Breaking even in 6 months - Week 3/Day 1

Do apologize to those who are reading.  I came down with a really nasty case of Strep Throat and was very sick.

So here is the break down from the last week!  Thank G-d, we have been totally blessed.  We had a check that came in for 3,500 and that cleared up a lot of bills.  That put us straight with just about everything we were behind on.  Now here is the thing, you would think that I cleared my rent...nope I didn't.

I did however pay all of my electric I was behind on which was $760.00.  I cleared a bill and paid off Rent a Center for our dryer.  We are now in the clear with them, and I will never go back again.  From now on I will save the money and pay cash for items I would need such as a tv, couch, washer/dryer.  The price is triple what you would pay if you waited.  I also paid some money to my family, they had borrowed us some money and we paid that off.  We also paid our verizion bill that provides us with internet and home phone.  That bill is now caught up.  So What I had left, is my rent.

I paid my landlord $1000.00 out of our last paycheck and we are now only responsible for 1330, after the first of the month hit again.  So we are closer to our breaking even point.  The next paycheck will be this Thurs. and out of this paycheck we plan to pay $1000 to our landlord and save some money for basic needs around the house, such as a hose, gas, groceries, and toiletries.

I know I have not put a lot of emphasis on it, however we also tithe so that money will go and this week I also plan to try and save a little.  I have been tossing our pocket change into a bucket and some bills, so far we probably have save maybe $20.  That is good, seeing as we always put it up but then go back several days later when the money is gone and take it out.  It has not been easy not to touch it, I will be honest.

We also started playing the lotto.  We sometimes pick up a ticket here and there for fun, which we did this last week.  We actually won both the tickets we picked up.  We took the money we originally spent and got two more (they were two dollar tickets, so we spent four dollars and each had one).  So far we have one each time we have gotten tickets, but today I got one that did not win, so from now on I will only be buying one until that one looses.  So far we have won $30.  This is also going in the vacation fund.

So goals for this week:
1. pay rent -  $1,000
2. put at least $5.00 in savings (it is a start)
3. tend to household items within a budget of $60.00 (will achieve this with coupon use)

I think my husband finally fixed my bike, so I will be taking it out for a test spin.  As for our fun activities this week, I took my children to Home Depot today for their free workshop.  The kids made snowman napkin holders, they got to paint them as well.  It was a great craft project!  We will also be hosting a bonfire this Thursday for the youth from our church, and my son and I will have worship practice together this week as well.  He will be playing drums for the worship team.  This is exciting because it is the first time he will play a full set (five songs) and he is 6 years old.

Plan to be very busy this week, but also plan to take one night for family game night.  Chanukah is coming up and so that will be a holiday to be saved up for.

Breaking even in 6 months- Week 1/Day 7

So what a great day!  No I did not go out in the craziness of black friday.  People as a whole/individual are great but when they become a crowd they become reckless.

Today I went with my family to go play putt putt, which was a very fun and inexpensive way to enjoy the day.  The weather was great and kids had a blast!  I also lounged around the house, some much needed rest and spent some quality time with my husband, which was totally lacking.

All in all, great day...onto paying bills tomorrow.

Breaking even in 6 months - Week1/Day 6

So not too bad of a turkey day! We went to my aunt's and it was good.

After dinner, we went to Walmart to withdraw another 300.  We only ended up with 200 because of an error with the computer system.

As we were walking through walmart, I noticed a young lady sitting in front of these motorized cars made for little children, mind you, it is about 6 in the evening.  She was sitting waiting until 10 to get the car.  Materialism, holy cow, it is rampant amongst our community.  If only we were that dedicated to helping people in our community that need it instead of wasting money on things we really don't need.

In my front drive way was a paper, I was hoping it was full of coupons, not just ads for all the things on sale tonight starting at midnight, at Walmart it is 10 p.m.  Pretty soon we won't even have a thanksgiving anymore, everyone will be buying for christmas, too busy to give thanks.  Wow what has our world come too.

People in of themselves are not bad, it is when they get in a crowd.  It brings the worst out in people.  I will try and stay in as much as possible tomorrow, I am not interested in wasting time trying to get around with a ton of people out and about.

