Now it's my turn...here's what I would do =)
$0.01- toss it in the change jar
$0.50- give it to the boys to buy their special Friday snack at school or use it to buy the girls some gum (they love gumballs!) at Wal-Mart =)
$1.00- give it to the boys to buy ice cream on Friday at school
$5.00- in the summer, take the kids to family swim! Rest of the year, hit happy hour at Sonic
$10.00- in the summer, go to family swim and get a snow cone after; rest of the year, get ice cream at Braums
$25.00- movie with the kids- splurge on pop corn and soda
$50.00- dinner with John
$100.00- stock up on laundry soap or dishwashing soap or both =)
$250.00- buy everyone new shoes
$500.00- buy the kids some new clothes
$1,000.00- buy myself some new clothes
$5,000.00- use to trade in the van and jeep for a new (to us) van
$10,000.00- get a new (to us) van and pay off our "little" credit cards
$25,000.00- same as 10k, but add one "big" credit card
$50,000.00- pay off all high rate debt
$100,000.00- pay off all high rate debt, pay some toward student loans, start retirement funds, start college funds for the kids, trade in the cars on another one, put a small down payment on a house
$250,000.00- pay off every stitch of debt, fix our current van and drive it 'til the wheels fall off, then pay cash for a new (to us) one, start college and retirement funds, put a nice down payment on a house, gift some to my parents and brothers and sisters, go on a fun vacation somewhere in the lower 48
$500,000.00- pay off all debt, pay cash for a new (to me) SUV, get rid of my van, keep my Jeep, build a house on some land (would still need a mortgage, but not a huge one), start college and retirement funds, help my family (parents, brothers and sisters, and grandparents), vacation somewhere tropical
$1,000,000.00- pay off all debt, put a nice chunk back for retirement and children's college funds, put a nice chunk toward buildng my dream house, pay off my dad's mortgage, help my mom, help my grandparents, buy a brand spanking new SUV for me, and a newish "commuting car" for John, vacation, vacation, vacation!
None of these amounts would make us completely quit working, but anything after 50k would allow me to quit stressing quite so much about finances! 100k would help me feel like my future was starting to look pretty secure, and anything 250k and over would catch us up on retirement savings, give our kids the opportunity to go through undergrad with little or no debt, and get us into decent housing.
September 20, 2008
September 19, 2008
Daydreaming...
What would you do if the following amounts unexpectedly came into your life? Be honest, and just for simplicity's sake, assume these are all after tax amounts.
$0.01
$0.50
$1.00
$5.00
$10.00
$25.00
$50.00
$100.00
$250.00
$500.00
$1,000.00
$5,000.00
$10,000.00
$25,000.00
$50,000.00
$100,000.00
$250,000.00
$500,000.00
$1,000,000.00
Leave me a comment about it! I don't care if I know you or not! If you come across my blog and read this post, let me know what you would do. At what point would you see a change in your standard of living? Do you think you would change? How? Think about it and let me know =)
Later tonight I will post about what I would do =) I have to get my boys from school.
$0.01
$0.50
$1.00
$5.00
$10.00
$25.00
$50.00
$100.00
$250.00
$500.00
$1,000.00
$5,000.00
$10,000.00
$25,000.00
$50,000.00
$100,000.00
$250,000.00
$500,000.00
$1,000,000.00
Leave me a comment about it! I don't care if I know you or not! If you come across my blog and read this post, let me know what you would do. At what point would you see a change in your standard of living? Do you think you would change? How? Think about it and let me know =)
Later tonight I will post about what I would do =) I have to get my boys from school.
Changing Seasons
Fall is here, so it is time for my annual household declutter! I am excited. Every year flylady does her Super Fling Boogie. Basically it is a month-long event where you are encouraged to go through your house and toss out/ recycle/ give away anything in your home that you do not use or love. I love this because it gets me back on track as far as keeping my home presentable. I have pretty much decided that 6 people (4 of whom are 6 years old and younger) + 1 1006 square foot home = 1 GIANT MESS; however, it is nice to spend time going through and seeing how much extra "stuff" we have that serves no purpose other than creating clutter and making our small living space seem even smaller! It also makes me more aware of my spending habits. When I see something that I "needed" or that "was just a couple dollars" that is either unloved or torn up, I am reminded that I need to spend wisely and not introduce junk into our home.
Our home is overrun with clutter right now. Last year I got rid of about 60 bags of "stuff" (books, toys, clothes, JUNK, etc), but still saw so much that I could have tossed. This year, my goal is at least 10 bags OUT every week. I know I need to go through the kids' clothes and shoes, mine and John's clothes (we have 2-4 outfits that we mix and match and rotate, but the rest of our stuff either doesn't fit or we just don't like it! If we don't like it, I have no idea why we have it in our home!), and basically toss out JUNK. I feel motivated. I want my house to feel calm again, and it definitely doesn't feel calm when it if full of junk and clutter. It gets to the point where I feel so far behind that I don't even bother with it anymore. I'll jump in head first today and within a month my home will be back in business!
