Budgeting

August has been a month filled with generousity for me. I have once again been help in so many ways, ways which I had not expected. This kindness and generousity takes an incredible amount of pressure off of me, freeing me from worry over not just the bills, but some of the extras which mean a great deal to my quality of life.

It started off early in the month, where a family member gave me $400 and said to me that I should spend it on whatever I like. I took his advice, purchasing some treats for myself, paying for my drivers's licence, and using the rest for groceries and typical spending. Then another person, a regular reader of my blog, helped me purchase gifts for my grandchildren, the Lego characters in wheelchairs. I expect them to arrive any day and look forward to giving them to my children and grandchildren. I realize it may not make much of an impact on the young ones right now, but there will come a day in the future when they will look at that toy, that little Lego character, and remember that I once was here.

Just a few days ago another friend took me grocery shopping, and paid for my groceries. And the other friend who showed up for dinner with a big package of Sirloin Steak and another package of Tuna Steaks. My freezer is near full. Then there is the friend who slips me $40 every week or so, allowing me to go to Trivia nights on Mondays or perhaps out to a social event every now and again. This doesn't mean I get to life a wild life of parties and bars; I still have to make careful choices. It means that I get to be social, as much as I can. That matters a great deal to me.

All of the generousity means that I have saved enough this month to make the "third" mortgage payment of the month. If it wasn't for this third mortgage payment, I might actually have been able to pay my condo fees this month, something I worry about every month, something I have fallen far behind in paying. It is a wonderful thing to have such help.

This is not to say my life is all wonder and fun, a life long shopping spree. I've had to make a couple of tough choices this month, like the decision not to get the radio in my truck fixed. The $175 for diagnosis and the potential $800 for a replacement Auxiliary Power Control Module was enough to convince me I didn't need a radio, or hands free for my phone. I can live without it.

What's more troublesome is the bill for my wheelchair repairs. The wheelchair is something I cannot live without, and since it is "my" wheelchair, the government will not pay for repairs, at least not the Alberta Activities of Daily Living fund. The bill will run around $600, but fortunately the Assured Income for the Severely Disabled has a subsidy for this, so the end bill to me will be around $250.

So I didn't go to Trivia last night. That saves me $25. If I avoid buying fresh stuff from the grocery store and don't go to trivia next Monday, I should just make it. I'll ask my daughter Kate to buy the wine bottling supplies and extra bottles. Then I'll take the $250 from the money intended for my mortgage, pushing that deficit into next month; I'll have to deal with it then. And I have $18 in my wallet for emergencies. Fortunately payday is this Friday from AISH and next Monday from CPP. This is what my life is right now, living from paycheque to paycheque.

Budgeting has become a big part of my life now. I can live with it. It's not easy but I can live with it. The help from others makes a dramatic difference in my life. I just need to find a job where I can work with my mind, work from home, and make about $500 a month. Surely that must be out there somewhere.