We have been at this thing called "Getting out of debt" for 14 1/2 months. We started out at a whopping $59,063.20 and, as of last week our current balance 10/15/09: $27,643.19.
It is hard to believe we have paid of $31,420.01 in what seems like a pretty short period of time looking back..but - boy- hasn't always been easy! And, quite frankly- it seems like a long way to go! But, month by month, a thousand at a time, we continue to see progress. We continue to be inspired to press on..and we continue to watch our money.
I think the hard part, right now, is that we feel like we have been doing this forever and we have a long way to go...and then when we get the debt paid off, that extra money goes to fund retirement accounts, college, and then start paying on the house..so you never really get this "windfall" of cash that you get to start throwing your money around...and I guess that is the lesson in all this. Being fiscally responsible, or as I like to call it "Being a Fiscal Grown-Up" is a committment you make for the rest of your life...not just to get out of debt...for the rest of our lives we will be budgeting, saving, making trade-off's. But, oh how sweet when we hit retirement age, have a couple million in the bank and can really LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE! Now- I'm motivated!
Go get 'em!!
Showing posts with label Budgeting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budgeting. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I love pay day!
You know, most people love payday's because it is that tangible moment for all the hard work and long hours put in over the last 2 weeks (or whatever your pay period may be.
I am clearly the "nerd" in our family because I love payday because it is the day that we get to go to the bank, take out cash to re-fill our envelope system and pay down debt! Every two weeks, our debt takes a little dip downward...and that gets me excited - what a geek!
I would love to hear from some of those who are debt free (or are well on your way) as to what happens with that excitement, energy once you have paid it all off! What will pay day mean to me when that happens? My first thought...WEALTH!
Go get 'em!
I am clearly the "nerd" in our family because I love payday because it is the day that we get to go to the bank, take out cash to re-fill our envelope system and pay down debt! Every two weeks, our debt takes a little dip downward...and that gets me excited - what a geek!
I would love to hear from some of those who are debt free (or are well on your way) as to what happens with that excitement, energy once you have paid it all off! What will pay day mean to me when that happens? My first thought...WEALTH!
Go get 'em!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Free Books!!
As we started our venture out of debt, the one thing we kept struggling with was the many good books that are available to read, "My Total Money Makeover" "The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom" and many others, was how do we afford books at $20-$30 a pop when you are trying to get out of debt?
This is just a plug and a reminder that your local public library is FREE! With the invention of on-line book buying, Libraries have become an after-thought. But, you can get a ton of good books - not just finance related- at your local library..and it's FREE!
And, for parent's, there are usually weekly activities for the little ones like story time and craft time!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Did you bring the "Dave Ramsey Book"
Have you ever wondered how getting out of debt impacts your kids?
Last night, we were walking through CVS and the requests started coming in! We need halloween candy buckets! Oooh! We should get that! Oooh! Do you see that car, can we get that? (You know the drill). Then, our oldest looks up to me and says "Did you bring the Dave Ramsey Book?" and I replied "no". Without any further discussion, our two boys went from the "I want's" to "oh, look at that!" without ever asking for anything the rest of the night.
The "Dave Ramsey Book" is his Envelope System for carrying and tracking cash for the budget.
I guess in the few short weeks that we have been on this journey...we really are changing our family tree! (Btw, my kids openly detest Dave Ramsey, his 'money' book, his TV show and would gladly go back to the "old ways" anytime! - lol)
The really cool thing in all this..our kids know what cash looks like...they watch it dwindle..and they watch us prioritize! Maybe our kids will NEVER have to debt snowball...that would be awesome!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wal-Mart prints checks??
So, we opened a new checking account and were told by the bank that 150 checks would be 32.50 plus shipping. I was shocked and said "Then we won't use checks..." Well, I know you can't really do that.
I did find Wal-Mart prints checks! The traditional (old, ugly..but they work!) checks are $6.96 for duplicates. I think shipping was $2.00 or something.
This saved us over $25.00! Can you imagine? In this day and age, banks still charge these outrageous fees for items like this? ugh!
There is always a better solution out there if something seems to high!
