We may be destined to never ever catch a break. If you're a regular reader (love you guys!!), then you know how excited I've been that our tax refund is being processed and will be here between the Feb 1 and 7. I've been budgeting where that money is going to go so none of it gets blown, and also our regular paycheck budget. While we wouldn't be debt free this year, we'd be a lot closer... but...
Christopher came home from work today agitated and kind of down. I knew something was up. Finally he said they'd closed the eatery at his store. Everyone who worked in it, even the eatery manager was let go. That store has been there for more than 20 years and has always had an eatery. Christopher has worked there since we got married, and I can't imagine the number of times we met there for lunch. All the times I took the girls when they were little, in car seat/carriers, and high chairs. I even worked there two different times and would take my breaks in the eatery. It's hard to believe it's all done. But the really scary part was no warning. That's never a good sign.
Which leads to the rest of the story. Christopher is one of 2 assistant managers and then there's the store manager. The store manager today told Christopher that there were many more cuts to come, but he could not tell him more right now... that a really bad sign. Either he's giving Chris some time to come to terms with things or maybe he's just not wanting anything to be public knowledge at all yet, and the less who know the better... The problem is we don't know. They have eliminated assistant managers positions before. There used to be 3 and it went down to 2, and that extra manager was made an hourly department manager.
In 2006, Christopher had been with the company for 14 years and had recently gotten a promotion to overnight shift lead. But it was bad timing because the cuts came down and the last one promoted (whoever it was) had to be let go. I have NO idea how that makes any sense. He was allowed to apply to be hired on part time for less wages, but he was so ticked off, he refused to go back.... until he hit rock bottom.
Fortunately, when he did go back, a new manager was in charge who quickly realized what a great worker C was, so he was soon made full time, promoted to stock room manager, and in less than a year was assistant manager. So, I know there are silver linings to the clouds. Things happen for a reason... but I never ever ever want to relive 2006 and 2007 ever again.
So, since we don't know what's going to happen, we're going to change our gameplan. We will pay off the cash advances like we'd planned, but the redecorating including the floor and paint will be put of hold and that money will stay in savings. It's not much in the grand scheme of things, but it could give us a buffer at least if we get the worst news.
So, please keep him and our family and the people he works with and their families in your prayers. And if you live near a KMart and need something like toilet paper or cat food or a tv, please consider buying from them. Thank you.
Patty
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
How I do our budget in 2012
(Sorry if you got an alert on this posting earlier, I forgot the pictures, doh! )
I've done several posts on budgeting, probably most of them have been on how bad I am at sticking to one!
I've made a really nice budget book I was so proud of, and hoped that it looking nice would encourage me to use it and actually stick to it. Yeah that didn't happen. Oh it did at first, but we were never able to build up an emergency fund (or rather I wasn't serious enough about it to put money into one.), so when things came up, we got further and further into the hole.
Well, as I posted earlier, our tax refund is on its way, and I have already budgeted it down to a dollar. No going out and blowing $100 taking everyone out to eat or to the movies. This time we're following the budget I listed in the previous post, and we're sticking to it. Mainly because we really have no choice. And that's how I feel about our continuing 2012 budget. We have no choice. We have to stick to it.
Christopher and I talked and both agreed there are two main reasons we never stick to the budget - we don't get our own personal spending money, and we always buy more food than I budget for. Always. So, I started off with this idea and what limited income we've got coming in the rest of this month and then next month. I'm budgeting more for groceries where I can, and I'm giving the kids an allowance as well as me and Christopher.
In addition, the "extra" money we will now have each month since it won't be going to overdraft and cash advance fees will be going onto old credit card and medical bills. It's embarrassing that we even still have these bills. Some are for Dr visits over a year ago.
But what I really wanted to show you was the system I have set up for the budget this time around... and I can't wait to get starting using! Our next paycheck isn't until this weekend and it's not soon enough!
So, since Christopher and I had agreed to both be involved in the budget a while back when I had a breakdown over it, I decided the pretty flowery budget book might put him off. So I switched to this black folder thingy which is really handy.
