Right in the middle of watching "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" with the teenager, the TV went black and made a little zap noise. It's dead. Even though the title of thist post is about the TV dying, the post is actually about why I'm not freaking out about the TV dying, a really cool feeling actually. I have to thank Dave Ramsey because without his plan to financial freedom, I would have whipped out a credit card to fix everything this last month, and I'd be worrying how to pay it next month. Instead, I checked my checkbook and the only thing I have to think about is where to find a good deal on a good TV that I will buy with cash.
#1 - The TV is 13 years old - it's ancient, right? It's 25" - tiny compared to today's TV standards. I bought it in January 1998 when I got my dinky little apartment in Orange County for me and the now teenager. It was my first major purchase - about $200. I had ordered it from Penney's and used my charge card. I don't know how long it actually took me to pay it off or how much I actually ended up paying. But it was "my" TV - I felt very grown up when I bought it. I knew it wouldn't last forever; therefore, there is no need to freak out that it died. Instead, I laughed.
#2 - H is getting a bonus. So H works A TON, which means he is working A TON of hours that can billed to the company's client, which means that he makes the company a profit and he gets a percentage, albeit a small one, of that profit, which becomes a bonus that pays out over a quarter. Yep, bonus = extra money for crazy stuff like the TV dying = I am not freaking out.
#3 - We have an emergency fund. Does a new TV count as an emergency? Even if H didn't have a bonus, we have an emergency fund, but I am trying to figure out if this counts. Probably not. But, considering that we've have some actual emergencies this month, the emergency fund does cover those (see #4 for the list), so there is money for a new TV! See, no need to freak out here!
#4 - This is the way the past month has been going. Brakes for the SUV = $384. H's computer repair = $180. Heater repair = $184. Dishwasher repair = $194. A grand total of $942 in "extra" spending since mid-November. Really, I am so not surprised that the TV died. It was inevitable that something major would happen after I've already forked out nearly $1000 to keep things running. Really, all I can do is keep laughing. This is funny stuff, right?
Oh did I mention that the Wii is acting up? I am not dealing with that 'til next year....
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Shopping Update - Week of 6/19
For those of us in the crazy couponing world, the shopping week starts on Sunday (Wednesday for grocery stores). I've already cut out and organized all my coupons and reviewed the ads from the Sunday paper to see what deals are out there that I just can't pass up. This coming week, I won't be buying a lot of anything, since we're at the end of the month, and I've done the big trips earlier in the month.
This past week, though, I did stock up on some items from various stores. I promised a shopping recap for the week, so here it is:
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Vons - Spent $47.60, saved $78.13 (62%)
This was the best trip of the week, and my best savings ever at a grocery store! I received VonsClub mailers at the beginning of the week with coupons for free products and really good discounts. Overall, I had $10 off a $50 purchase, 10% off the entire purchase, $5 off Rancher's Reserve meat, $0.30/lb off bananas, and my other coupons. Free items: pineapple, eggs (not pictured), soup, cereal (not pictured), and apple juice. Items under $1: Gatorade, bread, salsa, peanut butter, mac & cheese.
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This past week, though, I did stock up on some items from various stores. I promised a shopping recap for the week, so here it is:
Vons - Spent $47.60, saved $78.13 (62%)
This was the best trip of the week, and my best savings ever at a grocery store! I received VonsClub mailers at the beginning of the week with coupons for free products and really good discounts. Overall, I had $10 off a $50 purchase, 10% off the entire purchase, $5 off Rancher's Reserve meat, $0.30/lb off bananas, and my other coupons. Free items: pineapple, eggs (not pictured), soup, cereal (not pictured), and apple juice. Items under $1: Gatorade, bread, salsa, peanut butter, mac & cheese.
Savemart - Spent $19.50, saved $27.28 (58%)
I mainly went in for the cereal promotion - Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch for $1.49 when you buy 4. I had 3 coupons for $0.50 off each box of Cheerios (none for the CTC), so I paid just $1.12 for each box. Another promotion was for Almond Accents and Marie's Salad Dressing for $1.99 when you buy 4. I bought 2 of each with coupons ($1.25 off 2 Marie's and $1 off one Almond Accents). Regular price for both products is $3.99. I would have saved more, but I also bought milk, which is $3.09/gallon. I didn't want to make the drive to Winco just for milk, even though I would have saved $1.60.
