Gazelle Intense

During our journey to become debt free, the Knight and I committed to being "gazelle intense" in reaching our goal. This basically means that we always keep this goal in sight, and make the sacrifices necessary to pay off our debt, even if other people think we are crazy.

This is why we drive around in junk cars, why we shop at thrift stores, and don't go out to eat.

It's also why I am now getting up at 3:30 AM every day.

For the past 7 months, the Knight has held two jobs; from 4-6:30 AM he delivered newspapers, then came home to shower and eat before heading out to his normal full-time job. His normal job pays the bills but the newspaper job has really been the key to getting our debt snowball going, as we have already trimmed the budget as much as we could.

However, after 7 months of little sleep, the Knight has been falling asleep at his desk during the day. While his company is so far stable, they have stopped annual bonuses and froze everyone's salaries, so there are signs that they are tightening up in this economy. And in the event that they do decide to lay people off, being known as the guy who sleeps at his desk wouldn't help the Knight's chances.

So, I've taken over his route for the summer. The Knight trained me for a week and this morning was the first morning I went out and did it by myself. At first it was hard adjusting to the new schedule, but as long as I go to bed by 8:30 PM I am not too tired.

It's actually kind of nice, doing the route. I watch the sun come up while I'm driving and I'm getting a lot of exercise. The only sound is the thunk of the papers when I throw them and the birds chirping their morning songs. I actually get to think about things without having to interrupt my thoughts to tend to a child. And I've already gotten a tip, which made my day.

Best of all, each month we are sending in big bucks to our credit card. We just have the credit card and two student loans left, so we are almost done. I can't wait for the day I can yell "WE'RE DEBT FREE!"

For those out there who are also on Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, or just paying off debt in general: I'm interested in hearing your stories, what you've done and the sacrafices you've made to get your debt paid off. Let's share our ideas on making extra money or saving money in general.

Gazelle Intense

My New Best Friend

Meet my new best friend:
Do you like it?

Once I became official addicted to couponing, I ran into a small problem. While I get a lot of my coupons from the weekly paper inserts, the majority of my coupons are printed offline.

That's a lot of paper, and a lot of ink. I think we all know how much ink costs.

I solved the problem temporarily when my lovely mother offered to let me use her laser printer. Really fast and much less inexpensive when it comes to ink, but I still had to drive to her house every time I wanted to print out coupons or stuff for the girls school. The Knight and I looked into buying our own laser printer but they were around $200, reasonable enough but still a little out of our budget.

Then Rachel over at Surviving the Stores gave her readers a heads up on a great deal on a laser print over at amazon.com: just $59 and free shipping. I had a $20 amazon gift card so it came to $39 with free shipping.

My new best friend was less inexpensive the ink cartridge alone on my regular printer (I just found a receipt which shows I paid $50 a few months ago for color/b&w combo cartridge!). This thing is sooo fast, and my dream come true!

If you are getting started in couponing I would highly recommend investing in a laser printer...the best coupons I use I always find online.

Other deals I scored this week:

~restaurants.com, enter the code DINING at checkout you get 60% off your order (I got $50 in gift certificates to a local seafood restaurant for $8).
~grill for FREE (our IL's bought a new grill and gave us their old one, woot-woot!)

Every time I save money and put it towards the debt snowball I can't help but smile. This month we will be sending in another big fat check to our credit card, yay!

My New Best Friend

No Cable Experiment

While looking for ways to save even more money to put towards the debt snowball, the Knight and I got into a discussion about cable television. We pay a good amount for the cable we have, and by cutting it, we can save over $900 a year.

I think we should cut cable. My argument is that: we don't watch it that much anyway, especially with the warmer weather coming up; what few shows we do watch are available online, most of the time the day after the scheduled air time; it's better for the girls, because they won't be exposed to so many commercials; and finally, between the internet, library, and Netflix, we will always have something to watch.

The Knight wants to keep the cable. His argument: he thinks we watch more television than I realize; and he wants to watch the sports games (which I haven't been able to find online. Anyone have any links they can send?).

So, we made a deal. If I and the girls can go two weeks without watching cable TV, then he will seriously consider cutting it. It's day three, and I must say, it's been a lot easier than I thought. On Monday I went to the library and stocked up on some videos for the girls, so they have those to watch, but for the most part...they haven't asked. I am really surprised at how easily they accepted that the TV was "broken".

