Living the Dave Ramsey Lifestyle: Saving Money like it's my JOB

This post is a hard one for me to write. So I will start off with a disclaimer: I am not a saver. At all. If the money is there, I want to spend it because after all, you can't take it with you when you go, right?

Well that is true, you can't take it with you when you go. But living paycheck to paycheck will cause a stress that will get you where you are going a whole lot quicker!

James is a saver. He is not an impulsive buyer. He researches the best deals and saves coupons like crazy. He is a member of every shoppers loyalty program and he uses those points. I guess when they say opposites attract, they weren't lying.

Once I decided that before we got married, I wanted to be out of debt and be better with money, I knew that the way I was living wasn't going to cut it anymore. So I started looking up ways to save money. It has been a VERY slow process, you can't make a spender a saver over night.

The first thing I did was become a member of Ebates. I do a lot of shopping online. I had heard about this site that will give you money for shopping online, but of course I thought it was a scam. But when I went to the website, I realized it wasn't!! I would say about 90% of the stores I shop at are members. Each store will give about 1 - 10% cash back, and while 1% doesn't seem like much, that money adds up after a while. Once you are a member, you can start referring your friends and family, and make even more money!! Checks come about 2-3 times a year, and all extra money received from Ebates went to pay off my credit cards or my 4-runner.

Another thing that I did to save money was cut my cable package. I started thinking about all that I was paying, and how much time I actually spent watching TV. I figured out that I was paying almost $200 for no more than 30 hours of TV, a month!! I first tried to get rid of cable all together. I got a Roku box and a subscription to Netflix and Hulu. This came to be about $17 a month. I still had internet through Time Warner Cable. When we purchased our house in June, I called around asking for internet prices. I was able to get a deal with TWC to have basic cable and internet for the same price that I was paying for internet. We decided to purchase that plan, because it was no extra money. We do not have any deluxe channels or movie channels. That is what our subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu are for. If, after a year, we are not able to get the same deal from TWC, we will cancel cable all together again.

Here is a list of some more things we have done to save money:
- Eat out twice a month
- Using cash, and putting all extra change in a jar
- Canceled the gym membership
- Starbucks only on weekends

This may not seem like much, but like I said, it is hard to make a spender a saver. In 2015 I want to get better. I want to have a budget on gifts I give others. I want to find a way to reduce our grocery bill and electric bill. Stay tuned, I am sure it will be an interesting ride ;) <3

Movie Review Monday - Dallas Buyers Club

This is the first blog post in my new series: Movie Review Monday!!

James and I LOVE to watch movies together. We mainly watch these movies at home because we live 20-30 minutes away from the nearest theater, and it is cheaper (and more comfy) to watch at home!

For our three month anniversary, I bought James 2 DVDs: We're the Millers and Dallas Buyers Club.

Last night we watched Dallas Buyers Club. It is an Academy Award winning movie, winning the Oscar for Best Actor (Matthew McConaughey) and Best Supporting Actor (Jared Leto). I haven't typically liked the movies nominated for Oscars, but I had heard that this movie was the one to watch out of all the nominees. And I COMPLETELY agree...I HIGHLY recommend this movie!

Matthew McConaughey plays a Dallas man, Ron, who is diagnosed with HIV in the 1980's and is given 30 days to live. After first rejecting this diagnosis, as it was still considered a "gay mans disease", he finds himself trying to do anything to stay alive. During this timeframe, the FDA is performing clinical trials on the new drug "AZT". Ron initially tries everything in his power to get AZT and is successful in obtaining it from an orderly. When he can no longer get AZT, he finds himself in a hospital in Mexico. The doctor there gives him vitamins and other supplements to take across the border to start the "Dallas Buyers Club", where patients pay membership dues monthly, and are able to get medication that is not approved in the US.

Along the way, Ron befriends a transgendered male, "Rayon" (played by Jared Leto) who eventually becomes his business partner. This friendship is surprising, since Ron was initially extremely homophobic.