CVS - Spent $7.60, saved $14.09 (58%)
This was my smallest trip of the week. I bought Twizzler's and Pantene. The candy was $4 for 2 packs, so I bought 4 packs, using 2 coupons for $1 off 2 packs. The Pantene was 2 for $6.97 with $2 in ExtraBucks reward when you buy 2. I also had a coupon for $3 off 2 products. I also had a $3 ExtraBucks coupon from another trip. (Note: when calculating savings and cost per item, most couponing sites count the ExtraBucks you earn toward the items just purchased, NOT toward the future purchase. It still works out the same, as long you don't let them expire!)
Target - Spent 39.29, saved $28.55 (42%)
I might have saved more at Target had the refrigerated section not been out of service due to the extensive remodel. That's OK - 42% is still a decent savings. The best deals from this trip were the Sally Hansen nail polish and top coats (I ended up getting them for $1.09 each), Crystal Light packets ($1.22 each), and BBQ sauce (87 cents for one brand, 91 cents for another). The grocery section of Target is getting bigger, and Target has a TON of printable coupons that can be matched with manufacturer coupons for really great savings on a lot of products.
Total Spent $113.99
Total Saved $143.05 (55%)
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Extreme Couponing - California Style
I am hooked on that Extreme Couponing show. I am amazed by what those shoppers can achieve at the checkout line. I am jealous of their 96% savings. I am flabbergasted by their $25,000 stockpiles. I am in awe of the time spent on couponing. You get the idea....
But I can't do what they do where I live. There is no longer a grocery store that double coupons, since Ralphs closed about 5 years ago. And we aren't allowed to do coupon stacking, the process by which a shopper can use multiple manufacturer coupons on one item to bring the price down, sometimes all the way to zero. So how extreme can I actually get?
Well... I can save almost half every time I go to the store. For me, for this area, I think that's pretty darn good. But it takes work, every week to keep it up. I go to 6 different stores almost every week, and the trick to being successful is knowing the "regular" price of the items we use all the time. There will never be a $25,000 stockpile in my garage, but I do stock up on what we use.
There are tricks to maximizing savings. Each Sunday, I clip coupons for items we use and things we might want to try. Then I go through the ads for the stores where I know I can get the best deals: CVS, Walgreen's, and Target (grocery store ads show up on Tuesday or Wednesday). I look for, again, only the things we use. I always try to match up sales with coupons. I also look for rewards that the stores give, so I can save money on the next trip. I had $5 in reward coupons from Walgreen's - Christian and I got our movie candy free! I do the same at Vons and Savemart - at those stores, I ONLY shop for sale items that I have coupons for; otherwise, they are just too expensive. And my final stop is Winco for everything else.
Winco rocks! Let me just put it to you this way: I save almost $3 a box on my Kashi cereal (and I buy 3 boxes at a time), almost $4 a bag on Christian's spicy chicken wings, and over $1 a gallon for milk. Just on those items alone, I save $20 by shopping at Winco every pay period. And that's just a small example of what I save there.
My mom taught me how to coupon when I was a kid. I've done it off and on for years, but this year we got serious, and I am getting a lot more out of our grocery budget. While I may not be able to save 96%, I am still proud of what I am able to do. Want to learn more about my methods? Message me on Facebook!
But I can't do what they do where I live. There is no longer a grocery store that double coupons, since Ralphs closed about 5 years ago. And we aren't allowed to do coupon stacking, the process by which a shopper can use multiple manufacturer coupons on one item to bring the price down, sometimes all the way to zero. So how extreme can I actually get?
Well... I can save almost half every time I go to the store. For me, for this area, I think that's pretty darn good. But it takes work, every week to keep it up. I go to 6 different stores almost every week, and the trick to being successful is knowing the "regular" price of the items we use all the time. There will never be a $25,000 stockpile in my garage, but I do stock up on what we use.
There are tricks to maximizing savings. Each Sunday, I clip coupons for items we use and things we might want to try. Then I go through the ads for the stores where I know I can get the best deals: CVS, Walgreen's, and Target (grocery store ads show up on Tuesday or Wednesday). I look for, again, only the things we use. I always try to match up sales with coupons. I also look for rewards that the stores give, so I can save money on the next trip. I had $5 in reward coupons from Walgreen's - Christian and I got our movie candy free! I do the same at Vons and Savemart - at those stores, I ONLY shop for sale items that I have coupons for; otherwise, they are just too expensive. And my final stop is Winco for everything else.
Winco rocks! Let me just put it to you this way: I save almost $3 a box on my Kashi cereal (and I buy 3 boxes at a time), almost $4 a bag on Christian's spicy chicken wings, and over $1 a gallon for milk. Just on those items alone, I save $20 by shopping at Winco every pay period. And that's just a small example of what I save there.
