A Few Goals for 2011

While I'm grateful to be back to 100% after my surgery two weeks ago, it looks like my 3 month hibernation from society has officially begun.  Every year I think, "Oh, I'll totally be able to get everything done I normally do during tax season."  And every year I fail - as if that's surprising.  This is my... 12th tax season.  You'd think I'd have figured it out by now.  So while I have several bloggy ideas floating in my head at any given time, I find it harder and harder to get on here as we approach those big tax deadlines.  I'll do my best to get a couple of posts up each week, but working an extra 2-3 hours a day just leaves me in a comatose state when I get home at night - no matter what time it is.  And seriously, the last thing I want to do is get BACK on the 'puter after staring at four screens for 10 hours straight.

 

But wow, it's already February and I haven't shared any of our big goals for the year.  We're always kind of slow to get them figured out and down on paper, but we've got some good ones for 2011.  We tried really hard to nail down at least one goal (as a couple or individually) in each of these categories:

 

- Financial Goals

- Professional Goals

- Personal Development Goals

- Marriage & Family Goals

- Physical Goals

- Spiritual Goals

- Social & Community Goals

 

So here are just a few of our personal goals for 2011 that I wanted to share...

 

1.  Financial:  We will get our debt snowball down to the last debt on our list, the hub's student loan. 

 

Predicting exactly when we'll be done with our debt snowball is tricky since our income fluctuates each month, plus *hopefully* we'll be forced to temporarily stop our snowball later this year to stash away cash for maternity leave.  But we feel very confident that we can hack through everything that is in front of that last big debt by the end of the year.  Also, a piggyback goal to this one... depending on our income levels in 2011, we may have to add our HELOC to our debt snowball.  Normally, a 2nd mortgage or HELOC is paid off in Baby Step #6 on Dave's plan, but if the balance is less than half of your annual income, you add it to your consumer debt snowball in Baby Step #2.  It would definitely drag out Step #2 (and therefore drag out our rice and beans lifestyle a bit longer), but it would have a HUGE long-term payoff if we were able to do that.  So while we're VERY ready to get past Step #2, we hope that our income will be great enough to require us to stick with it a little longer.

 

2.  Personal Development:  I will read 50 non-fiction books in 2011.

 

Y'all have already heard this one... I initially had it for 25 books, but with the pace I was setting in January, I decided to be brave and double that goal.  Tax season will probably slow me down some, but I'm still confident I can get 50 books under my belt this year.  I just finished my 5th yesterday.  So why non-fiction?  It's purely about growing my brain and also growing my faith.  So yeah, this double dips as a spiritual goal too.  A lot of the books I'm reading are faith-based, but many are personal finance or business books.  I've had a lot of these books on my list of good intentions for a long time and I decided 2011 is the time to make it happen.  Charlie "Tremendous" Jones said, "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read."  So there you have it.  I don't want to be the same person in five years.  I want to be a better, wiser, stronger version of me.

 

3.  Spiritual:  I will read through the entire Bible in 2011.

 

Yeah, y'all know about this one too.  I began reading just before Christmas to get a good jump-start.  I am using The One Year Bible on my Kindle and am loving it (revisit this post for more on this particular Bible).  I really thought I would just make a goal of regularly reading through the Bible, like 5 days a week.  And I wouldn't give myself a hard time about finishing it in 365 days.  But after starting it, I found it SO easy to fit in the reading each day.  And I also keep a notebook where I jot down the "synopsis" of each day's passages along with any verses that strike me or questions that arise.  I feel silly for thinking this was going to be a chore.  It has been an incredible joy.  I know most of the big Bible stories, but it's been SO long since I read them all in great detail.  So I decided to forget being passive about it and declare that I would indeed get the job done in 2011.  I'm right on track.

 

4.  Professional:  I will begin writing a book on struggling with infertility this year.

 

I don't know how the hell to do this one, but I'm just going to fly by the seat of my pants here.  Whether this will be a published work at some point, God only knows.  But it's something that's been swimming around in my head for a couple of years and I figure, what better time to start than when I'm in the thick of it?  Not that I think my hurt and fear will be forgotten if and when our dreams of parenthood come true, but I want to document those feelings now while I'm facing them.  And hopefully be able to reflect back once I've overcome them.  There's not enough good information on struggling with infertility and I feel led to contribute somehow, so perhaps this is a big first step.  My goal is to have a rough draft by the end of 2011.  Probably really rough, but we'll see.

