March is the month of birthdays for my little family. Aiden's birthday is on March 22nd and Logan's on March 29th. They love getting cards in the mail from their relatives. Their favorite part? MONEY!!! Oh the squeals of delight from a newly 5 and 3 year old.
I took them both to the toy store to let them spend their own money to pick out something. After much debate, Logan (my 3 year old) decided on a toy cash register with toy money and everything. We get home and I open it up and take the money out of the packaging. Ones, fives, and tens along with coins. But do you know what else was in there? A credit card. I was baffled. It didn't say a "debit card" but "credit card." Being in the middle of my 3rd round of Financial Peace University, I KNEW what they were trying to do and it made me angry. They start drilling into children's heads that they NEED a credit card and can get anything they want right away. No need to worry about how you will eventually pay for it because well, that's not important right?
Well, the next day or so they both started asking me to take them to the store to buy something. I asked them "Do you have any money?" Their response? " No but you do, Momma." Red Flag!!!! About the same time, I was invited to participate in a book launch for Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze's new book Smart Money Smart Kids. This opportunity could not have some at a better time. This book is about how to introduce the concept of not only money but the concept of work to your children.
The first thing that stuck out to me while reading the book was to teach your children to work for their money. For Aiden and Logan's age range, they recommend one "Red Family" job. This is a job you do just because you are a part of they family. Say, making your bed every morning. Then after that give them 1-2 jobs that they can get paid to do. A Job chart would be a great tool to help them remember their jobs and to keep track of their progress. For this age, they recommend immediate payment once the job has been completed to assist in the connection of work to payment.
We are working on deciding what job's the boys will do for payment. Once we get everything implemented, I will report back on our progress! I am really excited to see how this changes their thoughts about working/money, their spending/saving habits, and more.
Do your children have jobs they do around the house? I'd love to hear about them! Please comment below the name of the job and the child's age! Talk soon! And don't forget to check out the book I am so excited about Smart Money Smart Kids.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Catch Up
Wow- It has been a year since I have last posted. It is amazing how time flies when you've got two little boys running around! Logan will be three in less than two weeks and Aiden will be 5 on Saturday. I enjoy watching them grow up but I wish I keep them little for a while longer.
Another really cool thing that has just recently happened is that I was selected to be a part of the book launch team for Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze's new book- Smart Money Smart Kids. I am super excited to be able to introduce you to this!
Stay tuned for more posts :)
Friday, March 8, 2013
Zero-Based Budget
I attended class alone this past Wednesday. Jon went to a concert with a buddy (pre-planned!). Dave Ramsey spoke about the cash flow worksheet and about a zero based budget. Having a zero based budget means that all of your money has to be categorized to go somewhere. Even if that somewhere is savings or blow money- it needs to be accounted for. This was easy for me for a couple of reasons #1 I already do the zero based budget #2 we never have anything left over- so no need to worry about that!
The cash flow worksheet is divided into categories such as Giving, Saving, Housing, Utilities, Food, Car (includes gas), Debt, etc. The goal is to put all of your money into the category and have ZERO left over... Easier said than done. I don't have too much left over- I am in the negative at the end! I guess I have been playing the "creative accounting" game. I know certain accounts have grace periods (i.e. mortgage, car payments) so if I do not have the money this pay check- I know that I will be okay to pay it with the next paycheck. This has got to stop! This has gotten my family to literally living paycheck to paycheck and that scares me.
On the brightside of going to class alone, I sat with two other ladies (both single). They reminded me so much of myself and the ways I handle money. At least I know that #1 I am not alone, #2 we are all in this class together, and #3 it will all b e okay in the end!
Along with the cash flow worksheet, Dave introduced his famous envelope system. He explained why the envelope system works and why we need to do it. It all makes sense really. If you have the hard cold cash in your purse or wallet- and you go to buy a small carmel frappe from Mc Donald's everyday- you are going to feel the pain of handing that cash over. You will also eventually feel the pain of running out of cash. However, sliding your card (even if it is your debit card) does not have that same painful feeling. Sure you may wonder if you have any money left in your account- but when you see that "approved" pop up on the credit card swiper- you know that you are free to drink that frappe. You will tell yourself to double check you bank account late- but you probably won't because you will have a brain freeze from drinking the frappe!
