With a pair of bottomless pits to feed, what is a single mom on a budget to do?? Welcome to FarmVille.

My kids are weird. Yes, it's true that the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, but even so, there are things about the girls that baffle me. For instance, they love vegetables. They only want the spinach from their spinach and cheese quesadillas. They bypass cookies and crackers in favor of carrots and cherry tomatoes. Weird, right?

I came across a New York Times article that cited a study that found "energy-dense munchies cost on average $1.76 per 1,000 calories, compared with $18.16 per 1,000 calories for low-energy but nutritious foods." (Parker-Pope) The article is from 2007, so you can probably imagine what has happened to those prices since then with the increase in fuel prices. The whole article is a pretty interesting read.

Because produce and other healthy foods can be so expensive, I have been brainstorming some ways to make a healthy diet more affordable for my family. Our first step has been to start a garden on our apartment deck. We're growing blueberries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, and a variety of bell peppers. There may be more later in the season. We'll be trading any extras with friends that are growing abundant gardens. I'll add some pictures of our garden as soon as it's all planted and off my kitchen table.

I thought about purchasing a share in a local CSA Farm (Community Supported Agriculture) in exchange for weekly or bi-weekly produce delivery, but they all delivered a lot more than I would know what to do with in that amount of time. Rather than risk anything going to waste, we'll be making regular trips to the local farmers markets this summer to pick out fresh, local produce to supplement our garden spoils. We've always come home with a lot of amazing fruits and vegetables and found really great deals.

• Click here to find your local Farmers Markets
• Click here to find a CSA Farm near you

Do you make and can your own pasta sauce? Do you swap unused pantry items with friends? Do you have a dairy cow for a pet? If there are things that you are doing to help keep your food budget under control, I'd love to hear it!

Food Budget Tip for New Parents: Make your own baby food!! It's cheap, it's healthy, and you know exactly what's in it. Super Baby Food was an awesome resource when the girls were teensy. It lets you know at what age you can introduce just about anything and tells you how to prepare it. All it takes is a food processor and some ice cube trays and you're set. Prepare your produce (wash, cook/mash, etc.), throw it in the food processor, then pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. Once it's frozen, pop out the cubes and put them into zip-loc bags and keep them in the freezer until you need them. Then you just have to grab a cube or two and reheat. I made a big batch of a different flavor every weekend so I always had a variety of flavors on hand and only had to do about 30 minutes of work per week.

Planning ahead for spontaneity (but only a little)

One envelope that I have found to be essential to my budget is my Use-It-For-Anything-I-Darn-Well-Please Envelope (Dave Ramsey refers to this as "Blow Money"). In my first few bi-weekly budgets, this envelope served as Mistake Money. If one of my envelopes for essentials like groceries or gas was short, I had a little extra to supplement those needs. It also allowed me a little bit of wiggle room as I was learning to cut back on non-essentials like dining out and impulse purchases at my budget's retail nemesis: Target.

Over the past few months, I've gotten better at sticking to my budget and can now easily manage with a quarter of the Blow Money that I used to budget. Fairly often, I have money leftover at the end of the budget period that I carry over into the next period.

Why is it important to have a little money without a specific destination? For me, if I don't plan for a little fun, the this-debt-is-impossible-and-I'm-never-going-to-beat-it anxiety and depression can begin to take hold. Having even a small amount of cash that can be used for anything allows a small amount of freedom and flexibility within an otherwise strict budget.

How is your budget? The link below will take you to a simplified version of DR's budgeting software. It gives recommended percentages for spending each category that were really helpful when I first started budgeting. It made it obvious to me where I needed to make major adjustments.

Dear Target, It's not you, it's me. Well, mostly it's you...

This is how trips to Target nearly always go for me: With kids in tow, grab a cart and aim for the things on my list.  On the way to those things, I remember (or am distracted by) other things that I want to look for/at.  Gradually, my cart fills with things that aren't on my list. By the time I've located and picked up everything on my list, I've at least doubled the number of items I intended to purchase.  It is laid out so the necessities that are frequently on your list (toilet paper, milk, pet food, etc.) are in areas that require that you to walk through the entire store to get them.  I hate to admit it, but it works.

Because I always get a cart at these stores I don't see the number of items that are piling up because they're several feet away from me behind children and a pile of grocery totes and a giant bag of who-knows-what-the-girls-put-in-my-purse-this-time.  I've discovered that when I carry a basket, not only do the girls get more exercise and burn a little more of their preschooler energy, but I also see the items piling up and I feel the physical burden of the items I'm about to purchase.

