tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11756886275995604992011-12-31T12:44:57.551-05:00We decided to "Live Like No One Else" in September 2008JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.comBlogger961100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-51935390714663913622011-12-31T10:20:00.003-05:002011-12-31T12:44:57.752-05:00

I started keeping an actual bucket list instead of just randomly saying, "that's on my bucket list" this past year and it's been fun to look back over 2011 and see what I accomplished off the list and adding a few new things to it.Things that are coming off the list, because I accomplished them:1. I ran a 5K2. I met my dad this summer, and we just spent Christmas together3. I joined a lunchtime

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-49921375115725378712011-11-25T20:25:00.007-05:002011-11-25T20:52:37.812-05:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! But what comes after Thanksgiving? Well this year, even sooner than usual, came the shopping! I can't say I was thrilled that the sales were starting at 10pm, but I made my list and headed out to tackle a few things and mission was accomplished.Today I was working around the house and the yard a bit and decided when I went to put away some new purchases

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-24843675775547024712011-11-23T13:16:00.003-05:002011-11-23T13:29:16.321-05:00

I am slowly starting to chip away at Christmas, one lunch hour at a time. It's so much easier to get my Christmas shopping done this way than having the pressure of going out once or twice and feeling like I have to get it all done in that tiny window of time. This gives me more time to spread it around, and also more time to shop around and find what I have in mind for people.Right now my life

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-84506752997060957892011-11-20T21:15:00.002-05:002011-11-20T21:22:29.116-05:00

A friend of mine mentioned to me on Facebook the other day that I had a blog. Yeah, welllllll, about that. I admit, life has gotten super busy and I have terribly neglected this poor blog for quite some time. There was just so much more to blog about when we were attacking our debt on a daily basis, and we had so much more of it to tackle. Now that we are down to just my student loans, it's

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-71574533041928319242011-10-09T22:58:00.003-04:002011-10-09T23:17:15.002-04:00

I realized about a year ago that I needed to start exercising more and taking better care of myself. There were a couple of issues with getting started on that, most of them geographic. We sort of live out in the sticks, so finding a fitness option that worked with my work schedule and that didn't break the bank ($$$) was definitely a challenge.So I did something I never ever thought I would do -

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-514143896874438332011-09-03T21:30:00.004-04:002011-10-05T22:41:27.512-04:00

It seems like we've been working at this debt free stuff forever, seriously! It didn't take a short amount of time to get ourselves in trouble, so it only makes sense that it's taking some time to get out of trouble.Good news, the only outstanding debt we have is student loan debt, a total of $8648.12. Not bad considering we started out over $40,000 in debt right?!? We've had a lot come our way

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-74078727052511810282011-06-23T21:56:00.003-04:002011-06-23T22:38:52.303-04:00

It's a bit of a down time for us right now, but we are getting ready to head into the fun full swing! I am so excited for our summer :)We've been keeping plenty busy with trips to the Yankee Springs State Park and the Allegan County Park. Who needs swimming lessons when you have a couple of inflatable rings and you can chant "motor boat, motor boat" a thousand times? Lauren and Nick are getting

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-85159247781047676162011-06-05T22:13:00.002-04:002011-06-05T22:20:00.167-04:00

How much do the Ward's love summer? Let me count the ways!1. Free admission to the Allegan County Park. That's FREE beach access and a nice little playground for the kids. We've already gone once, and it's only the first of many, many trips I am quite sure.2. You can add the yearly admission for the Michigan State Parks to the renewal of license plates for only $10/year! What an amazing deal! We

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-16022112278393206162011-05-03T11:43:00.006-04:002011-05-03T12:16:19.243-04:00

My wonderful husband started working full time again January 2011. It's been a long time coming and we are THRILLED to see full paychecks again. Hoorray!!! When he was hired on, he was hired for day shift, and then through a whole lot of HR drama, ended up being assigned to a third shift position. This has been quite the adjustment for our family! To add to the fun, he has his days (nights?) off

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-35069030872954752142011-04-15T21:20:00.004-04:002011-04-15T21:35:11.603-04:00

For almost 2 years I took a daily medication (beta blocker) to help keep my migraines under control. It worked pretty well, but I still had quite a few bad days where I had to break out the Maxalt. The beta blocker was only costing me $10/month, but the Maxalt fell into the most expensive tier of my insurance, so it would cost me $40/month and that was only for 10 pills. The typical migraine took

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-54275573647209301342011-03-26T22:01:00.003-04:002011-03-26T22:19:50.450-04:00

I have been struggling since my pregnancy with Nick with some weight gain, or I guess the more appropriate phrase would be struggling with weight loss since I have no problem gaining. I was finally starting to feel human again and then BAM, pregnant again! Lauren's 3yrs old now and it's a bit hard to consider my excess weight to be "baby weight" when I am shopping for her in the girls section and

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-61977834897883255942011-03-25T10:15:00.006-04:002011-03-25T10:26:09.568-04:00

