Category Archives: Finances

Today Is My Birthday!

Good evening!

That’s right today is my birthday!!!

WHOO!! HOO!!! I am officially 37, as of 6:34 AM this morning!!

Since today is my birthday, I thought today would be the perfect day to go over my 37 by 37 list that I had created last year around my birthday! My 37 by 37 list is my list of thirty-seven goals I wanted to accomplish before I turned thirty-seven. I didn’t get everything accomplished that was on my list, but I did manage to get some pretty impressive things done this year!!

My 37 things!!

  1. get a passport
  2. jog a mile
  3. blog every day for a year(Done!)
  4. go to Women of Faith with my sisters
  5. take 100 pictures of historical buildings all over Oregon(Done!)
  6. take a decorating class
  7. make homemade marshmallows
  8. plant a veggie garden(Done!)
  9. take the train
  10. go camping
  11. blow bubbles out the car window – you would’ve thought I would have easily gotten this done, but I kept forgetting to actually do this (even though I bought the bubbles on day 2 of this list)!! 😉
  12. go for a walk in the rain(Done!)
  13. clean out the garage
  14. hike the longest trail at Silver Creek Falls – ok, so I didn’t hike the longest trail, but I did get one of the really long ones in!! I am calling that a win!!!
  15. go on a walking tour of downtown Portland
  16. take a cooking class
  17. get a tattoo(Done!)
  18. pick strawberries(Done!)
  19. bake homemade cinnamon rolls
  20. take an art class(Done!)
  21. set up a website
  22. teach myself how to take a picture using manual camera settings
  23. make at least 12 pieces of art(Done!)
  24.  lose 32.6 pounds(Done!) – matter of fact, I have lost 69.8 pounds so far this year!!
  25. put at least $1,200 in savings – I will have a $1000 in by Friday, so I came pretty close to this goal!
  26. visit a ghost town
  27. teach an online class
  28. make homemade yogurt
  29. read the entire Bible – No, this one is really hard for me! I think I am somewhere in Deuteronomy still!! 🙁
  30. crochet a queen-sized blanket using a difficult stitch(Done!)
  31. volunteer at a homeless shelter – I have been surprised by how difficult this one has been to find a place that will give you permission to volunteer, but I will keep trying!
  32. take a French class
  33. make a wild dance mix playlist. dance to it.(Done!)
  34. carve pumpkins with my niece and nephew(Done!)
  35. get my Visa paid off
  36. make a rag quilt
  37. make $1000 creatively

Some other things that I was able to get done this year, that I wasn’t planning on but am still so thankful and blessed to have gotten done was:

  • I had lost 50 pounds this year with just diet and exercise
  • I had gastric bypass surgery, which has helped me lose an additional 19.8 pounds
  • We found our church home, and just couldn’t be happier there
  • I have made a some new and dear girlfriends this year
  • My marriage is stronger than ever
  • Jason and I are finally on the same page financially, and are headed to build our dream lives

I have a new 38 by 38 list in the works for this upcoming year, but only time will tell to see what this new year will bring!! 🙂

Here’s to a FABULOUS 36th year, and an even better 37th one!!! ;-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

 

Financial Peace University!

Good evening!

ok, maybe “good” is too strong of a word!!

In all honesty it has been a “meh” kind of an evening!

No, what it has really been has been a O-M-G-I-JUST-CUT-UP-ALL-MY-BELOVED-CREDIT-CARDS-THIS-HAD-BETTER-BE-WORTH-IT kind of night!

Hee-hee-hoo-hoo-hee-hee-hooooo!!!

OK, so maybe I had better start at the beginning…

God has really been convicting me to get my financial house in order! Now that I have seriously dealt with my marriage, then my church home/spirituality, and have taken HUGE LEAPS in my health, I know that He is telling me that it is time to stop being a dang fool, always living for today, dreaming about tomorrow but never doing anything about it! So tonight, Jason and I attended our first night of Dave Ramsey’s 9-week Financial Peace University class at one of our local churches, that I just happen to drive by on the way to work every day!!

