Girl Meets Money

2011-06-12T10:15:00.000-04:00

How the

heck do I do a link Lyryn's Blog

thank you very much..

No more...

2010-04-27T09:37:00.003-04:00

This journey with money has been fascinating to me of late. The Lord has given me victory and He is growing me every single day. I cannot keep piling on more debt on my family's shoulders. If I am the CEO of this family, then I need to act like it. I have not put anything on the credit cards in about two weeks and that feels like a lifetime to me. We don't have any oranges, we only have one roll of paper towels left and it will be a miracle if I make it to Friday with this amount of diapers left. But, I cannot put all this STUFF on the credit cards. I see the toll it is taking on Sean, it is robbing him of sleep and me peace of mind. No more.... Now may I just have the consistency to stick with this. I make these grand declarations and sometimes within a week I am back to my old ways. Lord, today give me the strength and the fortitude to stick with our plan. To not be a slave to the lender but to your ways and your love. Thank you for growing me up.

Sometimes..

2010-02-18T13:05:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I fail and sometimes I succeed. Today feels like a day with a little of both. I have such clear goals but I am impatient to see them met. I feel like I have been crawling for so long and now I am longing to run. I have to keep remembering it took me a while to get in this hole and will take me a while to get out of it too. Just keep my eyes on the Lord and He will see these goals and ideals met. To pay with cash, to buy a house someday, to be wise with what He has given to me. To be careful of every dollar that flies out of my wallet and my family's wallet. May I make Him proud one day..

New goals for this year..

2010-01-27T14:45:00.002-05:00

So, here are my financial goals for 2010. 1. Pay 1000.00 to each active credit card by July 1st. 2. Have 100.00 saved in my little checking account by July 1st. 3. Have 1000.00 saved in the savings account by Christmas. See you on July 2nd with my report!

How am I doing in 2010?

2010-01-27T14:42:00.002-05:00

Relating back to that post about my financial goals for the rest of 2009 and here is how we did: 1. Totally paid off TWO CREDIT CARDS!!! 2. Did not get that money saved because everything I got went to Dell but no more! 3. We are still looking to buy that house in two/three years!

So close...

2010-01-16T14:56:00.002-05:00

I can almost taste it, it's so close. We have paid off the original Bank of America debt and will soon pay off two other credit cards. We are working together like a team should and it finally feels satisfying. No more secrecy, no more worries. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is so much better to bring something home that you paid cash for and next put on a credit card. Thank God.. 2010 has been a page turner for me. The engines are burning, the light has been turned on, I don't feel like I am walking in darkness and despair with this debt anymore.

2009-11-18T13:45:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I fail. And now feels like one of those times. I really batten down the hatches when things are going badly, but we get a little breathing space and I run up more debt. Sometimes, I feel like such a failure...

Feel.Like.I'm.Winning.

2009-10-16T15:30:00.002-04:00

Sometimes it seems futile, this quest to save money. But, today God has helped me reign victorious!! I actually have 27.00 left over from my groceries. 7.00 for paper and milk, 10.00 for grocery stockpile and 10.00 for VACATION!!! Ever since I got away a little, I have craved that for my family as well. Well, I am off and running and can't wait to add to my stash..

Yeah!!!

2009-08-26T16:57:00.001-04:00

Today I went to Walgreen's and got a mascara and eyeliner for $1.89 and got 10 Snickers bars for $0.00!!!!! I love my coupons and love saving money! Today was a good day!

Thoughts

2009-08-22T13:05:00.003-04:00

I think sometimes I am way too hard on myself and after rethinking my goal of 20.00 especially when John is just starting school was probably way too hard for me. I think such lofty thoughts and then I set myself up for disappointment. Last week I read something that stayed with me, it was - "Living frugally is about making a thousand tiny choices." If I am choosing to save even one dollar rather than spend it on something silly, then I am succeeding and that is progress in my world. So, my new goal is 10.00 a week. Anything extra will just be gravy.

Some Disappointments

2009-08-21T14:15:00.003-04:00

So, here I sit after my first shopping trip with my extra 20.00, i.e. 100.00 for a week's worth of shopping. Did not go so well and I am not sure how that happened - I only planned on two meals and one night to eat out. I think it went to extra snacks for John's first day of school. I intended on spending only 80.00 and spent 106.00!!!!! And that was after I saved 25.00 on coupons and specials! I am trying and in this process I have to cut myself some slack and realize that some days will be victories and some will be defeats. I am still single-minded focused on savings and was able to save 12.00 toward John's birthday presents and over 130.00 in our savings from our paychecks. For that I am grateful. I am grateful to have this problem - many people do not know how they will eat dinner so I will close with gratitude and resolve to just keep watching every dime!

Time for a new challenge..

2009-08-15T13:03:00.002-04:00

I have recently been lamenting the cost of groceries and items we need at BJ's and Sean and I have decided to raise my weekly allowance for groceries to $100.00. The exciting thing about this is that when the time comes to go to BJ's, I never have enough left over from groceries to accomodate for anything which means we either pull the money out of savings or (eek!) use our credit card. Enough. So, this is the first week that I will be getting my raise and I want to save 20.00 from that amount. I am getting much better about saving at the grocery store and making things s-t-r-e-t-c-h. Well, now we can actually get a pizza every once in a while or I can just go into BJ's and take it from my stash. Now that I am on this savings kick, I am establishing a short-term goal and a mid-term goal and a long-term goal. So, here they are: SHORT: Spend $80.00 on groceries this week and saving that extra $20.00. MID-TERM: Pay off one credit card by the end of this year. LONG-TERM: Buy a house. All noteworthy goals and I will let you know how I am doing!!!

