Living Like Noone Else in 2009

Update 9/16/09

2009-09-15T22:22:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I let 5 whole months go by without posting here. Sorry about that. Who knew keeping up with a blog would be even harder than I thought! :-)

Well, here is our update:

We have hit MANY bumps in the road but we are making HUGE progress and I am so happy about that! :-) We have a fully funded BABY EF. We were horrible with it for a few months but slowly got back on track.

We found out in July that we are expecting baby #4 so things kinda got put on hold for a bit. But we are now finding out way back on track and paying for that as well as the rest of our stuff. Of course we never stopped at least paying our minimum payments.

I have GREAT NEWS THOUGH!!!!! We are getting ready to pay off ANOTHER card!!!!!!! I am so happy and proud of us!!! After this we will be starting on our LAST CREDIT CARD!!!!! I am just so excited for us! I can't believe we are actually getting somewhere. I just always thought we'd be in debt way over our heads. But that is so just NOT TRUE anymore!!!

I will try and be better about posting here in the future until then.....

SCORE!!!

2009-03-20T22:45:00.001-07:00

Lookie Lookie at my ticker!!!!!!!! EF fully funded and one CC DOWN!!!!! BYE BYE CHASE!!!!

Boy, this feels so WONDERFUL!!!!!

I haven't posted very much because lately I just have not had the time to do any posting lately...

But, after talking to my DH we've decided NOT to do the buy nothing new anymore...just do the Dave Ramsey Program. We have not been perfect by any means but we've really learned a lot in the past few months and we are smarter and we are looking at our purchases more carefully. Our focus is to get out of debt and we are making progress and I am so happy about that. I will continue this blog but I don't think I will be able to post as much as I have been. But will def post about our successes!

Anyway....it feels good to get one down and start on another one! I need a dancing banana right now!:o)

Question

2009-03-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

I am trying to think of CHEAP things to do this summer with the kids aside from parks and swimming...you can only do so much of that!! So post some cheap ideas for me! I have three children ages 8, (will be 5 in the summer), and 2.

I am thinking about getting a zoo membership too!!! I want to hear your ideas!!!

Been Awhile!!

2009-03-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Some not so great things have been going on and we've had to spend money I didn't want to but had to....Ugh!!!

BUT, this week has been just super awesome!! Look at my ticker for my savings.....IT's COMPLETE!!!!! Now on to Baby Step 2 for those of you doing Dave Ramsey with me! I am so excited!!

I am however breaking a rule...I am getting DH something for our anniversary and it will be a late anniversary gift but it's something I've wanted to get him for oh about 2 years now, I am babysitting so I am going to be taking some money out of that each time and saving up enough for this. But he doesn't know and it's the ONLY rule and I will only break it once! Promise!

Today I went to Walmart and got a few things we needed..spent $12.91

I am so proud of myself!!!!!

2009-02-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted in a couple of days but I didn't really spend any money so...anyway...

Saturday I went to Walmart to pick up some books I've been meaning to get...right across from the books were some CHEAP CHEAP clothes that I DID NOT NEED!!! But I looked through them anyways finding all kinds of shirts for $2 - $5 a piece...oh how I wanted to get some. I was with a friend of mine who WAS buying some of these shirts. I picked up two and held them for awhile because I was going to get them....then before we walked away I hung them back on the rack and we left and I paid for my books....THAT IS IT. I did NOT need those shirts and I was strong enough to put them back and say NO!!!!!!!! I am so proud of myself for that.

My hubby used the card for Mcdonalds while I was gone with a friend on Saturday. That is a No No.

Saturday - $7 for Mcdonalds and $24 for my books!

Zero, Zilch, Nada....NOTHING

2009-02-18T22:39:00.000-08:00

That is what we spent today...well unless you take into account the $35 I gave David for his oil change! LOL!!

Boring day of nothing! That is a GOOD THING my friend!

2/17/2009

2009-02-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

Nothing....Long BORING DAY!! We did NOT go out to eat tonight! I made dinner at home. And I am sticking to NOT eating out til next month!!

Look over there to the right....I put some more tickers!! The savings which we had to pull out of because of the hospital visit...and the first CC we are working on and I went ahead and put on the next one as well....hoping to have the first one paid off by April or before!!!

Sorry this post is so boring...trying to stay on top of things! LOL!!

OFF TO A BAD START

2009-02-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

On Sunday our daughter fell and hit her chin so hard on our kitchen floor it busted her chin open. We had to take her to the ER...so that is yet ANOTHER bill we will recieve shortly. We had to pay $100 right then....THANK YOU LORD FOR SAVINGS ACCOUNTS!!!!! Had we not had savings we would have had to pay that $100 and just NOT pay a bill. But since we had savings we paid w/o worry. We are worried now about the bill we will be getting since the medical ones KEEP piling up. But it doesn't matter as long as she is taken care of. It was a scary ordeal and honestly MONEY was the last thing on our minds.

