The Race Continues...

Well, it's over. The race has finished, and here we are. The finale was interesting, it was fun to be in studio for the newscasts. It was great to see everyone and, for the most part, be excited for each other. We had some friends and family at the studio, and they got to take a tour as we did our thing, getting pictures taken and that sort of thing.

We were a runner up. I could say I'm disappointed in the outcome, but that would be a lie. :) Of course, the 10k prize would have been great, but we did all win, in a way. I've been saying that from the starting gun. We changed our outlook so much, and all by just making a few changes. We didn't stop living...we even went on a vacation. We overpayed bills. We just cut back here and there, opted to pay ourselves, and made some tough choices of need vs want. You don't have to live like a prisoner. Anyone can do it. Let me repeat that for the cheap seats... ANYONE CAN DO IT! Even if you just improve things a little bit, a tiny bit...you're that much better off than you were. If five families, five ordinary families with no lottery winning or anything like that, can swing their net worth in a positive direction by a combined $145 thousand, then surely you can swing your net worth by something. What can you do in 8 months? 1 thousand? 10 thousand?

On the drive home, I looked at Jess and said "Think we can do the same in another 8 months?" So, we're starting our own race again. We're going to keep pushing, as if we just started. In other news, we're mostly moved in (still a ton of unpacking to do), and we're ready to kick off the next steps for the adoption, starting with our homestudy.

The race continues!

Dave

This is the end...

...my only friend, the end. (10 points if you get the reference.) So, here we are at the end of the Race. It was amazing, and I can't wait to see how we stacked up. And as I predicted at the start of this thing, it's also a beginning. We close on the new house this week. We proceed with the home study this month. We start making tons of changes, though hopefully we keep the lessons we've learned. As I've mentioned before, it's like a whole new race about to start. I don't know yet if we are winners or just not-as-big-winners, but I feel like a million bucks. I want to thank our coaches Kim, Andrea, and Jayme for being such great teachers and motivators. And the rest of the staff at Wright-Patt Credit Union for all their help, as well. And thanks to Dan Edwards and Larry Hansgen for making our interviews enjoyable. Thanks to Chris Gardner for putting these blogs up, for managing the circus at times. And now, let the next race begin!

Dave

Winding Down

Well, here we are in the final week. It seems amazing to look back over the process and think about the steps that brought us here. Things have definitely changed.

We've taped our last interview, and it makes us put it all in perspective. We're in such a different place and have such a better outlook than just 8 short months ago. And we have a road map to knock out the rest of the debt. Then we'll truly have the income we ought to...because we won't be handing so much of it to other people.

In this final week, I want to thank our coaches Kim, Andrea, and Jayme. They were fantastic. I will miss them, and our meetings. We'll have to plan a reunion meeting. Maybe at Starbucks, 'drea. But then again, maybe we'll pick someplace cheaper. ;)

This was, and is, an amazing race (pardon the pun.) We've repaired our credit score by a ton, made a monstrous dent in our debt, and have plenty of savings now to start the adoption. We've bought a house we can grow a family into, and are able to provide a home for some renters. And best, we've got the tools to keep improving. In some ways, the race is over. In others, this was just a qualifying lap.

For those rooting for us, I'm sad to say that last big commission check didn't make it. It won't be here until the end of June. While that might have cost us a first place finish, when it does arrive it'll be going to savings, and we'll be working on our next race...our own Adoption Race.

Pins and Needles

Well, many of you know I'm in sales, and get commissions. And for those who didn't: guess what? I'm in sales, and get commissions. Well, it wouldn't be a race without that classic crazy ending, and for us, it's getting there. I have a large client, and their final payment is due in any day. But of course, that just wouldn't be dramatic enough. At this time, it's anybody's guess as to whether that final payment on last season's business will arrive before the finish line of the Savings Race. It's a decent chunk of change...hence the title. I'm on pins and needles. With less than a month to go...it'll be interesting to see if we get that last slingshot across the line.

I love FREE!

I heard a rumor that tomorrow, Monday, April 27, KFC will be giving away free chicken as part of a new promotion for their newly offered grilled chicken. Mmmmmmmmm… free.

All you have to do is ask...

Last week, by poking around a little, doing some research, and then following through, I was able to shave $125 off our monthly bills.

