This Week

Monday: I got home and did some work for my friend. Oh, and cleaned the catbox.

Tuesday: I did more work for my friend after getting home from work.

Wednesday: I did dishes, cleaned the catbox, cleaned the toilet, and got the garbage ready to go out. Also recycled a box.

Thursday: Took the garbage out on the way to work. Also recycled some papers, I don't remember exactly what.

Friday: Declutter bonanza! I paid three bills and recycled the envelopes and inserts. Later, I went through old bills to see about getting rid of them. To shred: Old storage bills and many old balance transfer offers from credit cards. Recycled: 12 envelopes, 2 post-its, 1 program, 20 pieces of paper, 1 price list, 1 flyer, 32 brochures/info pamphlets, 1 receipt, 27 newspapers, and 1 cardboard CD sleeve. The pile is undented but the couch and table are newspaper-free. I am going to have to work at this awhile :)

Results: I got a book at the library that I put on hold so long ago I'd forgotten about it. It's about getting out of debt and I am thinking I'm going to follow the program. It requires closing all one's accounts, but if I do that I can get on several hardship programs and get my payments reduced. On the other hand, the book recommends creating your own payment schedule after examining your expenses to see what you can actually afford without sacrificing quality of life. It can be a drastically lower amount, but usually holds up in court if you're paying as much as you can. It beats bankruptcy for me, since I do want to pay all my creditors, however long it takes. But what happens with this system is people start to find their incomes increasing. I think it's from Debtors' Anonymous. Pretty cool :)

Oh, yeah, I also have been finding pennies every day since I got back from my vacation, and several dimes as well - today it was 22c altogether! It's really fun to find money :)

Finally, Monday was free pizza night at the gym, and yesterday I got an email from my bookkeeping friend, referring me to another potential job! So the money crunch may be abating at last.