It's Contagious!

Yesterday I spoke with a friend who had been speaking to another friend (you follow?).....Friend 1 said that Friend 2 told her that she needs to talk to me about menus and budgets. What??? Someone actually wants to pick my brain about this money thing? Awesome! Not that I know anything, but I can certainly share what I've learned so far! It totally made my day.

Anyway....I'm admittedly completely obnoxious about this budget thing. I'm totally obsessed and it seems to be my only topic of conversation lately. I had been talking to Friend 1 and a third friend and the whole budget thing came up (surprisingly not by me!). Friend 1 said that she usually spends $800 - $1,000 on food every month, including eating out and groceries (she's got a family of four). Then a few days later, she asked if I had any extra coupons. I told her that I don't take the paper anymore so no more coupons but the biggest way that I save money is by doing a menu and sticking to my grocery list when I go to the store. (*BTW - I know people out there search diligently for coupons and pay $50 for $200 worth of groceries....I don't have the time or the inclination at this point to spend hours every week doing that. I admire the people who save an obscene amount of money at the grocery store though!)

Anyway....I told Friend 1 that I used to use 'menu cards' that I made up. I made one card for each week and had a meal plan for each day of the week. I'd rotate favorite meals, allow one meal for eating out and/or one meal for trying a new recipe, and a 'freebie' every week for those crazy nights. I made about eight of these cards and after I'd use one week's card, I'd put it in the back not to be used for seven more weeks. Friend 1 had been printing out other people's menus and asked me for a copy of my menus. I personally don't like using other people's menus because even though I like the occasional recipe, they are another person's favorites...not mine. I told her to just use her own meals that she makes as a guideline. Although, thinking about it now, I should tell her that I'll trade her my favorite recipes for hers. She's from Japan and an excellent cook, so I could really branch out and learn how to make some new, different, yummy foods!

Anyhoo...Friend 2 told me last night that she has to stop spending money and that she wants me to help with her menu and also to tell her how my budget works with the menu and the grocery store. I'm more than happy to oblige....even though we all know that my sticking to the budget is completely due to DH's lack of straying from the budget plan. He's a stickler....thank heavens! He's always so good to tell me that I'm doing a good job though. He tells me I'm doing a good job but he's the one who is being so good about it.

Last night I saw an acquaintance at a jewelry party and she also started talking about money (more specifically, the lack of). The theme of that conversation (as in many others I've had) was that the most difficult place to show discipline is at the grocery store and eating out. She said she doesn't want to go on a budget because.....YUCK! I couldn't remember the quote at the time (and even now I have to paraphrase) but it was a good reminder to me. In one of Dave Ramsey's books, he said that a budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. I love that because I think that's so easy to do....wonder where the money went. The key is to find the leak and plug it up...and also not let the money start draining out of another spot!

And another small chip gone....

Last week we paid another $151 to the credit card. That will be the last payment til this week's paycheck. We've paid $988 from the last paycheck to the VISA. It will be nice once that money is ours to spend as we wish.

DH and I discussed a family vacation after the card is paid off. We are thinking Disneyland but the problem is that we can't reserve anything now because you have to pay for the trip upfront. Hopefully, we can get the damn card paid off early enough to be able to reserve a hotel room without paying an arm and a leg. We are still shooting for November for the debt-be-gone goal...we'll see how that affects the vacation.

Saturday I did the grocery shopping for another week....I spent every last dollar but I was able to buy a treat...more Coke Zero! Woo Hoo! We've got fruits, veggies, and lots of pasta planned for this week. Not an exciting menu, but at this point, frugal is exciting! I was quite pleased with myself for being so smart at the grocery store. Yes...that's pretty dumb of me, but what can ya do?

We were going to have some friends over for hamburgers on Saturday night so I bought some things I wouldn't normally buy...potato chips, pickles, stuff for chip dip, etc. But our awesome friends took us out to dinner on her company's tab. So, we got to go out to eat...what a luxury! Let's see...we went to Cafe Rio a few weeks ago with our milestone/celebration money and before that......hmmmm.......I think we went to dinner one other time since January. Eating out three times in three months....that's just crazy talk! I really enjoyed eating some really yummy (FREE!) food that I didn't cook and I didn't have to clean up after. Plus...the real perk was spending some good quality time with our dearest friends. Ahhh...the memory is just as sweet as the experience!

