Great Side Income for College Students

Photo credit: mmagallan

"Broke College Student" isn't just a cliche...it's usually fact. Sometimes it is due to lack of income. Sometimes it is due to overspending. Always there is need for more money though (either to pay rent or to buy another pizza). Here are some gigs that can get you a little more jingle in your pocket while training for your career.

1. Tutoring - That's right. It's obvious but such a great option it cannot go by without mentioning it. You can either get paid by the school to do it through them or you can advertise personally and set your own rates (be cautious though and don't find yourself alone with someone you don't know).
2. Musician - That's right...there are plenty of restaurants and such looking for talented musicians. Just make sure these late nights don't get in the way of your studies so you can one day make more than what that night-time gig will bring in. Nighttime not your thing? I got paid $100/week over 10 years ago to play the organ for a church. It required me to be there 2 hours on Sunday morning and 2 hours on Wednesday night. Yep...$25 an hour to be somewhere I would have been anyway. WIN! You can also get gigs doing weddings and parties as well.
3. Jailbreaking an iPhone - completely legal and if you know how, you can really make a lot of money at this. If you don't know how to do it, you know there are plenty of tutorials online!
4. Babysitting - Sure a lot of people consider it a school-girl job, but as a parent, I know it can be quite lucrative. Parents are certain to pay a college student more than a high schooler and you can probably get some work done after the kids are in bed! You can extend this into petsitting and housesitting as well!
5. Graphic design - If this is your specialty, whip up some website graphics or banners and market them. Something that might take you a short while to create could pay your rent for the month.
6. Turn your hobby into income - If you love to dance, play piano, play tennis, or any number of other things, you can likely make money teaching other people (or their children) how to do the same. And since you aren't a professional, if you can do it independently, you can reach out to clients by charging less than pros.
7. Become a mystery shopper - I have done this a few times and it is actually kinda' fun. You get to do a task to check out a business and get fully reimbursed for the entire thing, and usually get a little extra in addition. This way you could not only make money, but get a free meal or two also! Win-win.
8. Car Washing/Detailing - Great for getting some fresh air and using up some daytime hours that you aren't in class. You could really get this to take off during the spring while everyone is fighting pollen on their cars. If you have an eye for detail you can really make good money this way.
9. DJing - If you have an iPod full of great music and access to a decent sound system, you could use those two items to really thicken your wallet. Look for parties, weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvah's, birthdays, or even picnics and such for businesses. The good news? You just set up, take any requests you can, and tear down. Otherwise you get to sit and enjoy the music.

Best of luck and remember, don't get too caught up in making side money that you forget why you're paying to be at school in the first place!

Confessions of THIS Working Mom

Photo credit: ks

There is often found some animosity between moms who stay at home with their children full time and others who work outside of the home. Each seems to think the other attacks them...and some actually do. Regardless of which side of the fence you (or your wife) sit on today, know that these confessions are my heartfelt feelings. They are not personal. They may not even be truth. But they are how I feel at this moment in my life.

1. I always wanted a career. Growing up I probably wanted a career more than children. I excelled academically and felt this was my obvious path.
2. I entered a male-dominated field because engineering is something that I'm good at. It makes sense to me. If I had to choose a career over again, I would choose this one again a hundred times over.
3. I realized how much I wanted to have a child when I suspected I was pregnant and miscarrying due to some major trauma in my life. I was heartbroken over the loss of this possible child and knew then that I wanted to be a mom.
4. Becoming a mom has changed my entire perspective on my life. It gave me new purpose. It gave me new focus. It gave me new goals.
5. I am the breadwinner of our family. It is due to the fact that I chose a field that allows financial growth when promotions arise. Being pretty good at what I do, I have received promotions and that has allowed a growing paycheck.
6. I care only about my career at this point in my life because it provides a livelihood for my family.
7. I THINK I would love to stay at home with the children. I would love to interact with them more frequently on a daily basis. I dream of things I would do with them and ways I would teach them about the world we live in.
8. I also know that I might not be that great of a stay at home mom. There are plenty of times that I feel I lose my patience too easily, and I would hate to impart that on my children so frequently.
9. I wish I could give it a try just to see. And I could work on my patience and grow with my children.
10. I probably will never get that wish.
11. I hate thinking of all of the class trips I won't be able to chaperone.
12. I hate all of the bake sales I will miss working because I'll be at work.
13. I hate thinking of the before school and after school hours my children will have to endure because I have a career.
14. I hate feeling like I am letting my children down because they will not truly have a "summer break" from school like I did.
15. I think I would volunteer more often if I stayed at home with my children. It seems like I would be able to do more in the evenings or even once they were both in school that would benefit the greater good. Now my evenings are spent making sure I spend time with them so I am not completely absent from their lives.
16. I get frustrated when I read about stay at home moms who complain that they have too much housework in addition to their mom duties. I feel like I have to also fill the role of mom in addition to the same amount of housework WHILE juggling a career.
17. Then I feel guilty knowing that I haven't walked a mile in their shoes.
18. But then I feel that way again when I read it from another.
19. I get jealous that my son wants to spend more time with his dad because he's the fun one. I agree...he is the fun one. But I still get jealous.
20. I love when I come home to two children who light up when I walk in the door. They often run over to hug me and say "Mom!" It also breaks my heart that they have had reason to miss me.

So. There it is laid on the table for all to see.

Like I said...it is not to offend. It is simply how I feel. And I just felt like I needed to release it today.

Thanks for listening.

Is there anything you need to get off of your chest?

10 Bloggers I Would Like to Meet

I have a HUGE list of blogs I read. Seriously...it's crazy. Thank goodness for a reader service or I would be clicking all day long. I love all of the blogs I subscribe to, but there are some bloggers that I truly would love to meet in person one day. This is a list of those people. It started as a list of 8 for my "Monday 8s" theme, but I just couldn't trim it down any further, so you'll just have to accept this Monday 10 in its place.

1. Angie Smith from Bring the Rain: This lady is amazing. Such faith. Such inspiration. So real. So honest. So awesome. I'm sure you are already subscribed. If not, do it now.


2. Joy from When Does Daddy Get Home: Joy has become a personal bloggy friend of mine. I would love to actually meet her in person one day. =)


3. Jon Acuff from Stuff Christians Like: Jon cracks me up on a regular basis and really moves me at least once a week (on serious Wednesdays). He has a real gift for inspiring through humor as well as through thought-provoking posts.


4. J Money from Budgest Are Sexy: J has some great insight into the world of personal finance and now with Love Drop fully underway, he has impressed me even more!


5. Ninja from Punch Debt in the Face: Ninja is so honest and open on his blog it feels like I already know him even though I have no idea what he looks like. He blogs life as he lives it and draws great little stick figures.


6. Jamie from Jamie the Very Worst Missionary: I love that she is so anti-what I grew up believing a missionary was "supposed" to look/sound/act like. And she is being used by God to do awesome work. And she blogs about it honestly and openly without mincing words. And she moves people, including me. Brilliant.


7. Dan from Single Dad Laughing: I have just recently been introduced to Dan's blog and am moved by each and every post. This man has a gift. He's a bit long-winded, but never while reading has he lost my interest.