Yesterday we ate at Cici's and that will be the LAST time we eat out until March....I ran to the dollar store for a few things we needed and spent $10.74.

Total spent for yesterday and Sunday: $136.14

I can already tell you that money for today will be NONE Lord willing and no accidents happen! :o)

Long Not so Great Week This Week.....

2009-02-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

But I can still tell you how much we spend each day since it was so little.....
Tuesday: NOTHING
Wednesday: NOTHING
Thursday: I did get some Valentines for the girls to hand out...we were going to make them then ended up not doing that...oops. We were going to playdate so I picked up some chips and capri suns that came out of the grocery budget. Total: $10.46 Thursday night was also grocery night so I spent $185 at Kroger's and $3.96 at Walmart. Thursday we got some potentially bad news about our health insurance but now it is looking like it' s going to be a blessing...one that took a while for us to realize. So I am praising God and Trusting in Him...it's totally worth it!
Friday: Was a crazy day! LOL!!! We went to a meeting with homeschool group where Gracee persisted in crying for about 2 hours that her ear hurt. I felt so bad and they were trying to hurry us through so we could go. When we finally left I called the doctor's office and they said to come in right then so we did. $25 for that. Then $10 for her perscription. The kids were all staving by this time I just went ahead and got them McDonald's! I know I know. But I felt so bad for Gracee. So we did fall in this area and it's the FIRST lunch out we've had all year. It's been mostly dinner we've eaten out...like it really matters! LOL!! $18.36 Oh and gas: $29.73
Total for Friday: WAY TOO MUCH! $83.09

Saturday: We went to a b-day party and so I went to Walmart and got a gift...(which I am just going to change and put a buget on) and also got a paper. I had to also get a bag and some paper for the bag. Total spent :$23.30 at Walmart.
On the way home I was really sick and not feeling well so instead and coming home and making something my DH went to McDonalds...blah $16.52

The bad thing about the TWO McDonald's trips is we had planned on eating TWICE this week ...one is for Kalee's soccer team and the other was for a benefit for a family. Not sure if we are still going to do the benefit or not but we are doing Kalee's soccer team cause my DH is the coach. I think we may skip the benefit thing though.....we'll see what our budget allows but we've already spent a lot of it and I don't really want to go over.

Sunday: I stayed in bed all morning because I was feeling really bad and I am still not feeling so great but much better than last night. We went to a friend's for lunch and then had some friends come over for dinner tonight. No money spent today! YAY!!!

Here is what I have planned for this week: Valentine Playdate on Monday we are all eating lunch there so won't spent ANY money. K's soccer team is getting together on Monday evening as well.
Tuesday: Nothing
Wednesday: Bible Study
Thursday: Nothing
Friday: Scrap and Yap :-)
Saturday: Ladies Women's Retreat with a friends church
Sunday: Nada

So OTHER than Monday we should NOT be spending ANY money. It was really hard to confess this all to you. Which is a good thing so I will do better next time. And actually typing this out has made me really think about eating out both Monday and Tuesday as planned. I am trying to think of what we could do....maybe eat before hand or something.....dunno we'll see. We do have enough money in our eat out budget to eat ONCE so ONCE is all we will do.

Ok, that is all for toinght!

Overdrafts....Ugh!!

2009-02-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

So I rarely EVER have an overdraft in my accounts. I make sure to stay on top of things. Well, last month we had an overdraft and we or I couldn't figure out why. Well, I FINALLY did!! Back in September of this past year I signed up for a grocery thing to see the deals or whatever. I was only going to do it for a month to see how it worked then close my account. Well, I did it, but I did it AFTER the 2nd draft had already been taken out. Anyway, I go back and look and I ad $15 taken out of my account every month for 4 months. I was like WHOA....wait a minute. So I shot an email to the owner telling her what was going on NOT expecting to get all of money back and she promptly returned my email telling me she was sorry and she would refund all my money. The reason I did not catch this is because we had changed accounts a few months ago and I was basically just keeping our savings money in there so there was always money in it and I never paid attention to the fact that money was being drafted out by paypal. LOL!! Insert Bag over head here! I took out all of our money last week to put all of our savings together and so that is how I found out. Yikes! My bank was gracious enough to take the fee off and I was thankful for that. So now I have $60 more than I did before! YAY!!! LOL!! Going STRAIGHT into savings!! And we got another unexpected check in the mail so that is going STAIGHT into savings!!!

