First time homebuyers are probably a little naive when it comes to buying a house! I know we definitely were! We had no real idea of what it took to keep up a house! But let's back up a little. We didn't even know what it took to find the right house and the right realtor to help you find that right home!
Almost 10 years ago we decided to buy our first home as a couple and family. We had three kids at the time, our oldest was three, our twins were one and I was pregnant at the time and we needed more space for everyone.
We started looking online at the homes that were within our price range and had enough bedrooms for us, with some room to grow. We called on a home and got a realtor to take us thru this house. We didn't care much for the house, but ended up using this realtor to look at more houses. She was ok and helpful, but we found a home that was brand new on the inside. It was duplex that someone had built but had never finished. Someone else came in and bought them and finished them to sell.
We loved the thought that everything was going to be brand new, including appliances and everything! We were told by the realtor that we needed to put an offer on it because it wouldn't last and it was great for us. It had 4 bedrooms and 2 or 3 bathrooms, which was great, the only thing I wasn't sure of was that the master bedroom was upstairs and all the rest were in the basement, which would have been fine if our kids were older, but not when they were so young!
We put an offer on the house but in the back of my mind things just weren't right. I decided we needed to change our search and look for something that we could finish a basement to make more room. I found a home that I liked the pictures and the lay out and decided we had to see it.
We came in and walked thru and just knew this is where we were supposed to be. It had e everything we wanted and especially the fenced yard for the kids to play.
We pulled our offer from the other home and put an offer on our home. We had great financial help with it all, but in the end, we should have shopped around for a better realtor that would have listened to us more.
We have loved our home and would totally stay, if our kids weren't getting so big. But over the last 10 years we have learned it takes a lot of work to keep up a yard and especially a house. Here is just a few things that we have learned and I'm passing on to you because maybe you don't know either.
Tile grout has to be sealed at least once a year. No one told us this and our shower grout and caulk has gone black because we never did.
When you have a leak in your shower, fix it quick and then make sure it hasn't damaged your flooring. If it has, fix your flooring quick and seal your sub flooring so you don't get mold and rotting wood.
Check your toilets reguLarly for leaks and running water, it can add a lot to an already high water bill.
Learn how to fix and replace sheet rock. This has come in handy, since we have boys and they get mad and punch the walls. We have fixed many holes and become pretty good with patching and sheet rock.
Clean your wood canisters reguLarly, especially around the table and if you have kids. They get very grungy and wood is harder to clean than other surfaces.
This is all just a small part of what we have learned as first time homebuyers and with our next home, we will be led to where we will be next, but I have some things in mind that I want in our next home and we have found a different realtor who so far has been great to listen to us and should be good to work with.
If you are a first time homebuyer, good luck. Don't be too naive, listen to your gut and go where feels right to you!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Has it really been over two months since writing last? Oh how time flies! It's also funny how your goals and desires seem to change so quickly!
After my last post, a sting of things happened in our lives and we decided to move up our date for selling our house. We began to make the necessary upgrades and fixes on the house in order to get it ready to sell.
We started with the easy things: fixtures and having our front porch railing powder coated. These were quick fixes and the railing was one we had someone come get and do for us.
When these were finished, we started on finishing the basement. Years ago we had added two more bedrooms down there but had never quite finished the cosmetic things like painting doors and moulding. In the time since, we had water get into the basement and have had to replace carpet and baseboards. We still haven't quite finished this yet, I need to paint the door frames and baseboards. :)
We took a little break from that and decided to start on the bathroom floors upstairs. We pulled up the linoleum only to find water had gotten under the linoleum and was causing huge problems in the sub flooring. We had to replace the top layer of sub flooring and found the bottom layer was not too bad, so we sealed it really good, put the new layer on, sealed it and then laid the linoleum tiles we got. I have become quite the handyman with our home, I filled the grout and sealed it and caulked the tub. The kids bathroom looks so good now!
We have done lots of painting and have gone thru six gallons of white paint in the bathrooms and a couple bedrooms and will probably go thru a couple more before we are finished!
We started pulling up the linoleum in the master bathroom to find a huge nightmare! Years ago, probably even before we moved in, there was a leak in the shower. We finally figured out what was causing it and fixed it, but apparently too late. We took off the top layer of the sub flooring only to find the bottom layer as well was just rotting and it's even rotting under the shower! Ugh, I had just finished grouting our shower, it looks so good! Now we may have to tear it apart, if the rotten board goes too far under the shower. I have been so upset and frustrated the last couple of days. In the meantime, I am getting all the painting done that we need to finish, so our bathroom may be the last thing we do. We are also working on replacing the flooring in the laundry room and half bath, but thankfully that is on concrete and it looks great, so no problems!
I have learned and was reminded yesterday, that patience is not something that we just have, it is something we are always striving for, so I will keep striving to have as much patience as possible and have faith that with God's help, we will make it through this trial and everything will work out how it is supposed to, and we will be happy!
Next I will tell you what I've learned through the last 10 years of home ownership and things we were never told but needed to know. Until then....
After my last post, a sting of things happened in our lives and we decided to move up our date for selling our house. We began to make the necessary upgrades and fixes on the house in order to get it ready to sell.
We started with the easy things: fixtures and having our front porch railing powder coated. These were quick fixes and the railing was one we had someone come get and do for us.
When these were finished, we started on finishing the basement. Years ago we had added two more bedrooms down there but had never quite finished the cosmetic things like painting doors and moulding. In the time since, we had water get into the basement and have had to replace carpet and baseboards. We still haven't quite finished this yet, I need to paint the door frames and baseboards. :)
We took a little break from that and decided to start on the bathroom floors upstairs. We pulled up the linoleum only to find water had gotten under the linoleum and was causing huge problems in the sub flooring. We had to replace the top layer of sub flooring and found the bottom layer was not too bad, so we sealed it really good, put the new layer on, sealed it and then laid the linoleum tiles we got. I have become quite the handyman with our home, I filled the grout and sealed it and caulked the tub. The kids bathroom looks so good now!
