In my small spare time I have been...

Harvesting my first ever garlic.
Peeling apples for goodies.
Shelling beans.
Making my new favorite bread.
Enjoying giggling at my bad doggy first thing in the morning.

How to make a budget on an unreliable income

If you have been reading this blog, then you know the reason I have become so hit-and-miss with my posts is that I am up to 3 jobs now.

I was hoping to quit one of them soon, however my husband has informed me that he does not have any jobs (at all) lined up after 6 weeks from now.

He is in construction, and in the good days had work lined up for 2 years. Now we are looking at weeks at a time. Scary. If only we had had the good sense to save when we were making that much money.... Oh well, that's water under the bridge now.....

So, 3 jobs for me it is.

We have never had what you call a steady income. He has always been in construction, so he gets paid after spending lots of money on materials (He works for himself) and the paychecks could be in 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 2 months, there is no telling most of the time.

I have worked for tips, and then on 100% commission, then both. Now I have a job where I work for tips, one for commission, and one on salary. I wanted the salary job so when I (hopefully) conceive, I can quit my for tips job. (A big baby belly and that tight outfit just wont cut it, lol...)
My salary is very low, very... Like well below the federal poverty line. I do get excellent health benefits, so once I have those taken out of my paycheck, and taxes the 40hr a week job makes me about 230$ a week. The cost of living in Alabama is pretty low, but not THAT low. I can supplement by bar tending at least one night a week. I can make from 100-200 ish (It always varies).

That puts me working about 50-some odd hours a week. Now for the commission job.

That is so unreliable, that I never factor it into my budget. Never, ever.

I can remember crying with a  client when her buyers backed out 2 days before closing. She had to sell, she could not afford the house anymore, and I needed that paycheck to buy food and keep the lights on.

Since that terrible time in my life (That whole year was that awful, gut wrenching, stressful feeling you get when you are broke, and have no idea when the next check will come), I have made vast improvements! That was in 2010. Now, (Drum roll please......)

I just paid off my last credit card!!!! Who-Hoo!!!


In fact, since I found Dave Ramsey's program, the Total Money Makeover in August of last year, I have paid off 


10,300.00$$$


Yes my friends. I am super excited. ten thousand, three hundred dollars, that I no longer owe. 


By the way, I spent NO money to learn the Total Money Makeover. There are classes you can sign up and pay for, but I got the library book. **Free**.  I recommend you try it that way first, especially if you are in as bad financial shape as I was at the time, 18.99 for a book? I couldn't afford that.... When you are better you can buy the book.  (By the way, I cheated further, I listened to the book instead of reading it. Dave makes a great audio book. I now listen to the radio show as much as possible to keep me motivated).


During this time I was still paying on my car payment and mortgage which have come down slightly.
Those are my only, and last ever (God keep me strong) debts.  


I still owe-41,089.03 on my house
                  7,000 on my car


Get to it, your saying. Tell us how to make a budget.......


Ok! How I did it.


Before I even started the  TMMO, I had a fight with my husband (We used to have lots of fights about money, like I am sure many of you have too).


He didn't understand, how he could work so hard every day, and we could still be broke. 


Well, he demanded to know where all of our money was going. In my anger, with tears of frustration and fear in my eyes,  I sat down and in a couple hours had a completely comprehensive outline of where our money was going. 


1. Look at your bank account

I sat down in front of my computer and pulled up my 2 credit card accounts, and my bank account.

I separated into categories, where our money had gone, over the last year.

Grocery shopping-this included trips to walmart, sams club, any grocery store for food or toiletries.
Bills-I found every bill payment made over the last year.
Gas- We drive a lot, only gas in this category.
Dining out- Used to be a weakness for us, not anymore!
Entertainment- Into this category went movies, alcohol, pretty much any junk we bought at a gas station.
Miscellaneous- This is where I put oil changes, clothes, makeup, stuff you need but don't need to have on a regular budget
Work expenses- We both have to spend money on licenses, materials, ect.


