Surfing and money

Posted on October 8, 2007
Filed Under - leisure, - work |

Surfing at Whipsiderry

This is the life! Went for a mid-morning surf today and I was the only person out there. It wasn’t the best session in the world as I didn’t catch many waves. I have a tendency to hover a little too far out, and today I was over-correcting this and also lurking too far in! But it’s always good to get out in the water. Especially now that I have just had a phone call from one of my temping agencies with a couple of days work for this week. If the conditions disappear, it could be the last surf I have for a while.

I was half-tempted to say no to the assignment as I was looking forward to another week off temping work. But while it’s nice to have a relaxed attitude towards earning money, I can’t be too cavalier. I have been quite pleased with how I have managed not to panic about money. I am earning less than a third of what I used to earn and paying a hefty £550 per month in rent. It would be easy to lie awake at night worrying about it, but there’s no point. I can’t magic money out of nowhere, so if there isn’t going to be enough I will have to deal with it in a practical way.

I have been keeping track of every penny I spend in a big spreadsheet. I now need to a look at all this spending and work out where I could be cutting down or not spending money at all. I think that if you concentrate on affording the things you really want (like a winter wetsuit!), you can cut out the stuff that isn’t so important and save quite a bit of money. How often do we bemoan spending money on things that we didn’t really want in the first place, hardly ever use or have too much of anyway?

Stumble it!

Comments

One Response to “Surfing and money”

  1. Rachael Byrnes on October 9th, 2007 1:47 am

    Hi Sally, thanks for dropping by my blog. I relate to your thoughts on money. I find that I spend too much money on things I don’t really want or need when I don’t have time to think about what I really want or need. When your work reaches a critical mass, you begin to spend a lot just maintaining that hectic life. Eating on the run, coffees, entertainment to feed your tired soul etc. etc..

    All power to you sister! I think you’re on the right path. Your spread sheet sounds like a good idea. I should do that myself. I once created a personal “work in progress” document based on the template I used in my office job, but for my whole life. I also gave everything a priority rating and a deadline. It was a good idea, but then I got too busy and forgot about it.

    These type of things need to be diligently revisited on a regular basis. Sounds like you’re really onto it with the spread sheet.

    Go you!

    Cheers- RB

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