We have done lots of painting and have gone thru six gallons of white paint in the bathrooms and a couple bedrooms and will probably go thru a couple more before we are finished!
We started pulling up the linoleum in the master bathroom to find a huge nightmare! Years ago, probably even before we moved in, there was a leak in the shower. We finally figured out what was causing it and fixed it, but apparently too late. We took off the top layer of the sub flooring only to find the bottom layer as well was just rotting and it's even rotting under the shower! Ugh, I had just finished grouting our shower, it looks so good! Now we may have to tear it apart, if the rotten board goes too far under the shower. I have been so upset and frustrated the last couple of days. In the meantime, I am getting all the painting done that we need to finish, so our bathroom may be the last thing we do. We are also working on replacing the flooring in the laundry room and half bath, but thankfully that is on concrete and it looks great, so no problems!
I have learned and was reminded yesterday, that patience is not something that we just have, it is something we are always striving for, so I will keep striving to have as much patience as possible and have faith that with God's help, we will make it through this trial and everything will work out how it is supposed to, and we will be happy!
Next I will tell you what I've learned through the last 10 years of home ownership and things we were never told but needed to know. Until then....
Thursday, January 15, 2015
My goal this year is to blog more, I was hoping for everyday, but already I've missed a couple. That's ok, this is still more than in the blast year!
Continuing on with our being prepared goal for the year, we got paid yesterday, so now I am trying to decide what will be the best way financially to continue to stock up and keep stocked, what I need.
First, I will make a menu. Sometimes I am good to make one a month at a time, but I have misplaced my folder with all my papers for that. So until I find it, I will do a weekly menu. I have come up with a roast for Sunday (probably pork because they are cheaper) with red potatoes and a veggie. Monday will be sloppy Joes with homemade French fries, which are so easy to make! Tuesday: breakfast. Wednesday:pot pie, homemade. Thursday: Shepard pie. Friday: potato soup. And saturday: spaghetti.
With this menu and also buying the fruits and veggies we need, I should be able to spend about $20 on food storage stock up and about $5 on emergency stuff. Should be a good week. Ill let you know how it goes!
Continuing on with our being prepared goal for the year, we got paid yesterday, so now I am trying to decide what will be the best way financially to continue to stock up and keep stocked, what I need.
First, I will make a menu. Sometimes I am good to make one a month at a time, but I have misplaced my folder with all my papers for that. So until I find it, I will do a weekly menu. I have come up with a roast for Sunday (probably pork because they are cheaper) with red potatoes and a veggie. Monday will be sloppy Joes with homemade French fries, which are so easy to make! Tuesday: breakfast. Wednesday:pot pie, homemade. Thursday: Shepard pie. Friday: potato soup. And saturday: spaghetti.
With this menu and also buying the fruits and veggies we need, I should be able to spend about $20 on food storage stock up and about $5 on emergency stuff. Should be a good week. Ill let you know how it goes!
Monday, January 12, 2015
Now that we have talked a little about budgeting and saving money, how are you going to use your budget to your advantage? How will you feed your family each week as well as make sure you have money for emergencies, emergency preparedness and long term food storage?
You can definitely do it. I'll start with 72 hour kits. This should be your first thing to be completed. I started getting mine together today, after recovering from the bug infestation of our 72 hour kits. The first place to start is in your house! Make a list of what you need to put in your kits and then start with what you have on hand. I have things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, mini first aid kits, that I have gotten free using coupons, these are perfect!
If your family is like mine, we go to the dentist religiously every six months, that means all seven of us get a new toothbrush (which you should change out every three to six months anyway), trial size toothpaste and trial size dental floss. I have so many regular sizes of these, that all the trial sizes just pile up, but they are perfect for the 72 hour kits! I found some little makeup pouches at the DI the other day for $1 or less and that will give me a little toiletry bag to put all of this in for each of my family members, keep an eye out for those on clearance at different stores as well! I also took a little single burner stove I got with two cans of cooking fuel and put with it. Also don't forget the medical masks and gloves! I have a bunch of those on hand all the time too and can throw in a bunch for everyone.
How are things sounding so far? Most small things can be found at home or anything thing else can be found at the dollar store or even the travel sections of any store! Walmart also sells a lot of medicine products for 88 cents! These are the small size ones but are perfect for this or for your car or any first aid kit!
I have looked at the dollar store though and have found nearly everything there for a dollar, including medicines, vitamins, toothpaste and brushes, combs, brushes, even coloring books and plush toys for the kids! Make sure you have something for the kids to do, like books, coloring, small toys, etc.
And don't forget clothes! This is something I really need to do better with! A change of clothes for everyone plus extra socks and a change of underwear. You may also want to include a couple packets of laundry soap in case you really need to do some laundry!
Last but not least is food and water! It is recommended that each person have at least a gallon of water per day! This may be kind of hard to carry! Get what you can into liter size bottles for the packs and then have some water cubes or some kind of water containers that have handles that a few people could carry. Don't forget you need enough to be able to cook what food you are packing as well. There are also water packs or canned water you can store, these can be found at emergency supply stores.
Make sure to have enough food for your whole family. I need to check mine and make sure my 1/2 month supply for 4 people will be enough for us. Plus take into account any food allergies. The food packets we have are from Daily Bread, a long term food storage company here in Utah. We purchased a six month supply of freeze dried meals, milk, juice, oatmeal, etc and as a bonus for buying so much, we also got a 1/2 month supply of individual packets that are perfect for 72 hour kits! This was a huge purchase for us and unless you have lots of money to just throw at something like that, build your storage slower with in your budget.
