Paid off my hubby's private school loan today!! :) The next one on the chopping block is the vet bill, but that shouldn't get paid off til November if all goes as planned. Then comes my school loan followed by the van followed by the HHR. So by Dec of 2011, we'll be "debt-free" minus mortgage and BIG school loan. (which we're not paying off any sooner since it will be forgiven in under 7 years)
Paying off the one loan only gives us $52 extra towards the next snowball plus whatever extra we put to the next loan!
And I just found out that my DS's daycare cost is dropping since she'll be 3 in September from $130 to $105 a week. Which is a savings of $100 a month. What to do with that? The reasonable side of me says SAVE it for the next baby's daycare cost...but the motherly side says use $48 of it a month to put my DS in gymnastics. I decided that gymnastics is better for her since she doesn't listen so well at dance class and isn't really so graceful! (her feet turn in and it makes it hard for her to even do 1st position)
All this is pretty good news except now I have to spend $200 on grad school books, get the oil changed, get both dogs tested for heartworm and buy their heartworm/flea meds-which is expensive, and pay for my grad class which is $214.
Doesn't leave much left for the next 2 weeks until the next payday. But if I stop spending on eating out and Walmart trips, then we should be fine. Praying nothing happens between now and next payday.
Have a great day!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Trying New, Healthier Foods
I've been trying to incorporate LESS processed foods into my family meals. So I've been "shopping" at the local farmer's market on Saturdays and Wednesdays. I stock up on green beans, potatoes, cantaloupes, and watermelon. (and anything else that looks yummy) You save soooo much going to the farmer's market and you're helping out the local farmers.
Saturday I bought 2 loupes and a watermelon. Cut them all up, put in containers in the fridge, and even gave a set to our neighbhors that just had a baby. Me and Allie have been snacking on fruit all weekend! Love it!
I'm also trying out new ways to make healthy yet quick dinners, especially for when I return to work in a few weeks and lack the energy to cook meals when I get home.
So I've been boiling chicken a lot lately. I use some in my dinners and freeze the rest in ziplock bags-either in shredded form or chunk form. Will be great for casseroles and other quick dinners! I have boiled, so far, a cut up whole chicken. Take off the skins. Get the water boiling. Boil for 20 minutes or so...if you're like me-you would boil for 30 minutes because you're scared to undercook chicken! lol ;) I also did this with split chicken breasts. I just took off the skin and boiled the meat and bones. Of course I picked the cooked meat off when done. Lots of meat! Yum!
Here's a recipe one of my internet friends posted that I'm going to use tonight with my boiled chicken:
1 bag wide egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1-2 cups frozen mixed veggies, thawed
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Drain the water, and while the noodles are still hot, stir in the soup and milk. Then mix in the chicken and veggies. Sometimes I just use a whole bag of mixed veggies. It just depends how veggie filled you want it to be. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Layer it in a large casserole dish. I use my big oval Corningware. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top, probably about a cup. I never measure the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake additional 15 minutes.
You can use a deli chicken that you have taken apart. Or you can keep cooked shredded chicken on hand in the freezer. (like I do now) Thanks Hannah!
I also am loving this book I've had for awhile now and just started to really read and try it. It's called Dining on a Dime Cook Book by Kellam & Cooper. This is a recipe I tried this morning with great success:
Pancakes from Scratch
2 eggs
2 cups flour, all-purpose or wheat
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
In bowl, mix ingredients until moist. Mixture will be thick and lumpy. Don't overmix or it toughens the pancakes. Heat a griddle or hot frying pan over medium heat and use a spray like Pam. Pour 1/3 cup of mixture on the griddle to make perfectlly sized pancakes. Flip when bubbles form.
Makes 15-18 pancakes.
If you have extra pancakes (for small familiesl like mine), put them in a baggie and put in fridge or freezer to eat the next day or two!
Yum!!! No more Bisquick for me again!!! :)
Look for more healthy or quick food recipes coming soon!
Saturday I bought 2 loupes and a watermelon. Cut them all up, put in containers in the fridge, and even gave a set to our neighbhors that just had a baby. Me and Allie have been snacking on fruit all weekend! Love it!
I'm also trying out new ways to make healthy yet quick dinners, especially for when I return to work in a few weeks and lack the energy to cook meals when I get home.
So I've been boiling chicken a lot lately. I use some in my dinners and freeze the rest in ziplock bags-either in shredded form or chunk form. Will be great for casseroles and other quick dinners! I have boiled, so far, a cut up whole chicken. Take off the skins. Get the water boiling. Boil for 20 minutes or so...if you're like me-you would boil for 30 minutes because you're scared to undercook chicken! lol ;) I also did this with split chicken breasts. I just took off the skin and boiled the meat and bones. Of course I picked the cooked meat off when done. Lots of meat! Yum!
