We are Giving Our Finances to God

Taking control over your finances is a life altering.  Everyone wants a piece of their life that they can control and one's financial status and how their money is spent gives people a sense of control.

My husband and I have been working on our financial situation for 2 years now, but not once have a let God take control of our financial situation.  This is scary because I feel like I am losing the control of my money.  But after working on our budget for 2 years, we don't have much to show for a debt pay-off besides paying Ryne's student loans.  To some, that might seem like a great accomplishment, but if we would have stuck to our plan, we should only have three years left, and all our student loans would have been paid off. And, we are not there.

It is time for us to let go of our control and give it to God.  When I created our budget in December for January, I forgot to plan for our title licenses for our vehicles and for some dental work that Roarie has to have done, so now we have to add this to our budget.  Roarie is having her dental work done Tuesday, and we have to pay for it up front. This is an expense that is a one time fee, but now I know to set aside money for in the future.  

Because of this, I have to rearrange our budget.  This makes me very nervous because then we have to cut out from another budget.  But by putting my faith in the Lord, he reminds me:

        "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body,           what you will put on.  For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing." 

                                                                                                                            Luke 12:28-31

I have to remind myself every day that God will provide. 

         

         "And my God will supply all your need according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

                                                                                                                           Philippians 4:19

What will you do with your Tax Refund?

As Ryne and I prepare our taxes, we are in debt of what we should do with our tax refund.  Last year, we used our return to put on a down payment of a new vehicle.  The year before we used that money to go on vacation.  This year is a different story.

As we look at our financial situation and the debt we owe, we are just tired of owing others.  We want to be debt free and be financially comfortable.  We have a couple of options of what we can do, but no matter what it is, we are going to pay off something.

Once have one of our debts paid off, we will be looking at putting that money into a Snowball Effect. We have two two serious options that we are looking a 1. the monthly payment is $43 or 2. the monthly payment is $125.  A no-brainer would be saying pay off the $125 debt.  Well, it will all depend on the amount of refund.  The payoff of the $125 dollar debt is twice the amount of the $43 debt.

Regardless, we will have $43 or $125 to put in toward our next debt that we would like to pay off. The challenge is to make sure that money with going towards debt, not other daily expense. One trick that I use it on my budget form is to add the overage, in this case, $43 or $125, and add it to the monthly minimum right away.

I know that I am just excited to get something paid off,  A small accomplishment can make a huge weight feel like it came off our shoulders.

DIY Gymnastics Bar

Last summer, as a fun activity, I put my girls in gymnastics.  Little did I know that they would love it. I could not pull them out or it because they looked forward to it every week and it gives them something to do.

Putting them Keelie and Roarie in gymnastics I have seen many changes in them.  Roarie, 4-year-old,  has gained confidence in herself.  Before she would always say, "I can't do it."  But now she tries new things and gets back up and tries again if she doesn't do it right.  She is somewhat of a perfectionist and wants to do it right the first time, so her failing is made her a better person.   Keelie, 2 years old, she is pretty fearless when it comes to trying new things. The balance beam is Keelie's biggest fear.  She can walk straight but walking backward or sideways she thinks she needs help.
Both girls have learned strength.  Roarie is now able to do what is called "straight arm"  and is learn some other movements

 Since the girls love doing gymnastics, they have been using the big love sack as a "pit" to do flip, our little trampoline to practice different jumps, and now they have a bar to practice doing swings and flips.

Ryne and I spent some time over this Christmas break putting this together.  We used

4- 8ft 2x4
2- 8ft 2x6
1- 72" 1 1/4" dowl

I cut the wood.  All the 2x4s were cut to 4 feet in length. Then I cut the ends of 4 of the 2x4s at a 45-degree angle.  It was only my second time ever using a miter saw, so my cuts aren't perfect, but they got the job done.

The 2x6s were cut to the length of 82 inches long.  With just a guestimation that is how long I cut them and it is the perfect length

The 72" dowel was cut down to 48".

I have a fear of screwdrivers.  So I let Ryne predrill and put in screws into all of the pieces of wood. We tried just screwing the screws without drilling first, and that did not work well.  The pieces of wood were sliding around and did not align as they should.

Ryne also had to buy a new screwdriver because the Black & Decker we had was not powerful enough.  So he when went to Lowes and got Porter Cable an impact and a regular drill.  They worked really well and got the job done quickly.

Ryne measured about a down to drill 1 1/4" notch into the wood for the dowel to fit.

As the where Ryne put in the screws, well he put them where ever he felt would be the most sturdy.  He predrilled down at an angle to set the holes and then put screws in the wood.

