Daily Schedule

Here was my weekday schedule (first month of car-living)

6:30 wake up, drive to storage

7:00 change and wash up at storage

8:00 arrive at work

4:00 get off work

4:00 – 9:30 run errands, get dinner, find a place to sit and read or talk on phone (two days a week I work 6:00 – 9:30)

9:30-10:00 drive to sleeping place

10:00 – 6:30 sleep

My desired schedule (starting the second month of car-living)

6:00 wake up, drive to gym

6:15 -7:00 workout at gym

7:00- 7:30 shower and dress for work

8:00 arrive at work

4:00 get off work

4:00 – 9:30 run errands, get dinner, find a place to sit and read or talk on phone (two days a week I work 6:00 – 9:30)

9:30-10:00 drive to sleeping place

10:00 – 6:00 sleep

I don’t feel like I spend much time in my car. I stay over at work and take walks rather than sit in the car.  On weekends, I might spend more time in the car, but so far I’ve spent a lot of time at church and then at friend’s houses after church on Saturday. Also, talking to people on the phone and surfing the Internet make the time go by fast.

On October 1, four days ago, I had a personal training session at the gym. The workout was really what I needed. I believe if I do those exercises Tyler showed me, my abs will flatten. I hope to workout every morning. That would be a wonderful benefit of being homesless, because I wasn't looking for a gym except to shower. Even more, showering when I’m done won’t look so odd after a sweaty workout like what I did today.

After sleeping in my car all night with knees bent most of the time, a morning workout is probably just what my body needs.

That was 4 days ago, today is the first day this week I haven't gone to the gym to work my abs and arms. I was proud of myself for keeping it up for 3 days. 

I slept late because last night was the 2^nd night in a row I went to bed late because I was researching camping and camp stoves. I’m excited about the topic - as excited as I can be under the circumstances. I wouldn’t normally be interested in this at all.

If you make plans, you don't have to make excuses.

I made a plan for today’s paycheck. I printed it out and posted it above my desk (with a cover sheet covered with stickers). At the end of this month, I will have another $1000 saved for the house renovation fund. Remember, last month’s extra $1000 established my emergency fund.

It feels good to know that ALL  of the money I get from any of my 1-3 jobs will go towards debt or savings (and of course a few bills, such as insurance, that are not going away). I teach a full-time day job, teach an evening adult class, and may get another 1/2 time position from my company in the mornings for an hour a day. 

Update on gas: 
I've done really well at not using a full tank of gas each week. My budget is $40 a week for gas, but since prices dropped ($3.29/gallon right now), I've been putting $35 a week in the tank. I still don't use the whole $35. Now, in October my church is having a series of special events that I really want to attend. I'm sure I'll go over the $40 limit each week. On the other hand, they are offering dinner each night. So what I overspend on gas will hopefully be made up for in the food budget.

There is therefore now no condemnation

Mama said again that she feels so good having someone helping her with the house renovation.

Mama went to the house with a contractor a few days ago. Daddy called and asked, “Is the contractor still there?” Mama said, “She just left.” Daddy asked, “What are we going to eat tonight?”

I laughed when Mama told me this story. We would expect Daddy to ask, “What did the contractor say?” 

However, I think Daddy is depressed and weighed down with a lack of self-forgiveness. After the house was damaged 8 years ago, Daddy got physically sick and angry with the world. He took the little money they got from the house insurance and spent it on “contractors” who had no plans and no expertise. The money was gone in no time. Eventually the utilities were turned off because they couldn’t afford to pay them. That’s when my sister, Sasha, stepped in and told my mother, “You don’t have to live like this.” So, my mom went to live with Sasha, and Daddy eventually followed. He came to visit Sasha's house one day and just never left. That was like admitting defeat.

I think he still feels defeated.


How do I approach the subject (since he will vehemently deny feeling bad about anything)? 

I want him to know that he is not defeated. That the past is the past and no one is thinking about the past. We are all moving forward. Fortunately, God has blessed us with the resources to get the house repaired now and we should ALL  be excited about that. We want him to take a lead in this project and give input all the way. Just accept his children’s help as a gift because we love him. 

UPDATE: 

I talked to Daddy shortly after this post. Like I thought, he listened carefully to every word I said, then denied feeling guilty or being uninvolved. But he vowed that I would see another side of him from now on. A few weeks passed and there was no change. 

Well, today is November 27, 2013. For the past week, he has been accompanying Mama to meet contractors and stated that he likes tan bricks for the retaining wall better than gray bricks. Sasha was as amazed as I was to hear that he had an opinion about something. This is the old Daddy. It's nice to see him coming back. 

My Favorite Advice For Losing Debt

I logged back into MyFitnessPal today. I haven't used it to keep track of my diet since May. I reread a blog post that I wrote entitled "My Favorite Advice for Losing Weight."

I was surprised at how perfectly the advice for losing weight also applied to losing debt. So, I'm posting the advice here.

1.   Be consistent. Set a plan and do the same smart actions over and over.

2.      Don’t be in a hurry. Focus on each day, not just the big goal. 

3.       Have fun with weight loss. See calorie-counting as a game. 

4.       Give your body and mind “rest days” – aka “cheat days” or “off days” or “high calorie day” 

5.       Visualize progress with graphs and pictures. 

6.       Start a lifestyle change – not a diet.  Don’t make changes you can’t stick with for a lifetime. 

7.       The best exercise program is the one you can enjoy and stick with.

8.       Don’t let yourself get hungry.

9.       Educate yourself about how weight loss happens. Read books and blogs. Learn about nutrition, reading labels, the science of exercise, and the philosophy behind any new habits you begin. 

