Ignorance isn't such a bad thing, really. Ignorance, at least in the short term, is far less stressful.
There isn't anything beyond short-term disability with his company. So, that means if Dewey isn't released from the Ortho surgeon Wednesday for full work...there also isn't any such thing has "light duty" for an industrial electrician...we're officially unemployed and without a paddle to speak of.
We can go unemployment until he's releases for work fully, but here in Mississippi that is top dollar at a mere $235 weekly. I can do some pretty good things here, but I just don't see $940 a month making this homestead float :o( now, I will be whacking at every corner and really rounding things off here, but I think bare bones I'm looking at every bit of $940 being used til it screams "uncle" for me.
Cells will drop first off. Stupid contract in the first place, but that's spilled milk now. Either way, I'll cancel a contract real quick and live with the consequences later. As Dave Ramsey says, it's all 'Stupid Tax'. Live and learn stuff.
After that, foods are already covered until around late September and then some. Good there.
Electricity...well, we're pretty low there, but there are so many more things we can still do to drop that. Bad part for me, sissy Northern girl, winter-lover that I am, is summer's coming. I can go without much air conditioning but it ain't gonna be pretty. I'm just not built for summer. I didn't like summer up north, and man alive I don't do well down here at all.
However, if you can't afford it, you cut back. Plain and simple. If you ain't got the funds, you do without. That's life.
Water usage is another place we can surely find some corners to whack. Animals aside, we waste water here. Even getting spring water for drinking, we use more water than we have to. We have it, on demand, and we don't temper that usage with restraint. Not enough.
That's pretty much our bill level. Well, no...feed for the stock. More free-ranging and we can cut that back. We don't have a great pasture area for the goats, but with a couple hand fulls of grain, we have great timber and brush land for them and they love it. And again, The Lord knows what's ahead here...He knew we were dealing left and right with abscesses, so the kidding didn't go as I had thought and just 2 does turned out being bred. Now, only having them and not milking has been a good thing, even though we miss that fresh milk. But, fresh milk requires grain, and we're going to have to cut back.
It's all just every day stuff when you break it down. Could be a lot worse, but it's not. We aren't going to go under or anything. We'll just be sittin' in the heat and dark without cell phones :o). LOL...could be winter with shorter days...but it's not. Summer could be cooler than usual given this past winter, so we'll see. Suppose I can't acclimate with the a/c running, heh?
So, there we are. A lay-off is coming, could be this week, but most likely they'll wait until the April 2nd disability cut-off date. And we get to argue and fight for that final 9 day pay...they cut him off as of the 24th pending more medical records. Grrr! Man, make you scrap for every crumb. Annoying.
There again...just plain ol' life. Sure ain't going to get better around here. These are the good days.
How sad is THAT knowledge?
2 comments:
Well I guess you could sell your place and move to TN and live in the camper for a while ? If I had the fence I would offer to take on a few goats to lessen the load. We can marry off your two girls and lessen the grocery bill ? lol
When Mark and I couldnt afford the bills we left NY and came here to TN and it is way less in bills for us here, we are learning to do with less. I have alot to learn still. We love you all and we would love to have you arround more. Like I said to Mark if you were next door you could come over anytime... Hmmm you and I need to come up with an idea to get land and live in the campers or something while we all build as the Lord provides.
Love
Linda
All things will be ok. My husband tore both shoulders on the job in Oct 08 and his company let him go in Aug 09 and we have been living on his unemployment since that time. It still shocks me at how much we were able to cut back! We have to live on an extremly tight budget, but are very proud of how we have managed it--an all the while having people tell us that it is impossible!
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