As I listened, I tried to pay attention for something for which to write about for my last post of the month. In lesson 4, dumping debt, Dave says that he knows that he can often identify callers who “have it”, and those that don’t. Those that “have it” are angry, and ready to get out of debt. They find no excuses, have no reason to delay it. They get on board, and they get on board quickly. I would be one of these callers. J would not. He’s a bit more inclined to not own up to things right away. He needs to be knocked around a bit before he sees things accurately, which is why we’re a perfect match. For every bully, there is a wimp.

Our Baby Emergency Fund has a little gremlin that we call Dave Murphy. Any time it gets funded, something happens, and he takes all the money out. We’re 4 months into our Financial Peace journey, and are back to Baby Step 1.. re-again. We’ve had 2 yard sales, we’ve sold a jet ski, cut out our retirement, sold our van, gone to the bare bones for insurance, cut out trash service. We’re still holding onto our cable services. I’m in my final semester of my graduate degree, and internet service is a necessity for us at the moment based on our circumstances. But we have to dig deeper. We have to find a way to get it funded again. We’ve been trying to sell our hot tub, and hopefully, since hot tub weather is nearly here, it will sell. So, I’m going to cut the price again, and all but give the thing away to get our Baby Emergency Fund re-re-funded.

J has a meeting with the manager of the local Domino’s tomorrow. He’s to take in his driving record, and we suspect he’ll be hired on the spot. That will certainly help in getting it funded. We’re also looking to sell Jason’s truck to knock out the 8k debt, leaving us with only one left from the medical bills of our daughter.  My comprehensive exams are next week, and once that is over, I’m going to see about getting a job at Kohl’s as a seasonal employee.  We’re starting to prepare for July. In July, my student loans will come a knockin’. My girls will definitely not graduate from college in debt. Through FPU, I’ve learned about ESA’s, and as soon as we complete Baby Step 3, we’re going to start funding these college funds. Current law allows a 2k year contribution. Our oldest is 2, which seems awful young, but each year we aren’t contributing is a year that her fund will miss out on the compounded interest that would make the 2k per year starting at age 0 until age 18 nearly 200k. There are many steps to get from here to there, but it is important to keep an ear to the ground to be ready, to have a game plan.

One thing that Dave said in the same lesson about those that are going to “make it” is that when your broke friends are making fun of you, you know that you’re doing it right. Some family members have been a little worried, accusing us of joining a cult and such, but I guess I have great taste in friends, because my broke friends are checking out Dave’s books, they’re funding emergency funds. I’m such a convert, so determined to get out of debt as soon as possible, that I’m going to be co-teaching FPU starting in November. It’s offered through my church, but anyone can attend. The next session is going to start on the tail end of a sermon series on debt- in anticipation of the holidays. It is my hope and prayer that my broke friends will join me at least for the FPU. It’s the best $93 I’ve ever spent. 10 years from now when I’ve changed my family tree, and I’m giving like no one else, in the memory of my daughter, I’ll be even more thankful of the small investment. After I’ve co-taught a lesson, then I’ll start teaching my own FPU courses. The lessons learned during the 14 weeks don’t end at the 14 weeks. After listening to the DVD’s (which come with the $93), I’ve learned more, and I know that as I do the course as an instructor, I’ll learn even more. J and I are a bit deficient in the life insurance part. I have none. Nada. Zip. What he has is what is offered at work.

Very quickly, before I close, in speaking of the Holiday’s, I noticed that the Coinstar at our grocery store doesn’t charge if you get an Amazon,com gift certificate from your coins. So, we’re emptying Piggy Banks. We got… ha… $93 out of one. No trips to the mall. It eliminates impulse purchases, and “gotta have its”. We’ve got 2 more to empty so that we can go get plastic stuff for our kids.

