Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Where the Snow Is

Nobody believes me when I say that I still have snow.  So here's the proof.  Some photos I took this morning on my way out to work.  I haven't measured, but I guess I still have 4-6 inches on the ground, even after 4 days of sunny weather in the 40s. (Down the hill in the big city, they're in the 50s.  People are walking around in shorts and shirt sleeves - it's sickening.  Of course, I'll get my revenge in August when they're all sweating and uncomfortable and I'm breezy and wonderful up on the mountain.)


It's much better than it was a week ago.  You can see the chair in front of my green basement doors ... a week ago that chair was not visible, the snow was so high.

I had a scare last week with Maggie (the front dog) breaking out of the invisible fence and chasing me down the hill - multiple times.  I had visions of my investment in that fence becoming useless and me having to build a real fenced in area.  But I worked with Maggie, tightened the collar to be more of a choker, and amped up the corrective signal, and that all worked.  Phew.

I've been thinking about my post yesterday, and about money.  Because I've made an engineer's salary my entire career, I've never had to budget, or even watch how or where the money goes.  I think I'm going to challenge myself, make a budget and not spend any money over and above essentials for a month.  If I feel like I want to buy something, I'll write it down on a list and see if I still think it's so important after the end of the month.  I don't need to suffer (yet), but I do need more financial discipline.  It's supposed to be a very rainy weekend, so I think it will be a good time to stay in, do some sewing, begin the financial planning and ... make more cheese!

Oh yes.  I ordered the book Your Money or Your Life ... from the library!  I should get it in a week or so.

7 comments:

  1. one tip they tell couples who would like the mother to stay at home with kids is to just bank the second income..all of it..and see what it takes to make it on that. set up an account and dump your 'extra' in there every pay. see how it adds up and don't touch it.
    Sounds like Maggie has spring fever!!
    I still have snow,too..but I can finally see when I pull out of the driveway again!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I still have snow in the city and the country. In the city, it should be gone soon. I have piles I created when I cleared the sidewalk and driveway. In the country, I have no bare ground at all. There's probably still 6 inches of snow, less in the sunny places.

    I read that Your Money or Your Life book about 15 years ago. It made a big impression on me then. I found it's not a book I care to re-read. Getting it from the library was a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like a great weekend ahead (aside from possibly shoveling even more snow). Since yesterday, I have decided to re-read the book - mostly because I NEED the reminder. Cheers ~

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jordan, do you mind if I ask if you're in the Catskills? I ask because I've been thinking about retiring there for years but having read your first posts, I think I'd be a little scared out there by myself. I'd probably leave the light on 24/7 at first too. I could totally relate to that. But I love the scenery and the thought of having some land to live on with a few animals.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ha! The thought did occur to me that the people who wrote Your Money or Your Life stood to make a lot of dough by selling the book. Perhaps they had some kind of foundation, but the possibility struck me as ironic.

    I've still got snow on the north side of my house that has been there since October! But it's getting warmer and slowly going away.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Genny - no, I don't live in the Catskills, but I talked to someone last night that does - and they still have snow too. The dogs really helped me not be afraid - if they're not worried (barking), then I'm not worried.

    Karen Sue - I like that tip. If I can automatically transfer into savings every other week (not 2x/month), then I think I will do it. It's pretty easy to transfer the money back, though.

    Conny - you and kate both said the book made a strong impression. The book has been re-published (?), so I ordered the 2008 edition. I remember reading The Millionaire Next Door, and didn't like it all that much.

    ReplyDelete
  7. After reading this last night I looked at home for my copy of the book and couldn't find it. I think I took it off the bookshelf, but can't remember where I took it to read it...checked under the bed, but no luck...I'll have to keep an eye out for it!!

    ReplyDelete