8. Abraham and Molly Piper from 22 Words and Molly Piper respectively: Okay, I'm cheating on this one, but since they are husband and wife, I thought it might be allowed. Abraham posts the most crazy and amazing things on his post. And often, some really moving ones too. Molly has a gift for sharing the trials and joys of motherhood while showing off their adorable children. Yep...I'm cheating and using them both on this one.


9. Shaun Groves: Shaun is an awesome musician, amazing writer, outspoken advocate for Compassion International and seems to be a pretty cool husband and dad as well. I think he'd be really interesting to spend some time with.


10. Courtney from Women Living Well: Courtney's writing snagged me up and wouldn't let me go from the first post I read of hers. I really don't remember how I came across her blog, but I know I've been hooked ever since.

There are tons of others that I would love to meet, but these would make my day.

What about you? Who would you just be thrilled to meet in person?

Time for Spring Cleaning - Your Finances

So many of us are familiar with the idea of spring rolling around and picking up the feather duster (really? does anyone really own one of those?) and getting those nooks and crannies taken care of. You may do the windows or flip the mattress, or just other minor details that are not part of the regular cleaning schedule. What about other areas of your life? Let's look at a few ways you can spring clean your finances.

1. Re-evaluate your budget. This is something that needs to be done from time to time anyway, so why not sit down with your spouse and seriously plow through it. Talk about what is working and what is not. See if there are any changes you can make from the last time it was modified. Make sure you are massaging it to work for you the best possible way.


2. Check out your insurance policies. Can you drop your full coverage (we just did!)? Have you lost weight and might benefit from letting your life insurance carrier know this? Do you need to add life insurance now that you've added a new baby to the family?


3. Revisit your beneficiaries. Make sure all of your insurance policies, 401k, etc have the correct beneficiary info on them in the event your unexpected demise (isn't that a happy thought?)


4. Do you need those subscriptions? Are you using Netflix? Do you find yourself always returning those Featured Movies because you forgot to decline it? Do you actually read that magazine? Can you downgrade from a daily paper to Sundays only? Take a look at all of those things you get charged for monthly without a thought.


5. Can you close any accounts? A lot of people only accounts with online banks that offer $25 FREE UPON SIGNUP and never use that account. Take the money out and close the account. You aren't using it and it's just something else cluttering up your life even when you give it no thought.


6. Re-evaluate your financial goals. Will you pay off your debt sooner than expected? Make sure there is a plan to make that happen. Are you now debt-free and need to start saving? Make that change NOW.


7. Clean out your personal finance records. I'm not saying trash everything, but make sure everything you are keeping is all relevant and stored together in some order that someone other than just you can decipher. Keep tax documents. Throw out ATM receipts. Shred any documents that are going to be trashed.


8. Automate OR Unautomate your bills. What?! I know...sounds crazy. For those of you who are always paying your bills late, set up automatic bill payment with your bank. Of course, you'll have to make sure the money is in there when the bill is due, but you won't ever pay it late again. I would be shocked if your bank does not offer this. For those of you who cannot keep track of your money because it is automated, unautomate it and return to writing and mailing checks, or just manually paying bills online. This sounds crazy I know, but different strokes for different folks, you know. Make sure your system is working for you. Also--automate some money into your savings and/or retirement accounts while you are at it. You'll get to where you don't even miss it and your older self with thank you!


9. Start your Christmas/birthday fund. I know it is hard to think about it now, but if you start saving for those special events now, you'll find that you are not stressed about where the money will come from when the big day arrives.


10. Run one of your credit reports. I do this every 4 months so that annually I have check all three reports throughout the year for free as I'm entitled to. I discuss that more here if you want/need details.


11. Close open accounts. Do you have store credit card accounts that are empty and need to be closed? I know, you'll reduce your available credit but you'll also reduce your chances of having your identity stolen. Since I wouldn't recommend closing them all down at once if you are concerned about your FICO score, go ahead and close all of the small ones now. The others can be closed as you pay them off if you desire.


12. Shop for better service. Whether it be for your technology package, your garbage, your cell phone or your lawn service, call around and see if your provider still has the best price for the service. Do the same with your banking service.


13. Check out your investments. Look at your IRA or 401k and make sure you are invested where you need to be. If you still need to throw some money into your IRA to claim it for 2010 taxes you have until April 15th, so make sure that happens.


14. Evaluate your tax withholdings. By now you've probably done your taxes (if not, just do this step as soon as they are done) and you know how your withholdings compared to what you owed. Make any adjustments needed to make sure you don't owe next year or don't get as huge of a refund (unless that's just your thing).


15. Look for things to sell. Look! This one cleans up your house and your finances! Find things around your house that are glorified paperweights. If you use your treadmill as a clothes hanger, put it up on Craigslist. If you have baby gear and no more babies, take them to consignment. If you have clothes that you just cannot or will not wear, take them to consignment or even donate them (get a donation receipt if you can). If you have a baseball card collection sitting in the spare bedroom in boxes and it hasn't seen the sunlight in 15 years, put that sucker up on ebay. This will free up some physical space in your house as well as give you some cash to apply toward your financial goals.

So take advantage of the warmer weather and breathe some fresh air into your finances!

Do you have any other suggestions?

Newton's First Law of Personal Finance

I have decided why so many of us have such a hard time living a financially healthy lifestyle.

We are terrified of change.

No, not that jingly stuff that your kids beg from you to throw into a fountain (do your kids do this? Ours do and I LOVE this innocence!).

I mean that most of us, by nature, resist change. Seriously…even Sir Isaac Newton knew this. In his first law of motion, often referred to as the Law of Inertia, (see, this is the geek in me coming out to play), he stated that An object that is in motion will not change its velocity unless an unbalanced force acts upon it. (not a direct quote, mind you, but an application of the law).

So we happily plug away in whatever direction we set out on because change is so hard.

It takes guts to look at your financial situation honestly. To face the truth of how much you make and how much you spend as well as how much you owe, and weigh out the imbalance of it all…it’s often humbling, embarrassing, and depressing. And none of us are really big on feeling that way. It’s easier to ignore it and play along. At least for now it is.

It takes gumption to go against the norm, and if you plan on living a financially healthy lifestyle (you know, below your means and with a plan for your money to work for you now and in the future), you WILL have to go against the norm. You will not be able to keep up with the Joneses. You will not be able to compare your newest tech toy with your neighbor. You will not get to discuss the latest movie in the theaters with your coworkers. You will have to explain to your children why they simply cannot have a particular toy. It doesn’t really feel good at first. You will feel different…and that is unsettling for most of us.

It takes courage to change your ways. Not only will you have to stop being like others, but you will have to stop being like the person you have previously been. Not only can you not buy the newest toy, but you might have to sell some of the previous models just so you can have some cash to pay down your bills. You will have to stop enjoying nice sit-down lunches with coworkers in exchange for a bagged lunch brought from home full of leftovers of the home-cooked dinner from a previous night (that’s right…you’ll be cooking at home too).

But you know what? You can do it. You see, Newton did not say that it would be impossible to change directions. It just takes an unbalanced force to change the direction. That force could be a blog post you read, it could be a neighbor’s repossessed vehicle, or it could be something more personal, like a job loss or a large unexpected medical bill. If you’re lucky, it will not take something that drastic to turn you around.

