Live like no one else

Thrift Store Sale!!!

2009-04-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

So, a cute little store has opened up in my little town. Its a small thrifty clothing boutique. Its called The Paper Bag Boutique. We handle the accounts at the bank and when she came to make her deposits I asked how the store was going and she said that she was having a sale today. Fill up a bag and its only ten dollars. I told her I'd stop by as soon as I got off work. What a deal!!

For ten dollars I was able to get, one dress, 3 pairs of work slacks, 5 tshirts for the boys, 3 shirts for me, a pajama set for me, and a few other things. I also got a pair of brand new sandals for $3. Some of the shirts and slacks still had department store tags on them. One of the slacks was a Dockers brand. All the clothing is in near perfect condition.

I love this store!!

Checking IN

2009-04-06T19:37:00.001-07:00

So, I think March went really well. I thought i had blown the grocery budget but I hadn't. April is going to be a bit more difficult. I took a week off when my kids were sick and that really busted my paycheck.

Financial Peace Jr.

2009-03-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

I got this kit yesterday. I'm trying to come up with chores to put on the commission board. Things that are age appropriate and also trying to decide the pay level. What I've got so far is

Making bed, this is ten cents a day.
Picking up toys, 25 cents a day

Sweeping .50
Vacuuming .50

The last two are twice a week chores.

The fines are going to be a real help. Each fine is .50, the offenses are

Not listening
Whining/Fit throwing
Hitting/Kicking or otherwise harming someone.

I figured that the fines need to cost more than the chores.

These are the most basic, and the ones I figure the kids can do. I wouldn't have put vacuuming on there except they surprised me one day and had vacuumed my living room. So, I know they can do it.

I have a 6 year old. A 4 year old, and a 2 year old.

What are everyones thoughts? Suggestions?

Looking forward to April

2009-03-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for April to start. I'm excited to get that one debt paid off. I'm also impatiently waiting for the remaining bills for this month to come in.

The grocery store had a case lots sale this week. So I got cases of the foods we use most often. Chili, beans, corn, green beans, juice, refried beans.

I got an official notice of debt paid off from ACS. Filed away and will be kept forever. I had even over paid by 1.55 so they sent a check for that amount too. I can't wait to build my collection of debt paid in full letters. Its such a great thing to see!!

Extra money?

2009-03-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

So, my paycheck this morning was a bit more than I had budgeted for. Any other month I would roll it into the snowball, but I'm getting my teeth deep cleaned this month and have to pay out of pocket for it. I'm going to transfer it to the money market account so that I know not to touch it. The money market account is where my baby efund is parked.

The panic set in last night. I was up all night tossing and turning wondering if I was going to be able to keep up with the program as the months go by. Crunching numbers in my head all night. I realized though that as long as I'm planning ahead of time what money is spent where and writing it down, then I have a goal to shoot for. On April 1st, I'll be paying off another debt. I have to call and make sure I don't owe anything else on it but by my estimates it will be paid off. Then in May I can start really attacking the snowball, $200 extra dollars on another payment. That will be paid off by august if not sooner. I'm also going to be looking at other ways to save. I am going to cancel my tivo subscription. That will free up an extra $12.95 a month. Which may not seem like a lot but it does add up. I'll be saving the 12.95 a month to purchase something that I really want to get.

I requested to be contacted by the area insurance ELP. I really need to see what I can do about health insurance for myself. We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, the $60 a month savings has been split between my three children. $20 to each one's savings account. Once my debts are paid off I will put that payment towards savings. $500 a month until step 3 is completed. Which by my estimates will take 10 months. That is a conservative estimate though.

I can see it. This is going to happen for me. I will be out of debt and I will be living like no one else, and my children will be taken care of. I will retire with dignity. My retirement account has taken a hit, but I'm still young and continuing to contribute. I contribute the minimum to meet the match, but will up that when I don't have to worry about debt payments or living expenses. I can't wait! The end of the tunnel is just around the bend.

Chat anyone?

2009-03-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

I love being able to chat with people, and I d love to chat with people who are living like no one else so later we can live like no one else. Let me know if you are interested and I will try to set up a weekly chat somewhere.

Maybe we can share chat handles? Mine is cegcrissy@msn.com on msn and gerr1271 on yahoo.

