Under A Thousand A Month

This is the name of a blog I love to read. Some of it is extreme, all of it gives you a lot to think about. Right now it is a bit of a train wreck in that it is hard to tear yourself away from seeing what's going to happen next. I realize that everyone has different comfort levels of simplicity and while she aspires to a level we could not attain, I respect her for her ability.

It gave me cause for thought. We could do this. It made me want to do this. We don't make a whole lot more than $1000 a month (actually, some months I don't know how we get by. I feel paying tithes and offerings helps us get by with God's help). We would put the excess into savings. We did something similar before but we lived on an extreme low. It was easier when the kids were small, our rent was less and there were a lot of other things that made it easier to live on a small amount.

The biggest thing this will do is to give me a reason to stop shopping. I love shopping. My weakness is Superstore. I could go in there every single day and walk out with a cart full of stuff. I shop when I'm happy, I shop when I'm sad, I shop when I'm bored, and, well, you get the picture. We can't afford this. I know I need to pull in the reins. It is just hard. Retail therapy is a real issue. I plan to replace it with home productivity.

I did start something today that while it may seem contrary to simplifying, I feel it is important. I signed up for T-Zone. Basically it is a machine that jiggles your body and has a ton of benefits. After one session, the pain in my knees and back were virtually gone. Readers of my main blog may remember nearly two years ago I fell hard on one of my knees and I am basically crippled by it. The doctor wouldn't take me seriously about the pain I was in and now both knees are in constant pain (I over-relied on my "good" knee; I basically can't kneel anymore). It is so hard to do regular exercise, even walking is really hard. I have friends who have been dropping inches and pounds with T-Zone just with 10 minutes a day, even without changing their diets. We never need medicine or and our family never has any health expenses (other than dental) so I can justify it that way. I was able to get 4 months for the price of 3 (the special ends today; it was $166 for the three months). It will improve many ailments that I have. Just the relief from the knee pain is worth it for me!!

I plan to have some tutorials coming up. I want to do a mayo making one as well as one for some awesome bean cookies. I am still getting over being sick so my ambition is a little low lately.