It unzips to reveal zipper pockets which are perfect for stamps, pens, etc. Then there is an expandable file thing which I've labeled for different things, and that's where stuff goes as it comes in, so when we need to pay a bill, we can find it there. So far it's been working pretty well at least as far as organizing stuff. It's especially handy when it's time to make a house payment since I keep extra envelopes, stamps and the house payment address in the front pocket.
It also has a legal pad that slides out and flips open which is super handy.
Ok, so then when it's time to organize ourselves for the month ahead, I have this binder. I've had it forever, but never wrote in it or used it. I knew it would be handy, but I never got to the point where I would seriously use it, til now. I do my budget in a spreadsheet in Google Documents. I think I've blogged about that before and even linked people to it and shown copies of mine. My problem was always transferring what I saw in the spreadsheet to a more portable version. I considered using one of the girls' tablets for it, but decided it was not a reliable way to do it if they weren't around or it broke, or whatever. I didn't want to just print out a copy. I needed to be able to change it in the mobile version as well as the spreadsheet if indeed any changes needed to be made. So, that's when I thought about this binder. Thankfully it's January so I can start right from the beginning!
I write down the info from the weeks in the spreadsheet onto the lines on the pockets for each month. I do it in pencil so I can erase stuff and redo it to match any changes I make in the spreadsheet. I have already had to change a few things. It helps me a lot though because writing it all out helps me get more in touch with it I guess. Like I need to write these things down to remember them. It works with spelling words in a 9 year old and it works with me. I like too that I can just quickly glance at the pocket list and see if I have a payment to something coming up later in the money without having to open the spreadsheet. That's been really useful recently as well.
And since they are pockets, they hold the bills of things I can't pay online (and even some I do pay online just so they're handy to see if needed), and then I file them in the filing cabinet after they're paid.
Another handy thing that list does for me is tell me how much money is allotted to certain expenses, like groceries, gas, household expenses, etc. And that's VERY handy because of this!
I have posted about this handy thing before, when I made it, but I had stopped using it when cash just wasn't an option for a while. (Again SO glad those days are BEHIND me).
It's a coupon or recipe binder basically, and is a bit beat up, but I taped the rips back together and its good as new. I had found the colorful envelopes and letter stickers to make it fun.
In the front pocket I keep a notepad with a page for each envelope to note deposits into the envelopes and all withdrawals from the envelopes so I can keep track of how much is in each one without opening it and counting it and that way I don't have to write on the envelopes. There's also a pink pencil, the grocery and household list and menu, and a copy of just this week's budget. It's done in pen and is all scribbled with changes, but currently matches the spreadsheet for the next incoming paycheck at least. I figure that's handy in case I remember the envelopes, but forget the budget binder. It happens.
I've got envelopes for everything I deal with locally that I can do with cash. Groceries, gas, household, dining out, prescriptions, kids' allowances, school lunches and fees, entertainment/fun, clothing, back to school, anniversary savings, and "extras". I'm actually not sure what "extras" would be since we're doing a zero budget. Actually I think I may change it to my and Christopher's allowances. We don't have an envelope for that. Perfect. Oh there is also an envelope at the back for the house payment, but it's never on me for long. It goes from the bank to a money order into an envelope and into the mailbox.
So, yeah when we get paid, I can look at how much all the local cash stuff comes to and withdraw that much in cash and distribute it among the envelopes. Then just like Dave Ramsey says, once that money's gone, it's gone. No robbing Peter to pay Paul either. I don't want to get into the habit of stealing from the grocery money to put more into entertainment just because there's a new movie we want to go see. If we don't have it budgeted, then we save that money and wait til the next paycheck when we add to it and can afford it. Or just wait and rent it. Likewise, if I didn't budget for dining out, or it's running low, then the only way one of us can eat out is if we take it from our own personal money. I think that would get old pretty quick. There are lots of great things I've been wanting and just bookmarked them thinking, someday.... well now I don't have to feel guilty for buying them if I use my own allowance money on them. I'll know that money wasn't being taken away from paying a bill or groceries, or whatever.
