I have still been fighting myself tooth and nail everyday to keep away from Starbucks.  I feel so lame for being so attached to a beverage!  And it isn’t even alcohol!  What the heck??  Despite the fight, I have still been winning, and have saved myself at least $30 so far in the last week and half.

I’ve also put in an extra effort to make sure I have food to take to work with me everyday so that I’m not making purchases.  Keeps me healthier, and also keeps extra money in my pocket.

Speaking of work, I finally decided to go outside of my comfort zone and pick up a couple of shifts during the morning.  I usually work evenings, and anything before 10am seems insanely early to me, but I’ve decided that I can “man up” and go to work at 7am a few times to help meet my financial goals.  Even I’m amazed at how quickly my priorities have changed!

Payday was Friday.  All of my bills have now been paid for the month, including all my credit cards. (On time!!)  I also pulled out cash to start envelope funds.  I have one envelope for the car/gas, one for groceries, and one for miscellaneous.  Once the cash is gone, so is the spending.

My current financial goal is to save $1000 in as little time as possible.  I am now almost a third of the way there, thanks to some extra help from my mom this weekend! 

She just got back from a three month-long vacation, and came over Friday to visit, and take me out to lunch.  She had also offered to buy me a new pair of shoes, just for fun.  I was all excited over the prospect of new shoes, but Keenan (bf) gently reminded me that I should see if she would be willing to put that money towards some of my extra bills this month instead.  It hurt a little, but I knew he was right, so I asked her.  Of course she was willing to help me be responsible.

Well, when she actually came out for lunch, she gave me cash for my bills, then she still took me out and bought me new shoes (I replaced my black Toms, since my old pair has a big hole in the toe)!!  I seriously have the best mom ever.  Now the pressure is on even more to get my finances on track, since she’s helping me out, and trusting me to be smart with my money.  Challenge accepted!

My mom’s generosity not only put cute new shoes on my feet, but it also helped to pad my grocery budget so that I can save some for next paycheck, which will be tight, AND I was able to put a grand total of $170 into savings from this check!

Baby Step #1 Total as of 4/13/2013: $300/$1000

Getting closer!

What have you done this week to be proactive with your finances?

<3 Lindsay

I have had some amount of credit card debt my entire adult life.  Back in college, I had a few retail store credit cards that I ran up, and managed to get paid off and thrown away.  I was also blessed (sort of) to have my mom pay off a $3000-$4000 balance on my Chase card not only once, but twice. I guess I didn’t learn my lesson.

Currently my debts are:

• Chase- $3960
• Best Buy- $2945
• AmEx- $510

I have not actually used the cards in a year or more, so I haven’t added to the debt, but paying them down has been slow.  I’ve known about the concept of a Debt Snowball for a few years, and was paying $200 a month towards my AmEx for a quite a while, which is how I got it down from almost $2000.  Unfortunately, money has been tight lately, and I’ve gone back to paying just the minimum towards all of my cards.

A couple of weeks ago, God led me to Dave Ramsey and My Total Money Makeover.  I learned about Dave’s 7 Baby Steps, which start with saving $1000 in a baby emergency fund, followed by paying off all of your debt as quickly as possible.

The first thing I had to do was create a zero-balance budget.  That means I had to list my income and my expenses, and play around with the expenses until everything came to zero.  Income equals expenses. 

I only work about 26 hours a week (bringing in $1500-$1700 a month), so my budget is pretty tight.  Right now, I don’t really have anything budgeted for eating out or fun.  I am paying minimums on my credit cards, and anything that I get as extra is going towards Baby Step #1- Saving $1000.

I’m not sure if I have every had $1000 saved up in my life.  For the last couple years I have had $50 of every paycheck automatically transferred into my savings account.  Pretty much every month, that money comes right back out in transfers or as overdraft protection.  When I started with MTMMO, I had $42 in my savings account.

After my next paycheck, I had $92.  My boyfriend, Keenan gave me $20 “fun money” one day, so I put it in savings, bringing my total to $112. 

Today, I rolled up all of the coins in our coin jar and took them to the bank.  It added up to $13, bringing my saving’s total so far to $125.  It’s gonna be slow, but it’s gonna be steady.

I have started looking for a second job, or for a better paying primary job to increase my income.  If I can get more income, this will be a much easier process for me, since right now I don’t have much left after bills and legitimate household expenses.

I’ve also put about 15 books up for sale on Amazon to try to bring in a little extra cash, and I’m going to start looking for other things around the house that I can sell on the internet.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I am working at eating all of my meals at or from home, and did quite successfully this week.  I’m also giving up my cherished Starbucks soy chai addiction, which will save me $5 a day.  Having a budget and seeing where I can and can’t spend money makes it all a thousand times easier.

I have a hold on Dave’s Total Money Makeover book from the library, so I’ll be reading that when I get it to learn more and get some extra motivation.  I’ve also been posting in the forums at MTMMO, which helps to keep me accountable.

This is going to be a very long process, but I am determined to get my finances in order so I can eventually own a house, and give my future-kids a good life without debt.

If you feel like you’re in a financial rut, check out Dave Ramsey and My Total Money Makeover, and let’s get on this journey together!