I try and keep the focus of this blog on financial goals and activities, but all considering, this very much ties together a lot of financial and personal goals. I have been thinking about putting this "Bucket List" down for quite some time and finally got my thoughts organized enough to begin it.A lot of the reason why Matt and I have been so eager to be debt free is because we want to be able

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-63010862679551718672011-03-11T14:11:00.003-05:002011-03-11T14:18:18.005-05:00

I've been holding out for some time now on replacing my digital camera. I've had mine about 6 years or so, and it wasn't doing so well anymore. It's gone through a lot and has served us well and I will forever be impressed with Canon products after this. We spent some time researching digital cameras and decided on what we wanted:1. Digital SLR2. Canon3. XSi, T1i, or a T2iWhile we preferred to

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-35480590557967945912011-03-09T22:09:00.002-05:002011-03-09T22:23:17.906-05:00

Matt and I have been planning on getting rid of our Pontiac Aztek for quite some time because having 2 large vehicles for our family just seemed so silly. Whenever we all go out as a family, we go in our minivan, so we really didn't need another large vehicle. I was driving the minivan to work every day and that also seemed pretty wasteful.I was pretty specific in what I was looking for: Honda

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-20611008741173789762011-02-18T09:17:00.004-05:002011-03-25T10:25:41.295-04:00

A friend of mine from work commented to me yesterday that she was reading my blog and I admitted to her that I felt bad because I hadn't updated it in so long. What can I say? Life caught up with me and life certainly got crazy really fast. We made it through another "cash only" Christmas with much success. It's not as hard as I thought it would be and it was fun to try and find those best

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-9610321073998443652010-08-13T15:32:00.003-04:002010-08-13T15:53:54.105-04:00

Dave Ramsey talks about how you develop an emotional attachment of sorts to your first credit card, it's like your first teenage love! I never really got what he was talking about until I got a credit card in the mail awhile back for a credit card we have not charged on in YEARS. It was *that* card, the first card that took a chance on me and Matt and gave us credit. The first card that offered

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-23273667914304113542010-07-05T22:20:00.002-04:002011-05-03T12:16:29.224-04:00

We've had one busy summer already and so much more to do! So far we've gone to the Memorial Day Parade, hosted a family game night, went to Scout Day in the Park, went to 2 cookouts at the Y camp, 2 family picnics, Michigan Adventure, went wild berry picking, watched the fireworks on Gun Lake, a week of Vacation Bible School, and gone to the park and swam quite a few times. We've crammed a whole

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-83449450266992086582010-05-26T09:38:00.003-04:002011-05-03T12:16:35.762-04:00

The weather has turned for the better, so it's time for us to start thinking about our summer plans. Obviously we aren't going on a huge expensive vacation, we plan on maybe a couple of smaller things closer to home, but still trying to keep things a bit exciting for the kiddos. Here's just a tiny list of what we hope to do this summer:1. Memorial Day ParadeNathan and Matt will be marching in the

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-90631542427178510332010-05-05T12:29:00.005-04:002010-05-05T12:55:31.623-04:00

The running joke is that I should get a frequent visitor punch card for urgent care since it seems like we are taking a kid there so often that they often recognize us by name when we walk in the door. Now part of that could be the "small town" of it all, or it could just mean that we visit the office more often than your typical family. Today I packed up Nick and we headed out after him being

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-84830613200456054572010-05-02T21:59:00.003-04:002010-05-02T22:01:09.595-04:00

Here's an amazing recipe I've been using for dinner rolls. We've made them a couple of times and they come out sooooo good! Cooks.comHere ya go!1 pkg. yeast1 c. lukewarm water1 egg1/4 c. sugar1 tsp. salt1/4 c. oil3 c. flour, siftedDissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add egg, sugar, salt and oil. Add half the flour, and beat until smooth. Add rest of flour and beat again until smooth. Fill greased

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-59552384185082396382010-05-02T20:53:00.002-04:002010-05-02T20:56:08.969-04:00

What the crap! Have I not done this since February? How is that possible?Starting debt: $39216.30Amount paid: $26,005.30$13,211.00 until we are DEBT FREE We're on a snowball hold since we drained our emergency fund. But, we're intensely trying to get it stocked up again and going!

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-73530832897595556262010-04-14T22:58:00.003-04:002010-04-14T23:07:07.824-04:00

Is it really going back to step 1 if you never did step 1 to begin with? We were fortunate that we had a chunk of change in our savings account to begin with, but now that's all gone gone gone, and we are back to step 1--Building our baby emergency fund.As I stood in the transmission shop yesterday and wrote the check, it made me think back to when we bought our house, and I was shocked to think

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-50602587366476389172010-03-30T22:19:00.003-04:002010-03-30T22:37:46.960-04:00

Lamentations 3:40Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.You know how people tell you when it seems like the world is crashing down that God never gives you more than you can handle? Well I would like to think that God must have amazing trust in my ability to handle things because He has given me a heaping help of stuff to contend with right now! 1. The transmission