The last thing that I re-heard, not for the first time, but I was like “Oh yeah”, was that Prayer really does work. It does. It does. I’ve no doubt that God led me to Dave Ramsey’s program because I prayed for help with finances. If there are any two people that are a testimony to how much things can change in 14 short weeks, it is us. I can’t even begin to tell you of the denial that I was living in, and of the lengths J was going to hide it from me. After 14 weeks, J and I are caught up on our bills, and are working with one another, not against one another. More importantly, is that Jason has become a Christian. The promise and the proof that he was seeing after doing it God’s way, not only financially, but in every aspect of our lives was the evidence he needed.

~Manda

This morning, J told his boss that he’d be unable to go. We’re okay with it. We were very excited about it 6 months ago, planned the trips we would take while in the San Diego area. But now we’re more excited about the opportunity to be debt free in 2 years. We can’t throw away all the lessons learned in the last 13 weeks for a trip that, as those striving for Financial Peace, those doing what rich people do, can’t afford. If I’m honest, we’re quite proud of our decision. We’re delaying instant gratification and instead walking the path of Financial Peace.

We’re living like no one else, so that later, we can live like no one else [and take a trip to San Diego that we pay for with cash!]

~Manda

The thing that J and I learned is that both partners have to be actively involved in the financial part of a marriage. Dave hosts a TV show on the Fox financial channel. He’s dubbed Friday’s as Debt Free Friday’s. People who have completed their debt snowball call in and celebrate the achievement. Before hanging up, they get to yell “I’m Debt Free”. In the interview, the wife and/or husband always report that being on the same page is an integral part of succeeding and becoming debt free.

J and I have had to learn to relate to money. The true state of our financial indebtedness was revealed to me over the course of FPU, not just in any particular week. It had to come to a point where I demanded that we get the new checking account open, and that I see the physical or virtual copies of our bills. All were caught up, except 2. As far as I knew, they were all caught up. I can’t pretend to explain J’s motivations, I only know what he’s told me: that he wanted me to take over the bills with all them up to date. The lesson learned is that if all had been laid out on the table during week 2 in Relating with Money, I believe that we’d be farther along now. J removes his band-aid as slowly as possible. He hates conflict. I’m a rip it off and get it over with type, and I thrive on confrontation.

That’s just one of our differences. Dave explains the differences between men and women. Women need financial security, and I am no exception. Opposites attract and marriages typically contain a free spirit and a nerd. J is our free spirit, and I am the nerd. No doubt, our financial situation would be better had I been the Nerd I should have been. It was just too easy over the last two years to let Jason take the stress of the medical bills from our daughter, our diminished income due to my no longer being an active member of the work-force. I suspected all was not well, but that is where my involvement ended. With suspicion. And yet I dared to be angry with him, to blame him, when, if I’m being honest, I’m at just as much fault as he. Finances in a marriage is not a one person show. No matter who “earns the money”. Both should know what is coming in, and every dollar that leaves should be accounted for. It is always time to budget, no matter how inconvenient it is. Both must be bothered. Both most be active and to get on the same page in order to acheive FPU. Thirteen weeks ago, J and I weren’t even in the same book.

J and I missed our final class (and church) because our Dave car wouldn’t turn over. We discovered it had an alarm, but not how to turn it off. We had to disconnect the battery in order to keep the neighbors from mobbing our house. The air conditioning went out in J’s truck, so we decided to stay at home today instead of subjecting the girls to today’s heat. I was disappointed to have missed today in order to celebrate our class. A few of us attacked our debt with Gazelle intensity. The class has been life changing for J and myself. I hope that in a year, maybe 2, we’ll be calling Dave one Friday (if I gather the nerve) to scream “We’re debt free”.

~Manda

As a new parent, I wanted to provide the best possible nutrition available, which- to me- meant homemade purees made from organic produce. As my oldest grew past purees, I started to spend more and more and more on organic food. She’s two now, and I’ve given up on most organics, except milk, and cereal, and a few other products. It’s a definite change from when everything was organic.  No doubt, I could save money by purchasing organic produce and making her food.  I loved making baby food last time, but now, every minute I have that isn’t tied up in something related to my children is rare, and I guard it selfishly.  If prepackaged organic food can be purchased, purchase it I will.  As a result, W, the baby isn’t getting homemade organic purees; she’s getting Gerber Organics. It’s a budget buster, but it makes me feel better to give her developing body and immune system the best.  I even went so far to get coupons off of ebay, something that it pains me to do, to make up the difference in price between organic and non-organic.

