by Claire
And what a gorgeous San Antonio morning it is! The sunrise was phenomenal today! Of course, what isn’t gorgeous when it is finally 63 degrees outside? We are getting a small taste of fall and I am always aware of what great things that does for my mood. It was such a wonderful weekend with my two kids and extended family! Much to be grateful for in this life.
You will see the debt updates are made and I know you will have a lot of questions. I have to ask that you refrain from posing those questions because I simply cannot provide more detail. By now you all know how difficult that is for me because I am a detail kinda gal (yes, often TOO detailed) so this is my only comment about this and we will all be well served by just moving forward with these new, much reduced, numbers!
I don’t know what kind of progress to expect through the rest of 2012 because things are so uncertain right now. I do know that I tweaked the new budget spreadsheet and feel pretty good about the plan going forward. I got the kids involved with the budget planning and both of them had some great suggestions! DS set his goal as helping us reduce the utility bill. This is a good one for him to focus on since he is the worst about leaving lights and electronics on! DD wants to help us save on groceries by being in charge of checking the sale ads and coupons. That might be too big an undertaking for her but she won’t be discouraged. I can definitely make more cuts in my weekly spending money and with the help of the kids we can find another $100 to $150 to sink into debt.
I do feel refreshed and rejuvinated on the debt payoff plan. There is a lot of positive energy flowing in the house. It’s a new day and that doesn’t mean that there isn’t sadness for the loss of what we all thought we had in our family. There is comfort in realizing things aren’t always as they seem, people will disappoint and hurt you in this life but if you have faith as a constant, nothing is too big to overcome. Keep Calm and Carry On!
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
I am sorry that you are going through this difficult time and just wanted you to know, that your positivity has been a ray of sunshine during my early morning commutes.
You have motivated me to start my own debt reduction journey!
Thank you!
P.S. As a divorced woman who used humor to explain things, I’ll give you a good answer for explaining your new numbers. It’s easy to get skinny and lower your debt when you lose 200 pounds of dead weight! 😉
It’s amazing how much the weather can lift our spirits 🙂 It sounds like you have a good game plan, and realistic expectations. Plus, I think it’s cool that your children are engaged in reducing expenses. Not only will they help you, but I think it’ll be neat for them to see the effect they can have on the family finances!
I am sorry for what you are going through. On the bright side (?), I think this new journey will inspire others more than you will ever know. So many people find themselves in similar situations. While you may struggle getting back to the intense debt payoff that you had previously, you will also be able to learn from and teach others how it can be done with just one income. Hang in there and good luck!
Claire: Having your children be involved in your goal of debt reduction is a great way for them to focus on healing your family as well. Kudos to you. You sound like a great Mom. So sorry for your current trials (no pun intended), but as you say, carry one!
Shoot… I meant Carry ON!
I love your positive outlook. And I love that you have involved the kids in looking at reducing the debt – what a great opportunity to teach them about money. I hate what you’re going through, but I think there will be a silver lining to it all. It’s SO hard when both parties aren’t on the same page. I know that you will come out on the other side with a renewed spirit and attitude – hopefully Steve will be able to do the same.
I am curious about something. & I am amazed you are blogging at all – so this is not an “I expect an immediate answer,” kind of question, but I am really curious how you think this all would have played out had you not started this blog and gotten really serious about your debt. Would your inclination have been to take on more debt, perhaps? It seems you are *really* committed on the debt paydown, even in the midst of all this upheveal. & I wonder how much of that commitment is due to this blog. A blog post idea for some time in the future?
Take Care!
I echo the comments about involving the kids in ways to save money. I admit I haven’t done that enough, so consider me inspired.
Well, I trust you can’t talk about something either because of a legal restriction or because it’s an open wound that’s too sensitive.
anyway, i’m happy to see the lower numbers, although sorry about the circumstances leading to those lower numbers.
The best thing here is that the whole family is in on the debt reduction! I’m thrilled that you all are so closely bonded and will be getting one another through this tough time.
And you’re right, what a beautiful morning we’ve had in the last couple days!!!!! So refreshing.
I know a lot of bloggers that only put one part of their lives online…the happy….Thank you for sharing what you can, even if you think its not everything! I’ve never been in your situation (divorce) but I have been in the situation where 200 lbs of dead weight have left, leaving behind 30K in debt. One day and dollar at a time, and things will get better!
Very smart to involve your kids in the solution and to inform them of your financial issues to a certain extent. Hopefully this will speed up your debt reduction AND help them make better financial choices when they are adults.
I know this is such a difficult time for you, but I hope looking at your updated numbers makes you feel good! And to think you were worried about hovering at 60K!
I too love your positive outlook.
Wow! What a difference. I’m impressed by the progress you’ve made, especially in light of what you’re going through.
Congrats on getting your children involved in debt reduction. Your positive outlook is inspiring. 🙂
Despite everything, it sure must be some consolation to see that debt halved.
I admire you and your kids to have such a positive attitude.
Re: ds watching the utility bill. This may be a tough one for him to feel good about. Around here, no matter how much I cut my usage, my bill goes up because rates are always going up!
We’ve also cut things so much that small differences show up and can be discouraging. For instance our July average daily usage was 15% more in 2012 over 2011 despite not using the AC during our heat wave. So all that suffering seemed to have no effect at all. I had forgotten we were away on holiday 11 days in 2011 and only 6 days in 2012! Averaged over the month, those extra 5 days made a noticeable difference in our usage.
You won’t be able to compare your usage year over year because you have fewer people in the house. As well, something like a very hot summer or cold winter could make all your ds’s small savings disappear which is discouraging, especially when his sister will be able to show savings over a few dollars or more every week.
So watching electricity is important but not a task where the results are obvious.
He might do better tracking amount of gasoline used in the car. (We have a notebook in the glove box and write down the mileage, $ amount and amount of gas we buy in each fill up so we can accurately track our mileage.)
If he was doing that he would be able to see how combining errands and walking sometimes reduces the miles driven each week. He’d also know exactly how much it costs to drive a mile. For example we have a Prius and live in the country. The next village, 3 miles or 5 minutes away, has our church, doctor, grocery store and library. I can make one trip to the doctor, library and store, or make 3 in a week. If I time things to make one trip – I’ll save $1.20 (as well as 20 minutes of driving time.)
Vacuum off the coils on the fridge and freezer and anything else with a compressor. Saves some cents.
I love the nearly vertical line on the debt chart!
You are being so positive and those numbers are GREAT!!! Awesome whatever you did!