Still Working The Plan

Well, I got a nice comment on an old post from a new reader. He asked me a little about my story and how we got out of debt. I told him a bit and suggested he look back through my blog by category (such as "debt", "earn money", etc.) - so I actually did this myself.

It was actually really fun and inspiring to read many of my old posts and to see how far we really have come.

We started on our journey in February 2008. We became debt free (except for the house) in April 2009. As of today, we are a little more than 2/3 of the way in saving our Fully Funded Emergency Fund of $30,000 (we have $22,500 so far).

My husband is expecting a very large commission at the end of the month, maybe close to $10,000 - so there is a chance we could finish the FFEF then! (This will only be the second commission check my husband has received in the last 6 months, and the last one was much much smaller.) So, I'm hopeful but trying not to count my chickens before they hatch.

The other problem I will be facing is - my husband.

Every week he talks about something else that we need to do around the house. He wants new windows, a new heating system, finish the basement, we'll both need new cars soon, etc. The list goes on and on.

I fear that when the big commission check comes in he'll want to spend it instead of save it.

In some ways this has been an ongoing problem. He isn't completely on board with the whole "get/stay out of debt" thing. He is happy that we are out of debt but I think he is skeptical about weather or not we'll be able to stay out of debt. (I am determined!)

Most likely, I will need to give in a little and spend a bit on some household upgrades that we do need (want) and are important to him. I'm just hoping that there will be enough money to finish the FFEF and do something he wants. :)

Simplifying Life

. . . . aaaaahhh . . . . this is always one of my goals for the New Year - to simplify my life. Well, this year is no different. In fact, I think I need it more than ever!

I feel like my head has been spinning for the past several months. Trying to keep up with the schedules and activities of my three daughters, run the household and the budget, and keep my Scrabble Pendant business going - it has been busy, busy, busy.

I often feel an underlying stress pulsing through my body, when what I really crave is peace.

I don't have a set of goals outlined yet, to achieve this simplified life. But I know that I will begin by reading up on the subject.

Here are some of my thoughts in no particular order:

1. I need to improve my Calendar system. I am not prompt in recording things on the calendar and this results in things slipping through the cracks. (And causes much stress!)
2. I am not proactive enough. I leave too much for the last minute. I am overly confident about how much I can accomplish in a certain amount of time, usually resulting in frustration.
3. Frustrated and stressed is probably how my family would describe me a lot of the time - and this is NOT what I want. I want to be a source of peace for my family.
4. My Scrabble Pendant business has been a great source of pleasure and income for me, but I must put limits on the amount of time I spend on it and be sure the needs of my family are met.
5. I must plan carefully which craft shows I will attend, and more importantly, how many craft shows I will attend. Balance is essential.
6. I spend far too much time returning items, or organizing things to be returned. It is fiscally prudent to return items you don't want or need, but this is a time consuming and stressful process that needs to be weighed in terms of costs and benefits. Many returns result from things given to us by others (gifts, etc.) but many are self induced - and I must refrain from making purchases if I am unsure. I want to change my habit from "I'll buy it and return it if I decide I don't need it" to "I'll think about it and come back if I decide that I want it".
7. More attention needs to be paid to planning and reviewing the Budget!
8. Planning meals and grocery shopping regularly will help relieve Dinner Time Stress!
9. A clean (and organized) house goes a long way toward putting me in a peaceful mood. I need to make the time to clean (and organize)!
10. Less stuff means less clutter, less cleaning, less stress!

Well, that's a list that should keep me busy for most of 2010!

What are your goals for the new year?

Hello Blogging World

Happy New Year Everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I really can't believe that it's been since November!

Things have been going pretty well. 2009 was a really good year for my Pendant Business. It was very enjoyable and profitable. I am looking forward to growing the business even more in 2010.

My record keeping hasn't been the best during this busy time of year, but I'll post the details when I get all my financial records in order for taxes.

I'd like to keep blogging and hope that I'll find (make) the time to do it. My finances will most likely revolve around my business, so I hope I'll have interesting things to share.

Many of you know that we became debt free in 2009. We are now working on building our Fully Funded Emergency Fund. Our goal is $30,000 and right now we are at $22,500. There is a chance my husband will be getting a very large commission soon that could boost us right up to our goal - but I'm trying not to count my chickens before they hatch.

With all the money I made selling at craft shows over the holiday season you would think that we could have contributed more to our FFEF, but my husband received very little in commission over the past 9 months - so my extra income largely just replaced the commission we had thought he would make.

I think 2010 is going to be a great year! Look forward to sharing it with you all and catching up on what you have been doing.

:)

Black Friday

Well, I kept our family tradition and went shopping on Black Friday with two of my sisters. Yes, we are crazy. We left the house at 4:45am! We stood in long lines. It was pouring rain. But somehow, we find this fun. I guess because we do it together.

Anyway, we did get some good deals. I got a really good laptop computer for my daughters (to share) for $299, a printer/copier/scanner for $25, an ipod nano for $120, and lots more. I'm basically done my shopping now.

I had budgeted $1,400 for Christmas gifts. When we left in the morning I brought almost $1,000. (I was afraid to bring more after my "lost $1,000 cash incident" in Florida), and we had to stop back at the house because I ran out of money!

What does everyone usually spend on gifts? I budgeted $200 each for each of my 3 daughters, $30 each for my parents, sisters, and in laws, and $15 each for my nieces and nephews. My husband and I have opted not to exchange this year.

Anyway, we shopped from 5am to 5pm - and I am just about finished. And it does feel good knowing that I shopped with CASH!