And I think that's why this system will work. Each of us will be getting our own spending money. So, we'll have that money allotted just for that and the rest of it can go on the stuff that needs to be paid and there's no guilt, no anxiety, no whining, etc. If the kids want something really bad, then they just need to save it up. And it's not going to be a piddly amount (well in my eyes anyway). Out of each of Christopher's checks (so every two weeks), each child will get double their age in cash. So, Rhiannon will get $30 twice a month, so $60 a month. Not a lot but a WHOLE lot more than she's been getting before heh. Faelyn will be getting $28, and Zoe will get $18 every two weeks. So, I think unless they just blow it every time or dream of buying something really expensive, they should be able to get some stuff they want and still save some money back to add up to get something they really want later on too, like a new phone or bike, or whatever.
We will also be paying to put minutes on their phones starting in Feb. Since I'm getting C a new phone, we're passing down his current one to Rhiannon, and Faelyn is getting a new one (maybe another HTC) for her birthday in February. It's not cheap to keep minutes on their phones, but I really *hate* not being able to get in touch with them when they're not home, and I want them to be able to call home at any time anywhere. It's a security/safety thing, and I am willing to pay for that peace of mind.
I'm not budgeting extra money for holidays like Mothers Day or Valentines Day or Fathers Day etc. If people want to buy gifts for those days they will use their allowances. I do however have money budgeted for the 4th of July. not much, but some spending cash. It's our favorite holiday and we always like to have money for the fair food and cold drinks. We used to take coolers and a grill, but they don't allow them anymore. bah. Still I understand the food booths need to make money too, especially for working in those trailer or tents in 100 degree weather. Whew! But anyway I'm getting off topic! (forgot to add, I AM budgeting for birthdays, a nice chunk actually for each one. Not enough for a laptop, but certainly enough to get them nice gifts this year.)
I'm budgeting a good deal for Dr bills and old credit card bills, whittling them away little by little. Unless something really bad happens, we'll have all the Dr bills paid off except his Stress Test bill which we'll likely be paying on into 2013. Thank goodness those aren't every year! And that's AFTER insurance! We'll get the two credit cards paid off that are still accruing interest and fees, and then start on the old charged off ones. Our credit rating will be shot for a few years more, they can't do much worse to us, so we'll pay them off as we can and they'll get it when they get it.
So, we won't be totally debt free this year. I'm not even sure why I thought we would be last year... maybe I figured we'd live on ketchup soup all year and have holes in our clothes. But anyway, it'll be a very good start to being debt free. We still owe $4000 on the Explorer and we pay $220 a month on it. So it'll be paid off the middle of 2013. I think striving to be debt free by the end of next year is doable. We'll likely have to get another car eventually, but for now I think we're good. *knock on wood*.
Oh, I did want to say... one thing I'm budgeting a LOT on in April, May and June is....a WEDDING!
Corina and Tyler have finally set a date, June 23rd, though I still have to get with my brother who's a pastor and see if he can do the ceremony and if that day's good... and then ask if we can have it at his farm. It's not going to be anything fancy. They're both VERY country, and I think it'll be really casual, so hopefully it's not going to cost an arm and a leg, but there'll be $200 out of a paycheck here and $75 out of there and then $285... all through April, May and June. So I can't spend a single dime on it unless it's out of my allowance until April. It might kill me, but I'm going to get some bridal magazines and look at invitations and sit down with her and make her decide what she really wants. There's a lot of dresses made for beach weddings that are informal and really pretty and flowy... but knowing her she's going to want something out of Gone With The Wind. So we'll see. Lots to plan and dream and have fun with. I wish Mom was still alive and we could have it at her place like Christopher and I did. It was beautiful. But I'm sure the farm will be just fine under the big oak tree or down by the creek. Who knows!
So, forgive the rambling. It's just how I am. :) Do any of you use the envelope system? Does it work for you? Do you have any advice? I'm really excited to get into seriously using it. We all agree it's what this family needs. Holler at me!