Total Money Makeover

2009-03-04T12:20:00.001-08:00

So, I had a subscription at one point to TMMO. It's 9.95 a month and I canceled it. I've been debating for the last few months on renewing the subscription, so I sat down and looked at my budget. I have a subscription to Netflix and Tivo. Both of which really aren't helpful to my pocket book and I'm debating on canceling either or both of them. I figured if I'm going to spend $5 on netflix and $12 on tivo that spending $10 on TMMO shouldn't be a problem. After all, one is going to help me in the long run.

This morning I logged in and renewed and updated my steps, I've paid off some small debts since I had been on there. I like seeing the progress and I love the forums and chatroom, its always fun to get that WAY TO GO!!! when you accomplish something. I also love being able to bounce ideas off of other people.

I have found that creating a budget each month is working. I had an epiphany this morning while filling out the gazelle budget on TMMO, I could make the numbers work. I have a zero based budget. Its become natural for me to sit down at the beginning of the month and write out the budget. I usually use the gazelle budget lite on dave's site while I'm at work and print it out, then go through and double check it. Its happened slowly and without me realizing, but I have a budget that works.

I still love GNUcash for tracking purchases. Its a lot like quicken in that it offers dual entry accounting.

I'm such a number nerd. :D

Forecasted Debt Free Date

2009-03-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

My forecasted debt free date is January 2013. I'm hoping it'll be sooner than that, as thats just following the snow ball and doesn't take into account extra payments like when the tax refund comes in.

And here we go

2009-03-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

I just paid off another small debt. Original amount was $214 for a medical copay. That is now taken care of. Getting momentum definitely helps with this paying off of debts.

March Snowball

2009-02-27T20:55:00.000-08:00

Lex $600
United educators $1200
Mountainland $1200
Sallie Mae $6500
Cavalry $13000

March Budget

2009-02-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

Income $1500

Tithing $120
Savings $60

Rent $339
Electric $60
Gas $40
Internet/Phone $83
Cell $50
Fuel $20
Food $91
Personal $60
Medical $60
Debts $500
Student loan $100
Lex $200 (snowball)
United Educators $50
Mountainland $50
Cavlary $100

"I must have raised you right"

2009-02-27T19:32:00.001-08:00

No. I don't think that is a true statement.

My mother said that to me the other day. She was amazed that I had money in savings and had been paying off debts and had not bounced a check. My mom thinks nothing of bouncing checks actually. To her its just a part of life. She rarely knows how much she has in her account, she doesn't keep track of it and she doesn't use her internet banking to verify her funds.

When she said this to me, I thought, thats not it. She raised me poor. I grew up knowing the value of money, we didn't have much. We did without, we knew what having money meant. My siblings and I are all pretty good with our money. We may be considered tight fisted although we do spend it when we have it. I make sure my bills are paid before I spend money on toys. I've found that doing things this way gives me more money to spend on the fun stuff. I recently built a computer that if I had purchased prebuilt would have been close to 3k. I paid a total of $600 for it.

Growing up poor made me realize that money doesn't grow on trees. That hard work goes a long way. Doing without things that you don't really need, eventually pays off.

I recently started school. One of my previous student loans automatically went into deferment. I didn't ask them to but they did anyway. I plan on still paying it every month, because I don't want to have any debts on my slate.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm excited to be debt free. I have one huge debt that is a huge stupid tax. It was a van that was voluntarily surrendered and I still owe 13k on it. And that was after the auction. My current plan has that debt paid off in two years. I hope to have it out of here sooner. Thats actually the next debt I need to work on I think. I'll have to recheck what I have.

I use open office and I found a wonderful template on their website for debt-reduction. Very well organized I think with lots of good tips.

I"m using my tax refund to slowly pay off all debts. I put 1k in savings. I'll be posting March's budget in a few minutes. Rent had gone up, but utilities will be going down since the weather is getting nicer.

One Debt Down!!

2009-02-04T17:01:00.001-08:00

I did it! I paid off one of my student loans. That's $1500 less on my debt list.

Feels a little lighter now!

February Budget

2009-02-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

oops skipped January. Oh well. Pick up and dust off.

February

Income: 1200

Tithing 120
Savings 60
Rent 277
Electric 66
Gas 65
Phone/Internet 83
Cell 60
Groceries 140
Fuel 20
Envelopes 180 (recreation, personal, medical)

Paid $199 on debts this month on top of paying off one of my student loans completely.

Also spent money on a few toys. Building a computer again, also bought a really really nice camera.

