COVERALL UPDATE POST

PIGS: the piglets are no longer piglets! They're HUGE! We are loving them! They're like puppies! Look how cute! This is Ethan with Bacon and Lane Michael with Gerdy! Now the downside to huge pigs is a HUGE feed bill! They are eating us out of house and home! The unfortunate part of that is that we'll have to slow their growth by feeding the fair pig oats in their feed, but the nice part is that this batch (the other 5) will be seperated out from the fair 4 and will be ready for butcher in probably June or July which is much faster than we had anticipated! But we're having SUCH a good time with them!

GARDEN STARTS:  The garden starts were probably started way too early! They're too bit and we had to move them out of their little pots and put them in cut off gallon milk jugs. I hope it gets and stays warm soon because they're simply too big to keep this up!!

Debt Free Progress: Epic FAIL! This summer will be better once we aren't paying for preschool but that's only a couple months! I'm really hoping the Wapak house sells quickly because maintaining 2 houses is killing us! We're making NO progress on becoming debt free but we are maintaining our current status so that's good but still frustrating. I know that our needs are met and even most of our wants...I think it's simply a level of comfort that a little cushion would provide.

Ethan has been slowly needing less of his meds, he's able to concentrate a little better and for longer periods of time, we are thinking of seeing a homeopath over the summer to see if she can't work with him. She said she would provide coping mechanisms for him to use, also foot and hand massage/stimulation, and a few techniques for him to practice and use. I'm putting some serious thought into it. He's started baseball and is LOVING it....he's really grown in his skill set this year, his batting is great, and seems to really enjoy it.

Lane Michael has been amazing with Ryan here lately, I think appreciating him more and just being kind and forgiving. Yesterday Ryan got left in the car with Lane Michael and me while Todd and Ethan went in to get a drink, Ryan suddenly decided he HAD to go in too so Lane Michael volunteered to take him and that's just one example, I'm amazed by the brother he is! He's also started baseball and while his hitting hasn't improved as much, his fielding has! Last night we were outside playing and he was throwing himself on the ground to stop the ball....which is a new skill for him.

Ryan is....God bless Ryan. He is funny, witty, sarcastic....on Easter Sunday we were all eating breakfast, he leaned over to his cousin Jack and said "come closer", so Jack leaned in. Ryan whispered (just loud enough for Jack and his mom to hear) "I watch you while you sleep", leaned back, took a bite, cocked one eye brow and just grinned at him. creepy little dude. He also told the whole school that the Easter bunny was just some guy in a suit. I am raising "that kid". Good news. He has little desire to hang out with the pigs, doesn't want to play baseball and is disgruntled by the disturbance it causes to his schedule. It's a good thing he's cute!

Financial Progress

We are AGAIN credit card debt free....our tax return came in and we were able to pay off 3 credit cards. This time last year I had planned to get and stay credit card debt free. We got there...we just didn't STAY there. One credit card was used for supplies to renovate the Wapak house basement (still a work in progress), one was used to fix the transmission in the Suburban, and the 3rd was used to replace the front end of the Blazer. This set me pretty far back in meeting some pretty big goals. BUT new year, new goals. This year my goal is to maintain the NO credit card debt. I'm not worried about paying off the Suburban right now. I'm more interested in selling the Wapak house, and will reassess our financial goals once that is sold. I have a few things I'd like to accomplish but after we sell Wapak house the first is paying off the suburban and buying Todd a new vehicle (probably a jeep). I'd like to start paying cash for all our vehicles so to avoid going into debt but we all know that isn't an easy feat. A few things we're going to do this year to hopefully change our finances in big ways...obviously selling the Wapak house is going to be the big change. This summer getting pigs will short term increase our expenses (our feed bill should be HUGE), another batch of broiler chicks to butcher and maybe having a side (or 2) of beef butchered for the freezer. We have NO interest in having cows but we have enough friends that have cows we should be able to get one, we're also putting out a garden, nothing big, just enough to get some fresh veggies out of th1is summer....maybe increasing it as we go so that we have enough to can for the winter...last night I made a meal of eggs (from our chickens), potatoes, left over ham, ground turkey, onions, and peppers...this fall there's a chance that meal could be 100% from homegrown ingredients...how cool is that! Oh and dessert was apple crisp (made from apples I canned last fall). Renting a house in the country has really allowed us to trial and error what we are and are not interested in doing long term. We definitely want a fruit orchard (and 2 of each fruit tree is more than enough), we definitely want chickens for eggs and for meat, and I think we're going to love having hogs...the garden will be our next hurdle...how big can we go without getting in over our heads.

