One of our main goals right now is to get out of debt as quick as possible. We lived rather recklessly and it got us into a mess. It is not an easy task to get out of debt (far easier to get into than out of), but it is an attainable goal. Right now if we paid the minimum payment or bills (student loans, personal loans, mortgage, etc.) we would be in debt for the next 24 years! That is no longer acceptable, so we have a plan in place to reduce this time drastically (we are hopeful to reduce total debt by 40% this year).   How?  Glad you asked.

First, we are going to continue to try to reduce our expenses. In the order of importance to us:

1. Meals

This is our biggest area that we struggle with. Many times money is spent on convenience meals (that only leave you hungry in an hour) that could be used for more groceries. We have literally wasted an entire months of grocery money in one week. It is our goal for 2009 to make our dining out experiences enjoyable family outings-not just a trip to the drive through window. Another way that we are going to try to improve the area of meals is through more and organized coupon use. Combing coupons with weekly sales allows us to get many items drastically reduced, free, or if we are really lucky-we get money back!

2. Reduce our fuel expense.

Our second area that has the most room for improvement is our gas expense in our vehicles. For ways that we have reduced our fuel cost, check out this article.

3. Reduce our utility bill

Lastly, we continue to try new and innovative ways to reduce our monthly utility expenses. The best ways to help reduce this expense are in our saving on expenses category.

As a note here, there are a couple blogs out there that are really worth reading while trying to reduce your expenses. First, Money Saving Mom is a great resource for sales and deals that we mentioned earlier about getting things reduce or free. Also, Lynnae at Being Frugal always has useful information on frugality and other personal finance information. GLBL Guy at Gather Little By Little is great about providing specific personal finance information and often has free software, spreadsheets, and other reviews. We have learned a lot from these three (and others), and have been inspired by both their stories of successes and failures.

We are currently on step two of the Dave Ramsey Plan. We have our $1,000 dollar emergency fund in place and we are currently working on our debt snowball. For those of you who are getting out of debt, this is one of the best plans on the market. It required a little personal tweaking in our situation (we still wanted to contribute to retirement accounts while getting out of debt), but it has worked well for us so far. The name of the book is The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.  If you need a little motivation as well as a guideline debt reduction plan, this is a must read.

Tomorrow we are going to dicuss ways to increase income in 2009 to help eliminate debt. Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

Photo courtesy of www.freefoto.com.

• 100 Ways in 100 Days-7: Bake Items in “Groups”
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-6: Use a Prgrammable Thermostat
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-4: Wash Only Full Loads of Laundry
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-2: Filters
• Getting Your Finances in Order
• What Debt Would You Pay Next?
• January Update: 1 Bill Paid Off!
• 100 Ways in 100 Days-12: Remove Items in Groups from Refrigerator
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-5: Switch to CFL’s or LED’s
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-3: Air Dry Clothes

Well-as hard as it is to believe-another year has gone by. What are your plans for 2009? In this economy I am sure some will be looking for new work, or thankful for the work that they have. We have talked before about depression caused by job loss as well as the importance of goal setting. Both of these articles were from experience and were written to try to help some avoid our mistakes.

As far as we go, we are looking forward to 2009. Personally, we feel that this will be a rewarding year. As always, we wish to increase our knowledge and enjoyment of our spiritual journey. We try to learn new things daily. One rather extreme goal we have is to reduce our total debt by at least 40%. This will by no means be an easy task, but we have learned from our mistakes and we are using a budget, paying down debt quickly, saving for emergencies-just trying to keep our financial house in order.

We hope, beginning in January, to give out monthly progress reports on our liabilities and assets.  This is not only to show what we are doing, but to help hold ourselves accountable to our plan.

Also, we are going to try many new things in 2009 and we look forward to reporting all those things that worked wonderfully and on the things that flop miserably.

We welcome you to share some of your dreams and goals for 2009. As always, thank you for reading and have a great day!