I have been making a little bit of money on the side repairing computers. I have an account at another bank that I put that money in. Its harder to access since I don't have any checks or a debit card for that account.

December Budget

2008-12-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

For December:

Rent $277
Electric $49.80
Gas $33
Frontier $83.70
Verizon $59
Geico $51
Tivo $12.95
Netflix $5.33
Nails/Blow $60
Fuel $40 (if that, gas prices going down, and I'm not doing a lot of traveling)
Food $100
Tithing $120

Total Expenses : $891.78

Income Estimate:
Child Support $597.30
Wages $600

Report on last month. Did really well, keeping in budget. Spent about $200 on Christmas presents. I was very excited that Target was offering their Black Friday sales online. Didn't have to worry about crowds.

Everyone Enjoy your Christmas holiday!!

and remember the Zions tool, My Gift Planner to help you budget this holiday season!

November Budget

2008-11-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

Here's what the budget for November looks like:

Rent $287 ($10 late fee that couldn't be avoided)
Electric $67.83
Gas $23
Cell phone $61
Phone/Internet $50
Car insurance $51
nails/blow $60
tivo $12.95
netflix $5.33
Fuel $40 (yay for lowering gas prices)
food $100

total $758.11

Income estimate:
Child support $597
Zions payroll $714
Total: $1311

Tagged!

2008-10-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, my friend Ellie tagged me awhile back. And I guess I should do something with that. It sounds like a fun idea and a good way to get publicity for blags. Here's the rules:

Here are the rules to the tag:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
5) Let them know they are tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger (who tagged you) know when your post is up

Hmm, 6 random things about me

1. I love the english language. I love the complexities of it, the history behind it. I love to play with words and I love to write. On car trips I read every sign, forwards and backwards. I know that the town 20 miles away from me, Egnar, is Range backwards. I wonder if that was on purpose. I read a book once where the Hero was named Ward. He was a cowboy, and his name backwards is Draw.

2. I love computers. I've started a fairly nice collection of slightly working machines. My neighbors know me as computer lady. When my neighbors have a question, they ask me. And they know if I can't fix it, I can refer them to someone who can.

3. I have a passion for classic cars. I own a 1984 Mercedes. I love the body styles of the old cars, especially the 60's era Mustangs. My brother has a 1969 Mustang Coupe. I'd love to eventually get a 1966 GMC stepside pickup.

4. I have more friends that I've met on the internet than I have in real life. Some of my best friends live on the East Coast, and I've never actually met them. I probably never will, but it shows how powerful the internet is in shrinking the world. I would have never met them otherwise.

5. I watch way too much tv. I have my favorite shows though and they change from season to season. Some that I like are Lost, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, Supernatural, Smallville, Pushing Daisies, Chuck. And reruns of Friends, MASH, Scrubs, Perfect Strangers, Are you Being Served.

6. I love webcomics. Particularly XKCD and Questionable Content.

I'd like to tag Crandall, who is one of my greatest friends and a great conversationalist, and one of those friends that I met online. I'll also tag Rob, who is my pseudo-brother in law. His posts are interesting and thought provoking. This is sad, I don't know any other blags that haven't already been tagged lol.

Saving money- the geeky way

2008-08-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

At the moment, I have 4 computers in the house. All working, all in fairly decent condition. All running stable operating systems. The question is, how can you be saving money if you're plunking money down to get these operable and licensed, etc.

The answer: I'm not.

Here's what I have: 2 desktops and 2 laptops.

One desktop was a free promotional item from my phone company. Its a dell optiplex, simple, its running Windows XP home edition.

One desktop was something I"ve had for a couple years, that wasn't working very well. Its a built computer so there's no brand label on it. Its running Kubuntu O/S

The newer laptop is my HP, runs Vista. And all the headaches associated.

The older laptop was one of my moms. A few years ago, my brother stepped on it, while it was open. The keyboard is wonky, the power button bar is touchy, and the hard drive was toast. Put a new hard drive in it, straightened the keyboard, and loaded Kubuntu as well.

Kubuntu. One of many Linux distros. Linux is an open source O/S. It can be slightly intimidating for someone used to Windows. But there are actually many flavors that make the transition easy. Kubuntu is one, Ubuntu, Knoppix, etc. There are many, so if you're interested click onthe link in the title of this post and see what there is.

