Three...Two...ONE...

Ok - I know I've posted a lot this week on facebook, and I have started my new lovely Craftymaxine page, but I just MUST share this with you.

As I mentioned before - we started our journey to being debt-free in December.  We have seriously been ridiculous about watching every single penny in this household.  We signed up on everydollar ,  had budget committee meetings, sold a ton of stuff on facebook, and ate a lot of leftovers.  Dave Ramsey always says, "beans and rice, rice and beans, baby."  For us it more looked like PB&J, ramen and grilled cheese LOL!!

So - to share "the program" for those of you who aren't familiar.  Dave Ramsey has a financial process call the "baby steps."

1 - save a beginner $1000 emergency fund
2 - list your debts smallest to largest - then pay off the smallest one and "snowball" from there
3 - save 3 to 6 months worth of expenses in a full-on emergency fund (building off the initial $1000)
4 - put away 15% of your income into retirement
5 - save for kids college
6 - pay off mortgage (yep you read that right)
7 - continue to build wealth and give generously

We also listen to the Dave Ramsey show just about every day.  Both Brian and I feel that we could field 90% of the questions on that show by now.  Although it seems as though the same questions get asked...there's just something about surrounding yourself with things that push you toward your goal rather than take your attention away from it.  If you have ever listened - they do this "debt-free scream" segment on the show.  Various people come to the studio or call in to tell their story of becoming debt-free.  (Debt-free generally means that you have paid all debt except for your home.)

Brian and my story is a bit all over the place, If I had to guess - this is how I think our debt-free scream would look if Dave Ramsey were to let us do a debt-free scream in his studio.

***Usually at the beginning Ramsey asks how much the person/couple made at the beginning and at the end, how much they paid off, and how long it took...***

Amount paid off: 15K
3 months
Dual income

Ramsey - "So what happened a few months ago that made you want to be debt-free?"
B & R - We just got tired of making the money we make...and not really having anything to show for it.  We were pretty good at paying off our CC every month, but still our savings account was pretty low and we felt a little like we were in a hamster wheel.  Every year that tax statement would come and we'd be pretty surprised at how much came in VS how much we had.

Ramsey - "What would you say the secret to becoming debt free is?"
B:  "Not spending money."  "It's also about being content and being thankful for what God has provided us."  "There were times I'd just need to walk away from my phone or not go into certain stores, because it would just breed discontentment."
R:  "Both parties need to be on the same page...I mean...literally the same WORD on that page. Both need to be fighting for every penny to go toward debt - no deviation.  Another important thing to this is that when both are on board - one can help the other one come off the ledge.  Even in this short period of "gazelle intensity" there were some rough moments where one of us would get very frustrated.

Ramsey: "What was the biggest budget fight you guys had?"
R: "To get on a budget."
B: "Convincing me to stay on a budget."

Ramsey: "Now that you are at the top of the mountain, looking down, would you say this journey was harder or easier than you thought it was going to be when you started?"
B: "WAY HARDER, It sucked." he would continue, "It was like someone had a dollar on a string and every time I thought we were about to grab it, it would get pulled out of reach again."
R: "It was harder - I always listen to these debt-free screams on the show and I really just wanted to be THERE.  It was frustrating knowing that we had made poor choices and knowing that we did this to ourselves.  I could honestly have cereal for dinner every night if it was JUST me, but it wasn't just me, it was Brian and our two kids that were making sacrifices as well.  That was the hardest part, knowing that everyone, kids included, was affected by our mistakes with money.

Ramsey: "What was the hardest part of this journey?"
R: Not having the option of buying things right now.  It's very difficult to get used to waiting until the cash comes in before buying what you want/need to buy.  In December it was SO HARD to not buy Christmas gifts when I found something I liked!!  Christmas shopping was bittersweet.  It was fun to try and figure out a less expensive 'thoughtful' gift, but really hard to pass up something I knew someone would like because it was over budget.
B: Not sure...hmm...I would say the whole process sucked.  The biggest thing is that we didn't buy Christmas gifts for each other - and I really miss doing that. (we haven't in a while to save money).  It was hard limiting generosity at Christmas time.