• How to Set and Achieve Goals

When it comes to remembering details and daily routines, we are always in need of reminders. Whether it be paper, or electronic, we always have to keep track of things that need to be done around and for the house. This is how we originally remembered to change our thermostat while sleeping and while being away from home. Until we were fortunate enough to be able to purchase our(drum roll please)…programmable thermostat.

This will save you tremendously if you have a central heat/air unit. A difference of only 3 degrees can make a huge impact on your utility bill. Now, do not get overzealous and drastically change the temperature several times a day-this will make your unit work harder to try and keep up. We have settings that vary according to time of day, and we never deviate from these settings.

While no one is at home during the week, we have the temperature set 3 degrees above our comfort zone of 72 degrees. While we are awake and at home during the evening and weekend hours, we have it set to adjust down to 72 around a half an hour before we get home. Then, since we both like to be a little cool while we snooze, we set the temperature to 70 at night. Again, completing this action point allowed us not only to save money, but the time and hassle involved with remembering and changing the thermostat three times a day.

Action point: Find your perfect temperature for you and your significant other (if you have a significant other. If you can not agree with your significant other, here is that magic word that will save you a world of hurt…compromise!). Then research programmable thermostats at your local hardware store and try to find a way to fit that purchase into your budget within the next couple of months.

Have a great and wonderful day! If you enjoy this series, please forward to and tell your friends. Thanks again!

For an interesting book on creating you own electricity, and even selling some back to the electric company Click Here!

• 100 Ways in 100 Days-7: Bake Items in “Groups”
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-4: Wash Only Full Loads of Laundry
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-2: Filters
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-5: Switch to CFL’s or LED’s
• 100 Ways to Save Money in 100 Days-3: Air Dry Clothes
• 100 Ways to Save in 100 Days-1: Unused Appliances and Electronics
• Eliminating Debt in 2009 Part 1 Saving Money
• Save Money on Your Utility Bill Part 3-Heat and Air
• 30′s Personal Finance: A Change of Pace
• True Frugality

If you are serious about getting out of debt, and changing your life, this is the most crucial step. Since this is such an important step, it is a good idea to take your time and complete this step over several different sittings. Remember, you have to know where you are before you can map out the route to where you want to be.

I will tell you that this is the most difficult step so far that we have experienced. Not difficult to create, but frustrating to keep in check and balanced. If you have not done so, please read our previous posts in this series here and here, they are the first steps to creating a budget. Without further delay, here are the steps we used to create our budget:

1. Gather those receipts The ones that you are going to have saved for a month (we have read recommendations of anywhere from two to six months, but it was not feasible for us as we needed to get started immediately). Sit down in one location, we prefer the kitchen table, grab a legal pad or notebook, and get ready for step two..
2. Categorize Everything that you find a receipt for, assign a category. In the beginning do not worry about specifics (those will be worked out as you go!!), just get a general idea of which category your purchases need to be in. We have such categories as: bills (a free table for you to use is here), home, food, personal care, pet supplies, automobile expenses, insurance, taxes, etc. Notice that these are very broad categories. We kept it simple as long as possible, until we had a firm grasp on just where our money was going.
3. Enter your totals Again, just place items under the main categories for now. That is how we started, and it did not take long to find the biggest leaks in our budget (Dining out, tech toys).
4. Find your soft spot(s) If you are in good shape and have no improvements to make, we commend you ol’ masterful steward of resources. If you find some changes need to be made, welcome to our club.
5. Choose your method Once you have the previous step completed, it is decision time. There is actually a poll on our page about this very question, so if you have a moment, please click your answer and vote. Are you going to continue by hand? We wanted to start this way because it made it more personal for us when we had to hand write each figure and total. Will you use a spreadsheet? Money management software(Quicken, MS Money, etc)? A web-based application (YNAB,Mint,Pearbudget,etc.)? What ever your choice, it is imperative that you like the interface and “usability” of your chosen system, or you will not stick with it.

Once you have a handle on where most of your disposable income is going (assuming you have disposable income), start your sub-categories in that area. As stated, our biggest problem was dining out. Under food, we created the sub-categories groceries and dining out. We further investigated (but did not create sub-categories for these) our dining out expenses and narrowed them down by restaurant and day of the week. Surprisingly, our biggest expense was through the week, and not our weekend “date” meals. Once we had that category under control, we divided the next biggest, and so on.

