Week 35 of 52 - Living Vicariously

I had the opportunity to photograph my friend Mel and her husband Fred today.  They are Harley riders and I enjoyed capturing them doing what they love.

As for me, I followed behind them in the Rav4 and pretended I was cruising behind on my Heritage Softail.  Yep, it was quite a stretch for a '99 Toyota with 2 car seats in the back.

Week 34 of 52 - Proceed to Checkout

What do savings accounts and scales have in common?  I can't fool either of them.

I’ve decided saving money is like maintaining a weight loss.  When you are losing weight, people see the pounds shedding, ask how you are doing it, and congratulate you on your progress.  When you are “shedding” debt, you see the numbers falling, payments ending, and you get to celebrate the victory when you are done.

Then comes the maintenance part of weight loss – figuring out how you can still enjoy food without regaining the lost pounds.  Similar to saving money – figuring out how much fun you can have while saving cash so you don’t regain the debts.

I’m motivated not to go in debt again, but I’ve felt daunted by our task of Baby Step 3 (saving a 3-6 month emergency fund).  We also need to save for two used vehicles over the next couple of years.  I imagine the scene: all that work and I’ll be able to say yep, this here is my new Toyota, she’s 10 years old and only has 100,000 miles on her.

Hopefully, my humor is evident.  The success will be in having money saved, not the car itself.

All that said, I do envy people who get a natural charge out of watching their bank account grow.  As for me, I have to work against my 3-click preferred endorphin release: “Add to Cart,” “Proceed to Checkout,” and “Place Order.”   Probably much like I will always have to manage my sweet tooth.

I remind myself that 15 years ago, I began a weight loss journey which gradually led to a healthier lifestyle. (A lifestyle which includes small daily doses of dark chocolate, mind you.)  With time, persistence, and prayer, I will learn to embrace these new money habits too.  Who knows, maybe someday I will be more giddy about my bank statement in the mail than an Amazon box on my porch.  Um, I'd better keep praying.

For this week's photos, Samuel and I stayed at home Wednesday night and played outside as the sun was setting.  He had been cranky with his molars coming in, but a little time outside took his mind off his troubles.

Week 33 of 52 - Growing and Changing

Ever look at your kids and swear they are growing before your eyes?  I've definitely had one of those weeks.  I'm away from them 48 hours and see changes in their looks, George's conversation, all the little details.  I think it's why I took so many "everyday" photos this week.

We had a tree branch fall and George took his toy hedge trimmers out to "cut it up".

And I admit, Samuel's hair probably isn't "scalped" as I described, but it IS really short and he looks so much older now.

Today, we went to Big Lots for George to cash in his spending money.  We've not been as consistent in using the coins for a good behavior award, but when we do, it works.  He's now earning money vacuuming the crumbs under Samuel's chair - practically a full-time job.

In the store, I marveled at the differences in the two boys.  When George was Samuel's age, he wouldn't leave my side.  As soon as Samuel's feet hit the ground, he was off to explore the rest of the store... as I chased behind.

We talked about how he only had enough money for either the three little sets of tools or the big tool set.  He is deciding which set to buy.

He may be a bit like his mother, analyzing all the data before making a decision...

He had discarded a similar tool set over a year ago.   Then he saw a photo of himself from last year playing with the tools and he began talking incessantly about "the tools of mine in the picture."  George:  Beg for tools.  Parent:  Give in and schlep up to the 100+ degree attic to look for the tools.  George:  Cry when parent can't find tools.  Other parent:  Think of another possible box in the attic.  Repeat the next day.  George decided to stop the madness and buy more tools.

Week 32 of 52 - Catching Up

Two weeks have passed and finally I'm blogging again.

Cause of absence?  Camera issues.  Here's how it all began:  I shot happily with the same camera for a couple of years, then chose to upgrade this year.  I saved my hobby money, made some Craigslist sales, and proceeded to buy a newer model.

Then trouble began.  I am extremely picky about focus and I began noticing my new camera* was front-focusing with two of my lenses.  After several tests, tears, and emails to my photography buddy, she agreed, and even the manufacturer agreed.   I sent it in for repair.

A few weeks passed, another camera is in my hands, and the previously-new camera was repaired and sold - with full disclosure to its new owner of course.  I'm enjoying my hobby again and able to "focus" on everything besides focus!

Between shipping cameras and selling gear for less than I paid, I lost a sizable chunk of my saved hobby money.  And I missed two weeks of my 52-week project.

I'm still sorting out my lessons learned, but eager to jump back in to what I love.  So a little scuffed and humbled, I charge forward.


This Week in Photos

I chose this photo because Colton reminds me of photos I've seen of my dad as a boy.  I never saw a resemblance until this photo.  So I loved it, despite being a tad overexposed... black/white to the rescue.

