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Saturday, January 23, 2016
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
January Goal Breakdown
I read an amazing book by Crystal Paine, and in it, she wrote that having goals is not enough; they have to be broken down into manageable chunks. So, here is my January breakdown.
1. Become Debt Free:
I still have approximately 24k left on my debt (excluding my home). The month of January is an additional pay period month, and so we are looking at putting 4k toward our debt. At the end of January, I plan on having a total of 116k (including the home) or 20k of non-mortgage debt.
2. Transition from soda to water:
This is proving to me much more difficult than I thought. I have tried over the past week or so and have had terrible headaches. Working with kiddos all day and then coming home to small kiddos of my own does not lend well to having headaches; therefore, I have resorted to caffeine to take my headaches away. For January, I will be working hard to start this total switch. I still have a soda at home, but work seems to be an easy place to drink my water.
3. Pay house down to 90K
This one really isn't going to go anywhere until we have our debt paid off. For now, we are just paying on our mortgage.
4. Pay cash for trip to Brazil
This is another one that won't be achieved until this summer. The plan is pay for the tickets in July, and the save some more for spending money. We won't actually be going until December.
5. 5000 in savings
This one is proving to be difficult. I don't like saving. I really don't know why. I always feel like "after I pay debt I'll start saving", but this is ridiculous. Life doesn't wait for me to get out of debt. What if something happens? I'll be content with putting 100 away each month (for now).
6. Cash for hubby's new car
My sweet husband has been driving an older car that is coming up on 10 years now. He really needs a new car before long! I am committed to not taking out a loan, but again....see number five.
7. Start IRA
My husband has set this up for me, and I am filling out the forms for my employer to begin taking money from my check. We are excited about this!
8.Read 12 books
This may seem way doable to many, but for this busy mama, this is lofty. I am right on track with January though. I'm reading The Hangman's Daughter and really enjoying it! I read a lot of non-fiction for work, so fiction is a welcome change.
9. Simplify
I'm not sure how I will know if I reach this goal. My garage is FULL of crap to go to the goodwill, so surely that means I'm off to a great start. I am on mission clothing right now.
10. Side hustle
I am only halfway through the month, but I have failed tremendously at this. I would be happy making 50 dollars by the end of the month to throw at my Sallie Mae.
11. Build budget friendly (happy family recipe book)
This one has actually been my most FUN goal. My family is surprisingly hard to please, but I have found a few we love. I will post those as soon as I try a few more out.
Monday, January 4, 2016
Off to a great start!
I love January. I love everything about January. I love that it's a do-over. I love that all things are new, and I love that it's extra paycheck month.....but especially that last part.
I have already knocked out a small debt. Lowes is gone. GONE! It feels so good whenever I get to cross things off our list. I have big plans for this year, and there is simply no room for any amount of debt. It all has to go this year (maybe not the house....definitely not the house ;) )
I have plans to cross two more off the list by the time the month is up. Yeah. I really do love this month.
Ahem...$120,510. C'mon teens!!!
I have already knocked out a small debt. Lowes is gone. GONE! It feels so good whenever I get to cross things off our list. I have big plans for this year, and there is simply no room for any amount of debt. It all has to go this year (maybe not the house....definitely not the house ;) )
- Capital one 3000/3100
Lowes 0/500- Capital one 1600/2250
- School (mine) 1195/11,100
- School (hub) 7,550 /17400
- Van 11,000/21,000
- House 96,165/99,000
I have plans to cross two more off the list by the time the month is up. Yeah. I really do love this month.
Ahem...$120,510. C'mon teens!!!
