Debt Snowball on Hold!

So, we're putting our debt snowball on hold. With the possibility of moving, we're going to need our baby e-fund, and/or any extra money we would put towards the snowball. So... we're waiting to put anything towards it. Once we get moved (hopefully we do), we'll have a big check to write towards a couple debts. I'm hoping it all goes through ok and quickly and that we get some sort of moving package to help us get down there, like maybe they'll come move all our stuff!!

FILL 'EM UP :)

Its payday! Well, was on Friday, so today I get to go and take out all the cash and refill our envelopes, oh how I love that! I feel rich, until I go to the store and spend it :(. But then I remind myself that we have to eat if we want to exist.

I'm also going to take the advise of Kate, go and buy some clippers. They'll pay for themselves after two uses, and this way Phil can get his hair cut a little more often... like he wants. (Every 4-6 weeks not 8). Lets just pray I don't screw it up, or we'll be shaving him bald. But, that could be interesting!! And we'll save a bunch of money!! YAAY! Now if only that would work for me... but I haven't had a hair cut in a ridiculously long time, boy do I need one!

Looks like we're at $429.86 for our debt snowball this month, unless we come across any more cash... my fingers are crossed. We also need to get our taxes done. I need to call Mike and get stuff sent. We should get $2000 and that will speed up the debt snowball a bit! Yay!

March's Budget

Here's our Budget for March...

As always, suggestions are welcome!! I'm always looking for ways to cut things, and a second set of eyes never hurt anyone.

TAKE HOME: $2960.29 (Yay, it went up, we adjusted for taxes).

Charitable Gifts: $50
Rent: $808
Renters Insurance: $13.08
Water: $53.62
Electricity: $139.60 (yaaay, this went way down!)
Internet Service: $27.45 (Still need to call and cancel)
Grocery: $300
Car Insurance: $77.22 (Still not paying for Phil's, we need to talk to his parents).
Repairs and Tires: $30
Gas and Oil: $50 (We have over $100 left from before, and Phil uses no gas while in Clarskville).
Children's Clothing: $30
Adult Clothing: $0 (We have $40-ish left from last month and neither of us really NEED anything).
Health Insurance: $210.17
Miscellaneous: $10.00
Household: $115.00
ID Theft: $11.67 (We're starting a sinking fund for this, so we can save money by paying yearly instead of monthly).
Hair Care: $14.00 (Cost of haircut plus tip at Great Clips-Phil).
Mops: $10.00 ($5/meeting, twice a month).
Gifts (Incl. Christmas): $20.00 (I don't think we're going to have a big Christmas again this year.)
BLOW Money: $25.00
Pet Supplies: $20.00
Credit Card: $155.00
MOHELA-Anna: $131.18
Direct Loans-Anna: $63.30
MST-Anna: $40 (This is new this month, it was in its grace period until March).
Direct Loans-Phil: $50 (Currently first on debt snowball)
Hospital Bill: $100
Debt Snowball: $405.99 (Extra money we squeezed out of the budget for the Debt Snowball. Whatever random money that we find will also go towards it).

Free Quiznos!

For anyone out there looking for free stuff (as I always am), Quizno's is giving away one million free subs... and there's no strings attached!

Go to...

http://www.millionsubs.com/

and sign up for your free coupon. Its limit one per person and you have to have an id. You will get an email with a link to the site and you can only print your coupon once. Once printed, it will expire in 5 days. There's only 400,000 left, so sign up and enjoy a free sub.

I think we're going to go tomorrow for dinner and drink water... we might just bring them home and eat our own chips :). (Because I'm not buying them there!)

Frustration

Sometimes, its hard. Its most definitely not easy. I see friends buying houses, and I want to buy one, or people buying houses and using credit cards that shouldn't. It makes me want to holler and scream and tell them that they're not doing it right! That they need to work on other things first and slow down a little, that there will be a time for a house and a nicer car and more spending, but right now isn't the time, not when you have $50k + in debt.

Sometimes it makes me jealous, I often wish that we hadn't discovered Dave Ramsey until we had bought a house, and made some other mistakes, but I know that in the long run I'll be happy. Our future house will be a blessing, not burden and we'll have it paid off within 15 years... at the most! And we'll be millionaires by the time we're 40! We won't have to worry about Charlotte's school or our retirement. I know we'll get there, but somedays I just want that house, with a fenced yard and a big garden, oh and an attic for storage. I really hope we can afford one by the time Charlotte is in Kindergarten. I think I'll be more sad if she starts school and we haven't bought one, or aren't in the process of it.

I also don't understand why EVERYONE isn't doing the Baby Steps... it doesn't matter where you are in life, you can still do them! But then, its working for us and I like it, so shouldn't everyone?

Well the baby is waking from her nap, I best go get her.

Where to start YOUR Voyage

If you are thinking about going debt free, I HIGHLY recommend reading "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. I'm sure you're local library probably has it and you can find it at almost any bookstore. (Though the library is free, yay!)

After we read the book, we decided to enroll in Financial Peace University (FPU) and I think that really helps too. You can find locations and times on his website (and if you have kids, most everywhere has free babysitting). It is a 13 week course that teaches about all kinds of things. There are lessons in emergency funds, going debt free, the importance of different kinds of insurance, investing, and the list goes on. It was very motivating and helped us meet some people who were going through the same things that we were (and some people in completely different walks of life too). It was very very informative and really interesting, but then I kinda enjoy that kind of stuff.

I will warn you, reading the book and going to FPU makes you look at all the mistakes that you have made and sometimes its really hard to face those. I hated the fact that we ran up a credit card and that I took out so many student loans... if I had only worked a little harder or gone to a cheaper school. Since, I have overcome them and I'm happier that we found Dave Ramsey and know what to do with our finances now, instead of making mistakes and not discovering what the right thing to do with our money is until 10 years from now (other sentences will be better than that one, I promise!)

I think that a financial plan is SO SO SO important. Before we started this, we had no plan. We lived paycheck to paycheck, and we're trying to figure out what we wanted to do. Thankfully, we discovered Dave and have changed our lives and our lifestyle, forever! We will be millionaires by the time we're 40! That feels GREAT to say!

PS-Thank you for the comments, they keep me motivated! Its such a joy to see people I don't know reading what I write!!

Debt Snowball-February

So, we just wrote our check to the loan that's next on the debt snowball for a grand total of......

$$$$985.08!!!!!!!!!!

Yaaaay!

I worked on next month's budget too, and we will be paying an extra $445.98 towards our debt next month. (Unfortunately, we won't be getting any expense checks for the next few months because of Phil's job). Plus whatever money we happen to find, or have left over in our envelopes (only a few) at the end of this month will go towards it. And when we get our tax return... there should be another 2k or so to go towards them too, woohoo!!!!