My mom taught me how to coupon when I was a kid. I've done it off and on for years, but this year we got serious, and I am getting a lot more out of our grocery budget. While I may not be able to save 96%, I am still proud of what I am able to do. Want to learn more about my methods? Message me on Facebook!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
One More Down... One To Go!
We paid off the SUV yesterday!!!!!
We paid the remaining balance of $3798.97 one year and 4 months early for a savings of almost $500 in interest!
I am so glad I found Dave Ramsey on the radio that day in 2009 - we have paid off half our debt so far. No, I won't tell you how much. Maybe when we're done, I'll shock you with the number.
We will now begin attacking my student loan (I still can't believe it equals half our debt, but it's true). We should have it completely paid off by April 2013. Only 2 more years to get completely out of debt (except for the house), and then the REAL fun will begin (saving, saving, saving, and investing!).
I highly recommend The Total Money Makeover
- it changed the way we think about money.
- it changed the way we think about money.Saturday, March 26, 2011
Opportunity
Many have heard the saying, "When opportunity knocks, open the door."
But I think this quote by Louis L'Amour says it better: "Some say opportunity knocks only once. That is not true. Opportunity knocks all the time, but you have to be ready for it. If the chance comes, you must have the equipment to take advantage of it."
So I am always on the lookout for opportunities, whatever they may be. Usually, I am looking for opportunities of the writing or editing variety that I can squeeze in to my already hectic teaching schedule. There aren't many legitimate opportunities posted on Craigslist, but every so often something interesting shows up. Earlier this week, I was hunting around the writing gigs section and there was an ad for someone to create an office procedures manual using existing memos. I sent email inquiry email (no resume, just to find out if it was actually legit). I got a response - email my resume or fax it. I looked up the name of the sender and cross-checked the fax number. Yep, legit! I updated my resume and emailed it.
I got a call the next day to come in to the office and fill out an application and take a test. I asked what kind of test they wanted me to take. A DISC personality test..... o-k. I wondered if I should save them trouble and just let them know that I'm a C-D (and have been the past few times I've taken it). Nah, I figured I'd take it again and see what came up. So yesterday, was my appointment. I showed up on time, looking professional, ready to impress.
After filling out the standard job application and taking the test, making sure I chose all the C-D answers I could (oooooh subversive...), I took another test - word use, patterns, math, etc. It made me sympathize with my students for a moment. Then I got to the good part - reviewing the binder of memos they want turned into a manual. So far so good. Thank goodness for my brief foray into medical assisting - I still remember terminology and abbreviations. Finally, they asked me to prepare a proposal, so they could make a decision that day between me and another person. They never did tell me what I scored on the DISC test, but I'm guessing it's the same as usual (exacting, systematic, and likes rules and procedures with a mix of assertiveness and determination).
This is where the other part of Louis L'Amour's quote comes in. I had a solid chance of getting this job and bringing in some extra cash to help us with our financial goals. And I knew I had the equipment to take advantage of it. I drove home wondering how I was going to write a proposal, then realized I spent nearly 6 editing then writing proposals at the old job. And I knew that I could do the job because before I left the old job, I put those nearly 6 years of job duties into a reference manual, just like the one this company was asking for. I got this.
The response to my proposal? "Would you like to start Monday?" Yep, I got this. I answered the door.
More opportunity quotes at Quote Garden.
But I think this quote by Louis L'Amour says it better: "Some say opportunity knocks only once. That is not true. Opportunity knocks all the time, but you have to be ready for it. If the chance comes, you must have the equipment to take advantage of it."
So I am always on the lookout for opportunities, whatever they may be. Usually, I am looking for opportunities of the writing or editing variety that I can squeeze in to my already hectic teaching schedule. There aren't many legitimate opportunities posted on Craigslist, but every so often something interesting shows up. Earlier this week, I was hunting around the writing gigs section and there was an ad for someone to create an office procedures manual using existing memos. I sent email inquiry email (no resume, just to find out if it was actually legit). I got a response - email my resume or fax it. I looked up the name of the sender and cross-checked the fax number. Yep, legit! I updated my resume and emailed it.
I got a call the next day to come in to the office and fill out an application and take a test. I asked what kind of test they wanted me to take. A DISC personality test..... o-k. I wondered if I should save them trouble and just let them know that I'm a C-D (and have been the past few times I've taken it). Nah, I figured I'd take it again and see what came up. So yesterday, was my appointment. I showed up on time, looking professional, ready to impress.