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-78111380193796499612010-03-26T22:14:00.003-04:002010-03-26T22:25:25.794-04:00

I like to follow a few frugal blogs and forums, and have been seeing the word "Upcycling" more and more. I am not a hoarder, but I do have problems parting with things and I tend to hold onto things because I know I'll want them later, for something.For example, I buy baby wipes, quite a few of them in fact. What can I say? I have 2 boys, they make a huge mess of themselves, and I have a tomboy

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-19211223015856215402010-03-26T21:57:00.002-04:002010-03-26T22:05:29.827-04:00

Have you had enough? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Do you pay more than you should in "stupid tax"? If you've followed our journey to becoming debt free, then you know that we have been following the Dave Ramsey principles taught in Financial Peace University. We started out by just reading the Total Money Makeover and then running with it. This past fall we finally got to take

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-72995137840733264052010-03-10T14:29:00.003-05:002010-03-10T14:51:44.433-05:00

I know I've mentioned a few different ways that I earn free gift cards and such, but I don't recall if I've ever made a centalized list of all of those. Me? Without a list? Say it ain't so! Having made this realization, I give you:I started "swagging" about a year ago and just installed the search toolbar on my computer figuring a search here or there might add up to something eventually. Around

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-81936584570079676852010-02-21T21:41:00.002-05:002010-02-21T21:51:17.712-05:00

Almost 4 years ago we made the move from urban Metro Detroit to a little township between between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. We love living here and have ZERO plans to move back to "the city" at any time, ever. But every once in awhile something comes up where I think, "Wow I really miss that!"I was visiting my family this weekend, which was a very frugal trip since we haven't sold our house

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-81769990709793007272010-02-18T09:53:00.003-05:002010-02-18T10:05:31.426-05:00

So it's been a little over a year since I started using Savings Angel and I wanted to get some thoughts down on the program.Pros:-Amazing deals!-Centalized list making-Easy access to printable coupons-Supportive community for swapping coupons and non sale dealsCons:-It does cost $20/monthIt took me a long time to wrap my mind around the whole concept of paying $20/month to be a part of the

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-17090148840959839782010-02-11T23:17:00.003-05:002010-02-11T23:27:08.690-05:00

Hard to believe, but today I scheduled the FINAL payment on our credit card. I honestly can't remember a time in our relationship where we haven't had some sort of credit card payment to contend with. It was a long road that we started down, and while the numbers were somewhat fuzzy, I look back and see that of the nearly $40,000 in debt we started with, approximately $12,000 of that was credit

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-79418372218102642172010-02-03T22:13:00.004-05:002010-02-03T22:24:54.847-05:00

I've been experimenting with different bread recipes trying to find one that works for our family. The main criteria being:1. Simple ingredients that I have on hand (yeast, flour, salt, etc)2. Not overly elaborate steps3. Low maintenanceLet's face it, I have 3 kids and I work full time, I don't have time to knead, proof, rinse, repeat, babysit and all that comes with the more common bread recipes

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-41812821432414191562010-01-27T10:24:00.005-05:002010-01-27T10:26:52.085-05:00

I am not wild about the particular ticker that I chose when I started this blog, so I am not really updating it all that much. It's just a pain in the butt and I get more annoyed than excited when I go in to update it.In any case, what I hope to do is a monthly "ticker" update so that I keep myself motivated and on track.Starting debt: $39216.30Amount paid: $21728.30$17,488 until we are DEBT FREE

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-72881693624370196252010-01-22T22:32:00.003-05:002010-01-22T22:46:57.452-05:00

I always joke around that there is breaking news right now: water is wet, the sky is blue, and it gets cold in Michigan. So why is it that people are shocked when snow falls on the ground? We've been pretty much wearing our winter jackets since before Halloween and I anticipate we'll be wearing them through March and possibly into April, you just never know how long it's going to stay that cold

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-32607587551614234472010-01-17T21:11:00.005-05:002010-01-17T21:25:38.746-05:00

When Matt and I first got married at the ripe old ages of 22 and 21 years old, we discovered the wonderful world of prepackaged side dishes. Oh they were so tasty! Who wouldn't love seasoned rice one night, noodles the next, creamy cheesy mashed potatoes the next...The only problem? They were expensive and full of ingredients I couldn't even pronounce! The ingredient thing (oddly enough) didn't

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-39405471360843549512010-01-16T22:41:00.004-05:002010-01-16T22:52:21.653-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about processed foods and budgeting. I am the first to admit that I get caught up in the day to day crazy routine of being a full time working mom and resort to the quick fix dinner, the quick fix lunch, and breakfast in the car. As I was grabbing lunch the other day (Wendy's chili, by absolute weakness!), I started to think about how far I've strayed from basic

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-43384030568573478032010-01-10T22:27:00.002-05:002010-01-10T22:38:51.216-05:00