A great thing about linux, is that most if not all of the applications and programs are at no cost. Many of the most used applications are included with each distro, but some you'll want to add.

When I installed Kubuntu on my desktop, it had Open Office pre installed. OpenOffice is an open source office suite. I had to download Firefox. The browser included was fine, but not what I'm used to. I've been a Firefox girl for years. I also downloaded Thunderbird as my email client. There are many options out there but I stuck with what I know. For the kids I downloaded a few games. There are so many it was hard to choose, but I picked a few that I thought the kids would like.

Now you all know how excited I get about finance programs. Free ones especially. I put a program called GnuCash on here. Its easy to use, keeps track of finances, debt reduction, itemizes, does business accounts, auto budgets, allows editing, and that's just what I've played with so far. It also makes it easy to reconcile the account. I like being able to forecast my account, spending every dollar on paper, before the month begins. I think I've got this down. I've slipped on keeping track and my budget, and have sat here and wondered where my money has gone. I think though that I'll be able to get my finances in order again, and get my E-fund funded.

Making cutbacks: revisited

2008-06-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

Remember a few posts back I mentioned that I had cutback on my landline plan? I thought the savings would be about $40. I got the bill the other day and I was surprised and pleased to see that instead of the usual $120, it was $48. A savings of $70!!!! So, now my living expenses look like this:

Tithing: $120
Savings: $200
Rent: $277
Food: $100
Electric: $60
Gas: $50 (I'm just paying a flat amount, its actually about $12 for the summer months)
Cell: $60 ( I found out I get a 17% discount through work)
Landline/Internet: $48

Total: $918

Plus $100 in debt payments.

Its definitely worth it to get discounts, and to call companies to see if you can get a better deal.

Thrift Store Findings!

2008-06-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Shopping at thrift stores can be a very rewarding experience. Our local one is Cindy's Seconds. I usually walk past her store on the way to or from work. I usually don't go in, but sometimes she has things on the sidewalk in front.

A few weeks ago I was thinking "It'd be nice to have a coffee table" and the next day I walked past her store, and there was a coffee table sitting out front. Decently priced at $12.

Very handy to have. This is where I usually have my laptop, and as you can see, the Wii wheels for mariokart lol.

I've been needing a dining set for awhile now. I've been saving up, figuring I'd need at least $150 for a decent set. Today, again walking past Cindy's, she had a table sitting out, with four chairs and a leaf insert for the table. Price $75.

All in all I am pleased with my findings. I also bought a children's hutch for $15.

I also picked up a few outfits for the kids, those were .25 each. It's been a productive day!

Getting Gazelle Intense

2008-06-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

I'm ready to knock this loan out! Its a small student loan, my last statement states that I owe $1404 on it, with the minimum payment being $50 a month. When my e-fund is fully funded, I'll start paying $250 towards that loan. In the meantime, I'll add an extra payment each month. So that shouldn't take long to knock out. I can't wait to get started! I've also listed a few items on ebay. That can get addicting. Hopefully they'll sell. I've been looking all over for things to sell, mostly good conditioned clothing and gently worn items.

Does anyone have any ideas of what could be easily parted with? Any body need something they're willing to purchase?

Financial Peace University

2008-05-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

I went to the first class and it was great. I missed the second one, but I've been working through the workbook and learning a lot about myself and my money habits.

Its hard being a single person and trying to budget. Because there is no built in accountability partner. I'd like this blog to be part of my accountability system. Posting all of my financial oopses may help me to not make them anymore. And to my readers, feel free to give me a swift kick in the pants if you see me needing one. LOL, be gentle though.

Making some cutbacks

2008-05-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

So, I've been looking for ways to save money, I'm really starting to feel the panic set in of having enough and being able to pay for everything. So, I called the phone company to downsize my landline. I was paying for long distance that I wasn't using so I just wanted to go back to basic. Will be saving about $40 a month. I'm going really gung ho on savings. Putting $50 a week in a savings account, so $200 a month. I'm contemplating giving up having my nails done, I love it, but its really draining my cash flow. So, redone expenses budget

Tithing $120
Savings $200
Rent $277
Electric $70
Gas $50
Groceries $100
Phone/Internet $90
Cell $60
Fuel $100
Blow $50
Debt payments $200

I think that's it, but if anyone has any other ideas feel free to let me know

DAVE RAMSEY LIVE!!!