I have some really good news for you:

That Law of Inertia…it works both ways. The turning around is the frightening part. It is scary. It hurts. It depresses. But once you accept it, the freedom is yours to be had. The power you gain by sending in more than minimum payments and watching those balances shrink is amazing. Once you are headed down the road to financial independence, once you experience the freedom of paying off that credit card, once you feel the release of actually OWNING your car, it will take a lot to turn you back around again.

So if you haven’t done it yet, make that turn onto the road of financial freedom. That is the direction that you will want to be traveling so that your speed and momentum can grow and you can live independently. You will then be able to truly thrive.

Photo credit: blackcat79

WFMW - Promoting Your Giveaways and Linkies

Sorry I'm a bit late to the game today. Crazy day, I tell you!

I have a few Go-To locations for linkies and listing to promote my giveaways. I just wanted to take a brief moment to share those with you. Maybe you're new to giveaways and don't know how to promote or maybe you just are looking to expand. OR maybe you have a linky and want more people to list their giveaways in it! Either way...check out these locations to see all of the many, many places around the internet to promote your giveaways!

Savings Lifestyle Linky List (Formerly MommySnacks)

Cuckoo for Coupon Deals Giveaway Linky List

Blog Giveaway Directory Squidoo Post of Giveaway Linkies

My Four Monkeys (underneath each week's Monday linky)

Audrey's Giveaways List

So whether you are trying to advertise your giveaway or looking for somewhere to promote your linky, visit these sites and take full advantage!

Promoting my giveaways through (most of) the linkies list above really works for me! Go visit We Are THAT Family to see what works for everyone else!

We Just Saved $500/Month! Ask Me How...

Okay, so this is not exactly a "tip" type of post, as I know not all of you find yourself in a similar situation or with a similar "out."

But we have saved $500/month that we were possibly going to have to spend in the future and I wanted to share my excitement with you about how.

A bit of a backstory, if you will:

We were a bit naive about school districts when we bought our home in Savannah. We didn't realize that if we had bought just 2 miles away, which is in a different county, that our education options would be much, much better. As it is, we live where we do and we can't exactly sell a house right now.

So we had a plan of action. To avoid Patrick having to attend the elementary school we are currently zoned for (which is awful by all accounts), we looked into some of the open enrollment and charter programs within the public school system. We narrowed it down to two that were relatively close and available for him to attend.

Plan A: Get into the closest Montessori program (there are two but one is really far away). This requires applying and then waiting for a lottery to be held to see if his name was drawn.

Plan B: Put his name in for an open enrollment school that is also part of the public school system.

Plan Ideal: Ideally we could get into both schools A & B and have a choice regarding which we wanted him to attend.

Plan C: Private school. Which we do not want to have to pay for, but are willing to in order to keep him away from his zoned school.

So we proceeded with the action plan. We did the open house at the Montessori school and then submitted our application. And started waiting.

We called the open enrollment school. Unfortunately...they are no longer open enrollment. Boo, hiss SERIOUSLY.

So Plan B fell through (and therefore Plan Ideal). We were solely dependant on Plan A to avoid private school tuition.

Well, Monday night the lottery was held.

HE GOT IN!

Hip Hip Hooray! So excited and relieved! That's one huge weight off our shoulders! His education will be awesome and free!

Have you ever had to face anything like this? How did it turn out for you? Are you pleased with your options for education for your children?

Photo credit: saltoricco

8 Things We Will Do With Our Tax Refund

Yep...we're expecting a refund this year. Like always. I know people will argue that getting a refund is like loaning money to the government interest free. And they are right. But I still like my refund. And frankly, the last few years have each been so different from the last, I'm afraid to make adjustments to try to balance it up so we're closer to the actual amount we owe for the year. So for now, I'll take the refund. This year it is for just over $4300.

This is what we're doing with it.

1. Replenishing the Emergency Fund. Our e-fund was knocked down from $1500 to $500 during a few rough months of having to pay for things with seriously reduced income. That's what the fund is for, but now it is time to restock it. -$1000
2. Getting the dog groomed. The dog is a shih-tzu and needs to be groomed. We are not capable. She needs trimming, shampooing, special skin treatment stuff, and nails clipped. This total package costs about $70 and hasn't been done since like November. -$70
3. Getting the wife groomed. Okay...not really groomed, but I needed a haircut and this was be my chance. -$30 (with tip) Is it just me or is it depressing that the dog requires more care than I do?
4. Paying for the tax filing. We use TurboTax Deluxe and this year it cost $103 because we had to file in three states (while Chip was working last year he had to fill in at a store in South Carolina for a little while causing us to pay SC state taxes). -$103
5. Date night. Chip and I have agreed that we are going on a real date when the entire refund gets in. The works...full night out, dinner, dessert maybe, paying for a sitter, the whole deal. It's been over a year since we've done this and we need it desperately. estimated -$150 (counting sitter)
6. Horde in the Emergency Fund. Chip is still not in the Army yet (he has to go back to MEPS), so we are still without income on one side of the equation. I really just want to sock the remainder away until we KNOW we can move it to the credit card balance.
7. Buy canvas photos. Back in October 2010 we had some beautiful pictures taken by a professional photographer who happens to be a neighbor and friend as well. She did a fantastic job. There were a few prints that I wanted to buy and at least 2 (maybe 3) that I wanted to have turned into framed canvas prints. But just when I was about to order, Chip lost his job. The order was put on hold. Our photographer friend did a WONDERFUL thing and gave us some of my favorites in 8 x 10 and smaller for us to enjoy. It brought me to tears. But I still want to order those canvas prints from her. After we're all clear on the Chip has a job deal, I want to order these and have them framed. Estimated damaged -$600
8. Pay off Debt! When Chip is getting an income again and we feel comfortable enough to do it, we will pay off debt with the remaining money. If we do not have to use any of it out of the temporarily fat emergency fund, this will leave $2337 to send to the credit card. I wish the whole $4300 could go, but this is what is more realistic.

I know...many of these are unnecessary and the money is best spent sending it all to debt. But we've been doing a pretty good job of paying off that beast, and we'd just like to splurge on a bit of it.

What do you think of our spending? Are you getting a refund? If so, what will you do with it?

A Financial Victory! Celebrating a Net Worth Milestone.

If you've followed this blog long at all, you will know that our household has done some stupid things with money. I mean some really, really stupid things. We've been scammed. We're in far too much debt, and now we're paying for it.

But there is one area where we've actually been smart. And today I want to announce that those smart decisions made early on are worth celebrating today!

Stay with me for a moment here while I give you some backstory....

I graduated college and entered the workforce at the age of 21. I was young and stupid. It's okay...most of us are at that time in our lives. One of the wisest things I did though was to start investing in the company-sponsored 401k as soon as I was allowed by company policy. They had an outstanding matching policy and I fully took advantage of (I invested the full 8% that they matched dollar for dollar).

