Getting Used To the Bump On My Head....

Hills, a yo-yo and me; what do we have in common? (yes, I'm fully aware of how lame and cheesy this riddle is....) Give up?  -Each endures endless up and down, continued back and forth ... 

but

I'm okay with it. I get it. It's just how I work. It's how new behaviors become habit or lifestyle.

In learning to buy less, becoming an organized housekeeper, eating healthy and developing a lifestyle of exercise, you've seen me fall off each of these wagons ... 

At last I see that, over time, the many times I start and stop, try, fail and try again ... are slowly yielding change. Over time, I'm buying less, eating better and making wiser financial choices. Not perfect, but better. 

So, this time the decision to develop a lifestyle of exercise (which is totally and completely foreign to me by the way...) is followed by an unsurprising parade of starts and stops. Rather than worry, I accept this as simply my way of working - my methodical madness that eventually achieves results.  ... unless, of course, I get wrapped up in the guilt of these hiccups.... 

So, here's to self-acceptance,

to progress, however stuttery, 

and to a lifestyle of exercise, healthy eating and all those other things

which are more of a journey

than a destination.

*cheers*

Finding Motivation for Long Term Goals

Ever forget why you work so hard? I do. What am I saving money for anyway? Fifteen years is forever away ... who cares about $20 now? ... or $200? ... or $2000?


I've fallen off the wagon, assessed why, and determined how I'll climb back on. Good. But I need motivation here. Developing good habits is hard work ... what am I doing this for again? How can I remember it's worth it?

How do you motivate yourself to achieve long term goals? I break it down into a bunch of short term goals. That's great - it's just the 'atta-girl' I need to confirm I'm on the right track. But somewhere between short term goal #2 and #3, I notice my motivation wane...

Motivation makes a come-back though, when I make a new long term goal. It generally fits with the original plan, but I usually discover 'new and improved' ways to achieve it. BIGGER AND BETTER! Woo!  -I realize it's not for everyone - for many people, plotting a budget or financial goals is as pleasant a thought as having one's body hair plucked one by one. But I love it!  - uh, the plotting budget part, that is...  It's like a life-size puzzle - real life problem solving. Yay!!

So, now that I've firmly established that I am, at times, a nerd ... Here's what I mean by 'new goal':

Original plan (Sample) 

• save $100 / month
• give $100 / month
• sell asset (profit $1000), invest profit all into one investment to yield estimated $50/mo indefinitely

New Plan: (Sample)

• save $100 / month [PLUS extra $75/month from additional investment income - see below]
• give $100 / month [PLUS extra $75/month from additional investment income - see below]
• sell asset (profit $1000), invest profit into 5 different investments to yield estimated $30/mo indefinitely. Monthly yield = $150/mo

See? Same general plan, but with new information (about 5 different investments rather than the 1), I can do the same thing on a larger scale. Ooooh. I liiiiike.

And that definitely refreshes my motivation - to see that the plan can improve, and I can compete with  myself to find an even better idea than the last one. Love it.

Now I remember why I'm working so hard at saving money ...

• to establish residual passive income (retirement plan or estate for children)
• to give. On this side of the world, on this side of the fence, it is a great honor and responsibility to share what God has given us (Heb 13:16, 2 Cor 9:7-9)

Ahh. Motivation returns. Fun stuff :)

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Revisiting Goals - Oops

I just reviewed my financial goals and ideas on how to get there, and see I'm floundering .. not that I'm surprised. I knew I wasn't meeting those goals. The plan continues to fade as I slip back into comfortable habits. My motivation to save and give seems to disappear as I snack on store-bought granola bars and diet coke in a can. Convenience now has its cost ...

All that to say I'm going to get back on the wagon.

Here's where I think I fell off:

1. got lazy with meal planning (made the plan, but then didn't stick to it at all - not even a little)
2. confusion about grocery overspending on great deals - should I be stocking or hoarding saving?
3. disorganization in the house translates to disorganization everywhere.  ... or was it the money disorganization that came first? Hmm.
4. mixed money that should have been kept separate, and afterward I couldn't tell which money went where. I lost where I was.

here's how I hope to climb back on:

1. Remember the goals and the reason for them. 
• goals = to spend less, save more, and eventually be debt free and give half income away)
• reason = to share with others what God has given us. (1 Timothy 6:18, Hebrews 13:16)
2. Remember that forming good habits requires a great deal of self-discipline and determination. So, regarding the meal plan, JUST DO IT, KIM!  Yes, that ought to do it.
3. My house is currently fairly organized... now. That should help me think a little clearer rather than hide.
4. Get that cash in those envelopes, and then use ONLY CASH!!!! 