We did put in a 2x4 going a cross to hold that frame together for alittle added stability.  We also have a couple of memory foam pads under the blanket to give a little padding to the floor.

We did not have much of a plan for this Gymnastics bar.  I found a sample of one from Pinterest.

A Childhood Dream Came True and I was so Mad

Every since I was a little kid, I have wanted a fireplace.  I remember asking my parents to put in a fireplace.  We already had a chimney so I thought it would be easy to do.  Well, we never got a fireplace.  The only time I ever got to enjoy a fire was going to my grandparent's house in the winter time.  I loved it!

Ever since my in-law got an electric fireplace about 10 years ago, it sparked my interest again.  So, I have hinted to my husband several times over the years about getting a fireplace, and let's just say he didn't get the hint.

This year, I decided that with my Christmas money, I would purchase a media center fireplace. I love Menards, and that was the first place I looked to scout out models and prices.  I found a model that I really liked, and their website said that they had one in stock.  Come to find out after calling them, it was the display model.  I was bummed, but they steered me in the direction of another model.  It was a little more pricey but after comparing the two the more expensive heated 1000 sq. ft. vs. 400 sq.ft. of the other model.

So after visiting the store and seeing the different models in we came home with the model the Menards employee told me about over the phone.  Even though it was a little more expensive, Menard was having their 11% storewide rebate, so I will be getting a little of that money back.

So you are probably wondering why I was mad?  Well you see, while Ryne and I were working on putting this bad boy together,  the kids got in the packing styrofoam.  All we hear is its snowing.


Not only is the toy room a disaster, but they broke up the styrofoam and were throwing it in the air.  Keelie was making snow angels.  They had it ALL over themselves.  I was on the verge of tears.  I had worked so hard to organize their toys and cleaned the floor, and then I see this. Tears!

So instead of enjoying
my fireplace when it was all put together.  I have the joys of cleaning all the "snow" up.  Let me tell you it is not easy because those little buggers have static cling.  So I had to blow on all the toys to get the "snow" off and then vacuum it all up because it would just cling to the broom and dust pan.

To make matters worse, while I was vacuuming I sucked up a sock.  Typically with our Shark vacuum I can take it apart and have no problem getting out whatever got stuck, but with this sock, it got stuck in the handle.  So, Ryne spent like 15 minutes trying to get the dang thing out.

After a hour and a half of cleaning,  I finally got to sit down and enjoy my fireplace.  The girls that night had to fall asleep by the fire.  Jeter like to sit and watch the flames.

Christmas Financial Recovery

Ugh!  It is that time of the year when the fun and joy is over, and those credit card bills are coming in.  If you are like me, you are probably thinking,"How in the world am I going to afford this?" This adds a whole new stress of cutting back on some life's luxuries to be able to pay off the Christmas expenses.

I have created our monthly budget.  One area that I added to my budget is Christmas.  I had a Christmas budget, but it was stressful coming up with those funds.  What I am doing this year (2017), I will be pulling money out every month to help cover the cost.  If you are curious how much to set aside, well, look at home much you spent this Christmas and divide it by 12.

Today, I set up my budget.  Oh golly,  it took me a couple of hours to do.  I use Every Dollar to create my budget and track my spending.  I was flipping back and forth between credit card websites and Every Dollar trying to input my balance of each card, and the minimum payment for each.  Then I was going back and forth between my bank account, Every Dollar, and my online credit card accounts trying to make payments.  

I feel the more I blog about my financial goals and help others.  It motivates me to be on the straight 'n arrow.  I am still looking for areas in our budget that we are will to cut.  The sacrifices that we make to live the life that we want in the long run.

Financial Fitness Workout #2- Creating a Budget

Our Financial Fitness Goal is living without credit cards, loans of any kind.  We want to feel comfortable living within our means and end the feeling like we are living paycheck to paycheck.

Finding your Financial Budget Form is like buying a new pair of tennis shoes.  You don't commit to buying it unless it looks good and is the right fit for you.  If you are unsure of a Financial Budget Form that could fit you, check out my previous blog post, Finding a Budget Form   If one of these forms are not the right fit for you,  you can find other budget forms on Pinterest.

But now that we have our "new pair of shoes." It is now time to look at what type of workout we are going to do?  Walk? Run? Zumba? P90X?  The workout you choose has to be whatever you can financially afford and what you are willing to give up.  If you want to get out of debt quick, it may mean sacrificing a lot of "extras."  If you feel like there just isn't much to give up, then getting out might feel like a walking pace.  

No matter if you choose to walk or run,  IT IS POSSIBLE TO LOSE THAT FINANCIAL WEIGHT!