As for me, although I'm a little miffed that I have to wait 8 days to watch House (What's up with that, Fox? You're the only channel that won't put the shows up the next day!), I'm happy that I'm getting good use of my Netflix and Library, for the few times that I have wanted to "watch something" while folding laundry.

So, who else out there has cut their cable, and how does it work for their family?

No Cable Experiment

One Thousand Gifts: #2 and #3

On Friday, I walked the Knight to the door and kissed him goodbye as he left for work.

Five minutes later, he walked back in the house. Our only vehicle was not starting.

In the past, before we started Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, a situation like this would not only be a car crisis, but a money crisis. We would frantically try to find the money to fix the car, and either end up borrowing from our parents or putting it on our credit card. Thanks to Dave Ramsey, no more financial crisis. Instead, we had the van towed to the mechanic, he fixed the starter, and we paid him.

We just paid him.

Such as small, simple act that most people view as extremely unpleasant, and we were overjoyed to have the ability to just pay the mechanic. Without scrambling for money. Without worrying about how we were going to pay this month's bill, because all the money went to fixing the van. Without having to go through the humiliating process of calling people up to ask to borrow money.

We just paid him.

So, #2 on my list of One Thousand Gifts: we just paid the mechanic; proof that our financial situation has drastically improved since two years ago, thanks to Dave Ramsey.

In fact, after the Knight picked up the van we were so relaxed and not worried about money that we took the girls to the beach.

#3 on my list of One Thousand Gifts: Happy Days at the Beach.

One Thousand Gifts: #2 and #3

A Heartfelt Cry for Help

Most of you know that the Guppy was born at home, in a birthing tub in my living room.

During my labor, the birthing tub and the water it held was a godsend. While in transition, sliding into the warm water, I felt relieved of much of the pressure and intensity of the contractions. It truly was Nature's Epidural.

The water held me buoyant, helping my mind as well as my body float through each contraction and relax between pushes. After only thirty minutes of soft, gently pushing, the Guppy emerged softly and sweetly into the water and into our hearts. For me, choosing to give birth in the water was the best decision I ever made. I loved it. She is forever my water baby.

During my pregnancy, there was one wonderful website that I kept referring to time and time again for some birth inspiration. I would spend hours reading peaceful birth stories and studying the facts surrounding waterbirth. I was amazed at what such a wonderful resource this organization was, not only for pregnant mothers but for the entire birth community as a whole.

I am, of course, speaking about Waterbirth International. What an inspirational and badly needed organization. Unfortunately, Waterbirth International is now in trouble, and needs a miracle.

I was forwarded this email today:

Barbara Harper wrote:.

I cannot yet imagine a world without the voice and work of
Waterbirth International - we get calls and emails every day from women who need help convincing one hospital or another to let them labor or birth in water. If we die - a big part of the movement dies. Waterbirth has shown us all that women know how to give birth and babies know how to be born. Waterbirth gave us "hands-off", sit back and let the baby out. I see waterbirth mentioned on Blogs every single day, not to mention Baby Story on the TV. I took Waterbirth International to ACOG two years in a row - and was the ONLY booth showing birth
films to obstetricians and especially to student physicians. There were tears, laughter and outrage - just the thing to stir up those young crop of doctors.

I am finally realizing a life's dream.But now I am faced with letting this dream go.

Perhaps I have done enough.Perhaps it is time to quit.

About 18 years ago, maybe it was longer, when Mothering Magazine was facing bankruptcy Peggy did a heartfelt plea asking their readers to consider ordering a Life-time subscription. I think the subscriptions were $1000 or$1200, I can't remember now. I do remember that I couldn't imagine not reading my Mothering. So, I bought two and gave one to my obstetrician's office.

How can you help us stay open to take the next phone call? - to convince the next obstetrician to incorporate waterbirth into his/her practice - to work with the nurse midwives to install
pools in their facilities? To educate an entire hospital on the benefits of allowing women freedom of movement in the water. How much is it worth to see waterbirth become the norm in the US, like it is in the UK? I think we only need a few more years to make that happen. Do women really want waterbirth to be an
available choice in every hospital? I think so.

Can you help us by getting the word out on blogs and lists? I had to let goof all of the staff except one person to process orders. Miraculously, we made payroll today, but we can't hang on much longer. We need a miracle.