I WAS ALMOST NORMAL . . .

My it has been busy around here!

I have been super busy with a Craft Show every weekend, and it is only getting busier in the weeks to come when I often have more than 1 show a week - yikes! The shows have been going terrific and I am now averaging over $1,000 per show - yippee!

Unfortunately, we have not seen a great impact with all this extra cash. This is definitely in part because the busier I have been, the less I have paid attention to our money, and unmanaged money has a way of disappearing . . . The other reason is my husband's job. Times are tough there and he hasn't seen a commission in months. So, this extra money in a way has just replaced the commissions we are used to my husband receiving.

We even had to dip into our Emergency Fund this month because my husband mistakenly paid our mortgage payment (online) to our old mortgage company, instead of the new company that we refinanced with. This was a huge hassle and I'm hoping won't affect our credit negatively given that our new mortgage company didn't receive the payment on time. So, in the meantime I took $2,500 from our EF to pay the mortgage while we waited to get the money back from the other company. The check finally came, so I'm hoping to take a look at our budget for November and then transfer the $2,500 back to the EF. Ugh!

Anyway, the reason that "I was almost normal" has to do with my oldest daughter's 13th birthday. She has been wanting a new cell phone and I started to think "well, it is a milestone birthday" and "she does study hard and get straight A's" and "all her friends have fancy cell phones", etc. I actually went as far as making the purchase of the phone with a 2 year contract to the tune of $70 a month!!! and as I was driving home I realized how crazy I was being. (Luckily I had checked and made sure that I had 30 days to return the phone with no charges or penalties.) So, I returned the phone without ever telling my daughter about it. And we ended up getting her plane tickets to fly to Florida to visit her grandparents over winter vacation. She was thrilled and we paid cash up front and won't be adding $70 a month to our bills for the next 10 plus years!

It really is hard to NOT do what everyone else is doing! Score 1 for Financial Peace! :)

Kill Something And Drag It Home!

Had another great craft show selling my pendants this past Saturday. I made $920! I'm so happy!
And I have another big show coming up this weekend. So, I'm feeling really good.

I got a call this morning from a woman in Florida that ordered a pendant and loved it and she wanted to rush order a bunch more. It felt great! It occurred to me this morning how much I really enjoy running this business.

I quit my job in 1996 when my first daughter was born so I could be a stay at home Mom. I love being a Mom and never had a desire to go back to work. I've never felt guilty about not earning an income. I know I've done a lot to contribute to the well being of my family. So, I am a little surprised by how great I feel about bringing home some extra cash.

It really does feel good to "kill something and drag it home" (as Dave Ramsey says)! :)

Emergency Funds Are Boring

I think that's the bottom line with our current financial situation.

I enjoyed the post 11 Ways To Spice Up Your Emergency Fund over at Get Rich Slowly, but mostly I was just happy to see someone point out what I've been feeling for the past several month - building an emergency fund just isn't exciting.

Although Baby Step 2 was a long journey to pay off all our debts, it came with a tremendous sense of accomplishment each month. It was like Debt was the enemy and I was pumped up to fight fight fight until I won.

The fire seems to have fizzled considerably.

In one way this is surprising to me because I am a worrier. And in these bad economic times, I would think I would feel more pressure to build that emergency fund up and up and up, but progress seems slow. My husbands company isn't doing well right now and his comissions have all but dried up. This leaves very little "extra" money in the budget to put towards the emergency fund.

Now, I have been doing really well selling my pendants at local craft shows. Last weekend I made $550, the weekend before I made $220, and the weekend before I made $1,050 (my highest so far!) - so, you would think that our emergency fund would be growing, but - not so much.

I haven't been great at tracking all the reasons it hasn't, but the few that come to mind are 1.) had to repair car for $250, 2.) husband went on a weekend trip for $400, 3.) I bought new stuff for our bathrooms for $600 (yikes!), 4.) I spent too much on back to school clothes for the kids, and probably lots more that I can't think of right now.

I hate to say it, but I think I have to spend a little time thinking about the reality that we could actually NEED our emergency fund in the not too distant future. I might need a little reality check and a little FEAR to make me behave with money right now. And the reality is that sales are waaaay down at my husband's company. Last quarter (Q1) was the worst ever. This quarter (Q2) isn't looking any better. Q2 ends in November and some of the people who work under my husband will probably be let go at that time. At the end of Q3 (February), if things don't get better, teams will probably be merged and my husband's position could be in jeopardy. He has already updated his resume . . .

Given that I am a worrier with a very big security gland - I need to realize how important our emergency fund is and get it pumped up fast!

We currently have $20,000 saved (not $22,000 as I previously posted as some funds didn't ever actually make it in there), and we need to work fast to get it up to $30,000 (or more).

Wish me luck!

On The Rise

Earning and spending that is. Both on the rise.

That's not good.

Why is it that the more I earn, the more I spend? Obviously I want earning to go up and spending to go down. But how to get there . . .

And more importantly, I need to get some FOCUS. I need to focus on our finances again.

I have so enjoyed running my pendant business. It has been a lot of fun and I have been earning a lot of money. Both great things. But our emergency fund has not been going up the way it should be. We have been doing some small renovations around the house, ordering take out more and more - things that shouldn't be happening until the emergency fund is complete.

I had a feeling that it might be harder to stay motivated in Baby Step 3 than Baby Step 2 - but this is ridiculous.

I'm actually thinking about taking the Financial Peace University class again just to get my focus back.