January Financial Update

It's been a mixed bag this month. Both paychecks were on the small side, and I had a roof repair and 2 birthdays to cover, among other things, but God has blessed me with different resources.

DD went to the orthodontist, and yes, she does need braces. No surprise there. Grandpa graciously is covering the cost that insurance doesn't pick up, so she will be going in for molds and x-rays next week to get things going. I was able to cover the roof repair and birthdays with savings, and that will be replenished in 10 days with the income tax refund.

Ah, the income tax refund. :-) It was a bit more than expected, so that was a very nice surprise. After tithing, it will cover refunding the emergency fund, the property taxes, a couple small things (less than $100 total) that I've been putting off buying, and should pay down about 90% plus of my Mastercard. I'm going to crunch some numbers and see what I would need to do to pay it all off with the February payment. Hopefully I can do that and be down to just 1 card. I have played around with my spreadsheet, and if I can pay off the Mastercard in February and be faithful in my snowball, there is an outside chance (barring any disasters) that the Visa could be gone by the end of the year. It will take strict discipline, but it can be done.

Tuesday's Blessings

1. Getting unexpectedly paid for trying to set up a computer for a new account, only to find out the computer's motherboard was bad right out of the box. I presumed it would be "lost time."
2. Lots of snow!
3. DD's sincere apology and taking responsibility for something. (It was a minor thing, but the apology and taking responsibility bit was big!)
4. A cat who likes to play fetch!
5. God bringing to mind a number of things I can be doing when work isn't available.
6. DD making me tea most afternoons.
7. DS pronouncing Friday night's dinner as "amazing."
8. A heating pad.

Price Book

One of my goals for 2010 is to start and maintain a price book. Last night, with the help of a friend, we both got our books started. We spent several hours drawing columns on paper, writing down prices from receipts, trading tips and bragging about our *great* deals. Free deodorant - woo hooo! ;-) lol DD now knows that her mom is not the only one obsessed with saving at the grocery and drug stores, and while she thinks we're both a little crazy, she did have fun joining in on the conversation and helped keep us "old folk" awake. (Our sons were at a church function until 11:30 PM.) She made a couple of remarks and I told her that I was trying to set a good example so she could be an even better home economist in 10 years, and I think that made a little sense to her. She's used to couponing and does some herself, so this is just the next step.

So the book is officially started. The key now will be to maintain it and start looking for cycle patterns over the coming months. In the meantime, we're still working on the eat-from-the-pantry challenge and doing quite well. I'll be totalling up receipts here in a bit and hopefully will see some savings!

Getting Things Accomplished

I had written a different post, complaining about being bored but erased it. God has brought to mind too many things I could be doing to be bored! Work has been extremely slow. It's to be expected around the holidays with doctors taking vacations and offices closed, but it's not been THIS slow before, where I couldn't make my line count. I've been doing lots of paper work, cleaning out emails, spending waaaaay too much time on Facebook haha, that sort of thing and starting to feel sorry for myself and bored. But as I look around, I know behind the bookcase door are several years' worth of photos that need dated and organized. There is a price book that needs started on the table. There are books on the bookshelves that need entered into Paperback Swap. There are sermon notes that need organized and BSF notes that need typed. I may not be earning an income doing all that, but they are things that can be done so I'm not wasting time, and the price book and Paperback Swap are tools that definitely save me money. And hopefully, once the new computer comes for my new 4-hour account, things will pick up. (Did you know that a new computer can have a fried motherboard before you even take it out of the box? I know that now!) Anyhow, there's too much to do before I can complain about being bored. I'm glad God opened my eyes!

Christmas 2010

Now that Christmas 2009 is past, there are a few things I've noted that I want to do different in 2010. Hopefully if I write them down, I will remember them when I need to!