If I need to call every single waterbirth parent personally, I will. I don't want 25 years of work to end over a measly $200,000.

The work that we have done the last few years has been phenomenal. How God arranged for me to teach in hospitals and medical schools around the planet- Taiwan, Venezuela, Turkey, Mexico, Canada, Holland, Portugal, China, Trinidad, Croatia - I'll never figure that out. I laugh out loud sometimes when I get up in front of an audience of physicians in a medical school overseas - who all want to hear about waterbirth and the incorporation of Gentle Birth practices and principles into their routines.

Think about what you can do and call me if you want to chat or if you have some great ideas on how we can quickly move into the
black and keep waterbirth alive and thriving.

We need your help. Barbara Harper needs your help. The waterbirth/gentlebirth movement needs your help.

Blessings,

Barbara

Barbara Harper, RN, CLD, CCEFounder/Director Waterbirth
Internationalwww.waterbirth.org

503-673-0026 -office (out of US or in Portland)

Please, get the word out. Let's keep the waterbirth movement going strong. Let's give them their miracle.

A Heartfelt Cry for Help

Year of Action

The year of 2007 was a great year for our family. The Knight and I call 2007 the "year of enlightenment." It was the year that we realized that life could be different, that we could live however we wanted, and the way that we wanted to live was with as much freedom as possible.

Our first area of learning was in finances. We decided that the only thing between us and financial freedom was debt. After the Mermaid was born, we got into some serious credit card debt, on top of our student loans. We learned that getting out of this debt was the key to being able to set aside money for a savings, and to being able to afford a house on just one income. So, we went on the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover Plan. From March to December, we paid off about $12,000.00 worth of debt and saved up for a down payment on a house. Our goal is to be completely free of debt, except for a mortgage, by the end of 2009.

Our second area of learning was in health. We did some research on nutrition and decided to become vegetarians. We are seriously considering going vegan. Being vegetarians is simply healthier: in fact, eating meat is seriously detrimental to your health. Books that we read in our research include The China Study, You Don't Need Meat, and The Mad Cowboy. The science is there, we just accessed it.

Our third area of learning was in lifestyle. First, we made a conscious decision to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. While we did take some positive steps in this direction (switched to cloth paper towels/napkins, set up a recycling center, etc), I still think we need to work on this one. Second, we decided that we did not want to live the traditional 9-5 lifestyle. We want to both work from home and be home with our kids. We want to homeschool them, be there for them, and raise them with our values, so that they learn the importance of family. Since right now we are relying on the Knight's income, we decided to take steps to allow me to work from home first. This decision led me to starting two of my own home-based businesses: the first was my Doula business, the second was my Direct Marketing business. I adore doing both businesses, and have a blast with each one. Once we are more out of debt, the Knight wants to open his own business as a financial advisor for the Dave Ramsey plan. Then we will both be home to raise and school our children.

Now that 2007 is over, we know that we have definite goals in all three areas and we also have plans laid out to reach those goals. So, for us, 2008 is going to be the year of action. We are both going to work to develop and build my businesses, to help us get out of debt. We hope to get even more out of debt in the spring, and get a house. We've started homeschooling the girls. And we are gazelle intense on reaching all of our goals, and getting the lifestyle that we want.

Will we succeed? We have to. We have officially removed the option of quitting from the table. It is this or nothing. And we are determined.

As for personal resolutions, I do have a few. My general resolution is to improve as a person. The specific ones I have are:

~ Find value in myself, and know that I am worthy of the all the blessings I receive.
~ Don't let other people's opinions rule how I feel about myself
~ Be more positive/optimistic (including doing some positive affirmations about myself and my life every morning)
~ Move forward in both my businesses
~ Yell less (I hate it when I lose control of my anger and yell at the Mermaid)
~ Lose weight (kind of cliche, I know, but the Knight and I are going to TTC in September/October and I want to be as healthy as possible for the pregnancy.)

So that is our outlook for the year. I would love to hear what your goals for 2008 are!

Year of Action

Oh No, I'm a Mini Van Mom!

A few weeks ago, the day after Thanksgiving to be exact, the Knight and I bought a Mini-Van.

