End Month

I have been fortunate enough in my 24 years of life to have never lived 'pay check to pay check'. I am a minimalist. Seriously, I don't buy anything I don't need. I have many of the same clothes that I wore in high school. My house is plain as decoration is not important to me. However, the one thing I will spend money on is food. That is something I am trying to get under control.

Most people around here live barely making it through the month. That's why 'end month' is such a popular day. Tomorrow I guarantee that the supermarkets will be packed, restaurants will be buzzing, and traffic will be insane. Everyone is trying to enjoy the money they have just received. I find that a lot of people don't get the concept of saving or making sure your money doesn't run out for the rest of the month. They live large the first couple days and then starve near the end of the month. We actually have a landlord that came to us because he couldn't manage his money properly and wanted us to regulate how much he spends. He is a drunkard and when he gets large amounts of money at one time, he spends it all on alcohol. So we collect all his rent and then give it to him in small portions during the month. Yes, we do more than just manage money - we manage lives apparently.

Today I think is the first time I am ever feeling this 'end month'. Our income will be coming in in the next couple days which will be nice. I thought we would be ok until then but, of course, something has to go wrong.

Two days ago, I discovered that our electric kettle had burnt out. It was making funny noises and I thought it just needed to be cleaned (because our water is salty, it gets some film on it that needs to be cleaned regularly). After I cleaned it, I realized that coil inside had actually burst. It's no good anymore. The worst part is that it does have a warranty on it but we were suppose to register for the warranty when we bought it (which we were unaware of) so we cannot go get it fixed. I have to buy a new one soon. It is probably the most used appliance in my house since I boil all my drinking water.

Then the credit on my internet is about to run out. Gotta top up so I can use the internet again.

And then this morning, as I was boiling drinking water on the stove since the kettle is kaput, our gas tank ran out. I can't do any cooking without the gas. Now I must go unhook the tank, lug it up the road, and exchange it for a new one. Kelvin tells me my caretaker will help me with this. Thank you caretaker!

So my top priority is the stove because we must eat. I think I will do without the kettle for a few days and just limit my time on the internet until we can get our next 'pay check'.

On the bright side, the electricity is here for now. Praying that it will stay the whole day today. That would be nice.