Day 3 of boot camp

How are everyones weekly assignments going? Here is where I am at, just to show you what yours could look like?

STEP ONE

Make short term goals (1-3yrs):

• start paying all bills on time (I need to lay this out on my calender)
• pay off taxes
• pay off Visa

Make Long term goals: (3-5yrs)

• continue to save for retirement
• continue to save for child education savings

Once you have mapped out your goals, it's time to think about them. And we will be doing more of this next week.

STEP TWO

In the last two days, I'll I've spend money on is groceries and gas. We don't have a great gym in my area so I drive about 35-50min for a gym most days. I know, its a waste but the gyms here are terrible. I'm thinking in the winter, so I don't have to drive, I'll work out at home and save on the gym fees and gas.

So far my list looks like this:

Saturday

17.43 - groceries

Sunday:

$26.87 - groceries

$48.00 - gas

STEP THREE

You bet my credit card is in the freezer!

How is everyone else doing? Are you only purchasing things that take you towards your goals?

ditching debt boot camp - day 1

One of the first steps towards paying off your debt is changing the way you think! ...and every purchase you make. You have to start asking yourself when considering a purchase "does this product take me towards my goal or away from it?" This will help you keep focused.

In week one we have three steps:

Step 1: Make short term and long term goals. Your goals revolve around paying off your debt, saving for an emergency fund, saving for vacation, or your children's college fund.

Step 2: Keep track of all your money spent! You can do this by making little notes in a book. Carry it on your purse, with a pen and write down every penny you spend for the week. Keep track day by day and keep track in categories. Ex: coffee, groceries, gas etc

Step 3: Put away your credit card! I'll be putting mine in the freezer: fill a zip lock bag with water, put your card in, and freeze it! No, this does not *hurt* your card. Trust me, I have done it before! You can easily be paying over 24% in annual interest rates. Credit cards are the EASIEST means to collecting debt! No credit cards for the next 8 weeks!

You are not alone! I will be doing this with you! My credit card goes in the freezer today!

Anyone wanting to blog their progress, blogger is a great blog to help you keep track of things. Otherwise, writing your progress down on paper will also work

We have 11people in our boot camp. Utube vides will be on our facebook page only. Our facebook page is only viewable to our 11 members.

October Goals

OK, it's been a looooong time!

It's easy to get lost in my work and not make time for finances. I've had a few emails recently to get back to blogging! I'm glad my blog posts help others and I'd hate to disappoint ;)

What better way to start back it it than with Octobers goals:

• pay off my over due taxes (over $3,000)
• sell or give away five things out of the house (still wishing to be a minimalist)
• create a monthly budget (I'm always terrible for this)
• make a list of this months bills and pay them on time
• no buying cloths, shoes or accessories
• get the ditching debt boot camp going
• blog at least three times a week
• stick with my fitness routine

Blogging always helps me stay focused on what I need to do with my money. The more I think about it, the better I am at paying off debt.

Don't keep a float with overdraft protection!

Last year banks made 40 BILLION dollars just off your over draft fees!!! 40 BILLION! That's a lot of money in just our over draft fees.

Today I went and cancelled my overdraft because I do unfortunately use it from time to time. On the paper work when I was signing the form to close the overdraft I saw that I was paying 21% interest

I would NEVER pay 21% on a credit card! In addition to the 21% I was charged $5 every time I used it.

day off

I had a day off today :) It was pretty great. I had breakfast in a park, I laid in the hammock for a awhile, cleaned my back yard and went shopping for our veggy garden. The veggy garden has been weeded and is ready for the veggies to go in. I haven't gardened since I moved in this house 2.5years ago so I feel it's about time. I use to have seven gardens that I loved in an older house and spent hours on them, but since moving out of that house I gave up on gardening. I'll have peppers and tomatoes and a separate herb garden. I'll take a photo eventually!

When my son got home from school it was off to spend money! He needed new shoes, shorts and a belt. Funny story: our organizer threw his shoes out because they looked so bad she thought they were old, lol. He is hard on shoes. I bought him two pair in the Sept and he needs more already? My shoes last forever...well, close to almost ;) After shopping we got his hair cut, had dinner, then went to a movie. We saw the Hangover 2. It was funny but I thought the first one was funnier.

That was my day off -- awesome!

pocket change savings

The last time the organizer was here she found about $15 in change in just my laundry room. I take the change out of our pockets and put it on the the washer or somewhere around there before putting the cloths in the washer.

Other than our washing machine, we have change in three different 'holding spots' in the house. My son has full access to one of the containers for things like going down town with friends or money for school pizza or hot dog day. There is never much in there, maybe $10 or less at any time.

The other two places where I keep the change I save till there is enough to roll and then put into my sons bank account. He knows he has a bank account but he doesn't know how much is in it. The last spare change deposit was almost $400

What do you do with your pocket change?

cut your gasoline bill

In the last month I have seen gas anywhere from $1.17-$1.45. When my son was born, 13yrs ago, gas was .45!

I drive a lot, spending a lot! I've had to become a better and smarter driver to help save money at the pump and thought I'd share a few ideas that may help you as well.

1. Be consistent with your driving. Avoid a lead foot while driving. Stop and go driving decreases your fuel efficiency. Try to maintain your speed while on the highway. Cruise control is your friend!
2. Don't keep the car running. We do it sometimes right?! How about at the drive thru? Park the car and walk in. If you know me, you know I'm a fan of Iced Caps. I spend at least 10min in a line waiting for an Iced Cap. Now, I park the car and walk in. It saves time as well as lines in the store mostly seem to be shorter than the drive thru. When waiting for a friend, shut the car off for that minute.
3. Keep it light. Less weight means better mileage so remove the junk form your trunk!
4. Carpool? Reduce tat carbon foot print and save money
5. Combine errands to minimize unnecessary trips. Instead of making several trips try to plan in a way to get it all done at once. I know another financial blogger who keeps track of 'no drive days'. This can be great if you're able to walk or bike to work and same for errands.

Gasoline spreadsheets may be great for a very organized person (I am not) to track how the car is doing: Gas Mileage Log & Calculator