I know it was rhetorical rant, but I have to
sympathize. Don't let the project stress your funds.
You may dig yourself into a hole that may make final
completion even further out than 2004, or may
necessitate selling of the project to subsidize bills.
Then what are you left with?
I know about that desire. That voice in the back of
your mind saying "I just need to buy that
part/tool/kit and do the work." But you spend money
you don't have. Well, believe me, being broke is even
MORE stressful than having an unfinished project in
the garage. (Look who I'm telling).
Maybe, since you and your wife are congenial enough to
respect a designed "budget", that you could try to do
the "rainy day" fund. Let's say you save up a few
dollars you set aside for gas by hitching a ride with
a friend into work. Take the $1 you saved on gas and
stuff it in the jar.
With me, it used to be TOLLS and LUNCH. I would
estimate $5 for lunch every day. And $2 for tolls. But
tolls are only $1.75 and if I grabbed a hot-dog, it
was another $1.50 in my pocket! I know. It sounds like
piddelence, but stuff it in the jar and don't touch
it. Add O/T money, money you save on Utils by turning
back/up the thermostat, or stuff you sell on ebay
(Ah...I never use that damned couch! I can sit on the
welder) and you will be amazed how fast the money will
accrue and you can afford those new lights, trim piece
or chroming.
I've been doing the rolling restoration on my car for
6 years. And will probably still be working on it in
another 10.
You want to know how sick I am of Peanut Butter and
Jelly sandwhiches and CUP O RAMEN? (Just the thought
of it makes me ill. To add more of an insult, I even
wait until they're on sale to buy them in bulk so as I
load the TUB of peanut-butter and cases of $.20 cup o
ramen in my car I have so many good meals to look
forward to!). Well, I get over it, just by going
outside and staring at my car and thinking of how it
looked when I first got it and how it will look when
it's all done. The car and triumph pumping through my
blood takes my mind off of that sugar and fat filled
heart attack on white bread, as I mindless munch away,
I smile knowing that I have a beautiful car (to me)
and it will someday be the car of my dreams.
It may have to sit for awhile, but as long as you have
the triumph in the blood (which it sounds like you
have a terminal case of), letting the car 'rest' for a
few months or a year won't hurt it. Because you'll be
there the entire time, keeping the rust at bay with a
rag and a can of WD40. And when that jar is
overflowing with cash in a years time, you'll have had
several months to fully contemplate the order and the
steps of your process, and lists of parts with a price
column. And when you do attack it again, it will be
done with expert precision and in record time.
The only trick is to resist the addiction and
constanly look for ways to cut corners on our cost of
living in the mean time. It's depressing really, but
in all of my years of going to shows, I've ever heard
a triumph owner say "It really wasn't worth the
sacrifice". (On the other hand I have heard it at
chevy and ford car shows).
"Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is
to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads
him." - H. Miller
-Terry
P.S. I'm saving another $5 tonight by inviting myself
to a friends house for dinner. Maybe I should call
them and let them know I'm going to be stopping by
around supper time. "Oh, well if you insist that I get
something to eat while I'm in..."
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