Monthly Budget Crisis

Today for some reason, having nothing else to do, my mind began to wonder. A thought that has consistently entered my mind and I constantly stew about came to me again... FINANCES! If this is something you don't worry and stay up at night thinking about, I envy you.

Megan and I have several major life changing events that will soon happen to us. Megan will be having the baby in April.. (which we both are excited about). However, along with her having the baby, we are going to be taking about a 50% pay cut. My new job with Tooele will definitely be an asset for us. Although public safety employees don't make half of what they should, I am grateful that I am going to be making 33% more NOW than I did working for Praxair. So that in and of itself will aid in our being able to put food on the table in the upcoming months.

Today I used Google Doc's spreadsheet program to write up a budget for us... if not a budget at least a way that I can track our expenses. I am totally in awe of how much we have spent so far this month on crap. There have been several financial decisions that I am now realizing haven't been the smartest for us since we have been married. These poor decisions can be put into one important phrase: Needs vs. Wants.

We along with the majority of Americans are stuck with car payments. Every time I think about how much a month we pay it makes me sick. We are paying just under $500 a month for our cars. It's totally ridiculous. If we could save that money each month we would have around 6k saved in just a year! My Jeep will be paid off soon, but regardless, we still owe more on Megan's car than it is worth.

Also, I would advise anyone who has not gone here yet to avoid it like the plague. Credit card debt is hell. Why give, best case scenario, 12% of the cost of whatever you 'want' to a credit card company? It's ludicrous. Is there any reason why you cannot save for something? If it is really a need and not a want, you should be able to sacrifice a little and save right? Somehow we have accrued more credit card debt than I would ever like to have had. As soon as we can loose ourselves of their awful chains of hell, I will be able at least be able to have a small sigh of relief.

I am glad, that for some reason or another, we have had to hold out as long as we have to get a new TV. Here's the story... When Megan and I moved to Tooele on the 3rd of January our TV had a mishap on I-215. Anyway, we are short a TV now, and thanks to my parents we have a loaner til we can get something else. Megan and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get something nicer. We were looking at Wal-Mart and online for some good deals on the LCD HD TV's. For the size we 'want'ed we were looking at about $700 - $800. Well, on our budget there's not really any room to squeeze that in. I had the thought cross my mind, "well, let's just put it on the credit card and we'll pay it off with the tax return." I am glad that sanity prevailed and I did not charge it. If you guys are anything like us, the infamous tax return has been pre-set aside for hundreds, if not thousands, of different 'wants' that we could get.

Anyway, I'm realizing that I am going on. I'll get to the point. Let's learn to distinguish between wants and needs. NOTHING is worth getting credit card debt over... NOTHING. If you aren't already there, do all you can to avoid a car payment at all. It doesn't matter how hot it looks, it isn't worth the majority of a paycheck to pay for! Good luck with all your financial struggles. Let me know any ideas to get and stay on top!

Freak

Man, it's hard to keep these things updated when you do ABSOLUTELY nothing all day.... well here's an updated nonetheless. Still unemployed. I got a call just a week after being laid off from Praxair from Tooele City offering me the position of Police Officer just 24 hours after I had interviewed with them. So that's cool. But the hiring process is quite a process. It takes FOREVER. Last week I went in for a psychological evaluation... now that was a chore. I went in thinking I'd be outta there before I knew it. Nope, 4 hours and 1300 bubble sheet questions later I walked out. What a mess. Then I had to have my drug and vision screenings (which are a whole nother story in an of themselves). But as of right now all I can do is sit and wait for my background check, and psych. evaluation to come back.

Also, I deleted windows from my computer and installed Ubuntu... a Linux OS. LOVE IT! It's so much easier to use and faster than crappy old Windows Vista. Anyway, that's it for now. Peace.

That's My Boy!

So few things make a Dad more proud then a CLEAR picture telling you that you are having a boy. I wouldn't have been mad if it were a girl, but come on, which guy doesn't want a boy right? So that's it. Enjoy.

