tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post7417255090309189643..comments2024-03-27T19:04:31.290-05:00Comments on The Amazing Trips: what's in you wednesdayThe Amazing Tripshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13761348688069779544noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-86646778743156711082010-01-17T14:53:16.757-06:002010-01-17T14:53:16.757-06:00Great list of things you want to do this year...so...Great list of things you want to do this year...sounds a lot like ours. I see someone already mentioned it but Dave Ramsey's Financial peace University is an amazing class that is done at churches and groups all over. It really changes how you look at purchases...but you already have some of the ideas started...like paying cash. Dave Ramsey has the negative financial past to be able to talk about what NOT to do (bankruptcy), but now he is wealthy and he doesn't even have a credit score because he doens't use credit...for ANYTHING! And he runs a corporation now! <br /><br />Good luck with the goals. I enjoy reading your blog! Thanks for keeping on!Leaning on Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13163939054982357459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-50029157192724355032010-01-15T02:14:39.921-06:002010-01-15T02:14:39.921-06:00Giving up sugar? Are you kidding? I still have 1/2...Giving up sugar? Are you kidding? I still have 1/2 of a 25 lb bag left from xmas! But I'm extreme baker, so its okay....I'll find someone to eat it.<br />It is amazing how much MORE money you have when you pay attention.<br />For me the thing that has helped me most is not so much "the budget"....for me its "the forecast". Sitting down for a couple of hours and analyzing my irregular expenses for every month for the entire year has been extremely helpful. I figure out when our dmv fees are due, all birthdays, all parties, all holidays which may involve trinkets, all school registration fees, school picture fees...you get the picture. <br /><br />That way when I have money in my account, I know, I don't really have money OR that I'm changing my idea of what I'm going to do.holly whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10330225563028611599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-32981827682318505602010-01-14T18:52:13.292-06:002010-01-14T18:52:13.292-06:00Anything sudden and big is hard. My goal for this...Anything sudden and big is hard. My goal for this year is to take baby steps in all my goals. I'm trying to work my way out of my perfectionist who won't do anything if I can't do everything personality. Hopefully I'll keep moving in the right direction.Carrie @ Who Knew?http://whoknewthiswasthehardpart.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-56802118329144082152010-01-14T16:41:46.930-06:002010-01-14T16:41:46.930-06:00Organization and routines eliminate stress, not ca...Organization and routines eliminate stress, not cause it. I only feel good and on top of things when I am checking off my list. I think many others feel that way too. So, for 2010, I am doing Jazzercise 3 mornings a week (kids get to go to, so they love the outing), mommy & me "school" one morning a week, MOMs playdate one morning a week. So that's planned activity for my twins and me five days a week, and gets us up and out early every day. Reducing debt. Dropping the 10-15 lbs (both hubby and me) that have crept on. Enjoying the moment more and worrying less about things we can't control. We're starting there, and see where it leads, but believe me all those things are on my "list" and I can't wait to check them off.Jeanninehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09373954258456287652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-35914939365299206812010-01-14T15:50:13.651-06:002010-01-14T15:50:13.651-06:00*happy sigh* COLOR CODED CALENDERS! Yay!
Hm... I ...*happy sigh* COLOR CODED CALENDERS! Yay!<br /><br />Hm... I definitely think it would be harder for me to cut sugar than it would be to live on a strict budget. I put our budget on a calender too. So we know what dates we are paying which bills and which paychecks they coincide with. So the budget thing isn't really that complicated for me.Theresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02570052669027349279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-2938182469126801312010-01-14T15:43:26.146-06:002010-01-14T15:43:26.146-06:00Tough choice but we're opting for the tighter ...Tough choice but we're opting for the tighter financial control. We've always been the "that's what credit cards are for" type.<br /><br />It's time to stop and take a long hard look at our finances and clean up the mess. We need the sugar (in moderation) to help us cope.winecathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033530470009978632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-25521041040685137092010-01-14T15:05:54.961-06:002010-01-14T15:05:54.961-06:00Michele: YES... but ... very few people are as DIS...Michele: YES... but ... very few people are as DISCIPLINED as you. It must have something to do with that burly man you're married to that carries a club around his cave. <br /><br />Tracy: Charlie absolutely loved getting up early to swim. But for me, getting out of bed before the dawn to go jump in a cold pool ... BRRR. I don't think I could do it. I'd rather go for a leisurely jog on a mid-70 degree day once the sun is up. Thankfully since I live in SD, I CAN!The Amazing Tripshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13761348688069779544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-7035114379214769522010-01-14T15:02:25.707-06:002010-01-14T15:02:25.707-06:00Definitely giving up sugar is harder! Inspired by ...Definitely giving up sugar is harder! Inspired by you and a few others who blog, I've started swimming this year. Of course, getting up before 5 a.m., hauling all my gear in an unheated van in single-degree temperatures 10 miles to the YMCA to do it, doesn't actually feel very much like I'm doing something "for me." Still trying to convince myself on that one.Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15308746596689447396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-75159497190433542232010-01-14T14:50:36.808-06:002010-01-14T14:50:36.808-06:00I guess throwing away the To Do List reduces stres...I guess throwing away the To Do List reduces stress for people who can't handle that they have "so much to do! ahhh!" ... BUT... I'm like you! I *need* the To Do list to keep myself sane and organized. It's more daunting to me (thus much more stressful) to feel lost/without a plan/strugging to remember what the heck I have to get accomplished. A To Do list is my saviour for keeping me from feeling any stress! So, I'd say this is a personality thing, haha.<br /><br />Hmm Sugar is probably harder for me, but that could also be because I have yet to start working at the job I've been hired for so I couldn't spend money if I *wanted to* (oh goodness, which I dooo). I love the "use cash" approach -- my parents do this, and I always try to as well; only charging things on credit right now because they are necessary and I don't have the career going yet (however, each month through my random tutoring and baby-sitting gigs, I pay of the credit card without incurring interest, so I feel good about that!).<br /><br />You can do it, I believe in you!The Wonder Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04714821561489042931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-85991255793873170672010-01-14T14:43:17.290-06:002010-01-14T14:43:17.290-06:00I live on a strict budget and I eat no flour. No ...I live on a strict budget and I eat no flour. No bread and no Joe joes. GASP.Michele Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15061520456909635254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-77798995075897752372010-01-14T13:45:24.158-06:002010-01-14T13:45:24.158-06:00Impulse buys are only painful the next morning!! I...Impulse buys are only painful the next morning!! I thought the best part of your Blog post was how well you and your husband are able to communicate. Together you can can anything. This is one of my favorite quotes:<br /><br />"You have brains in your head.<br />You have feet in your shoes.<br />You can steer yourself any direction you choose."<br />-Dr. Seusscindy shakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01353820195984269329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-816937513011534512010-01-14T11:51:32.251-06:002010-01-14T11:51:32.251-06:00HEY... that SeaDoo was wicked awesome! Fun times!...HEY... that SeaDoo was wicked awesome! Fun times!!! <br />I (we) have no plans because right now there is a crazy force (called a 38-week old fetus) that will not let me plan ANYTHING! All I can do is watch Oprah and AI and eat Bon Bons, because I didn't win the Joe Joe's!<br />You'd better come visit us on the 19th!!!!Geologychickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05326271846932273163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-3592828362643069362010-01-14T11:45:48.560-06:002010-01-14T11:45:48.560-06:00Well, we generally live on a strict budget (being ...Well, we generally live on a strict budget (being a one-income family), and since I am now officially a diabetic (gestational diabetes), I have to give up sugar for at least the next two months. Giving up sugar is harder.<br /><br />My husband and I are relatively debt-free (no car payments, he paid off his last school loan last year, no credit card balances carrying over) except for our mortgage, and every month that we can, we pay the late fee as an extra and put that directly onto the principal. If nothing else, it's kind of like making a payment toward our next house, because it really hasn't adjusted what we pay by much.<br /><br />And I could not live without my to-do lists and my Peanuts family calendar with its AWESOME grid that lets five people have their own column on the calendar. Between that and the pocket planner that I keep in my purse, I can actually keep track of my life.Deannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06264388274486422686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-2365859600453668102010-01-14T11:06:16.624-06:002010-01-14T11:06:16.624-06:00It's much easier to live on a budget if you ma...It's much easier to live on a budget if you make sure to budget in some "mad money", so that you can make some small discretionary purchases without busting the budget. It doesn't have to be much - maybe $10 or $20 per week.<br /><br />My best budget tip is to write down everything you spend, absolutely EVERYTHING. Then at the end of a month or two you can really see where the extras are going.