When we moved to Savannah and I changed jobs, we rolled our retirement savings into IRAs (Roth and Traditional) and I started a 401k here at my new employer. They have a match that is not as good as my previous employer, but is still free money that I wanted to take advantage of. They match 50 cents on the dollar up to 10%. I continued the 8% investment that I was accustomed to. Yeah...I was missing out on some free money, but that is the decision I made and it worked well for a while.

I am now 31 years old and still a long way from retirement, so that means that although now I've cut my contributions back to 1% (to avoid the stop/restart investment paperwork but to maximize what I could send to debt repayment), I have always invested aggressively, knowing that the market would fluctuate. I would lose money. I would gain money. I'm still young enough, though, to ride it out, so I do.

One year, I lost a LOT of money (was that 2008, I think?). Last year...gained it all back. It's still growing today.

So what does all of this mean today?

Well, because we have become wiser and started knocking out our debt aggressively and because those investments are still growing and providing passive income for (not much) later in life...


As of this week, our net worth topped $100,000!

$101,008.53 to be exact.

YIPPEE!!!

What does this include?

This includes the following assets: home, cars, retirement accounts, and cash.
It also includes the following debts: mortgage, timeshare, and 3 credit cards (one with $0 balance).

We have no car loans. We have no personal loans. We have no student loans. We have no medical debts. Those have all been paid off.

In the last 16 months, we have paid off $19,254.20 in debt and our net worth has increased by $39,287.85.

Did you notice that our net worth increased by more than $20K more than our debt repayment? That's our retirement funds working FOR us, people!

So if you haven't started saving for retirement yet, just because you're young...don't think it will not make a difference. It will make ALL the difference.

We're living proof!

Have you ever calculated your net worth? Were you happy or upset by what you found?


Photo credit: RambergMediaImages

Before You Forward That Email....

I know. You think it is worth passing along. It stirred something within you. It featured some political leader, celebrity, moving story about someone I've never heard of, some life altering information, or some prediction about the future of our country.

It is packed with stories that would rouse me--that would make me want to act or share.

I understand. It touched you and it might do the same for me.

But before you forward that email story along though, please verify it on Snopes. I thought everyone knew about Snopes, so this would seem to be an obvious type of post. But based on the number of silly forwards I still receive, people either do not know about it or just simply do not use it enough. Snopes exists to stifle the urban legends that have gone viral thanks to the world getting smaller via technology.

Maybe it was a shockingly unbelievable story. Maybe it is a quote or action by a lawmaker. I don't care what it is. Verify it on Snopes before you pass it along. Not verifying it is the equivalent to gossiping. Stop it.

Everyone in your contact list will thank you for not passing along rubbish. And if you want to take the extra step, reply to all on the email you received and let them all know that it was verified to be untrue via snopes and include the link.

Using Snopes works for me. See what works for others by heading over to We Are THAT Family.

Photo credit: OmirOnia

Prolonging the Life of Your Towels

We have towels that were given to us as wedding gifts 10 years ago. They are still in fantastic condition. In fact, so many are in such great condition, that some of them on the bottom of the pile have never been used! I do not know if we will ever have to buy new towels as this rate!

So how do we make our towels last so long? Here are a few tips:

1. Wash every 5-7 uses. That's right...we use towels for about a week and hang them up to dry. The less laundering, the longer the life.
2. Hang to dry completely. If you do not wash after each use, make sure you hang the towels in a way to allow them to dry completely. If they are still wet a few hours later, you need to find another way or place to hang them or they are just going to reek soon. Make sure the entire towel is exposed to air for drying purposes. If you can hang near sunlight, this will help.
3. Wash on the warmest setting allowed by the colors of the towels. I know...this goes against the conservation teachings, but the more germs and stains you get out of your towels, the longer they will last. Promise.
4. Do NOT use fabric softener. I've covered this before on this blog, but I will say it again. Do NOT use fabric softener on your towels. This includes liquid softener for the wash, dryer sheets, or those terrible, terrible dryer bars that one particular company promotes (terrible because fabric softener damages some clothes and this is a semi-permanent fixture to your dryer). The chemicals that make your towels soft also make them non-absorbent. Ever tried to use a towel that will not soak up water? It will not remove water from your wet body either. That's a sign that they have been washed and/or dried with fabric softener. There is no way to fix this...you just have to toss them.
5. Get the funk out. Also preached on this blog before, there are times when your towels just get this smell. It permeates the towel and no amount of regular washing will remove it. But you do not have to throw in the towel (I'm so punny) or buy some special cleaning products. Here's how to get rid of it: white vinegar. Wash your towels with vinegar rather than detergent in one load and dry as usual. Smell gone. And no...your towels will not smell like vinegar when they dry.
6. Hang out to dry. This is one that we do not do because we have no where to hang up clothes, but line drying instead of machine drying will save your towels (and some electricity as well!).

So that's it. Use these steps and I promise that your towels will last longer too!

Photo credit: heltje

Wordless Wednesday - By the Lake

Wordless Wednesday...

Gaining Control - The Sixth Step - REALLY Having Control

So, I've walked you through how to change your financial future in a brief summary kind of way. But you will never make this work without this piece of advice.

You must change your mindset.

Seriously...if you work hard and get completely out of debt but never change your mindset about how to use you money (rather than letting it use you) and never decide what you want your money to do for you, you will end up right back where you are.

If you need help getting started, I highly suggest Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. So many people will tell you about this book that it almost seems cliche, but from experience I can tell you that it changed my outlook on our money and our financial future. He is such a motivator, which is why so many sing his praises.

Amazingly, this struggle through debt repayment will likely make the change for you. The harder it is to do, the more of an impact it will make. Windfalls make debt repayment easier and much more manageable, but they do not help you learn HOW to manage your money. Trust me. We know from experience.

Personal TRUE story:

In 2006 we were deep in debt. We had about $40K in student loans, $15K in a timeshare, and about $20K in credit card debt as well as $20K in car debt. We received an inheritance and paid off everything but the timeshare (don't remember the (il)logic behind that one, but it was what we decided) and put approximately $15K in a money market account for savings. We were (almost) debt free and could have managed to pay off that other $15K either with that savings or within the year. But we didn't. We hadn't changed anything about our habits.

In 2007 we moved to Savannah. From that time to October 2009 we managed to rack up another $45K in consumer debt. The sad news is, I can hardly tell you what we spent that on. Some furniture for the new house I know, but no more than $5000. About $5000 for storm doors and such. And $6000 for a new transmission and catalytic converter for my son. But otherwise...no clue. That's ridiculous that we had that much debt and no idea where it came from.

We didn't learn anything from that windfall, so we ended up right back up where we were. And now we're walking the long, tough road. I promise you though, because of the struggle and the work it takes, I promise this time, it will stick.

So make sure this is a lifestyle change for you. Not that you can never enjoy nice things again. Not that you can never afford extras again. You will be able to, but you will (hopefully) be much more mindful about your spending thanks to the school of hard knocks.

Now, tighten those boot straps and join us on this road. We're proof that it works (right at $19K paid off in one year...and that was with some major bumps in the road). We'll be here to encourage you. We'll be here taking those steps with you.

I promise...you can do it. And you will be a better person, steward of your money, and parent because of it. And who wouldn't want that?

