Not All Days are Sunny — Bookkeeping Time

It would be nice to think that all our days could be sunny... both literally and figuratively speaking.

But that's not the world we live in!

A couple of days ago, we saw the "official" arrival of autumn, and today it arrived with a vengeance, with gusty winds and driving rain all day... we got almost an entire month's worth of rain in just one day!

Of course, "rainy days" aren't just about the weather; it's also an expression we sometimes use figuratively to describe those days where life just isn't going in the direction we were hoping for, or wanted.

The driving rain not only kept me from doing any yardwork today, it also kept me solidly indoors, and I decided it was time to use this rather glum looking day to undertake the rather glum task of doing bookkeeping.

That is one of the "joys" of being self-employed... it's not just about doing your thing and being happy with that. Inevitably, there are also some rather dull and boring parts to the business... like record keeping and accounting.

Well, at least for me they are rather dull and I tend to put them off as much as much as possible!

But this is also the time of the year where we apply for grants to help with such things as low-income subsidies for such things as the winter heating bill, and that requires submitting an up-to-date income statement.

So that was my task, today.

It's funny — and a little bit sad — to think that we have sunk to the point of being "low income," but it seems to be something that is hitting remarkably (alarmingly?) many "normal" households, here in the USA.

If you had told me such a thing 40 years ago when I was fresh into University, I would have shaken my head and laughed.

All these years later, I won't say that I am hanging my head in shame, so much as I am just sad to be part of a system that makes it so difficult for people to find financial stability.

It's not that we/they are doing badly, it's that everything costs so much.

Earlier today, I was looking at one of our local online buy/sell message boards, and someone was advertising a "small cottage" for rent; a separate little house at the end of their larger property. They were asking US $2,500 for a place with a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/eating/living area.

This is not a city. It is a fairly small town, about 90 minutes from the nearest metropolis. That's a lot of money for a basic and not modernized and very small place to live.

I continued diligently with my bookkeeping.

It seemed so strange to determine that we are actually making about 10% more income in 2024, compared to 2023... but all that's serving us to do is go backwards, not forwards.

As I said, we're not doing badly.

I'm trying to find a bit of "sunshine" in this... and perhaps that is that I did get the bookkeeping finished and up-to-date so we can use our "low income-ness" to prove that we do qualify for a discount on the heating bill. And the property tax bill.

And there's a bit of sunshine in that, as well!

Thanks for visiting, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about you? How do you "make sunshine" in your life when it is raining? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.09.25 23:06 PDT
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