As I came home from a late swimming session the other night, I was pondering how expensive it is (really need to invest in a swim card) - £3.60 a pop I think. Outrageous.
But then it got me thinking about a post I’d made right at the beginning of this year, ‘Living on a Low Budget in 2009‘.
You see, I have a tendency to plan, plan, plan and dream up schemes and ideas, and then just let them fall by the wayside. It’s one of a number of things I really don’t like about myself. I’m not much of a ‘do-er’ really. I really wish I was much more practical. But I am trying.
So this is why I’m looking back at this post, and, if anything else, I just want to write an update to see how I’ve done thus far. So let’s have a wee gander:
“1. Get a work diary.”
So how did I do? Well, I got myself a work diary and purposely filled it every week until I started my new job. It definitely helped me visualise what I had to do, what was due when, and how to schedule and spread out my work. But because I’m now contracting at work and have calendars on my computers and reminders popping up now and then, I don’t tend to use it so much. But I think I might get it out and start using it more again (see next post).
“2. Get a part-time job locally. I need to be able to subsidise my freelance work with regular paid work so I at least have a contingency should the freelance work dry up. I NEED that security. The past 3 months have been dreadful. Not even remote workers are immune from the curse of the credit crunch.”
SCORE!
Well, technically I’m still working five days a week but as per my last post, come December 1st I will wave bye-bye to full-time contracting and chip it down to four days. Which means I can return to working more efficiently on my freelance stuff and have more time for my own projects (hence getting the work diary out once more). So I’ll have freedom to make more of a mark for myself and take control of my life + security of part-time work. Well done Lucy, you actually managed to do something right.
3. Grow more of my own food. “…I want to grow things that really benefit from being picked fresh, and I want to use the space I have the most economically that I can. This will take some thought, and some planning.”
Ahhh, hmmmm, yesssss. FAIL, I think. But then, as I was suddenly working full-time in March, I can’t really be too hard on myself. Next year, there’s always next year (rapidly becoming my Smallest Smallholding mantra), when I should have more time. On the plus side, my onions and garlic have been fab, but I definitely need to grow more of them next year. I want to at least double my yield. Oh, and when the greenhouse staging is made (I think it’ll be on the Christmas list, I’ve been asking Rich for two years now) I’ll be able to grow my peppers and chillis etc.
4. In winter, wear more clothes. “We need to try and limit the time we have the central heating on. This house is drafty and old… Will have to get Mum to teach me how to run up curtains easily.”
OK, well I can’t really comment on this yet. But we are trying to use locally grown sustainable wood on our fire, staying in one room to stay warm rather than heating the whole house. I have several blankets and throws on my bed, too. Snuggly.
5. Never go food shopping on an empty stomach, and never go without a shopping list.
Oops. This is a major downfall of ours. Six million small shopping trips in a week, where we buy more than we need. OK, now I have reminded myself of this resolution, I shall endeavour to stick to it more!
So what of The Dreaded Debt? Well I have actually been extremely practical in this department and made myself an Excel spreadsheet. I’m tracking how much I’m paying off each month (trying to pay at least twice or three times the minimum amount), spreading the payments out over more cards so I’m not paying such a proportion of interest, and… dun dun DUN, my debt is slowly but surely reducing. I’m quite pleased really. It’s going in the right direction and I have been quite strict about making sure that I always pay as much as I can, without leaving myself absolutely brassic for the rest of the month.
I also said that I wanted to bake more. Well. Time. I just haven’t had time. But next year, there’s always next year (hem hem).
So there we are. A mixed bag, but on the whole not too bad.
How about you? How are your 2009 resolutions going?
November 6th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Down the side of my blog must be 20-odd things I wanted to do this year. I’ve achieved about 3!!! Lol. But I don’t worry about it. This year’s been a shocker due to the credit crunch, but all the main things are covered. The bills are paid, the animals are ok, we’re finally healthy again and we still love one another.
As you say, there’s always next year!