Finances

When we were first married we were doing well with our finances. We had money in the bank, no debt, and no credit cards. Then... we made some very foolhardy investing decisions. Have you ever heard the saying, “Look, before you leap”? Yeah, that's what we should have done. Instead we read a book or two and jumped in with both feet and all of our savings without throughly researching the investments. We wiped out our savings and racked up loads of debt that took years to pay off.

Thankfully we learned about Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps.

1. Save $1,000 for an emergency fund, (and replace any money taken out)
2. Pay off all debt, (except the house) smallest to largest using the money you were paying on the smallest for the next...repeat...repeat...
3. Save 3-6 months of expenses in a fully-funded emergency fund (replace any money that is used)
4. Invest 15% of your household income for retirement
5. Save for the kids' college
6. Pay off your home early
7. Build wealth and give

It took years to pay off our debt and get a fully funded emergency fund. There have been times we had to use that fully funded emergency fund. It took time to rebuild it.

We are now working on Baby steps 4 - 6 at the same time. We do not yet have 15% going to retirement, but we have increased our savings and have a plan to get there. Alex is only a high school freshmen, but he is already submitting scholarships that he qualifies for and we have plans for him to take CLEP tests. We started paying extra towards the principle of our house, though we had to temporarily stop due to unexpected expenses this past year. We will start paying extra again next month.

It took years of sacrifice. We have a smaller home than many of our friends. We drive older vehicles. Yet, our only debt is the mortgage and some medical bills. We have a goal and a plan to achieve it. At this point we can look back on how far we've come and we can also look ahead to the finish line. It's closer than it has ever been.

Marie-Anne

Ugly Sweater Contest

Yippee! Frank won the Ugly Sweater Contest with the ugly sweater I made him. He won a gift card. The kids helped me make it; Sabrina sewed buttons and Alex helped me figure out how to do the front. 

I spent $4.50 on it. I bought the cheapest sweater and tie the thrift store had. Then I got the felt on sale for 50% off. The rest was stuff we already had at home. I left room for "upgrades" in the future.

Marie-Anne

Cube Decorating Contest

Frank told me about the cube decorating contest two days before the contest. I threw some Christmas stuff we had in a box and gave him some left over wrapping paper to use. With some creativity and some stuff we already owned, Frank won the contest and the gift card that came with it! Free money. 

Marie-Anne 

Buying used games

I scored a great deal at the thrift store. I got seven games that look new for under $20. I checked the prices of these games used on Amazon and they would have been about $85 plus shipping. I wrapped two of them as family gifts for Christmas. The others will be put into play soon.

When buying used games; I have learned to always, always, ALWAYS check to be sure it has instructions, isn't missing pieces, and is in good shape.

Marie-Anne

Thrift Store finds

Today I got a Geo Safari World and two books I Can Draw Sea Creatures and 365 Science Projects & Activities for under $10! Out of curiosity I looked these things up on Amazon and they would be $58. I am quite pleased with my deal.

Marie-Anne

Great find at the thrift store

I buy most of our books from the thrift store. I’d rather get 5 used books for the price of 1 new board book. Yesterday I found a whole bunch of Abeka readers! These books are about $10 (plus shipping) new. I got 13 of these books for $7.59.

Marie-Anne

Bank of America's Museums on Us

Bank of America has a program where you can go to certain museums for free on the first weekend of the month with your debit card. Check it out:

http://museums.bankofamerica.com/

Marie-Anne

Today's Savings

Today I stopped at Wal-Mart right after dropping Frank off and I got $23.27 worth of meat for only $16.31. Later I stopped at Smiths and got $4.94 worth of meat for $3.22. A savings of $8.68

Marie-Anne

I hit the Jackpot at Wal-Mart!

This morning I went to Wal-Mart right after dropping Frank off at work instead of waiting until after the library. I must have got there right after they put the marked down meat out. I got $77.71 worth of meat for $54.39, a savings of $23.32! I’m glad now that I didn’t go get formula last night when we ran out!

Marie-Anne

All Aboard the Coupon Train

On my last shopping trip I paid $78 for $120 in groceries by combining sales and coupons. I just read an article about “coupon trains” where someone mails coupons they don’t use to someone who takes what they need and adds what they don’t want and mails to someone else. My mom mails me coupons she doesn’t use. If any one is interested in joining our Coupon train let me know and I’ll mail what I don’t use to you. You can mail your unused ones to my mom and we all can save money.

Marie-Anne

Cooking for less

In my quest to save money I have looked up a lot of recipes from scratch. I have found simple recipes for everything from applesauce to flour tortillas. Out of the next paycheck I will try a few of them. I have a friend, Bev, who manages to feed her family of 3 on less than $100 a month! If she can do that then I can certainly cut our grocery budget to at least half. That is my mission.
Bev has a great blog that I highly recommend: http://www.christianhomekeeping.com/

Marie-Anne

b-day clubs

These businesses offer B-day clubs that are free to join and you receive discounts or free stuff for your b-day. Cold Stone Creamery, Burger King, McDonalds, Lone Star Steakhouse, Toys R Us, Peter Piper Pizza, Baskin Robbins, Sonic, Denny’s, Famous Dave’s, Dairy Queen, and Red Lobster.

