A Poem to Share

Undone.

I am done and undone,

I wonder if I can write a poem,

I hear a breeze sigh,

I see eagles,

I want peace.

I am done and undone,

I pretend to be smart,

I feel lost,

I touch my reality,

I worry that I am not ready,

I cry for lost youth.

I am done and undone,

I understand that night follows day,

I say truth is in the eye of the beholder,

I dream about my mother,

I try to live at peace,

I hope to be productive,

I am done and undone.

Studying on a Budget

Now that I am regaining my mental health, it's time for me to start a plan to return to the workforce.  It is obvious that at my age, it is hard to get employers to put me on their payroll, as traditionally, older workers are handicapped both mentally and physically.

The best way to counter this perception is to find a field of employment so heavily used that there are many vacancies in it.  I think that the field of aged care is one of these.  Therefore I have put my name on a list at Wide Bay TAFE, as an expression of interest.

One of the problems with beginning study, is the cost of the course.  The concessional fee of over $800 is nothing to be sneezed at, when one is on just a pension.  It is just as well that I have a cushion amount in my savings account which will let me afford the payment in one instalment.  It will take time to recover the cushion, which assists my budget to stay balanced.

I am concerned that I will be unable to cope with aspects of aged care which require me to tolerate toileting procedures.  I guess there must be a lot of other carers who were worried about that as well, so there must be ways to cope with it.  Time will tell.

Christmas Shopping on a Budget

I want to buy an easy recipe book for my son, Travis, for Christmas.  I worry that he doesn't eat well enough as a bachelor.  He needs to use new ideas for cooking good quality meals for himself.

I have budgeted $50 to spend on the book, which should give me something with a bit of substance.  I shall probably try Dymock's Book Store first, to see what is available there.  Then I will look at Chippendall's selections.

There's no time like the present to have a look.

Budgeting Helps

It's amazing that because I have looked into my budgeting techniques, I have started paying off my debts at a much faster rate than I had been doing.  I am now well on the way to paying off my Visa Card.  I will then be able to start saving for either the unforseen that may happen, or spend up big on Christmas, when my son arrives home for a holiday.

I have thought long and hard about Christmas presents - who should I buy them for, and how much should I spend.  I already have my son's presents worked out, and have purchased the first one.  The others are harder, as my friends have everything they need.  I consider it is time I started my Christmas window-shopping, to see what's out there.

Also important in the scheme of things is my Christmas card list of friends and relatives which I use to send Christmas cards out.  It's time I undertook that as well.  I usually write a letter with each card, as I often don't communicate with people apart from Christmas time.

It's obviously time I got busy.

Budgeting for Fitness

I have begun a sponsored program called Fit 4 Life.  It is a fitness program which helps members get involved in community fitness regimes.  It lasts for 8 weeks, and we are now in our 4th week of activities. 

Monday is a walking day, Tuesday is a day off, Wednesday and Friday are water aerobics, while Thursday is circuit training.  I have many sore muscles by the end of the week.

Fit 4 Life is a fun program.  It let's a person try something new, and it's easy to do, without taking up too much time.  There's a variety of activities, taking less than an hour a day, and it's a terrific way to get thin by getting fit.

I'd like to continue on with my gym activities after the program concludes; however, I would need to find out what gym memberships cost so I could budget for that.  I would also need to find out which gyms had ongoing classes of circuit training.  I have 4 weeks to find this information out before I need to commit. 

I wonder if anyone has any information on the gym programs available in Bundaberg?

Budget Security

It wasn't until I was madly brainstorming to come up with a topic to blog that I discovered that gaining security is an important reason to budget.  Budgeting to save a certain amount each week is as good a way as any to add security to one's lifestyle. 

Savings offers stability to the future, and I will be able to save for trips away to see my son, and even for another car, once I have paid my Visa debt.  I recently paid $300 off Visa in one amount, so I am hoping that I will pay it off sooner rather than later.