Debt Sucks!

A couple of days ago, we paid another $300 to the credit card. We will hopefully be below $11,000 by the end of the month. That's pretty darn awesome.

I went to the grocery store last night and spent about $30. I bought enough of a few items to last us for the next 1 1/2 weeks. I'm going to have to be super frugal next week as well after buying all those household items last weekend. My $5 payback for the Coke didn't make a huge difference, but it did buy a bunch of apples which is always good! I've got my menu set for next week and I'm positive that we'll be set...we might even end up with a little extra grocery money.

I've also been thinking about Boy #2's birthday party that I've been promising him for over a year. I've been trying to figure out how to do a party on the cheap. Well, not just cheap, but on the frugal cheap...a difficult task! But I think I've come up with an excellent solution. We are going to have the party at a (free) splash park in the neighborhood. We'll have a couple of water balloon games and cake and ice cream on Spiderman plates. We'll be able to invite more of his friends because the party itself will be so cheap. I'm excited about it and I think the kids will have a blast. How can they not have fun at a splash park?

I'm having a hard time this paycheck not wishing for more grocery money. This is the second time since this journey began that I've had a such a hard time being so darn frugal at the grocery store. So...I think that each paycheck, I'll buy one or two items ahead of schedule and spread those little things out a bit. Plus...I am completely aware of the dangers of shopping at Wal-mart. Next time I go, it won't be when I'm in a hurry. Even though I stuck to my list, I think there were at least a few things that could have waited another two weeks. We will also be starting a "Household" envelope next month so that should help a bunch too.

Anyway - moments like these are frustrating to get me angry enough about my mistakes and our debt that it just reinforces that I NEVER want to do this again. I'm going to grit my teeth and focus with more intensity. I have to....this SUCKS!

Another chip....

I just paid another $200 to the card bringing the total up to $537 this month. More to come....

Not much to report....

Not much to report today...still waiting for the gas and cell phone bills to come in before we can pay more to debt. I think we should be able to pay about another $500 to the credit card which will bring us to $837 or so for this paycheck. We still have one more paycheck this month....not too bad!

This weekend we had THREE birthday parties and one baby shower to go to! It was an expensive weekend - even with frugal buying. It was also another paycheck for household items...laundry soap, bath soap, hand soap, kid's bath soap, foil, saran wrap, treats for the soccer team, etc.

I REALLY hate to admit it but I could have done a little better with the grocery money this week. I went to Walmart with the intention of buying the birthday gifts and bought the household things while I was there. Well...I was in a hurry by the end of the shopping trip so I wasn't adding purchases up and debating the priority of each purchase when I put it in the basket even though I stuck to my list. I don't really NEED the 2-liters of Coke Zero that I bought....I'll have to pony up for those out of my $10 allowance. Oh well...what do you do. I'm still trying to shape my behaviors so I'll do better next time. Next month we will be putting a bunch of money to the "Household" envelope which will be nice to not have to take out those purchases from our food budget.

BTW...having two cars this weekend was AWESOME! DH went to work on Saturday and I ran all the errands - soccer games, baby shower, birthday party - we stayed at the birthday party til it was over because DH could drive himself home from work when he was done! Such a simple pleasure but definitely was not taken for granted!

Chipping away....

I just paid another $337 to the VISA which brings our balance below $12,000...YEA!!! As soon as I get the cell phone bill and the gas bill, we'll be able to pay another good chunk of change on this mountainous debt. Depending on the amount of those bills, we could possibly be under $11,000 by this time next week.

WE ROCK!!!!!!

Budget Night

Tonight is budget night. We'll be planning the next two weeks and also get an idea of what to expect for the entire month. I think we'll be able to put around $1,000 on the card this paycheck. SWEET! We'll hopefully get it below $11,000 by the end of the month. As much as that balance makes me want to throw up, I'm thrilled at our persistence and dedication to getting rid of debt!

Last night we took our date money and went out to dinner with the family and some friends that were in town. Dang, I miss them! They have also decided that they want to be debt free, which is awesome! Good for them! Her mom read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" and got them excited about getting rid of their debt. I told G-Friend that she needs to check the book out of the library and read it for herself. I love the motivation that I got from it. I personally can't wait til I can call him up and yell "I'M DEBT FREE!!" Woo hoo...gives me chills every time I hear it!

I have a car again!

