots. I planted some grass seed in a pot for the dogs to nibble but it didn't grow. I think I didn't keep it wet enough. Now that it is the middle of March I am going to plant the rest of my seeds. Yellow squash, tomatoes, sunflowers. I don't even remember what else I bought. It is also time to figure out some shade for my bedroom window. I bought water-proof patio fabric last Summer but never got around to putting the grommets on it and putting it up. I also want gutters but I haven't figured out where to direct the water or if I want to collect it and I don't have a lot of money to spend.

My plan to save $2,000 a month is not getting off to a good start. My rental house has cost me around $2,000 and more as it sits there vacant. The property management company has said that it is ready to rent and I even paid an extra $200 for more advertising and a 30 guarantee that it will get a tenant. I am eagerly awaiting the results. I want my savings plan to get back on track.

I Pick Plan 2013.3.3 revision D

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 04:18:00 +0000

I've thought of a few plans. I always seem to have a plan A, B, C, etc....and this time is no different.

Plan A is to pay off the mortgage on this house. That won't work because it will take 4 years and I only have 4 years to spend with my nephew.

Plan B is to save up 25 times my yearly expenses. That would take much more than 4 years.

Plan C is to quit now and get a part time job. This is possible since I only need an additional $541/m if I am receiving rental income but it still makes me feel financially insecure.

Plan D is to work for another 11 months, save up $2,000 a month to equal $22,000 + rental income which is what I would need to cover around 3 and a half years of expenses. This, along with the $10,000 emergency fund that I already have, would give me a nice cushion to fall back on.

I could go on with the plans, move to my old place, rent out this house, etc... but that would take more money than I have available and time is ticking away.

For the moment, assuming I can keep going to my job and not have a major tizzy and quitting, I pick Plan D. 11 months isn't that far away. I can do this. Well, it might have to be 12 months because I have an out of state wedding to go to in June and that is going to take up some money. I need to start watching my expenses more closely and trying very hard to save $2,000 a month. It will be a lot easier to do once my house is rented again. I will have 3 years and 4 months to do stuff with my nephew, if he still wants to hang out with his old auntie.

After I save the money, my goal will be to not use it. I will try to earn enough each month so that I don't have to touch my savings and it will just be a giant emergency fund. I don't know what I will do after my nephew moves on to college. Hopefully, I will have figured out some sort of home business or new career by then.

Also, in order to survive the next 12 months, I have decided to take at least one day of vacation a month. That will give me a 3 day weekend to look forward to every few weeks and 2 three day weekends if there happens to be a holiday that month too. This month I want 3 three day weekends. I get one holiday and I will use up 2 vacation days. I wasn't going to do it until later in the month but I need to spend more time at my rental house making sure the A/C condenser is safe so Friday I will be digging holes and pouring concrete for a new gate. It better not get stolen again. I can't afford it.

Anyway, I like my new plan. If I can stick with it, I think it might actually work.

Time For A Change?

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:43:00 +0000

I am one of those people who don't like their job. I am also one of those lucky people who can do something about it. My job is ok on most days but there are some days when the people are just unbearable. I keep at it because I want to have more money saved before I try a career change. I have always dreamed of earning a living with something more artistic but I haven't found my niche yet. I thought that having my nephew to take care of would make me stick with my job even more in order to give him those things that money can buy like trips, toys, lessons, etc.... But I find my desire to quit my job has grown as it conflicts almost daily with activities that I could be doing with him.

Take last week, for instance. He asks me, "Are you going to my soccer game?". No, I have to work. The school says I am supposed to volunteer 10 hours a year. Maybe I can take vacation time for that. I took 2 half days of vacation the week before in order to go to court and to teacher-parent conferences. I take him to Boy Scouts and fret about all the things I should be doing at home because I have so little time to do anything after work. They had middle-school awards last Wednesday at 10am. Parents were invited. I didn't go and I found out later that he got an award. It snowed last week. So much that the late bus was cancelled and he had to take the early bus leaving me scrambling as my boss demanded a presentation by 5pm and I had to call a friend to go get the freezing boy at the bus stop. (Really wish that bus stop was closer so he could walk).

