The last time I set a budget for myself, I was operating under the assumption that I'd be in Illinois for an extended period of time.
Two things changed between then and now: I got a medical scare, and I discovered a creative/professional partner. I'll explain in more detail, but the TL:DR version is that I'm headed back to Nevada (or Arizona).
Yes. I know that I said it would be a long time before I could even consider returning to Nevada. Well, a talented artist and kindred spirit prompted me to close the geographical gap between us to boost productivity and grant me regular access to a much-needed offline friend.
However, getting from Chicago to Bullhead City/Laughin/Vegas will not be easy... at least not financially. So here's how the cash cookie will crumble for March:
MARCH 2021 SSDI DISTRIBUTIONS
- 50% - RENT
Yes, this is high. That's the downside to staying at extended stay facilities. Fortunately, the extended stay facilities I'm targeting offer discounts for month-to-month rentals and continuous occupancy, so this will drop discreetly over the next few months.
I'd like to cut this expense even further by moving into a traditional apartment, but my low credit score and my eviction in May 2018 lead to many apartment managers rejecting me. And practically any residence is superior to a homeless shelter.
- 25% - SPEEDY CASH
Two emergency expended prompted me to tap my high-interest credit line. Due to the circumstances, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. And considering how over-developed my guilt complex is, that speaks volumes.
- 8% - POST MOVE-IN GROCERIES
This will be a bit more steep than traditional grocery trips since I'll have to buy a variety of bulk items -- such as toilet paper and paper towels -- and perhaps some appliances -- such as a microwave.
- 6% - AIR FAIRE
This is an overestimation since I may be able to get a flight at roughly 4%-5% of my SSDI payment (even including baggage fees). But I'd rather overestimate instead of underestimate.
- 4% - HOTELS
If all goes according to plans, there will be a 1-2 day gap between my departure from Chicago and my move-in date at my new destination. This is intentional; this gap will give me a chance to meet my creative/business partner face-to-face (we've chatted multiple times over Discord, so this is not a first encounter).
- 2% - BUS PASSES
Whether I end up in Nevada or Arizona, I'll rely on public transportation for most of my post-move travels. The less time I spend in rideshares (or taxis), the better it will be for my wallet and my sanity.
- 1% - SHUTTLE TO/FROM LAUGHLIN
I'm meeting my creative/business partner in Laughlin. This might be problematic if I end up in Las Vegas, Bullhead City, or Phoenix. I may have to adjust this depending on where my next long-term destination is, but for the time being, I'm assuming "Las Vegas" and counting on Silver Rider or an equivalent service for a round trip to Laughlin.
- 4% - MISC
Food, unexpected repairs (I am going through shoelaces like crazy), and other uncovered expenses.
MARCH 2021 3GM PAYMENTS
- PRIORITY ONE - GROCERIES
Loony Liberal needs food badly. And meds. And cleaning products. And doughnuts. Yes. Doughnuts.
- PRIORITY TWO - TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES
Buses will be my primary mode of transportation, but buses aren't the best option when I have several bags of groceries. So I'll need to earmark some money for Lyft.
- PRIORITY THREE - INVESTMENTS
Compound interest is nice, but there are no laws against adding fuel to the fires, right?
MARCH 2021 INVESTMENT PRIORITIES
- PRIORITY ONE - FREEBITCO.IN
4.08% annual interest paid daily, a proven track record of completed deposits and withdrawals, and interest that can be entirely hands-off make this my favorite place to invest my BTC.
- PRIORITY TWO - COINSEED
This app is surprisingly feature-rich. In addition to the various ways it handles token allocations, it offers both flexible and locked savings accounts. I'm not thrilled about the one-day lag between the beginning and the end of a payment or transfer, and getting a warning about a transaction that will succeed is weird. Still, this app shows promise.
- PRIORITY THREE - COINTIPLY
5% annual interest and stable coins (100 COINTIPLY coins equals $0.01 in BTC regardless of the value of BTC) are great benefits. However, the weekly disbursement of interest and the necessity of tapping the faucet once a day to get that interest make this a slightly less appealing option than FreeBitco.in.