If you have someone in your family with food allergies, make sure to have their things separate so as not to contaminate theirs. You definitely don't want to have sick people in your family because of this and make sure all allergy Meds are there as well. A lot of the food that we have going in to our kit has milk, soy and eggs, which is something I can't have, so I will most likely pack my own oatmeal, soups and crackers that I can have. I will put them in either a Mylar bag or some type of food saver type thing.
If you have pets, don't forget about them either! They will need food, water, treats and anything else that will help comfort them. They are part of your family too!
I hope everyone is getting prepared for whatever will happen in life! Plan your budget each month, decide how much you can spend each month or each week on a few extra items. Most canned items that will last or toiletry items that don't go bad, I will usually buy more than one, sometimes upwards of 5, just so I have a stock as the weeks go by.
What are you doing to prepare? I would love to hear your suggestions and what you are doing to better your situation. Let's help each other get to where we need to be! Love and support to you all, until next time!
You can definitely do it. I'll start with 72 hour kits. This should be your first thing to be completed. I started getting mine together today, after recovering from the bug infestation of our 72 hour kits. The first place to start is in your house! Make a list of what you need to put in your kits and then start with what you have on hand. I have things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, mini first aid kits, that I have gotten free using coupons, these are perfect!
If your family is like mine, we go to the dentist religiously every six months, that means all seven of us get a new toothbrush (which you should change out every three to six months anyway), trial size toothpaste and trial size dental floss. I have so many regular sizes of these, that all the trial sizes just pile up, but they are perfect for the 72 hour kits! I found some little makeup pouches at the DI the other day for $1 or less and that will give me a little toiletry bag to put all of this in for each of my family members, keep an eye out for those on clearance at different stores as well! I also took a little single burner stove I got with two cans of cooking fuel and put with it. Also don't forget the medical masks and gloves! I have a bunch of those on hand all the time too and can throw in a bunch for everyone.
How are things sounding so far? Most small things can be found at home or anything thing else can be found at the dollar store or even the travel sections of any store! Walmart also sells a lot of medicine products for 88 cents! These are the small size ones but are perfect for this or for your car or any first aid kit!
I have looked at the dollar store though and have found nearly everything there for a dollar, including medicines, vitamins, toothpaste and brushes, combs, brushes, even coloring books and plush toys for the kids! Make sure you have something for the kids to do, like books, coloring, small toys, etc.
And don't forget clothes! This is something I really need to do better with! A change of clothes for everyone plus extra socks and a change of underwear. You may also want to include a couple packets of laundry soap in case you really need to do some laundry!
Last but not least is food and water! It is recommended that each person have at least a gallon of water per day! This may be kind of hard to carry! Get what you can into liter size bottles for the packs and then have some water cubes or some kind of water containers that have handles that a few people could carry. Don't forget you need enough to be able to cook what food you are packing as well. There are also water packs or canned water you can store, these can be found at emergency supply stores.
Make sure to have enough food for your whole family. I need to check mine and make sure my 1/2 month supply for 4 people will be enough for us. Plus take into account any food allergies. The food packets we have are from Daily Bread, a long term food storage company here in Utah. We purchased a six month supply of freeze dried meals, milk, juice, oatmeal, etc and as a bonus for buying so much, we also got a 1/2 month supply of individual packets that are perfect for 72 hour kits! This was a huge purchase for us and unless you have lots of money to just throw at something like that, build your storage slower with in your budget.
If you have someone in your family with food allergies, make sure to have their things separate so as not to contaminate theirs. You definitely don't want to have sick people in your family because of this and make sure all allergy Meds are there as well. A lot of the food that we have going in to our kit has milk, soy and eggs, which is something I can't have, so I will most likely pack my own oatmeal, soups and crackers that I can have. I will put them in either a Mylar bag or some type of food saver type thing.
If you have pets, don't forget about them either! They will need food, water, treats and anything else that will help comfort them. They are part of your family too!
I hope everyone is getting prepared for whatever will happen in life! Plan your budget each month, decide how much you can spend each month or each week on a few extra items. Most canned items that will last or toiletry items that don't go bad, I will usually buy more than one, sometimes upwards of 5, just so I have a stock as the weeks go by.
What are you doing to prepare? I would love to hear your suggestions and what you are doing to better your situation. Let's help each other get to where we need to be! Love and support to you all, until next time!
Friday, January 9, 2015
Saving money
Now that we have talked about budgeting and debt, let's talk about ways that we can save money on almost everything!
To start with, where can you save money? Well, pretty much everywhere! I am a little crazy about saving money and getting the best deal. We even save on our bills, going with paperless and equal payment plans, makes setting a budget much easier too. But what about those things that you use everyday that cost a little, but add up so quickly? Do you ever go into Wal-Mart and come out having just spent $50 and you have no idea what you just bought or what youre even having for dinner that night? Yeah, me too! Wal-Mart can have some really great deals, but only on some things, not everything. I find some things, like produce much cheaper at the Mexican market down the street and I also don't have to deal with crowds.
What about non-food essentials? Wal-Mart can be the cheapest for some of those things, as well as Sam's and Costco, but are you really getting the best price you could pay?
If you really want to save some money, you might have to look at different ads and shop around. Some of you are limited in where you can shop and that's ok, use what you have.
For those of us that have multiple options, the task probably seems daunting, I understand. I have my few places that I shop and sometimes I price match at Wal-Mart just so I don't have to go to every store, and that's fine too. Look at your newspaper ads! This is the easiest way to find out what's on sale and where. Then if you want to price match, go for it, you don't even need your ads, so just make a list of what prices are at which store.
Now this saves you a little bit of money, but how can you save more? Coupons are the easiest way to save on groceries and non-food items. But don't stop there! Pair your coupons with a sale item and you have a killer deal! If the item you have a coupon for is not for sale, don't buy it yet, just hang on to that coupon!