After filling out the standard job application and taking the test, making sure I chose all the C-D answers I could (oooooh subversive...), I took another test - word use, patterns, math, etc. It made me sympathize with my students for a moment. Then I got to the good part - reviewing the binder of memos they want turned into a manual. So far so good. Thank goodness for my brief foray into medical assisting - I still remember terminology and abbreviations. Finally, they asked me to prepare a proposal, so they could make a decision that day between me and another person. They never did tell me what I scored on the DISC test, but I'm guessing it's the same as usual (exacting, systematic, and likes rules and procedures with a mix of assertiveness and determination).
This is where the other part of Louis L'Amour's quote comes in. I had a solid chance of getting this job and bringing in some extra cash to help us with our financial goals. And I knew I had the equipment to take advantage of it. I drove home wondering how I was going to write a proposal, then realized I spent nearly 6 editing then writing proposals at the old job. And I knew that I could do the job because before I left the old job, I put those nearly 6 years of job duties into a reference manual, just like the one this company was asking for. I got this.
The response to my proposal? "Would you like to start Monday?" Yep, I got this. I answered the door.
More opportunity quotes at Quote Garden.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
We did it! We did it!
It hasn't cleared the bank yet, but we authorized payment to the credit card for the remaining balance, which means we are almost half way through our debt and only have the SUV and my student loans left to pay off. Oh my gosh! I drew a black line through the credit card on our poster-sized budget on the kitchen wall. It's amazing to know that we will be able to nearly double the SUV payment for the next few months and then it will be paid off - about a year and a half early!
It's already nice knowing that the Honda is paid off, but when the Expedition gets paid off, it will be amazing. I can't even begin to describe how it feels to know that we won't have any car payments. Yeah, we have 10 year old vehicles, but they're ours. I can't fathom paying $300 or more a month just to have a new car. It's never been important to me to have the newest, coolest car. Plus, being my practical self, I just can't see paying for a new car that depreciates almost by half the minute I drive it off the lot. What a horrible waste of money that is. And, as evidenced by our journey to financial freedom, we don't waste money any more!
Ah, to be debt free..... We're nearly half way there in just 18 months. In another 18 months, I'll be posting, "We're Debt Free!"
It's already nice knowing that the Honda is paid off, but when the Expedition gets paid off, it will be amazing. I can't even begin to describe how it feels to know that we won't have any car payments. Yeah, we have 10 year old vehicles, but they're ours. I can't fathom paying $300 or more a month just to have a new car. It's never been important to me to have the newest, coolest car. Plus, being my practical self, I just can't see paying for a new car that depreciates almost by half the minute I drive it off the lot. What a horrible waste of money that is. And, as evidenced by our journey to financial freedom, we don't waste money any more!
Ah, to be debt free..... We're nearly half way there in just 18 months. In another 18 months, I'll be posting, "We're Debt Free!"
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Downsizing
Downsizing for most people probably involves getting a smaller space, cutting out the clutter, that kind of thing. For us, it means purging the bookshelves. For those who don't know, when we moved into our house, we built a massive wall of shelves. Seriously massive. This is no sissy bookshelf. It's 9 feet high and 14 feet across. The lower 3 feet is cabinets to house CDs, DVDs, and even some VHS tapes that we just haven't gotten around to replacing yet... Which leaves, of course, 6 feet of open shelving for books. And we've filled it - nearly every inch of it with books from Dr. Seuss to the Qu'ran and everything in between. And it still wasn't enough, especially considering that we are constantly reading and acquiring new books. Today, we downsized a little bit, and our books can breathe a little easier. There's actually space on some of those shelves!
In addition to the books we wanted to keep, we had approximately 8 boxes of books in the garage that we knew we didn't want to keep. We have a hard time throwing out books (could you tell?), so we didn't want to just dump them. And yet we also would like to see some kind of return on our investment, so we were hoping that at some point, maybe someone would buy them all at a garage sale. No luck there. I found a site called Cash4Books (http://www.cash4books.net/) and thought it looked promising. Nothing like getting some cash for all those books, right? That would be true if they bought all the books. They don't. But I'll get to that later.
I also found another site called PaperBackBookSwap (handy link is on the right side of my page - sign up, it's free, I get credit, yadda yadda). This is cool - post your books and send them to people who request them. In return, earn credit for each book you send that can used to request a book from someone else. You pay postage to mail the books, and you receive your requests free. So $3 for a book instead of $10-whatever. It's cool. I got 2 of my book club selections and am waiting on several more to arrive. I sent out 6 books today, and have about 13 more in the queue. The cost to send them adds up, but I will have that many "free" books coming my way in the future.