The secret to gaining ground is to find those areas that can be trimmed, and then appying that surplus to your financial plan. We have just finished Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness and are going to follow that advice with a few personal tweaks. A post for the near future is one that discusses creating your own financial plan, using the suggestions of authors and combining several ideas, as well as speaking with a personal financial advisor. The latter concerns me somewhat, since no one (other than ourselves) would have my best interest entirely in mind, and most of personal finance advisors earn either a percentage of your total wealth, commission on products sold, or both. It pays to take the time and do the research yourself, make a decision, then put your personal plan to work.

Remember that personal finance is just that-personal. Do what works for you. When you blow your budget to the hot place and back (and you will), recoup, count your losses, adjust accordingly, and move on. Also, the budget is not set in stone at our house. We never make changes without total agreement. If you are not married or in a relationship that requires consent, obviously you are the CEO and can adjust as you see fit. If you are in a relationship, it is not negotiable-you and your spouse must be on the same page. If you are not in harmony with each other, you may as well draw flowers and butterflies on that legal pad. It will not work. If you are not a subscriber, please consider this free service. We are going to do a article on talking about finances with your spouse soon, and you will get it immediately if you are subscribed.

Recently, I have been toying with the free downloadable version of Pearbudget (they just released a web-based subscription service). I like what I have seen so far, and will give a full review in a later post. As always, have a great day!

• How to Set a Budget : Personal Finance Tips
• How to Organize Personal Finances : How to Make a Personal Budget
• One Step at a Time: A Journey Toward Financial Independence
• Origin of the word budget
• How to Budget Personal Finances : The Envelope System for Managing a Budget
• Obama Budget Cuts Visualization
• How to Budget Personal Finances : The Envelope System for Managing a Budget
• how to use debt reduction calculator – morecalculators.com
• How to Budget Personal Finances : Why Budgets Fail
• What Debt Would You Pay Next?

“School’s out, School’s out…Teacher let the monkeys out!” our seven year old daughter gleefully sang repeatedly on Friday.

“I’m bored, what can we do?” whined the same seven year old girl on Saturday.

Already?!? I thought.

It is inevitable that once school has ended for the summer children get bored. The weeks leading up to the end of the school year are filled with anticipation of sleeping late, vacations and other fun filled activities-NOT hanging out at home and finding ways to entertain ourselves.

We live within an hour’s drive of a zoo, several amusement parks, numerous water parks, untold how many different tourist activities (all requiring that admission be paid), and at least three malls. Summers past, we have always bought season passes to the zoo and season passes to at least one of the amusement parks for the three of us. We justified these purchases with the idea in mind that these activities were so close that we could take a day trip and buying the passes would actually save us money. This was true as far as admission was concerned. What we never calculated was how much we spent on eating at restaurants, or in the park for three different meals, snacks and the inevitable trip through the gift shop (which could not be avoided since you have to walk through the gift shop to exit the attraction.) We always allowed our daughter to pick out one item; after all, how could we expect her to walk out of there seeing everything and not buy her something? We never thought twice about this or what we were teaching our child about moderation or self-control, but that is a topic for another post.

If you have spent time looking at our website, then you are aware that my husband and I are on a redefine our lives by spending less, getting rid of debt, and learning to save money. Suffice it to say that these decisions have impacted our daughter as well.

In the not so distant past, on such a beautiful day we would have hopped in the car and headed to one of the many attractions nearby. We would have proudly used our season passes (purchased with a credit card) to enter an attraction, spent the day enjoying ourselves while we purchased our meals and snack items (with a credit card), left the attraction with our daughter proudly holding onto her new stuffed animal or overpriced toy (that she really did not need, but that we could not refuse to use our credit card to buy her) and came back home that evening exhausted and ready for bed.