 

5.  Spiritual/Social:  We will use $30 once a month to bless a friend or neighbor.

 

You've heard me talk about how big our hearts are for giving.  The hub and I love, love, love it and can't wait to have the financial means to give in big ways later on.  But for now, we are pretty much restricted to tithing while working our debt snowball.  Though, the other day I thought of an idea for a particular friend... just a small little unexpected gift that I knew would bring a smile.  And then I thought, why not do this every month?  $30 is not a lot.  But $30 well spent can lift a spirit.  And shouldn't we all be in the spirit-lifting business?  I'm excited to see where this goal takes us this year.

 

 

How are YOUR goals coming along?

Reader Question: How do you find peace?

Yay for Fridays off! I only have two more after this week, so I'm really trying to soak up the fun while it lasts. What will I do when I have to return to 5 day work-weeks? Goodness. The hub is doing some PT work today, so it's just me and the girls at the house. I've got some small projects on the to-do list, but nothing crazy.

So last week I got this great email from Jenn over at Living the Good Life asking how I manage not to lose my cool when money seems to be leaving a heck of a lot faster than it's coming in (story of our current lives!). Here's a bit of her message...

"My husband and I have paid off all of our debt with the exception of one car and our house. We're now working to pay that car off and save up as much money as we can so that we can move in the next year but it seems like one bad thing after another keeps happening and I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack watching our savings dwindle down! It's really the most depressing thing. Since the end of May we've had to pay $7k in miscellaneous expenses (car repairs, plane tickets to a family member's wedding, getting a nice family of bats out of our attic, the list goes on and on.)---how do you keep from totally freaking out when it feels like you're just hemorrhaging money?? I know our savings is there for emergencies, but I have such anxiety over all of the unwanted and unnecessary spending. Any advice for me?!"

I totally don't consider myself a money expert by any means, but the hub and I have been to hell and back when it comes to figuring out how to win with money. So for that reason, I'm very passionate about the subject and freaking LOVE to talk about it. So I always welcome any questions on the matter and if our story can help others in some way, bring it. And by the way, being a CPA doesn't mean you're good with money. I mean haven't you seen doctors and nurses outside the hospital doors smoking? Yeah.

We're currently held up in what I call our stuck-in-mud phase of our plan. Which makes it hard to move forward, but we are. Creeping, but moving. As most of y'all know, the hub and I are total Dave Ramsey groupies. Me especially. It's like Jesus, then Dave. And we're currently on Baby Step #2, paying off all of our consumer debt (everything but the house). The hub has been unemployed for about 10 months now - which of course has turned our debt busting shovel into a flimsy plastic spork. So we're really just in survival mode right now until the hub is able to find full-time work. We have been really blessed with some great part-time opportunities that have helped along the way. I didn't think we'd make it past 2009 on my income alone. And here we are, knocking on the door of August 2010.

I can very much relate to Jenn's anxiety. Our situation isn't the same, but you know we girls tend to *freak OUT* when it comes to money (or the lack of really). It's a security issue for us, while it's a pride issue for the guys. So it's totally natural. But how do I keep from letting that anxiety and fear overtake me? I shared with Jenn what have been three personal mainstays in my life over the last couple of years that have helped me maintain peace in financially stressful times...

1. Tithing. Back in October 2008, when we ran our very first (EVER) monthly budget together, we decided then and there to start tithing (giving 10% off the top of our income to our local church). The hub and I have always loved to give when able, but we were never intentional about it before. We don't tithe because it's some item on a checklist of "things Christians do." We don't do it because God needs the money (ha!). It's simply about trust, and that's it. "God, we've obviously been idiots here, so we're going to do it your way from now on and trust YOU and not ourselves." We've been doing this for almost two years and the hub and I agree that is the single best decision we've ever made together. It has truly changed our lives. It looks ridiculous on paper, but that 10% comes right off the top - no matter what. No. Matter. What. We've never faltered on it, not even in months where we had no idea how we'd make it to the next. I can't even put into words the tremendous peace this has brought us. It is not an easy change to make. But nothing truly good comes without great sacrifice.

2. Worry not. Ha, easier said than done, right?! Oh how that worrisome fear can be so overpowering and crippling sometimes. And that's why I must continually drill this passage into my head...

