House Progress & FPU Update

We haven't seen our house in about a week, so I'm sure it has even more done on it! We have walls!!! Well, sort of.

This is me, way too excited about our "walls".

Taken from inside the garage.

Here's the front.

Down the hallway.

Part of the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Our front door! Sort of..

The front again.

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Now for our Financial Peace University update - We bought life insurance (on top of what my employer provides)! Woo! It should not have taken us this long to get it, but we finally did and that's all that matters. Also, our last credit card is getting paid off this weekend! Woo!!!! We're well on our way to being debt free!

1) Credit Cards ($1,200)

2) Jon's Car Loan ($5,000)

3) Student Loans ($96,000)

4) Mortgage ($140,00)

Keeping Momentum: A Debt Free Lifestyle

When we signed up for FPU, I was so excited to get started. I started budgeting January 1st and have been going ever since. Watching Dave Ramsey's sessions are always inspiring (and quite entertaining).

Ever since last weekend, I've felt overwhelmed by everything. With so much debt, I feel like we'll never get out. AND we just bought a house? What the heck were we thinking??? I'm so depressed and my anxiety has been the worst it's been in a long time.

Snap out of it, Ashleigh.

That's what I've been saying to myself all week. This weekend we are going to have our $1000 emergency fund and paying off the first credit card - isn't that success enough to keep on going? No, no it isn't. Not for me anyway. I need to constantly surround myself with positive things like: bible verses, daily devotionals, success stories, Air1, and KLOVE. The success stories are really helping so far this week. Seeing people with our same income and debt...getting out of debt in 8 years? That's awesome.

One thing that really shot me down last weekend was realizing we can't take the vacations we wanted to this year (Disney World, Frankenmuth, and St. Pete Beach). Well, no one is telling us we can't (COUGH Dave COUGH), but we have goals and we are trying to accomplish them. Eyes on the prize, they always say. We are still going to the beach with my grandparents in December/January, though. We owe it to them, and I really wouldn't mind unplugging for a week.

I can hear Dave yelling at me right now, but we have cut 3 vacations down to 1. He would be proud, right?

Show & Tell: My Wallet

I wanted to show you guys my wallet. It seems weird to some, but I have struggled with finding a way that works with the envelope system. 

First, I used . . well . . envelopes. That didn't last too long before it got annoying. I used envelopes for about a month and decided I was ready to pitch them. They got in the way and never fit into my wallet. Second, I decided to make my own wallet like these found on Etsy. I thought it was a great idea, until I used them for a few weeks. They were really flimsy and were a bit annoying when checking out at the grocery store (plus change fell out really easily). Those also did not fit in my existing wallet.

Finally, I went to Kohl's with my $10 Kohl's cash and searched high and low in the clearance department. I found a Vera Wang wallet (for $9.80!) hidden under a HUGE mound of purses. After opening it, I was thrilled to see there were large divided sections, a coin area, AND a place to hold ID cards. Excellent.

I went home and started making custom tabs for my wallet, using a regular dollar bill as a guide (meanwhile, my husband was looking at me like I caught some incurable disease). Voila! Envelope organization without all of the hassle. It's so much easier to see what is left in each category, too. I have been using it for a few weeks now and definitely won't be changing it anytime soon. Are you surprised? Budget/organization nerd and proud.

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Also, some GREAT news! I've done some planning ahead in the budget (trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel). On the paycheck I get on my birthday, April 8, we will have paid off BOTH credit cards! Jon's car loan is next, then for my student loans. My student loans are the most terrifying, I have divided them up into each loan amount . . instead of one huge consolidated loan. It makes the amounts seem more manageable and less daunting. One step closer to financial peace. Believe me - I will be posting once those credit cards have reached a balance of zero and I have called to cancel them (they have already been cut up so I'm not tempted)!