As usual I thought I would put my goals to pen and paper or in this day and age computer and internet. We start this year with our bank account at 83.11 and our savings 0.00. Would love to work on the savings a bit more this year, but first and fore most is paying down our debt which isn't much at all. We have been credit card free for about 7 years now and have paid most of them off. We have a few more bills we owe and would like to see them all paid up before the end of 2014 putting us completely debt free for the first time in a long time. We have done it before and we are close to doing it again. This time we are not going back unless we buy a home of our own. It just is not worth it to have anything hanging over your head when hard times roll in, which is hard for us because we are spenders rather then savers.
As of right now we have 599.97 in our bank account and a total of 5.00 in our credit union account which we use like a savings account. I know it isn't much but it is better then the 0.00 we had last year.There are three discrepancies on our bank account, which I will have to take up with three different companies on the 2nd, which should leave us with a bit more in the bank, about 150.00 more give or take a few dollars and change. As for being debt free we have a few months on I believe our last bill and we are debt free. We did break down and take a car loan out on a newer SUV but we needed it badly, our van just made it to the dealer ship, we had been told it would not pass inspection and we had just put just under 3000.00 into her. I am just thankful without knowing our credit score we were able to walk out that day with a newer vehicle that is not only safe but fits our whole family plus more.
I was able to hit my goal of making $1000.00 last year online topping out at $1545.41 so I will set this years Goal at $1,500.00 and see where it goes. You may ask how do you make money online? Well for me it is a few sites I do here and there on top of surveys which I have been doing way before I had a computer and they use to come in the mail. I haven't made a dime blogging yet, but others say you can so I would like to see if I can make that happen too, but for those keeping tabs my goal is for online sites not blogging. If I make money blogging I will fill you in at years end. I will also post over the year about sites where I make my online money which in our house is used for birthday and Christmas presents, and really helped out with our budget, in case anyone would like information and would like to do the same.
I did not hit my goal of 1500.00 but that is mainly due to one of my big money making sites going belly up. I did however still hit over a 1000.00 topping off at 1117.11. This does not count my merchandising job. My website took off during 2014 which netted me some extra money we didn't count on, Let's just say our children had a nice Christmas between the money I got from online sites, and the little big my blog pulled in. I want to set my 2015 goal at 1200 for online sites, and now that I am making money with my blog I have to keep track of all of the money for our taxes.
For me personally I would like to shed some more pounds the numbers on the scale have been up and down all year. Mainly from being on and off of the medication that makes me able to do things I normally don't have the energy for or because I am in too much pain to get much done. Such is the life of living with Fibromyalgia. Always a surprise to find out where you have pain from day to day and the days there is none while both having energy is even further in between. This is why when I am feeling well I use it while I have it, like yesterday I used it all up and today I am hurting all over, but I was able to get a lot done and the family had a blast ringing in the New Year, well worth the pain I am in now. You can follow my weight loss over at the above tab Pam's Fight to Lose Weight.
As for weight loss sadly I am still fighting to lose weight and even got discouraged because of my medication not being covered for a good part of 2014, as well as some stress a few times during the year. I really just need to move more which is easier said then done when you are in pain everyday and never knowing if it is going to be a good pain day where you can get something done or a bad pain day where you can hardly even get out of bed to use the bathroom. I guess the weight didn't appear on my body in a year so it will take more then a year to shed it. Have no fear I have not given up yet, the numbers are lower just not as much as I would have liked to see them.
As a family we thought we would like to start a once a month family dinner night where everyone is invited in our family. Those who come can enjoy time together with us and those who don't can always come the next month. The door will be open either way. I have to iron out the day and it has to be soon so I can let those who would like to be a apart of our dinner nights know so they can plan accordingly. We sit down almost every night as a family for those who are in our household but having extended family and our children who have grown and flown the nest would really be nice.
The family dinner thing didn't work out at all, trying to get one day where people can show up is like pulling teeth. We didn't have out Thanksgiving until December 5th and we were still missing 3 of our immediate family members. Maybe we will revisit this not sure. Everyone just seems to be so busy.
As a blogger I am going to work on game reviews with our family over the year, and also branching off to do a blog about places in the area where we live which is called the Tri-State area. New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. I will base it in the nearby towns near where we live and if all works out well branch out even further as time goes by. Not sure if I should open a new tab for that or list it right here under a Heading stating something like MarksvilleandMe visits ________.
Another thing I didn't get to but it hasn't left my mind. The game thing we would like to try again this year, and I have a few ideas for the Tri-State posts so please keep a look out as I hope to bring these posts to my readers.
Of course I have tons more planned like my daughter Dennise's Sensational Seventeenth Birthday in April, Dorothy and Deanna's combined half Birthday's Candyland style between May and June. Working on getting a new vehicle, purchasing new living and computer room furniture, painting our bedroom, the bookshelf in the hall upstairs, and the neat rolling doll house bookcases we picked up for free a few winters back. Growing a bigger garden this year, painting and making our enclosed porch a nice retreat to entertain guests during the warmer months, maybe even add a fire pit outside if our landlord ever fixes the railings on our front porch. A trip down south to see my sister and the colleges Dennise would like to attend, which will also double as a much needed vacation we haven't had in about 8 years. I might even be able to visit the ocean for the first time ever in my life which would be awesome.
Except for getting a new vehicle, we didn't get to much at all on this list. For about 10 weeks we went without income, almost losing where we live, when finally someone figured out what was going on with both of my husband's incomes and then we had these huge checks to disperse among all of the people we has missed payments too. Luckily during this time my checks for my merchandising job was coming in which kept gas in the car, and the car payment and insurance paid. Other then that we were hurting pretty bad. Even with all of this happening my husband was on the Presidents list every semester, and is currently still considered 50% disabled.
The biggest thing this year for me is that I am here, alive, and ready for God to lead me, which I know may be on a totally different path then what I would plan, but something I am willing to do for him, even if I do kick and scream a bit along the way. Here is to a New Year and all of the possibilities it holds for my family and yours. Let's make it the best year we can.
Even though we had a up and down year, God kept us well. We are all here again to see another year unfold, which is more then I could ask for. God is good and I can not wait to see what 2015 has in store for each and every one of us.
My original post of MarksvilleandMe takes on the 52 Week Savings Challenge can be found here.
As you now we had some money problems so we didn't really get to far with the 52 Week Savings Challenge before we had to dip in to help keep us afloat until money starting flowing again. I do plan to try this again for 2015 and hope that things work out a bit better then they did in 2014.
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