First I tackled our cell phone bill, which is one of the bills I am responsible for paying. We have had the same plan for awhile and it had a lot of "a la carte" options. The bill just seemed too high to me. So I called our provider and explained to them that there were a lot of unused minutes and I thought I was wasting a lot of my money with them. The representative was able to look around and found a better plan for us, where everything is included and took nearly $25 off our monthly bill.

Later that day I was on Wright-Patt Credit Union's website and was looking at the section on the front page labeled "Get Today's Rates" I noticed that the APR for the auto loans was a lot lower than my current APR. So, I contacted Jayme and she informed me that we had been able to get my credit score up high enough that I could apply to refinance my car loan at the much lower rate through WPCU. We were able to knock 3% of my APR and $100 of my monthly payments.

Yay!

All it took was the gumption to get it done.

We Haven't Stopped Living

I have to admit, hearing the percentages from the other families leaves me with mixed feelings. I'm hearing percentages in triple digits, and we don't have that. On the one hand, I'm happy for them! On the other, it's difficult not to get discouraged...are we "losing" the Race?

Well, I've had to look at it from a different perspective this week. We've made so much progress in reducing our debt, and in getting our savings account to grow...in terms of our financial outlook, it's like a brand new day. Our strategy, though, continues beyond the Race...it continues to the horizon. It's been important for Jess and I to make changes that we can sustain indefinitely...it's not enough to reach a finish line, for us, because life won't stop on June 1st. In many ways, that's the day it'll start fresh. We've got a check ready to write to get our home study done...the next step on our race to adoption. That's a sizeable chunk of change, though...and so we're waiting to the end of the Race.

And we will likely close on a new house at that time. An opportunity arose to purchase a home that is an upgrade (for us) from current, and to turn our current house over to a rental. We reviewed the math, and we siezed the opportunity. Carpe Diem. It's a beautiful home, a dream home for us...though not without a bit of work to be done. And it'll be a great place to raise a family. Quite frankly, we just would never have thought of doing this 6 short months ago...we would have "known" that we couldn't afford it. But thanks to the lessons learned in this Race, we know we can, and will likely come out a little ahead thanks to the rental.

In real terms...we've already removed one montly bill (by paying off a credit card completely), and are well on our way to removing another. We have freed up more income to add to the savings, to the further reduction of other debts...we might not get debt free by the time the Race is over...but we know that we will be soon enough...and all the money we've been throwing out the door can then be saved, invested, and no longer wasted.

Of course, the race isn't over yet...and there are likely more lessons yet to learn.

Dave

FREEdom of speech...

It’s FINALLY Spring, and love is in season! It’s fun to shower the ones we love with gifts & special surprises, but spontaneously buying something great for your significant other can be costly.

Instead of opening your wallet this season, just open your heart. Leave a love note for your husband or wife in their work gear, or slip a quick “I love you” napkin into your children’s lunchboxes.

After I go to bed, my boyfriend likes to stick Post-It Notes on the computer screen or the bathroom mirror, so the next morning I wake up & find them, and it makes me smile (and sure makes starting my day easier). And if I happen to be swinging past where he works, I always try to leave a note under his windshield wiper from a “secret admirer.” It only takes a few seconds write, and can make all the difference in someone’s day; even if it’s scribbled in crayon on a piece of notebook paper, your words will touch their heart. We all enjoy being reminded that someone loves us, & speech is FREE! What’s not to LOVE about that?

**So in honor of my blog: my love goes out to the coolest and most adorable couple I’ve ever met, the Bledsoes; and to my teammates, Kim & Jayme.**

A Springtime Thought-Jumble

Spring. It's the time of warmer temperatures, regrowth and regreening. When the blood starts moving a bit faster, and you really want to be outside. I've got a lot to do just now outside, too.

We're starting plans to address the fence and yard, but looking at a tight budget for it. Some external repairs to the house, some of it leftover wind damage from Ike's foray into Ohio.

The coming months to the finish of the Race are happening at a good time. Just heading out to the park and taking a hike is a free, but fulfilling, activity.

It's hard to fathom sometimes the progress we've made. All of these changes were easy, they just required a different mindset...and making all of the changes. We'd already built a decent foundation, but the Coaches helped us put more bricks on it. Hopefully the spring fever helps us stay on course!

