Wouldn't It Be Nice

I left this past weekend open because I expected something to come along and fill it and if that didn't happen then I have a million little things that need to be done.  I was assuming it would be dog related but it turned out to be parent related.  My mother was feeling ill and ended up visiting the emergency room.  I went to meet her at the hospital and took my dad to lunch while mom was getting an MRI.  By the time we returned, Mom was feeling better and the MRI results were negative.  I am going to start calling her illness "moving-itus" because it seems to happen when she is just about to move.  My parents are moving from their apartment in to a townhouse next weekend.  You have probably guessed what I will be doing for my Memorial Day weekend.  That's right, helping with the unpacking.

I did the usual things this weekend, laundry, made cookies, took a nap.  It was quite nice.  I am trying to get up the nerve to tell my boss that I want to go to hourly instead of salary and only work 3 days a week.  He is in Asia at the moment so I have time to think about all of the pro's and con's.  Since I am pretty sure I will lose my health insurance and have to buy my own, I want to make sure I don't have any big appointments coming up.  I do have a skin cancer appointment in August so I am going to wait for that and if it is all clear then I will go ahead with my plan.  I found a health savings account for me and my nephew for $130 a month.  The deductible is $12,000 per family.  I have that much in savings now.  I rarely come close to $5,000 in doctor bills even with paying cash for my out-of-network skin cancer surgeon but there is always a chance that something will happen.

The reason that I want to ask to work 3 days a week is that my original plan, to save up enough money to last until my nephew is out of high school, is taking too long.  With that plan, I wouldn't have enough money until next April and that would mean I would have to struggle through another school year of full time work.  I'm really getting tired of not having enough time for everything.  I am constantly shuffling and borrowing time from other responsibilities.  The only thing I am worried about is my work environment turning hostile for not being a team player.  But by working 3 days a week I won't be leaving my employer high and dry and they can use this opportunity to hire someone new who they can train to help more in the engineering lab which is what they want me to do but I'm not very good at it.  I will keep doing the data entry and the new person can fill in the gaps.  It sounds like the perfect solution to me.  Now I just have to convince my boss.

Busy Weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.