2008-05-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the Dave Ramsey Live event this Saturday!! I am so excited. I got discount tickets through work, and we were given permission to share the code, so if any of my readers are going to be in Salt Lake this Saturday, the promo code is ZIONSFPU

I can't wait! And I also found out that they are offering Financial Peace University at the CEU campus in Blanding. I'm going to go to that, the preview class is this tuesday.

Now for my personal update. I moved to a place that offers cheaper rent, I'll be saving close to $200. I am rebuilding my e-fund, paying minimums on my debts and getting things organized again.

I used the Economic Stimulus Rebate to pay some things down and get caught up on others. I'll be getting a bonus from work soon and will use that for the same thing.

If anyone gets a chance, listen to some of the podcasts of the Dave Ramsey show, especially on Fridays. Its very inspiring!

Saving money around the house

2008-01-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

One area that can be very helpful in saving money is being able to sew. There are quite a few household items, that are very simple and easy to sew. Things like sheets, washrags, even a simple quilt, pillows, curtains.

My friend ellie is very very talented with her sewing machine. I usually ask her for help and tips from her. Her blog is in my favorites blog list, she's attached parent She has a wonderful post with a sew-along for sheets for a toddler bed that stay tucked in. They are really easy to make, and soo handy to have. I made some for my kids, and it really makes changing their bed sheets much simpler. It was also much cheaper than purchasing them at a store. I found the material for $1 a yard and its very good quality.

Curtains can be made quite simply, and often with just an old flat sheet, just hem an inch at one end, with a space large enough to accomadate a curtain rod.

There are many ways to save money around the house by making things for daily use.

Slacking, for shame

2008-01-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

I've been terrible, about blogging, about finances, even my house has suffered. We've all been sick and trying to recover from a stomach virus that has attacked a cold, its not fun.

I haven't been keeping very good track of my finances, at least, I haven't been writing what I've spent down, I've been estimating in my head. I splurged this last weekend though and bought a cell phone. I probably could have gone without, but I've had instances where my car doesn't start and I need to call for help. Having the cell will make me feel at least slightly more secure.

Christmas was a blast. I had a budget set for christmas, with the idea that the less toys the kids got the less cluttered my house would be on christmas day. My community had different ideas. Every day for about a week before Christmas, I"d find a bag of wrapped gifts and boxes of food on my porch. So my kids got a bunch of gifts, they got to the point that they didn't want to unwrap anything else. One of the really fun gifts was a gift card to the grocery store, in the amount of $200. Now the challenge with the grocery store gift card, is that it has to be spent all at once, so, I went to the store armed with my grocery list, decided to stock up on paper goods and other supplies. Even with my list, I was about $15 short of the $200 goal, so I bought a video, which I don't usually do at the grocery store because they are usually overpriced. But it was worth it, I bought a veggie tales video, and the kids love it, and it has a good message and fairly decent songs.

This is a very disjointed and unorganized blog, but I think it will help me get back in the swing of things.

Next time I'll discuss saving money around the house.

Mystery Money

2007-12-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

This has happened to me a couple times in the past few months. I've set my budget, predicted what amount my paychecks will be, have it set in my mind what is coming in and going out. Then I get up in the morning, log on to the bank's website, and look up my account balance, only to find that there is more money in there than expected. Click on the account to see the transaction history, and notice there has been a deposit made that I had no idea of. This morning it was $25 from Zions Bank Payroll. Odd, seeing as how payday isn't for another week, and I have no idea what the $25 is for. Its a good thing too, as my mom paid for me to get my nails done a few weeks ago, and I am now needing a fill, and its going to cost exactly $25.

Last time this happened, I woke up to see an extra $2000 in my account. I was shocked. On the transaction history it said it was from ORS, and it was a child support payment, I called ORS to make sure that they hadn't made any mistakes, and found out that it was a back child support payment that they had collected a couple months ago that they were finally able to release. It was definitely a blessing as I was able to get caught up on bills, and put some money aside into savings.

Savings

2007-12-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

A savings account is just smart. Saving for a rainy day, because it is going to rain. Something is going to come up, and you are going to need extra money. Lately it seems that many people are not saving, not preparing for those days when the car is going to need repairs, or something else comes up that needs money. Many are using credit cards for those emergencies, which only puts them further into debt.

Right now, the bulk of my savings is in ING Direct, they have a pretty good interest rate, and offer easy transfers.