Here's a recipe one of my internet friends posted that I'm going to use tonight with my boiled chicken:
1 bag wide egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1-2 cups frozen mixed veggies, thawed
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Drain the water, and while the noodles are still hot, stir in the soup and milk. Then mix in the chicken and veggies. Sometimes I just use a whole bag of mixed veggies. It just depends how veggie filled you want it to be. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Layer it in a large casserole dish. I use my big oval Corningware. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top, probably about a cup. I never measure the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake additional 15 minutes.
You can use a deli chicken that you have taken apart. Or you can keep cooked shredded chicken on hand in the freezer. (like I do now) Thanks Hannah!
I also am loving this book I've had for awhile now and just started to really read and try it. It's called Dining on a Dime Cook Book by Kellam & Cooper. This is a recipe I tried this morning with great success:
Pancakes from Scratch
2 eggs
2 cups flour, all-purpose or wheat
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
In bowl, mix ingredients until moist. Mixture will be thick and lumpy. Don't overmix or it toughens the pancakes. Heat a griddle or hot frying pan over medium heat and use a spray like Pam. Pour 1/3 cup of mixture on the griddle to make perfectlly sized pancakes. Flip when bubbles form.
Makes 15-18 pancakes.
If you have extra pancakes (for small familiesl like mine), put them in a baggie and put in fridge or freezer to eat the next day or two!
Yum!!! No more Bisquick for me again!!! :)
Look for more healthy or quick food recipes coming soon!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Adding Onto Our Family???
Scary, exciting, and unsure times ahead.
Today I was supposed to take my birth control pill (being Sunday and the start of a new pack) but....I didn't. ??????
My hubby and I have been considering expanding our family again. Really, the ONLY thing stopping me is money. STUPID MONEY! (see debt blog) Daycare costs are killer and having two in daycare at the same time (at least for a year or two until Allie starts school) would be very tough, if not impossible....
My hubby doesn't view money the same way I do (since I do all the banking, bill paying, balancing the books, etc.). His hesitation of having another baby is our current child. Allie is and has been quite a handful since the very beginning. She's VERY smart and needs a lot of attention and stimulation. (her doctors have even commented on her intelligence and spunk since she was 2 weeks old) She tests our nerves on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. She can be a handful at daycare and terrible to take out sometimes. Just the thought of having another active/high-maintance child like our first could really stress us out. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my child with all my heart, but I really can't imagine having a "twin" version of her. But this isn't too much of a concern of mine but more of my hubby's.
Since we finally got Allie potty-trained (woo hoo), my husband has been more open to adding another one to our mix. It also helped that he got to play with a 1 year old baby who was just a dollbaby. Maybe he missed the little ones!
But what do we do about the money issue stopping us? We have a lot of debt that we have been trying to snowball to get rid of.
IF and I mean IF we can time the 2nd baby right and have him/her arrive in late June or July, then we would have the whole summer with the baby. No daycare to pay for and no sick leave to take through the summer. (we're both teachers if you didn't know before)
Can we swing another child? Besides diapers, clothes, and daycare...I would breastfeed (God-willing) as long as possible again to save money......can we swing another child? I want another one...so does my husband...and my daughter really needs someone to grow up with.
I ended my Debt post with this: people with less than what we have have multiple kids. Can we do it, though? Or should we wait til the debt is paid and/of Allie is in school?
Today I was supposed to take my birth control pill (being Sunday and the start of a new pack) but....I didn't. ??????
My hubby and I have been considering expanding our family again. Really, the ONLY thing stopping me is money. STUPID MONEY! (see debt blog) Daycare costs are killer and having two in daycare at the same time (at least for a year or two until Allie starts school) would be very tough, if not impossible....
My hubby doesn't view money the same way I do (since I do all the banking, bill paying, balancing the books, etc.). His hesitation of having another baby is our current child. Allie is and has been quite a handful since the very beginning. She's VERY smart and needs a lot of attention and stimulation. (her doctors have even commented on her intelligence and spunk since she was 2 weeks old) She tests our nerves on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. She can be a handful at daycare and terrible to take out sometimes. Just the thought of having another active/high-maintance child like our first could really stress us out. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my child with all my heart, but I really can't imagine having a "twin" version of her. But this isn't too much of a concern of mine but more of my hubby's.
Since we finally got Allie potty-trained (woo hoo), my husband has been more open to adding another one to our mix. It also helped that he got to play with a 1 year old baby who was just a dollbaby. Maybe he missed the little ones!
