The Home Binder...

One way that Andrew and I organize all the happenings in our household is through our "Home Binder."  I realize that there are only two of us, and we live in a tiny 500 square foot apartment... but I figure it is never too soon to be organized.

Here is how it is organized.

Section 1: To Do List
For us we have a weekly to-do with three sections, one for Andrew, one for me, and one for notes.  We sit down Sunday night, think about what our week looks like, make our list, and refer back to it during the week.

Section 2: Goals and Schedule
We have come up with yearly goals here, that we also refer to on Sundays to keep each other accountable for how we are doing.  We also put our monthly schedule and Andrew's class schedule here.

Section 3:  Cleaning
Here we are pretty lucky because like I said we only keep up with a 500 square foot apartment... yet sometimes it is still hard!  We have a weekly cleaning schedule, a monthly cleaning schedule and a bi-yearly cleaning schedule.

Section 4:  Budget
Here we print out our monthly budget and put it in a page protector to refer back to, and when the month is over we print a completed budget and stick it in the other side oft he page protector.

Our home binder, is something that can just keep us organized, and keep us focused.  We know what our goals are, and we can always go back and use this a s a tool to reach them.

Stuff…

 As I was setting up my classroom, I was trying to declutter and decide which stuff to keep and which stuff to chunk.  When it comes to budgeting my space I don't always do a very good job. I tend to fill it with things, whether they are necessary or not.

You see when I first started teaching, I had NOTHING (okay I had 24 desks, but that is it).  As a teacher, I thought you had to have a lot of stuff to be good… so I went on a hunt for stuff.  I looked through retired teachers old things, poured through old abandon supply closets, and picked through other teachers's trash.  Success was getting a lot of stuff, but the problem is did I really need any of it? By the time I had been teaching for a year and a half, I had so many things in the classroom, and we were about to move to New Orleans.  My choice here is quite embarrassing, I insisted that I had to take everything with me.  Poor Andrew, and his parents helped me lug  a classroom full of junk from Augusta to New Orleans.  Problem is the classroom here was already filled with junk (I use this term loosely, some of the stuff I really neededJ).  Part of my battle last year was that I just had to many things in my room, it was cluttered, not organized and homey.  So yesterday I went in to set up the room, and successfully threw away and gave away a lot of things that I did not need.  Surprisingly, I felt SOOOOO much better.  

Who knew less stuff meant more peace?

But how do you decide what stuff to keep and what stuff to get rid of?  

Here were my guidelines:

1. First go in with this mentality:  If you have not used it in a year, two tops, you do not need to keep it!
2. Go in with three boxes/bags labeled as follows:
   • Throw away (or recycle if you can J)- This is for anything that you not only do not need, but you are pretty sure no one else is going to need either.
   
   
   • Give away- This is for anything that still has some use,  but you do not need to keep it.  This stuff can be taken to Goodwill, a friend, a swap shop, etc.
   
   
   • Move to another location- meaning when I am cleaning out my classroom, I make a basket of stuff that needs to go home and vis versa.  This also works with in your house. For example if you are cleaning out your office there will be things that need to go to other rooms in the house, instead of walking to wherever those things go, accumulate a pile and put them away all at once.
3. Last, go with your gut:  The more you think about something, the more likely you are to keep it.   You will start to think of unlikely scenarios that could occur 5 years from now where you could possibly need whatever it is you should really throw away.

So try it… somewhere small first maybe a closet or desk.  Experience how freeing it is to get rid of things that you do not need!

Another Use for Envelopes…

Last week I told yall how Andrew and I got our budget rolling.  As we tried to keep track of our spending, we noticed we were often spending more a month in certain allotted areas and often spending more than planned altogether!  We use envelopes to solve this problem.

This is not a new concept, and I by no means came up with it, but I would highly recommend it!  Here is how it works:

1. Decide on core categories of budget beyond normal bills (groceries, clothing, eating out, entertainment, etc.). Label envelopes for these categories.
2.  Decide how much is you want/need to spend this month in that particular area.  Be frugal, but also realistic; if you have been spending $400 on groceries, you probably won’t be able to spend only $100.
3.  Total how much cash you will need for the month and withdraw it.  Put the specified amounts of money in each envelope.
4.   ONLY USE THIS MONEY TO BUY THINGS IN THOSE CATEGORIES!!!  This is the key.  When you run out you are done (don’t pull out that credit or debit card)!  Doing this makes you stay on budget.