<br /><br />I don't live with a strict budget now, but I have and I could again. My family gave up all sugar for a month once when I was a kid - then I thought it was hard but doable. Now... I'm not sure I could do it!owlfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16864203297228110988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-48717001607040200992010-01-14T10:11:07.344-06:002010-01-14T10:11:07.344-06:00Bad advice about doing away with To Do lists. Wher...Bad advice about doing away with To Do lists. Where in the world did you read THAT? The single biggest factor in getting my sanity back after the birth of my triplets was realizing that it REMOVES stress for me to have a task written down (no burdening my memory) and then CROSSING IT OUT with a very large pen when I am done. The satisfaction factor is akin to a miniature spurt of adrenaline. Same with a calendar. You write it down and then just look & do, no thinking and trying to remember and losing track. My mantra for years: Unburden your memory.<br /><br />Realizing that lists do this for me, I actually made a list of activities that I can do with the boys (intructional, indoor, outdoor). It helps me switch gears on a dime when they lose interest in something. No shouting, "Play something else. Anything! Go outside! You have all those toys, do something!" I just look at the bulletin board and go, "Oh, play dough. Let's run a play dough bakery." Or even "Ooh, baths. You could use those. Grab some boats and go." I'm sure it's a personality thing; I'm glad you've discovered that calendar and lists keep you focused, on task, satisfied, and thus de-stressed. <br /><br />As with all your kids' new activities, I guess that's good... for you guess. Selfishly, it makes me sad. I guess I can write off us playing with you guys anymore. *sigh* You've been gone and busy so much lately and school starts in a few months... We're almost out of playing time. I guess I'll have to continue running around the park chasing my trio on their bikes alone. Can I tempt you? It's good "healthy" activity for you, chasing bike riders... I've lost six pounds in two weeks doing it.Deborah Halversonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01813383597378919945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-35302572233426809642010-01-14T10:01:25.114-06:002010-01-14T10:01:25.114-06:00Well, for some reason I am not a sugar junkie, but...Well, for some reason I am not a sugar junkie, but boy, give me some salty ANYTHING and I'm a happy woman. Just as you recently realized how much sugar a healthy person should take in on a daily basis vs. how much you are actually consuming, I have come to a similar realization when it comes to salt. SO, I am planning on reducing my salt intake this year significantly. <br />Some of our other plans include:<br />-boosting up our savings and putting a big chunk in for college ed for both kids.<br />-refinancing our house<br />-planning out most of our vacations for the year. This will be the first year that we'll be vacationing on our own with our two kids (not visiting family). This was a huge part of our resolution for the year.<br />-Small home improvements that cost little but make a big difference like: hanging pictures of us and the kids (we have NONE right now), hanging some much needed shelves so we have more places to display things. Currently, we have no place to display anything. <br />-Backing up all of our thousands and thousands of digital pictures on CDS so we can free up the hard drive on the computer.<br />That's all we've got so far, but we feel good about just finally being able to plan for the year!Judithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12755179898764468643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-8711748896199523242010-01-14T09:44:25.646-06:002010-01-14T09:44:25.646-06:00Jen, you inspire me. Thank you for ponying up eve...Jen, you inspire me. Thank you for ponying up everyday on this blog. It makes me want to be a better person. I have not seriously sat down to write goals for this year and have been floundering in a lot of ways for many months. I'm overwhelmed and not really sure where to start with anything. But your challenge to sit down to do it makes me feel better already. Thanks for pushing me...AWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07976537861843058177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-49622364624642622882010-01-14T09:44:02.354-06:002010-01-14T09:44:02.354-06:00Stress exists in our biological makeup for a reaso...Stress exists in our biological makeup for a reason, and some of us need it to help those around us thrive. Good for you!<br /><br />I find that from scratch cooking eliminates a lot of hidden sugar and preservatives. My breadmaker bread contains WAY less of the sweet stuff (and sodium) than the store-bought kind AND it tastes better.<br /><br />I recently reduced the sodium in our diet, and now pre-made stuff makes me feel sick. It's just too salty. Of course, I did this in my husband's absence, so let's see how he reacts.