money money money.....MONEY

I'm probably going to skip around alot on the blog, that's just how my mind works.  One day that I'm working on the computer I'm going to write down all the different sites I go to, things I search for.  I think that might prove I have ADD. :P

So our family doesn't really have a financial policy let alone a finacial plan.  We live on the pay as you go program.  Pay whatever has to be paid that payday to avoid shutoff or repo.  Whatever is left over is fun money!  Jeez, just writing that makes me feel so irresponsible and stupid.  Especially being in my 30's.  The reality is that me and DH are mid to late 30's and between us only have about $3500 in a 401k, no emergency fund and live paycheck to paycheck.  Our credit is shot, simply because we don't pay our bills, even though we are able to (for the most part).  It's really scary and I know it has to change, especially in the next couple of months.  We have a HUGE tax bill due by the end of March.  It must be paid, we have no one we can borrow the money from and there's no way to get around it.  We figured it out last payday and half of our pay needs to go to that bill in order to be paid off including putting a couple of large payments we will be getting toward this debt.

We got the one large payment today and it's half gone, nothing paid on the tax bill.  Granted, it went toward bills that had to be paid and were in shut off status.  But still, I know we're shooting ourselves in the foot being so irresponsible.  So I guess the point of this post is that I am finally realizing there is a serious problem here that I can not procrastinate on until March.  We need to get moving NOW to pay as much as we can on this bill so come the end of March we only owe a few hundred dollars.  I need to get busy this week on ebay and craigslist- I think that will alleviate some of the pressure too.  Check out the website for two of the financial blogs I follow and a link to a guru that I think has great advice which I'm waiting to follow.   I'll try to figure out the sidebar thingy to start a countdown, I love watching it go down on another blog I read! www.12in2011.com

Progress has been made!

I meant to do a post earlier like on Sunday but I couldn't find where I wrote down my password and didn't want to hassle with the whole password reset right then.  Yet another example of the need for organization!

So Saturday I ran errands and worked on the bedroom.  I got everything we didn't need out of the room which included a lazy boy recliner (don't ask).  I rearranged the room too so we could have room for the exercise bike and floor room to do exercise videos.  I even put clean sheets on the bed and made it up just for the hubby. 

Sunday is my off day where I don't have to work or do anything so I started working on the living room.  I got half of it cleaned out and the half remaining is  25% clothes that I have to sort through to pitch or sell at a consignment sale in March.  The other 25% is DH's collection of speakers and electronics.  I moved just a few things to the storage room and they were bigger things so nothing I really have to sort through.  So far the only things in my triage area are items to sell and things that I need to store, so that's good!  Now that the week has started I won't really be able to get anything done.  So that's the update for now! 

My name is Christa and I'm a slob

That's the first step, admitting it right?  I've always made the excuse that I am just not organized or I have to much stuff or I'm just too busy to clean.  So, I'm just going to go with the fact that I'm a slob and need to change that.  Typical me, I start looking at magazines and books because they will be able to solve all my slobby habits in less than 300 pages.  I didn't think I would find anything but I came across the book How to unclutter your life in one week.  I started to read it yesterday at work (since I was procrastinating) and it sounds promising.  You are supposed to start the cleaning on Monday but I think I'm going to start with our bedroom tonight.  I need to rearrange our bed and tv so I can put one of our exercise equipment gigantors in there.  I'm hoping if I can exercise in my nice warm bedroom I'll be more likely to do it. 

I don't know when I will start the book officially.  The first thing you are supposed to do is all of your laundry so you can really sort through all of your clothes.  Do you know how much laundry I have to do???  I'm guessing 10 loads, all of which take forever to dry and I have to find somewhere to put all of it.  What I should do is go through what is hanging in my closet right now and weed that down.  Then do a couple loads of laundry and go through all of that.  That may be my project for the rest of this week- my closet.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Losing Weight

This is probably a standard resolution on everyone's list.  I know it's been on mine for probably 20 years!  You know it's as simple as exercise and eating right, so why is it so hard?  I wish I knew the answer.  I'm willing to work at, I know I need to in order to have the life I want.

So last night was the weigh in for the local Biggest Loser contest.  329.4 - The number didn't surprise me, I've been at that number for awhile.  The competition is for 10 weeks and the winner gets a cash prize.  I'm hoping that will just add to my motivation.  Last year's winner lost 17% of their body weight, so my goal is to lose 20% by the last weigh in.  All I have to do is exercise and watch what I eat.  I saw a nutritionist in the fall and I think she said that my calorie intake should be about 1700 calories.  I'm not positive on that but I can't find the paperwork she gave us so I'm going on memory! (yet another thing I want to work on) 

Normally I would try to come up with a elaborate exercise schedule and routine and planned out menu.  But I'm going to try it a different way this time.  I'm going to make a goal of exercising every day and watching what I eat- preferably an hour a day and keeping a food log.  But if I don't do both of those every day that's ok.  Weekly weight loss goal is 7 lbs to get to the 20% lost.  I think if I'm CONSISTENT I can do it.  That's the key CONSISTENCY.  I just have to remember that.

See how bad my procrastination is?

It's part procrastination and part my perfectionism (which I hardly ever achieve!).  I got the grand idea of 12 in 2011 in December.  Here it is four weeks later and I'm just now making my first post.  I didn't want to do anything until I had everything perfect and exactly how I wanted it.  Well, that's what always gets me in trouble!

I always think I need this grand master plan charting all the steps for me to get to my goals.  In theory that is good, but the first time I step off my charted path I get frustrated and give up!  I originally wanted to make the 12 in 2011 all about making 12 small changes that I keep doing all year long.  Then I wrote down my resolutions and realized there are a couple big ones that I really want to accomplish, so maybe I should make it 12 big resolutions that I aim to conquer this year.

My decision is hopefully the new way of thinking for me.  I'm making a compromise that doesn't seem perfect, but that I think is actually doable.  So there are some small things that I'm going to try to do consistently throughout the year.  And there are some big resolutions I am going to work towards achieving.  If I complete 12 things total in both of those categories, I think I will be happy!  So this is my first step in getting away from the all or nothing way of thinking.  I am going to work on changing the way I live to have a better life for me and my family.  So hopefully this blog will follow my successes, failures, inspirations and just randomness that goes on in my head!  I look forward to 2011, can't wait to see all that it holds.