"If you have food, friends, and a comfortable place to live, you are all set to live an incredible life."

"If you have food, friends, and a comfortable place to live, you are all set to live an incredible life. Everything you buy, and every experience and commitment you add to the plate beyond this point is a trade off: a guaranteed reduction in cash and free time, in exchange for a possible increase in thrills delivered by fun or novelty."-Mr.Money Mustache

I read this quote last week after reading an article I found on msn.com about a man and his wife who retired at 30 years old. I was immediately intrigued. How does someone retire at this age? Why are most people struggling to pay their bills and working into their late 60's and 70's and this guy managed to work for a taxing 9 whole years?

As I read more about this Mr. Money Mustache, I realized he didn't do anything fancy to retire at this young age. He cut out all extra expenses, biked to work, and saved every dime he could towards retirement. By 30 years old, he was a self-made millionaire. 

His quote (and many of his blogs) spoke to me in many ways. As Barry and I have been working hard on our budget, reading financial books, and discussing money on a nearly daily basis, we have realized many things. 

Three things we have learned:

1. Debt is normal... and we don't want to be normal. 

2. Most people, including us, overspend each month (and then justify it, of course!)

3. Most of us don't realize how truly blessed we are with what we already have. 

The idea of cutting expenses is rarely discussed. Most people are so worried about how much money they make a year, what type of raise they will receive, and/or when the latest iPhone is coming out that they rarely think about how much money they are spending. 

Here's a couple tips that have helped us to cut costs:

1. Grocery shopping: We try and buy most of our bulk items at Costco such as toiletries, chicken, eggs, Greek yogurt, almond milk, etc. Food items that go bad (mostly fresh fruit and vegetables), we purchase at Aldi. (Gotta support my cousin, Erika!) This saves us quite a bit of money and saves us from spending lots of time clipping coupons.

 

2. Negotiate phone/Internet/cable: We contemplated cancelling our cable altogether, but realized we would spend more money in the long run by going to restaurants to watch all the sporting events we enjoy such as the Colts, Pacers, and Dodgers. Instead, Barry called AT&T and discussed different plans and ended up cutting our bill by over $50! 

(and increased our Internet speed...Double win!)

3. Complete home improvements: We started a kitchen remodel this past weekend consisting of refinishing/painting cabinets, replacing the oven range and sink facet, along with a new kitchen counter top. Many of these items aren't anything we are skilled to do on our own, but I knew we could do the painting of the cabinets. We are still working on this daily, but the final project should be finished this weekend. Barry also completed a fire pit project this weekend that looks amazing! (And for less than $100!) 

Here's a sneak peak of the renovation.. and the inside of our cabinets LOL :)

Six months into our Total Money Makeover, I feel like our thoughts, actions, and focus has completely shifted. Before, we rarely thought about how much money we spent eating out with friends on the weekend, during our monthly trip to Costco (filling two carts on one memorable occasion), and on miscellaneous items throughout the month. We rarely said "No" to any event or invitation. 

Our goal of our Total Money Makeover is to pay off all our debt as soon as possible

 (updated goal is mid February 2015) to enable me to be a stay at home Mom when the time comes. I also want to build a simple lifestyle for our family that doesn't focus on the things we have, but the experiences and the time we spend together. Having a solid plan for the future has strengthened our marriage and I'm forever grateful we have taken this step together. 

Do you or your family have a budget? What sacrifices have you made to help reach your financial goals? Where do you see yourself or family in 1, 3, and 5 years from today?

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try"- March 2014 Recap and Goals

The beginning of 2014 began with three long, freezing cold and snowy months. After the grueling winter we had, it felt like Spring would never arrive! I'm so excited to see the flowers starting to come up through the ground, the grass starting to turn green, and some 50-60 degree days!  

Here's a rundown of March 2014 for the Gardner's 

March started off with my 90 day review at NIFS. My manager had nothing but great things to say about my performance my first three months with this company! I was very excited to hear this. I LOVE my position as a Health Fitness Specialist as I'm gaining new experience in the field of Health and Fitness!



The second week of March was our first appointment at Midwest Fertility. To say I was nervous was an understatement. Luckily, we now have an amazing Doctor that Barry and I both really like and are working on a plan to hopefully conceive in the coming months!
 
The weekend of March 15th-16th was extremely busy! We headed out to Brownsburg High School around 9am on Saturday morning to help set up for the Riley Dance Marathon. We then traveled to cheer on the Brownsburg Bulldog basketball team at Regionals. After a disappointing loss, we headed back out to Brownsburg for a fun afternoon/evening at the Riley Dance Marathon. We ended the night by celebrating my Mom's birthday over at my parent's house :)
               

I Faced My Fear on March 19th and found out a possible cause for our infertility. Barry was off work for two weeks starting on Friday, March 21st-April 4th. We allowed ourselves some extra room in the budget (since we didn't go to Fort Myers with our friends) and had some fun shopping, going out to dinners, and staying the night at the Embassy Suites in downtown Indy.