So we have a cash flow worksheet, the envelope system, AND then he wants us to STOP checking our bank account every day and starting BALANCING our checkbooks. I almost spit my drink out on this one. Yeah I know how to do it- but why do it when I can see it online? Well, he wants me to do it so that I am aware of what I am purchasing and of how much is in my bank account.
I really ENJOYED this lesson, but this is going to be the hardest lesson for me to stick to. I will do it though- because I want to be DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
A reminder to myself of why I want to be Debt Free!!
The cash flow worksheet is divided into categories such as Giving, Saving, Housing, Utilities, Food, Car (includes gas), Debt, etc. The goal is to put all of your money into the category and have ZERO left over... Easier said than done. I don't have too much left over- I am in the negative at the end! I guess I have been playing the "creative accounting" game. I know certain accounts have grace periods (i.e. mortgage, car payments) so if I do not have the money this pay check- I know that I will be okay to pay it with the next paycheck. This has got to stop! This has gotten my family to literally living paycheck to paycheck and that scares me.
On the brightside of going to class alone, I sat with two other ladies (both single). They reminded me so much of myself and the ways I handle money. At least I know that #1 I am not alone, #2 we are all in this class together, and #3 it will all b e okay in the end!
Along with the cash flow worksheet, Dave introduced his famous envelope system. He explained why the envelope system works and why we need to do it. It all makes sense really. If you have the hard cold cash in your purse or wallet- and you go to buy a small carmel frappe from Mc Donald's everyday- you are going to feel the pain of handing that cash over. You will also eventually feel the pain of running out of cash. However, sliding your card (even if it is your debit card) does not have that same painful feeling. Sure you may wonder if you have any money left in your account- but when you see that "approved" pop up on the credit card swiper- you know that you are free to drink that frappe. You will tell yourself to double check you bank account late- but you probably won't because you will have a brain freeze from drinking the frappe!
So we have a cash flow worksheet, the envelope system, AND then he wants us to STOP checking our bank account every day and starting BALANCING our checkbooks. I almost spit my drink out on this one. Yeah I know how to do it- but why do it when I can see it online? Well, he wants me to do it so that I am aware of what I am purchasing and of how much is in my bank account.
I really ENJOYED this lesson, but this is going to be the hardest lesson for me to stick to. I will do it though- because I want to be DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
A reminder to myself of why I want to be Debt Free!!
Monday, March 4, 2013
I know I wasn't very popular but...
... I never really considered myself to be a ...nerd. As defined by Dave Ramsey, I am apparently a nerd. A nerd is someone who LOVES doing the budget- it comes naturally to them. They love talking about the budget. They love going into detail on the budget. They like to attempt to stick to the budget... That is me. Jon is what Dave Ramsey considers the "free spirit." A free spirit doesn't really enjoy doing the budget- in fact they would really just like to leave that stuff for the nerds to do. If something doesn't go according to the budget the free spirits would say " oh its okay..." and just go with the flow. The nerds on the other hand panic.. and stress over it.
While I am a nerd- I have what I would like to say " free spirit tendencies." When it comes to spending money, I go through spurts of spending (my free spirit side) and then spurts of saving and following the budget (my nerd side). So I guess I am financially bipolar...????Any way, Class 2 helped us determine which side we leaned more toward, and how to work together.
Dave Ramsey said that they Nerds need to do the budget. (YAY!!!) We get to do the budget all by ourselves... but then we must have a budget meeting. This is where the Nerd presents the budget to the Free Spirit and then SHUTS UP. (hard for me). The Free Spirit then has free range to ask questions, make changes, etc. The budget meeting should last no longer than 17 minutes because that it how long of an attention span the Free Spirits will have. After that- it is like talking to a brick wall.
