Credit Score

I have tried to take a page from Dave's book and not let a credit score define me.  However, as much I wish I could, it isn't always that simple.  As we prepare to get our house started, we are NOT where dave would want us to be.  However, we are doing our plan to see whats going on.  So with this, we do need a credit score.  It does drive me alittle nutty.  A credit score is "how good you are at borrowing money and paying it back"
Right now we still have 2 more loans.  A credit card and a student loan.  We had our credit run to go thought what our best options for our house loan are.  (I hope to post the differences in a few weeks about FHA vs Conv.)  My hubby was alittle disappointed his credit score was lower then mine and alittle lower then we want for our loan.  So, now we have a goal.  Once we put our 5% down to start building our house, it is our goal to get our credit score alittle better.  The reason for the lower score is we dont have alot of open lines of credit (which I feel is AMAING) however, that is not how the FICO sees it.
We are working to pay back half of our cc so our score will go up.  And in a perfect world.. since I really wish we lived in one.  We are working to get our credit card PAID OFF before we close on our house.  I know this is alittle wishful thinking, but if we can make this happy we will be debt free minus the student loan, and with the extra money from the car loan, and the CC. we could be DEBT FREE before we know it!!
Also since Liam won't be in school this summer we get to save an extra bit of money (forget about daycare.. ;) RIGHT? lol)

Quitter

The time has come!! :) I finished my January book.  As hard as it is now.  I cant read ANYTHING (other then the epilogue) until February.  I do however have lots of Series 7 and website stuff to research before my interview.

HOWEVER, I just finished quitter.  Needless to say, I liked it alot.  I wouldn't say it is the best book, I wouldn't say I'm totally in love with it.  However I WOULD say, I enjoyed it.

 

It was a simple read, and had some really fun humor.  I loved the message and it was enjoyable. 

It made me think alot about what I really want as my dream job.  I am thinking ill be reading "48 days to the work you love" next, so it was a good starting point.

I am ready to figure out what I want to be, however, I would love to write.  Obviously, I love to write, which is why I blog, and for as long as I can remember, I have kept a journal.  Not one of those "I want to share with my family" journals, just get my emotions and feelings out of my head and down on paper so I dont explode (for both good and bad reasons)  I a little too passionate at times,  but does make me want to write more, blog more, and more then anything else  HELP more!

Financial Peace

Yesterday, like many days.. I listened to the Dave Ramsey Podcast! He was talking about since it is the first of a new year lot of places are staring up their financial peace class.
I have always waneted to take it, however... it just didnt seem to work out. I spent a few min, went to their website and found a location less then 1 mile from my house(in-laws).  The class is later then most have been offered, but considering my husband works late some nights, it means we can make it to every class, even if he does have to close his office.
I messaged him, and told him, I would really like to go to that class for my birthday. He agreed! :)
I AM ECSTATIC!!!!!!!!!!

Then last night I spent the evening with my sister and her friend.  I told them about my class.  My sister has listened to his book, and has thought about the process, and her friend however is NOT a dave fan.  They (my sister and her friend) have their master degrees.  When they were going to school it was a FULL TIME PROGRAM! My sis worked about 4-6 hr a week, and that was hard with all of her school stuff.  Because of that, they both have their fair share of student loans.  Dave is NOT a fan of student loans... which I understand (knowing that we are currently paying my husbands off. and he doesn't have his Bachelors) but I was quiet sad that they wouldn't learn from him because of it. Dave is also coming to utah and I got tickets for my sister and I to see him in May, and I don't think she is on board as much anymore.

HOWEVER!!! Over the last 12 hr or so, I have spent alot of time thinking about peoples opinions.  Jon Acuff's book Start, talks alot about hate, and he also has gone on many podcasts talking about hate and how people hate.
I am NOT saying that my wonderful sis Hates this plan.  It is jus not her cup of tea. and that is OK.  Everyone has their own path to financial freedom, and I hope that this class will help me find mine.

And also, the purpose of this blog is to hopefully get my ideas out there, and help others on their path to become who they want to be with the help of others.

And I thought I will leave for you WHAT IS YOUR FINANCIAL FREEDOM?

TV

I had great intentions of posting this yesterday..... and well... Life happened! :)
And I got engrossed into my book again! Yes it is an addiction. I LOVE to read! which doesn't really go well with a FT job and kids and hubby to care for!
I have starting listening to the Dave Ramsey show again at work.  I have alot of time where I just sit in my office, looking at paperwork, and I enjoy listening to things. I also have a 30 minuet commute each way to and from work, not including dropping off the kido's to daycare and school.  That being said, a few weeks ago he was talking about telivions.   Even more then that I have been listening to the book on tape, "the secrets of the millionaire mind" Which got me thinking... Maybe I should look into this.

I am the first to admit that I LOVE me some good TV.  It is relaxing and mindless.  It is nice to come home and escape.  That being said,  I do get sucked in.  My son (6 yr old) LOVES TV too.  Amazing how children mimic their parents.  However it is now time to fix this.

Im pretty sure  this is one that he was referring to on his show. 

