Yesterday, I was home a little early after running work errands and I got to see most of Suze Orman on Oprah. She has a 5 Step Plan to help you survive the recession. I'm having trouble remembering all the steps because the first one nearly killed me. Yes, it is 100% right but man...
Step 1: Live on Half
Yep, live on half of your income. If a two income household, live on one income and bank the rest. If a single income household, live on half and bank the rest. This prepares you in two ways. 1) It builds up your emergency fund. 2) It prepares you to live on unemployment. I don't know if we could actually do it...
Yes, I'm about to divulge very privileged info here... these are all approximate numbers
Mortgage $1500
Car Payment $300
Loan Payment $300
Insurance $60
Electric $75
Gas (house) $100
Phone $40
Cell $50
Cable w/ internet $130
Gas (car) $160
Pet Insurance $70
Storage $90
Sewer/Trash $85
CSA $56
Totals $3016... and we'd only have veggies and cheese to eat during the summer and fall months only...
If we cut the storage out ($90), eliminated one of the phones ($40), and cut back internet/cable... We'd have some money available to eat each month. Also, electric and gas (house) are general averages for the year. Electric is more like $50 in the 6 months of winter and $100 in the 2 months of summer. Gas is nearly nothing in the summer and about $250 in the winter.
Wow... we could actually nearly manage it... I'm shocked.
Bah... That hurts. That means we waste away nearly everything I earn... Wait, I forgot childcare... But if one of us wasn't working, that expense would go away.
Step 2: Stash Your Cash
If you do not have 8 months worth of salary banked away in your emergency fund, pay only minimum payments and stash the rest of the cash. Any extra $$ you would have sent to pay down your debt, put in the bank.
So... the others did not shock me as much... And Suze can explain it herself better, but I thought it would be interesting to step through Live on Half with you.
Here is a link to the rest:
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090311-tows-suze-orman/1
Friday, April 3, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Burn Out
It has been harder and harder to get out of bed each morning. Today was really bad. My honey just called me on the phone to ask how I am doing. "Pleh," was my answer.
My desk is scattered with paper. I usually keep lots of paper on my desk, in three different piles. There is one pile currently and then everything else is just strewn about my desk. I am checking voicemails the next day. I'll handle the things as they come up but really my basic attitude right now is "I don't wanna!"
I've hit burn out. We've accomplished so much this past year. I haven't had a vacation in over a year. I've had time off -- for the flu, a day or two here and there -- but no vacation. I am completely unmotivated.
Mom is coming in mid-May so I'll have some time off then. End of May is the family fishing trip. June is the road trip to NJ to see Dad. Mid-May seems so far away. I know that I can't get away with 6 weeks of Pleh and no motivation.
I need some tips, some hints on how to push through burn out and make it to vacation time. Help me out here!
My desk is scattered with paper. I usually keep lots of paper on my desk, in three different piles. There is one pile currently and then everything else is just strewn about my desk. I am checking voicemails the next day. I'll handle the things as they come up but really my basic attitude right now is "I don't wanna!"
I've hit burn out. We've accomplished so much this past year. I haven't had a vacation in over a year. I've had time off -- for the flu, a day or two here and there -- but no vacation. I am completely unmotivated.
Mom is coming in mid-May so I'll have some time off then. End of May is the family fishing trip. June is the road trip to NJ to see Dad. Mid-May seems so far away. I know that I can't get away with 6 weeks of Pleh and no motivation.
I need some tips, some hints on how to push through burn out and make it to vacation time. Help me out here!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Life of the Absurd
Yesterday, I went to the bathroom... Yes, I know, too many of my stories start that way. As I was washing my hands, I noticed red ink-like splotches on the counter top. I wiped them down with soap and warm water and got up as much as I could. I then asked my maintenance tech to see if he could get them cleaned up. Our day porter was still here so he went in to scrub down the counter. He comes back and tells me that he rubbed it with water but it didn't work. He can't get the stains out. I told him to use one of the cleansers. I already tried soap and water. He asked which ones.
Well, because of different OSHA regs, I can't give him a cleanser to use. He has to be trained on the chemicals, have MSDS sheets on file, and his training recorded. He has to use a cleanser from his company. He didn't know how to use them he tells me. I told him to call his boss and find out which one to use then. I don't want permanent now-pink ink splotches on my bathroom counter tops. He does. Today, the splotches are gone. I don't think anything more of it.
Today his boss comes in. The day porter is going to be removed from our account and we'll have a new person in about two weeks.
Well, because of different OSHA regs, I can't give him a cleanser to use. He has to be trained on the chemicals, have MSDS sheets on file, and his training recorded. He has to use a cleanser from his company. He didn't know how to use them he tells me. I told him to call his boss and find out which one to use then. I don't want permanent now-pink ink splotches on my bathroom counter tops. He does. Today, the splotches are gone. I don't think anything more of it.
Today his boss comes in. The day porter is going to be removed from our account and we'll have a new person in about two weeks.
Relationships and the Military Family
I've recently reconnected with an old boyfriend from high school. We've been catching up on the last 17/18 yrs. It sort of ended up being about boyfriends and marriages and divorces and remarriages for us and related friends and family. His comment was that those of us that were military families did not fare so well. We are bad at relationships.
