Day 10

Go cash-only.  An MIT study found that people spend up to twice as much when they pay with a credit card instead of cash.  Leave the cards at home.


I fee like I am veering off my cleanse...but I just can't do this either!  I have thought about it and tried, but I always end up spending the money that I have!  Plus, I am afraid to do this with big purchases such as grocery shopping.  Maybe some day...

Day 9

Spend nothing today.  Your first week was all about getting a grip on exactly where you stand with your bills and outstanding debts.  Now, it's time to start being more mindful about your purchases with a one-day money "fast."  No eating out or ordering in.   You'll see just how much you could be banking after you detox from all that unconcious spending.


Well, I didn't quite do this on Sunday.  I had already plans to go to a movie which made it tough to not spend.  I did ask if I could have a student discount with my new ID card though!  I made my lunch at home and ate dinner out at Panera with a gift card.  I have to say though, I go many days without spending money!

Day 8

Start tracking your spending.  An easy way to stick to the budget you set up on Day 4 is to sign up for a free account at mint.com or another budgeting site.  Or you can opt for an old-fashioned notebook and use that to log all your expenditures.


I actually made an account on mint.com and did not use it.  I have also tried other apps on my phone.  What works best for me is checking my bank account daily and knowing that I only spent money on what I was supposed to!

Day 7 - Weekend

Set up a financial filing system.  Grab all the stuff you compiled yesterday and organize it.  Designate one folder for receipts to get you ready for next year's tax deductions, one for unpaid bills, and others for any categories that make sense for you.  If you get some or most of your bills electronically, use the free site manilla.com to organize all of your paperless statements to keep on top of bill paying.


Like I said yesterday...I already have this down at home.  It has helped me to know where everything is!


I am excited for my day today...we are taking the whole school to see the Chimpanzee Movie.  Should be fun!

Day 6

Wrangle your paperwork.  Pull out all the receipts, tax returns, bills, and insurance claims you have lying around in various folders.  Stack 'em in a neat pile - you'll need them tomorrow!


Well, Miss Organized here has already done this!  It's a good thing too, because I am going to a friend's "Sprinkle" tonight for her second baby.  Mani/pedi and out to eat!  Can't wait!

Day 5

Financial Date Night!  Get your partner on board, show him the numbers you've worked up and agree together on how much you'll put away each month toward your goal.  If you're single, write out a contract with yourself and sign to make it official!


I couldn't do Day 5 because my husband happens to be out of town.  We will do it when he returns!  He may not be too excited to sit down and talk about this though...

Day 4

Do the math!  Pull out all the numbers you have jotted down and subtract your debt payments and household expenses from your take home pay.  That's what you have leftover to put towards goals and "fun money".  This becomes a budget!

Well, we do not have very much for "fun money" but that is alright.  I like this money cleanse because it makes it so easy to do each daily task!  On the house from yesterday...we were one of five offers!  We ended up not getting the house, which is okay because I was not totally totally in love.  There will be more out there!  

   

Day 3

So, I got a little of task with my money cleanse.  We had parent teacher conferences and a super busy weekend.  I decided instead of faking like I did what I was supposed to, I would tell the truth and let you know that I did not!  Therefore, I am starting today with Day 3 and hope to keep on track better...

Day 3 says to name your main money goal.  Luckily, this is easy for me because this is why I am doing this.  My money goals go in this order...

1. Put a down payment on a house (looked this weekend and made an offer...more on that later!)  2. Pay off credit cards.  3. Pay for my second round of grad school in cash.  4. Begin to set up a savings plan for baby and future!  Easy, right?!

Day 2

Tally your other monthly expenses...this was hard!  It says to figure out how much it costs to keep your household running, from groceries to Girl Scout dues.  Add this amount to your debt sheet from yesterday.  My problem was that I kept thinking of more and more frequently occurring expenses!  This was a good task for me though, because David and I are trying to figure out just how much of a monthly mortgage payment we could handle!

30 Day Money Cleanse...

I have tried to be a much more concious consumer lately.  David and I do well for ourselves, and I always took that as I could buy whatever I wanted.  However, now with a new house, CC bills to pay, graduate school, and babies in the future I am feeling the need to get serious.  

If you know me well, you know that I love organization, lists, and anything that goes with it.  I have "gotten our lives" in order lately by figuring out how to save for a downpayment and then the next step on paying off the credit cards.  It is my goal to pay cash for my new masters program and be debt free (except for house and cars) by the time we have a baby in 2 - 3 years.  I have a plan but know I can always do more.  Therefore, when I saw an article in Redbook (I get it for free for doing the Princess race every year) I wanted to try it.  The article said, "Slim down your spending and fatten up your nest egg with the tiny daily steps in this plan"  I am officially starting day 1 today and want to share each day with you to keep me on track.  I wont go into too many details, but maybe you can find it useful also!

Day 1 - The "weigh in" - Know what you owe.  I made a list of our credit card debts (blleeeccckkk) along with the interest rate we are paying monthly.  Luckily we do not have any student loans or owe any back payments.  I put the credit cards debts into a Google document (I know, I'm high tech)  It was easy!  Hopefully each day goes as smoothly!

