Goals

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Last week was packed full of a lot of extra activities, appointments, refinance closing, and travel some of the events were on the calendar and others we squeezed in because it was necessary.  The biggest blessing was being able to cross off our Refinance Closing.  The paperwork was submitted back in September and several of the documents re-submitted over the last couple of months because the lender couldn’t find the paperwork we gave them or one person didn’t give the next person the right information and so forth.  Now we can breathe a little sigh of relief to get that completed.

    Even though I didn’t get everything done the good news is I am at least taking small steps in the right direction.  This week will not be a huge goal driven week because of the Thanksgiving Holiday.  My biggest “goal” is to spend quality time with my family.  Hopefully, as we spend time together I will get some necessary items accomplished but if not that is okay too because life needs to be fun every once in awhile, right!?  Jake and I have several joint projects that we are hoping to work on over the next few weeks and the girls want to put up the tree.  Some of my goals will be on “hold” during this week, you’ll see it pick back up again after Thanksgiving! 🙂

    Here is the update on last weeks goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed) – really need to do better on this one, we spent extra time before bed one night talking on the phone to Daddy since he was traveling this week instead.
    5. Get the girls passport pictures taken – did not get their pictures done
    6. Finish filing the last several weeks of coupons in my File Folder and Binder – didn’t get this done, other priorities popped up

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – did much better (4 days) but missed one day so can’t cross this one off
    2. Finish reading  The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year by Crystal Paine who has a blog called Money Saving Mom (VERY excited about the opportunity to preview this book by a blogger I have been following for years and thankful to be featured on her blog weekly with the Save A Lot Deals!) – still reading other activities took priority this week
    3. Listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (I am going through this book with my Community Group)
    4. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday – I was really bad at the beginning of the week getting to bed on time because I was trying to finish a project but I paid for it the next day.

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – Jake was traveling this week so I had to move my laundry day up 2 days to help with packing and since we were only home for a couple hours that day I wasn’t able to get it done in 1 day, it took me 2 days this week.
    5. File the receipts for the last couple of months and organize the table in the office. – still waiting to be done

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk – it was a wild week with Jake being gone, long doctor appointments, phone calls, refinance, and I didn’t do this really important task and now feel the side effects of it
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Research ways to create more residual income – didn’t get to it
    5. Review my 2011 Business Goals and start planning ones for 2012 – I did write down a couple thoughts but didn’t get really in depth in this one so don’t feel right about crossing it off

    Ministry Goals

    1. Make at least $25 towards my Creative Cash goal this week so I can give more to others. – wasn’t able to do this one.
    2. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    3. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch – I got to have lunch with Jake and his co-workers while supporting a local charity!

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Close on our Refinance – Our plan is to go from the 30 year mortgage that we have been paying off to a 10 year mortgage with a lower interest rate. Sooooo THRILLED to have this one done!   🙂  We knocked 11 years off what we were currently paying by switching to a 10 year and the best part is we are now paying about $20 less every month with the new mortgage!
    3. Pay off remaining debt – almost there
    4. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – on hold until the debt is paid off

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
    5. Spend extra time with my family over the Thanksgiving Holiday

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday and Tuesday

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Wednesday)
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    5. Put up the Christmas Tree

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Pay off remaining debt
    3. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Last week was a busy one, about halfway through the week I started wondering if I was going to finish anything on the list, but slowly some got checked off.  The personal goals were the hardest for me to do because everything else kept me busy.  This upcoming week I hope to do better on my personal goals so I can keep my life / time and resources in balance as I work towards my goals.

    Here is the update on last weeks goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday – Monday was a super busy day with the Holiday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed) – Didn’t get this done every night with the busy evenings, a couple late nights including our couple Date Night on Saturday.
    5. Schedule a Date Night with Jake  – Went on our Date Night on 11/5
    6. Schedule a Date Night with each child – Date Night Scheduled for 11/11/11

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – As hard as I tried this didn’t get done, it was busy and a couple unexpected things came up.  I hope to do a lot better next week with this one.
    2. Finish reading  The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman – Made it through a couple more chapters, maybe I will get it done next week.
    3. Listen to The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
    4. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday – We had a couple late nights with extra projects and activities going on (I think I only made it to bed on time once).