Dave

SAVING my cat's eye

I’ve had my cat, Atlas, for a few years now. A friend of mine gave him to me when he was just a kitten. As Atlas started to get a little older, I noticed that his left eye was doing something weird. His eyelid started curling in toward his eye, which was causing his eyelashes to rub against his eyeball; a condition called Entropion. Poor kitty. His eye was constantly getting goopy (his body’s natural defense against the rubbing), earning him the affectionate nickname, “goopy eye.” When I first noticed this condition developing, I started calling around to vets in the area to get quotes for surgery. The lowest quote I got in the Dayton area was $250 - $500! Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Atlas, but hello kitty, $250 was too much, and $500 was waaaaaaayyyyy out of my league. So poor “goopy” was such for quite some time.

My mother still lives in Northeastern Ohio, in the small town where I grew up, and her vet has always been wonderful with our animals, so I gave him a call. Unfortunately he is semi-retired and no longer does that type of surgery, so I was referred to another clinic within the same county & decided to give them a shot. Their estimate was only $100 - $250! So a few weeks ago Atlas finally got his eye back. A little kitty cosmetic surgery, 2 weeks of healing & he is back to good. I saved well over $100 (after all was said & done, my final vet bill for the surgery was only $113 & some change!) and Atlas won’t lose his vision. And that is the best savings of all.

Free Resume Copies!!!

On March 10, Kinko’s will be offering free resume copies to customers all over the US, all day long. They’ll print out up to 25 black & white copies on resume quality paper; you just have to stop in, place & pick up the order at the same time (no advanced orders).

For our members who are looking for work, we wish you the best! Don’t forget that, not only are we always keeping an eye out for places you can save, but we also offer financial services to help you right here at Wright-Patt CU. We can help you budget for the hard months to come, help you decide how to safely invest your tax refund/retirement/pension funds, or help make your stimulus ssssstttttrrrrrrrettttttccccchhh.

Remember, Wright-Patt CU is committed to you, and making your money work for you. We are genuinely interested in making sure that you not just survive, but thrive in these economic times. Just let us know how we can help.

Spending in the Spring?

As the hope of warmer weather gets closer, so does my greatest source of temptation: the yard.

The warm weather has always been a source of temptation. When I was in college, the Spring quarter was always the hardest to go to every class and sit in the classrooms. Thoughts of buying plants, of gardening, of working outside would fill my mind.

It's no different today. After almost 8 years in our house, our backyard is still practically a blank slate. We have built a deck and put in a conversation pit, but really, that's about it. Now, that we have learned to budget money a lot better, I find that we have "extra money" in our grasps and it is real tempting to use it to get the backyard I always wanted. A new shed, a privacy fence so we can leave our German Shepard outside, and plants...lots of plants.

It's going to be a hard next few months.

Jess

Staying the Course

We recently did another round of radio shorts with Larry Hansgen over at 1290. One of the questions he asked was about temptation...am I tempted to go back to my old ways? Am I tempted to go back to too many dinners out, looking at commission checks as "extra money"? You betcha.

We've got a tax return on the way, and I've got some nice sales I'm getting a commission on. And I'm sorely tempted by that money, oh yes. But the majority is going to debt and savings, with one purchase. We are finally getting a new mattress...we have the same one we've had since '97. You read that right.

So, on the whole, we're looking forward to another big step forward in the Race, but also to getting a better night's sleep!

Now that we've been taught all the new habits and methods, it's time to re-learn how to stay the course. We've still got a long few months in this thing, and then goals beyond this Race. And that means not altering the course, not going back to the way it was.

Dave

Give and Take

Any relationship is about give and take. I'm glad to say that we got to give a little advice to our coach this week, and we are helping Wright-Patt save some money!

Let me set the scene: some of the member centers have little spots for the members to get refreshments...coffee, juice, that sort of thing. We recently were filmed for WDTN at GFS, one of our favorite grocery stores. They specialize in bulk purchase, and we really like the store. While we were there, Jayme and I took a look at their juice selection and found the same things they were buying at another retail store for about half the price. Well, same price, but double the amount.

So now our member center is saving money, thanks to our advice! What are you giving in the relationships in which you're used to taking?

D

Beating the Bux!

Well, last night I realized that it was no longer January (ALREADY?!), which means that I’m officially FREE!!! Hahahahahah. And boy did I make a come-back! I had not one, but TWO Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks last evening. Yeah, went a little crazy; but hey, it’s been over a MONTH!

So I treated myself a little bit… and we’ll see, over the course of this month, if it’s something I’ve backed away from or something I can’t seem to live without. With any luck, the month gave me time to get over my “addiction” to Starbucks & it can go back to being a once-in-a-while treat.

Now all I have left to do is figure out what my February “new-month resolution” is going to be & I’ll be set. More details to come.

