Merry Christmas!

A couple weeks ago I found this video on Dave Ramsey's Facebook page that gives the idea of making a Christmas mosaic ornament out of your old credit cards. I couldn't resist. My mom and I got together the other day and each made one. Here's the video link: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fBbJn6cDE_k

And here's my ornament:

I wrapped it up and gave it to Aaron as gift. 

So just to recap, Aaron received this crazy ornament, a bed pocket for Tums, and a tub of cashews that I got at a gift exchange. Laugh. Out. Loud. 

We are no longer normal.....  ;)

Super Silly Present: A Bed Pocket :)

So, you know we're not spending any money on gifts this year. I am making each of my family members a home made gift and today I made Aaron's. Almost every night he gets heartburn during the night. He doesn't have a bed stand on his side so he has to get up and walk to the dresser to get Tums. I had the idea to make him a bed pocket to hold his Tums so he wouldn't have to get up. I think this is so silly, but I think he'll love it. :)

It will stay in place as the long fabric top will be between the mattress and the box spring, like this:

Bye Bye QVC!

Baby Step Two in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University plan is the debt snowball. In this step you list every debt out from the smallest balance to the largest balance. The plan is to attack the smallest balance first with 'gazelle intensity'.  Since completing Baby Step One, we've been working on our first (smallest) debt: QVC.  We owed them $40.91 and I'm happy to say the balance has been paid in full. 

Our next debt is to Old Navy. That balance was just over $80 and I had a little extra after paying QVC so I was able to pay $38 on it. Our next Payday is this Wednesday and I'm hoping we'll be able to pay it off completely then. 

So far, the extra money to build the starter emergency fund and the debt snowball has come from piano lessons and selling on Craig's List. I am just amazed at how quickly little things add up!  This week I sold a floor lamp that we never use for $15, hot rollers for $15 and a bike for $10. Those alone paid off QVC. I just find it exciting to be making a dent in this mountain of debt. 

In other news, I have been working hard on Christmas presents and hope to have some crafty posts up soon. :)

Slam Dunk Baby Step One!

I'm so excited to say that we have indeed passed through baby step one in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace program! (Baby step one is to build a starter emergency fund of $1,000 so you never have to use a credit card for unexpected expenses. He calls it "Murphy-proofing" your budget.) :) 

We have been selling a lot on Craig's List. We sold some bikes for $120, a sewing machine for $40 and even some salt and pepper shakers for $10. I tell ya, when Dave said, "Sell so much stuff that the kids think they're next" I took it literally. LOL!  If we don't need it, if it's not an heirloom item and if it can't make money, it's going to be for sale!  I figure I can always re-buy anything I truly miss, right?

Recently on Facebook a saw a post of a family from China pictured with all of their worldly possessions. They had so little, yet they have everything they need. I think the Lord showed me that picture intentionally because something inside me clicked. I've always been somewhat of a minimalist. I donate to the Goodwill at least once a month.  (Jake calls the drop off boxes donate dumpsters. LOL!) I don't typically keep things I don't use or need, but now that I've seen that photo, I've realized that even the things I've kept may not actually be necessary. I'm taking a second look at everything in my house and if it's not truly needed, it's for sale. It's freeing!  And as each 'thing' leaves, I feel lighter, cleaner, and downright better. I'm decluttering and getting out of debt at the same time. Praise the Lord!

Aaron and I are so happy to have met baby step one so soon. We keep looking at each other and grinning. Our goal was to have it finished by January 1st so we're excited to be ahead of the game!  Our next goal is to have our three little debts knocked off by January 1st. We owe $41 to QVC, $81 to Old Navy and $180 to our dentist. It'll depend on how much we can sell and how much OT Aaron can get at work, but we're hopeful!  :)

$15 to go!

So we've put our Craig's List selling into high gear in hopes to meet our baby step one goal early. Now that Aaron and I have realized that we don't have to live with credit card debt, we are bent on getting out from under it. He's taking as much overtime as his work will give him - in fact, he's there right now!  Just before he left for his OT shift we sat down and counted up how much we've made over the past few days from piano ($40) and Craig's List ($140) and we are just $16.46 short!  We scrounged up $1.46 in change and that makes us just $15 away from our first goal. The really fun part is that I have a meeting planned with a gal to sell a dog crate tomorrow after church for...guess how much?  Yep! $15!

So, just to recap, our first goal was to have our $1,000 emergency fund (aka baby step one) funded by New Year's Day.  If we can make the next $15 and complete a bank deposit on Monday, we will be more than three weeks ahead of schedule. Exciting!!

First Down Day

So I guess it should be expected: when changing your life, eventually the 'new' will wear off and you'll have a down day. That's today for me. Nothing's wrong, I'm not sick, not fighting with Aaron...just down. Actually, today is payday. You'd think I'd be excited to refill my budget envelopes...especially since I only have three dollars and change left between all four envelopes, but I'm just not too excited about it. Aaron's check was not super big because it was all vacation time and absolutely no overtime. Maybe I'm a bit deflated because the pay was just enough to cover cash out for envelopes & giving and bills so there's no extra to plop on the baby fund. I did make $30 yesterday teaching piano. Maybe I'd get a boost if I went and deposited that to our baby fund account. I'll try it. :)

I had another piano student cancel for today. It seems like Murphy's Law would have it that everytime my student's piano dues are due, either I have to cancel or they do. I've seriously thought about finding a part time job with structured hours in order to give up teaching piano. I love being self employed and I love staying home with my kids, but hate the ups and downs of never knowing if I'll get paid. It's a trade off and most days I love teaching, it's just a lot of stress to have to have my house in order, dog put up, etc. to be able to host students and parents. The upside is that we've structured our budget without counting in any piano money so every dime I make teaching goes right to baby step one and then eventually baby step two. I hope that helps me change my way of thinking towards teaching!

Baby stepping the baby step :)

We made another deposit to our baby step one (the $1,000 starter emergency fund) today. This time, we are depositing $40 cash that Aaron made by selling a router on Craig's List, as well as a $100 year-end bonus I received from my church secretary job. That puts our account at $751.04!  We're 75% there!  Woohoo!  I'm supposed to have piano students this week and I think I have a buyer for my Kenmore sewing machine. Those, in addition to Aaron's paycheck deduction ($22.50, biweekly) between now and January 1st should get us super close to our goal of having baby step number one done by New Year's Day. Here's hoping for no December emergencies! :)