Doing better...

2009-08-15T09:26:00.004-04:00

I have been doing a little better. It seems that no matter how much I conserve and try to watch that gas consumption, the tank tends to lean a little more to the left than I would like! But, all in all, I am still doing better to make positive steps than I have in a long time. It has been eight days and I can honestly say that I have been driving the speed limit the whole time even when time was crunched and the desire was there to speed. So, for that, I am proud of myself. I have not kept that 15.00 in my pocket that I talked about in a previous post. I used some on ice cream and stuff at Joann's. I made a cute little pin cushion, so for that it was worth it. I am a little disappointed in myself. But I refuse to come down on myself because I am spending this money on my new computer. I am a glass half full kind of girl. Always have been. And no matter what I know that Sean and I will make our way out of this mess. And we will pay off these credit cards. With constant vigilance and self-control, we will make it and thrive. I just know we will. Every day, every month when the line marked "new purchases" says nothing, then I know that we are making progress and fighting for our family.

How am I doing?

2009-08-13T14:29:00.002-04:00

Well, I have been pretty wound tightly with this whole money thing and saving gas and such. It was to the point that I had a huge pain in my neck because of my constant vigilance. So, I threw my hands in the air and said, "Lord, I cannot do this without your help." And almost immediately the pain left me. I somehow started this venture, foolishly, without Him. I know He will bless my diligence. I have almost a full tank of gas and only three working days until I get another allowance. This is so much better than I have ever done. I am so glad to see such great results so quickly. With the extra money I can go shopping at Joann's! Woo Hoo!

Today

2009-08-11T10:47:00.002-04:00

Now that I am living by this new resolve to closely watch my driving habits and my gas consumption, I decided to stay home more often and not venture out into the world for items that could really wait a day or two. I do not want to be chained to my house, but I enjoy my house. I have a beautiful home to live in and I have two beautiful kids to enjoy. How can I enjoy them when I am rushing them from shopping cart to shopping cart and snapping at them when their little legs don't walk as fast as mine or when they are distracted by something that is mundane to me but fascinating to them? So, today begins many days when I am staying home and guess what I have found - we are having a great day. Mommy's not snapping at anyone, my money is not being sucked out of my wallet faster than I can shake a stick at and peace is reigning in our home, surely as God intended.

Gas Update

2009-08-10T18:37:00.002-04:00

Today I went to my Mom's and faced a bit of a challenge. I am constantly held and constrained by the clock. And I am a clock watcher to the nth degree. Well, today I was late getting back home while Zach was watching the kids. So, I got behind the wheel of my car and knew I had a choice. I could speed to try and save myself five minutes but knew that option would suck down my gas. I even went so far as to not use the air conditioning so as to save some aforementioned gas. So, I sat in my car and I made that decision that for the first time in my life I wasn't going to risk life and limb to get somewhere five minutes faster. And guess what? The world did NOT come to an end!! Oh, and I also had a 1/2 tank of gas which was amazing considering the miles I had to drive. I think I may be on to something...:)

Today was a good day..

2009-08-09T23:35:00.000-04:00

Today WAS a good day. I went to work with 15.00 in my pocket and returned home with 15.00 in my pocket. That never happens. I even justified spending 1.70 for a pattern only to find that we had sold out of it. I felt like that was the hand of God encouraging me to keep up this good fight I have undertaken!

So far, so good..

2009-08-08T14:45:00.000-04:00

It's only been one day since my new resolve but I drove John to VBS in Groton and drove to BJ's today and the gas gauge is still higher than, I think, it would have been otherwise. I am so psyched to be focused and taking care of things. With this new house, bills are higher and I have honestly just moved way too many things that I thought I couldn't possibly live without but ended up feeling like an albatross around my neck when we moved. So, I have 15.00 in my pocket and am determined to keep that money in my pocket and then later, I can HAVE SOME MONEY IN MY POCKET.

Gas, Gas, where do you go?

2009-08-07T12:06:00.001-04:00

This week my resolve is to drive the speed limit. I know it may seem like it doesn't have much to do with money, but it does. You see, I drive too fast and I have two precious lives in my car at all times. And the faster you drive, the more gas you use. So, I put 40.00 worth of gas in my car this morning and we will see how it goes. I have many places to go this week, but I am determined to stretch it as far as it will go....

Why I started this...

2009-08-07T11:47:00.000-04:00

I really should know about money and how to manage it properly, but you know what they say - "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink". My father was organized, meticulous and fanatical about the idea of using money wisely, saving money and controlling it instead of letting it control you. Well, Dad, I have to admit I didn't listen. And what really stinks is that my Dad isn't even here anymore for me to seek counsel, to ask what best to do. But, God always provides. He gave me Sean. Alas, I didn't really listen to him either. It is really is true that we sometimes end up marrying people like our parents. Thank God I did. Since March 18, 2008 we truly became a team in our financial affairs and relief finally came into my life. I could finally sleep nights because the worry and fear didn't rob me anymore. He is smart in ways I am not. He shows me the light when I am in a dark room. So, I am making a resolution. I am going to raise up my head and start a new relationship with money. I am going to start saving. I am going to start controlling my money instead of letting it control me. In order to make all this come to pass, I need to have attainable goals. And every week, I will post what my goal for that week is. And then I will post my failings and my successes. Hopefully, more of the latter than the former.