It's Been a Long Time....

Sorry, to keep everyone hanging. It has been awhile since my last post. The day after my last post, my father in law passed away. This has been very difficult for my husband. With everything that has been going on, I have found little time to blog. But things are starting to get back into a routine, so I hope to be able to share more on a regular basis. Check back later this afternoon, I will update everyone on our debt free progress and give some tips and ideas for Christmas giving without putting it on a credit card.

Debt Free - What Now?

I know we are all looking forward to the day we are debt free. But what do you plan to do then? There was a thread on a message board asking what your plans were once you become debt free (excluding the mortgage). It got me thinking.....even though you are debt free, you still need a plan. You just can't start spending and spending again...that's what you in this mess in the first place. So, as we are getting closer and closer to having our debt gone, we started looking at the "what now" factor. So here's a rough draft, you might say, of what we plan to do.
1. Put back money to pay cash for another vehicle (we only have 1 now)
2. Save for at least 3 months expenses in a emergency savings account.
3. Increase the percentage deducted to our 401K
4. Pay off our mortgage (we will probably be adding a small additonal amount
to principal even while we are doing above)

Personally, I would like to have all of this completed in 8 years. Is it possible, I have no idea right now. We are just trying to take things one day at a time. You just never know what may happen from day to day.

We would love to be able to take vacations and travel somewhere during all this...but we'll just have to see.

What's your plan?

A New Endeavor

In an ongoing effort to increase my income and still be able to stay home, I have decided to sell Avon. I did this years ago while working full time and having three small children. With so much going on, it was easy to get burned out.

I am hoping that now that my kids are older and I'm not at a 8-9 hour job everyday, that I will do better. To begin with, I'm just going to shoot for $100.00 a month. I think that's a pretty low number and we'll see how I do.

If any of you sell Avon or have sold Avon and want to give me some tips, please leave a comment or drop me an email.

Thanks!

Where I am and How I got here

As you can see from my bio on the left, I am happily married to my husband Brian. What you can't see is that Brian and I have only been married for a little over 1 1/2 years. We each have three children from our previous marriages. However, our own children were only part of our past that we brought into our new relationship - that's right....we each brought our own suitcases full of debt.

When you are starting out in a new relationship, you usually don't discuss the financial aspect right away. Neither did we. Believe or not, we met via Match.com, an internet dating site. He found me....we met....and it was basically love at first sight. He asked me to marry him three weeks later. And eight months after our initial date, we said our "I do's".

At first finances were not as important, we were in love and still in the very very honeymoon stages. But reality caught up with us and we realized we needed to get finacially back on track. We were spending on things we didn't need, had no idea how much we were spending and where it was all going to.

So, in November 2006, 9 months after we were married, we set into motion our budget. I read Dave Ramsey's Financal Peace, visited his website, looked at his budget forms and thought..."this is something we can do". Have we fallen off the wagon? Sure we have...but we get right back up again. Has it been hard? You bet! (it still is). Is it tempting to want to go out and get a loan to buy a car, or a new T.V.? O.k.....I think it's more tempting for my husband than me. But yeah, I would like a new car. I would like for my husband to have a big screen T.V. But we realize that we can have those things....but patience is required.

So, here we are. Since November we have paid off over $7,000 in debt. We have only a little over $2,000 left to go with the exception of our mortgage. We are still learning how to curb our spending habits, deciding on the difference between necessities and wants. Somedays I see lights at the end of the tunnel and see hope, and other days I see the lights and hope that it is not a train that is about to run me over...LOL.

Why Be Normal?

For those of you who follow Dave Ramsey, you already know what I'm talking about. For everyone else, I'm talking about society's view today that debt is a normal part of everyday living. It's a shame that to be normal, we have to be held captive. Because that is exactly what debt does to a person, it holds them captive. Guess what? I'm tired of being "normal"! I want to be free!

