Debt Update and House Hunting News

Man plans and God laughs. But seriously, it seems like every time I have this money thing figured out, something unexpected comes along to change the plan. My debt pay-off goals have been going well, but we may have to switch gears soon, because we are considering putting an offer on a house much sooner than planned.

Basically, we started looking for a home recently, because we figured by the time we absolutely could no longer fit into our apartment we might be able to find something suitable that we could afford. We were assuming it would take many months to find anything in our budget. Well, lo and behold, we did find a foreclosure in a good location, with some renovation needs that might work. So we had a contractor come in to check out what needs to be done last week, and are now waiting for the bid to decided whether or not to make an offer.

Even after we found the house, we were not thinking about moving this quickly, because we assumed it would take a few months to come up with our down payment, but my family generously offered to help us with the down payment!

We also have a friend who is a mortgage broker, and he made the process of getting approved way simpler than we were expecting. So...

For now my financial goals are the same, but I do think we may have to be flexible if this house works out. For instance, if we end up refinancing after the construction is completed (this has been recommended to us), we would likely fold some of our student loans into the mortgage and have a lower interest rate for them.

For now, here is an update on the debt progress:

Goals for Debt Payoff:
Pay off zero interest card #1 1000
Pay off credit card 3,180
Pay off zero interest card #2 2700
Pay off undergrad 1,865
Pay off Bar Loan #1 8,934
Pay off Bar Loan #2 8,926

Here's my continued pay-off plan for October:
10/1 - pay 1,000 on card
10/15 - pay 1,000 on card
Use expected check from Greg's old practice (1,600) to pay off remaining balance and to pay for some of our hospital co-pay (500).

Debt Progress 9/7/15

Goal one is met! This week I paid off the first zero interest card. We had a couple of set-backs this month, one being that a friend of mine passed away suddenly and I decided to travel out-of-state for the funeral. While it was hard to have to use a credit card when I'm trying so hard to get rid of them, I also feel like this is why I have a credit card at this point, for the really unexpected stuff. Some day I will have a little savings account to buffer our expenses and won't need them anymore (fingers crossed).

Without further adeiu, here is my updated goals list:

Goals for Debt Payoff:
Pay off zero interest card #1 1000
Pay off credit card 4000
Pay off zero interest card #2 2700
Pay off undergrad 1900
Pay off Bar Loan #1 9000
Pay off Bar Loan #2 9000

As you can see, my "emergency" credit card did go up this month :( However, with my current plan I may be able to eliminate that next card before the baby gets here! Here's a general plan:
9/17 - pay 1,000 on card
10/1 - pay 1,000 on card
10/15 - pay 1,000 on card
Use expected check from Greg's old practice (1,600) to pay off remaining balance and to pay for our hospital co-pay (500).

I'm really hoping and praying that by Halloween, we will have a beautiful, healthy baby girl, Greg will have passed his next exam, and we will have one more goal crossed off our list!

Budget Breakdown and Debt Confession

I'm putting my budget out here for a couple of reasons. One, I'm very curious about other people's budgets and I love when I find a post that's honest and that includes specific numbers. Two, over the past couple of years I've managed to pay off about 25K in debt, but I don't really have a record of it and I think it will be nice in the future to be able to look back and see how far we've come.

In order to pay down debt our family of 4 (almost 5) is living in a two-bedroom apartment in a house that belongs to my family, which is why you don't see typical housing expenses on here and why we are able to live with one income in a very HCOL area.

Income after taxes:
Bi-weekly paycheck 2,155
Residual payments from law practice conservatively 100/month
Monthly income approximately 4,400

Expenses:

Fixed
Car Payment #1 360
Car Payment #2 300
Ins. 120 (Life, Car, and Renter's)
Bar Loan #1 105
Bar Loan #2 105
Undergrad Loan 100
Netflix 12
Homeschool Website 6
Subtotal 1,100

Variable
Speech Co-pays 80
OT Co-pays 160
Social Skills class 80
Gas 250
Groceries 400
Other 500 (Clothes, eating out, entertainment, unexpected stuff)
Haircuts 25
Subtotal 1,495


Goals for Debt Payoff:
Pay off zero interest card #1 1000
Pay off credit card 3200
Pay off zero interest card #2 2700
Pay off undergrad 2000
Pay off Bar Loan #1 9000
Pay off Bar Loan #2 9000


Debts I Can Live With for Now:
Van 12,000
Car 17,000
Law School Loans 250K? (On income based repayment plan with 25 year cap, will likely never truly pay off until 20 years from now).