I did find Wal-Mart prints checks! The traditional (old, ugly..but they work!) checks are $6.96 for duplicates. I think shipping was $2.00 or something.
This saved us over $25.00! Can you imagine? In this day and age, banks still charge these outrageous fees for items like this? ugh!
There is always a better solution out there if something seems to high!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Thank God for payday!
I say that as a praise to God and in celebration that we have made it through the pay period.
Highlights:
Our envelope cash system had $662.00 in on 9/29. My wife shopped and fed for our family of 5, we had two birthday parties with gifts to buy - My wife continues to amaze! She walked into the toy store and said "I have a $20 budget, show me my choices". She is playing to win!!
And, that darn jeep needed an alignment, not an unknown cost - so there really was no stress there!
The great news is We still have $135.00 in cash today!
Truly, living on a budget and making each dollar sit down and take a number certainly makes you feel like you have more money! It is making a difference in our lives!
Highlights:
Our envelope cash system had $662.00 in on 9/29. My wife shopped and fed for our family of 5, we had two birthday parties with gifts to buy - My wife continues to amaze! She walked into the toy store and said "I have a $20 budget, show me my choices". She is playing to win!!
And, that darn jeep needed an alignment, not an unknown cost - so there really was no stress there!
The great news is We still have $135.00 in cash today!
Truly, living on a budget and making each dollar sit down and take a number certainly makes you feel like you have more money! It is making a difference in our lives!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The "Negotiator"..
My wife is awesome! The "clunker" jeep is on the mend and the final thing is an alignment. WOO HOO!
So, we couldn't get into the tire store closest to us, so she picked another on. The price of an alignment at our store of choice was $56.00 and the cost at the one that could get us in was $71.00. The first words out of her mouth, "Do you price match?" Could I love this woman more? SHE IS INTENSE at getting this thing paid off. She will never cease to amaze me.
A reminder....EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE! And, by the way...they did price match!
Way to go, honey!
So, we couldn't get into the tire store closest to us, so she picked another on. The price of an alignment at our store of choice was $56.00 and the cost at the one that could get us in was $71.00. The first words out of her mouth, "Do you price match?" Could I love this woman more? SHE IS INTENSE at getting this thing paid off. She will never cease to amaze me.
A reminder....EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE! And, by the way...they did price match!
Way to go, honey!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
What's the deal with cars??
OK..for any of you reading this that are still in high school - or even Community College with vocational classes - TAKE AUTO!
So, the other night I was at guitar class and I got a call from my wife that when I left, our car (not the new clunker jeep) left behind a puddle of some reddish fluid. C'mon....this was supposed to be old reliable that we didn't have to worry about!
Dave Ramsey talks about Murphy of "Murphy's law" fame. I cannot stress enough the importance of having some little contingency of money set aside before you start getting out of debt for little emergencies like this. The great thing is... it keeps what you have set aside for credit card payments going to the credit cards...and you can still keep driving.
I can honestly say, and I am sure anyone who is on their way out of debt can attest, with a little money set aside and a light at the end of the tunnel...these little fluid leaks and stuff become a minor irritant as opposed to a life altering event!
So, the other night I was at guitar class and I got a call from my wife that when I left, our car (not the new clunker jeep) left behind a puddle of some reddish fluid. C'mon....this was supposed to be old reliable that we didn't have to worry about!
Dave Ramsey talks about Murphy of "Murphy's law" fame. I cannot stress enough the importance of having some little contingency of money set aside before you start getting out of debt for little emergencies like this. The great thing is... it keeps what you have set aside for credit card payments going to the credit cards...and you can still keep driving.
I can honestly say, and I am sure anyone who is on their way out of debt can attest, with a little money set aside and a light at the end of the tunnel...these little fluid leaks and stuff become a minor irritant as opposed to a life altering event!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Half way there!
It just dawned on me that we are half way through paying off this $59,000 beast! Hooray!
One of the things that I have noticed when you start to pay off your debt..is that you tend to want to reclaim power over every aspect of your life. Over this past holiday weekend, we actually spent the time at home (let's call it a stay-cation) and worked on getting our house organized. We cleaned our storage room ( a lot of junk), raked yards, mowed, weeded. And, it hasn't stopped. We are now starting to go through the house and get it straightened out.