"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. " Matthew 6:31-34

3. Pray. My daily prayer to God is that I seek his wisdom in my everyday decisions with money. That we take all of this one day at a time. That we look to him for strength instead of being handicapped by worry and fear. And to recognize how truly blessed we are that we've made it this far, for the amazing life lessons we've learned along the way, and for the work God has done in our hearts. When you feel overcome with fear, the best thing you can do is get down on your knees.

So there you have it. And yeah I know it's completely engrossed with God stuff. But hey kids, true peace is only found with God so for me, there's no other answer really. I know lots of people out there are struggling financially for many reasons... Maybe it's an income crisis, like us, or perhaps you've got a big storm coming that's going to suck up all your savings, or maybe you've lost everything but the shirt on your back. Whatever it is, terrifying as it can be, there is always hope. You always hear about these people taking their lives over financial crises. Fear really can take your life. The trouble is, they had no hope. There is always hope. You have to succumb to the fact that you can't do it on your own. So get on your knees and ask your Father for some help.

I hope you all find true peace!

Ketchup.

So getting up at 5am has not gotten any easier. But I successfully did so every day this week. The only day I didn't "hop" out of bed at 5am (since I started this craziness) was last Friday, but that was on purpose. We were out late watching the national championship game the night before (way to go, Bama!) and didn't get home till like 1am. I don't know about you, but I cannot operate on 4 hours of sleep. Other than that hiccup, 5am it is! But ugh, I think the long days from early this week caught up to me sometime Wednesday afternoon, because getting up yesterday and today was AWFUL. Thank goodness for our new Keurig (or as the hub and I call it, "Ka-ZOONG!" - I have no good explanation for why). I still did it though. The key for me: not allowing myself to hit snooze AT ALL and hopping in the shower as soon as I get up.

OK so enough alarm talk. I've had no time in bloggy world this week, but I'm guessing Haiti has been a big topic. (As well as PANTS-ON-THE-GROUND! Seriously can't get that out of my head.) The Haiti situation is so sad - I feel very removed from it, honestly just because I've been so busy and swallowed up by work this week. So I feel like I'm just now catching on to the sadness and concern the rest of the world is feeling. I've actually been to Haiti - just for a day on a cruise years ago. But I can't imagine how scary that environment down there must be right now - seriously I just have no comprehension of that. And for the families here that are missing relatives and friends and are just waiting... how terribly frightening. Big prayers for Haiti and all those involved. And as usual the relief efforts are in full force and organizations here are raising money left and right. And I think this donate-money-by-text thing is BRILLIANT. I heard today that the Red Cross has raised over $5 million just through texting - amazing. I mean it really is genius... I think a lot of people have good intentions to donate but fail to do so out of pure laziness or forgetfullness or life. But how long does it take to text? Like a half second? And it comes through your cell phone bill, so it plays into our nation's (unfortunate) buy-now-pay-later mentality. I'd love to give so much more, but even I can sign up for this one! Here are a couple of donate-by-text options...

Text the word HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.

Text the word YELE to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele (Wyclef Jean's organization).

Both groups will send you a text back to confirm your intent to donate and you'll need to reply with "YES" to complete the donation.

Nothing much else going on right now but work. And such is life for the next 3 months. Three months as of today, actually - so the countdown begins (till April 15th)! And because I'm a tax accountant and also way too nice, I'll open the floor for any tax questions you have. Now just general questions please, I don't want to do a freaking tax research project here. Ha! No but really, I'd be glad to answer any questions y'all have - just leave a comment on this post.

As far as the rest of our goings on, I'll just leave y'all with some bullet points. I've got some work I've got to get on, so this will have to do for now!

