Author: Terri

How I Plan to Save Money

Terri
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.

I recently put my financial picture out there for the world to see and I just got a paycheck a little while ago that finally had my health benefits subtracted from it. For 80 hours of work, the net pay was $699, but some of that went into my online savings accounts automatically.   I’m hoping this next paycheck is for 88 hours of work – that small difference of one additional day’s pay can make a big difference, money-wise, when you are living kind of close to the bone, as they say.  And yes, I do plan on doing an updated post on my financial picture, now that I received a paycheck that included my health insurance. So, stay tuned for that! Read more →

Writing is HARD

Terri
Just one example of the beautiful places I get to visit on my day off. This is Lake Powell which is in both Utah and Arizona.
Just one example of the beautiful places I get to visit on my day off. This is Lake Powell which is in both Utah and Arizona.

Hi folks, just wanted to let everyone know I’ve not forgotten about the blog this week, but I’ve been really trying to get my writing going, book-wise.  So I’ve been getting up early, like usual, about 4-4:30 a.m., and instead of going to the gym every day, have sat at my chromebook and let whatever thoughts I had in my head come out onto paper. It’s very hard to not edit myself all the time, but that’s a skill I am working on shutting down.

The good news is that I have two different projects going. The first is a non-fiction one, self-help, kind of work.  Also, a fiction book. Not sure which one will win out and be my first finished project, but we shall see. I’m finding that the more I write, the more I want to write.  However, I still find it more difficult to fill up a blank sheet of paper, or white screen, than with my blog editor. With my blog, I find the words sometimes flow much more freely.

So, stay tuned, as I plan to put up a few posts very shortly about some other hikes I’ve done in the past months at Bryce Canyon National Park and at Zion National Park. Also, I have some great photos of Lake Powell I can’t wait to share with you (above is a teaser). I’m so lucky that these places are so easily photographed, as I don’t have any special talent, that’s for sure.  In fact, with my cheap phone, sometimes I can’t even see what I am taking a photo of. 🙂

As always, if you have liked this post, please hit like or subscribe or drop me a line below!

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Thank you for doing your Amazon shopping via my affiliate link!

Observations and Thoughts While Hiking Zion National Park’s Observation Point Trail

Terri
20151108_132043
This pic was taken toward the beginning of the hike, when I stopped to eat my pb&j sandwich. You find the trailhead for the Observation Point Trail at the Weeping Rock shuttle stop.

One of the good things about where I live is that one of the most amazing national parks is pretty much in my backyard. Just a quick forty minute drive or so to the Visitor Center where on weekends through the end of November, they are running a shuttle service through the scenic road of the park. Yesterday, I felt like challenging myself so I set out to do the Observation Point Trail, which is described by Zionnational-park.com as “[t]he path is steep and gains elevation quickly, making it one of the most strenuous of the classic hikes in the park. If you have poor fitting shoes it can be quite painful on your toes on the return hike.” (I found the description to be accurate, btw.) Read more →

(Almost) off the Prozac

Terri
Image courtesy of Pixabay - sunshine helps everything seem better, doesn't it?
Image courtesy of Pixabay – sunshine helps everything seem better, doesn’t it?

I’m almost there, I’m down to just 1/2 of a tiny pill, and soon I will be down to no anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medication! It’s been five years since I got through the day without them.  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous to see how things go once my body adjusts to even the dosage that I am on right now. You see, Prozac has a very long half life, of about 5 weeks. What that means is that if I were to stop taking it altogether today, some semblance of it would be in my system for another five weeks. So, even though I have been only taking 10 mg this week, my body still thinks that it has at least 20 mg in it, or one full pill. Read more →

Updates: Amazon Affiliate Link, NaNoWriMo, Book Reviews and Changes to the Website, and THANK YOU!

Terri

12191988_10153486362779930_4135425328327321119_nSo, this has been an insanely busy week every night after I’ve gotten home from work, so I’ve not been able to update the blog much other than responding to comments (which I love by the way, so please keep them coming!), but I wanted to give everyone an update of what is going on in this little circle of my world.

First, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has responded to and read through my post on my financial picture. I agree, cutting expenses even more will be difficult (but that doesn’t mean I can’t do it), so I need to add to my income  if I’m going to have much hope on paying off the RV and car early. So my plan so far is this (and  not necessarily in this order):

  • bust my butt to get a second job (have started making calls to local businesses and will be grabbing applications after work this evening and coming week)
  • send in my invoice to my author for work I did before I moved out here
  • become an Amazon affliliate (this has already been done, please see the link in my sidebar)
  • write an ebook (or two or three, as much as I can inspire myself to get down on paper!)
  • start learning more web-based and other marketable skills through Lynda.com (my employer has obtained access to this for all employees, so it will cost me nothing!)

Second, yesterday, a co-worker mentioned NaNoWriMo, which I have heard about before but never taken part in. No good time like the present to join in the fun, right? The goal is to write a novel in a month, and it is a huge community of writers who attempt to do the same thing. The goal is ostensibly to write 50,000 words in a month and there are forums you can join, prompts you can use, etc., to get that creativity flowing. I plan on using this to keep me motivated.

Third, in case you’re unfamiliar with the Amazon Affiliate Program, the way it works is that if you shop Amazon through my affiliate link, it doesn’t cost you anything extra, but a small percentage (I’m not sure of the exact amount) will be then returned to me in consideration of my having the link on my website.

