How to save $1,000 really, really fast.

Caleb and I have been pretty aggressive as of the first of the year, and are finally down to ONE loan...albeit, a big, fat, honking' loan, but still...ONE loan!!!! I'm thinking back to just a few months ago when taxes were due and we had pretty much depleted more than our "emergency savings" fund because we were new to this irregular income thing. Luckily we've become a lot more responsible now and save for those throughout the year ;) BUT I wanted to share how important it is to have a savings as your backup.

It's so nice to have an emergency savings - because when something DOES come up (whether its a car issue, an appliance that needs repaired, etc.), you're pretty much covered. Because trust me....something WILL eventually happen, which means you won't have to turn to any credit cards with crazy high interest rates! WOO! If you've always lived paycheck to paycheck, it can seem nearly impossible to save up $1,000 fast, but trust me, you can do it! Dave Ramsey suggest $1,000 for married couples, or $500 for singles. We keep ours at a separate bank so we're not tempted to touch it, but that's not necessary. Here are just a few ways to help:

-Cancel your cable, or just downgrade your package. That'll easily save you around $100/mo.

-Quit your daily/weekly Starbucks/Dunkin trips. Trust me, you don't need it. This can save you over $100+/mo! I actually know people who go to their favorite coffee shops daily on their commute to work (aka nearly every co worker at my firm)! It blows my mind. I love a cup of sugary goodness every now and then but, daily?! Too much!

-Stop the Target trips. Trust me, ladies, before we got married, I was used to dropping $30-50/trip - EASY! Save yourselves gas and time, and don't go until your savings is up, or unless you actually need something (easier said than done, I know!!).

-Sit down and do a monthly budget. Look at where you spent your money last month, and cut out unnecessary spending!

-If you have talents, use them to your advantage. That's how my photography gig got started. Come up with a price point, and see if people are interested! You never know until you try. If you're into photography like me, a couple shoots here and there and you're set with a new portfolio to show off!! If you're a designer, start working with bloggers or businesses! Find what you're good at and share it with the world! It'll pay off!

-Pack your lunch! It really adds up, and can be so tasty (and usually healthier)!!


-Sell your crap! You've probably got clothes you can sell to a local consignment shop, junk you can get rid of in a yard sale, etc.!

-Carpool with friends when you go to dinners/work/etc. Paying for gas is never fun.

These might be obvious to some, but implementing them is so important, if you want to succeed! Pick one, or a few, and see how much extra money you're able to save!!! Caleb and I can't even wait to be out of debt, we know that saving our 3-6 months of emergency savings will be even easier when we don't have debt tying us down. I can't wait to get there!! Just a few months to go.

Hope everyone has a great Thursday!!

ONE MORE LOAN!

Moving brain is a real thing, guys. Something totally slipped my mind and I don't think I ever wrote about it. WE PAID OFF OUR 3RD LOAN!!!!!! We only have one more to go (although its pretty large), and this is how we feel about it...

 We have been working really hard and it felt so great to wipe it out. I know that only having one more loan left to pay off will motivate us like never before. We're dedicated, have our eyes on the prize, and can't wait for what our future will look like, debt-free!!!!!

It feels so great to be married to a man who shares all my same views. Not only on politics, but when it comes to our money. Sure, we'll still have a little fun here and there, and when we do, we'll use cash! We have the same goals in mind, and know that above all else - we want to be able to bless others like CRAZY someday. So watch out loan #4, we're comin' for ya!

In other news, we're finally feeling like we're getting settled in our new place. We've even hung a few things on our wall, are doing laundry regularly again (thank goodness), and its really beginning to feel like home. Next item on our agenda? Find a reasonably priced dining room table!!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

2 loans down, 2 to go!

Yesterday I mentioned something very exciting happened on Saturday and that I'd fill you guys in today. A little back story first...

This is the year that Caleb and I got more serious about paying off debt. A few days into the new year we were able to pay off loan #1 (which rocked)! Then we had to pay a LOT in taxes from our first full year of (partial) self employment, and things got a little crazy. It was then time to move onto loan #2 - which was our used car we bought last Fall. We had been putting money away, and putting money away for months, and then paying bills, and paying more bills and finally, we had set aside enough on Saturday to.....
PAY OFF OUR CAR!!!!! Ceellleeebraaate goood timesss, come onnnn!

insert dance party photo!

