Today is a Gift

What a rough week we have had.

Last week, my mother-in-law passed out while getting ready for her day. She was rushed to the hospital and my husband drove the 7 hours quickly to get to her. He stayed with her for 3 days. He came home not knowing what was going to happen but he knew a lot of tests were being done on his mom.

On Wednesday, I received a text from my husband to pack us up and pick Jacob up from school ... we had to go to Kentucky. We got in the car and got there as quickly as I could.

On Thursday night, my mother-in-law went to be with the Lord.

We had her funeral on Saturday and are now back home.

I know that this will be a long journey.

We honestly cannot believe that this even happened.

We know that she loved the Lord and we know that she is in a better place but that doesn't make us miss her any less here.

My husband was a momma's boy in the best possible way and he is really going to miss her during this holiday season.

I would love prayers for our family and for my father-in-law.

They were married for 53 years and have been together since high school. They even went to prom together. They are such a great example of love.

My husband says he remembers them dancing in the kitchen after they were supposed to be in bed.

What an amazing memory to have.

I posted this last night on Instagram and I hope it resonates with you. As a mother, the days are long but I am grateful for each and every day. 

It is late and this sweet little boy is wide awake. We have had a rough couple of days and his schedule has been completely thrown off track. But instead of being frustrated, I am grateful. I am grateful to be his mother. I am grateful to spend a little extra time snuggling with him. Life is too short and tomorrow isn't promised to us. I refuse to take moments like this for granted. I am thankful for all the love I am surrounded by each and every day. I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for my children. I am thankful for all of my family. I am beyond lucky. So I am just going to cuddle my youngest son tonight until he falls asleep. No matter how long it takes. #hudsonthomas #tomorrowisagift #sograteful

I am hoping to get back into blogging and to start my Periscope book club in the next week. I haven't decided if I am going to start the book club in January or just start now. I promise to let you know. 

Until later.

Mindy May 

Healthy Home Wish List

I don't know about you but my family has been fighting colds for over two weeks now.

I am over it.

Every day there is a new symptom.
Stuffy nose
Uncontrollable cough
Pain around my 12 year old's belly button

Our schedules are off and we either can't sleep or are exhausted.

I am seriously over it.

We already have a pretty healthy household.

If you didn't already know ... I am a little crunchy. I still shave my legs but no candles or toxic ingredients over at my house. No sir.

But I know there are a few items that we could add to our home that would make it way more healthy.

1) I buy bottled water.
Boo ... I know. But I just don't like how the Brita filters work and tap water is just plain gross (in my opinion).

If I had this bad boy ...

 

 The Berkey Water Filtration System ... I would no longer need the bottled water. 

And let me tell you, the water filtered through this thing tastes amazing. 

It does cost $288 but I think it is well worth it to have a the junk removed from the water we drink. 

The only downside is that it sits on a counter and we just don't have a lot of counter space in our small kitchen. 

2) Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Lamp

 

Ok this does look very crunchy but the health benefits of this lamp are amazing. It is relatively inexpensive around $35 or less. 

The Wellness Mama has a post about the benefits but the short list is that it provides cleaner air, eliminates allergies, and increases your mood!  

If I was really wishing I would want one of these bad boys in each bedroom and then one in the living room. 

3) Young Living Aria Ultrasonic Home Diffuser

I love everything Young Living! I already have 2 home diffusers but this one is on my wish list. It is expensive at $225 but it has a remote with built in sounds and LED multicolored lights. I think this would be beautiful in our bedroom. Since we co-sleep it would be beneficial for the littles who sleep with us as well. See how I am trying to justify it. 

Right now if you purchase it through Young Living you get a 5ml bottle of Northern Lights Black Spruce for free. 

Side Note: If you are interested in Young Living oils please contact me. I would love to talk oils with you!

4) Hydrolyzed Collagen

Ok I am sure that this sounds gross ... if you are not the crunchy type ... but if you are the crunchy type then you probably already know what this is. 