Since I last blogged...

- My husband finally had enough of the law, and so we made a plan for him to change careers. He took two actuary exams, did an internship at an insurance company while still running his law practice, and finally accepted a full time position as an analyst. We now have health insurance, a 401(k), and a predictable paycheck every two weeks. - We prayed for a third baby, and I'm two months away from having another sweet baby girl :) At night I think about what to name her. - We took Henry out of state and had him evaluated by a team of child specialists. He was diagnosed with autism. If it was two years ago they would have called it Asperger's, but that's not a thing anymore, so everyone is on the spectrum now. - Over the summer we spent a lot of time finding and going to services for Henry. He does speech, occupational therapy, social skills classes, swimming and therapeutic horseback riding. He took piano lessons for most of the summer but is taking a break now.I would like to find a behavioral therapist next. - Now that we have a steady income, we've been trying to drop debt and save to buy a house. It is depressingly hard for a family with one income to buy a house in NJ. I so wish homeschoolers could opt out of property taxes or at least get a tax break for homeschool stuff. - Greg took and passed a third exam this summer, and decided that he would try for one more this year. The test he is currently studying for is Oct. 30th, exactly one week after I'm scheduled to have a C-section.

Update

Time is a funny thing. Right now every day seems to drag on, but the weeks and months are flying by. Maybe because it's my favorite season I notice how quickly everything is moving. I can't help but feel nervous that I'm missing something, that I'm forgetting some crucial aspect of living, and that I'll wake up one day and realize how long it's been.

Life is a funny thing. It's so full and so scattered. I seem to be doing so many little jobs, taking care of so many little details. Sometimes I feel like I've just run into a little house, run right into some little wooden house in the middle of an incredible storm. I'm standing there, my clothes dripping wet, trying to figure out where I was going before the rain started.

Freedom is funny too. You want it so badly, that you'd do anything to get it, even enslave yourself to obtain the ideal. I think it is possible that we are slaves by nature, and the only choice is choosing between masters. I hope I've chosen well.

Love is ridiculous. How can being less be so much more?

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This was supposed to be a straightforward update, and I've blown it. I will try to redeem myself.

Henry and I are working through some first/second grade type work, and he starts learning music next week at his little co-op. Some of older kids at church have been sort of bullying him, but it's hard to say if he's really hurt by it. When I think about it, I really just feel proud of him. Whatever his faults, he would never try to purposely hurt someone. He has a sort of guilelessness that I admire, and a very strong sense of justice. He pretends to be a superhero when he plays.

Stella is very sassy. I don't want her to get any bigger, because soon she won't want to lie next to me as she falls asleep, her hand rubbing my bare arm.

Greg and I started a new book in our marriage small group, and had one of the most honest conversations of our entire marriage this week. We weren't having problems before, but the book really did help us reach a new level of openness with each other. We talked about our ideals, and what we want our lives and marriage to be like. I think this could easily end up in feelings of criticism or guilt, but we stayed focused on the positives and it was nice to see each other in the light of our best intentions.

I'm sewing dresses for little girls, planning two trips, and a very easy birthday party for Henry. I'm doing the best I can to balance.

2014 - 2015 Curriculum Choices

We have a child who doesn't easily fit into a box, and our curriculum for the year will be the same. We are calling this year "kindergarten" for Henry, although he would still be in pre-k if he was going to school (birthday is just after the cut-off).

Without further adieu, here are the resources I will be using this year:

BIBLE
Positive Action Preschool Bible Curriculum - using as an outline for the year, this curriculum goes through many stories in the Old and New Testaments, with suggested activities

Christian Light Education Bible Light Units - I will be using select Light Units for extra material both to supplement the Positive Action curriculum and for stories that the PA Curriculum skips

Abeka pre-k Bible workbook - basically some coloring sheets I'll use to supplement when needed.

My Father's World 1st grade Bible Reader - so that Henry can read the stories for himself.

