The Budget

Dwayne visited last night. We went over March's income and expenditures. It felt a bit like handing in a test to my teacher and standing there waiting to be graded.

The soundtrack from Jaws begins playing in my head--the part where the shark approaches its unsuspecting victim--as Dwayne began a budget spreadsheet for April.

The victim? Food...$250 worth. For the life of me, I don't know how this is going to come off.

I have actually caught myself skipping meals this past week, for the sole reason that, if I'm not hungry I will save money by not eating just because it's meal time. Now, I think about the cost of everything as I approach eating. By the time I'm done thinking about it, I've made myself just about sick, so I turn around and walk away.

Good way to lose weight at least.

Now hold on just a darn minute. This whole thing strikes me as ri-freaking-diculous.

So what if I eat in a healthy manner? 

So what if it costs me more to eat that way than it costs you to eat yourself into obesity?

We live very modestly and don't spend money frivolously, but it is what it is--this is the only thing left to cut after we have determined what it takes to live indoors and drive to jobs that earn us money.

Yes, I'm mad. Like always, I'll get over it and adapt.

This is what it's like to be shaped and molded by the Master Craftsman. It can hurt. Do I trust the process and the hands shaping me into a work of art?

The Person In The Mirror

Meeting #2 with Dwayne finally happened! Yay!

Boo.............

We have it in black and white, and it ain't pretty. After all the drastic cutbacks there's only one thing left that we can possibly cut back. Care to hazard a guess?

Food.

But I hardly eat anything! Looking over at Leland, I declared, YOU eat a boatload of food!

Again, I slumped in my chair and tried to take in what Dwayne was saying. Fear began to creep in while my mind started racing about how I could possibly cut something so essential.

I can't cut back on food. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't eat much, but what I eat is very healthy. If I cut back, I won't eat a damn thing!

Regardless of the fact that I didn't even eat dinner tonight, there it is--the cold, hard truth. We have to look in the mirror and realize that the problem is not money, it's the person looking back.

According to The Total Money Makeover, we need behavior modification in the manner in which we shop for food. Cut the number of trips to the store, first off, but since I am not likely to exchange my healthy food for Kraft mac and cheese, bologna and Wonder Bread, we (*cough* Leland) will simply have to eat less of what we like, or maybe we'll eat none of some of those things.

Next modification is to keep the debit card in the wallet and use cash. Does anyone use cash anymore?

However we buy food, I don't see cutting one or two small things every couple weeks is going to amount to more than chump change--but we are going to give it a go.

The road to financial freedom is a one lane dirt path, full of potholes and rocks, and my shock absorbers are beginning to wear out.

I'm curious to know others who have traveled that road before us. Care to share your story?

Red Light

Our first meeting with the Moneywise mentor, Dwayne, was canceled at the last minute. New date TBD.

I had read the first 3 chapters of The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey, in preparation for this first meeting. I was looking forward to asking Dwayne this one burning question:

How on earth do we apply these principles to our freelance, creative lives, when all Ramsey's success stories involve people with jobs that deposit money in their checking accounts every 2 weeks?

I can't really say I have any arguments with a word of those first 3 chapters, but there is this one constant in reaching financial freedom--steady income earning.

Are we a hopeless case then? 

I'll have to wait for the answer, and I will be sure to let you know what it is.

Unless Dave Ramsey would like to speak to me himself. That would be lovely.

On the expense paring, I have cut another $136 from our monthly expenses. No more hormone replacement therapy. Did you know that Novartis's Vivelle Dot patches are $100 for a box of 8 (one month's worth)? The compounding pharmacy supplied progesterone capsules; one month's worth for $36. Since this is not a life-saving necessity, it wasn't hard to cut the expense.

I may wake up in the middle of the night sort of warm (please don't miss the sarcasm here), or have a bout of insomnia, but hey, I don't have a job and I can take a nap. That's worth an extra $136 a month.

Dave, call me.