Hi! I’m Jolyn, and I started this blog because I think it’s high-time we all came out of our financial closets!
Join me as I blog my family’s way out of the RED and into the BLACK. As a military family, we have moved a lot. So I’m also working hard to de-clutter and simplify our lives to help our future moves (not to mention our daily lives) be as hassle-free and stress-free as possible. Needless to say, it is a work in progress!
Check out the links above, or just start reading below. Either way, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. We’d all be better off if we’d open up and learn from each other, don’t you think?
by jolyn on March 9, 2010
I feel the need to clarify our position regarding our (still empty) rental home in Las Vegas, and a new post seems like the best way to do it. So for the record, we are not at all considering a short sale! As I stated in the previous post, I do not believe our situation warrants one: We are able to meet the expenses of owning the rental, even without tenants to pay the rent — we just don’t like it!
SHORT SALE For those of you still wondering, a short sale is when a bank agrees to allow the sale of a home for less than what is owed on the mortgage, without the borrower making up the difference. (At least not immediately.) (Read the fine print!) Usually for a bank to consider this, you will need to already be behind on your mortgage payments: the bank needs to determine that they will bring in more on a short sale than if they had to foreclose. Obviously, this is still not good for your credit score, but it’s not as devastating as a foreclosure.
MILITARY MOVES When I queried realtors in Vegas late last year about the possibility of selling our rental, one of them told me that they had been gaining a lot of experience helping local military families facing a PCS work out short sales. Obviously, a military family on orders is moving, whether they like it or not. Apparently, the banks are recognizing that as well and are working with them.
That particular realtor, and the others I spoke with as well, all agreed that a short sale is not the best choice for our situation.
I do believe that you should pay back money that you borrow. God willing, someday we will do just that!
by jolyn on March 7, 2010
How much of your budget goes toward eating out? (How many of you have no idea?) How much of that is not for enjoyment, but for apparent convenience?
I’m not against eating out, not by any stretch. But I do think it is one area in our lives that, over the years, has saved us financially. Simply because we’ve never done very much of it.
So little, in fact, that when I asked my kids today what they’d like for lunch, fast food didn’t even get mentioned. I actually suggested it.*Gasp*
We were just leaving church, sitting in that long line of cars all queuing up to leave via the “out” lane; I was desperately wishing I could cheat and turn around and go out the “in” lane that was so empty just begging to be utilized but oh how tacky that would be to break the rules at church, I mean come on?
So our next stop was to be wally-mart to get something my 14yo needed for a school project as well as some much-needed drugs for me from the pharmacy (because surprise, surprise Dr. Doubter it is Strep after all, eh?) and I was quite frankly not feeling too well nor at all in the mood to go home and make anything worth eating so I *gasp again* asked the kids if they wanted to eat out.
Did they ever!
Of course, the young ones wanted McDonald’s! A Happy Meal!
This being a special treat and all, we even went to Arby’s to accomodate Conner, who was not at all interested in a Happy Meal, or anything else from McDonald’s.
(Wow, Arby’s is expensive!)
In this land of convenience with a fast food restaurant on every corner and several in between, it wasn’t like we had to go out of our way.
Most of this came out of my “Blow Money” — and it was worth every penny. Sometimes you just can’t put a price on a little break for mom. It’s amazing sometimes, how little it takes to make the kids so happy.
I was talking to another mom recently at Olivia’s dance lesson, and as she looked at her daughter dancing she remarked that they really needed to stop eating out so much, but they were just so busy running here and there they just didn’t have time to do anything else.
I simply beg to differ. Does eating out really save you time? I can make a sandwich quicker than it takes to go through a drive through. Packing a simple lunch takes less effort than unbuckling kids and toting them in to wait in a fast food line.
Of course, we all gotta splurge a little, have a treat now and then (if that’s even what you consider fast food) — sometimes mom just doesn’t want to put forth the effort to think about making a meal.
But if you’re struggling with debt, and struggling with making a budget stick, and wondering why there’s more month left at the end of the money, I implore you: consider how often it is, exactly, that you’re stopping at that drive-thru. Try taking five minutes to make a PB&J, pack a little baggy of chips, and grab an apple. Your budget will thank you.
by jolyn on March 6, 2010
I think many people feel that putting themselves on a budget will restrict their lifestyle and keep them from being able to spend money on the things they like to have and do. My experience has been the opposite: creating a budget has actually felt quite freeing.
Before, whenever I wanted to spend money impulsively, I always hesitated, thinking, “But we have debt. But we should save more. But I really shouldn’t.” If I bought it anyway, sometimes I felt guilty, even if it was something that I believed added value or functionality to our lives.
I don’t shop a lot, but my weakness is second-hand stores. How can you pass up a good bargain! I have gotten a lot better, mainly in the interest of not bringing more stuff into my house. But even when making small purchases, a little voice in the back of my mind would say, “Is this really a good idea?” Often times, it was a good idea. But it was like I bought it despite myself, despite that miserly little voice on my shoulder making me question every time I handed over the debit card.
Creating a budget and designating amounts for my cash envelopes has freed up those questions for those variable purchases, especially the ones I might make on the fly because it’s “too good a deal to pass up”. It’s allowed me to treat myself occasionally because, Hey, it’s my blow money! It’s helped me to spend money consciously, which takes away the guilt of impulse buys.
It also eliminates the question for unexpected expenses: Do we have the money for this? Because I’ve created a budget, I know exactly where the money will need to come from, be it savings, debt elimination, or simply another envelope.
This month, I decided to put a massage for myself into the budget. It’s definitely a splurge, but hey — sometimes you gotta live a little. Yes, it’s a treat for myself for us reaching our goal of eliminating our (first) debt snowball; but I’ve also been feeling under the weather (hence the dearth of posts lately)(and yes, mom, I wasted my time going went to the doctor) and am getting rather desperate trying to get over this slump already.
If we weren’t focusing on getting out of debt and making great strides to achieve our goals, I probably wouldn’t be able to justify the expense of a massage. As it is, knowing exactly how this expense will affect our financial goals has actually freed me to splurge on myself.
If I had to reach for the credit card to pay for it…? That would be another story. Thankfully, we are not in that position.
Hi! I’m Jolyn, and I started this blog because I think it’s high-time we all came out of our financial closets!
