Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

This is going to sound like an odd beginning to a post on finances, but this past week was a week of revelation for me, for good and bad.  In a nutshell, because temperatures started rising early during President's Day weekend, I had the unhappy discovery that my air conditioning was no longer working.  After almost $3,000.00 in repairs, I'm back in business.  It didn't completely de-rail everything that I had already started, however it did eat up almost all of the money I had earmarked for the taxes I know I will owe Uncle Sam.

Knowing how much of the "worst case scenario" girl I am, I was calm about the whole thing.  Somehow I knew that things would work out.  In that light, I wanted to start this post with a talk from  the October, 2012 Semi-Annual General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sunday Morning Session.  It's from President Henry B. Eyring titled "Where Is The Pavillion?"




Now, I'm not by any means perfect on this.  In fact, I'm feeling lately that my prayers have been lacking and I need to do a better job.

At any rate, because I had a plan and I knew how much money I could handle for these repairs, they were done, were done within the budget given, and I didn't have anxiety over the whole thing.

This will, however make me re-evaluate the finances and what I will be able to afford to payoff.

This experience has also caused me to re-evaluate resolution #1.  I'm still working to pay down the debt, but I am also receiving the impressions through the Holy Ghost that this year might also be a year where things get repaired or replaced.  This means that more money will be spent on that and less on paying down the debts, and it also means that less debt will be paid down by the end of the year.

Both goals can work together, however there will need to be moderation in all things for this to work.

I have skipped out on both the ANWA Conference and the Time Out For Women Conference this year as both are too expensive for me to handle while I try to pay down debt and get the needed work done in my home.

The good news is, though, I am on the right track.

In the book The Millionaire Next Door the authors talk about making good offense vs. making good defense.  Good offense is making enough money to cover the bills plus some savings.  If you aren't making enough, look for areas where additional money could be made.

Good defense is spending that money wisely.  Get caught up in what is past due, save a little for emergencies, and then work on paying down the debt.

The Millionaire Next Door was a game - changing book for me back in 1996 when it was first published.  For years I had seen people who made a lot of money and spent it with nice homes and cars.  Then I read this book and realized I didn't have to have that kind of life.  There are millionaires out there who don't flaunt their wealth, they are millionaires and most people never know it.

It has helped me to stay grounded in what is really important - financial independence and security - over the years since Decker's death.

So, in light of all that has happened the last month or so, how have I done?

I'm current on my bills.

The two unsecured lines of credit with balances are no longer maxed out. This means minimum payments are dropping.

The car payment remains the same, however more and more of the money is going towards principal, rather than interest.  This helps to accelerate payoff.

The air conditioning, with some routine maintenance, should last for at least 10-15 years, however I will need to start saving within the next 5 years if the need to replace everything should arise.

The next repair to tackle is getting my washing machine fixed, scheduled for the first day of Spring Break in March.

I wanted to finish this post, though, with another talk that is more in line with the financial resolution, however keeps it in check with a spiritual message.  Things will work out according to God's plan and God's timetable, however we do still need to do our part.  Blessings of doing our part can come in other ways than the obvious removal of trials.

The message is from the October, 2013 Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It's from the Saturday morning session from Elder David A. Bednar titled "The Windows of Heaven".

Baby Steps

Dupuy, Nancy. goat1234.jpg. July 7, 2008. Pics4Learning. 6 Feb 2014 <http://pics.tech4learning.com>

Remember Resolution #2?  It's Wednesday and I've finally gotten most of Monday's stuff done.  Sometimes you just have to take it in baby steps.

Resolution #3

My mantra for this year is "moving forward".  It was the final lesson I learned from the late Dr. Frank Klajda, who hired me at the school I worked at, and mentored me in learning about education and the fight for those children in the greatest need.  Moving forward is to look to the future and leave the past in the past.  Let it go.

Resolution #3 can be found in the messages of the following two talks:

Resolution #2

The second resolution is a continuation of something I've already been in the process of doing:  Getting myself and my home better organized.

I am a clutter bug, as you may have noticed in previous posts where I show pictures of areas where I've gotten better organized.

I need to get some systems in place, however, if I want to take it to the next level.

Among the areas I need to do better with the organizing is with the time I have available.  People may not realize that in addition to working full time, I am also the sole caregiver for my Mother.  This eats up a lot of my non-working time.  As a result, I've had to tweak and remind people of the boundaries that I have so I can keep a healthy balance.

Work now stays at work.  Before, I was bringing projects home and doing stuff off the clock.  I can't do that anymore.  Thankfully, I've recently gotten a promotion at work that no longer requires me to take work home.

My time with Mom is precious to me, and I try to make the most of the time I spend with her.  It's not sitting around chatting.  We are grocery shopping together, doing laundry together, running errands together.  I am grateful that Mom is still somewhat independent.  She can do some things on her own without me, but there is still quite a bit I help her with.

Church is another big chunk of time for me.  I enjoy getting my spiritual bucket filled, but a lot of my Church service is restricted to Sundays only, due to work demands, Mom demands as well as things I need to get done personally.