Monday, December 21, 2015
December Update
It's a bit early, but we have already received our December pay and paid our bills. It was better this month than last, but could have been even better still. I always get a little bit carried away with christmas because I LOVE to give. I LOVE to spend time pouring over that perfect gift for a loved one, that perfect "I always wanted but would never get for myself" gift that will bring about the biggest smile. Unfortunately, I can't always bank-roll my ambition. Getting out of debt is so important because, to me, giving is SO important. It's how I best show love. It's not always about spending money to give, but right now, that seems to be my go to. I made dinner for a few friends, but even that ended up costing a pretty penny (and took sooo much time). At any rate, here we are:
For a grand total of:
I really wanted to pay off the smaller cap one, but I don't want to run our budget too close to 0. It makes for a very stressful few weeks. I was able to scrape together a little bit extra for my student loan, and can clearly see the end :)
Down by $1,246! Much better than last month's 400 :) January is an extra check month (WAHOO!!!) I'll be in the teens!!
- Capital one 3000/3100
- Lowes 370/500
- Capital one 1600/2250
- School (mine) 1195/11,100
- School (hub) 7,550 /17400
- Van 11,000/21,000
- House 96,165/99,000
For a grand total of:
I really wanted to pay off the smaller cap one, but I don't want to run our budget too close to 0. It makes for a very stressful few weeks. I was able to scrape together a little bit extra for my student loan, and can clearly see the end :)
Down by $1,246! Much better than last month's 400 :) January is an extra check month (WAHOO!!!) I'll be in the teens!!
Monday, December 14, 2015
Something has to give
I cannot park in my garage so that my things can stay warm.
It takes me a long time to dress my kids in the morning because I can never find anything.
I have to replace items when I need them because I cannot find them.
I throw away food because I can't see it in my fridge to use it (yes, clutter exists their too).
My entire life, I have battled clutter in my room, my home, my car, my purse, and much like debt payoff, I have often resolved to be better. Do better. I can learn how if I stay with it...I have tried time and time again, but I have failed just as much.
Don't worry, this is not another "Life changing magic" post. Though, maybe I'm the only who has had her fill of this. I love me some konmari, I'm just tired of reading about it.
In fact, this post won't teach how to make changes, but rather, it's my why.
It's my "I'm sick and tired of it" post.
My "Give me back my life, time, and place of rest" post.
It's funny how debt pay-down has rolled into other areas of my life. How getting control of one area leads me gain control in another.
It's truly a total life makeover. I am moving toward simple wherever I can.
I'm not organizing, decluttering, or otherwise....It's time to:
It takes me a long time to dress my kids in the morning because I can never find anything.
I have to replace items when I need them because I cannot find them.
I throw away food because I can't see it in my fridge to use it (yes, clutter exists their too).
My entire life, I have battled clutter in my room, my home, my car, my purse, and much like debt payoff, I have often resolved to be better. Do better. I can learn how if I stay with it...I have tried time and time again, but I have failed just as much.
Don't worry, this is not another "Life changing magic" post. Though, maybe I'm the only who has had her fill of this. I love me some konmari, I'm just tired of reading about it.
In fact, this post won't teach how to make changes, but rather, it's my why.
It's my "I'm sick and tired of it" post.
My "Give me back my life, time, and place of rest" post.
It's funny how debt pay-down has rolled into other areas of my life. How getting control of one area leads me gain control in another.
It's truly a total life makeover. I am moving toward simple wherever I can.
I'm not organizing, decluttering, or otherwise....It's time to:
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
November Update
November....not such a great month. December "looks" better, but then, so did November on paper. I'm not sure what happened outside of just not sticking to the budget. This is a depressing month, so short and sweet post it is....
Here are my numbers:
- Capital one 3100/3100
- Lowes 446/500
- Capital one 2250/2250
- School (mine) 1250/11,100
- School (hub) 7,800 /17400
- Van 11,000/21,000
- House 96,300/99,000
For a grand total of:
ONLY $399.00 FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH...ah geez....
Monday, November 30, 2015
Goals start NOW
I have been thinking through my goals for the upcoming year, and once I finally had them at a point that I felt I could actually achieve, I could not WAIT until January to get started on them.
This. Was. Dumb.
Why on earth would I wait a full month before starting to plan out how to achieve my goals?