Country Living

There isn't anything easy, or convenient about living in the country. My boys don't have friends less than a block away. There's no 24 hour stores, and the closest gas station is 10 minutes away. There are no side walks, I can't go home for lunch every day and start dinner, can't run home to change clothes when I spill something on myself. The kids can't ride the bus home every day and we can't just take a long walk ending in a trip to the ice cream parlor. Instead we have chickens to feed and water every morning at 6 am and again at 4, we have endless yard to run and play. We have a pond to walk to in the summer and an orchard to enjoy in the fall. But most of all what I'm enjoying is this amazing transformation I'm seeing in my children. A few weekends ago we went out of town for the weekend leaving our children with my mom. My step dad was in the wood shop working, Mom was at her store working and all 3 boys were in the house hanging out, watching TV and relaxing. Ryan, about 4 oclock starts getting sick. Big boys jumped in and just handled it! Didn't run out to find Grandpa...they just handled him, getting him to the bathroom, and then settled in with a show, a blanket and a bucket (just in case); when my mom got home she found their bed folded up, their dishes in the sink and Ryan snuggled in. I'm so proud of them for handling this so well. The next day, Lane Michael came down with the same flu, without being asked Ethan fed and watered the chickens. When cleaning out the hog pen the boys worked in the barn for 5 hours straight and the next day an additional 3 hours...never complained, never whined, just worked. I know some of these changes are just mellowing into middle schoolers but honestly I've never been a fan of that age (5-8 grade) and with these guys I'm becoming more of a fan! Their sense of humor is changing, they'rebecoming more independent, they're thinking of ways to help and doing it before being asked! I think everyone might be at my favorite age to date!

We are Project People

We have projects...lots of projects up in the air. all. the. time. Right now Todd has several DIYs going on...he has the Mustang (currently untouched at the Wapak house), he has the basement (currently going untouched ath te Wapak house), we have piglets coming this spring (which means lots of prep work between now and then) and I....I go along for the ride...until I find something to be passionate about. Right now that passion has been sewing...I'm not good at it but I enjoy it. I sewed (successfullly I might add) new stockings for all the kids this year...I sewed 5 coordinating stockings, the same size as Todd and I's stockings (Mr. & Mrs. Claus)...and was extremely happy with the results! And now? Now I want to tackle quilts/comforters for the boys...something simple and masculine...something handmade! Wish me luck!

An Annual Cycle

We set our sights too high. Our goals unattainable. And in the end, we don't buckle down, sacrifice and WORK for it. Debt free. I true desire. I hear God calling me to be debt free, and yet I continue to use credit cards (transmission went out in the Suburband and the Blazer required it's own set of repairs totalling about $4000 in credit card debt). I fall prey to the needs of the world, to material things. This year, I will set a REALISTIC goal. I am giving myself 3 years to be debt free. I have a plan in place. There is a plan A and a plan B. I will work plan A UNTIL plan B comes to fruition.

Plan A. I will take 3 years to slowly change our lifestyle.

Step 1. Cutting first the fast food and impromptu meals out.

Step 2. Stop buying snacks, coffee and non - essentials from the gas station

Step 3. Budget enough to buy my staff 1 lunch OR breakfast each week.

Step 4. Cut the grocery bill by lessening the meat in all but 1 meal each week and using other healthy alternatives to keep our meal quality higher.

Step 5. Communicate more effectively with Todd about our finances, our needs and our budget.