Sort Through Those Colorful Sales

Often times, when you go to the grocery store, there are several items that are marked down – yellow tags, red tags, blue lights – a colorful array of possible savings. Just make sure you’re doing comparison shopping. This is something that my mother engrained in me from an early age and now it’s automatic when I hit the grocery store. I happened to notice myself doing it the other day & thought, hey, great blog idea!

Comparison shopping doesn’t have to be the difference between buying a generic product over a brand-named product. Sometimes you can get a discount on a big name item just by purchasing a larger or smaller size of the exact same product. For example, when I went to the store the other day to buy conditioner (which I use a TON of), the smaller bottles were on sale, but even with the sale price they were (per volume) still just slightly more than the bigger bottles. Sometimes sales are just an attention grabber.

On the flip side, companies will generally offer specials on their larger items. You may think, “why buy a small bottle of ketchup when the giant size is only a few bucks more?!” Well, you have to think about whether you’ll use the whole bottle of ketchup. Sometimes we buy huge items since they’re cheaper, in hopes that the whole product will be used. Oftentimes, those are pipe dreams, and the reality of the situation is that you could have saved a few bucks by knowing to buy only what you’ll really need.

So while a few cents may not sound like much of a difference, over the years, if you continue to comparison shop, you’ll find that you save a lot more just by taking a few extra seconds to make some quick, easy calculations.

What a Night!

This past Saturday was just GREAT!!!

I had an Awesome time with our Savings Race Family at the Nutter Center.

This was a great night for everyone ( Go WSU Raiders Go!!! )

The team ( Basketball-Raiders ) and our fans were so welcoming as we all cheered our Families on during the half-time show. We did not win but; we did get 1 basket!! That was our Goal for the night ( ha, ha )!!!

I wanted to say THANK YOU for always having faith and supporting our Bledsoe Family. Talk to you next week.

Coach Jayme :0)

The Joys of Homeownership

Last month it was the bathroom, this month it is the kitchen.

Yep, our kitchen has decided to go on strike. In one week: the stove top on our gas oven stopped igniting without the help of a lighter, the sink started to back up into and underneath our dishwasher (which is always dead), and our fridge is slowly "warming up" to the point it needs to be replaced real soon.

But facing all this we are "OK." Our coaches have taught us how to prioritize and reprioritize, and we will find the money somewhere by doing without something else. Also, thankfully we have our home shield warranty, which should cover the oven and the dishwasher and we have a "handy" friend who gives us a discount on labor and he is going to take a look at the sink. And I can take care of fixing/replacing the water damaged floor. This old house of house is teaching me to be quite the handy person :)

Cookin' Time!

Dave and I realized sometime last week that our deep freezer was getting low, only a few more meals left. Also, unbelievably, my weekend was pretty open (Dave had to work all week; he's on "sevens" right now). So, Saturday morning I made the list of recipes to make (somewhere between 10 and 15 recipes) and then the long and tedious task of multiplying the recipes and making the grocery list. Once the list was complete, it was off to GFS. Dave and I love GFS. We think the quality of bulk food (frozen and fresh) is so much better than the prepackaged food at the "other bulk stores." I was able to get most of the ingredients (mostly the veggies and meat) at GFS and then it was off to Cub for the rest of the ingredients. Came under $400 and spent less than 2 hours shopping. Yay!

I had plans to go out Saturday night, so Dave agreed to do some of the prep work (cooking and chopping the meat, chopping the veggies, etc), so almost everything was ready for me when I started to cook Sunday morning. Two friends, Christy and Heather, came over to hang out and help me prepare the meals. I am so greatful for their help. With Dave at work, I would have never gotten through half of what we did. We spent 5 hours gabbing and cooking, and it was pretty fun.

We freeze the meals in 8x8 baking pans. They all include meat and veggies in some way and are enough to feed both of us and a friend, or leftovers for the next day. This amount will continue to come in handy when we are able to adopt and bring a child into our lives. So the kitchen is still a mess (our dishwasher is broken), but we were able to prep and freeze 60 meals for $400. That's $6.66 a meal or $2.22 a person!!!!!

Update on January's Resolution

Sooooooooo… (as I’m sure you all thought I would) I went to Starbucks. But it’s not what you think!

Isn’t that what they all say?

No, really, I was invited to coffee for my brother’s birthday. My mom treated all of us to a drink of our choice, & because I had missed the birthday dinner, she also treated me to one of The Bux’s fancy new lunch wraps.