• Lucky's wedding (two weeks ago now, geez) was fab! The whole weekend was a blast and she made an absolutely stunning bride. She and her new hubby are on their way back now from an amazing honeymoon in Italy.
• The hub is still in the middle of his job search and we're starting to see some progress, but of course nothing ever progresses as fast as we'd like it to! Just continuing to pray for patience and trusting that God's at work here. We have all these amazing goals for 2010 laid out but until we get the job squared away we kinda feel like we're standing in mud. Prayers, prayers, prayers.
• Speaking of goals, I still plan to slap those on here as soon as we finalize them - we're almost there! We're slow.
• And on a completely superficial note, my silver Revas are starting to look really rough but I refuse to stop wearing them. Though I'm not sure I'd buy them again (not that I could right now) because now like everyone wears them and that's a TOTAL turn-off to me. As soon as anything is on everyone, I can't do it anymore. Because then I just look like everyone else - *snooze*. It's for this reason I've closeted Uggs and Coach bags.
• We are signed up to take FPU again starting next month! Like I said, we've got lots of goals for 2010 and many of those are financial, so we just felt like taking the class again to keep that "Gazelle Intensity" and accountability. I think we've coaxed some friends into taking it along with us, so I'm looking forward to it. I can't get enough Dave, so it'll be good. Classes are starting up all over - plop in your zip code on the site and find one near you. Whether you're broke and freaked out or raking it in without any debt, this 13-week class has something for everyone. It's a life-long journey and you can hop on no matter where you are. And if you work it, it will do incredible things for your marriage.
• My favorite K-cup right now is the Coffee People x-bold Donut Shop. It blends beautifully with my French Vanilla creamer. Tell me your faves, Keurig people! We're still sampling.
• Oh and people of the world, please stop referring to Atlanta as "HOTlanta." That's so over.

Million Dollar Baby.

You can't put a price on a baby, or on love... but please check out this wonderful post from one of my favorite blogs, Chapters. Her mom hijacked her blog to publish this post - I love it! Times are tough, but we can all spare a dollar! Shoot, even send it out of your online banking so you don't have to use a stamp! (You know I like a bargain in any form.) Here's the text from the post...

A Dollar For My Daughter...

Amy has reluctantly allowed me to GUEST POST today. While she is somewhat uncomfortable with what I have dubbed the “harebrained idea,” she has agreed to let me present it to you, as I have previously done to my friends and family, with the hope that together we can make a huge difference in two deserving (that's subjective, Mom :-P) people’s lives.

I ask that you consider helping me with the following project: My daughter is among the seemingly growing number of young women who long for a baby and cannot conceive without fertility treatments. In her case, as in many others, none of the expensive treatments are covered by medical insurance...and it's both an emotional and costly process. My request is that you please consider the following 2 options to participate in "A Dollar For My Daughter":

1. Send a gift of $1 to the following address:
ADFMD
c/o 5085 W. Park Boulevard
Suite 300
Plano, TX 750932

If you feel comfortable doing so, forward this request (go to the envelope icon at the bottom of this post to forward via email) to any of your friends, family and/or business associates if you want to encourage them to participate...or you could even add a link to your blog about this if you feel called to do so.

I feel like it's important that you "know the facts" as you consider partnering with me to help Amy and DW in their journey - so I've asked her if I could share some personal details with you about the financial costs of infertility. The initial treatment (which they had savings to cover) consisted of the fertility injections with cycle monitoring costing $4,897. It was, unfortunately, unsuccessful. The second and, possibly, third rounds will cost approximately $2,500 each. In vitro fertilization (IVF), if ultimately required, costs approximately $15,000 per procedure. At the end of each phase, there is the potential for pregnancy and, therefore, treatments would then cease.

The idea is that your small gift, combined with those of others, will make a huge difference…just $1 at a time. If you would like to include your e-mail address with your gift, I will provide a periodic update. 100% of all gifts will be used for fertility-related medical bills only. If by some chance this request takes on a “life of its own” and there are gifts beyond her medical bills, all excess funds will be donated to a scholarship foundation for use by another couple requiring fertility treatments.

Many thanks in advance for your help,

Donna Metz

A great shopportunity...

Well, in the midst of all this crazy Food Network jazz, I must take a minute to get the word out on a great opportunity to shop AND benefit a great organization at the same time. It's a win-win, girls!

The Partners Card, benefitting Camp Twin Lakes, is available now for $60. With this card, you will save 20% at all participating stores and restaurants between November 1st and 9th! There are over 500 local restaurants and retailers participating this year, but there are also some online retailers participating -- so you can take advantage of this even if you're not a sweet peach. Just in time for holiday shopping! Camp Twin Lakes is a great organization, based in Georgia, that offers wonderful programs for children with serious illnesses and other special needs. They also do a bike ride in late October to raise money and one of our friends is participating. (Woo hoo! Go Erik!) So if you're planning to get your shop on in the next few weeks anyway, this could really get you some serious savings. Cards can be purchased here or they're also available at many of the participating retailers.

In other news... totally didn't make it out to do our grocery shopping last night. I was so pooped from a long day at work and had NO energy left. So I'm leaving work early today and we're going to hit up Whole Foods. The film crew is coming out tonight to get shots outside our house and around the neighborhood. And they're having dinner catered in - suweet. You know I like a free meal.