Sunday no money spent and today I just got dressed to go to Kalee's Girl Scout Meeting this evening.

I've been going through stuff and will posting things for sale soon. I am ready for the weather to be springy so I can clean out my garage, I know there are a TON of things in there that need we need to get rid of!

Oh and I did our taxes and if we get back what I think we are getting back we will be able to pay off not ONE but TWO CC's and have our savings built up!! I am so excited!!!!

I am such a DORK!!!

2009-02-07T22:25:00.000-08:00

You know you have WAY too many blogs when you post on the wrong one! LOL!! Remember last week when I talked about *almost* posting on the wrong blog, well this week I did. But I deleted it. So why am I telling you this? Because some of you already saw it and I didn't know how many of you did. LOL!! Just the two that left me comments! So there ya go a good laugh at Holly for the day. No go ahead and laugh....I surely did!!!

So now for telling everyone about my weekend so far! Yesterday, DH and I planned on going on a nice date!! Well, I budgeted it a cheap dinner and movie. Yesterday, we got a gift card in the mail from DH's parents for V-day! I was so excited!!! So went to eat at On The Border to use the gift card!! We spent all of the gift card and left a $6 cash tip. Then off to the movies. It's been awhile since I've been to the movies but sheesh going to see a movie in the theater is expensive!

Today we just spent the day at home with the kids playing the Wii and watching movies. So no money spent today! Woo Hoo!!!

On Friday before our date I was checking paypal and realized that something I cancelled over 4 months ago was STILL coming out of my account for the last 4 months. I knew pay pal was taking money out I just thought it was something for DH, but NOPE it was something I cancelled so....I contacted the company and I was surprised to learn that I didn't have to fight them to refund me my money! They refunded ALL of it w/o a fight! I was so excited!!!! So I kinda made $60 on Friday!

Tomorrow we are going to my dad's for a birthday celebration, and probably won't spend any money. Yay!! I don't have anything for his birthday...I am working on it (it's a scrapbook I started working on a few months ago) I will tell him he will get it soon though! LOL!!

Total spent this weekend:
$6 for dinner
$27 movies (we got a drink and candy...ONLY because we didn't have to spend money on dinner!!)

$33 total!! WOOT!!!! We are doing so good!

Not a Great Week

2009-02-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

Well, on Monday I had to go get Kalee's glasses so we decided to grab a bite to eat at Chic Fil A. No biggie, we have a budget for eating out for the month and we hadn't used it yet. Well, I haven't been sleeping well lately so when it was time for dinner on Tuesday I was just so exhausted so we ordered pizza. We got a large and a medium free, the special for Tuesday night. We didn't go over our $50 budget, I am just upset we did it two nights in a row. Ugh. So yesterday I put something in the crockpot so we didn't have ANY excuses. That is all that was spent the last three days though so I guess that is good! DH and I are going out for our date night on Friday, it's in the budget don't worry. I think we are going to see a movie and grab a cheap quick bite to eat or eat here. Maybe I should go get some steaks or something...hmm...something to ponder......

Total spent the last three days: $43

The Last Weekend in January!

2009-02-02T05:40:00.001-08:00

We did really good this weekend. I did go get donuts on Saturday morning for the kids. I used some money that I had when I had to return something. It was a crazy day on Saturday! LOL!! My friend came over for dinner and 2 of her kids spent the night. So I had a house full and didn't want them to eat all my breakfast food so I went and grabbed some donuts. Only spent $11. But I am proud that I made it that long, I did not eat the donuts though....yay me!!! I really have no desire to eat out so I think that is good too! DH and I are planning a date night sometime soon. We really need it. We decided to eat something here and treat ourselves to a movie. So I am planning on sending the kids to my mom's before he gets home and having a nice dinner ready for him just the two of us and then off to the movies. I don't know when we are doing this, but it will be soon! The donuts was all that was spent all weekend!! Go us!!

Total all weekend: $11

Day 10

2009-01-30T19:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been 10 WHOLE days since I've eaten out!!!!! If you know me well, you know that I LOVE eating out and it's been a really hard thing for me to NOT eat out!!!!! For me to go 10 days is a big deal to ME!!! I am so proud of myself. If I can do this, I can do anything!!!!!

So today, I had planned on running errands which on errand day we usually hit up McDonalds and let the kids wear out before heading out. Well, I made a plan, stuck to it and it worked. The kids got up and we ate lunch around 11:30am. I got everyone ready and out the door by 12:45. I got snacks (forgot to get drinks, but we were able to hold off) we went to take dinner to a friend who just had a baby (who by the way is an adorable little boy!) then off to Herb Mart in Mesquite for some vitmins for David and I. I got some stuff for energy for me and some stuff for DH that the doc said he needed. Got what I needed and we headed out to the bread store to get some bread. I got ONLY bread and all the kids got a free snack to go with that!!! They never said they were hungry just thirsty so I promised them ice cream and water at Mcdonalds and on the way home realized that I had both at home!!! So we went home ate ice cream and had some water and I didn't spend a thing at McDonalds!!