I can't tell you how good it felt to walk out of that bank with a "paid off" receipt in my hand. It probably won't feel REAL until we see the legit title in our mailbox, but regardless...I'm a happy girl to have two loans finally paid off!

It really hit me this week how much extra income we will have once we're debt free. I know last year I spoke more about becoming debt free but its really hitting me now the kind of future we can set ourselves up for by having NO debt.

I'm also learning more and more that this is kind of a "weird" way to live...co workers look at me like I have 3 heads when I tell them I cant go out to lunch w/ them again because I only have $10 in cash to spend for the week! & you know what? I kind of love that. It's also encouraging that we have SO many people in our lives who have such amazing success stories. Remember Sallie & Perkins?! Then our friends Josh + Marie...as well as multiple couples from church. They are all living like NO ONE ELSE because they chose to live like NO ONE ELSE for a little while.

This year has been stressful, tiring, and insanely exhausting to say the least, and being in the midst of this pay-off kinda sucks sometimes, but now I'm treating it like a game. How fast can we pay off our bigger loan #3?! I want to impress myself! So now we're buckling down even more so that by next year? We'll be debt free and can have more freedom...& we can't freaking wait. Thanks for all your wisdom, Dave Ramsey!

NOW? On to loan #3!!!!

Crazy ways to save a buck!

By now (and if you've met the besties Sallie & Perkins) you know Caleb and I are trying to get out of debt as FAST as we can. Aside from him working overtime where he can, and me booking extra photography gigs where I can...there ARE other ways to save money.

So I decided to come up with a list of crazy things that Caleb and I do to save money! Remember...when you have that "Gazelle intensity", who cares if people think you're weird?

Weird is good.

Among many other things, Caleb!

- Sometimes (this is slightly embarrassing), I'll cut open the bottom of the toothpaste tubes to get the last out of it. Same with my foundation...this usually adds a couple weeks onto the life of my products!

-Caleb's cousin works at a local pizza shop, and he's allowing Caleb to deliver pizzas on the side for a few months...to throw extra cash towards debt at a rapid pace.

-Entering giveaways. Typically on blogs, I love those. I recently won an adorable necklace off of my girl Ashley's blog! My favorite kinds of giveaways are the gift card/cash ones...so that way my man & I get FREE date nights instead of having to cut into our own budget. I also sign up from websites like Woman Freebies, that have sweepstakes almost daily, and tons of free stuff to win!

-Downgrading our cell phone minutes/data plan, read about that here! We saved over $40/month!

-"If you're not using it, unplug it" ... get CRAZY with this. Phone done charging? Unplug it and leave it right under the outlet. Done with the toaster? Unplug that, too. You don't have to get AS crazy as I do (even Caleb thinks I take it a little too far), but hey, its kind of fun.

-My crazy husband likes to keep the temperature on 68-69 ALL summer which didn't make me very happy when Duke delivered our energy bill. So I try to keep it around 71 now! The higher the temp, the cheaper your bill.

-Manufacturers coupons, those are AHH-mazing. Typically each one saves you about $1.50+...and that stuff really adds up.

-Kroger has "Freebie Fridays" (thanks to a college friend for this tidbit! Heey Sierrah!), and if you sync your Kroger Plus Card online, they let you upload freebies on the card...you can walk in, grab your stuff, check out and walk right out with FREE stuff. Last week was $6 shampoo/conditioner! This week its toothpaste!

-Take advantage of social media, follow companies on Twitter and talk about their products or things you love. I recently talked about the long weekend trip we were taking to Arkansas, and Gillette sent me a new razor with TWO replacement bars to go with it... (a value of over $13!)

-Shop out of season. You can get things for up to 70% off sometimes! Caleb and I joke that we should start celebrating holidays the week after they really take place, so we get a better deal.

So there you have it, just a few tips I can give you to lower your monthly expenses and KILL DEBT faster!!

Remember, imagine what you can do with your money (and the kind of wealth you can build!) when you have NO DEBT PAYMENTS!!!

What would you do with all that extra cash??