respecting 2014s goals and the journey

At the beginning of this year I was working really hard here at home while raising my young kiddos, house full of pets and 7 big acres to 'maintain'.  My hubby is a Submariner so he isn't home much.  Much of the time its all me.  Im okay with this, it is part of life.

I had made the goal at the New Year to take care of myself in 2014.  It wasn't going well.  I didn't have a spare second for myself.  Ever.

In February I was raking in money, but I was exhausted, not doing a good job raising my girls and I really wasn't spiritually happy.  I brought in a lot of cash that Spring but spent much of it on convenience food, since I didn't have time to cook, and on useless items to keep my kids entertained...  sure, it was nice to have the spare cash to replace our fridge when it died, but otherwise it wasn't an ideal cycle for our family.  The extra money was certainly not buying happiness.

so I made a new and extreme goal.



My goal was to get out of debt and then to totally stop working so I could focus on my family and MYSELF for a change.

I worked my butt off that summer, I fed the entire family on less than $200 a month, I worked really hard and also sold everything I could get my hands on. We hardly ever left the property, gas is expensive, you know?  With my husbands support we even downsized to cheaper cars that didn't require a car payment.

Goodbye big beautiful, decked out, roomy, reliable and luxurious Toyota Highlander.  You will always be missed.

We were rewarded at the very beginning of Fall by becoming debt free!

Wow.  Seriously, wow.

No more huge car payments, no more gigantic Home Depot card, credit cards used for travel, emergencies and gifts.  Of course our home isn't paid off, we don't consider living in a home unnecessary debt, even if it is a pricy home ;)

But we did it.  We freaking did it.  Sometimes I still cannot believe it.  The sheer amount of debt we were able to dump in that amount of time is beyond shocking.  We followed Dave Ramseys plan to a T and never turned back.

Now its time to focus on the important things in life.  My family, my home and myself.  I don't have to focus my days on bringing in money to keep us afloat.  That is a wonderful thing.

I am making most of our foods from scratch, spending more time focusing on raising the kids and have managed to squeeze in taking care of MYSELF most days.  Awesome.

Of course we are on a tight budget, and a well organized one at that.  I am happy to be on a budget- it suits me well.  It gives expectations and parameters to life.  It allows me extra time to do what I love most, and the important things in life are free anyway.

I am exercising nearly every day now.  I am eating healthy.  I am even finding time to take a rare and relaxing bath.  I have a made-from-scratch dinner on the table every night, I help my daughter with her homework and play dollies with the other daughter, I am fully involved in their lives.  I thoughtfully and carefully parent them, all day long.

Life is a work in progress.  Figuring out what really is important to us is key.  My life goals and vision are becoming clear, my journey is becoming sweeter.

How did you do on your goals for this year?  Do you even remember what they were?  Follow my blog to see my progress!!!  or like my Facebook page to see my posts on occasion.  I love to chat, to help people and to be held accountable!