For example:

Bills- I know our power bill varied from about 90$ to 350$ depending on the weather- so I added all the last 12 bills and then divided them by 12 to get the average we paid every month.

We pay an average of 125$.

That is the number I use for my budget. Yes, it changes every month, but my budget has a little flex to it, because of the nature of irregular paychecks. If you are on irregular paychecks I suggest you do the same.

Groceries- I searched for every charge to a store where we bought groceries over the last 12 months. Added them, and divided by 12. That gave me the average of how much we spend on groceries.
I decided to cut that number down (Substantially) by couponing, preserving our own produce, and by saving our favorite and more expensive meals for special occasions. I also cook from scratch. (More time consuming for a while, but it quickly becomes second nature. And you will impress your friends ; )

Starting to see a trend here?

Lets do Gas.

I looked over the last 12 month for all our gas charges added them, then divided by 12.
Though, after a few months you really start to see a trend. I fill up twice a week, he fills up once (Usually).

If you do not use a card regularly you will need to pull out your receipts. If you have not saved receipts, sit down and try to remember the last 30 days. Start with the last week, and work your way back. You might have to look through your cabinets and check your phone and facebook, anything to remind you of what you have done, so you can remember how much you spent. Use that as an estimate. Then you can begin tracking your money regularly and update your budget as you get more accurate figures.

Now you have all your estimated expenses for every month.

2. Add your yearly expenses

I have bills that only come around once or twice a year. My trash service charges quarterly. These expenses need to go into your figures as well.

For the quarterly charges I added up the charges for the year, and divided by 12 to get how much it would add to my monthly expenses.

The yearly charges I add as a total amount at the bottom.

Sorry, no the best quality image, but it gives you an idea

3. Find your yearly amount

Now that you know your monthly and yearly expenses, add them together to find out how much you need every year to survive. 

I changed the amount we spend on groceries to 200$ a month, our entertainment budget is 120$ a month, eating out (for work lunches mostly) is 100$ a month. I used these numbers, not the scary stupid large numbers of our averages for our budget amounts.

Things like the power bill , car payment and gas don't change for the most part.  (You can car pool, reduce energy waste and buy cars with cash but that is another post)

Our yearly amount that we spend (If we stay on budget) is 

44,549.16$

We HAVE to make at least that amount to avoid going into more debt, or losing anything.

So that is our starting point. 

You have to remember that this number will decrease as you simplify your life, reduce frivolous spending and pay off debt (Never to charge again! Debt is folly, according to God and Grandma, as Dave says).

Add up how much you make each year. 

Because ours is un-reliable I used a low estimate of our reliable (hehe, yeah right) income. I recommend you do the same. If you make more that is just gravy.

Add up your total household income (Yours, your spouse, and child support payments, anything you regularly get money from)

and subtract the amount you spend yearly. 

For example:

Say we make 60,000$ each year

 60,000

-44,549.16

= 15,450.84$

That 15,450.84$ is money that we have been blowing on crap we don't need, or even remember buying half the time.

That is what we use to pay off our debt. 

How to pay off the debt

One bite at a time ;-)

This might sound silly, but many do not know how to accomplish this. 

I didn't. 

I thought, like many that you were supposed to pay off whatever has the highest interest rate first. 

Nah, there is a better way.

Line up your debts (ALL OF THEM) from smallest to largest.

Example: (this is what I was looking at when I did this)

Mortgage: 42,000

Car : 12,000

Credit Card#1: 6,500

Credit Card #2: 2,600

Money borrowed from parents: 700

School loan: 500

For many of you this seems like a small amount of debt, for some a huge amount. It is what I was dealing with. 

To pay them off: Continue making the minimum payment on all but the smallest debt. Mine was the 500$ I had left in school loan debt. 

ANY AND ALL extra money you have in the month over your budgeted expenses gets put on this. 

