Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Financial Advisors

So I have been having heart failure this month over money. Between my astronomical Engery Bills (AC in AZ heat!!! and my house lingers in the 82-84 degree range) and the endless unbudgeted repairs that just dont stop, I feel like I am bleeding money.
Our Double Ovens went out this week. My temp sensors in both and control panel went out. This is a easy 500 dollar repair. Then to add insult to injury our van started making a weird sound .We thought it was the brakes. Come to find out its more than that and will be around 400 dollars to fix. When will it end?

I know things can always be worse and I am grateful that we are solid in a great job and have food on the table however; I wonder how people live the way they do with all these unplanned issues. Does everyone have a credit card they live on? Is that just a MUST HAVE these days?

Mike and I have worked hard to not have credit card debt. We have done a great job of it and pay our cards in full every month. As a result we dont have debt but we are always paying out in full. How do you pay for un-budgeted expenses and still save? How do you go through life without a credit card that has a balance?
I'm worried we will spend all our savings and not replenish them with all the necessities. Lets be real here. Im not eating out every week, buying designer clothes, or decorating from high end retailers. I drive a modest car (I'll say..a MINI VAN sheesh!), buy ground beef instead of steaks and scrimp and cut coupons for deals every week. When 20% of your weekly budget is to buy diapers and baby cereal you know your stretching every dollar. I literally havent set foot inside a mall in over a year. MACYS,The Buckle, Loft, Express, The Gap. Nope, Nada. Im at Target, Kohls, Marshalls and the Outlets. And Im ok with that. Still, I feel like I sacrifice all my wants for my needs and still have nothing to spend on un budgeted needs when emergencys occur.-

We have one income. Its a good one. Im blessed to stay at home while my boys are little (although Im ready to get them to the next stage so I can get back to school).
Im just always curious how others my age are affording Caribbean cruises, girls trip overnighters, weekends in Vegas, designer jeans at 150 per pair, personal trainers, handbags that cost more than my monthly food budget, decorations and furniture from trendy stores....Im just wondering, how do you do it?

Is there a secret no interest credit card somewhere? Is there a money tree I havent heard of that I can plant? Is going into debt worth the stuff you can buy?

I need some financial guru's to give me advice.

Maybe Im just sad because I realized that my 10 year anniversary is in 4 weeks and I just spent the money on my van and oven. Now we get to say "happy anniversary" like we always have, talking about the BIG thing we will do for each other the next year that never happens.
I realize its life. I just dont always want to be waiting to do something for US and then realize we are too old and tired to do anything. LIFE and LEISURE feel so separated somehow. They feel like they are not intertwined without major sacrifice.
What have you done to be able to afford both Life and Leisure? Any tips?

4 comments:

Hannah and Mike said...

I'm with you Eden, I have no idea how some of our peers afford what they do. I'm curious if you will get any good answers...because I don't have any.

Anonymous said...

Check out Dave Ramsey - he is awesome!

~Toby

Leah said...

Aww rats!! I hate money problems...I want to say it's just Heavenly Father giving you this experiance for a reason. Sorry all your crap stopped working...at least you can stay at home with your kiddos...can't wait to play...love ya

Amber said...

Here are my three favorite books on finance. These have pretty much shaped how we budget and live and I like to think that we are doing a pretty good job at saving, putting into retirement, paying tithing and still living in California!

Dave Ramsey's My Total Money Makeover
David Bach's The Automatic Millionaire
Thomas Stanley's The Millionaire Next Door

Good luck!