We have been a one car family for a while now. The car we were driving was a 1996 Dodge Intrepid. It ran well for a while, but then things started to go wrong. Like the tires always ran flat. Or the brakes would constantly need to be replaced. The engine light would always be on. And both the air conditioner and the heater were broken, although we could finagle the heater on using a pair of pliers.

The final straw came when the car started to vibrate wildly once we went above 45 m.p.h. At first the vibration was slight and hardly noticeable, but then it became so bad that the Mermaid would hang on for dear life and yell "Whoa! Whoa!" for the entire length of the car ride. We took the car to the mechanic and he informed us that the vibration was the actual engine vibrating against the car itself, because the engine mounts were so rusted through and old that they weren't holding the engine in place correctly any more. In fact, he told us that the engine could fall out of the car any minute.

Nice.

So, the day after Thanksgiving we dropped the girls off with my In Law's and we vowed not to return until we have a safe car to return in. Now, because we are big fans of Dave Ramsey and we are in fact on his Total Money Makeover Plan, we knew that we did not want to finance a car. For one, we can't afford a car payment right now and two, we just worked our butts off to get rid of my old car payment and we didn't want to sign up for another one after all that work. So we made some phone calls. Turns out, my ex-step-uncle (follow that?;o)) is a mechanic. A reliable mechanic. A reliable mechanic who has a mini van for sale.
We went to go see him and the van and ended up buying the van.

It's a 1996 Dodge Caravan. There is a little bit of rust on the bottom of both sliding doors. One sliding door refuses to lock. There's no CD player, only a cassette. When you open the glove compartment, you find out that it is actually not attached to the rest of the dashboard and it falls to the ground. And it has over 130,000 miles on it.

But you know what? It runs like a dream, I kid you not. This is where the whole "buying from a family member who is also a reliable mechanic" plan really pays off. Because not only did he knock down the already low low price for us since we are family, but he also had the inside detailed and put brand new tires on it. Plus, the brakes are new. Plus, he maintained it extremely well.

So, now we have a very safe and reliable van. And I LOVE it. I love the room, I love the comfort, and I love the safety features. And I love the fact that we got what we set out to get, and we still have no car payment.

One step closer to being debt free, baby.

Oh No, I'm a Mini Van Mom!

Plastic Surgery

This morning I was reading the new secrets over at PostSecret and I saw this one:

What relief this person must have felt, mailing in that last bill. It made me think how much I look forward to doing the same, to being finally free of debt.

I got my first credit card when I was 16. I thought I was so grown up and cool. For the first four years, I was extremely responsible with my card. I would pay off the balance in full every single month. But, life happens. I got pregnant with the Mermaid and had to quit all three of my jobs. I was unable to pay the balances off in full. By the time I was four months pregnant, I had about $1,000 on the card.

When I was about six or seven months pregnant with the Mermaid, the Knight and I foolishly moved out of his parents house into our own apartment. The Knight was working at a different job and earning less than half of what he earns now, I was still in school.

At first everything was fine. But, life happens. My commute to school was an hour and a half long both ways, so as you can imagine we were putting a lot of money into gas. Gas prices went up. My car broke down a few times. Pretty soon we were relying on our credit cards to get us by. Groceries went on the cards. Christmas went on the cards. We even used the cars to pay utility bills! Pretty soon we were way over our heads in debt. Something had to be done.

My mother offered us the top level of her house to live in so we could pay off debt and save for a house. We stopped using the cards. But because we didn't really know how to go about it, we were unable to save money and put a dent in our debt. Every month we would wonder, where did all the money go?

So we decided to do Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. And we are doing much better. We know where our money is going, because we have a written budget. The first step of the Total Money Makeover is to build a small emergency fund, so that if an unexpected emergency occurs (car breaks down, fridge breaks, etc.) you wouldn't have to use a credit card to get by. It took us almost a month, but we finally have our emergency fund. Which means that we no longer need to keep our credit cards around in case of an emergency. So, Saturday night the Knight and I got plastic surgery. We cut up every single one of our credit cards. How relieving! How empowering! With every snip of the scissors we said NO MORE! No more being a slave to debt! And this is our result:

We are now on Step 2, the debt snowball. I have a great feeling about this. I know that we will get out of debt as soon as possible. And then, I will know what it feels like to be in the same position as the person that sent in the secret. I will know what it feels like to be debt free.

Plastic Surgery