31 Days Ago

Exactly 31 days ago I was laid off from my job and I never dreamed it would take me this long to find a new one.  The waiting, not knowing, waiting, feeling let down, waiting, feeling powerless, waiting, feeling unsettled and more waiting has been a challenge to say the least.

For the last 10 years I have been a real estate software system administrator, but throughout the last month I have often wondered if I should just go out and get any job I can find locally (Staples, any office job, etc) just to have some income.  While the logical part of my brain says "Yes, we need some money!", I feel like the voice deep down inside is saying to just hold on and the right job will manifest very soon. 

I have applied for 5 positions, had multiple first calls and 3 phone interviews so far with another scheduled tomorrow.  I am hopeful that at least one of these will work out; however, it would be nice to have more than one offer to choose from.

One thing all of this time has allowed me to do it get back to writing blog posts; in the beginning I was pretty down and just tried to stay busy as to not think about my current situation...and frankly, I just had a mental block from all of the stress and uncertainty.  However, once all of the busyness came to an end I have found the writing to come more easily than it ever could have in those first couple of weeks.

In addition to writing I've been able to do the following:

1. Clear out a bit of clutter from our home...not near as much as I should have, but definitely more than I had cleared out previously  
2. Knit adorable baby bibs for 2 friends who have recently had little girls :)  
3. Get into a routine of exercising each morning and getting up early, which I never did even before the job loss
4. Work more on tweaking our budget
5. Take a webinar about becoming a financial coach...I definitely want to get into that one day!
6. Reconnect with family and friends  
7. Think and dream about our future
8. Reconnect with myself and my passions

A friend shared this on Facebook yesterday and it seemed perfect for the season of life I am going through right now.  It's such an awesome reminder that God is there and that He will never leave us regardless of how hopeless we may feel sometimes.

Meraki (n.): The soul, creativity, or love put into something; the essence of yourself that is put into your work.

I'm thankful to have had this time to regain my meraki and reconnect with myself and the things I am passionate about. Until then sweet friends, may you live your life with passion, creativity and love :)

Debt Pay-Off Totals and Some Perspective

Bonjour and welcome!

Today I want to talk about debt pay-off totals...yay, right?!?  No really, it is a happy topic :)

My husband and I have been really hard core budgeting for 2 years (next month) and during that time we have had times of physical injuries, job changes, job loss, unexpected expenses and also times of amazing blessings.  A couple weeks ago I was feeling a little blah about our debt pay-off and wanted to know exactly how much we had paid off during these last 2 years.  Sometimes it is easy to just look at the task ahead (ie. debt pay-off) and feel like you are trudging through with no end in sight.  It is in those time where I find it helpful to get a little perspective and look back at the accomplishments to see just how far we have come.  So, drum-roll please.....

Total Debt by Year
2016 - 49,716
2017 - 36,844
2018 - 30,684 (as of the end of May)

Total Debt Pay-Off by Year
2017 - 12,872
2018 - 6,160 (as of the end of May)

This means that even with all of the struggles and things we have gone through we are $19,032 less in debt than we were 2 years ago!  WooHoo!!!

Our goal it to be completely out of debt by June of next year and I believe we can do it!  I know that is a big goal, but we serve a big God and He wants us out of debt as much as we want to be out of debt.  We are on our path to financial freedom and nothing can stop us; we may experience bumps in the road, but we will not stop until we achieve our financial independence.

How is your debt pay-off coming along?  If you have not yet started your journey, please join us, we would love to have you along!  If you have never done a budget and do not even know where to start, check out my last blog post and give my budget template a go.  What kind of life could you live without any debt?

Until next time, have a meraki day!

Who Has Time For a Monthly Budget? Not Many Apparently :(

Yesterday I posted a question on Facebook asking who used a monthly budget and if not, why? 
Of my 565 friends only 5 responded...seriously, only 5!  That's less than 100th of a percent!
Here are the 5 replies I received:

1. I tried. I do somewhat. Fear of seeing how much I owe, how little I have.
2. Always have and always will!
3. I know my fixed expenses very well but sitting down and actually keeping up with a monthly budget was just too time-consuming for me
4. I do a yearly budget, it’s easier to keep up with and gives a good overview of your finances.
5. I don’t; Like to be depressed and they way we spend money would depress anyone. 

Of these answers, numbers 1 and 5 were from men and the rest were from women.  The last one almost seems happy and impressed that he does not budget; I happen to know this person and he is married with 2 small children...to me, there is nothing impressive about not knowing where your money is going.

Four weeks ago today I was laid off from my job and the day before we had to spend our entire emergency fund on repairing our a/c due to 90 degree temperatures.  We have been faithful monthly budgeters for the last 2 years and because of that practice I knew exactly what money we had coming in and going out.  This has allowed us to be ok while I am looking for the right job for this new season of life.

Debt.com shows the following Personal Finance Statistics:

How many Americans actually keep a formal budget?

A Gallup poll found only about 1/3 of Americans (32%) maintain a household budget

• Only 30% of Americans have a long-term financial plan that includes savings and investment goals
• You’re mostly likely to budget if you make at least $75,000 per year

Treading financial water

A 2017 report in MarketWatch found that half of American households currently live paycheck to paycheck

• 19% have $0 saved to cover an emergency expenses; 31% have less than $500 in emergency savings
• Not surprisingly, about 49% of Americans are “concerned, anxious or fearful about their current financial well-being”
• Interestingly enough, low income is not always to blame for financial hardship. Only 1 in 5 people (20%) facing financial hardship fall below the poverty line and make less than $40,000 per year

However, a separate 2017 survey by Career Builder found more than three-fourths of U.S. workers they surveyed struggled to make ends meet.

Wow!  Based on these statistics low income does not seem to be the issue, it appears to be more an issue of debt and lack if intentionality regarding money than anything else.

My husband and I follow the Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball plan so we have been actively paying down our debt, had our starter emergency fund ($1000) in place and had structured our income vs. payout so we had a cushion of about 4 weeks.  The steps we have been following for the last 2 years have really been a lifesaver during this unexpected change in our lives.

If you have never done a budget before or are struggling to find one that works for you and can be customized to your specific needs, feel free to try out my Google Sheet budget.  It's pretty simple and allows you to have fixed expenses, monthly and weekly expenses if needed.  It also allows for individual paycheck entry for a 2 income household. 

Once you do your first budget just copy that tab for the next month and make any necessary tweaks such as a difference in your electric or a bill that only hits ever 2 months (like our water bill).  There are also tabs where you can keep up with your current debt balances so you always know exactly what you owe and track your annual expenses such as memberships or vehicle registration renewals. This tab has really come in handy to remind me to budget those items once I get to that specific month or even a month ahead depending on the amount needed.

If budgeting has intimidated you in the past maybe give my Google Sheet a try and see if it helps break things down to allow you to stay on track.  If you try it please let me know how it works for you! 

Happy Budgeting!!!