Ok, so I discovered recently that there is something I do that drives my husband crazy. Kind of shocking that it's taken 10 years of marriage and 2 years of dating to figure this out, but I learn something new every day!It drives Matt crazy that I don't just buy things I want, and even worse than that, I don't really want a whole lot. Needless to say, this makes shopping for gifts a bit of a

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-31742761047474839152010-01-02T21:21:00.002-05:002010-01-02T21:26:47.218-05:00

I am not one to make resolutions, but those who know me well know that if there is a list to be made, I am on it! Sometimes, just for fun, I write lists to organize my other lists, and when that's done, I'll devise a MASTER list to clean up those pesky other lists laying around.So how could I possibly kick of 2010 without a list? If I put it on THE LIST, then I will be compulsively driven to

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-13935740764418632172009-12-31T09:29:00.005-05:002009-12-31T20:43:33.707-05:00

I started doing this quite a few years ago when I was heavy into scrapbooking, and I would make an entire layout for just this. Now that time is limited and I haven't touched the scrapbooks in years, I just tend to reflect on this either in a journal or a blog and try and use it as my launching point for the new year.The GoodJenny was promoted at workNathan finally learned to ride a bike without

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-72689322000556605002009-12-22T23:24:00.004-05:002010-02-03T22:49:21.997-05:00

Sometimes I feel like being frugal is my 3rd full time job, right after working 40"ish" hours a week, and wrangling my 3 kiddos. It does take time to comb through the ads, browse the clearance racks, and clip coupons to get the best deal I possibly can with every dollar. It's great to save the money and stretch those pennies into copper wire, but I really can't wait to get to the point where

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-85500113721782478742009-12-18T11:12:00.002-05:002009-12-18T11:13:11.865-05:00

If I could get my ticker to update, I would post the following:$39,216.30 Starting debt$21,199.98 Debt paid as of 12/18/09$18,016.32 before we are DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-21092207880066340492009-12-18T10:40:00.005-05:002010-02-03T22:52:21.567-05:00

So, I think I am just about done with Christmas shopping, only a couple of straggling gifts to pick up. My budget this year was $300 cash in hand to get the job done and anything I could cut a deal on or get for free was not going to impact the cash reserves.Gifts given that did not cost any cash include:$25 gift cards to Kohl's, Cracker Barrell, Panera Bread, and Olive Garden (MyPoints)$50 in

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-43923985759587280612009-12-17T22:56:00.003-05:002009-12-17T23:05:15.486-05:00

Last night was the last class in Financial Peace University and we did in fact graduate. It was a great experience to actually go through the full 12 weeks with a group of people instead of just reading and doing it on our own. I am a chatty one though, so the small groups made the class way more enjoyable by far.Right now is a tough time of year to really stay "on plan" for us, so the classes

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-19938250695211211792009-11-29T21:54:00.004-05:002010-02-03T22:52:54.063-05:00

This was a HUGE post, and Blogger LOST IT!The highlights:1. I am on budget for Christmas this year2. We did not blow it on Black Friday3. I redeemed $150 in gift cards and used them for Christmas gifts/shopping

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-46393710541770860202009-11-20T13:18:00.002-05:002009-11-20T13:41:00.554-05:00

One thing that Dave really talks about over and over again is how as adults, we have the power to change our family tree and really impact our children by taking control of our finances and modeling to them.Matt and I have really taken this seriously and have worked very hard to be consistent in what we say and do, especially around the kids. Nicholas and Lauren are still way to young to catch on

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-11141683044020204912009-11-16T09:58:00.003-05:002010-02-03T22:53:28.615-05:00

I don't know why, but I am really struggling this year to wrap my arms around Christmas. I know how much money I have to work with, I know who I need to buy for, but nothing is jumping out at me as something I need to cross off my list. Anyone who knows me well knows that I not only do I have lists, I have lists to organize my lists, so to not cross things off my lists is very nerve wracking to

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-86628921078281139462009-11-10T15:04:00.003-05:002009-11-10T15:19:53.530-05:00

This is the time in the year where it's time to stock up and start filling the pantry. Between November and the end of January is when you can find the BEST coupons out there and the most! Usually it's hard to come by coupons and good sales on staples, and with holiday baking creeping up on us, it's the time to start combing through your ads and matching coupons to sales.While you are clipping

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-28040635540838181182009-11-02T09:11:00.002-05:002009-11-02T09:20:44.354-05:00

The holidays are so stressful every year, and when you factor in current economic conditions with the astronomical expectations of your kids and family, well it can be a recipe for disaster!Aside from the small amount of cash we've budgeted for Christmas, we are also using some "found" money as well to fund our Christmas this year. Under no uncertain circumstances will a single penny of our

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-18955837853946568062009-10-30T09:25:00.002-04:002009-10-30T09:37:56.270-04:00

I need to be on the Dave Ramsey bandwagon.Reason #1: Matt's hours at work are almost non-existentReason #2: Did you know Christmas is in December this year????Reason #3: MUST-PAY-OFF-DEBTMatt and I finally got the opportunity to enroll in a Financial Peace University class and we are loving it. We are about at the halfway point and it will carry us through to Christmas, or right near it. What

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-72062840645397519372009-09-11T21:17:00.004-04:002009-09-11T21:30:39.599-04:00

Summer was pretty busy for us. The weather didn't cooperate as much as we would have liked, but we still had quite a bit of fun! We kept things frugal and still had a great time together. I never would have thought a $5 pool from Family Dollar would provide so many hours of entertainment, but that was probably the best summer investment we made! I spent quite a few hours out riding my bike around

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-2057694277030139522009-09-11T21:17:00.001-04:002009-09-11T21:17:44.666-04:00

We are over 50% debt free now!

