Strange Thoughts of a Strange Man

For the last few months, I have been in the surprising position of having a positive balance in my bank account just before I am paid.

I have described already how I have cut back here and there and changed this, rescheduled that and generally not spent as much so I shouldn’t be surprised. However, my calculations indicated that I should be only just above breaking even. My balance suggests otherwise. I have way more than I think I should have in the bank.

A smug me would say “woo-hoo! it’s all working! let’s go shopping!” but the more realistic me is thinking that he has forgotten something.

Labels: Bank, Money

I make resolutions every year. I just checked my blog for last year and found that I am about to make the same resolutions as I did last year. My resolutions a year ago were to lose weight, save money, finish my novel and be consistent with my beard.

The only one of those I kept was the beard. I have not shaved it off or trimmed down to a goatee all year. I should be proud of that but it was more luck than determined effort.

I still need to save money. More so now than last year. I have £6000 on my credit cards. That has accumulated from the holiday to New York in 2007, the holidays with David to various parts of the UK last year, the work on my garden, a VERY expensive service for my car and my recent Travelcard purchase. And does anyone feel safe with their job right now?

I still need to lose weight although, on a positive note, I have not put on any more weight than last year and I still wear the same sized trousers. One of my planned savings, however, will mean me cancelling my personal trainer and possibly my subscription to the gym. That will make weight loss rather more difficult. Gosh, I might even have to eat less. What a thought!

And then there's my novel. I very nearly just gave up on the whole thing a few months back. That all-important first chapter wasn't falling into place as I wanted it to. Then I realised I didn't want that as a first chapter and that I didn't know my main character well enough. I know where I want to start it and I have thought more about the character so I feel in a slightly stronger position to write about her. Unfortunately Tace Holgate's back story might take the entire novel in a different direction. That means I'll have to rewrite the whole thing!

Labels: 2009, Money, Resolutions, weight loss

I am overdrawn again! The money I paid to have my garden finished off will send ripples through my finances for months to come.

I was expecting to be paid tomorrow but, alas, there has been a mix up at the bank and our salaries will not hot our accounts until Tuesday.

Bah!

Labels: Money, Overdraft

1. Lose weight. I weigh sixteen stone and wear trousers with a 40-inch waist. A year ago I used to be fifteen stone and wear trousers a size smaller and even then I thought I was overweight. David's mother's first words to me on Christmas day were "you've put on weight". This has got to stop.
   My Dad was fat and, as I have mentioned before, both he and my grandfather died of heart disease. I would like to delay that for as long as possible. My goal therefore, is to lose at least a stone by the end of the year. Preferably three. Probably this is immensely unrealistic and I'd do well just to keep my weight from increasing further but I need tell the world though this blog and therefore give myself a feeling of commitment.


2. Regrow my beard. Big deal. I lose and grow beards all the time. However I think I'm a bit too old for that. I should either have a beard for a decent period of time or be clean-shaven for a decent period of time. I should not cycle through beard and goatee twice in three months as I have done recently.
   I would prefer to have just a moustache but (a) I am too lazy to shave every day and (b) they just aren't that good a look these days.


3. Finish my novel. Yes, I know. I have been writing the bloody thing for nearly three years and if I'd really wanted to get it finished then I would have by now, right? Well, not quite. It's true that I allow myself to be distracted but I have been working on my first three chapters and I am very close to having them in a form that I will feel happy sending them out to a publisher. My friends in the writing group liked the improvements I'd made. I just need to do a little polishing and write a decent synopsis. Then I will send it out. I also need to integrate the new chapters into the rest of the novel but that will come a little later. My immediate goal is to send the chapters out. I will do that before the three year anniversary of the start of the novel has passed.


4. Finances. I like my current job but I know, at 43, that I cannot remain a programmer forever. I am terrible at keeping up with new trends in technology and I am beginning to feel out of date and stupid at work. I need to start investigating other ways of making a living. That might require changing my life in other significant ways to reduce my outgoings. Spending less on stuff I don't need, for instance, or maybe getting a smaller house.

Labels: Beard, Health, Keepsake, Money, Novel, Resolutions, weight loss