Upped Income ...Working on getting current AGAIN

So it's been a long while since I've updated here and Dean one of my good friends from the TMMO chat mentioned it tonight in chat so I thought I would come in and give a quick update to ya'll.

We've been working hard on getting going on this TMMO again. Seems like everytime we get going something happens again and we fall back behind. I just started a new job at Yellowbook and I LOVE IT! I really thought that by doing this it would help us out a lot and so far it's not looking good.
Here's what I posted tonight on the TMMO forums about my budget:
Rent $550.00
Van $445.99 (upside down on & have tried everything to sell lol)
gas/elec $150.00
Water $45.00
Cable $46.00
Cell/Internet $140.00 (no landline and in contract)
Trash $25.00
Insurance $109.00
Daycare $320.00 (currently applying for help with this)
Personal loan: $145.00 (a few more payment left)
Groceries: $250.00
Gas vehicles $300.00

Combined monthly income: $2640.00

Here's the scoop, the van is currently a month behind and June's payment is right around the corner. The personal loan should've been paid off this month but with late charges and interest that have accumulated from being late over and over I now owe around $250.00 on it and then it will be paid off. Our BEF is gone due to our car needing some repairs not too long ago and my van currently needs new tires BAD..the 2 front tires are way past the wear mark and it scares me to even drive it but I have to get to my new job. I did currently up our income quite a bit and we sold our house in a short sale to rent again at more than 1/2 less of what our mortgage was so we should be getting ahead and get the ball rolling but we aren't.

So leave me your tips I'm open to hearing ANYTHING right now lol

FINALLY... TRACTION

I know that I've posted before that we felt like we were getting some traction but this time I'm serious!!

We got our income taxes back and used it to rebuild our BEF and put extra in there to cover a deposit and first months rent on a house when we find one. We paid off 3 bills in our snowball and got current on others. Got the budget rebuilt and we're working on becoming debt free now!!!

It is a great feeling to be on the right road and I'm so excited. If I'm this excited to get back on the road, I can't help but think how excited I will be when we come to the end of our journey!

Thank you all for your support here!!
I'll keep you updated.

We FINALLY upped our income!!!!!

We've been trying to get some traction on this debt free journey for quite some time and Murphy kept hitting us, plus we just didn't have enough income and with Chris getting laid off it didn't help matters any.

I'm happy to report that he is back to work full time and it's NOT construction work so it's more stable work for this area. He also works a part time job on Saturdays at the local FedEx office driving for them!!!

Myself, I'm still at the hair salon PLUS I'm working part time at a new local restaurant that opened last week!! I really like it, I'm waitressing and it's been a few years since I've done this kind of work but it all comes back to ya and I really enjoy it. Last week I ended up being there everday either day or night or some days were both LOL. BUT it was worth it ... I ended up having an extra $215.00 towards debt to pay JUST from that!! AND the hair salon is picking up as well.

I don't feel like I'm home much and I miss not being home but mostly what I worked last week my girls were at their dads house and Chris took care of our son most evenings. I do miss being here with them, but they all understand that I'm only working this much right now because we have to do this and it's worth it when you know that in the future I can work because I WANT TO not because I HAVE TO!!!!

Well that's all I have time for today, have to head out to work soon. Just wanted to update that we are doing better and starting to see the light!!

OH AND we have a guy interested in buying the house so let's hope that goes through too!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family Decisions & Other Happenings...

So we decided not to move up north. Yes the money would of been great but I was praying and praying about this and felt like God was telling me we were supposed to stay here for now. The job for Chris up there wasn't ready to start yet anyway and kept getting postponed and we didn't really have all the money we needed to get the rental house up there yet.

So Chris started working this week!!!!! He's a Fed Ex delivery guy LOL. It's a temporary position through the holidays but pays good and COULD go full time, although at this point we're thinking it probably won't for us because of their full time delivery people having to buy their own truck and be Independent Contractors and we know that financially we can't do that at this time. But at least for now he has a job and he's still looking for something full time PLUS he's signed up to take some classes at the local community college to work towards a Civil Engineering degree which would greatly help land a great job in this area in the future!!!