The movie is rated-R, there are some pretty graphic scenes and language (I think I heard the F-bomb 75 times). But, if you can get passed this, it is a movie worth seeing. It really opened my eyes to HIV and AIDs in the 80's, as well as drug manufacturers and the FDA's roll in finding a treatment. Working in the pharmaceutical business myself, I found it incredibly interesting.

So for my first movie review, I give Dallas Buyers Club - 2 Thumbs Up!

Living the Dave Ramsey Lifestyle: Baby Step 2

So once you have saved your $1,000 Emergency Fund, you are ready for:

STEP 2: Get rid of ALL debt (except house) using the Debt Snowball

This was a fun step for me. Because there were real wins, I could really see my progress! To get started on the debt snowball, first list all your debts from the smallest balance to the largest balance:

Target Credit Card: $350 - Minimum payment $25

Visa Credit Card: $400 - Minimum payment $25

Knee Surgery Medical Bill: $600 - Minimum payment $35

Old Navy Credit Card: $650 - Minimum payment $40

Master Card: $1200 - Minimum payment $55

Car Loan with Sun Trust: $6100 - Minimum payment $350

(These are totally fake figures, I made them up as an example)

The first month pay the minimum payment on all debts. Any extra money you can find, throw it at the smallest debt. The money you were putting into saving during step 1? Put that towards the smallest debt, until it is paid off. Continue making the minimum payments on all other debts during this time. Once that debt is paid off, move to the next one. With the $25 you were paying towards Target, now put toward the Visa Credit Card, so that each month, you are paying $50 to Visa (and the minimum payments on the rest). Plus any extra money you can throw at this debt.

Let this continue throughout all the debts you have. Once the Visa bill is paid off, put the extra $50 ($25 from Target, $25 from Visa) towards the hospital bill. Each month, pay $85 toward the hospital bill. Once that debt is gone, pay $125 to Old Navy each month. This will keep going so that by the time you get to the Car Loan, you will have $180 extra each month to put towards your car loan. How quickly you pay off the debts depends on how much extra money you put towards each one. My next blog post in this series will talk about how we cut corners and saved extra money each month! Have you gotten out of debt? Or have you just started? I would love to hear how its going for you! :) <3

Holding Myself to a Standard of Grace, not Perfection...

Yesterday I failed. As much as I hate to admit it, I did.

I couldn't fit into my dress jeans, I got lost at work, I got home late, and dinner was a complete disaster.

But thats not why I failed.

I recently started following Emily Ley on Instagram and her blog. You might have heard of her (if not, you should check her out!!). She is the creator of the Simplified Planners. A few weeks ago, she released free iPhone backgrounds and one said "I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection". This quote really got to me. I ALWAYS hold myself to a standard of perfection. Being the perfect wife, the perfect daughter, the perfect coworker, the perfect friend...when really I am focusing on the wrong thing.

I found the link to her original post about this and man did it hit home. So I put that graphic on my phone and thought, there!! I will do just that. Hold myself to a standard of grace not perfection. POOF.  Lara Casey even talks about chasing perfection in her book, Make it Happen. And while reading, I am thinking - no more of this for me! I am a changed woman!

What I didn't realize is how hard this actually would be for type A people like me. I can read all the blog posts or books in the world telling me how to do this.  But actually doing it is hard!!

When I was standing in my kitchen crying last night, all I kept thinking was, how terrible of a wife/person I was. I have gained almost fifteen pounds (& before now, the only person who knew that was my husband) since the wedding. I have cooked only about 2 nights a week since we got married and the house always seems to be a mess. There are a million things on my January to do list, and I have crossed off maybe one. If you asked me, I would tell you, this is NO way for a woman to act.

Now, a day later, I realize how silly that was. Do I really think James would divorce me for these things? Obviously not, or I wouldn't have married him in the first place. What really would happen if I don't get everything on my to do list done? Then I look at my phone "I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection".

Yes, I failed at that yesterday. Miserably. But today is a new day. Changing your way of life does not happen over night, and for me, giving up "perfect" is changing my way of life. I am a work in progress and I know God's not through with me yet!!

Tonight, we will relax on the couch. I will try not to get up and do laundry or some other task. I will enjoy time with my husband. And if a few weeks (or days) from now I fail again and revert back to my perfectionist / type A ways, I will just look at my phone and remember "I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection".

Changes

Yesterday I started a new job. Something I had not done in 5 years.

I know that may not sound like a long time to some, but 5 years was enough time for me to get comfortable with my surroundings. My coworkers were more like family and everyday, I knew exactly what to do.

Yesterday, I did not. My new job is at a plant that is much larger than my previous one. There is an actual security guard gate before you even get in the campus!! It seemed that EVERYONE knew what to do there, but me. (It also didn't help that it was pouring down rain and I wanted to keep my hair looking nice for pictures).

I have always prided myself on being able to adapt well to new situations, but there was a time yesterday morning when I thought "I can't do this". But I did it anyways, I got to the training room and listened to all the orientation leader had to say. We all went to lunch in the full service cafeteria together (which was another daunting experience). We started to lighten up and get to know each other. I realized that while some people were returning to this company and knew exactly what to do, there were others that were just like me. That had NO clue what they were doing or where to go.

Thats the thing about changes, 9 times out of 10, there is someone out there making a similar change as you, and they feel just as lost as you do! And even during that 1 time where there is not, God is with you, guiding you and comforting you!!

Change is extremely scary, but it is also really rewarding. I heard some news yesterday that made me realize that this new job was the right move for me. I said a little prayer of Thanksgiving to God, because without his nudging, I wouldn't have taken this opportunity.

I am getting ready for day 2 of my new job, and while I still do not know what I am doing - I am going to "fake it till I make it" and make it the best day on this job yet!!

Living the Dave Ramsey Lifestyle: Baby Step 1

I talked a bit about my (which is now our - James' and my) journey to a debt free lifestyle in my resolution post. Like I said, I knew I wanted this life for us, but didn't really know how to get there. Enter Dave Ramsey's baby steps.

Baby Step 1 - Save up $1000 Emergency Fund 

The premise of this first step is to save up up money so that while you are getting out of debt, you don't get into more because of emergencies. I cheated a bit on this. I used my tax refund to get me to $1000 and to jump start my debt snowball.

If this is not an option for you, create a budget to allow your money to work for you, and not you for your money. In this budget, there will be an amount that goes into saving each month.

So how do you start making a budget? There are a few things you need to have readily available. How much does your household bring home each month? What bills have to be paid out of that amount each month? If your paychecks vary from week to week, then budget for how much you would make if you worked 40 hours a week for four weeks. This way, overtime is a bonus and you are not banking on that to get the bills paid. For bills like water and electric, look at 6-12 months of bills. How much was the highest amount you paid during that time period? A lot of power companies and water/sewage companies will allow to you to pay a budget amount each month. Thats the way to go if your utility services offer that feature.

Once you have those numbers, you are ready to start your budget spreadsheet. I have included a sample one below. Your net monthly income will go at the top. Right off the bat, take 10% and put it into savings. With the remaining, list the bills that you have to pay each month and the budgeted amount for those bills. Next is gas, I budget more for gas because I travel a lot on the weekends. But budget an accurate assessment for a months worth of gas. What's leftover is yours to categorize like you want. I use the following categories:

- Eat Out / Fun Money
- Hair / Nails / Shoes / Clothes
- Gifts (Christmas, Birthday, Mother's Day)
- Medical Expenses (Drs visits, prescriptions, etc.)
- Groceries / Household Items

It works for me to split these out evenly, but that doesn't work for everyone. If you are not into getting your nails and hair done, but you have a large family to buy for - it doesn't make much sense to have as much in hair/nails as it does gifts. But that is totally up to you! (Note: i have also done our budget based on our pay schedules and bill schedules so it is a bi-weekly budget instead of a monthly).

Also, if you want to follow the Dave Ramsey plan exactly, here is a link to his budget forms. Again, this spreadsheet is just what worked for us! We have ours set up on the computer to manually calculate the remaining amount after we spend in each category. If you would like for me to send you the excel copy of what we use, leave your email in the comments and I would be glad to!