No matter if you have a little debt or a large whopping amount of debt, you can get rid if it. I encourage you, to visit Dave Ramsey's website at www.daveramsey.com. From there, you will be able to work a budget (it's not a dreaded word - it's a plan to help you become debt free), make some decisions, and gain inspiration on your road to debt freedom.

Here's to not being NORMAL!

The Power of Positive Thinking

Let's face it, there are some days that roll around that we feel so down and defeated it is very difficult to look up. I know, I've been there - we all have at some point. It is then that I remember my mom saying, "Angela, you just have to think positive". My mom is a firm believer of the power of positive thinking and she'll let you know that very quickly.

So whenever I feel overwhelmed with what life happens to be throwing at me at that time, whether it's something financial, or homeschooling, or just life in general, I will hear my mom's voice creep in to my head saying, "think positive". O.k....sometimes it's more like a loud shouting voice saying, "The world isn't ending, pull yourself up, think positive and do something about the situation you are in!" It is in those times, I wipe away the tears, realizing sitting here complaining and pouting isn't going to do anything to change what is going on. I need to pull myself up and do something...anything.

Sometimes doing something means realizing that somethings can't be fixed or changed immediately. If you have two cars and one breaks down and you don't have the money to fix it. Instead of beating yourself up about it, realize that you'll just have to save the money and make do with one car for now.

Whatever you situation is, whether it be divorce, finances, housing, etc....there is always hope. Try and be positive, you might be surprised at the changes YOU can bring around.

I would love to hear your comments. PLEASE leave me a comment and I will be sure to respond. THANK YOU!

A New Month

I have been absent posting the last week of August due to my trip to the oral surgeon...ugh. But here it is a new month, and I'm ready to get back to posting, setting a new goal for the month and throwing myself into work to reach that goal.

Last month I set a goal of making $300.00 which I met and even surpased a little. This month I am shooting higher for $600.00...yes double last month. I will post my progess as I did in August, so check back to see how I am doing.

I also have a goal of paying of $600.00 in debt this month and putting $400.00 in our BEF (baby emergency fund).

If you have any questions about any of the programs I am involved with to make xtra money, just leave me a comment or shoot me an email. I do check my blog and email several times a day.

Have a great month....and don't forget to set YOUR goal.

Setting and Meeting Your Goals

I set a goal for myself to make $10.00 a day or $300.00 for the month of August. It's a small goal, but one that is attainable. So far, I have exceeded my goal with a little effort and it feels great to say that I reached my goal.

It's also a little like making a "to do" list each day. Each morning I try and make a "to do" list of things that need to be done during the day. It serves two purposes. One, it keeps me from going in 10 different directions at one time. I use to have the habit of starting one thing, then I would see something different that needed to be done. I would drop the first thing and start the second thing. Then before that got done, I would think of something else that needed to be done immediately. So before you knew it, I had spent the whole day trying to get things done only to end up with 20 things half done. So now, I use my list and a schedule. As I work my list, I cross things off. So, secondly, my list gives me a feeling of accomplishment. As I reach the bottom of my list and see what has been crossed off, I have accomplished what I set out to do, or you can say that I reached my daily goal.

The great thing about goals is that there are short term goals and long term goals. For many of us the planning of long term goals can be extremely overwhelming. So my challenge to you is to set a short term goal for yourself. It doesn't matter what it is. Maybe your goal today is to spend less time on the T.V.; maybe it is to get out and pay your bills. Or maybe you can set a goal for the week, such as "I'm not going to spend any money eating out this week". What ever your goal is, find a way to reach it. You will be amazed at the confidence you will have once this is done. It will spur you on to making more goals and even long term goals.

If you want to post some of your goals that you have set and how you plan to reach them, please send me a comment.

GOOD LUCK!!