Okay. This is it. I'm going to do it.  I think I'll write those goals down and tape them to my wall somewhere. Hopefully it motivates me to continue when the drudgery sets in.   ... It does you know. Setting goals is fun (for me), and achieving those initial results are great, but then comes the 'just keep doing it' part and that seems to be where I fall off easiest.  I'll try again to 'just keep doing it'. 

Okay. Here we go ...

Off Track

As you know, the envelope system has worked for me for a while. Our financial goals have been set, and some have already been reached. But, in the last month or two I've forgotten to put cash in those envelopes, and reverted to using our bank card.  ... okay,okay ...  and the credit card too. Ack! 


Vehicle maintenance money, Christmas money - almost gone. Travel, household and clothing money? Forget about it. They were the first to go when I needed cash.


This whole frugality thing seems to have left my brain in favor of camping, garage sales, and bulk buying. I'm still trying to find the balance between bulk buying and staying on budget. Sometimes my small budget means I'm paying more for less. Bulk buying however ... well, you see what I mean. That argument sends me over budget all the time.


Thankfully, there is room for such mistakes. The 'get back on track' plan will pretty much be to stuff those envelopes with 1-2 months worth of cash (from savings), and start again, desperately clinging to the budget no matter how much fun it isn't. ('remember the goals, remember the goals, remember the goals...') It's kind of cheating I think, but I've earned my way out of enough pinches without 'cheating', that I figure it's okay. :) 


So, here's to getting back on track ... and staying there...  


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How to Climb Out of a Financial Hole

Do you screen your calls, sweat bullets as you open a pile of bills or maybe  avoid opening them at all? We've been there.

Our turning point happened one Christmas when we were deciding who to give the annual $50 hamper to, we realized that we couldn't even afford it that year. I was broken hearted, defeated and ashamed that we couldn't even afford to give a measly $50. Never again am I going to mismanage SO badly that I can't even help others! We committed ourselves to becoming better stewards of what God's given us. That year, we committed our finances to God.

We had dug ourselves into quite the financial hole, but here are the steps we took to get out.

1)   Made an accurate budget.
2)   Planned debt payment (what we could put towards debt, we did)
3)   Made payment arrangements with all creditors and stood by our word.
4)   Wrote down specific, measurable financial goals: 1yr plan, 2 yr plan,
       and 5 year plan.
5)   Did monthly budget and goal 'check-up' to make sure we were on track.
       This is where we would adjust plans accordingly. (ie - budget unexpected
       income or expenses)
6)   Paid off debts 'snowball' style, as per Dave Ramsey's book "Total Money
       Makeover"  Smallest debt first, work up to largest (NOT interest rate!)
7)    Continue learning, adjusting existing plans, and setting new goals.
        (my favorite thing about New Years is that I get to make the budget for
         the new year. ... nerdy, I know. But I'm pumped about this!)

Praise the Lord, he taught us (and continues to teach us) how to manage what He gives us. And little has become more.

• Credit rating has improved. (this means easier access to funds and lower interest rates)
• We now own assets instead of only depreciating 'doo-dads' as Robert Kiyosaki calls them. Doo-dads cost money, assets make money. (note - we still own doodads, I'm just saying not exclusively)
• We know where we are, what we can and can not do
• We can give way more than ever before.

Just A Note:
If you're interested in our reading list, we read several helpful books and took several courses on money management and investing. Here's a brief list of what we read / took:

Total Money Makeover                            
                                - by Dave Ramsey
Storehouse Principles
                                   - by Al Jandl & Van
                                     Crouch
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
                                  - by Robert Kiyosaki
Master Your Money
                                  - by Ron Blue
Cashflow Quadrant  
                                   -by Robert Kiyosaki
Increase Your Financial IQ
                                  - by Robert Kiyosaki
Rich Dad's Guide to Investing
                                   - by Robert Kiyosaki
The 7 Keys for Creating Wealth in Canada
                                   - by Darren Weeks
Choose to be Rich 
                                     -by Robert Kiyosaki
How to Retire in One Year
                                     - by Robin J. Elliot
Joint Venture Bootcamp
                                     - by Robin J. Elliot

These are pretty much in order as we took them over the course of 3- 5 years.