Step 6. Stick to my budget
a. I have $1798 coming in from the girls last month with us. I want to use that money to pay off our Care Credit card before it starts building interest, pay off right now is $1200 leaving $598 which will pay $500 for a weekend get away from my husband and I (essential) and put $100 in savings.
b. I have used a tax return calculator to see that our return SHOULD be close to $7000 but I will figure on $6500 because of the fees for H-&-R Block to do our taxes. I will use $4300 of that $6500 to pay off the suburban leaving us with $2200. I will put $1000 in savings, we will purchase a new TV (ours is literally 11 years old) and with the remaining money will buy new clothes for Todd and I (we are both in careers now that require us to dress a certain way - him a teacher and I'm the director...time to grow up). What is left will be snow balled into the remaining 2 debts.
c. our $7000 of credit card debt. When Todd is off for the summer, our fuel bill will be cut nearly in half and our child care costs will be down by about $400/month. I am hoping to leave the fuel money for him to do summer activities with the kids, and that $400 can be snow balled onto the larger credit card. but with also paying off the suburban, that frees up $150 to try to snowball, however when the girls went home, we lost their check (over $1700 a month which was used mainly for their care but also for the rent of the house we're living in now so we're really losing money from the budget making it harder to snowball that money when we don't really have it to use).

Plan B. Everything about Plan A goes out the window depending on HOW plan B goes. Plan B comes into effect WHEN we sell the Wapak house. If we can sell the house for what it's worth, it will have enough left after we pay the mortgage and realtor fees to pay off the credit card debt and maybe start a down payment for our next home, however since we use VA home loans, we don't need a down payment so we may use that for Todd's new truck (he's got his eye on one already).

Either way, life is changing. Right now. Not after the checks start coming in. Right. Now. We will make coffee before church and take it in our go cups. This is not any ones fault but my own. Todd is on board but I am the problem. He has the self control I lack. He is cooperative and forgiving. This is on me and it changes today.

Christmas Budget

Every year I look at what we have to spend and what we need to buy. This year (IF everything works out we should have a total budget of about $1500. We have done well in the last few years (cutting down on what we spend and still being happy with what we get everyone) so I think we'll do about the same as years past. But this year we're ahead of the ball game. We have bought "out of pocket" so to speak a few gifts already, we've purchased one gift for the big boys, 2 gifts for each of the girls and pajamas for all the boys (I bought them on clearance last year but didn't want to buy for the girls and have to deal with the emotions if we didn't have the girls). Which will save us about $600 out of our budget this year.

So I sat down and made a list of those we'll be buying for:
Lane Michael
Ethan
Ryan
Gracie
Macie
Mom
Step Dad            
Grandma Sweet  
Cathy                
John                  
Jen                    
Dina                  
Pace                 
Office Staff 1    
Office Staff 2     
Driver 1            
Driver 2             
Driver 3
Driver 4
Driver 5
Driver 6
Teachers at preschool
Teachers and Aide at elementary

The nice part is that most of these are easily budgeted for (most teachers, aides and drivers will be getting gift cards) I know what I'm getting for my Mom and Step Dad (easy) but the kids. Impossible to budget! IMPOSSIBLE Especially since they aren't giving me complete lists. Ryan and the Twincesses have never chosen a gift so they dont' have a clue HOW to choose something! The big boys big gift is being fixed up and changed right now so I don't know what to expect from this. I just don't know. I don't know what to expect for the girls gowns (being sewn by a local seamstress) what to budget for that. There's just so much up in the air right now.

Fair 2013

Chickens

We got chickens...26 chickens to be exact! Fair is coming but as soon as it does we'll lose probably 6 chickens and then another 8 will head to the butcher. People are in love with these feathery little creatures! We have 14 broilers (chickens to be butchered) and 10 layers (hens who lay eggs) and 1 rooster who was going to be a pet but he'll have to head to be butchered too...he's becoming increasingly aggressive. Anyway, the kids love them and have been great at caring for them! The bigs boys feed, water, collect eggs, clean pens and do all the basic care. the little kids have lost interest now that the chicks look like chickens! At any rate we're having a great time with it.