There has been a large banner posted at this church, advertising that this class would be coming, and I had seen this add the few times the class had been offered before. I kept trying to get up the courage to go take this class, and for the life of me, I just could NEVER seem to make myself do it before!! I know, I am SUCH A CHICKEN!!! 😉

Anyway, I had finally decided that because I have gotten so many other things that had been flailing around in my life back in God’s hands, it was time to do the same for my finances!! The other things were:

  1. My Marriage DONE!
  2. My Spiritual Life DONE!
  3. My physical health WELL ON IT’S WAY TO BEING DONE!!
  4. My finances

and eventually my list will also include:

  1. My Home
  2. My Career
  3. and My Free Time/Fun

Soooooo, like I said, after driving by the Financial Peace University class notification sign every day for the past few weeks  – I knew it was NOW OR NEVER!! So, to the chagrin of my sweetie, I signed us up (at the very last minute, mind you, because I was trying all week to figure out a way to rationalize my way out of going), and thankfully, this evening, he came along with me – even though he was a-whining, a-kickin’, and a-screaming the whole way there!! Nevertheless, we both showed up, and on time, but just barely!! 😉

I am not sure if you have ever heard of Dave Ramsey or of Financial Peace University, but those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I had gone through Dave’s Total Money Makeover a few months prior. I KNOW what I should be doing, but the step that is even before step 1 is to cut up your credit cards, and for some reason I just COULD NOT DO IT!! The whole plan had to be stupid, because didn’t Dave KNOW THAT I NEED MY CREDIT CARDS???

Ok, I realize that is the same pathetic attitude that got me into the crazy kind of debt that I have gotten myself into in the first place, and I know that if I want to live a different life then I have to LIVE DIFFERENTLY!! So tonight, I did the unthinkable – more than just going to the class.

I have made a commitment.

A commitment to what I know God has been telling me to do.

A commitment to the process.

and a commitment to just putting my big girl panties on and cutting up my credit cards!!

I had 6 credit cards to cut up, well, 8 if you count the 2 practice cards that I added to the stack just to “practice” the cutting of the cards motion (I had two cards that had expired that I had never done anything with, and cut those up for practice!) Sad, I realize!! 😉 but, anyone who has had a love love relationship with credit cards know that they can be deceivingly fun!!!! Or at least that is what I have been telling myself!! Foolish me!! By the time I got to card number 5 (of the now 8 credit cards), I had to call in reinforcements because my hand was cramping, and Jason came in to help me finish the job!! He is kind of like my plastic hit man!! Thanks, Babe!! I really needed that!!!

Photographic Evidence of my Plastic Homicide!

The hardest card of all of them was my Nordstrom card, which I had saved for last and I have to tell you, I seriously had to have a “come to Jesus meeting” when I finally did get to that card. I have put so much value in these cards. Ever since I was a little girl I remember thinking that rich people did or have a list of certain things, and one of them was having a Nordstrom card. (a couple of others were, rich people drank tea, and rich people had clean houses – who knew???) Anyway, I digress! For some insane reason, I had made it ok to spend on my credit cards because somehow I had earned the right to be in crazy insane debt! Isn’t that really what the American dream is??? I know all my friends are doing it!! Even so, I know it is time to jump off of the band wagon, and just like Dave Ramsey says, it is time for us to live like no one now, so that we can live like no one later!!

Scary steps being made tonight, but you know what? I feel a cool sense of peace about it, like I have made the right decision, and that everything is going to be alright!! My tomorrow will be so much richer, both figuratively and literally, and I know that God will be able to do so much more with us and our lives if we are able to give back in a more substantial way. Now, I know that cutting up our credit cards was only the beginning, and it may take us years to actually make through the next 4 of the 7 step process, but I know that THIS TIME I am not trying to do it alone; and isn’t that all that really matters??

Here is to a PEACEFUL-NEW-BEGINNING kind of evening!!

 If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

Getting My Financial House In Order!

Good evening!

I have spent the past couple of hours getting my financial house in order! Budgets, bills, filing, scheduling, etc, etc, etc. WHEW!!! It is exhausting work, but work that makes all the difference in the world when it comes to knowing where my money is going!!

My sweetie and I are having a really good week! Ok I realize it is only Monday, but really our last two weeks seemed to have been running much smoother than they have lately! We have been working on our communication skills, and with a little help, my sweetie is learning how to get his business life organized, and tonight we even sat down and wrote out goals for 2012 TOGETHER!!! I mean, really, this man has NEVER had any kind of ambition to join me in any of my goal setting, and I mean like, EVER!!! It has literally made my evening!! LOL! 😉

Anyway, on a different note, my sweetie and I are having a Cosby Show marathon this evening! We LOVE this show!! It reminds me of my childhood when my parents and I used to watch every week. I remember all of us laughing sooo hard, especially my dad! He is the one who introduced us to the clean but uber-funny comedy of Bill Cosby! My sweetie and I also love the messages in every episode, and I find that we are laughing , and then crying, and then talking seriously about what lessons we would impart on our child if we were ever so blessed to have one. It is a great show! Well, we watch this show from NetFlix live streaming, and The Cosby Show actually leaves the queue tonight at midnight, which means we are watching as many as we can fit in before we have to go to bed this evening!! BTW, bedtime is in 5 minutes, UGH! 😉

Anyway, I think that this is a series that I am seriously considering purchasing and adding to our collection, which takes me back to my starting topic of getting my financial house in order – I am just going to have to add The Cosby Show to our someday fund! Financial freedom is just too important of a goal right now, and we have got some serious work to do in that aread!! (but, then again, don’t we all!?!?!?)  😉

Well, I am going to call it a night!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! ;-)

 “If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

Funky Mood!