I have been dreaming of all the things I can save for, even on a small income.  Time will tell if I succeed.

Goals and Dreams

At present, I pay $100 a fortnight towards my Visa debt.  When I have finished with it, I can easily use this amount to go towards a savings fund. 

I would need to set up a separate account, or perhaps put money into a term deposit, so as to keep the money safe.  It may even be an idea to have a second signature on the deposit, so I cannot get the money out without good reason.

It's exciting to think that with my financial goal reached, I will be able to fly out of the country and wing my way towards a fun place.  Such is the power of budgeting!

Bundy Dens

My dogs mean alot to me.  They are affectionate, loyal and always happy.  I go out of my way to feed them small pieces of toast with vegemite, just to share in their happiness.  I started doing this when Pixie was still a pup, so as to see her more often. 

Pixie's an outdoor dog, having too much energy to be inside.  She jumps around endlessly, and explores all my spaces, if let loose in the house.  I used to have toys to amuse her as a pup, but she got a bit to 'bitey' with them, and had a tendency to use her mouth too much.

Benny is a quieter dog.  He enjoys a pat and kind words more than anything.  Although the two dogs are the same breed, they are different ages, and completely different personalities.  But they both appreciate being denned at night.

Budgets for Pooches

As part of my number-crunching efforts, I have extimated how much I spend on my dogs.  They eat like horses.  Although Benny and Pixie are short-haired fox terriers, they are always hungry.  I feed them tid-bits throughout the day, and in the evening I feed them their main meal of the day.  I nearly get mown down in the rush.

For their feed, I keep dog costs down by buying small dog biscuits and sausage meat in bulk, and store the sausage meat in the freezer.

Benny recently had an infection in his leg, so this was an extra expense which included painkillers and antibiotics to aid his recovery.  He'll soon be worth his weight in gold, if he carries on like that again! 

In the Budgeting Spirit

Fancy that!  I've been beavering away at home working on budgets and I have two budget plans to show for it.  Bridges may send out copies in the next newsletter, so that everyone can share in the spirit of budgeting for a better financial result. 

I have enjoyed dissecting my spending habits also, and can now account for the dearth of available cash on hand.  I usually get through my income fortnight by the skin of my fingernails.  It makes a change to have an awareness of my financial payments ahead of time. 

A Light Bulb Moment

Kerry drew circles on the whiteboard which showed the areas of expenditure like groceries, entertainment and fuel. Seeing the money I spent in black and white made me realize how much I was wasting.  It was a real light bulb moment.

At home, I created on my computer, a pie chart which allowed me to see where my money was going.  I wasn't happy. I was determined to make a change. And you'd better believe I have. Instead of wasting money on buying beer, I have reduced my spending by more than half.  It's not like I don't need the money to pay my rates.  I got the discount!

Numbers and Tightropes

Why is playing with numbers like walking a tightrope?  When you fall off either one you've made a complete mess of it.

For me, numbers are as precarious as a tightrope.  When logging in to my blog, at Bridges, I find it challenging, to say the least, to think of a strong password using numbers.  I eventually must be satisfied with using a number I am very familiar with.

I wonder how many other people have the same difficulty using passwords.

The Week at Bridges

I've had a busy week at Bridges, only missing Thursday.  Work was focussed on the "How to Guides", which were rather intensive, and hard to get right.  The guides are meant to help people use the computers on the system.  Hopefully Andy will be able to make sense of what I've done.

Budgeting Blues

I am not good with numbers.  My brain struggles with mathematical concepts and refuses to focus on wringing a result out of a group of numbers.  That's why the concept of budgeting has eluded me for so long. 

However, at Bridges Clubhouse, Kerry has used words to get across the ideas on which budgeting is based.  He showed a group of us how to put spending into a list of descriptions, with a total. 

I set to work at home with my computer, and studied my spending habits and necessary costs, and came up with a series of financial sheets which made me realize what I was wasting on unnecessary spending.