Patty
I've done several posts on budgeting, probably most of them have been on how bad I am at sticking to one!
I've made a really nice budget book I was so proud of, and hoped that it looking nice would encourage me to use it and actually stick to it. Yeah that didn't happen. Oh it did at first, but we were never able to build up an emergency fund (or rather I wasn't serious enough about it to put money into one.), so when things came up, we got further and further into the hole.
Well, as I posted earlier, our tax refund is on its way, and I have already budgeted it down to a dollar. No going out and blowing $100 taking everyone out to eat or to the movies. This time we're following the budget I listed in the previous post, and we're sticking to it. Mainly because we really have no choice. And that's how I feel about our continuing 2012 budget. We have no choice. We have to stick to it.
Christopher and I talked and both agreed there are two main reasons we never stick to the budget - we don't get our own personal spending money, and we always buy more food than I budget for. Always. So, I started off with this idea and what limited income we've got coming in the rest of this month and then next month. I'm budgeting more for groceries where I can, and I'm giving the kids an allowance as well as me and Christopher.
In addition, the "extra" money we will now have each month since it won't be going to overdraft and cash advance fees will be going onto old credit card and medical bills. It's embarrassing that we even still have these bills. Some are for Dr visits over a year ago.
But what I really wanted to show you was the system I have set up for the budget this time around... and I can't wait to get starting using! Our next paycheck isn't until this weekend and it's not soon enough!
So, since Christopher and I had agreed to both be involved in the budget a while back when I had a breakdown over it, I decided the pretty flowery budget book might put him off. So I switched to this black folder thingy which is really handy.
It unzips to reveal zipper pockets which are perfect for stamps, pens, etc. Then there is an expandable file thing which I've labeled for different things, and that's where stuff goes as it comes in, so when we need to pay a bill, we can find it there. So far it's been working pretty well at least as far as organizing stuff. It's especially handy when it's time to make a house payment since I keep extra envelopes, stamps and the house payment address in the front pocket.
It also has a legal pad that slides out and flips open which is super handy.
Ok, so then when it's time to organize ourselves for the month ahead, I have this binder. I've had it forever, but never wrote in it or used it. I knew it would be handy, but I never got to the point where I would seriously use it, til now. I do my budget in a spreadsheet in Google Documents. I think I've blogged about that before and even linked people to it and shown copies of mine. My problem was always transferring what I saw in the spreadsheet to a more portable version. I considered using one of the girls' tablets for it, but decided it was not a reliable way to do it if they weren't around or it broke, or whatever. I didn't want to just print out a copy. I needed to be able to change it in the mobile version as well as the spreadsheet if indeed any changes needed to be made. So, that's when I thought about this binder. Thankfully it's January so I can start right from the beginning!
I write down the info from the weeks in the spreadsheet onto the lines on the pockets for each month. I do it in pencil so I can erase stuff and redo it to match any changes I make in the spreadsheet. I have already had to change a few things. It helps me a lot though because writing it all out helps me get more in touch with it I guess. Like I need to write these things down to remember them. It works with spelling words in a 9 year old and it works with me. I like too that I can just quickly glance at the pocket list and see if I have a payment to something coming up later in the money without having to open the spreadsheet. That's been really useful recently as well.
And since they are pockets, they hold the bills of things I can't pay online (and even some I do pay online just so they're handy to see if needed), and then I file them in the filing cabinet after they're paid.
Another handy thing that list does for me is tell me how much money is allotted to certain expenses, like groceries, gas, household expenses, etc. And that's VERY handy because of this!
I have posted about this handy thing before, when I made it, but I had stopped using it when cash just wasn't an option for a while. (Again SO glad those days are BEHIND me).
It's a coupon or recipe binder basically, and is a bit beat up, but I taped the rips back together and its good as new. I had found the colorful envelopes and letter stickers to make it fun.