Many other restaurants have coupons on their websites so be sure to check them out before you go out to eat.


Marie-Anne

Free Samples

I signed up for the following freebies. I only used sites that are from the companies, (with the exception of Wal-Mart’s site). Most sites stated 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Quaker mini Delights rice cakes:
http://www.startsampling.com/sm/100545/captureAddress.iphtml?item=100545&source

Total cereal:
http://freesample.totalcereal.com/TotalCranCrunch/Default.aspx

Metamucil and Viva Paper Towels:
http://walmart.triaddigital.com/In-Stores-Now-free-samples.aspx

Bear Naked Granola:
http://www.bearnaked.com/postcards/sample.asp

Betty Crocker Warm Delights Minis:
http://freewarmdelights.bettycrocker.com/WarmDelights/Default.aspx?source=379

Charmin mega-roll extender:
http://www.charmin.com/en_us/pages/extender_request.shtml

Marie-Anne

Valley of Temptation

The other day I was at Wal-Mart walking through the toy clearance aisle. It seemed like every toy Alex wants was there at a good discount. I called Frank and said, “Lo though I walk through the valley of temptation I will spend no money without talking to you.” We decided to buy some out of this paycheck and save them for b-day or Christmas. Then I was talking to my Dad and he said he was going to get Alex some Planet Heroes so I told him I could get them on clearance for $5 each so Alex got some of those too.

This budgeting stuff really makes you stop and think. Always before I would have just got some and put them up for Christmas, but this time I knew it wasn’t in the budget. Our goal of someday owning a house won’t come true if I nickel and dime money we could be saving. At the same time, I’m glad our budget isn’t so rigid that I couldn’t ever get things not in the budget. We talked about it and decided together to budget a certain amount this paycheck for the toys.

Marie-Anne

Thanks a lot Dave!

We’ve been listening to Dave Ramsey for a while. We’ve even read several of his books and watched clips of him on the internet. It took quite a while for me to come around on budgeting. We’d make a budget then I’d want to eat out more often than we agreed, stuff like that. Now I’m even budgeting my spending money! See what my husband and Dave Ramsey have done to me???? I’m not saying I’m staying on budget all the time, but I am trying now. I’m even looking into ways of cutting our utility bill and other costs. Thanks a lot Dave!

Marie-Anne

Alex learns about money

Alex has been saving his money for months to buy a GeoTrax toy. Today I found the most expensive one that he wants on clearance for half off! Instead of being $55 it was $27. I got it, but Alex doesn’t know. When he has enough to pay for it we’ll give it to him. So far he has about $12.

I think it is very good for him to learn at an early age to set a financial goal and work toward it. When I was a kid I would have spent my money on some impulse and certainly never have saved as much as Alex has, (remember he is earning a quarter or fifty cents at a time). So I am pleasantly surprised at his ability to say this toy is the one I want and to resist the impulse to buy another one that he already has the money for.

Marie-Anne

Saving money on kids clothes

For Alex (when we lived in Washington) and Sabrina most of their clothes were given to us. My sister, Jennifer has a one year old so she sent me a lot of Amelia’s outgrown clothes. Since the cousins aren’t living next door or even in the same state no one will know that Sabrina’s clothes are hand-me-downs in excellent shape. When they outgrow the clothes I will pass them on to someone who can use them, sell them at a consignment shop, or donate them to a crises pregnancy center.

For Alex now I shop clearance sales in a size or two bigger than he’s wearing. I also bought some cute dresses in a size or two bigger than Amelia is wearing and when she’s outgrown them I’ll get them back for Sabrina.

Saving money on books

We use the library quite a bit, but I also love owning books. I rarely pay full price for books. I usually buy them from thrift stores, garage sales, Amazon (I include shipping in figuring the cost), or from the friends of the library’s sales. When we get rid of books we either sell them at a used bookstore, garage sale, or donate the kid’s books to the local pregnancy center or to an overseas military program to record deployed parents reading for their kids.

Marie-Anne

Early finance lessons

Wanting all of the Imaginext toys has made Alex learn about money. He may get some for Christmas, but if he wants more than that, he has to do extra chores to earn the money. He has already earned enough and bought the Treasure Keeper to go with his castle. Alex also has about half of what he needs to buy the next one he wants. We will also have him put part of his earnings in a saving account and, of course, pay tithe.

Marie-Anne

Saving on birthdays and Christmas

I shop for b-days and Christmas throughout the year. When I find toys that Alex wants or would love on clearance I get them without him knowing. Right now I have 3 sets of Bob the Builder tools that I got for less than $6 each and a Bob the Builder truck that I got for a dollar cheaper, among other things.

I also get the b-day party stuff, (plates, cups, table cloths…) on clearance or from the dollar store. Several times throughout the year I go to the party store just to see what they have and if anything that Alex would like is on sale or clearance. Last year I got Bob the Builder stuff for a dollar each on clearance. (Since it was just family for his b-day last year I’ll reuse the Bob the Builder stuff next year.) For this b-day I got dinosaur stuff from the dollar store and some more on clearance at the party store. Well, I planned to use the dinosaur stuff this b-day, but Alex asked for firefighter decorations. So hopefully I’ll be able to find some on sale.

How do you save on b-days and Christmas gifts?

Marie-Anne