Giggly George.  They were playing with water guns and he was contemplating drinking the water out of his gun.  Why?  Because Samuel did.  I love that all the boys are captured in some way. 

Eagerly trying to figure out this whole water gun deal, Samuel paused to look my way.  Shortly before he gave up and drank the water out of the gun instead.

I could write an entire blog on this lady.  Former professor, friend, and extended mother.  She always speaks her mind to me - and my life is better for it.  She has been Christ's hands, feet, and mouth when I needed His love, encouragement, and help.  She has a new puppy Bud and wanted some photos to send her extended family.  She is holding her older dog Sunshine in this photo.

*I'm purposefully not mentioning any camera brands/models.  This can happen to any brand and typically is a function of the lenses rather than the camera.  In my case, the manufacturer concluded the camera needed adjustment. 

Week 30 -The Nitty Gritty of the Budget

After my last post, some folks asked questions about how we did our budget.  When we finally landed on a tight budget that worked for both of us, we found three keys:

Working together. 
Dave Ramsey says in most couples, one is the nerd and one is the free spirit.  Then there’s us.  I’m a split personality.  I’m the nerd, I like love to do budgets.  But, I also used my nerdness to squeeze the budget for my free spirit spending pleasures.

In the past, Walt was the carefree but frugal nerd.  He preferred the “let it ride” approach to budgeting –put everything on auto bill-pay, check-in once a month if needed, and watch a little TV instead.   

That said, we needed more time to find our budget groove and truly TALK about the budget.  I still watch every transaction and move things around depending on how the month is going, but we now check in 1-2 times each month and discuss those decisions.  

For us, this also meant combining our checking accounts, but every couple is different.  We also use Mvelopes.com which puts everything in one place – the checking account, savings accounts, the student loan and credit card debt registers (no more!), and our bill pay.  Think of it as a virtual envelope system*.

Being specific. 
We learned through trial and error that detail, detail, detail is the secret to a good budget. 

Most budgets break down because of something unforeseen.  As Dave Ramsey says, most things we declared as unforeseen were actually quite predictable – take Christmas for example, comes every year, same time every year.  Birthdays, new tires, school clothes are other examples.

We have sinking funds for many of these things.  Rather than busting the bank one month for a large expenditure, we divide the cost out over 12 months.

Sinking budget categories we use:

·         Car license plate renewal

·         Auto repair/maintenance

·         Home maintenance/landscaping

·         Birthdays/holiday and special occasion gifts

·         Monthly memberships/professional licenses

·         Eyeglasses

Including fun. 

I’ve been known to suck the life out of a budget.  Slashing everything and then living miserably until we couldn’t stand it any longer.  Perhaps the binge/purge of  budgeting, ha! 

To find a budget we could live within happily, we included:  

·         Personal “blow” money each month. For us, this meant $50/month each while we were paying off debt.   This amount is a personal decision completely dependent on income, other family goals, and debt.  On the Dave Ramsey forums, I’ve seen this amount range from $20 - $200 per person each month.

·         A small eating out fund for the family.  Meals out at work came out of the blow fund.

·         Small vacations some years.  We did choose to forgo a vacation last year, and delay this year’s vacation until we finished Baby Step 2.  (Hoping the federal government’s debt situation doesn’t impact our ability to keep that plan!)

·         Some splurges in our future budget once we hit particular goals to keep us motivated.

All that to Say.

So I hope this explains things and helps you think about your own budget.  Also, don’t be discouraged if the first few budgets fall short or even fail.  That’s actually quite normal.  We learned during Financial Peace University that it usually takes about 90 days for most couples to figure out how to do a budget that works.  For us, we took about four years, but who’s counting?

*Envelope System:  Dave Ramsey recommends every dollar is assigned to a spending category.  For some of those categories (such as gas, clothing and groceries), he recommends you use cash and store the cash in envelopes. When the envelope is empty, you’ve spent all you should for that month.  Since we use debit cards for these items, we use virtual spending envelopes in Mvelopes.  Studies do show people buy less when paying cash, so cash envelopes may prove useful if you routinely overspend in certain areas.

Week 29 - The Photos

I've traveled with work to Boston this week and captured a shot I liked with my point and shoot.

Missed my boys and edited a couple snaps from last week while flying home.   Runny nose from a tantrum about something I can't recall now. 

My little sand-eater...

Week 28 of 52 - The Photos

Shared our debt-free story earlier in the week.  The week in photos for my 52-week project...

George suggested this pose.  He said, "I know what would look cute..."  Had so much fun with him.

When Samuel doesn't like the texture of the surface on his knees (particularly grass), he crawls like this.  He started walking this week too.  Needless to say, catching him for a photo can be a challenge!

George pretending to drive the lawnmower.  This is the only photo in which his lips weren't puckered making an engine sound.  The sun makes his hair look like it's on fire.