Day Two of my 25 day financial journey tells me I should track my spending for thirty days. Well, I am far too impatient for that! But I DID look at my online checking account statement to see what it had to share. It has little nickel & dime purchases, mostly for household maintenance. This made me realize I need to reevaluate my wonderful envelope system. For anyone who happens upon this but has never read anything else, I believe strongly in the envelope system as suggested by Dave Ramsey. The basic idea is that you have envelopes for all the different categories you spend money on, you put a predetermined amount of cash in said envelopes, and you only spend what you have in cash. This makes life much easier because you don't have all these itty bitty charges on either your debit or credit card, which can add up and are easy to lose track of. I currently have envelopes for Groceries, Pets, Car Maintenance, Gift, Clothes, and Medical expenses. When I began this system, we didn't own a home, we rented a townhouse. It wasn't that big, and any issues we had were dealt with by the staff, so having a home maintenance envelope wasn't worth it. We also weren't actively homeschooling (which has also been a major source of income drainage), so no envelope for that either.... So here's the problem: I already feel like I should be putting more money into the envelopes I already have, how am I supposed to add MORE envelopes? AND still be able to pay my bills??
....when I figure that one out, I'll let you know. Methinks it might be time to revisit Dave's Total Money Makeover book and see what he has to say on the subject.
I also began really scrutinizing our bills and seeing if there is anything we can do away with. Unfortunately, I didn't find much. Well, that's sort of a lie. See, I'm a bit spoiled. There are certain things that aren't necessities but I just cannot live without. Like Netflix. $10 a month and I have all the movies and tv shows I could ask for. We love it and watch it daily (it's streaming through the Wii now!) and, though that $10 could probably be used elsewhere, I just can't let go.
While meditating over my spending habits, I did however come up with some ideas that would save money in one area: Groceries. The biggest is my Coke addiction. It started with Coke Zero. Man I love that stuff! I drank at least two a day. Then I decided that artificial sweeteners were probably bad for me. But did I give up my soda altogether? Hell no! I switched to the (waaaaaay more expensive) pure cane sugar sweetened stuff. So not only am I consuming hundreds of empty calories, I'm spending (at least) twice as much money at the same time! All of the sudden it hit me: why not give up soda? Sure, it's a tasty beverage and gives me that much needed afternoon caffeine kick, but maybe I could get that elsewhere? I already own an iced tea pot, and tea bags cost, what, like five cents each? I can sweeten it with a little "all natural" sugar, and boom! Acceptable in its health qualities AND super cheap! I've just saved myself at least $20 a month! ....now if only I could find about ten more simple, $20 saving solutions. THEN we'd be getting somewhere!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Day One
Important Life Goals
Ahh, the listing of life goals. I can talk a lot about myself, but I always have trouble really looking deep down and figuring out what the hell it is that I want. Maybe I think too hard. Here's what comes to mind when I close my eyes and don't try to figure out if it's the "right" goals.
My Feelings
How does my current financial situation compare to those life goals? Well, I currently am a stay at home mom and am homeschooling my kids, but I fear I won't be able to keep that up for long. Right now they are very young and don't require a lot for their schooling. But the reason I want to homeschool is to give them opportunities and experiences they can't get in public school. A lot of those things cost money. My oldest just started karate. It's so great to see him excited about something. It gives him good physical activity and he has the chance to meet other kids with a similar interest through this. This is almost $100 a month. In the next couple of years my younger child will want to get involved in something similar, probably with a similar price tag. There are co-op classes, field trips, museum memberships, and other expenses that come along with our lifestyle, and as they get older and become interested in more things, those expenses will only increase. Right now I barely know how to pay for the one activity, what will I do when they want more?
And as far as staying home, I still am dealing with the issue of trying to pay off my student loans on top of all our other bills with only one paycheck. I am often tempted to go get a "real" job for a few years just so I can get them paid off. But if I do that, the kids will have to be put in daycare/school, and it defeats everything I feel so passionately about (not to mention the costs associated with daycare, school, a new wardrobe, a reliable car, and meals might offset any money I make anyway).
