October 1st feels like it was three months ago, not one month. The beginning of October, for lack of a better phrase, was a cluster f**k. After freaking out a bit & doing some research, I calmed down again.
Since losing my job, I have been working on the easeyourfinancialpayne Instagram usually daily, as well as posting at least weekly on here. I would love to get it up to posting 2-3 times a week on here, but ideas for blog posts don’t come to me quite that fast. If you don’t follow me yet on Instagram, I suggest you do since I am active on there daily! I also got my first official affiliate link!!! I’m screaming because I’m so excited and have been trying so hard to work with this company! –ThriftBooks!! I love them & get all of my books from them! Now if you use my link I get a tiny commission off of your order! No added cost to you, you’re just helping me out! I’m going to go tell all of my friends and family now, lol.
We’ve also been working on house projects, nothing expensive just painting & tearing up old carpet. Other than that, I’ve been cleaning up after our new cat daily. He either pees somewhere or destroys something, every. single. day. Not to mention that the cats fight almost everyday too, but then they’ll be fine & cuddle each other later, so I’m not sure what’s up with that.
More info on our newer cat:
We have taken him to the vet & done everything we can to try & change his behavior & absolutely nothing is working. The vet said we were doing everything right (correct number of litter boxes, tearing up carpet, giving him other things to chew on, etc.) and that this is a behavioral issue (she tested his urine & did an ultrasound). Our new cat suffers from OCD & anxiety. I bought some different cat sprays too, some are for cleaning up the urine, one is to calm him, another is to deter biting/scratching & peeing on surfaces. We have 1-2 other things we can try that the vet recommended: Feliway outlet plug-ins (diffusers to help calm cats) & Purina calming care feline probiotic (this is better than just putting him on meds right away). If after all of this, he still continues to pee or wreck things daily, we will have to get rid of him. It’s really messing with my mental health, having to watch him as much as possible, having belongings I care about chewed up, cleaning up pee off my floor daily, the cats fighting & hurting each other, etc. It’s just not worth it. We’ve been trying to work with him for months. Like I said though, we will try the outlet diffusers & then the probiotic if that doesn’t work. Then we may try medication. I really hope one of these last options helps! We do not want to get rid of him.. we do like him when he doesn’t chew on our things or pee on our floor. I hate it when people just get rid of their pets, they’re living beings with feelings too. So even if these don’t work, we may just keep him anyway, we don’t want him being bounced around from house to house for his whole life.. Also I don’t know any sane person that would take him at this point, I know I wouldn’t have taken him off of our friend’s hands if I knew he was going to behave this way.
Anyway, on to the financial update..
Now that I’ve lost my job, our numbers will not be improving as much as they were, which we’re fine with. I don’t have to be employed anymore if I don’t want to, so I’m not complaining! I am working on monetizing this blog & my Instagram though!
Our Partial Financial Independence Goals:
- $0 Debt.
- Brandon works part time at his job.
- I am self-employed through the Ease Your Financial Payne blog & Instagram. I can choose how much or how little I want to work & when.
- We need $2,000/month in income, whether that comes from investments, Brandon’s part time job, or my blog, it doesn’t matter.
Once we pay off our mortgage we will be golden! Our expenses would only be $1,200/month, but I want to leave room in the budget for having a kid & emergencies, so that’s why I have a goal of $2,000/month or more in income.
Our Current Numbers as of November 1st, 2021:
- Investments: $50,232
- Savings: $20,608.33
- Debt: -$122,984.77 (Mortgage)
- Just Brandon is working full time.
As always, thanks for reading!
-Meghan
My Links:
- ThriftBooks -I LOVE them as a company & order all of my books from them now! They ship super fast, great service, books always show up as described, super cheap, & good for the planet because they’re second-hand, but you get to choose the quality!
- BetterHelp -A week of Therapy for FREE!
- Betterment -Invest your first $5,000 for FREE!
- Back Market -My referral code: 6888f588d6f85083 -$10 off your order! Refurbished Tech! My sister & I both got “new” phones from there. They’re awesome, great quality, so much cheaper than buying new (by up to 70%), came super fast, was super easy to buy, AND we saved 123 pounds of carbon emissions, each!
Ease Your Financial Payne 