My Desire to be Debt Free

I have consistently been in debt for the last 12 years. Mostly vehicle loans and credit cards, stupid decisions! So a few years ago I decided I was done with this mess! This debt is out of control! It never got bad, never even half of the national average but bad enough that it made me angry! So when Todd became a student, the year Ryan was born (actually within a month of Ryan being born) I decided that if it hadn't been for the debt, maybe the it wouldn't be such a blow when someone is laid off, forced to take medical leave, or any other emergency that may come up! So for the last 2-3 years I've been working on being debt free. It's been a struggle (especially with a husband who's a student in a college that's an hour away). So we made a plan and we stuck to it. Until we didn't or couldn't. Buying the suburban right in the middle of this great plan of mine hurt. set us back. But that's ok, we readjusted our spending AGAIN and set a new plan. One we will stick with. and soon we will be debt free (except for our mortgage). We paid off the credit cards and most of the blazer with our tax return, now we're snowballing everything we have at the remaining balance on the Blazer, taking the monthly payments that we were putting towards the credit cards and applying them to the Blazer. We will then take the pell grant Todd should be receiving and putting that towards the Suburban. and then snowballing the blazer and credit card payment towards the suburban. and May 2 we SHOULD be 100% debt free save the mortgage! Paying off $16,000 of debt in 4 months! I will try to update again in mid-May to let you know if we made it!

Two and a Half Goals Met

I recently listed my financial goals here:

http://www.diabeteslossandadoption.blogspot.com/2011/12/cyclical-personality.html

and then later decided that we may be able to reach our goals faster if I went out of order a bit. So, I went ahead and put $2000 into savings (rainy day and emergency fund), paid off the ATV (which I had planned to do at the END of this year) and paid off our larger credit card ($3600) leaving us with only the smaller ($3000) credit card which I'd like to have paid off before Todd starts his fall quarter, allowing us to save up for Christmas, instead of using out of the savings account. I'm starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel!

And my official soapbox rant of the day: I will NEVER again go into debt for FUN! Never! Ever! Seriously! We've been paying a long time on an ATV that doesn't even live at our house and we don't even get good use out of! I'll never again spend years making payments on a non-essential! GAH!

ok, stepping down!

Tax Time

While I don't agree with the way our tax structure is set up, right now in our life, we financially benefit from it. This year we should get back enough to set some into savings, pay off the ATV, pay off my credit card, pay off medical bills, have our cars worked on and even buy my new front load washer and dryer. We expect to get our return on or around February 6th...I'll start funneling that money immediately into the various debts and savings. So this time next month we should be down from 4 debts to 2 debts and medical bill free (temporarily as I have some dental work I need done, Ethan is getting tubes and Todd is considering getting a vasectomy). I don't necessarily want to make this information public but it's part of the path of becoming debt free.

Dave Ramsey's Snowball

In order to be debt free (save our mortgage) by the time my husband graduates from college we are practicing the Dave Ramsey Snowball method. We have 4 debts plus medical expenses. I posted last month that I was thinking I'd like to pay off credit cards early in the year and then concentrate on the small ATV loan we have...instead we have decided that we'd start with the small ATV loan since it's a smaller principle balance but a larger monthly payment. We currently owe $2000 so it won't take long to eliminate that debt and the rest will follow, I can funnel that money straight to one of our 2 credit cards...so while I'm changing the method I'll use to eliminate debt, the end result is the same (though hopefully it will happen faster if I start with the ATV payment vs. the credit card). Also I'm hoping that building the savings account will allow us to avoid using credit cards in the future. However, when my husband graduates (tentatively) in the spring of 2013 he will not only be debt free but also will have NO student loans for his bachelors degree so if we absolutely have to use one small credit card to get there, I am ok with it....although will do just about anything to avoid using them! I'm hoping we can also put away a few hundred dollars to use if/when a foster child arrives for their immediate needs until we get them set up with any services they may need.

Cyclical Personality

My mind works in cycles. Every December I start thinking about budgets, financial goals, to prepare for the next year. I'll lay out the financial goals and then show you my problem:

early 2012: add $1000 to our savings

early 2012: pay off all credit cards (because my husband is a student, we do find these devil cards necessary from time to time

late 2012: pay off ATV (we currently owe about $2400 so this should be relatively easy to do)

early 2013: pay off truck (we currently owe $7300)

early 2013: put an additional $3000 in savings

mid 2015: buy Todd a new truck (hopefully paying cash)

early 2016: save an additional $10,000 (3 months income which by then hopefully will last longer than 3 months if our expenses no longer include debt)

mid 2016: start saving for college, retirement, honeymoons and land. You see I'd like to contribute a portion for my boys college, while we won't be paying tuition, we'd like to pay for books, laptop, printer and some general "extras", when they marry we'd like to be able to help with the cost of a honeymoon and provide them each with 5 acres of land, and of course we'd like to retire comfortably.

starting to see my dilemma? Our older boys are now in the 2nd grade...they'll graduate in 2022...that only gives us 6 years to save up for their college...I don't believe that will be enough time to save as much as I'm going to want to help with. I guess I have some thinking to do. Any suggestions?

