Q and A Debt

I feel like I've been away far too long! Things have been hectic for Mr. Man and I.  We are currently remodeling our home.  We had decided to sell it a few months ago and we were house hunting. Everything was on go but then came the realization that all the homes on the market did not meet our needs. We wanted a larger room for Kiddo2 but everything was actually the same size or smaller. And lets not get into how Kiddo1's room was bigger than anything we saw. We came to the conclusion that we would have to try to make it work where we are. Now, our dilemma was....How do we remodel our existing home without breaking the bank.  It would be crazy to put a ridiculous amount of money into a house whose value will never go beyond a certain point.  We priced roofers, chimney guys, floor people and general contractors. It was kind of a hit or miss kind of thing because people basically charge whatever they want. Mr. Man asked coworkers for recommendations and I asked my fami...

(pic from  cuculinary.com ) I love reading blogs, watching Youtube videos and scouring Pinterest for budget ideas but I never seem to find anything that really relates to me. I love all the helpful hints but if I'm to be honest, not a whole lot is very realistic in my world. I'm not a single parent, empty nester, homeschooler or Mom of preschoolers which seems to be the majority of information I find. I try to piece together what works best for our family but sometimes it would be nice to see a family who has two ravenous teens who eat their weight in food a week! LOL! To be honest, our food budget alone is totally on the opposite spectrum of a family with a baby and a two year old. Let's not mention clothing, school expenses, doctor visits (did I mention Austim is in the mix as well), spending time with friends and impending graduation/college costs. It's a whole lotta cash flying out the door. Teens will not be entertained with peekaboo or toilet roll cr...

Summer has ended...the kiddos are back in school...and I've been trying to ramp up my listings on Ebay. Summer sales were rather dismal but I didn't give up.....I listed and listed and listed....I kept hearing other sellers say to stock your store and prepare for sales to ramp up in September. Thankfully August was a huge month for me. I sold about 35 items and made a little over $800! I was very proud of myself. The money came in very handy for school clothes and supply shopping. I'm going to try to keep the momentum going and hopefully save enough in September to pay off one of our credit cards which has a balance of  $433. I've been listing everything under the sun. No item too big or too small. To my surprise, clothes have been a big seller. One item that always surprises me is old glasses and sunglasses. They are always guaranteed to sell so its worth digging around to see if they are worth anything. I will be updating my debt totals tonight so I'm hoping to ge...

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! It's Monday so its a "blah" kind of morning to start but trying to turn it around and make it a YAY kind of day! I'm trying to get back on the Ebay horse as my listings have been dwinding a bit so I really need to ramp up my listing and make some $$$. I have lots of inventory so I'm going to scale back on Dad visits since my sister is off for the summer and pass the torch to her for a while. I find that a bit difficult but letting go for a bit is good for my sanity. LOL! Summer is expensive because we try to keep on the go and naturally our food costs go up with 3 instead of 1 (sometimes 2 if I'm counting Dad) at home during the day. Add to that, electric/water costs go up and there you have it...summer money is needed. I'm also considering sending Kiddo2 to Math Camp next week. I wish I was the parent who is on top of things and had this all lined up already but I'm not. I should be...but I am not. I'm g...

So its been FOREVER since I posted! Frankly, I didn't know what to write.  School is over for the kiddos and summer has begun.  We took a trip to Las Vegas for a family wedding. It was FUN but so tiring. The trip cost us a pretty penny. We did use a bit of credit but paid a big chunk of it the day after we arrived back home. We tried to be pretty cost aware whenever we did anything. We ate breakfast off the strip which saved us a ton of money. We did a lot of free things like visit the Las Vegas sign, take a scenic drive to take pictures near the mountains and watched a few free shows at/around the casinos.  The kids LOVED visiting Circus Circus. Yes, its dated, chaotic and WAY smoky but once they saw the arcade...they were in heaven.  The circus acts every twenty minutes were so fun to watch too. We also really enjoyed our trip to the Wynn casino.  It is absolutely beautiful. Kiddo2 wanted to visit because they had seen it in the Paul Blart 2 movie.  LOL...

