The most exciting part was actually having money leftover at the end of the month, and my bank account looked great too!
Throughout the month I have done the challenges and I have learned a lot about what is really important to me. Also, the fact that we sold our house, in 3 days, has made me look through everything and I feel so much lighter.
Gail Vaz-Oxlades book Money Rules, has been very inspirational for me at this time. Rules 5, 6 and 20 especially during this last week or so.
#5 is FIGURE OUT WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO YOU. And this covers everything in my life, from possessions and what I want for the future.
#6 is SET SOME GOALS. I have really been pondering this and know that my goal is to own a home and to not be living week to week anymore. This one is also eye opening in the sense that the goals I set need to be achievable, so I won't stress while working towards them.
#20 is KEEP LEARNING AND KEEP GROWING. This is something that I have lived by in my life. Now, I am taking the time to learn about investing, to learn about making the right financial decisions, not just listening to one person, but talking to lots of people and institutions about the best place to invest my equity.
We have all cleaned through clothes, and just kept what fits and what we love (and actually wear). This is a huge feat for us, as we are always being given hand me downs. I love getting them, because it would be expensive to clothe myself and 5 kids, so they are very welcome, and now I have a great system when they come into the house, so I am not overwhelmed.
We have also switched laundry detergent. We used to buy whatever was cheapest, but now, after living in jars and having money set aside for everything, we have realized that spending a little more up front, actually benefits us in the end. The clothes last longer and look new, almost all the time!
I had the opportunity to try out the New Tide Simply Clean & Fresh, which is launching this month in stores, and I wondered how I would feel, going from Tide Pods to this new one...and really, I think I am just as happy with it! I love that it has 2 times the baking soda cleaning power, so it gets the dirt AND the odours out even better!!
I have struggled this month to find a place for us to live. Years of making bad financial choices is now affecting me. My credit rating is an R (rejected!) and I have learned that between that rating and having a large family, myself and 5 kids, landlords won't even look at us. It has been very stressful and I honestly can say that I have cried almost every day for the last 3 weeks.
I have looked at rent to owns, but my income doesn't even qualify that for me, so instead, and thankfully, I have an amazing best friend, who is opening her house to my family. We are going to live with her, moving in over the next week (I want to be out of this house by March 15!!), and we are going to start rebuilding my credit.
I am hoping to be able to save even more towards my down payment and actually be able to buy a house. Originally, I thought I would be ok with renting, but I stress about landlord issues, or my kids being too rough on someone elses house...so, I will be way less stressed if I can buy.
So, this process of having a storage unit and only moving in what we need for the next few months, has also taught us what is really important. Even my kids have learned what they really want and what really doesn't matter...a great lesson for them to learn now:-)
In the end, this Financial Challenge came at exactly the right time for our family, and I am excited to keep it going and to share what I have learned with my BFF, so she can get on board while we are living there...
Disclaimer: I received compensation for this blog post. I am a P&G Mom. All opinions and experiences stated here are solely my own.
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