Children’s developing bodies are especially vulnerable to toxins and they may be at risk of higher exposure. Baby food is often made up of condensed fruits or vegetables, potentially concentrating pesticide residues.

But, here comes the big fat BUT. It is possible, and even cost effective, to go more green when raising a baby. The first is cloth diapering. Ewwww. Right? No. No ewwww. Poop in cloth is just as gross as poop in disposables. Poop is poop. My oldest, A, outgrew her cloth diapers, so I made plans to potty train her. Everything was on track for early potty training until the baby was born. When I don’t have time to set the timer, or the energy to clean up pee spots on the (thank goodness) hardwood floors, I put her in pull-ups. Each and every time I go to the store to buy diapers, I come home with a resolve to get serious about this potty training thing. The truth is that using cloth diapers saves an estimated 3,000 per child. I think that’s incentive enough to at least look out the new options in cloth diapering instead of just dismissing the practice as archaic and gross. When using disposables, you pay for the convenience. You really don’t realize how badly disposable diapers stink until you’ve had your baby’s bum in cloth. Since this is a blog on budgeting, I’ll stick to that sensibility, although there are many many others when considering cloth diapers.

Another way to save money going green is with your cleaning products. Make them yourself. Yup, that’s right. Get some vinegar, some baking soda, some essential oils, and make them your self. Then feel confident when you put your baby down on your clean floors that s/he isn’t getting covered in chemicals. It’s so simple it’s stupid really. Why pay money to make your home toxic? If you have a swiffer wet-jet you love, hack it into an eco-friendly version AND save money by not wasting your money on refill solution and pads.

Since starting FPU, I’ve become aware of the link between the “natural living” community and frugality. One naturally leads to the other in some cases. My reasons for cloth diapering weren’t primarily related to saving money, that was just a plus to me. It was during a time where I’d pay $1-$2 more for something organic instead of store generics. I knew that the price difference added up, somewhere. But, for now, as Dave says, we’re living like no one else, so later- we can live like no one else.

• Consumer Reports- When it pays to buy organic
• Natural Living Forum- Diaper Traders
• Green Family Forum- Diaper Swappers
• Green Mommies Forum- Just Mommies

~Manda

Here are some solutions we have come up with to help reduce the spending on gas.

1. My husband can stay the night at a relatives house a few days a week.
2. I can make sure I go into “town” with him to get all my shopping done.
3. We have looked into bus routes. This is not our favorite option because it takes so much longer having to transfer and wait for buses.
4. Commute with a co-worker. This doesn’t always work and I would explain but it’s too much to get into right now.

Other people taking about the gas prices.

Aaron – Looking Forward!!! Dave Ramsey “Gazelle” Intensity Is Back & High Gas Prices Are Choking It!!!
Forum Discussion – Dave Ramsey on gas prices.

Dave Ramsey on gas prices.

The banking mistake we made cost us $136 ($34 was removed after I called a begged for a break) in overdraft fees. The six transactions made were all things that could have been allocated to the cash envelope. I vowed for this type of mistake never to happen again the last time it happen so I really upset about it. The last thing we needed was to fork over $106 to overdraft fees. So once again we need to refocus and reevaluate our priorities.

Keeping track of our finances properly needs to be a priority. The cash envelope system works very well when we actually use it. The cash envelope system is easy and but it does require self discipline. Dave Ramsey offers a very cool cash flow wallet with some of the package deals but if you don’t want or can’t afford to buy a wallet then you can make your own system.

How to Use the Cash Envelope System

Supplies Needed

1. Large Envelopes (No. 10 or larger), One for each category. You also might want to get one large manila envelope to keep all your cash envelopes in.
2. Pencil and Pen
3. Cash

The first thing you are going to need to do is decide what you are going to pay cash for. Dave Ramsey recommends using cash for the following categories;

• Food (all food purchases, including fast food)
• gasoline and oil
• car repairs
• clothing
• cleaning/laundry
• baby-sitter
• toiletries
• cosmetics
• hair care
• entertainment
• blow money (money you know you are going to spend that doesn’t have a designated category).

