DuPont Volksmarch #5

Today we travelled just a short distance to DuPont to complete our 5th volksmarch this year.  Gabby has been sick, so she stayed home with Scott.  Once again we were lucky enough to walk between rainy periods and hardly got wet at all.  It wasn't a very exciting walk, but still a fun way to spend time with friends.  We did see a deer and her baby.

Corey & her friend Emily at the beginning of the walk.  That is a statue of Chloe Clark who the school is named for.

The plum trees have started blooming.

The group: Clarissa, Jennifer, Susan, Corey & Emily

So Far So Good

We just completed month 1 of our 6-month budget project.  I'm happy to report that we did really well.  We managed to put $400 away into savings (which we never seemed able to do before) and still came in $451 under budget. Yes, UNDER BUDGET!  I'm not sure if it was a fluke or if we were overzealous, but I guess it doesn't really matter.  We are awesome!  Ok, pat, pat on the back.  Now onto month 2......

Earth Hour

Earth Hour...I'm sure some of you have heard of it. Ok, maybe not. But now you have. Earth Hour is an event hosted by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) all over the world. This event is a way to take a stand against Climate Change. For one hour every year, hundreds of countries and millions of individuals pledge to turn their lights off for one hour (this time is specifically set). Last year (2010) was the biggest turn out for Earth Hour ever. A record of 128 countries and territories participated along with many iconic buildings. Let's see if we can break that record this year. This year Earth Hour will occur on Saturday March 26th at 8:30 pm. From the title, you should be able to figure out when this event will end. :) Please join my family and I as we take a stand for our environment.

For more information and to pledge your support, go to the following link:

http://www.earthhour.org/Homepage.aspx?intro=no

5k Run/Walk for Relief

Today we travelled to Gig Harbor to participate in the 8th annual 5k Run/Walk for Relief  to benefit refugees of Burma.  A friend of ours from work is one of the promoters of this event.  I just happened to see a flyer she had posted in her office window a few weeks ago.  We had a great time and luckily the weather was nice during our walk.  The course was extremely hilly, but we prevailed! 



Picture of Jen, Scott, Gabby & Corey as we arrived at the church where the event began.  It was pretty cold & wet when we got there.

We received a boxed lunch of a sandwich, chips, and a cookie.  I'm glad we had a good meal before the walk or I probably wouldn't have made it!

All smiles waiting to start.

There are me, Jen & Clarissa at the finish line.  It's kind of hard to see, but we made it in 1 hr, 4 minutes and 1 second!  I was just happy we were not the very last people!  Scott & the girls were much faster then us. They finished in 51 minutes, 3 seconds.

The group: Jennifer, Susan, Scott, Gabby, Clarissa & Corey

Budget is Not a 4 Letter Word

......but it sure feels like it!  The one I would use is....HARD.  Following a budget is HARD! 

So, about a month ago I decided that I no longer wanted to be in charge of the family budget, or actually, the lack of a family budget.  I have been doing the family finances for nearly 20 years, since Scott and I have gotten married.  I was getting tired of always having to be the bad guy and having to say "no" to things because I was the only one who knew how much money we had.  So I vowed that 2011 would be different! I called for a family meeting and explained that we needed to make a family budget.  The response was pretty lukewarm, but in the end we got it done.

We spent about an hour making up a budget for the next 6 months.  I think it was a real eye opener for the kids (and Scott) to see how we spent our money.  When Scott found out that our heat bill is around $220 a month he looked at the kids and said "No more turning up the heat! Wear a sweater!".  He sounded just like my dad when I was little ;)  After subtracting all our fixed expenses we decided on which areas we could save the most money. One of the biggest was eating out, which we tended to do 2-3 times a week.  We also decided that we would give everyone a monthly allowance.  That meant we each get a set amount to buy whatever we wished, but once it ran out, we had to wait for the following month.  The girls were pretty happy with the idea of an allowance, but then became a little less enthusiastic when we explained that it meant we would no longer be buying them pretty much whatever they wanted, which is what we always did.  We would buy only necessities and they had to spend their own money on things that they wanted such as candy, iTunes, clothes, DVDs, etc.  

I bought a poster board and placed our different spending categories on it.  Every time we spend money we take time to break down every item into different categories & write it on the poster board.  It's a useful tool for us to see how we are doing.  I like that it's big, easy to read, and is updated by everyone in the family. 

It's been a few weeks since the budget has come into effect.  The hardest part of the budget is that not eating out as much means I have to cook EVERY meal.  Which means I have to put much more thought into what I'm cooking and planning for the whole week's meals.  It was so much easier just to pick up fast food a couple of times a week! 

I do have to say that Scott & the girls have been pretty good about keeping us on track.  Who knew that Scott could be so miserly?  Naturally the girls have spent none of their allowance money because it's much harder to buy things with  your own money than it is with your parents' money.  It's nice to see them give more thought into what they want to purchase. 

In 6 months we will revisit & tweak the budget as needed. Until then, wish us luck!