Friday, October 30, 2015

October 2015 Reading List














Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (audio book)

The Complete Guide to Money by Dave Ramsey

Love Finds You in Humble Texas by Anita Higman

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Our Financial Wins for October


















The week of: October 3-9
My husband and I discussed a few finance articles that we had each read the last couple days on Sunday and Monday. We started our FPU class on Tuesday. We spend time going over lesson 1 before the class since we missed the 1st class due to a family emergency. We had our budget meeting on Wednesday since Thursday is payday. We wrote out all our bills and mailed them. My husband brought home cash yesterday and I filled our envelopes today. My husband made $100 on overtime so we added it to our BS1 account instead of into our budget. Its small steps but it’s a change for us. 


The week of:  October 10-16
I forgot to keep track of this week.

The week of:  October 17-23
We attended our Tuesday night FPU class, did our FPU lessons, and had a budget meeting. We have decided to put the rent our young adult children pay us (If/When) monthly toward paying off our car loan of $3617. We’ve decide any ebay profits will go toward our medical debts and car loan. We got our credit reports, called on a few medical debts that we had paid off but aren’t showing paid on credit report, called on a medical bill that was paid through payroll deduction but somehow they didn’t have it recorded as paid and turned us into collection. We decide to not renew my husband’s critical illness and short term disability policies and instead add the premium amount of $62 monthly toward to the payroll deductions to pay our medical bills faster. My husband has worked it out with one of the doctors to teach him how to do stuff on his computer in return for our bill of $234. We haven’t spent on anything other than gas and groceries this pay period besides our bills, and we made it two weeks doing envelopes and are starting on our next two weeks.

The week of:  October 24-30
We had a budged meeting and filled our envelopes. I made a list of everything that needs done for my stepdad’s medical and financials. I organized our insurance statements paperwork and matched them up to a couple medical bills. I organized files/papers for our medical insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and retirement account. My husband and I went over everything when he got home and will follow up on a few things. I worked on our Google budget to subtract debts that are paid and completed the debt snowball form. My husband talked to the finance office on a few medical bills. We attended our FPU class, did our FPU lessons, and had a budget meeting. I updated our google budget to subtract a few more medical bills and went over the ones my husband talked to finance office about. I studied up on life insurance and reviewed our polices. My husband and I talked about everything I learned and looked over everything together. I spend time reading the Complete Guide to Money and organizing our bill box.

You might be interested in:
Our Financial Wins for September

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Clutter Busting Challenge October 2015 Part 2

That's 115 items in October and 3021 items for the year.

My Purge Pile:








































You might be interested in:
Clutter Busting Challenge October 2015 Part 1

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Cleaning Zone 3: Bathroom and Offices


Cleaning Zones
1.       Cleaning Zone 1: Porches and Storage Areas
2.       Cleaning Zone 2: Kitchen/Dining Room and Laundry Room
3.       Cleaning Zone 3: Bathroom and Offices
4.       Cleaning Zone 4: Bedrooms and Closets
5.       Cleaning Zone 5: Living Room and Family Room
Cleaning Zone3

Bathroom and Offices: Detailed Cleaning List:
Bathroom: Detailed Cleaning List
1.      Wash area rugs
2.      Sweep/Scrub/wax floor
3.      Straighten drawers/ cabinets
4.      Clean shower stall/Tub wax (not the floor!)
5.      Clean medicine cabinet
6.      Clean scale
7.      Clean curtains/blinds
8.      Wash shower curtain
9.      Empty Trash can/Disinfect
10.  Clean Toilet inside/outside
11.  Clean sink
12.  Clean under sink/dishpan
13.  Clean decorations
14.  Windex Mirrors
15.  Clean dresser
Offices: Detailed Cleaning List
1.      Clear off the surface of your desk
2.      Make a list of needed office/trash old supplies
3.      Throw out all the trash, empty trash, and disinfect
4.      Put items to keep in a pending file for office day
5.      File Papers
6.      Clean filing cabinet
7.      Put current bills in box/Do not stop to pay bills
8.      Straighten one drawer at a time
9.      Toss out old receipts/tax files from over 7 years
10.  Clean off the monitor screen
11.  Fill printer caddy with paper
12.  Vacuum under desk and the whole room
13.  Dust furniture
14.  Clean windows/curtains
15.  Remove cobwebs
16.  Check supplies of paper and printer cartridges
17.  Stamps and envelopes
18.  Dust and organize shelves

Monday, October 26, 2015

Give to a Christmas Charity



Yesterday was October 25th which means 2 months before Christmas.

Bless a family this Holiday season with a donation. Please consider donating new items to a Christmas Charity for eligible needy families in your local area. Most Christmas Charities will provide 1-3 gifts plus any extra’s they receive such as clothing, hat & gloves, and book to children under 12 years old. I do encourage you to give in the older age category as a lot of people like to give to younger children. Due to the lack of age appropriate gift donations many Charities give gift cards to older children. There are many Christmas Charities that provide families with a food basket and will accept food donations, food gift certificates and gift card. Food Banks are in need of food donations and food gift certificates and gift card.

There are many families who don’t qualify or don’t apply for help with a Christmas Charity. Please consider donating used items to a local thrift store the same items listed minus gift cards and food. There are many families who can’t afford to buy new gifts and will buy and give used items from thrift stores for their gift giving. Your used items may be just what a family needs to provide Christmas for their children this year.

A List of Suggested Gifts: for Newborn-12 years
             Winter Clothing
             Hats & Gloves
             Jewelry
             Shampoo, Lotions, Perfume, and Soaps
             Toys
             Music
             Electronics
             Handheld Games
             Books
             Craft & Science Kits
             Cards & Board Games
             Bikes
             Sports Equipment
             Gift Cards
             Gift Wraps
             Food

Many Christmas Charities also provide for disabled adults and homebound seniors.

A List of Suggested Gifts:
             Robes, Slippers, and Sleepwear
             Hats & Gloves
             Blankets
             Shampoo, Lotions, Perfume, and Soaps
             Audio Books and Books
             Gift Cards
             Gift Wraps
             Food

My family and I along with a group of local homeschooled teens and their families have helped behind the scenes at our local Christmas Charity for 11 years. My husband and I was in charge for over 5 years of  organizing the volunteers to sorting gifts, packaging them up, and line them into family groups the week before distribution day for a Charity. Most people don’t realize the need or work involved to provide gifts to over 180 families in a single community.