Just Passey-ng By

We've been working on our debt snowball for a total of 5 months now! We've had some ups and downs but overall we are on track to have it all paid off in 15 months!!!! Here's how our debt thermometer is looking now: January : We had just started so our motivation was high! We made a list of our  essentials and non-essentials  to help keep us in check. We also went through the budget line items and brainstormed ways to cut costs more. Some ideas: get Comcast to lower our internet bill, get PMI removed, cancel 401k temporarily, change state tax withholding.  February : Tax return month! We've changed our tax withholding so we only pay like $5 a paycheck to federal tax. But we still get a decent return between federal and state. Tax returns combined with staying on track with our budget, meant we were able to put just shy of $5,000 towards the snowball!  Check your paycheck to see what your withholding level is at. If you get a large tax r...

This past month we've been celebrating Tafton's 9th Birthday. He loves to read and I love to see him reading. He'll use phrases that sound so odd coming out of a 9 years old mouth, But I really enjoy hearing them. He is so smart! Because he's the oldest he can be somewhat of a police officer trying to keep the younger kids in line - it's important to him that everyone follow the rules and he can get so disappointed in himself when he thinks he's fallen short. I'm humbled that I've been chosen to be his mother, to guide, teach, and prepare him for this life. One area I want to prepare my kids in is finances. I wish for them to make smarter choices with their money than we have! One thing I want them to understand is that money is finite. If you spend a dollar, you no longer have that dollar.  In line with this, we decided to let our kids manage a birthday budget once they turn 8. We give them a dollar amount and with that they can decide to have ...

Since becoming a full time stay-at-home Mom, I've found myself going from waking up early getting ready for the day, to sleeping in and staying in my jammies all day, hoping no-one will ring our doorbell unexpectedly! I've decided that I need to start treating my work at home like an outside the home job. That means I need to wake up at a respectable hour (not 9 in the morning!) and get dressed and do my hair. I feel better about myself when I do this and I don't have to run to make myself presentable when that doorbell rings! I also know that the kids will have a better attitude and be more productive when we have a predictable schedule and responsibilities are laid out clearly. They know what I expect of them and they want to live up to that! Here's what my ideal schedule looks like right now: 6:00am Wake up. 6:10am Move any laundry from washer into dryer. Start another load if needed. 6:15am Work on ongoing projects without kids underfoot. Start ...

One of the most overspent budget categories is food. We all got to eat but those trips into the grocery store inevitably make a hit to the wallet. When I first started couponing I would go on couponing grocery trips, which were solely just to get 'deals.' I eventually smartened up and realized that if we don't need it, won't use it, then it's NOT a deal! I'm just giving them our hard earned money and cluttering up our living space with stuff. After 7 years of couponing, I feel like I have grocery shopping for my family (and without obliterating the checking account) down. Most of what we do to save money is done before we even leave for the store!! First, and hardest IMO, is  menu planning . -If you've never menu planned, I'd start with just one week and then work up to a pay period (for us that's two weeks), and then the whole month. The longer of a menu plan you do, the more potential money savings. -I write our menu on a cal...