Now a recap of the 2014 goals I set back in January. If you haven't read that yet, click here ---> 2014 Goals<----

1. Debt: We started our debt talk back in November 2013 when I ordered the free copy of Advocare's Debt Buster System. We never really worried about debt since we could pay our monthly payments and even had extra money over for vacations, trips, etc. What we didn't realize was how much money we were wasting each month on useless purchases that were keeping us from truly getting ahead in life and building wealth. 



After reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, our entire thought process shifted. We now do a written budget each money where we spend every dollar before the month begins. (We aren't perfect, but getting better each month!) This helps us to stay on track and hit our debt payment goal each month.

 

Our debt snowball has been put on hold during February and March in order to save for our kitchen remodel project and a new driveway/front porch! After seeing so much progress on my student loans the first couple months and cutting my student loans in half, it has been hard to not see the amount decrease these past couple months. We were hoping to delay the driveway project, but Old Man Winter had different plans! I know that paying cash for both these projects will feel amazing, but I can't wait to get back on our Debt Snowball this month!  



2. Advocare: Building an Advocare business is simple, but not easy! We have an amazing team of over 90 champions and are currently earning a residual $1,000 a month! This has been a huge blessing! We are throwing every penny we bring in through Advocare at our debt. We love the products and take them daily. I love helping others reach their health, fitness, and/or financial goals with this company and look forward to many more amazing experiences in the coming months and years! 


3. Dogs: My baby/puppy fever may be at an all-time high. I had a dream the other night that Smokey gave birth to 10 puppies (LOL) First, Smokey is a male. Two, he is fixed. Three, I may be starting to lose it. Even though probably four times a week I ask Barry, "Can we get a puppy?" I know it's not the best time. As soon as we got another Weim, I would probably get pregnant and we would then have a new puppy and a newborn...
uh, no thanks! 
So for now, we are spoiling Smokey and enjoying our peaceful house. 

                      

4. Baby Making Plans: Last month we met with Dr. Will at Midwest Fertility in Carmel. Barry and I both really liked him and had a great conversation about all we have been through the past year and a half. He had some routine tests ordered and we found out that my thyroid levels were slightly elevated (2.89). He said he would like them between 1-2 to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy. I started a thyroid medication the next day and will have that rechecked this month. We should have a game plan for May after a couple more tests this month :) 



Are you still working towards the goals you set for 2014? What process have you made? What set backs have you encountered?
- Sarah 

Facing your Fears: "Do one thing every day that scares you."- Eleanor Roosevelt

My earliest memory of my biggest fear was when I was 7 or 8 years old. I was playing in my backyard with one of my friends, Karlyn, and we were doing "under dogs" on the swing set. I had just run under the swing when Karlyn noticed I had cut my wrist and was bleeding. I hadn't noticed, until she said something. Immediately, my heart started to race, I turned white as a ghost, and my vision started to close in on me. I don't remember if I passed out or not, but the experience became a common theme anytime I saw blood or even heard people discussing an incident with blood. (Fun for me... not!)

If anyone has ever had anxiety or a huge fear, you probably understand where I'm coming from. From this point on, I did everything I could to avoid any situation facing blood, needles, etc. I can probably count the number of times this fear caused me to pass out on one hand, but each of those experiences builds on the other and makes the anxiety even worse. For example, one early morning during my sophomore year at Purdue University I had a Personal Training class. All I remember is my professor continually discussing blood and said something regarding "the blood POOLS in the muscles.." and I was out. I literally passed out, fell out of my desk, and woke up to the teacher screaming ,"Are you okay.. Sarah, are you okay?!?" Embarrassing.



I've managed to make it to 28 years old with only having to have my blood drawn one time until today. The first time went really well. A nurse came to our home to do a physical for life insurance so I was able to lay on our own couch while she performed the blood draw. I didn't pass out and had a relatively positive experience. I found out last week I would have to have my fasted blood drawn this morning. I was anxious, but knew I would have to put my big girl panties on and do it. (Ok, I might have looked like this guy.)

I drove up to the north side of Indy (about 30 minutes) to my appointment that was at 7:40am. Just a couple minutes in the waiting room and I was called back. I have never been this calm, EVER, at the doctor's office... especially knowing they are drawing my blood. I informed the nurse that I'm a "fainter" and she sat me in the chair that reclines. She propped my feet up, laid me back, and about a minute or two later was done! Wow! I did it! :)

I am so proud of myself for tackling this fear head on. This has literally caused me so much anxiety over the past 20 some years and today was the first day I feel like I'm in control. One of my goals in 2014 is to "Do one thing every day that scares you." Now that I've faced this fear, I feel there's nothing I can't do! :)

What are your biggest fears? What have you done to overcome them?