I think about my sister, my nephew's mom, who died at such a young age and I think about what I am doing with my life. So far I am sticking with a job I don't like so that I can get more money. My father has dementia. He worked hard all of his life to have a nice retirement and now he can't do any of those activities that he loved like fish, read or just enjoy a conversation with his wife. I wish I had more time with my father when I was young. If I died or became ill today, the thing I would regret most is not spending time with people when I had the opportunity. I would never say I wish I had worked longer hours. (I would say I wish I had saved more money though). I find myself more frustrated and less patient when I work all day at a job I don't like and then have to come home and do chores and help with homework.

Next week my boss wants me to go to our Mexico plant. Although I enjoy seeing the people at the plant, I don't like getting up earlier and getting home later. This will make getting my nephew to school and home even more complicated. Plus, I can't get any of my work done down there so the trip is just on the whim of my boss. I am seriously contemplating telling him that I am looking for a new part time job. I wonder what he would do?

My plan is not as great as it could be. I can get organized and sell my surplus of stuff for the first couple of months. Once my house is rented, I will need $600 more than the rental income in order to pay my bills. If I can't earn $600 from selling my things (or when I run out of things) and some pet sitting then I will need a part time job. I'm thinking one of the big stores within biking distance would work. One of my biggest bills right now is gas. I hope that my nephew gets in to the high school with the closer bus stop but I can't count on it. It would be great if I could think of something to make and sell. I've always wanted to do that. I tried making fish out of polymer clay back in 1997 but back then the only way to market them was to go to craft fairs and I didn't have a car. With the internet, I have a lot more marketing opportunities.

I have $10,000 in my emergency fund. I could live off of that for a year if I had to but I would rather not touch it except for real emergencies. The one thing that keeps me from quitting is how much I hate looking for a job. I don't think I will ever make as much as I do now and I don't even make that much, around $40k a year. My fall-back job would be Geico, the insurance company because they are always hiring and start out at $13 with good benefits. The bad part is the job is talking to customers on the phone, one of my least favorite things to do. But then the motivation to create my own job would be really high, right?

I don't know what I will do. I try to get through one day at a time, one week at a time and so on. Perhaps I should have a goal like if I save $20k then I can try my plan. If I had $40k then I could make it 4 years without a job and my nephew would be in college. I'll see how this week goes.

Spring Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 15:14:00 +0000

Yesterday I went out to my rental house to work on the yard. I inspected the place where the air conditioner condenser used to be before it was stolen and I thought of some ideas to secure the new one when it gets replaced. This side of the house is really narrow so a gate from the house to the wall will work nicely. I'm not sure how I will secure the gate to the house and wall or maybe I will dig some holes and fill them with concrete. If the insurance company picks the bid from the fellow that I have used for my own house then he said he will help me put some anti-theft measures in place. Actually, he would probably help me even if they don't pick his bid because he is a really helpful guy.

While cleaning out the brush and trash from the yard I found the A/C circuit breaker (I think that is what it is called) next to the fence that backs up to the high school softball field. I think that maybe the thieves drove a truck on to the school property and hoisted the condenser over the back fence. That could have been the reason that no one saw anything. Bringing the thing out to the front of the house would be riskier. The circuit breaker box has a place for a lock so it will definitely be getting a lock next time so it isn't so easy to shut off the electricity. Hopefully a gate and a lock on the circuit box will be enough to deter them next time.

I spent about 4 hours trimming trees, pulling up the dead shrubs, picking up trash, trying to sort out the bark from the rocks, and tidying up. I took out the drip system because no tenant has ever used it and their dogs just use it as a chew toy. They don't care about my landscaping. The shrubs that needed the drip system were dead anyway and everything that is still alive is drought resistant and has survived on its own. I was hoping it would only take me one Saturday to fix the yard but it was too late to take the brush to the dump so I will have to do it next Saturday.

The house looks good. As soon as the water gets turned on they can clean it and it should be ready to rent again. The yard is going to look great when everything turns green again. Too bad I won't see it.

Kitties, Court and Thievery

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 02:57:00 +0000

Sorry for the few posts but with my new parenting responsibilities, I find I have little time to relax and when I get a few minutes, blogging is way down on my priority list. My nephew is visiting with his grandparents today so I have a few moments to think.

