December 2019 | Debt Update

Hiya, welcome back to my Debt Updates!

This is December 2019 Debt Update

This months we've paid $1,000 towards debt so far. This is by far the hardest month to save money because I love giving gifts. There are a lot of gifts I'll be giving this year that are close to free or made from things I already have, but there are also a lot that I wanted to buy for people - which is okay as long as you have the money to do so!

By the end of the month, we will have also contributed $250 as a minimum payment towards the debt as well. We keep our minimum payments on while we pay things off because it just keeps us going with a little more gusto!

Thinking about more ways to make more $$ while we continue through this journey - what are ways you make extra income?

- Emily

Painting Wood Paneling

Last year around this time, Tom and I started painting our (now) rental home. It is owned by my parents and at the time, the previous tenant had just left and they need to do some fixing up. This is very common with rentals and since my parents have had rental properties my entire life, I've been a part of this process plenty of times. I was itching to quit my job and get out of that area for a fresh start with something new. We saw the door open for this home and knew we'd like to have a go at freshening it up.

For us, this meant painting everything white. Sorry, painting everything all the wood paneling white.

So how did we do this?
It's pretty simple and I know there are a ton of online resources that are probably better than this but, this is our experience!

We ended up sanding the walls from the top to the bottom. This was brutal to the arms and we definitely skipped some corners and edges. This was a big mistake. Obviously, 70's wood paneling is like plastic material and paint will come off plastic pretty easily. We found this to be true in the many places along the edges of trim that we did not sand. The paint started peeling off immediately. At this point, since we don't own the home and it's a true 'don't upgrade anything' rental - we decided to let it be and just live with a few peely-spots.

After sanding we did a basic primer and then a basic white paint from Lowes.
We did 3 rooms and one hallway all white. I think we'd like to touch up the trim and doors at some point, but for now, we are content with how things are.

Nov. 2019 Debt Update

This month did not go as planned!

We wanted to put $2,500 towards debt but only ended up paying our minimum payment of $250/month. #reallife If this isn't real life I don't know what is.

Honestly, I'm very discouraged and more upset with myself than I think Tom is.
Reasons why we fell short this month
 1. Our New Credit Card
We are currently using a special credit card that is supposed to boost credit scores. Why are we using this after we cut up our payments? Because we want to be able to buy a house within the next few years and after Tom's unfortunate pay-back history and then paying all of Tom's debts off at once his score was really low. We needed to raise the score but we didn't want to take out a loan just to do so. Our best option was this card. You need a refundable down payment for the card itself and can only spend that amount of money. Well the card is working and Tom's credit score has risen significantly since we've been using it, but we haven't been as careful as we should've been. I honestly don't like having it AT ALL but at this point we need it.

 2. Copeland's School & Kennel Cough
So we knew we needed to invest in puppy school for Copeland and we found a really great place in town to do so BUT it was pretty expensive and after the two-week program, they wanted us to bring him back for additional training work. Unfortunately, after we wend home on Friday, we notice Copeland started coughing. Of course, it was kennel cough. *Que additional doctors visit and medication expenses* We always want to make sure Copeland is ok and has what he needs

 3. The Farmers Dog
While we do want the best possible food for Copeland, the Farmers Dog is just too expensive to maintain - for our size dog, it's about $138/month. When we could easily be paying about $50 for kibble instead. I think we'll be doing more research on it before we switch, but for now I think we'll make that change.

 4. Friendsgiving
Almost every year, we host a Friendsgiving dinner with all of our friends. This was way more expensive than I thought it would be. We ended up making all of the food while everyone else brought dessert, appetizers, etc. I thought this would be a good idea but honestly, it wasn't. It was a lot of stress trying to cook everything and get it warm at once and then to also buy all of the ingredients. Next year we will only be cooking Turkey and it will be BYOB lol.

Trying "The Farmer's Dog"

So We've been searching and searching for a good food option for Mr. Copeland.

When we first brought him home we were on a kibble diet, but of course, after learning more about kibble and how not helpful it is for doggos, we nixed that from our options and only have it on hand for emergencies. If you're curious about the kibble and effects it has on dogs, go ahead and watch "Pet Fooled" on Netflix - it may change your mind about what you feed your pup!

We then tried a raw diet through Instincts pet food, but there wasn't a lot of information about the ingredients. While he LOVED this food and jumps for joy every time we get it ready for him, after more reading, it's really hard to determine if he's getting all of the nutrients he needs as a puppy from eating raw. Plus, it's super freaking expensive to buy supplements for dogs only to wonder whether or not they are actually getting everything they need.

So here we are researching all of the dog food options possible. Currently I see the most benefits from a cooked and regulated diet from food delivery services. Guess what - there are a million and 5 to choose from. We looked at the Farmer's Dog, Darwins (raw), Spot & Tango, and more. It was an exhausting search. After crunching some numbers, it seemed as if Spot & Tango was the cheapest service for us, but I had more personal recommendations for the Farmer's Dog and just felt better about it.

