Feeling Accomplished. . .

I am feeling accomplished today.  It has been a long week but I feel good about myself, my job, and my family.  There were several days in these last seven weeks or so that I felt completely overwhelmed.   I am a little ashamed to admit that I also felt like giving up a couple of times too.   I felt like; what am I doing trying to go back to work after thirteen years?   I must give huge thanks to my sister, my mom and my very sweet, loving, and supportive husband.  I am very serious when I say if it were not for their support and confidence in me I would have given up on myself.   My sister reminded me that God was working in my life and that I should walk in Godficance (confidence in God) and that is what has gotten me through to this point of thankfulness.   I am also very thankful to my friends that have kept us in their prayers.   I have renewed my relationship with God on this journey and that may have been His ultimate plan.  I have really leaned on Him as well through this tumultuous time in our lives.
The hubbs is back at work with his old job and we will not be as naive as we were the last time.   There is no trust there anymore with job security for either of us.  We are saving for the kids college and paying off our house as fast as we can.  In true Dave Ramsey fashion we are also padding our emergency fund for when this happens again.   Based on our experience, I suggest you shoot for at least a six month emergency fund.   It took my hubby exactly six months to get his job back and it took me three months to find my job.   I talk an awful lot about Dave Ramsey but, we are a prime example of what can happen and that Dave's plan does work.   You do not have to trust me check it out for your self do your own research but, make a plan.  As Dave says, it will rain and you should be prepared for that rainy day.

Financial Friday the 13th. . .

Good Friday morning.    On this rainy and overcast Friday the 13th I think we should do a check up of our rainy day fund/emergency fund.   Are you saving for that rainy day or emergency?  If you are not prepared for the rain a simple appliance problem could send you in to financial ruin or at least zap your budget.  Dave Ramsey talks about saving $1,000 in cash and fast as your on hand emergency fund.  He also talks about saving three to six months of expenses for your long term emergency fund. If you have an emergency fund in place, your emergencies do not seem so big.  
If you have not checked out Dave Ramsey I highly recommend it.  Read his information and test out his theories for yourself.  I am not a financial guru nor do I claim to be, I have followed most of what Dave Ramsey says to do and we are debt free except our house and saving like crazy for the boys to go to college.   I was thrilled that my friend Beth invited me to my first Dave Ramsey class and I was excited when my friend Craig said he would be teaching a class.   You do not have to attend a class to learn his system, check out the Dave Ramsey website.  I also encourage you to read books from other financial people like Suzy Orman.  There are many financial businesses that will counsel you in your financial matters but, do you really want to take advice from someone who has less money in the bank than you?  I am not saying that they are all like that but, I find it hard to take financial advice from someone who is in more debt than I am.  As Dave says, if you want to be a millionaire you do what millionaires do and millionaires do not take financial advice from broke people.   You can find Dave Ramsey's books at the library and at some used book stores.
Here is my disclosure:  I am not receiving any perks or kickbacks for this post.  I write this because I truly believe in this system and I think we would all be better off out of debt.   Imagine the contributions that could be made to charity if we were all out of debt. . .  

Emergency Fund?????

Do you have an emergency fund?  You may have your $1,000 quick cash emergency fund but I am talking about the 3-6 months of income emergency fund.  They are both important and are both very necessary.  The $1,000 quick cash is cash on hand that you can get to easily for emergencies like broken pipes and pay day is a week away or broken heat pump in the middle of summer.   The 3-6 month emergency fund is for times when you may not have an income.  Maybe you or your spouse are hurt and cannot work or you get laid off.  Unfortunately both of these situations can be your reality in today's economy.  
If you follow Dave Ramsey you have heard him talk about both of these items in his Financial Peace lectures.  I told you earlier you would get tired of me saying, "Dave says."  I do believe what he has to say works, we do not do everything according to Dave but we do most.  If you read what he has to say and really sit back and think about it, it makes sense.  I would not do it or recommend it if it did not make sense to me.
I have dipped into my $1,000 emergency fund and I replaced it as soon as dear hubby was paid.  With all of our debt paid except the house, any extra money we get is divided between the 3-6 month emergency fund and extra house payments.  We have already taken two years off of our mortgage and saved a good deal on interest.  You would be surprised what a mere $200 extra could save you in interest.
Now to figure out how much you need for your 3-6 months emergency fund.  Take your expenses for the whole month, be honest, short cutting and lying to yourself will not help you in the long run.  When you have your expenses for the month multiply them by 3 to get a 3 month estimate and multiply by 6 to get a six month estimate.  Last time I checked we had about a 5 month emergency fund.   This is very important for us because my husbands' business is very volatile, he has survived 5 lay offs in the last 4 years or so.  You just never know when you might get that call.  With our emergency fund in place it is not quite as scary.
Since my dear hubby had his injury and had to have surgery and is facing short-term disability and lots of rehabilitation, that emergency fund will be a cushion for us.  Dave always says you need that rainy day fund, because it will rain.  
I think when you have an emergency fund it is insurance against the rain.   We may need ours for doctor and hospital bills too.
I would recommend setting your 3-6 months emergency fund up in a money market account if your bank has one.  As your fund grows you can take advantage of that extra interest.  If it is in a money market account you are less likely to spend it on something that is not an emergency.
I do not get kick backs from Dave Ramsey, this is just something that I believe in and am passionate about.