Gaining Control - The Fifth Step to Owning Your Money - More Cuts

After slamming you with lots of information last week in this series, I took a break to post some other items. Now that you have mentally wrapped your mind around what your finances really look like, have put together a budget, have brainstormed some income ideas and have made some cuts, let's move on....

So you've made the basic cuts now. You're feeling better about cruising along. But you'd still like more wiggle room AND you'd still like more to send to your creditors. Because you know, the more you send them, the shorter time that you'll have to make these sacrifices.

There are more extreme measures you can take. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Cancel your tv subscription altogether. Between movie boxes (free or $1), Hulu (free), and Netflix (just $10) you can spend $11 to get a lot of quality entertainment for only a fraction of what you're currently paying. And although it will be strange to have the silence initially, you might just learn that you have more fun without it (game night, go outside, play with toys, read a book, talk, etc).
• Learn some new tricks for common items. (google this, there are hundreds of blog posts and articles about it online).
• Sell the car that you have a payment on and downgrade to a used, reliable car. If your vehicle is already paid for but gets really poor mileage, think about making the change for that reason.
• Do minor repairs on your cars at home. Change the oil, tune up, hoses, etc. You can do it! I'll bet if you google it, you'll find some instructions (possibly a video) specific to your car!
• Cut your hair at home. Do your nails at home.
• Give up your pets. They are expensive little creatures.
• Give up your vices (smoking, alcohol, etc cost a LOT of money).
• Downsize your home. Of course it is difficult in most places to sell a home right now, but if you are confident that yours will sell in your area or that you can find a renter, downsize your home so that you can buy or rent something more affordable. And the smaller it is, the less utilities, etc it will cost.

Some of these just really not be for you. But you'd be surprised what you can become accustomed to if you give it a try.

Photo credit: lusi

Get More Out of Your Consumables

I know...my husband thinks I am crazy sometimes. I am too practical for my own good sometimes, so frugality has not always been about the money or about the "best use of our resources" but just because it made sense. Why in the world wouldn't I try to get the most out of what I have already bought?

Here are how I make a few consumable items stretch:

1. Soap: We have never thrown away a bar of soap. When it gets to small to use, we stick it to the next bar and use it up. Sometimes it take a few tries of wetting both bars and pressing them together, but why would I throw away a perfectly good piece of soap just because it is not the right shape for bathing myself?
2. Liquids in Bottles: These always get store upside down once they are no longer squeeze friendly. Even my liquid foundation, which is in a pump bottle, gets stored upside down when there is too little for the pump to grab. Now I just open the top and apply with my fingers from what has oozed down to the "bottom" of my upside down bottle. Think shampoo, laundry detergent, bubble bath, ketchup, etc.
3. Toothpaste: Of course this is obvious to most people, but I go back over and over and over the tube after I have gotten some out to move it to the end where I will need it next. I know some people who will even cut it open to use the last of it. Sure I can get free toothpaste with coupons, but why wouldn't I make that tube last as long as possible?
4. Using Recommended Amounts: Did you know that even with the longest hair that you typically do not need to use more than a quarter-size amount of shampoo. Super suds is not an indication of clean...it's an indication of too much shampoo. And toothpaste? The size of a pea will get you clean and is what is recommended by the ADA. By reducing the amount I use to this amount, I can really stretch the amount in the container!
5. Flat soda: This is one that Chip cannot stomach. Frankly, I don't LIKE the taste of flat soda, but it seems silly to pour it out once it has reached that point. So I drink it. We avoid this by seldom buying soda these days.
6. Clothes: Yep...we don't wash every single item after we've worn it. Yes...socks and underwear get washed by the daily use (except the warm fuzzy house socks I like to put on when I get home on cold evenings and take off before bed). Unless the clothes got noticeably dirty or soiled, I will often hang them back up and wear them again. It saves on laundry detergent, water to do more laundry, the life of the clothes, and electricity to do more loads of laundry. Think here my work parts or church clothes. Or pjs.
7. Towels: We wash towels once a week. My mother would hate this, as we grew up washing towels after each use. But I just don't see the point. If they are hung up to dry, they do not seem to need washing (eg - do not get smelly) until about one week out. So that's when I wash them. We save serious water, electricity, and detergent by not washing towels daily.

And that is just a short list of ways we get the most out of our household items.

What could you add to this list? I'd love to hear more ideas!

Photo credit: emospada

Gaining Control - The Fourth Step to Owning Your Money - Make the Cut

So, living the way you've been living obviously hasn't been working too well for you if you are wrapped up in reading this series. It's okay. It happens to most of us. Some of us just get in deeper than others before we realize it.

Now that you have a hold of your emotions, a realistic view of your finances, and have brainstormed some ways to increase your household income, we have to talk about what might be the hardest part for most of us.

Budget cuts.

The word makes us all cringe whether it is said in a household or in a corporate setting. No one wants to hear that spending on something has to stop or be greatly reduced. But if it hasn't worked out well up to this point, it will not miraculously start working well now. It's time to cut ties with some superfluous spending and decide what you can really live with(out).

Here are some common themes:

• Do NOT touch your credit card again. Not until you have convinced yourself that you truly do not need it for purchases. You might need to hide it from yourself to make this happen. You might have to put it in a block of ice. You might need to shred it. Whatever you need to do, make sure you STOP using it. You cannot pay off debt as long as you are adding to it.
• Stop eating out. Yep. Cook at home.
• No more movie theater. Seriously...that place is expensive. Hop to RedBox for $1 (or free with a code) and pop your own popcorn. Plus you can hit "pause" when someone has to potty. =)
• Install energy saving devices like timers on thermostats, CFL light bulbs, low flow shower heads, in line hot water heater, etc.
• No more concerts/theater/sporting events/etc. Pretty much cut out premium entertainment. I know...sounds hard to some of you, but you will be able to go again...just after you have a firm grasp on your finances.
• Trim you internet/cable/satellite/phone package. Shop around. You are likely to find a better deal than you are paying. Be willing to threaten to leave your current company for another with lower rates and be willing to follow through with that threat.
• Shop with coupons. Shop sales. There are THOUSANDS of blogs and website to help you with this (this used to be one of them)...start searching. If you want referrals, email me and I will send you some! There is no reason to ever pay for toothpaste again (you can always get it for free via sales and coupons if you know how/where to look).
• Stop shopping at the mall. Seriously...you don't need all of that stuff. Shop in your own closet. Swap clothes with a friend. Visit a consignment or thrift store.
• Learn how to be a homebody. Your home is not that bad of a place. If it is, do something to make that untrue so you can enjoy time at home with your family. This cuts out the cost of entertainment and the cost of a sitter for the kids.
• Learn to say "no." To people, to new activities, to children. It's not a forever solution, but you need to say "no" a lot when getting out of debt.
• Drop your data plan from your mobile service. Seriously...you likely have a computer at home and at work. You don't need one with you at Walmart. Useless for anything other than entertainment.
• Drop the gym membership. You can work out at home and run around the neighborhood.
• Carpool. Or public transportation. Or bicycle. Whatever you can do where you live to cut down on the cost of getting to/from places will help your budget.
• Eat leftovers or make over your food for another meal. Manage your current food supply better. No throwing food away.
• Kill any subscriptions that offer no value (memberships, magazines, newspaper, book clubs, etc). You can always just buy the Sunday paper for the coupons. =)
• Step away from shopping sites. The more you see them, the more tempted you will be.
• Adjust your thermostat to be more extreme. Use more blankets now. Use more fans in the warmer months.
• Cancel the lawn service.
• Shop around for insurance. Make sure you are getting the best rate.

