Thursday, December 8, 2011

I have some great news!!!!

 I'm expecting!!!

Expecting to be debt free in 1 year or less that is.

We have 5 credit cards and one of them is already paid off!

From least to greatest we have:
Victoria's Secret - 0 balance
Macy's - $100.00
Cabelas - $300
Best Buy - $1500
Discover - $4000
(the numbers aren't really what our cards are at but just for explanation purposes they are close enough)

Recently Derek and I have been at each others throats because of "money issues."
I hate it. I've been listening to a lot of Dave Ramsey lately and Derek and I have come up with a plan for how to get out of debt. We're working with the "Snowball Method."  That is where you pay off your smallest debit card or loan first. Ours happens to be our Macy's card. We will pay that one off this month and then be DONE with the Macy's card. (I might keep it so I can use the coupons.) But I will definitely not use it unless I can turn right around and pay it off at the counter.

Next on our list after that is our Cabelas card. We will take what we were paying on the Macy's card and add it to the Cabela's card. That will then be paid off in about 2 months. Next on our list is the Best Buy card. We will take what we paid on both the Cabelas card and the Macy's card and pay off the best buy card in about 5 months. All the while we are paying the minimum (plus a little because I just like to make sure if we have a little extra it's going on there) on the Discover card (the ugly red headed step child that lurks in our wallet).

I'm projecting to be debt free in 7-9 months! Isn't that awesome!

I'm really hoping that we can stick to this and be debt free so we can start saving for things like:
a car for Stratton when he turns 16
college for Stratton after he graduates high school
home improvements
a new dryer
a new fridge
retirement
stocks

I'm really excited about this and if anyone has any helpful hints as to other ways to save please let me know. I've already gotten on the band wagon for the budgeting and having the money saving envelopes. Derek and I are working on the whole budget thing now. The blow money and the months bills are what is so hard right now. We will get this down pact though! I have confidence.


Elf on the Shelf

Oh the Elf on the Shelf. Stratton's newest enemy.
Most kids that are introduced to the Elf love him and his magical ways. Not my kid. He's terrified of him. I sat him down and read him the book about how the elf.
 
 We asked him what he wanted to name his new magical friend and all he could say was "Elf." Derek and I made him at least put a -y on the end of it so he is now known as "Elfy." He was seriously terrified that this thing was now going to be living in our house and watching him. We put him on the tree and every time Stratton would walk by the tree he would stare at it like it was going to jump off the tree and bite him.

The next day we moved him like the book says to do and we hid him in the kitchen. The morning went by and Stratton was too tired to notice that he had moved but when we got home he remember and finally found him. Right before bedtime came around I told Stratton he had to take a bath. Not a good thing because recently he's hated getting in the bathtub. He loves it once he's in there but he hates the initial "lets get in the bath right now." I told him that "Elfy was watching him and Santa wouldn't bring him the skateboard play set that he's been wanting if he didn't listen to Mommy." Immediately he broke down in tears and said he didn't need another skateboard set because he already had one and he didn't need two. This seriously broke my heart. I don't have the heart to tell him lies like that. He's getting the skateboard set. I already have it bought. He's so scared of the dang thing that we put him back in his box and put him in the closet. See ya later Elfy. I'm hoping that just telling him that Santa is watching him is good enough. Poor kid is already scared of monsters and ghosts. We don't need to throw another creepy elf into the mixture.

Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow! I have TWO crafts to post about AND Friday Confessions!