Financial Peace

For years I have been listening to Dave Ramsey. But, now I am actually enrolled in his Financial Peace University. Not only are Jeff and I going thru this class, but they have allowed Trent to sit in it as well. This is HUGE! I don't want Trent making the mistakes we made! I feel like this will give him a good foundation to go with the example Jeff and I are trying to set.
We have been serious about getting out of debt for approximately 2 years now...but, taking this class we feel more empowered and more equipped to do so. I'm excited...well, as excited as you can be about pinching pennies and trying to get out of debt.
Now on to the pinching penny part.
1. I have switched banks for my checking account. This bank offers 3% interest for my checking account. Huge difference from old bank of .054%!
2. Made a "Quickie Budget". This is the first budget that Dave wants a family to make. Next will be a more detailed budget...but for now the quickie one is what we are going on until we get more data on our actual expenses.
3. Back on a menu plan. Over the summer I kinda got out of this. I wasn't as organized and I really didn't take the time that I needed to do the best in this area.
4. Reading Dave's book Financial Peace.

Small steps, but steps all the same. This is the easy part for me...the hard part is people and relationships!
People don't understand the word budget or choose not to understand. We have been made fun of, belittled and talked about behind our backs...yep, I can assure you people are more than willing to tell you what your "friends" or acquiantances say about you behind your back. I truly do not understand why this is a source of ridicule. I do not find it shameful to want to be a good steward of what the Lord has blessed us with nor do I find it disgusting or awful to be debt-free. If it's between going out to eat or putting money in our emergency fund...guess what?! Emergency fund ranks higher in importance! It's not that we are being "unsocialable" or I think the best remarks I have heard made were, "We think we are better than them and don't want to hang out." or "They thought we wanted to be friends...we lied."
Can you believe those comments?! I just have to shake my head.
I just got out of a toxic and dangerous relationship a couple of years ago...I have no intention of being pressured or manipulated into doing something or spending money that I do not have. I will not allow anyone to have that control over me any more. Now, I must admit that I have slipped up a couple of times and given in to peer pressure. But, with God's help, wisdom and discernment I will not go back into a people pleasing mentality!!! That's how I got myself into this mess!! Really when you think about it...why would you want to be "friends" or hang out with someone who does not value or respect you. If they did, they would be supportive...not ridicule you. So, all that said to say this....penny pinching is not fun, doing without is not easy, saving money is hard, making a budget and sticking to it is a lot of work, ridicule and belittling from others is not easy to take, BUT being debt free and having that security is soooooo worth it.

What's been going on....

The summer has been slammed with activity!
1. Running and training for the Sourwood 5k.
2. Taking Trent to Cross Country practice.
3. Working and Volunteering at the church.
4. Cleaning house.
5. Montreat Student Move-in.
6. Media fast...only the news and Joyce Meyer was watched on television.
7. Jeff and Trent going to Panama City for "BigStuf" youth camp.
8. Taking our family on the Parkway hiking trips.
9. Community VBS at the local school...preparation and painting of back drops.
10.Spending time studying and soaking in the Word of God!!

Maybe not a terribly exciting summer...but I have no regrets!!

Stepping out of the box...

What I am about to type may sound so silly for most...but for me, it has been life changing!
Sunday I had the honor of serving the vets dinner at the ABCCM Vet Quarters. Now, I have served before...but, only in a church setting. I can hear my Pastor preach about getting out of our 4 walls and ministering to others. I'm not sure how I thought I was doing that, but honestly, I thought I was. Then Sunday evening I woke up! My life has been sheltered and naive! I realize that now.
I was nervous about going to the vets quarters. It was an unknown envirnoment with unknown people who suffered unknown things. Now for me to step out of my box is one thing but to take my entire family to the unknown is another. I was honestly a little scared. All those fears instantly went away as soon as I walked in the lobby! The greeting we received was that of such appreciation and love it was overwhelming! We were immediately accepted, the men there were so gracious and filled with joy and appreciation. We went to bless them, but they blessed us! My whole family enjoyed our time there. It was only an hour and a half, but that hour and a half was life changing. How silly I was to be afraid! Now the most ironic part...Pastor Kevin preached on fear that morning! Yep, God was preparing me and speaking to me...He knew that I was nervous. For some reason I don't have a problem stepping out of my box to do new things...but when my kids are involved, I get nervous and I have anxiety over it. But, God has been faithful and so good....and patient. He is stretching me and shaping me. Things I have never thought of and never considered are now possibilities. So, all of this said...to say that I am excited to see where God is taking me. To see God in action in my life and my family's life. And most of all...I'm excited to see how God is going to use me!

New for us

Good Morning! Or should I say, as I'm typing this it is morning. A couple more cups of coffee and it will be better. I have done a load of laundry, swept the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher and have it running, cooking chicken leftovers in the crockpot to make some chicken broth, and just got finished eating a bowl of cream of wheat. Now it's time to go to my real paying job.
But, I just wanted to share that Jeff and I got a new used car. We traded in the van...which was on it's last leg and got a Hyundai Santa Fe (used of course). It was a turned in lease...it is a 2009 and is still under warranty!! The cool part is we got it for just a little over what we were paying for our van. We got a better interest rate for less years than the van. Wow! I was freaking out because I knew the van was getting ready to "go" in several areas...and I was adding up all the repairs in my mind and then this fell into our laps. It was MORE than I had hoped for in a used car...more than I expected. I feel so blessed and I thank God for sending this our way. So, now we continue to plug away at kicking all this debt out of our lives with a car still under warranty that is dependable. Wow! That's really a piece of mind for me!

