Last week as I was leaving my house on an errand, I happened to roll down my window as I reversed out of my driveway. It was then that I heard that familiar high pitched squeal: the squeal of money flying from your wallet, carried away by the cost of new brakes for your car. I inwardly groaned at the thought, knowing that we faced birthday party expenses that weekend. I also wondered how long my brakes had been singing to me since I could not hear them at all with the window rolled up. I continued on my errand, …
Redeeming Sickness?
I was sick last week. Not a life and death condition, just sick enough to stop caring. My sweet husband sent me to bed, and when he suggested take-out I said, “Whatever you want to do honey.” He was thrilled. Matt loves take-out. The week came to a close. I finally felt better, and at the end of the siege I surveyed the damages. Children still alive? Check. House destroyed? Check. Finances? Good… wait a second, I better check my wallet. On Wednesday, during a brief respite from feeling yucky, I had made a deposit at the bank and withdrawn …
Document People!
Have you ever called a company and spoken to a lovely, helpful soul who answered all your questions with patience and kindness and made you so glad to do business with them? OK, that doesn’t happen very often, but if it has happened to you, have you ever called back only to get the polar opposite person on the phone? Grumpy, irritable, miserable in their life and work, and their only mission in life seems to be to make you feel stupid about your question and get you off of the phone? That happened to me today. For the last …
Preparing for Future Expenses
What a lovely weekend it was here in Oklahoma! It was just perfect fall weather: cool, with clear blue skies, and no wind. It was such a nice weekend for my family because we were able to play outside, and just relax and take the weekend off. Noah got sick again last week and we had to keep him out of school for most of the week. So this weekend I also sterilized everything in my home, and washed all of the linens, and just cleaned everything. Noah is finally better and will be returning to school on Monday and …
Paying for the Party
“Arrrgh,” shouted 14 young pirates as they chased me down the side of my home. We were on a treasure hunt. The cake had been eaten. The sword fights had been won. And now the real adventure had begun. Through Alligator Alley, past the Tunnel of Stinkiness and the Forgotten Grasslands, and through the Forbiden Gate… and over a dozen pirates were all of a sudden charging from my back yard and down to our mailbox (the Tiny Cave of Hope) in search of the prize. Then back through the house they stormed in a mad chaotic quest. There was …
Putting Out the Fire
Have you ever had that nagging feeling that you are forgetting something? Something is not right, or you have forgotten something, or misplaced something… what is it? Well, if you ever get that feeling about a bill, it is probably the Holy Spirit reminding you. We talk ourselves around that feeling and ignore it. But if you have ever been late on a bill “by accident” or missed a payment… I am willing to bet that 10 to 1 you had that little reminder voice in your head telling you that you had missed something. I had that voice a …
Parties, Taxes, and a Plan for the Infrequent
I had a question from my dear friend Kim posted on Sunday’s blog, and I just wanted to take today to answer it. Kim wrote,“Tracy!!! I love your blog. I have my notebook and I started my spreadsheet today. Where do I put things that are paid every few months?” I am so glad you asked this Kim. To illustrate my answer I am going to use my car insurance. Matt and I pay our car insurance every six months because we get a discount for paying it in advance rather than paying it monthly. So every month I have …
The Shovel and the Hole
I received my first credit card solicitation when I was still in high school. I remember thinking they had the wrong person before I ripped it up and threw it away. But in college they began coming in earnest. I would get one a week, sometimes one a day advertising low balance transfer rates, and limited time low APR’s. Even then, I was concerned about messing up my good credit (thanks to my parents), and I never applied. However, many of my friends did apply and without a clue of how to manage the credit cards, they soon found themselves …
Highs and Lows – Changing Seasons
Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Oklahoma. Aside from being a little windy, the sun was shining, the temperature was perfect and I got to work outside in my rose garden. I love spring for so many reasons. I love the signs of life everywhere, my roses budding, and the whole world going green. I love that my children get to play outside after being sequestered for the winter. I love the excitement and anticipation as summer approaches. And I really love that my utility bills drop to nothing because we don’t have to run the air or the …
Learning for Life
I was watching the news last night and saw a rather alarming report that only %5 of high school seniors in America had passed a financial literacy test. That means that %95 of high school students about to graduate are going into the work force or even into University with absolutely no idea of how to manage their money and what is happening in their financial world. It is no wonder that so many people get into such financial trouble in their 20’s and then spend years digging out from the devastation. The good news is that, no matter what …
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