In the front pocket I keep a notepad with a page for each envelope to note deposits into the envelopes and all withdrawals from the envelopes so I can keep track of how much is in each one without opening it and counting it and that way I don't have to write on the envelopes. There's also a pink pencil, the grocery and household list and menu, and a copy of just this week's budget. It's done in pen and is all scribbled with changes, but currently matches the spreadsheet for the next incoming paycheck at least. I figure that's handy in case I remember the envelopes, but forget the budget binder. It happens.
I've got envelopes for everything I deal with locally that I can do with cash. Groceries, gas, household, dining out, prescriptions, kids' allowances, school lunches and fees, entertainment/fun, clothing, back to school, anniversary savings, and "extras". I'm actually not sure what "extras" would be since we're doing a zero budget. Actually I think I may change it to my and Christopher's allowances. We don't have an envelope for that. Perfect. Oh there is also an envelope at the back for the house payment, but it's never on me for long. It goes from the bank to a money order into an envelope and into the mailbox.
So, yeah when we get paid, I can look at how much all the local cash stuff comes to and withdraw that much in cash and distribute it among the envelopes. Then just like Dave Ramsey says, once that money's gone, it's gone. No robbing Peter to pay Paul either. I don't want to get into the habit of stealing from the grocery money to put more into entertainment just because there's a new movie we want to go see. If we don't have it budgeted, then we save that money and wait til the next paycheck when we add to it and can afford it. Or just wait and rent it. Likewise, if I didn't budget for dining out, or it's running low, then the only way one of us can eat out is if we take it from our own personal money. I think that would get old pretty quick. There are lots of great things I've been wanting and just bookmarked them thinking, someday.... well now I don't have to feel guilty for buying them if I use my own allowance money on them. I'll know that money wasn't being taken away from paying a bill or groceries, or whatever.
And I think that's why this system will work. Each of us will be getting our own spending money. So, we'll have that money allotted just for that and the rest of it can go on the stuff that needs to be paid and there's no guilt, no anxiety, no whining, etc. If the kids want something really bad, then they just need to save it up. And it's not going to be a piddly amount (well in my eyes anyway). Out of each of Christopher's checks (so every two weeks), each child will get double their age in cash. So, Rhiannon will get $30 twice a month, so $60 a month. Not a lot but a WHOLE lot more than she's been getting before heh. Faelyn will be getting $28, and Zoe will get $18 every two weeks. So, I think unless they just blow it every time or dream of buying something really expensive, they should be able to get some stuff they want and still save some money back to add up to get something they really want later on too, like a new phone or bike, or whatever.
We will also be paying to put minutes on their phones starting in Feb. Since I'm getting C a new phone, we're passing down his current one to Rhiannon, and Faelyn is getting a new one (maybe another HTC) for her birthday in February. It's not cheap to keep minutes on their phones, but I really *hate* not being able to get in touch with them when they're not home, and I want them to be able to call home at any time anywhere. It's a security/safety thing, and I am willing to pay for that peace of mind.
I'm not budgeting extra money for holidays like Mothers Day or Valentines Day or Fathers Day etc. If people want to buy gifts for those days they will use their allowances. I do however have money budgeted for the 4th of July. not much, but some spending cash. It's our favorite holiday and we always like to have money for the fair food and cold drinks. We used to take coolers and a grill, but they don't allow them anymore. bah. Still I understand the food booths need to make money too, especially for working in those trailer or tents in 100 degree weather. Whew! But anyway I'm getting off topic! (forgot to add, I AM budgeting for birthdays, a nice chunk actually for each one. Not enough for a laptop, but certainly enough to get them nice gifts this year.)
I'm budgeting a good deal for Dr bills and old credit card bills, whittling them away little by little. Unless something really bad happens, we'll have all the Dr bills paid off except his Stress Test bill which we'll likely be paying on into 2013. Thank goodness those aren't every year! And that's AFTER insurance! We'll get the two credit cards paid off that are still accruing interest and fees, and then start on the old charged off ones. Our credit rating will be shot for a few years more, they can't do much worse to us, so we'll pay them off as we can and they'll get it when they get it.