Being the first of the year, we received lots of really great coupons in the Sunday paper, which is nice, they were things I needed to stock up on, like dishwasher soap and contact solution and pens/pencils. Sometimes, if it's a great coupon, I will just run over to Wal-Mart and see what the price is. I went in yesterday to see what contact solution was and they were completely wiped out, so everyone had the same idea! I was able to find some at another Wal-Mart and got three bottles of name brand solution, plus each one had a bonus smaller bottle on them, and I paid just over $8! I saved $15 with my coupons, plus they were on rollback as well. The other great coupon deal I happened upon was dishwasher soap. We got coupons for $2.10 off. I happened to find some at Wal-Mart that were 50% bonus boxes for $2.97, so I got them for 87 cents per box!
When I can get great deals like this, it even puts Sam's to shame because I can get a much better deal per ounce or per item than they can give me at the warehouse.
This is a small part of how i save money and can live on my $400 food budget, but we have also paid very little for larger items as well. Bed Bath and Beyond is such a fun store and they are always sending out 20% off an item coupons, and their coupons never expire, even though they have an expiration date, you can still use it. We were able to buy a Kitchen aid stand mixer for less than $50. Now this was years ago and we used our Discover card for everything, so we accumulated the cash back, and we saved up to get enough gift cards there to cover most of the cost of the mixer, plus we used a 20% off coupon and voila!
I have even seen receipts from people that combining sales, discounts and coupons, they got over $100 worth of items at JCPenny and paid less than $2! I am not that good with non food items, but it just shows you, it CAN be done!
How do you save on your bills and expenses each month? Please let us know, help us all save more, everyday!
To start with, where can you save money? Well, pretty much everywhere! I am a little crazy about saving money and getting the best deal. We even save on our bills, going with paperless and equal payment plans, makes setting a budget much easier too. But what about those things that you use everyday that cost a little, but add up so quickly? Do you ever go into Wal-Mart and come out having just spent $50 and you have no idea what you just bought or what youre even having for dinner that night? Yeah, me too! Wal-Mart can have some really great deals, but only on some things, not everything. I find some things, like produce much cheaper at the Mexican market down the street and I also don't have to deal with crowds.
What about non-food essentials? Wal-Mart can be the cheapest for some of those things, as well as Sam's and Costco, but are you really getting the best price you could pay?
If you really want to save some money, you might have to look at different ads and shop around. Some of you are limited in where you can shop and that's ok, use what you have.
For those of us that have multiple options, the task probably seems daunting, I understand. I have my few places that I shop and sometimes I price match at Wal-Mart just so I don't have to go to every store, and that's fine too. Look at your newspaper ads! This is the easiest way to find out what's on sale and where. Then if you want to price match, go for it, you don't even need your ads, so just make a list of what prices are at which store.
Now this saves you a little bit of money, but how can you save more? Coupons are the easiest way to save on groceries and non-food items. But don't stop there! Pair your coupons with a sale item and you have a killer deal! If the item you have a coupon for is not for sale, don't buy it yet, just hang on to that coupon!
Being the first of the year, we received lots of really great coupons in the Sunday paper, which is nice, they were things I needed to stock up on, like dishwasher soap and contact solution and pens/pencils. Sometimes, if it's a great coupon, I will just run over to Wal-Mart and see what the price is. I went in yesterday to see what contact solution was and they were completely wiped out, so everyone had the same idea! I was able to find some at another Wal-Mart and got three bottles of name brand solution, plus each one had a bonus smaller bottle on them, and I paid just over $8! I saved $15 with my coupons, plus they were on rollback as well. The other great coupon deal I happened upon was dishwasher soap. We got coupons for $2.10 off. I happened to find some at Wal-Mart that were 50% bonus boxes for $2.97, so I got them for 87 cents per box!
When I can get great deals like this, it even puts Sam's to shame because I can get a much better deal per ounce or per item than they can give me at the warehouse.
This is a small part of how i save money and can live on my $400 food budget, but we have also paid very little for larger items as well. Bed Bath and Beyond is such a fun store and they are always sending out 20% off an item coupons, and their coupons never expire, even though they have an expiration date, you can still use it. We were able to buy a Kitchen aid stand mixer for less than $50. Now this was years ago and we used our Discover card for everything, so we accumulated the cash back, and we saved up to get enough gift cards there to cover most of the cost of the mixer, plus we used a 20% off coupon and voila!
I have even seen receipts from people that combining sales, discounts and coupons, they got over $100 worth of items at JCPenny and paid less than $2! I am not that good with non food items, but it just shows you, it CAN be done!
How do you save on your bills and expenses each month? Please let us know, help us all save more, everyday!
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Debt
I know, that is probably the worst 4-letter word out there, right?! Don't worry, there is an end to your debt situation. We are not the best example of staying out of debt, I hate to confess, but we have been learning. For the last 14 years, we have been learning!
I've had many people show me different ideas of how to get out of debt. We get right to the point where we have almost no debt, except our house and cars and then something would happen, like two major surgeries in a four month time, that throws us back into that awful feeling of being in debt to someone. We have probably all been there at one time or another. The thing that worked best for us is what Dave Ramsey calls snowballing debt. Elder Marvin J. Ashton in the One for the Money pamphlet put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, calls it a debt-elimination calendar.
Either method works great you just have to know how much each debt is and then how much extra you can pay each month.
Providentliving.org is a great resource for this. It states "The calendar is a simple approach to eliminating debt by using funds freed up when one debt is retired to pay down remaining debt. While you have to be disciplined, this approach has helped many become debt free."