What about you? Have you blogged about your personal financial story? I'd love to read it, and share it with my readers too.

Financial Goals Update - It's Working!!!

Been awhile - sorry. I'm not ignoring you, just having some technical difficulties.

So, since I can't upload any pictures right now, I'll go ahead without them. If you can survive without pictures for a bit, so can I ...

You read about our new financial goals here - we aimed to reduce spending by $500 monthly (300 of that is grocery reduction). The purpose was to save up for bigger items (bed, computer, roofing, etc), and then increase giving.

It's been about 6 weeks on this new plan and it's working!! We're spending less, saving more, and on our way to a new computer ($600) and bed ($1000). Should be able to have both by Mid March. So excited for that.

I'm dangerous with cash though, so I ended up adding a few non-budgeted items to the list, to the tune of about $600. Oh well. We're still reaching our goals, and that's the important part, right?

Anyway, that's it for now. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and blogging ... just working out some technical bugs. But when they're worked out ... expect alot of posts and pics!

Grocery Day - Couponing In Canada?

The first grocery shopping day on our new budget was a success.

Last year's grocery budget = $250 biweekly
This year's new budget      = $150 biweekly

Just a note: our American friends seem to have a fantastic coupon system. I see the couponing pros frequently finding items for free, or for $0.09 with a coupon ... this kind of thing. I have found no such Canadian couponing. I think we have to do it differently here.

... and I found one way this week.

Extra Foods recently had their 'Dollar Days'.  (If you missed it, don't worry, they come around often.) Several great deals on things I'd planned to buy anyway-

Flaked Tuna   5/$4
Tampons        2/$7
Pork'n'Beans  5/$4
Tomato Soup 3/$1
Green Beans  5/$4
1L Apple Juice $0.80

They also happened to have their 10%, 12% or 15% off day on Mon and Tues.
Yes, please!

I moved my shopping day to Tuesday, bought the sale items AND the regular price items I planned to buy on Friday, and got 12% off of it all. Yay!

I got all this for $109, and have $41 left for milk, eggs, bread, etc.

I'm not only spending less on groceries, I've actually got $50 in the 'kitty' for ... well, whatever! I can take advantage of a grocery sale (like today), put it towards the sausage we buy from a local farmer ... apply it to the calf we hope to buy in spring ... whatever.

Granted, this is just the beginning. ...I'm going to miss sales, forget to budget certain items, toss aside diligence and buy chocolate that's not on the list. It's okay. BUT, I'm going to keep going until I get it. I'm serious about this, so I've got to get it :)

I'll keep you posted :)

New Year, New Budget

Get out the plumb line ... time to see how we did. I love to see how many of our financial goals were acheived, and putting check marks beside many of them. I especially love setting new goals for the new year.

This year's goals:

• Spend less. Alot less. (over $500 less)
• Save up to purchase the following items for cash
• computer
• bed
• truck repairs
• Begin (and maintain) monthly saving for roof reshingling. (according to the plan, should be able to pay cash for the roof in Sept-Oct 2011)

These things can happen, but on a leaner budget. So, I took the shaver to our budget. ... then the knife. ... then the axe. After an hour, I had our spending down by over $500 monthly. It's going to mean sacrifices, but seeing the goals acheived is well worth it.

Our long term goal is to live debt free (mortgage free too), pay cash for what we want and need, and be able to use much of our income (half or more) for investing and giving. This year's budget will mark the start of some habits that will get us there. It looks like we'll be able to achieve this in 7-10 years. Not bad, especially considering our current debt load and the fact that we just bought this house!

The biggest budget cut was to our grocery bill. I hope to spend $300/month on our groceries. I've been spending $500. I KNOW I can spend less and we can eat just as well or better. It will require alot of planning on my part - meal and menu planning, and paying careful attention to each dollar I spend. It will require NO impulse buying (eek!), and creativity when supplies are low and there's no more money until next shopping day.  (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can)

Other items on the chopping block were .. well, everything.

• Childcare 
• Vehicle Maintenance
• Medical
• Clothing
• Household (ouch.)
• Entertainment
• Camping / Travel
• Tractor
• Eating Out (Big ouch!)

I've got some ideas on how to make this work, but for now I'm going to just bask in the joy of having it all perfected on paper. Aaaahhh. Good job, me.

Okay. That's enough basking. ... and now to the work of it :)