Going Out? Not before you do your HOMEWORK.

        A collective sigh from all the parents, sigh...today is the final day of spring break. Next week will bring the busyness of school, homework, gymnastic classes, sports practices, lunch packing, getting to school on time chaos.  This escape from reality has been FABULOUS.  So today, on our final day of fabulous slowing down time, we want to enjoy one last activity/outing.
         Yesterday, I had posted on how little I had spent over spring break ($35 in out to eat/dessert/ice cream after the beach/ $5 in entry fees at the beach/ $15 on the movies thanks to a Stubs card discount and free soda coupon for my birthday---totaling only $55 so far.)  in hopes that we could splurge a little with a trip to Orlando when my husband is off work tomorrow and still have money left in our bank account.  But today, my husband IS at work, and the kids and I refuse to stay home on the final day of spring break. 
          Execute bargain brainstorming.  This is something you can do each time you leave your home in hopes of adventure/relaxation/or an outing.  Take stock of any free or reduced perks you might have--but have forgotten about BEFORE leaving your house.

1.  Check out your coupon spot.  Are there any freebies or deals you had tucked away in a file folder on a bulletin board. Perhaps today is the day to redeem those deals you forgot you had.
2.  Groupon?  Do you have unused Groupons in your account? Do they have a Groupon for an activity you would love to do today?  If you have never groupon, here is a link---this is my number favorite deal site on the internet. They have terrific local deals organized so neatly you can easily find what you want, and businesses never hassle me about redeeming them!  If you use this link to sign up, I get $10 in credit

https://www.groupon.com/visitor_referral/h/20dcd094-be9f-4e03-acb3-5b00de05cd5e so high fives to you if you use it! Thanks!!

   Today, bowling might be the activity of choice because I have a Groupon to bowl for 4 I paid $23 for months ago but have not redeemed yet. That would make today's activity cost nothing out of pocket today and truly it is a deal because if I took 4 of us bowling today without a Groupon, it would NOT cost $23. 
3. Gift Certificates? Perhaps you forgot about a gift from a co-worker left over from Christmas? Check your wallet...I have a punch card in my wallet I tend to forget about that allows my kids to ride the carousel at a nearby park I had bought over a year ago at a deep discount.  You may have a certificate for a meal or snack out or a movie ticket tucked away safe in your wallet, but completely forgotten.
4. Check the Calendar....  Many businesses offer discounts or deals on days of the week (kids eat free days, discount days) think of what day of the week it is. If you have a place in mind, check out their website to see if they offer any deals on the day you want to go. Our science museum here does $5 day on Fridays so we avoid going any other day.
5. Think about the memberships you have that you could use. The YMCA pool, zoo memberships, museums ect. We tend to visit the zoo often since we paid for the annual membership and with it comes discounts to many other zoos which we have used for our outings in the past.
      If you come up dry on steps 1-5, then you may just decide to go and pay full price anyways, but you can spend in peace if you know that you attempted to live the life you want with your littles for less.  There is a certain defeat that comes with paying full price and learning after the fact you could have had the same meal or experience for less --if you had done a little homework!

Enjoy a Little Time With a Little Money and Your Little Ones

       Spring Break has sprung! As a teacher, this is just a warm up to summer break, but still I am so welcome and so blessed to spend a week with my children.  We have even had extra time to spend time with friends and volunteer more.  Each morning I start with a little "extra" cleaning---spring cleaning, I guess!  Our family game cabinet was way over due with random pieces and crazy stacking action, as well as my laundry room, bathroom vanities, ugggg.   I am a firm believer if teachers did not have off spring and summer break, teacher's homes, at least my home, would be an avalanche of undone housework.  These breaks allow me to catch up on appointments, organizing, financial planning, But I do know that putting my house together, although fulfilling-----cannot dominate spring break!  Therefore, I have been designating morning (while the kids are in their jammies, still quite sleepy and calm) as cleaning time and then as the clock clicks closer to noon, getting my kids dressed and out of the house around lunchtime. I do not want my kids only memories of spring break to be mommy cleaning!  We have adventured out to the beach, a picnic, a park, swimming at a friend's, dessert outing, goodwill shopping (yes, they like this!) Of course, they all have a similar price tag (free or close it) I do believe my kids have had fun on these small adventures.  Tomorrow will be our final day of this fabulous break, and we will eat lunch at a friend's house and then meet more friends at the community pool. That price tag still matches!  Perfect, that leaves money to enjoy if we would like over the weekend when my husband is off work as well. I am thankful I am not one of those people who think the more money you spend, the more fun you are having.  I challenge you all to see how much fun you can have without spending much money!  Enjoy your kids, enjoy your time off work, enjoy your spouses, and find things you can enjoy with or without a lot of cash.