Yeah, he's right. Being a military brat, I definitely got used to breaking ties. Do that enough and you build up some pretty sturdy walls. It's hard to let people in. I think that we even begin to pick people that we only kind of like. That way we have no reason to really open up and make deep connections and have our hearts broken. I know that I have certainly run away from people when we were getting too close. I have created problems when there were no problems. I've often chosen "Mr. Right Now" rather than someone who could have been Mr. Right.
The other thing defense mechanism that I've seen in myself and other military people is that we start creating distance when we know that moving time is near. Little things become big arguments. Wild and crazy suspicions become fact in our heads. But it is so much easier to leave someone that you are angry at or don't like anymore.
Now that I am an adult and have 'settled down', I'm learning how to make those connections. Regularly, I realize that I have missed being taught things in life because we weren't stable. One of our friends recently was in the hospital and having surgery. I knew that I needed to stay away because I was sick. Other than that, our family offered support. "Let us know if we can do something to help." It did not occur to me that I should offer specifics -- like going over to clean the house, send over hot dish (casserole for those of you not in MN), etc. Other people knew that. I did not know that. There were other basic support things too that did not occur to me but others had learned through basic socialization. Sometimes, just being in the same room with a person and holding their hand is all that they need. News to me. I know, crazy isn't it?
I've been working on taking those walls down, even in basic ways like letting people hug me and sometimes I even hug back. I attempt to get in touch with my feelings. Yes... my feelings. The thing that I think I need the most work on is learning to be open to others being open. I think that when others start really opening up to me, I kind of put on this therapist mask. I try to listen intently, help them come to important realizations or conclusions, and solve the problem for them or with them. I think it is a clinical sort of distance that I create there. I think that I make it a safe place to open up and discuss things without harsh judgement or criticism, but I don't make that heart to heart connection. I want to make that connection. I purposefully work to be open and supportive. I think that I avoid that last step. It's a defense mechanism.
Hmm... Not sure how to fix that. It might be more and more practice. Food for thought.
Yeah, he's right. Being a military brat, I definitely got used to breaking ties. Do that enough and you build up some pretty sturdy walls. It's hard to let people in. I think that we even begin to pick people that we only kind of like. That way we have no reason to really open up and make deep connections and have our hearts broken. I know that I have certainly run away from people when we were getting too close. I have created problems when there were no problems. I've often chosen "Mr. Right Now" rather than someone who could have been Mr. Right.
The other thing defense mechanism that I've seen in myself and other military people is that we start creating distance when we know that moving time is near. Little things become big arguments. Wild and crazy suspicions become fact in our heads. But it is so much easier to leave someone that you are angry at or don't like anymore.
Now that I am an adult and have 'settled down', I'm learning how to make those connections. Regularly, I realize that I have missed being taught things in life because we weren't stable. One of our friends recently was in the hospital and having surgery. I knew that I needed to stay away because I was sick. Other than that, our family offered support. "Let us know if we can do something to help." It did not occur to me that I should offer specifics -- like going over to clean the house, send over hot dish (casserole for those of you not in MN), etc. Other people knew that. I did not know that. There were other basic support things too that did not occur to me but others had learned through basic socialization. Sometimes, just being in the same room with a person and holding their hand is all that they need. News to me. I know, crazy isn't it?
I've been working on taking those walls down, even in basic ways like letting people hug me and sometimes I even hug back. I attempt to get in touch with my feelings. Yes... my feelings. The thing that I think I need the most work on is learning to be open to others being open. I think that when others start really opening up to me, I kind of put on this therapist mask. I try to listen intently, help them come to important realizations or conclusions, and solve the problem for them or with them. I think it is a clinical sort of distance that I create there. I think that I make it a safe place to open up and discuss things without harsh judgement or criticism, but I don't make that heart to heart connection. I want to make that connection. I purposefully work to be open and supportive. I think that I avoid that last step. It's a defense mechanism.
Hmm... Not sure how to fix that. It might be more and more practice. Food for thought.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Crazy Ranting Mommy
Yesterday afternoon, I was in Itty Bitty's room helping her clean, when I'm pretty sure that I lost my mind. She had been so sweet when she came downstairs and said to me, "Mommy, will you come help me clean my room?" I said sure and went on upstairs. We forced the door open wider, pulled out the storage bins and got to work. I knew that my answer should have been No at that point.
Once I got the initial layer of toys up, I found that all the pretend food items and dishes were dumped on the floor and shoved in the corner. Now, she absolutely could have tossed them all on the floor on her own. But she wouldn't have hidden them. However, the boy would have hidden them.
I holler for the boy to come up. He had been in her room playing with her a few days earlier. She'd been screaming at him because he had dumped out all of her play kitchen stuff and was holding all her little dolls and stuffed animals hostage in the giant tea pot, where they dishes had been stored. He then put it on his head and put on a feather boa and came to show me how silly he looked. When they'd been told to clean up the mess they'd made, he obviously had shoved it all in the corner and covered it up with other stuff.