Financial Goals
My financial goals aren't that much different from my life goals, I guess.
Obstacles and Action Plan
Ugh. The dreaded action plan. $30,000 of private college debt and I still don't know how to properly write an action plan. Again, too much thinking. So first, the obstacles:
And now for the action plan: How to deal with these specific obstacles....
Now, I know that "should" and "maybe" have no place in an action plan. But I'm having a really hard time coming to terms with the fact that I once again need to put myself in check. It's just plain embarrassing to admit that I lost control of my budget once again, when I was so sure of myself before. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Ahh, the listing of life goals. I can talk a lot about myself, but I always have trouble really looking deep down and figuring out what the hell it is that I want. Maybe I think too hard. Here's what comes to mind when I close my eyes and don't try to figure out if it's the "right" goals.
- I want to be a stay at home mom and homeschool my kids.
- I want to have a happy family.
- I want to live comfortably with the money and life we have.
- I want to, in the long term, run my own business (this is something I want in 10 years or so, once my kids are a little older).
- I want to grow my own food. Maybe not all of it, but I really really want a garden. And to learn to can. It's a little life goal, but it counts, right?
- I want to have no debt. This includes no mortgage, no car payments, no nothing. I want to own the things I have and be able to send my kids to college debt free.
My Feelings
How does my current financial situation compare to those life goals? Well, I currently am a stay at home mom and am homeschooling my kids, but I fear I won't be able to keep that up for long. Right now they are very young and don't require a lot for their schooling. But the reason I want to homeschool is to give them opportunities and experiences they can't get in public school. A lot of those things cost money. My oldest just started karate. It's so great to see him excited about something. It gives him good physical activity and he has the chance to meet other kids with a similar interest through this. This is almost $100 a month. In the next couple of years my younger child will want to get involved in something similar, probably with a similar price tag. There are co-op classes, field trips, museum memberships, and other expenses that come along with our lifestyle, and as they get older and become interested in more things, those expenses will only increase. Right now I barely know how to pay for the one activity, what will I do when they want more?
And as far as staying home, I still am dealing with the issue of trying to pay off my student loans on top of all our other bills with only one paycheck. I am often tempted to go get a "real" job for a few years just so I can get them paid off. But if I do that, the kids will have to be put in daycare/school, and it defeats everything I feel so passionately about (not to mention the costs associated with daycare, school, a new wardrobe, a reliable car, and meals might offset any money I make anyway).
Financial Goals
My financial goals aren't that much different from my life goals, I guess.
- I want to pay off my student loan (about $30,000-- yikes)
- I want to pay off my mortgage
- I want to get back to giving 10% of our income to charity
- I want to have enough to give my kids the extracurriculars they want
- I want to pay for my kids' college educations
Obstacles and Action Plan
Ugh. The dreaded action plan. $30,000 of private college debt and I still don't know how to properly write an action plan. Again, too much thinking. So first, the obstacles:
- Sometimes I use my credit card to buy myself things I don't really need, but I kind of feel like I deserve because I'm working so hard to keep my family happy and healthy and not in the poorhouse. And then I have to find a way to pay off said credit card, which then takes away from all of those more important financial goals.
- We keep finding more new and exciting ways to spend our money, without actually bringing more money in.
- We rely a lot on cards (mostly the debit card, a little on the credit card) for daily purchases, which seems to make the money disappear faster than it should.
And now for the action plan: How to deal with these specific obstacles....
- I should probably put my credit card in the freezer or something. Maybe I can find something to do with my time that doesn't involve going on a Target shopping spree or buying overpriced makeup, but is still fulfilling. Maybe I could begin volunteering one evening a week or something?