Party Planning

    Ahhhh, I am officially sitting down to relax for the first time today!  Little time crept in today with a shopping trip for a dog bed (is that a need or want...? we LOVE our fur babies) and a quick run through Publix for fresh fruit for healthy snacks.  Thankfully, I cooked dinner in the CrockPot, so I was able to stay out of the kitchen for a while and squeeze more into my day.
    What seems to be creeping into my mind daily is my kid who is not little.   Our oldest "child" is actually not a child at all at age 18, and t-minus 3 months until graduation.  I am so excited for this event and we have some fab friends and family making the trek to celebrate with us!  Party!!
     I want to celebrate this achievement with no stress of money nor forced cutting of corners, although I am budgeting this will cost a small treasure. How am I tackling this? Gift card stockpiling!
     Each time we get paid, although we are pulling money for retirement accounts and transferring money into savings, I try to save one more way. I grab a gift card to the grocery store and put $30 or $40 on it. Then I bring it home and tuck it away in my safe spot.  My goal is $400 in gift cards by graduation. If we happen to not need them all, we will have no problem easing our summer budget using the rest on regular grocery shopping.  This seems to be an easy, simple way to save for bigger events without mixing the money in a bank account so it is clearly designated for it's purpose.
    Please post your thoughts on this or any other methods to prep for big parties and events!

The Secret to Saving Should Not Be Kept Secret!

     Here it is, as promised, from last night's post.  THE secret we have discovered this past year about how to save significant quantities of cash is contained in this post in an easy to follow step-by-step process.

1.  Open a secondary savings account, one that you cannot access online for easy transfers.  At our credit union, our primary savings account is connected online but the money makeover account we began with just $5 required a visit to the building to withdraw funds.  This sounds like the opposite of what everybody wants with banking by smartphone, texting transfers between accounts, techno-banking boom. But trust me, this trick is hugely helpful!  We socked away dollar after dollar and withdrew only when truly needed.  The extra step of showing up at a physical location to pull money out of savings slowed down spending from that account big time.

2. Set up an automatic withdrawal from your checking account into savings each payday.  The beauty of the automatic transfer is it can never be skipped. Scary to you? If you truly need the money just transfer it right back out. But for us, we kept the amount small ($40) and knew if we had extra we could toss it in along with it with a visit to the bank.  This is the way my retirement accounts get pulled from my paychecks as well so I can never skip tucking away money for retirement.

3.  When the money surprises come up-the good ones- try to put part (if not more---I follow the rule of thirds save/spend/debt) away in your savings. Just like cutting calories can slow and steadily shed weight, every effort to save results in a higher balance and in time even $5 bills can add up to large amounts.

4. Try to forget you have a hard-to-get savings account. When your checking account balance starts to wane, live like you are broke; slow down or stop the spending.  Do not pull the money unless it is necessary (i.e. a large, unexpected bill, a miscalculation in a budget leaving you short, a fabulous deal on something you were in the market to buy when the timing was right.)

      These steps took our savings account from $5 to $5400 in six months, along with another $600 tucked away in retirement.  That amount has since been drained some (we were pushing hard trying to win a contest) but I am confident we could get our balance back by following the above steps.  

      Any other savings tips you have to build savings accounts are wanted and welcomed!!!