Finally, you may notice I have a page on my blog called Helpful Books.  It has languished a bit for a while but no more! I plan on adding resources to this as well as book reviews. If you have a suggestion of a book to read or a resource that has helped you, whether it’s on budgeting, RVing, living frugally, inspiration to live your dreams or life your way, etc., please let me know! (There’s an easy way to do it by just filling out the form on that page too.) I’ve already received a suggestion or two on books to add to that page, so stay tuned, those will be added shortly.)  🙂  I am also hoping that I can learn some new skills through Lynda.com, as mentioned above, to update and customize this website as well. It might involve paying for a blog theme, instead of the free one that I currently use, but let’s see what I can learn and do on my own first!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and as always, thanks for reading!

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Thank you for shopping Amazon through my Affiliate Link! Every little bit helps, and it costs you nothing to do so.

My Financial Picture: Putting It All Out There

Terri
What's this, you ask? A credit card in water, which is now frozen.
What’s this, you ask? A credit card in water, which is now frozen.

Yep, I’ve put my credit card on ice, baby. As in permanent  ice. If you have a problem with your credit card usage, I highly recommend freezing it as an tool for helping you to not use it. Read more →

Write a Book?

Terri
View of Zion National Park, looking west (or down canyon) from along the Angel's Landing Trail
View of Zion National Park, looking west (or down canyon) from along the Angel’s Landing Trail. That’s the Virgin River below – it’s cut through seven layers of rock in Zion over the years. 

I’ve always wanted to write. As far back as I can remember. In fourth grade, after my parents split, it seemed like I wanted to write fiction – plays that my friends and I could act out. I liked creating these worlds where things could be different from mine. Things could be better. Problems could be solved with just the flourish of my pen (we only had typewriters back then. Yes, I’m one of those people who lived before the age of computers. Don’t call me old though, or I may just have to smack you. 🙂 )

Why would anyone want to read what I write? And actually pay for it? When they could read part of my blog and get the same gist of things? Will they think I’m doing it just for the  money? What if they hate it? What if it gets bad reviews when I finally put it up there for the world to see? And worse, what if no one wants to buy it??

These are the self-doubting thoughts that immediately start to come to mind when I sit down to actually start writing. I start to over-analyze every sentence, every word I put onto paper (or in this case, my chromebook’s screen). I try to fight through it by just continuing on, knowing I can always edit later. That’s what I would tell others in my situation, so why do I find it so hard to follow my own advice?

What should the book be about? My journey into learning more about myself? My journey through depression? My attempt at minimalization? My drive across this country in a car with five cats and a dog? My 180 degree change from working at a well paying job in the Ivory Tower, to a world where I get paid to clean up after nonstop-pooping rabbits and clean poopy butts with my bare hands every day? (This, from the woman who never wanted to change a baby’s diaper because I thought it was so gross.)  Some of these, or all of these? Or something else? Should it just be a work of fiction instead?

I’ve read through books on how to write in the past and usually come away feeling even more self-doubtful. Which scares me, because I know from many therapy sessions that I can sometimes have a very harsh inner voice. It’s one I’ve learned to quiet over the years but from time to time, still rears its ugly head (most recently, just a few days ago at work. I could tell I was being irrational but also couldn’t stop myself from feeling hurt when I knew the people around me were only trying to help, with their words of advice.)

Why do I find it so much easier to let the words flow on this blog than when I start to actually type onto a blank piece of paper? 

I’d love to hear any and all thoughts any of you might have on this subject – please drop me a line below, and thank you. Even if it’s to tell me I’m insane and shouldn’t do it, I’ll understand. I appreciate candor in all things, even if it’s sometimes hard to hear or take in at the time.

Paw Prints Forever on My Heart, RIP Sebastian and Daisy

Terri
A photo of my Sebastian (grey and white) with Bonkers. I used to love waking up in the morning and seeing that he had joined the family on the bed overnight.

Last month, I really cursed out this town. I know I wrote a comical post about how I live in a small town, but this one night, it really pissed me off. My Sebastian died. He was the youngest of all my cats, and the one I worried least about, health-wise, other than the fact that he was overweight. (He’d been homeless at one time and that fear of where and when his next meal would come, seemed to always be with him.)  I cursed this town because the only fully staffed emergency vet care is through the sanctuary but they have been short staffed, and even if they weren’t, the policy is that sanctuary animals get preference over employees’ animals for medical care. I understand this, as there are over 1700 animals at the sanctuary and they are the clinic’s first priority. There is a local vet and they have been amazing with the care of my Bonkers, simply amazing. But there are only two of them, and well, they have to go home sometime, so the closest 24 hour emergency animal clinic is in St. George, which is about 75-80 miles away.  While I understand all of this logically, when you are holding an unresponsive animal in your arms, all logic goes out the window.  Read more →

Wants vs. Needs

Terri

Now that I am making roughly 25% of my income from last year, I really have to know the difference of needs vs. wants. It’s a necessity for me to be able to make this distinction, not a luxury. I know the four walls concept of needs: food, shelter, transportation and utilities. But of those, what is really necessary? Read more →

My Relationship with Money

Terri
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com (public domain image)
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com (public domain image)

I have to admit, even thinking about this post’s topic makes me a little uncomfortable. So that tells me it’s something I need to face and to write to get some clarity for myself.

I’ve started listening to a lot of personal finance and simple living podcasts lately and one of them usually asks the guests what their relationship to money was, growing up. I definitely have an answer for that but it’s longer than just a one-word answer. Read more →