All this to say is that I didn't realize how powerful getting a hold of money would be. We are control freaks...and are getting freakish about getting a hold of EVERY aspect of our lives!
One of the things that I have noticed when you start to pay off your debt..is that you tend to want to reclaim power over every aspect of your life. Over this past holiday weekend, we actually spent the time at home (let's call it a stay-cation) and worked on getting our house organized. We cleaned our storage room ( a lot of junk), raked yards, mowed, weeded. And, it hasn't stopped. We are now starting to go through the house and get it straightened out.
All this to say is that I didn't realize how powerful getting a hold of money would be. We are control freaks...and are getting freakish about getting a hold of EVERY aspect of our lives!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Replacing luxury with function
As I have previously posted, we actually did sell our 2004 Lincoln Navigator for $17,000 and paid debt with that money. We held back $5000.00 for a new "beater" car. The only two requirements were that it had to fit all 5 of us and have 4wd because we live in the mountains and are blessed to get snow.
After a lot of looking...we settled on a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport
It's green..the color of money..and we paid $3,600 for it. That leaves us $1,400.00 for any little repairs, registration and (a priority to my wife) tint the windows. Look at us? How responsible are we? We not only paid cash..but we held money back just in case we needed it! WOO HOO!
I am not sure where "Murphy" (from Murphy's law fame) was hiding in that darn truck...but he was either under a seat, in the glove box, or somewhere.
1. We knew that there was a noise when it was driven and backed-up. We decided it was the transmission and hopefully minor. We took it to a horrible transmission shop were they held it hostage for 6 days doing their "diagnostic checks" and finally decided that the transmission had to be rebuilt at a cost of $3500.00. My Godly and intelligent wife called our mechanic who told her to get it out of that shop ASAP and take it to AAMCO (http://www.aamco.com/). It ended up being fluid change and adding Pozzi additive to the rear differential to the tune of $168.00. Dodged a bullet there!
2. We took it to our mechanic the next day for oil change, check the "washy feel" and because (low and behold) we were unable to put gas in the truck - it just sprayed back. Well, of course, give even a good mechanic the opportunity and they will "maximize" their profits. So, they fixed the fuel issue to the tune of $220.00 and checked the brakes for $19.99 and changed the oil for $40.00. So, we are $290.00 there.
3. The other recommendations from the mechanic were a tune up to the "tune" of $300.00 and replacing some front end parts (tie rods, bushings, etc) to the tune of $600.00. We are blessed to have wonderful friends who actually work on cars and he agreed to do it if we bought the parts...so $900.00 worth of repairs for $190.00. Woo hoo...cooking with steam..
4. Uh oh, there's Murphy. We were driving home from Church on Sunday and - oops! There goes the fuel pump! Back to the mechanic and $668.00.
5. DMV still wants their money. $147.00
So, how did we do?
Transmission: ..................$168.00
Maint/Gas issue ..............$290.00
Front end/tune ................$190.00 We love Chris and Jen!!
Fuel Pump ........................$668.00
DMV ..................................$147.00
Total .................................$1363.00
Not bad..and it is running great. OK, so when our friend changed the serpentine belt, the AC started to scream like a dying pig...but that's a little adjustment.....lol
Our advice: If you are going to buy a use car...know about cars, know someone who knows about cars...and check out http://www.edmonds.com/ for historical information about cars! We are still in the ball-park of our budget. And, hopefully, we have left Murphy on a curb somewhere for someone else to pick up :)
After a lot of looking...we settled on a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport
It's green..the color of money..and we paid $3,600 for it. That leaves us $1,400.00 for any little repairs, registration and (a priority to my wife) tint the windows. Look at us? How responsible are we? We not only paid cash..but we held money back just in case we needed it! WOO HOO!
I am not sure where "Murphy" (from Murphy's law fame) was hiding in that darn truck...but he was either under a seat, in the glove box, or somewhere.