In addition, we are doing Classical Conversations which I believe has some Bible teaching? As part of our memory work we will work on memorizing the books of the Bible this year!

CHARACTER/DEVOTIONS
Jesus Storybook Bible - My favorite children's Bible and the one we read before bed. I also bought the first of the animated dvds (basically just the Bible read aloud with some minimal animation), so we may use those occasionally

Devotions for Boys ages 2-5 - this is a great little book that holds Henry's attention very well.

Big Book of Devotions - I will probably select entries from the several versions of this book that we own that go along with our other lessons.

These character books - I may just read one a week or as needed to learn about appropriate behavior.

MATH
My Father's World 1st - Math Suggestions - In the lesson plans for MFW 1st Grade there are gentle math activities suggested, including literature that explains math concepts, games, and activities. We will use these guidelines and supplement with more traditional workbook and learning with flash cards.
 
Abeka Grade 1 Arithmetic - We will go though this workbook at a leisurely pace, just to make sure we're not missing anything crucial.

Cheap Math workbooks - I don't know all the names of these, but they can be found at bookstores or online, and cost $3-4. They are slightly smaller than the printer-paper sized workbooks, and usually cover one specific topic, like addition or telling time. We have a few that we'll probably utilize for extra practice.

Starfall.com and Kahn academy- just for fun.

LANGUAGE ARTS
Spelling Workout, together with our own spelling lists of sight words and special vocab for whatever we are currently studying. I am not sure how quickly this program will go, so I'm just planning for 10 min./day of spelling work.

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind - for grammar, we've already started book one and will probably move to book two sometime during the year.

Handwriting without Tears K - we've started this and will probably finish mid-year or sooner. I planned to take it very slow, but Henry's fine motor skills have suddenly improved so maybe we will pick up the pace.

Writing with Ease 1 - I plan to start this book whenever we finish HWT K. I'm sure if I will also move onto the next HWT when this happens, or if we will just continue on with practical applications of writing until the following school year.

Reading - As far as Phonics goes, Henry is pretty much done with instruction, and we will probably just focus on reaching fluency and stamina with reading. I plan to read for 30-60 minutes a day after lunch time, and to assign a 20-30 fun reading time at some other point during the day, possibly while Stella is napping. For book selection I am using a combination of Memoria's Kindergarten Enrichment books, Sonlight lists, recommendations of abcjesuslovesme.com, What Your Preschooler and What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know, and library discoveries.

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY
Classical Conversations - We will memorize a history timeline and study specific topics in U.S. History.

SOTW - I bought the 3rd and 4th volumes along with the activity guides to supplement the CC history topics. We probably won't use most of this resource until the next history cycle, but I thought it would be good to have as a reference.

State Study - we will do a very cursory state study this year, learning the names, shapes, and locations of the 50 states and possibly the capitals. I'll be using some free resources and dollar section workbooks for this.

Continent Boxes - I have no detailed plans for these, but will bring them out once a month or so for a fun break.

SCIENCE
Classical Conversations - The Science topics for Cycle 3 are the Human Body and Chemistry. Since Henry has been absolutely obsessed with the human body lately we have plenty of books and some toys and games already. When they switch to Chemistry mid-year I will probably purchase REAL Science for Kids Chemistry. I'm planning on doing one or at most two science lessons per week.

ART
Classical Conversations - We will have art appreciation and some drawing from CC, also
Memoria K Enrichment has a once a week painting study.

As for making art, we will just continue to do crafts and art projects, some to go along with our other studies, some seasonal, some just for fun.

MUSIC
Classical Conversations - We will have basic music theory and learning to play the tin whistle, as well as some musical appreciation at CC. Memoria K Enrichment also includes a once a week music listening session that I am doing my (non-musical) best to plan.

If Henry enjoys the tin whistle I will likely get him into piano lessons soon, or possibly violin since we have a neighbor who teaches violin.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
I have some Spanish and Latin resources, but I am waiting to see how we all adjust to the new routine before trying to incorporate those into the mix too.

STELLA/GENERAL PRESCHOOL ACTIVITIES
For Stella, I will continue with casual phonics and math instruction, and I will prepare some simple Tot School activities for her to take up to my mom's house while Henry and I work one-on-one with math and language arts. She will likely be around for Bible, Character Studies, and later on for history/science/art/music portions of the day. She will also participate when I read aloud, as much as she wants to.

