Holy Cow!

I hadn't done anything with this blog for a while and decided I would update it today. A LOT has changed!!

• I am recently married and expecting a new baby in April!
• We're socking away money in savings to cover the unexpected as hubby goes from salary to full commission.
• We're also both on the same page about budgeting and living below our means.
• I'm over 1/2 way done paying off CC debt! Over $5k paid down so far!

We haven't been perfect at it but we're working each month on getting a little better handle on things. So far, so good!

Things at my job have been a little helter-skelter and if it weren't for our debt-free planning and careful budgeting, I'd be much more stressed about the financial aspect of it all. I guess this is what they mean by "Financial Peace"

What a diference a month makes!

I am now 35% done paying off my credit cards! Still working almost 7 days a week every week. I'm tired but it's going to be so worth it when I'm debt free on my 30th birthday!

Still waiting...

Well, we got the insurance check last Tuesday. I deposited it on Wednesday and the bank placed a hold on it until this Thursday. Uggh! Plus, we're supposed to be getting a $1000 check from the home warranty company and that hasn't shown up yet either. AND- my PT job didn't get my paperwork processed for my 1st paycheck so I'll have to wait til this Friday to get paid from them.

Everything is just in a holding pattern right now. Meanwhile we're out of pocket quite a bit and both getting a little stressed about money. Hopefully by the end of the week everything will be back in order and we'll have some money available to start purchasing the necessary supplies to finish up the remodel work.

I have a contractor coming out tomorrow morning to give us a bid to turn in to the insurance company. They are going to go after the plumber's insurance but who knows if that will get anywhere and if so how long it will take. Sigh...

More Flood Fun!0

Well, the insurance check is supposed to be "in the mail" and should show up sometime his week. Hopefully soon! We've ordered a few things that we need to get started and unfortunately I had to float some of it on a credit card. That will be the FIRST thing paid back once the check shows up. We had to order the chemical online to dry out and kill the bacteria. Since it was a time issue, I figured it was a justified charge even though I hated to do it. We need to get it sprayed on everything as soon as we can before more damage is caused.

We went to Lowe's last night and started picking out a few things. I am kind of excited about the fact that we'll be able to do some updating that I wanted to do anyway. I just wasn't planning on it being quite so soon. But, doing the labor ourselves will allow us to stretch the insurance dollars farther and we can do more things to the house. So that's good! We're going to start in the bathroom which at the moment has hideous tile so I'm stoked about that! Bye bye pink 70's wall tile!!

So far I haven't detoured too far off the debt-free path and I'll be back on the straight and narrow again once the check shows up. I did start my new part time job yesterda. I worked about 12 hours this weekend. And at $12 an hour...that should help a little!

Debt Free at 50??

So, our sewer lines backed up and flooded the entire house today. Yippee! I'm sitting here waiting on the Service Master technician to get here to assess the damage and get everything cleaned up. So, there's AT LEAST $500 in deductible.

BUT- the good news is...I normally would have whipped out the credit card. But, I had some money in savings to cover the $500 and I'll pay myself back instead of paying interest on it to the CC company! So, no new debt incurred which is good.

Hopefully I won't take TOO big of a hit on this and can get back on track soon!

Welcome!

So, I'm jumping on this whole blogging bandwagon. I figure it will help hold me accountable to the goal I have in mind of becoming debt free by my 30th birthday. It's a pretty big undertaking in a short amount of time but I know it's doable!

Here's the scoop: I recently stumbled onto the Dave Ramsey Show on the radio and his website. www.daveramsey.com He has a very no-nonsense approach that consists of (gasp!) hard work and sacrifice to dig yourself out of the hole. So, I'm cutting out all the nonsense spending I do, I've taken on a second job and I'm ready to gain "Financial Peace" as Dave calls it.

Most of all, I'm doing this so that I can be in a position to save for my daughter's college and our future. The money that I send to my credit cards each month will go a long way toward funding our future once I can invest it rather than paying interest for something stupid I bought on a whim 6 months ago and now can't even find!

I have just under $6000 in debt and just under 6 months until my 30th birthday. It's a huge challenge based on my income but I can do it. Wanna watch?