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Goals for April 2012: The Bare-Bones Budget

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Angie Torres)

The first quarter of 2012 is behind us. Whew . . . that went fast! Though I am not where I want to be, I am not where I started. Though I have setbacks, these goals focus my attention on my priorities.

I have based my goals on Crystal Paine’s book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, where Crystal breaks down the steps to reach your financial goals.

By documenting my financial and other goals, I seek to change and improve. Though I do not meet every goal, I am plugging along. Progress, no matter how small, is still moving closer to my goals.

Physical

Drink 2 glasses of water per day.  Much better, but I’m keeping this goal for one more month before adding another glass.

Eat breakfast each morning. Good, but I still need more work.

Exercise for 20 minutes at least 3 times a week. Keeping this goal though I have not succeeded yet. 🙁

Family

Plan at least one family outing/activity each week. Accomplished! I love this goal! Our family enjoyed lunch during a field trip, hosted a dinner party, surprised Daddy at work with strawberry lemonades, planted our garden, and shopped together. Keeping our family relationships close remains a top priority.

Spend 10 minutes with each child each day. Need a little more work on this one. I get into project-mode, because I am task-oriented, and spend lots of time with them one day. Then I get busy and forget that one-on-one time. My girls naturally get more Mommy-time, but I get that special time with my son during homework. However, he needs more time than just work time.

Allow children to help with a household task each week. Our home has stayed relatively picked up this month. My helpers are hard at work, and I really appreciate their efforts to keep our home tidy. Allowing them to work beside me and teaching them is already paying off. Keeping this goal – for sure!

Financial

Follow Crystal’s year-long plan to reach my goals. On track. I have documented our household, grocery, and restaurant receipts for the year in this spreadsheet. Because I have added the household items, including diapers, to our food budget, I am averaging $85 per week for our family of 5.

I have not raised the budget amount from $80 to $85 yet. Simply put, we had extra expenses in January and February, and March was on budget. For April, I plan to check our bare-bones budget that we have in place and adjust our system to Crystal’s recommendation.

Purchase dressers for my daughters’ room. This goal is ongoing. No progress made on this goal for March.

Purchase upgraded computers for hubby and me. This goal is also ongoing. Instead of purchasing new, Paul found a laptop for parts that is the same make and model as mine. Per the tracking information, the laptop should arrive tomorrow. This cost was $30 (the exact amount we had saved). I’ll keep you posted on the results.

Business

Write posts one week in advance. Making progress! I am still writing hours before publishing the post, but I have a plan. Having decided and recorded on my blogging calendar, I know in advance the topics for my posts throughout April. Though I have not made progress in writing the posts early, my blogging time has increased in productivity because I don’t have to brainstorm for a topic each day. This one change has made a huge difference in using time wisely.

Make one improvement to the blog this month. For March, I hosted my first guest post. Yeah! Though I did not see a spike in activity, I enjoyed Jim Wang’s article. I also created images for guest post, register review, and my garden. Now to get my Facebook page updated. 🙂

Read two chapters of a book each month. Accomplished! I read more than two chapters because the e-book I read did not have chapters, just sections, and I listened to Crystal’s The Money Saving Mom’s Budget audio book. 🙂

My goals are working for me. With some easy and others challenging, the goals keep me focused. By plugging along slowly and steadily, I am making progress. If you are struggling with your goals, then adjust. Small steps are still steps in the right direction. Keep going!

Question: How are your goals coming along? 

Blue’s Clues Birthday Party – Part 1 of 3

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Nailing down a theme for an event early helps to guide the rest of the planning. With a theme of character, color, or holiday, you can coordinate food, decorations, and favors. Sometimes getting to the theme is a journey.

Choosing a Theme

Prior to my daughter turning two, Paul and I wavered back and forth on the theme of her party. Having had a pink princess first birthday party, she missed the Blue’s Clues theme that our other two children had for their first birthday. Also, my toddler loves Blue and dressed as her for Halloween.

The other option was the custom party I created for my oldest daughter’s second birthday party centered on the book, Good Night, Gorilla. Both of our girls love this book as there are repetitive themes throughout the pages – colors, moon, balloon, animals, banana, etc.

Knowing that our toddler would probably outgrow both themes by next year, we paid attention to her playtime activities. During the weeks before her birthday, the reading of Good Night, Gorilla faded, but Blue remained in the coveted corner of her crib. Though I wanted to repeat the Good Night, Gorilla birthday party, this was not my party. My daughter loved and cared for Blue, so a Blue’s Clues birthday party we did.

Though the planning, shopping, and executing falls on my shoulders, I chose to consider my guest of honor’s wishes above my own. Though I already knew the answer, I still asked my toddler to choose her theme. By doing so and allowing her to help with the decorations, tableware, and games, I demonstrated my love and my willingness to create a fun party for her.

With the theme chosen and most of the decorations gathered from my older two children’s Blue’s Clues birthday parties, I had a game plan. Next week in Part 2, I will share our Blue’s Clues birthday party itinerary. To be continued . . .

Question: Did you choose themes for your child’s first or second birthday party?

Spring Cleaning: Removing Black Marks from a White Kitchen Sink

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Spring has sprung! With new organized spaces after completing Project Simplify Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and Week 4, I need to clean some key areas of my home.

Welcoming the cool breeze by opening our windows, I get motivated to spring clean. During this time, I like concentrating on specific areas that get used often, but not cleaned often enough. The first area needing some tender loving care elbow grease is my kitchen sink.