Ramsey: So - there is a couple in their 30's with two kids out there in debt - what would you say to them, now that you know what you know?"
B: "Follow the plan." "You don't know better."  "It's not worth the points (credit card points)."
R: "So true!!" "It's so hard to humble yourself and just trust the plan."  "Admittedly I LOVE points!!" LOL.  "I would say if you are staring down a pile of debt and are afraid of "depriving your kids" - take a step back.  there's just SO many more ways you can show you love your kids outside of spending money on stuff.  Claire and I made cookies, played play-doh, cut, glued, and colored, made hideous pasta necklaces, and had play dates with friends.  None of which cost us extra money.  We need to stop equating spending money on our kids with loving them.  I STILL struggle with this, but it's SO so true.  YOU CAN do it and you absolutely will change your kids lives for the better.  We are only in baby step 3 now, but I have faith that we are in on something BIG!

Ramsey: Well done guys - very well guys - that's awesome!  Here we go - get ready guys - Brian and Rachael in Palatine, making a certain amount of $$, paying of Fifteen thousand dollars in just 3 months - let's hear it.....count-it-down...your debt-free SCREAM....

THREE - - - TWO - - - ONE - - - WE'RE DEBT - FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

(((((((FREEEEEEDOOOOOMMM))))))

Ramsey: "haahahahaa - I love it I love it I love it!!!"

Love is in the air!

As I mentioned in my previous post - we have a lot going on at the Shoebox home!  Eve is finally at a place where I can let her play a few minutes at a time and she will actually entertain herself!  YAY! I knew this day would come!  Okay I may be overplaying it a bit, but I gotta say that Eve is definitely a whole DIFFERENT baby than Claire was.  Let's just say she challenges me in new ways.  :)

Yesterday was Valentines Day.  As a child, Valentines day is incredible...a whole day (or hour at school) devoted to you getting cute notes, candy, and snacks that you wouldn't otherwise be able to eat during a normal school day.  Claire came home Friday super excited about all the little Valentines she received - and knew (and shared with us multiple times) which child gave her what candy/sticker. Thankfully at this age we were just told to bring 10 Valentines...and the teachers took care of distributing them (no names needed because 3 year-olds cannot read.  BRILLIANT!

Yesterday was about enjoying my family (even if one of them is a teething monster right now) and watching the peaceful snow fall.  It was about enjoying coffee drinks with Brian and Claire and talking about how delicious Dad made them (and how we could actually taste the LOVE that was put in there!)  It was about putting the sermon into practice - VERBALIZING LOVE.

Hands down - Brian did an amazing job.  Of course some of the epic compliments and comparisons had a sarcastic ring, but at the heart was a true blue genuine act of love.

With that - I will leave you with a short clip of yesterday.

New Year - New Things!

Here are my precious girls taking an adventure in a "boat."  Claire's fake american girl doll is along for the ride.  Their love for life and sense of humor is just so inspiring.  I have wanted to post on this blog SO MUCH during these times of change - but as life would have it...there are so many hours in the day!
That said - Here I AM!  Posting again!  There is so much I want to tell you about, but really this post is all about reintroducing my little shoebox.
A shoebox is a place to keep odds and ends tucked away "safely" and it's easily pulled out and rummaged through at a whim.
We are coming up on Eve's 1st birthday in March!  What a year it has been!  She's anything but an "easy" baby, but her precious smile melts much frustration away...and she's recently been sleeping all night, so has definitely gone up on the likability scale. LOL

SO - what could I possibly share with you? Hmmmm - I would say one of the things we are most excited about is becoming debt-free.  Brian and I decided in December to completely abandon the use of credit cards.  WHOA!? Say what???   Why on earth would we choose this in December??  Well - we did and we have made some serious progress.

I'm excited to share with you that we did not go into debt further during December and the BEST thing about not using credit during December is that there's no looming January credit card bill!  YES!  That was the first big personal "win" I felt.

