Saturday, 02 May 2009

• Currently Great Brain,The By John D. Fitzgerald see related

  Why am I posting at 1am?

  I took a nap after I got home from work and then didn't wake up until 7:30p.  And then Paul and I went to this fantastic sushi place, Takara, near us (I got a gift certificate from restaurants.com)...SO GOOD.  I am still reliving the experience.  yum yum yum

  So, a few things:
  1.
  Remember how I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, and then I embarked on his steps to get out of debt and manage money better?  Well, it's been a full year, so I'm going to report what happened.

  Step 1 was to have an emergency fund of $1000 readily available (no problems there).

  Step 2 was to pay off all debt except the house mortgage.  We paid off the Toyota within the first month because we had the savings.  This is where Mr. Ramsey employs the "debt snowball," meaning that you take what you were paying for the first loan and apply it to the second.  Once the second loan is paid off, then you take the money you were paying for the first & second and apply to the third loan, etc.  So, you get a "debt snowball" and pay off your loans faster.  Plus, any extra money you make, you put it into the loan.

  So, after doing this for a year, and with the help of the US Government (tax rebate), I just paid off the Honda yesterday!  woohoo!  That means, the Honda was paid off in two years instead of four.  I am never buying a new car again.

  We don't have any more loans, so we are debt free (excepting the mortgage).  YAY!

  Step 3 says we should save 3-6 months expenses.  So, we'll be working on this for the next year or so.

  The Budgeting Worksheets: there are probably more sophisticated forms out there, but Mr. Ramsey's works pretty well for me.  I carry them with me to work to update with expenses.  I check our bank accounts almost everyday and enter data into Quicken.  If we go over the budget one month, I try to make up the difference in the next month.  It's been great, seeing all of the expenses we have to have plus all the extranneous (sp?) stuff.  I like the paper method better than Mint and even Quicken isn't that great.  Maybe because I don't know how to use the tools?  Or maybe because our expenses change from month to month?

  Lessons learned:
  * You HAVE to budget for extranneous stuff...shopping for clothes, books, movies.  Even if it's not that much, you still need it because you will go out.  It's inevitable.  I tried not doing it a few months and it doesn't work.
  * If you have paychecks every two weeks, on the months with 3 checks, split the check and put half toward one month's budget and the other half toward the next month's.  It is so much easier not to overspend this way.
  * Don't rationalize!  I find myself rationalizing on spending on the 3 paycheck months or on months with bonuses or on months with tax rebates.  You can get into trouble this way.
  * I found that even though the budget is tight on some months, God always provides a little buffer.  It's something unexpected that comes in and it makes me appreciate my life.

   

  2.
  I am self-publishing a book.  Because I finished Nanowrimo and won, I get a free copy through this self-publishing website.  So, I'm treating it like I would actually sell it.  I'll have a listing on Amazon.com, I get to set the price, and everything!

  It's been a huge learning curve, trying to figure out the lingo of book publishing.  Apparently the "inner" is the inside of a book.  Self-explanatory, I know, but initially I thought it was the inside of the book jacket.  LOL.  And formatting the inner is a PAIN IN THE BUTT.

  I have a new respect for publishers.

  I have three readers: Paul, Becky, and Esther.

  Paul just finished his read-through.  It takes a poet to let know when you've been too wordy.  haha.

  I will let you know when it is available for purchase.  :)

  And I'm wondering if it's too hasty to be thinking about putting up an author website?  Does that sound vain?  I think it does.

   

  3.
  I lost the diagram to our sprinkler system.  Who would have a record of what valves do what?  The sprinkler system company?   Trial and error?  ugh.

   

  4.
  How does Steph manage to post on Xanga everyday?  I can't find that many things to write about.  :P

   

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