Rounding out the Year . . .

I began the year trying out goals instead of resolutions in hopes of sticking to them better.  It seems to have paid off:

ü  Goal #1--get my PMP certification

ü  Goal # 2--start a Blog

ü  Get our Financial House in Order

ü  lose weight

So 2.75 out of 4 is a pretty good percentage compared to my success rate on past resolutions.  We've been working hard at getting our financial house in order but there is still more work to be done.  The Christmas Holiday and a septic tank issue caused a little back sliding, but no worries we'll get right back on track after the new year. 

One thing I've determined during this year of working on our household finances is that you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT try to pay off debt unless you track your spending and have a budget set up.  These are mandatory requirements. 

I've used several softwares in the past including Money and Quicken but they are too much software for personal home finances.  As you will recall from an earlier post, I set up an account using Mint.  This works well and if you use your banks online bill pay is really all you need.  However, we still do a lot of our finances the old fashioned way--writing out a check and putting it in the mail.  (I know, we need to get with the times!).  To that end, I'm considering using this Personal Finance Template I found while doing a Google docs search for budget sheets.  It works like a check book register but allows you to categorize your spending. 

2013 was a good year and 2014 will be even better!!

In closing out the year, from our house to yours, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a joyous and prosperous new year.

Fall is in the air . . .

We are still working on our "Getting our Financial House in Order" goal.  To that end, we have done some more refinancing to get lower interest rates on our remaining debts.  We are also re-evaluating things that we "buy" every month to determine if we really need it.  We have come to an impasse on how many TV channels we really need.  

Fall means football and while our beloved Georgia Southern Eagles are not doing as well as they usually do, we have had some wonderful game day experiences with some wonderful friends . . .

 

We've also taken a fall weekend trip up to Boone, NC.  We used going to an Eagle Football game as an excuse to take in a beautiful mountain trip, and we got there just in time for the first SNOW of the year.

Still working on those goals, but throwing a little fun into the mix as we go.

Making a list and checking it once . . .

As we get ready to enter the last quarter of the year, I've spent some time reviewing my progress on this "Year of the Goal" and determined a couple of things.

1.  First, my bill binder just wasn't working out for me.  I've discovered that we keep too many receipts, invoices, and statements to use a binder to file them in.  So it's back to the file cabinet for those things.  I downsized my binder to a 1" binder.   This binder still contains a pencil pocket with my stamps, pens, checks, envelopes, etc.    I have narrowed my sections down to:

• My Weekly Planner.  This is a checklist tool that I created from several different checklists.  I hope that by using this, I can stay on track.    This checklist is simply designed to help me stay organized by providing daily reminders of the things I should be doing.  It also contains an inspirational/motivational quote and a "This Week I am Thankful for" section.  Click Here to download a copy for your personal use.

• Our Monthly Bill Calendar.  This is simply a calendar page for each month with the bills written on their due date.  As I pay the bills, I mark through them on the calendar.  At the end of the month, I remove that page from my binder.   A simple system that works for me.

• Our Budget.  This section contains a printed copy of our budget.  Mostly for my husband to take a gander at every now and then. 
• Our debt reduction Plan.  This section contains a printed copy of the debt reduction plan for the items I am working on paying off right NOW.  I find it much less stress to work on 3 or 4 items at a time rather than trying to see the entire big mess picture that is our debt.  

2.  We've really come a long way this year working on our goals. I'm looking forward to finishing up the year in good shape.

And on that happy note, we spent the Labor Day weekend at Jekyll Island Campground enjoying great fishing, great food, and great company.