Moving Home

If you don't read this blog really close, you may have missed the fact that my hubby and I (well and the kids and dog too).  I came across this article.
It talks about how a lot of kids are moving home, and have since the change in the economy. We have followed this trend.  However I really LOVE this last line of the post and wanted to share.
"Note to companies: Loosen the purse strings, and spend, hire, and invest a little. It's good for our economy, and a generation of young adults -- and their parents -- will thank you."

Now lets all hope and pray this will help repair the economy.   

I do also have to say... We are BLESSED.  My wonderful inlaws are willing to let us live with them, and hopefully it will get MUCH better once I know whats going on with my job.. and even more.  When we know for sure where we will live!

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

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

As always our new year resolutions are here again.  It is now almost considered a cliche having resolutions!
According to WCTV:These are the top 10 for 2014!

1. lose weight 
2. get organized 
3. spend less, save more. 
4. enjoy life to the fullest 
5. stay fit and healthy 
6. learn something exciting 
7. quit smoking 
8. help others in their dreams 
9. fall in love 
10. spend more time with family.


I know that for myself as I look over this list, I woulds love to do the majority of these, and I m guessing that many of you feel the same way!

My amazing cousin always has the best new years resolutions

2010

2011

2012


For the life of me I couldn't find my favorite resolution of hers... i'm thinking it must be linked to her birthday or something.  However... It was something along these lines.  "A year from now I will be a year older, I can NOT control the time that passes, however I can change what I do with that time."

I feel that is the best explanation of  where we all are and where we want to be.
I have never been big on resolutions, never really made them or kept them... none the less, I LOVE lists!!

I made a fun Google doc, and refer to it constantly (YES I LOVE GOOGLE DOCS)
I made a list for each of the following categories,
Education/Work
Physical
Family
Financial
Home
Travel
Self

Under each of these I made 3-5 goals.  I have looked at it maybe 3 times over the last year however out of my total of 33 goals.
Here is how I did.
16--Done
8--Nope
9: Changed or working on.

So over the next few days I will build myself some goals.  There are many things in our year to come, and I hope to share them with you all along the way!

How to pick what for who?

Trying to decide who to buy for and who not to buy for is a CHALLENGE!! I don't care who you are but it is DIFFICULT!!
Over the past few years we have been able to get together with our siblings to agree to buy for the kids and NOT for the adults.  We have also worked to lower the amount of things we buy for friends and neighbors.  We will get a few small gifts for close friends. 
There are many blogs out there that work on how to limit the gifts for your children.  I have to say, that is something I really SHOULD look into.  I feel it will be alot less stressful,... HOWEVER I don't know if I could really do it.

We normally don't get our kids much for their birthdays, and other then christmas we try not to buy them much of anything.  Mom and dad get the kids clothes for christmas so that Santa can focus on the FUN stuff! but here is an idea.
My sweet sister texted me this link this morning and I SWEAR this is TRULY how a baby/toddler feels about christmas! READ THIS!!!(it will make you SMILE!) http://theuglyvolvo.com/2013/12/10/a-ten-month-olds-letter-to-santa/

One idea that worked well for me this year is, I normally try to get something fun and thoughtful for my employees at work. However I have 20 of them, and Chris has 40.  That makes for ALOT of little presents.  So I decided at my work christmas party (only 13 total people were there).  However they were the ones that took time out to be there.  I picked up the tab.  I hadn't really planed on doing it, however it was MUCH less stressful and difficult then trying to find a Simple in expensive meaningful gift.  (I asked hubby before I did, that is ALWAYS a good idea.) but it was less expensive then what I would have spent for the whole office, and I was happy I did it. It was low key, and I loved the feeling I had after.  It was the true feeling of christmas to me. Giving to those who you care about.  Chris is working with his supervisory staff to make soemthing fun for his employees and I look forward to seeing what they decide.


I love this idea that I took from Yahoo Voices

Gifts to People Other Than Family

Limit the gifts you give to people other than immediate family. You might suggest that you and your friends meet for a nice holiday luncheon rather than exchange gifts this year.

An evening of Caroling with your friends is another great idea. Spending time together over the holidays may mean more to all of you than a gift would mean.

There are always people on our shopping list that we feel obligated to give a gift to, such as teachers, the postman, and other people who provide a service for us through out the year. Instead of buying a gift for each of these people considering doing one of the following:

Make a big batch of cookies, muffins, or candy, and divide that up as gifts to these kind of people on your list. Many times you can give a food gift for a dollar or two per person thus saving a good deal of money for these kinds of gifts.

Other homemade gifts such as jams, jellies, and homemade ornaments are often appreciated when they come from the heart and are cheaper than buying something that the receiver may not even use.

Instead of buying separate gifts for coworkers why not bring in a big plate of cookies and present them to everyone. This will not only save money but will brighten a normal work day for everyone and help all to get in the holiday spirit.

I think that is a great way to lower the expectations of things people really don't want. 

 

Also I want to close with the idea of Rather then spending MONEY spend TIME.  Make time for those who are important to you, and that Will make a difference. 

COLLEGE GRADUATE!!!

TODAY I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE

I am still alittle in SHOCK, but im SO GLAD I FINALLY DID IT!!!

I graduated from high school in 2005 so it has been 8+ years!!! BUT I DID IT!!!! 

Books!