Disappearing Dollar$

     I have never owned a new car, I am sure it is amazing to drive and have a brand new, never been owned vehicle, and I can certainly see how one would enjoy that experience. But truly, I do not think I will EVER buy a new car.  Even regardless of my income, or my savings- I just do not enjoy overspending.
     Last month, my husband and I did something we have NEVER done before. Our teenager recently began her first job at  a restaurant. Restaurant hours of late nights and weekends coupled with my early morning work schedule meant only one thing. It was time to bring in another car. Finding a car that met all of our criteria and our budget was not easy. But after a few months,  a perk of my husband's job building and installing custom cabinetry paid off. At a job site, he found our next vehicle: a 2001 Cadillac Deville with 90,000 miles. Sold. FOR CASH.
     In the past each vehicle purchase brought along with it a car payment, which served a very annoying purpose---keeping up poor.  Large chunks from our bank account were forked out each month, leaving us some crumbs to attempt to improve our situation.  By paying cash for our next vehicle, our monthly budget was not affected at all, but what I think felt even better? Having the freedom to say, "I like that car. I think I will buy it." and driving to the bank to pull out the cash. {A year ago, this freedom would not have been possible. It was only through our serious saving plan we began in May that the money was there in the first place.  I do believe I discovered the secret to saving a good portion of money and will blog on this topic next time.)
    I understand this is not for everybody, and certainly some readers are rolling their eyes in exasperation at the idea of driving an old car.  Whatever will the world think of us?
      Here is what I am thinking.   Fourteen years ago, this car sold for $43,000.  We bought it for $2,000. $41,000 has gone to line the pockets of some corporation.  The same thing happens with phones, computers, clothes, toys and still Americans are willing to spend until they are maxed out on these items that will soon be worth close to nothing compared to the cash they spent on them.  As for me and my family, we will continue to purchase used when we can to propel our family forward as we continue to build our financial fitness.
     What about you? Would you ever buy used?

Goooooooooals!

     Morning radio is more talk than music it seems, and that is typically not my thing. I tend to flip the channel quickly when someone starts talking because I just want to zone out and not think for a bit on my ride to work.  But this morning, a radio dj did her job. I actually listened to not only her sentence, but her whole dialogue.  Even more surprising, I liked what she had to say, and I am going to try it.
     Each month she and her husband sit down and set a few goals for the new month. They can be dietary, fitness, financial or truly anything; but they are quick little attainable goals for the month.
      That is exactly my style. I love goals, and short-term goals are things I could actually succeed at!
So here they are:
My March 2015 Goals
1. Save $168 each paycheck we receive in the household---random number it may seem, but in my budget this dollar amount hits my target to pay back $2000 we paid for a used car in February by summertime.
2.  Plank 60 seconds continuously.  I started planking back in January of this year after seeing a fabulous drawing of the many muscles used in a plank. At first, they were sad (to the point hubby said, "that is not a plank") and short. But I am currently at 40 seconds and believe a second more each day (like 41 seconds tomorrow, 42 the day after that) will have me there by April.
3. Pray before getting on Facebook. Every day. Because all things trump Facebook, especially my maker.
4.  Create a do-it-yourself project in each child's room that each children can contribute to, work on, and feel the joy of improving their space.  My son's project was actually started tonight, and I will have to blog on it once it is complete. It is seeming like it will be awesome!!!

I would LOVE to check each of these goals off the list by April 1st and I think this could be a new addition for me life. Who would like to join with me? Who is willing to share their goals on my blog? I would love to cheer you on! There is something to be said for writing goals down as well---they are far more likely to be met when they are verbalized.  If nothing else, just post that you have set a goal but are keeping it private if you must.  Continue moving forward and making more of your life with little-little time, little kids, little money.

Money Makeover Time!

     If you are a local reader, I strongly recommend using VyStar Credit Union for your banking needs.  We have found this bank to be the fairest as far as fees and interest rates.  But they go above and beyond than handling your money as a bank would. They are actually great financial educators.  They strive to encourage their members to save money and reduce debt.
     In May 2014, we began their "Money Makeover".  It did involve eating a large slice of humble pie, and bringing a (then) stranger into our circle of trust.  This was worse that being naked in front of a stranger. Our money coach had access to our financial situation--all of it, uncensored.
     For six months, we met with her regularly. We reviewed where our money went each paycheck and how much progress we had made by saving and paying down debt.  Unfortunately, we did not win the contest---(which could have been up to $8,000 in prize money!) but my husband and I agree we DID win. We learned something more valuable. We learned how to save our money, live within our means, and significantly reduce debts.  At the end of the contest, November 1st, we were free to do whatever we would like with our savings.  I had dreamed about spending the savings the entire contest.  But something strange happened. Even when it didn't matter if we saved or we spent since the contest was over---we chose to save!  It is time for a new crew of money makeover contestants to apply- and eventually win.  If you are local I strongly suggest you apply, regardless of your financial picture.  There is always room for improvement. Here is the link http://www.vystarcu.org/home/news/current/moneymakeover
If you are out of the area, there are directions for how to complete your own money makeover as well.
      I would love to see one of my readers apply!  This had been a game changer for our entire family and the best financial decision I have ever made.  Good Luck!