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday – Completed a day early 🙂
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – Dinner was ready but not on the table on Monday because of the Fall Festival Activities
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – Completed all the laundry from striping beds, washing, folding, putting away, and remaking the beds on Monday
    5. Summer clothes pulled out of the main part of the closet and put away (it’s getting chilly and we are not wearing them as much now) – about halfway through this task
    6. Pick the fresh vegetables that are ready and start preparing the garden for the first freeze. – big thanks to my sweet husband and girls for doing this for me and we even were able to share some of the goodies with friends!

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes cleaning and organizing my desk (somehow everyone stacks stuff on my desk, myself included, and within a day I have a pile sometimes piles)
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Research ways to create more residual income – didn’t get to this one

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Alms & Legs Ministry – Email upcoming meeting reminder to members, write and print the meeting agenda
    3. Meet a friend for Breakfast or Lunch
    4. Pack our Operation Christmas Child boxes

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – I went over budget this week. (thankful for the opportunity to stock up and a budget guideline even though I went over it this week.)
    2. Pay off remaining debt – working on it and I see light at the end of the tunnel
    3. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – work in progress (we had two vehicle repairs recently which set us back a little bit)

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
    5. Start the process of getting the girls passports
    6. Go on Mother Daughter Date Night
    7. File the last several weeks of coupons in my File Folder and Binder

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Finish reading  The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
    3. Listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (I am going through this book with my Community Group)
    4. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    5. Summer clothes pulled out of the main part of the closet and put away (it’s getting chilly and we are not wearing them as much now)

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Research ways to create more residual income
    5. Upcoming events, activities, and posted to my upcoming calendar

    Ministry Goals

    1. Make at least $25 towards my Creative Cash goal this week so I can give more to others.
    2. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    3. Alms & Legs Ministry – Email Meeting Notes to the Team
    4. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Close on our Refinance – Our plan is to go from the 30 year mortgage that we have been paying off to a 10 year mortgage with a lower interest rate.
    3. Pay off remaining debt
    4. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results

  • Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (October Update)

    October is my ninth month tracking my Creative Cash.  What is Creative Cash?  Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal.  I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others.  The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already.  I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year.  Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much.  My husband and I believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.

    Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors.  As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split.  It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others.  At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.

    To be honest October was not as great of a month as I hoped it would be, however, it was better then September.    Although life is still busy we are at least home more now giving me the flexibility to focus on this goal as well as other ones.  I anticipate November being another busy month with upcoming Holidays and I hope to come closer to meeting this goal.  Thankfully I was able to save some extra cash even though I did not reach my my goal of $100.  I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:

    • $13.19 – Items sold on Ebay (after fees):   The all the items sold were coupons.  I encourage you to look around at some of the coupons you get the mail, newspapers, magazines, in your stockpile, or other places and if you will not have the opportunity to use them then consider selling them for a little extra creative cash.
    • $6.59 – Recycled Items taken to the scrap metal company
    • $28.99 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned  (rebates, returns, cash back,  extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.

    It was a harder month to set the extra aside because it was very busy and I was not able to participate in as many extra creative cash activities.  The good news is despite the crazy schedule I was able to get a few dollars of creative cash and almost met at least half of my goal.  October’s “Creative Cash” total was $48.77 which means $24.38 extra that goes towards our current goal (saving for 3 to 6 month Emergency Fund) and $24.39 goes towards charity.  Although I didn’t hit my $100 goal this month I am happy that I was able to contribute something this month and every little bit helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way.  I have a plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in November so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others.  Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in October.  I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us.  I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well.  Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it!  Do you know of another way to earn creative cash?   I would love to hear your ideas!

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

    Photo by StopNLook

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    After much thought I have decided to share my weekly goals with you.  I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
    5. Schedule a Date Night with Jake
    6. Schedule a Date Night with each child

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Finish reading  The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
    3. Listen to The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
    4. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    5. Summer clothes pulled out of the main part of the closet and put away (it’s getting chilly and we are not wearing them as much now)
    6. Pick the fresh vegetables that are ready and start preparing the garden for the first freeze.