How have you conquered a huge fear in your life?

" A goal without a plan is a wish" - February Goals: (Part II)

I can't believe February has come and gone! Yippee!! I think it's even going to hit over 50 degrees today and I'm sure everyone in Indiana is as excited as I am about that! Part Two of my goals may not have gone quite as well as Part One (Fail!) It would be much easier to not blog about this and move on to the next, but I'm not going to achieve every goal perfectly every month. Life happens. I'm glad I'm reviewing these monthly because I now know what I can do better in March and the rest of 2014 :)

In Part 1, I discussed my progress in my career, wifey, and fitness goals. Part 2 is going to focus on my spiritual, personal growth, and budget goals. Let's dive right in!

Spiritual Goals



1. Attend church weekly

I only attended church one time in February. Although one is better than none it's not good enough. I have been having a mental struggle with myself every weekend when it comes to going to church. (I'm about to be super honest here so if I offend you, I apologize, I'm just being honest about my feelings.) The thought of attending mass feels like a chore. It's like something on my list I have to do and cross off before moving to the next item. I don't like that. I want my experience to be something that moves me.. makes me think about my life and how I can improve it, etc. Barry and I have been discussing this topic and know we need to make an honest commitment to our faith. I hope to make some great progress in the coming months.

2. Nightly devotional with hubby: (5 nights a week)


This has yet to begin. Whoops! We do have a daily devotional book but I'm going to the library this weekend to find The Love Dare, a couple's devotional book that we can do together. I think this is a great way to reconnect as a couple after a long day and to continue to work on our marriage. My goal (that Barry doesn't yet know about lol) is to put the phones down in the evening and reconnect daily. I think it's so easy to just "go through the motions" day in and day out and before you know it a month, a year, or several years has just passed by in the blink of an eye. I don't want an average life or an average marriage. I want to push daily to get better in every aspect of my life and my marriage is more important than nearly anything else in my life. I can't wait to dig into this devotional with my hubby :)



Personal Growth


1. Read 2 new Leadership books a month (24 in 2014)

This month started off great in the reading department! I finished my first book in the first couple days of February called "Inside my Heart" by Robin McGraw, Dr. Phil's wife. I was ready for a change of pace from all the financial books I was reading and this was perfect. It was an easy read and was a wonderful book about her passion in life: raising her two boys.

                                                                 

I was working through a couple of other books that I just couldn't get into before I had to take them back to the library. My goal in March is to read three new books: one leadership, one on finance, and one for fun!

2. Volunteer once a month



My volunteer efforts also didn't happen in February. I had a goal to volunteer at Gleaner's at least one time every month, but the time I was set up this month, of course it snowed and they were closed. Not a great excuse, as I should have rescheduled, but I didn't. I have been in the works of volunteering at St. Christopher's in their nursery to help with the babies during the 10:30am service. I thought with all the stuff going on with our trying to have a baby, this might be helpful. Well, anyone who has struggled to conceive knows, you have good days and bad. I haven't yet been able to sign up but I am still keeping this in the back of my mind.

I would love more suggestions for volunteer ideas, especially as the weather is getting warmer! Some ideas I had were: Mini Marathon volunteering and/or dog walker at the Humane Society. Next month I'm so excited to volunteer at the Dave Ramsey event on April 24th! I will be able to watch the entire event for free just by volunteering to help set up and clean up after the event. Dave Ramsey has changed how we look at our money, debt, and what type of legacy we want to leave. This event will be amazing!





3. Make someones day, everyday.


I've learned that this goal is by far, one of the hardest and easiest. I love to go out of my way to make someone's' day better. This is as easy as giving someone a genuine smile and a "Hi, how's your day?" or giving someone a compliment. Just the other day at work I saw an older woman walking down the halls at Marquette, where I sometimes work. She had on a bright pair of snow boots that were very cute and stylist. I complimented her and she said, "Thank you! That made my day!" :)


I think my moment of the month was after finishing up a balance class at Marquette just last week. A gentlemen that I haven't seen before took my class, and sat right in the front row. . At the beginning of class he asked my name and said, "Can my balance get better if I come to class regularly?" I answered, "OF COURSE!" He was content with my answer and we started class. At the end of class, after focusing very intently on every move we did, he came up to me and said, "Do you know that you are the first person in a long time that told me I can actually get better at something." I was just silent. He continued and said," My hearing is getting bad, my eyes are getting worse, and everyday tasks seem to get more and more challenging. I have hope again that if I work hard, I will get better at my balance." That made MY day.. maybe my week :) Just another reminder that I love what I do and that I'm able to impact others lives in such a positive way.