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-79354483509891659292009-07-25T22:21:00.002-04:002009-07-25T22:27:45.348-04:00

I've been doing the Body for Life workout routine for 3wks now and I've been challenged by the fact that I don't have a weight bench. I bought my handweights with a Target giftcard I was given from work, but the bench has alluded me. I was checking Craigslist, watching SlickDeals, posting on Freecycle and all the usual avenues to a deal, but kept coming up empty. I didn't want to spend a whole

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-68301616418085897922009-07-20T13:07:00.003-04:002009-07-20T13:09:14.790-04:00

That's how long it took us to pay off the loan on our van. We took the loan out in February for 2yrs and knew that it would be paid off much earlier, and in 144 days we did it! We're pretty excited about having that big one out of the way and now we can focus all of our energy (and money!) to paying off the credit card. We haven't used the car since 2007, but there is still a nice chunk of change

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-56732825551962871602009-07-15T13:16:00.002-04:002009-07-15T13:21:35.234-04:00

I tried out a recipe the other day for a beans and rice dish that I have absolutely fallen in love with! It's quick, it's easy, and it's easy to dress up a bit if you have stuff laying around the house.Ingredients3/4 cup dry lentils (brown ones)3/4 cup dry brown rice4 cups water4 beef bouillon cubes (or chicken, vegetable)4 teaspoons chili powder1 teaspoon cumin2 teaspoons onion powder1/2

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-81477632966719175792009-06-26T21:43:00.002-04:002009-06-26T21:50:15.998-04:00

Well it's been nearly a month since I decided to experiment a bit and try out this cash thing that Dave talks about. As a die hard debit card girl, and someone who has a reputation for being a little bit stubborn, this was not a decision made on a whim.It was actually not as bad as I thought it would be! I did cash for groceries, medical expenses, and general household expenses. I did save all

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-6167970324143415812009-06-08T21:40:00.003-04:002009-06-08T21:44:11.848-04:00

Sometimes I feel like a little kid. I find myself asking over and over again, "Are we there yet?" I just want to be done with debt forever so desperately that I feel like this is taking way too long. In reality, it hasn't even been a year. We just turned over our 9th month of our Total Money Make Over and I feel like I was starting to hit a bit of a rut.I am waiting for that turning point where

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-90818457792562128742009-05-30T22:03:00.001-04:002009-05-30T22:06:59.817-04:00

I don't know why, but this week I felt compelled to not only put a budget on paper, but to also start funding envelopes with cash instead of just using my debit card. I think it was having my family visit me for a few days that made me realize that sometimes I really do just whip out the debit card and pay for stuff without really thinking it through. I always do the quick, "Do I have the cash in

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-34971069573266296302009-05-30T16:40:00.002-04:002009-05-30T16:48:34.202-04:00

The weekend before Memorial Day I taught Nathan how to ride his bike sans training wheels. It was a pretty big moment because he was so resistant to trying because if he can't be the best or do it absolutely perfect the first time, he gets really angry and gives up. Well I didn't give him much of a choice and we went to the park together, and when we go there I threw his bike on a picnic table

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-85651736322938457042009-05-25T19:50:00.002-04:002009-05-25T19:56:33.385-04:00

We had a pretty fun weekend and we kept it on the cheap, that's for sure! I had Thursday-Monday off work, so I did attempt a yard sale for a few days, but there just wasn't enough traffic to justify giving up family time for a few bucks and I ended it a day early. We made nearly $100, but I felt like we should have done way better. I loaded up a significant amount of the stuff and just drove it

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-47095430624016897642009-05-19T22:15:00.002-04:002009-05-19T22:20:54.628-04:00

Well when I put my mind to it, $20 can go the distance at the grocery store!Bottle of Centrum vitaminsSweet Baby Ray's dipping sauce2 bottles Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce2 Breyers Ice Cream cartons1 bottle Kraft dressing2 4pks of Danimals yogurt2 4pks of BIC razors4 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats4 Lipton side dishes4 boxes of Wheat Thins1 bottle of A1 Sauce1 box of Frosted FlakesBetween sales and

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-73081983448430987502009-05-19T22:08:00.003-04:002009-05-19T22:11:30.905-04:00

This past week Matt and I took a huge step and officially registered our home based catering business as a partnership. We are official! Now begins the fun stuff, which is working and getting our health department licensing worked out. It's pretty exciting to get going on all of this and see it starting to take shape. It's a great balance for us since I have the type of personality that likes the

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-71094756903019055512009-05-10T23:02:00.000-04:002009-05-10T23:03:07.111-04:00

It's been a long time, but I need to toss it out there!

