Fair warning, I am NOT tracking my pony dollars in 2013. I do not consider my husband and I to be in any shape or form well off. We work very hard, are careful with our money, and go without some things in order to have other things. With that said, the amount I spend on a hobby is frightening. There are American families (and even more non-American families) who live on less than what I've spent this year. That doesn't mean I am going to give up my horses, but I just don't want to know in such exquisite detail how much money this whole thing costs me.
Click image to enlarge.
I was discussing this blog series with one of my colleagues the other day. He pointed out that I shouldn't feel so bad as even he knows that I don't do a lot of things so that I can do this. He pointed out that Hubby and I don't eat out a lot, go to the movies, shop for clothing or jewelry, buy new cars, etc. He was right of course, but still ...
Happily, I was able to keep September's expenditures to a pretty low number. This might be the least I've spent in a month all year. We got a small pay cut this school year (2.73%) which means I have a little less spending money to toss around right now.
There's also the distinct, and very real, possibility that California's kids will go to school up to 20 fewer days next year. If that happens, my pay will be cut by more than 10%. There are several propositions on the November ballot that are designed to temporarily "fix" public school funding, but most Californians are mistrustful of our legislature and their ability to correctly handle our state's finances. We shall see.
For now, I am just going to ride, take lessons, attend clinics, and start showing again in the spring like I've been doing. As someone once told me, there's no point in borrowing trouble from tomorrow.
Happily, I was able to keep September's expenditures to a pretty low number. This might be the least I've spent in a month all year. We got a small pay cut this school year (2.73%) which means I have a little less spending money to toss around right now.
There's also the distinct, and very real, possibility that California's kids will go to school up to 20 fewer days next year. If that happens, my pay will be cut by more than 10%. There are several propositions on the November ballot that are designed to temporarily "fix" public school funding, but most Californians are mistrustful of our legislature and their ability to correctly handle our state's finances. We shall see.
For now, I am just going to ride, take lessons, attend clinics, and start showing again in the spring like I've been doing. As someone once told me, there's no point in borrowing trouble from tomorrow.