There are many online banks that offer good rates and are FDIC insured. AmTrust has the best interest rate so far, I am contemplating moving my savings to them. Although I have been with ING for a long time, so I may stay with them, unless their rates go down farther.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving. The food, the family, the get togethers. But the best thing about Thanksgiving is that it signals that my favorite holiday is around the corner. Christmas. I love everything about the holiday, presents, decorations, movies, the music. Especially the music!

Christmas also seems to be a holiday that many people go into debt for, and are paying in January and February the bills for Christmas. The bank I work at has noticed this trend and has added a wonderful tool to their website. Its a holiday budget. Zions Bank Holiday Gift Planner is a free service offered by the bank to help you budget for the holidays. Remember to include all holiday spending, including travel, food, wrapping paper, decorations, etc.

This year I'm in a much better place to provide a fun Christmas for my little family. But I don't want to go overboard, so this budget will help me stay on track. I've already purchased our big family gift, I just need to get smaller presents. And I also want to add a few things to my collection of Christmas decorations.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and happy holiday shopping!

Budgeting.....revisited

2007-11-16T21:36:00.001-08:00

How did my budget go this month? Great! I think. As I have worked on following the budget, and tracking my spending, I have noticed one amazing and wonderful perk...my bank account balance has not come close to going below $100. If anyone knows me, you know that is an amazing feat. Just a couple months ago, I was going into the negative every month, hoping that a paycheck would go through before everything hit my account and bounced. And usually every month, for about 2 or 3 days before payday, my account was in the negative.

Here is what has really helped me. I always have two programs running on my computer, at all times. My internet browser, with one tab always dedicated to the bank's website, and my finance software, Ace Money Lite In the finance program, I have scheduled all of my bills, indicating which are paid every month and on what days, and also scheduled each paycheck, with an estimated amount. This gives me the option of viewing my finances 2 months ahead of schedule, having the bills scheduled let's me get all of the necessary expenses budgeted, and all I have to do is look at the ledger to decide what needs to be paid. So this is what it looks like today, starting with the paycheck, and then listing what bills will be paid with it, and then a running total balance. (and it looks much neater in the software program than it does on this page)

11/16/2007 Cristina Gerrard Wages and Salary:Net Pay 446.90 448.72
11/16/2007 Questar Gas Bills:Natural Gas 57.00 391.72
11/16/2007 Monticello 3rd Ward Donations:Tithing 45.00 346.72
11/16/2007 Grocery Cash Envelope Food:Groceries 80.00 266.72
11/16/2007 Gas Cash Envelope Automobile:Gasoline 20.00 246.72
11/16/2007 Emergency Savings Savings 100.00 146.72
11/16/2007 Devon's Repair Service Automobile:Maintenance 100.00 46.72

I love finance software, and since I can't quite justify paying $60 for one of the larger programs that can track more than just day to day spending, I'll use this handy free one until I need to track more accounts, like retirement and taxes, and investments. I've also found that just being able to track my regular checking account with this program, and not knowing what is in the savings account means that I just keep adding money to the savings account without being tempted to take it out to cover trivial expenses.

Remember they call it personal finance for a reason, its personal. What works for me, may not work for everyone, but I hope it can be a good place to start, sometimes we need another's example to inspire us.

Cars, cars, cars

2007-11-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Cars. Status symbols? Containers to get you from point A to point B? Debt mongers. hmm.

The other day, a mechanic who worked on my car once, came into the bank. He asked how my car was running, I said its running great. He mentioned how much work had been done on it, and I agree it had a lot of things that needed to be replaced. And here's the kicker, he asked why I didn't get a new car, and since I work in a bank, I should be able to get a loan. Well, lets think about that for a second:

Current situation: 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300d Turbo

Purchased for $2300
Replaced:Battery $100
Replaced: Alternator $200
Replaced: Radiator $350
(changed mechanics)
Replaced: Water pump $200
Replaced: Alternator: Under warranty: $84
Oil change: $30 every six months
Insurance: $200 every six months

Total put into my used beater of a car in the year I've had her: $3694
I'm editing this post to add that according to The NADA guides on classic cars, my car is worth on the LOW end $4875. Not too bad. On the high end its $9750. So, in this instance, my net worth has gone up.

Hmm, now where would I be if I decided to buy a new car?