As far as general pre-school type activities, I have planned out some fun things using Slow and Steady Get Me Ready and abcjesuslovesme.com.

Looking at this list it seems like a lot of stuff, but really our days should be fairly relaxed. We'll start out doing only Bible, Math, and Language Arts in August, and then add in the extras when CC starts in September. The extras will probably only be one a day, and we will school 4 days a week with no school on CC days. I plan to enroll Stella in some kind of mommy and me class on CC days, and Henry will go to CC with my brother-in-law and his cousin. On school days I am hoping everything should take less than two hours total.

101 Things in 1001 Days - not quite :)

This was an old post I never published. I decided to update it to see how I'm doing :)

Spiritual
1. Read through Bible each year. - not quite, but doing better
2. Memorize scripture with the kids - check
3. Learn the words to a hymn each month with the kids - no way! I didn't count on a kid who hates singing.

Social
4. Have someone over or hang out with people every week (this doesn't seem like a lot to some people but for introverts like me this takes so much energy!) - doing better, more like every other week.
5. Stay in touch with old friends, go hang out with some north jersey people occasionally! - nope
6. Make a Passover meal each year and invite others to join - check

Personal
7. Eat breakfast - nope
8. Get sleep - nope

9. Grow hair out one last time before cutting it off forever :)- trying, but I might give in and chop it
10. Make one more beautiful baby :) - not yet :(

Financial
11. Tithe- definitely need some help here
12. Pay off all credit card balances (almost there) - working on it
13. Submit quarterly estimated tax payments - check
14. Replace $ borrowed from vacation fund - check
15. Make double payments on Bar Loans - not yet
16. Submit paperwork to stay on IBR plan for Direct Loans - check
17. Save 40K for house fund - hahahahahahaha
18. Check goodwill before running to the store (just bought Henry jeans for 99 cents each, plus a bike helmet for skating) - still do this

Professional
19. Complete Draft of first novel in series, complete outline of rest of series - still on the draft
20. Submit draft of book one to agents - no
21. Submit 3 short stories to be published - no but did write the stories, just too chicken to send them

Wifey
22. Watch kids while Greg does something for himself at least once a week (men's time, skating, etc.) - compromise, Greg takes one to game night and I keep the other home
23. Plan something thoughtful for anniversaries, birthday, Valentine's Day, and Father's Day - not really

Daughter/Aunt
24. Plan and make the best dinners I can during my week - so so
25. Remember anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day! - getting better?
26. Take Mercy to Thornley and play practice next year- looking forward to this
27. Do something special with Mercy now and then - I wish I could do something with just her occasionally

Mommy
28. Potty-train Henry to independence - yes! finally
29. Potty-train Stella to independence - half way there
30. Get Henry to sleep in a big-boy bed - check
31. Get Stella to sleep in a big-girl bed - check
32. Get Henry to feed himself- check
33. Teach Henry to do dishes and set table - can set the table and help clean up around the house
34. Teach Stella how to read - knows her letters
35. Do fun themes-of-the-week for Stella during the year - next year?
36. Teach Henry the 50 States and Capitals - not officially
37. Put continent boxes together and teach Henry the Continents - love this, half way there
38. Get Latin cd and work on chants - used prima latina to introduce the concept of Latin, big hit
39. Teach basic Spanish vocab - Elly is fluent
40. Get Henry through Right Start levels B, C, and possibly D- working on B
41. Make sure Greg has time to teach both kids to swim - we need to find a new pool
42. Take the kids skiing - nope
43. Continue Henry's skating lessons - skating was an epic fail, maybe we'll try again next year
44. Start Stella skating - ditto
45. Take Henry to a gymnastics class - not yet
46. Try the free ballet class - tried it, trying again in the Fall
47. Get Henry piano and/or violin lessons - not yet
48. Bring Henry to Thornley Chapel and play practice every day in the Summer - epic fail last Summer, hopeful for this year
49. Go to Bible hour in the Summer - not with my baby girl
50. Volunteer at NJ homeschool convention - did it
51. Investigate homeschool co-ops, classical conversations, play groups - done, going to classical conversations next year as long as they have room for us.