However (and perhaps this goes without saying), the best solution for me has been to avoid Target as much as possible.  I buy groceries at the grocery store.  I buy toiletries at Costco if I can since they last forever.  If I do "need" to go to a department store, I make a list and do my best to stick to it. I take very little cash along to nix the impulse buys and get out of there as fast as I can.  I treat Target like a bad part of town where I could get mugged if I turn down the wrong aisle.  If I can stick to my list, I leave the store without feeling beat up or losing my money.

lesson learned.

The envelope system only works if I put money in the envelopes!

I've mentioned all the overtime I've been working lately and how much it's helped me jump-start my debt snowball.  Unfortunately, I didn't make time to do my budget.  I was reading The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness last night and was scolded by Dave Ramsey himself with something I've heard him say so many times.  He essentially says that we don't have time not to do a budget.  Erg... There he goes being right again.

So I ended up stupidly using my debit card, then backtracking and figuring out from my reciepts which envelopes that money would have come out of, then figuring out how much cash I needed to pull out of my account and place in each envelope.  Basically, I created a lot more work for myself by not doing my budget and getting cash.

It was a good slap on the wrist.  I don't think I'll be making that mistake again.  It was a pain...

the baby steps

I've mentioned that I'm following the incredibly simple debt-reduction plan taught by Dave Ramsey.  To give you an idea of what exactly that plan is, here is a list of the seven "baby steps" he teaches as a means to get out of debt and build wealth.


Baby Step 1
$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
Dave frequently refers to this Emergency Fund to as "Murphy Repellent," meaning that Murphy's Law ("Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.") seems to apply far less to those who are prepared to deal with the unexpected.  It is crucial to keep perspective on what is truly an emergency when considering using this money.  Is it really an emergency?  Could I save money to cover this expense rather than pulling money from my Emergency Fund?


Baby Step 2

Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball

The Debt Snowball pays off all debts except a first mortgage.  Dave suggests paying off the lowest balances first.  Pay the minimum on everything except the lowest balance and put everything you can toward that creditor until it is paid off.  Then take the amount you were putting toward that balance and attack the next lowerst balance.  As each balance is paid off, the snowball grows and more money is available to pay toward the lowest balance each month.  Learning to live on a budget and within your means (living on less than you make) is the only way to get out of debt and stay out.

Baby Step 3

3 to 6 months of expenses in savings

After the debt is taken care of, it's time to beef up the Emergency Fund.  More savings means you're better prepared for bigger emergencies should the arise.

The next several steps overlap or occur simultaneously. With the first three steps, you are digging out of a hole and ensuring that you are prepared to handle emergencies without incurring debt. The remaining steps are about building wealth.


Baby Step 4

Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement

This is just the start of retirement preparation unless you're already on the verge of retirement.  Once the rest of the Baby Steps are complete, more may be invested.  My company matches 401(k) contributions, doubling the first 1% and matching the next 3%.  That means that if I put in 4% they will put in 5%.  That's free money!

Baby Step 5

College funding for children

R and K will be starting college at the same time, so this step is a little intimidating.  R declared the other day that she wants to be a doctor.  Later the same day, we were driving past the private college that I attended briefly and she told me that was where she wanted to go to school.  Granted, she is not even four years old yet, but I want to support her big dreams.  After all, I want to be in a nice nursing home someday!

Baby Step 6

Pay off home early

Home mortgages are the only type of debt that Dave Ramsey understands as a necessity for most people.  He would prefer that everyone pay cash but that's not an option for most people.  He provides some guidelines for those looking to buy a home:

1. Utilize only 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages.
2. Your monthly payment should be no more than 25% of your take-home pay.

Using these guidelines helps you to keep the cost of your home within your means and if your payments are reducing your mortgage balance at a faster rate, equity in your home is built more quickly.

Baby Step 7
Build wealth and give!

With the first six steps out of the way, you can invest more in your retirement if you'd like.  You can give more to the philanthropic organizations that are important to you.  You can even add more cash to the fun envelopes!  A fortune cookie I got recently said it best: 

"If you continually give you will continually have."

So those are the Baby Steps!  That's not so hard, is it? :)

This blog is now open to the public.  Feel free to pass it along to anyone you think may enjoy or benefit from it.  The links over there ---> might help me pay my debt down faster if I find myself with some followers who click on them now and again.