Breaking even in 6 months - Week 1 Day 5

So yesterday, forgive me, but was unable to post.  I was at a family event for most of the day, so there was my fun activity (if you want to call it fun).  Mostly I spell family events - STRESS or it can also be referred to as DRAMA.

My husband and I used the bank card to put gas in the car, we were on E.  As most people would say, so what, well if you remember I had $4 in my account and pumped $80.  Thank God we were paid today.  Instead of having to drive 30 minutes away to pull money out of our account (our account is in another state so we have to use a share branch for our credit union) I decided to pull $100 dollars out of the account at a time at Walmart.  We have a $300 limit we can withdraw on debit.  So I got roughly $280 out of the bank.

Our fun thing tonight was Pizza.  We spent $12 on pizza.  Also because my father guilted me into making him a pie, I went and bought the stuff for a pie, some ice, and shame on me, I bought some ice cream.  Also some cheese, because apparently even though we are going to another family members house for thanksgiving dinner (which once again I was guilted into and would much rather make dinner at home) I now have to provide food for my own children and was asked to bring mac and cheese.  Let me explain this one: the family member that is providing the dinner has no children and my family is large, she is also very frugal, shoot lets just say it, she is cheap.  So everything she buys is from a garage sale or the cheapest thing you can find, which please understand me, garage sales are great and finding things on sale are great, however she goes to an extreme.  So when she asked me to come, she didn't want to have to provide for 7 of us when there are only two of them, and my parents which are two more.  Kinda crappy.

Anyway, so our paycheck was sitting at $950 after gas so here will be the break down:

Rent - 850 (even though we are suppose to be sending a 1000, but keep in mind, we got shorted on the check, we plan to make this up in two weeks_
Car payment - 200

So we will have to over draw the account.  I am hoping to have them with draw on Friday of next week, but that puts us late and still over drafts the account as I only got 16 hours on my check next week.

So far, not so good...but this is why I am looking at 6 months to dig myself out of this pit.

As for the bikes, my husband says he will fix it, and then on with my plan!!

Breaking even in 6 months - Week1/Day 3

So my husband and I came to a decision.  Instead of taking the money in a check we are going to wait until the next pay period to get the day we lost.  This will work for two reasons, first it will be extra on that check and we can fully catch up our rent and be done with paying each check, second it will hopefully free the check after that to supply some christmas presents for our children.  It will not be a big christmas, it will be meager, but we have to remember what is being celebrated.  We are not celebrating materialism but the birth of our L-rd and Savior.

So today's fun activities:

I was able to audition for a play this evening.  That was great, I really enjoy theatre and acting.  The audition did not go great, but I am really rusty and was not expecting to get  a part anyway.  So I guess we will see in a couple of days when they call to tell me "thanks for auditioning, try again next time"

Tomorrow we will be putting gas in the car to make it to payday on Wed. and having a family gathering.  Will post more then.  Goodnight.

Breaking even in 6 months - Week 1/Day 2

So tonight I broke out the bikes, aired up the tires and attempted to put our schwinn joyrider on the back.  That would make anyone laugh I am sure, but only made me mad.  I was very unsuccessfull in attempting to place it on my bike, so I guess I will have to take the car tomorrow, as I have no other way of putting it on.  My husband works weekend evenings, so he will be too tired when he comes home to mess with it and will sleep most of the day tomorrow, so another attempt will be made tomorrow afternoon.  Will keep you posted.

As for our paycheck, we always get the opportunity to find out what we will receive before we get it.  Usually it posts online on monday and we get it thursday.  So here is the run down for this week.  Did we make the 1300 dollar goal?  Well no, there was a mess up on the check and 11 hours were not put on the check as it was suppose to be.  So now the delima is do we ask for a paper check, which will get my husbands boss in trouble because he forgot to put the hours in, or do we deal with it and over draft the account.

What would you do?

We have not made a decision yet.  As it stands we have 1030 dollars and we have to pay 1000 to rent, that leaves us 30 dollars to pay our car payment and gas for the next week.  Not a good boat to be in.  Could we make it to next pay day.  Yes, if we over draft our account.  The bank will cover up to 300 over drawn if written as a check, but they charge us a NSF fee.

