Bushfires in the local area

We have bushfires in our local area at the moment, a bit too close for my comfort last night!

here's my recent posts on whats happening near us; Fire season  and Bushfire updates

Posted at 6:32 AM | | 0 Comments  

My new address: Just Seeking Simplicity

This is just a short note to let you know I've started a new blog and to invite you to call in and visit me at Just Seeking Simplicity
hope to see you there,
Louise
(comments are in the top left instead of underneath)

Posted at 8:11 AM | | 7 Comments  

Time to say goodbye

So much has happened since I started blogging. Life was very different then and I firmly believed I could reach my goal of paying off the mortgage in five years and getting rid of the credit card. 


However the last few years has thrown us some huge challenges and once again we found ourselves coping with job loss, Alzheimer's, sickness, losing my business not once, but now twice due to sickness.  My time is taken up now with just trying to get through each day physically, emotionally and financially.

One thing I know is that we can make all the plans we want, be responsible, work hard and take good care of our families, and bad things still happen that are just out of our control.

It's time to call this blog quits.

But I want to say thanks to my readers over the last 2 years for your support and friendship. I enjoyed 'meeting' you and sharing your stories. I had a great time here and blogging has been very satisfying for me. But my life has changed so much in the last few months that I am ready to say goodbye as I move on to face other challenges, mainly my health.

All the best to each of you. I won't be writing again but please know how much I have appreciated your support. :)

Louise

Posted at 8:14 AM | | 17 Comments  

Progress Report #24

The Good


I have been earning money online doing writing projects since I still can't work. I have decided that this is the quickest way for me to get cash in the bank so I write for a couple of hours each day. I earned $642 writing in August and paid it off the credit card.  

It's spring here and it's beautiful to see the garden starting to flower. I know it's not financial but since I spend all my time at home it's really nice to have such a lovely view after months of winter.

I have been paid my allowances for employing DH and training her which came to several thousand dollars. I also got paid for two big accounts I worked on. My business emergency fund is now sitting at $4200 and the business account has got a decent amount of money in it again which is a relief.

I have been able to pay all this months bills on time and without using the credit card. DH has worked some overtime which has really helped. We are throwing every cent at the card.

I made over $400 in passive income in August and I am about to start work on creating my own audio product to sell online. 

The Bad

I am still very limited physically. I work (at home) for about 2 -3 hours a day maximum and then I sleep and rest on the lounge for the rest of the day. 

The Ugly

My dad is deteriorating and I can't travel to see him. It's not a crisis, but I really want to be there with him and I can't. When I talk to him on the phone, he does not know who I am any more.

The Balances

Credit Card:  $13,864

Mortgage: $147,914

Business EF: $4200

Posted at 7:17 AM | Labels: | 5 Comments  

Sickness and gratitude

Being sick for so long is a strange thing. It's been interesting to say the least! Being dependent on others for simple things that I used to take for granted is not always easy. But it certainly makes me grateful for my family and close friends. 


My days are very simple and as I start improving I have more time for contemplation and reflection about where I'm headed as I am forced to accept the fact that my ability to work will be limited. As someone who loves what I do, it is not easy to accept that I have to slow down. I was working in my dream job, the thing I would do for nothing. I am not someone who ever wants to stop working. 

But I'm practicing being grateful for what I still have and for the possibility of a limited return in the future if my health continues to improve. 

In the meantime I'm hoping to be well enough to catch up on some reading soon. Once I stop sleeping most of the day away! I'm also planning a makeover of Dad's old room to turn it back into my study again. Mind you DH will be doing all the actual work! 

My first big goal is be well enough to pay Dad a visit in a months time. I am missing him a lot and he is getting more and more frail. When I call he is not really sure who I am any more, but he is happy. 

I have started to make short trips to the shop some days and I can do a bit of light housework for about an hour each morning before I need to lie down and rest again so that is progress.

I just have to take things slowly. I don't have a choice about that. But I am trying to give up what I have to give up gracefully and make plans for a simpler future.

I found this lovely article worth reading on Counting the Hidden Blessings in Illness.

 Here is an excerpt:

"In her book, "Have a Little Faith!" author Sherri Connell reminds those who have their health to be grateful for their abilities. 
"When was the last time you took the time to thank God for being able to sleep six hours straight or for giving you the strength to wash your hair? 
Have you ever praised Him for being able to scrub your toilet or being able to refill your soap dispensers? . . . 
Have you ever been elated to be able to dust a few pieces of furniture or for making a simple meal?"
I

Posted at 7:12 PM | Labels: | 1 Comments  

Forced Simplicty

It's beautiful spring weather here at the moment. I spend most of my day on the lounge and the view is fantastic! I can't wait till I'm up to getting out in the sunshine.  I had a bit of relapse since my last post but am feeling a bit better the last few days. The collapsed part of my lung is almost fully recovered so breathing is a lot better. I sleep a lot but am able to get up and do bit around the house in the mornings which is nice.