10.   If you make plans now, you won’t have to make excuses later. Plan your meals.

11.   Decide which calories are worth it. 

12.   Measure (weight, waist, heart rate, food portions, steps)

13.   Eat what you like. Make sacrifices, but don’t live a deprived life.

14.   Be honest about how much you eat. Buy a food scale so you’ll know for sure. Eat accurately.  - Be honest about how I spend. Analyze my bank statements. Keep track of my expenses for a week. 

15.   Find or learn to cook nutritious foods you can enjoy as much as your old standbys. – Learn to enjoy things that I can afford on a small budget. I look forward to getting a $200 smartphone rather than the $600 one I was saving up for. I look forward to my next car being used, and getting a cheaper Android tablet than an Ipad.

16.   Alter the foods you already eat (grilled instead of fried, ground turkey substituted for ground beef, skim instead of whole milk, cook veggies less thoroughly).

17.   Try something, If it works, stick with it. If not, try something else.

18.   Look at what you can do now (touch your toes, walk farther, etc) – Look at how I feel now when I have savings, how I handle emergencies, how I feel when I know I have money in the bank.

19.   Keep a food and exercise journal and keep it up even when the data isn’t pretty. This is a way of being honest with self.

If You Must Be Homeless, Being a Teacher Has Benefits

There are other homeless people with jobs, but being a homeless teacher has some distinct advantages. I’m humbled as I list them:  

One morning, I came to school and had on yesterday’s clothes. I was able to iron and change clothes in my classroom really quickly before school started.

Not only that, in the program that I teach for, I don’t have students yet. They have to be referred and screened. All of that is done without my involvement. So, during the month of September, I’ve been using this available time adjusting to being homeless.

I have access to a lot of useful resources – microwave, fridge, Internet, wi-fi, plugs to charge appliances, heat and AC, good people. I also have a key to the building. Although I try to avoid coming here on weekends and after hours, sometimes I have to.

Finally, I have space to store things. I set up my own kitchen inside my classroom. I have a pantry hidden in my cabinet behind books. I can keep fresh fruit on my desk. I keep my work shoes under my desk and change into them when I arrive each day. I have some items stored in my classroom that I may not use this year, but didn't have room in storage. 

One Month Anniversary as Mobile Homeless Person

I have completed one official month as a mobile homeless person, or maybe I should call myself a car camper. What do I have to celebrate on this one-month anniversary? 

1. I’ve paid off $360 in small bills

2. I've set aside a “Life Happens” Fund of $1000. 

3. I’ve taken back possession of a condo I used to have and it has a rent-paying tenant inside. 

4. Most importantly, I’ve proven to myself that I can survive. I’m off to a good start and I feel a lot of hope and enthusiasm. 

I calculated that by not renting a room I save $13 a day. I save $40 a day not staying in my old studio, closer to $50 a day not staying in a one bedroom apartment and paying utilities. Imagine if I said I’m saving $13 to $50 a day and just putting in savings. That would be phenomenal. That’s what I’m doing by paying off debt – inverted savings.

Using my new classroom kitchen, today I had rice, vegetarian bacon strips, and grapes for breakfast. A real home-cooked breakfast – the first in a month. What a way to congratulate myself for this big move I’ve made towards paying down debt and housing my parents!

Complete Classroom Kitchen

A few people online have said that living in a car brought on more bills than living in an apartment. Maybe they were just talking about food, since many mobile homeless people buy their meals one at a time and can't prepare their own foods in bulk.

This weekend I worked on the issue of how to cook and eat foods while living in my car and holding a teaching job. This weekend, I bought an electric skillet for $12 at Big Lots.

My plan was to purchase a whole lot of little appliances - a microwave popcorn popper, a single burner, a rice cooker, a hot pot for soups and tea, etc. Forget that. I'm going to try to use this electric skillet for all of that. Today I scrambled an egg with cheese (delicious!) and I popped popcorn (only 50% popped). I’ll also try toasting bread and cooking brown rice in it.

I have the skillet hidden behind the white Cricut die cut machine in my room.

This electric skillet + the school microwave + my toaster oven hiding under my desk = all that I need to have a full kitchen and cook all my foods

This is important not just so that I can be comfortable, but also so I can tell my family in the other state that I am cooking my own meals and keep my homelessness a secret. My mom knows I enjoy cooking and she will be suspicious if I haven’t cooked something in a while.

Well, that takes care of daytime weekday meals (as long as school is in - not on holidays and vacations). 

Weekends are still a challenge when it comes to eating. I’m trying to decide if I should buy a propane stove (faster, hotter) or use alcohol canisters (cheaper, safer in my car). I see myself using alcohol canisters to heat water for soup and tea on snowy or very cold days without ever having to leave my car. If I get the propane, I might as well invest in a two-burner stove and really cook a meal while at the park.

I also want to learn how to cook foods in aluminum foil. For that reason, I checked out books on camping yesterday. It was encrouaging to see different recipes on how to cook potatoes, corn, one-skillet meals (I need more recipes for that!). And, can I wrap Marie Callendar meals and other frozen dinners in aluminum foil and heat them up over a propane or alcohol stove over the weekends?

I used to eat somewhat on a schedule. Now I eat when I can. I went to a children’s ministry meeting Friday night and I took a salad with me. Lo and behold, Sis. Ella brought soup! It was good (although I missed cornbread). I saved the salad for the next day, and packed an extra bowl of soup to go.