Slippery when wet...

After a very restless, sleepless night, I've been attempting to recuperate as much as possible before the work week begins. The medication I was given did not do it's job...I'll opt for something else this evening. Fortunately I've been blessed with a wonderful husband. He has taken excellent care of G so that I can rest.

Earlier today, in between attempted sleep and sickness, I needed to grab something out of my vehicle. I went outside into a drizzly rain. As I stepped off the bottom step and onto the side walk, my foot hit a solid sheet of ice and down I went. What looked wet was actually a set up for injury. I landed very hard on my knee, which is now bruised and painfully sore. My left side is also a little jarred from the fall but I count myself lucky. It could have been worse.

Due to many factors, it has been necessary for me to just take it easy today. I took some time to enter in some items into our family budget binder and prepare some bills to be sent out tomorrow. I developed this binder from a post on Dittle Dattle and having previously read the Dave Ramsey book from which this binder was developed, I had to give it a go. It was very easy to put together in my own way and I developed our spreadsheet to accommodate both my husband and myself. True, we could set up something similar on our computer, but my husband does better on paper. We have a good handle on our finances, but by doing this, it will allow us to really focus on a plan that will help us pay down our debts (i.e. student loans, house, etc.) sooner.

This is my set up...

I began by acquiring a calculator and a binder. I printed off Dave Ramsey's 7 steps to "financial freedom". I also added in the 52 Week Money Challenge chart so that we could easily see what we would need put in our jar each week.

I next added in a birthday chart. I helps me remember who we need to purchase gifts/cards for each month so that it can be added into that month's budget.

I then created a spreadsheet for our finances. It has the list of our expenditures and then a space for us to write in how much we will budget out for that item each month. There is also space for us to write in the actual amounts spent for an accountable comparison. It's really good to know exactly where your money is going.

I also included Ramsey's Debt Snowball worksheet. 

Each section has a pocket for appropriate documents/receipts. We also keep stamps and address labels in the binder for quick access when paying our "by mail" bills (I know, who does that anymore?)

 

We are really liking the system thus far and we have high hopes for what it will help us achieve.

 

I've also taken some time today to begin working on G's first birthday. I know it is not until April but with everything we have going on, I think it best to start early with the planning. I'm super excited! So, as the freezing rain pelts down outside and I continue to nurse myself back to health, I will remain grateful for all that is good. Have a great Sunday afternoon!

 

::via::