2016 promises to be an amazing year, and so long as I stay the course, I should be able to achieve each of these.
2. Transition from soda to water. This is a big one for me. One that I have often tried and failed at. I drink a disproportionate amount of water in comparison to my Dr. Pepper. It's also MUCH more budget friendly to drink water.
3. This would happen after (and if) goal number 1. Again, totally attainable so long as I stick to my budget.
4. We are planning a trip to Brazil to see family next Christmas. We would need to purchase tickets next summer, and have agreed to set money aside to pay for those in cash.
5. This one may be a bit trickier, but we have NOTHING in savings. I know, Dave would be so disappointed in us, but it's the truth of where we are and what we'd like to fix.
6. My husband desperately needs a new car. I don't actually mean new, but rather 'another' car. We are coming up on 9 years with this already loved car, and it's getting expensive to fix it.
7. This one is just a duh. Why don't I have one of these?? Or my husband who works in finance from crying out loud.
8. I love books. I love them. I feel like I never have time for them though. I can manage at least one a month...I hope. I am really excited about this goal.
9. I'm really not sure how I will know when I have hit this goal. I just know that it needs to happen. Like, we cannot park in our garage because (apparently) it's more important that our possessions stay warm :/. I live in a constant state of chaos and miss out on precious time with my family because I am always tidying/cleaning.
10. Oh the side hustle. I have often wanted to start something on the side, but fear of failure always stops me. I don't know that I'll find one thing, but I may try multiple avenues of bringing in some extra money.
11. Every single month I sit down to look at where our money has gone, and without fail, it goes toward eating out. It's 10 here, 20 there, and before I know it, I'm out nearly 500 dollars for the month. I need a bank of quick, family, and budget friendly recipes to pull from. I can do this one throughout the year.
I geek out a little about fresh starts, new journals, fresh planners, and goals :) here's to accomplishing what I set out to do!
This. Was. Dumb.
Why on earth would I wait a full month before starting to plan out how to achieve my goals?
2016 promises to be an amazing year, and so long as I stay the course, I should be able to achieve each of these.
1. I can do this within 6 months IF I can manage to stick to my budget. This obviously does not include the house. That will come later.
2. Transition from soda to water. This is a big one for me. One that I have often tried and failed at. I drink a disproportionate amount of water in comparison to my Dr. Pepper. It's also MUCH more budget friendly to drink water.
3. This would happen after (and if) goal number 1. Again, totally attainable so long as I stick to my budget.
4. We are planning a trip to Brazil to see family next Christmas. We would need to purchase tickets next summer, and have agreed to set money aside to pay for those in cash.
5. This one may be a bit trickier, but we have NOTHING in savings. I know, Dave would be so disappointed in us, but it's the truth of where we are and what we'd like to fix.
6. My husband desperately needs a new car. I don't actually mean new, but rather 'another' car. We are coming up on 9 years with this already loved car, and it's getting expensive to fix it.
7. This one is just a duh. Why don't I have one of these?? Or my husband who works in finance from crying out loud.
8. I love books. I love them. I feel like I never have time for them though. I can manage at least one a month...I hope. I am really excited about this goal.
9. I'm really not sure how I will know when I have hit this goal. I just know that it needs to happen. Like, we cannot park in our garage because (apparently) it's more important that our possessions stay warm :/. I live in a constant state of chaos and miss out on precious time with my family because I am always tidying/cleaning.
10. Oh the side hustle. I have often wanted to start something on the side, but fear of failure always stops me. I don't know that I'll find one thing, but I may try multiple avenues of bringing in some extra money.
11. Every single month I sit down to look at where our money has gone, and without fail, it goes toward eating out. It's 10 here, 20 there, and before I know it, I'm out nearly 500 dollars for the month. I need a bank of quick, family, and budget friendly recipes to pull from. I can do this one throughout the year.
I geek out a little about fresh starts, new journals, fresh planners, and goals :) here's to accomplishing what I set out to do!
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