I know some of these (or all) may feel uncomfortable at first. If you want to make a big impact and you are excited, go for as many of these (and others!) that you can pull off. If you are a big more dependent on these things, pick a few and go for it. In one month pick 2-3 more.

Regardless of how quickly you make big changes know that three things will happen:

• You will get bored of it. Seriously...it's not nearly as much fun getting out of debt as it was getting into it. But stick it out and you will experience freedom like you've never known when you are finished.
• You will then learn that you do not need everything you once thought you did. Seriously...now that I'm content in our saving ways, I can't imagine paying full price for groceries and toiletries even once we have money to spend. Amazing.
• Once you see the debt numbers decreasing, you will start looking for MORE ways to cut costs to knock it out quicker. I promise, it will become a fun challenge to be victorious over this stranglehold.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Photo credit: linusb4

Gaining Control - The Third Step to Owning Your Money - Increasing Your Income

So now you've faced the harsh reality of what your finances look like. If you have a hole to work out of, like we did (and still do truthfully), it might look hopeless. But it truly is not.

If your income comes up short in covering your expenses you have three options:

• Increase your income.
• Lower your expenses.
• Do both!

One of the first two might seem more difficult than the other to you. The third might seem nearly impossible. However, I'm hopefully going to help you see how doing both is truly possible and is certain the best way to eliminating your debt as quickly as you can.

There are a few ways you can increase your income and you have to decide what is going to work best for you and your situation. Remember that the more work you put into it, the better the results will be.

1. Get a job! Another one, that is. A lot of people will tell you that "in this economy" that would be tough. The fact of the matter is that it is difficult to get what are more career oriented and full time gigs. Those part time ones, they can come pretty easily right now. One of the biggest success stories I can share with you that used this option is Jeff from Deliver Away Debt. He got a part time job delivering pizzas in the evening to pay off his debt. The tips were the key here. And it worked! You can do it too. Or maybe you could start a candy vending company. It worked for this guy!
2. Side hustle. Find something you can do to earn money on the side on your own. Maybe it is extreme baby sitting or house cleaning. Maybe you can knit adorable items and really market them locally and via etsy. Maybe you can make cakes for kids' birthday parties. You could house sit, walk dogs, do lawn care (spring is just around the corner), teach music lessons, or run errands for neighbors for cash. You could also build websites if you have an eye for graphic design or if you are a musician you can play at weddings, parties, funerals, or other gatherings. Maybe you could do organization consulting on the side. Change the oil for a neighbor's car or detail it. Shovel snow all over the neighborhood. The list here could be endless--get creative!
3. Direct Sales. Be very cautious with this one. You want something with low start up costs because you trying to get OUT of debt, not get into more! Some people are very good at this. Others not so much. I did this at one time in my life for "fun money" for the family and did a decent job. But it just isn't in the cards for us right now. It takes time and usually involves weekends and evenings so you'll have to break away from family time to do this one. And if you do this one, make sure it is something you are passionate about or you'll never be any good.
4. Online money. This comes in a number of forms. You might get paid in cash for doing surveys (Opinion Outpost [affiliate link] is my favorite that pays in cash) or answering funny and ridiculous questions (ChaCha doesn't pay huge, but it is fun - if you're interested tell them mrsnespy@hotmail.com sent you!). You might get paid in Amazon gift cards (I like Lightspeed surveys for this one). You might get paid in products (like the items we review for giveaways). You might get affiliate payments for ads on your blog (this is not as easy as it sounds unless you have an established readership). Find something that works for your schedule and makes the time you spend worth the income you get.
5. Rent out a room. If you've got room in your home, a finished area over your garage, a MIL suite, or something that would work as a rental, use it for income!

And I'm sure there are others. But the point is, find something that you can do that will pay you. Something that fits into your lifestyle. Not something that you want to do for the rest of your life, but something you can do until this monster is off your back.

Do you have any other suggestions for side money that you want to share?

Photo credit: LeoSynapse

Gaining Control - The Second Step to Owning Your Money - The Budget

Now you have some idea of your actual spending, so let's work on putting it all down on paper.

I am a nerd, so I like to use Excel so it can do the math for me and I can eliminate the human error factor. But there is power in writing it down with a pen and paper. It makes it a bit more real. So if you like using spreadsheets to track your spending, write it on paper first. Seriously, that sounds weird, but it really does make a difference.

Make a column of your CURRENT income. I'm talking your monthly net income...what you bring home each month.

Make a column of your CURRENT bills.

Total them up.

If your income is higher than your bills, you are already in better shape than some, but you can still make adjustments to make the debt disappear faster.

If your expenses are higher than your bills, you know you have to make some cuts ASAP. We'll go through the cuts soon.

Now, prioritize your spending. For instance, tithing is at the top of our list. The same may be true for you or it may not (I will not go into why I think it should be here, but know that I do). Next should be your mortgage, your electricity/gas/water, groceries, gasoline, and so on. Credit card debt, no matter how high, should never be paid before the mortgage, the utilities, the car payments, food or gas. The reasoning? Sure you can hurt your credit by delaying payments, but you could lose your home, utilities and car by not paying the others. And those are important to the livelihood of your family, so these must be paid.

If you have any extra now, apply it to the credit card* that is at the top of your payment list while paying the minimums on the others. If you don't have enough, you certainly need more income AND big cuts. If you have just enough to make payments, you need to make cuts and possibly get more income. Don't believe me? Use this calculation to see what just making the minimum payments will do to what you owe and how long it will take you to pay it off. In fact, go do that calculation even if you do believe me. It's a great exercise and motivator! I do not want to be a slave to my debt that badly, do you?!

*Any extra you have should first be put into a baby emergency fund NOW to keep you from using your credit card on unexpected expenses (they WILL happen). Most people do $1000 or $1500. It sounds like a lot if you don't have it, but I promise, put off debt a couple of months to make this happen so you will not fall prey to using those credit cards as an emergency fund! Once this is fully funded, then commence the debt repayment. I promise, you'll be glad you did.

So...

Now you have a plan. Know two things:

1. It is not set in stone. After 1 or 2 months, you may find that you didn't budget enough in some areas or budgeted too much in others. Even after more than a year, we still adjust our budget frequently to work with current circumstances. You'll finally get a basic model that will work for you. In fact, go over and read this post from five cent nickel called Budgeting Mistakes That Everyone Has Made.
2. You will fail. Seriously...we all go over budget some times. We (almost) all encounter some months when there is more month than money. If you reach this point from legitimate spending needs, dip into the emergency fund to fund it, replenish the emergency fund ASAP and then adjust your budget to plan for other incidents similar to that one. If it is just from poor spending, don't beat yourself up over it, but learn how not to let it happen again!

You're on the road now. It might be a bumpy one, but the destination is so worth it! And you will learn so much about yourself along the way!

