Skip to main content

Financial Goals 2009!

Yippee! It's time to talk money. In December or a bit earlier of 2007 we decided we wanted to become debt free. So in Jan '08 we started. We ended up getting to take the Dave R. course that Jan. Great timing.

What a interesting journey this past year has been. We had to refund our emergency fund 4 times, due to dental problems! We stayed on budget and didn't rack up any more debt than we alredady had. We also were able to pay down about a third of the debt.

We put our home up for sale. But even with an ELP on our side it didn't sell. FL's market is flooded with foreclosures. But we did what we felt we were called to do. So for now our plans of more land and country are on hold.

This Year:

-Make a little over minimum payment to debt each month.
-Sock all extra money into EF to get it up to 6 months (not sure about Superman's job this year- if all goes well we will pay off debt and start working on refunding the EF)
-Save all the extras I can towards a new to us car. I would really like one now, but I'm hoping we can hold out another year.
-Take care of our wills (i know,i know)
-Refinance house to lower rate- possibly 15 years

Last year we learned that we needed to have a base EF of $2000 for our family size etc.

So in some ways I feel nothing has changed and we keep just plugging along, but that could all change this year!

What is your plan for this New Year? I love to hear!

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Funchaosx4 said…
Julie, I have so many comments to make on more than 1 of your posts, but until then, let me just say Hi and I am reading. Tracy
P.S. You rock cauliflower, btw!
January 8, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Brooke said…
sorry to hear about your setbacks - but it was great that you had the EF in place to help with things!
January 9, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Anonymous said…
We are pretty much doing the same. Plugging away at the debt. We don't have much for cc but the home equity bothers me. But all in all we are doing pretty good.
January 9, 2009 at 11:30 PM
smalltowngirl said…
hi julie...good to hear from you! we made a 2 year committment to our church. we are in a building campaign. so our goal this year is to finish that off. that means lots of sacraficing. our church motto was "not equal giving, but equal sacrafice" so we will be cutting back where we can and i may substitute a few days a week to help with that. times are tough for everyone right now and we all have to be careful with spending.
January 10, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Mom2fur said…
Best of luck with your goals!
You aren't alone regarding a will. We don't have one, and at almost-53 and 55, we should know better. You know what it is...just another thing on that big 'life's to do list'!
PS...your daughters are adorable! I have four, but mine are 3 boys and one girl. (18-26 years old.) A houseful of daughters must be a total blast.
January 10, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Sweet Blessings said…
Hi Julie! Great meeting you the other day! I'm sure we'll see eachother again:) Thank you for sharing with my new friend and I enjoyed our conversation too! Blessings! Amanda:)
January 11, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Unknown said…
love your blog and your posts - you balance fun and honesty with grace and lightheardedness. proud of you for your determination, girl! oh, and you've been tagged! go to this post http://dancingwithmyfather.blogspot.com/2009/01/ive-been-tagged.html
to see!!
January 11, 2009 at 1:07 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

P.O.O.P.I.E

People Opposing Objectionable Pretend plants in the Environment ! Okay folks it's been a week....which is way too long. Schooling 3 1/2 is a bit daunting at times. My other excuse.....I've been freaking out about lice for over a week. No, I didn't have it (this time around), but I've scratched myself raw over it! On to P.O.O.P.I.E.! Over at Nestor's she's done a short series on what's a good fake and what's not ( errr flowers that is). So after you take a peak at mine head over there and read hers and everyone else' poop (can I say that?), I mean blogs! Nesting Place is in my side bar if you need directions ( I wanted to put the button up, but have no clue). These are my year round fakies .... Superman gave me the floral arrangement about 12 years ago when we couldn't afford flowers, who am I kidding....we still can't! I did change out the pedestal urn they came in. My wonderful ivy on top of the cabinets. My chicks have always ha...
8 comments
Read more

Facial Cleanser

We've been using a surprisingly wonderful face wash for about 6 months. Guess What it is? Olive & Castor Oil! I was really surprised at how well it works and you can customize the formula to you own needs. For people with T-zone, dry or oily conditions. At www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/ they give all the details. I used an old facial cleanser bottle and tweaked the instructions to fit our needs. -15% Castor oil -85% olive oil -Shake and place in shower with wash cloth. - Gently rub 1 to 2 pumpfuls into face, neck, ears etc. (before you get in) -Use the warmth of shower to open pores. -Heat wash cloth with water, place on face for a minute or so. Then gently rub off excess oil, make up and dirt. Like I said, we've been using this for 6 months or so. In that time I've had only 1 blemish ( I'm a t-zone). My face is so much smoother and softer and this is all I do. No more 3 parts, no extra lotions! The above recipe has worked well for dry and t-zone. So we only h...
5 comments
Read more

Frugal Friday

Time again to remember creativity and frugality! I really enjoy www.biblicalwomanhood.com where today it is Frugal Friday. Two needs we had were new nighties and bicycle baskets. We've been riding like crazy and I was tired of old t-shirts for jammies. It's hard and expensive to find nice, cute nighties for 5 different age groups! So we headed to a local thrift shop and bought sheets. Now if this thought grosses you out, just think "Vintage"! Everything was washed and dried in the dryer. Each sheet cost about $3.00. I was able to get 3 nighties in children sizes out of one and 2 in adult sizes out of another. I wish I could show more pics, but thought it was best not to of my older chicks. Needles to say they have become every one's favorites and today I need to make more! The cost of each nightie was about $1.50! I figured in my pattern and lace I also found. Isn't she a cutie! I'm not sure how to turn this but I also made house coats for each girl. This ...
4 comments
Read more