We've paid the life insurance policies.
We've paid the annual membership on my business association.
We've paid the medical bill.

I've revisited my goals and I feel like (irrationally) that we aren't doing enough, etc. Like we aren't moving anywhere. I want to (also, irrationally) buy our two Wills online even though we don't have enough cash to do so, simply because it was on my goal list for October.

I need some sort of positive reinforcement, I guess. Ideas?

On the plus side, we will have enough in November to put a little bit towards the snowball, getting us very close to having the loan down to half ($5k)!

Car insurance bill came in $150 over what it was 6 months ago. (we pay every 6 months).
This to me seems crazy. I called Progressive and they said that the state's rates went up again (what?!) and they can't do anything about it. In Nov. 2007 we paid 1048 for six months (two cars). Then it was 1200. This year they want 1311 for the same two cars, and add to that that we've had no tickets or anything in the last year to warrant the raise.

I need some motivation around here. I feel like we're treading water and I hate that feeling. Whenever I find extra money, another thing pops up to eat it.

Also, I've decided to forgo the wills for at least the next year. The house is already in both our names, and we're each other's beneficiaries on the retirement/ insurance. I'm postponing that until after the wedding.

Call another insurance company and find out if the rates did go up for your state.
It may be true, it may not be, but it's easy enough to call insurance companies and find out what your rates would be. Tell them that you have no tickets, maybe ask for safe driver compensation, or find out how else you could get a discount.

I think you're doing great. Slow and steady wins the race.

i understand the feelings of treading water and feeling like you need to do more. i'm struggling with that same situation myself. to help that, i try to remind myself that the world tends toward chaos and it takes energy to maintain order. keeping yourself financially afloat/treading water takes energy too.

I know that edgy feeling about not doing enough about money. The recent negative economic news is adding to that stress. You have made a great list. Continue prioritizing what you need and what you can control. Keep putting it into writing. You are seeing progress already.

Time to call around to check other rates if you have the time/energy. Make a few calls (15 minutes)
Geico, Progressive, Allstate, USAA and you will at least see if your rate is fair and have some sense of control. That seems like a big jump for 6 months with no changes. Another thought is to raise your deductible a little higher and bank the savings.

Thanks so much guys! I was feeling down for a bit.

I did exactly what you said. I got a bunch of online quotes. Nationwide is the winner! They came in at less than $1,000 for the same coverages, for six months AND we don't have to pay it up front. We can pay monthly with auto debit with no fees/ penalties.

I saved $350 in about an hour. (We were with Progressive. I also checked the rates at General, AllState, and Geico)

I also opened a separate savings account to keep track of our quarterly and semi annual payments more easily.

Also today, I transferred this month's car payment, making the new total:

$5, 243.33 !!!!

When it hits 5k we're having a celebration dinner. We have a coupon for buy one, get one meal at this really great restaurant we've been wanting to try for a while. We've earned it! We've paid off $15,000 in debt, and saved $2,000... all in eight months!

Samantha, good for you! You're doing so well!

Sandi

We went grocery shopping the other night. We spent $35 and saved $17, with coupons, buying on sale, and using the store's discount card.

WOW! I think we are hooked to this. We're going to see if we can save more next trip!

So we had $80 left in our "food" category at the end of the month!

We went on our 'celebratory dinner' the other night. Not so good. It was SOOO noisy, crowded. We waited an hour for a table. (with bar stools for seats!). And the food wasn't even good. Completely and utterly disappointing. I'm not sure if restaurants are getting worse, or we are spoiling ourselves by cooking up whatever we want at home, and eating in the quiet of our kitchen!

I've also begun reading an excellent book, the Joy of Simple Living, by Jeff Davidson. Its proved itself an invaluable resource and I'm only 50 pages into it. Clear, concise, with real advice that applies to my life. I highly recommend it.

On a bummer note... A childhood friend just confided that their home is in foreclosure. This came as a shock to no one, but apparently they never thought their debt could spiral this badly. They are most likely going to declare bankruptcy to see their way out of the hole they are in. Sometimes, I wish it wasn't so easy to get off for all the bad decisions they knowingly made.

Sorry your celebratory dinner wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but at least you had a coupon and only had to pay for one meal, right? Maybe the word is spreading that the place is a mess, and that's why they're offering coupons.

Sorry to hear about your friends. That's too bad.

I think I may check out that book you recommended. I started reading 'Your Money or Your Life' and it's just not holding my attention.

Updates!!!

We've been doing very well as far as Christmas shopping goes. I bought a bunch of holiday tins to fill with homemade christmas cookies. This will serve as an inexpensive gift for 7-8 people on my list. We are under budget now!

The bf got a tiny contract and made a quick $250. This will be applied to the car loan!

We've been slipping a little with eating fast food. I'm running out of energy to pack my lunches, etc. every day. I'll try to be more mindful with that in the coming month.

Everything has been going very well. With our emergency fund in place, I've noticed we don't have emergencies anymore.

This weekend is our first Financial Peace University class at our church. We are facilitating the group, so I am very excited about it!

By the end of December, I hope to have my car loan under $4,000. Wish me luck! It might be hard with the holidays... and I don't know how much interest will accumulate. We will be cutting it close, but it has to happen for us to stay on track with our Spring Pay-Off goal.

We are almost done Christmas shopping, too! We have a buckeye tree in our backyard, so we've decided to make buckeye necklaces for all the Ohio State fans on our christmas lists. Between those and the cookie tins, it will be a nice homemade christmas this year. We've dropped our budget to $400. Yay!

Also this weekend we coordinated our first Dave Ramsey class. There were 22 people there! It was very exciting to be able to bring Dave's philosophy to some beginners. This group will 'graduate' on March 8th.

And the bf will be getting a smallish raise beginning January 1st. Every little bit counts!!!

Well we did it!
I just transferred another $100 from the part-time job income. Bringing the car loan down to:

$3,950.

In looking back over the year, the balance on this loan in January was over $12,000. I cannot believe how much progress we've made in such a short time. This year we paid off about 20k, and saved 2k more for the EF. And we only earn $60k.

We are finished christmas shopping! The first christmas that we paid all in cash. We saved up all year, and it made the holidays so great. January will be even better without the dread of the credit card statement!

The boyfriend has been picking up overtime, so that will be a bigger check upcoming. And we both took next week off, to spend some much needed time together, at home, with our doggie, cuddled by the fireplace, with homemade hot chocolate.

Things are wrapping up nicely, all with bows. We are ready for 2009!

Wow, Good Job! You guys deserve some time on the couch - I know what you mean about the January dread.

You should be so proud of yourselves! That's GREAT progress.

Sandi

That is amazing!

Well... the holidays are officially over.

We passed out all our homemade items and everything was a HUGE hit, especially the buckeye necklaces to our OSU fans. (Total cost: about $10 for all of them). We also bought a "sugar waffle" iron, like they make at festivals around here, and made a bunch of sugar waffles for my dad. And then we gave them to him, wrapped in a bow, with the iron and the recipe. He said we really outdid ourselves! And the best part was: total cost $13.

We actually (and I know how crass this sounds, but hear me out)... We made money this christmas. Between cash from grandparents, and gift cards. We received more (monetarily, of course) than we spent. I hope this non-consumerist mentality rubs off on some of my family. We end up basically swapping cash, because we don't know each other very well. But instead, this year we put alot of thought into our gifts, and happened to spend less in the process.

So that adds up to a $300 extra payment to the car loan this month!

Goals for 2009:
Pay off Car Loan by April
Begin Saving the EF, 8k by December (total goal 15k)
Go to the gym 2/week and lose 10 lbs, and keep it off!
Install new flooring in house.