So, after finding these sites, I realized that we could try to sell some and whatever we couldn't sell at Cash4Books, I would post on PaperBackBookSwap. And today that's what we did. We set up an assembly line, if you will. Howard ran the ISBN numbers through Cash4Books, setting aside those that could be sold through them. Everything else came through me to post on the Swap. Of the nearly 200 books we went through, we are able to send 11 to Cash4Books for a total of about $42 (and they pay shipping). The rest have been posted on the Swap. I already ran out of Tyvek envelopes!
At the end of the day, we've done a good thing. We downsized the bookshelves, decluttered part of the garage, made a little cash (well, as soon as we send the books), and will make many people happy with books for their own collections. It was sad, too. We threw away about 2 boxes of books - some of the books had no ISBN numbers and were just in bad shape, and another box had been peed on by a cat (damn those neighborhood cats sneaking into my garage!)... And I now have 4 four-foot stacks of books in my kitchen, so perhaps I'm not as decluttered and downsized as I thought?
In addition to the books we wanted to keep, we had approximately 8 boxes of books in the garage that we knew we didn't want to keep. We have a hard time throwing out books (could you tell?), so we didn't want to just dump them. And yet we also would like to see some kind of return on our investment, so we were hoping that at some point, maybe someone would buy them all at a garage sale. No luck there. I found a site called Cash4Books (http://www.cash4books.net/) and thought it looked promising. Nothing like getting some cash for all those books, right? That would be true if they bought all the books. They don't. But I'll get to that later.
I also found another site called PaperBackBookSwap (handy link is on the right side of my page - sign up, it's free, I get credit, yadda yadda). This is cool - post your books and send them to people who request them. In return, earn credit for each book you send that can used to request a book from someone else. You pay postage to mail the books, and you receive your requests free. So $3 for a book instead of $10-whatever. It's cool. I got 2 of my book club selections and am waiting on several more to arrive. I sent out 6 books today, and have about 13 more in the queue. The cost to send them adds up, but I will have that many "free" books coming my way in the future.
So, after finding these sites, I realized that we could try to sell some and whatever we couldn't sell at Cash4Books, I would post on PaperBackBookSwap. And today that's what we did. We set up an assembly line, if you will. Howard ran the ISBN numbers through Cash4Books, setting aside those that could be sold through them. Everything else came through me to post on the Swap. Of the nearly 200 books we went through, we are able to send 11 to Cash4Books for a total of about $42 (and they pay shipping). The rest have been posted on the Swap. I already ran out of Tyvek envelopes!
At the end of the day, we've done a good thing. We downsized the bookshelves, decluttered part of the garage, made a little cash (well, as soon as we send the books), and will make many people happy with books for their own collections. It was sad, too. We threw away about 2 boxes of books - some of the books had no ISBN numbers and were just in bad shape, and another box had been peed on by a cat (damn those neighborhood cats sneaking into my garage!)... And I now have 4 four-foot stacks of books in my kitchen, so perhaps I'm not as decluttered and downsized as I thought?
Friday, January 28, 2011
Heating Woes
It's a chilly winter day... IN MY HOUSE! When I arrived home yesterday at 6:00 pm, it was 64 degrees in the house - much too cold for the likes of me, who keeps it 72 all winter long. We reset the thermostat and changed the batteries, all to no avail. I knew I was in for a cold morning. I was right. 59 degrees as of 5:00 am. I wonder how "warm" we'll get today.
Last year, we replaced the motor in the heater to the tune of $990 because the motor was a non-standard part. Last month, we replaced the thermostat when this happened before, thinking that it was the cheap thermostat we bought when we moved in. It seemed to do the trick...until yesterday. I hope it's not an expensive fix this time.
Woe is cold me.
Last year, we replaced the motor in the heater to the tune of $990 because the motor was a non-standard part. Last month, we replaced the thermostat when this happened before, thinking that it was the cheap thermostat we bought when we moved in. It seemed to do the trick...until yesterday. I hope it's not an expensive fix this time.
Woe is cold me.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Financial journey continued...
It's been a long road on your journey to financial freedom following the plan laid out in Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover, but we have made amazing progress since our start in September 2009. In that time, we've gone through some changes:
But that's okay because our outlook for 2010 is even better. I am still teaching a total of 5 classes at a time, which is considered full-time, though it's still between 2 schools. My salary is still a little lower than it was at the full-time job, but that's okay, too. We've learned a lot through Dave Ramsey's plan: we know where we can tighten our budget and still be financially fine. Howard's promotion (and the raise to go along with it) will give us some extra money each month to attack our debts. I could possibly be full time at the business school this year, which would give us another boost to get us closer to our goal, maybe faster than we have planned.
