~Our Disney World Plan~

We decided back in August that we would take a trip rather than exchanging gifts this Christmas. We have all been excited for months about our trip to Disney World! I have been getting very creative with ways to save for this trip. My goal was to not use any of our savings money, but to 100% pay for this vacation with the extra money that I've been earning. I was inspired to do this by my friend, Christy, that I wrote about HERE. That was a CHALLENGE! Whew!

What I've learned through it all?
If you want something bad enough, write it down! I posted a Disney World Savings Fund sheet on my pantry door for us to look at everyday. I put down every dollar (even cent) that we save. On that same sheet I wrote the breakdown of exactly how much everything would cost. Of course, the food category was not exact. However, we had a very close idea of what it would cost.

This process did not seem like such a huge leap by writing it all down. It has been wonderful to see my daughter bring me pennies that she has found. She has loved contributing to the fund. That was my goal! I wanted her to feel like she was part of us getting there too. I believe that she will have a great appreciation for something that she knows that we worked together as a family for. Yes, I realize she is young. However, this is a great lesson at any age.

It is never too early to start teaching your children the value of money and teamwork...Two things that they will need great knowledge of the rest of their lives.

In this series I will be writing about ways that I saved the money for Disney World and how we saved money once we were there. Literally, we saved HUNDREDS by doing a few simple things!

Wednesday Blessings~
SHO

~3 Principles We Live By~

Hello Sassy Savers!

Hope everyone is having a great Friday! Boy, has this been a crazy busy week. All of my freezer cooking meals paid off big time this week. I didn't spend more than 20 minutes on any meal and we ate at home. I've found that if I have something that I can whip up in around 20-30 minutes, we will eat at home. After all, it takes about that long to go get takeout. Plus, you have to spend your precious money on fuel. No fun! Anytime we eat at home my hunky hubs calls it a "prepaid meal". In our house those meals are wonderful! Especially, since we are saving for Disney World!!!


Part of the reason that I started this blog was to encourage people. I'm asked all the time how we live off a teacher's salary. People are beyond curious. My answer is that we don't just "live", but we live in the "overflow blessings". Honestly, we live better now than we did with 2 full-time salaries. Part of the reason is that I'm not constantly worrying about money. Now that we live on such a strict budget, I know where the money is going. It is amazing the peace that I have felt since living on a written budget (of course, sticking to it is key).


3 principles we live by:

1) We are good stewards with our money (started using coupons). Started to think and plan ahead before every purchase. We were amazed at what we can talk ourselves out of! (Example: BMW 3 series...yes, it is my dream car...yes, we test drove several of them...yes, we put in offers...THEN we came back to a normal state of mind and decided that we have other goals that come before us driving a pretty BMW. After all, it will be even prettier when we get it AFTER we pay CASH for our home!)

2) We live within a budget. A very detailed budget is key for us! I keep track of where every dollar goes each month on a spreadsheet. That has really kept us on track. We have a game plan every month to make sure that we stay focused and are able to hit our savings goal.

3) Most importantly we HONOR GOD with our TITHE. We believe that God blesses the 90% that we keep and multiplies it. We have seen it in our finances!
Another thing is giving to those in need. I encourage you to pray and see if God is leading you to help someone. I promise, it is the BEST feeling knowing that you are truly helping someone in need. You will be so rewarded.


When we started combining those 3 things we were amazed at how God truly blessed us.
I want to encourage you today that whatever your financial situation is, you can start making changes today. You can get out of debt. You can live in the "overflow blessings". You can leave your children a legacy of financial freedom! Get excited! Change can be a wonderful thing. Change is uncomfortable, but so is living with debt looming over your head. Look forward to the finish line and never lose sight of your goals!

Be Blessed~
SHO

~Talk to your children about money~

"Mommy, guess what?!" (says mini-me)
"What?" (says mommy)

"I'm moving to a new house!" (mini-me)
"You are?!" (mommy)

"Yep, I'm paying CASH for it!!!" (mini-me)
"I'm so excited for you!!!" (mommy)
"How were you able to do it?" (mommy)

"I saved & budgeted my money." (mini-me)
I was smiling so big at this point. So proud of my little Sassy Saving mini-me!

Wow, to think that my newly 4 year old little girl gets it just makes me smile. I'm so glad that we talk to her about money at such a young age. I'm so happy that she doesn't think that debt is "normal" and that we set goals as a family. We have been talking to her about wanting to pay CASH for our next home. I just love that she is talking about it now. Imagine how exciting that day will be when we pay CASH for such a big investment?! Oh happy day!

It is never too early to start talking to your children about money. They are listening! Set goals with them. Make saving money fun for them!

"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it" ~Proverbs 22:6

Blessings~
SHO