Even if it has the lowest interest rate. I was paying 50$ monthly on this debt. However, applying all my extra funds to it I actually was able to pay it off in less then a month.

Ahhh.... that felt good. Suddenly my list of debt was shorter. I may have only paid off 500$, but I felt as though I had accomplished something. 

And now I have what ever my regular extra money was + 50$. Apply that to paying off the next debt. 

My parents didn't charge me interest or a monthly payment, but I paid them off as soon as possible. It is not fun to owe someone money. 

Next thing I knew I had that paid off.  Now all my extra funds, above bills and living expenses are getting applied to the first credit card. 

It got paid off!!!

Next, we apply the 50$  from the student loan payment, the 100$ minimum payment from the smaller credit card debt, and all extra funds above living expenses to the next credit card. 

And it pays off even quicker!!!!

This is Dave Ramsey's "snowball effect" . I can't take credit for it.

Do you see what we are doing here? 

By paying off the small debts first, you get the satisfaction of ticking an item off the list(It keeps you motivated to stick to your budget). Now that it is time to start tackling the car payment, I have the 50$ from the student loan, 100$ from the cc#1, 130$ from cc#2 to add to the payment. That is an additional 280$ a month to pay off my car. That is going to pay off the car in half the time, even if I do not have anything extra in my monthly budget to pay it off with. 

When the car is done what will I do?

By another car of course. NOT!!!!!!

I am going to take the 280$ + my car payment (268) + any extra money monthly +my house payment and pay off the house.

That will give me at a minimum 1,248$ to use to pay off my house. So at the very least I am doubling my house payment and paying it off in half the time. ( I refuse to do the very least, I am on a roll!!!)

When I have no payments of any kind, my monthly expenses drop to less then 2,000$ a month including food, fun and gas. 

That will give me about 1500$ a month to save. 

Can you just imagine?

Paid for car, paid for Home, No fear of losing them, ever!  (Of course you keep insurance on them.)

Savings in the bank for emergencies! Once I have 6 months of living expenses saved ( That will only be 12,000$, and at the bare minimum I can have that done in 8 months if I ONLY pay what I am used to and no extra, then the rest can go into investing. 

Crazy. I grew up in a family that has always struggled, lived paycheck to paycheck and in debt. 

And now I am talking about have extra money for investing. 

That is the American dream.

I am tearing up writing this just imagining how great that will be.  After all the struggling and fear, pain and fights, to have that kind of security will be amazing. 

Amazing. 

I hope this has helped you work out your irregular income budget. Please do check out the book The Total Money Makeover. If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear them.

Outside

I wish sometimes that I could bottle the feeling I get being outside. It's impossible of course, but I still wish I could.

With the breeze turning the 80 degree weather into a pleasant feel. The wind chime casually clanging around, the overcast sky turning everything a vibrant and deeper rich green.

It's even staring to sprinkle now, and it's just making the air smell fresh and clear.

It's wonderful spending time out side.

And the cool thing is I now know how to blog from my phone so I can do it from outside :-)

Last week the HH informed me that he has about 10 weeks of solid work, them after that it is uncertain.

Uncertain.

Ugh I do not care for that word at all. I work however, the nature of my work leaves paychecks up in the air, and not coming down reliably.

I don't tell you this to cause you worry, though a trouble shared is a trouble halved, but to explain my absence after the declaration that I would blog at least 5 days a week. And then my almost immediate absence.

Oops.

I felt like I was detracting from my small family by spending time blogging instead of the many other activities I could have been performing.

And I was kind of pouting. Shameful, I know, but it's true.

But that's silly. I am working as much as I can, so is he. Other then that living our simple frugal lifestyle is the only other way to get through difficult times.

Writing here is free, fun, educational .

I see no reason to stop. Especially now that I am done pouting.

Attack of the blobs!!!

I was trying to puzzle out what was eating all my plants. They look like the rabbitts have been munching on them, however they also have small holes in the middle of the leaves.