So, we've made our first trial order for the Farmer's Dog and it should arrive around Nov. 7th. We'll do another follow up post then. If you've been looking around and want to try a food delivery service, you can use this code for a free box of food no strings attached!: (https://www.thefarmersdog.com?ref=QYBVMK)

I think eventually I may go back to RAW for Copeland if I can do more research and get a better understanding of what he'd need, but for now we'll see how this works out!

October 2019 | Debt Update

October Debt Update:

We're at a debt standstill right now & if you were to ask me how we are doing I'd say "ok." 

Not good but not particularly bad - just ok.

Right now we have $17,784 left in my student loans. My goal in this whole process is to be as open and honest as possible about what we're doing and going through during our debt repayment.

Our goal for October is to pay off $3,000 in debt. We had to buy Copeland with credit based on the store we got him from so he is now paid off and so is a big chunk of my smaller loan.

So far we've paid off $2,288.68 in loans for October meaning we have $711.32 to go!

I have about $600 I know for sure is coming in before the end of the month, I just have about $100 more to figure out. I'm sure we can make it work.

Where are you in your debt-free journey?

Bringing Copeland Home - Puppy Diaries

We got a dog!

Tom and I have been searching for a dog for a while and we honestly did not expect to get a puppy. We were looking at rescue dogs but we did not qualify with most of the adoption agencies. Why? Because we don't own our own home and we don't have a fenced-in back yard. But we do have a loving home environment, plenty of time to take pup to the park and outside, and so much love to do what's best for the dog. Sometimes I feel disappointed in myself knowing what I know now about the system but after talking to my cousin, Krista, she reassured me that the most important thing is the dog and doing what's best for him now.

Sept 6th. DAY ONE

We picked up Copeland on Friday, September 6th, from the pet store in town.
(I'm not going to link anything to them because since bringing him home we've found out a lot of things that we do not agree with - I knew pet stores were not great but I really trusted them because they were family-owned and local)

When we picked him up he was timid and scared of everything

When we first took Copeland to the vet, we found out he had ear infections and ear mites. The poor pup was struggling since day one!

Sept. 7th Day 2
So on day two, we took it pretty easy during the day. Tom had to go to work aka shoot a wedding all day and my mom was having people over for a funeral reception for my aunt. Copeland came with me that night to my moms and was such a good boy! Everyone swooned over him and his cuteness obviously and he stayed near me the entire time. He slept at my feet and walked around a bit but never went too far. He was still pretty scared of everything but quickly warmed up to people. 5 weeks later and I think this was the best thing we could have done for him. He now knows that people are friends and he's super friendly to everyone he meets.

Sept. 8th : Day 3
It was a Sunday and I was off to a bridal shower. Leaving my dog baby for the first time (only for a few hours) was harder than I expected. I thought I'd find some small relief from cleaning up after him etc. but I just wanted to be home with him cuddling.

Sept. 9th : Day 4
Monday we tried getting ourselves back to work and seeing how things would go with Copeland at home with us all day. He was really good and mostly just sleeps. We spend a lot of time outside to let him exercise and play. He loves digging in the sand and following us around. At this point, he was only about 6/7 pounds of fluff and so short. We are so excited about the start of this new journey!

Ho Chi Minh Trail - San Diego

We were in San Diego for a family vacation and I cannot not talk about Ho Chi Minh Trail!

While we were there it would be my sister Katelyn's birthday. After searching around looking for ways to make my her birthday as special as possible - I found a post on Pinterest of this awesome looking trail/hike to the beach. This trail is apparently a shortcut for surfers headed to the beach but we did not know what we were getting ourselves into!

None of us are really "hikers" per say and I'm not sure if a lot of people would classify this as a hike... but my rule of thumb is usually if I feel like I need to be wearing sneakers, its probably a hike.



There were lots of twists and turns and little slips here and there. It also was not all tiny passageways - there were some general walking paths through it. The views the entire time were so worth it!

I will warn you there is totally a rope at the end that we did not see coming. 2/4 of us fell and I hit my head really hard. Did I mention I'm not much of a hiker?

 
Once you get to the bottom, the beach is pretty secluded with a few people and mostly day-surfers. I can't speak to the weekend though to travel at your own risk. There were quite a few people going through the path as well - and I was very glad there wasn't any more or things could've gotten tricky.


What do you think? Is this view worth it? We thought so - although we chose to take the road back up to the car instead of following the path. Not sure if it was the right choice as it zig-zagged up the hill and took us forever in the hot sun. I'm glad we took on this adventure though!

One Month Plastic Free

My close friend, Charity, put into the Facebook universe a few weeks ago that she is doing a plastic-free July. I was very interested in this since I've been wanting to go plastic-free for a long time but never had a real reason to.

Not going to lie, this is not going to be an easy process. In the weeks leading up to July, I kept noticing just how much plastic I not only bring in to the home but also consume from stores like Starbucks and etc.

A few things I know will be difficult for me:

- I often carry reusable shopping bags - but not produce bags. It will be important for me to make some before my next grocery trip

- I typically order my groceries through instacart which is a grocery delivery service where you can order food online from participating grocery stores. I can request that they use paper bags when checking out from Aldi, but unfortunately, almost everything I buy at Aldi is pre-packaged in plastic. Yikes. This is going to require much more time and effort to not buy "middle-isle" foods packaged in plastic.