But what do we do about the money issue stopping us? We have a lot of debt that we have been trying to snowball to get rid of.
IF and I mean IF we can time the 2nd baby right and have him/her arrive in late June or July, then we would have the whole summer with the baby. No daycare to pay for and no sick leave to take through the summer. (we're both teachers if you didn't know before)
Can we swing another child? Besides diapers, clothes, and daycare...I would breastfeed (God-willing) as long as possible again to save money......can we swing another child? I want another one...so does my husband...and my daughter really needs someone to grow up with.
I ended my Debt post with this: people with less than what we have have multiple kids. Can we do it, though? Or should we wait til the debt is paid and/of Allie is in school?
Debt...and bills....
This post was originally one about the main reason we've been holding back on having another baby. MONEY....
We have a lot of debt that we have been trying to snowball to get rid of. I'm not afraid or ashamed of our debts, just something to learn from in our young age. I'm VERY proud we don't have credit card debt. Most of it is for cars and college loans. (which are legit) Our monthly debt payments are:
$2000 left, right? Kind of. Subtract daycare ($520 a month), plus groceries (about $425 a month), gym membership ($44), gas (who knows), eating out, and other expensives...That leaves less than $1000, especially when you subtract the "other expensives" and unforeseen costs of daily life.
We cut it close every month and only have about $3,000 in our savings account. (which would be devastated with one unforeseen house or car cost) Scary.....
Typing all our debt and bills makes me reconsider some of the payments we make that we can lower, especially the cable/internet! But the other bills, I don't think I can do anything about.
I'm doing the snowball thing with whatever money we have, trying to change/break some bad spending habits (like eating out), using coupons and sales, and cutting back on things (like not enrolling my child in dance class that cost $44 a month and ending my gym membership in Sept.). Not having Allie in dance is killing me, though, as our neighbors with a girl her age is going to participate this year.
Does anyone else have any suggestions? I really want to get OUT of debt, SAVE more money, yet maybe add another little one into the mix! Am I crazy? I mean, people with FAR less money than we have have multiple kids.
HELP!
We have a lot of debt that we have been trying to snowball to get rid of. I'm not afraid or ashamed of our debts, just something to learn from in our young age. I'm VERY proud we don't have credit card debt. Most of it is for cars and college loans. (which are legit) Our monthly debt payments are:
- $332.00--- our 2006 car, which probably was a mistake for us to buy a NEW car but it's also been great to travel with and to have the security of a warranty ($6,900 left to pay and the loan is supposed to be paid in April of 2012, which I hope to have paid off sooner)
- $130.00---our minivan we had to buy a couple years ago when our other older car died (we're trying to pay this one off before it dies with over 100,000 miles...) We owe less than $2700 on this thing!!!
- $52.00---college private loan of mine (only $1390 left)
- $52.00---college private loan of my hubby's (only $172 left)
- $74.00---vet bill from our pug's surgery 2 years ago ($650 left)
- mortgage ($1702 a month) and our big school loan ($142.00 a month) ---these will not be snowballed anytime soon.....
So if you know anything about snowballing your debt (and if you don't-do some quick research), we will soon have debt #4 and 5 paid off. (which is $126 towards the next snowball) Then we can work on #2 and 3. Paying off all four of those debts would "save" us $308 a month. This doesn't seem like a lot now, but that's a week and 1/2 worth of daycare, plus just less debt!
But is this enough? Our total net pay we make each month is around $5,000. Our debt monthly bills (minus mortgage) cost us about $800. Then add our high mortgage and our total monthly payments are now $2500. HALF OF WHAT WE MAKE!!! That doesn't even account for our electric bill (about $115), cable/internet ($167), cell phone ($98), car insurace ($157), quarterly water/sewage bill ($230), and quarterly life insurance ($45). Our total bills and debt payments are around: $3000 a month. (geesh!)$2000 left, right? Kind of. Subtract daycare ($520 a month), plus groceries (about $425 a month), gym membership ($44), gas (who knows), eating out, and other expensives...That leaves less than $1000, especially when you subtract the "other expensives" and unforeseen costs of daily life.
We cut it close every month and only have about $3,000 in our savings account. (which would be devastated with one unforeseen house or car cost) Scary.....
Typing all our debt and bills makes me reconsider some of the payments we make that we can lower, especially the cable/internet! But the other bills, I don't think I can do anything about.
I'm doing the snowball thing with whatever money we have, trying to change/break some bad spending habits (like eating out), using coupons and sales, and cutting back on things (like not enrolling my child in dance class that cost $44 a month and ending my gym membership in Sept.). Not having Allie in dance is killing me, though, as our neighbors with a girl her age is going to participate this year.