So, we won't be totally debt free this year. I'm not even sure why I thought we would be last year... maybe I figured we'd live on ketchup soup all year and have holes in our clothes. But anyway, it'll be a very good start to being debt free. We still owe $4000 on the Explorer and we pay $220 a month on it. So it'll be paid off the middle of 2013. I think striving to be debt free by the end of next year is doable. We'll likely have to get another car eventually, but for now I think we're good. *knock on wood*.
Oh, I did want to say... one thing I'm budgeting a LOT on in April, May and June is....a WEDDING!
Corina and Tyler have finally set a date, June 23rd, though I still have to get with my brother who's a pastor and see if he can do the ceremony and if that day's good... and then ask if we can have it at his farm. It's not going to be anything fancy. They're both VERY country, and I think it'll be really casual, so hopefully it's not going to cost an arm and a leg, but there'll be $200 out of a paycheck here and $75 out of there and then $285... all through April, May and June. So I can't spend a single dime on it unless it's out of my allowance until April. It might kill me, but I'm going to get some bridal magazines and look at invitations and sit down with her and make her decide what she really wants. There's a lot of dresses made for beach weddings that are informal and really pretty and flowy... but knowing her she's going to want something out of Gone With The Wind. So we'll see. Lots to plan and dream and have fun with. I wish Mom was still alive and we could have it at her place like Christopher and I did. It was beautiful. But I'm sure the farm will be just fine under the big oak tree or down by the creek. Who knows!
So, forgive the rambling. It's just how I am. :) Do any of you use the envelope system? Does it work for you? Do you have any advice? I'm really excited to get into seriously using it. We all agree it's what this family needs. Holler at me!
Patty
Actually excited about money!
Hello y'all! I have filed our tax return online already and the IRS site says we'll have our refund (over $3000 yipee!) back by Feb 7th. I was kinda bummed cause the H&R Block calendar said if I got it in by the 25th, I should get the refund by Feb 1st... but whatever, it's ok. Still really quick. so I'm happy.
The very first thing we're doing with the money is putting $500 of it into the emergency fund savings account.
Then we're paying off all the cash advances we have outstanding.... when I added up what they'd cost us to pay off I about choked. Over $1200! YIKES! I do NOT even want to think about how much money we're thrown away over the last year(s) paying just to renew them so we could make it to another paycheck... frittering money away on junk and letting it to into overdraft anyway and paying those fees. OMG I can't even think about it. It's all in the PAST!
Then we have a budget of $700 from the refund to redo the floors in the living room and hallway and paint the living room and kitchen. I've picked out a yellow that looks nice in the virtual painter thingy, but Christopher isn't sold on it yet. I'm hoping to get a $2.99 sample of it this weekend and paint a square and see if we like it. It's called Carolina Inn Lobby Yellow . I think it's pretty and soft, but still warm and I think it'll go well with our wood tones and antiques. I know we were going to do the light blue, but Christopher kind of pouted when he wasn't going to get his yellow kitchen, so I figured, oh what the heck, let's do the whole great room in yellow. It should really brighten up the space, which is important since the floors will be the dark wood.
We've already talked to people and found that screwing down the plywood underlayment without glue is the best way to do it. Now we just have to find enough nice smooth pieces of 1/4 inch plywood that fits our budget. The sanded stuff is twice as much as the plain plywood, and I don't really have any room to go over budget. I do NOT want to touch the emergency savings at all, so it has to fit the budget.
Then we're giving each of the girls $50 to do with whatever they want. It's all theirs. Though I do hope they don't buy $50 of candy hehe.
We're giving Corina $50 to help pay her hospital bill she called me freaking out about. I told her back when she got the bill to call the billing office and set up payments, but she never did and got a final notice in the mail and thought the world was ending. I don't want her to get into the habit of putting bills off like I do.
Then $132 of it is going to pay to get the treadmill out of layaway. I am really excited about this one! I've been trying to watch my diet, but I ran out of slimfasts early (I think Rhiannon has been drinking them), as wel as the "healthy" snacks I'd been eating like grain toast and peanut butter (very filling, protein, not bad in calories). So, I'm betting I've put back on the 2 lbs I'd lost. Blah.
