Brea Getting Fit » Dave Ramsey

Applying for scholarships

breefawn — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:16:55 +0000

I realize that this is a departure from my usual blogging…so let me start out by explaining that I’m in my senior year (after taking a LOOOONG break after high school to figure out what I wanted to “do” with my life…I’m still not sure, if you’re wondering) of college, and my current dilema is scholarship applications. I know that there are TONS of unclaimed scholarships EVERY year, so I’m trying to tap into some of that money. That being said, writing all of the essays and filling out the applications is SUPER time consuming. I’m really hoping that it’s worth it. I have talked about my Total Money Makeover (Check out the book: The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, it’s DEFINITELY worth the cover price!) before, and I’m putting the plan into action, but I’m IN SCHOOL. So I’m trying to find money to pay for school so that I won’t have to. Pretty cool, huh? I really didn’t know where to start looking for scholarships, afterall, I haven’t had to apply for them since I was in HIGH SCHOOL! In my search, I found two websites that are FREE and SUPER HELPFUL: Fastweb and ScholarshipExperts. They’re both worth a look, especially if you’re trying to get out of college without a huge loan. So good luck to me and my applications!! Here goes nothin’!

Need money for college? Use FastWeb’s free scholarship search to find information on more than 600,000 scholarships!

Click here to search for scholarships at ScholarshipExperts.com

You have GOT to be kidding me.

breefawn — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:20:52 +0000

Okay…if you can’t tell from the title or the picture, I’m a little upset. So here’s the fair warning and disclaimer: THIS IS A RANT. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

You’ve been warned:

So…here goes. I got a phone call from an unknown number this morning (which I never answer, because it’s usually not anyone worth talking to). They did leave a message, which was strange…. So I checked my messages, and guess what?! It was MY BANK saying that they suspected fraud on my DEBIT CARD. GREAT. FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! So of course, I called the bank back, and low and behold, someone used my card to charge $2. TWO DOLLARS!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I have to get a BRAND NEW DEBIT CARD (which takes 5-7 business days, mind you!) for two measly dollars. Of course I realize that I could have been alot worse, and I’m complaining more about being put out. I had to take cash out to buy groceries (which I am not terribly fond of doing) AND get a temporary debit card “just in case”. Great. So now I have what equates to an ATM card with a $60 limit per day. Just peachy. Now normally, I’m a happy person, but this really burned my grits. I use my debit card so that I can track my spending automatically for my monthly budget. Now i get to save reciepts and enter it manually. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but it’s just one more thing to add to the plate of school, work, exercise, house, husband…. *sigh* Okay. I think that I got that all out of my system. I hope. I am determined to have a better night. I just had to vent. If you read this, I apologize for my ranting, foul mood. I promise to be nice now.

Budget woes

breefawn — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:06:41 +0000

This is the first month that I’ve tried to work from a paper budget…and it’s not exactly going swimmingly. In fact, now that I can see where our money is going, it’s causing me more stress. I’ve already spent quite a bit on groceries (hubby keeps reminding me), and I got a touch overzealous with paying the bills. It’s like Dave says: dollars in MUST equal dollars out…but I think that he means at the end of the month. So here I am, less than a week after getting paid with about $100 in the bank account. Thankfully my husband should get paid this week, so we won’t be starving for very long. I do realize that I spent a little bit more on groceries…okay, okay…ALOT more than I should have, but I bought alot of pantry staples, like flaxseed, TVP, agave nectar…. I will admit that I did purchase Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheez (which is AMAZING!!), and I probably could have waited for that. But I have been cooking almost every night…I made more “tuna” salad (hubby is addicted) and my Black Bean Chili last night. Tonight I’m making polenta with veggies and light sauce. I’m very excited for dinner, actually. But the stress of only have a few dollars in the bank is HUGE. I know that I’ve learned my lesson here, and I will not be making the same mistake again.