When I got my drink, it was as though I’d been lost in the desert and was looking at a mirage. I imagined that at any second it would disappear. And it did – right into my tummy.

Is this “cheating” on my resolution? I suppose it may be, but it was so good to spend time with my family, plus I didn’t have to spend any money, so I’m going to let myself slide just this one time, and I’m hoping all of you will, too.

Other than that, I have been behaving myself very well. Every day that goes by, I am less and less tempted to go there… and my savings account loves that.

The Power of a Dollar!

Nowadays, a dollar doesn’t seem to stretch as far as it used to, or as far as we’d like it to, but there is one place where a dollar could turn into one of a zillion cool items.

“Dollar stores” have been around for as long as I can remember; offering cheap prices on tons of brand name products. My favorite is the store where everything truly is a dollar or less. I pick up anything and everything that I need for my home there. Dish soap, detergent, plates (I mean, REAL plates!), cards, decorations – EVERYTHING!!! Why spend three times as much on the exact same items? Those who haven’t been to the dollar store lately may believe that what’s sold there is nothing but junk, expired, or generic items, but it’s not true! Most dollar stores buy brand name products from major retailers who are simply getting rid of their overages. And you can benefit greatly from it.

BUT….

Just remember that when you go to the dollar stores that you CAN easily overindulge! Everything is so cheap that you may walk in and grab a basket, then realize you need a cart, then stroll up to the counter with $50 worth of items. I’ve certainly been guilty of this myself. Not often, but sometimes I go there and go a little crazy. If you’re buying everything that you absolutely need, that might be alright. If it’s something you’re doing once a week, and finding that you’re taking home more “wants” than “needs,” you could be digging yourself a hole. Keep yourself on a tight leash by taking a list (& sticking to it!), as well as only the specific amount of money you plan to spend there (and maybe an extra buck or two for something fun).

If you haven’t been there lately, get out there & rediscover the power of the dollar.

Every little bit helps

I found out that I got a raise. It is not huge, but every little bit helps.

And I guess this little raise is appropriately timed as last week I finally set up my 403B retirement plan. It actually works out that I won't be "missing" much of the money that I have allotted for my retirement.

2009 is off to a good start!

Jessica

Windfall Budgeting, and the New Year...a blog entry in two acts.

Act 1

As some of you may know, I'm in a commissioned sales position. This means that my income can vary somewhat. This is a bit more complicated in my case, as my primary industry is tax preparation...making my sales very seasonal.

One of the things our wonderful coaches have helped us with is averaging the income. This time last year, I had a lot of money. But like many of us, it bled out of my checking account in little "why nots" and "we can afford its". New TV. Nights out. Dinners at good restaurants. None of these things are necessarily evil, but when they're not coupled with some form of discipline...well, suffice to say that by summer we were back in the same old boat.

This year, we took a look at the big sales commissions in a very different light. Each dollar is an opportunity to save or pay down debt. And the lesson we've taken this year is to put aside a large portion into savings, to average out the income. In July, when a sale is hard to come by, I will have a supply of funds from this sales season, left there with forethought. If this seems like a no-brainer, perhaps you're right. But sometimes the most obvious solution can be the hardest to see. When you boil it right down, there's just no such thing as "extra money."

Act 2

On New Year's Eve, we attended the Harlem Globetrotters game/performance as guests of Wright-Patt Credit Union. Other families in the Race attended as well, and it was very nice to be able to chat with them and get to know them even more. It was also very nice to see the Globetrotters. I grew up in the days of Meadowlark Lemon, Geese, and Curly. When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a Globetrotter...like every other little kid. Suffice to say, by half time I think I had reverted to about 11 years old. Unfortunately, we had to leave a few minutes early to get home and prepare for our New Year's Eve festivities. As we rang in the new year with close friends (and I'll admit that those fellows Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, and DeKuyper were in attendance) we reflected a bit on what's ahead. Amongst other things, we have another several months of the Race in front of us. With all the tools we've learned, I already feel like a winner. I am already less stressed about money, just from making progress thus far, and making some sacrifices in spending to get where we are. We've changed this year.

New Year's Day dawned, but honestly I didn't know it until around ten in the morning. But in any case, it did in fact dawn, and I'm pretty sure it dawned on a good year. If fortune's wheel hasn't turned, then at the very least Jess and I are looking at that wheel from a different perspective. May your new year be as full of promise as it may.

Dave