Dumping Debt: First Month Down

I've tried writing this several times and keep getting stuck...then with being out of town for the last 10 days I continued to put it off. Well here it goes, even if it is a month late.

SO, we survived our first month on a budget! It wasn't really that bad...we did have some surprises come up, but like I said we survived and we were able to make a nice big payment on one of our loans...oh it felt so good. Kinda nerdy, I know, but it's fun!

Beginning of January: First Budget Committee Meeting.

Almost a year ago when we first attempted to live on a budget, we came up with some numbers to stay within (very generous numbers cause we had no idea where to start) and found an app on our phones to keep track of what/where we spent money. Needless to say, it was a disaster, we kept using the excuse that we didn't really know what was realistic so if we went over it was OK. Plus, if I remember correctly, we didn't name every dollar. Meaning we didn't allocate all of our income into categories, so that at the bottom of the budget page, income to outgo didn't equaled zero. We only created a couple of categories, like food/gas/utilites/rent. Basically, we half heartily made a budget and then didn't even stay within the budget amounts. But our biggest mistake, was that we didn't come together at the end of the month before the new month started and go over our budget. Essentially, we had already given up.

BUT NOT THIS TIME! Here is proof: (second budget meeting)

Budget Committee meeting for February

This time we made sure that every dollar that we earned in January was accounted for, we made enough categories this time to do so, which helped us tremendously. By doing so, we created an actual budget, and even though it was our "first" month we tried very hard to make each budgeted amount realistic and forced ourselves to stay within those means.

Positive Experience this month: Grocery shopping! I have always felt like I spend so much money when I go to the grocery store. This time it was so nice to have Andrew with me (he took the afternoon off for our ultrasound appt in Bellingham) to help stay on budget. I had made a list of items we needed to get and made a column next to each item to write down the price of that item and price per unit. With his help we were able to keep a running total while we shopped. And guess what? It worked great! We had budgeted $100 and our running total came to about 40 cents off the actual amount paid, which was $91.75. We were even able to buy a couple of unnecessary items (like chocolate chips for cookies) because we knew how much money we had left in our budget, before we even checked out! We were so proud of ourselves =)

Challenges/Unexpected expenses this month: For the month of January we had two unexpected/additional expenses: a speeding ticket we had received during Christmas break and an ultrasound bill payment that we didn't know our insurance wouldn't cover entirely. We placed them in our debt category and paid them off right away since they were our smallest debt. Then used the rest of our budgeted money for debt to put towards our other two loans. It really wasn't that big of a deal but kind of a bummer that our very first month we couldn't put the entire amount budgeted for loans toward them exclusively.


Helpful tips from this month: We created a category in our budget which included: Auto insurance, weddings this summer and our baby's birth. These are things that we want to have extra money saved for when they come up. For example we don't pay auto insurance monthly but we are putting money away every month for when we need to pay that bill, which is quarterly. Weddings and birth are things we want to have money set aside for. What was very helpful for me, seeing as I am a visual person, is we transferred this money to a different bank account. That way, at the end of the month this money wasn't sitting in our main bank account, seeming like we have extra money left to go towards loans. I needed to see the money go somewhere, in order for it to feel like it was being used. I hope that makes sense and I would highly recommend doing something like this if you need to put money aside and have troubles seeing that that money is already accounted for.

Alrighty well that's the scoop on our first month. February is soon to come, hopefully.

Family Day Weekend

This weekend has been a blessing in disguise. We were supposed to go to Corvallis for Drill and with last weeks news we wanted to go anyways to see friends and family but the weather was so bad that drill was cancelled and we decided to stay home. Andrew had all three days off (including today) because it's a Canadian holiday: Family Day! 

I very much appreciated having Andrew home and just spending the weekend together hanging out.

We even checked off some items on our 2014 To-Do list:

Went through some boxes in our Garage, Andrew found his graduation hard hat, Malachi found one of our old cell phones. He loves that it makes noise.

I think Malachi is talking to one of his cousins. (Started using cloth diapers this week too)

We finished our monthly pics of Malachi's first year, thanks for Andrew's help with sizing issues. I love having a handy husband. Lighting is kinda funny in this picture, it looks much better in person.

And we've enjoyed lots of treats (bbq'd steak, burgers, ice cream, blondies, homemade popcorn), the Olympics, movies, episodes from The Guardian, skyped Andrew's parents with his Grandma and Aunt in Germany this morning, and of course playing with Malachi. Here are a couple of random pics:

He loves his blankets.

Enjoying his new books he got for Christmas.

I guess we have a backup in case we lose his pacifiers.

In God We Trust

It's very hard to lose a loved one. But I have to remind myself that God will never give us anything we can't handle, He's in charge, and He knows what is best for all of us; even if we don't understand or agree. This past week Andrew's Grandpa in Germany passed away and yesterday we found out a very dear friend of ours passed away in a car accident. Of course it has been very hard, but with God's grace we will make it through. 

