Been away...

I cannot believe that 2 years has passed by so fast. That is how long it has been since I wrote anything here. Life sometimes consumes me. GG and I are trying to settle our finances. It seems that when we finally get ahead, something needs our attention and our savings goes to whatever needs our attention.

GG lost his job back in 2012. We had savings and used it to live on until he received another job. I think the new job that he got hired for was a blessing in disguise. We are happier because he makes a better salary for working 40 hours than his previous job. It really is a dream job for him. He does get a few hours of overtime which helps us save some money.

August was a really financially stressful month. We had to buy school supplies and uniforms, pay school and classroom fees, extras, and buying lunch items for the boys' school lunches as JK told me that he never ate at school and I was paying school lunches for nothing for him. Then MG told me that he, too, did not eat lunch at school. GG and I decided not to send money for lunches and just fix them. It has been a work in progress. Once I get into a routine with it and make a meal plan, I think it will go that much smoother.

GG's truck's windshield is cracked. He cannot get an inspection sticker as it is now. We will need to shell out some money for that. This on top of buying everything last month is stressing me out.

I am working part-time in the educational field. I really love working with children. In fact, I thought about going back to school to become a full-time teacher; so this is what I plan on doing. I took my PRAXIS testing. I feel inadequate because I failed the math portion. At least I can take it again. It was just something that I wanted to accomplish and it brought me down. I do not intend this blog to be about anything negative. I will say this: There is a plan for me. I want to help out in providing for my family. I just don't get paid until the end of the month.

I am going to try to take advice from Dave Ramsey. I want to get rid of all of our excess debt. I am speaking of credit cards. How we got involved with credit cards is beyond me?! I think it is a backup solution for us and it has become a crutch that we carry. For the past 14 years, I have had card debt. I don't want to even imagine HOW much we have paid in interest to these companies.

With me working, we should be able to add extra payments to these companies and hopefully pay them all off before the end of the year next year. We have a Christmas savings account that we CANNOT touch until October. I have told GG that I want to take the money out of our account when it transfers into the checking account and ONLY use cash for our Christmas shopping.

This year, I cannot wait for Christmas. I don't know what it is. I dread the shopping. However, I cannot wait until we decorate. I also love Christmas movies. There is nothing like it. We have to get through Halloween and Thanksgiving first. ;-)