Blogging Away Debt

by Hope

We are all in and ready for No Spend October. Volleyball ended yesterday. Gymnast continues to train once a week, but I believe he’s on the cusp of quitting. It should be a very quiet month around here as far as extra-curriculars go. Seriously, the least commitments we have had in the 7 years since Gymnast started competing. I know it won’t last, but I’m going to enjoy it for what it is!

Food for the Month

I visited Walmart Sunday to grocery shop and spent right at $100 of our food stamps. I stocked up on eggs, almond milk and some fresh produce. My goal is to use no more than $50 more dollars for groceries during the month of October. We have plenty of food stamps left to cover that.

I have created a meal plan for each week along with a list of items to pull out of the freezer each week to make sure frozen meat isn’t an issue. (The meat still being frozen can completely derail dinner plans. In the past would send me out the door for take out. That is not happening this month!)

I plan to cook a fresh meal every day except Sundays. Leftovers will be used for lunches. And Sundays, everyone will be on their own. (Today Princess cooked breakfast for dinner for she and I and Gymnast; Sea Cadet cooked Tilapia for he and History Buff.)

Household Items

I purchased two containers of laundry detergent ($7 each) and 2 gallons of vinegar ($3 each.) Before you ask, we use vinegar in our laundry and for most of our household cleaning. The chore chart for month has been posted, and I double checked that we have the supplies for our typical day to day chores.

I did splurge just a little bit Sunday while out picking up groceries. I purchased 4 mums (seasonal plants) for our front stoop. They would have been $16 but I was able to use Sea Cadet’s discount at his job and got them for right at $10.

Entertainment

The kids and I have spent a lot of time talking about fun things we can do this month for free. We seem to have a steady stream of teenage visitors every weekend, so I don’t anticipate any problems with boredom.

Between video games, a free Redbox movie voucher I’ve been holding on to for this month, board games and long evening walks, I think the time will go by quickly. History Buff and I have each set a daily “steps” goal to work on our health. I’m grateful for the cooler weather and the company on evening walks.

We like to walk downtown with the dogs. Everything closes early so if we go around 7pm we have the sleepy street to ourselves. It’s something I did alone a lot this summer, it’s nice to have company now.

We also have a family goal of having all Christmas presents for Texas family (grandparents, 3 uncles and 1 aunt) before we drive down in November. We will spend some time creating those gifts. My goal in doing this is to save the cost of shipping. I’m hoping we have enough craft supplies around for what people want to make, we typically do. I know Princess has already started knitting and has a large stash of yarn, especially since I don’t knit too often anymore.

We are Ready

I believe we are set. Barring any emergencies, I am very hopeful that this will be a very successful month for us on all fronts. In addition to the obvious financial goals of saving a substantial amount of money by not spending any extra and only paying minimums, I have some additional more personal goals for our family this month as well:

Eat dinner together as a family at the table at least 4 nights a week. Our crazy busy after school schedule and Sea Cadets twice weekly night classes has kind of derailed that since school started.
Walk at least 30 minutes every day. I return to the doctor this month after being on medication for diabetes for 3 months. Increasing my exercise is my next step to improving and regaining control of my health.
Take one day off a week. I tend to work 7 days a week. It’s time I started giving myself a break. My plan is to have an electronics free day, one day per week. Saturdays seem to be the most conducive for this since I do weekly prep on Sundays. I’m interested in seeing how a gadget free day will affect my productivity the rest of the week.
Start my day earlier. Since I have now taken on homeschooling two of my sons, I need more hours in the day. I’m planning to start my week days 2 hours earlier then normal to allow for more time to work with them, specifically Gymnast. Wish me luck as this cuts into my sleep time. But I believe it will balance out since we won’t be out late this month with sports, etc.
Go on dates more. No this is not a reference to my boyfriend although that is going very well. I intend to spend more one on one time with each of the kids through the week. Seeing as we will be home most days after 3pm and don’t typically crash until 9pm or later, that gives me plenty of time to spend some quality one on one time with each child several times throughout the month. I always call one on one time dates…with my kids or my friends.
Catch up on some reading. I have stacks of books I am looking forward to reading. Most are self help or money related. With less drive time, and hopefully more free time, I hope to spend more time catching up on my favorite past time. My plan is to work this into the school time. We will either read aloud or go sit at the library or just have some quiet reading time.

I am looking forward to what I hope will be a relatively uneventful, peaceful month. By removing the temptation to shop, no need to be out all the time and a plan in place, I think our No Spend Month is going to be a hit. Have you ever done a no spend month? What were you biggest takeaways? Do you make it a regular occurrence?

by Hope

Our A/C went out Thursday night. I am SO GRATEFUL I rent. That’s the 3rd it’s gone out this summer. And I haven’t had to pay a dime to get it running again. In addition, my landlord has had to replace the back wall of our laundry room, a section of the roof due to leaks and so on.