My first budget

breefawn — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:22:30 +0000

Okay. Tomorrow is May 1st, and that means that we (my darling husband and myself) need to start sticking to a budget. I know that for this to work we both need to agree to the budget, and while I’m all gung-ho on the Total Money Makeover front (actually was doing some research into Mutual Funds today), my husband is slowly getting it. I am hoping that after this month he will be on board. That being said, this budget thing is HARD WORK! I’ve been trying to figure out how we’re gonna eat, and how we’re gonna put gas in our cars, not to mention find money to go see movies (hubby gets tired of staying at home every weekend). It’s a little bit frustrating for me, because I really want to get out of debt NOW, so that we can have more money to play with LATER. I understand that it’s going to be tight for a year or two, but so what? If that means that we eliminate credit cards, car payments and student loans, then the only things we’ll have to worry about is a mortgage (God willing that will happen before the end of the year), power, water, gas and groceries. I cannot WAIT to get to that point. It just seems SO far away right now.

Fighting this budget thing is a real challenge for me…I’ve never actually put down on paper what we spend and where it goes. I’m actually a little bit scared that it won’t work. I’m sure that when the end of the month rolls around, I’ll be much more comfortable. No one gets good at anything without practice. And that’s what this is going to take. LOTS of practice!! I just cannot wait until there are less bills and more money….I know that it seems like a really long ways away, but it’s not. I just need to get comfortable with that.

Shopping

breefawn — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:13:07 +0000

WITHOUT credit cards!! I was actually terrified to go…but my nephew turns 1 this saturday, so I had to find a present. I started to think: how much trouble can I really get in at Toys ‘R’ Us? The problem started when I couldn’t find anything that he didn’t already have. So I went to Carters. Then I thought…Marshalls! They’ll definitely have something in our budget! Then I started thinking…what if I find something that I like? Okay…here’s where it gets tricky. I love to shop. And I don’t have alot of clothes that fit since my weight loss has been going so well. (size 12 to 6/8 in 2 months) I walked in and immediately noticed that they have summer dresses! OH NO! I had to do look. So I did. I didn’t find anything that I was willing to buy! Hooray! So I started walking toward the kid section. Where I should have headed right away. I got side-tracked by a really cute pair of pants. So I checked: 8!! Just my size. I checked the price tag: CLEARANCE! Score! So I grabbed them. If they fit, I would buy them, and they have a drawstring, so as I continue to lose, they can shrink with me. I finally made it to the baby section and found some super cute outfits!! Then it was on to the dressing rooms…I had to navigate through SHOES! EEK! I’m a shoe addict! BUT, I made it, and the pants fit perfectly! In fact, they’re REALLY CUTE! Okay…I can make it to the register…AND I DID! I got out of there, using CASH (thanks to my Total Money Makeover and cutting up my credit cards)! I feel like a million bucks! I know that I won’t be able to do this on a regular basis, but it felt so good to not have to pull out a credit card. I am on cloud 9! AND I have NEW PANTS! GO ME!

Kinda like that song…

breefawn — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:19:09 +0000

…you know the one: Hurts so good? Well, that’s how it feels to be climbing out of the hole that I’ve created. It’s painful, scary and pretty darn cool. It’s amazing how closing one credit card that you have literally DEPENDED on can free you. I cannot imagine how it will feel to close out the rest of my cards. Most of them I haven’t used in years. Literally. Just becuase I didn’t use them doesn’t mean that they didn’t carry balances. It makes me ill to think about how much I have paid in interest…. But I’m changing that. Truly changing the way that you view money does something to you…I actually want to *gasp* live within my means. HOLY COW! I don’t know alot of people who do that. I actually want to pay CASH for things. Don’t know alot of people who do that, either. I also realize that it’s going to be awhile for this to work. Patience is not something I’m blessed with, but it is something that I can pull out when I need to. I’ve realized that I need to seriously focus, as Dave Ramsey says, I need to get “gazelle intense”. So that’s my mission. I’ve got the exercise thing down, I’m working on the diet thing…I’ve only got 12 more pounds to lose. I think it’s time to for a new mission: GET OUT OF DEBT…and it’s just starting. It’s going to be hard, painful…but the exhileration is SO worth it. And I cannot WAIT to be DEBT FREE!!