Yesterday, Mom-in-law and her DH came over to look at the old, dead car. M-I-L gave it to us last year and it lasted for about 6 months before the battery kicked it. We didn't know it was the battery til yesterday or else we probably would have taken care of it sooner. Anyway....after charging the battery for a while, jump-starting it, and driving all the way across town with my foot on the gas pedal the entire time, we finally got it to the car place that installed the battery originally. It was still under warranty and so they swapped it for a brand new, top of the line battery for only $47. M-I-L & her DH paid for the battery (even though I put forth a valiant effort to pay for it) which made my cost only $10 in gas money to get across town.

So DH did Mom & Dad's taxes and we got a Costco membership. He did his Mom's and her DH's taxes and we got a car battery. I'm really grateful for those blessings. Makes me SO glad we worked hard and got DH through school so he could become a CPA so he could do parent's taxes. Good job, DH and thank you parents!

This will actually help out with our gas money now. I've been taking DH to work every Saturday so I could run errands. Now I can run errands closer to our house and I don't have to drive across town to have access to a car once a week. Last Saturday I used between 1/4 and 1/2 tank of gas just doing my 'To Do' list. Of course, last weekend was a heavy errand day because of Easter and the beginning of soccer season, but errand day is still crazy.

Anyway - it's SO nice to have another car but not have another car payment! I've decided I LOVE 'Big Red'. It's almost 20 years old and looks like it's been through the ringer. But it runs like a dream....well....like a 20 year old dream that's been well taken care of! My attitude toward this car has changed drastically from just a couple of months ago. I've always been grateful for the car and to M-I-L for giving it to us. But I can't say that I loved the car before. Now? Boy, do I love that car!! I hope we can keep it for 3 or 4 more years. That might be a stretch, but I can hope!!

Happy Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DH!!!!

You have had a really good 35 years and I'm looking forward to what our future brings. I see a bright and shiny one for our family.

You are a fabulous husband and a wonderful father and we all love you to bits and pieces. Have a super day!!

WE <3 YOU!!! MEAN IT!!

The Parent's Future...

Last Saturday, I went over to Mom's house to help her with Quicken. She has always used a paper register and I convinced her to try out Quicken. She has been using it now for about three weeks but she is also still writing down everything in her paper register. I think she's not getting the whole point of Quicken...it's supposed to make life easier...NOT create more work! I think that once she gets used to entering her checks on the computer and having it do all the adding, subtracting, balancing, categorizing, reporting, etc., she'll see the beauty of it and dump the paper register once and for all.

I left her house on Saturday, once again nervous about their financial future. Am I the only one out of my siblings who worries about them like this? I'm guessing so. I'm not sure what to do about it because she got SO defensive this weekend. I showed her the report that adds up everything by category...I was shocked at how much she spent in three of her categories and I really hope she was shocked as well. I know exactly where I learned how to do finances... from Mom herself. She does her finances the way I did them all last year...haphazardly. Spending money that she thinks she has, but really doesn't.

OH - I sound so judgemental! I tried really hard to not sound that way when I was talking to her but I must have because of how defensive she got. We didn't fight...she just got defensive....and I started worrying again about the two of them. I have to figure out the best way to talk to her about getting them on a budget. I told her she needs to buy "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey...and I really hope she does. She's read "The Automatic Millionaire" by David Bach but that doesn't really help with getting the finances under control. It's a great post-debt book, in my opinion but that's not what Mom and Dad need right now.

Yes...I realize I sound like a hypocrite because I still have debt and who am I to give financial advice? No one...that's for sure! I just know how hard DH and I have worked over the last 2 1/2 months and how fulfilling it has been for us to have paid off FOUR loans and working on the last one (not including the car loan....baby steps within baby steps!). I just want her and Dad to have the comfort of knowing that their future is more secure than it is right now. And selfishly, I want the comfort of knowing that their future is more secure than it is right now! It will undoubtedly affect me and DH too!!

Christmas and Gardening....

Yesterday I opened up a "Dedicated Savings" account for our Christmas fund. We'll get about $300 by September. It will get us a great head-start on the Christmas season. Wouldn't it be so great to have my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving? I've never experienced that before...I can't help but think it would be a huge relief to focus the 'hustle and bustle' on something else besides crowded shopping malls and insane holiday drivers (which is everyone but me, of course)! Anyway - it's way too early to start thinking about Christmas, so I'll be content knowing that we are saving to get a good jump on it.