Then I saw the perpetrator..... SLUGS

I have never had a slug problem before in my garden. But I think that was because I had never had an organic garden before.

SO I promptly started searching out the slugs and pinching them off. At first I was just throwing them away from the garden, then I realized, they will just slide on back.  So I started squishing them. Yes, yuck, but by then I was so angry at all the damage they had done, that I did not mind.

It grossed out HH when I told him what I was up to squatting by the garden so intensely.

Turning over the leaves on each plant revealed more damage then I had ever suspected! There were munching marks on all of them. I'll be surprised if half of my plants recover from this. (Ugg!!! SO much work for not)

Sure these are just the cotyledons (fancy word for the first leaves :), but there is lots of damage on all the other leaves too. Stupid slugs....

In John Seymour's book The Simple Life and How To Live It he mentions that slugs like beer, so you are supposed to bury a saucer of beer right at ground level, and the slugs come to it then drown themselves. 

I am off to get the slugs drunk right now. Wish me luck!

I like the smell of old wood and clean clothes

You know that smell an old house has? Its not a bad smell, it just lets you know that the wood supporting the walls around has been around for more then 50 years.

My house has that smell.

It is not present all the time.Usually I have chased it off with the smells of cooking or baking, and cleaning.

 Just every now and then I will get a whiff of it. Like this morning mixed with the smell of my clean laundry.  That had to be one of the homiest smells ever.

I like being at home. I know that if I let myself I would become a reclusive hermit. Its in my blood. I have an uncle that moved into the desert for that reason.

I do not plan on letting that happen, but still. I could do it. I do enjoy being around my family and close friends. But I am the happiest at home, with my husband.  If I could just work it out that everyone came over to my house (While still leaving at the perfect time) and I never had to go to the grocery store again, that would be perfect :)

Scary what you find under 40 year old vinyl siding. 

Haha.... I know that's not happening. And really I am sure I do not want it too. Even though it sounds great right now.

I have to make conscious choices to get myself out there. To go see people, and talk to them.  My willingness and ability to do this changes day to day.

HH tore off a piece of rotten wood. Birds took advantage of it to make a nest in my house. 

I always wished to be a charmer who can put all around at ease with a few smart words, and entertain people easily. Some days I am closer then others. And still some days I feel I can not pry my mouth open with a crowbar.

Good thing I married a charmer. I can stand back and let him go at a crowd and he has the whole place laughing in minutes.

Bet you don't see old vents like this very often.

Miles to go

Homemade croutons from home made bread. Yummmm....

Today I spent a large part of the day with a friend. We both had some off time and thought we would watch some movies from our childhood. We did not grow up together, but we are the same age and some of those are universal for girls our age.

She hosted at her house for the first time.

I could tell she put a lot of effort into it. She had laid out a cute spread of food for us, made dip and had veggies out. Then she told me later she had lasagna cooking and salad and bread.

It was really good! Even though she had a hard time reconciling that she had made vegetarian lasagna so I could eat it. I believe that was the first time for her, and she does not like to step out of her comfort zone.

Then after the movies we walk into the kitchen so I can help her clean up and I see her throw away over a whole loaf of garlic bread. That was fresh. And tasty....

I was a bit shocked. I guess I have become so used to the way my husband and I are trying to live that to see such blatant and needless waste in a home was stunning.

I have no interest in forcing my ideas of a great life on anyone else (to each his own, just don't mess with mine if you want to keep that hand ;)

but that still shocked me!

Bread I made, next to jar I saved. If I see anyone throw this away before it is moldy, there will be trouble!

My friends are not wealthy, but neither are they hurting for money. Both work, they are young, childless and in school.

But still... I mean, that was almost a whole loaf of perfectly good bread!

I had to stop myself from saying something. I left before I saw what she did with a pan of lasagna with only two pieces out.

Have I become so out of touch with what people around me are doing?  Is that really how people live?

Containers I have saved, and find no end of uses for. The white ones even have scoops that are perfect for home made laundry detergent!   

