2014 Goal Update

So January isn't even over yet....

1) - Save, save, save. I need to have $6,000 - $8,000 saved up by September.  If we work hard and stick to a budget (that's hard for us!) we can do it. We're at $1000 right now, so only $5-$7k to go.

DONE! As soon as I file our tax return this week and we get our money back, we will have $7000 in the bank in addition to our $1k emergency fund. DAMN! Thank goodness for tax returns (which is really our money, I know, I know) and for work bonuses :)

2) Not gain too much. I'm on maintenance mode.

3) Stay organized. Bills are organized, kid's rooms are organized, basement is....eh. Keep it this way

4) Sell a lot of stuff like Nintendo stuff, foosball table, etc. Halfway there. Sold the foosball table last week. Slowly getting Nintendo games on Amazon and so far I've sold 2! 

5) Get the garden going really good this year.

6) Can LOTS of apricots. And salsa. And pickles.

7) Read 100 books. I've already done 4. And it's only the 13th.

8) Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

9)  Spend more time with my kids instead of near my kids

10) Bethany's cross-stitch birth announcement. Yup, still need to do that. 

I feel really, really good about this year. Really good.

And we just bought a new dishwasher cause ours was old and dingy and broken. Found a scratch n' dent at Darrell's Appliance for half off and it's stainless steel. Also, Mike's computer blew up (thanks to the kids) and we needed to buy a new power supply unit and that is also purchased. Just need to buy a battery for the van. /sigh. Left an interior light on and it killed the battery. Such is life. 

7 Quick Takes Friday

--- 1 ---

Took a week off of work. Wanted to "clean the whole house". Got the girl's room done. And my room. And organized my old Nintendo stuff so it's easier to sell. Didn't get much else done.

--- 2 ---

Bought a van! We are now the proud owner of a 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport. It's classy. And super sexy. Mike looks awesome driving it.

--- 3 ---

Went grocery shopping this week and only spent $84. I'm going to try and post my grocery deals that I do each week. More to keep me motivated to stay on our grocery budget. We struggle with that.

--- 4 ---

It's going to be a Swagbucks Christmas! I'm back on the bandwagon and I need to earn some swagbucks. Don't know what that is? Sign up here and check it out.

--- 5 ---

Mercy informed me this week that she's done growing up so now she can say bad words. Then she says "shit". I fear for 10 years from now.

--- 6 ---

I have a fooseball table for sale. It's only $50. It has billiards, ping pong and air hockey too. Leave me a comment on here or email me if you want it. I don't deliver.

--- 7 ---

It's inversion time of year. This makes me feel like I'm living in a cloud. A smelly, dirty cloud. Not too fun.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Debt Snowball Update & January Budget

I was reading back through older posts and I'm amazed at the progress we have done in the past 3.5 years. When we started actually looking at our finances and figuring things out we were $59,000 in debt. As of today, we have paid off $30,000. We have made it over the halfway point, and in that time we have had a baby, had tonsils out for 2 kids and changed a job/insurance.

I hope we can attack this debt and not take 3 more years and I feel like we can/, especially since $15,000 of that was paid off last year alone. We're down to two things: our line of credit (aka stupid tax) and a student loan. The line of credit should be gone in a year. The student loan will hopefully be gone in 2015.

Mike and I are finally on the same page with all this. We have a goal, we have a plan. We are communicating better than we ever had and watching our family blossom from our decisions and changes. We're no longer normal:

We don't own a credit card. Not one.
We don't have cable. Nope. We have an antenna so we can get basic channels and we just signed up for Amazon Prime for $79 a year. This enables us free shipping from Amazon (where we get most of the kid's Christmas stuff for FREE thanks to Swagbucks, ExpoTV and MyPoints) as well as Instant Videos so the kids can still watch their favorite shows. But we really don't watch much TV
We own both of our cars. Yup! OWN THEM. One we paid off using the snowball. The other we sold and just took the overage and bought a van. For less than $1500. It's old and it won't last us forever, but we own it and it fits our family and I couldn't be happier.
I don't have a smartphone. I know, I'm weird.
I coupon and save weekly at the grocery store.

We are living like no one else so one day soon we will live like no one else.

Goals for 2014

Screw resolutions. Who actually does them anyway.

I'm making some goals:

1) - Save, save, save. I need to have $6,000 - $8,000 saved up by September.  If we work hard and stick to a budget (that's hard for us!) we can do it. We're at $1000 right now, so only $5-$7k to go.

2) Not gain too much. I'm on maintenance mode.

3) Stay organized. Bills are organized, kid's rooms are organized, basement is....eh. Keep it this way

4) Sell a lot of stuff like Nintendo stuff, foosball table, etc.

5) Get the garden going really good this year.

6) Can LOTS of apricots. And salsa. And pickles.

7) Read 100 books. I've already done 4. And it's only the 13th.

8) Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

9)  Spend more time with my kids instead of near my kids

10) ....? I know I should add one more, but for now...who knows.

Kroger Gift Cards

I LOVE Smith's. Seriously. If I run into someone and they're talking about groceries or something to that sort, I will jump in and tell them to shop at Smith's. And at the holidays it's even better! Why, you may ask? Because of 4x Fuel Points!

What are Fuel Points?

Ok so here's how this works. You shop at Smiths (or Kroger's or another store owned by Kroger) and for every $1 you spend, you earn 1 Fuel Point. Then, after you get a bunch, you can save money at a Kroger fuel station. For every 100 points, you save 10 cents per gallon. This works up until 1000 points of $1.00 off per gallon. I have about a 14 gallon tank so if I go till the light is on in my car, and I have 1000 points, I can save $14 on a fill up! And let's face it, I usually go until the light is on, and then some. You know how it is.

Points only last 1 month and you can't combine month, which sometimes sucks, but it's still saving money. This holiday season was the first time I have earned enough for $1 off at the tank.

Ok let's do some math. I know, it's early, but math is important, right? If you earn enough for $1 off at the fuel center, that means you have spent $1000 at Smiths. Our grocery budget isn't even close to that for the month. But this time of year you can earn 4 TIMES the points when you purchase giftcards.

Giftcards are the gifts that you give to the people who have everything. And if you buy a $25 giftcard from Smith's, you earn 100 fuel points! But what's cool is even during the rest of the year, all giftcards still earn you 2x the fuel points! So birthdays, anniversaries, etc, all can earn you some savings at the pump.

This year I was sneaky. I knew one of the gifts I was buying my daughter was only found at Target. We don't have a Target near my house cause this down is silly, but there is one about an hour away. I purchased a $50 Target giftcard to take with me and then use at Target for my daughter's gifts. I also got my husband a $50 Home Depot giftcard since he's one of those "hard to shop for" type of guys. That earned me 400 fuel points! 

This December I was able to fill my tank 2x and save $1.00 off per gallon each time. And I got most of my shopping done at Smith's as well (I love, love, LOVE Marketplace!)

And don't worry about finding the place you need. They have cards for EVERYTHING! Not only did I get a Target and Home Depot card, I also got a Bed, Bath & Beyond card and a 3 pack of $10 iTunes! I have been giving Grace a card when she does something awesome, like clean her room without being asked. All 3rd party cards will earn you points.

What this means is, you can't buy a Smith's card and get points and then turn around and shop and earn points again. No being sneaky! 

I am not affiliated with Smith's. I received coupons to try and review because I'm a BzzAgent.

#GotADiscount