Some of these items can be combined with other categories. For example, cosmetics and hair care can be combined. You can probably get away with using 6 envelopes but if you need more that’s fine too.

The basic idea of the envelope system is very simple. You deposit and withdraw money into your envelope just as you would into your bank account. You must keep track of the cash flow otherwise the envelope system will not work properly. The ledger can look something like what I have below. The cash envelope system offered by Dave Ramsey uses the same format.

Date            Where                                 $<>                                 Balance

1/20              Paycheck                          $100                                $100

1/21                Grocery                           <25 >                              $75

1/22                Fast Food                         <10>                              $65
In order for the envelope system to work you need to be using a budget that determines how much money goes into each category. The allocated spending sheet offered by Dave Ramsey is a very good way to keep track of weekly spending. Not everyone gets paid the same way so the allocated spending sheet allows you to customize your budgeting. For example, if you got paid once a month you could allocate monies to different categories at the start of the pay period. If your paychecks come in weekly or bi-weekly you may need to split your monthly budgeted money for each category differently for each week.

Let say I have budgeted $400 for the month for the “Food” category, but our paychecks come in weekly. I would use the allocated spending sheet to determine how much of our weekly paycheck will go to the food category. I might choose to allocate $100 each week or maybe $100 in week one, $125 in week two, $75 in week 3, and $100 in week four. The reason I might choose to do the latter is because one week a large bill (like the rent or mortgage payment) might be due the week that I have opted to spend $75 on food. Each category will need this kind of attention for the envelope system to work best.

What happens to many people who try a budget and fail is the failure to properly manage the budget. It does take some work but once you have the first three months budgeted it does get a lot easier. I highly recommend using the allocated spending sheet, especially if you are just getting started with a budget. The spending sheet helps you to break down your spending into manageable portions.

If you are like I was when I first started using a budget, the thought of using more than one form is overwhelming but what I found is that the second form really helped me keep on track.

My Top 5 Financial Goals for 2008

1. Increase income through blogging to at least $1,000 a month. I hope to increase my income by continuing to blog on my existing blogs as well as two other blogs I plan to start this year. I also hope that my income will increase through a few other online ventures.
2. Save over $1,000 for emergency fund. We have found that $1,000 is not enough of a cushion. Our cars are getting old and need a lot of repairs
3. Reduce debt by $5,000. This is going to be a difficult goal to accomplish for us but I think it’s a goal worth setting.
4. Be more consistent with my budgeting. I am a firm believer in budgeting but truth be told, I sometimes miss a few months of budgeting in a year. Each time I do this I loose focus which usually causes ciaos.
5. Give more. We regularly give to our church but I want to step up my giving to people in need. I want to have a budgeted section for extra giving.

So these are my goals. Do you have any goals? Please share

Money money money money
Originally uploaded by skettalee

Debt

David presents How to Eliminate Credit Card Debt posted at Worldwide Success.

Pinyo presents My Foray into Prosper as a P2P Lender posted at Moolanomy.

glblguy presents Chase doesn’t really love me they just act like it posted at Gather Little By Little.

Alison presents The Story Of Our Emergency Fund posted at This Wasn’t in The Plan.

Free From Broke presents Family – Can’t Live With ‘Em…Unless It Helps Debt posted at Free From Broke.

monawea presents Why Baby Steps Are So Important – Decision Happen Now, Results Take Time posted at Time To Budget.

Investing

Value Seeker presents Why Most Investors Underperform The Market posted at Stock Investing.

Dereck Coatney presents How To Make A Million Dollars In About 8 Years posted at The Best Stock Trading in the World.

The Investor’s Journal presents Lessons from the Dot-com Bubble posted at The Investor’s Journal.

Super Saver presents Staying Calm In A Volatile Market posted at My Wealth Builder.