Photo credit: lusi

Keeping Your Child Safe with My Precious Kid

Safety is a huge part of your life once you embark on the journey of parenthood. Things you never thought about before now wake you up in the night in a cold sweat (I haven't heard the baby make a noise, is he/she breathing?! Did I remember to close that bedroom window?!).

My Precious Kid is out to help you make your home and general parenting life a bit easier with a variety of products that they offer on their website. Here are just a few of the ones that we already have and use:

A camouflage id bracelet for Patrick. It gives us peace of mind knowing that he is wearing it and he can look cool and "masculine" at the same time.

These have been an absolute lifesaver for daycare and church needs. We don't have to worry with ink rubbing off of a piece of tape or the sticky residue that tape leaves behind. He bottles and cups have always been labeled and they are dishwasher safe!

This is a lifesaver if you have one interested in playing in the toilet. This model is a one-handed quick use item so when you really have to go you aren't wasting time trying to open your own toilet!

Okay, so this isn't a safety item, but it has brought much comfort and joy to our house, as each of our kids has their own.

So there you have it. My Precious Kid offers a variety of products to protect you from your own house and the outside world in ways that never occurred to you before having a child. Go check them out.

And stick around here, as you will be seeing them again soon!

Gaining Control - The First Step to Owning Your Money - The Full Assessment

So last week we talked about the difference if your perceived spending and your actual spending. Now that you are (most likely) sufficiently freaked out about your money, what are you do to in order to get control over it?

Here are the first steps to owning your money rather than being its slave.

1. Write Down Your Income. From the preliminary exercise, copy this down. This will be the most "feel good" part of this exercise. I promise, it will get better after you have done the dirty work though.
2. Write Down Your Debts. This one is painful. Write down the total balance, the percent interest, and the monthly payment. For each. and. every. debt. Cars, personal loans, student loans, credit cards, medical debts, debt for the last set of furniture you bought. All of them. It's okay to cry. I did. I was angry and feeling hopeless. But I got over it and decided to do something about it. And I am. And now, so are you.
3. Decide What the Attack with Be. Some people snowball (like us), paying off the smallest loans first. Others pay those off that have the highest interest (the most mathematically logical path). Others still pay off those that are the most emotionally taxing. You can read about all of the advantages and disadvantages to these methods at my blog friend Man Vs Debt's post. Any of them will work as long as they work for you. Study them and see what you want to do.
4. Write Down All of Your Monthly Expenses. All of them including the monthly payments from all of your debts listed in step 2. Reference what you did in the preliminary exercise to make sure you have them all. Don't forget your monthly giving if you do that.
5. Add Them Up. Add up your monthly expenses. Compare them to your income. You very well might find that your expenses outweigh your income. That means that you have some work to do, but you are heading in the right direction.
6. Eliminate the Extras. Remember, the goal here is to get out from under the weight of that debt and you will have to do work to do it. But you will soon find out that you do not really need all of those extras and the joy of paying off the debt far outweigh the peace you gain with a single manicure that will soon need to be retouched. So cross out all of the extras that you are going to decide to do without until your debt is under control. This may be easy. It will get harder later, as we will pare it down more.
7. Recalculating. Re-add the expenses and see where you are. When you are down to the bare minimum, circle your final total.
8. Decisions...

So, you're exhausted I know. Mentally and emotionally drained. It's common and everyone who has walked this path has felt exactly like you do right now. But it is time to really make some tough decisions.

What are you going to do with the info you now have in your hands? You can ignore it and pretend it will go away, just like you were doing beforehand. But I promise, it will not go away. You can fret and cry about it, but that really won't solve anything (although a good cry might be what you need right now to relieve that stress).

If you decide to proceed, I will give you some options of increasing your "income" column and decreasing your "expenses" column to make it easier and more rewarding to pay off your debt. To get you motivated though, we're going to go on to what will hopefully be a happier subject...increasing your income.

Photo credit: Vixs

Check Your Credit Report - Equifax

Back in September I reminded you that you are entitled to a free annual credit report check from each of the major credit reporting agencies from AnnualCreditReport.com (the only one that is actually free).

I've decided that I'm going to keep a check on my credit report all year round by running one report every 4 months, allowing me to keep an eye on it but never paying for the service.

In September I ran my Experian report and everything looked great. In fact, I found two open accounts that were just sitting there waiting for someone to abuse them, so I closed them. Nothing major. All else looked good.

So it is time for another. This time I chose Equifax.

So how did it go?

Well I found one open account that needed to be closed. It was an installment account opened in 2005 and paid off in 2006. It didn't show it as "closed" so I called Citibank. They did not have record of any open accounts with them either, so I "disputed" it with Equifax so it will soon show up as a closed account as well.

The only other strange this is that my Chase card did not show up on the report. It's a good thing since that would really increase my debt to credit ratio, but I find it peculiar. My only guess is that it did not show up because it is under a different name (my first name is not "Kaye" and I used my first name as such before I was married--when I got this card--but they wouldn't change the name on the card to "Kaye" after I stopped using the other name). Who knows. It did show up on my Experian last time though, so I'm not too worried about it.

All in all, everything looked good. In 4 months I'll do it again with TransUnion and let you know how it went.

Go run your Equifax report now and tell me how everything looked to you!

Gaining Control - What Do You Really Know About Your Own Spending?

You may or may not think you should be on a budget, but truly, we all should. Whether we just make ends meet with a minimum wage job or make over a six-figure income, we should all be in charge of where our money is going.

Here is a little exercise I want to challenge you with. Both you and your spouse do this. You can consult on what the topics are, but each of you should estimate this on your own to compare later.

1. Just off the top of your head--Write down your household income sources and expected income from these. This should be the easiest step for most of us. But some of us live on a fluctuating income that is based on a privately owned business or on a sales commission. Do your best based on your history and a realistic expectation of the market you are working in.
2. Again off the top of your head--Write down your monthly bills. Not just the big ones. All of the ones you can think of. Cell phone, insurance, childcare, the works.
3. Last one off the top of your head--Write down your monthly miscellaneous expenses. Not bills per se, but things you do each month. Groceries, manicures, gasoline, coffee shops, etc.

Now, sit down, WITH YOUR SPOUSE, and go through the checkbook (or the online banking site) and see what the real story is.

1. Write down your household income sources and what can realistically be expected income from these. Look at the banking info. Write this next to your estimate.
2. Write down your ACTUAL monthly bills. No guessing. No rounding. Look at what the bills really are costing you and write down each next to your estimate.
3. Write down your monthly miscellaneous ACTUAL spending. This is probably the one that will shock you most. Whether it is how much you actually eat out or how many times you actually stopped at a convenience store for a soda. Maybe you didn't realize how much gasoline your car actually burned.

How did you do? Did you or your spouse come closer?

Taking a look at your actual spending as opposed to what you perceive you are spending is a huge part of cleaning up your financial life. Next we will take a look at how to control your money without being controlling.

Let me know how you did!

Photo credit: jeinny

Gaining Control - It's An Emotional Ride

I'm about to start a series called Gaining Control. It's about financial freedom. We're on that road. I would love if you could join us if you haven't already completed the trip successfully. If you have completed the trip, I would love for you to hang around and encourage the rest of us. We need it.