So things are starting to look up for us with him starting a new job now and he's still looking for some side work to do as well.

I am still at the hair salon, things are slow right now though. Today I went in and didn't do 1 single client. Which in my case, if I don't have a client I don't have any money so it was a wasteful day but oh well. I have very few of those at the salon since I started there a year ago so that's good. I have still been helping my mom clean houses although that has slowed down too because she's given a lot of them up since she's going to be quitting the business within the next week. This coming week is our last week of cleaning unless we just do a few houses that only want someone like for fall and spring cleaning or when they are on vacation, we'll still try to do those. She is going to be going to work as a manager at a restaurant that is opening here in town around November 19th. I will be waitressing up there with her during the day on Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings. I'm off from the hair salon on Tuesdays and don't go in until 3 pm on Wednesdays, so that will help. I might try to do a couple nights too but we'll have to wait and see how it all works out with child care arrangements and Chris' work schedule.

So I'm currently working on a budget for November. Yes I realize November's already started and I should've of had it done already and I did once but now that Chris has started this new position and my positions are kind of changing I have to rework that plan. Which is why not having any clients today was really bad. I really needed that money this week since he doesn't have a paycheck this week and we have a Utility payment due by Saturday. I'll keep working and praying and hopefully somehow it will appear. God works in mysterious ways so I'm sure it will show up somehow.

The kids are all doing great! Soccer just ended last weekend for my twin girls and now basketball will be starting soon. They are also starting in band in a couple of weeks. Brandi is going to play the drums and Brittany is going to play the clarinet.

Bryar will be starting Pre-School on November 12th. 1/2 Days in the afternoon. It saddens me that he is my last child and growing up so quick but I know I have to let him grow up and I know that this will be a good experience for him too.

Struggling with Decisions made...

Ok so the last post was all about how we've made our decision to move and now you're probably going to be thinking I am being wishy-washy here but I am struggling with this decision.
I love my job at the hair salon here and I know that we NEED to move because Chris is the bread winner of the family and this job for him up there pays way more than he could ever make here plus it's a stable position and with my hair services, I could always offer them practically anywhere! But it's so hard.

This salon I work at, I love it. There is NO DRAMA which is hard to find in a hair salon with women working together lol. I have built a pretty good clientele since starting there last November and I just know I'm going to miss it there. But then there's that chance of finding another salon where I love it just as much and building an even better clientele. I've already thought of some advertising I could do to get people to come to me when I move there (since I'm new and don't know anyone there I figure if I offer great special deals for their first visit and do a good job they'll come back), but I'm still scared to death.

It's not so much about the kids anymore. That sounds bad lol and I don't mean it that way because I do worry about them and adjusting and everything but they are ready to go. They seriously ask me everyday "How many more days till we move?" I still worry about them and being away from their friends and family here but I also know they still have a few friends from that area that they e-mail back and forth with and they are great kids that tend to make new friends easily. The being away from family is going to be hard but I'm hoping that things will be like they were before and my parents will come and visit often like they used to and we'll still come here often too. After all it's only 3 hours away from home.

A part of me is ready to move on knowing that this would be a good move for us and put us in a better situation but the other part of me is scared to death and worried about it being the wrong decision. I have been praying and praying about this for the past few weeks and I keep going back to writing out that check for the rental house and making it a done deal to move!

Alot of people on the TMMO chat say I'm just scared to tell my parents and Chris says that too. That is probably a big part of it and I know it's something I have to deal with. They are away this weekend, due back today so I'll see what kind of mood they are in and then see if I can bring myself to tell them.

We have made a decision...