It provides a debt calculator right there for you. Go to providentliving.org click on finances on the left side bar and then scroll down to where it says "How soon could I pay off my debts?" It's that simple, but to give you an idea of how snowballing your debts works, look at all your debts. Then look at the payoff dates and the interest rates. Some debts are very large, like your house, but have small interest rates, and some have a very small amount but high interest rate. You don't want to pay others your hard earned money any longer than you have to, right? Also look at your minimum payment for each month.
Say you have 5 different debts you want to get rid of, start with the One with the highest interest rate, that's usually credit cards. This is the one you will pay off first. Now all of your other ones still matter, you don't want anything going to collections, but on the others, you will just pay the minimum balance due, for now. Anything extra left over from your budget, you can put to this debt to help it to go down faster. When that first debt is paid off, you then take that full amount you have been paying to that debt and roll it into the next debt, getting that debt down much faster, and so on until you no longer have any debt.
Elder Ashtons debt elimination calendar on the other hand, has you write it out by months. Say your credit card that you pay $100 to each month will be paid off in March, after you no longer have that debt, you then take that $100 and add it the next debt and when that one is paid off, roll that whole amount you were paying to the next and so forth, thus eliminating your debt so much faster than if you just keep paying the minimum balance each month.
I hope this is all making sense to you. Debt can be a very overwhelming and frustrating thing, especially when you have no control over it, like medical expenses, but I know with some faith and sacrifice, you can become debt free!
One thing that has worked for helping us not get further in debt is giving ourselves an allowance. There is always things that we want and need, and that's usually how we go into debt so quickly and easily. We give ourselves, my husband and I, each $50 each month to use with how we want. If we have found something we want, we save our allowance and buy it when we have saved enough. We also budget a little each month for some of the smaller expenses that creep up, like furnace filters, paint, etc, that way it's not just going on our credit card when we need it to pay off later.
I firmly swear by and believe in a budget and staying out debt. Don't be in bondage to someone else for wanting something you can't afford now. Save and budget and all will work out for your good! Rely on the Lord and he will help you through those hard times!
I've had many people show me different ideas of how to get out of debt. We get right to the point where we have almost no debt, except our house and cars and then something would happen, like two major surgeries in a four month time, that throws us back into that awful feeling of being in debt to someone. We have probably all been there at one time or another. The thing that worked best for us is what Dave Ramsey calls snowballing debt. Elder Marvin J. Ashton in the One for the Money pamphlet put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, calls it a debt-elimination calendar.
Either method works great you just have to know how much each debt is and then how much extra you can pay each month.
Providentliving.org is a great resource for this. It states "The calendar is a simple approach to eliminating debt by using funds freed up when one debt is retired to pay down remaining debt. While you have to be disciplined, this approach has helped many become debt free."
It provides a debt calculator right there for you. Go to providentliving.org click on finances on the left side bar and then scroll down to where it says "How soon could I pay off my debts?" It's that simple, but to give you an idea of how snowballing your debts works, look at all your debts. Then look at the payoff dates and the interest rates. Some debts are very large, like your house, but have small interest rates, and some have a very small amount but high interest rate. You don't want to pay others your hard earned money any longer than you have to, right? Also look at your minimum payment for each month.
Say you have 5 different debts you want to get rid of, start with the One with the highest interest rate, that's usually credit cards. This is the one you will pay off first. Now all of your other ones still matter, you don't want anything going to collections, but on the others, you will just pay the minimum balance due, for now. Anything extra left over from your budget, you can put to this debt to help it to go down faster. When that first debt is paid off, you then take that full amount you have been paying to that debt and roll it into the next debt, getting that debt down much faster, and so on until you no longer have any debt.
Elder Ashtons debt elimination calendar on the other hand, has you write it out by months. Say your credit card that you pay $100 to each month will be paid off in March, after you no longer have that debt, you then take that $100 and add it the next debt and when that one is paid off, roll that whole amount you were paying to the next and so forth, thus eliminating your debt so much faster than if you just keep paying the minimum balance each month.
I hope this is all making sense to you. Debt can be a very overwhelming and frustrating thing, especially when you have no control over it, like medical expenses, but I know with some faith and sacrifice, you can become debt free!
One thing that has worked for helping us not get further in debt is giving ourselves an allowance. There is always things that we want and need, and that's usually how we go into debt so quickly and easily. We give ourselves, my husband and I, each $50 each month to use with how we want. If we have found something we want, we save our allowance and buy it when we have saved enough. We also budget a little each month for some of the smaller expenses that creep up, like furnace filters, paint, etc, that way it's not just going on our credit card when we need it to pay off later.
I firmly swear by and believe in a budget and staying out debt. Don't be in bondage to someone else for wanting something you can't afford now. Save and budget and all will work out for your good! Rely on the Lord and he will help you through those hard times!
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Making a budget part 2
I hope you had a chance to figure up your checks and get a list of all your expenses. On top of the necessity expenses, don't forget your credit cards and other debt that you have possibly accumulated. Kudos to you if you have none, some of us are not so good with staying out of debt, but you have great money sense!
Look at your list of expenses. Wow what a list that is, right! Don't fret, everything will be fine! As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we have so many great reference materials to help us through life and especially finances and food storage. These are something everyone can use, not just members. Providentliving.org is a great reference for all that I am talking about.
So being a religious person, we have been commanded to pay a full tithe and offerings to the Lord and i do this faithfully every time I am paid an increase in wages. We are commanded to pay 10% of our increase. This should be the first thing that is deducted from your wages each time and given back to the Lord, for it is He that has blessed you with all that you have.
The next thing that can easily be deducted is your mortgage or rent. Since usually this is the same each month, it is easy to figure out. Next would be your utility expenses. Where we live, we pay to three different companies for the water, electricity and natural gas. That is three different payments. If you are just starting out in a new place, this part might be a little tricky for you. For us to set a good budget for utilities that tend to go up and down each month, the easiest thing to do is take an average over the year.
