A Day in the Life (Part 3)

Wednesday – The Savings Race crew showed up about 9 AM and filmed 2 hours. They asked us about our savings and plans, and rocky road. If you’ve been following me you know that 2 weeks ago I lost my job to someone with more seniority. ☹ Kayleigh modeled the Prom dress she got for free



and played it up for the cameras while she talked about Financial Management (state of Ohio standards) and preparing for college. THEN we took our cans to recycle ($12), requested a few local businesses to donate to our March of Dimes campaign (see I told you every day is the same), went to the dentist, went to the alterations company, went to the hotel to visit a friend that was in town from California (we are in Ohio). Then after 45 minutes visiting we went to the Health Department to get a TB test (see other blog) went to get the little one from her friends’ house (24 hours of tweens hanging out should be enough) and came home to make omelets for dinner. I am quite certain I did something after 6 PM, something other than play Candy Crush Saga but I quit logging those moments so I guess they don’t count. Yet…another day in the life.

A Day In The Life (Part 2)

Tuesday – on Tuesday I woke up and applied for jobs (looking for full-time/part-time, permanent teaching position…or tutoring). I applied for ads for my blogs (gotta earn some cash for the Savings Race) Vote Team Kayleigh! Helped my daughter write letters soliciting donations to the March of Dimes and Dance Walk held by the Springfield Arts Council. Researched how to obtain my reading endorsement (fastest and cheapest). Crap! It’s 3:00 PM (most of the day has passed) I just spent 6 hours on the computer :-/ What an awful parent I am, it’s Spring Break. So…I hopped in the shower and took my baby (the child that is now 11 years old) to a friend’s house, and headed out on the excursion of finding “straps” for my daughter’s Prom dress (this one is a junior in HS and the one doing that Savings Race) and we found after 1 ½ hours some pretty cool straps. Then we shopped for my sister’s summer wedding: flowers, dresses, a scrapbook. Finally I drug myself home to prepare for another day. Oh yeah, and somewhere I fit in 3 loads of laundry. A typical day, right?



DanceWalk

A Day in the Life (Part 1)

I see a lot of blogs and articles about ‘a day in the life,’ a day in the life of a dog, a day in the life of a trashman, a day in the life of a child, a day in the life of an orphan. I don’t wish to commit an entire blog to a day in the life of me but there is something endearing to peaking into a day of someone’s life. The Beatles song “A Day in the Life” is really thought provoking. It doesn’t really seem like the days described are really all that exciting at all but what I do notice is that the thoughts surrounding those days are the really interesting parts.

Two years ago my husband and I went to Las Vegas to renew our wedding vows. There was question as to if that’s what we should do with our time/our money…take a vacay without the kiddos for I think 5 days. One of the most memorable events from that vacation was the Beatles Love Cirque Du Soleil experience we encountered as part of our package. One of the most enthralling segments was “A Day in the Life.” Check out Cirque Du Soleil if you’re not familiar, it’s amazing.

A day in the life for us seems typical…but a day in the life in Vegas was a story, a story we share without burdens.

We ended up in Vegas because that’s where Elvis lives and since I was born the day Elvis died apparently that’s supposed to mean something to me. In Vegas we ride the bus, in Vegas we hail a cab (living in the middle of a cornfield doesn’t afford you these opportunities daily). We visited every casino and spent our free $10 for being a new member or because it was our anniversary and moved on. Experiencing a day. A day where people throw cards at you to try to get you to go where they are promoting…yeah that works. A day where we visited a resort for free dinner and a show. A day where the Pawn Stars bought my kinking gold necklace for probably less than it was worth. A day where we renewed our vows, reflected on why we got married, and enjoyed each others’ company. There are so many days in a life that when you really reflect on your day it’s amazing.

If You Ain't First You’re Last

If you ain't first, you're last. You know when you’re in a race it’s easy to look in front of you and feel like you are never going to catch up.
There were many times going back to middle school and high school track where I felt I was never going to win.
The summer before my senior year of high school a friend asked me to join the cross-country team…a different kind of race. I said, “I’ve NEVER ran that far”. He said, “it’s fun. Try it“. So…what did I have to lose? I cannot say I was good at this kind of racing. I spent the entire season just training to get to the skill level others on the team were already achieving before I arrived. {Start running a race with a plan.}I spent a season running and never being first. Watching everyone pass me by. The thing was, I just ran. (Yeah, take that two movie quotes in one post)