During class #2- Dave Ramsey also talked about the difference between **most** men and **most** women. Most men do not like browsing while shopping. They want to get in- get what they came for- and get out. Women on the other hand like to browse- take their time- maybe buy what they came for. Men also view money as a way to show their status while women view money as having security. For examply, men may want to invest their emergency fund in more risky accounts because it will get them a bigger better deal, but most women will want their savings fund in a simple money market account because it is more secure.
Baby Step #1 Update: Last week we had $85 in our emergency fund. I added $7 from cleaning (love the little things you find!) and will be selling some stuff today- adding ad additional $15. That's $107! Yay for being over 10% to our goal of $1,000.00.
Until next time...
While I am a nerd- I have what I would like to say " free spirit tendencies." When it comes to spending money, I go through spurts of spending (my free spirit side) and then spurts of saving and following the budget (my nerd side). So I guess I am financially bipolar...????Any way, Class 2 helped us determine which side we leaned more toward, and how to work together.
Dave Ramsey said that they Nerds need to do the budget. (YAY!!!) We get to do the budget all by ourselves... but then we must have a budget meeting. This is where the Nerd presents the budget to the Free Spirit and then SHUTS UP. (hard for me). The Free Spirit then has free range to ask questions, make changes, etc. The budget meeting should last no longer than 17 minutes because that it how long of an attention span the Free Spirits will have. After that- it is like talking to a brick wall.
During class #2- Dave Ramsey also talked about the difference between **most** men and **most** women. Most men do not like browsing while shopping. They want to get in- get what they came for- and get out. Women on the other hand like to browse- take their time- maybe buy what they came for. Men also view money as a way to show their status while women view money as having security. For examply, men may want to invest their emergency fund in more risky accounts because it will get them a bigger better deal, but most women will want their savings fund in a simple money market account because it is more secure.
Baby Step #1 Update: Last week we had $85 in our emergency fund. I added $7 from cleaning (love the little things you find!) and will be selling some stuff today- adding ad additional $15. That's $107! Yay for being over 10% to our goal of $1,000.00.
Until next time...
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A New Start: Dave Ramsey and FPU
Jon and I are started taking Financial Peace University last week. I have to say this is going to be an extreme challenge for us. Watching the first week's video- it dawned on me: Dave Ramsey is going to be like a parent to me from now on. He tells you what to do- you don't want to do it- but you know he is right... yeah that type of situation. I guess we will listen because well... we know he is right.
The first night's video was sort of an introduction to the whole class and then merged into what Dave Ramsey calls "Baby Steps." He focused on steps #1 and #3 since they are similar in that your goal is to establish an emergency fund.
Baby Step #1 is $1,000.00 in the bank. He instructed us to do it fast- have a yard sale, sell an extra car (which we don't have), list things on ebay, etc. This is the first step because when you have an emergency fund it means that you can completely focus about paying off your debt (Baby Step #2) and not worry about if an emergency is going to pop up somewhere. Now of course if you do have an emergency during Baby Step #2 where you have to use some or all of your emergency fund, you will need to replenish it.
Baby Step #3 is having 3-6 months of "living expenses" in your emergency fund. This step happens AFTER you have paid off all debt except the mortgage. I think this will be my favorite step because I will not have to worry about keeping up with any credit card payments and I can solely focus on saving!
Even thought I think this class is going to bring me out of my comfort zone. I am sticking it it. We took an older version of this course a couple of years ago (shortly after our oldest son was born). I don't want to say that we weren't committed to the class last time; but, this time it is more of a necessity in order to achieve our long term goals.
Since the first class last Wednesday, we have managed to gather about $85 to add to our emergency fund. $35 of it was from selling junk that was just sitting around my house! I would like to double that amount this week and sell $70 worth of stuff to add to our fund!
We look forward to blogging about our journey through this course and throught the completion of all 7 of the baby steps. Our family is our number one priority but imagine how we could bless others if we did not have to worry about any debt!