Here's what's been going on. I went to court on Monday and I am now a legal guardian. I was so nervous I thought I was going to faint. It was just like on TV, got sworn in, said "yes, your Honor" and all that. Turned in my paperwork and it was official. Some other people didn't show up for their hearing and the judge issued a warrant for their arrest. Ooo...drama.

With my official paperwork in hand, I went to his school and updated his contact info then dropped an application at the high school of his choice although there is only a slim chance he will get in.

My tooth hasn't hurt since that day that I bit the almond M&M. That means it probably has a small crack but I am not calling it urgent. I did submit the paperwork to add my nephew on my health insurance and to add vision and dental benefits. I am not sure when that kicks in but I think it is when they start charging me. It usually takes a few weeks to get the new ID cards.

Rental house update: The tenants moved out but we had to go through with the eviction because they didn't turn in the keys. The property management company did an inspection today and the house doesn't need much to get it back in shape, clean carpets, clean the surfaces, new light bulbs, trim shrubs, change locks. That was the good news. The bad news was that the outside condenser unit for the air conditioner is missing. Ugh. That happened to my boss about 6 months ago and I was worried about it since my house was vacant. The thieves steal it for the $300 worth of copper inside and the unit costs about $2-3 thousand dollars! I called my insurance company and I will have to pay the $1,000 deductible. I was hoping this whole rental house turnover would only cost $1,000. This time I am putting a cage around the A/C unit!

So, that's the news. Oh, and I am also fostering a kitty. The dogs don't like her and she doesn't like the dogs so I have to keep them separate. She is going back to the shelter and will hopefully get adopted soon. Since my nephew was the one who was begging me for a cat I thought it would be a good chance to see if he would take care of a cat. Well, he fed it occasionally and played with it but he never cleaned the litter box or swept up spilled litter so I will not be adopting a cat unless I want the extra chores. That's good to find out while the cat is still a temporary visitor.

Tomorrow I have plans to go out to my old place and sort through more stuff. Of course, I am feeling lazy at the moment. Maybe I will have more energy tomorrow.

I Should Have Learned

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 03:18:00 +0000

The last time I bought almond M&M's I broke a tooth. "But I like them", I thought. "But I'll chew carefully", I promised. Guess what? I think I cracked another tooth. One of these years I am going to make it through the entire year without major dental work. To make matters worse, I am only days away from re-starting my dental insurance. Yes, I foolishly cancelled a few years ago when I thought I was very close to retiring early and I had a brilliant idea to get my dental work done in Mexico. Well, since then I have decided that taking 2 days off of work and walking across the border is more trouble than it is worth. Plus, guess which tooth is broken? Yes, my Mexican crowned tooth.

Next week I go to court to get guardianship of my nephew. Since guardianship is considered one of those "life moments", I can add him on to my insurance and add dental. My tooth only hurts when I eat cold food so I just have to make sure everything is room temperature for the next few weeks. I think I can make it.

Monday Is Looming

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:09:00 +0000

Life here is busy, as usual. This weekend I attempted to buy my nephew clothes from the thrift store. I managed to get 2 pair of shorts, 1 shirt and a camo jacket. I told him that he wasn't allowed to wear the camo jacket with the camo pants to school. One can only handle so much camo. He says the jacket is for airsoft-ing which is those guns that shoot little plastic pellets. He was going to go try it out this new activity this weekend but his friend's mom wouldn't let him go. That was great for me because he stopped talking about it for now.

My tenants haven't paid rent in 2 months and the property management company tells me that they are going ahead with the eviction. I went over to the house and it was obvious that they were moving out (full trash can, empty living room/kitchen) but they weren't home. I left a note asking that they hand the keys in so that the eviction wouldn't have to go ahead but I doubt they care at this point. I'm hoping the eviction doesn't cost too much but I think it is at least $600. That is painful since I am out $1900 in rent already and will also have to pay for cleaning and then wait for a new tenant. At least the management company is taking care of the details. I don't have the time to deal with it right now.

Work is annoying as usual. The big boss asked me what my aspirations were with the company. Um...aspirations? I don't have any. Perhaps to remain employed for as long as I need a job? They want to redistribute the work so that one employee in particular isn't so bogged down. I said I would do what ever I can do to help. He's a perfectionist so "helping" him isn't as easy as the boss thinks it is. When I have tried to help before he ends up doing my work over anyway.