1. Find an activity that emphasizes Christ's birth early in the month. In the past years, we have either attended a Bethlehem Experience or our church's Christmas drama. This year we did neither, first because we couldn't find a Bethlehem Experience within a reasonable distance, and second, because our church took a sabbatical from doing the drama. While I think we as a family kept a good focus, this was the first time in 6 years or more that we did not start out Advent with a Christ-focused, fun, family activity.

2. Stay home the weekend immediately prior to Christmas. This is normally our cookie baking weekend, but in 2009, it was the only weekend available to get together with our friends in Cincinnati. The cookies got done, but it's not my idea of a fun time to work all day and then bake 250+ cutout cookies one night and then work all the next day and frost/decorate 250+ cutout cookies! Also, next year we will just frost the cookies with no decorations. It turns out I'm the only one who will eat cookies with sprinkles, so why bother with the mess?

3. Watch for teenage boy stocking stuffers all year long. It's very easy to get small, inexpensive items for DD for her stocking but very difficult to find things for DS. I did get him a few tools at Lowe's and will probably continue do to that in years to come.

I'm sure there are a few others, but these are what come to mind. I would like to be able to guarantee that my oldest brother would choose to spend Christmas Eve with us in 2010, but I now know I can't. That will be a God thing.

A Major Goal?

If we are able to accomplish this, it will definitely be a God thing. We were at Grandpa's Sunday night as we usually do, and in the course of conversation, DD brought up that she would love to go on a cruise for their 16th birthday, which - yikes! - is 1 year and about 3 weeks away. We've casually discussed a big trip to celebrate that over the years but with the economy and my work situation and debt increasing in 2009 instead of decreasing, it was looking more and more like that wouldn't happen.

So when DD brought up the cruise again yesterday, I told her that if, and only if, we were able to pull together and pay off all the credit cards this year, that we would financially be able to do that next spring. Her eyes just lit up! If things going according to plan, and there are no major financial disasters like last year, I had hoped to get 2/3 paid off this year and finish off both the credit cards and the mortgage with the 2011 tax return. Of course, that's what I was saying at this point last year about this coming return! I also have the goal of paying cash for either a new refrigerator or hot water tank this year, an approximate $600 goal to be safe. (Those are the 2 things that, if they died, would need replaced immediately. If they both went and I had the extra cash set aside, I could use the emergency fund for the other. The rest of the appliances, while inconvenient, would not necessarily need replaced immediately.)

In the next couple days, I think we'll have a short family meeting and see if this is something they truly want to attempt. It will need to be a family effort that requires more planning ahead for purchases and driving than they are used to, doing without a few things they are accustomed to having and definitely developing the fruits of patience and perserverance for all of us! We could be in for a very interesting 2010, and if we are able to do this, to God be the glory!

Eating From the Pantry - Grocery update

Against my better judgment, DD and I did the grocery shopping Saturday afternoon. I detest having to do shopping at that time of the week. The stores are crowded, the lines are long, and it just seems to take up a huge chunk of the day. But we went and hit the usual stores along with the library and the mall and were home in 4 hours. Here's what we spent:

Wal-Mart 14.84
Aldi 20.76
Meijer 11.71
Kroger 35.30
Total 82 .61

I had hoped to stay under $80, but the Wal-Mart total included $7.24 for a face wash DD was almost out of and HAD to have. :-) It also includes about $2 of after Christmas bows, an ornament and stockings for the kitties from Meijer. Unfortunately it does not include cat litter since Wal-Mart was out of their brand (which is what our cats prefer). So I have 17.39 to make last until the 15th.

After organizing the pantry and freezer and inventorying everything and getting the above groceries, I have enough meals planned out to last the rest of the month. I have 20 different meals written down, so including leftovers, Sunday night pizza with Papa and birthday meals eaten out, we may even have some carryover into February, which would be awesome, and I shouldn't have to spend a whole lot the 2nd half of the month at the store. Dare I aim for no more than $50? :-)

This challenge couldn't come at a better time. January is always a tight month financially, and it has the added bonus of proving to the kids that, contrary to popular opinion, we have plenty to eat! lol