"20 Things the Rich Do Every Day
13. 67% of wealthy watch one hour or less of TV every day vs. 23% of poor.
14. 6% of wealthy watch reality TV vs. 78% of poor."

I have read the book "Rich Habits" and between the combo of the 2 books and the one radio show, and like FOREVER to think about it.  With reading START.... well it is time to START!

As I do my daily google searches, I decided to search for "the rich don't watch tv"
and WOW a million responses came up.

 Report

8. DON'T WATCH BIG BROTHER

We all know that watching reality TV will turn your brain to eggplant or possibly mashed zucchini. Either way, you are indulging in the number one activity which keeps nobodies from becoming somebodies. Corley found that 67 per cent of wealthy people watch an hour or less of TV each day - and that just 6 per cent watch reality TV. Yes, just 6 per cent, compared to 78 per cent of poor people.

 Report

19) People love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.
Average people don’t want to do any damn thing except eat snacks and watch tv. Wasting your days at a 9-5 and wasting your nights in front of the tv on a La-z-boy recliner with a bag of chips is comfortable for some, I guess, but it always made me miserable. Personally, I hate relaxing. It’s such a damn waste of time.
WOW!!! well there are some strong statements.  I am letting it sink in for a bit..... HUM makes me wonder about my nightly TV shows... :(

You reap what you sow

Start

I have the best of intentions, like most of us..  However my follow through it not what I wish it was.
I have been finished with school now for about 3 weeks.  If I were not finished, I would be starting a new semester today.  Which I feel is quite exciting.  I always found extra time in the day to make things happen.  Weather it be day dream, house hunt, house dream, budget plan, write or even dootle.  Now it is time to start doing something with all this time.
Because we don't have a home of our own, I don't have alot of time to fix up things in our home.  Thanks to the small sq footage and small amount of stuff, I can clean the whole house in a half day, clean our bathroom and have tons of time to spare.  Then I normally choose to waste time, sitting on my butt playing cell phone games, or watching pointless TV.
Over the past week, I have decided NO MORE TV SHOWS... I write a post about that tomorrow (or just after I finish this one, but ill publish it tomorrow so it seems like im staying ontop of this! :)  )
However, today and the past few days have been Start

Start is a book by Jon Acuff.  He works on Dave Ramey's team, and I have to say, he is AMAZING.  He has a way of capturing the reader, and honestly I just love his writing.  I am NOW on the path to START!

Chirstmas Budget Building

Hubby and I planned out our budget this year like so...
We wanted to make this year alittle bigger (I know Dave would be screaming at me, but well, it is my money and I have every right to be stupid with it, and if I can own up to it, it is good... RIGHT?)
 My baby really doesn't need anything, but we like to make a big deal of Christmas.
My Liam, is GROWING so fast, and the things we wanted to get for him were more expensive so we planned to spend the bulk on him.

And Chris and I dont need much, so for the most part we get eachother the stuff that we want/need and go from there.

Ewan:  $50-100
-Bath Toys
-Stand up toys
-Clothes

Liam: $300-400
-3ds
-ps3 games
-Movies
-PJ's

Chris: $250
-Toys/Fun
-Games
-Needs (clothes etc)

Ashten: $250
-Whatever "santa" wants to bring me

That sad to say puts us at a Budget of close to $1,000.  YES that is alot for christmas, but this blog is about me being HONEST! and yes, that is a smaller budget for us.

However those arent the only people we shop for.  So we had a plan for that as well

Parents: $100 each (200 total)
Chris' siblings: $50
Lily's siblings: $50
Nieces and nephews: $100 (we have 6)
Close friends: $50
Other friends: $50
Employees: $100-$200 each (200-400 total)
This adds ANOTHER $800-1000.  Yes there we go a TRUE number of christmas.  And I am the FIRST to admit that is ALOT of money. 
However, going into it with this idea, makes things MUCH better

This is how we have kept track of the spending

Location	Price	Total	Person
Costco	80	80	Chris
Amazon	5.00	85.00	Ewan
Amazon	16.00	101.00	Chris
Amazon	35.00	136.00	Ewan
Amazon	5.00	141.00	Twins
Amazon	100.00	241.00	Parents
Amazon	40.00	281.00	Ewan
Amazon	69.42	350.42	Chris
Zuiliy	20.97	371.39	Ewan
Zuiliy	37.95	409.34	Liam
Zuiliy	23.00	432.34	Twins
Costco	30.00	462.34	Lily
Point	26.50	488.84	Friends
Amazon	11.47	500.31	Lily
Amazon	53.98	554.29	Lily
Amazon	100.00	654.29	Lily
Amazon	148.64	802.93	Liam
Amazon	307.63	1,110.56	Liam
Amazon	130.00	1,240.56	Chris
Amazon	22.99	1,263.55	??
Game Stop	213.19	1,476.74	Liam
Paypal	30.94	1,507.68	Lily
Game Stop	42.63	1,550.31	Liam
Amazon	33.48	1,583.79	Chris
Paypal	13.76	1,597.55	Chris
Castle	53.43	1,650.98	Chris
Dave	87.98	1,738.96	Sis & Lily
Tea	80.00	1,818.96	Friends

 I love google docs.  It is something that I can update ANYWHERE I go and I can see what is going on.