Our home is overrun with clutter right now. Last year I got rid of about 60 bags of "stuff" (books, toys, clothes, JUNK, etc), but still saw so much that I could have tossed. This year, my goal is at least 10 bags OUT every week. I know I need to go through the kids' clothes and shoes, mine and John's clothes (we have 2-4 outfits that we mix and match and rotate, but the rest of our stuff either doesn't fit or we just don't like it! If we don't like it, I have no idea why we have it in our home!), and basically toss out JUNK. I feel motivated. I want my house to feel calm again, and it definitely doesn't feel calm when it if full of junk and clutter. It gets to the point where I feel so far behind that I don't even bother with it anymore. I'll jump in head first today and within a month my home will be back in business!
September 16, 2008
Back to School
A couple days ago, I overheard my children fighting. Before I start the interesting part of the story, I'll let the idea of my dear sweet children fighting permeate your thoughts for a minute. Yes, my dear children do occasionally fight... okay, so Cam and Cait were fighting, and she had him pretty worked up (she has that amazing talent- just like a certain aunt of hers I know and love...). I was listening from my big comfy chair where I was nursing Caleigh and helping Collin with his homework when I heard Cam yell "You're UGLY Cait! I don't like you!" Then, in a softer voice he pauses and continues, "'Uh, 'uh', Ugly...ugly starts with U!" he runs into me and says "Mom, ugly starts with 'u'!"
Can you tell he's reviewing his letter sounds at school this week?
Can you tell he's reviewing his letter sounds at school this week?
September 13, 2008
Random thoughts and musings
As almost everyone I talk to regularly (well, my parents and brothers and sisters...) knows, John will graduate from college soon. In fact, the ceremony will take place in 91 days- as soon as I figure out how to do those cool little countdown widgets, I'll add one. Then all y'all (that's the plural form of y'all- for the non-Texans out there) can help me count down the days until this chapter of our lives is over and done. I am really excited for John to finish school. It has been quite a ride. We have enjoyed ourselves and grown as a couple and as a family. We have been tried and tested; we have had some wonderful times as well as our share of struggles. Overall, though, we have been blessed, and have seen the Lord's hand guiding our path.
Our whole marriage has been a whirlwind. It seems like we were both drifting along through life until we found each other. We got married, 10 months later had Collin, 3 months later I returned to college at EA, 15 months later Cameron joined us, 10 months after that we moved to Texas, within the month John's parents split up, 8 months later Caitlyn was born, 26 months later John's mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, 3 weeks later I finished my Bachelor's degree, 6 weeks later we lost John's mom, one year and 2 days later Caleigh was born, and 91 days from today John will graduate. It seems like change has been the only constant thing in our marriage. Right now, I am filled with so many emotions. The first phase of our educational journey is drawing to a close, and it is really bittersweet. I am excited because I am ready to start saving for a house, start paying off our 100k in debt (gotta love student loans and credit cards!), and start the next chapter of our lives. At the same time, I am scared because I worry about us finding employment and managing our family as duel earners. We have been blessed (or rather our credit card companies have been blessed) to be able to have me be a "stay at home" parent for the majority of our educational journey. I substitute taught and worked in special ed. at the boys' school last year, but over all I have been a "stay at home" parent, and we have been able to minimize the amount of time our children have spent in daycare. I feel like we have managed to maintain the "balance" between home time and daycare time, and that our children have benefitted from their associations and daycare experiences. At the same time, we have benefitted because John has been able to work full time and attend his classes, and I have been afforded the opportunity to persue my education as well as provide our children with a relatively "stable" home life.
I am about 75% sure we will return to AZ after John's graduation. With both of us returning to the workforce full-time, it will be much easier on our family if we live closer to our extended family. I know the next couple of years will be even busier and crazier than the previous 7, so familial support will be crucial for our children. Hopefully we will be able to work hard, pay off our credit cards, and get into a reasonably priced home. I know we will always "struggle", and probably never have "enough" money, but I also know that in the ways that truly matter, we have been blessed beyond measure. We have 4 beautiful children, we are both college educated, and most importantly, we truly love each other. We are not and will probably never be one of those ooshy-gooshy, lovey-dovey, makes you wanna puke couples- but we have each other's backs and that's what matters =) I'm excited to see what the next 7.5 years brings.