Ok so for you Dave Ramsey lovers ... I called DR himself on September 24, 2007 and asked him about our situation with needing to move up north and the kids not wanting to. He offered some great advice, you can listen to it on the Dave Ramsey downloadable shows it was in the 2nd hour around 22:40 on the mark. He's a great guy! He really made sense out of it and told me that the kids didn't make the decision, we had to make that decision and if we were making the decision for the right reasons then we should do it. He stated that if we were only going for the money then we would probably already be gone, which is true, and that we needed to pray about it and talk about it to make that decision and that the kids would adjust. Which is the same thing all my buddies in Total Money Makeover chat room had to say as well!

So we went this past Friday and looked at a rental house there and we love it! It's reasonably priced and in a great location and the kids loved it too! They are all excited about moving now, yeah I fretted for months over this and now they keep saying "When are we moving there". LOL KIDS!!!!

So we are listing lots more stuff for sale since we can't take alot of this with us because of the space and we figure what a better time to declutter. We're working hard to come up with the money we need to pay by November 1st. Thats when the house is available and the lady that owns it is super sweet, she's willing to wait until then for us to pay her what we need to and hold it for us. She liked us and we liked her so it all worked out. She had some people lined up to see it next week but has told them it's been rented!! We're all excited about this so pray for us that we will be able to come up with the money we need by then and still stick to the budget. We'd been trying to save up for a house while doing the budget and haven't had much time to save much money so we don't have a whole lot to go towards it right now. I really hope that we get the money we need by then though!

Thank you all for your prayers and concerns with this and I will keep you posted.
Oh and I havent' told my parents yet, I know they'll be against it at first but they'll come around and right now I have to do what's right for my family!!

So watch out DEBT here we come to wipe you away!!!!!!!!!!!!

Debating on a big move in our lives...

So we've been trying to work the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover plan since November of 2006 and as you can see in my posts... Murphy just will not leave us alone and we can't get any traction. We have our house listed up for sale, still after 6 months of having it listed with only a couple of showings and my new realtor that we've had for the past few months is really trying to push it because he knows and understands our situation. We are currently looking into doing a deed in leiu of foreclosure because of our situation.

Chris got laid off his job and they pretty much said it was permanent. They never told him it was but said "If you can find another job you'd better take it cuz we won't have anything until next year" OH great another strike!! So he's been out every day this week looking for work and has some leads, but here's the deal....

He used to work in a laborer's union up north (by Chicago IL) made good money and had great benefits, we lived up there in Manteno Illinois at one point for almost a year. I loved it there and so did he, we were doing good. Now my kids, they liked it there but wanted to be back home by grandma, grandpa and their daddy (who has since joined the military). So we packed up and moved back here, lived in my parents old house for a few years until we bought this house last year. Chris has had a very hard time finding stable work around here. It's hard for everyone here right now. This last job he had was the best one yet, made good money for this area and had some good benefits, been there for almost 2 years. Anyway now that he's laid off, we're wondering what we should do. He can't find a decent enough paying job around here to pay all of our bills and dig ourselves out of debt, and he has an opportunity to go back to work up north where he would be making really good money again with good benefits.

Based on what his income would be up there and what our average place to rent would be up there we would have about $1300.00 a month left over from our budgeted items to throw towards our debt ... meaning we could be out of debt in NO TIME!

Now here's the kicker ... I know money isn't EVERYTHING but obviously in our case it's worth a lot right now to get us where we need to be for EVERYONE not just me ... I try to teach my kids that money isn't and shouldn't be TOP priority but is important and there's such a fine line there. See, my kids don't want to move back to Manteno, they want to stay here. I have twin girls that are 11 and they're in the 5th grade so they have their friends and they have been through sooo much in the last 5 years that I'm so afraid of making the wrong decision. I KNOW that if we move there it would be better in the long run for financial and stability reasons but I'm worried about them and how it will affect them. I keep thinking they'll grow up to resent me for pulling them away from "home".

So I'm praying that God will help us through this and give us the guidance we need.