 Budget Goals:

1. Hit our budget/debt payment goal every month.

At the end of February we hit a pivotal moment in our Debt Snowball plan. I received two emails from Sallie Mae stating a couple of my student loans had been paid in full! Now that is motivating! Sticking to a budget is very challenging, but we are working very hard to do so every month without giving up our social life or all our hobbies. February threw us a curve ball with our taxes so we did not put the full amount on our debt that we typically do. Our debt snowball is actually on hold right now as we save towards redoing our kitchen and driveway. We purchased nearly all the materials for our kitchen remodel last year, but didn't get to the project. This should be complete in a couple weeks! (I will post before and after pictures!) Our driveway has been something we have talked about replacing for over a year and this winter really did it in. It's cracked all up and down the sidewalk, porch, and actual driveway. This is money we both hate to spend, but know it needs to be done. I guess that's the fun part of being an adult ;)

I would love to hear from you all! What are you 2014 goals? Do you follow a written budget? What are you reading? What are you looking forward to this spring?

-xoxo-
Sarah

"People with goals succeed because they know where they are going."- February goals 2014.

February has already come and gone, but if you live in Indiana... you probably aren't too upset about! I know I can't wait for Spring and am ready to have a little warmer weather in my future. If you haven't read my 2014 goals, go ahead and read that first (2014 Goals) as this blog will be a review of how I did reaching my 2014 goals in February :)

Career goals.

1. Master my new position as a Health Fitness Specialist in Coverage with NIFS.

Yesterday marked my 90 days with NIFS! I had my 90 day review with my supervisor and she had nothing but positive remarks about my performance so far! Many of the managers had given her positive feedback along with several members of different sites I have been at so far! We set a couple professional goals over the next year and I'm excited to get to work on those including 4 blog posts of a topic of my choice (that should be easy enough as I love to blog!) and creating an incentive program for a site of my choosing. I am excited to continue to grow in this position and love what I do everyday.

2. Build my Advocare business to the Gold level by February 2014. 

This goal wasn't (yet) achieved. On the positive side, our business is at a solid Silver level (which pays on average $1,000 a month) We are consistently hitting this level every two weeks in our business nearly effortlessly. An amazing part of Advocare is that you are paid for work you may have done yesterday, last month, or last year! Although we aren't at the level we want to be, I'm not quitting and will get there by helping more families reach success! 

Wifey Goals.

1. Prep all 10 of our lunches for the week every Sunday.

I nailed this goal in February! I meal prepped every Sunday all our lunches for the week along with 4 dinners. We have eaten very healthy the past month and Barry and I can both tell a big difference in how we feel. Eating healthy is a lot easier if you have your meals prepped and ready to go, along with prepared snacks for every 2-3 hours to stay on top of hunger. My goal in March is to get more creative with our meals.. you can only eat so much brown rice, chicken, and broccoli :)

                        

2. Have a house cleaning schedule and perform 20-25 min of daily cleaning

As cute and as proud as I am of my weekly cleaning schedule, this goal wasn't a huge success in February. When the week gets going and we both are busy, the daily cleaning schedule goes right out the window! My goal is to have all our cleaning and laundry done before Saturday evening so we don't have anything to do on Sundays, but lately that is pretty much all we have done! (fail) After I cleaned the house and Barry finished all laundry this Sunday, I am back on our plan this week! In March, my goal is to do 20-30 minutes of daily cleaning everyday (Wish me luck!) 

3. Reduce our spending (ex. coupons, sales, etc)

Since starting our Total Money Makeover in November 2013, we have used the envelope system which has dramatically helped us reduce our spending. Have you ever thought about how much money you spend each month eating out? What about on random trips to grab a coffee or snack? (Yikes! I challenge you to add it up)  When we realized we wanted to be Debt Free, we knew we would have to make many sacrifices to get to this goal. We now tell our money where to go instead of wondering where it went. Since going to Aldi's and Costco more, I haven't had to clip coupons either! Win Win!

I needed my envelopes to be cute this month! Makes budgeting more fun :)

Fitness Goals:

I made great strides in my fitness goals during February.  (there wasn't much else to do in this freezing cold weather! LOL) I worked out consistently, (5-6 days a week for 45 min to an hour) ate very healthy, and drank at least a gallon of water nearly everyday this month. My progress is mainly in my body fat percentage as my weight is nearly the same it was a year ago! (Get off that scale and check your body fat percentage instead!)

My body fat is around 16%-17% which is my goal.

 I could care less what the scale says when I see results like this picture below!

February 2013 on left vs March 1st, 2014 on right

My fitness goals in March are to continue to maintain these results while increasing muscle definition, especially in my arms! I have increased my weights, reduced my cardio, and been consistent taking my performance elite products from Advocare!

I'd love to hear back from you all! What goals are you rocking in 2014 and which ones are you struggling with? Let me know in the comments below and we can motivate each other!

Look for Part Two later this week :) 

XOXO- Sarah