I am currently finishing up my LAST class, (3 credit) to get my BS degree, and I have been going to college for the last 8 YEARS so with that, I have not had alot of time to just read what I want.  I have been trying to add a new book at least every few months, to read something for me, that does not mean that I ever really finish them, but I love it.
I started this book at least 6 months ago.  I read a few pages, and even up to a chapter or two, then put it down.  I read the millionaire next door in a few weeks and loved it, so i'm really trying to read for me.  I then picked it up prob about a month or so ago, again to try to read it, I carried it around in my purse too and from school, work etc.  However over the past week im GLUED!! I dont let myself read it too much, i can get Lost in a book and never do anything else.  and thats NOT good.  But I am 2/3 of the way throught it, and will prob finish it by the end of the weekend.

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT!!
This book is ME! I love reading what Gretchen has written about her self, it sounds so much like me sometimes.

It has me looking at important parts of my life.  I just read her chapter about 'Money" no shock, however when i was at the Library last week, I picked up another book with the title "How to Buy Happiness"  I am loving how they use money to build onto happiness, but not in a way that destroys their life.  :)
OK back to book #1 ;) lol.   She is taking many tips as to how to make those around you happy.  She writes about how even though she hasn't really seen a huge differance in her persionaly happiness she knows that those around her have been affected in a good way.

She is different from me when it comes to a religion, however, I love having the mindset as I read and think and learn about myself and how I want to be for my family, and what I can learn that will bless others.

DRUM ROLL!!!!!!!!!

YEAH!!! Yesterday was Payday Friday! Yes i'm sad like that!! I am SO SO SO excited to transfer the extra money over $2,000.   Sad to say it is not as much as I had hoped.  But my handsome hubby transferred just over $500 into our savings!
Since this is the first paycheck we are doing this, and we are still paying some final bills from moving.  Hopefully from here on out the amount will get higher and higher!!

I do have to admit, that after saving this money, we purchased a few pre Christmas presents, and I got the boys new clothes to get their photos taken in.  It was more then I would usually spend on one outfit each, we even got socks lol ;) but it was well worth the investment.  the photos turned out AMAZING.

I took my mother-in-law to see a house in the city north of us, it was beautiful... however an older home, so not exactly what we are looking for, but I am CONSTANTLY looking for "OUR HOUSE"  I'm really hoping that it will pop up soon! :)

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!

Good is Enough

A few years ago, my aunt posted about a blog she had found.  I tried to find it, but no such luck.  The post discussed the expectation of women in today's world.  From facebook to pintrest to blogs (yes I do agree) we have so many things we feel we should be.
I came across this post last fall I when I went to school full time, I started 1 week before I gave birth to my second child.  I took 1 week off from classes and only took off 7 weeks from work.  By week 7 I was half way though the semester, taking 15 credit hours, nursing and caring for a brand new baby and my beautiful 5 yr old, trying to be a wife, and working 40 hours a week.  I was EXHAUSTED!!
Come December, I was still holding strong, but gratefully with a responsible and caring husband he said "NEVER AGAIN".


Since this time I have reflected alot about who we are as women. As a woman I feel that many of us have an unreal expectation of ourselves.  I also have this assumption due to a few posts from others.

I will admit that in my years I have learned that Women are just sometimes CRUEL!!! and beyond that there is alot of pressure we put on each other.  I remember a while back, I was dolling myself up to just go somewhere simple (it is very rare for me to wear makeup, so it was a change) he asked why I was doing it.  I said "to look nice for you" he smiled.  What i didn't quite understand at the time was, I did not need to doll myself up for him, he doesn't mind but it is not a necessity. However I see so many women obsessed with looking perfect, because of who might see them.

As my son has started school I have noticed it even more, I tried for a few days to have the perfect packed lunches, but quickly realized it was more then I could handle right now, as long as he had lunch he was good.

 

I agree they are super fun and cool, but for me, too much effort that really doesn't change the world for my son.

My sister shared a blog with me.  It talks about what I have posted here, "mommy wars"  " I think deep down many of us are just a little bit afraid that someone else is doing a better job at this whole thing than we are."

I also have been feeling quite overwhelmed with putting our house on the market so I decided, to do alittle blog stocking and found alittle bit older post.

"a more experienced Mom from church gave me these comforting words and I’ve clung to them ever since.  “It was God who gave you only so many hours in a day.  Who are you to expect more out of yourself than God does?”

Last night when I got home, I knew the house needed alot more work before our open house today.  I picked up my boys, and got home.  As I was driving home I was putting a to do list into play.  I picked up my son, and he wanted to go get a drink.  Since we are keeping to the budget I told him no, but we decided we could do something else fun insteed.  I informed him that he had homework to do as well.
DADDY TO THE RESCUE! (my sweet hubby is VERY VERY VERY sick) but he sat by my little man to help him get his work done. 

When I was finishing up vacuuming at bedtime, my son really wanted to pull out his train track, I told him no, and he got upset and hid.  I sat on the floor had him come and sit on my lap.  I have been so overwhelmed with so many things right now, it was wonderful to sit down and take a moment to talk with my son!
Those sweet moments make it all worth while and I know that no matter what, HE is why i do it all, and nothing else matters.

School!

School is one of those necessary evil's right? lol

I love school.  I love to learn and push myself.  However now that I am in my last semester of college for my Bachelors of Science Degree I can't wait to be DONE!!

I feel that it is slightly ironic that my oldest Liam started Kingdergarden a few weeks ago.

School is something that really will hit a budget hard.  It can make either little bumps and buses or HUGE divets, or it can make the whole thing come CRASHING DOWN!!!!

At this point, I MUST admit that my son is in private school.  We are not the predominate Utah religion and at this time we are trying to decide what is the best way to work with this.  
ALSO, he is in full day kindergarten, so by having him there I save money by not having to pay for daycare.

I do NOT believe in student loans, for the sake of student loans, Eventhough we do pay monthly on my hubby's.  We are not adding to our school debt. 


What do you feel is the most important part of education?  How would you decide to handle kids education?