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-17975302970520671192009-05-10T22:51:00.002-04:002009-05-10T23:02:01.296-04:00

Matt and I are very motivated to get our van paid off as it's something we never wanted to finance to begin with, so I've been putting as much toward it as possible. The thing is that Matt's working full time now, so we do have a bit more in the budget, but at the same time we have to cover daycare and gas, so it's not like we're clearing big bank or anything, plus factor in that there are house

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-89304509468431140522009-05-01T13:29:00.002-04:002009-05-01T13:32:13.654-04:00

I was so excited to get the news about our property taxes that I called our lender right away and fax over the statment from the board of review. Yesterday I got the notice in the mail from the lender that our house payment has been adjusted down about $100 per month and in time for our May 1 payment!Looks like our van loan is going to be much sooner than I thought with the extra cash we've been

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-9038488068594552272009-04-28T12:09:00.003-04:002009-04-28T12:13:53.787-04:00

When we received our tax assessment for the year we did not agree with what they valued our home at and decided to pursue an appeal with the assessor's board of review. We weren't all that optimistic since we knew from the news that they would not be considering any foreclosures in the comparable sales to help determine the property value, but it wasn't all that time consuming to write the appeal

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-81579917944638313312009-04-16T22:25:00.002-04:002009-04-16T22:28:37.882-04:00

So I decided that since money is so tight with Matt not working a full 40hrs/week right now that I needed to buckle down and get something going to move our snowball forward.This month so far I've managed to pull together:$50 in eBay money$30 in a baby gear sale to a co-worker$75 in cloth diaper resaleI also have some mystery shopping money that should be coming around the 20th for about $30 and

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-69626017859871157632009-04-14T13:13:00.002-04:002009-04-14T13:21:10.092-04:00

Tuesday is typically the day I spend my lunch hour doing some shopping since that's when the coupons are all posted and finalized on Savings Angel. I made a quick run to Walgreens and then to Meijer. I'll be making a few more trips into Meijer since they have a couple of deals I want to take full advantage of with a few more trips.Walgreens:4 packs of Mentos gum, 1 bag of Chex mix, package of

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-50484122343232131662009-04-13T23:21:00.003-04:002009-04-13T23:30:34.666-04:00

So how did we manage to pull off a very frugal Easter this year for the kids? Well a huge "shout out" to the Target dollar spot to start with. I have been visiting on my lunch hour and picking up things here and there for the kids. I found a couple of activity books for Nathan there and some markers and Elmo books for Nick...and Lauren, well she's 1, let's just say that she's not old enough to

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-42302180563848831082009-04-13T10:03:00.002-04:002009-04-13T10:20:24.045-04:00

It's finally starting to get nice outside, and I have been motivated to de-clutter our house and get things going towards a yard sale. Not only will that reduce the amount of crap we have piled up everywhere, it will also bring a little bit of cash to the snowball.Yesterday I attacked the mountain of toys in our house and rounded up all the pieces to things that would complete the sets and put

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-14094876370028165312009-04-08T08:10:00.002-04:002009-04-08T08:16:42.142-04:00

Last night I was the mad scientist in my kitchen as I mixed and brewed my first batch of homemade laundry soap. My house smelled like the 50's with me standing there hand shredding my bar of Fels Naptha. It's currently sitting in my laundry area in a covered bucket until this evening when I need to stir it up and see how it worked.This is the recipe I used:1/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha shredded1/2

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-20216213438844696462009-04-07T10:14:00.002-04:002009-04-07T10:28:39.450-04:00

One thing that I have to do as a working mom of 2 kids in diapers, is be on my game to make sure that I #1 have diapers in 2 different sizes for the kids, and #2 am not breaking the bank doing so.So I was thrilled to see some of the diaper deals this week that are to be had, especially since Lauren just moved up from size 3 to 4's and I was down to the last few in the pack and Nick can only fit

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-57775114826884279442009-04-01T15:23:00.002-04:002009-04-01T15:25:46.667-04:00

So a bunch of message boards I belong to are hopping on the Swagbucks wagon. I figured I would sign up and see. I have racked up about 25 bucks in the past few days and I'll see if it's worth it as far as what I can cash them in for. I used to do a similar thing with Blingo, but never seemed to "win" with it, so I gave that up ages ago. This way it looks like I'll be able to "redeem" vs

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-75007874460139507202009-03-25T13:11:00.002-04:002009-03-25T13:18:12.032-04:00

Today on my way into work, I finished the last CD in the Financial Peace University (FPU) kit that a friend let me borrow. I can honestly say that it was worth every single minute I spent listening to it. I feel like I learned so much and I just hope that I can remember some of it when the time comes to move on from babystep #2. I actually am thinking that I might ask them if I can buy the set