<br /><br />My husband and I are reading "We Love Each Other But ..." together as our own version of reconnecting as spouses, and it's been good for the whole family.Sadiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04042551936789254047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-75084196535659529862010-01-14T08:59:06.529-06:002010-01-14T08:59:06.529-06:00My goal last year was to get on a budget. I did a...My goal last year was to get on a budget. I did a lot of research and read a lot of blogs. What I was really looking for was inspriration and some tips/ticks. Through my reading a found a book called the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I am not even joking when I say that this book changed my life. It is extremely motivating to maintain the "strictness" of the budget. Definaty worth the $10 that it cost to buy the book...or in our case $150,000 in interest. After reading his book we were inspired to refinance the house to a 15 year mortgage and make additional principal payments on top of that.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00482713492940117150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-88615073058351953202010-01-14T08:57:41.904-06:002010-01-14T08:57:41.904-06:00We moved to a strictly cash basis about 4 years ag...We moved to a strictly cash basis about 4 years ago. I am the provider and don't make a ton of money. It was hard. I even made us give up cable tv - and just accept the free tv that comes from the antennea. We did without vacation and dinners out for a LONG time and somedays, I just plain hated it and whined a LOT. But it paid off. I lost my job last January and I knew that we could survive adequately if it took a while to find something. Luckily, it didn't and I am making more and we were finally able to take a mini-vacation and have splurged on a few dinners out. <br /><br />What is strange is after living on such a tight budget, it actually seems decadent to splurge on these small things now. <br /><br />It really makes you step back and decide what's important - and it's not the new Coach purse everyone at the office seems to have, but you.<br /><br />Good luck with your changes.Texas Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09129530782544683645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-63246314823552597052010-01-14T08:28:58.821-06:002010-01-14T08:28:58.821-06:00isnt' the sugar consumption amazing? I know I ...isnt' the sugar consumption amazing? I know I eat too much. When I was pregnant with my second daughter, I was borderline diabetic and the doc had me on a 20 gram a day sugar diet. It was hard but I did it, I looked the best out of three pregnancies too. Ate things like Nilla wafers instead of oreos:)Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17720676716867997935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-32405833995339771962010-01-14T08:26:56.279-06:002010-01-14T08:26:56.279-06:00Our goal is to be debt-free (except for mortgage) ...Our goal is to be debt-free (except for mortgage) by the end of April. This year. <br /><br />Then we face the task of saving money for our next child whether they are adopted or biological.Jenn Mchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09663120611863624233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-33059536199155114342010-01-14T08:23:21.786-06:002010-01-14T08:23:21.786-06:00We already live on a budget. We manage our finance...We already live on a budget. We manage our finances by knowing what comes in and what goes out (which is definitely less and that's the goal). We took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University through our church. You might check out a program like that. Lots of great ideas and things to put into practice with finances.<br /><br />It would be harder for me to cut back on the sugar. I know that I'm a sugar addict. But I am making an effort to eat better (even if just slightly for now) this year. <br /><br />And I just got a gym membership that I need to put to use. I need to work on my scheduling too.<br /><br />Good luck with all your goals. You CAN do it all!Mommy Daisyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02272248293460562006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-60364264068070710842010-01-14T08:17:43.783-06:002010-01-14T08:17:43.783-06:00I love your goals.
As for me it has more to do wit...I love your goals.<br />As for me it has more to do with turning 30 than being a New Year's thing. I promised myself to be more healthy. I'm working out 6 days a week and saying "no" to sugary snacks (at least more than I used to). But more importantly I have promised myself to care less of what others think of me. It is a never ending uphill battle trying to keep up people's opinions of you. And finally and most importantly, I have decided to make sure people in my life know how much I love them. I have lost a couple of loved ones in the last year or two and I feel a tremendous amount of regret at not adequately expressing to them how much they meant to me. So one day at a time I plan to live out my goals. We'll see.<br />Take care,<br />Stacey McCastlainAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-12241224174768805232010-01-14T08:11:17.323-06:002010-01-14T08:11:17.323-06:00I think the idea of reducing stress by elimintatin...I think the idea of reducing stress by elimintating to-do lists is a bunch of baloney. It's what you put on your list that matters. There was an excellent show on PBS, a three part series, on happiness. You may want to track it down. Lots of good things to think about. Anyway, one of the points made was how many worthless, unsubstantiated self-help books are out there. The "get rid of the to-do list" reminds me of those types of books. -KarenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com