End of an Era

So today like any other day I get up at 6:15 and get ready for work. I get there, divide my route, deliver oxygen and say "Ok, thanks! See ya next week!" to all of my patients. Much to my surprise as I return to the office after a long hard day of work my supervisor tells me the branch manager wants to talk to me. I'm thinking "ok, I guess someone called in complaing about something." Not exactly what I had in mind. He just bluntly tells me that they are cutting back on employees and that my position has been terminated effectve immediately. To make it that much better is that he has this nasty smirk on his face the entire time. First thing running through my mind is, "holy crap, my wife is pregnant and we DEPEND on my insurance!" Ya, kiss that goodbye, however I CAN still pay for COBRA insurance which will only cost me $690 a month. Which will be easy to pay with my steady income right? What gets me most about this whole situation is why they chose me... no one can give me a straight answer. No one knew about this until this afternoon (my supervisor included). It all came from our smirky faced branch manager spur of the moment. If they were going to cut back on employees I mean, why couldn't they just NOT hire the driver they put on the force a month and a half ago? Interesting dilemma. Can I smell a personal vendetta? I call conspiracy on this.
Anyway, as of now my wife, my unborn child, and myself are left without a supporting income and insurance to protect ourselves. I hope someone is happy.

Each Life That Touches Ours For Good

I know i'm a day late, but I just found out. Yesterday someone dear to me passed away. This isn't a close friend, or even a family member; heck, I had probably only seen him in person a handfull of times. But this is a person who has touched my life in a more positive way than I could ever have imagined. Trent Duval passed away yesterday November 4th at about 4:30. He had been fighting an uphill battle with Leukemia for the last 16 months and received his call back home.

I am so gratefull for his example in my life. It isn't all that often that someone can affect a person in such a way having never known them. Trent was such a person. Every time I think my life is going so wrong, or that my trials are just too hard to bear, I will think of Trent and his true Christlike example. Thank you Trent for your example. I know that the Lord has greeted you with open arms while saying "Well done thou good and faithfull servant, enter in."

Death and All His Friends

Alright, this one's a little creepy... but it's Halloween right? So today i'm on my normal Monday route of delivering oxygen. Now when you go to someone's house each and every week month after month they get used to the time that you get there and are expecting you. This all applies to one of my patients who has been receiving liquid oxygen fills for as long as i've been there on Mondays. His door is always left open for me and I go in almost unannounced every Monday around 9:00 AM. This morning was no different when I arrived a gave a quiet curtesy knock and entered...

Upon entering he is laying on the couch (which is totally normal for him, he has been sleeping there for the last few months) with one eye wide open starring into nothing and the other closed with his mouth hanging open. I'm caught off guard and wondering if everything is alright I yell his name twice to try to wake him up but to no avail. I hear a quiet voice from the back room say "hello?". Turns out it was his mother who had been with him. I ask her if he's OK to which she replies "We've called family already, we don't think he'll make it through the day." I'm thinking, This guy is dead as a door nail right now! Can't she see that? I could tell as soon as I entered the room. For those of us who have had this choice experience, you will know that death has a smell. That room was filled with death, and I didn't like it. Anyways, just another exciting exerpt from the life of Ryan.

Is it the salty snacks you crave?

So listen to this.... Thursday the 23rd of October I am doing my usual routine of delivering oxygen. This particular day was a PT (Physical Training) day at the academy so that means no Moutnain Dew.... I stopped off at the Sev which is a daily thing for me and I was feeling like some kind of sickness was imminate, so I decided to buy an orange juice. The next phase of my Sev visit is what kind of snack I would like... (usually decided by whether I am in the mood for sweet or salt that day) which this day I was in the mood for Salt. A bag of Ranch Cornuts will do the trick. I buy them and i'm on my way. It had been about an hour later that I needed to burp so I do... and it's one of those acid reflux burps (you know what I mean) so I hurridly swallow it back down and much to my dismay a small piece of cornut gets lodged in my throat about midway down. I try coughing and hocking and even sticking my finger down my throat to fish it out with no luck. By this time it is killing me. It hurts to swallow and i'm actually getting kind of nervous. But all of the sudden at a stop light I just cough. Not trying to get anything up... just to clear my throat when out if comes. Check that baby out in all it's glory. My throat still hurt even two days later, but I am fully recooperated right now.