If you really follow the “envelope system” you will find it is one of the easiest ways to actually follow the budget.  You won’t have to go back and enter individual transactions into your budget; it is an instant update of how you are doing for the month. At any given time you can look in the envelope and say, “I have $____ left for ______.”  There is no question.  The key and biggest caution is stick to it!  That is, if you run out of eating out money and you are only half way through the month, then you don’t eat out anymore.  As time continues you will learn how to make the money last all month and even have some left over!

So try it for a couple months!  See if it helps you keep on budget!

Where does all the money go?

Have you ever gotten to the end of the month and asked… where did all the money go?  Even if you tend to be more of a saver than a spender, you can find yourself in this predicament if you don’t sit down and plan a monthly budget.  Yes, actually take the time to sit down and make a budget, because it is worth your time.

There is more to this, but this is a good starting point:

1.    Seeing where your money goes.
2.    Making a budget to tell your money where to go.
3.  Actually following the budget that tells your money where to go.

Step One:   I would do is sit down and gather the last month’s expenses using bank statements, pay checks and the like.  Then I would enter it into a spreadsheet, or money program of some sort. If you need one comment, or email me, and I can send you the one we use.  

If you have never used a budget before you will probably see some red flags.  I remember the first time Andrew and I did it, I was shocked to see how much we were spending on groceries and eating out.  Take time to really analyze this; record the red flags you see.  Did you spend more than you made? Did you forget to tithe last month?  Is there money not accounted for?  What percent of your income goes toward payments? Savings? Retirement?

Be honest with yourself.  That is what we had to do, we would talk a good game, but where was the money really going?

Step Two:  Using what you have learned from step one create a budget using a spreadsheet, or money program of some sort (again the spreadsheet I use).   Make categories that fit your needs and how much you will spend on each thing.  Plan for expenses, payments, and savings.  This might not be perfect the first time, but it will be a start!

Step Three:  Actually follow the budget.  The time spent on making the budget will mean nothing if you do not actually follow it (trust me we’ve done that one before too).  Enter things daily if possible.  Talk with your spouse/family about how it is going.  You will take this budget and after following it for a month revamp it again. 

More to come about next steps now that you have a budget! :)

Calling all teachers (and anyone else who loves school supplies:))...

I LOVE office stores this time of year…

 the equivalent to black Friday in terms of school/office supplies.

You see, right before school starts office stores have killer sales.  While I can’t believe it is that time again… this makes me glad it is.

For example today I went to Office Depot.  There I have a Work Life Rewards Card, that gives me $$$ back based on what I spend and what I buy. 

So today I bought  

• 2 PaperPro Staplers
• 2 Mr. Scent Marker sets
• 2 100 count manila file folders
• 1 ream of Office Depot Printer Paper
• Total: $60.49
• Total after $10 off $50:  $50.49

That does not seem that great right?  But the key is I got 100% back on everything except the paper, which after mail in rebate I only paid $1 for.  So in short I may have spent $50, but I am getting back $60 (that’s right I basically made money to spend on my next trip).  But even better, I used my rewards from previous purchases to pay for this one… so really I barely spent anything at all, in order to get money back.

I also did this with Office Max.  Now, this store is not as convenient for me, so I made my purchase online knowing as long as I “spent” $50 I would have free shipping.  No extra shopping trips for me!

At Office Max I bought:

• 3 Packs of 12 Assorted Color Felt Tip Pens (These are the really great pens that the teachers on my team love!)
• 3 Packs of Yellow Highlighters
• Total: $61.05

Office Max has two programs, one for teachers, and one for anyone (I think the one for teachers is a little better, so if you can, sign up for that one!)  On this order everything was also 100% back.  I also used my previous maxperks to buy, so I am making more than I am spending… wahoo!

***Side note:  I went to Office Max through EBATES and also made 3% cash back on my order.

The moral of the story, you can get school supplies for free… so you need to get them when they are on sale… so you rarely have to pay full price!

What this blog is about...

Simply put, the attempts my husband and I make to be faithful in all God has given us.  

By definition, budget:

To plan an allotment of…

You see, to us budgeting is more than just money; it is time, resources, talents, space and almost all aspects of life.  We don’t claim to be experts. This is more of a documentation of the journey, that hopefully contains information that is useful to others along the way.    


This blog has been a long time coming for me.  When people meet me there are a couple of things that they quickly find out.  Usually that I am a Christ-Follower, from Georgia, a wife, and a teacher.  But almost anyone who has spent more than five minutes around me will surely find out my other passion: being frugal.  Couponing, planning, labeling, and so on are things I could talk about forever... and then still want to talk some more.  


I see people in the grocery store, or office store, and they ask me about my frugality... 
and now I have a place to send them.  


I hope you too will join in this journey. :)