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Post 2121
- 7 years and 213 days since I started this blog -
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It's a new month. I notice I only made three comments in July, and I want to step that up a bit. Why? Because I actually enjoy writing. And it's free fun.
Lately, I've been dealing (successfully, I'm happy to say) with the aftermath of some unexpected expenses. I live on a fixed income, so that meant revisiting my budget.
Which led me to moving some money out of my investment account to cover those expenses. That I could do this is part of the success I'm enjoying in this Third Age of life, but it also means I'm (slightly) impacting my retirement savings, and the bottom line is that I have failed to live within my means this year. Next year, I will take measures to ensure that that doesn't happen.
One of the components of my happiness is the feeling that I have enough. One of the components of that sense of abundance is making a budget and living within it - something I was doing successfully before my second marriage, and something I have done successfully since its collapse (which made it a necessity for about eighteen months).
The fact that it was easy to do in Syracuse, with its low cost of living, is one of the reasons I'm still here, eight years and counting since I was able to pay off my debt load and had the option to leave.
Budgeting is something I've done since I was a teenager, as I became independent relatively early. There was, initially, a disparity between my income and expenses, and someone said to me back then, you can't figure that out until you know what both of these things actually are.
I had my one and only anxiety attack (knock on wood) when some money I was expecting didn't come through, and I didn't have the money for rent. That happened in my mid-twenties (you may know them as the mid-70s). From that point until I started living with Kathy Murphy (later my second wife), I kept a budget, and tracked my expenses.
Personal finance software was seemingly invented just for me.
After the disaster of my second marriage, once I had found good employment in Syracuse, I used my talents to unburden myself of my debt (which was spirit-crushing) and start saving for retirement. I already had big plans in that area.
And, my success at that meant that when I got laid off from the job that brought me to Syracuse, I did not fall back into the black place I was in when I got here. Quite the opposite: I made a conscious decision to be happy, and when I did that, everything started to fall into place: I joined a band, I got a great job, I lost weight.
I was happy. And so it goes.
I often say, "I did nothing to deserve my happiness." But that is, thinking on it, a conceit. I did things that brought happiness my way, I just didn't do them knowing how they would contribute. What I mean when I say that is, none of my plans brought me happiness.
Happiness was a decision I made, and in making it, I had to re-define it - or perhaps, define it for the first time. And while my budgeting doesn't make me happy, and was initiated (and perpetuated) as an act of pragmatism, feeling free of financial pressure certainly contributes to my sense of well-being, my peace of mind.
And for that peace of mind, I am boundlessly grateful.
Today's Weight: 204.3 lbs.
Previous Weight (7/31/18): 204.5 lbs.
Lately, I've been dealing (successfully, I'm happy to say) with the aftermath of some unexpected expenses. I live on a fixed income, so that meant revisiting my budget.
Which led me to moving some money out of my investment account to cover those expenses. That I could do this is part of the success I'm enjoying in this Third Age of life, but it also means I'm (slightly) impacting my retirement savings, and the bottom line is that I have failed to live within my means this year. Next year, I will take measures to ensure that that doesn't happen.
One of the components of my happiness is the feeling that I have enough. One of the components of that sense of abundance is making a budget and living within it - something I was doing successfully before my second marriage, and something I have done successfully since its collapse (which made it a necessity for about eighteen months).
The fact that it was easy to do in Syracuse, with its low cost of living, is one of the reasons I'm still here, eight years and counting since I was able to pay off my debt load and had the option to leave.
Budgeting is something I've done since I was a teenager, as I became independent relatively early. There was, initially, a disparity between my income and expenses, and someone said to me back then, you can't figure that out until you know what both of these things actually are.
I had my one and only anxiety attack (knock on wood) when some money I was expecting didn't come through, and I didn't have the money for rent. That happened in my mid-twenties (you may know them as the mid-70s). From that point until I started living with Kathy Murphy (later my second wife), I kept a budget, and tracked my expenses.
Personal finance software was seemingly invented just for me.
After the disaster of my second marriage, once I had found good employment in Syracuse, I used my talents to unburden myself of my debt (which was spirit-crushing) and start saving for retirement. I already had big plans in that area.
And, my success at that meant that when I got laid off from the job that brought me to Syracuse, I did not fall back into the black place I was in when I got here. Quite the opposite: I made a conscious decision to be happy, and when I did that, everything started to fall into place: I joined a band, I got a great job, I lost weight.
I was happy. And so it goes.
I often say, "I did nothing to deserve my happiness." But that is, thinking on it, a conceit. I did things that brought happiness my way, I just didn't do them knowing how they would contribute. What I mean when I say that is, none of my plans brought me happiness.
Happiness was a decision I made, and in making it, I had to re-define it - or perhaps, define it for the first time. And while my budgeting doesn't make me happy, and was initiated (and perpetuated) as an act of pragmatism, feeling free of financial pressure certainly contributes to my sense of well-being, my peace of mind.
And for that peace of mind, I am boundlessly grateful.
Food and Diet
Net Loss/Gain: - 0.2 lbs.
Diet Comment
I seem to be clinging to this weight - that's a little frustrating... alright, I'm over it now.
Food Log
Breakfast
2:40pm: Purple-green protein smoothie with home-made almond milk, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, celery, whey powder (24g protein), coconut oil, hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, fo ti, cinnamon, turmeric, vanilla extract, Dr. Gundry's Vital Reds and stevia-inulin blend.
Lunch
Skipped.
Dinner
12:45am: Pepperoni, carrots with home-made mayonnaise and three Quest bars.
Liquid Intake
2:40pm: Purple-green protein smoothie with home-made almond milk, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, celery, whey powder (24g protein), coconut oil, hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, fo ti, cinnamon, turmeric, vanilla extract, Dr. Gundry's Vital Reds and stevia-inulin blend.
Lunch
Skipped.
Dinner
12:45am: Pepperoni, carrots with home-made mayonnaise and three Quest bars.
Liquid Intake
Espressos: 1; Coffee: 12 oz.; Tea: 0 oz.; Water: 64+ oz.; a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey and a shot of Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey
Please leave a comment when you visit my blog.
Thank you!
Thank you!
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