Does anyone else have any suggestions? I really want to get OUT of debt, SAVE more money, yet maybe add another little one into the mix! Am I crazy? I mean, people with FAR less money than we have have multiple kids.
HELP!
Getting Back in Shape!?
Ok, prior to getting pregnant with my almost 3yo daughter, I lost over 25 pounds from August until December back in 2006. I followed the Points System from Weight Watchers...never joined officially...just bought the books online and kept track using my Xanga Journal. I ate what I wanted (in moderation) and earned more points by working out. It worked. Very well.
After having my daughter and hovering around my pre-pregnancy birthweight until I stopped breastfeeding her after 18 months (yah!), I started gaining weight slowly. (boo!) I did try the Points System again but just got too busy with work, an active child, and life in general. I lost some of the weight last summer when I could get to the gym early in the morning, but once school started again-I ended up just paying for a gym membership that never gets used. (bad me....)
So what do I do now? Well, my gym membership isn't up til Sept. 30., which I'll cancel when I can. But I have to use it while I do have access to it. I also am trying to eat better (which will be another blog altogether soon), stop eating after 7:30pm, and get more active.
I also bought Wii Fit Plus game today. I have the regular Wii Fit game, but I didn't like how there was too much down time between choosing exercises. The new Wii Fit Plus lets you choose a bunch of exercises to do in a row. Much better! And the games are pretty fun. So my goal is 45 minutes of this a day.
But truthfully, it was SOOOO much fun just eating what I wanted, when I wanted, and how much I wanted practically all summer. We traveled a lot and stayed a week at the in-law's house, so our eating schedule was totally off and very unpredictable. Fast food and restaurants were definitely a big part of our diet this summer. (unhealthy and costly)
I would like to lose 15 pounds and get back to or close to my lowest weight (around 150). Then I'd be happy and feel better about possibly trying to expand our little family. (which will be another blog soon)
Anyone else trying to get "back in shape" or get just get healthier in general? I need inspiration....
After having my daughter and hovering around my pre-pregnancy birthweight until I stopped breastfeeding her after 18 months (yah!), I started gaining weight slowly. (boo!) I did try the Points System again but just got too busy with work, an active child, and life in general. I lost some of the weight last summer when I could get to the gym early in the morning, but once school started again-I ended up just paying for a gym membership that never gets used. (bad me....)
So what do I do now? Well, my gym membership isn't up til Sept. 30., which I'll cancel when I can. But I have to use it while I do have access to it. I also am trying to eat better (which will be another blog altogether soon), stop eating after 7:30pm, and get more active.
I also bought Wii Fit Plus game today. I have the regular Wii Fit game, but I didn't like how there was too much down time between choosing exercises. The new Wii Fit Plus lets you choose a bunch of exercises to do in a row. Much better! And the games are pretty fun. So my goal is 45 minutes of this a day.
But truthfully, it was SOOOO much fun just eating what I wanted, when I wanted, and how much I wanted practically all summer. We traveled a lot and stayed a week at the in-law's house, so our eating schedule was totally off and very unpredictable. Fast food and restaurants were definitely a big part of our diet this summer. (unhealthy and costly)
I would like to lose 15 pounds and get back to or close to my lowest weight (around 150). Then I'd be happy and feel better about possibly trying to expand our little family. (which will be another blog soon)
Anyone else trying to get "back in shape" or get just get healthier in general? I need inspiration....
Hello, welcome to my new blog!
Hello. Thank you for checking out my blog. I'm not new to blogging, but I've only done it in a more personal way before (using Xanga). I promise to blog at least 3 times a week on topics such as:
-married life (both ups and downs)
-parenthood (how great and how hard it can be)
-money struggles (snowballing, paying bills, balancing a strict budget, attempting to save $, etc.)
-teaching and working outside the home
-trying to live a more healthy life (healthy food, exercise, etc.)
-pets (I have two wonderful dogs)
-current issues that are of interest to me
-anything else that pops up in my life or world
So feel free to stop by once or twice a week. Who knows what I'll have to say!!! And I welcome any and all comments. :)
-married life (both ups and downs)
-parenthood (how great and how hard it can be)
-money struggles (snowballing, paying bills, balancing a strict budget, attempting to save $, etc.)
-teaching and working outside the home
-trying to live a more healthy life (healthy food, exercise, etc.)
-pets (I have two wonderful dogs)
-current issues that are of interest to me
-anything else that pops up in my life or world
So feel free to stop by once or twice a week. Who knows what I'll have to say!!! And I welcome any and all comments. :)
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