We have been following the teaching of Dave Ramsey and listening to his 3 hour podcasts pretty much every day since we started.  Let me just tell you - that is a whole lotta Ramsey in one's life!  It get pretty overwhelming at times, but at the end of the day we decided that we just make way too much money to constantly be wondering "where did that go??"  As Ramsey would say, "We got sick and tired of being sick and tired."

So HERE we are. Since December we have paid off nearly $8000.00 worth of debt. Can you even believe it?  We are SO PUMPED.  Now we have just $3500 left and we are biting, clawing, and scratching our way to the end goal.  I will definitely be posting the day we say GOOD-BYE to the annoying costly debt!

Well - that's a good update for now. I will close with a couple of pics of my crazies.

First Time

I know I haven't written in a loooong time, and it's likely it will be a while before I get the chance to again.  I just have to take one minute to document this momentous occasion. 

I'm sitting in my bed - the house is quiet, it's nighttime.  It's a little past 9pm, the girls are sleeping and Brian is at an all men's meeting at the church.  I'm technically supposed to be logging into work and setting my OOO message, but I couldn't help but stop and reflect for just a moment.

Tonight is the last night of truly being "renters."  You see, tomorrow is the day we close on our single family home.  I've been out in Chicagoland for over 10 years and never lived in a home that wasn't attached to a neighbor (or two or three). 

There's just something about buying a single family home.  Maybe it's the yard...the 3 bedrooms...the giant "attached, but not" garage...?  I don't know?  All I can say is that despite the amount of work it's going to be...I'm excited.

I'm looking forward to living in a neighborhood where neighbors TALK to each other...where we don't have a train in our backyard...and where I don't wake up at 3am to back-up-beepers and crashing metal.  I'm ready to be rid of countless FLOW-master mufflers and crotch-rockets zipping through the streets of the neighborhood. 

I'm sure the new home will have its fair share of annoying squeeky floors and 1960's-ness to it...but it will be OUR 1960's ranch...and OUR squeeky floors.  I know I'm romanticizing...but that's OK - our lives have been unsettled for 2-3 years now.  I'm ready.  I can't think of a better time to move - right before the Holidays!!!  I know the next two week will bring more stress than I want to think about right now, but in the end...we will have our home.  The girls will grow up there.  We will go through awesome times and tough times - together. 

I feel so blessed.  The Lord did NOT have to give this to us.  Once again we are experiencing an overwhelming portion of GRACE.  I'm so humbled and grateful.

I can't WAIT until closing!

It's been a long time!

Ok so it has like been over a year since I posted on this blog. I may or may not have given it up for a while. I'd love to catch you up...but a fear that's impossible.  I have something important on my mind so I'm just going to start there. 

I've recently been doing these devotions through a She Reads Truth app. It's honestly one the best things especially when you have a new born laying on you. It's so easy to pick it up and have access to solid devotionals written with women in mind. They are short, to the point, and challenging in nature. 

That being said I'm fulfilling a challenge made to me on this app...so here we go!

1)The question was, "How is spiritual mothering already taking place in your community?" 

Answer: The picture of "spiritual mothering" in the book is quite amazing. An older woman teaches women my age the secrets of cooking as well as provides deep spiritual truths during her regular meetings with the younger women in the church. This is awesome, however not something that I see going on in my life right now.  However! What is going on is an incredible bond and commitment among the women my age in our small group. Yes, I've certainly had some mothering by one or two of them haha, but really we are all there to take care of each other and it's unlike anything I've ever experienced.

2) Has a godly woman influenced you in your growth in the Gospel?

Answer: yes. These same small group women have challenged me in my walk more than anything.  From Jess's discipline to Sara's ability to memorize to Kristin's ability to put Scripture to practical action to Becca's words of gentle truth when I'm struggling...  All of these women have had a major impact.

3) Has mentoring a young believer impacted your life?