I'm adding labels to my posts so specific topics can easily be found.  I've also added a net worth tracker.  It's not much to look at right now, but it'll be fun to watch it change.  I'm a nerd for math, graphs, and spreadsheets so all of this is kind of fun for me.  I like paying bills.  How weird is that?

Please leave your answer in the comments below. :)

another one bites the dust!

I had my eye exam on Friday and discovered that I don't need new glasses. The glasses that I have are my current prescription.  It hasn't changed in seven years!  New glasses have now become a want rather than a need, so they're going to wait.  The money I had set aside to pay for my glasses has now been applied to my debt!  I have paid off three creditors this month and have $1,000 in the bank for emergencies!

Store Card 1 - $323
Direct Deposit Advance - $220
Credit Card 1 - $350
Line of Credit - $465
Credit Card 2 - $685
Student Loan 1 - $1,640
Store Card 2 - $2,800
Student Loan 2 - $3,145
Auto Loan - $4,005
Credit Card 3 - $4,470
Credit Card 4 - $4,910
Student Loan 3 - $5,615
Student Loan 4 - $6,025
 
According to the Debt Snowball Tracker that is part of my budgeting software, I have paid off $1,303.15 of my debt since I committed to this journey.  This includes both the larger payments I've made to pay off creditors as well as my regular payments to those still in progress.  I still have a long way to go, but this is an amazing start.  Next up is my Line of Credit.
 
I am using an envelope system for categories in which I tend to overspend the most or spend without thinking.  I have envelopes for groceries, restaurants, clothing and entertainment as well as one for fun money.  I have two checking accounts.  One of these is now being used solely for gas.  The reason for the gas account is that it makes it much easier to get gas when I don't have to take a pair of three-year-olds out of their car seats and into a store full of candy to pay for it.  That account is, essentially, my gas envelope.  The other checking account is being used to pay bills.

I'm still tweaking my budget with every paycheck.  I have discovered that I spend less on gas than I thought I did.  It's getting easier to admit that I don't have the money to do some things.  It's also very exciting to have money set aside to have some fun.  The girls and I are getting back into the habit of going to the library on our weekends together.  They love it and it provides entertainment for several weeks in the form of books and movies.  Gabe and I often cook as a form of entertainment and just generally enjoy each others' company.  I have maintained my Netflix account as an inexpensive form of entertainment as well.  We only get one DVD at a time and unlimited streaming movies online, so there is always something to watch if we're lacking things to do.  When we do go out, it's far less expensive with Gabe than most of my social life had been prior because there is no drinking on his part and very little on mine.  I used to buy friends drinks if I was getting myself one so the expense of one drink often doubled or tripled.  They're not cheap to begin with, so this is probably saving me more money than I even realize.

Things are great. My valentine's weekend was low-key and wonderful.  The girls and I are taking a road trip tomorrow to see Grandma Char and Grandpa Doug.  It'll be fun to spend some time with them and the girls always have a great time.  See you soon, mom and dad!

Never Better

I'm totally winning at life.  I'm heading in the right direction for what feels like the first time ever. My kids are amazing. My boyfriend is incredible. My friends are fantastic. My job is challenging (in a good way). My family is great.  Things are good.

So these are my goals for this year:

1.  Make a $15k dent in my debt.

I've adopted an envelope system and am working with only cash. The only reason my check card will be out will be for buying gas (it's just WAY easier than taking the girls out of the car to go inside and pay then having to get them back in the car).  I'm working on ideas for supplementing my income to pay down my debt faster. My income would allow the girls and I do have lots of fun if so much of it wasn't being used to pay off things I did years ago.  And if/when I get remarried, I don't want to go into it with debt. This is a burden that I don't want anyone else to have to deal with.


2.  Take at least enough classes to use up my tuition reimbursement from work.

My job provides $2,500 per year in tuition reimbursement. I need to take advantage of that to inch my way toward a degree without ending up with more student loans (see goal #1). I'll be aiming for online classes still since I sitll need my time with the girlies. Being a bit of a nerd, online classes work pretty well for me.

3.  Work through the Gotham Writers' Workshop book with dad.

My dad gave me Gotham Writers' Workshop's Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School for Christmas. As much as I love to write, I haven't been particularly disciplined at making time for it. I want to work through this book and get back to writing. It might even help me get into the right mindset for taking classes. Part of the reason for this blog is to get me into the habit of writing something... anything.

So those are my goals. I'm not going to call them resolutions. I'm not even going to say that these are goals for 2010. They're things that I want to do. At this point, this is a private journal. I may open it up later if I feel like it's going somewhere.

So there.