Feeling Better about the Budget

I've been feeling pretty defeated lately over our budget, over letting our budget fall to the back burner. It's been in the nagging at me lately and I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was just failing at budgeting. So to gain some perspective I pulled the numbers. Where we were in other years compared to where we are this year. This difference is scary...where we've been shows me where we never want to be again! I never want to have that much useless debt! I know that while my husband is in school we are investing in our future and money spent during this time is not wasted but an investment in us and in our children. Parents with a college education are more likely to have children with a college education.
So where exactly were we in August 2009? 2010? Today?
well we owed on 2 credit cards, the truck and the ATV. We still are paying on all of these things. However we have not created any new bills and even with Todd is school, we have not created any new student loans. So here's the break down

YEAR TRUCK ATV CC 1 CC 2
2009 16,691 6,375 2,977 3,000

2010 11,263 4,300 2,258 2,400

2011 7,600 2,900 300 2,138

As ashamed as I am that we have used the credit cards AGAIN this year, I know that we've had set backs ($900 of CC 2 was used to visit Todd's dying brother in Missouri - - money well spent). We have no current medical bills and no student loans! That's a good place to be in. Todd will graduate in 2013 (if all goes well between now and then...we all know the saying "best laid plans") and by 2013, I expect to have every penny of this debt paid off!

Over my lunch I was looking at these numbers and really analyzing the difference and at first glance, it doesn't look like much but then I added them all up...totals for each year. In 2009 we had $29,000 in debt, in 2010 we had $20,200 in debt and right now we have $12,938 in debt. So in 2 years we have paid off $16,000 in debt and countless medical bills! That number feels SO good! It renews my faith in my plans and budgeting. And while I know we'll sometimes fall short, and maybe have big set backs that end up costing over $2,000, I know that God will provide and that we'll pull through this season in our life. It's a very temporary season and we're just doing the best we can to make memories with the limited budget.

Todd this semester is driving to Findlay every day. That's a lot of gas used and bigger baby sitting fees than ever. We aren't really sure how to budget just yet but we are trusting that God will take care of us. We know that he's investing in us too and is being patient waiting for us to become a real asset to him. We can see Him working in our life, molding our hearts.

budget fail

Our life has been SO out of control lately that our budget has started to go out the window and we're just hanging on for dear life! It's been crazy! I usually start my budget every January, and I'm great with it until about July....so for a good 6 months I am completely on the wagon...and then summer hits and I slack! My budget is so stupid proof that it's hard to keep up with because really I know every pay period what has to be paid...I have a check list and since I'm salary, I know what my income will be, so I know what gets paid and when it gets paid...I also have all of my bills (except my electric) on a budget plan so my heat bill is always $59 a month (including the summer), I know my phone bill is always $110 and my cable/internet is always $78...you get the point! So my medical bills were starting to stack up so it was time to pay them, I got wrote up the reimbursement form (for my medical expense account) and luckily it looks like we have enough to be fully reimbursed for all our medical bills so far this year. Phew because Lane Micahel has his big pannel of blood work at his appt on 8/31 and that usually means an endoscopy for him. But then Todd is DJing right now to bring in some extra cash and right now we're using that for school clothes and supplies and Christmas gifts. I'm so proud of Todd and the changes he's made in his financial thinking...now if I could just stop the nickel and diming we both do! LOL

A Fortunate Turn of Events.