It makes me want to double up my efforts to live simply.

However, it makes me want to do it while looking stylish.

Not that I am suddenly going to run out and spend money on clothes that I do not need, but more that I can show people the value and enjoyment in living simply. That even though one of my goals is to live below our means and save money, that you can live this way and really enjoy life too.

I am still learning to live simply, I know I have miles to go. It is a trek worth the time and effort.

Look away, too much cuteness!

Baby Booties!!!!

Its too late now, you are sucked in too, huh?

I finally found another knitting project that I could handle. And they are freakin' adorable.

I never used to go soft over baby clothing. Until I decided I wanted one. Now I am such a wimp for this stuff.

I had made these with the intention of sending them to my cousin who is expecting a baby boy in August. Then I was going to make a pair for my niece who is due in October. But I kinda want to keep them.

Is that bad? No, I am not pregnant (Not yet anyway). And they really only took a couple hours to make, and that time will shorten as I gain confidence.

But still.....

I. Love. Them.

I do want to make a hat to match. Maybe I'll do that and then decide....

hehe...

I also am pretty sure I will adapt the pattern to fit adult feet. Might as well match:)

Today I

Today HH had to work his long day south of town. This is regular, about every other week or so during the grass cutting season. He gets up early and comes home late. Oh well...

I had my nieces and bro-in-laws birthdays to celebrate this evening.( Happy Birthday Lily and Josh!!!)

So this morning I made a sign. Using junk I had around the house.

Then I turned it into a key holder. I prefer things that actually serve a purpose.

I used a straw and a paper plate to mix the acrylic paints. And some rags as paint brushes. Making do with what I have and It works pretty well :)

I thought it looked pretty all mixed up

The bird is a bit girly-er then I normally am, but hey, its spring and I am feeling a bit girly :) 

I can be girly sometimes.

Speaking of girly, I also made earrings. These are the only cool shells we found that were not currently occupied by the creature that created them our whole vacation.

It was a matching set and I could not resist. Let me tell you, it was a PAIN getting a hole in them. They are small and delicate. I finally got a hole in both shells, and broke one putting the chain in it. Luckily I have modge podge glue, and was able to put it back together :)

Aside from the 2$ I spent on a pack of 40 earring posts, these were free!

The stripes are pretty cool, right?

Happy weekends to you.

Good Friday, Friday!

I hope you are all having a blessed good Friday.

Does it seem 2 weeks early to anyone else?

I was feeling a bit ill this morning (I believe all the ladies can empathize) so I did not go to work.

I did sit down to get some computer work done, Ok, so I  was reading some of the lovely blogs I read, but whatever...

And my internet conked out! Being in the lovely, patient mood I was in I made a face at it and went to do other things.

I made my Easter dress:)

I was not sure how it would turn out, since I did not use a pattern. Most of the time when I do not use a pattern, my half finished half thought out project ends up lurking in a corner taunting me for ever. Luckily I was on a deadline for this one so I finished it.

Whatcha think?

I don't think I will win any prizes, but its definitely a wear out in public creation! And the fabric came from a thrifted sheet, so I believe I spent whopping 1$ on the whole project. With plenty fabric to spare. Now if only I could make new shoes.......

I have 3 family members who are all expecting. My uterus is jealous. Or maybe that is me. Who knows. 

Either way I am hoping to hear some good news one day soon. Maybe this vacation (in 13 days, who-hoo) will end up being what my friend Jaye calls a baby-makin-cation. hehe.

Before I can manage another sewing project I will have to take my sewing machine apart and give it a good tune-up. It sure is not working great (No, I do  not want to buy a new one. I like my old one. It's older then me)

But, alas, my cousin-in-law (one of the pregos) is making the trip from Colorado to visit over here, so some major cleaning will be taking place soon. I also took on the responsibility of baking my newly vegan Daddy a  vegan desert (banana cream pie) and a vegan side dish. The side dish should not be trouble, I am used to adapting recipes. The banana cream pie recipe I found here (kind of an ironic blog title for the situation, eh?) I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully it will be good, but baking is still not my strong suit.

