We have been on our debt diet for almost 5 months now. I really can’t believe we’ve made it this far. It’s been a very difficult road and I’m a little embarrassed even to admit how difficult. I thought it would be hard at first but then would get easier as we got used to it…but no. It is really a daily struggle not to spend money. Everyday I wake up in the morning I have to fight the urge to go shopping or take Eva to lunch, or something else that would require money. Money is a lot like food. You can be addicted to spending it, and you can fight that addiction but you can never cut it out of your life completely because you need it to live. Unless your like this guy then that’s a whole different story.
These past 5 months I’ve learned a lot of things about myself and about money in general but I’ve really been thinking a lot lately about the 3 different reasons for spending money.
1. Needs – things like food, shelter, electricity, fuel. There are really very few things that we actually need.
2. Wants – clothes, furniture, pedicures, getting my hair done. Every time I want to buy something I ask myself “Is this a want or a need?” It is always a want. After the weekly trip to the grocery store, I have everything I need. The hardest things not to buy are clothes for me, clothes for Eva, toys and books for Eva, and books for me. However I REALLY struggle with the whole want vs. need thing when it comes to things like new furniture for Eva’s room. I HATE the furniture in her room which we bought from craigslist when she was a baby to save money so that we could buy her something nice when she got older. Well now she is older and I am so ready to get her the something nice. We went to Ikea the other day to scope out some things, that was a BIG MISTAKE. We found a daybed there with two overhead cabinets that would go PERFECT in her playroom. Now it is taking everything in me not to just hop in the car and go get it, and it’s not even for her bedroom! I have gotten my hair done once since we started this and I had to sell our fire pit to do it. It’s been 8 weeks since then and just starting to get to the point where it needs to be done again. I’ll probably wait another month or two and then see what else I can sell around the house.
3. Convenience – This sort of fits in with both of the two previous categories. There are many things of convenience that we could argue are a need but really would just make our life easier. Such as going to the car wash, or eating out. It is a huge challenge everyday to wake up and try to figure out what I’m going to do with Eva that day to keep her entertained. Since she doesn’t have anyone to play with (besides me) I always feel like I need to take her somewhere fun at least a few times a week. Also, I’m the kind of person that needs to get out of the house or I’ll go crazy. It would make my life so much easier if I could just take her out to lunch a couple of times a week or to the children’s museum or someplace like that. But those things all cost money. We are both dreadfully sick of the free places we’ve been going all summer like the library and the community pool.
Why am I putting myself through such torture you might ask? The progress we’ve made does make it all worth it. So far we’ve paid $12,344 towards our credit cards ($6,000 of that was from our tax return) and we still owe $9,600. I write down those numbers not for you but for me. So I can see how ridiculously in credit card debt we let ourselves become. Imagine what we could be doing with this money right now if we weren’t paying off our stupid cards with it!? To help us get it paid off a little sooner Chris took out $1000 from a 401k he had at a previous job. That will make it so we will have one more card paid off by November, then we can just focus on Christmas, and start up again on the last two cards totaling $4,600 after the holidays. When I think about all of the sacrifices we are having to make just to pay off all these cards it makes me sick.
Can you believe how optimistic I was when this first started?
http://www.modernmommyblog.com/index.php/2009/03/25/my-debt-diet/
I don’t know where I was getting my math from in our 1 month post.??
http://www.modernmommyblog.com/index.php/2009/04/27/we-made-it-1-month/
I know I know…I promised you a new blog design WEEKS ago. Looks like there are a few more glitches to iron out and Chris (that’s my husband) has been really busy at work so we must wait. I know, how dare him?!
I have been soooo lazy lately. I have a million things to blog about, like our debt diet, the importance of fathers in their children’s lives, health care, the new purse I got to review. I am going to make a BIG effort to get all of these posts done this week. Although I think I’ll save the purse review for when the new blog design is up because I am also going to be giving one away. So look out for that post…because this purse…is AWESOME!
Do you have this problem? Whenever I put on mascara whichever eye I do second never turns out as good as the first. Doesn’t matter which eye I start with. It is a daily irritation. I’ve even considered spacing them out like one eye now, the other an hour from now. It’s sickening really. Please tell me I’m not the only one.
