Andy Hough Here is a breakdown of my income for January.
|
Online Income |
$734.08 |
|
Interest |
$29.75 |
|
Stock Dividends |
$14.85 |
|
Job |
$800 |
|
Survey/Cashback |
$7.55 |
|
Ebay/Selling stuff |
$5 |
|
Bank Bonuses |
$40 |
|
Total |
$1631.23 |
It was a pretty good month for income, especially online income. I neglected to keep my check stubs or write down the amount of my paychecks from my job so I went with a conservative estimate for job income.
Here is a breakdown of my expenses for February.
|
Household |
$423.51 |
|
Entertainment |
$31.49 |
|
Transportation |
$138.72 |
|
Food |
$120.50 |
| Dental |
$96 |
|
Phone |
$35.03 |
|
Debt |
$30.00 |
|
Travel |
$328.67 |
|
Total |
$1203.92 |
February’s expenses were a little higher than I would prefer but within reason. If I were to deduct my gambling winnings from my travel costs my travel costs would have been lower and I might have made it under my target of $1000 in total expenses for the month.
I’ve been cutting my own hair for several years. At a conservative estimate of $10 a month for a haircut, I save $120 a year by cutting my own hair. My only cost is a $10 pair of clippers (that I got for free). Being a frugal person I’m always looking at ways to cut my expenses. Before I got my clippers I was getting my hair cut to a short buzz cut anyway so I decided it would be easy to just cut my own hair. I usually just put the 1/2 inch guard on the clippers and buzz away. It doesn’t take any skill and it is pretty difficult to mess up.
Tonight I found a way to mess it up. I forgot to put the guard on before I started cutting my hair. I cut a stripe right down the middle of my head. My mistake was immediately obvious but it was too late, I couldn’t uncut my hair. At that point I had two options, I could either go for a reverse mohawk hairstyle or just cut it all off. I didn’t think I could pull off a reverse mohawk so I cut it all off. Hopefully, I won’t be mistaken for a skinhead while I’m waiting for my hair to grow out. On the plus side I shouldn’t need to cut my hair again for quite a while.
I’m no longer hiking and back in Kansas City. There does seem to be a pattern of my making big plans and then abandoning them shortly thereafter. The hike wasn’t very enjoyable because the weather was mostly crappy and I was feeling mostly crappy. When the Census Bureau called and offered me a job that sealed my decision to return to Kansas City and abandon my hike. The Census job will only last a couple of months so I might resume my hike later but I will make those plans later.
Luckily, I was able to get my apartment back. I had already turned in my keys but since I had paid for the month of March they hadn’t cleaned it or rented it out yet. One positive from the hike is that I lost 8 pounds. I’ll probably gain that back quickly if I go back to my former eating and exercise habits but I’ll try to keep that from happening. The Census job doesn’t start until late April so I will make some plans and goals to fill the time before then.
When I talk to people about my current hiking plans they sometimes reply, “It must be nice.” The implication is that I’m lucky to be able to go on a six-month hike. Undoubtedly, I am lucky to be physically and financially able to go on this hike. It isn’t all luck though. Being financially able to take this hike is a result of years of living frugally and saving money. I’ve also avoided debts or other obligations that would keep me from hiking. Too many people think that reaching a goal like this is just luck and is out of their control. If someone wants to take a hike they can do the same things I did. They may decide that the trade-offs aren’t worth it for them but they should realize that they can achieve this goal – it isn’t just luck.
And yeah, it is pretty f—ing nice.