Mandy's Fabulous Sentence

Mandy created this beautiful picture and writing at school. This year, she has learned how to write a complete sentence, using colorful, "rich" adjectives in her writing. I think she is doing a great job!

The picture includes the grill, my blue van, our house, and Paul's blue Subaru. And Mandy and Daddy, of course!

Not bad for a 5 year old!

Chicken Pox

Andrew has the Chicken Pox. Fortunately, with the vaccination he received as an infant, his case will be pretty mild. However, he will still be out of school for the remainder of the week. We have Spring Break next week, so it won't be that bad. I am home with him today, Paul will be with him on Thursday, and I have him again on Friday. He will be missing his big field trip to Columbia, as well.

SOLD!

Yesterday, we had a repeat visitor vying for Paul's Toyota pickup truck. Well, the offer was $8000 cash. We accepted, and are on our way to becoming debt free.

This is more than just a one-time reduction. You see, we will receive a refund of our personal property tax upon turning in the tag. In addition, it will reduce our insurance by about $50 per month. Also, it is one less vehicle to maintain! That is a pretty big deal, over all.

One down, one to go.

Paul will be fixing up the Subaru, which has a little problem. Then, he will be driving that again. We may need to carpool for a few days until that is done. Fortunately, we are on Spring Break in another week. We will have to drive together for Wednesday through Friday. No big deal!

Paul will be parking the van at the Plant Outlet next! Maybe we will have that sold soon, too! That would free up a fair chunk of change monthly, as well. We would also receive a refund of personal property tax, lower insurance, and NO CAR PAYMENT for the first time since 1993!

Can you hear the excitement!

Happy Easter

Game Day

It is baseball season around here. The Dodger's are gearing up for a new season, and so is Paul! But, Andrew is the focus here. He has joined a local Little League team. He is in the Minor Leagues this year. That means the kids pitch to each other this year. In years past, coaches and pitching machines have thrown the ball.

Here are some pictures from today you may enjoy. Let me know if you need your own copy e-mailed to you!

A Sale in the Near Future?

Paul's truck, which we purchased last July with cash, is on the chopping block! He has had a lot of interest of late, and someone is very serious about purchasing it. Once the truck is sold, we will fix up the old blue Subaru a little and Paul will drive that. It has been paid for since 2000.

Next up is my van. We still owe about 10,500 for it, but we can get 16,500. And we will lose a 347 monthly payment! We really only have a few debts to pay off, and both of these sales will go a long way towards eliminating all but one...THE STUDENT LOAN.

Sandie, I hope you do well with your plan. We will also be looking at around 2 years, mainly because a 28000 student loan is tough to pay down! Let's keep each other in check. Do I see a "race to be debt free" looming in the future? :)

Oooohhh - That was a little painful

OK - So the mail came today and the Kohl's circular was in it. Wouldn't you know that this is the time of year for their "15%, 20%, or 30% off" sale. Well, I pulled the little sticker back and there it was...30% off.

The trouble with this is that you have to use your Kohl's card, which I have cut up. I have to admit - two weeks ago, I would have run out and purchased some clothing for my family. After all, 30% off is great! Then, I would have had another card to pay for.

Now, I put the circular in the shredder, so I would not be tempted by the beckoning add. There it is, in 100 little pieces, sitting in the shredder basket. Now, the only one who knows it is there is me (and you :) of course).

Buy, bye, Kohl's card.

A Little Painful

Well, we did it. Paul and I sat down last night with a pile of paid bills and looked at where our money was really going each month. We wrote down every single bill, how much per month it is, and when it is due. We wrote down every single person we owe money to.

The good thing is, I was actually right about how much we owe to others! That means that I am being realistic when I think of our financial situation. There is no denial here.

We also set up a grocery budget of $500 per month and a gas budget of $240 per month. Anything left over there will go directly towards our debt.

Here is another exciting thing...we already have Babystep 1 complete...$1000 in an emergency fund. That means we can begin to work on our debt today!!! And, with this process comes the realization that the $67 we pay to DirecTV each month is a luxury we are willing to forgo to complete this process a little faster. That is now going to be $67 extra toward our financial freedom!

Like Dave says, "Live like no other, and later you can live like no other!" I am ready to "Live like no other." Let's do this thing.

Tired Of....

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. I guess I start to take things personally, and then I sort of shut down. Sorry I have disconnected from you all.

Anyhow, Paul and I have finally come to realize that we are TIRED OF owing other people money. We have some debt that, when it all adds up, amounts to quite a hefty amount of money. This includes student loans, a car, and "stupid" debt (isn't all debt stupid?). Finally, we are tired of owing other people our paychecks. It is high time that our money works for us, instead of us working so darn hard for our money.

Thus, I will take you on our journey with us. It is not going to be too pretty, but we are determined to become financially secure. Our goals are to pay off our debt, invest for retirement, be able to afford to educate our children through college, own our house free and clear, and be able to have fun in our lives. We will accomplish this only through hard work and dedication to our goals, but it is doable!!! Baby steps is the key.

We are following the advice of Dave Ramsey. As such, we will begin by placing $1000 in an emergency fund. Then, we will begin to tackle that pesky debt. We plan to sell my Toyota van, and probably the truck as well. While we own the truck, as well as Paul's old Subaru, we make monthly payments on the van to the tune of $347 each month. That is a lot of money that could be used in a much better fashion than a car. We should clear about $4000 on the van. If we sell the truck too, that will add another $10,000 to our debt removal. Not a bad start. Then comes the hard part...getting rid of the other $26K.

We are going to sit down and create a budget and a list of ALL of our debt this weekend. I expect it will be a bit painful, but it will allow us to look at what we are willing to sacrifice to become financially free!

How much debt are we looking at? Without the house, it is probably around $40,000 including the student loans. OUCH. With the house, more like $170K. Double OUCH. We are determined to succeed, and look forward to seeing you all on the "other" side of this journey.

Until then, please do not expect visits or fancy gifts. We are paring down to the essentials in order to improve the future for ourselves and our children. We love you all and hope you will understand our commitment to our futures. We know we will have support from you all, as well.