Carole and I discussed budgets during our wonderful visit yesterday. It’s very important for us as a prison family to rely upon a budget as a tool to keep track of our progress through this journey.
I’ve used budgets throughout my term to ensure I would always have the resources necessary to reach my goal of emerging from prison financially strong and independent. At the end of 2011 I’ll be ready to sit for a review with the U.S. Parole Commission. When I appear before the committee that will determine whether I should be released, I want them to see that through deliberate planning I have prepared myself well to live as a law-abiding citizen upon release. I attribute my progress to discipline that includes budgeting.
My budgets concern more than financial affairs. I also use budgets to record how I’ll spend my time. Early in my prison journey (the late 1980s), I began writing about the goals I wanted to achieve. Those goals became my aspiration, but a budget helped me create the plan that would turn the aspiration into reality.
I still chart my progress every day using my budget. There was a time when I couldn’t conceive of the end of my imprisonment. Now I’m advancing through the final 10 percent of my time inside, and because of the budgets I’ve adhered to for the past two decades I feel well prepared to overcome all the challenges that await me.
Ran 10 miles / 4,812 miles over 541 days
Sunday, 6 June 2010
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