As I now run the Savings Race with my family, ask for friends to pitch in with votes {Vote Team Kayleigh here.}, come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th in challenges and monthly standings we found ourselves saying, “this is as bad as last. We are not getting anywhere". Discouraged that we are running on a treadmill and things keep coming up and we cannot put money where we want or we missed out on a bonus we were expecting or we needed printer ink. {do we do without it or do we continue printing those additional college scholarships?}
Then remembering the experiences of high school I remember to keep running. Keep training. Keep doing what we know is healthy and we will come on top. I never won a race that season, what I did do is improve myself. I went from running 3 mi. in 30 min to 3 mi. in 23 min. I shaved 7 min. off my time in 6 weeks, earning MIP. And at that moment in time…for me being most improved was far more valuable than coming in first. It meant I came a LONG way.
Applying this to the race I take now with my family, (1) we have support system (2) The Yake Family was adding $300 to charge cards every month meaning at the end of the year the charge card balance was $3600 more every year than the year before. We WERE using cards to pay other bills/debts. One huge thing I notice is we are NOT adding to the debt any more. We have a budget to allow us to pay everything without charge cards. So…every month we don’t add $300 to our debt it’s like paying it down even if it doesn’t reflect in our goals…but we have done so much more than just “pay down” this amount.
This realization means there is more than first and last…there is everything in between.

To Run A Marathon You Have To DRIVE.

Many Savings Race teams have blogged about the marathon. Dave Ramsey says it takes 18 – 24 mos. to complete baby step 2. When I think of babies I think of how quickly they change. It takes them time but in a blink of an eye they are new people. When I think of a race I think of fast. How conflicting; running a race with baby steps. Now Dave Ramsey reminds us no matter how many times you read Tortoise and the Hare, the tortoise always wins…slow and steady wins the race. So drive…cars are fast, they drive. But maybe, just maybe drive means something else. Well, according to thefreedictionary.com there are 22 different meanings for the word drive. So why not make up another one.
To run a marathon you have to drive.
Develop goals and stick to them.
Realize your financial limits and budget within them.
Implement a plan for emergencies.
Value small accomplishments.
Evaluate your budget regularly.

Thanks for voting for Team Kayleigh and supporting our goals. Team Kayleigh Savings Race Vote

Christmas on a Budget

I just finished my Savings Race Blog and I thought it's time to update my personal blog. Where did 2012 go? I, for one, have been busy. One thing that has kept me busy is the lack of freedom spending money gives you. When you aren't spending money you are spending more time. Making dinner, making gifts, baking cookies, etc. One of my favorite gifts this season is the Tin Can Storage Sculpture. I'm copyrighting that name. LOL Anyway using tin cans, some wrapping paper and tape I created a cute, and practical gift. yes! practical because every gift should be practical. Keep that in mind in case you're giving me a gift as well. ;-) The tin can

wrap the top rim and bottom edge with double-sided tape. cut the paper to the size of the can. I got the paper with graph lines on the back (totally on accident) the expensive paper was on super sale at Hobby Lobby. OR check out this link for some hot buys Wrapping Paper Choices

Once the can is equipped with tape, wrap the pre-cut paper around the can and you have a finished can! Ready for pens, chapstick, candy, scissors, etc.

Finally you can take many cans and put them together in pyramids, or shapes. I've used mounting tape, double-sided tape and hot glue to secure the cans together. I think the mounting tape worked best but ultimately it comes down to how you want the cans to attach together which medium to use.

Soapbox: My Vote

Listen friends: Voting is confidential, allegedly. I have received 4 calls in the past hour from volunteers that are asking if President Obama, Josh Mandel, Mitt Romney can expect my support tomorrow. If you volunteer at an office I'm sorry, but people do not want to answer these questions. You are aggravating them! Nobody should EXPECT my support at this time. Grassroots, and GPS, and whoever just called me now knows that asking me for support is, in my opinion, violating my privacy. I'm not posting my political opinion and if I wanted everyone to know my political opinion I would state it on here like I do every other thing that runs through my mind. With that said, here is my political opinion. It's none ya business. BTW, the billion dollars spent on presidential campaigning alone could have put American to work.

I would like a full-time job, I would be happy with 5/100ths % of your campaign budget as income and actually that is more than I'm looking for but keep cutting education funding and spend your money on the 232 unsolicited calls I've received in the past month. Forget the Federal "Do Not Call List" Volunteers have called to give me information, recordings of Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Joe Biden, Josh Mandel...have littered my answering machine. And I mean littered it with trash talk in which I cannot get real messages because the machine is full. I will be voting tomorrow. I will not tell you who I support and why. I will say, vote yes on Issue 22 in Northeastern School District. This is a good thing for education and only affects working residents. I mean I gotta keep it interesting and list at least one issue that someone can challenge me on. In closing, I don't think the extra effort, ads, and definitely not the calls in Ohio really affect the outcomes of the election. People from all sides hate to be in Ohio right now, and if I wanted to hear what you have to say I can attend one of the 16 physical appearances in the past 2 weeks that either candidate has made within 35 miles of my home. I think that is valuable campaigning. Bothering me, asking for me by name, asking who can expect my support is nothing short of annoying.