When I was a little girl I always thought it was funny the way my grandparents called each other “Mom” and “Dad”. Especially since their kids were long grown and out of the house. I always swore I would never engage in such strange behavior. Then out of no where I become a mom and my husband and I start calling each other “MOM” and “DAD”! What the heck is that all about? I can’t even stop it, like there is some cosmic force overpowering me. I am determined it is genetic and must skip a generation because I’ve never heard my parents to refer to each other that way.
Well…it’s official, I start graduate school in one week! I’ve been a full time mom for almost a year now and I am just now finally starting school (which was the plan from the beginning). I can’t wait. I’ll be going to ASU and getting a Masters of Education in Higher and Post Secondary Education. Try saying that in one breath! Basically I’ll be able to work in a college or university as an academic advisor or something of that nature. Which I’m super stoked about because I love telling people what to do advising people. 
Did you hear about this hotel in San Diego that is offering a “Survivor” rate of $19 a night? The rooms are normally over $200 a night! Basically you are camping out in a hotel room with no bed, a/c, toiletries, or lights. But it’s way better than real camping because you have a toilet, a shower, shelter, and you’re like in SAN DIEGO! With access to the hotels pools and restaurants too. I am dying over the fact that there is no way we can do this right now because of the debt diet. So please somebody take advantage of this and then tell me about it so I can live through you. Pretty please?
There is an awesome lady that I know if only through this great social medium we call the internet that has a heart made of gold.
She, like many of us who have adopted from Guatemala, felt compelled to help the children there. Infants and children living in orphanages who have no other option. Unfortunately the government there does very little for these places. So it takes people like Julia to to really make a difference and give these children a chance.
Right now her organization Global Orphan Team is having a raffle with some awesome prizes. Here’s where it gets interesting. Julia has committed to SHAVING HER HAIR OFF if they can reach $6000 in donations by Friday night. They still have a long way to go so get your butt over to Global Orphan Teams website and click the donate button and make this bold lady bald! Even if it’s just $5. Every bit counts.
Be sure to scroll down and check out the pictures she has up so you can see the amazing work she is doing there.
This is a picture from their website that touches my heart the most.
and another one that absolutely makes my heart bleed…
Oh and spread the word!
*photocredit – globalorphanteam
My new favorite time to shop for groceries is Sunday night. It is so quiet and I practically have the whole place to myself. Last night I left a little too late and got stuck with the overnight staff. AKA – teenagers with an attitude. Don’t get me wrong I love teenagers…just not in service roles. So at about 10 p.m. they shut down all the check out counters and just have the self-checkout open. I always try and be cool and act like I’m a real cashier but it never works. I can never figure out those damn machines and that annoying voice that keeps telling me to “please place item in the bag” or “please place item back in the bag” or “please take items off of scanner” ten gazzilion bazilion times. It took me about an hour just to check out and get the heck out of there. Yes an hour because when something rang up wrong, it took teenage boy 10 minutes to run back and get a price check and then 15 minutes for teenage girl to fix my receipt while asking me “do you think relationships can be rekindled? You know like after you break up with someone and they want to get you back?” Hugh? Does it say therapist across my forehead?
How cool is it that Alec Baldwin narrates the Thomas the Tank Engine videos. I thought that was his voice but just figured it only sounded like him, until I was watching it today and saw that it really was him. Sorry, but after watching him on 30 rock I can’t take him seriously. I love that show by the way, him and Tina Fey are hilarious
We’ve been so spoiled with Eva being such a good sleeper but she is now at that stage where she fights us when it’s time for bed. She had Chris running around the house like a banshee last night and today she thought it would be funny to hide under her bed when it was time for nap. Then she screams and cries like monkey on crack when I finally catch her. I know when she is 16 I will be looking back at these days with fond memories and wondering where my sweet 2 year old went.
Ya so yesterday I find myself telling Eva “You have to let Mommy wipe your butt. Mommy wipes her butt, daddy wipes his butt, Everybody wipes their Butt.” Aint that the truth. She let me wipe her after that.
That’s what Eva yells every time she sees me get out her bathing suite because she knows what is coming. Here is my little fishy in action this past weekend. I love the ones where she is mid air.
Can you see what a little performer she is?
