Toystoryduo's Journal....Moving Forward From Here

[Amy&Dan]

Good luck at your class tonight Wish Sis, I'll be anxious to hear about it tomorrow! That is so sweet your mom sent lunch over. Mom's are the best.

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks ladies.

Yesterday's FPU class was wonderful! Dave Ramsey talked about saving and how important it is. He's very entertaining and I feel like I am learning a lot from him already. My DH who was hesitant to go, is learning a lot and enjoying the class so far too. (We'll see how he feels when we do our homework this weekend. ) Our small group has a nice mix of young and old, couples and singles so I think that will be beneficial to us as well.

One thing that struck me yesterday was that Dave said we should Give, Save, and then Pay Bills. For my DH and I, we have a tendency to flip that: Pay Bills first and then wonder what there is to give or save. He stressed the importance of the Emergency Fund and getting that setup as quickly as possible. Right now, we are at 10% of our goal. We really need to follow the Give, Save, and Pay Bills plan. We need to shore up that Emergency Fund as soon as possible and we need to learn to live on 80% of our income.

Today is my nephew's 1st birthday! :dance I can't believe he is one already. Where did that year go?

Today's Plan:

* Homeschooling

* Laundry

* Office Max, Dollar General

* Birthday Party

That's about all from here! Have a great Thursday!

 

[lovinaz]

I'm glad you liked your class! Hopefully it helps take some of the stress off!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Yes, his plan of give and save is completely opposite what most of us do! Good luck getting that emergency fund set up. We got ours set up, then the wedding became our emergency so now we have to start all over for the most part! I am proud of you for taking the step of going to the class. Sounds like a busy day!

 

[Lesli54]

It's great to hear that you are already learning from your class. I agree, most people tend to pay bills first then try to figure out how to save later. However, if people are taking the extra to buy what they "think they need" then there is never enough to save. So begin saving first and then you don't have as much left to buy what is really not necessary. My DH and I probably don't give as much as we are "supposed" to, but we do make sure that we have enough saved and set aside. If you at least get that part down, you will be amazed at how much less stress there is financially.

Have fun with the homework!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks for the encouragement ladies. I am very excited about the classes we are taking and feel blessed that my DH agreed to take them with me. I've been doing our finances for years and it is such a thrill to have him take an interest and a stake in them. He does bring home the money so obviously, he does a lot, but I so appreciate his willingness to work on this together.

We have a busy weekend ahead: DH works all weekend, I am meeting my friend for coffee, my grandfather's birthday is on Saturday, we have work to do to get ready for next week, shopping, and Financial Peace homework to do as well. We'll also sit down and look at tweaking our Disney budget too. I mentioned to my DH that we could cancel the vacation, but he was very adamantly opposed to it. He will be picking up another part time job soon and said that since he will be working 60-80+ hours a week, he wants and will need this vacation. I don't blame him one bit.

I am $0.55 away from making Super Member again at Sunshine Rewards. I'll try and get that taken care of today.

That's about all from here. Have a great Friday!

 

[lovinaz]

Vacations are definitely an important part of anyone's life. We all need some time to get away and unwind!

Enjoy your weekend!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Tracy, I agree with Amy. Vacations are something that make all the other sacrifices and hard work worth it! I am willing to cut mine in half but out all the way, not at this time!!

Good luck with your homework, I think its great your dh is taking the class with you. Its got to be a two way street when it comes to money!

Enjoy our time with your friend and your grandpa's birthday!

 

[Lesli54]

I agree with the others, you do need to take time for yourselves. But maybe, you'll feel better if you look again at your vacation budget and just cut back on some things that you could do at another time. It may be "taboo" on these boards, but our family does not visit the parks everyday when we visit WDW. The kids like to have a day that they can just enjoy things at the resort and swim, so we save a bit on tickets.

You will figure it out, I have faith in you. But having that time away does the family good.

 

[momof2minnies]

Good Morning Tracy- what a beautiful weekend it is going to be.

Happy Birthday to your Grandpa!!!!!!!!

Jillian is tough but I love her kick in the butt she gives you.Even from a dvd over and over again you feel like she is in your face-LOVE IT!

Let me know what you think when you try it.

Linda

 

[toystoryduo]

Thank you so much, Amy, Amy, Lesli, and Linda. I really appreciate your words of encouragement.

Yesterday, we managed to get all of the errands and grocery shopping done that needed to get done. We saved $38.07 on our grocery bill using coupons! Also at Office Max yesterday, we got a pack of printer paper, 1 pack of Post It notes, and a box of paper clips for $0.60. (We had a $10 off a $10 purchase coupon. )

We have a busy day ahead of us...My DH is working for 6-7 hours this morning (starting @ 4:00 a.m.) and has a work order to complete. After that, I am going to have coffee with a friend of mine and then we're heading out to my grandma's house for my grandpa's birthday party.

