Have not forgotten.

So, it's been awhile since I've updated...but I have not forgotten. I had trouble with some morning sickness and feeling too tired to accomplish anything for a few week. I feel much more myself lately and had a few minutes so thought I write up something.

Eli's new job at the airport hasn't started yet due to the FAA not working currently. He will still begin out there, just not when we were expecting. He continues to work down south though. He has been offered and taken several overtime shifts including a shift on Sunday which pays him double his normal hourly rate. So far, his overtime has brought in another weeks paycheck this month...which was already a 5 week paycheck month. I'm so thankful to be married to a man who works so hard for his family.

I got a new job! It's at the same company I currently work for so all my benefits and my future maternity leave will remain intact. It's a slightly different position than what I have been doing but is much closer to our house! I am currently putting 80 miles on my car a day with my driving. The new job will only be putting on 30 miles a day. It doesn't pay anymore, but will be like I'm getting a raise since I won't be paying as much money in gas!

Snowball Update.

Our current target is the Family Loan #2. Since we were able to pay off the car, we now have that $483 to put towards other debt. The standard payment for this loan is $100 per month. Today I sent a payment of $583 to reduce what we owe. Our new amount owed is $2,357.00. We have estimated being able to send an additional $300 to this at the end of the month. Although, Eli is scheduled to start at a new work site which would give him 10 hours of overtime a week. Not planning on the money until it is actually in my hands, but if this does work out it'll give us an additional $1300 to put towards this loan as well. Definitely on the way towards payoff!

Debt Totals Update.

Since it's the "beginning of the month" I thought I would update our totals. Here is where we stand:

                              July 2011               Current

Car:                        $280.79       Done- 7/2011
Family Loan #2:   $3,040.00             $2,940.00
BOA CC:             $9,559.61            $9,429.99
GE Online:           $9,669.07             $9,539.07
Chase CC:         $11,938.49           $11,738.49
Truck:                $27,337.60           $26,811.60
Family Loan #1: $55,460.00           $55,460.00

Grand Total:    $117,285.56          $115,919.15

Budget Review.

We start our budget month on the 28th of each month. I get paid monthly on the 28th and it just makes things easier to start the budget month on the same day.

A review of last months budget marks some good improvement! We were less over budget then we ever have been. The only things we went over budget for this past month was groceries, eating out and gas. This was the first time we went over budget for gas (fuel). The gas prices have made it hard to determine how much to allocate for this category.

So, overall, we still went over budget, but we did much better then last month! We will keep moving forward and WILL figure this out! :)

Paid off the car.

We did it! The car has been officially paid off. Finally! This was more of a relief for Eli then it was for me since he has been paying on it for more years then I have. He went into the bank to make the last payment himself. I typically make the payments since I deposit his paycheck every week...but this time he wanted to do it. Nothing like a feeling of satisfaction.

Pregnant.

We are pregnant! I will be 5 weeks tomorrow. We have been trying for awhile, but were not sure I would be able to get pregnant due to some medical conditions I have that would either have no impact on the ability to get pregnant or would make it so I couldn't. The only way to find out, was to try.

We do have a plan moving forward to afford the baby and to continue paying off debt. We are very fortunate to have several family members in the area that have volunteered to watch the baby during the day. We also live in the country with has cheaper daycare if we need to go that route as well.

The baby is due March 25. So far, we are keeping it a secret and only telling immediate family members.

New Goal.

With our first goal completed, we are moving forward! I still can't believe we were able to accomplish the savings goal that quickly and worry I made a math mistake somewhere. We double and triple checked...so I'm allowing myself to be excited....and to set the next goal.

We are working on family loan #2 next. We borrowed $5,000 to repair a the townhouse from a leak which ruined the floors. Previously, we had worked with our insurance agent to insure we had adequate coverage for renting the house. What we learned through this process is we only have $1,000 worth of coverage for all repairs. Not nearly enough! I immediately made adjustments on our insurance, but ended up needing to borrow money since Eli was laid off for 2 months this year and we utilized the savings account to pay our tax bill. We borrowed this is June and have already paid it down to $2,940. We still need to narrow down a goal date on this. I asked Eli last night, but need to clarify "a couple of months."

Since I'm finding it fun, I have another ticker. It was a water leak, so I opted for a water theme. :)

Family Loan #2