So today expenditures:
Herb Mart: 31.36
Mrs. Baird's Outlet Store: $5.50 for 5 loaves of bread and each of the girls got a bag of donuts!!!

Yesterday ~ Day 29

2009-01-30T05:50:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday we stayed in the house doing laundry, schooling, and cleaning up around here. After David got home from school last night I headed out to the store. I decided to go to Walmart to get some things I thought may be cheaper but I'm not sure it really was. I went over my grocery budget by $25. So I will NOT be splitting up my shopping anymore. If you remember I went to catch a sale the other day. I won't do that anymore. I usually spend about $25 less and this time it was $25 more....oops! It's ok cause I have somewhere to pull it from just don't want to make a habit of that. It could have also been more because after reading about it and doing some research myself I found that High Fructose Corn Syrup is really not good for you. So I went through my pantry and refridge and I was surprised that I only had to throw a few things away that had HFCS in it. I was pretty proud. I was scared when I first started to do it though. My grocery trip took me a little longer because I was reading the back of EVERYTHING. My daughter called and wanted me to get some ice cream treats. EVERY.SINGLE.THING I picked up had HFCS in it. So I finally found Kroger Brand Ice Cream does NOT have HFCS in it. If anybody knows of any cookie sandwhiches that does not have HFCS in it let me know because my kids love that. I know it's not healthy but hey every now and then isn't going to hurt!

Today the girls and I are going to do some running around. We are going to the bread store...yes I STILL have to get bread!! But I only expect to spend less than $5 since we are going to an outlet store! We are taking dinner to a friend that just had a baby and then off to the Vitamin store for some stuff for DH and I!!! We will probably stop by my mom's for a bit as well!

I would like to hit that park sometime today because I babysit a little girl and today is her birthday! So I would like to do something fun and cheap to celebrate. Her mom brought cupcakes for us today and I have ice cream so that should be fun to celebrate!!!

Total for yesterday:
Walmart: $51.96
Kroger: $101.36

Nothing

2009-01-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

First I need to say I have WAY too many blogs. I accidentally posted this on the WRONG blog..oops!!!

Today was a boring lazy day and we did nothing and spent no money!! I actually LOVE days like this!! Hopefully all the ice is going away and I can go grocery shopping tomorrow evening and get some great deals that Kroger has...it looks like I need to drive a little further and hit up Albertsons though cause they are having some great deals as well!!

Ok that is all!!

Cold Boring Day

2009-01-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

I was freezing all day until I decided we needed to up the heater a little bit. I had on sweat pants t shirt, pull over and socks on and I was STILL cold!! Ugh!!

Anyway, got some stuff done today, not as much I could have. This weather made me feel lazy and tired! LOL!!

But hey I didn't go anywhere so no money spent today! YAY!! Will probably be the same boring day tomorrow. Maybe I will get more done tomorrow!

There is my boring day!! :o)

Boring Day Today

2009-01-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

Well, today it was REALLY REALLY cold, so the kids and I stayed in the house today and kept warm and caught up on some school work! YAY!! FUN!

After dinner I did run to the store to stock up on the awesome sale Kroger was having!! I was very proud to have gone in with a list and got almost everything on my list (some things were gone!) I did NOT stray from my list at all.

Anyway, that is all.

Total for today: $75.43

Day 5 for no eating out...

2009-01-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

I'm still trucking along. We have not eaten out since K's birthday on the 20th!!! But man we've been tempted so many times! But I've held strong and said no. I seriously have had to talk myself out of it a few times! But that is good for me.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for K and we didn't spend any money yesterday, I already bought everything for her party. It was ok. I was disapointed in the amount of people who showed up but K didn't seem to notice. We ate before we left and snacked at the party. So NO MONEY spent yesterday!!

Today was a meeting at church for the Children's Ministry. I really like all the changes that are being made! I ate lunch thier, we all brought something to share.

So there is my boring post!! LOL!!