My First Paying Article

Forgive me for blowing my own horn, but I just received my first paid offer from Associated Content for an article I have written. I have just written the one article, just to see what I could expect. I received $4.01 for the article, and would have received more if I had submitted it as exclusive in lieu of non-exclusive. Now, that I know I can make a little money at this, I will be submitting more articles for publication. Please check out Associated Content below and visit my content pages - under momto3boyz2000 or Angela York

PAYING OF A CREDIT CARD - PRICELESS

I know you have seen the credit card commercials that end with something wonderful they have charged and the words that follow it - "priceless". What a bunch of hooey!!! What's priceless is being able to pay for that wonderful thing in cold hard cash and the knowledge that it won't affect your ability to pay your regular household bills. That being said, as you can see from on the side, we just paid off one of our Wells Fargo credit bills! It has been a long time coming, as I have been paying on it for three years. I called Wells Fargo and asked for the pay off amount. I then told her that I wanted to pay off the account and she offered to waived the over the phone fee if I wanted to do it then. Man, I jumped at the chance! I explained to her that my husband and I are following Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and we have a goal to be out of debt. She told me congratualtions....and then proceeded to ask me to call if and when I needed to borrow some additional monies as they have an excellent home equity program. I wanted to say...No way, Jose!, but instead just told her I would keep in mind if the need arose.

This is the 5th account we have been able to pay off since March, and I must say that the feeling is PRICELESS!!!

How to Eat out without it Taking a Bite out of Your Budget

My husband and I have a weakness....we like to eat out. While I love to cook, we also enjoy going out to a nice restaurant and eating a good meal (and I love not having to clean up afterward!). However, what we don't like is the bill that comes at the end. It's just the feeling of ...hmmm... I could have made this at home for a fraction of the cost that puts a damper on the evening.

In my quest of saving money, I have learned that we can still go out for a nice meal occasionaly and stay within our budget. Think of some of your favorite restaurants, or even restaurants in your area that you haven't been to. Go online and see if they have a website. Many have websites where you can sign up for the "club" or promotions. We have received many free meals from signing up on the websites. Some meals would have cost us at least $50.00 if we paid out of our pocket. I must remind you, although your meal is free, please remember to tip your server.

Another way, sign up or fill out a card that is requesting feedback about your visit when you are there. Be honest. I have received coupons for free or almost free meals by doing this.

Lastly, keep those coupons you get in the mail. There are many buy one get one free offers.

Let's face it....what have you got to lose? Bon Apetite!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Today, my husband and I returned from our mini vacation. We won two tickets to Six Flags. We headed out yesterday and returned today. It was a nice get short get away without the kids. But, whew, it was HOT! We spent 4 1/2 hours at Six Flags. That's about all of the 100 degree heat we could take. We took a cooler of food and drink so we did not spend any money while we were there.

Returned home and picked up my sons. I was too tired to cook. The kids ate whatever they could find in the freezer. My husband wanted to order from Dominos....so I gave in :)

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Today I feel much better than I did yesterday. O.K.....let's backup. My husband and I have been very dilligent in following a budget, paying all bills on time, etc. However, in June, my husband was off for 11 days and that put us behind and we are still trying to catch up - ugh!!
On this site, I'm going to be honest about our bills and debt. We became a month behind on our house note (which I absolutely hate). So last week, I mailed in our July payment. Whew, what a relief for me. However, yesterday, we received notice from our mortgage company that they want July and August payment paid in full and will not accept a lesser amount. I tried to call yesterday and explaing (which is great improvement from my old ways of sticking my head in the sand and hoping the problem would just go away), but they were closed already. So, I decided there wasn't anything I could about it then and I would deal with it Monday. I dreaded having to tell my husband, but I did so anyway. And just be telling him made me feel so much better and that a huge weight had been lifted from me. I am hoping that they will either accept the payment that was mailed to them, or send the check back to me. Either way, we have budgeted in the August payment to be paid this month....so I am not worried that there will be a problem.

Well, I am off to try and come up with some extra money. My goal is to make at $10.00 a day. That would give me an extra $300.00 a month. Wondering how I'm going to do that? Well, hopefully soon I'll be able to post my links, etc.