Rave Runs

I like reading Runners World and always check out the articles titled "Race Runs"  In the articles, they highlight runs in different places of the US and world that are particularly beautiful.  It always makes me think of my own runs.  I do my best to mix it up, but only have so many options.  During my training for the Princess Half, I did go on two runs that I thought were "raveable".  The first was through a forest preserve.  It was a 7 mile run, so I wanted something to keep my attention.  I am always a little afraid of running in the forest on trails, but decided to just go for it.  It wasn't sunny, but soo pretty.  I took some pictures, but they do not give it justice.  I haven't been back since, but need to!  The second was a run around school where I saw a fox!  I took a picture but you can barely see him in the distance.  It was so cool though.  I saw him a few times and then was afraid he was going to get me!  I know, I'm a wimp...

If you look CLOSELY you will see the fox!  I couldn't get too close...

St. Patriick's Day

You may remember from last year, but I have a leprechaun friend and his name is Lucky.  I tell my students about him every year and then very seriously and genuinely believe he is real.  This year, I found something on-line that was so much fun.  I read my students a legend that I said Lucky had left for them.  It talks about leaving hats out for leprechauns and the leprechaun that comes will magically shrink them.  I had my first graders make hats with permanent marker on Styrofoam cups and then took them home that night.  I put them in the oven for 2- 4 minutes and they shrunk!  Needless to say, the class was thrilled and it was another successfully St. Patrick's Day!

Locked Out...

David and I planned on going to a 40th birthday party for a friend of his.  The party promised to be tons of fun and David was excited to go.  On the night of the party (we did something during the day...can't remember what right now!) we were all ready to go and started walking out as usual.  I am in the habit of locking the door from the inside because I always have my keys, and assume David does when I do not and he is driving.  Well, big mistake!  David wanted to go back in for something as soon as we left, and we realized we were locked out.  Not only were we locked out, we didn't have any car keys and were stuck.  If you know my husband, you know that he went crazy.  I had to be the calm one and figure out what to do!  I first looked up a you-tube on how to open your door with a credit card.  This is not so easy and we had zero luck!  Then, we decided that we could call a cab to get us there.  The problem with that was that we had to count on my brother to be home to let us in when we got there.  This was tough because he was at a casino in Indiana and was not so nice about trying to get home soon.  We decided to call the cab anyways, but I thought of just calling a lock-smith while we were waiting.  To sum it up, we went with the lock-smith because we would be able to get back in after.  We ended up showing up to the party about 2 hours late, but they hadn't even eaten dinner yet!  The night turned out fine and we even got Uggs as party gifts!  It was definitely a memory...Enjoy the pictures of David mad at the bottom of the stairs, and me silently mocking him!

MARATHON!

Coming off my high from the Princess Half, I knew that my running was going great and I was ready for a different challenge.  So, what is next on my racing calendar?  A FULL marathon!  26.2 miles!!  I am crazy, right?  We signed up on the day the Marine Corps Marathon in DC opened, it was a rush!  It was a good thing that we were all on-line and ready, because it sold out in 2 and a half hours!  Fastest ever!  My Dad and Margaret and friends Kathy, Jennifer, Ashley, and Lauren signed up with me.  It looks like we are going to have a big crowd down to cheer us on also.  I begin training officially at the end of June.  Until then, I will continue running and have a 10 miler race in April and another half in May.  I will keep you updated on my journey!

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2012 - A Race a Month - February

At the end of February, I went to Florida for my annual Princess Half Marathon.  I can not even begin to tell you how much fun I had during this weekend.  It might have been my most favorite visit yet.

I got in Friday night and spend the night at Kathy's apartment.  We woke up early Saturday morning, got her birthday cupcakes, and headed to Disney.  We first went to the Expo to pick up our things.  After, we checked in at our hotel, Port Orleans, and went to Downtown Disney and out to our annual dinner at Il Mulino.  The all star game was going on during the same weekend and we saw some NBA players at the restaurant!  Then, it was to bed around 7 to get up at 3:15 the next day...

The morning of the race started so early, but I was okay with it!  We had the best best time running the race.  We decided to stop at every character we wanted to and not care about our time.  We ran everything in between and felt so good the whole time.  It was truly a blast.  After the race was over, we felt great!!

We spend the rest of the day walking around the parks.  By the end of the day, we had put in over 21 miles!  Whew!  We ate at our annual dinner at The California Grill and slept well.  We stopped at The Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge for a little visit before we went to the airport on Sunday.  I was soo sad to leave but grateful for such a fab weekend.

I can not even begin to post all of the pictures, so here is just a little glimpse...

Love Notes

I have to brag on my sweet class one more time.  How can you not love your job when you come back to love notes every day at your desk?  This is just a picture of a small selection of my daily reading pleasure.

Gorgeous Weather

During the month of March, we had some G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S weather!  I mean, it even got hot enough for me to not run.  Crazy, right?!  I decided to take advantage of the weather and take my sweet class to the park next door to have a picnic and play on the playground.  We had fun!