I just wanted to warn you before I started though...

Money is an emotional topic. It is emotional on many levels for all people. Some people are very defensive. Some are very greedy. Some are very giving. Some are in love with their money. But somehow, money brings out many, many emotions.

If you go through this exercise, whether you go through it alone or with a spouse...it will be difficult. You might cry. You might get angry. You might feel cheated. You might feel disallusioned. You might feel betrayed. You might feel lonely.

Remember--what has been spent is gone. There is no going back now. There is just starting over. And if you have someone by your side starting over with you, you already have support--even if you feel they helped you get into that mess. Remember when you married them though...you probably promised the "richer or poorer" bit. This will likely be the poorer. And you promised to stick it out, so I fully expect you to.

So don't throw blame. It doesn't matter anymore. What matters now is what will be done about it to move forward.

So go ahead and cry. But then wipe those tears away, pick yourself up, and let's get rolling. Every journey begins with one step, right?

What Do Your Really Know About Your Finances?

Step 1 - The Full Assessment

Step 2 - The Budget

Step 3 - Increasing Your Income

Step 4 - Making the Cut

Step 5 - More Cuts

Step 6 - Really Having Control

Photo credit: wagg66

What We Will One Day Do With Our Money

This post was included in the Carnival of Money Stories # 89 - Average Incomes Around The Globe - January 24, 2011 Edition hosted by My Personal Finance Journey. Go check it out. There are a lot of great posts over there!

It should go without saying, but it often doesn't, so I will go ahead and say it...

Debt holds us in slavery.

I am so sick of not being able to what we want to with our money because in the past we have spent money we didn't have on things that were mostly unimportant. Those things important enough to borrow money for would have been long ago paid off if that was all we used credit for in the past.

And now we are paying the price of our stupidity.

The good news is we figured out how to stop and we have a plan on how to get out of this miserable existence of indebtedness.

The most frustrating part of this whole climb out of this abyss is seeing something that I would really love to use our money for and not being able to because it currently belongs to someone else and not us.

I don't mean a nice new pair of shoes or a delectable dinner out with my husband, although both of those things would be nice.

I mean seeing others in need and not being able to help more than we currently can. I am at a period of my life when I have felt more generous towards others than I ever have and yet I have no money to contribute towards the needs which I would like to support. It's beyond frustrating.

Here is a list of things I hope we can do once this burden of debt is lifted:

Strictly Financial

• Create a real emergency fund of 6 months of expenses. This will be our first goal just to ensure our financial security.
• Up our retirement contributions to approximately 15% of our income. We currently have IRAs and Roth IRAs that haven't seen a contribution in a while, and I have a 401k that could use a boost.
• Start some type of education fund for our kids. I know. It's awful to some people that we haven't done this yet, but I think we need to get financially healthy before we throw money somewhere else.
• Send much larger payments to pay off our mortgage. I can't wait until we're paying more than the minimum on this!
• Start an allowance system for our kids. Seriously, Patrick is a great kid. And he helps out around the house a whole lot with no reward. I want to continue to encourage that. But I also would love for him to get to buy some of the things that he wants so much when we're shopping (we do not currently buy things "just because" so he has to hold out for his birthday or a holiday).

Generosity

• Sponsor two children in need. I hope to pick one with each of our children's birthday just so they can have something in common with them. I want to really make a change in someone's life. A change that costs so little to us, but is currently unaffordable because we have to send money to banks.
• Be able to make larger monetary gifts as needs arise. I want to be able to donate $3000 toward building a house in Guatemala through an initiative our church is currently working toward. I want to be able to donate school supplies to local schools for children who cannot afford them (we do this some, but I want to really grow this giving), etc. I want to be able to really fund a big project that will make a difference to a family or a community.
• Keep up to $100 in McDonalds gift cards on me to give to the panhandlers I frequently see at our exit. I don't know their story. I do not know what decisions or circumstances got them to the point they are at now. And frankly, it is not my job to judge. But I would like to offer a hungry man food.
• Take gift bags to the homeless. Savannah is a city full of history, beauty, charm, and yes...homeless people. I would love to put together 10 or 15 gift bags containing things like a bottle of water, a ham sandwich, some gloves, baby wipes, or something similar and hand them out at places where you can always find people loitering. Just because.

There are plenty of others, but these things pierce my heart. These things drive me to become debt free. I have a spirit of giving flowing through me that is quite new to me and I hope to one day be able to unleash it.

What would you do with no bills?

Photo credit: TangoPango

Financial Plans for 2011

I'm not going to call these my resolutions. Why? I'm notoriously horrible at keeping New Year's resolutions. And I want these to stick. So I'm psyching myself out by not calling them what they essentially are.

Here is what I want to see happen with our money in 2011.

• Pay down an additional $25,000 in debt. We paid down just under $19,000 last year and that was with some serious boo boos along the way (and yes...we really had that much). I really want to make it happen this year and be so much closer to being completely out of debt by the end of 2011. This will obviously be our main focus for the year.
• Maintain our $1500 starter emergency fund. This is similar to Dave Ramsey's suggestion of $1000, which was where we started, but we added $500 to it because we were given a gift of $500 when Abigail was born. I do not feel right spending "her" money but don't want a wad of cash around the house either. So I put it here.
• Continue tithing 10% each paycheck. This is something that we have been really good at and really bad at through various seasons of our lives. I want it to really stick even through the tough times.
• Gift an additional $200/month toward our Relentless campaign. Our church is moving mountains right now. And after discussion, Chip and I pledged to donate $200/month for two years plus an upfront gift of $200 (for a total of $5000) to our church's current capital campaign. We are basically saying that if God doesn't provide that we aren't obligated. But He will, so we will.
• Side hustle $3000 this year. I know. It really isn't much. But we're starting small and I don't want to totally overdo it. I'll talk more about these thoughts at a later time.

But this is what I've been thinking about. What do you think?

What about you? Do you have a plan for your finances for 2011? You should.

Photo credit: financemetrics

WFMW - No Diet Sodas When Dieting

This week's What Works for Me theme is What DOESN'T work for me. And since this is the beginning of a new year when many people are making resolutions and at least half of those (yes a statistic I just made up) are weight loss, I thought I would share a weight loss tip.

I will start off immediately by saying this: I need to lose weight. It's no secret. Not to you or to me. However, I have successfully lost a lot of weight in the past. My failure is not in the losing, but in the keeping it off. So I will not try to give you a tip on keeping weight off. You're on your own there. But I can give you a hint on how to lose weight.

Water.

I know--you've heard it all before. And then you downed a diet soda because hey--it has zero calories too and it tastes much better (matter of opinion, I say).

I will tell you though, while I was (successfully) dieting, my weight loss was always slowed by diet sodas. They introduce lots of chemicals into your body and for me...made me retain water, thus preventing (or at least slowing) weight loss.

Water doesn't do this. In fact, it helps immensely to pass right through you and take some of that bad stuff with it. Hooray for a cleaner body!

So today's What DOESN'T Work for Me is Diet Sodas when dieting. They just don't do a good job. So suck it up and go with water. I promise you'll be glad you did!

Go visit We Are THAT Family and check out what doesn't work for other people!