I see God's hand working in our lives. So what the title actually really reads is "A Blessed Turn of Events"
I will admit that I am blessed. I am a lot like my father in that I can fall in a big vat of poop and come out smelling like a rose. It began early, getting pregnant with twins, I married Todd...before we even really knew each other...God blessed us...neither one of us turns into an ogre...often. Then when Todd fell 18 feet...it could have been worse. When we needed a buyer for the farm, not one, but 2 buyers fell into our lap...one willing to pay significantly more than the other. When we were ready to sell the trailor, a buyer literally came from no where and bought it. When we were ready for Todd to go back to school but not ready to make that leap, he was laid off. We have never had a tragedy that God didn't bring us through and he's always set us in a better place afterwards. So I have no doubt that if moving to this farm is his will, he'll help us make it happen. So today, when I called to pay off a medical bill that was ready to go to collections (I'm not proud of this but I was fighting with the hospital. whatever), I called and told the lady what I needed and she said that it hadn't gone on my credit report...and in fact, they had never sent anything to my credit report. *good news* I think I have decent credit but haven't had it pulled recently to know. Then I called Dayton Childrens and found out that the bills I was getting ready to pay for $154 and $200 were not billed properly and we won't owe anything! Not only that, but the bill I paid last month for $167 should be refunded! More good news! God does not work in mysterious ways and always answers our prayers...sometimes his answer is just "no"
We talked to the boys over the last couple of days and explained that they're going to have to go to the smaller bedroom soon and Ryan will move to our room...they were ok with it. *shock* We also explained they'll probably lose their playroom...again met with good attitudes and finding the bright side!
Then we dropped the bomb...we can't go on vacation until our house sells. Met with...more good attitudes...and "maybe we can go camping" "can we go to Tennessee"..."can we give you our allowance to help get the new house?" This one made my heart swell...they didn't ask if they could help pay for vacation...they just want the other house...they are such good boys. I talked to the hotel and they said we've got about a year to use our vacation package...hopefully, we can benefit from this...but if we can't, maybe we can offer it to someone else. I'm so proud of these boys! And right now, life is good!

Moving update. again.

So, the house on 198 is not in foreclosure and will not go to Sheriff's sale. There are 2 owners of this home. One is in prison for 16 years (or so) for a brutal rape and will get out in 2020, the other owner seems like a really nice guy and is owed a large sum of money by the first owner. So, he's calling the bank to see how much money it would take to get out from under this house. We've been working feverishly to get our house on the market...a few more weeks and we should be ready to go. We have quite a to do list:

-take up carpet in living and dining room
-finish the edges of the hard wood floors in living and dining room
-touch ups on the living room paint job (that post will follow)
-trade bedrooms and paint those rooms (as a quick fix Ryan will take our room, twins will take play room, Todd and I will take master bedroom and we will strip out the carpet in the basement, paint the floor and make it the playroom)(this will mean painting all these bedrooms)
-fix stairway and bathroom wall paper
-re-finish molding that Heather's dog chewed on
-basement ceiling

I'm sure there's more...but this list will get us started...and I think if this is completed, we can go ahead and get the house at least on the market. Wish us luck!

Tithing

I don’t tithe. I wish I did, I wish I could. DH doesn’t believe in it. I do. I believe that if God can provide for me a good job (that pays for all of my needs) the least I can do is give back just 10% of what he has given me. So recently our interim pastor gave a very moving sermon on the value of our money, how it changes us, how it is a weed in the garden but how we can make it work for us. My Aunt Landa also told a story of a family that had to choose between the winter coat that their child wanted and tithing, they could get a different coat, but not the one he wanted. On Sunday they wrote their check and with tears in their eyes, they tithed. After church a friend stopped them and said they had a bag of practically new clothes for their son, her little man had outgrown them before he had a chance to wear them. Among the clothes was THE coat he wanted. It was exact and it was still new. So recently Todd agreed to up our giving, we nearly tripled our giving and fall just short of tithing. It’s upsetting to think of what we used to give and have the ability to give…I don’t see a difference in our finances after we upped our contribution. We still have enough for our bills, to live comfortably on and are still left with some to put away! The thing is, Todd’s pay has been half the usual amount, work has been slow and during that time we should have been strapped, we should have lost some of our savings and we should have wondered if we would make it financially, but we didn’t. Instead we paid $500 extra in medical bills, we paid extra on our credit card and we saved a little…we got a little nervous but every Friday I write two checks before I do anything. One to daycare and one to church, and with that I ask God to bless my family, my decisions and of course my wallet. I don’t worry…well I do but I don’t lose sleep over money, I know that if hard times hit, we aren’t ready but we serve God who isn’t surprised by any of this, and he has plans that are his own, not mine to know, but his. So every Friday, when that paycheck shows up in my account, it’s with a joyful, not fearful heart, that I write that check.