- We should take a look at where our money is really going and where it should be going and try to get on a better financial plan. We need to really prioritize our spending and decide what needs to stay and what can go.
Now, I know that "should" and "maybe" have no place in an action plan. But I'm having a really hard time coming to terms with the fact that I once again need to put myself in check. It's just plain embarrassing to admit that I lost control of my budget once again, when I was so sure of myself before. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
I'm baaaaaaaack
Well, folks, I took a little hiatus, but I'm back now. My commitment to my budget sadly ebbs and flows. Today I had one of those moments that makes you realize how great budgets can be, and how much I really need to control mine. See, my poor puppy has an ear infection. He had to go to the vet today to have it looked at and get medicine and all of those expensive things. Well, I have been dutifully adding money to the "pets" envelope every paycheck and wondering why the hell I was accumulating so much "pet" money when I could actively be using it elsewhere (like, say, on new clothes or some name brand shoes)... and today that question was answered as I handed over half my cash to the receptionist at the vet's office. It felt so liberating! Oftentimes in the past, when an emergency comes up it's been necessary to hand over the credit card and figure out how to pay for it later, or deplete the entire (very small) savings account. Today I was able to walk in, take care of my dog, and walk out, all without having to sweat about where the money was coming from. I think this was just the boost I needed to get me back in the swing of things. Because, unfortunately, my budgeting skills have kind of dulled in the past few months.
It wasn't so long ago that I balanced my budget in beautiful ways. We tithed our ten percent and still had enough money for all of our expenses. I lived and breathed my cash envelope system. But lately, I haven't been so good. I might sometimes put meals out on the debit card instead of using the "grocery" cash. Sometimes maybe I put my "wants" above my "needs" and use my credit card to fund things I shouldn't. Which then leads to using my "pay down the student loan" money to pay off the damn credit card-- AGAIN. Life happens, and expenses just keep coming. I feel like we are back in a place of living paycheck to paycheck, and that's not a really fun place to be. SO, I have officially set aside my latest Gossip Girl novel in order to read a "get your shit together and pay your bills in 25 days" book, and my goal is to share every one of those 25 with you. Here's the thing: I might consolidate a little bit if I can. The book is broken down into these 25 chapters so you can read and accomplish one a day. I'm not big on only reading one chapter a day, so we'll see if I can actually stick with it. Sometimes I might do multiple days in one, if it's possible. As I promised from the beginning, it's going to get personal and probably pretty ugly. But that's the joy of the internet: as ugly as it gets, I don't really know you so it's all good. I'll be back later today with my Day One report. I should warn you (and myself): I have not looked ahead so I have no clue what the daily "assignments" will really consist of.
It wasn't so long ago that I balanced my budget in beautiful ways. We tithed our ten percent and still had enough money for all of our expenses. I lived and breathed my cash envelope system. But lately, I haven't been so good. I might sometimes put meals out on the debit card instead of using the "grocery" cash. Sometimes maybe I put my "wants" above my "needs" and use my credit card to fund things I shouldn't. Which then leads to using my "pay down the student loan" money to pay off the damn credit card-- AGAIN. Life happens, and expenses just keep coming. I feel like we are back in a place of living paycheck to paycheck, and that's not a really fun place to be. SO, I have officially set aside my latest Gossip Girl novel in order to read a "get your shit together and pay your bills in 25 days" book, and my goal is to share every one of those 25 with you. Here's the thing: I might consolidate a little bit if I can. The book is broken down into these 25 chapters so you can read and accomplish one a day. I'm not big on only reading one chapter a day, so we'll see if I can actually stick with it. Sometimes I might do multiple days in one, if it's possible. As I promised from the beginning, it's going to get personal and probably pretty ugly. But that's the joy of the internet: as ugly as it gets, I don't really know you so it's all good. I'll be back later today with my Day One report. I should warn you (and myself): I have not looked ahead so I have no clue what the daily "assignments" will really consist of.
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