The Hare May Be Faster, but the Tortoise’s Slow and Steady Wins the Race

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tortoise and the hare

I’ve been seeing lots of posts on facebook for the 52 Week Money Challenge a.k.a the “save $1,300 with me in 2014” plan.  The idea is that in the first week of 2014 you put $1 into savings, in the 2nd week you put $2, and the 3rd week $3 etc. By the time you put $52 into your savings in the last week you’ll have over $1,300. While I do love the concept, I think most people will lose {Read More}

September 2013 Getting Out of Debt Update

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Spending budget: $200/mo. We bought $278.83 and made $238 selling misc items. Total spent in September : $40.83 Current splurge $$ from coming in under budget car fund: $277.01.  Our $400 $200 spending budget has to cover all groceries, household supplies, personal care products, gifts, clothes and other shopping purchases, as well as home improvement and entertainment.  It’s about 50% reduction to our spending budget.  Why $200 now?  As many of you know, my husband lost his job at the {Read More}

August 2013 Getting Out of Debt Update

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Spending budget: $400/mo. We bought $616.53 and made $0 selling misc items. Total spent in August : $616.53 Sigh- yes that is 50% more than the allotted budget.  We spent about $100 on fast food and restaurants and another $100 on my “shopping sprees” to dollar stores and Target. Current splurge $$ from coming in under budget:  $332.75 (our total at the end of July) – $216.53 (or August deficit) = $116.22. Our $400 spending budget has to cover all {Read More}

July 2013 Getting Out of Debt Update

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Spending budget: $400/mo. We bought $311.37 and made $87 selling misc items. Total spent in July : $311.37 – $87  = $224.37 If you’re wondering how in the world we are able to do this, you might want to read this post on cutting your household and grocery expenses. Current splurge $$ from coming in under budget:  $332.75 (we may be able to buy that TV by Black Friday!) Our $400 spending budget has to cover all groceries, household supplies, {Read More}

June 2013 Getting Out of Debt Update

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Spending budget: $400/mo. We bought $479.70 and made $81 selling misc items. We also made about $190 at a garage sale with friends. Total spent in June : $479.70 – $81 – $190 = $208.70 If you’re wondering how in the world we are able to do this, you might want to read this post on cutting your household and grocery expenses. Current splurge $$ from coming in under budget:  $244.90 Our $400 spending budget has to cover all groceries, {Read More}

May 2013 Getting Out of Debt Update

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Spending budget: $400/mo. We bought $404.98 and made $5. Total spent in May : $404.98 – $5 = $399.98    If you’re wondering how in the world we are able to do this, you might want to read this post on cutting your household and grocery expenses. Current splurge $$ from coming in under budget:  $149.25 Our $400 spending budget has to cover all groceries, household supplies, personal care products, gifts, clothes and other shopping purchases, as well as home {Read More}

April 2013 Getting Out of Debt Update

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Spending budget: $400/mo. We bought $211.65, made $23 $63 selling some miscellaneous items, and made about $175 at a garage sale. (I forgot about a $40 furniture sale when I originally posted) Total spent in April: $211.65 – $63 – $175 = – $26.35    If you’re wondering how in the world we did it, you might want to read this post on cutting your household and grocery expenses. Current splurge $$ from coming in under budget:  $149.24 Our $400 spending {Read More}

March 2013 Getting Out of Debt Update

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Spending budget: $400/mo. We bought $504.93 (including parking fees at the airport and WDW) & made $17 selling some items. We also cashed out $50 from our Discover card rewards. Total spent in March: $504.93 – $50 – $17 = $437.93 Splurge $$ from coming in under budget: – $62.93   (we still need to save $25 to cover the money we spent at WDW last month, plus the $37.93 overspending in March) I’m not going to beat myself up too {Read More}

February 2013 Getting Out of Debt Update

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Spending budget: $400/mo. We bought $366.24 and made $71 selling some items. Total spent in February: $366.24 – $71 = $295.24 The Disney Fund has $1233 in it. We had a fantastic trip last week and I’ll be posting about how we did it within a tight budget throughout the month of March.  We do still need to save about $25 to equal the money we spent on the trip.   Our $400 spending budget has to cover all groceries, {Read More}

Becoming a 1 Car Family – Sort Of

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The decision to become a one car family took nearly 2 years to make.  My husband travels a lot and has a company vehicle for traveling, so for me it was nice to have a back up in case mine didn’t start (it’s happened on several occasions).  Just having an extra vehicle parked at the house made me feel a bit more secure when he was gone. When I traveled to teach classes or for speaking engagements it was great {Read More}