GULP

breefawn — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:54:30 +0000

I’m forcing myself to blog about this because it’s…well…it’s really, really scary for me. I am going home tonight and CUTTING UP MY CREDIT CARDS. ALL of them. Here’s the kicker: I know that I can do this, but I have this sick attachment to my plastic. I remember when I got each card…and what if I need them?! I mean, I know it’s part of the plan, but it still stinks. I think that I’m more angry at my severe dependence on credit cards than the fact that I am going to cut them up. I think that the actual act will be difficult, but VERY freeing. AND it means that I cannot just charge things anymore. THAT is scary. But I know that I’ll get through this, and my money will be more valuable because of that. Just writing this blog has me a little bit freaked out…but it’s all part of the healing process. If I have to spend CASH, it will be harder, and I’ll think about it THAT MUCH MORE. Looking back, I cannot believe how addicted I have become to my plastic. It’s truly terrifying…I think that Mr. Ramsey may actually be amputating a limb! That is how attached I have become to having that “security”…. Which really isn’t security, when you really think about it. I am SO very tired of owing people money. I want to SAVE!!!

So…*sigh* in a few hours, I will be credit card-less. That’s a scary thought for me!! BUT I think that it’s a necessary thing. I KNOW that it is a very necessary part of my financial healing…. Like Dave says: you can’t dig your way out of a hole by going through the bottom. So I’m making the choice to change, and build steps into that hole to climb out. And once I’m out, I’m FILLING THE HOLE IN!!

*gulp*

Here goes nothin’!

Giving up your vices

breefawn — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:29:48 +0000

Admit it. There’s something in your life that you would be better without. I KNOW that there are LOTS of things in my life that I could do away with. I have come to the conclusion (strictly personal opinion, here) that our vices keep us from realizing our full potential. They weigh us down, and stress us out (whether we realize it or not). So why don’t we DO something about it? I think that the first step to treating, and gradually solving a problem, is to admit that it’s a problem in the first place. So, here I go: I have a shopping addiction. I like to shop. It makes me feel better…for a minute. Then I get the bills and the guilt and I wonder if it’s really worth it. IT’S NOT. So how do we remove these vices from our lives? I think that admission is the first step toward healing. I think the next step is to figure out why. I’ve been listening to Dave Ramsey’s audio book, Total Money Makeover. I was happy to find that he recognizes that we all have vices, and you have to DEAL with those vices to change. So that’s what I’m doing. I honestly feel like a gigantic weight has been lifted off me since I realized that I was in control of the situation. The realization that my spending (and credit card balances) had taken control of me was a little hard to swallow, but now that I’ve recognized the problem, I can FIX it. Not just treat it through minimum payments. That got me thinking (which can be very dangerous sometimes!)…if I can make a major change in my spending habits, and live like no one else, then why can’t I do the same thing to other areas of my life? THAT really got me thinking. If you’ve been following my blog (first of all, BLESS YOU!), you know that I am a recently converted vegetarian. Although my reasons morph daily, and I continue to quest for more knowlege on the subject, I am sticking to my guns. I am also trying to eat as close to vegan/natural/organic as I can. It’s hard. I LOVE Peeps, Zingers, Ding Dongs and Ben & Jerry. But they’re bad for me, bad for my future children (when we get to that point). So I’m giving them up. This is good. But hard. Yup. It’s painful, and so is the money thing. But I’m strong…and I KNOW that I can do it. This applies to other areas, too….like sleep…yup, sleep! I could sleep for 12-14 hours if I let myself. BUT I need to exercise to become skinny. I’ve been doing really good with that one. I have actually reached the point where I ENJOY exercise. You heard me right. I ENJOY EXERCISE. Weird. I think that the key to this for me was finding exercise that I look forward to…like my barre workouts (Squeeze, Tracy Anderson Method, Exhale, Bar Method, Fluidity, etc.), my Kettlenetics set and P.I.N.K. Fitness. But these all cost MONEY. OOPS. So I looked through my GIGANTIC collection last night and figured out something interesting: I can do a different workout every day for 60 days and NEVER repeat one. That’s a little scary. So I’m done spending money on workouts for a bit. I’m determined to get ALL of my vices under control…except my penchant for old movies. That one can stay where it is. I just LOVE Cary Grant!

I just remind myself that it’s taking it one day at a time, one decision at a time. If I can remember that, I will be in control and moving in the right direction. Most importantly, I’ve been honest with myself (and the world of people who read my blog), which is a HUGE step. The next step is taking all of this realization and putting it to good use: eat better, save more and EXERCISE my brain AND my body. I’ll get there. It just takes time. And admission is the FIRST step to recovery.