There are some companies that will allow you get on an equal payment program. These are great because then you know how much you will pay each month, but they review at least every six months and your payment will go up or down depending on your usage. Just keep that in mind, but it is great to have when working with a budget.
Start with your water bill. Collect all twelve of those bills. Sit down with a calculator and add them all up. You will probably be surprised at how much you are paying on a yearly basis for water and maybe you can think of ways to try to use less and save some money.
Take the total you got from all of those bills, divide by 12 and you have an average for the year. This is the best way we have found to help cover everything. For us our water bill is higher in the summer because we water our lawn and gardens, but its higher by about $50-$100 than in the winter. I don't know about you, but I can't just pull $100 out of thin air for three months to cover that, that's why we take an average. We also use multiple accounts and money market accounts attached to our accounts so everything has a place, works best for us, but you do what works for you.
Do you have your average now? Great, write that down and that's how much you will deduct each month for water. If you are taking out an average each month and setting that aside, during the months when your bill is higher you will have enough to cover without trying to pull from other things. Continue that with all your bills. Include gas for your car as well so you always have money for gas.
How are you feeling so far? More in control of your life and finances? Great! That's how it should be. Continue with all of your bills that way and see where you are at. Food and non-food expenses might be a little tricky for some. I won't go into too much detail here of what I do to save on food, but in order for us to keep to our budget, we had to set a limit to how much we can spend each month on groceries. We decided $400 each month is a good number and doesn't cut too much out of our money that should help with bills. Some of you probably just fell off the couch now, I know. $400 is not a lot of money and especially for 7 people, but later I'll show you how I make it work.
The average family spends about $200/month per person on food and non-food items. That means I should be spending about $1400/month on just that. That $1000 that I don't spend, covers my mortgage, so see what you can pay for when you sacrifice a little? Sacrifice is giving up something of value for something of greater value. Who doesn't want something better than what we have? If you are willing to sacrifice for it, it will mean more to you.
I know everything we discussed today is maybe a little overwhelming and maybe your head is swimming with numbers now, but I promise when you stick to your budget, you will find more money than you thought you had. Don't forget to save some as well, and some for your kids too!
Look at your list of expenses. Wow what a list that is, right! Don't fret, everything will be fine! As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we have so many great reference materials to help us through life and especially finances and food storage. These are something everyone can use, not just members. Providentliving.org is a great reference for all that I am talking about.
So being a religious person, we have been commanded to pay a full tithe and offerings to the Lord and i do this faithfully every time I am paid an increase in wages. We are commanded to pay 10% of our increase. This should be the first thing that is deducted from your wages each time and given back to the Lord, for it is He that has blessed you with all that you have.
The next thing that can easily be deducted is your mortgage or rent. Since usually this is the same each month, it is easy to figure out. Next would be your utility expenses. Where we live, we pay to three different companies for the water, electricity and natural gas. That is three different payments. If you are just starting out in a new place, this part might be a little tricky for you. For us to set a good budget for utilities that tend to go up and down each month, the easiest thing to do is take an average over the year.
There are some companies that will allow you get on an equal payment program. These are great because then you know how much you will pay each month, but they review at least every six months and your payment will go up or down depending on your usage. Just keep that in mind, but it is great to have when working with a budget.
Start with your water bill. Collect all twelve of those bills. Sit down with a calculator and add them all up. You will probably be surprised at how much you are paying on a yearly basis for water and maybe you can think of ways to try to use less and save some money.
Take the total you got from all of those bills, divide by 12 and you have an average for the year. This is the best way we have found to help cover everything. For us our water bill is higher in the summer because we water our lawn and gardens, but its higher by about $50-$100 than in the winter. I don't know about you, but I can't just pull $100 out of thin air for three months to cover that, that's why we take an average. We also use multiple accounts and money market accounts attached to our accounts so everything has a place, works best for us, but you do what works for you.
Do you have your average now? Great, write that down and that's how much you will deduct each month for water. If you are taking out an average each month and setting that aside, during the months when your bill is higher you will have enough to cover without trying to pull from other things. Continue that with all your bills. Include gas for your car as well so you always have money for gas.
How are you feeling so far? More in control of your life and finances? Great! That's how it should be. Continue with all of your bills that way and see where you are at. Food and non-food expenses might be a little tricky for some. I won't go into too much detail here of what I do to save on food, but in order for us to keep to our budget, we had to set a limit to how much we can spend each month on groceries. We decided $400 each month is a good number and doesn't cut too much out of our money that should help with bills. Some of you probably just fell off the couch now, I know. $400 is not a lot of money and especially for 7 people, but later I'll show you how I make it work.
The average family spends about $200/month per person on food and non-food items. That means I should be spending about $1400/month on just that. That $1000 that I don't spend, covers my mortgage, so see what you can pay for when you sacrifice a little? Sacrifice is giving up something of value for something of greater value. Who doesn't want something better than what we have? If you are willing to sacrifice for it, it will mean more to you.
I know everything we discussed today is maybe a little overwhelming and maybe your head is swimming with numbers now, but I promise when you stick to your budget, you will find more money than you thought you had. Don't forget to save some as well, and some for your kids too!
Monday, January 5, 2015
Making a budget
I hope everyone's weekend was great, I love weekends and getting to spend time with my family and worship on Sunday.
As I mentioned last week, I want to discuss finances. When Mike and I were first married, we were not very good at making and keeping a budget. We would go to the store and decide there what things would be nice to have in the kitchen for meals but we never really made a plan and spent A LOT more than we needed to and sometimes even had. It wasn't until we were living on one very meager income to pay the bills and what little tips I received each day to buy food. We were very poor and did what we could. I even traded haircuts and color services for beef because we couldn't afford meat! We did what we had to to get by. This was in our college years and we came away with a lot of debt but a good salary job and a need to learn to budget!
