Earlier this week, I posted all about how Josh and I want to get out of debt and that we plan to use Dave Ramsey's method. Once our taxes come in, we will have step one completed. Step two will be the hardest and most time consuming part for us. I figured making small goals for myself once per month or once every other month will help me to stay on track. These are my goals for the rest of February and March.
Start Meal Planning
This is a big one for me. I am THE WORST when it comes to making a plan before I go to the grocery store. I usually have a vague idea of what we need and the rest is just guessing. I end up buying too much or too little, so our grocery bill is a fluctuating mess! My Mom, on the other hand, is great at meal planning. Ever since I was little she always had a detailed list to take to the grocery store and had our meals planned for the entire week ahead. So, when I go home to MD this weekend, I plan to down with Mom and go over how she plans everything. My goal for this upcoming month is to sit down and plan everything out for 1 to 2 weeks the day before Josh gets paid. He will be deployed for most of the month so our finances will be a bit out of whack, and I think this is something that will help. His meals are already paid for, so I really only need to worry about my food which will make things a bit easier. I also want to prepare any meals that I can in advance, such as breakfast smoothies, so that I'm not tempted to be lazy and buying something I don't need.
Sell Things We Don't Need/De-clutter
As soon as I finished Total Money Makeover, I dove right into Spark Joy. We've never been packrats or anything but there are definitely things we could stand to get rid of. Book and DVD's seem to be our weak spots. We're not going to go crazy and get rid of everything but I did come across about 8 or 9 DVD's that I just don't watch and don't see myself watching any time soon. There are a few books that I know I'll never read again that I could sell, and we have a ton of mugs with no sentimental value that we don't use or need. My goal is to sell as much as I possible can and then donate the rest. This will probably be a slow process, but any money made off of items I sell will go right towards whatever debt I'm working on at the time.
Work On a Written Budget
This is one thing I always say I need to do, and then never do. Our finances are going to be a bit tricky in March with Josh's deployment beginning and me getting a new job. Hopefully by May I'll have it down. But I still plan to play around with our budget in March and April to see what works and what doesn't. Dave Ramsey recommends that you have every dime accounted for, which I plan to do. However, I am going to have to do a budget twice per month rather than once because my pay fluctuates so much.
Work Two Jobs
While I am super excited about getting a full-time job, I'm really hoping to keep my job at Friday's as well. Our tip-share is paid to us in cash and I don't have direct deposit on my paychecks which would make it easier to deposit into a separate account to go directly onto whichever debt we're paying. I think this will really help us out with getting things paid off. Plus it would keep me busy and I wont have time to go out and spend money. This is going to mostly depend on my managers at Friday's and if they're willing to let me keep just two nights per week. Fingers crossed.
Start Meal Planning
This is a big one for me. I am THE WORST when it comes to making a plan before I go to the grocery store. I usually have a vague idea of what we need and the rest is just guessing. I end up buying too much or too little, so our grocery bill is a fluctuating mess! My Mom, on the other hand, is great at meal planning. Ever since I was little she always had a detailed list to take to the grocery store and had our meals planned for the entire week ahead. So, when I go home to MD this weekend, I plan to down with Mom and go over how she plans everything. My goal for this upcoming month is to sit down and plan everything out for 1 to 2 weeks the day before Josh gets paid. He will be deployed for most of the month so our finances will be a bit out of whack, and I think this is something that will help. His meals are already paid for, so I really only need to worry about my food which will make things a bit easier. I also want to prepare any meals that I can in advance, such as breakfast smoothies, so that I'm not tempted to be lazy and buying something I don't need.
Sell Things We Don't Need/De-clutter
As soon as I finished Total Money Makeover, I dove right into Spark Joy. We've never been packrats or anything but there are definitely things we could stand to get rid of. Book and DVD's seem to be our weak spots. We're not going to go crazy and get rid of everything but I did come across about 8 or 9 DVD's that I just don't watch and don't see myself watching any time soon. There are a few books that I know I'll never read again that I could sell, and we have a ton of mugs with no sentimental value that we don't use or need. My goal is to sell as much as I possible can and then donate the rest. This will probably be a slow process, but any money made off of items I sell will go right towards whatever debt I'm working on at the time.
Work On a Written Budget
This is one thing I always say I need to do, and then never do. Our finances are going to be a bit tricky in March with Josh's deployment beginning and me getting a new job. Hopefully by May I'll have it down. But I still plan to play around with our budget in March and April to see what works and what doesn't. Dave Ramsey recommends that you have every dime accounted for, which I plan to do. However, I am going to have to do a budget twice per month rather than once because my pay fluctuates so much.
Work Two Jobs
While I am super excited about getting a full-time job, I'm really hoping to keep my job at Friday's as well. Our tip-share is paid to us in cash and I don't have direct deposit on my paychecks which would make it easier to deposit into a separate account to go directly onto whichever debt we're paying. I think this will really help us out with getting things paid off. Plus it would keep me busy and I wont have time to go out and spend money. This is going to mostly depend on my managers at Friday's and if they're willing to let me keep just two nights per week. Fingers crossed.
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