This Week's Update

I'm sorry for being MIA the last week. I haven't had much to talk about, really. Every day, probably 8+ hours a day, I have been working on my resume and searching for jobs. This weekend was full of church activities and my brother's track meet. I haven't had much time for a break.

We also are continuing on the house. Met with the builder, and we plan to close May 31. Drywall should be getting finished up this week...

Sometimes, looking for jobs can be mind numbing, so I take 4-5 breaks throughout the day to do something productive. Since we are moving at the end of May, I have been working on boxing things up. I have also been working on going through things to sell/give to Goodwill. I've acquired a lot of crap throughout the years, and I'd rather not move it...

I have an interview Wednesday afternoon with a place here in Noblesville. It sounds like it would be perfect, so if you could all keep me in your prayers - that would be wonderful. I had an interview set up in Muncie, but that fell through. Everything happens for a reason.

God is good.

Here We Go Again . .

Yesterday was my birthday.

I also lost my job yesterday.

There was a lot of panic and running around yesterday. I was trying to figure out what was going to happen since I would no longer be receiving paychecks. Since I am the breadwinner, it puts our whole family at risk. We also risk losing our house. I was let go because there wasn't enough work for me. It's not my fault - they just didn't have enough to keep me busy. I was happy we had about $1500+ in savings - so rent would be covered for at least a few months. Thank you, Dave Ramsey!

This morning, I woke up to find a low balance in our checking/savings account. Work took out $1400 because I was -80 something vacation hours. Ugh - thank you mandatory Christmas break. We had $300 left in our account.

Come to find out, when I was hired, I signed a paper saying when I left I would either be given the positive balance back, or have to pay the difference. This triggered a pretty bad panic attack, so I went and ran.

I ran 2.5 miles and spent about 40 minutes outside. It was nice - and really cleared my head.

After my shower, I stayed calm and tried to figure out where all of our extra money was. We had $2500 in our health savings account and are able to transfer that over to our checking account. Some of this needs to be used on prescriptions for this month as well as the crown for my tooth...but that's great! I also checked my wallet for birthday money - $340. We should be okay for rent for a few months..and also have enough to close on our house.

We aren't willing to give up our house just yet. We haven't signed the official mortgage agreement, and we haven't even locked in the interest rate yet. We aren't saying "no" to the house until we are absolutely sure it isn't affordable.

My old company is offering a week's pay..which is better than nothing. I also applied for unemployment, and hopefully that will be coming sooner rather than later.

Prayers would be much appreciated throughout the next few weeks.

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)

Budgeting is hard.

No joke.

As most of you know, my I have been doing the envelope system since January (so 3 full months now). I cracked this week...sort of.

My birthday is next week, so apparently I think it is an excuse to eat out every day for lunch and spend money on new running shoes and clothes. I dug into savings this week and spend about $200 on running equipment. I'm giving it back when I get paid this weekend, but that's besides the point.

I haven't went clothes shopping since before Christmas, and it has been killing me. It was an addiction, and I never realized it. Since I have gained weight and half of my clothes *barely* fit, it's been even harder. I feel awful in everything I try on. I change outfits at least twice before heading out the door each morning. I feel ugly and just plain awful. I tried finding clothes at Goodwill, but...unusually, nothing fit me right and I hated everything I tried on. I think a part of it is me being SO frustrated with myself. I'm at my highest weight I've ever been. I can't believe a year ago, I was at my goal of 135 pounds. I wish I could just love myself for who I am...

I'm hoping running will help me lose the weight, and gain some self-worth back. I also signed up for a women's soccer league that starts up April 11.

Just like any lifestyle change, you will mess up. No one is perfect. I messed up this past week. I should have saved for a few months before going out to buy shoes and running clothes. We had the extra money in savings, so it's okay....but it's really not okay. Savings is for our emergency fund and house fund.

What do they always say? Practice makes perfect? I'm not too sure about that. I'll just keep praying and let God steer me in the right direction.

Cleaning Recipes Pt. 1

Here are a few recipes I have successfully made, and loved! I wouldn't share recipes with you before I tried them out for myself. Saving money for the same (if not better) quality is awesome!

Dishwasher Detergent

This was the first DIY recipe I have made. I was a bit skeptical at first, but after trying it out for a few weeks - I'm a believer!

1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup food grade citric acid

Mix it all together and there you have it! Homemade dishwasher detergent! The ingredients above fit in an average mason jar (+ a little, which I just threw in an extra container).

Use 1-2 Tbsp. per load. Use white vinegar as a rinse aid.