I do better when I can just estimate ingredients. I am a bit lazy on measuring.

I am also working on sanding this lovely 100-or so year old cedar chest we were given. I want most of the paint off. But not all.

I also was feeling frisky and made made these last night, the original idea I got from pinterest.

Happy good Friday to you all!

Tomorrow I will share something that I have been excited about, and working on for like a month :)

YESS!!!! Its that time :)

I LOVE my garden. Let me say that again.... I LOVE TO GARDEN.

Gotta love good dirty fun :)

This year finds me better educated on proper gardening and growing techniques, so I am even more excited! I have ordered seeds from a seed catalog, so I have a greater variety then I have ever had before.

I am starting my seeds later this year then last. But I know more this year so hopefully I will not kill most of then again.  I bought seed starting pots and organic seed starting mix. (Next year I'll save egg cartons instead of the pots, didn't think about it this year). I used some popsicle  sticks I had sitting around to label them.

On my grow list this year: (It is pretty aggressive for me)

Cherry tomatoes
Pear tomatoes
Beefsteak tomatoes
Cucumbers
yellow summer squash
zucchini
luffas
bell peppers
jalapenos
banana peppers
pinto beans
green beans
kale
amaranth(leaf variety, not grain. That'll be for next year)
broccoli
cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
artichokes
lettuce
pumpkins
basil
sage
corn
okra
Cilantro
Potatoes

I think that's it... Maybe.

I am super excited. I was intensely satisfying playing in dirt. I for one, relish a bit of dirt under the nails...

My father in law was sweet enough to get me some bails of hay for the walk ways through the garden. I never thought I'd be excited to have someone surprise me with hay. But, hey, what can I say... Hardy har

I also got some lime and sulfur (organic) to help me fix my soil. This is the kind of thing I had no idea about last year. My idea of gardening was throw it in the ground, cover with dirt. Now it is supposed to grow, right? Ha.... Oh the inexperienced gardener... Haha, from the lofty heights of a 3rd year gardener  ;) But I have learned a lot. Really. I swear.

I can't wait to start seeing the little green bits poking out of the soil!

What are you growing this year?

Scratch that... and this too

Do you make things from scratch?

I have already stated here how I prefer too. I remembered this morning however, that that was not always the case.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine this morning after a meeting, where she mentioned she had to stop by the store on the way home to pick up pancake mix so they could have pancakes for Sunday breakfast. I said she should just make them from scratch so she did not have to stop.

She looked at me like I was crazy. (Maybe I am... Bwhahaahaa.....)

I forget that I used to buy mixes as well. Most of the people I know are not on the natural living, whole food bandwagon with me. Most are still your average convenience driven American. I have not rubbed off on them enough yet, but I am working on that (Though I have never been one to push my ideals onto others. I find that very irritating. I think its best to lead by example).

Cinnamon swirl cake (I failed on the swirl, but it still tastes good!)

Cooking from scratch is healthier, cheaper, and more delicious. But can be intimidating, if you are not used to it.  My idea of scratch cooking when I first started was the bagged instant pasta, a canned veggie and some frozen flavored fish filet for the Hubs. Now I can whip up a batch of biscuits as quick as I could grab the bag of frozen ones I bought and cook them. Also I'll make a double batch and freeze my own for those times I am short on time.

A Mexican slaw I made last minute for taco Friday

I make an effort not to buy anything that I can make on my own anymore. This includes things like crackers, bread, tortillas, cakes and cookies. They are all much cheaper home made and do not contain any mystery ingredients (maybe more butter then I need, but at least I know what is in there! : )

What things are you making from scratch?

Apricot, cashew, banana bars (sorry they look a little funny pictured through the container)

And now for some Weekend niceness......

Why yes, this is just too sweet

Happy Sunday everyone!