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes cleaning and organizing my desk (somehow everyone stacks stuff on my desk, myself included, and within a day I have a pile sometimes piles)
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Research ways to create more residual income

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Alms & Legs Ministry – Email upcoming meeting reminder to members, write and print the meeting agenda
    3. Meet a friend for Breakfast or Lunch
    4. Pack our Operation Christmas Child boxes

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Pay off remaining debt
    3. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses

    I am striving to live intentionally so I have the ability to give my time, talents, and resources more generously to family, friends, and those who my life touches.  Please feel free to share or link your list of goals in the comments below.  Let’s help each other be accountable for the goals we set for ourselves.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results

  • Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (September Update)

    September is my eighth month tracking my Creative Cash.  What is Creative Cash?  Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal.  I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others.  The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already.  I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year.  Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much.  My husband and I believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.

    Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors.  As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split.  It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others.  At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.

    To be honest September was not a great month, however, it was better then August.  In August I wasn’t able to do any extra activities to generate creative cash; our family had several out of town trips, guests, events, and a lot of other activities in August that took up the extra time I had available.   I am thankful that we have had the opportunity to travel together as a family and create many great new memories, however, the creative cash has been effected by it.  Although life is still busy we are at least home more now giving me the flexibility to focus on this goal as well as other ones.  I anticipate October being another busy month but now that the girls are back in school life will once again return our new “normal” and I hope to come closer to meeting this goal.  Thankfully I was able to save some extra cash even though I did not reach my my goal of $100.  I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:

    • $7.97 – Items sold on Ebay (after fees):   The all the items sold were coupons.  I encourage you to look around at some of the coupons you get the mail, newspapers, magazines, in your stockpile, or other places and if you will not have the opportunity to use them then consider selling them for a little extra creative cash.
    • $39.00 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned  (rebates, returns, cash back,  extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.  Most of the cash this month was from a rebate check I received.

    It was a harder month to set the extra aside because it was very busy and I was not able to participate in as many extra creative cash activities.  The good news is despite the crazy schedule I was able to get a few dollars of creative cash.  September’s “Creative Cash” total was $46.97 which means $23.48 extra that goes towards our current goal (saving for 3 to 6 month Emergency Fund) and $23.49 goes towards charity.  I didn’t hit my $100 goal this month.  It has been really busy with school being out part of the month and traveling with the family.  I am happy that I was able to contribute something this month and every little bit helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way.  I have a plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in October so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others.  Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in September.  I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us.  I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well.  Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it!  Do you know of another way to earn creative cash?   I would love to hear your idea!

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

    Photo by StopNLook

  • Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (July Update)

    July is my sixth month tracking my Creative Cash.  What is Creative Cash?  Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal.  I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others.  The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already.  I have tested this goal over the last couple months as I am challenging myself to make my life more simplified.   I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year.  Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much.  We believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.

    Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors.  As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split.  It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others.  At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.

    To be honest July was not a great month, our family was extremely active in many other areas.  I have only been home one weekend the past couple of months so it has been difficult squeezing in the extra activities to generate the creative cash.  I am thankful that we have had the opportunity to travel together as a family and create many great new memories, however, the creative cash has been effected by it.  I anticipate August being another busy month but hopefully once the girls get back in school life will once again return our new “normal” and I can come closer to meeting this goal.  Thankfully I was able to save some extra cash even though I did not reach my my goal of $100.  I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:

    • $18.98 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned  (rebates, returns, cash back,  extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.  Most of the cash this month was from rebate checks I received from prior purchases.

    It was a harder month to set the extra aside because it was very busy and I was not able to participate in as many extra creative cash activities.  The good news is despite the crazy schedule I was able to get a few dollars of creative cash.   July’s “Creative Cash” total was $18.98 which means $9.49 extra that goes towards our current goal (paying down debt) and $9.49 goes towards charity.  I didn’t hit my $100 goal this month.  It has been really busy with school being out and traveling with the family.  I am happy that I was able to something this month and every little bit helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way.  I have plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in August so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others.  Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in July.  I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us.  I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well.  Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it!  Do you know of another way to earn creative cash?   I would love to hear your idea!