It just continues to show me, how wise it is for me to just rent a home at this stage in my life. I’m also very grateful for a landlord that jumps on these types of maintenance issues. I have not waited more than a single day for A/C repairs and the other issues were contracted out as soon as I reported them.

I have heard horror stories of what other tenants have had to deal with. We have been really blessed to never have been in those types of situations.

This Past Week’s Spending

Overall, I am happy with this week’s spending. As anticipated there were some unexpected/unplanned for costs with History Buff moving in. But even with those, I didn’t end up too far over for the week and they really were required expenses.

Description	Anticipated	Actual
Income *after taxes	$464	$450
Gas	($35)	($41)
Volleyball - entrance fees	($5)	($15)
Sea Cadet Insurance	$50	$100
Insurance Payment		($100)
Furniture for History Buff	??	($352)
History Buff Driver's License		($32)
Medicine Co-pay		($2)
History Buff ACT scores		($26)

Total	$474	($18)

Notes

History Buff, Gymnast and I attended an unexpected and previously unscheduled volleyball game for Princess. That’s why the cost was higher than expected.
Sea Cadet has decided to pay his insurance on a bi-weekly basis rather than weekly, which makes sense since those are his pay days. I immediately put that money toward our auto insurance.
After shopping around for a couple of days, I decided the best option for History Buff’s bed was the same place I got all of ours last spring. But the cost for the exact same bed is almost a $100 more now! Ugh! But as I’ve told the kids, they each have a bed they can take with them when they move out. I know kids do not need full size beds, but with them all being so close to spreading their wings and leaving the next, my logic is that this will save me from feeling the need to help them purchase an “adult” bed when they move. This is the bed I purchased him from Sams Club.
I also paid for History Buff to get his GA Drivers License and wanted to get that done as quickly as possible since we will want in state tuition when he goes on to get additional schooling (after he finishes high school.)
We needed to send his ACT scores to the local colleges where he will be dual enrolled which also had to happen as soon as possible since registration opens in just over a week.

I believe I’m done with the unexpected moving in costs for History Buff. He has already begun schooling and will take the placement tests at the local community college to confirm his acceptance for dual enrollment next week.

He is looking for work, and has two more paychecks coming from the two jobs he left in VA. Hopefully he will have enough to cover his bills until he gets a job. I’ve not decided what I will do if he doesn’t. He has a monthly car insurance bill and cell phone bill to keep up with.

One Caveat to No Spend Month

I/we are ready and committed to No Spend Month which begins for us today! Yeah! I’m excited to see what my buffer looks like at the end of the month. And still haven’t worked out a budget for our Texas trip over Thanksgiving, but it’s rolling around in my brain.

I have decided to allow one splurge during the month of October. We are going to do a small family celebration. Our blended family was formed on October 5th, 2011 when the twins were placed with us by the US Foster Care system. They were 12 years old, two weeks from turning 13. Their adoption was finalized in October, 2013 just before their 15th birthday.

History Buff and Sea Cadet at 13th birthday party

The twins at their first ever birthday party. It happened a couple of weeks after their 13th birthday and I didn’t know many kids their age, so we filled the part with family friends and a few neighborhood kids they went to school with. History Buff (L) and Sea Cadet (R)

Within weeks of the twins arrival, the kids were bonded and always had a good time together. Here they are trying on some exceptional large but comfortable sweats that were donated for the twins. (Sea Cadet is next to Gymnast and History Buff and Princess are behind them.)

We used to celebrate every year by going to the local paint on pottery place and each making a piece with the number of years we had been together, and then out to eat. We haven’t been able to do that in a number of years. Between financial problems and then History Buff moving out, well, we haven’t celebrated much at all in regards to our family.

But What to Do…

I have decided that we will do something this year. But I’m not telling the kids. And haven’t decided what. There is a paint on pottery place a town over. And it would be nice to carry on that tradition. But it can be pricey based on what you choose and we really don’t need any more coffee mugs (typically the cheapest option.)

I don’t want it to just be a meal out. I want it to be memorable and I want them to have something to hold on to afterwards, a momento to help them remember this. It’s important and it’s our first year back together after almost 2 years of living apart.

Give me your suggestions, any and all are welcome. Price is a factor, I don’t want to break the bank especially since this is a splurge during No Spend Month.

Blogging Away Debt Our Journeys to a Debt-Free Life

No Spend Month has Begun