Being Human

I've decided that being human is incredibly annoying. Having to maintain your body can get wonderfully expensive.
I've been joyfully blessed with an eye infection that required a $125 trip to the eye doctor, which will be followed by another $200 odd next week when I go in for a follow up and pay for new contact lenses. These are those necessary random expenses that drive me crazy because they put me even further behind.
Because this is a short month and October 1st is a Friday, I've not made out as well I was hoping for this month.
The flip side of this is that I'm due five paychecks in October, which is theoretically an extra $600 just from my current gig. This is good and promising and should help. I'm feeling though my dream of breaking even by the end of the year might not come to fruition though.
I might be able to do more extra project work in October once I shift to evening work, but I don't feel as though I should be banking on it. I'm also yet to find out how well I'll make out on my part time admin job and whether I will be paid before or after the last of the month.
I'm very strict about that dividing line. If the calendar flips, then I shift to that months budget regardless.

I just really really hope that I can do a little better before my next round of medical and icky expenses in November. Hate being human.

Domino Effect

One thing tends to lead to another it seems. July was a rough financial month with me only earning about $322. That wiped out my savings and adding in several other bills has cascaded and put me back in debt.
Next month it'll be a year since I started working full time as a freelancer. I was hoping to end my first year in the black, and I'm sad I didn't, but with the work I have booked I'm not running back to corporate America. I seem to be making this work.
I am, however, on a total spending freeze. We will be eating from our limited pantry. I have purchased Christmas knitting supplies, and I have no other upcoming major bills until November. It's time to recover. I'm even considering taking my credit cards out of my purse.
Sometimes it is just so darn easy to swipe a card. I'm mad at myself for that.
I think I'm going to be able to knock about $400 off my debt this month, but as I owe $2300 that's not going to feel like much of am improvement.
On the plus side, I'm working on a really cool show and I've been slogging through my reading goal for the year. The plan was 60 books. I doubt that I'll hit that but I feel like I've been doing pretty well.
I've really got to get back on the whole making extra money thing. I'm working full time during the day right now though which makes it harder. Just gotta keep trucking.

Forward and Back

Well, I'm in debt again. Not a huge amount compared to previous escapades... about $2,000. Definitely too much though. Luckily, I have a four shows booked... a total of 7 months work booked between now and May. Thats a lot of solid work, all of which pays above my minimum. I'm hoping that between now and the end of the year I can get all the way caught up, even replenish my savings a little. Every large bill has been covered as far as I can tell. This of course does not include the unexpected, but it's definitely a good thing that I don't have to stress about bills for a while. I'll still be working as much extra as I can to get this debt cleared.

I've never really been able to get ahead. It's been a huge weight on my shoulders and I can't wait to get it off of there. I'm on a pretty hefty spending freeze excluding planned things, and I really can't wait to start working at a new theatre company on August 30th.

England was great. I have the cutest nephew and niece in the world. All is well there and my brother had the most gorgeous wedding. I'm so glad that I went.

Home is Where the Heart Is

Next week I get to fly home. My tickets were horribly expensive. I was lucky, I had a lot of help, but as it stands I did have to charge part of them so I have some debt to clear. Not only that, but this month and next month I am squeaking by on very little work. I'm hoping that things will come up, like the 6 days of work I randomly had booked this month which covers most of my rent. Still, though, it's probably going to be rough sailing for my until September.

I have work booked from August 30th to November 26th so far. I'll be able to breathe during that time and hopefully use that as a way to catch up a little. My goal is to finish out this year completely in the black with a little extra in my Emergency Fund. It'd be so nice to have that account sitting with three months worth of bills in there.

I've done a few odd jobs here and there to make some extra money. Some suited me, some really really didn't. I'm looking at heading back into the world of writing a little more heavily on days when I am not working. I have so many project ideas but have difficulty sitting down and writing. I've noticed I get more done in certain parts of the house, though, so I really should just get up in the morning, set my computer up on the dining room table, and work. We'll see if that theory works out at all.

In the meantime, soon I will see my brother married and meet my niece and nephew. I'll help my Mum move into her new house and I'll see my sister on her birthday. Very exciting and total worth every penny.

Time Flies

Everything is going by so fast right now. I can't believe it's almost July.
Tomorrow I get to close a show, and I'm still very uncertain about what might happen between now and October. Everything feels as though it's so up in the air.
I was going to be working a job in August that I had to turn over to someone else purely because I can't afford it. It's weird when you can't afford to work. But I have to get better about remembering my minimum amount that I need to make a week, and I can't take jobs any more that don't pay that. I really really need to be better about that. It's so hard for me to turn down work that I don't always look at things in black and white. I don't always remember that work takes up lots of time, and that time also needs to be spent paying rent.
Wow thats a convoluted sentence. Basically. Think things through, pay attention to the salary, remember what you're worth.

I think it's all going to be okay, just need to do a little brain rewiring.

I still have a lot of money to find in order to fly home. I have time, but it's really running out. I'll make it work somehow, I always do.

Asking for Help

Personal Finance Rule #127

Know When to Ask for Help