- PRIORITY FOUR - WORTHY FINANCIAL
It's still a stable investment that benefits small businesses, it's 5% annual interest, and it pays interest daily. But the absolutely chaotic time periods between beginning a purchase, having the money withdrawn from my bank account, and having the bonds credited to my account make this a hassle.
- PRIORITY FIVE - HASHSHINY
My investments are now to the point where my BTC earnings reinvest daily. I should now focus on getting the same results for the other five cryptocurrencies that the site has to offer. My next focus: ETH.
- PRIORITY SIX - HEDGED BITCOIN
When BRAVE Browser awards me BAT, or when I have a few extra dollars to spare, I'll buy BTC on Uphold, then pass the BTC over to Hedged Bitcoin. This is a long-term investment, but that doesn't mean that I should completely neglect it.
- PRIORITY SEVEN - CASH APP
I used to recommend Cash App highly due to its ease of use, relatively low fees, and features such as cash card boosts and the ability to buy partial stocks. But then, I saw this thread on my SFW Twitter account:
As such, I'm going to focus less on Cash App until/unless these types of scandals get resolved in a satisfactory manner.
- PRIORITY EIGHT - BLOCKFI
4% annual interest is great, but interest paid monthly is not so great, especially when I have accounts with FreeBitco.in and Worthy Financial. Still, money I send to Blockfi is money I won't lose at the Craps machine.
- PRIORITY NINE - ATOMIC WALLET
To be clear: the Atomic Wallet staff has pretty good customer service (their most recent attempt to resolve my DEC issues notwithstanding), and the app itself -- both its desktop and smartphone versions -- is pretty solid. However, purchasing cryptocurrency directly from Atomic Wallet requires a 5% or $10 fee, whichever is larger. For Bitcoin, I can use COINBASE as an alternate. However, the nature of BNB limits my options greatly, especially since BINANCE seems to be in no rush to complete my verifications. Due to the hassles associated with acquiring more BNB, this is just not an appealing use of my time and funds.
Honestly, the next few months will likely be lean with regards to investments. The good news is that my current investments are mostly hands-off (lack of internet access will drop my daily income by $0.15-$0.16/day). However, I'll need to budget far more wisely if I'm going to survive in or near casino cities. Also, I'll need to start allocating funds for artists since I now have a creative/professional partner who deserves every dollar I send their way.
I'm counting on rent and "exceptional" groceries being lower in April. Also, I likely won't have to worry about air fare in April. City-to-city shuttle expenses will increase if I end up in Las Vegas or Phoenix. Hotel expenses will remain about the same if I end up taking two overnight trips to Laughlin a month, though I can eliminate a monthly hotel expense if I end up in Laughlin or Bullhead City. And I'm not going to beat myself up over using Speedy Cash this month; I needed to tend to my physical health and repay a debt to a good friend. I can justify both expenses without a second thought.
Still, I'm going to have to get into a smart money mode, especially since I'll be "working" two jobs -- technically, one job and one series of works which I hope my creative/business partner and I can sell for money. (Note that my current "job" falls far below the SSDI minimums, so please spare me the double-dipping accusations.) Fortunately, I'd much rather spend time plotting, planning, and laughing with my creative/business partner than dealing with the rage-addled no-goodnicks at the casinos.
And if I can hang in there until May, then Medicare will activate. This will allow me to get much-needed care for my multiple health conditions... though I'll need to allocate monthly funds for Medicare supplemental plans. Still, that's preferable to having my primary care provider be the nearest emergency room... especially if said emergency room is at a hellhole hospital like Desert Springs, St. Rose Dominican, or Sunrise, at which point I might seriously consider walking off a gunshot wound so I won't have to deal with rage-addled nurses and security guards itching to pick fights with patients.
I'm just hoping that the buck stops here before my sanity or my life do.