Good evening!

I am in a bit of a funky mood! Do you ever feel like that?

I had a pretty good day at work, and this evening, as soon as I got home I pulled all of my bills together to schedule them to be automatically paid, like I do every month, and I had a little surprise on my cable bill.

Back in November, my sweetie and I decided that we had too much tele in our lives, and we took the huge step, at least at the time it felt like a huge step, to cut our super-duper-duper-CABLE back to regular, bare-bones basic cable.

Well, today, for the first time since then, I actually looked at our bill – what a novel concept right? I know, I honestly don’t know what I was thinking, thinking that the cable company would be looking out for me!! Anyway, I found a $16 discrepancy on our bill, which isn’t so bad all by itself, BUT I have been paying that $16 for every month for the past 8 months – OUCH! Ok, so maybe it isn’t enough to break the bank, but still I am giving away my hard earned money for nothing!!

I called their “Customer Service Line” and well, let’s just say, the customer wasn’t served very well! HOWEVER, I am not going to let it ruin my day, Jason is going to go down tomorrow and make sure that it is taken care of.

So, there you go!!

The thing that started this whole effort this evening, is that I have decided that I have got to stop turning a blind eye to my finances, pretending that I am thriving, when in reality I really had no freaking clue how I was doing!! Well, I have taken stock, and I am not doing as well as I thought I was doing, and it is going to take me a while to flip my financed right side up, but I have done it before and I will be more than able to do it again!! With LOTS and LOTS of patience!! 😉

I will keep you posted of my efforts!! Right now, I need to set up an actual budget to see what will be manageable!! Not to mention get ready to have some dinner with my sweetie!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! 😉

 

Putting My House on a Diet!

Good evening!!

Before I start my rant this evening, I wanted to give a shout out to my sister, Alexa, in Arizona! I am just SO PROUD OF HER!! She bit the bullet, and has started a blog! I look forward to reading about her hopes, dreams, and desires! I love you, Sissy! You mean the world to me!!! CHECK HER OUT HERE!!! 😉

On to my nightly rant 😉

Tonight is one of those rare evenings when I am home by myself, and I noticed something as I walked through my front door, that for some reason I haven’t noticed lately:

MY HOUSE IS A BIG OL’ PIG-STYE!!!

SERIOUSLY!?!?!?! So not only have I made a HUGE dent on chores since I have gotten home from work, but I have decided to put my house on a SERIOUS DIET!!! I already have a box packed and ready to go to Goodwill! I think I will take that over there before I get my dinner ready!!

Where does this need to pack as much CRAP into your life as humanly possible come from?? Is this the American dream? Is this what I work so long and hard at a job that literally drains me of all energy and motivation to do anything??? OH HELL NO!!! I am not sure how my husband is going to feel about it, but SOMEONE has got to stop the insanity and HONEY, THAT SOMEONE LOOKS LIKE IT IS GOING TO BE ME!!!

The first thing I am going to do is turn on my happy music, and gather 3 bins/bags/receptacles:

  1. Stuff to  put away!
  2. Trash to throw away!
  3. Stuff to give away!

Then I am going to pick one room to go through every other day – that way I don’t overwhelm myself and just decide what to do with each item I come across!! Do I really need 6 years worth of magazines??? Well…NO! I DON’T! I am taking my home back!!

When I think of all the time and money I have invested into all of this STUFF & not even IMPORTANT STUFF, and how much time and money I STILL invest in all of this STUFF, it just makes me green with sickness!! UGH! I am sure I could have gone to Paris 3 times over already!! WHAAA!

Ok, so I am putting my big girl panties on, getting with the program, and taking responsibility for the mess (LITERALLY) that I have gotten myself in, and I my house is now OFFICIALLY on a diet!!

