Wednesday - morning.

I don't know where time is going, but it just seems to disappear.  I could have sworn today was Tuesday...

And I found it! I've been looking for it for a while, but today was the final draw: either find the thing or go buy a new one.  I am referring to the charger for the battery for the sawzall, a device that basically makes cutting plastic pipe a breeze.  I'm standing in the pantry looking at all of this stuff on the shelves. C'mon, where are you? I singled out every single thing with a black cord on it and walaah!  $70 I don't have to spend today.  Yes, I'll probably have to wait an hour to charge the thing up, I'm fine with that.  

Still waiting to see what the rain is going to do anyway.  It's to the west of us be it appears like it's going to go north-northeast instead of heading more in an easterly direction.  Which is great, I can get a lot done over there today - hopefully anyway.  I'm going to tackle the sewer line first.  It's going to be the hardest one to do, might as well get it over with.  

The water will just be an inconvenience to whoever happens to the be in the park when I shut it off. I'm not giving forewarning to anyone on that one excepting the older couple.  I'm hoping to get that done tomorrow. I don't have to shut the power off to lay the line.  I just have to stuff the line into the pedestal - with at least an extra foot worth for working room - run it to the shed and just cap it off temporarily.  Well actually, I guess I could run it right into the breaker box.  I bought a conduit 90 sweep to bring it up out of the ground - you have to have conduit on outdoor wiring that is exposed. 

That's the plan - somehow, my plans never seem to work out the way I want them to.  So we'll see. I just know the sewer is going to be the hardest because of ensuring that the entire line has a downhill grade to it.  That will probably mean spots where I'll be shoveling in dirt to bring it up. I won't take it down any further, there is no need to, it's 2-1/2 feet deep, I'd rather just bring it up.  

I turned down a man looking for long term yesterday.  I'm going to up the rate to $475 now that I have it as full as I want it.  If people leave -- these oil field workers get laid off as abruptly as they get hired and then they start looking for work for wherever in the country and they just keep traveling - and I find it difficult to replace them, then I will lower it back down.  I'm keeping nightly rates the same, I don't get enough of that kind of traffic in to warrant raising the rate, plus I don't have the basic amenities in - yet.  We're getting closer.  Much closer.  

Amenities should do away with this need to advertise cut-throat rates that work for now, but come summertime? The energy bill will eat up profits in a fast hurry. I have no regrets reducing rates to undermine everyone else, I had no choice.  I wasn't getting anyone in and I was getting - anxious - about it.  Even to the point of wondering whether I had made a mistake in even dumping all of that money into this enterprise.  It's pretty easy to start second-guessing yourself when you don't see any kind of results at all, or very minimal anyway. 

If a lot of those people are still there come summer? I'm going to raise the rates on the sites where they are using 50 amps.  50 amps is needed to run 2 air conditioners and I don't feel the need to pay for excessive electric bills.  It's "free" electricity, meaning people that don't care, won't care about leaving things on or running the AC cold all day long even when they're not there. 

My ad does say "intro rates".  Not "regular rates".  Not "permanent rates".  If they don't like  a rate increase? They can go find somewhere else where it's cheaper - guaranteed they won't find it. Not in this area.  

By the end of March, I will have to submit a payment to the I..R...S. Every quarter, one must do so.  But, I really need to see about structuring the business in some other corporation style as I am hearing and reading that some kind of S corp setup will save on the personal tax rate I will have to pay.  Namely - Medicare and SS payments.  I don't think it does anything to Federal income tax rate, but any savings is worth the trouble.  

My gross revenues per month right now, including long term and short term - are somewhere around $5,500 per month . That's before paying everything and taxes.  At least half of  that - probably more - will end up going to various payments, utilities and taxes.  If I got to keep 2 grand of that I would be surprised.  I'll get away with low electric bills for now, that is one of the biggest factors in how much money I can actually keep than even taxes.  With 14 spaces full in summer, I can easily see $1,600 electric bill.  Or not - depending on these workers and if they keep their ac on all day long or just shut it off. I suspect there will be a mix of both.  I might luck out on that one, who knows.  

This is why I am driven to add the Hipcamp spots. Minimal investment, hopefully some kind of return. It's easy money if it works out, I just need to figure out how to advertise it. Maybe it's own website.  It would really make sense to have  Hipcamp website with the reservation link embedded into it.  It costs a little to build a website, yes, but you look at potential profits.  These are not high dollar lots. You simply hope that once word gets around, you will start filling it up eventually.  I've got one very good review on hipcamp already, it's just that I don't have the amenities that people need - especially a toilet - to make them want to come.  

After I get this shed fixed up and the hipcamp lots done, I will be shutting down spending any money on anything excepting things that absolutely require my attention. The driveway is one of them, but now that I have graded it on the side, I am hoping I can get away with that for awhile.  I just don't have the money to spend on 800 feet of fresh gravel.  I figure I still have a grand to go on that shed by the time I buy a shower stall, toilet, fittings, water line, etc.  However, I want to get the laundry going regardless.  

That is a relatively easy setup - just getting water to the washer, power to both machines and a drain that isn't near as daunting as attempting to install a floor drain for a shower or a floor attachment for a toilet. We aren't talking about just replacing a toilet, we're talking about install the whole piping apparatus.  I suspect that's going to be a literal pain in the @$$ with trying to get underneath the shed to get the sewer pipe in there and get the attachment hooked up to the sewer pipe.  There is probably a YouTube video for that, once I get to that pint, I will definitely be looking for some guidance.  I just don't want any leaks, lol, that would be nasty. 

A toilet sewer setup looks relatively simple, it's the access that is going to be the problem. There is less than a foot of space between the floor of the shed and the ground outside. Obviously, a toilet is going to be placed closed to the wall so I don't have too far to reach to get that pipe up under there.  I also suspect it's easier to just get a small piece of pipe to work with instead of the entire setup of pipe going into it and just hook a couple up to the main line after I get the  assembly installed.  

The jury is still out on whether to long-term rent site 11.  I just raised the price while writing this - I tend to forget things and it's better to get it done while you're thinking about it if you have the option to do so.  

Oh, my weight.  Well, I'm still on keto.  Been watching it pretty good, too. So it came as a surprise 2 days ago that my weight went up, not down. Rather shocking, actually.  Why did it do that? I stood there wondering. I hadn't eaten that much the day before, I always weigh myself in the mornings. 

Well, that is all done now.  My weight today, 2 days later, is the lowest it's been in a long time at 218 pounds, just on the verge of 217.  How did this happen? I have no idea, but I'll take it.  It's 14 pounds down since I started some 5 or 6 weeks ago, it's really not bad at all.  My love handles continue to shrink and it's looking better, at least. Still fat, lol, it's going down slowly.  

Well, that's it.  I can finish charging the sawzall over at the property. I have an extension cord over there with a 6 outlet strip. It's not like I "have" to sit here and wait, it's just taking time for me to wake up.  My goal is to get that sewer pipe to the shed today. I don't know if that's a lofty goal or not? I really don't know, lol. I have all the fittings, the glue, the sawzall, shovels, I'll find out! 

G'day