Finance Friday: Getting It Together For October
You know I’ve been trying to follow most of the Dave Ramsey Plan right?
Dave Ramsey Plan Review & Summary
- $1000 emergency fund
- Pay off debt
- 3-6 months of expenses REAL emergency fund
- Invest in retirement
- Save for kids to go to college (or start a business)
- Pay off mortgage ASAP
- Invest like a madwoman (I’m paraphrasing that one)
The problem is, I did the written budget, realized we actually had money, and went kind of batsh*t there for a minute - or a month.
From lunches with friends to beer making equipment to taking the kids downtown for the day, my debit card was used, bruised, and abused so much in September I heard it on the phone the other day pitching a Lifetime movie.
With all that, my emergency fund will be shy of the first $1000 goal.
Now for the good news. It’s only going to be short by about $300. Every time Randy gets a paycheck (twice a month, not bi-weekly) $100 goes right into ING Direct Savings. That means we only have to contribute an extra $100 to the savings account sometime during October to make that step one from up there in the list complete.
The big problem
I have a personality that drives to do everything, all at once. I figure out what the steps are, I map out a path, and then I attempt to run like the wind down the path as fast as I can go.
That means I keep trying to pay off too much, too soon, and I get discouraged really easily. Because numbers make me feel downright dumb. Really. Working with a budget and the bills and addition and subtraction makes me feel so very, very stupid.
Feeling stupid can lead to some reckless behavior.
The quick fix
Since I can’t revamp my personality quickly, I’m revamping the plan. I’m trying to make the budget more conservative by giving my categories for the following some extra cash (a.k.a. more breathing room.)
- Randy Entertainment
- Jen Entertainment
- Groceries
- Eating Out
I know, I know. If you are a Dave Ramsey viewer you hear the mantra, “Rice and beans, beans and rice.” You can keep your beans and rice. I believe that eating out once a week is less than most people and perfectly logical to have in the budget. Randy has a full time job and multiple freelance clients. I have two toddlers and blog and freelance and do a multitide of other things to bring cash into the house.
We both need cheap reminders that we are working like dogs for a reason. The future? That’s never enough to get you through tomorrow.
I also think building that little extra into the budget will keep us from having another spendfest like we did in September.
Other habit changes
We stopped drinking Starbucks coffee. We found that the Folgers Dark Silk Roast tastes basically almost like the Sumatra that I was so used to. It’s strong enough that it wakes me up in the morning, but is a little less acidic than the Starbucks. So it’s really better overall. No more acid tummy. Plus Folgers is cheap!
Randy and I made a deal. I’m the one that always wants to eat out (because if it’s cooked by me I don’t eat and then we have that whole almost-an-eating-disorder issue - I like meals now and then.) For any money left over at the end of the month from the “eating out” budget - basically if I don’t spend all the money in that envelope - I get to put it in the ShareBuilder Mutual Fund to either be left in the mutual fund or used to purchase stock.I cannot even tell you how excited I am about this development.
The only thing more important to me than good food brought straight to my table is money brought straight into my bank account.
A Typical Morning
was inspired to write this post by Sam of Temporarily Me. She has this beautiful story about how her kids wake her up in the morning. You just know it’s going to have a happy, fulfilled ending.
So I thought I’d try my hand at what morning looks like…
While it is still dark, I crack open one eye and realize that our 2yo Abby has crawled into my bed and is touching her nose to mine. The feeling of something on my nose used to freak me out, but over time I have gotten used to it.
Abby will see me seeing her and then snuggle on my pillow back under the sheet and sleep for a little while longer.
Sadie knows that if she wakes up and Daddy isn’t awake yet, he’s probably running late for work, so she will walk to the side of the bed and say, “Daddy…daddy…daddy…” however many times it takes until he comes to the surface of whatever dream he’s trapped in and yell at her to stop saying his name. She smiles, knowing her work has been done and comes over to my side of the bed to say, “Good Morning.”
I usually mumble something completely incoherent back at her but always make sure to smile, because when I smile she knows everything is okay. She smiles back and by this time Daddy is out of bed so she goes to find him to tell him, “I’m hungry. I want lunch.” (because every meal in this house is lunch.)
Depending on the schedule, he may or may not have time to get them something to eat. He may or may not remember to turn on Sid the Science Kid or some other toddler-appropirate-so-good-you-don’t-need-to-feel-guilty cartoon and he may or may not kiss me goodbye.
If he doesn’t feed them or turn on the TV, they are on my bed jumping and wrestling with each other until I wake up, which is fairly quick considering when a baby falls from the wrestling match, they fall into my back or stomach depending on which way I’m turned on the bed.
Coffee is wiating for me in the kitchen, because Randy makes his before leaving for work and makes enough that it will keep until I’m up. We have one of those awesome carafe coffeepots so it stays hot and doesn’t get the burned taste from staying on the heater too long. I grab the carafe, a coffee cup, and an english muffin and go to my office to check email and get any last-minute work started that has a tight deadline.
While I do that the kids eat, or watch cartoons, or play with their puzzles or do any number of a million things. Occasionally they will come in (about once every two minutes) and ask, “Is your first cup of coffee done, Mommy?” (Because I have trained the kids that the first cup of coffee is sacred.) When it is done I tell them yes, and then the playing and talking and little-girlishness of my toddlers has an extra room to play in.
My office.
By the time all this happens, it’s about 8:30am.
Abby the Fainting Goat Girl
Ok, it was implied by Thursday’s Child that if I did not have video of my daughter doing her fainting goat impression that it did not exist. I can understand that. We can’t all have blind faith that everything I say about my wacky daughter is true.
But blame thank him if you get sick of can’t stop watching more video on this blog.
All the Little Things Creeping Up
I’m trying to figure out what I want on my new business cards.
They’re going to be all about the www.jennydecki.com site, but by the time they are ordered I’ll have the Non-Toxic Networking book ready for purchase online. (I was going to do a book proposal, but have reconsidered and think I’m going to go through Lulu.)
The index for the book was completed last night! An index! For the book! Randy did it. Went through the book page by page – goodness only knows how because I’m just not that good at the tedious work. The index is what’s going to allow the book to be marketable to libraries – I want my book in a library more than anything.
But I don’t know if I can get away with having a freelance writing business card and merge a book on there. Writer and author sound good on the surface, but…it’s selling two different things. Writing services vs. Networking skills.
Gak.
Which stinks because I kind of know exactly how I want the cards to look and it’s going to be very similar to the banner on the jennydecki page. Simple, right? Well I’m all about the simplicity!
Ok, I’m done rambling. I just have to figure out if I’m making one business card or two business cards. I also kind of need to redo the website so it looks good. Maybe I’ll put it on the jennydecki site and then have the domain forward with masking to that same page. Not sure. Still working it through.
First, I’m going to go lay down for a few minutes. I’m exhausted.
Too many things that need to get done – all of which I’ve avoided while being buried in work. Now they are rearing their ugly heads and making me realize why I’ve buried myself so completely in work.
Oh. I could just add the book to the front page of the jennydecki site. Right now there is an RSS feed there for all three blogs, but that could be a book cover and a blurb in ten minutes.
So many things to think about! Yikes.