And right now The Humbled Homemaker is having a giveaway. 

I was so glad that she admitted that she doesn't like to drink bone broth to stay healthy because I don't like it either. I would drink if it was in soup but I would never just drink a cup full. 

No way. 

So this is an easy way to get the healthy hydrolyzed collagen your body needs to stay healthy. 

Go here and enter the giveaway. I know that I will. 

5) A friend's get-together

I don't know about you but I need to get together with people in order to stay emotionally healthy. Especially people you think and believe like I do. Actually, it can be fun to have people around that are nothing like me either. 

But with the weather getting colder in the midwest, it gets harder to get together with people. 

Winter = house bound for me! Boo

So because I need adult interation I decided to start a book club on Periscope! That way I don't have to leave my house but I still get to hang out with people ... not just people ... adults! 

The book we are starting next week is called Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your Passion for Life. 

I just did my first Periscope today ... just introducing myself and saying hello. 

I hope that you come find me and join in. 

Disclosure: Affiliate links in post

 

Currently ...

I thought this would be fun and also a way for you to get to know me & my life a little bit better.

So ... These are my currents.

Current Book:

 

I am so in love with this book.

Current Music:

I don't really listen to music that often. But right now I am obsessed with podcasts. My current favorite is ... Cultivating the Lovely the podcast by MacKenzie Monroe

You can click here to listen.

Current Drink:

Water with slices of oranges, lemons, and limes. FYI, I don't like water that much. So the fruit helps.

Current Food:

Tacos for dinner ... yum yum


Current Favorite Show:

Law & Order: SVU ... always my favorite

Current Wish List:
That all my Christmas gift were purchased and wrapped. I haven't even bought one ... yet.

Current Need:
Sleep. Jacob hasn't been feeling well so Tuesday night I slept on the couch next to him to make sure he was ok. Then last night I worked. So needless to say, I am exhausted. Hopefully, I don't get a second wind and stay up until 1 am.

Current Indulgence:
Trader Jacques, Fleur De Sel Caramels ... so good and it hits the spot when my sweet tooth is calling.

Current Blessing:

My crazy family.

Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

I just wanted to jump on here really quick to let you guys know about something A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Kristen Welch, from We Are That Family blog, has written a new book.

Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

 How One Family Learned That Saying No Can Lead to Life's Biggest Yes

As part of the book launch team, I have been able to read an advanced copy of this book in pdf form.

Let me tell you ... every single line is just blowing me away. And at this particular time... hello Christmas wants ... this book has been life changing for me.

But right now, you can pre-order this book and get some C-R-A-Z-Y awesome freebies!

If you order right now you will get ...
* Free shipping
* The Global Family Kit
* The Quick-Guide to Gratitude

Pre-order here

This book will be shipped in mid-January.

So seriously ... go ... go order this book.

Let it change your life and the life of your kids.

You can thank me later!





Disclosure: Affiliate links in this post
 

I am just going to write

So here is the deal ...

1) I wanted to write about money because I love reading about and talking about money with everyone I know. We don't have a lot or most months enough. I try to save and be frugal. I try to live within our means but at the end of the day my husband and I are just not on the same page. I am finding it near to impossible to show what we are doing if I am constantly seeing extra purchases or spending. I cannot be authentic with you and I just won't do that. I am going to continue to do my part but I am going to leave my money series alone for right now. I am hoping to get into a new rhythm with my husband in the new year.

2) I am going to start a book club on Periscope!! This one I am so excited about. I have been a long time follower of Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom and the first book we are going to read through is Say Goodbye To Survival Mode! I was a part of her launch team for Money Making Mom the book and I just loved it so much. After reading that book I knew I just had to read her first book and I am loving it so far. Next week we will start. I am sure this isn't such a great time because of the holidays but I cannot wait to jump into this book with you.

 

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 strategies to stress less, sleep more, and restore your passion for life by Crystal Paine

So come find me on Periscope here  and join in.