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-85752451538593029312009-03-24T20:21:00.002-04:002009-03-24T20:25:32.160-04:00

I haven't really had much to update lately, so I've been quiet. The van window was replaced last Monday, it ended up costing about $250. Not as bad as I expected, and it killed me to tap into the emergency fund for it. Man I wanted to charge it on the credit card and "pay it off" next month!Matt and I had a talk the other night as I was paying bills for month end, and I came to the realization

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-22789267220905867712009-03-16T09:44:00.002-04:002009-03-16T09:49:20.323-04:00

We live in a 3 bedroom home, so you would think that Murphy wouldn't want to come and visit so often, but alas, that is not the case. He seems to visit us more and more often these days.So what did Murphy have in store for us this weekend?I wanted to take the kids for a walk on Saturday to run our Angel Food order up to church, and when I went out to the van to get the stroller, I noticed when I

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-24979456126644573032009-03-14T20:45:00.003-04:002009-03-14T21:03:13.140-04:00

Today I had the chance to share with a few ladies at church about how we are really living like no one else right now. As in, we are clearly focused on eliminating our debts, committing our finances to following Christian principles, and living a frugal lifestyle. It's a whole shift in thinking and living, and it's honestly not for the faint at heart, or for someone trying to keep up with the

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-42195622716404731012009-03-11T21:33:00.001-04:002009-03-11T21:33:58.193-04:00

Just a quick ticker update now that I factored in the new car loan amount.

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-49502710284021922962009-03-11T13:45:00.003-04:002009-03-11T13:47:44.641-04:00

Matt and I are still making progress on our goal of being debt free. It's just hard to claim victory right now because we are just in a low point. Once his paychecks start picking up more with the new camp season we'll really be able to attack things full force.One thing we did do this past week though was we made the decision to downgrade our cell phone plan. I compared our last 3 cell phone

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-54360366679007172712009-03-10T22:16:00.002-04:002009-03-10T22:27:06.136-04:00

So via Savings Angel, I found out about a GREAT diaper deal this week at Walgreens. So knowing that I was going to load up, I recruited some friends at work to print off coupons from me since there is a 2 copy limit from the website (www.coupons.com) per IP address. I work in an office with over a hundred people, and when there are times like this, I am happy to have so many IP addresses to

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-28785464835693866392009-03-10T12:21:00.004-04:002009-03-10T12:29:56.840-04:00

I wanted to post my amazing diaper deal today, but I misplaced 2 of my receipts, so I will have to do that tomorrow. It's a great one, probably one of the best ones ever in fact.But what I will post is my Meijer shopping trip that I did today on my lunch hour. I ran into a co-worker there and she was amazed at the fist full of coupons I had. I had quite a bit in my cart, and I told her that I was

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-82389506860874805922009-03-02T13:05:00.002-05:002009-03-02T13:08:27.092-05:00

Dave certainly tells it straight when he says that once you get on the path to living debt free, you are instantly inviting Murphy (as in Murphy's Law) to visit you on a regular basis. February was a killer month with car accidents and sickness, and here we are on March 2 with more of the sick!Yesterday I had to go to Urgent Care after a car seat installation project gone horribly wrong.

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-20077346988914382712009-02-28T22:23:00.002-05:002009-02-28T22:35:54.929-05:00

We purchased a replacement vehicle on Thursday and I am thrilled! It's been such a struggle to balance me getting to work, Matt getting to work, and all the fun stuff in between like Lauren going to the Dr with pneumonia.We test drove a few Grand Voyager's and looked at a few other older minivans and just didn't get much to choose from. We were ready to buy one from a place down the road from us,

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-935688263226473082009-02-28T22:17:00.003-05:002009-02-28T22:23:11.283-05:00

Dave says to eat lots of beans and rice, and when you get tired of that, eat some rice and beans. Matt and I actually have been eating red beans and rice quite a bit lately, and I have to say it's tasty if done right! We use bacon to make it, and that brings a lot of flavor. We pretty much buy any bacon (READ: CHEAP) that's on sale and I haven't noticed a different in taste at all.I was checking

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-87187063069861811672009-02-25T14:22:00.001-05:002009-02-25T14:22:59.194-05:00

Over $18,000 in debt has been eliminated since September 1, 2008!