I'm going to guess that the new car is going to cost $12000
Assuming a 10% interest rate since my credit is crappy and a 72 month term. My monthly payment would be $222. Not too bad, I could probably afford that much a month, but in the end that brand new car in just loans is costing me $16006. And new cars are going to need to be maintained also. Oil changes, routine maintenance, not to mention that that car that is costing me $16006, is only worth about 9000 once I drive it off the lot. Ah, and insurance is going to go up on that shiny new car, I'll have to pay for full coverage. I'm estimating it will cost about $600 every six months to insure the new car.

So do I keep my used car and just keep up with the maintenance? Or do I sell it and go into debt for a new shiny car?

Payday...sigh

2007-11-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today is payday, yay!! But as with all other paychecks, this one has been spent. I can check these off my budget for this month:

Phone/Internet/Satellite: Paid!
Devon's Repair: Paid!
Savings: Paid!

I will also use money from this check to put gas in my car. I had budgeted $30 for this check, but after looking over last month's gas usage, I think I am going to have to raise it to $50.

This is a short post, but I'm off to work! Time to make more money.

I declare WAR!!!

2007-10-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

I declare a personal war on debt! I refuse to be a slave to it any longer! I will never purchase on credit again! I will repay all of my debts and no longer have those hanging over my head.

My debts from smallest to largest:

BMG $47.55 PAID!
Tricore $74
APS $170 PAID!
MEDCLR $211
BRS $204
Devon's $400
United Educators $1500
ACS $1795
Sallie Mae $2615
Mountainland $2760
Sallie Mae $4149
Kia $10,775

I have budgeted $140 to pay debt payments, for November I will pay Tricore off, and pay $66 to Medclr. I have also budgeted $50 for ACS and $50 for Devon's.

In December that gives me $140 again, $100 to Medclr, the rest to BRS. Along with the already budgeted $50 for ACS and $50 for Devon's.

Having a plan really helps! I envision throwing "snowballs" of money at each of those debts, my own snowball war! It will be a blast to watch those debts shrink.

Saving Money

2007-10-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

The easiest place to find extra money for savings/debt payments, is the grocery budget. A good rule of thumb is $100 per person per month. That can be a little daunting but it can be done. And sometimes it can be done for less!

One of my favorite websites for saving money on food is The Hillbilly Housewife. There are some wonderful home cooked recipes on there and a good plan for stretching that dollar when it comes to food. When I first found that site, the first thing I did was make the easy bread recipe. And it was easy! I had always been afraid to bake bread without my trusty bread maker, but there really isn't some secret to making a good loaf of bread. And its not messy! Sure the dough starts out sticky, but if you have the right ratio of dry to wet ingredients, its not so sticky, and then kneading is fun! And a good workout for your arms. And the smell while its baking, and the taste when its done make it all worth it.

Another way to stretch that dollar is Bulk Cooking. Basically cooking in advance. An easy example is Ground Beef. Shell out the extra couple of dollars and get the big bulk package, the family size that has like 5 pounds in it. When you get home, cook ALL of it with some onions, and some garlic. Let it cool, slightly (some will say completely, I just don't have the time) Divide it into 1 pound, about 2 cups each, portions, package in good quality freezer bags that you've prelabeled. Use 1 pound with dinner tonight, either spaghetti, or tacos. And there you have 4 pounds of pre cooked, pre-packaged ground beef, now when ever you want to have tacos, spaghetti, beef soup, etc, all you have to do is pull out the meat, defrost and bring to temperature! There are some great websites that have all sorts of plans for any kind of meat or vegetable that you would like to prepare in advance. Bulk Cooking has some great plans, and some really good beginner steps, and we all like those steps right?

And for those of us who's schedules are too busy to sit down and plan a menu, there is Menus 4 Moms, a site that emails you 5 meals a week, complete with recipes, shopping lists, and instructions!

Coupons are a great resource too, but they are tricky, the idea is to pair a coupon with a sale. And that can take some time. I you have the time, its great! But, if not, I would fully suggest The Grocery Game. I did it for a year, and I loved it. I now live in a very rural area and doing The Grocery Game is just not an option for me anymore.

Budget

2007-10-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Do you have a budget? Do you coast along hoping there is enough money to cover all your expenses for the month? At the end of the month do you wonder where on earth all the money went? I love budgets, and while I don't always follow them to every last cent, having a basic budget really helps me prioritize expenses.

