SpoonFullofJelly

Happy Anniversary  to the Man of My Dreams! Thank you for being strong, weak, funny, serious, happy, sad and  down right there every moment of the past  5 years! May we continue on this wonderful path together!

Its March and Hubby and I are thinking of summer. I know some of you are shocked since it's still a little cold out, but our snow has melted and the birds are chirping. That means that summer will early and warmer than usual! Camp site reservations are opening soon and summer activity schedules are opening everywhere. I'm so excited! We want to make sure that we are well prepared to enjoy the joys of summer so we are getting a head start. I figured that I should share some great tips I learned years ago. Don't wait for summer to sneak up on you and your family. Welcome it well prepared, emotionally and financially. 1. Make a List of Summer Activities We love to try new restaurants and we save up for this every winter. We try 2-4 new restaurants each month and spend no more than $25 at each place. Sometimes we have enough money for a meal each and other times we have to share. We just want the experience. We are also campers, swimmers, travelers and theater lovers. We...

When you make a left here onto I-90 you will run right into a medical bill pile up. Be care because small bills really create a mess. One visit here and another over there and the next thing you know this heavy envelope comes from the middle of nowhere and side swipes you. Slowly look inside because there is a massive bill that the insurance company decided that they "can't cover". Don't take this beaten laying down. Get up and fight because there's nothing left but your wallet and your sanity when there's Medical Bill Pile Up on I-90. When Hubby and I started paying down debt, we already knew we had $800 in medical bills. The bill was nearly 3 years old. We would pay money on it here and there, but not constantly enough to pay them off. Once it was time to get serious with paying down what we owe, we placed the two bills in the pile and began to pay on them when the smaller one was done. Right around the fourth month of the Dave Ramsey's plan, we decide...

We are busting out butts to pay down our debt because we want our future to be as pain free as possible. We don't want to keep owning someone every month for things that weren't paid for outright. I hate the misconception our society and even parents sold to us. The bucket of lies they sold that you can buy whatever you want as long as you pay it back; never mind how long it takes to pay it back. That's a load of horse-ish! Can you walk in to a clothing store and give them $10 for a $100 pair of jeans? No! So why do we apply that concept to couches, cars, houses and more? Why do we think it's ok to owe for everything we ever consume? I don't get it and I don't want to get caught up in that lifestyle. Hubby and I want to live with the concept of Cash is King . So many countries around the world do not take credit cards for good reason. They want cash or debit. So after we finish off our student loan debt, we plan on saving for a house. That could mean that we w...

Now that you have placed your debt in increasing order, lowered your bills and placed all saved and newly found cash on the lowest debt, you can turn your attention to the envelope system.  Learning to save a few bucks a month will prevent a birthday party from throwing you into financial ruin for a month. Since we have followed this method for nearly a year, we now have savings for things that we never thought we would.  We can't tell you how much to place in each envelope but, I have listed our amounts that we save per month. Often Forgotten and Yet 'Fun' Spending: Auto Repairs       $30.00 Auto licenses and tab renewal/taxes     $10.00 Medical Bills       $10.00 Vitamins     $60.00 Dentist/Doctors       $0 Restaurants     $20.00 Clothing     $20.00 Transportation (gas)       $120.00 Drinks (coffee, beers after work and smoothies)       $10.00 ...