I have $168 budgeted for household stuff. Things I've been needing or wanting around the house, like more bath towels, a new mouse for my computer, ink cartridges, a new bathmat for the main bathroom etc. Oh and the slipcover for the couch that Christopher has approved of - he hates the couch because it's ugly. He loves the size, so we're just slip-covering it.
$180 for Faelyn's field trip to DC.
$153 to get Christopher a new Android phone for the Virgin mobile prepaid plan we have. $27 for unlimited texts and web and 300 talk minutes (we never use all the talk minutes, but boy do we text and use the web lol). He's always been behind the times as far as phones go and he loves being connected, so I'm really excited to get him the HTC Wildfire. It's not the BEST phone out there, but it's good, and he can watch videos and get on Facebook and play Words With Friends on his lunch break, and check his tweets and websites. He's as crazy about gaming stuff as most men are about sports scores.
$50 for Christopher's spending money. God knows he deserves so much more, but I'm glad we can find that much to give him to blow on whatever. Soon, we'll be getting our own allowances, but that'll be in the Budget Post which I should be doing next. :)
Oh and $100 to my credit card that's gone over the limit and past due and all that bad stuff. It's the only one we have that hasn't been canceled. Did I mention we're bad with making payments? yeah. So, I'm gonna get it caught up as much as I can, and make regular payments to make them happy again and pay it off asap. It's budgeted. Then it'll get put in the drawer for real honest to GOD emergencies. I think I know where it is anyway heh.
So, that's it for the tax refund. I really hope they lie and it'll actually come on the 1st (direct deposit), since the field trip money for DC really needs to be in way before the 7th.
After all is said and done, we'll be all caught up on bills, nothing behind. The living room and kitchen will finally look nice and have our own touches on them instead of looking ugly and like it did when it was built in 2000. And because we aren't paying out a TON of money in cash advance and overdraft fees, we'll have money to finally do the things we should have been doing all along.
I'm going to do a post next on the budget and the tools I'm using and the system I think is going to work perfectly for us. I've got to get some photos taken first. So check back soon for that!
Hope y'all have had a great week and weekend! And I hope your 2012 is going fantastic!
Patty
The very first thing we're doing with the money is putting $500 of it into the emergency fund savings account.
Then we're paying off all the cash advances we have outstanding.... when I added up what they'd cost us to pay off I about choked. Over $1200! YIKES! I do NOT even want to think about how much money we're thrown away over the last year(s) paying just to renew them so we could make it to another paycheck... frittering money away on junk and letting it to into overdraft anyway and paying those fees. OMG I can't even think about it. It's all in the PAST!
Then we have a budget of $700 from the refund to redo the floors in the living room and hallway and paint the living room and kitchen. I've picked out a yellow that looks nice in the virtual painter thingy, but Christopher isn't sold on it yet. I'm hoping to get a $2.99 sample of it this weekend and paint a square and see if we like it. It's called Carolina Inn Lobby Yellow . I think it's pretty and soft, but still warm and I think it'll go well with our wood tones and antiques. I know we were going to do the light blue, but Christopher kind of pouted when he wasn't going to get his yellow kitchen, so I figured, oh what the heck, let's do the whole great room in yellow. It should really brighten up the space, which is important since the floors will be the dark wood.
We've already talked to people and found that screwing down the plywood underlayment without glue is the best way to do it. Now we just have to find enough nice smooth pieces of 1/4 inch plywood that fits our budget. The sanded stuff is twice as much as the plain plywood, and I don't really have any room to go over budget. I do NOT want to touch the emergency savings at all, so it has to fit the budget.
Then we're giving each of the girls $50 to do with whatever they want. It's all theirs. Though I do hope they don't buy $50 of candy hehe.
We're giving Corina $50 to help pay her hospital bill she called me freaking out about. I told her back when she got the bill to call the billing office and set up payments, but she never did and got a final notice in the mail and thought the world was ending. I don't want her to get into the habit of putting bills off like I do.