I am not looking forward to another week of work and homework but I will tackle it one day at a time. Hopefully, my nephew will go away on a camp-out next weekend and I will have a few days to myself. I am certainly looking forward to that.

Never Enough Time

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 04:21:00 +0000

School has started and homework time has been going relatively well except for some lack of initiative on my nephew's part to actually turn assignments in. Luckily, the school has a website for grades and I can see when he gets a zero. We have a rule that says that if there are zeros then there is no tv or games until the zeros are fixed or if they can't be fixed then he must wait a week. Yesterday I told him that he was on a week of entertainment restriction and he was bummed but then his teacher gave him late credit so now he just has to turn in his other 2 missing assignments. Perhaps this will help him pay attention to due dates. It will take a lot more practice though. He isn't used to having strict deadlines.

I've managed to arrange our schedules so that I can pick him up after work. He has joined the soccer team and he goes to horseback riding lessons on Friday. The lessons cost me $25 each Friday but they pick him up after school and drop him off half way to my house in the evening which makes it so that I don't have to leave work early. I don't want to use up my work "favors" yet. I know there will be other times like when he is sick or has appointments and I will need to ask for time off or a flexible schedule.

Last weekend I went to the thrift store to look for some used cowboy boots for my nephew. They had some funky ones that were snake or lizard skin but I wanted something plain. I bought him 2 pairs of shorts which ended up being too small. I haven't figured out his size yet. I think I should start shopping in the men's section. I bought myself 3 shirts but didn't try them on because I ran out of time and had to pick up my foster dog. I tried on one of the shirts this morning and was dismayed to find it was too small. Even though the tag said large I think it should have been in the large children's section.

We have had weather in the 20's at night here with the high in the 40's. I covered my pipes with blankets so no broken pipes yet. I bet the plastic pipes at my property have broken. I forgot about them. I bet the water tank will be empty when I go out there next time. It is frustrating to worry about my stuff out there and not have the time to go deal with it. I plan to go out there on Sunday and bring back more items to use, sell or give away. Spring break is only 9 weeks away and my nephew will be going to visit his grandparents. I think I will take a day or two off and have a couple long weekend to work on my own projects.

So Far So Good

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 04:08:00 +0000

So far so good with this being a mom thing. Of course, school hasn't started so I haven't had to get up early or figure out how to pick him up from the bus stop or make sure his homework is done. I haven't even had a full day of work since before Christmas. Next week is going to be tough.

I have been making dinners but he has been on his own for breakfast and lunch. I bought bacon for the first time in a long time. Turns out he doesn't like bacon. Oh well, more for me.

I took Friday off and managed to find my way to the courthouse to turn in the guardianship paperwork. It will be around 6 weeks before I have to go to court. I can't forget to do my online how-to-be-a-guardian training. I wonder if there will be a test? Just kidding.

The wipe off board is working well for chores that change daily. Today's chores were: Take holey socks out of drawer. Take last semester's work out of binder. Tell me if you need school supplies. And lastly, have Skype tutoring with his aunt. He has a research paper that is an all-year project and they are getting started with tutoring by reviewing what he has done so far.

One more day of leisure time and then we jump right in to a full week of work and school. Let the games begin!

Not Like Last Year

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 04:47:00 +0000

Things have been changing rapidly around here. My parents successfully moved in to their apartment. I have been gathering up the stray odds and ends around the house and will take them over to them tomorrow. I have been non-stop busy trying to get my house organized. First I cleaned my parents old room. Then we moved my nephew's stuff in to that room. I still don't know why he likes that room better. Then I moved the furniture that I bought at the estate sale in to his old room. The next day we went out to my old place and got my old bed and more stuff. At this point I was really tired of moving things, especially beds, but I pressed on. Next I moved my bed in to my nephew's room and put the bed from my old place in my room. It took a lot of cleaning and a lot of laundry but we finally got it done.

