Its A Plan, An Ugly One, But Its Still A Plan

Yesterday I said that I had a plan to tackle my lack of control over my finances.

I’ve got a plan. It looks a bit ugly, but it is an emergency measure and I’ll revise it as I go.

To quickly recap:

Having had a family member asking to borrow money and (initially) being unable to help out, I went into a mini decline lasting about 20 minutes.

During that period the following thought flashed through my head:

Packing my job in is great in theory but I think I’ve made a massive mistake

I felt this quite deeply and genuinely, but of course, it was just me panicking, and when I’d calmed down I realised there was an opportunity to be had.

Setting a good example

I’ve got the opportunity to get back on track, kick my complacency into touch, and get on with forging a new path. After all, this is exactly the sort of example I want to set for my children. It wouldn’t say much of me if I just caved in and reverted to type. That’s not what I want them to remember of their Daddy.

This is where my thought process started:

1. I’m an idiot
2. Don’t just do nothing
3. Review my systems, financial and otherwise (because they’re interlinked)
4. Identify the holes in the systems
5. Plug the leaks
6. Mend the systems
7. Adhere to the systems
8. Review periodically
9. Don’t be an idiot

I could expand on each of these points, but I’m sure you get the picture.

Here’s what I’ve already done

I immediately got to work assessing the extent of the damage. What I found horrified me.

My ‘Breaking News’ event at the end of yesterday’s post was me being landed with a big bill which I wasn’t expecting. I felt aggrieved because having found and sent the money to my relative, I was even deeper in the hole.

Until that point I’d only been bemoaning my lack of money and failure to move my life forward.

The real punch in the windpipe came when I realised the bill wasn’t unexpected at all, or at least it shouldn’t have been. It was my piss poor planning and organisation that led me to leave that bill unopened for two weeks. I’m ashamed.

My situation was totally avoidable

Getting organised again

I got busy sorting out my personal organisation because that’s where the rot set in.

Luckily I didn’t have to do too much to repair my systems. All I really needed to do (after getting up to date) was to USE the systems I’d already built.

I got my ‘in’ boxes emptied. I got my calendar up to date. I got my list of ‘things to do’ up to date.

This is what I used to do every day (and what I’ve started doing again):

• Every item of mail gets opened every day. If action is needed, action is taken at the earliest possible opportunity.

• Every day I check my bank balance online. I look at what’s come in and what’s gone out. I tally this against a list of standing orders and direct debits in my calendar (which I also check on a daily basis).

• I project how much more needs to go out by the end of the month and ensure there will be sufficient funds to cover it.

It takes about 15 minutes.

And I’m glad to say I’m now back on top of this now.

Further action is needed

Having established the extent of the financial damage I now need to take the following action:

1. Cut back on spending, and/or
2. Increase income

First I’ll be looking to make further cutbacks and savings. I last went through the audit process about two months ago but I haven’t really touched it since then – a fact of which I’m not proud.

Off the top of my head the only real place the cutbacks can come from is what we spend on groceries. This means:

• I need to plan meals better and waste less food.
• I’ve got to stick to the essentials and forgo the ‘luxuries’.

So I’m setting a grocery budget

This is the most realistic area for making savings, as cuts to other areas, like the utilities’, were made during the last audit.

We’ve already cut back a great deal and changed our brand choices for most of our supplies, but I know I can do more by incorporating better meal planning [personal organisation].

I know that it’s crucial to have a budget and stick to it and I struggle to understand why I haven’t attended to this yet.

Then – I’m going to sell stuff

In an attempt to raise some funds fairly swiftly I’m going to de-clutter (even further) and get selling.

I’m looking at ebay to do this, but I’m open to better suggestions. I have an account but I’ve never sold on ebay before so I could sorely use some advice.

If you know of any good resources to get me started quickly I’d be grateful.

I want to maximise my chances of attracting bidders and also fetching the best price. I suspect that if I go on and follow the in-house instructions I won’t get either of those things.

I really want to have some things listed by Monday if possible. In fact, regardless of what I learn between now and then, I WILL have some things listed by Monday.

I may not be able to dodge the draft

I’m a little worried that one of my biggest fears is about to come true.
.
I may have to get a job again.

It’s not the worst thing that could happen, and anyone who is already working two jobs and running a household will rightfully laugh at me and call me filthy names.

But this is absolutely not what I wanted. It’s the total opposite and takes us back to where we were before, only this time I’ll be working for about half the hourly rate my previous job paid.

If I have to then I will – I’ve even considered window cleaning as an option (not great in winter but still an option). Everything is an option worth some consideration at the moment.

As an aside

As and aside – And because every little helps – I’ll be looking to see how I can improve the financial viability of my online presence. Even if I can get it bring in something it would be better than the big fat nothing it brings in now.

I didn’t expect blogging to be a gold mine, but it will be 4 years before Google will be sending me the cheque!

More about this soon.

Focussed on priorities

My priorities have changed. I need to devote some significant time to this plan and I’m afraid it’s going to affect my blogging. I’m going to keep going with it, but blogging will be what I do when I’ve done what I ‘need’ to do each day.

It’s important to me that I continue as I get so much value from it. The trouble is I don’t feel confident that I’ll be able to do my usual rounds, so if you don’t see me for a while, please forgive me. I will play, but maybe not as frequently. It breaks my heart, but the family comes first.

It’s feels good to feel hungry

After what I wrote yesterday I’m pleased to report that I’ve been hungry today. Several times. Never starving, but it has kept me focused. The delay in publishing together with the poor structure and layout of this post is testament to that fact, although I am sorry if I’ve offended your eyes.

I’ve got my priorities back in order and I know where I’m going again.

I could really use your advice or observations if you’re willing to offer them. I will reply to each and every one of you and I am grateful for the support you’ve already shown me.

Thank you.

Dave

Tagged as: Cutbacks, Money, Plan, Saving, Work