Our whole marriage has been a whirlwind. It seems like we were both drifting along through life until we found each other. We got married, 10 months later had Collin, 3 months later I returned to college at EA, 15 months later Cameron joined us, 10 months after that we moved to Texas, within the month John's parents split up, 8 months later Caitlyn was born, 26 months later John's mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, 3 weeks later I finished my Bachelor's degree, 6 weeks later we lost John's mom, one year and 2 days later Caleigh was born, and 91 days from today John will graduate. It seems like change has been the only constant thing in our marriage. Right now, I am filled with so many emotions. The first phase of our educational journey is drawing to a close, and it is really bittersweet. I am excited because I am ready to start saving for a house, start paying off our 100k in debt (gotta love student loans and credit cards!), and start the next chapter of our lives. At the same time, I am scared because I worry about us finding employment and managing our family as duel earners. We have been blessed (or rather our credit card companies have been blessed) to be able to have me be a "stay at home" parent for the majority of our educational journey. I substitute taught and worked in special ed. at the boys' school last year, but over all I have been a "stay at home" parent, and we have been able to minimize the amount of time our children have spent in daycare. I feel like we have managed to maintain the "balance" between home time and daycare time, and that our children have benefitted from their associations and daycare experiences. At the same time, we have benefitted because John has been able to work full time and attend his classes, and I have been afforded the opportunity to persue my education as well as provide our children with a relatively "stable" home life.
I am about 75% sure we will return to AZ after John's graduation. With both of us returning to the workforce full-time, it will be much easier on our family if we live closer to our extended family. I know the next couple of years will be even busier and crazier than the previous 7, so familial support will be crucial for our children. Hopefully we will be able to work hard, pay off our credit cards, and get into a reasonably priced home. I know we will always "struggle", and probably never have "enough" money, but I also know that in the ways that truly matter, we have been blessed beyond measure. We have 4 beautiful children, we are both college educated, and most importantly, we truly love each other. We are not and will probably never be one of those ooshy-gooshy, lovey-dovey, makes you wanna puke couples- but we have each other's backs and that's what matters =) I'm excited to see what the next 7.5 years brings.
September 12, 2008
Cast of Characters
Here's a brief introduction to my cast of characters. I'll add pictures after I take some new ones and figure out how...
Collin- First Grade, plays soccer, baseball, basketball and swims (he will start swim team this summer). He is a natural leader both on and off the field. He's one of those people who just learns easily- his mind is like a steel trap! He's a boy version of me- smart. stubborn, and driven.
Cameron- Kindergarten, hates soccer, t-ball, and basketball (he says they are BORING! I'm not quite sure if he's my kid or not...), but LOVES swimming!!! He is a bit of a Mama's Boy, but I like it. He is mild mannered and likes following the rules. He loves school and does really well in his class.
Caitlyn- 3, loves being home with Mommy this semester. She's a great helper with Caleigh Bug! She's our drama queen and is a little bit of a tease- she is a mini version of her auntie Erin! She likes trying to keep up with her brothers, so she tends to be a bit accident prone. So far, her adventures have introduced us to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and a wonderful pediatric dentist (I guess I'm just glad to help a fellow former Biology major pay off some student loans...).
Caleigh- our newest addition! She is learning to smile and is at a fun age. Like the other kids, she is growning up way too fast...
John- is almost finished with school. He graduates in 93 days (but who's counting, right?) He has done a great job working full time and going to school. I'm excited for him to finish and get a new job!
Me- I'm attending graduate school part time and job hunting. My family is the most important thing to me, and I feel really lucky to have the little family I have.
I really am going to update this thing more than once a month =)
Collin- First Grade, plays soccer, baseball, basketball and swims (he will start swim team this summer). He is a natural leader both on and off the field. He's one of those people who just learns easily- his mind is like a steel trap! He's a boy version of me- smart. stubborn, and driven.
Cameron- Kindergarten, hates soccer, t-ball, and basketball (he says they are BORING! I'm not quite sure if he's my kid or not...), but LOVES swimming!!! He is a bit of a Mama's Boy, but I like it. He is mild mannered and likes following the rules. He loves school and does really well in his class.
Caitlyn- 3, loves being home with Mommy this semester. She's a great helper with Caleigh Bug! She's our drama queen and is a little bit of a tease- she is a mini version of her auntie Erin! She likes trying to keep up with her brothers, so she tends to be a bit accident prone. So far, her adventures have introduced us to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and a wonderful pediatric dentist (I guess I'm just glad to help a fellow former Biology major pay off some student loans...).
Caleigh- our newest addition! She is learning to smile and is at a fun age. Like the other kids, she is growning up way too fast...
John- is almost finished with school. He graduates in 93 days (but who's counting, right?) He has done a great job working full time and going to school. I'm excited for him to finish and get a new job!
Me- I'm attending graduate school part time and job hunting. My family is the most important thing to me, and I feel really lucky to have the little family I have.
I really am going to update this thing more than once a month =)
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