We are now down to a car payment, one credit card, and my student loans. Our plan is to knock out the credit card and the car payment in the next few months with our tax refund. We will start paying the student loan and our goal is to pay off the entire balance in one year to be debt free by March 2012. It is amazing to think that in just over a year we could be debt free other than the house and be ready to start on Baby Step 3 to fully fund our emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses. I cannot imagine having a bank account with that much money sitting in it!
What I'm really excited about is getting to Baby Step 4, where we start funding our 401Ks again and start saving for retirement. Howard is a little nervous that aren't doing this now, but I believe in this plan we're on, and I know that in the long run, we will reach our money goals!
- Our wages returned to the full amount early 2010 (after a 10% pay cut in early 2009)
- Howard was given the only pay increase in the company at the end of 2009 (other than employees who were given held promotions from the year before)
- I went to 3/4 time at the full-time job in January 2010 and started teaching a class at the community college in the spring semester
- I left the 3/4 time job when my second class started in March 2010 (late start)
- I picked up 2 classes at a business school (April quarter)
- I taught 4 classes in the next 2 quarters (July and October quarters)
- I also taught an early morning class at the community college in the fall semester of 2010
- Howard got his anxiously awaited promotion at the end of 2010
But that's okay because our outlook for 2010 is even better. I am still teaching a total of 5 classes at a time, which is considered full-time, though it's still between 2 schools. My salary is still a little lower than it was at the full-time job, but that's okay, too. We've learned a lot through Dave Ramsey's plan: we know where we can tighten our budget and still be financially fine. Howard's promotion (and the raise to go along with it) will give us some extra money each month to attack our debts. I could possibly be full time at the business school this year, which would give us another boost to get us closer to our goal, maybe faster than we have planned.
We are now down to a car payment, one credit card, and my student loans. Our plan is to knock out the credit card and the car payment in the next few months with our tax refund. We will start paying the student loan and our goal is to pay off the entire balance in one year to be debt free by March 2012. It is amazing to think that in just over a year we could be debt free other than the house and be ready to start on Baby Step 3 to fully fund our emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses. I cannot imagine having a bank account with that much money sitting in it!
What I'm really excited about is getting to Baby Step 4, where we start funding our 401Ks again and start saving for retirement. Howard is a little nervous that aren't doing this now, but I believe in this plan we're on, and I know that in the long run, we will reach our money goals!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Our Journey to Financial Freedom and more...
Well, it's just like Dave says in the book - things are going great and then something happens. In our case, it's fortunately nothing bad, just a minor setback on our journey. Let's just say we're taking an unexpected Thanksgiving trip to Phoenix this year! It's actually really cool (other than the initial outlay of cash) that we're going to be doing something so completely different for the holidays. The only bummer is that Christian won't be with us - he'll be with his dad in Illinois (his dad is getting married that weekend).
The coolest thing about this trip is that we're only paying for the airfare and the rental car! Howard has been working out of town since August (5-6 days per week), and he's a Priority Club member at Holiday Inn. He has so many points saved up that we're able to get our hotel free for our trip (5 free days in a hotel - how nice is that on a travel budget?) and still have enough points left over and left to earn to possibly get free rooms in SF for Bay to Breakers in May!! Oh the paradox of Howard's out of town schedule - I hate that he's gone, but it has its perks. And for food, we've really hit the jackpot. We were given $50 in Chili's gift cards last year, Christian "cashed in" a $25 gift card at the Bank of Mom, we had a couple of Starbuck's gift cards from somewhere, and Howard got a $100 gift card as a safety bonus on this job he's on right now. I also cashed in points on MyPoints for another $70 in restaurant gift cards, so just about all of our food will be covered while we're travelling, too. You never realize how much the food costs when you travel and have to eat at a restaurant for every meal! This will definitely keep us on a tight budget.
So, our journey to financial freedom continues. Because we had to pay for the plane tickets in October, we wiped our emergency fund. Yes, I know travel is NOT an emergency on the plan, BUT we knew that we'd have it back at the beginning of this month. The other perk to Howard working so much over the past several months is that he gets a bonus for his billable time - I won't tell how much the bonus is, but I will say that it's been extremely helpful! And I get my check from teaching each month (OK so I make about $4 per hour when you consider all the time I spend prepping and grading, but still), which really helps for all the little expenses that seem to pop up every month (school pictures $54 - wtf?!?!).