I also have to copy some rebates before I mail them out, do a couple of offers on SR, and update our Disney info before I leave for coffee with my friend. Hopefully, I can get it all done.

I weighed in this morning at 232.6. That is a 4 pound loss since last week. I think it's TOM related, but I'll take it!

Have a great Saturday everyone!

 

[lovinaz]

Great news on the loss!

You really do well with the bargains, I'm sure you are way ahead of everyone else in your Financial class in that area!

Enjoy your visit with your friend and your b-day party!

 

[Lesli54]

Congrats on the lbs down! Take what you can get and kick those lbs to the curb for good.

Keep up the great work you have been doing and have a wonderful day!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Amy and Lesli.

I've gotten quite a bit done this morning. My plan for the next couple of hours is to work on my DH's paperwork for next year's taxes and work on the Disney stuff as well. Once we get back from my grandma's house tonight, we'll have our Disney meeting and see what we can do about the budget.

Have a great afternoon!

 

[goldcupmom]

Glad you are already getting some good info from the class.

Congrats on the loss! AWESOME!!!! Take it any way you can!!

I agree with your DH that you need the vacation, but tweaking it a bit may be helpful for the budget. You're good at that!

have a good rest of the weekend!

 

[toystoryduo]

Good morning friends,

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I had coffee with a friend, we went to my grandparents for my grandpa's birthday party, and we walked around the block last night. We also had our Disney budget meeting and cut as much as we possibly could from the budget. Details in the days to come...

My DH had to work this morning so we were not able to go to church. Once he gets home, we'll hit CVS and Walgreens. We'll come home, drop him off so he can take a nap, and then the girls and I will head to Target and the library. If all goes well, we'll work on our FPU homework tonight as well.

That's about all from soggy Ohio. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

 

[Lesli54]

Your not the only soggy one today. If this rain ever quits, I would be amazed. Our streets are becoming rivers.

It's good to see that you adjusted the Disney budget together. Looking forward to hearing what you have decided you could cut out. Hope your "homework" goes smoothly this evening.

Have a great Sunday! Oh, wait, I see the sun! If it's real, it should be making its way to you.

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Lesli.

Just a quick post....

I got my CVS shopping and Walgreens shopping done already. My DH is napping so I am going to take the girls to the library and maybe another CVS to look for clearance cologne that is reported to be on sale. After dinner this evening (chili in the crockpot), we'll try and tackle our FPU homework. If I get a chance, I'll come back later and show how we lowered our WDW budget.

Have a great afternoon!

 

[toystoryduo]

Good morning friends,

Yesterday, my DH and I finished our FPU homework and we didn't argue at all! It was nice to have a money discussion and have it be just that: a discussion. We've got a plan in place and it feels good to be able to tell our money where to go instead of the other way around.

Lots to do today....

* Homeschooling (starting Health and History)

* Work for DH

* Blog work

* SR

* Laundry

* Workout (watch Chuck)

* Go to MIL's house (watch 24)

As far as our Disney vacation budget goes, we really cut out a lot. We cut out a potential 3 or 4 day stay at BCV. We also cut out buying US/IOA tickets. That saved us $1000 right there. Here's what our new budget looks like:

Pop: $947 (free dining!)
Car: $267
Gas: $350

Total: $1564

You may notice that we don't have money in there for food or souvenirs. On the way down to Florida, we will take our own food that travels well. (fruit, granola bars, maybe stuff for sandwiches) On the way home from Florida, we'll have food that we purchased with our snack credits at POP's food court. (We hardly ever use our snack credits during the week!) As far as souvenirs go, I will be getting a $75 gift card for my birthday for the "What Will You Celebrate" promotion and we'll use that for souvenirs if we buy any.

As of right now, we have:

$350/$1564

I have an SR gift card that is on it's way and I am mailing in a rebate this week for another fuel card from Proctor and Gamble. Deejaying will start soon and a portion of that money will go towards the trip and I will SR as much as I can to add even more. We'll also either head to the flea market one weekend and try to sell some stuff or we'll have a garage sale at my parent's house this summer. (We can't have one since our roads are torn up.) I may eBay a few things as well. We'll just have to wait and see.

Well, that's about all from here...Have a great Monday!

 

[goldcupmom]

Your vacation plan is AWESOME!! Amazing what we can do when we put forth an effort, isn't it?

I've never done SR, but probably should. If you get referral points, pm me a referral. it's one program I don't think I've looked at.

have a GREAT Monday!!