...is my finances! Finally I've found a place where my weird obsessive compulsive tendencies will be a positive rather than a negative!
We've started using Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, which basically consists of 5 steps to complete financial awesomeness. If we stick to the system, we will be COMPLETELY out of debt, with $12,000 in savings in TWO FREAKING YEARS!! The thought blows my mind, in a wonderful way.
Step one is saving $1000 for a mini emergency fund. After we get paid on the 1st of the month, we will have that step completed!
Step two is the debt snowball. We start with our smallest debt, which is our car note. We pay the minimum balance on all other debts, and put EVERYTHING extra onto this debt until it's paid off. Then, we move on to the second smallest and so on. This step will take about 18 months for all our debts. Car note, credit card, and student loans..ALL GONE!
The steps after that consist of paying off your house, funding your IRA's, and saving for kids college funds.
I am so excited and focused on this! We've written up a pretty strict budget to allow us to use as much money as possible on the debt snowball, and so far we've been rockstars about sticking to it. We've never had too much trouble with money, always enough to pay the bills and have some fun. But now, we're telling our damn money where to go instead of wondering where it went...and I'm actually surprised at how well we could have been doing if we'd started this sooner.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
6 months ago, and it feels like forever. 6 months ago, and it feels like no time at all.
In the first half of her first year, Miss Nel accomplished:
Smiling at 6 weeks old
Rolling at 10 weeks old
laughing at 14 weeks old
Playing with toys at 4 months old
Sitting at 5 months old
Eating delicious carrots at 6 months old!
Here she is at 22 weeks!
AND just before I popped!
AND about a half hour old!
AND NOW SHE IS HALF!! Happy six month birthday to my wee butterbean!
In the first half of her first year, Miss Nel accomplished:
Smiling at 6 weeks old
Rolling at 10 weeks old
laughing at 14 weeks old
Playing with toys at 4 months old
Sitting at 5 months old
Eating delicious carrots at 6 months old!
Here she is at 22 weeks!
AND just before I popped!
AND about a half hour old!
AND NOW SHE IS HALF!! Happy six month birthday to my wee butterbean!
Okay. Why is it that I have nothing to say? I have SO MUCH to say! And yet, when I sit down to try write, nothing comes. Why is it so hard for my thoughts to translate into words? My life has turned itself upside down, righted itself, and flipped again in the last two years, and the most I can write about is Weinerschnitzel?? I went through the hardest time of my life, strengthened my marriage, carried and delivered the most beautiful daughter, moved cities, found our our permanent military assignment, met some of the best friends...and I have nothing to say? I hope this just takes practice, because I like my thoughts. I want to record them, for myself, for my child, for my husband.
I am happy now. I have come to terms with bad decisions, made better decisions, and forgiven myself for things I thought were unforgivable. I have an exciting life. I get to see the world, and see it again through the eyes of my baby. How can I have nothing to say?
I have a beautifully crafted budget!! That, if nothing else, is worth talking about! It's balanced down to the penny! It includes college funds for Nel, retirement, and investments! True, its only existed for 6 weeks, but I've STUCK to it for 6 weeks! That's a big freaking deal for me.
I can do this, I'll just practice.
I am happy now. I have come to terms with bad decisions, made better decisions, and forgiven myself for things I thought were unforgivable. I have an exciting life. I get to see the world, and see it again through the eyes of my baby. How can I have nothing to say?
I have a beautifully crafted budget!! That, if nothing else, is worth talking about! It's balanced down to the penny! It includes college funds for Nel, retirement, and investments! True, its only existed for 6 weeks, but I've STUCK to it for 6 weeks! That's a big freaking deal for me.
I can do this, I'll just practice.
Oh my god I have a BLOG!
I completely forgot! What fun! My bestie has a blog, and it's high time that our blogs became friends. Wee Nel's morning nap is a perfect time for me to ramble on about pointless things, yes?
First things first. We are in Texas for the next couple months. It's pretty heinous. Not Texas, necessarily, but the town itself. It's past dying and on its way to dead. businesses are boarded up, there are no places to walk Claudia, and Miss Pandexter cannot go outside and terrorize the local rodent population. There is no sushi, no Thai or Indian food, and an unseemly amount of steakhouses.
To ward off depression, I am trying to think of one nice thing per day about Texas.
Today. I enjoy that there are two Wienerschnitzel restaurants on my daily commute. The name makes me giggle uncontrollably.
I can't imagine what it must be like to be stationed here permanently. I mean, I understand that every place is what you make it, but this town is heartbreaking.
First things first. We are in Texas for the next couple months. It's pretty heinous. Not Texas, necessarily, but the town itself. It's past dying and on its way to dead. businesses are boarded up, there are no places to walk Claudia, and Miss Pandexter cannot go outside and terrorize the local rodent population. There is no sushi, no Thai or Indian food, and an unseemly amount of steakhouses.
To ward off depression, I am trying to think of one nice thing per day about Texas.
Today. I enjoy that there are two Wienerschnitzel restaurants on my daily commute. The name makes me giggle uncontrollably.
I can't imagine what it must be like to be stationed here permanently. I mean, I understand that every place is what you make it, but this town is heartbreaking.
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