From this I also can look at what we are doing and how much is where.  When I look at the account every few days, I see what we have spent where and we can break it down.  I also can figure out where I have spent money.
We have spent OVER budget on a few people,.. Namely Liam! :) and we still have a few last min things ot get, however Telling your money where it is going is VERY helpful.

I feel that the MOST IMPORTANT thing about a christmas budget is to be HONEST.  That is what we have done this year, even though we SHOULD spend less, knowing we are spending less then last year, and getting better is the best we can hope for.

What are your plans to save during the christmas season?

Back in Action!

As my last semester of college is coming to a close, I have felt quite overwhelmed.  So, this blog fell to the wayside.  No not proud of it, but I am back and IN ACTION!! :)

I have been reading listening to a few books.  Here is a slight review of the ones I have listened to so far.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad:  Robert Kiyosaki: I started reading this book prob about a year ago, for a book report for one of my classes, needless to say, I wrote a paper about it, however after talking with a coworker who loves the author, I learned I needed to read it again.  I listened to all 6 disks in just over a week.  I have to say he got me motivated.  He made me want to go out and get rental property, get my money working for me, etc.  However after thinking about it while reading it and the days that followed, it got me motivated, but it also made me realize that I am the poor dad, and I am ok with that.  I know that we should all push for more, but I would like to be self sufficient, however I want it in my way.

I knew that Chris would love it, so after I finished it, I put it in his car and he has been listening to it.  I knew that it would get him fired up and on board with investing and making our money work hard.  I am one that can listen to it, and love it, but when it comes to that type of action, it isnt exactly my cup of tea.  I like the numbers not the research behind it.  So hopefully as a team we will get it together.

The money class: Suze Orman:  I will admit, I have bought into societies opinions of this author. I have heard some very negative things about her, and I let that be my opinion.  A little while back my mother gave me a copy of her book The 9 Steps Financial Freedom. I let it sit on my book shelf then on my night stand for a long time.  I would say at least 1-2 years.  However after going through financial HELL, it was time to give her a chance.  I read the first 2-3 chapters of the book, and just couldn't get into it. There are some books I love to read, however i'm easily distracted, so books on tape are MUCH better for me.  I am on disk 3 of 4 right now, and I have to say that she has some very good ideas.  One of them is to create your own "truth" I liked that part.  I will admit that she tells you to write down alot of things, however when I am listening in the car, I don't do this, and I dont think that I ever will, however it is a good plain.

I am glad that I have given her a second chance to make my own opinion of her.  However, I'm still not a follower.  She has good ideas, and some good info, however she tells you alot about what you should do with money, NOT how to use your money.

Between these 2 books, I would have to say that I liked Rich Dad, Poor Dad better, in my opinion. However I plan to continue to find money books at the library and learn as much as I can.

I do still have to say out of all of the financial advisers that I have listened to SO FAR, Dave Ramsey is still my favorite.  He not only has a what, he has a how.  And as he says, "it isn't complicated but it is difficult."

Excitement!

I am so excited for my new budget! I CANT WAIT to see the needle move! However, it will take a long time to get to that point.

That aside, Last night I observed an interesting thing. 
Some people were over at our house/my in-laws, talking with them.  Hubby and I were sitting on the couch and kinda half listening to the conversion, we were kind of a part of.  They were talking about some of their debt.  They have a RV on which they are WAY upside down.  They were talking poorly about the bank, and stating that the bank totally messed up the loan, and they owe way more then they should.  They were complaining it to their car loans, etc.   I sat back listening and smiling to myself.

In the middle of this conversation, my wonderful honey stated "we paid off our 4runner today" to which they snuffed, and between them and my inlaws, joked that they will never pay off their car, and even if they did, they would get a new one.  I understand that is how it is for some, but for me I don't care that much about cars.  You have NO idea how proud I was of Chris.  I swear I prob could have teared up!

Oh, sorry about that little moment! lol  However, they were going on that the bank says they owe 4,900 more then they think they do, and they are still further in debt on that one item, then hubby and I have TOTAL.  They also dicussed the frustration that the bank is stealing all of their money.

Me being, well me.  Sat listening and built an amortization table to see what they should still owe.  Chris was sitting next to me and tried to get me to speak up, but I didn't want to. But I did, I asked the wife, who was sitting near us about what they owed and according to my calculations the bank is shockingly... RIGHT on the money!

So, this got me thinking about how many of us BLAIM the banks, for our lack of knowledge.  It is quite sad if you really think about it.  It has gotten me even more excited about getting out of debt so that we can pay off the house faster and start giving and investing!!

Quote of the day

"never invest in anything you don't understand!" -Dave Ramsey

I love this quote because I think it can apply to so many things when it comes to money. Wither it be debt, investing, loans, etc.  I think that being able to understand your money, is the first step to controlling your money!