Meal Planning on a Budget

So I just planned out my meals for the next 5 days and went grocery shopping for everything on it.  I spent $118 on groceries.  I got pumpkin spice oatmeal, a Gatorade, and blackberries that were not on my list so I feel I did really well.  This will feed my family and my daycare for 5 days.  When you stop to think that is approx 20 people with at least 15 eating each meal...that is pretty dang good. I am super excited to see what kind of grocery bill I can create for the next 2 weeks and how much it will cost me.  I am going to do at least 10 freezer meals and 5 non freezer meals.  If I am really thrifty I will do 15 freezer meal kits and 5 non freezer meals.  I will blog about it when I am done ;)

Moving forward with another school year.

I am sitting here with renewed excitement.  We traded in our Honda Odyssey for an accord.  I know to many that will seem stupid as we have 6 kids and an accord will not seat us all.  Reality is we rarely if ever go anywhere together as a family that we do not take 2 vehicles.  We now have an 18 yr old driver and a 15 yr old driver. We also have a 15 passenger van that I drive primarily due to doing daycare.  If we all go as a family and do not take 2 cars we can very easily take Big Red.  Yes I know the think scares the crap out of me as far as attempting to park in crowded parking lots, but I will survive.  We will be saving over $200 a month on the swap.  My goal is to continue paying that $200 a month since we have it budgeted anyways.  Now I will not pay it on the accord, but we will be adding it to our snowball.  We will put it on the lowest debt first and lower them accordingly. 

I am also excited about the fact that I can envision exactly what I want my daycare rooms and layout to look like.  I am excited to have the funds to do the projects I am needing to do.  I cannot wait to paint the rooms and get them ready.  I am hoping to have them done by Nov 1, 2016.  I always seem to have lofty goals with no help and well running a 24 hr daycare with no help really leaves me no time. Preschool will be starting up again soon and I am excited for the every changing growth we experience during this time.  Some kids just take off with it while others sit back and soak it all in.

The 3rd thing that has me screaming from the inside is that I am finally getting things organized.  My living room (primary daycare room) has been cleaned and organized for going on 2 weeks.  We keep it cleaned up, swept, and mopped.  It is looking rather amazing if I do say so myself.  I have moved onto the dining room.  It is also coming along.  Yes much slower but still getting there.  I have been going through all the papers and things that just collect in this room.  I am still in need of all my "office supplies" to continue the organization process, but I will get there one step at a time.

I have 4 kids in one school this year and I can already see the benefits it will have on my time.  I have been getting up and getting breakfast for them in the morning.  They have been able to eat something other than cereal before heading out for the day. Monet is driving this year so that alone is such a huge relief.  She is able to take them all to school so I can attend to the things I need to do here at home.  I have been trying to get on a schedule/routine that allows things to be less chaotic and more organized.  So far this seems to be helping.  I set a list of tasks I would like to accomplish during the day and use meals and nap to work on them.  I have been getting up with the kids in the morning and staying awake which really gives me extra time to work on things before my daycare gets busy.

Next week Serenadi starts school out at Calvary.  This should be a good year.  I still have my reservations on homeschooling this child and think it may be something to look into in the near future, but I think an extra year in school will be good for her.  I am trying now to figure out how to get everything worked out as far as being able to take her to school, pick her up, and also pick up one daycare child.  We always have time to tweek it if things do not work.  I feel guilty for not keeping her home this year...but I just do not feel confident that the time is right.  And it may may never be right.  We will know with God's guidance. 

So here is to another busy school year and hopefully a fun successful year of daycare!  God gets the Glory for all life has to offer and I am expecting to see great things!

Failure

Failure

That is how I feel today.....I had a goal of paying off debt, but my addiction to shopping and spending money on my kids got in the way.  My original goal was $25000.  The goal my mom and a friend got was $100,000.  Well I am only a couple thousand dollars from where I started 7 months ago.  I have failed to be diligent in my quest for becoming debt free.

My eyes are bigger than my bank account so I charge to my credit cards if I have it available.  I have a hard time leaving it alone when I see something I think I have to have.  Using cash is hard when I do not have enough.  Learning patients is not easy.  So right now I do not see how to eliminate enough debt to even come close to the $25000 goal I originally posted.  My greed got in the way.

I am trying again.  In reality I did not fail, I found out what does NOT work for me.  Keeping credit cards on me is not an option for me.  Keeping credit cards on Michael does not work for him.  So now we buckle down and try again.  We push harder this time and push farther than before!  I know we can do this....we both just have to want it bad enough to make it work.

My Debt plan just blew up!

So God is doing some major work in my life.  This is both very exciting and very scary.  To make it worse I do not know how on board my husband is with the whole thing and that scares me.  

I made a debt thermometer and posted a number that was a reach, but pretty likely obtainable ($25,000).  In the back of my head I had a larger number ($30,000) I had not spoke this number to my husband as he wouldn't be able to feel it or see it. Yet God was speaking to me of an even larger number ($48,000).  My mom and I were talking and she felt got was telling her I am supposed to pay off $100,000 in debt.  I do not see this without God.  In no way can I fathom that number.

Well I am a very analytical person.  I analyze everything over and over again especially when I cannot see the probability of it.  I know we serve a mighty God, but I will be honest that number scares me.  We do NOT have a 6 figure income how are we going to pay off 6 figures?  Well I may not see it, but God does so I will put my trust in him.