We started our journey on September 1 and have paid off 4 of the smaller things we had hanging over our heads, including one car! Granted, the car only had 4 payments left when we started, but still - we made 4 payments in 2 months! Even with this unplanned vacation, we could still be on track to pay off the next credit card bill by the end of the year. And not only that, but we've gone completely credit card free since we started. I thought it would be a lot harder than it's been (again, that bonus has been a life saver), but we have really made an effort to change our charging ways! I don't even let Christian borrow his allowance anymore - no more credit from the Bank of Mom!
Even though we still have a long way to go, and it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we can already see that first pinprick of light, and it's good!
The coolest thing about this trip is that we're only paying for the airfare and the rental car! Howard has been working out of town since August (5-6 days per week), and he's a Priority Club member at Holiday Inn. He has so many points saved up that we're able to get our hotel free for our trip (5 free days in a hotel - how nice is that on a travel budget?) and still have enough points left over and left to earn to possibly get free rooms in SF for Bay to Breakers in May!! Oh the paradox of Howard's out of town schedule - I hate that he's gone, but it has its perks. And for food, we've really hit the jackpot. We were given $50 in Chili's gift cards last year, Christian "cashed in" a $25 gift card at the Bank of Mom, we had a couple of Starbuck's gift cards from somewhere, and Howard got a $100 gift card as a safety bonus on this job he's on right now. I also cashed in points on MyPoints for another $70 in restaurant gift cards, so just about all of our food will be covered while we're travelling, too. You never realize how much the food costs when you travel and have to eat at a restaurant for every meal! This will definitely keep us on a tight budget.
So, our journey to financial freedom continues. Because we had to pay for the plane tickets in October, we wiped our emergency fund. Yes, I know travel is NOT an emergency on the plan, BUT we knew that we'd have it back at the beginning of this month. The other perk to Howard working so much over the past several months is that he gets a bonus for his billable time - I won't tell how much the bonus is, but I will say that it's been extremely helpful! And I get my check from teaching each month (OK so I make about $4 per hour when you consider all the time I spend prepping and grading, but still), which really helps for all the little expenses that seem to pop up every month (school pictures $54 - wtf?!?!).
We started our journey on September 1 and have paid off 4 of the smaller things we had hanging over our heads, including one car! Granted, the car only had 4 payments left when we started, but still - we made 4 payments in 2 months! Even with this unplanned vacation, we could still be on track to pay off the next credit card bill by the end of the year. And not only that, but we've gone completely credit card free since we started. I thought it would be a lot harder than it's been (again, that bonus has been a life saver), but we have really made an effort to change our charging ways! I don't even let Christian borrow his allowance anymore - no more credit from the Bank of Mom!
Even though we still have a long way to go, and it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we can already see that first pinprick of light, and it's good!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Our Journey to Financial Freedom
I came across "The Dave Ramsey Show" on the radio a couple months ago in a roundabout way. We had a cool station that played a fairly eclectic mix of music, but unfortunately it didn't last (as with all the cool stations). Of course, the channel remains preset in my car, and one day I was flipping through and hit the button, even though I knew it had changed to the FM version of the local conservative radio show. Obviously, this is not a station I would normally listen to. On this particular day, I hit the button out of habit and because there was nothing good on any of the other stations, I figured I would listen to what the conservatives were saying to get a good laugh. Well, interestingly enough, there was a guy talking about money. I like money, so I listened. He was pretty down-to-earth, and everything he talked about made sense. Not just, "Yeah that could work," but real common sense. I'm not usually in my car between 11am and 1pm, but after that day, if I was, I was listening to the money guy.
So fast forward a couple months. After listening to snippets of Dave Ramsey, I finally checked out his website, and Howard bought his book, "The Total Money Makeover" (TMMO) on Amazon for me. I devoured that book in about a day and a half so that Howard could take it and read it while he worked in the field. We talked about it every night that week! And when he came back, we made our plan and prepared for our journey to be debt-free! I won't go over Dave's book in detail, but I plan to record our progress in becoming financially free as we complete the Baby Steps in Dave's book.
Our official start date was September 1, 2009. We got our paychecks and started! This is a really good time for us to start - Howard has been getting a bonus (which will go through the end of this month) and we both received publication bonuses from work for an extra $500. Talk about a good start.
Baby Step #1 - Save $1000
I have been reading saving and debt reduction articles from a long time; like I said, I like money. So we had a small "emergency fund" of $600 already. Dave says $1000, so we're working on it. We wanted to make a start on Baby Step #2 right away, so we're taking care of #1 with our paycheck in the middle of the month. We will have our emergency fund started and can really get moving on the exciting stuff!