For the past couple of months, I have started to write a new post only to go back and delete it. I am being pulled in so many different directions that I didn't know what exactly I should write of. Our financial position is not a whole lot different. Mr. Man did get a new vehicle so our debt total did go up some for the time being. Thankfully we are in a good place at the current moment and need to focus on that. I've also been sick, the kiddos have been sick and finally on Easter Sunday, Dad had a minor medical emergency. He's 86 years old and although very active, he's still EIGHTY SIX years old.  Now, I'm left to decide what is our plan moving forward.  Should we find a bigger home and tell Dad to move in or allow him his independence while dividing time between our home and his. And also why am I the only one seriously considering this option. I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. Some days I want to live carefree and just enjoy my kids and husband but...

I always enjoy reading about how others save money in their daily lives so I thought I'd share the little ways we save.... 1. Skip the soda/cookie/chip aisle at the grocery store.  I find it amazing how many people load down their carts with cases of soda, chips and cookies.  Hey, I love me some junk food but I also know that I cannot have it in the house because it will all be gone within the day! Plus all that money adds up and I'd rather get a few extra fruits and vegetables instead.  2. We do not have cable.  Some people may cringe at this thought but we cut the cord about 2-3 years ago.  And that was with a teenager and elementary aged kid.  The kids watch the shows they like online and we stream movies and tv shows through Netflix and Amazon.  Plus Youtube has so many helpful and funny videos.  We use an HDTV anntenna on our TV to catch local stations and ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and the CW. We do not miss paying the extra $100 a month at a...

Its been really cold for here in South Texas.  The other day, I was too cozy at home to venture out so I made due with what we had here. I made some tortillas. I don't make them very often because Kiddo2 is gluten sensitive but we all did enjoy this rare treat. I didn't have a griddle to cook them on so I just used a piece of tin foil on the flat ceramic stovetop. Worked like a charm! I was in the mood for some zucchini so I put some in the oven... I heated up some refried beans, added shredded mozzarella and the roasted zucchini and well I couldn't wait... It was so yummy!

Dad has the sniffles today and told me to stay home and take care of Mr. Man who has been also under the weather. Thankfully, Mr. Man is better than he was the past couple of days so not much for me to do there. In fact, he took Kiddo2 fishing and I get to help Kiddo1 with an English essay.  The joy! I pride myself in being a smarty pants (don't we all?!)  and well I was appalled at Kiddo1's paper.  Poor kiddo didn't stand a chance luckily Mom is here to make them see the light of day....lol...I kid..I kid.  We are reworking Kiddo1's paper and slowly I see the light bulb getting brighter and brighter as they get what they are actually suppose to be writing about. When I entered this whole mommy business no one told me that at least 18 years of additional learning/relearning was required. Either way I don't think it would make a difference...I'd learn rocket science if it meant helping my kiddos with their homework..LOL! Aside from homework, I am uber excited t...

Happy New Year!  I have been out of the loop lately but 2015 is here and I'm ready for it.  Or I at least hope I am..lol.  The holiday season was great we enjoyed lots of family and no drama.  I guess we are all growing up :) So on to the NEW YEAR, Mr. Man is a lot under the weather but trying to get better. I am thinking of all the things I want to accomplish this year.  Every year I make resolutions that I cannot at all keep. I'm trying to be reasonable and realistic. My first resolution is to lose 20 pounds. I've been slowly working on a weight goal and know these 20 pounds are doable. It will be challenging because I have a huge sweet tooth but I'm committed to doing it and know I CAN do it. My second resolution is to eliminate 4 of my credit card debts by the end of 2015. Reducing our debt total is a huge priority this year. My third resolution is to pay cash for our trip to Las Vegas for a family wedding. This is a big trip for us which will equal a ...