<3 Lindsay

Keenan and I started off 2012 in our favorite place, at home with each other.  We went out for dinner at Red Robin earlier in the night, and ended up at home with some rented movies, cuddling with our dog, Arlo.

Other January fun included hiking to Twin Falls near North Bend, Washington in the snow, and the week of snow we had at home starting the next day.

February was fun. Keenan and I both had to work on Valentine’s Day, so we decided to celebrate a week early with a date day.  We started with lunch at Blossom vegetarian restaurant in Renton.

We then stopped off at the Dog and Pony tavern for a beer, before heading north to walk around Fremont.

I got to check out Gas Works Park for the first time, which was a pretty neat experience.

(For our actual V-Day, we worked, then met up at home, and Keenan surprised me with Breaking Dawn pt. 1, which had just come out on blu-ray.)

Later in the month, we took a weekend getaway to Ocean Shores, where I got to hand-feed a very tame wild deer, and savor the ocean.

In March, I turned the big 2-5.  I did it pretty casually.  I got Thai food with my mom, received my first DSLR camera from my dad, and spent the evening at the restaurant where Keenan was working, sipping wine, and being treated like a princess.

For Easter, we headed home to Bremerton to eat, drink, and be merry with Keenan’s family and my friend, Molly.  Evidently there was beer pong involved…

At the end of April, I ran my first 5K in two years, the Healthy Earth, Healthy You 5K, put on by the city of Tukwila.

In May, we took a little excursion to one of our favorite towns, Port Townsend, Washington.  We spent our first anniversary there, so it has some special significance for us, plus it’s just an awesome little hippie town.

Later in the month, we traveled down to Portland with Keenan’s mom to go see one of our favorite bands, Grouplove.

In June, I ran the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, my first half marathon, in 2:04:31.

A few days later, Keenan and I hiked Tiger Mountain as a fun, active date.

June also brought some changes in my work life; I ended up transferring hospital campuses after two years at CH.  I got a new environment, new co-workers, and a new routine, but I still miss my old friends from the other hospital.

Around the same time, Keenan got a new  job working as a cook at Barrio, a cool, upscale Mexican spot in Capitol Hill, just blocks from where I work.  It’s pretty convenient, and I enjoy walking over after work and having a drink at their bar.

To celebrate the 4th of July, we went shooting with Keenan’s parents, then to a celebration at our friend Tom’s parents’ house.

Later in July, I ran another 5K, but this time it was a Mud Run!

We also took a trip to Anacortes, Washington to go exploring.

August brought our second anniversary, and a trip to the Oregon coast to celebrate.

September was a crazy month of concerts.  We saw Animal Collective, Alt-J, Grouplove (again!), Poor Moon, and Beach House in a three week span.  (Beach House was actually in the beginning of October.  We went for Keenan’s birthday.)

We also went back to Anacortes, simply for a drive and a sunset.

Halloween is Keenan’s favorite holiday.  To celebrate this year, we dressed up as Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Pepper Potts (his assistant), and went to see Oberhofer and Matt & Kim play.

November was quite calm.  I began practicing as a Health Coach via my blog, Lindsay Loves Veggies, and accepted my mom as my first client.

Keenan and I celebrated Thanksgiving dinner with my dad and my step-family, but I didn’t snag any photos.

December was also pretty quiet.  We had a very joyous Christmas. We attended Christmas dinner with my mom’s side of the family at my cousin Rochelle’s beautiful home in Poulsbo, Washington, followed by going to see The Hobbit with my dad, and rounded out with some time spent with Keenan’s family.

I ended 2012 very quietly at home with Arlo, writing this post, and reflecting on the past year of my life, while Keenan is out working hard to provide for our little family.

I can write about and show everything that I did and saw and experienced in 2012, but I pictures can’t describe the change that I’ve gone through this past year.  It’s been quite the spiritual journey for me.  God has been tugging at my heart strings for quite a while now, but 2012 was probably the biggest year of spiritual growth that I have ever experienced in my life.  I learned what it was to actually have a relationship with my Creator, instead of just believing in Him and hoping I wouldn’t get sent to hell one day.  I started to regularly read my Bible, talked to God ceaselessly, read books about Christianity, attended church regularly when I could, and even joined my first small group at church.  God has used it all to begin to shape me into the woman He wants me to become.  The lessons He teaches aren’t always easy ones, but with His guidance we learn and become more like our Lord Jesus.

I pray that 2013 brings even more growth, peace, love, and joy for myself, and for you and yours, as well.

<3 Lindsay

<3 Lindsay

The four of us and our four dogs started off the day by loading up in the SUV to drive into the middle of nowhere to go shoot guns.

We drove down the Hood Canal to Brown’s Creek.  The bald eagles were out in full force to celebrate America Day!

We took the dogs for a walk around, before heading back to the car to spend some time shooting various targets.

When we were all tired of shooting, we went out to dinner at Grove Street Brewery in Shelton, then headed for home.

We all spent the evening at Keenan’s friend’s parents’ house in Bremerton, watching the fireworks over Sinclair Inlet.

Definitely a great day!

<3 Lindsay