This and that...

As usual I start this post out with an apology for not posting in a while. I must confess that I have become quite addicted to facebook. The time I would usually spend updating my blog, I now spend on facebook. I hope to change all of that. Less time on facebook and more time to blog. But, I won't increase the time that I spend on the computer, so if I slip up and spend more time on facebook, then no updating blog. I refuse to increase my time on computer to do both. It's a personal decision that I had to make. I do not want my time with the Lord or with my family to suffer.
Now, with all that said...this morning I made my menu plan for dinners. I have went online to find different ideas. I tend to get stuck in a rut when cooking dinners. At the end of the day the last thing I want to do is think too hard about dinner. I like to pre-plan and have everything together where it's a no brainer. The dinners need to be cheap but healthy...hmmm, that's not always easy. But, I am very excited with garden season coming up! The down side is I only have room for a small garden, the good news is...fresh fruits and veggies are a lot cheaper during this time! I am on the lookout for meatless recipes where I can utitlize all those veggies!
This year I would also like to learn how to can. I have wanted to do this for a couple of years now...maybe this is the year! Fingers crossed! But, of course I will be freezing some fresh fruits and veggies, starting with strawberries! They are in season now....but keeping my family from devouring them before I can freeze them is a different story! Lol!
My stockpiling of food is going pretty well. I still have a long way to go, but I am doing a lot better than I used to. My goal of having 3 to 6 months of food on hand is still not met...I guess I have maybe 3 weeks worth stockpiled. But, I am still plugging away at it...slowly!
This weekend I was able to go to GW boutique (GoodWill)and find some great things. I found Autumn 2 shirts(one from Izod and the other from Children's Place)and a pair of jeans and capris from Old Navy. I even found Trent 2 pairs of shorts and a pair of jeans...I can't remember the brand of those. And lastly, I found Jeff a pair of Lee brand shorts. All of this for $24!! Love GW!!
Little things like this make a huge impact on your budget. If I was to go to a store and buy this...could you imagine how much I would spend?!
So, there you go a quick update. Hopefully I will stay on top of my blogging!! Until next time.....

What was I thinking?!?!

Let me start this post as...if there was any doubt that I loved my family and would do anything for them...this should end all speculation. My family has wanted a dog for quite a while now...I kept saying "no". Well, I finally said "yes". And instead of one...we got two! TWO!! Now I must admit while I was in a full blown panic attack walking out of the shelter...everyone kept reassuring me that two are easier than one.
Night one: three potty accidents! Two on the hard wood floors and one on the carpet! Ugh! But, when they went in the crate together for the night, not a whine or whimper! Yes!
Morning one: She (Ella) peed on him (Nikko)! After walking both of them outside at 5:30 a.m. Both got baths!! Then two potty accidents both on hard wood floors!
Day one: The leash is still tricky, but they are starting to get the hang of it. They were walked 3 times already and it's barely noon. One potty accident on the hard wood floor. Honestly, Ella is the potty bandit! Nikko has done really well. Now they are both asleep in their crate!
Now, I must admit...two are easier than one. They play together and keep each other out of trouble...except when Ella pulled the phone cord off the table! Nikko made sure I was aware it was all her! Lol!
I just keep reminding myself of Trent and Autumn's faces as I clean up each potty accident. Now, I need to keep all my OCD impulses down to a manageable level. How many times do you think a "normal" person would mop the floor?

Unity

In my prayer time this morning I found myself crying out to the Lord for unity in my church body. I must admit that I have neglected praying for my church as a whole. I pray for the leaders...but that is it. I never seem to take the time or effort to pray for the church.
I found myself overwhelmed with grief that we have allowed strife and division to creep into our body. Now, I do want to state that I am involved with a great church! But, what I see is people pushing their own agenda, or trying to be the pastor's "number one" go to person while trashing other ministries and their leaders. I understand we are all human, we all have faults...after all that is exactly why Christ Jesus came to this earth is to save us from our sins. So, my prayers have become focused and specific. No, I'm not praying these people out of our church! I'm praying that my Lord God will change their heart, He will convict them and that they turn from what they are doing and as a last resort remove them if they ignore His instructions. Then I focused on myself....let ME not be part of that problem! Let ME not fall into the gossip mill or judge others. I don't want to trash others to cover my own insecurities. I don't want to belittle other leaders or their ministries because I would do things differently. I must trust that My Lord God is directing my leaders footsteps and I must continue to pray that my leaders will follow my Lord's instructions in all matters. My deepest desire for my church is unity. I have a vision for my church that is earth shattering! A rock your world vision!
My vision is to make a impact on our community. I want to reach out to the homeless by giving out blankets and food, help the elderly with home repairs and yard work, visit nursing homes and hospitals just to encourage, visit prisons to share the gospel and hope, to reach out and help those in financial need by giving them groceries, paying electric bills or giving them gas cards, go to the schools and give out school supplies, jackets and give them a place to go to hang out. Volunteering at animal rescues, homeless shelters or at a home for children. I want my church to be known as the most loving and caring church in Western North Carolina and beyond! I want our church to stop being it's own worst enemy and become one! Think of all the possibilities!
I resolve to pray for my church, the leadership and the whole body that we can become one...united in one accord with "Exalting Christ and Sharing His love!"