Total spent today: $15.01 (gas)

Medical Bills Bills Bills

2009-01-23T19:51:00.000-08:00

This week has been a week of doctor's appts and copays and lots of money being spent. But it's for a good reason. On Monday I took Kalee in for her 8 year well child visit and they took a hearing test and a eye test and she completely failed her hearing test and didn't do so well on her eye test. So I was referred to an ENT and an Opthamologist. So yesterday I took her to the ENT and he said she is hearing just perfectly and there is no need to worry at all. Thank You Lord, I was really really worried. Today I took her to the Eye doc and again she didn't so good. So now she is getting glasses. Which should help all the headaches she's been having and all the issues she has with schooling. She should get them next week and I will post a pic! She is so cute in them!! Anyway, so that was $40 but my insurance paid the rest!!! YAY!!! So I guess I should be glad! HOPEFULLY, this will be the last of the any medical bills for awhile. I am glad that we are taking care of things now.

Total spent today: $40 copay
$3.25 (something for Kalee's party)

I am pretty sure I failed tonight...

2009-01-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

We have two birthday parties coming up this weekend and next weekend. One for Kalee's friend and One for Gracee's friend. I have been racking my brain ALL WEEK LONG trying to figure out what to do for thier birthday since I can't buy anything new. And I haven't been able to come up with a SINGLE thing. I don't make anything, I am NOT crafty at all. So tonight I decided to do what Jamie did and let the girls pick something out and give them a budget. The girls did very good.

I also got some homeschooling stuff that I needed and you can't really get used. So I am thinking I spent MAYBE $40. When I got to the register my total was $54 and some change and I was like OMG, wow! But I paid it anyways. WELL......I got home and examined my receipt and found out that Gracee's gift was $12 OVER my budget and what we thought it was. So I told Gracee and I told her we HAD to take it back and she was upset. So I talked to DH and he said yeah, we need to take it back and she was upset again. I felt HORRIBLE. Then I found out why she was so upset. She thought we weren't going to get her friend ANYTHING for her birthday! I told her we had to take that present back but that she could pick something else out a little cheaper and she was happy with that.

So, now so I don't fail anymore....what can I do for gifts for others? Any ideas? I was thinking that maybe for now on I should contact one of my friends that make things and ask them to do something and either trade or pay them. It's homemade and I am supporting them in making money!! I don't have time for that for this Saturday's party but I may for the one Gracee has and I may come out a little cheaper....Suggestions Please?

I may fall down but I WILL get back up and start again!!!

Oh and I am doing great on my NO eating out thing. Tonight I had a MNO and I had planned on eating before and just going and getting water BUT my back was hurting me and DH had class so I just stayed home. And let me tell you how tempting it was to go get McDonald's tonight....my girls were BEGGING for McDonalds and I told them sorry we eating at home tonight. They were a little shocked because I usually say Ok and go! But they were fine with what we ate!

So while I failed in one area I did WONDERFUL in another!! I am so proud of ME!!!!

Total for Today:
$54 at Walmart for gifts and Homeschool Stuff
$25 for a Drs Visit

Make-Up

2009-01-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

I needed make-up because I was out. I usually buy from Arbonne but decided to look else where to save some money. So I just got everything I needed from Avon for a grand total of $19.47

If you need make up, they are having a great sale right now!

Eye Shadow (which I didn't need BUT it was part of a deal and I made out cheaper getting it!)
Eye Liner
Concealer
Mascara
Loose Powder

I had free shipping!! Anyway my friend sales it but you can go online through the website and buy it and have it delievered straight to your house! Now I am just hoping that I like it and it doesn't break my skin out. I've never used Avon Makeup and as long as it's not breaking me out I don't mind using it!!

Good News Bad News

2009-01-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Bad News first: In the beginning of December I had to go to the ER to get part of my wicker laundry basket out of my foot. From my understanding of our insurance we had to pay a $50 deductable and then 100% of the bill would be paid. Well, apprently I was WRONG and had I known that I would've gone to Care Now or someplace like that! Ugh! So now we have to tack on $683 to our debt.......GRRR!!!!!! We have so many medical bills I hate it!!!!

Now for the Good News:
We only had to pay 1/2 tuition for soccer since my DH is a commissioner!!!!!!! That takes a HUGE load off!!!!

We also got an unexpected check in the mail today. Well it wasn't unexpected just forgotten about!!!!! But hey that is always good too!!

Today we went to Red Lobster for Kalee's 8th Birthday!!! We paid some bills and deposited some checks but that is about all for today!!

Day 16

2009-01-16T19:48:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day! I went Grocery Shopping and got gas! But that is it!! YAY!! We went to the hospital tonight to see my dad. He wanted to see the kids and of course that DEF lifted his spirits so I am happy about that. We got home really late tonight and I kept thinking on the way home about what we were going to do for dinner. I was thinking about how easy it would be to just grab fast food. And then I said NO, I JUST went grocery shopping we have all this food at home we do not need to eat out!!! So I called DH who was home and asked him to make spaghetti for us and he did and it was ready when we walked in the door at 8pm!!