However, since we are redefining our lives, and realizing the error of our ways, this was not an option. So, on such a beautiful day…what could we do? What could we do that did not involve spending money? What could we do that would be frugal and still be fun?

We made bubbles! Yes, bubbles. This was oh so simple, but so much fun.

We used a recipe for homemade bubble solution that I had cut out of Family Fun Magazine several months ago. It worked great. Did you know that blowing bubbles is still fun when you are all grown up?

To make homemade bubble solution mix 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons of dish washing liquid and 2 tablespoons glycerin (you can find this at most drug stores for around $3.00).

Another perk of making the homemade bubble solution was the learning opportunity that was presented. Reading the directions (literacy skills), measuring the proper amount of ingredients (math skills), and mixing everything (fine motor skills) is just the beginning.

Do you want a simple science lesson? Make a bubble blower by rolling a piece of card stock or thick construction paper into a cone and securing it with tape. Evenly trim the narrow end so it measures about ½ inch in diameter. Trim the wide opening to even it out as well. Dip the wide end of the cone into the bubble solution and hold it there for a few seconds to absorb the mixture. Tap off the excess liquid and then quickly dip the cone again. With the cone pointed toward the ground, gently blow a large bubble. Leave it attached to the end of the cone, using a finger to cover the tip of the cone. Next, stick the point of the scissors (that were used to trim the paper) into the bubble. It should pop instantly. Try it again, but dip the scissor points into the bubble solution. They should pass right through the bubble without breaking it. What happened? There are two main ways the bubble pops. First: the watery wall evaporates. The second way is when something dry tears a hole in the wall (ie: you poke it with the dry scissors). By dipping the blades into the bubble solution, the scissors pass right through.

When I did this our daughter was amazed. At that point, nothing was safe! Her hands had to get soaked so that she could see if the same thing would happen! Toes had to be tried as well. Yeah, it got a little messy and we got a little sticky, but it was still fun!

We survived the first weekend of summer vacation without breaking every rule that we had made for ourselves and still had a lot of fun. We never even left the house. Amazing.

We will be posting on other things that we do throughout the summer that does not break our budget. Until then, do you have any fun frugal ideas that you do with your children to break the summertime boredom that seems to be inevitable?

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What is it that defines your life? What makes you get out of bed each morning to face another day? Most of us have asked, or been asked, these questions. After our financial fallout, my wife and I sat down to have this very discussion (which is material for another post entirely).

We thought, and we pondered everything under the sun. We questioned each other and had extensive conversation. After several hours of thought and debate, we finally came up with an answer. Are you ready for what we found? We found that we were defined by…nothing.

Not a singe answer we came up with could answer that question (which was part of the reason we got into our financial mess). We will have another post soon about all the items that were eliminated as possibilities, and the reasoning behind each choice, but for now lets focus on creating the change.

The first thing to do is actually decide on what you want your life to be about. Take you time with this, for if you stick with your choice, it will affect most every major decision made from this point forward. Once you have your answer, we found that we went through four phases during our change. These same truths will probably hold for most any change, not just a lifestyle change.

The Four Phases of Lifestyle Change

1. Phase 1: Withdrawal This was definitely the hardest phase. Nothing about our lives was the same anymore. The weekly $40 (a weeks worth of groceries for the two of us I might add) trip to our local Mexican restaurant-gone. The trips with friends a couple times a month with the intention of having fun finding ways to spend money-no more. (Friends who are true will stick around, those who are not will fade and be replaced by new ones that are more in line with your new found values). Spending hours on end lounging in front of the television watching cable or movies-at an end. You get the point. Every aspect of our lives had been flipped, shaken, stirred, and set back up. It was total misery for over two months. Then came…
2. Phase 2: The Honeymoon Once the shock wore off, we entered the “honeymoon” phase; life is good, look at what good choices we are making, I am so glad we are doing this together, we should have done this sooner, etc. If phase one was the hardest, this was by by far the easiest. Everything was in such perfect harmony, and we were beginning to actually see the results of our choices coming to fruition. Then it all went haywire…
3. Phase 3: Disenchantment Ah, yes. These are the tumultuous times. Not nearly as severe externally (like phase 1), but here is where internal problems, the mud-slinging, began. One would specify an amount for an expense and we both would agree upon it, then the other would go above and beyond the amount. Discussion only lead to one party accusing, the other justifying. One would request a task be completed, the other would balk “How can you expect that at a time such as this!” Thankfully, for us, this phase only lasted a little over month, but it was near impossible to be on the same page at anytime during that month I assure you.
4. Phase 4: Normality After we got back in the same ballpark, life became an increasingly smooth experience. By no stretch of the imagination are things perfect (we still have issues once in a while, as is the case with all relationships), but we are in tune with our goals and purposes now. New friends have entered the picture, and we are slowly cultivating those relationships. Most of the issues we had that stem from this change are now handled in a routine, almost reflexive way.

