debt free

We are now officially 100% debt free! This is such a good feeling. In October we paid off the last debt aside from the house.



Soon after, we put our house on the market. After just two weeks and two days we got TWO offers on our home in the same day!



What a blessing in the housing market today.



As of January 19th of this year we closed on the house and now owe no one any money!



As far as our baby steps go we are currently on baby step 3: 3-6 months of expenses in a savings account. (fully funded emergency fund)



We currently have 3 months and are working on getting the rest funded by April of this year.



The plan as of now is to rent and put away as much money as we can toward the purchase of a home. I would like to pay cash for a home. I know this is an attainable goal, it's just a matter of how long it would take us.



If we could find a stealin' deal on a house I would not pass that up but for now I would like to save 100% for the purchase of a home. No official timeline has been set on this goal as I'm still working on getting someone else in the home to go along with that big dream.

(Just in case you didn't know them or had forgotten them) Here are Dave Ramsey's baby steps to financial freedom:

Baby Step 1: 1,000 to start and Emergency Fund

Baby Step 2: Pay off all debt using the debt snowball

Baby Step 3: 3-6 months of expenses in savings-3 months down, aiming for totally funded by April 2010

Baby Step 4: Invest 15% for retirement-we are currently putting a minimum of 13% (more at times) into an investment. Guess it's time to kick this up a notch!

Baby Step 5: College Funding-We need to talk a little more about this one. I personally think that a little financial contribution from the student helps with how much they apply themselves in class. Not really sure just how much we will be contributing, but thanks to DR, we can use the financial calculators on mytotalmoneymakeover dot com to find out just what we should be putting toward this step.

Baby Step 6: Pay off home early Some could consider this accomplished, however, we have no home now! I would say this is completed more so when we have funding for or a paid for home.

Baby Step 7: Build Wealth and GIVE! This has already been started on as far as the giving part. It's so exciting to look around and see those that need a helping hand and don't even know that you're the one that offered it! What a blessing.

I'm so excited to reach financial freedom in our lives.

I say all of these things in the hopes that our situation can be motivating to you and show you that it really can be done!


It's also been so nice to not have nearly as many addresses to change with this move...no one is after us for money!

no milk

With all that we've got going on lately, it's easy to get wrapped up into the mindset of "this will never happen." Or "we'll never be able to pull this off."

God has done so much for us.

Sadly, that's easy for me to put at the back of my mind.

Things were going well and I had a pretty good attitude.

Until today.

Hubby was supposed to get his orders and get to transportation to figure out how all of this moving business is going to go down.

That didn't happen.

Also found out that his application didn't get all the way to the department it was supposed to get to.

Earlier today I poured Half Pint our last drop of milk. No big deal, I'll just ask Hubby to bring a gallon home with him.

Then, Hubby calls and informs me he'll be a while. Like an after-bedtime while.

My attitude begins to head south.

We'll never get out of here, we won't be able to close on our house in time, we won't have a job when we get out, we won't make our flight next week, I'm not going to be able to get the baby to sleep without any milk!

BLAH!

OK

Focus.

What do I need to do right now? Get the baby to bed...I have to find milk. Go to the neighbor's house.

He just gave his last drop to his little girl and he's hoping his wife remembers to bring a gallon home.

He's in the same boat!

Nuts.

What now?

Call Kim. They live right down the road; church starts in half an hour; they're big cereal people; they've got to have milk.

She's on the line.

They've already left the house.

Nuts.

She tells me to come outside and bring a cup. "We're almost to your house," she says.

Huh?

They had a gallon of milk in the car with them.

Who takes a gallon of milk to church with them?

And this is where God speaks to me saying, "I will give you what you need when I know you need it."

"I will take care of you."

As I type this my attitude is returning to positive and I'm reminded that everything will work out. Just because it's not the way I think it should work out means nothing.

Tomorrow I will go to buy milk and boxes. And get started on moving us out of this house.

Knowing that it will all work out and God will provide just what we need and so much more.

Not Me! Monday

Are you feeling a little guilty because you let your child eat Nerds candy off of the dirty floor in the airport? Or because you got frustrated with your husband for flicking toothpaste on the bathroom mirror you'd just cleaned just before you did the same crazy maneuver yourself? Don't be! Not me! Monday was developed out of MckMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal a few moments that we'd all rather forget. Join in, you might find it a little therapeutic.

I'll start...

When returning home on our flight on Saturday I was trying to distract Little Bit and have her look out the window as we took off in Denver. It was not us that saw the man in the window seat scratching his brain through the best route: his nose. Nope! We looked over and saw the beautiful Rocky Mountains disappear as we took off into the sky.

I get a little nauseated when I fly. I always make sure that I've got d.ramamine with me for this reason. I also make sure that I have water with me to down that bitter pill. I did not have to pull the lid off of my child's juice bottle and down the pill with some of her juice. No, not me, I politely asked the busy flight attendant if she could grab me a shot of water with which to take the pill. I'd never drink a child's diluted juice! Yuck!

I'm so thankful for gracious friends that let me borrow things. There's no way that I would keep said things for waaayy too long. I returned the carpet cleaner that I borrowed from a friend last June a couple of months ago just after I used it. It was not me that paid someone a couple of weeks ago to shampoo my carpets. And during nap time today I'm going to have time to read, rest and relax. I do not need to wash and prepare the carpet cleaner to be returned to my dear friend before both of us move out of this state! (that one kinda hurts to admit...)