1. We knew that there was a noise when it was driven and backed-up. We decided it was the transmission and hopefully minor. We took it to a horrible transmission shop were they held it hostage for 6 days doing their "diagnostic checks" and finally decided that the transmission had to be rebuilt at a cost of $3500.00. My Godly and intelligent wife called our mechanic who told her to get it out of that shop ASAP and take it to AAMCO (http://www.aamco.com/). It ended up being fluid change and adding Pozzi additive to the rear differential to the tune of $168.00. Dodged a bullet there!
2. We took it to our mechanic the next day for oil change, check the "washy feel" and because (low and behold) we were unable to put gas in the truck - it just sprayed back. Well, of course, give even a good mechanic the opportunity and they will "maximize" their profits. So, they fixed the fuel issue to the tune of $220.00 and checked the brakes for $19.99 and changed the oil for $40.00. So, we are $290.00 there.
3. The other recommendations from the mechanic were a tune up to the "tune" of $300.00 and replacing some front end parts (tie rods, bushings, etc) to the tune of $600.00. We are blessed to have wonderful friends who actually work on cars and he agreed to do it if we bought the parts...so $900.00 worth of repairs for $190.00. Woo hoo...cooking with steam..
4. Uh oh, there's Murphy. We were driving home from Church on Sunday and - oops! There goes the fuel pump! Back to the mechanic and $668.00.
5. DMV still wants their money. $147.00
So, how did we do?
Transmission: ..................$168.00
Maint/Gas issue ..............$290.00
Front end/tune ................$190.00 We love Chris and Jen!!
Fuel Pump ........................$668.00
DMV ..................................$147.00
Total .................................$1363.00
Not bad..and it is running great. OK, so when our friend changed the serpentine belt, the AC started to scream like a dying pig...but that's a little adjustment.....lol
Our advice: If you are going to buy a use car...know about cars, know someone who knows about cars...and check out http://www.edmonds.com/ for historical information about cars! We are still in the ball-park of our budget. And, hopefully, we have left Murphy on a curb somewhere for someone else to pick up :)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Ca$h for Clunker$
Ok, this is a whole new twist to the US Government's Cash For Clunkers program.
In 2007, we were expecting the arrival of our daughter and knew that the 1999 PAID FOR Isuzu Rodeo (did I mention it was paid for) was not going to hold our family of 5. My wife had went back to work on a short-term project making great money. We created a budget of $20,000.00 (it's funny to say budget - that's the amount we were willing to finance) for a new truck that would hold all of us comfortably and get us through the snow in the winter time. We knew we were going to buy used..because we were really smart at this point and we were going to let someone else pay the depreciation on the car...and we were going to get a deal.
We will skip past the part where we obviously either had a stroke or lost our ever-loving minds...but we end up driving off the lot from CarMax in a 2004 Lincoln Navigator with every upgrade known to man! I mean..the DVD system had THX surround sound, the seats were both air-conditioned and heated, the running boards "popped" out to greet you.. it had it all! And, the price tag (remember we set a budget of $20,000) was $32,000.00. We got a whopping $2,500 for our PAID FOR Isuzu Rodeo and ended up financing $30,000.00 or so. We looked great in the car...we all loved it...the kids called it the "Alligator" and we had personalized plates on it G8R CRW (for the 'Gator Crew). But, sadly it was all a big old lie and we really couldn't afford it, but my wife's job made the almost $700/month payments - so we were surviving.
My wife had stopped working and we were straddled with this looming $27,000 debt load and no additional income to pay it. So, we "CHASEd" down some credit cards and got 0% financing for 1 year to "HELP" us out...are you seeing how we go from bad to worse here??? I mean, debt did so much for us in the first place, we just needed to expand our horizons!
So, this past August, 1 year in to our own "Total Money Makeover" my wife came down to my office and said "I think we need to sell the truck." We listed that think on www.Craigslist.org on Monday and by Thursday, the truck was on it's way to a new home in Idaho..for $17,000.00
So, let's look at the math of buying a new-used car that someone has already "paid the depreciation down for you".
1. We gave up our paid for 1999 Isuzu Rodeo for $2,500. (You'll laugh at the next post were we talk about the 1999 Jeep we bought to replace the Navigator).