I must say that we are enjoying the results, and would not change the journey one iota. As always, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, even though I do not think we would of had the level of success that we have experienced, I can not help but wonder if we did not change too much too quick; maybe we should have tackled one area at a time, which is something you may wish to consider. I would also like to say that you can not go into a cycle like this half-heartedly.

Unless you are at the point that you are totally disgusted with the way things are; a time when to continue on you current course is going to be so painful and depressing you have no choice but to take drastic action; whether you experience this ordeal alone, or with a significant other, if you are not 100% committed, you will fail. Just the hard facts. The siren call of your former life will sound sweeter and sweeter each day, until finally you give in. We had tried before, and failed miserably; it was not until we had a lifestyle change in our heart first that we succeeded. The countless hours of support and prayer from loved ones and others who understood also helped tremendously. Without faith and prayers we could have never made it; if you do not believe in God or a supreme being, at least find like minded individuals or a support group to help you through this. It is overwhelming when you decide to change everything at once, but the pain and aggravation will go away eventually, and your effort will be greatly rewarded. Are we enjoying a perfect life now? No, but we are a little closer.

Good luck, and have a great day!

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There are many times when unforeseeable events can cause you to lose your dwelling and/or possessions. Fire, flood, tornado, theft, and the list goes on. One way to make the aftermath of these events a little less stressful is to have a home inventory for insurance purposes. We of course are assuming that whether you be a home owner or renter, you should have some type of insurance to cover your belongings in case of stated emergencies.

First, try an exercise with me. If you are reading this at home, think of a room other than the one you are in. Lets say the living room. Now create a list of all the items in that room from memory that you would need replaced should they be destroyed or stolen. After you have your list, go to the room and look at your results. Surprised? I was, in my living room alone there were six items that I had missed that would easily total close to five hundred dollars. Now imagine trying to recall this information while looking at the smoking embers of your home.

Here are a few suggestions that we have come across:

1. Use a video recorder and walk through your house Video every room in your house while narrating as you go. if you know the brand and estimated cost of an item, mention that as well, if not just try to record everything you see. Also, record everything you do not see-closets, drawers, cabinet space, and anywhere else that your store things.
2. Take pictures of it all Use a camera to take pictures of everything. If you use a digital camera, use a simple photo editor such as gimpshop to add text to your pictures and save the file on a disc or flash drive. If you use film and actually have the pictures developed, write on the back of each what is in the picture as well as brand and estimated value.
3. Lastly, use old fashioned pencil and paper If you do not have access to the above equipment, fret not. Just take a plain piece of paper and a pencil to each room and write down all the items you see with an estimated value.

This is not something that has to be completed in one day. We are trying to do a couple rooms at a time. Another thing I would like to mention is that on our appliances and electronics we are writing down the model and serial numbers as well.

The most IMPORTANT thing of all!! Once you have your information together, get it out of your house! I actually came across the story of an individual who said he spent close to one hundred and sixty hours meticulously documenting all that he owned. He then locked up this information very securely where in a fire proof box that could withstand heat of six thousand degrees for over an hour. They have yet to figure out where the tornado threw the safe!

Here are some online resources regarding this topic:

knowyourstuff.org Free software and .pdf list.

