There are two areas in my life where I am attempting to really "mature," as much and as quickly as I can--Food and Finances. I have been on such a slow path in these two areas, as I have been slow to grow in the past. I decided to turn them into a weekly theme and share the details...hoping to help myself with personal accountability.
Lately, I've been reflecting over the events of this year. It seems as though we have come a long way already, AND there is still quite an uphill road ahead of us. We've made a lot of changes for the better. We've learned a few hard lessons. We are still paying the consequences of many hard lessons.
5 months ago, we shredded all of our credit cards, making the commitment to pay off all of our debts. We were full of excitement from the start, and used that energy to purge the excess junk from our home. We sold off a ton of stuff, and donated the rest. That initial energy surge was dampened by a major increase in our medical expenses....an increase that continues to give additional challenges to our monthly budget.
Upon review, I realize that I am rather pleased with how far we've come, and where we are standing right now. I am hopeful for the path we are on, and look forward to the day when we are living debt free.
The credit cards remain shredded and unused. The debt balances are decreasing each month. The decrease is slower than I would prefer, but still moving in the right direction.
We were hit with medical expenses beyond our capacity in October & November. That brought about awareness to the need to budget a much larger amount for the medical line item in our monthly budget. We now have that category budgeted higher/better.
When we got in over our heads in those medical expenses, we were forced to find a solution. Instead of returning to the credit cards, we weighed out the options of pursuing a loan through our credit union or pursuing a payment plan with the hospital. We chose to take out a signature loan for only the amount needed to cover those expenses, setting up payments to come directly out of each paycheck. That was a speed bump in our debt elimination journey.
We stuck to our budget for Christmas! That was a big accomplishment. I am quite amazed by how it became easier to only buy what was on the list when I was focused on staying within budget. I am already convinced that the presents under the tree will bring joy to the children without bringing buyer's remorse to the parents.
Our house looks so much bigger and open now that we've purged excess junk. It feels like we are living in a new home. We took the time to organize each room, so that everything has its place, and we are only keeping the items we want/use. Training the children to clean up after themselves is the current step of this journey, which is taking some time. I am also working on training myself to be more disciplined in my housekeeping routines. After getting rid of so much stuff, we are much more careful about the things we want to buy and bring home.
In the food category, we have made 2 major achievements this year. Both are beneficial to the finances too. First, we are not eating out regularly. Actually, we could be accused of rarely eating out these days! Fast food, picking up a pizza, or going out to dinner are no longer our first thoughts for meals. We eat at home. We pack snacks for car trips. We use up our groceries before they spoil. And, we save a ton of money that way. We are all healthier, and the adults are dropping weight. These are all very positive results!
Second, I have become the queen of crockpot chicken. We can buy a 2-pack of frozen whole chicken for the price of a single rotisserie chicken cooked in the store. I can put a frozen chicken in the crockpot first thing in the morning, add some water and a few seasonings, and have a pleasant smell in the house all afternoon and a delicious dinner in the evening. Each chicken provides 2 meals for our family right now. I add veggies and potato sides for dinner, or stuff things into a tortilla for chicken burrito variations, or make a casserole/enchilada dish that includes the chicken. (I have learned that everyone got tired of chicken soup quicker than my other chicken meals). I am amazed by what a chicken can do to feed a family!
I wish success would come faster. I see we still have a long way to go. Right now, I am trying to focus on just how much we have improved, and be confident that those improvements are moving us in the right direction.
5 months ago, we shredded all of our credit cards, making the commitment to pay off all of our debts. We were full of excitement from the start, and used that energy to purge the excess junk from our home. We sold off a ton of stuff, and donated the rest. That initial energy surge was dampened by a major increase in our medical expenses....an increase that continues to give additional challenges to our monthly budget.
Upon review, I realize that I am rather pleased with how far we've come, and where we are standing right now. I am hopeful for the path we are on, and look forward to the day when we are living debt free.
The credit cards remain shredded and unused. The debt balances are decreasing each month. The decrease is slower than I would prefer, but still moving in the right direction.
We were hit with medical expenses beyond our capacity in October & November. That brought about awareness to the need to budget a much larger amount for the medical line item in our monthly budget. We now have that category budgeted higher/better.
When we got in over our heads in those medical expenses, we were forced to find a solution. Instead of returning to the credit cards, we weighed out the options of pursuing a loan through our credit union or pursuing a payment plan with the hospital. We chose to take out a signature loan for only the amount needed to cover those expenses, setting up payments to come directly out of each paycheck. That was a speed bump in our debt elimination journey.
We stuck to our budget for Christmas! That was a big accomplishment. I am quite amazed by how it became easier to only buy what was on the list when I was focused on staying within budget. I am already convinced that the presents under the tree will bring joy to the children without bringing buyer's remorse to the parents.
Our house looks so much bigger and open now that we've purged excess junk. It feels like we are living in a new home. We took the time to organize each room, so that everything has its place, and we are only keeping the items we want/use. Training the children to clean up after themselves is the current step of this journey, which is taking some time. I am also working on training myself to be more disciplined in my housekeeping routines. After getting rid of so much stuff, we are much more careful about the things we want to buy and bring home.
In the food category, we have made 2 major achievements this year. Both are beneficial to the finances too. First, we are not eating out regularly. Actually, we could be accused of rarely eating out these days! Fast food, picking up a pizza, or going out to dinner are no longer our first thoughts for meals. We eat at home. We pack snacks for car trips. We use up our groceries before they spoil. And, we save a ton of money that way. We are all healthier, and the adults are dropping weight. These are all very positive results!
Second, I have become the queen of crockpot chicken. We can buy a 2-pack of frozen whole chicken for the price of a single rotisserie chicken cooked in the store. I can put a frozen chicken in the crockpot first thing in the morning, add some water and a few seasonings, and have a pleasant smell in the house all afternoon and a delicious dinner in the evening. Each chicken provides 2 meals for our family right now. I add veggies and potato sides for dinner, or stuff things into a tortilla for chicken burrito variations, or make a casserole/enchilada dish that includes the chicken. (I have learned that everyone got tired of chicken soup quicker than my other chicken meals). I am amazed by what a chicken can do to feed a family!
I wish success would come faster. I see we still have a long way to go. Right now, I am trying to focus on just how much we have improved, and be confident that those improvements are moving us in the right direction.
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