2. We went an additional $29,0000 in debt.
3. We sold the truck 2 years later for $17,000 still leaving approximately $15,000 from the original purchase on our debt books. Dave Ramsey (http://www.daveramsey.com/) calls this a "stupid tax".
So, what did we do with the money we got? We paid down $12,000 in debt and we set aside $5,000 for our new "clunker". So in reality we still have about $15,000 of the truck still on the debt books...about half...and we don't have the beautiful truck any more...but we don't have the maintenance costs, cost for premium fuel, and most importantly, we don't have the burden of driving around a big old fat lie.
But, what we do have is intensity, commitment and motivation! This is what is looks like to get intense about getting out of debt. Sacrifice. Achieve. Win!
"Live like no one else, so later you can LIVE like no one else" -Dave Ramsey
In 2007, we were expecting the arrival of our daughter and knew that the 1999 PAID FOR Isuzu Rodeo (did I mention it was paid for) was not going to hold our family of 5. My wife had went back to work on a short-term project making great money. We created a budget of $20,000.00 (it's funny to say budget - that's the amount we were willing to finance) for a new truck that would hold all of us comfortably and get us through the snow in the winter time. We knew we were going to buy used..because we were really smart at this point and we were going to let someone else pay the depreciation on the car...and we were going to get a deal.
We will skip past the part where we obviously either had a stroke or lost our ever-loving minds...but we end up driving off the lot from CarMax in a 2004 Lincoln Navigator with every upgrade known to man! I mean..the DVD system had THX surround sound, the seats were both air-conditioned and heated, the running boards "popped" out to greet you.. it had it all! And, the price tag (remember we set a budget of $20,000) was $32,000.00. We got a whopping $2,500 for our PAID FOR Isuzu Rodeo and ended up financing $30,000.00 or so. We looked great in the car...we all loved it...the kids called it the "Alligator" and we had personalized plates on it G8R CRW (for the 'Gator Crew). But, sadly it was all a big old lie and we really couldn't afford it, but my wife's job made the almost $700/month payments - so we were surviving.
My wife had stopped working and we were straddled with this looming $27,000 debt load and no additional income to pay it. So, we "CHASEd" down some credit cards and got 0% financing for 1 year to "HELP" us out...are you seeing how we go from bad to worse here??? I mean, debt did so much for us in the first place, we just needed to expand our horizons!
So, this past August, 1 year in to our own "Total Money Makeover" my wife came down to my office and said "I think we need to sell the truck." We listed that think on www.Craigslist.org on Monday and by Thursday, the truck was on it's way to a new home in Idaho..for $17,000.00
So, let's look at the math of buying a new-used car that someone has already "paid the depreciation down for you".
1. We gave up our paid for 1999 Isuzu Rodeo for $2,500. (You'll laugh at the next post were we talk about the 1999 Jeep we bought to replace the Navigator).
2. We went an additional $29,0000 in debt.
3. We sold the truck 2 years later for $17,000 still leaving approximately $15,000 from the original purchase on our debt books. Dave Ramsey (http://www.daveramsey.com/) calls this a "stupid tax".
So, what did we do with the money we got? We paid down $12,000 in debt and we set aside $5,000 for our new "clunker". So in reality we still have about $15,000 of the truck still on the debt books...about half...and we don't have the beautiful truck any more...but we don't have the maintenance costs, cost for premium fuel, and most importantly, we don't have the burden of driving around a big old fat lie.
But, what we do have is intensity, commitment and motivation! This is what is looks like to get intense about getting out of debt. Sacrifice. Achieve. Win!
"Live like no one else, so later you can LIVE like no one else" -Dave Ramsey
Monday, August 31, 2009
What's green and hurts when you spend it?
CASH!
I have heard it said that when you spend actual cash, it gives the same sensation as pain! And, man, we are feeling the pain :)
We decided as apart of our new budgeting strategy and new life, we would enlist Dave Ramsey again and follow his envelope system. Simply put, we are cash-flowing our monthly expenses instead of credit card...it is an amazing thing to actually "THINK" about what you are spending..instead of pulling out the card!