Insurance Information Institue Great Info.

Allstate Allstate’s free tools.

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The cost of transporting the goods to the store has increased; Last years crop yields were less than desirable; China is purchasing more meat as rice slowly fades from being the staple as income increases. Regardless of the reason, the simple fact is that we are all experiencing a higher total at the grocery store cash register. What we were once able to do for $40 a week, now cost almost $60. Here are a few ways that we are trying to reduce our grocery expense:

1. Check sales weekly All the stores in our area produce a weekly sales paper. Start by focusing on the front and back page of the paper. The items on these pages are the “loss” items that the store generally loses money on just to entice you into the store.
2. Use coupons wisely Do not use coupons with reckless abandon. Only use coupons for items you plan to purchase anyway, not just because you can get a dollar off. A little trick that we learned via The Simple Dollar, is to place your coupons in a rotating four folder system. When you get a Sunday paper with coupons in it, place them in a folder and wait four weeks before you pull them out. Sometimes the items you have coupons for will be on sale due to normal sale rotation. This can often allow you to get these items for next to nothing, and if you are lucky, get them free with “overage” to apply toward the rest of your purchase. The only time that we purchase items that we do not currently need is when we can get them free this way, and be able to take a little off the rest of our purchase. Also check with the stores in your area to see if any of them offer double coupon days.
3. Create a list, and stick to it I am sure that you all have heard this preached before. Thus, I will not go into much detail, just remember that it is one of the most efficient ways to save money and avoid impulse buying. Also, we found it extremely helpful to start a price list . We were amazed to find that the store we thought had the best deals, was actually outrageous on a good deal of items that we purchased regularly.
4. Plan your meals based on sale items Once you have your sales papers in hand, you coupons on stand-by, create a menu for the week based on the sale items and coupons that are available. Granted, we do not always want what is on sale, but we are sacrificing today for a better tomorrow.

One item that we have found to be the most help to use is a course called Supermarket Savings 101 . The course is literally packed with information that can be put to use instantly. Be warned though, this is not a course to complete in one day, there is just too much information. For our review of this product, check here .

We hope that you find some of this information useful. Please leave any tips that you may have in the comments. Have a great day!

• Are Coupons Worth the Time?
• Eliminating Debt in 2009 Part 1 Saving Money

What is the main objective to your life.  If it could be said that you accomplished one thing in your life, what would you have it be?  Personally, we do not think that “they made a lot of money” should be the main topic at our funerals.  If you did not have any bills, and loads of money, what would you wish to achieve in this life?

Money alone is not a worthy goal.  Most people who say they want a million dollars (or some other figure) in the bank before they can consider their life a success.  I have never heard of a case where money was the only destination.  More often than not, the desired result is something the person believes the money can provide.  Security, freedom,  conveniences, are usually the end result that is sought.

Be careful not to tie your success to a finite object or amount of money.  If you define your success as getting the newest Lamborghini  Diablo, one of two things could happen: (a)If you do not purchase the object or achieve the large bankroll in your lifetime, you may consider yourself a failure, or (b) Once you have the object, you will become complacent and think that you have “arrived.”

It is of some debate now, but this quote was at one time attributed to Emerson.  Regardless, the meaning is an awesome statement and a great way to define success:

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

This is by far one of the best definitions of success I have ever heard.  Another great way to live a successful life: To love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your might.  To love your neighbor as you love yourself.  If we all lived that way, this would be a better world.

Finally, make sure that it is YOUR definition.  We are so bombarded by television and the media about how we should define success.  I look at these people (movie stars, singers, and so forth) and I feel sorry for them.  They have no privacy.  Many end up on drugs and alcohol.  Even though they “have it all,” many are never satisfied.  Be sure that you define what your life should be about.  Take the time to consider this carefully.  By defining what is truly wanted out of life, you may find that the eighty hours a week or more that you are working are doing nothing to get you closer to your idea of success.

Take a few minutes to think about your definition of success.  Are you currently getting closer?  Farther away?  What can you change to make your life a success as you define it? 

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