Baby Step #2 - Pay off all debts (other than the house)
So, this is the fun (and hard) part. We had 4 small bills that have just been hanging around and we just haven't been able "find" money to pay. So we knocked those out immediately and it felt so good to cross those off the list! We have two more things under $1000 to pay and will take care of those by October. Then we'll get the long haul of debt payment. We have 2 cars, 4 credit cards, and student loans for a grand total of about $65,000. How insane is that?
So Dave recommends paying off your bills from the lowest balance to the highest balance. Ok - that sounds good to me. I've paid off all my bills before, but I had used the system where you pay the bills from the highest interest rate first, then work your way through that way. I see Dave's point about going from lowest balance to highest. You get some quick results at the beginning to keep yourself motivated - that makes such a difference! I'm willing to give his sytem a chance.
Creating a Budget
This is one thing that we already had, but it just wasn't detailed enough. We had the main bills listed, but we didn't really plan for putting gas in the car or for miscellaneous expenses. We always just left some money over each paycheck, but we always used it up and then ended up charging gas or charging all that stuff we "needed" at Target. Not good. So Howard and I set up a new detailed budget where we account for every bit of money coming in each paycheck/month and know exactly where it's going to go before we even have our checks in our hands. We have money that we set aside each month for other expenses, like car repairs, car registration, household goods, or home repairs. It feels so freeing already! We use only cash (or a debit card) and all the credit cards are out of our wallets!
Next Steps
We had a great start out of the gate, but now we wait until our next paychecks. The next step is to finish the $1000 emergency fund and the pay off the next bill on the list. After that, we'll pay one car off 2 months early! The we really get serious to keep our momentum going to get those last bills paid. Goal date (debt-free except for house) = February 2012.
So fast forward a couple months. After listening to snippets of Dave Ramsey, I finally checked out his website, and Howard bought his book, "The Total Money Makeover" (TMMO) on Amazon for me. I devoured that book in about a day and a half so that Howard could take it and read it while he worked in the field. We talked about it every night that week! And when he came back, we made our plan and prepared for our journey to be debt-free! I won't go over Dave's book in detail, but I plan to record our progress in becoming financially free as we complete the Baby Steps in Dave's book.
Our official start date was September 1, 2009. We got our paychecks and started! This is a really good time for us to start - Howard has been getting a bonus (which will go through the end of this month) and we both received publication bonuses from work for an extra $500. Talk about a good start.
Baby Step #1 - Save $1000
I have been reading saving and debt reduction articles from a long time; like I said, I like money. So we had a small "emergency fund" of $600 already. Dave says $1000, so we're working on it. We wanted to make a start on Baby Step #2 right away, so we're taking care of #1 with our paycheck in the middle of the month. We will have our emergency fund started and can really get moving on the exciting stuff!
Baby Step #2 - Pay off all debts (other than the house)
So, this is the fun (and hard) part. We had 4 small bills that have just been hanging around and we just haven't been able "find" money to pay. So we knocked those out immediately and it felt so good to cross those off the list! We have two more things under $1000 to pay and will take care of those by October. Then we'll get the long haul of debt payment. We have 2 cars, 4 credit cards, and student loans for a grand total of about $65,000. How insane is that?
So Dave recommends paying off your bills from the lowest balance to the highest balance. Ok - that sounds good to me. I've paid off all my bills before, but I had used the system where you pay the bills from the highest interest rate first, then work your way through that way. I see Dave's point about going from lowest balance to highest. You get some quick results at the beginning to keep yourself motivated - that makes such a difference! I'm willing to give his sytem a chance.
Creating a Budget
This is one thing that we already had, but it just wasn't detailed enough. We had the main bills listed, but we didn't really plan for putting gas in the car or for miscellaneous expenses. We always just left some money over each paycheck, but we always used it up and then ended up charging gas or charging all that stuff we "needed" at Target. Not good. So Howard and I set up a new detailed budget where we account for every bit of money coming in each paycheck/month and know exactly where it's going to go before we even have our checks in our hands. We have money that we set aside each month for other expenses, like car repairs, car registration, household goods, or home repairs. It feels so freeing already! We use only cash (or a debit card) and all the credit cards are out of our wallets!
Next Steps
We had a great start out of the gate, but now we wait until our next paychecks. The next step is to finish the $1000 emergency fund and the pay off the next bill on the list. After that, we'll pay one car off 2 months early! The we really get serious to keep our momentum going to get those last bills paid. Goal date (debt-free except for house) = February 2012.
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