Today we went to the library, then stopped at the bank to see the notary so that I can start the guardianship process, then to Big Lots so that my nephew could spend some of his Christmas money on The Pirates of the Carribean game for the wii. He loves the wii but I keep telling him that he isn't going to be able to play it this much once school starts. If I have to take it to work with me during the week I will. I bought him socks and a comforter/sheet set for the bed that I just moved to his room. After that was grocery shopping. I have to actually plan meals now. Then unloading and putting it all away and I am tired.

I thought about staying up until midnight but people are setting off fireworks and other things and the dogs are scared and want me to go to bed and I'm tired too. So, Happy New Year to everyone! (just a few hours early for my timezone).

Getting In To Single-Mom Mode

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 02:23:00 +0000

Dec. 28th is approaching fast and if you have been reading this blog for the last few months then you know what that means. My parents are moving out and I will become the guardian of my 13 year old nephew. Most of my Christmas gifts revolved around this theme. My mother bought me a big wipe-off board to hang on the wall for posting events. I bought the wii for entertainment and exercise that we both can enjoy and for incentives for completed work (I am currently sore from wii boxing and tennis). My new computer is still sitting in the box waiting to be set up as a tutoring station once my parents' furniture is gone. I added Netflix through the mail for more homework incentives. When he gets his work done he gets to pick the next movie in the queue. When he doesn't, I get to torture him with movies from my childhood. Heehee. It's Teen Wolf and Short Circuit time!

I am also considering another big move. And I really mean "move". Since it would be easier if we lived near a school bus stop, I am starting to look at buying a small house within the school district. I think I could afford a $100k house. There are a few listed but they are short sales and I don't know if they are being bid up. I'll have to do a lot more research but for now this gives me something to save for. After the spending spree of Christmas and getting my truck fixed, I have $10k in savings. I would need another $10k for the 20% down payment. My tenant hasn't paid for December yet. I hope they come through with the rent because I want the money and I don't want to go through an eviction or have a vacant house. If my tenant does come through with the rent, I should be able to save $2k a month. Hopefully, home prices won't rise faster than I can save.

My other option was to put a manufactured home on my old property which is also in the preferred school district. I thought about this option from every angle but I just don't like the depriciation of a manufactured home and I don't want to go back to the problem of water delivery. It would cost less up front to buy a house although it does mean more mortgage debt. The rest of the plan would be to rent out my current house and live in the new house for the next 4 years until my nephew is out of school. Then I would rent out that house and move back to the house I am in now or, perhaps, finally built a site-built home on my property if the banks are offering construction loans in 4 years.

Ultimately, I would have 3 rental houses and I could live on my property in a small house, quit my current job and have rental income to allow me to do whatever I want...within my budget, of course.

Time For Auto Maintence

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 07:04:00 +0000

I got out of work early on Friday and decided to stop by Brake Max where I had my shocks replaced a few years ago. I wasn't sure if I had to go back to the same location and I didn't have my old receipt with me but it didn't matter. The guy at the desk as very nice and was able to look the information up on the computer. They got my truck in after an hour which was great because I thought I would have to make an appointment for at least a week later. The estimate was not pretty. I needed 4 shocks and front brakes including drums. I knew that so it wasn't a surprise. They drove me home and got my truck done by 4. I am so glad that I finally fixed my truck. It was a lot of money but before I spend money on fixing up my kitchen or landscaping I really needed to fix my truck. Plus, that pesky ABS light doesn't come on anymore.

Just when I was thinking about how nice it was that I didn't have to think about truck maintenance any more, I took my dog to the vet and he jumped out of the truck and caught his leash on the window lever. Yes, I have a truck with manual windows. Then the driver's side remote controlled lock stopped working. I have a feeling that the window incident somehow unhooked the door lock. Neither of those problems are urgent but both are annoying. I can buy a replacement window knob for $10. I could probably fix the door lock myself if I could figure out how to get the door panel off. Luckily, with Youtube I just might find and instructional video that could help me. I'll put that on my to-do list right after Christmas, getting my parents moved and rearranging my house.

Christmas Flurry

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 04:27:00 +0000

As in, the flurry of activity before Christmas. It is not all Christmas related for me though. I have many thoughts spinning in my head including my parents' move and my soon-to-be guardianship of my nephew. I have written up some house rules, wii point incentives, chore charts to earn money and a kid friendly menu. I have great hopes but I know reality might be a little different from the blissful teen years I am envisioning.