Kitchen Sink Marks

Our sink is white and shows all the dirt, grime, and metal marks from pots and pans rubbing on the white finish. Removing black marks from a white kitchen sink is easy when you know how to clean it.

Finding a Cleaning Solution

When we first moved into our home, I remember the first mark on the sink. I scrubbed with soap and water to no avail. I then tried a spray-on cleaner, like Fantastic, which only cleaned the surface and left the mark.

Without finding a quick solution, I turned to my computer to search for an answer. Surprised to find no help, I looked to the manufacturer and home improvement stores.

Finally, I discovered that the gentle cleaner for our smooth-top stove removes these marks. Yeah!

A few years later, our sink drain backed up, and Paul treated the clog with Drano. The Drano completely removed all those stubborn marks without any effort on my part.

Though the Drano worked, the fumes were strong, so I choose to clean with the smooth-top stove cleaner (any brand will do).

Cleaning our White Kitchen Sink

1. Drizzle the cleaner inside both sides

2. Use a no-scratch sponge to wipe the sides and bottom

3. Rinse with lukewarm water

4. Repeat for any stubborn marks

  

Before         and           After

Much better! My sink definitely needed to be clean. With just a few minutes, you can spring clean, too. Within 10 minutes I had my kitchen sink sparkling white. Knowing I accomplished this task today motivates me to choose another small task to improve our home while using time wisely. Happy spring cleaning!

Question: What item are you spring cleaning this week?

Tax-Favored Programs: Medical Spending Account

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Reaching the halfway point of the tax-favored programs, we have two more sets of documents to add before completion. 🙂 Filed in this category are the Health Savings Account and Pre-tax Group Insurance Premium. With only the spending accounts remaining, I will begin with the medical spending account.

Medical Spending Account

Defined

A Medical Spending Account allows you to pay for medical expenses with pre-tax dollars, up to $5,000 per year. For our medical spending account, we estimate our eligible medical expenses (doctor’s visits, prescriptions, glasses, contacts, etc.) for the year. The total amount chosen gets divided into equal installments that get deducted from Paul’s paycheck. The deducted amounts get paid into our account for these medical services.

For our plan, we chose the debit cards. This option allows us to pay for the medical expenses with this card. Without the debit card, I would pay out-of-pocket and then send copies of my receipts for reimbursement. As long as I pay with the debit card and the services are eligible, then I do not have to fill out any forms for reimbursement.

One benefit to this program is that the entire amount allotted for the year becomes available on the first day of the plan year. If we estimated our expenses to be $1,000 for the year and we have an emergency surgery on January 2, then we can use our debit card to pay $1,000 of that bill on January 3. The chosen amount would still get deducted from Paul’s paycheck all year, but the funds are available for use immediately.

Cost

Possible Fees

To use the Medical Spending Account, we pay a $5 annual enrollment fee, and then a $2.50 monthly administrative fee along with our $.12 pre-tax group insurance premium (since these fees get paid with pre-tax dollars).

For the year, we spend $36.44 for the benefit of using pre-tax dollars for our medical expenses. This cost is worth the savings for our family since we do not pay enough in medical expenses to claim on our taxes.

Losing your Allotment

Another cost to consider is losing the money in your account. If you estimate your medical expenses to be $2,000 and you only use $1,000 by the end of the plan year, then you lose $1,000. Ouch! To be wise stewards of our finances, we underestimate our expenses to prevent losing money.

Though our plan allows until March 31 of the next year to use those funds, we spend all the allotted money by December 31 of the plan year. If you have a medical spending account, plan wisely to maximize your savings.

Spending your Time

Other costs are your time. Due to federal regulations, I receive a monthly statement indicating all the charges on the issued debit card. To verify these charges, I must fill out a form documenting the provider, patient, dates of service, and amounts and then fax that form with itemized receipts to our medical spending account provider. Though the cost savings is worth the extra effort, you will spend time providing documentation.

With all my documents filed, this process does not take long. However, it will take more time if you do not have the proper documentation. I am not trying to dissuade you from a medical spending account because I love it and use it every year. However, I want you know the ramifications of enrolling before taking the plunge.

Documents

The paperwork I keep for our medical spending account in this file includes the following:

    1. Notice of our enrollment with amounts chosen

2. Benefits guide explaining the program with instructions for submitting forms

3. Photocopies of the front and back of our debit cards

4. Correspondence from provider

Other items already in the file from other programs:

      • The brochure explaining the tax-favored programs
      • Privacy policies of provider

These documents stay together in this sixth file opening with our tax-favored program paperwork. The receipts and forms for this account are kept in our insurance files. These files are separate from our important documents system. My current important documents filing system could not hold the annual paperwork of our medical spending account. So, to keep the insurance documentation separate from the receipts, reports, and prescriptions, I keep different files.

As you continue using time wisely to organize your important documents, remember that your file may or may not have these similar types of insurance. Just adjust your file to your needs. I am not a financial planner, doctor, lawyer, or advisor. I am a mom, who researches and helps choose options that will benefit my family while using time wisely. Happy organizing after celebrating this joyous Easter Day!

Question: Do you have a medical spending account option?

2012: Happy Easter!

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (James Emery)

The Triumph of Christ over Death

The Death of Jesus

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

The Resurrection

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back— it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here (Mark 15:33-16:6).

He is Risen . . . He is Risen, Indeed!

Happy Easter!