3 Things.

1. First, many thanks to all of you who left me such sweet birthday wishes! I had a great day yesterday and *31* feels pretty darn good. The hub made me dinner last night and we just chilled and drank wine and watched Chuck together. He made me the cutest gift - he had to get super creative because I insisted on a -zero- budget for my birthday. He took an old full-length mirror we had and printed all these photos of us together and framed the mirror with them. So super cute! He wasn't so sure about it, but I LOVED it. He is good at a lot of things, but I would not label him "artsy." So this project was a challenge for him and that made me love it even more. Thanks again for all the wishes, girls!

2. Mayjah props to my fabulous city for being named the best (as in #1) city for singles by Forbes magazine. Woot woot! So, ladies, if you're single... apparently you should be down here in Atlanta. Just sayin'. (Hint, hint, bestest!)

3. As of TODAY, the hub and I have officially completed Baby Step #1 in Dave's plan!!! That calls for a major WOOT WOOT! We are so excited and ready to move on to Baby Step #2, but we're kind of in a holding pattern till the hub finds a new job. I don't think I even mentioned it before - but yes, he is looking for a new job right now, so the budget is pinched and squeezed and mooshed extra tightly. But we are making it! We've still managed to put money away somehow and also give. So prayers please for a fabulous new job for the hub so we can attack our debt snowball with some real muscle! Woo hoo! We've actually got a lot of furniture up for sale right now on Craigslist and we're also selling my Toyota 4Runner since it has a note on it. I will post pics of all that fun stuff in case any of you peaches are interested. Some REALLY great deals on furniture... so stay tuned. I've also had some really good luck with smaller items on ebay. I have a pair of old Uggs on there that have already been bid up to $75!!! I was so totally stoked... I mean they're like 3+ years old! Turns out it's the color... who knew? Makes me wonder what other gems I have around the house...

We all need a little more pink in our lives.

So true, right? I must admit that if I meet you and learn that you *hate* the color pink, we're just not gonna hit it off. Bestest knows... we've had these conversations. I'll say "yeah, there's this girl in my group [or class or office or whatever] and she's nice and all... but she told me she detests pink. I'm just not sure if I can be friends with her." Shallow, much? Perhaps. But girls, it's true. As my friend, Pammy, says... pink is a lifestyle. It's OK if pink is not your favorite. You don't even have to love it. Just don't *hate* it. Alright? As for me, I live in a world of pink with pink sparkles on a bed of freshly cut metallic pink blades of grass. So in celebration of all things PINK...

Welcome, October! National Breast Cancer Awareness month! The month of pink! The month of my birthday! The month where my favorite season begins! My favorite month of the year!!! And did I mention it's pink?!?!

October is special to me for the reasons I mentioned, but it's also a very important month because of the awareness it brings to breast cancer every year. Ten years ago my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She discovered the lump herself while taking her morning shower. The first doctor she saw didn't think much of it, but he had it screened anyway. She had told me what was going on as they were waiting for results. I was up at UGA... it was my junior year. At first I remember thinking, surely this is nothing. The doctor's going to say it's all good and she'll be totally fine. But I distinctly remember sitting alone on one of the UGA buses inbetween classes one afternoon - and I just knew. I don't know why - I hadn't heard back yet from my parents... but I just knew it was cancer. Sure enough my dad called me later that afternoon and told me the news. My mom was too upset to talk. I can't even imagine the feelings she and my dad must've felt when they heard the news first hand. I think I appreciate that fear so much more today, being 10 years older myself.

We were SO blessed that the cancer was discovered early. After surgery, several rounds of chemo and radiation, my mom made a full recovery and is still cancer-free today. How amazing. And I'm constantly reminded of how blessed we are when I look around and see other loved ones lost to the disease. My mother's best friend lost her sister to breast cancer recently. It was so heartbreaking for all of us. It was most gut-wrenching to see an elderly mother having to bury her daughter. No parent should have to do that. It's just not supposed to work that way, right? But it's all around us - it affects us all. And so I'm especially thankful for campaigns like this that shove it in our faces and make us think and make us act. I'm sure we'll all have heard more than we care to hear about breast cancer and get over-dosed on pink ribbons this month, but do take the time to get educated and spread the word to your loved ones. Even take a few extra dollars this month to give towards finding a cure. And of course... go out and sport that PINK!!! :-)