- Milk. I'm grateful that there is a local dairy farmer that packages their milk in Glass containers (it's the best milk in around) but it's not cheap.

- Time. I know it's going to take a lot of planning time and shopping time to get the things we need this month without contributing to plastic waste. I am nervous that time will be a factor in the process but I'm committed to success.

- Soda. Same as milk, it comes in plastic and unfortunately I do not have a soda stream yet. This month might be better for my health, too! 😂

- Remembering my reusables. I know I have reusable items like cups and straws, but it will be important to remember to take some when I go out and not just leave them at home.

I'm nervous but excited.

Here goes nothing!

My Cost-Effective Bridesmaid Gift Guide

There are so many options out there for bridesmaids gifts!

I loved finding gifts for my bridesmaids and trying to keep the cost low (since there were 6 of them!)

1. Personalized Robes

Something I knew I wanted to get each of them for sure was personalized robes.
When do you ever get something personalized for yourself? It was really important to me that everyone got something special to them. There were so many options to choose from but I really wanted to keep the cost low! Luckily for me I had a few options because I was buying them right around Black Friday - but!! the robes I bought are still on sale!

The Robes I Purchased:

From the Knot.com $17.99

Other Options

OurLoveStoryCoShop - Etsy.com $20-$25

2. Pashminas

Since I was getting married in December and I had picked out really strappy dresses for my girls, I knew I wanted to get them some kind of shaw for them to wear outside or if they got chilly etc. So I ended up buying pashminas from MiaKraftsShop on etsy & love it.

The Ones I Purchased:

From: MiaKraftsShop - Etsy.com $40 (with Shipping for 6)

3. Candles

A really cost-effective part of the box was the candles. I got each bridesmaid a mini candle to fill some space within their box! Guess where these candles were from ... the dollar store! The dollar store has awesome candles if that's your thing. I am not much of a big candle person now so if I could do it again, I'd probably include oil rollers because I LOVE my essential oils.

4. Candy

I just added some chocolates to everyone's box just to fill some space and add something sweet.

The box itself also came from the dollar store. They were selling Christmas gift boxes for the holidays and I noticed the bottom part of the box was white (score!) I bought 4 packs of 3 for a whopping $4. It was awesome.

I was on a serious budget - but I still wanted to make sure my girls knew that I appreciated them being a part of my wedding and this is what I could do.

Total for 6 boxes : $161.00

We're 22 and 47,500 in debt...

Yikes. It's true. We are newlyweds, 22, and $47500 in debt.



We decided after months of financial arguments in pre-marital counseling that we needed to be in control of our money and not let our money have control of us. In January we looked our $47,500 of debt straight in the eyes and said goodbye (with it went our comfortable lifestyle)!


Since then we traded my new fancy car, killed the credit card and its debt, and now are working our way through student loans.


When we got engaged, I was living my best life. Working full time at a job I didn't love for low pay and doing well saving. Except for the fact that I bought a car and still had a ton of student loans. I look back on that time and wish I would've put all of my money into loans while they weren't collecting interest.


Now we have to pay the price.


We read through Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" and started budgeting out how we'd make this work. We were scared of making such a big life change because Tom was in the first year of being self-employed and I was our primary provider making $35,000 a year in the # 1 wealthiest county in PA.


We started making changes.

We traded my car.

We started the envelope system.

We made a budget.

We started our snowball.




And now we're sharing our story and tips on how we're getting creative to save an extra buck. This is our journey. If you're in debt too, you're not alone.

Updating our Tiny Rental Kitchen On A Budget

We're renters and we have a small apartment. Like... a very small apartment. Our kitchen consists of four sets of cabinets, a sink, and a refrigerator. Also, in case you were wondering... this is the width of our entire apartment. We know we have to make the most of our place and want to leave it better than how we found it so we decided it was time to paint the kitchen!

Honestly, you really can't tell that these cabinets aren't white unless you put the before and after next to each other or watch us paint them but they were a light green almost mint color.

Greasy hair painting session.

Overall it really wasn't that expensive. It cost us about $50 total for the paint can (one) and brushes/rollers.

We painted directly on the cabinets instead of taking them off just because we could tell that's how they were painted before and getting a little paint around the edges wasn't a huge deal. If you're going to do this the right way, I highly suggest you take the cabinets off and paint them outside.

Before the paint:

After Paint:

We ended up getting a new kitchen island and sold our last one, organized our cabinets and made it look as good as we could. We tried moving our toaster oven (the only oven we have) but it came back to the counter shortly after this photo was taken.

In case you're curious, yes that is a hot plate in the window. We have deep enough windows to hold our hot plate which was really great for us because we wouldn't have anywhere else to put it. We also do have a microwave but it's in the bottom cabinet so you can't see it.


We also decided to get peel and stick backsplash from Amazon for about $25 and we ended up getting 2 packs of them which came out to be about $50.

Our entire spend was roughly $100 - not too shabby for a small kitchen makeover.

Before:

After: