Rethinking the budget, again!

I probably spend way too much time obsessing over our budget. In an ideal world, I’d be throwing every penny I have into paying off our mortgage and truly being debt free. However, I know myself. I could easily lose track of the important things in life on a quest to eradicate debt. What does Suze Orman say, “People first, then money”? My family should be a priority when I look at how we spend money. And myself! Hey, I am a person too, right? So with that, I have decided to automatically contribute to an IRA account. Its only going to be $150 a month, but I thought I should start some where. Since I don’t have a 401K at work anymore, its important that I do this. I should be maxing out my IRA, but that is a goal for another year. If there is any money left over at the end of the year, I will trying to add more.

Financial Goals for 2015
Roth IRA – $1,800
College funds for the kids ($100 a month per kid) – $2,400
6 months emergency fund – $20,000
DC trip (summer) – $4,000
Louisiana trip (Thanksgiving) – $4,000
Total money to save this year: $32,200

Savings to date: $228.41
Cash back from credit card: $55.04
Savings from 1/9 paycheck: $173.37
Needed to goal: $31,971.59

Making Sense of Our Food Spending

This post was supposed to be the first of weekly posts highlighting my meal planning for the week. I was going to share my shopping for the week and what meals I was going to try out on my family. Life has a funny way of laughing at plans. On Wednesday, our brand new heating unit that we are still paying off decided it didn’t want to give us any warm air. My family and I have been sitting in a cold home since then. We called the place that installed it; they came out and said they have to order a part from the manufacture to repair it. In the meantime, we’ve actually used our fireplace and purchased $100 worth of space heaters. Home-ownership woes. At least it is still under warranty! With that, I have not felt like investing any time in cooking or prepping. Also, my husband has been absent due to the end of the football season. I’m going to leave the cooking to him next week since he’s off on Monday and Tuesday!

So instead of grocery shopping, I thought I’d share a few numbers courtesy of mint.com. Last month my family spend $1,189.42 in food-related costs which is about $300 over budget. Here are the numbers:

Groceries	$653.78
Restaurants	$362.84
Fast Food	$91.83
Food & Dining	$43.46
Coffee Shops	$37.50
Total	$1,189.42

Using mint.com, I found that our monthly average for food-related expenses was $1,183 which is almost exactly how much we spent in December 2014. What is our budgeted amount, you ask? Our budget is $650 for groceries (which includes food for my gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, vegan son due to allergies) and $200 for eating out (mostly for my husband who refuses to brown bag it even after years of me complaining). No wonder we were always over budget! So far we have spent $211.95 in January (although some of this was end of December that posted in January):

Restaurants  – $108.43 (celebrated my husband’s birthday)
Groceries – $58.48
Fast Food – $25.99 (hubby lunches for 3 days)
Coffee Shops – $10.00 (Starbucks – all me, I’ll admit)
Food & Dining – $9.05 (hubby brought me cookies to cheer me up and vending machines at hubby’s work)

Not starting off that great, huh? My hope is that we can stay on budget this month of $850!

 

Happy New Year (and all that jazz!)

With the new year, I have resolved to give my blog more attention. I really enjoy having this outlet and I love reading updates from my favorite bloggers. I usually have a massive plan to right all my perceived wrongs at the beginning of the year. 2015 will be a bit different. I have decided to focus on a few important goals and not overwhelm myself. My eight goals are simple and complex at the same time, but I hoping to have more success this year than last. I am honing in on the things that matter most to me: family and health. Here’s more about my plan:

1. Save for trips to visit my and my husband’s families. 

Both of my parents are in their 70s and my nieces and nephews are growing up too fast. Last year, I didn’t manage to make it back to DC like I usually do and I would like to spend a week or two weeks there. These trips are expensive because we have to pay for the flights, hotel, food and rental car. Also, my in-laws have been requesting us visit for Thanksgiving for the last 5 years! I’d love to take the kids to Louisiana to visit family and see my husband’s alma mater. There is a classic football game that takes place that weekend as well and it would be nice for them to experience that tradition. Total estimate for both trips: $8,000. 

2. Save $20,000 for 6 months/in-case-of-life fund.

Since the last of the debt will be paid off this month, I have decided to take Dave Ramsey’s advice and create an “in-case-of-life” fund. This will be used for things like major house repairs, in case my husband loses his job and anything else that pops up. In 2014, we paid over $10,000 for household repairs including AC, hot water heater and light fixtures. I am sure we will need more repairs this year.

3. Lose 20 lbs and keep it off!

This is less for vanity purposes and more about my overall health. The more weight I carry, the more issues I have with blood pressure. Also, my work wardrobe isn’t fitting as it should and I am not about to spend money on work clothes for a part-time job! I am hoping to exercise more and eat better to achieve this goal.

4. Learn two new recipes a month with one being allergy friendly that might kids can eat

It’s a shame when your daughter greets your husband as he came home from work with “Mom actually cooked today!” Yesterday I cooked some butternut squash for my son and he literally threw it up. His words, “Sorry Mom but it was really yucky!” So yes, I am not a good cook and cooking stresses me out! But I am resolving to get better at it this year!

5. Meal plan weekly with at least 4 servings of fruits and veggies!

This goes along with goal #4. I am hoping to save money and time by meal planning. I hope to make sure my family is eating better this year. Also, meal planning should help with the saving goals #1 and #2.

6. Teach my daughter 23 basic rules to reading phonetically

Since her dyslexia/dysgraphia diagnosis, I have realized I need to spend more time with her focusing on reading. My daughter is very smart but just needs some help in this area. Hopefully less TV times and more quality time with mom will assist in this goal.

7. Ensure my son transitions well to kindergarten (as measured by his progress report)

My son is a very unique individual. With his allergies, small stature and potential speech delays, he potentially will have a difficult time entering kindergarten. But we are going to get him ready and really work with him! I hope to end the year with all A’s on his report card.

8. Blog at least two times a week recapping my progress and general thoughts! (self-explanatory!)

Thank you for reading my blog in 2014 and I hope you continue to join my adventures in 2015. Happy New Years!

Trying to End on a Good Note

I have spent the last few days sick with the flu and pretty miserable. There’s nothing worse than having time off and feeling too weak to enjoy it! I’ve tried to remain in good spirits as my husband went out and spent time with our friends. It was the holidays after all. Overall, I’ve been pretty grumpy and generally annoyed. I did discover that I can stream cable to my iPhone and kindle which made laying in bed a little more comfortable (my husband accidentally broke my glasses making it impossible for me to see the TV in the “far” distance).

But this is going to be a happy blog post! 2015 will be a great year, right?! In the last two weeks, I have become aware of some of the “battles” I have in store. My son’s school sent us home a notice that they think he should get an evaluation for speech delays. He’s been in speech therapy before, but I thought he was progressing along nicely. I have noticed that sometimes he talks like he’s on one of the kids shows he watches “Where are we going next, Mom?” The same week, I received my daughters reading and writing evaluation. Like I have suspected since she was in kindergarten, she was diagnosed with mild dyslexia. She also has moderate dysgraphia, a writing disorder. The place that tested her recommended $110 a week tutoring! Not doing that but I do need to get her some help. The tricky part is that she’s doing pretty well in school so that her teachers don’t really feel she’s got any issues. How could a student that’s getting A’s in writing have a disorder, right? So yeah, there’s that.

Happy post…must write a happy post. I reviewed my goals for 2014 and realized I didn’t accomplish most of what I set out to do! Its been hard to motivate myself to create resolutions for 2015 since this year didn’t turn as planned. BUT, I would say 2014 was a good year. I started working part-time at a job I love (although the grant might not get renewed next year) and I celebrated 10 years of marriage with my glass-breaking, desert me on the holidays husband in Puerto Rico. I have enjoyed the simple things like picking up my kids from school (not aftercare) and going on field trips with the kids when normally I would have to work. Actually even though I failed at most of my goals, I would say that 2014 was a great year!

So here’s to another wonderful year of failed goals!

Reevaluating…

I had high hopes of ending the year with only our mortgage debt. However, no matter how long I stare at my budget spreadsheets, I cannot magically find any more money to payoff our AC bill. Our water heater decided to start a prolonged death three weeks ago. I was hoping to make it to January before having to replace it. After some really cold showers last week, we decided to make the call and have it repaired today. I have reduced our budget for gas and food and our automatic college fund for the kids by 75%. But still, there is no extra money that I can find to put towards debt. I am giving myself a break and making this one of the first thing things I accomplish in 2015. I feel like a self-inflected weight has been lifted. Some times you have to reevaluate if your goals are realistic.

Warm baths make everything better!

No Spend November and Other Lofty Goals

Happy November! This is my favorite month of the year and not just because I was born in November. It is the only month I get 3 days of paid vacation. I love how Thanksgiving brings a time to reflect and be thankful for the many blessings we enjoy. In celebration of this great time, I decided to hone in on some of my financial goals and end the year right. Since we acquired a new debt to fix our air conditioning unit, I really want to pay that debt off by the end of the year. Hopefully next year I can set focus on some new financial goals and I hate to have this one lingering on.

What that said, I have set a goal to pay off our A/C repair loan by December 31st, 2014. Quick facts about this loan:

• The loan is through a home improvement credit company and account information part of their website sucks.
• As result of their horrible web presence, my current balance is either $5,798.82 or $5,592.78.
• I was told by customer service that there is a 17.99% interest on the loan which started accruing as soon as I got the loan. However if I pay off the balance before September 2015, the interest will be waived. Thus, I am going to go with the $5,592.78 amount as how much I owe because I think the other number includes interest which I wont have to pay if I pay off of the loan by December. Confusing, huh?

My extremely lofty goals to do this will be to pay off about $3,000 in November and the balance in December. Pretty crazy, huh? While I don’t have the husband on board with this, I still can make this happen. I’ve crunched the numbers and I really think its marginally possible utilizing the following methods:

1. Increase my hours from around 20 to 25 a week.
2. Create a really tight budget and stick with it!
3. Spend as little money as possible by meal planning, finding free activities and staying in!
4. Keeping track of my spending and saving daily so I know where I am at.

Here’s the update for the 2 days so far:

November 1st – My first no spend day of the month.

November 2nd (all budgeted items)

• $46.33 on gas (budget of $100 for the week; my husband has to fill up his car as well)
• $63.04 on groceries (budget is $100 a week)
• $120.00 on my kids piano lessons (for the month)

I think I’m off to a good start! Wish me luck!!

(Well, that’s annoying) Balanced Dreams

(It appears that the last few blog entries were hanging out in my draft folder! I’m not sure why that happened, but I’m going to blame the iPhone Word Press app! In any rate, check out my last three posts that were just published this morning: April 30th, May 1st and May 2nd! So bizarre!)

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what my “ideal” life would be. I have been having a constant battle of wanting my life to be different in so many ways.

1. Buy a new, slightly larger house. I can’t seem to shake this material desire no matter how hard I try! I grew up always sharing a room with my sisters and would love for my kids to have rooms that they can make their own.
2. Travel more (particularly this year to celebrate our 10 year anniversary). On the list of places I want to go are Trinidad and Cuba.
3. Work part-time so that I can continue to keep my resume current, but also able to spend more time with the kids.
4. Speaking of kids, I would love for them to be able to pursue every passion they want. I keep thinking I should get them involved in martial arts and piano, but there is no time or money to add anything else in our schedule.
5. Pay off all debt including mortgages and live debt free!
6. Have all the savings financial experts claim we should have including emergency fund, 6 months “just in case” fund,  college funds and retirement accounts.

Is that asking for too much? (laughing) I think in isolation, each one of these goals is within my reach. However, as a conglomerate, there is no way possible I can achieve these unless I win the lottery. The problem is that I value each of the six goals independently and I want pursue them all. When I make a determination to focus on one, I get restless and uneasy as I am denying a part of myself. I am still working to find balance in my dreaming and find a compromise that allows me to stay true to all my hopes and desires.

Any brilliant advise for me?

Glad That’s Over!

It’s May! Well, it will be tomorrow pending any end of the world doom that might happen in the next few hours. Since April was pretty crazy, I have decided to create a list of some goals that will help me have a successful month! I really want to focus on “self-care” as I feel like I had a rough go of it this month. I need to slow down and refocus on the important things in life!

Health:

1. Drink at least 32 oz of water a day – I haven’t been drinking water at all!
2. Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night – I have been staying up late doing nothing and getting up early. Not good!
3. Practice yoga 3 days a week and complete some aerobic exercises 2x a week – yoga is so good for me! I really need to reconnect with it!
4. Eat at least 4 servings of fruit and veggie a day.

Other Life Stuff:

1. Have 14 no spending days! – I am going to get back on track with this!
2. Do one load of laundry and the dishes every night – I have been letting this pile up for the weekend and then I am overwhelmed.
3. Limit the amount of time I spend on Hulu and Facebook to 30 minutes a day using the chrome extension “StayFocused”
4. Prep of the next day at night – I hate mornings. This should help me hate them less.

 

Money Conversations

I saw this on a tumblr account and loved it!

Today was another no spending day for me. My husband, not so much. Around the first of the month, our credit card always hides some transactions. I’m not sure why but our current balance this evening shows we don’t owe anything which clearly is a lie! This is another reason I  should shy away from credit card use. The husband is now aware of what our financial situation is, but I feel like he is coming up with all types of strategies that don’t address the problem. Today, he cooked black eyed peas and rice for dinner for us. I was thrilled until I saw that he also brought fast food for his own dinner. The expenses for his trip continue to climb. Meanwhile, I had a pretty crappy day at work which didn’t improve when I pulled out my lunch of leftovers and split pea soup was pretty disgusting. But at least he’s thinking about it.

Over text message this morning, he offered that we should look for a cheaper daycare for my son.  King has been in his current school since he was 6 months and they do a great job with him. However, its really outside of our price range. My husband was debating whether we should take him out since he only has one year to go until he’s in kindergarten. He’s suggested we look at the preschool that is attached to where my daughter attends 1st grade currently. They are just opening up an extended daycare option for working families. A quick crunch of the numbers saw that we could potentially pay $500 less a month on his childcare. We then factored in having to pay for lunch since his current school has meals included in tuition and the new school doesn’t. This amount could easily be $100 a month with his special diet. In the end, we decided it would be best to keep him where he is and hope that we do a better job with our finances in the coming months. We will be finishing our car loan in November which frees up exactly $412.

Its only April 2nd and I am already feeling discouraged. There is potentially light at the end of the tunnel. My mother-in-law said she’s sending us money. Additionally, my husband swears he will be reimbursed for his travel expenses. Lastly, if my husband is getting a raise, it will would be reflected in his April 15th paycheck. He doesn’t know if he’ll get one this year though. I’ll continue planning for worstcase scenario, but hopefully one or all three of these things happen!

Marching On…

We are fortunately that my husband gets paid bimonthly which makes paying bills easy to plan. Every 1st and 15th, I have bill assigned to that paycheck regardless of when they are actually do. Almost all of our bills are due on the first. Since we can’t cover paying for all of them with one paycheck, we strategically try to pay a few a 1/2 of a month early on the 15th. The key word in all of this is “try”. Its so easy to put off bills to cover something else since they aren’t technically really do. Its another thing I just need to get better at doing.

Today when I went to pay our bills, I noticed that our cable and internet bill went from $137 to $155. Immediately I got on the phone to demand an explanation (side note: always do this when a bill seems off). Apparently Cox Cable increased their prices in January. The customer service rep was very helpful explaining this and tried to apply what he could to get my bill lowered. He was only able to take off $5 for this months’s bill. Removing my husband’s NFL sports package, my bill is back down to the $137 it used to be. I promised my husband I would add the channel back in August when NFL returns. While the outcome was fine, I was annoyed at the timing of the higher bill. This month is out to get me!

Since I am trying to hit 12 days of no spending, I am very conscious of spending money. I forced myself to do all my week’s shopping and run errands today. Instead of having the mentality that I can run to the store whenever I want, I thought of everything I need to make it through the week. My hope is to front-end many of my no-spending days before the in-laws arrive. My mini goal is to make it through the week without spending money!

Speaking of week, I had a pretty productive one. My goals:

1. Take my iron pill daily – yes
2. Work out four times this week – made it to 5
3. Apply for three jobs – applied for 2
4. Write the thank you notes for my son’s party – I would have done this, but I had to buy the thank you notes. I waited until today to get them since I wasn’t spending money last week
5. Taxes!! – done!
6. Catch up on laundry – In process as I type

Happy March everyone!