Here is just a little glimpse of my motivation:
The first night's video was sort of an introduction to the whole class and then merged into what Dave Ramsey calls "Baby Steps." He focused on steps #1 and #3 since they are similar in that your goal is to establish an emergency fund.
Baby Step #1 is $1,000.00 in the bank. He instructed us to do it fast- have a yard sale, sell an extra car (which we don't have), list things on ebay, etc. This is the first step because when you have an emergency fund it means that you can completely focus about paying off your debt (Baby Step #2) and not worry about if an emergency is going to pop up somewhere. Now of course if you do have an emergency during Baby Step #2 where you have to use some or all of your emergency fund, you will need to replenish it.
Baby Step #3 is having 3-6 months of "living expenses" in your emergency fund. This step happens AFTER you have paid off all debt except the mortgage. I think this will be my favorite step because I will not have to worry about keeping up with any credit card payments and I can solely focus on saving!
Even thought I think this class is going to bring me out of my comfort zone. I am sticking it it. We took an older version of this course a couple of years ago (shortly after our oldest son was born). I don't want to say that we weren't committed to the class last time; but, this time it is more of a necessity in order to achieve our long term goals.
Since the first class last Wednesday, we have managed to gather about $85 to add to our emergency fund. $35 of it was from selling junk that was just sitting around my house! I would like to double that amount this week and sell $70 worth of stuff to add to our fund!
We look forward to blogging about our journey through this course and throught the completion of all 7 of the baby steps. Our family is our number one priority but imagine how we could bless others if we did not have to worry about any debt!
Here is just a little glimpse of my motivation:
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Happy 2012!
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe and happy new year. I rang in the new year under the covers :) I guess that's what mothers do. I wanted to dedicate this post to my goals for this year. So... here they are:
1. Save $250.00 per month (minimum) for Aiden's preschool tutition. That is HALF of the monthly tuition.
2. Stick to my budget.
3. Do not eat out more than 2 times per week. This includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. **yikes**
4.Get my house organized. How come no body ever told me it would be so difficult to clean my house with two boys running/crawling around. It is literally IMPOSSIBLE.
5.Turn off the TV!- My goal is to do more activities with my boys.
Some mini goals for the year are:
1. Spend no more than $300.00 on the boys' joint birthday party. This includes food, cake, gifts, activities, rental of site.
2.Save spare change for projects/vacations.
In order to achieve my goals- I have to make sure my priorities are in check. Here are my priorites:
1. Have a deeper relationship with God. Without Him, I will be a mess.
2. Stay connected with Jon. Jon and I are a team- we need to be there for each other.
3. Do what is best for my children. Aiden and Logan need a strong support system in order to grow up to be men of God. It is my job as their mother to instill in them the best values, to help them get the best education possible, and to be their role model. Even in times when they are driving me INSANE- I need to try harder to not lose it.
4. Its not about money, but yet it is. This is a catch all section, really. Money is amoral- it does not cause you to be happy or sad. It is the love of money where things come into problem. I need to remember that my kids don't always needed the latest, hotest things. On the oppsite side, life is about money. In this world if you do not have some form of income- it is almost impossible to succeed. Basically, it is hashing out if its a want or a need. Good lesson for myself and my boys.
5. Allow for "Me Time"- This is something that is very important. Children are very demanding by nature. Sometimes I am so focued on my children that I often forget to tend to my needs as well. I have started taking a Zumba class 1-2 times per week. This is my "Me Time" and it is getting me into shape.
Be Thankful
Throughout 2012, I am going to focus on being more thankful for the people I have in my life. Not only will I work on being more thankful- but I will do my best to show those people how thankful I am for them. Things can change in a matter of minutes and you may never be able to tell that person how thankful you are for having them in your life. I encourage you to do the same.
I hope this makes you think about your goals and priorities for 2012. I hope you go home, kiss you family and tell them how much you love them. God Bless!