Dave suggests having the "four walls" taken care of before anything else. These are your needs. You need a house to live in, you need food to eat, you need lights and heat, and you need gas to get to work. So the first part of my budget looks like this:

Rent $400
Food $250* (using the rule of thumb $100 per person, with some cutbacks since my kids are small) This also includes toiletries.
Utilities
Natural Gas $57
Phone/Cable/Internet $160
Gas $100*
Total $967

So now I have my four walls covered, I can live, work, and eat. Now I can focus on other parts of my budget. I of course figure in tithing, 10% of my income, which roughly works out to $150 a month.

Total $1117

Next important expense is daycare, and I average about $200 a month in daycare costs. So now we go to not so necessary expenses. I have to pay daycare since I need to work to make money. But after the 4 walls are covered, and daycare is paid, if I don't have the money, the items under those are put on the back burner.

Daycare $200*
Debt payments $140
Netflix $5.33

Grand Total $1462

I don't always make enough to meet all my expenses, but now that I have my emergency fund in place, its not as stressful. I like having the cushion the EF provides. My income looks something like this:

Child Support $767 (this is a fixed amount, so there is no estimating on this one)
Wages $800 (Varies)
Total $1567

So according to this budget, I should have about $100 left each month, this won't always be true as I don't always make that much money. But this basic budget gives me an idea of where my money needs to be going and how much.

The items in the budget that have an asterisk* near them, indicate items that Dave recommends using Cash Envelopes for. I figured I could still just use my debit card, but I've noticed that I overspend those categories by a few cents, a couple dollars here and there. So next month, I will be switching to cash, using the envelope system. I purchased Dave's deluxe envelope system, and so far I am impressed.

I encourage all of you to write down a basic budget. Dave Ramsey's site has some wonderful basic budget forms, along with other wonderful forms for financial planning.

The steps

2007-10-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here we go. All journeys need a plan. And we start one step at a time. I'm using Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps.

Baby Step 1: Have $1000 in an Emergency Fund.
So far so good. I have $850.

Baby Step 2: Payoff all Debt using the Snowball Method
Just starting on this. But I did get two things paid off! Yay me!!

Baby Step 3: Have 3-6 months of living expenses in Savings. A FULLY funded Emergency Fund.
My goal: $6000

Baby Step 4: Retirement investing

Baby Step 5: College Funding

Baby Step 6: Pay off Home Early

Baby Step 7: Build Wealth and Give!

These can be all found at Dave Ramsey's website www.daveramsey.com

Debt Free

2007-10-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Debt free. What a concept. What a goal. Am I crazy? I don't think so. I've dreamed of being debt free since I was in college and received my first credit card. What a joke, my first credit card, and I didn't even have a job to pay it off. That credit card was paid off long ago thanks to tax refunds. But as I've lived and grown, so my debts seem to have grown. I have medical co-pays that got pushed aside, a set of books that I probably paid too much for, but they had sentimental value, I actually don't mind this debt, but look forward to paying it off. And of course like every other American citizen, I have student loans. Luckily mine aren't as high as they could be, but they are still there.

A couple years ago I found Dave Ramsey. I was in love. A financial guru who wasn't advocating the get rich scheme. Who was pushing hard work and savings and above all Debt Free to get ahead in this life. I printed out the baby steps. I set a goal. I tried very had to get my then DH on board, and he agreed with the concepts but when it came to actually applying them, we both struggled. The baby steps got pushed aside, as we had 3 children. I had forgotten about Dave, although he was always there in the back of my mind.

Now its years later, not many, maybe 3, and I'm divorced, a single mom with 3 kids. I started working, my first job since my oldest child was born. Its also the first job that I actually, absolutely love. I work at a bank, and an email was sent out company wide about a Super Savers Class, so I requested more information, got the website www.daveramsey.com and as I was browsing, thought, this seems familiar. But didn't think much more of it. I printed out the free forms he has on his website and got to work. Wrote out a budget, listed what debts I knew I had, and then requested my annual credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com to refresh my memory as to what other debts I owe.

That was 2 months ago. Now I have $850 in savings, (had to dip into it this month) that will be built back up to the $1000 BEF. (Baby Emergency Fund) I've started paying on my outstanding debts. And I have a subscription to www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com Today I just finished reading "The Total Money Makeover" and I have hope, I will be out of debt in a couple years, I will be able to save enough money that my kids won't have to take loans out for school.

I'll be blogging about my progress through the 7 baby steps. Which I will list in the next post.