Cutting Expenses - Step Two In Tackling the Twenty Six List

Today, instead of outsourcing to a tailor, I pulled out the old sewing machine and made some simple alterations to a uniform blouse and cover (hat) that I need for my current day job next week. All in all, I'm not a very good seamster, but after some fits and starts I made a passable job of the effort.

It's not a lot, but it's the first step in cutting my expenses as part of my efforts associated with the twenty six list. I've also made plans for some additional daily cost cutting that I plan to realize by changing some of my purchasing habits. These are going to be a little tougher, but I suspect that if I can manage a week of changed behavior (one day at a time), I can capture another $300-$450 per month.

College Creek During a Brief Stop in the Incessant Rain

The picture of College Creek is about as large of a non sequitur as possible, but during my walking today it was heartening to finally catch a break in the nearly incessant rain that's been happening for the last week. I spent some solid hours getting soaked this weekend, but I got the photo that I've been waiting to get during a brief dry spell. I'd have taken any photo at this point, and this is the one that I captured.

Back to cost cutting. The challenge of financing the N2N-TCP sits on me like a foggy elephant. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to swing it in the way that I'd like so cost cutting now is something within my ability to influence. I suspect it will also lead to a series of habits that will prove beneficial going forward, and I'm not quite sure why I didn't start much earlier. Actually, I do know.  I got caught up in materialism, and I have not been disciplined for the last twenty years. Like many other problems, this one will not get better with age so addressing it now, while not ideal, must be done in order to have a chance of pulling off the pilgrimage. 

One of the many things I've learned over the past decade, the hard way of course, is that the path to wealth in America mostly consists of keeping the financial resources that you've earned. Making more money certainly helps, but if you're spending what you make you're pissing away an opportunity. I'm sure I must have been told this lessons numerous times before the last several months. For irresponsible reasons, I chose to ignore the advice of wisdom. 

No longer. Cost cutting it is, and because I've waited so long it's going to have to be drastic. Much better to have started a bit earlier because the effort would have been far less drastic. C'est la vie.

I'm looking forward to continuing this one point trent that I started today first thing tomorrow morning. A new day will bring new and exciting challenges so wish me bon merde.