Grocieres were cheaper than budgeted.....YAY for coupons and $10 for 10 sales!

New goal for me: No eating out for two weeks EXCEPT for Kalee's birthday on Tuesday.

We really have a problem with eating out and so far failed miserably at NOT doing it. David used to eat out ALL the time growing up and we NEVER got to growing up. That is really a bad combination. LOL!!! So our goal is to not do it for 2 weeks. We are going out for Kalee's birthday on Tuesday. So we are making a little longer than two weeks maybe more. I KNOW we can do this we just needed to set a small goal and go from there. Tomorrow evening we have friends coming over and we are cooking dinner here and Sunday I have a crockpot meal planned. The weekends are the hardest but we are trying and we CAN do this!!! So my challenge for the next two weeks is NO eating out til Feb 3. Wish us luck!!!!

Rough Day

2009-01-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

Well, today I went about my day normally but worried and waiting for my dad's medical test results that he was supposed to get this morning. So we went to playdate and enjoyed the morning and I realized that my mom and dad had not called me yet to tell me anything. So I called them. Got no answer. Telling myself not to worry they were just tied up. Finally about 15 min after I called my mom called back only to tell me that my dad was being admitted to the hospital that he is bleeding internally. Ok so what now. I stayed for a bit longer so we could get lunch and the kids could play. I told my mom to keep me updated. I called my DH who was at home and told him what was going on and that I would be leaving soon and I was going to drop the kids off and go to the hospital. I called my mom to tell her thinking she would shoot me down and tell me not to come, she didn't. Which made me worried more because that is not usual. I would've went either way and maybe she just knew that. Anyway, I headed to the hospital about an hour before they were going to do a procedure to see what was going on because they had no idea why he was losing blood. After they did that they still could not tell. So all night tonight they will be running to tests to see what is going on. I am very worried. He looked pale and you could tell he was in some pain. Around 6:30 my mom and dad wanted me to go home because it was dark and I live pretty far from the hospital and they worry. So I left.

Today was grocery day and I didn't make it. So I told DH to just go to Mcdonalds because we really did NOT have anything for them to eat in the house. On my way home I grabbed myself something, I was going to go to the store but I was hungry and emotionally and physically exhausted so I opted to just go tomorrow instead. I feel bad because we spent money out yet again but I feel it was a TRUE emergency. I really needed to be with my mom and dad today and I felt better while I was there. I will be going back tomorrow but I will go to the store first so we don't have to eat out again. If you could send out some thoughts and prayers for my dad and that they find out soon what is going on that would be greatly appreciated!

I will end on a good financial note: We are on DAY 3 of Potty Training and have had ONLY ONE accident with Avree. So diapers are NOT in the budget (I have plenty here just in case!lol) The only reason she had an accident is because I was at a friends house and they did not have a soft cushy small potty and she freaked and said No potty no potty....then a min later started screaming "I POTTY MAMA I POTTY" and she peed all over herself. But she was so upset about it. She's been doing great. So that is at least good news for today!

Total spent today: $21.58

Goals

2009-01-14T21:39:00.001-08:00

Here are some small term goals that I have as far as paying off debt and getting my emergency fund built up. I am nervous but I KNOW I CAN DO IT AND I WILL FEEL MUCH BETTER ONCE I DO!!!!

*Have Baby Emergency Fund built up by Mar. 1
*Pay off second CC by June 1.
*Have Vacation Fund by June 1 (budget set for Vacation is $800...ANY left over money is to be put towards whatever CC we are snowballing at that point)
*Have Money set aside for medical expenses by June 1

LONG TERM GOAL:

*Have 3rd CC paid off By Jan. 1, 2010

I wanted to put longer goals on there but I didn't want to get ahead of myself so I will keep those goals in my head. I am so determined to do this. I am going to put my goals up on the right side to keep me motivated!

The past week has been a low money week...actually been a NO MONEY week....I don't even think we've had to get gas. Tomorrow is Grocery Day and I have lots of coupons and stuff. I am excited!

This Weekend

2009-01-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

Well, DH and I had a little mis-communication about our out to eat budget. I orginally had said twice a month and then when I did our budget I changed it to ONCE a month. I had him look at it but he barely looked at it and said ok. Well, this month we were waiting on K's birthday to eat out. My cousin came to visit us this weekend and he wanted to eat out on Friday night. Anyway, we decided to go back to eating out twice a month. So we went out to eat dinner on Friday Night. Then I made dinner sat. That is really good since usually on the weekends we like to shop!