Wish me luck!! I hope my house doesn’t end up going through withdrawals, or going through the DTS, I am not sure I will be able to handle that. But I am mentally prepared to deal with a house that will be, at times very snarky, and I will have to deal with all of it’s cravings for a new tcha0ki, or magazine, or dust ruffle – who knows what kind of tail spin a diet of this magnitude could do to my house!!! LOL! I will keep you posted!! 😉

As I get my booty busy cleaning house…

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Note to Chunky Dunkers: How is everything going, did you think I had forgotten about you?? NO WAY! I am still in the thick (and thin) of trying to take care of my body, and get fit and healthy!! Hang in there, if you fall of the wagon, just get yourself up, and hop back on. One step at a time, one minute at a time, one bite at a time! WE CAN DO THIS!!!

A Savvy Life Morning!

Good morning!!

I woke up early this morning, and straight away picked up a book that I just started reading last night. The book is called Living the Savvy Life: The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Smart Spending and Rich Living by Melissa Tosetti. So far, it is a pretty good book! I think it is going to be a short and sweet read, but it is basically a reminder of a lot of things that I already know, but haven’t taken advantage of in my life. I will have to keep you posted on how that goes!!!

I am off to work late this morning!! I think I am near hitting burnout, and if we weren’t so short-handed I might have taken a personal day today. Instead, I decided to just let myself take an easy extra half an hour and don’t let myself get too anxious!! Work is still tricky right now, and I am not sure I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am sure things will work out – they always do!!!

OH, and I am saving the BEST for last!! It is my girlfriend, Dawn’s Birthday!!!

WHOO! HOO!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY CRAZY, ZANY, WACKY FRIEND!!!!!

I hope you have all that your heart’s wishes come true – ESPECIALLY TODAY!!!! I love you, CHICKA!!! 😉

With that said…

Have a FABULOUS day!!!

You Have Your Vision Board, Now What?

Thank God it is Friday evening!! My stress level is so high, that my eye has started to twitch – NEVER A GOOD SIGN!! LOL! My go-live week, at work,  is technically over, BUT we have sooooo much work to do!!! I am going to have to work a little bit this weekend, but if it gets me even a little bit more caught up – it will be worth it!! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel – WHOO! HOO!!

On a completely different note a WAAAAY more UPLIFTING NOTE: I have been getting a lot of questions that go something like this, “Ok, I have created my vision board, now what???”

So I thought that I would take a some time to answer this question! Take your vision board, a pad of paper (or journal), a pen (or a bunch of different colored pens), and go find a comfortable place to sit and write. This part may take you a little while, but in my opinion it is one of the most important parts of making your images on your vision board come to fruition. Deciding what DIRECTION you want your life to go!!

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
~Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

I know I have posted this before, but just for a refresher, here is my vision board:

Ok, so make sure you have your vision board out where you will be able to see it! Grab your blank piece of paper and write your name write in the smack dab middle of it!! Don’t write it too small – this is a mental representation of your presence in your own life – so make sure are visible!! 😉

Next, while looking at your vision board, decide what are the top 5 or 6 things that will get you to the life that your vision board is describing??? Write those things in small descriptive sentences around your name.

Now is the fun part! On the back of this sheet of paper, you need to figure out what steps you would have to do to get each one of these goals. This may seem kind of tricky, but this is how I make this work for me:

Choose your first goal that you have written: I want to be fit, healthy, & vivacious!
Re-write it like this:  How can I be fit, health, & vivacious?

Then spend the next 10 minutes, 30 minutes, hour, day, week, or however long you want to give yourself just writing down ANYTHING & EVERYTHING that will make this goal a REALITY in your life!

Some of my list items could be:

  1. Exercise every day
  2. Eat more fruits and veggies
  3. See a nutritionist
  4. Get liposuction
  5. Have gastric-bypass
  6. Follow a specific diet plan
  7. Pray for a miracle
  8. Make exercise fun
  9. Take up an outdoor hobby like hiking
  10. Join walking club
  11. Get a physical trainer
  12. etc.
  13. etc.
  14. etc.

You get the idea – write IT ALL DOWN!! Not everything has to be realistic/feasible, but that crazy, zany idea might open your mind up to that ONE IDEA that clinches your mode to success!!!

Do this same thing for EACH of the goals that you have chosen!!! This may take you a while, matter-of-fact, I am sure that it will, but you are laying the FOUNDATION FOR YOUR FUTURE!!! So DON’T skimp on this step!!

WITH EVERYTHING IN ME – I KNOW YOU CAN MAKE THIS LIFE HAPPEN FOR YOU!!!

Let me know, in the comment section how this goes for you!! Even from afar, I am cheering you on!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man!

Good morning!