My husband is very technology minded, being a programmer everything is done on a computer, he prefers that. I, on the other hand, like to see things on paper and be able to work things out with pencil and paper. So we have created ourselves a great budget in an excel spreadsheet. This works great because it does all the thinking for you after you put in the initial formula. Plus you can then print off a copy for yourself.
Now I am by no means an accountant or even have much knowledge about finances, this is just what has worked for us. But I do want you to try to live on a budget, because how are you going to be prepared for a disaster or anything if you are running out of money each month? You can't. I have lots of different ideas of how to save money and stretch your paycheck, but that's a whole different post. So I will start today with having you think about your paycheck. For us this was pretty easy, we get paid once a month and we are on salary, so every paycheck is the same. Most people do not have that luxury, so think about your check or checks and try to get an average each month of your income.
Now hopefully you have a good idea of what you have to spend each month. Now start making a list of all the expenses you have each month, starting with the ones that are necessities, meaning you have to pay them or they will be shut off. Here is a list of what I came up with:
tithes and offerings
Rent/mortgage
Health insurance
Water/sewer
Electricity
Gas
Car insurance
Home owners/renters insurance
Car payment
Phone
Food/non food essentials
Make your list and tomorrow we will continue on our budget and show you how we plug everything in and make a budget work for you. Until then....
As I mentioned last week, I want to discuss finances. When Mike and I were first married, we were not very good at making and keeping a budget. We would go to the store and decide there what things would be nice to have in the kitchen for meals but we never really made a plan and spent A LOT more than we needed to and sometimes even had. It wasn't until we were living on one very meager income to pay the bills and what little tips I received each day to buy food. We were very poor and did what we could. I even traded haircuts and color services for beef because we couldn't afford meat! We did what we had to to get by. This was in our college years and we came away with a lot of debt but a good salary job and a need to learn to budget!
My husband is very technology minded, being a programmer everything is done on a computer, he prefers that. I, on the other hand, like to see things on paper and be able to work things out with pencil and paper. So we have created ourselves a great budget in an excel spreadsheet. This works great because it does all the thinking for you after you put in the initial formula. Plus you can then print off a copy for yourself.
Now I am by no means an accountant or even have much knowledge about finances, this is just what has worked for us. But I do want you to try to live on a budget, because how are you going to be prepared for a disaster or anything if you are running out of money each month? You can't. I have lots of different ideas of how to save money and stretch your paycheck, but that's a whole different post. So I will start today with having you think about your paycheck. For us this was pretty easy, we get paid once a month and we are on salary, so every paycheck is the same. Most people do not have that luxury, so think about your check or checks and try to get an average each month of your income.
Now hopefully you have a good idea of what you have to spend each month. Now start making a list of all the expenses you have each month, starting with the ones that are necessities, meaning you have to pay them or they will be shut off. Here is a list of what I came up with:
tithes and offerings
Rent/mortgage
Health insurance
Water/sewer
Electricity
Gas
Car insurance
Home owners/renters insurance
Car payment
Phone
Food/non food essentials
Make your list and tomorrow we will continue on our budget and show you how we plug everything in and make a budget work for you. Until then....
Friday, January 2, 2015
For the last few weeks in preparation for my goals this year, I have been on Pinterest and researching on the internet different ideas for helping make emergency preparedness and food storage easy and affordable. There is so much information out there that it can get a little overwhelming to say the least! Most people will give up a month or so into it because it seems like too much to take on. I have definitely felt that way before myself, so I understand.
With all the information I have gathered and read, I decided the best place to start would be with our 72 hour kits. I have been meaning to, for the last 5 years or so, to rotate our 72 hour kits every six months, around conference time, but my thoughts and good intentions didn't quite make it to actually pulling them out and rotating them. So being so excited to start this yesterday, I began pulling down our backpacks to go through them.
I opened the first one and started pulling things out, only to find that we had maggots all through the backpack. I was disgusted, appalled and very upset, with myself and the stupid little nasty bugs infesting my things! I talked to my husband and my sister and with their council decided to just throw away the backpacks and anything else that had the little critters in it and start fresh!
I did have flashlights and zip locks of first aid kits that could be salvaged, so I will Clorox the flashlights and assemble brand new kits, with the intent and follow through of rotating and checking them every six months. I will even put reminders on my calendar and make sure it gets done. I will not let this happen again!
With that in mind, here are a few of the items I will be putting in my 72 hour kits:
First aid kit
Toilet paper
Sanitary supplies
Extra pair of glasses
Duct tape
Head lamps
Work gloves
Written copy of addresses and phone numbers
Sewing kit
Candles (tea lights)
Wet wipes
Extra batteries
Zip lock baggies
Important information and documents
Mess kit or foldable bowl and utensils
Food for nine meals and snacks
Clothing: sweat pants and shirt, t-shirt, underwear, socks, hat sunglasses
Scissors
Personal hygiene items
Whistle
Light sticks
Mylar blanket
Poncho
Hand warmers
Emergency cook stove
Folding shovel
Knife
Portable radio
Medicines
This is just a list of what things I have thought of so far. As I think of more and decide how to put them together, I will continue to post. If you have any extra ideas, please leave comments so we can all become prepared together!
"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear!"
With all the information I have gathered and read, I decided the best place to start would be with our 72 hour kits. I have been meaning to, for the last 5 years or so, to rotate our 72 hour kits every six months, around conference time, but my thoughts and good intentions didn't quite make it to actually pulling them out and rotating them. So being so excited to start this yesterday, I began pulling down our backpacks to go through them.
I opened the first one and started pulling things out, only to find that we had maggots all through the backpack. I was disgusted, appalled and very upset, with myself and the stupid little nasty bugs infesting my things! I talked to my husband and my sister and with their council decided to just throw away the backpacks and anything else that had the little critters in it and start fresh!
