Goals for a Better Me! (and Family)

I don't know about you but I feel like my generation is losing - or has never learned- valuable skills that generations had before us. I think about my grandparents and the summers I spent with them as a child. They had this beautiful plot of land right on High Rock Lake in Salisbury, NC. Every summer was spent maintaining the beautiful fruit and vegetable garden they planted. My Nannie tirelessly picked, prepared and stored the fruit and vegetables while my Papa weeded, watered and pruned. They were a wonderful team and the garden thrived because of it.

As a naive child, I didn't quite realize the effort they put into that garden. I wish I had asked more and tried to soak up some of their knowledge while I was there. Now as an adult, I feel like there is so much I would love to learn from my Nannie and Papa... canning, gardening, cooking, baking. There are so many skills I would love to pass on to my children. I want them to be as prepared and self-sufficient as possible. I want my daughter- and son- to know how to bake for their growing family and how to do so in a healthy and efficient way. This desire to pass on these skills means one thing, I have to learn them first. In order to do this, I have set a few goals for myself while Alfonso is in school. They are as follows...

Goals:
Debt free
Become more self sufficient- which really can be broken down into a thousand mini goals
Learn to make bread
Learn how to garden
Grocery shop with a budget
Setting an overall budget and sticking with it.
Learning how to cook healthier, un-processed foods for my family
Learning how to manage my time wisely so that I can have more quality time with my children

and most importantly-
Go to the temple with my family!

Goal #2: Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

Okay, okay... I promise I haven't fallen off my rocker. Do I really have a goal to survive a zombie apocalypse? Yes, I do. But do I really think there will be one? No, not really. I do love watching the show Walking Dead and it always gets me thinking about what I would do if suddenly the world as we know it were to end. I would love to see the real Walking Dead show where they have to actually scavenge and hunt for food and then cook it. I mean how do they stay fed, clothed and clean? They never show that part on the zombie shows and movies. But I digress...

My goal really is about being more self sufficient. Lately, I have been thinking about gardening and I've realized that I know nothing about it. Yes, I know I can put a seed in the ground. water it and hope for the best, but that hasn't really worked out so well for me in the past. I really want to learn all of the little tricks to making things grow. Since we are renting and only here temporarily, this year I will be starting small with an herb garden. I want to try to perfect that first on then move on to a bigger garden.

Any tips for a beginner gardener?

Goal #1: Grocery Budget of $100/week

As I mentioned in my first post, we are finally budgeting. It's fun stuff, you really should try it! 

Something that really struck me from the Total Money Makeover is that if you don't tell your money where to go, it will leave. Think about that for a minute. I certainly don't want our money to just "leave." Hence, the new budgeting plan comes into play. 

Since I just started our money makeover a month ago, I'm still trying to work out the kinks. Right now my goal is to only spend $100 each week on groceries. So far I've found that if I plan a weekly menu and grocery list every Friday night and then stick to the list that I can stay very close to or under my budget. Sticking to the list means no more splurge buys and no more mindless shopping. Its actually been nice to have a menu that I can go off of when the hubby asks the dreaded "What's for dinner?" question. 

Another change that I've implemented has been the cash only system. I only bring my budgeted amount with me to the store: that means NO credit or debit cards are being used. I stopped using credit cards altogether now. (my new mantra is that you can't get out of debt if you are still creating it) One day I may actually have the courage to completely cancel and get rid of my credit cards but for now I'm just not using them. Plus, we don't want the hubby having a heart attack over here. ;)


-Lara

New Town, New Home, New Life

As many of you may know, my husband is currently going through the Military Physician Assistant Program at Ft Sam Houston, Texas. His acceptance into the program meant a cross country move for our family from our beautiful home in North Carolina to a rental home in San Antonio. While it was hard leaving behind "home" (to me home is where the heart is.) and our friends, it has been fun making a new Texas home and meeting more friends. Lately, I have met some very inspirational friends, online and in person. A good friend of mine recently introduced me to the book that has begun to shape my life into something filled with financial hope and inspiration. Its the Dave Ramsey book, "The Total Money Makeover." For those of you that are struggling with any debt, big or small, you should totally check it out. If you are like me, you'll wish you had read it 10 years earlier!

Because of this book and some very inspiration blogs and news stories I have read lately, I am revamping our family, starting with a BUDGET! Some of you may cringe at the very word "budget", while some of you may be in complete shock that my husband and I have been married for over 5 years and are just now making one, yikes!

I hope you join me on our family's crazy journey to better finance (being DEBT-FREE!) and a healthier, happier living style. Think: less processed food, more home cookin'! Yep, I'm trying to become "Susie homemaker" here! 

-Lara