5/16/17 - Moving Forward

 This is a good week for us financially. We're bringing in roughly $800 between Wednesday and Friday AND we have about $220 in food stamps - it's only been 5-6 days and we've already spent a great deal in food stamps just restocking our locker. The idea is if we come to a point where we don't have money, and the food in the cafeteria is really bad, we have food here. This a good time to invest in something we'll need for the coming months. 

 

I have to admit, there really is something "freeing" about not having a lot of stuff. Having all of your belongings fit into a gym-size locker makes you super aware of everything you have. And, in a way, it's easy. I used to like the idea of minimalism but never had any real-life motivation to make it happen. Funny how becoming nearly homeless helped me realize how bad it is to hoard shit. Like, even now, I know that I don't have enough underwear, and I really need a new bra, leggings and/or some kind of house shorts/sweatpants, and denim shorts for summer. I could benefit from another top, but it's not a huge priority right now because I have 1 tank-top. I also know where I can get some really good quality, yet cheap (like $3-5) clothes at a thrift-type shop. I also know where I can get everything else for a good price, and probably spend no more than $20-25 bucks on everything. We also need a fan because it's about to get deathly hot up in here. I'm really trying to not wait until the last minute to take care of things, especially when I know we're just not as flexible and able to get around certain problems because we live in a shelter now. 

 

Our biggest investment this week is new phones/new plan/new provider. The provider I've had for a while is no longer the best option (it;s just terrible and the price is going up!) and our phones are both more or less about to hit the bucket (I bought a MEGA CHEAP phone some time ago, maybe 6=8 months, it's not like it was meant to last...) - it would be wise to get a new one BEFORE our current ones die. We also have laundry to do. And, hopefully we can get a better quality one thing time around to last us a bit longer. I've NEVER cared about cell phones. Ever. Like, I always thought they were a huge waste of money, (still do TBH - there is absolutely no point in dropping $500+ every year on a new iPhone for example) but now, it's like my only stable connection to...anyone. Being able to receive calls, and send emails, for example, is a massive deal. 

 

Last week, I did reallllly good getting through my task-list/goals. I have 10 articles up on Hubpages, and get this! They're ALL featured articles! Can you believe that? And, they get pretty decent traffic considering low content, new account, ect. Now, I can fully monetize them through the ad programs. To really make some decent dollars off them, I'm sure I'll have to do SOME work (self-promoting), but I'm really not setting my standards super high - I want to remain realistic. Even if I can get a few hundred bucks a month of passive income, I'd feel like I really succeeded. LMFAO. 

I will figure that out - for now, I'd like to see if I make any money without doing anything. 

 

I also have 2 translations completed. People's generosity knows no bounds. I have to find the time to work on putting that up on Lulu, and making sure I do it right. The only other thing I have in mind for the rest of the week is to write up a generic inquiry email (that is DETAILED ENOUGH but not painfully long) for the different housing vouchers/programs so I can easily get them out to different resources. 

 

I'm also going to start scanning jobs again. I try to look every Monday, but it's been getting increasingly worse in terms of what's actually available out there. I can actually feel the scarcity of jobs becoming worse. Which is not a good thing at all. That is why I have to keep figure out other ways to make a little money. Not to mention, the possibility of going back to school is really lingering. I don't really want anything more than that.