As for my journey for fun:

We made chocolate chip cookies today.  I also folded and had put a away four loads of  laundry, swept and vacuumed the hard wood and tile floors, throughly cleaned my kitchen, and made a pumpkin pie.  So I was able to get some cooking and cleaning done, this does make me feel better.  It bothers me when my house is in disarray.  And also it was fun to get on a bicycle for the first time in probably close to 20 years.  Wow, it was pretty funny watching me try and keep my balance, I was very unsure...but it came back to me.  No pro mind you and I am a little nervous about having my children behind me, but none the less, the more practice the better!

Breaking even in 6 months - Month 1/Week 1/Day 1

Now that the economy is in an upheaval and everyone is worried about job security, rising gas and food prices, and trying to make ends meet I find my situation no different.  I have looked at my life and found myself in debt (around 50,000) to totally clear myself of debt, that does not include my husbands debt.  I was never taught to watch my credit report, how to manage money properly, or how to manage a budget or bills.  I have received two pieces of advise: one from my grandmother "give God 10%, give the government their 10%, and save your 10% ever paycheck and you will never have any problems" the second from my father "Never take out a credit card".  Now, neither one have I listened to, and I am struggling to pay my bills and have a family total of 7.

With this said, I am dedicating the next 6 months of paychecks to the above statement by my grandmother and digging myself out of the hole.  Right now, I am behind in my rent and I am having to hand over my entire paycheck for the next 4 weeks to catch it up.  That means I fall behind in my car payment, don't have the money to feed my family, don't have gas, don't have the money for electric bills, ect.  So I am picking up extra hours to balance out the extra bills.  Here is the breakdown of what needs to change:

It costs money to have cable or dish services.  I cut out television about 8 months ago, I have found that my children have more of an imagination, the play more with their toys.  I have more time to clean my house and spend time with my children.  I also have more time to spend in hobbies I like such as cooking and doing crafts.

It costs money to drive a car.  I have two bicycles sitting in my garage.  This week, starting monday I will be taking my son to school via bicycle.  Our house is about a mile and half from his school and I usually drive him, then take my daughter (her school is about 6 miles from our house) to VPK, and then my step daughter I take to school.  If I eliminate taking them to school and use the bicycle I think this may eliminate my need for as much gas.  My step daughter can ride her bicycle to the bus stop back and forth.  I am also obese, this will help with my weight.

As far as groceries are concerned: Walmart will honor any flyer of a local competitor.  I have begun using this and I have saved a lot of running from store to store, also I have saved money.  Also coupons are a great deal, the paper cost 1.50 each but I save at least 20 dollars on my grocery bill, so it pays off.  I buy my meat at a butcher, this ensures better quality and I find I am spending little more at the butcher (about 50 dollars a month) for healthier option.  The place to cut the money is instead of going out to eat as much as we do, opting to do fun meals at home. Because I no longer have t.v. service, my children are interested in helping me in the kitchen.  This means they are learning responsibility and how to cook.  It is a fun way to spend time with them.

You have to enjoy life as well, even though I may not have the money to go out and do a lot of things, I have to make my own fun!  So I will be looking for opportunities to create fun.

Bottom line: I have to change my lifestyle, but already I think this is going to be a good thing.  My life is too preoccupied with modern convenience and I am paying a terrible price for it.  I am loosing time with my children, I am obese and my health suffers for it.

SO here is where I am starting with my finances.  No one likes to talk about how much money they get and where their problems are, but here I am happy to lay them out.  You never learn what works until you openly state you have a problem and try to work on it.  This is no where near all our bills that we owe, these bills are just the ones we have to pay in order to function.  My goal is to be able to pay all of my (what I will call function bills) without difficulty and be able to have a little money left over in my pocket.

This week:
We owe rent - $1000
We owe car payment - $200
We need gas for the week - $80

We will get paid on Wednesday because Thursday is Thanksgiving.  So our paycheck needs to be at least 1280.  Our checking account is at $4.

My goal is to not overdraw my account this week as we have been surviving by over drafting the account but we are now handing fees to the bank, which sinks us into a larger hole.  I don't think I am the only one who is dealing with this situation, but I am bound and determined to find my way out.  The entire goal here is to be self secure and teach my children how to manage money, not to be rich or gain more money than I need.  Money is just a tool.