Happy March!!
February marked a huge milestone for us we are offically done with credit card debt!!!!!
We have paid them all of and closed them.
WE ARE CREDIT CARD FREE!!!!!!
That is so nice to say...
So this month we paid of $2,224.56 in debt
We also cash flowed $535 for oil
And then we had to use our emergency fund......(insert the womp womp sound here)
We had a huge hot water tank debacle.
So at the beginning of the month we noticed that we had a small leak on the seam of our hot water tank. We decided that we would finish paying off the credit card and then save up for a hot water tank.
Well we paid off our credit card and paid for the oil and then the small leak was not so small anymore. So we used our emergency fund to pay for the emergency and got a new hot water tank. We shopped deals and found a good brand for a great price and a pretty hefty rebate.
Michael and my Dad installed it on Sunday. On Tuesday it was leaking. Yes the new one was leaking. On Wednesday my Dad came over and tried to put some goop stuff on the threads of blots and what not (I don't know all the technical things ha!) So Thursday it's still leaking and pretty bad at this point so my Dad who is my hero goes to my house, drains the tank, brings it up to Home Depot so I can run over on my lunch and return it for a new one. He then installed the new one himself because he is that awesome.
So we let it fill up and go through all that and bam Thursday night it is leaking. So we called a plumber and they said what can happen with the brand that we got since it is a cheaper version that they make for home stores it can flood the expansion tank. So we decided to return the hot water tank and go to a plumbing supply store and buy a better hot water tank and a new expansion tank. So Saturday morning Michael and my Dad (again a saint!) installed a 3rd hot water tank and a new expansion tank.
The 3rd time was the charm and so we have nice hot water now!
And we are working on getting our emergency fund back to $1,000
We will have that done this month and then we are starting to hammer away at our 2nd to last loan.
This plan works. The hot water tank situation solidified that to us. Normally we would have charged that on a credit card and said we would take care of it next month. Now it's taken care of debt free!
Another thing that has changed for me in a big way is how I shop for the kids. I used to buy kids clothes and such and just put it on the credit card forget about it and then cringe when the clothes didn't get worn (because of growth spurts and such) or feel guilty because I knew we were still paying for them. Now we have a kids clothing budget and I get to buy freely. Trust me it's not much a $100.00 a month for all 3 kids and some months I don't touch this but with having a girl and no hand me downs I do have to buy 90% of her wardrobe from scratch (the other 10% comes from some very generous aunts and grandparents). So it ebbs and flows and the $100.00 seems to be a good place to be for when we have to buy a spring wardrobe or summer one. I'm super considerate of what we buy. I look at price and function. I don't buy an outfit for just one occasion, which in full transparency I used to do. I'm just free now to spend within the limits we have set out. I no longer have a ping in my stomach when I leave Target because I spent way to much on a credit card I new I would be carrying that around for far too long.
I'm just happy we have chosen this path and I can't wait to see what it holds for us!
February marked a huge milestone for us we are offically done with credit card debt!!!!!
We have paid them all of and closed them.
WE ARE CREDIT CARD FREE!!!!!!
That is so nice to say...
So this month we paid of $2,224.56 in debt
We also cash flowed $535 for oil
And then we had to use our emergency fund......(insert the womp womp sound here)
We had a huge hot water tank debacle.
So at the beginning of the month we noticed that we had a small leak on the seam of our hot water tank. We decided that we would finish paying off the credit card and then save up for a hot water tank.
Well we paid off our credit card and paid for the oil and then the small leak was not so small anymore. So we used our emergency fund to pay for the emergency and got a new hot water tank. We shopped deals and found a good brand for a great price and a pretty hefty rebate.
Michael and my Dad installed it on Sunday. On Tuesday it was leaking. Yes the new one was leaking. On Wednesday my Dad came over and tried to put some goop stuff on the threads of blots and what not (I don't know all the technical things ha!) So Thursday it's still leaking and pretty bad at this point so my Dad who is my hero goes to my house, drains the tank, brings it up to Home Depot so I can run over on my lunch and return it for a new one. He then installed the new one himself because he is that awesome.
So we let it fill up and go through all that and bam Thursday night it is leaking. So we called a plumber and they said what can happen with the brand that we got since it is a cheaper version that they make for home stores it can flood the expansion tank. So we decided to return the hot water tank and go to a plumbing supply store and buy a better hot water tank and a new expansion tank. So Saturday morning Michael and my Dad (again a saint!) installed a 3rd hot water tank and a new expansion tank.
The 3rd time was the charm and so we have nice hot water now!
And we are working on getting our emergency fund back to $1,000
We will have that done this month and then we are starting to hammer away at our 2nd to last loan.
This plan works. The hot water tank situation solidified that to us. Normally we would have charged that on a credit card and said we would take care of it next month. Now it's taken care of debt free!
Another thing that has changed for me in a big way is how I shop for the kids. I used to buy kids clothes and such and just put it on the credit card forget about it and then cringe when the clothes didn't get worn (because of growth spurts and such) or feel guilty because I knew we were still paying for them. Now we have a kids clothing budget and I get to buy freely. Trust me it's not much a $100.00 a month for all 3 kids and some months I don't touch this but with having a girl and no hand me downs I do have to buy 90% of her wardrobe from scratch (the other 10% comes from some very generous aunts and grandparents). So it ebbs and flows and the $100.00 seems to be a good place to be for when we have to buy a spring wardrobe or summer one. I'm super considerate of what we buy. I look at price and function. I don't buy an outfit for just one occasion, which in full transparency I used to do. I'm just free now to spend within the limits we have set out. I no longer have a ping in my stomach when I leave Target because I spent way to much on a credit card I new I would be carrying that around for far too long.
I'm just happy we have chosen this path and I can't wait to see what it holds for us!
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