FIRE Finance presents Our 7 Mutual Fund Investing Mistakes! posted at FIRE Finance.

Brip Blap presents learning to walk away posted at brip blap.

Pivotal Investor presents Top 10 Growth Stocks For Under $10 posted at Pivotal Investing.

Net Worth

Jacob presents Early Retirement Extreme: On how car dealerships helped me save money posted at Early Retirement Extreme.

Business

Woody Maxim presents What will you do with the message? posted at Woody Maxim.

Blaine presents Something From Nothing- Think Big, Start Small posted at BlainePower.com.

Sutocu presents Domain Name as a Business Brand posted at Your Website Profit.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How Christmas Can Cost Your Life’s Savings posted at The Digerati Life.

Peter25 presents Building Relationships For Business Growth posted at Business Opportunities.

Blaine presents Business venture is starting to take root posted at BlainePower.com.

Kenton Newby presents Can You Really Make Money Showing People “How To”? posted at KentonNewby.com.

Credit

Credit Help presents Do Capital One Credit Cards Work Abroad? posted at The Truth About CreditCards.com.

Ted presents Using a Credit Card in College posted at The Campus Grotto.

General

FMF presents Sumo Omni: My Son’s Dream Come True (And How You Can Win One) posted at Free Money Finance.

James D. Brausch presents The $200 Horse posted at jamesbrausch.com.

Lynnae presents How Much Emergency Fund Do You Need? posted at beingfrugal.net.

JS presents Six True Stories of People Who Found Cash and Turned it In. Part 2 posted at Smart Money Daily.

paidtwice presents My Lack of Organization Costs Me Money posted at I’ve Paid For This Twice Already….

Ashley presents Why Didn’t I Major in Finance? posted at College of Cash.

supermom_in_ny presents Do You Have Money You Don’t Know About? posted at Getting Out of Debt.

Madison presents Volunteer Income Tax Assistance posted at My Dollar Plan.

Raymond presents Sometimes Saving Money Isn’t Worth The Extra Time and Effort posted at Money Blue Book.

Eden presents What I Have Learned Since Starting My ‘Finance and Fat’ Turnaround posted at Finance and Fat.

Paula presents Sleeping With Money: Going Along for the Ride posted at Queercents.

David presents Customer Service At Its Best – Thanks SmugMug. posted at My Two Dollars.

Blaine presents Frugality, America’s worst nightmare posted at BlainePower.com.

Joshua C. Karlin presents An Amazing Story posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How Christmas Can Cost Your Life’s Savings posted at The Digerati Life.

wilson ng presents No Luggage, No Hand Carrys in the Final Journey of Life posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife.

JP presents Being frugal posted at Watch Me Become A Millionaire.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Money stories. Submit your articles to the next carnival here.

The community blog would be one where members could join for free and set up their own blog but the posts would be seen on the homepage of the community site (home site address  would be something like timetobudget.com/community). Anyway, let me know what you think! Do you think a community blog site would be useful?

There is usually at least one person in the family that likes to spend money. Some husbands have to deal with a wife that won’t stop spending as well as some wives have to deal with a husband that won’t stop spending. Usually in this type of home one spouse is off doing one thing as the other is trying to keep things together. Is this type of home at all capable of gaining financial freedom? I say no. Not unless someone is will to make some changes.

As a couple the journey toward financial freedom needs to be something you do together. It is extremely difficult and even impossible for one spouse to get out of debt when the other is creating debt on weekly shopping sprees.  Strangely enough neither my husband or I are a spender. Sure we would both like to spend money but by nature we are more of the thrifty types. Though neither of us had to adjust our spending habits in a dramatic way, we still had to learn how to join together as husband and wife and change our spending habits.

As I have said many times before, getting out of debt is not easy. It takes deciding your are going to change and acting on those discussions. I encourage you to sit down with your spouse, whether they are the spender or saver, and talk about your finances like adults. By “like adults” I mean, don’t play the blame game. You probably both got yourselves into this mess so it’s now time to talk about how to get out of it.  Of course you probably already know I recommend Dave Ramsey for sound financial advice.