For now we can remember the good times we had and pray for mercy on their souls, as well as their family and friends. 

Friedrich Schaal or Opa

I had the pleasure of spending time with Omi and Opa in Germany on our honeymoon, they treated us much better than any resort...look at all that food (and that's only breakfast)!

If I remember correctly, we were laughing because we tried taking MANY pictures with Opa looking but he was consumed with finding a phone number instead.

We managed to get this good one. All of us had just eaten an entire carton of cappuccino ice cream, needless to say we gained several pounds on this trip! I feel so blessed to have spent this time with Opa, Omi and Andrew's Aunt Christiane.

Dominic Schlundt

Andrew and I met Dom at the Newman Center in Corvallis. This is one early morning fundraiser at St. Mary's, making doughnuts for our trip to San Francisco for the March for Life, many years ago.

Andrew and I went with Melissa to drop Dom off in Bend for his deployment.

Last April all of us (friends from Corvallis) spent the weekend at the Oregon coast. It was such a fun weekend with them. It made me miss everyone so much! I'm glad we had this time together.  We are thankful for our friendship with Dominic. He was a genuine, devout and humorous friend and role model.

Opa and Dominic, you both will be missed dearly.

 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." -John 3:16

Dumping Debt: The 7 Baby Steps

Real quick, I thought I'd share the 7 Baby Steps for your Total Money Makeover:

Baby Step 1: $1000 to start an Emergency Fund

Baby Step 2: Pay off all Debt, using the debt snowball

Baby Step 3: 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings

Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement

Baby Step 5: College funding for Children

Baby Step 6: Pay off home early

Baby Step 7: Build wealth and give!

We're in baby step 2, paying off our debt. Here is a little description from Dave Ramsey's website about using the debt snowball:

"List your debts, excluding the house, in order. The smallest balance should be your number one priority. Don’t worry about interest rates unless two debts have similar payoffs. If that’s the case, then list the higher interest rate debt first. 

The point of the debt snowball is simply this: You need some quick wins in order to stay pumped up about getting out of debt! Paying off debt is not always about math. It’s about motivation. Personal finance is 20% head knowledge and 80% behavior. When you start knocking off the easier debts, you will see results and you will stay motivated to dump your debt." 

 Andrew and I paid off my little school loans within the first couple of months of finishing FPU (Financial Peace University) and it's true, seeing those debts gone really is a motivation. Now we're tackling the big ones; his school loans and the Army Career Starter Loan But we couldn't do it willy-nilly, we've had to make a budget, which will be my next dumping debt post.

Walking on Sunshine, Wooah

Malachi's face perfectly describes how it made me feel seeing the sun shining into our apartment this morning. =)

Now onto cleaning!

20 Weeks - Half Way

Well we've reached the half way mark! 20 weeks down, and 20 more to go. I have to say this pregnancy is going by much faster and easier (although it sure is nice to have some energy back and not feeling as nauseous). I am very grateful to feel so normal. During Malachi's pregnancy I was hungry and therefor eating 24/7. I appreciate not feeling that hunger and cravings(!) as much this time around.

This past week as been so sunny, it makes me antsy for summer! What a fun and blessing-filled summer we have ahead of us; we get to meet our little one, Robin is getting married along with many other friend's weddings as well! 

I can't wait!

Yesterday: Anniversary of Roe vs Wade

"Today, on this 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we consider the past four decades in which our society has legally permitted abortion and wondered far from God. Instead of accepting children in joy and hope, many hearts seem hardened against making commitments to others, fearing the demands others may make on our time or our freedom. We are becoming a culture marked by rejection, by loneliness and sorrow. In today's Gospel, we hear how Jesus grieved over the Pharisees' hardness of heart, as he heals a man with the withered hand. They remained silent when Jesus pointedly asked them: "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" Our laws now make it legal to destroy life by abortion, by abortifacient drugs, in destructive embryo research, in the course of in vitro fertilization procedures and in some states by assisted suicide and the death penalty. How Jesus must grieve over this culture of death! Let us open our hearts in faith, entrusting our culture to the healing power of Christ, the One who has overcome sin and the power of evil"

I know I'm a day late, but I wanted to share a reflection from the 9 Days for Life novena I am partaking in.  This novena is for those who have; lost their lives to abortion, who have lost loved ones to abortion,who are suffering from abortion, those who are performing abortions and those fighting against abortion. It is so important to pray for changed hearts and respect for life. It can be devastating thinking about the laws in our country (Canada included) but when you see all the people who participated in the March for Life in Washington DC and those in San Francisco, and those who fight every day in their home towns, with friends and family; there is a renewed sense of hope. It is by these efforts guided by our Lord that we may stop abortion, whether by law or just by changing hearts.