Ok this one is for Elisa,

Dave Ramsey's 6 baby steps to financial peace

1. Save $1000 emergency fund. . .fast

2. The debt snowball

3. Finish the emergency fund

4. Maximize retirement investing

5. College funding

6. Pay off home mortgage.

I am on step one. I am paying the minimum on all of my c.c.'s until I have my $1000 in a money market account. It sounds so contrary to everything I know. I feel as though I should be paying off the c.c.'s first. But he has explained why the $1000 first and I have blind faith on this one. I have to look honestly where my best efforts have gotten me. So Dave I am following Step 1. Like I said earlier I have things on ebay that I am selling to get me to the $1000 fast. All of my free money is going to step 1.

I love his motto and it is printed at the bottom of all of the pages of his book, "The Total Money Makeover." "If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else."

I am reading about debt myths in the book now. And it is interesting how a majority of people view debt and credit, myself included. Now I get to rewire my brain, if I pay attention, and start living a financially peaceful life. I can't believe the way I feel just being conscious of the money I have, it really is a great feeling and I don't feel as if I am being held back from anything.

I ate out today! Did I feel good about it? Actually I did because it was a conscious decision. I only wanted to spend $10 for lunch and we went to the soup kitchen. The girls and I talked before we went in and we decided no spring rolls and no fancy bubble tea. Once we got in Madeline decided she did want a spring roll so we had to talk about the cost of the meal plus the spring roll and decided that we really wanted the egg noodles with no spring rolls to keep us under budget. So we got our meal for $9 including tip. The girls were happy because they got a fortune cookie. Also we saved a little today by not going to zero gravity. So total cost for the day is $5 for gym babysitting and $9 for lunch.

This afternoon I will be going with my girlfriend to the mall to help her look for somethings. So we will see how big of a challenge this will be. I don't anticipate much because I don't spent a lot on clothes and things, it just tends to be the smaller things.

I am starting to see how my lack of organization affects my finances. Over the last 4 days I have spent $31 in fees. I forgot to mail in a remote deposit so I had to overnight it to the tune of $22 and then we had library fees totaling $9(late and missing book). So note to self. . . GET ORGANIZED. So much to do and so little time I am finding.

Honda Odyssey's are being recalled for their brakes. My van falls under the years being called back. I have had nothing but problems with my honda, this is a problem I have taken my car in for and their response has always been that they found nothing wrong. What a crock of crap! Do you know how much money and time I have spent going down to Honda to have work done???? Oh well at least the other issues have been fixed but not from Honda.

Already temptation is knocking on my door. There is a dress that is so cute and I know I would wear it all summer and it is $50. I saw it a few weeks ago and have thought about it a few times since and my friend just told me it is still there, aghhh. Self-discipline must prevail. I have to remind myself that I will be $50 closer to hitting my e.f. and then closer to being debt free. Oh also D.R. said that as soon as I decided to become debt free something would happen where I would feel like a needed to charge it and wouldn't you know the day after I decided to commit to this my favorite jeans ($170) split right at the butt cheek. Why is it my cheap gap jeans stay together for years upon years and the most expensive ones only 2 years?? Too bad the expensive ones are so much more comfortable. Oh well gap jeans it is for a few years at least until the e.f. is built up, I am debt free and have cash to go splurge.

I listed 2 items on ebay today, a sheepskin coat and a Longaberger laundry basket. I am washing a diaper bag to list as well. Hopefully I will be a couple hundred dollars closer to my $1000.

Oh I did have my niece pick me up a latte today too so there's $3

Ok so far today, I have spent $5.00 on childcare at the gym and $7.00 at the grocery store. I was quite impressed that I was able to get 12 rolls of toilet paper and 1 cheese stick(jo) and wipes for that amount. Today was also Madeline's snack day at school and I told her she had a $15 budget. We made a list of what she wanted and estimated the cost. Of course she bases her snacks on what friends she wants to help her, so we have to have 3 types of food and then a beverage, that the teacher serves. So she wanted Gold fish, Cheese sticks and apples. As we went through Albertsons she got her drink first which was a mixed juice and happened to be fairly cheap. The Goldfish were on sale right when we walked through the store, so that was easy. Then came the cheese sticks, those little suckers are pricey. Because she has more than 12 in her class we would either need to buy 2 packs at $4.49 a piece or 24 for $8.99. So we picked up the larger pack and went onto the apples. Organic apples $1.68 lb, we got three of them. I had a feeling those cheese sticks were going to put us over the $15 limit, so I asked her to go back down the cheese aisle with me and we discussed how she was going to go over so maybe there was a different option for her. We walked around the store and found individual apple sauces for 1 .89 for a package of 6, we bought three of those. We paid separately so that she could see her total, which came in at $13.10. I told her she could have the rest of the money for her savings because she stayed on budget. It was such a great experience because she got to make the choices based on what she had.