3) I want you to get to know me more and I want to get to know you! My next post will be a bunch of random Mindy May facts. My every intention is to blog and connect more. So please reach out to me!

This post contains affiliate links.

What I am Going to Do

Ok ... so we have already discussed why financial and budgeting blogs drive me crazy and the things my family is not going to do in order to get control of our finances.

Today, I wanted to let you know somethings that I think we are going to do in order to get control of our finances and get our butts out of debt!

1) Cash
Here is my deal with cash ... what if I lose it! Even though I have a fear of losing a wad of cash, I am going to make all my grocery & gas purchases with cash. By using cash at the grocery store I will be more conscious of how much money we are spending. Each week I can spend $150 for our family of 6. This amount includes groceries, diapers, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, paper towels, and body wash. I am going to use Jordan Page's budgeting idea. You can watch her video here. Even though she uses a credit card instead of cash I am going to set it up the same way she does.

2) Pro-Rata Debt System
My husband and I took a financial class prior to get married. It was 12 weeks long and we learned a lot BUT we were more broke then than we are now. I was in college and he was working. We also didn't have the littles. The financial class we took was called Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey. This course was amazing!! We learned a ton but we haven't been using what we have learned. (Boo). The Pro-Rata Debt system is where you add up all of your debt and you create a new payment based on what you can pay. (NOTE: The new amount may actually be less than your minimum payment. Dave Ramsey suggests mailing your payment along with you Pro-Rate Debt list and your budget when you cannot pay the minimum balance.) Then you look at each debt individually. You calculate each debt as a percentage.

Example:

Total Debt: $7500 in credit cards and other misc. debt
Credit Card #1: $1926.52 total amount due

1926.52/7500 =  26% of debt

Then: You find out what amount of money you have left over after paying all the other bills. (Rent/mortgage, gas, electric, water, cell phone, cable, car payment ...)

We have $200 left over

To calculate your new payment take your percentage of debt and multiply it by your disposable income.

26% * $200 = $52 new payment

We are going to do this each month when the bill comes and create a new Pro-Rata Debt list.

3) We are going to contact our cell phone, cable, and internet providers.
Hopefully these companies will work with us in order to lower our bills. I am not use why our bills our so high but we need to get these under control.
Our Cell Phone is:  $250 for 2 phones and a tablet
Our Cable is: $90
Our Internet is : $57 unless we go over our data then it could be more like $90
We may have to cancel cable. I am actually kind of excited about this one. I am the one that watches the most tv. The Bigs mostly play video games in their room and don't watch much tv at all. My husband likes to watch motocross racing and sometimes a sport. But mostly I am the one who watches tv the most. At this point in our financial journey, saving $90 a month would help us.

4) We are going to have budget meetings.
Ok. This is probably my least favorite. Money is so personal even when you are in a marriage. My husband and I like to spend money on different things. I am the saver and he is the spender. He thinks our credit cards should be paid before our rent while I think the exact opposite. I pay all the bills and make all the financial decisions. He just spends money and then I go crazy. So yeah ... budget meeting...Awesome.

5) Figure out a way to make an extra income
We have a local facebook group that we can sell household items, clothes, baby items, ... really anything. And we have a ton of stuff we don't use. So I am going to (painstakingly) go through things and sell them online. Also, I may have to pick up another shift at work. Or my husband can get a part time job. Lastly, I am a Young Living Essential Oil distributor. I have never tried to really sell these oils as a way to make an income. I just joined a business group that is going to help me get an income from selling oils.

So that is what we ARE going to do. I am sure we will try other things. Since November is about to start I will give you a recap of our budget meeting and our budget within the next week or two. What would you like to see us try? Do you have any suggestions? What are you willing to do in order to get out of debt and gain some financial freedom?

I am going to try and create a Pro Rata debt list form that is cuter than what I have. When I do I will link it to this page!!