The "me" time is split between household duties and time outs for myself.  Because of this, I have a schedule that breaks down some of the routine household duties so that it isn't all happening on Saturday.

Sunday - Church & Rest.
Monday - Gas up the car, cat food shopping, grocery shopping.
Tuesday - Finance & Temple.
Wednesday - Snail mail and recycling.
Thursday - Clean out Rachel's litter box and take out the trash.
Friday - Vacuum and laundry.
Saturday - Laundry and Organization.

To help me with this, I use an app on my iPod Touch and iPad called HomeRoutines.  I heard about this from Martha Stewart and have loved using it since.  You can set up routines according to day of the week, the monthly stuff that has to get done, to do lists as well as lists for what to get done during breaks when I have off.  I also use it for my grocery lists as well as Mom's grocery lists.

Among the other resources, I use Organizing From The Inside Out from Julie Morgenstern.  I love the book and DVD (I have both) as they provide a lot of fantastic information on getting organized in a way that works for you.  I'm still getting things perfected in my home, but this provides some great tools to use.

A few videos I found on YouTube:










Another favorite to get ideas from is Alejandra, on YouTube.

Resolution #1

With the recovery from the Great Recession under way, there are two conflicting things that are needed.  For the recovery to continue, people need to spend money.  The problem is, people have become obsessed with celebrity without the money to pay for it.  They are financing themselves to their graves.

This year is the year I plan to change that for me.

I've got some big pluses on my side:

1.  My home is paid for.  This is a big one.  During the housing boom, my friends were trying to get me to sell my home and "upgrade" to a nicer one.  I said no.  I am so thankful I did.

2.  I limit my credit.  In other words, I don't have a wallet full of credit cards.  I only have 1 major credit card.  My line of thinking has been, "if I can't afford to buy it on my one credit card, I can't afford it."  Period.  The two exceptions to this have been medical bills and my car loan.

When it comes to money, there are big consequences associated with people's choice of lifestyle.

In order to have a more abundant life, there are two things each person must do:  they must play good offense, and they must play good defense.

Good Offense = job that pays enough to cover the bills + saving.

Good Defense = limited spending that allows for saving.  This means people who have a spending problem, need to get on top of it in order to be able to save money.

This year I'm looking to cut down as much debt as I can, which means cutting out a lot of unnecessary expenses.  I'm on the right track:

- I don't have a cell phone contract.  I don't talk that much on the phone, so the contract plans were a waste of money for me.  I have a TracFone from Walmart and I just add minutes as I need it.

- I don't have cable tv.  I'm not home enough to warrant the amount of money I was paying for it.  I've not had it for a few years and I've not missed it.  I have DVD's and I do pay for internet service.  I also use an antenna and converter box for the local channels I was already watching, so it has worked out for me.

- I'm not a big shopper.  Seriously.  The only time I'm really dangerous is when I'm in a bookstore.  Those I only go to for specific things at specific times of the year.

One area I'm not good at defense:  online shopping, namely iTunes and iBooks.  Those I have to watch out for.

My sources so far:

Oprah's Debt Diet I have the DVD's for the series of shows on this, they are a great way to start.

Money 101 This is coming from the people of Money Magazine and contains a wealth of free information to help get anyone out of debt and into saving and investing, if they are willing to make the sacrifices necessary.

Provident Living - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - be sure to download the One For The Money booklet.

A recent development will hopefully help people to make better choices about their money.  I have friends who have taken payday loans out and ended up in such arrears they had to file bankruptcy to clear out these loans.  Score one more for the little guy:

Commercial

Yes, I'm back with cough syrup and bad grammar.  LOL.  I saw this and had to share.  Good night.

Bronchitis

I hate getting sick.  It makes me crazy to have to take meds that make weird.

Yes, it's the ugly sinus infection and bronchitis that's been going around.  Thankfully, though, it is not the flu that is also going around.

So, what do I do when I get sick?  Take meds and watch Barry Manilow on DVD.  LOL.

You'd think I would have burned all of the stuff with the history I've had with the guy.  Today I wondered why it is I keep going back.  I finally figured out what it is.  The music.

I've played the piano since I was 7 years old, and have learned a lot of beautiful classical music in the years.  I love a good melody, good chord changes and groups.  I found online pieces of the video from a show called "Musicians" where Barry gets into the nitty gritty of composing and arranging.

I absolutely loved it.  I wonder if it's available for DVD?  I would love to see it in it's entirety, because I'm sure some of the gems were edited out from what I had seen.

The series of chords in Could It Be Magic, If I Should Love Again, Where You Go are pure inspiration.

One question I would have Barry:  If he could create another ballad based on a classical piece, which would it be?  What other pieces does he love that has wonderful chord progressions and melodies?

Okay, now that I've bored you silly with this post (yes, I'm on the codeine cough syrup), I'll stop and go to bed now.  :-)

Take care everyone, and try to stay healthy!