I am thinking of somethings I want to sell so that I can up my e.f. quickly. I saw a Longaberger laundry basket in my crawl space that is selling on ebay right now for $235. I don't know why I really don't want to sell it but for god's sake it is in my crawl space. I also have some collectors baskets in the attic and a vintage sheepskin coat that has never been used hanging up. I think Monday maybe a day for listing all of those on ebay.

So tomorrow is the live simulcast of Dave Ramsey, I am hoping I can head down and listen to it. It would be great to get the whole plan explained vs just bits and pieces. I have been listening to his free podcasts on itunes and they are great! To hear of someone paying down $140K worth of debt in 4 years is so motivating.

Ok I just got a refund on my new Quicken for Mac 2010. I decided if I am going to be using the envelope method I should know where my account is at all times and I don't need the program. REFUND $76.01. Now the question is do I subscribe to Dave's Total Money Makeover for $89 for the year. I have about 4 days left to decide.

Just found out my husband will be working tomorrow so no Dave for me. Babysitting is just too much for the new budget. Oh well his podcasts will have to do for now

Day 7,791

Ok this is really day one of blogging but day 7,791 of my financial life. Now you could say it started much earlier with my first allowance or the money I received when picking up leaves from my parent's yard(a penny a leaf, definitely not worth it!) But really I associate my financial life with getting my first "real" paying job at the age of 16. I took the job so that I could by all the things my high school life required, like cute clothes and shoes. My parents took care of all the other stuff, car, gas, insurance, food, shelter and any activities that I partook in. I got my first credit card when I turned 18 and I believe it was a Bon Marche card(now Macy's) and soon after my Nordstrom card. Wahooo a girl in heaven. I could buy things on a whim and it was fun!! I used my parent's credit card, with their permission, to do my school clothes shopping. I was always given a limit, but really what's $50 or $100 over? That's where it started.

Now I need to say that these are MY debts. My husband has always been a firm believer in cash. He and I maintain separate accounts with him "giving me" a certain amount every month. And as I stated earlier, "really whats $50 or $100 over?" This has lead to numerous arguments over money. All of that said, where am I today? I am a total of $17,787 in debt, including my car, a 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L.

cc#1-$87.60

Line of credit-$266.05

cc#2-$1,102.67

cc#3-$1,230.31

cc#4-$1,296.67

Auto Loan-$13,806.54

Total-$17,787

Where do I want to be? I want to be debt free and have an emergency fund.

How am I going to do this?

I am going to follow the steps lined out in Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.

Thank you Chris for becoming a fan of Dave's on Facebook. I just happened to look at his posting and wanted to know who Dave Ramsey was. Little did I know it would inspire me to take control of my finances.

I am someone who has always felt overwhelmed by money and felt like I needed to recreate the wheel when it came to managing my money, which just lead me further and further in debt. "I think I will consolidate" would be my motto and then I would feel the relief as if I had just paid it off. Imagine I was surprised when the bill came the next month.

Well no more! This is about my journey to becoming debt free and have my beginning emergency fund. I have $85.00 in my e.f. with a goal of $1000.00 by the end of May.

I currently receive $2000.00 per month. Here is the break down of that:

Groceries for 4-$1000.00(yeah it's high, I will get into that later)

Auto-$400.00

My misc. money-$600.00(this covers anything I want or need for myself or the children, i.e. kindermusik, ice skating, dining out, clothes. . . you get the picture)

Ok so groceries are so high because I shop at a great grocery store called Central Market. Their selection of organic produce is amazing! I believe in buying organic and local when possible. And out of convenience I purchase things there that I probably should buy at a big box store. Very rarely will I shop, at what I like to refer to as "the Evil Empire". Unless I know for sure they have what I need and I cannot find it at another store.