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

    Photo by StopNLook

  • New Upromise eCoupons for July 2011

    Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of July 2011.  Remember to activate your eCoupons to get additional savings.  If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or directly at the Upromise website.

    This month they have 28 coupons you can activate for bonus savings.  Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or purchase the items at the store and the cash will be added to your account.  You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!

    You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.

  • Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (June Update)

    June is my fifth month tracking my Creative Cash.  What is Creative Cash?  Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal.  I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others.  The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already.  I have tested this goal over the last couple months as I am challenging myself to make my life more simplified.   I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year.  Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much.  We believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.

    Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors.  As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split.  It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others.  At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.

    June was a good month even though it was extremely active in many other areas of my life.  Thankfully I was able to save some extra cash however, I did not reach my my goal of $100.  I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:

    • $15.59 – Items sold on Ebay (after fees):   The all the items sold were coupons.  I encourage you to look around at some of the coupons you get the mail, newspapers, magazines, in your stockpile, or other places and if you will not have the opportunity to use them then consider selling them for a little extra creative cash.
    • $20.00 – Cash from house and dog sitting
    • $10.00 – Rebate for Scotts Osmocote Plant Fertilizer
    • $ 5.49 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned  (rebates, returns, cash back,  extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.

    It was a harder month to set the extra aside because it was very busy and I was not able to participate in as many extra creative cash activities.  June’s “Creative Cash” total was $51.08 which means $25.54 extra that goes towards our current goal (paying down debt) and $25.54 goes towards charity.  I didn’t hit my $100 goal this month.  It has been really busy with school being out and traveling with the family.  I am happy that I was able to get at least halfway to the goal and every little bit helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way.  I have plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in July so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others.  Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in June.  I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us.  I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well.  Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it!  Do you know of another way to earn creative cash?   I would love to hear your idea!

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

    Photo by StopNLook

  • Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (May Update)

    May is my fourth month tracking my Creative Cash.  What is Creative Cash?  Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal.  I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others.  The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already.  I have tested this goal over the last couple months as I am challenging myself to make my life more simplified.   I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year.  Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much.  We believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.

    Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors.  As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split.  It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others.  At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.

    May was a good month even though it was extremely active in many other areas of my life.  Thankfully I was able to save some extra cash however, I did not reach my my goal of $100.  I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:

    • $23.11 – Items sold on Ebay (after fees):   The all the items sold were coupons.  I encourage you to look around at some of the coupons you get the mail, newspapers, magazines, in your stockpile, or other places and if you will not have the opportunity to use them then consider selling them for a little extra creative cash.
    • $9.51 – A portion of the proceeds from the Upstate Women’s & Home Consignment Sale
    • $29.50– A portion of the proceeds from the Taylors & Friends Consignment Store.
    • $14.90 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned  (rebates, returns, cash back,  extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.

    It was a harder month to set the extra aside because it was very busy and I was not able to participate in as many extra creative cash activities.  May’s “Creative Cash” total was $77.02 which means $38.51 extra that goes towards our current goal (paying down debt) and $38.51 goes towards charity.  May was the first month I didn’t hit my $100 goal but I am happy that I was able to get close to the goal and every little bit helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way.  I have plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in June so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others.  Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in May.  I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us.  I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well.  Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it!  Do you know of another way to earn creative cash?   I would love to hear your idea!

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

    Photo by StopNLook

  • Book It! Reading Program for Elementary Kids & FREE Pizza!

    Pizza Hut Book It

    Book It! was a program I participated in when I was in elementary school!  Book It! is a National Reading Incentive Program that was developed to help elementary age children improve their reading skills.

    Students earn a Free Personal Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut when they meet their reading goals each month.

    The Book It! program is open to ALL students who are in Kindergarten through 6th Grade at public schools, homeschools, private school, or parochial schools.

    Register your child by September 1, 2011 and Book It! will send you the program materials and coupons.

    Check out their website for printable charts, reading lists and certificates to keep the kids motivated and help you track your children’s reading progress.