Money

Kind of hard to skip over a post that's all about money, isn't it? 

For the past 13 weeks, I've been taking a class called Financial Peace University.  It's "lead" by Dave Ramsey via videos that we watch every week.  Dave Ramsey has changed my family in so many ways just through the way he teaches about money and how to handle it. 

I would encourage ANYONE who has ever touched a dollar bill in their life, to go directly to his website, http://www.daveramsey.com/ and look up this class to find where you can take it near you.  When you sign up, you will pay for your materials (normally the kit costs $200 but because you are taking the class, it's less than $100).  And believe me, you'll make up that $100 you spent on materials before the first month is over in the class if you just put into practice the stuff that Dave teaches. 

When Craig and I started out, we did so in debt.  We went into debt to get engaged (the ring), went into debt to pay for the wedding.  It was not a good way to start our life together.  It caused a lot of problems for us that first year.  It was kind of like this hanging patch of doom over our heads.  We felt so overwhelmed with our finances that our relationship suffered.  It wasn't until we learned about Dave Ramsey that we realized that maybe we didn't have to file for Bankruptcy.  Maybe there was a way out afterall.

The Total Money Makeover is the book we were given by my father-in-law.  I told Craig that I really wanted to go through the Baby Steps in the book.  I think he thought I was kidding.  I wasn't always the first one to take our finances seriously.  I tended to sweep the problems under the rug and deal with them later.  And then, our church offered Financial Peace University.  When I told him I wanted to sign up for that, he seemed really pleased and I think he realized that I was serious about getting our finances under control.  Now, the class is almost over and it's been a wonderful experience. 

Let me recount the blessings we've received since we started. 

We now have over $1000 in the bank for emergencies only.  That money is in a savings account that is not attached to our checking account. 

We have put our children on a commission system, instead of offering them allowance.  They have to do chores around the house to earn money.  They earn a dollar a chore and they have a payday.  They have their own envelope system and are responsible for three envelopes:  Tithe, Savings and Spending.  Cassidy has a fourth envelope called Cell Phone.  She now has a cell phone that she has to earn enough extra money to pay half the bill for each month ($15).  We will pay the other half of the bill as long as her grades stay where they should be.  During the past few weeks, the kids have each earned over $50 in savings, have tithed 10% of their income, and Matthew has purchased his own bike.  Cassidy purchased look-alike Ugg boots. 

We have gotten current on most of our bills and we now use an envelope system for things like groceries, car repairs and car replacement. 

That's only part of the good stuff we've done.  We tell our money where to go.  Dave says if you don't tell money where to go, it leaves.  He's right!  We're in charge of our money now.  And it's a wonderful feeling!!!

Foiled Again

I did so well this morning! The alarm went off and I went through my usual feelings of confusion when that happens before 7 am. Once I finally realized what was going on, it was already 6:09, but I was excited about what lay before me this morning. The plan was for me to get up and pack my things, have a nice, healthy breakfast and then head off to the YWCA for my second free swimming session. Everything went pretty much as planned until I got to the front doors of the Y.

Pool Closed

Chlorine Being Adjusted

Really? It takes me so much preparation in order to do this exercise before work in the mornings and...the pool is closed?? And not only is the pool closed, but now I have to drive back home, shower and get ready for work and then drive back downtown.

Sigh.

It was annoying. And it almost set me up for failure for the rest of the day. But, I fought through the annoyance and didn't look at it as failure. I still needed to eat well and what I did today mattered. I kept my caloric intake in check and I've finished the day feeling proud of how I ate.

And tomorrow, I'll try again!

Gotta Do This...Or Else

Sometimes life doesn't give you choices. There are some things that you have to do or else you'll just suffer the consequences that life chooses to throw at you. I'm dealing with one such situation right now. Weight loss. It started when I was much younger. I just remember struggling with weight issues all of my life. From as early as 8 years old, I remember my Mom kind of "reminding" me that I needed to watch what I eat or I'd be fat. People who knew me back then tell me now that I wasn't fat while I was growing up, but of course, I remember things quite differently. When I was 19 years old, I was in a car with three of my friends from college and we were in a minor traffic accident on the Mass Pike. That was the beginning of my back injuries. I had a herniated disk and pinched nerve. I was basically immobile for several weeks. My friends had to help me out of bed, help me to the bathroom, etc. It was horrible. And that pain went on for several weeks. It slowly got better with therapy and pain medications. Then, a few years later, another disk herniated. Then another. Then another. Then another. And then I herniated one of those disks a second time. Have I ever had surgery? No. When all of this was going on, I was told that surgery probably wouldn't help much and that I was really too young, anyway. I had lots of therapy, lots of pain medicines, shots and some other procedures that caused some other annoying problems. Finally, the doctor looked at me and said, "You need to lose weight." It was like being punched in the gut. But he was right. Dang it. He was right. After Caleb was born, I started having pain in my feet, on the bottom, close to the heel. I couldn't understand why I was having pain with that first step out of bed in the morning. So, I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Plantar Fascitis. I underwent wearing a boot on my left leg/foot for three weeks and then had to have two steroid injections. My left foot got better and I got inserts put into my shoes. Recently, the right foot started acting up and I almost immediately started wearing the boot again, almost full time. I'm hoping to avoid getting the shots in my right foot, especially since we don't have insurance right now. But it all goes back to the real problem. I'm overweight. There's no sense in trying to ignore it anymore. If I care about my body at all, I need to make these changes and make my body better. It's either that, or I will end up sitting on the sidelines at all the fun activities my family does because I can't move. Praise God...I know that I am healed. Healing is a process and it requires our compliance. I received healing for my back pain a few years ago. I received healing for my foot pain a week ago. But, I need to do my part in order to see that healing full manifested in my body. I'm beginning a weight loss journey that includes changing my eating habits and going swimming a few times a week. Swimming is about the only exercise I can do in my current physical state. I went for the first time on Saturday and it was wonderful. I'm still feeling the burn in my legs. I'll keep you updated on my progress but my goal is to lose 110 pounds. I need to break that into smaller segments I know. But that is my ultimate goal. I can do it. I have to. Or else.

Time To Write

For those of you who do not know, I am a published writer. I'm not sure how much that means, however, considering I haven't published anything in six years. Not since that first novel. I remember how excited I was. I could hardly think about anything else. And forget sleeping. That just wasn't happening. I wrote a lot back then. I was writing constantly, whether it was in my journals or on a blog or for a book. It was an addiction. An outlet.

And I miss it.

This all came about last week when my Mom came over and I told her about the editing I was doing on the side for someone in my church. She kind of gave me a funny look and said (with a little bit of annoyance), "I remember when YOU were the one doing the writing." I didn't quite know what to say. But that sentence stuck with me. And it's been haunting me ever since that day.

I could formulate all kinds of excuses. I could tell you that I've been busy for the past few years. But everyone is busy. I could tell you that I've had writer's block. Everyone who writes suffers from writer's block every now and then. What do they do? They WRITE. And that's something that I haven't been doing. I did manage to write one book a few years ago about my husband's life. I believe it to be a masterpiece. I've never seen anything like it before. And where does it sit? On a shelf, in my bedroom, unpolished. Why?

Because I got lazy.

Recent people that I've met in my life have inspired me to start again. I've decided that I have a gift from God. That gift may have gotten a little rusty. But I need to shine it up and get it working again. I've let my mind lay dormant for too long. It needs to be inspired and that inspiration needs to spill out onto paper. If it isn't, I'm afraid of what my spirit will become.

My identity is made up of many things. I am a Mom. I'm a wife. I'm a step-mom. I'm a fund-raising coordinator.

And I'm a writer.