I still am very behind financially as there is just a lot of paperwork to be done and I still can't concentrate for long period so I'm just prioritizing. I am starting to get some income now as I start catching up on the billing so that is helping. Money is still very tight but I do feel much more optimistic now than I have in the past.

DD now has another job. It was not possible to keep her on any longer.  I expect that she will be moving out into her own place in the next 6-8 weeks.

DS has told us he wants to take next year off university, get a job for 12 months and then complete the last year of his studies later. Financially this would be great for us. He also is planning on moving out of home after Christmas.

So it seems the empty nest might be a reality for 2010. In some ways the timing is good. DH and I are having to reconsider our plans as my working capacity is much reduced and will be for a long time. So only having to think of ourselves does take away a lot of the financial pressure. I had been working at simplifying my life and this long illness has simply forced us to do it sooner. I miss my work so much, thats the hardest part of this. I hope to be able to work 4 hours a week by the end of the month. Fingers crossed!

Posted at 1:02 PM | Labels: | 2 Comments  

Down, but not out!

Thanks to those people that commented and sent me emails. It really was appreciated :)  


The last few months have been very trying in many ways. I can honestly say it has been a frightening experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I am still a long way from recovered but slowly getting a little better each week. I am not able to work yet and when I do it will be for short periods only.

My major achievement of the day now is getting showered and some days even dressed! Once I've done that in the morning, it's back to bed after lunch. I have ventured out to the shop a few times and when I return I feel like I've run a marathon!

I am still waiting on the results of tests but, without going into the details, I am going to have some permanent problems as a result of being so sick. I guess once the bodies immune system is down you are just vulnerable to everything, but we will manage. 

Financially, well I've paid everything on time and we are paying some extra on the mortgage to stay in advance.

 I made a decision to use the credit card for big major bills and for DS's university fees. My main reason for doing that is that I have tax and other payments to be made that can only be made with cash. I also have to pay them on time or get fined. So I've paid all those with cash and I have another tax bill to pay next week. While it's not ideal I have to prioritise payments at the moment, and the Government comes first.

So, I guess life has taken another one of those twists and turns that makes the journey interesting. No point fighting it, I just have to go with the flow. I'm not giving up on my journey to eliminate debt. I may be down, but I'm not out!




Posted at 8:19 AM | Labels: , | 8 Comments  

De Je Vue: Here we go again...

I have seriously thought about stopping writing my blog over the last few days. It seems that I am just reliving financial problems again due to sickness, and I really wonder if I have anything much of value to write about anymore.


Today I cancelled over $2,500 of work for this week. A couple of months ago I was doing $4000 a week.

 I've finally accepted that the really great online consulting job I've been negotiating for a while (approx $5000) won't be mine, just due to the fact I'm sick and I can't guarantee when I can get the work done, he can't put it off any longer. I was very excited about that work. It was for an author of a book that I actually use in my business. He wanted a writer for his site. He liked my work and would have loved to have written for him.

Here we go again...

Today I had three new referrals for work. I had to turn them all away. Tomorrow I start ringing people again to cancel, reschedule, and lose more work. It's not exactly restful. I work at what I am passionate about, I get up every day am excited about what I do and through no fault of my own I can't do it. That stinks, and it's screwing up our finances... again.

I'm just getting worn out of watching it go down in flames again.

Posted at 6:07 PM | Labels: , | 6 Comments  

It's Pneumonia!

At the start of the week I conked out after just a couple of hours at work and so had to cancel this weeks (already lowered) work week. I was diagnosed with a chest infection which soon worsened.


After a few trips to the Dr's, the respiratory physician, blood, tests, X- Rays CT scans and various lung function tests I've been now diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs and severe asthma. So it's two weeks off at least, lots of different medications and I have to REST, which is not my strong point! 

It seems I'm one of the people who go on to develop complications after whooping cough.I also have some permanent damage to my vocal cords from the whooping cough. I often lose my voice after just a couple of hours. So I have to 'ration' it out.


I have had to cancel another two weeks of work and reneg on some online work that I was going to do. I have enough in the business accounts to pay all my expenses. At home, well DH's income will cover our basics, and if I have to use the credit card I will.

Income protection insurance doesn't cover this as I have to be off work for four consecutive weeks before it starts. The hardest thing for me to do is rest, but I don't have any choice right now, so I guess I'll be watching a lot of movies!

*and please, if your kids are not immunized, get informed information about the disease, for everyones sake.

This may sound strange but as sick as I am I'm relieved to have had it all checked out and to have a new diagnosis. I recently watched Michael Moores show, Sicko,  on the US health system and was horrified! So my frustration at being sick is tempered with gratitude that I've had all the care I need available for very little cost. I feel a little improved today, after two days on the new medication regime so I'm really hoping I can halt this pneumonia in it's tracks.


Posted at 1:10 PM | Labels: , , | 4 Comments  

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)