Answer: This was convicting.  A while ago now I served in the jr. High ministry at our church, but since having kids I stepped away. I believe I've also had an impact on my small group friends, but I think this question is more pointing towards seeking out someone who is younger, both physically and spiritually.  This has me thinking about the few younger girls I have in my life and how I could apply Titus 2 with regards to them. I haven't worked everything out yet, but I want to do something.  I'm just not sure what that looks like yet. Of course, I can't forget that I have 2 girls of my own that I am responsible for mentoring and hope someday they have and are mentors as well. In the meantime I will ponder this more and hopefully this will be the start of a new-ish blog series/season for me. 

#shesharestruth #shereadstruth

Landed.

There's so much I want to share with you right now! I'm so humbled by God's provision and timing...it's hard to even know where to start. I guess I will start with the most exciting news...but not without some back story. Yesterday I had what I thought was a final interview with a fairly new player in the IT staffing industry. I must admit I was very skeptical in exploring the opportunity. I couldn't ignore that a trusted colleague in the business had been working there and was loving it.

I talked with the recruiter and we seemed to hit it off right away. She shared the role with me and for the first time in a while I became truly excited about a job opportunity as well as the company. I was invited to their office the very next day to meet the team and one of the co-founders. I won't lie...the meeting was exhausting! It was all extremely positive, but when you are engaged in the interview process with 6 people in the matter of 2 hours...it wears you out! I walked away feeling extremely energized and excited. The recruiter assured me I'd me talking to the CEO within a couple days. Meanwhile I was exploring other opportunities...but I couldn't help but have this one on my mind constantly!

The interview with the CEO was yesterday. We were on the phone for nearly an hour. He was extremely professional, engaging, and warm. His vision and passion for this company was clear and contagious. The next thing I know I was booked for a 6am flight out of Midway this morning! I got up at 3:30am and was at the airport going through security at 4:30! Crazy.

When I arrived in Atlanta I was a bit disoriented. I really didn't feel like myself at all. The recruiter picked me up from the airport and I felt completely at a loss for words. For the life of me I couldn't make conversation. My mind was completely useless. I was starting to get nervous that I would not do well. We arrived at the office and went in. At this point I didn't even notice I kept my coat on for an unusually long period of time. So much so the recruiter drew attention to it! Oopsie haha.

Well I'm not sure what happened between removing my coat and sitting down with the first person on the schedule to meet...something clicked. (Thank you to those of you praying). I was back! Excited, focused, and ready to land this job.

The afternoon flew. At the end I found myself shaking hands with the CEO and joining their team!!!!!!!

I start Monday! Lots of work to do from there on out, but I'm excited. Now we are in the process of working out daycare for my little monster. This whole process was incredible. So here I am on the other side knowing the Lord is faithful and he does indeed answer prayer. This is one of those posts I will refer back to when things get tough. Oh...and those other job opportunities? Many of them dropped off one by one as I moved forward in this process. Verifying in my mind and heart that this is the opportunity for me!

 

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Days 3 and 4

What a crazy week it's been.  At this point I'm so overwhelmed with the response I'm getting - I don't know what to do with myself!  I'm so grateful for all my contacts and friends!  I just can't deny that the Lord has allowed me to make some of the best connections this week.
There's been so much activity I couldn't possibly go in to everything and still keep your attention.  I suppose the best thing I can do is just tell you about the opportunity that most excites me. 

Tomorrow I have a final interview with a small staffing company located in Naperville.  The commute is going to be long, but I believe it will work.  I would be corporate recruiter for this staffing firm.  I'd be responsible for finding talent (recruiters and sales people) to come work for this company.

In other news - our house got a facelift this weekend!  I will post pictures soon!  Our dear friends from our small group gave up a Sunday and worked at our house to get it sell-ready!  We have freshly painted walls in the living room and foyer.  It really does make the place brighter.  We still have a lot to clean up and finish, but I'm so encouraged by how much got done today.  I seriously don't know what we'd do without such great friends.

Well - this is just a quick informal update - nothing staggering.  I just wanted to check in!