Let talk about how to create a budget. This is part is hard.  I am not going to lie.  This will give you a wake-up call of how financially unfit you really are.

With your budget form, Write down your income.Then, we start with the MUST HAVES.  These are the items that are not negotiable.   These are the items, for the most part with few exceptions, that are a fixed price.  The cost will not change much.

1. Mortgage/rent
2. Electric/Propane
3. Water/Trash
4. Insurance
5. Car Payment(s)
6. Daycare

Write down how much each one costs per month.  Even if you only pay it quarterly, what would you pay per month?  Subtract those costs from your income.

Next, let's move to the next items that we use to live, but prices can vary.  We can upgrade or downgrade if we need too.

1. Cable
2. Internet
3. Phone Home/Cell
4. Gas for Transportation

Write down how much each one costs per month.  Even if you only pay it quarterly, what would you pay per month?  Subtract those costs from your income.

Debt is next.  Ugh!  Here we want to write down the bare minimum payment of your debt broken down.  Do not clump credits together or student loan payment.  Separate them out.  For example, I have one student loan payment.  But when I look at my summary, I probably have 15 loans that are being paid on in that one payment.  I will explain in a future post as to why I do this.

1. Credit Card 1
2. Credit Card 2
3. Credit Card 3
4. Credit Card 4
5. Student Loan 1
6. Student Loan 2
7. Student Loan 3
8. Etc.

Write down how much each one costs per month.  Even if you only pay it quarterly, what would you pay per month?  Subtract those costs from your income.

FINALLY, the leftover money! Yahoo!  This money you can mix around a bit and decide how you want to spend it.

1. Savings
2. Giving
3. Groceries
4. Fast Food
5. Entertainment
6. Doctor Visits
7. Membership Fees
8. Toiletries
9. Personal Money- His 
10. Personal Money- Hers
11. Home Repairs
12. Car Repairs
13. Buffer Money (The money for things when they unexpectedly pop up)
14. ETC.

Write down how much each one costs per month.  Even if you only pay it quarterly, what would you pay per month?  Subtract those costs from your income.

Are you spending more than what you are a making right now?  If not, good!  You are sitting pretty good.  But if you are, take a look at how much you are spending and cut how much you are spending in some of your negotiable categories or completely eliminate them altogether.

We are not done quite yet.  We have one more category, and that is the Overage.  The Overage is the amount you are going to put towards your debt so you can eliminate your debt quicker.  Obviously the more you put toward your debt, the quicker you can get out of debt. Maybe this overage is $50.  You will put this $50 towards the one debt that is the smallest debt.  Here we are going to do the Snowball Effect.

Remember, our goal is to live within our means and to completely eliminate the use of credit cards.

Our News Years Resolutions is to get Financially Fit- Finding a Budget Form

Becoming financially fit is just as hard as being physically fit.  Getting paid once a month poses as a great challenge when it come budgeting money.  . Our New Years Resolution has to come early because we get paid in the middle of the month.  If we wait until our January pay day, it won't fee like much of a resolution.

The best way to start managing your money is to create a budget.  EveryDollar is a great website to create a budget online.  This is a free tool that allows its users to create a budget.  You are able to put in your own income, create different categories and to set up your budget.  On the side, it shows you percentages of categories to how and where most of you money is being spent.

Every Dollar has an app for iPhones and Androids to help keep track of your spending as your spending.  For example, you go grocery shopping, you can keep track of your spending and will show how much money you have help in that budget.

For a small monthly fee of $8.25 or $99 annually, you can link your bank card to your account.  Shortly after your bank processes them, they will show on your EveryDollar account.  You then can click and drag your spending in your budgets and it will automatically withdrawal from your budgets to show how much you have left.

I use EveryDollar, but I also like to use paper and pencil method as well.   You first want to find a form that is going to work for you.  Here is an example of good starter for creating a budget form.

Clicking on this form will take you to Frugal Fanatic.

For me, this form is not broken down enough.  It does not have debt broken down.  If you are like Ryne and I we have more than one credit card and student loan. We started the Snowball Effect on our debts.  This has helped us pay down on Ryne's student loans to the point where the rest will Federally be forgiven.  I, on the other hand, have a way to go to pay off my student loan debt.

Clicking on this form will take you to Debt of Life

This is a great form to work with and if you click on the form the creator of Debt to Life has offered this free template to use.  You can download it in Excel form and can modify it for personal use.

Not only do I like to keep track of my expenses monthly, but I like to keep track of them annually.  This allows me compare from month-to- month how much I am spending.  Utilities can vary so if you save your forms, you will be able to see how much you spend from year to year.

Clicking on this form will take you to a pdf file created by me.