All the money left over each month that is not spent, goes into savings. With this method you will have $1000 saved in your emergency fund in no time!! After you get this money saved ONLY touch in case of emergency!

One thing that was hard for me to learn was that Christmas is not an emergency, vacation is not an emergency, your husbands birthday is not an emergency. These are things that come every year. That is why you will have to play with the budget each month. And you do not have to do all the categories that I did, change them around, do what works for you! This is not an overnight process. There will be mistakes and it wont be perfect at first!!

But if you stick with it, you will find that it getting easier and easier each month.

Next step, Step 2: Debt Snowball

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365 Day Photo Challenge: Week 1 - Resolutions

So I have completed week 1 of the 365 photo challenge. Unfortunately I started on January 3, and I missed a day in there, but I really enjoyed looking back this morning and seeing the four pictures I did take all there under the hashtag I created for myself on instagram:

#LJW365Challenge

I included some of my January goals in with the resolutions so the pictures are of:

1) Thank You Notes that I will get completed in January (10 done so far this month!)
2) Reading the bible in a year (AGAIN! :))
3) Reading Lara Casey's Make It Happen (which I have started, it is so good and is speaking right to me!)
4) Getting fit

This weeks challenge is cold....and with the temperature hovering around 12 degrees this morning, this weeks category should be a breeze!!

Did you decide to participate in the challenge?! How are you doing?! I would love to hear!! :) <3

365 Photo Challenge

I woke up EXCITED this morning, even more so than any other morning! (Yes, I am that weird creature who wakes up most days in a great mood). Last night, as I was falling asleep, I was scrolling through blogs on my phone, and I ran across this one: the 365 photo challenge. And I thought, I HAVE to do this!

One thing you will soon learn about me is I LOVE pictures. When we went to Disney World in 2011, I took 800 - 100 per day. I feel that it is necessary to capture the moment, because when memories fade, the photos will be there as a reminder of wonderful times. So when I discovered a challenge where I take a photo a day for 365 days, I knew I had to partake!

I have found these photo ideas on Pinterest, and since I am starting a bit late and I want a little more freedom - I will be using the weekly plan. But you don't even have to use a plan - just take a photo a day!! Upload to Instagram, Shutterfly, or blog about it! I can't wait to see what unfolds as I do this!! :)

There are so many more ideas and tips and tricks on the Capture Your 365 Blog, definitely worth a look if you are interested! I can't wait to share my progress with everyone! This has gotten me even MORE excited for 2015!! 

New Years Eve/Day Recap and January Goals

Happy New Year!! I hope that you all had a blast ringing in 2015 and that you had a wonderful New Years Day.

This year, we started a new tradition by having our family over for dinner and to ring in the New Year. There were A LOT of people in our (what seemed so tiny) house. But it was filled with love and laughter and that is what we wanted.

 My Best Friend Courtney & I on our 10 year Anniversary - NYE 2004 is where it all began ;)

 Even my cousin came with her brand new baby, Natalie

Yesterday, we had an "us" day. We didn't do anything or go anywhere, we just laid around and watched movies all day. It was perfect! After a super busy 2 weeks doing Christmas activities, it was just what we needed.

I also spent some time thinking about my January goals:

* Finish the Thank You notes from the wedding (I did NOT do well on this in December!)
* Organize our office so that we can get my piano
* Visit churches in our area (Finding a church in 2015 is a goal that I forgot to include in my 2015 Resolutions)
* Organize my pantry (I know this sounds silly, but seriously, its terrible!)
* Plan a fun evening for James and I on our 3 month anniversary (January 11)
* Start my blog series on Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps
* Read "Make It Happen" by Lara Casey that my wonderful coworker gave me!
* Book our Disney Trip
* Purchase February Birthday presents (I am trying to start planning ahead on Birthday's so that I can spend all my energy loving the person on their birthday, not running around looking for last minute gifts)

I want to start January off strong so that the rest of my 2015 will be the best year ever!! <3