What I am NOT Going To Do On Our Financial Journey

Before I start with the "what we are going to do", I felt like it was only fair to tell you what we are not going to do on our financial journey.

Obviously, I am saying this without the knowledge of how our days, weeks, and months are going to look like. I really don't know how this journey is going to play out. I do know that we will have to be making very hard decisions. Decisions that not everyone in our family is going to love or even like for that matter.

And to be honest, I am ok with that.

I guess I keep going back to the realization that we only get to live once. And while this life can feel overwhelming and hard at certain times it flashes by in just a blink. It seems like just yesterday I was a single 21 year old girl with a new baby boy and now I am married with 3 kids and a step-son. That baby is now 12 and a 7th grader.

Wow, talk about a reality check.

So what do we want with our life ... freedom! Freedom from bills over our head. Freedom to visit family members out of state. Freedom to take a vacation once a year. Free to give to those less fortunate. Free to take dinners to families with new babies.

Seriously, we just want to feel free.

So here is a list of things we are not going to do ... at least I don't think that we will.

1) We are not going to sell one of our cars.
Here is the deal with our vehicles. Since the birth of our son, Hudson, we had to buy a minivan in order to only take one vehicle when everyone is together. With buying a minivan we also inherited a car payment. Boo. A $406.46 car payment. But our other vehicle is an older Chevy Equinox which has been paid off. Since one vehicle is paid off we won't be getting rid of it. Also, my husband works about 30 minutes away. And Jacob has soccer practice almost daily. So I need to have a vehicle to get him back and forth to practice. Also, since my husband's job is commission based he can chose to work late to make more money.

2) Jacob is not giving up travel soccer.
Yes, travel soccer is a huge expense. Think a $1200 a season expense along with the uniform fee, the tournament fees, new cleats, and travel expenses. Let me just tell you ... I am one lucky lady. Jacob's dad pays for his soccer expenses. He even shares the travel expenses with me. He is still a single guy and his money isn't as tied up as ours is. Also, he loves his son and wants to provide things for him. So our particular situation I pay the school expenses and his dad pays for soccer. Also, we are hoping that soccer will provide Jacob with college scholarship opportunities in the future.

3) We are not moving.
Ok as I say this one and then hold my breath. I honestly have no problem moving as long as it is out of state. We can't really move out of state. With two of our four kids having other parents, we would have to  get special permission from each of them to move and we would risk not seeing one of our children for most of the year. I love where we live. Well ... kinda. We live in a suburb of Chicago. It gets cold. Really cold. I hate the cold. My kids go crazy in the winter since they cannot play outside. But I love my neighbors. There are 4 little boys that are the same age as Maysie Grace and 2 little ones the same age as Hudson. We are all in the same stage of life. Jacob can go around the neighborhood on his bike and meet up with his friends. The schools are amazing!! I went to the same schools. I love Jacob's teachers and they are willing to work with us. So I don't really see us moving.

4) My grocery shopping won't really change.
Just because we need to get out of debt and save money doesn't mean that our diet has to suffer. Maysie Grace has food allergies. She is allergic to gluten, corn and all corn products, strawberries, bananas, oranges, apples, and vinegar. We will not be eating processed food. So you won't find mac & cheese or ramen noodles in our cabinets. I try to make things from scratch as much as possible. I do purchase organic as much as possible. I follow the dirty dozen for the most part. Also, I make my husband and Jacob lunch every day and I make a pot of coffee for all of us. We don't buy crappy coffee. Nope. Nope. Nope.

5) I will not be getting a traditional full-time job.
The cost of daycare is way too expensive and my husband and I both want me to stay home with them. That doesn't mean I won't be trying other alternatives in order to make money while I am home. Currently, I work one night a week at a restaurant making about $70 a night and I watch a little boy one day a week for $80. I will be looking into different avenues to make money but my husband will continue to be the main bread winner.

Stay tuned for what I "think" we are going to do.
Are there any "not gonna happen" rules on your financial list?