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-25903160192761687872009-02-24T08:51:00.003-05:002009-02-24T08:55:24.935-05:00

The claim on the van has been settled. Hooray!As frugal as we are trying to be, I am so glad that I have AAA insurance. They have really worked hard to make this process go smoothly and I really feel that their settlement number to us is very fair. I know that I could probably find some cheapie car insurance company out there, but when you have a claim like this, it's nice to know that you are

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-73628817632089028242009-02-23T11:33:00.002-05:002009-02-23T11:43:25.310-05:00

I was talking to Matt last night about how I am so frustrated right at this moment by our vehicle situation. Thankfully my friend Jill has been able to drive me to work most days, so that leaves Matt with a vehicle in case the kids have an issue (since 2 of 3 have been sick). But that leaves me pretty stranded at work so I can't do errands or shopping on my lunch hour like I've become used to

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-44214382614122664382009-02-19T20:51:00.003-05:002009-02-19T21:02:19.195-05:00

Just wanted to throw it out there some of the shopping I managed to squeeze in today.Walgreens4 packs of BIC razors, 1 bottle of saline solution, 1 tube of Colgate toothpaste, 1 bottle Garnier Fructis Conditioner.Total before sale prices: $34.35Sales: ($5.80)Coupons: ($13.75)Total: $14.80After rebates: $8.46Considering the razors are normally $5.99 for a pack of 4, I am pretty happy with this

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-33008146766830433662009-02-18T22:19:00.002-05:002009-02-18T22:26:56.678-05:00

The final word is in, the van is a total loss. So we are back to the drawing board so to speak. We can't really make a determination where we are financially in this mess until we know how much our insurance is going to pay out on the claim. We looked around online a little bit, and there really aren't many comparable older vehicles for sale in our area to really put it up against, so I am not

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-69117565209559287762009-02-14T21:54:00.003-05:002009-02-14T22:04:02.336-05:00

Just one day after funding our emergency fund back to full status, we welcomed Murphy to our house on Valentine's Day.I was at a conference for work and Matt called because one of his employee's couldn't make it to work. So, I had to leave the conference early so that he could get to work. I was driving home and the roads were a million times better than when I left in the morning, so I was just

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-87200837545240986792009-02-12T10:33:00.002-05:002009-02-12T10:42:31.606-05:00

Our tax returns are coming in and hitting our bank account over the next few days. We already got our state return back, and federal will hit tomorrow. We were expecting a larger return from MI than we ended up getting because we didn't do our property tax piece correctly. Thankfully the state was kind enough to fix our error and adjust our tax return accordingly *snicker*.So this is what we did

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-48381678710887437182009-02-10T22:40:00.003-05:002009-02-10T22:51:08.563-05:00

Tuesday is typically the day of the week I do my shopping. That gives me all of Monday to get coupons in order from the weekend and make sure that I am getting the best price possible from all of my options available.Walgreens:2 rolls of Bounty, Garnier shampoo, saline solution, 2 bottles of FantastikTotal before coupons: $18.81Total after coupons: $9.53Total of mail in rebates: $7.98Net total:

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-51115697822553343132009-02-09T16:57:00.000-05:002009-02-09T16:59:21.236-05:00

Here is the site I use to cut my grocery bill.The monthly investment is $20 and my typical grocery bill is $200/month at the very most.I consider myself a coupon warrior!

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-23848579965705994522009-02-08T21:29:00.002-05:002009-02-08T21:44:35.235-05:00

We had some errands to run this weekend in town and it's quite a process to get 3 kids loaded up in the van and on the road. Not to mention we are trying to be very conservative with our gas in the van, so we don't make a trip for just one thing anymore.So we set out on Saturday with a few things to get taken care of. Stop at Lowe's to exchange a light fixture, a stop at Barnes and Noble to use a

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-67207173363878812372009-02-06T08:17:00.000-05:002009-02-06T08:18:02.581-05:00

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-79591788196389149432009-02-05T14:07:00.002-05:002009-02-05T14:37:48.696-05:00

Here's a fun (long post) taken from Facebook:YOU MAY BE A DAVE RAMSEY FAN IFthe value of your car doubles every time you fill the gas tank!you buy a soda and immediately start calculating how much money you would have in 30 years if you had put that $1.00 into a Roth IRA.…you walk around with money in your wallet.…you see a guy driving a 15 year old car and you think, I wonder if he would sell it

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-1181640210671403912009-02-04T11:18:00.003-05:002009-02-04T11:26:12.568-05:00

So when did we really get excited about paying off our debt? I think it was when we took the plunge and decided to get rid of the Toyota. The reality set in that we were going to be paying that $31.7.52 every single month until the end of time and it was a car that we all couldn't even fit in comfortably anymore. When I ordered new car seats for Nick and moved Lauren out of the infant seat it was

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-48935688478042425122009-02-04T11:03:00.003-05:002009-02-04T11:18:05.974-05:00

So in looking back, I can see that on September 1 we took our first steps towards living like no one else. On that day, I emptied our savings account and left only $1000 towards as our "baby emergency fund". The rest of the money was put towards a smaller credit card bill that we never could seem to be done with. That was also the day that "blow" money was born, money in the pocket of ourselves

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175688627599560499.post-60002053347852333252009-02-04T08:59:00.002-05:002009-02-04T09:24:38.540-05:00

How exactly did we end up in debt? Well, quite honestly we made a lot of bad decisions. We were trying to live at a much higher standard than our income allowed for and when our income went down, our spending didn't.Student Loan: Probably one of the debts I don't regret. I should have taken out less in student loans and tried to pay some of my school expenses out of pocket, but I was just so

JennyWLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101336734095170335noreply@blogger.com2