I use 2 Tbsp. because I don't exactly clean my dishes completely off before tossing them in the dishwasher. It eliminates having to send some dishes through the cycle twice.

Warning: The citric acid WILL make your solution as hard as a rock. Tips? I left mine open on the counter for a few days and stirred every so often. I also threw it into the fridge. It still gets solid, but not too bad - it's easy to scrape apart. I also used my Ninja blender to break it apart the first time it went solid - an excellent solution. Some also leave the citric acid out until when they're putting it in the dishwasher (leaving it separate from the rest of the solution).

Laundry Detergent (Powder)

I found several recipes like this on Pinterest. Some add OXYclean, but I think this works fine (for our household anyway). This detergent is also safe for HE Machines.

3 cups Borax
2 cups baking soda
2 cups washing soda
1 bar Fels-Naptha bar soap

Use a grater (or blender - I used my Ninja) to grate bar soap. Mix all contents together and pour into mason jars. Makes enough for 2 regular sized mason jars.

Use 2 Tbsp. per load.

Tip: This stuff gets in your nose if you aren't careful. I used my blender, which has a sealed lid. This helped with the powder and pouring it into the jars.

Some people use essential oils on a wash cloth to get fragrance. Honestly, I loved the smell of the Fels-Naptha soap...so that's what we're sticking with! ;)

Liquid Body/Hand Soap

I love liquid soap, but hated spending the price. I will admit, I bought a $20 bottle of Philosophy shower gel JUST because I loved the smell of it - yikes.

1/2 bar soap of choice (I used Yardley Oatmeal & Almond)
2 cups of water

Add grated soap with 2 cups of water into large pot. Turn the stove on medium heat, and stir until flakes disappear (the mix will look milky). Once flakes are gone, let pot cool for several hours. After 2 hours, check the thickness with a spoon to see if it is the right thickness for you - if not, add more water. When you add water, heat it up on medium heat and stir again. Let sit for several hours to cool.

This makes 24 oz. of body wash. I did not want to make a lot at first, because I wanted to make sure I liked it! ;) As always, you can adjust the measurements to fit your needs. I used 3 of these 8 oz. bottles to store my soap in. (Be sure to grab a funnel!)


Coming soon (once I try them): Laundry Fabric Softener, Sugar/Salt Scrub, cleaning chemicals, and more!

New Year's Resolutions - $465

How are your New Years Resolutions going?

Surprisingly, mine is still going really well - and has become a habit! Every year, I chose to get more active, eat healthier, or lose weight. This year, I decided it was time to start tithing regularly at church. Throughout the years, I honestly have given ~$100 to all of the churches I have been attending. That's not so great considering the salary I've brought in all of those years..

Today, I logged in to look at how much we have tithed so far this year - $465! That's so awesome! Do you know what's even more awesome? Seeing what the church is doing with it! This is from pastor Paul Mumaw:

1. The student ministry is growing. We don't do any student ministry fundraisers because we're able to fund that important ministry because of givers like you. 
2. We made our building lease payments. I'm glad we're able to meet indoors. Aren't you? While paying rent on our church buildings isn't sexy, I think we'd all agree it's a really good thing.
3. We gave the staff paychecks. Don't we have a great team at Genesis Church? I'm blessed to work with them every day. We're grateful to be able to serve you.

And it's not even the end of March yet! I can't wait to see how much our giving will affect the church by the end of the year. Giving back to Him has also affected our family - we are getting a new house in a few months! This year has definitely been a blessed one.

Baby Step 2: Pay Off All Non-Mortgage Debt

Baby Step 1 - COMPLETE! $1,000 is in the emergency fund!

Kohl's Credit Card - HISTORY!
(Did I mention I was also a Most Valuable Customer because I spent $600 in 60 days? Yikes!)

The second step will probably take the longest for us. However, after paying out my maxed out ($600) Kohl's card in a few weeks - I know we can do this. We have a lot of non-mortgage debt to pay off, but we'll get there. Baby steps, right?

For the first time in my life, I am no longer worried about my gas lasting me until next paycheck. Since budgeting it out, I know I'll always have the gas to get to work and back (and some extra if we plan a trip to Kokomo). That's a huge sigh of relief. I always used my other credit card as a crutch for gas. I already spent my paycheck at the mall?? Hah, oh well - just charge the gas! Not anymore!!

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In other news, I met with the builder during lunch today. All is going well! We even have a driveway now...kind of..

No bad news at the meeting. Found out we are not in a flood hazard zone - woo! We moved around the cable and phone jack and the entrance to the attic. He said the foundation and walls can be up in about 1-2 weeks. I had no idea they moved that fast! We are still aiming at closing the end of May - so much excitement!