Happy New Year!!

Apologies for the lack of blog posts lately. It seems that 55+ hour work weeks on top of 24/7 parenting keeps a girl busy!

The good news is that I've been making progress and still hope to reach my goal. There was an autumnal slack for a month or two where I didn't try as hard as I could/should have.  I also could've been stricter with my holiday budget.  I am proud to say that I did budget to give to some causes over the last few months.  I was thrilled to be able to donate when a few friends who teach in low-income areas needed items for their classrooms.  These incredibly dedicated teachers are able to raise funds for needed supplies using DonorsChoose.org.  It has been wonderful to see these fundraising projects reach completion and know that my donations have made a difference not only in the lives of hundreds of students across the country, but also in the lives of my friends who care so much about these kids that they are putting forth personal time and effort where their schools are falling short.

Now some exciting news: I'm gettin' hitched! I got a beautiful sparkly (but budget-friendly) Christmas present and am thrilled that my family of girly girls will be gaining TWO dudes as my fiancé comes with his own miniature version of himself who just happens to be a mere 17 days younger than my girls. I saw a news article recently that referred to a pair of sisters born in close succession as "twiblings," so I guess that will make our brood "tribblings"?

There will be more updates coming soon. Overtime is slowing down a little, so there will be more time for blogging. Yay! The impending nuptials bring with them many new budgeting issues, so there will be plenty to blog about!  2011 is going to be amazing!

stoked!

Looking at my budget for February, I think I'll have my baby emergency fund fully funded plus pay off two credit cards and make a pretty good dent in a third by the end of the month!!  Wooooohoo!  What an awesome start!

I'm so happy I decided to get working on this just as I was getting my 2009 taxes ready.  My tax returns will play a major role in the jump start I'm getting.

Working overtime is also playing a pretty big role.  I've missed having time and energy for the girls over the last few weeks, but my manager is looking into getting access to allow me to work from home.  That will be a big help and allow me to spend more time with the girlies rather than having to shuffle them to their dad or to babysitters when I need to work.  I really hope that works out as there looks to be quite a few more opportunities to work OT in the near future and OT is far easier to work out than trying to find a part-time job to supplement my income while I'm on this journey.

I had a bit of a reality check the other day.  I was talking to Gabe about the possibility of taking another east coast vacation this year.  We had talked about (and Gabe's aunt Sue had insisted) taking the girls with this time.  I thought it sounded like a great idea and was thinking my tax return would allow us to do that, but upon reflection I realized that taking our vacation last year landed me further in the hole and if I want to pay this debt off, I need to be making smart decisions about money all the time, not just when it feels good.  I called Gabe back and suggested that we consider going camping someplace relatively nearby instead.  He thought that sounded like a decent plan.  As much as I would love to take the girls to the beach this year, I know that they won't care if we wait a few years and they'll probably appreciate it more and have loads more fun when they're a little older.

Gabe is one reason that I've decided that now is the time to get rid of this debt.  We've been together for 10+ months, but we're both divorced and in no hurry to tie the knot again.  In the meantime, I want to put myself in a position to be be less of a financial burden if/when the time comes.  I already come with two extra mouths to feed so upkeep on this package deal isn't cheap.  I'd love to be in a position where I'm living, not just getting by.  My goal is $15k this year, but I would love to surpass that goal.  I'm making an effort to make sacrifices now so I can live better later.  My income would allow for a comfortable life if a third of it wasn't going toward debt payments.  I'm going to get there!

the approach

How do I keep it going?
I'm taking a few approaches to keep myself excited about paying off debt.  I want to stay focused so I'm trying to spend some time every day working on my finances in one way or another.  I look at my budget every time I recieve a bill to determine when it will be paid.  Because I'm in my first few months of using a budget, it is going to require some regular tweaking before I get it just right.  I am also listening to financially-focused podcasts on a daily basis to learn more and hear about the experiences that others are having paying off their debt.  Right now, I listen to The Dave Ramsey Show and Rebound.  I have also subscribed to MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com and am using the money tools there to help me in this process.  I'll blog more about that soon.

Why do I want to pay off my debt?
At this point, I spend about a third of my take-home pay on debt repayment.  That's ridiculous!  If I was able to save that money every month, I'd have the girls' college funds fully funded well before they were in high school.  I could afford to have them in preschool.  I could spend money on piano lessons.  And for me, I could contribute to a retirement fund and purchase stock at the company I work for.  I could buy new clothes when I lose weight.  I wouldn't be stressed out about how I'm going to pay for car repairs when they're needed.  And there is the fact that I hated going into my first marriage with debt.  I do intend to marry again someday and I don't want to bring financial baggage into the relationship.  I am currently dating an absolutely amazing man that has the desire and ability to be an entrepreneur.  Business ventures require capital.  I'd love to be a help rather than a hinderence in those ventures if we should end up marrying someday (and I hope we do <3).