I started in on the boy. "I'd rather you clean it up right and not get everything clean! You know better than to do that! Why would you dump out all of her bins? What were you thinking?" You get the picture. Itty Bitty, seeing the boy get yelled at, starts in "He did it all by himself Mommy. He did it."
I turned and looked at her. "Oh no he did not! I know you helped him make this mess. Don't even try to blame all of this on your brother!"
So, I tell him to go outside and pick up poop. This is not actually punishment. It is his regular chore. I just wasn't going to have him playing PS2 while I cleaned up the mess he made with his sister.
Itty Bitty starts up again, "Mommy, Holly (the dog) made all the poop by herself outside. I didn't do any of it. She made all the poop. Not me."
I just about peed myself laughing.
Thank goodness her self-preservation instinct is in tact. And that she is such good comic relief. Also, she loved Cookies & Candlelight. She wants to do that regularly now.
Once I got the initial layer of toys up, I found that all the pretend food items and dishes were dumped on the floor and shoved in the corner. Now, she absolutely could have tossed them all on the floor on her own. But she wouldn't have hidden them. However, the boy would have hidden them.
I holler for the boy to come up. He had been in her room playing with her a few days earlier. She'd been screaming at him because he had dumped out all of her play kitchen stuff and was holding all her little dolls and stuffed animals hostage in the giant tea pot, where they dishes had been stored. He then put it on his head and put on a feather boa and came to show me how silly he looked. When they'd been told to clean up the mess they'd made, he obviously had shoved it all in the corner and covered it up with other stuff.
I started in on the boy. "I'd rather you clean it up right and not get everything clean! You know better than to do that! Why would you dump out all of her bins? What were you thinking?" You get the picture. Itty Bitty, seeing the boy get yelled at, starts in "He did it all by himself Mommy. He did it."
I turned and looked at her. "Oh no he did not! I know you helped him make this mess. Don't even try to blame all of this on your brother!"
So, I tell him to go outside and pick up poop. This is not actually punishment. It is his regular chore. I just wasn't going to have him playing PS2 while I cleaned up the mess he made with his sister.
Itty Bitty starts up again, "Mommy, Holly (the dog) made all the poop by herself outside. I didn't do any of it. She made all the poop. Not me."
I just about peed myself laughing.
Thank goodness her self-preservation instinct is in tact. And that she is such good comic relief. Also, she loved Cookies & Candlelight. She wants to do that regularly now.
Natue of the Beast
My job exposes me to the best and the brightest in Health, Safety, Security, and Environment. It also exposes me to the stupidest and the hypochondriaism (yes, that is probably a word I made up) in the work place.
For instance, the day we discovered asbestos tile. It was 2% asbestos containing material and 98% vinyl. The asbestos was fully contained in the vinyl. You'd have to pulvarize and snort the dust to be able to inhale the asbestos. It takes decades to feel the affects of any complications due to asbestos exposure. You are exposed to more asbestos walking down the city streets than you were when we found the tile. One woman had to go home because the asbestos made her lungs hurt that day. Um... yeah... no, it didn't. Dust and dirt from 30yr old carpet coming up? Probably. Asbestos? No.
Today, I got to follow up on an email where someone complained that the person near them used air duster to clean their keyboard and it made her lungs hurt. Really? The short answer is no, the air duster did not make your lungs hurt. The dust your neighbor blew around may have done that. But the air duster? Not unless you were huffing. In which case, you are fired for the illegal use of inhalants. It's against the rules.
But I am a good safety person and pulled the MSDS and the product info sheet. I defined "overexposure" and "workplace exposure" for them. No, you don't need a respirator mask to air dust your keyboard. No, you don't have any sort of overexposure risk from your neighbors cleaning their keyboards.
Oye.
And while I'm at it... Flush the damn toilets!
For instance, the day we discovered asbestos tile. It was 2% asbestos containing material and 98% vinyl. The asbestos was fully contained in the vinyl. You'd have to pulvarize and snort the dust to be able to inhale the asbestos. It takes decades to feel the affects of any complications due to asbestos exposure. You are exposed to more asbestos walking down the city streets than you were when we found the tile. One woman had to go home because the asbestos made her lungs hurt that day. Um... yeah... no, it didn't. Dust and dirt from 30yr old carpet coming up? Probably. Asbestos? No.
Today, I got to follow up on an email where someone complained that the person near them used air duster to clean their keyboard and it made her lungs hurt. Really? The short answer is no, the air duster did not make your lungs hurt. The dust your neighbor blew around may have done that. But the air duster? Not unless you were huffing. In which case, you are fired for the illegal use of inhalants. It's against the rules.
But I am a good safety person and pulled the MSDS and the product info sheet. I defined "overexposure" and "workplace exposure" for them. No, you don't need a respirator mask to air dust your keyboard. No, you don't have any sort of overexposure risk from your neighbors cleaning their keyboards.
Oye.
And while I'm at it... Flush the damn toilets!
You Are Dumb
If you haven't read You Are Dumb yet today, you should click on over there especially those of you in MN. It is all about our very own Michele Bachmann. Yep, our very own wingnut. I'm so glad she got re-elected. Hopefully she stays on just for comedic value and people continue to realize that she is an idiot.
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