Wii Points:

10 Check homework list daily

10 Finish homework

10 Backpack ready for next day

10 PE form submitted

10 No zeros at end of week

10 Shower

10 Ready for school at 6:50am with hair brushed

-Zeros in PowerSchool will freeze all points until the assignment is turned in. If assignment cannot be submitted, Wii points go back to zero.

-An overall grade of F in any subject will cancel all entertainment (video games, extra-curricular activities, TV) until brought up.

-Wii points are used in 30 minute increments.

-Wii points can be exchanged for TV time. 30 Wii points = 1 half hour episode.

I bought the wii console, or at least, I ordered it on Amazon. It is used and comes with the controllers for 2 people and wii sports. I told my nephew that I was going to wait until after Christmas to order it but I found a reasonable deal and wanted to check it off my to-do list so I bought it now. If it comes before Christmas I will wrap it up as a gift for me and wrap up the game as a gift for him. If it doesn't show up before Christmas then that is ok too.

My nephew, like many 13 year olds, is not interested in school work so I am trying to provide enough incentives to make him interested. Hiring a tutor worked out well for my sanity this semester. I hope to continue that next semester. Transportation is going to be my biggest headache. I found some horseback riding lessons that will pick him up from school and drop his off after I get out of work. I'm going to try that out for the first month. I don't want to have to leave work early to pick him up from school. Even though my boss is semi-accommadating, I don't want to use up all of my special favors right away.

Money is pouring out of my wallet this month. My budget is in a free-fall. When we get some sort of routine together I will try to figure out my goals. Right now my goal is to have a happy household again and some organization and control of my life.

My nephew is a free-spirit. Definitely a spender. He told me that everyone should be able to do what they want, then everyone would be happy. I told him that he will re-think that statement when he gets a little more life experience. We went in to Big Lots the other day to buy a gift for a gift exchange. He insisted that he needed a 4 port USB attachment for his computer. I asked him why but he couldn't give me a reason other than wanting it so I said no. We went to the grocery store next so that I could buy the ingredients for fudge. He asked me why I have so much money (I assume he asked that because he sees me buy a lot of groceries). I said that I have a job. He wanted to know how much I make an hour so I told him and then told him how much comes out for taxes and retirement. Then I started listing my bills. He wanted to know why I have to pay the bank if I own my house. I explained how a mortgage worked and he wanted to know why I didn't just pay it off. Um, because I don't have $72k to spare.

I hope he got something out of the conversation. There was a lot more that I would like him to understand but, you know, the attention span of a 13 yr old isn't that long. I'm glad he was interested enough to ask. I definitely intend to have him earn the money for his hobbies. That will help him learn how to budget, I hope. I don't want him to think I am a money tree. His carefree attitude makes me think he will have to learn many lessons the hard way instead of learning from other people's mistakes. I hope I can help him learn these thing early on. Of course, if I move to a tiny cabin on my property in 5 years then he won't be living in my basement when he's 30. I must have a plan to launch this little birdy out of the nest. All in good time. Getting through the 8th grade is my first priority.

Dwindling Free Time

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 03:04:00 +0000

I am trying to spend my evenings relaxing because my days as a care-free dog mom are coming to an end. Soon I will also be in charge of a 13 year old boy and as far as I can tell, 13 year olds are more demanding than dogs.

I got my yorkie mix adopted yesterday. She's the grey one in the middle. Hopefully she will stay adopted. I offered to dog-sit for the people because they wanted me to hold her until after the holidays. I said, how about you take her now and I will dog-sit the week after Christmas. They agreed so that's the plan.

I am also fostering the dog on the right because he got returned and his old foster home couldn't take him. I've had a lot of interest in him so hopefully he will get adopted soon. My chiweenie on the left does not get any attention at all because he is shy and doesn't approach people. He's been in the rescue for over a year. Usually small dogs get adopted fast but not him.

I'm trying not to take any new dogs until I find out how much free time I will have. With boy scouts and school and who knows what else, I don't think I will have much time. So far I am working on a schedule that will work. I hope I can fit some fun things in the schedule too. Raising a teenager should be fun right?