Over the last week I realized that I DID indeed NEED my computer and really could NOT wait a year to use it so I needed to shop for a new power cord. MAN....those things can get sooooo expensive! Some of them were $79.99 and there was just NO WAY I was spending THAT much on a cord. So I finally find a place where they sold it for $22.99 but shipping was like $13.00 but it was STILL the cheapest and I had gone to SEVERAL different sites. So in the end I spent $36.00 on a new computer cord. But my budget amoung other things I need are on there. Pictures...EVERYTHING!!!!!

I also ended up getting a cherry coke from Sonic as well...(so yeah we failed a little there.) But it was TOTALLY DH's fault!! LOL!!! j/k

Oh yeah on Friday we went to Chic Fil A for a playdate with some of our friends and I spent $1.49!!!!!! We had some coupons for 2 chic fil sandwhiches and I bought the girls 2 drinks and got myself water. I think I did pretty good!!!! :-)

So total spent this weekend was: $91.14

Not too bad! I also paid some bills!!!

I WANT A CHERRY COKE!!!!

2009-01-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

I LOVE LOVE MY SONIC DRINKS!!!! And I was so craving a cherry coke from Sonic tonight. DH offered to go get me one and I told him NO, not only am I on a diet but we don't need to spend any money! He offered with his was of birthday money he still had. I couldn't let him do that. I wouldn't spend my birthday money on him!! LOL! Ok maybe I would! hehe! Anyway, I didn't get it but I still want it!!!! But I will refrain in order to pay off some bills!!

So today was a good day. So this morning we got up early and took the girls to a dentist appt and afterwards we went straight HOME!! Yay for us! After we got home DH went to sign up for classes for the semester. That was the only money spent today....for his tuition.

Money spent today: $245 for school!!

So I am going to bed now after drinking some water and NOT CHERRY COKE!! LOL!!

Day 7

2009-01-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

So today we were supposed to meet with our Small Group for church. We did...BUT they usually have dinner for everyone every week...Nice huh?!?! Anyways, this week they didn't and we kinda found out last minute that everyone was supposed to "brown bag" it. So I looked at DH and said we need to wait until the 20th for our big eating out day because that is K's birthday. He said well, I have some birthday money left how much grocery money do we have. I hesitated and said well I don't really want to spend the rest on fast food, I'd like to leave it in there and I probably don't have enough. He said he would cover whatever else it was with his b-day money. I told him he could buy whatever he wanted with his bday money...you only turn 30 once!! LOL!! So we took the rest of our grocery money and some of his money and ate out tonight. Could we have eaten at home? eh? Yes!!!!!! But we didn't, but I don't think it's failure because we used cash and used money that was supposed to be for food anyways. We shouldn't need anything else from the store til we get paid next. And hopefully next time we will be more prepared. Today was the first day in 2009 we've eaten out so I think we are doing pretty well!! That is all we did and that was all the money we've spent all week!!! Well, except for yesterday when DH mailed my niece's Christmas Gift!!!

Total Spent 1/7/09

McDonalds: $14.46
Jack in the box: 7.52 (Did you know that JITB has a special for one burger, small fries, and two tacos for $2.99!!!!!!! WOW!!!)

Total: 21.98

Yesterday 1/6/2009: $11.42 (Mailed Kiera's Christmas Gift)

So Frustrating!! Ugh!!

2009-01-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Well, we are still doing well but today is our first set back....kinda.....

I let Gracee play with my computer since thiers needs to be fixed. Well, she drug my cord in the room when the battery was getting low and left part of it to where the dog could get it and she chewed my cord up. I have NO OTHER cord and the last cord we had to buy was like $40.....Ugh Ugh Ugh!!!

Obviously I don't NEED my cord because I just use the computer to get onlineand play and I use it for homeschool stuff. But I have this computer I can use. It's just that when DH goes back to work I will have very limited time with it. He has another computer he uses but he uses this one too. Ugh!! That is actually probably not a bad thing at all though!!

Today was the same as yesterday.....we didn't do anything or go anywhere!! No spending any money 2 days in a ROW!!!! YAY!!!!!!

Spending for the day: $0

Here is my menu:

Tonight: Leftovers
Wed: Small Group Dinner
Thur: Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Friday: Taco Pasta
Saturday: Left Overs
Sunday: MeatLoaf
Monday: Chicken & Broccoli Fettucine Alfredo
Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner
Wednesday: Left Overs
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie and Grocery Day!!!

Cheap Cheap Cheap

2009-01-05T22:23:00.001-08:00

I wasn't going to post but then figured I should try and stay on track!! Today I cleaned my house, did laundry, took care of my kids, played on the computer, watched tv.....didn't go anywhere, do anything OR SPEND ANY MONEY!!!!