It IS time to start thinking about yard work and my garden. I am so excited to start planting, I can hardly stand it! I can't wait for yummy, fresh zucchini, squash, tomatoes, basil, cilantro....mmmmmmm. I have been craving basil and tomato pasta salad - its even better with fresh garden vegetables and herbs. My neighbor and I are sharing vegetable seeds this year, so the cost of the garden will be minimal. It could use some work but that will have to wait til next year. It could really use some nice, stinky, fertilized dirt, but I think it will be okay for this year. It'll have to be....we're on a BUDGET!! Which is why I'm so excited to actually have a garden! This is only my second year of gardening and I LOVED it last year. It will be nice to not have to spend any grocery money on vegetables that aren't nearly as good as what I can grow.

I might also see if I can borrow Dad's canning equipment and try to can some tomatoes. If I can go to the second hand store and buy some jars, then I could definitely save some money over the winter as well as the summer. We'll see how ambitious I am in August and also how big of a harvest I get.

I'm trying to figure out more ways to cut back on the grocery bill. It seems like I've never had an extra money in the grocery envelope. This paycheck I bought enough cheese, Goldfish crackers and laundry soap to last for both weeks but that means I have about $80 for next week's groceries. I'd like to figure out some more cheap and yummy meals so I can pad the grocery envelope for a really nice Mother's Day brunch. I see beans and rice in our future!!

Yes....more random thoughts....

So, here's two totally random thoughts for you....

One night last week, a new friend came over and by the end of his visit, the conversation had turned to debt reduction. We talked about our goals to get out of debt and (whether real or not) there was a moment when the conversation could have gone down the road of why we are now so focused on getting out of debt or at least how we came to have so much debt. DH adores this new friend but I don't know him as well as DH and so he's not one of my closest, most trusted friends.

Anyway....the point of the story is that I didn't share with him all the dirty details of me using the credit card over the last year and seriously reducing our available credit on the card. I didn't feel like confessing to him and thankfully, DH was kind enough not to indulge that info. It's really embarrassing to me. I've shared the full story with only four girlfriends and they are all friends that I trust wouldn't judge me for being such a jerk. I find that my actions over the last year are completely humiliating and, I'd like to think, completely out of character. I'll talk to anyone who will listen about budgets and debt reduction but no one else about the full truth. Is that being deceitful or is that just using good judgement in who should know about this (one of my many) flaw?

My second random thought is this....last night I went shopping for Easter outfits and basket items for the kids. As I was walking out of the store, I discovered that I didn't feel like a martyr for not being able to buy everything I wanted. There was a complete lack of...."Poor me. I'm on such a tight budget. There's no way I can fill three Easter baskets on this budget. Blah...blah...blah." I hadn't been thinking that before, and I wasn't planning on thinking that. But I have felt that way when I've gone grocery shopping. So - when there was a complete lack of those thoughts, I was a bit surprised and, I'll admit, pleased with my progress. So - just because it's a challenge to be on such a tight budget, doesn't mean that it can't be done and that I can't have some fun doing it.

Death and Taxes

Last week, DH did a quick estimate of our taxes for next year and if we keep things as they are right now, we'll have to pay $3,000 or so. Yikes. So, he changed his withholding...which means that we won't have to pay for 2007 but it also reduces our net income which means less to debt every month. We thought we'd be able to pay things off in October, but it looks like we are now back to November. Which is just fine...I'd rather not have to pay thousands of dollars next April..........even if it adds a month on to our debt reduction plan. I'm SO glad we don't have to pay someone to figure this stuff out! Good job, DH, on earning that CPA!

DH and I talked a little bit last night about our money plans for after November. I'm pretty sure that I drive him crazy sometimes. I think he might be getting sick of hearing me drone on about money. I feel like it's consuming me right now....it's all I can talk about!

But really, I'm pretty passionate about it at this point in my life. I like to talk to people about it and I never ask them what their financial picture looks like, but they often share small portions of it. I've found that so many people in my world have credit card debt and are struggling or at least aren't where they want to be, financially speaking. My goals right now are focused on my marriage, our finances, and my family, but if I can get people excited about getting out of debt themselves, I think that's a pretty good perk! Death to debt! (Going along with the death and taxes theme...hahaha.)