This last week I have been feeling we are supposed to sell our van.  I am not sure if this is me (trying to figure out what God is doing) or if this is from God.  I asked a friend how do I know if something is me being analytical or if it is from God?  His reply was that I was asking an analytical person who has back up plans for his back up plans so he had no idea, but how was I planning to pay of $100,000 in debt?  I froze.  I had not shared that number with anyone at all.....that number was between mom, God, and myself.  I looked at him and asked where he got that number?  To which he replied that is what came to mind....I take that as confirmation, but that is still a VERY scary thought.  $100,000 I honestly do not see it....I can't even imagine how.  I am trying hard here to believe it.

I really truly do know and believe God can do it.  He is the almighty who can do anything.  I am excited to watch this year unfold.  I am excited to see my husband grow in his faith.  This year is going to be exciting.

How I am going to pay off $25000 in 2016

Debt Payoff

So as we close out 2016 I have decided I want to be more aggressive with our debt.  After all we are not getting any younger.  I would like to think very optimistically and say I want to be debt free by the time I am 40, but I do not know how realistic that is.  Right now we are sitting with a debt payoff date of 9/2020.  So to be debt free minus the house isn't bad for the next 4.5 yrs right?  WRONG!  I do not want to still be paying debt off when my 14 yr olds are out of school.  I want to do it before they are out of school.

Right now we are approx $118,000 in debt minus our house and we still have kids to buy cars for. That in and of itself is a scary daunting thought.  And realistically in 4.5 yrs I will no longer NEED mini van as I will only have 3 children left at home and 2 of them will be teens the oldest of them nearing graduation.  I want to be FREE well before then.

So how do I plan to do that?  First I plan to add everything I make doing daycare to debt on a monthly basis.  Some months that will be more some months that will be less, but non the less that is my first order of business.  So on top of regular monthly payments that is approximately an additional $400 going to debt (yeah not as much as I would like).  I also plan to snowball our funds.  When we pay off a debt add that payment to the next and so on and so forth until we have no more debt.  My husband thinks my goal of $25,000 is high.  I think it is low and that I need to figure out how to be more aggressive.  I would LOVE to see that number jump easily to $30,000.  

Now for my actual plan....I do not want to spend money we do not need to spend.  We are a family of 9 and easily could spend everything extra on going out to eat and other things.  First no going out to eat, 2nd no gas station food if not traveling, 3rd I need to stay off of eBay as a buyer and only use it for selling.  I also need to figure out how to follow our budget better :)  Sounds easy enough right?  For us maybe not so much.  I have started by eliminating my cell phone, even if only for 6 months that along with the iPad being paid off is an extra $80 a month to put on debt.  So add that $480 to the $4800 I am planning and I have an extra $5280 a year.  Without the assistance of extra money we are already on track to pay off $20,000 in debt (see why I think $25,000 is a weak goal).

I also believe we need to go back to using cash for EVERYTHING we do not need to pay out of our account cause saving change is a fast way to build up extra money.  

I am also going to update regularly to hold myself accountable and state what we did or did not do to help our gains and our fails.  So here is wishing us luck to a HUGH decline in debt for 2016!

Homeschooling

So we have decided to send Brandon to school at Grandview.  I am not 100% sure what I think if this.  I am feeling a little uneasy in my stomach at the thought.  I am starting to question if I am doing the right thing or if I once again and doing my thing.  I am afraid I may have fallen upon deaf ears and ignored God's call for us right now for a matter of connivance.  I am worried I may be doing the wrong thing and not trusting in God.

Dear Lord,
     Please let me know if I am doing your will or mine.  Please help me to know and to do the right thing.  I know he wants to go to school with classmates, but if that is NOT what you want please help me know so I am able to do YOUR will.  Please once again I am asking you to be OBVIOUS in your direction on my life and my sons education.  Help show Mike what we are to do as well.....I really do want to follow your lead!  Was Brandon getting accepted into Grandview a test and did we fail?

     Please just show me one final time in Jesus Name....Amen!


Well getting Brandon into Grandview did not work out.  He homeschooled for 4 months then my grandma fell ill and I had to put him in school due to caring for her.  He has done amazing!

Back Burner

Operation Organization took a little bit of a break.  We went on vacation and then had only a couple days before school started.  I wanted to enjoy those days with my children instead of working on my organizing.

Tomorrow I am gonna get back to organizing my house and my life!  I am still excited to get this process going.  One thing that will make life easier for us as a family is FREEZER MEALS!  Yes that is correct Freezer Meals.  Not only will they save me time in the long run, but they will help a lot when it comes to having to cook and find time for homework or sports.    I spent part of the day today preparing meals.   I have 6 meals frozen and the 7th went into the crock pot for dinner tonight.  Yes we had our first unfroze freezer meal today and it was fantastic....Even my Monet ate it.  Mo does not eat anything so this says a lot.

I bought each child a hamper and I plan to wash each child's clothing separately and see if that makes laundry easier.  I really cannot imagine it won't help in some form.  I bought baskets as well to put their clothing into so they can bring it to their room put it away and return my basket.  So far only my sons room is complete, but I am headed onto Ren's room and that shouldn't take much longer.

My kitchen is a crazy mess.  Well partially because I have spent the day in their making meals to get us through most of the month.  I am hoping by Wednesday I can get to the kitchen and get it organized.  That will be a process in and of itself as I need to go through ALL of the cupboards and get them organized.  I need to scrub down the cupboards, fridge and stove.  Then I need to go through our bakers rack and organize that again as well.  My kitchen is a horrible mess of ugliness so even when it is clean it feels grimy to me.

Life in a nutshell is crazy....and I love it!