Not everyone is on board with this system. We were at Wal-Mart this weekend for some shopping. The people behind us in line were none to happy when we made the cashier ring up our "gifts" separately, our household cleaner separately, our clothings and other items separately. I have a feeling that the cashier has been through this before..because she was very patient with us. But, I tell you this...doing this made us really think about what we were buying and where the money was coming from. We looked at prices...we put stuff back..we actually had to think what we had at home and what we could do without.
We have easily spent $200.00 at Wal-Mart without a thought. By using the envelope system...we spent $20.54 on our gift, $64.30 on our household supplies, and $3.49 on an infant tooth brush.
I would encourage you to make a list...set a budget...and carry cash into any store. You will become very wise to how these stores are trying to get all the money they can..and you'll get wiser on how to keep it for yourself!
I have heard it said that when you spend actual cash, it gives the same sensation as pain! And, man, we are feeling the pain :)
We decided as apart of our new budgeting strategy and new life, we would enlist Dave Ramsey again and follow his envelope system. Simply put, we are cash-flowing our monthly expenses instead of credit card...it is an amazing thing to actually "THINK" about what you are spending..instead of pulling out the card!
Not everyone is on board with this system. We were at Wal-Mart this weekend for some shopping. The people behind us in line were none to happy when we made the cashier ring up our "gifts" separately, our household cleaner separately, our clothings and other items separately. I have a feeling that the cashier has been through this before..because she was very patient with us. But, I tell you this...doing this made us really think about what we were buying and where the money was coming from. We looked at prices...we put stuff back..we actually had to think what we had at home and what we could do without.
We have easily spent $200.00 at Wal-Mart without a thought. By using the envelope system...we spent $20.54 on our gift, $64.30 on our household supplies, and $3.49 on an infant tooth brush.
I would encourage you to make a list...set a budget...and carry cash into any store. You will become very wise to how these stores are trying to get all the money they can..and you'll get wiser on how to keep it for yourself!
A budget? You've got to be kidding!
John Maxwell says, "A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went."
Let me start with this: I hate budgeting! I hate sitting down at the beginning of a month and trying to figure out where our money is going to go and have to think about: medication, gifts to friends and family, can we get a babysitter, can we go out to get a burger....and on and on. It is better now..but, still not my favorite way to spend time.
We started budgeting last year (2008) and it quickly dropped off our radar due to a family illness and chaos. But, we have gotten back on track with in the last month and we are making our money "sit down and pay attention". Strangely, it really does feel like we have more money! We are budgeting $200.00/month for clothes (and before you think that's a lot...we are a family of 5 and 3 of them are growing like crazy!) We have money set aside for babysitters and a little dining out and fun! It's crazy...you get more disciplined and you have more money. Where did it all go before???
I have to give credit to my wife...she has become the grocery-shopping dynamo and has not broken her budget AT ALL! She carries here little pink calculator (bought for $1 at Wal-Mart http://www.walmart.com/) around and makes every dollar count! SHE ROCKS!!
We would love to hear any of your budget-stretching suggestions attached to this comment.
Let me start with this: I hate budgeting! I hate sitting down at the beginning of a month and trying to figure out where our money is going to go and have to think about: medication, gifts to friends and family, can we get a babysitter, can we go out to get a burger....and on and on. It is better now..but, still not my favorite way to spend time.
We started budgeting last year (2008) and it quickly dropped off our radar due to a family illness and chaos. But, we have gotten back on track with in the last month and we are making our money "sit down and pay attention". Strangely, it really does feel like we have more money! We are budgeting $200.00/month for clothes (and before you think that's a lot...we are a family of 5 and 3 of them are growing like crazy!) We have money set aside for babysitters and a little dining out and fun! It's crazy...you get more disciplined and you have more money. Where did it all go before???
I have to give credit to my wife...she has become the grocery-shopping dynamo and has not broken her budget AT ALL! She carries here little pink calculator (bought for $1 at Wal-Mart http://www.walmart.com/) around and makes every dollar count! SHE ROCKS!!
We would love to hear any of your budget-stretching suggestions attached to this comment.
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