I did have flashlights and zip locks of first aid kits that could be salvaged, so I will Clorox the flashlights and assemble brand new kits, with the intent and follow through of rotating and checking them every six months. I will even put reminders on my calendar and make sure it gets done. I will not let this happen again!
With that in mind, here are a few of the items I will be putting in my 72 hour kits:
First aid kit
Toilet paper
Sanitary supplies
Extra pair of glasses
Duct tape
Head lamps
Work gloves
Written copy of addresses and phone numbers
Sewing kit
Candles (tea lights)
Wet wipes
Extra batteries
Zip lock baggies
Important information and documents
Mess kit or foldable bowl and utensils
Food for nine meals and snacks
Clothing: sweat pants and shirt, t-shirt, underwear, socks, hat sunglasses
Scissors
Personal hygiene items
Whistle
Light sticks
Mylar blanket
Poncho
Hand warmers
Emergency cook stove
Folding shovel
Knife
Portable radio
Medicines
This is just a list of what things I have thought of so far. As I think of more and decide how to put them together, I will continue to post. If you have any extra ideas, please leave comments so we can all become prepared together!
"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear!"
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Happy New Year!
A very happy New year to everyone! It has been over a year since I last posted! So much has happened since then! In November 2013 I went back to work after 9 years off being a stay at home mom. It was a big step and sacrifice for our family, but I have loved every minute of it! I have worked with with some really great people and had some really great clients!
I have still been able to spend time with my wonderful family as well. We started out 2014 with a funeral for a dear family friend. It was sad, but we are so thankful for the plan of salvation and the knowledge that we will see our family and friends again after this life.
I have been on the stake young women camp committee now for two years. I love working with the young women in the stake and being able to work with such great committee members to plan our young women camps the last two summers. We have been truely blessed and guided through each camp and each planning for camp. The Lord loves each of us and especially our youth! They need His guidance in their lives and young women's camp helps them recognize the spirit and what it feels like.
I have made some really great friends over the last year and did some fun things. I have ran a few 5ks in the last year or so and have loved them. I don't know if I could do much more than that though. The 3.1 miles at one time is pretty far me.
I broke my ankle half way through the year and was in a cast and on crutches for about 6+ weeks. Not a fun thing to go through in the summer. My garden got neglected and everything turned out awful! I didn't have anything to can in the fall except the wonderful peaches that came from our tree. I had to find tomatoes to can. Thanks to family I was able to put a little away this year.
I also decided that I wanted to have a job a little closer to home. I have been working in Roy about a 20 minute drive from here which I have loved, but I have gotten so sick of the drive. In July I decided I was also tired of cutting hair in my little kitchen, so I decided to venture out on my own and rent a booth not far from home where I can pay as I go and have a chair and sink for the growing clientele I have. I have loved being on my own and just weeks ago decided that we don't really need my income too much right now, so I have gone to working in Roy one night a week to still have my clients there, but then spend a little more time here building a good clientele so that when my daughter is in school more, I can go to work and be busy there.It will be some long days and quite slow until I have a good clientele, but it will be worth it!
Well that is my year very condensed! I hope you all had a great year as well! I am excited for a new year with new adventures. My goals this year are going to help my family. I am so excited to begin sharing that journey with everyone as well. I am going to take this year and build my food storage and emergency preparedness supplies to get our family prepared how we need to for any situation and I plan to take you with me on that journey. This should be everyone's goals every year, but I know it's hard to find the money and the time.
This blog may end up a food storage and emergency blog with all I'm going to fill it with, but I also want to talk finances and other practical things like that, so please come back often and see what I am doing and get suggestions of things to help your family as well. Happy New Year!
I have still been able to spend time with my wonderful family as well. We started out 2014 with a funeral for a dear family friend. It was sad, but we are so thankful for the plan of salvation and the knowledge that we will see our family and friends again after this life.
I have been on the stake young women camp committee now for two years. I love working with the young women in the stake and being able to work with such great committee members to plan our young women camps the last two summers. We have been truely blessed and guided through each camp and each planning for camp. The Lord loves each of us and especially our youth! They need His guidance in their lives and young women's camp helps them recognize the spirit and what it feels like.
I have made some really great friends over the last year and did some fun things. I have ran a few 5ks in the last year or so and have loved them. I don't know if I could do much more than that though. The 3.1 miles at one time is pretty far me.
I broke my ankle half way through the year and was in a cast and on crutches for about 6+ weeks. Not a fun thing to go through in the summer. My garden got neglected and everything turned out awful! I didn't have anything to can in the fall except the wonderful peaches that came from our tree. I had to find tomatoes to can. Thanks to family I was able to put a little away this year.
I also decided that I wanted to have a job a little closer to home. I have been working in Roy about a 20 minute drive from here which I have loved, but I have gotten so sick of the drive. In July I decided I was also tired of cutting hair in my little kitchen, so I decided to venture out on my own and rent a booth not far from home where I can pay as I go and have a chair and sink for the growing clientele I have. I have loved being on my own and just weeks ago decided that we don't really need my income too much right now, so I have gone to working in Roy one night a week to still have my clients there, but then spend a little more time here building a good clientele so that when my daughter is in school more, I can go to work and be busy there.It will be some long days and quite slow until I have a good clientele, but it will be worth it!
Well that is my year very condensed! I hope you all had a great year as well! I am excited for a new year with new adventures. My goals this year are going to help my family. I am so excited to begin sharing that journey with everyone as well. I am going to take this year and build my food storage and emergency preparedness supplies to get our family prepared how we need to for any situation and I plan to take you with me on that journey. This should be everyone's goals every year, but I know it's hard to find the money and the time.
This blog may end up a food storage and emergency blog with all I'm going to fill it with, but I also want to talk finances and other practical things like that, so please come back often and see what I am doing and get suggestions of things to help your family as well. Happy New Year!
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