Here is a group shot from our family vacation 2011 to visit Jon's Dad's side of the family. Love them!! I cannot wait to see them again this year!
1. Save $250.00 per month (minimum) for Aiden's preschool tutition. That is HALF of the monthly tuition.
2. Stick to my budget.
3. Do not eat out more than 2 times per week. This includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. **yikes**
4.Get my house organized. How come no body ever told me it would be so difficult to clean my house with two boys running/crawling around. It is literally IMPOSSIBLE.
5.Turn off the TV!- My goal is to do more activities with my boys.
Some mini goals for the year are:
1. Spend no more than $300.00 on the boys' joint birthday party. This includes food, cake, gifts, activities, rental of site.
2.Save spare change for projects/vacations.
In order to achieve my goals- I have to make sure my priorities are in check. Here are my priorites:
1. Have a deeper relationship with God. Without Him, I will be a mess.
2. Stay connected with Jon. Jon and I are a team- we need to be there for each other.
3. Do what is best for my children. Aiden and Logan need a strong support system in order to grow up to be men of God. It is my job as their mother to instill in them the best values, to help them get the best education possible, and to be their role model. Even in times when they are driving me INSANE- I need to try harder to not lose it.
4. Its not about money, but yet it is. This is a catch all section, really. Money is amoral- it does not cause you to be happy or sad. It is the love of money where things come into problem. I need to remember that my kids don't always needed the latest, hotest things. On the oppsite side, life is about money. In this world if you do not have some form of income- it is almost impossible to succeed. Basically, it is hashing out if its a want or a need. Good lesson for myself and my boys.
5. Allow for "Me Time"- This is something that is very important. Children are very demanding by nature. Sometimes I am so focued on my children that I often forget to tend to my needs as well. I have started taking a Zumba class 1-2 times per week. This is my "Me Time" and it is getting me into shape.
Be Thankful
Throughout 2012, I am going to focus on being more thankful for the people I have in my life. Not only will I work on being more thankful- but I will do my best to show those people how thankful I am for them. Things can change in a matter of minutes and you may never be able to tell that person how thankful you are for having them in your life. I encourage you to do the same.
I hope this makes you think about your goals and priorities for 2012. I hope you go home, kiss you family and tell them how much you love them. God Bless!
Here is a group shot from our family vacation 2011 to visit Jon's Dad's side of the family. Love them!! I cannot wait to see them again this year!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Goals Goals Goals
Merry Christmas!! I cannot belive how close Christmas is (nor can I believe that I will be 25 next week!)! I have thankfully finished 99% of my Christmas shopping. I only have one person left to purchase a gift for and I think I know what I am going to get them. Wrapping- that is another story. Logan will go to bed by 9 AT THE LATEST. It is usally around 8:00-8:30. Aiden on the other hand- is a night owl. When he does go to sleep it is usually in our bed- which I know is a big no no. I have all of the presents stored in our closet- so that kind of puts a damper on things.
Goals for Christmas "Break"
1. Clean HOUSE
2. Remove clutter
3. GET ORGANIZED.
New Years Resolutions:
1. STAY ORGANIZED.
2. Cook at home 3 days per week!
3. Only eat lunches out for special occasions.
4. SAVE-SAVE-SAVE!
Priorities for 2012
1. Education
2. Debt Reduction
3. Creating a stable, welcoming home.
4. Become a MASTER COUPONER!
I hope that you guys have a very Merry Christmas and I look forward to posting more frequently in 2012!
Goals for Christmas "Break"
1. Clean HOUSE
2. Remove clutter
3. GET ORGANIZED.
New Years Resolutions:
1. STAY ORGANIZED.
2. Cook at home 3 days per week!
3. Only eat lunches out for special occasions.
4. SAVE-SAVE-SAVE!
Priorities for 2012
1. Education
2. Debt Reduction
3. Creating a stable, welcoming home.
4. Become a MASTER COUPONER!
I hope that you guys have a very Merry Christmas and I look forward to posting more frequently in 2012!
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