Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Steady As She Goes, Except her Bank Account...

Hey all, popping in to report that I have been holding relatively steady for the past while. I am unfortunately not hitting the gym as much as I would like, mostly due to scheduling and work being extremely busy but also because I am throwing a bit of a "I'm sore...boo hoo" pity party.

Since the accident, I have completed 12 weeks of physiotherapy which really, really helped a lot. I was almost unable to move my head and neck at all, but after physio I had a lot more movement. But it was not the same amount of movement as before. Now I get really sore if I am on my feet for too long, or if I am doing too much, or if I am lifting or carrying heavy stuff. Certain exercises are painful or more difficult. I have been having numbness and weakness coming down my arm and into my right hand, specifically the pinky and ring finger. (That makes weightlifting a frustrating process!)

I am wondering if some yoga or pilates would help, as I make the assumption that it is actually my neck or back that is the originating issue. Problem is I hate yoga because it hurts, hahaha! If I was leading a yoga class, it would look something like this:



But as much as I am sulking about this ongoing annoyance, I am at least keeping my food relatively in check. I slipped out of keto for a bit, but have been working my way back into it this week. I really do feel better when I stick to the plan. I have to commit to meal planning and grocery shopping on a regular basis, now that I cannot fall back on my old "No lunch packed? Just spend whatever on a restaurant!"  And speaking of that...

One new thing that I have started doing is using You Need A Budget (aka YNAB) on my phone, ipad and laptop. It's dramatically cut the amount of times I eat out during the week, as I can actually look at the amount I have left for the rest of the month.  I haven't been anywhere NEAR overdraft, I have almost all of my next month's bills ready to be taken care of even with another paycheck to come this month, and I am killing off my credit cards left, right and centre.


But the one thing that I have to say about YNAB is that it sometimes makes me very uncomfortable. I know, that sounds weird, right?  But the truth is, I love to spend money when I want, on what I want, and I am SO USED to not having to think about it. Of course, I was also used to living in the land of overdraft by the end of the month too. (When I added up my overdraft interest for last year, I wanted to punch myself in the neck.)

It's only been a month since I started using the program with any seriousness, and as much as I am coming up against my bratty, impulsive spending self, I think I am going to be much happier and more comfortable knowing where my money is going in the moment, not after the credit card statements roll in. I want my money to go into my goals, not the bank and credit card companies' pockets.

I already cleared one credit card, the second will be done next month, and the last one will be done within the next 2 years, although I am going to see if I can cut that down to a year.  Once the cash flow from paying those debts is freed up, I plan on ramping up my mortgage and emergency fund payments, and maybe save for a vacation with the kiddo.

Bring it on, 2015.