I am reading a book that is QUICKLY BECOMING ONE OF MY TOP 10 FAVORITES!!! If you can’t tell by the title of this post, the book is called Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man. This book is written by Fannie Flagg, who also happens to be the author of one of my other ALL-TIME-FAVORITE books, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

Do you remember a few days ago I was complaining because I was having a hard time locating a book that contained a story that I could just fall into? Well this books is the book I was apparently looking for, because it is ABSOLUTELY CHARMING! The book is set in Mississippi, in the 1950’s, and is written as if you were reading Daisy Fay’s journal, which happens to start out when she is aged 11. and HONEY she is a curious, busybody like NOBODY’S BUSINESS!! OMG!!! She is funny, precocious, a tom boy who happens to also be a member of the Jr Debutante’s Club. So far there has been, burlesque dancing, murder, maggots, adultery, arson, plastic fish-eyeballs, mischief and mayhem of every kind, thievery, gangsters, and I am only about halfway through the book! I am finding that I am laughing out loud almost CONSTANTLY!!! A sure sign of a good book, if I ever heard of one!! Well, I am not sure what else I can say about that – BUT GO PICK UP A COPY OF THIS BOOK!!!! SOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!!

Anyway, I have just realized that it is Wednesday, which is the day I try to give you an update on where I am with my 60 Day Life Makeover Plan!! As if you even need a reminder at this point on what my original 5 goals are, but just in case, here they are:

  1. Lose 20 Pounds – I am too chicken to hop up onto the scale to find out how I am doing, but Jason and I have started swimming laps, which is both fun, and leaving me really sore – so it HAD BETTER BEING DOING SOMETHING GOOD FOR ME!!! 😉 UPDATE: I un-chickened out and weighed myself – and I have lost 4 POUNDS – YEAH! I am FINALLY heading in the right direction!!!
  2. Find a church home – this is going slower than I expected, but possibly because we haven’t gone to church in 3 weeks – I am not sure how important this is to me at this point. I am learning that a church family isn’t a building.
  3. Clean, organize, and purge the entire house from top to bottom – ok, so when I originally set out to do this, I realize that I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but if I can apply this to just my two office work desks at home, I would be SUCH A HAPPY GIRL!!! 😉
  4. Purchase, refinish, and sell one piece of furniture – I may have found a dresser for $10 on Craigslist today that would fit this goal PERFECTLY!!! Let’s just pray that it is still for sale today!!
  5. Put $1000 away into savings, not from my work earnings – this goal is still hovering at around $165, and until I take SOME kind of ACTION – it is going to remain that way!!!

Ok, I am off to have another relaxing day off with my Sweetie, and then it’s back to work for me tomorrow!!!

Have a FABULOUS day!! 😉

60 Day Life Makeover, Day 33!

Good morning!

Today is Wednesday, the day that I give you an update on where I am with my 60 day life makeover progress.

My 60-day goals are:

  1. Lose 20 pounds.
  2. Find a church home.
  3. Clean, organize, purge my house from top to bottom, so everything in it has a home.
  4. Purchase, refinish, and sell one piece of furniture to slowly but surely get my business off the ground.
  5. Put $1000 extra away to help build my wealth.

Well, where do I begin?? Looking at this list, as if it were the first time I have ever seen it, and I realize that not only have I NOT made any more progress on these goals, some of them I have either stopped trying or have gone backwards in my progress!! BUMMER!!! I think I want these things, but I can’t seem to get my behaviors and choices to back me up on these things!!!

If I had to choose only ONE THING off of this list to accomplish, it would be #1. Lose20 pounds. You know how most people’s weight might fluctuate up or down by maybe 5  pounds?? Well, my normal to fluctuate by is 20 POUNDS!!! UGH!!! I literally take off and put on the same 20 pounds over, and over, and over, AND OVER again!!! So, here I am, back at the starting line, at my top weight – AGAIN! So, this is my reality. I am going to carry a 3×5 card with me today, so that whenever I do ANYTHING that supports my goal of moving towards health and fitness, I am going to write it down as a BEHAVIOR OF SUCCESS!!! I figure if I accumulate enough mini Behaviors of Success, then wouldn’t that also bring about the goal that I have been dreaming of??? I sure hope so!!

As for all of the other goals on this list, I realize that I may have to re-prioritize and decide what is really important to me, and what I am willing to work for to get. Everything has a price, am I willing to pay the price to accomplish everything on my list?? I don’t yet know, but I will! One way or the other HAPPINESS is the ULTIMATE goal, but I am learning that happiness is a choice, and not necessarily something you get – YOU CREATE IT YOURSELF!!! 😉

I am off to another long day of work, but remembering to practice my exercise of EXTREME SELF-CARE! I am optimistic that it will be a GREAT day!!

As for all of you…

Have a FABULOUS day!!! 😉