Then $132 of it is going to pay to get the treadmill out of layaway. I am really excited about this one! I've been trying to watch my diet, but I ran out of slimfasts early (I think Rhiannon has been drinking them), as wel as the "healthy" snacks I'd been eating like grain toast and peanut butter (very filling, protein, not bad in calories). So, I'm betting I've put back on the 2 lbs I'd lost. Blah.
I have $168 budgeted for household stuff. Things I've been needing or wanting around the house, like more bath towels, a new mouse for my computer, ink cartridges, a new bathmat for the main bathroom etc. Oh and the slipcover for the couch that Christopher has approved of - he hates the couch because it's ugly. He loves the size, so we're just slip-covering it.
$180 for Faelyn's field trip to DC.
$153 to get Christopher a new Android phone for the Virgin mobile prepaid plan we have. $27 for unlimited texts and web and 300 talk minutes (we never use all the talk minutes, but boy do we text and use the web lol). He's always been behind the times as far as phones go and he loves being connected, so I'm really excited to get him the HTC Wildfire. It's not the BEST phone out there, but it's good, and he can watch videos and get on Facebook and play Words With Friends on his lunch break, and check his tweets and websites. He's as crazy about gaming stuff as most men are about sports scores.
$50 for Christopher's spending money. God knows he deserves so much more, but I'm glad we can find that much to give him to blow on whatever. Soon, we'll be getting our own allowances, but that'll be in the Budget Post which I should be doing next. :)
Oh and $100 to my credit card that's gone over the limit and past due and all that bad stuff. It's the only one we have that hasn't been canceled. Did I mention we're bad with making payments? yeah. So, I'm gonna get it caught up as much as I can, and make regular payments to make them happy again and pay it off asap. It's budgeted. Then it'll get put in the drawer for real honest to GOD emergencies. I think I know where it is anyway heh.
So, that's it for the tax refund. I really hope they lie and it'll actually come on the 1st (direct deposit), since the field trip money for DC really needs to be in way before the 7th.
After all is said and done, we'll be all caught up on bills, nothing behind. The living room and kitchen will finally look nice and have our own touches on them instead of looking ugly and like it did when it was built in 2000. And because we aren't paying out a TON of money in cash advance and overdraft fees, we'll have money to finally do the things we should have been doing all along.
I'm going to do a post next on the budget and the tools I'm using and the system I think is going to work perfectly for us. I've got to get some photos taken first. So check back soon for that!
Hope y'all have had a great week and weekend! And I hope your 2012 is going fantastic!
Patty
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
And now this...
I hope I don't get into trouble for posting this on Blogger... but that's kind of the point of it really.
I work on the internet and I know if certain laws were to take effect, my job may be gone forever. Besides that, I am very pro freedom.
So, please go to this site: http://sopastrike.com/ and just take a look and maybe read up on stuff if you don't know what it's all about.
This blog has a GREAT explanation. Getting rid of piracy is one thing, but taking away so many basic rights is something else entirely.
Thanks,
Patty
I work on the internet and I know if certain laws were to take effect, my job may be gone forever. Besides that, I am very pro freedom.
So, please go to this site: http://sopastrike.com/ and just take a look and maybe read up on stuff if you don't know what it's all about.
This blog has a GREAT explanation. Getting rid of piracy is one thing, but taking away so many basic rights is something else entirely.
Thanks,
Patty
Free Organizing Book from Amazon! (legit)
I saw this posted by my cousin on Facebook and checked it out. I did indeed get the free book, and it looks like a really good one. We all love organizing books, and this one won't add to the clutter yay!
http://www.southernsavers.com/2012/01/free-kindle-book-organized-simplicity/
I love Southern Savers too and get their emails myself. So, I don't mind linking to their site, so they get the affiliate credit (it's free anyway heh).
http://www.southernsavers.com/2012/01/free-kindle-book-organized-simplicity/
I love Southern Savers too and get their emails myself. So, I don't mind linking to their site, so they get the affiliate credit (it's free anyway heh).
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