Dh did go get his registration for his car.....Money I set aside for him a couple of weeks ago. And I am so glad I did because when he told me he was going to get it I freaked cause it wasn't in the budget and it was going to throw me WAAAAY off....and that is why I really like doing the cash thing!!!

Tomorrow will be much like today! Except I am going to call my cable company AND make an appt for my hubby tomorrow!! But we are staying put for the most part!

Day 4 of 365

2009-01-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

On Sundays we usually go to church and then go out to eat somewhere. But today we went home and ate. We are saving our ONCE a month out to eat for K's birthday on the 20Th. We let the girls pick out where they want to go for their birthday and so far K has told us she needs to think about it. She really likes going to the Hibachi places but they are kinda pricey so we are hoping she doesn't mention it because I'm not sure we could turn her down. Guess I better start looking for coupons? LOL!!!

I did go to Walmart today and all I got was a paper with all 5 inserts but I got a double one so I have 10 inserts!! WOO HOOO!!!! I haven't clipped them yet but I did peak at them! I love coupons!! he he! :-) And I got a walmart gift card to fill my car up with gas!! That is it...I didn't even look at anything else. It probably helped that my kids were waiting in the car with my mom so I needed to hurry up.

The rest of the day we spent cleaning up and taking down our Christmas stuff....while I was doing this I said to myself....wow, I have a lot of Christmas decorations that I just don't need. Maybe it's time to purge some of this. But then I got all 4 HUGE totes, my Christmas Tree, and all my ornaments packed up and said I just can't get rid of any of that, I just NEED/HAVE to refrain from buying anymore.....for a couple of years AT LEAST til we get some debt paid off. I love Christmas and I love decorating and it's been REALLY hard to not buy anything on clearance for me to use next year. But so far I've been able to do it.

So there you have it....our lovely day today of BUYING NOTHING NEW!!!!!

Oh! and look at my new ticker!!!!

So Far So Good...

2009-01-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

So we have an awful habit....when we are out late we tend to go grab a "quick bite to eat" at various fast food places....

Well, yesterday we had to run a few errands and we ended up being out a little later than planned and the kids were hungry so we hurried home to feed them and us instead of going by McDonald's for a "quick bite to eat" we just ate the quick bite at HOME!!!!

So today we were coming back from a family get together and we needed to do our grocery shopping. We knew we would be out a little later so we brought a snack to appease Avree until we could get home. So we came home and had some soup and crackers!!!

I am so proud of us. Neither one of us even said "well, let's just get something for tonight" We just did it! I hope we can keep this momentum going throughout the year!

And for our grocery shopping we stayed within budget...so much so that it was $50 less than normal!!!! We are doing so good. It's not easy changing bad habits but it CAN be done!!!!!

So how is everyone else doing? Good I hope!! :-)

Our First Gift of The Year

2009-01-02T13:14:00.001-08:00

My daughter's birthday is in a couple of weeks and she asked for two things.....a Nintendo DS or a camera. Well, with my budget of $200 for her birthday and birthday party I wasn't sure how I was going to buy either of those. I already had her party planned out before we decied to take on this challenge and that was going to be over half of what I had budgeted. So I went searching first for a used DS and even used those things are over $100....ok so on to looking for a used camera.....I thought this is going to be so hard to do....Thank Goodness for Amazon.com.

When she requested her camera she requested a pink one....ugh! Picky girl! :-)
So I went on Amazon.com looking for a used pink camera and I FOUND ONE.....AND I spent WAAAAAY under my budget! Yay GO US!!!!!!

We are off to a great start!!!!!

A New Year A New Way Of Life

2009-01-01T18:57:00.001-08:00

I know that some people think that New Year's Resolutions are dumb or are never followed or whatever. And at least for me that is partly true! But this year my ONE and ONLY focus is to pay down or off our debt.

Back in May of 2008 we decided to take a Financial Peace Class with Dave Ramsey. Let me tell you that this class has really changed our way of thinking about money all together. It took us a little bit but in July we started to get on track. Then....I went shopping on Black Friday and everything totally went out the door....ugh! I didn't take JUST cash and therefore I spent more than I wanted to. After that it was just really hard to get back on track with things. So my DH and I talked about it and we both want to get serious about this STARTING NOW!!

My lovely friend Helen took on a challenge and challenged others as well. She challenged us to go a year without buying anything new other then the things you obviously can't buy used (i.e. food, toiletries, under garment...ect.)
I thought this would be a great challenge to try out as we could put a lot more money towards our debt if weren't spending so much on NEW things.

So here we are. And the great part about this is, my DH is on board. It's been a bit of a struggle to get him fully on board with this whole changing the way we spend but he's coming around and he's going to be so thankful one day!

So pray for us as we take on this journey to a better way of living.