Run For Your Life

Want to win a 5 pack class pass to be used at any participating Fit4Mom location (Greater Denver, North Metro Denver, and Northern Colorado franchises)? Head to Facebook to enter! Giveaway ends 5/12!

Fit4Mom is an organization near and dear to my heart! I have never been athletic or much into working out but in 2010, when we lived in Maryland I heard about a Couch to 5K at our local running store and I signed up. Something in me changed! I set goals and beat them! I loved socializing with the other participants and successfully ran my 1st 5K race that summer.

The next fall I signed up for their 10K training and ran my 1st 10K race and just kept on running! In 2011 when I got pregnant with our 4th child, I knew I didn't want to lose this fitness I had built up. I was determined to run as far along in my pregnancy as I could manage. I ran until about 24 weeks when a cold snap hit Colorado and I was starting to really show.

The problem with stopping running is it is hard to get back into it! During our 2011 move from Maryland to Colorado and my subsequent pregnancy, I never did find a training group that was my speed. Then came a baby who never slept and was very high needs and running and exercising did not happen for this mama!

Two of my friends, who didn't know each other both opened Fit4Mom franchises in the area. I checked out their openings but I wasn't sure it was my thing. One of the owners, Darcy Peters, persistently encouraged me to sign up for the Fit4Mom marathon and half marathon training. If she didn't persist I would have never said, "yes"! A marathon seemed beyond my reach but with some time, a lot of hard work, and some encouragement, maybe, just maybe I could run a half marathon. 

That was December 2013 and I am currently training for my 4th half marathon! Running is my outlet. It keeps my mind clear when my world is chaos. It keeps me exercising. It keeps me connecting with other moms. It keeps me setting goals and working towards them. It keeps me doing something for me and me alone.

Fit4Mom was the group I needed. It was structure, it was accountability it was experienced coaches, it was friendship, and it was encouragement. I would have never crossed those finish lines without those ladies who logged all those miles along side with me. We have laughed and shared way too many TMI moments. There is something about running together, where you just bond. Running friends are the best friends!

May 2014 Colorado Half Marathon Fit4Mom Team

In May, 2014 I successfully completed my 1st half marathon, the Colorado half marathon. I started my race with all my teammates but one teammate stayed with me the entire race. She likely could have finished several minutes ahead of me but she never left my side. We finished together and it was an awesome feeling to have accomplished something that many people will never come close to!

My 2nd oldest and my youngest cheering Ginger and I on the race course

Happy Finisher!

I took a short break from training but started back in July to train for the Denver Rock n Roll half marathon in October. Fit4Mom was there again, along with my awesome teammates and friends. Training for a half marathon, you log a fair amount of miles over about 4 months. Not only did these ladies faithfully show up each week for our long runs, we often met up once or twice during the week to get in our shorter, midweek training runs. 

The Denver Rock n Roll half I was on pace with a great friend of mine, LeAnn. When she struggled, I encouraged her along, when I struggled she encouraged me. I beat my 1st half marathon time by several minutes and came in about 2 minutes under my goal. I was a happy runner!

Fit4Mom Northern Colorado Denver Rock n Roll Team!

LeAnn and I proudly holding those medals we earned!

After almost 10 months of training I was getting mentally fatigued and needed a break. A lot of my team mates went on to train for the 2015 Colorado Half Marathon but I needed a break. Darcy Peters, the Northern Colorado Fit4Mom franchise owner encouraged me to try a BodyBack class. I was hesitant to say the least. I had come to love running but don't love exercising otherwise. I had never dieted but becoming healthier and losing weight was appealing. Plus I loved these ladies and two set dates each week to see my mom friends sounded like a bonus!

From the end of 2014, all of 2015, and the beginning of 2016 I took 3 sessions of BodyBack and I came to love the HITT style workouts. The diet part was hard for me but I saw results! My family loved the dinner recipes and some are still in our regular rotation. It was awesome to do assessments at the beginning of BodyBack and measure how fast you could run a mile, how long you could hold a plank, etc. and then at the end of the session seeing how much you had improved. Then there is the before and after photos and inches and pounds lost. I always saw great results and it was awesome to do it in a supported, fun atmosphere, with women who had become my friends.

Then these crazy friends of mine, talked me into a race I thought I'd never do. Horsetooth Half Marathon. Those of you not from Fort Collins may not realize but this is a tough, tough race! You run up a mountain, partially down, then back up another mountain. I am social person and once several of my friends who I had made through Fit4Mom committed to Horsetooth Half I signed up. The training was great. Yes, lots of cold days in January and February but we were ready to race. The day of the race it was snowing like crazy, blowing sideways, not the type of weather you want for a big race you've been preparing for 3.5 months for. With my Fit4Mom teammates and friends, Joni and Dara by my side, the 3 of us crossed the finish line of the Horsetooth Half Marathon. I am still so proud that despite that weather, all 3 of us finished! It wasn't our fastest half marathon but we ran a half marathon, up a mountain, in a snow storm. There was nothing we couldn't accomplish!

Still smiling after a snowy and hilly Horsetooth Half

Fit4Mom isn't just running training or BodyBack, it is friendship and support, and healthy lifestyles and healthy families. Their flagship class, Stroller Strides allows you to workout while you bring your baby in the stroller with you. They also offer Fit4Baby, pregnancy fitness and StrollerBarre, classes for moms with baby. I have so many great memories with these ladies. Not only of running and exercising together but of ladies night out and fun times together.

One year Fit4Mom had a team at the Color Vibe 5K

Being part of the Fit4Mom family the past 3 years changed me and my approach to fitness. It has grown my love of running and it has shown me that I can dream big and accomplish those dreams. There is nothing I cannot do if I put my mind to it and work hard towards my goals. 

Another bucket list item, hubby and I climbed not one but two 14ers

Want to learn more about upcoming Fit4Mom events?

Greater Denver event- Anniversary Class for all mamas at all locations to attend 

https://www.facebook.com/events/418331361857974/

North Metro - Stroller Strides Lafayette Grand Opening at Waneka Lake Park

https://www.facebook.com/events/765420033639358/

Northern Colorado - Mother's Day 5K

https://www.facebook.com/events/615751518635929/

All opinions are my own and based on my own experience participating in Fit4Mom programs. I was compensated for my time to prepare this post and share it via social media.

2017 Goals

It's still the first month of the year so I want to post my goals. It has been a few years but I posted my goals here on my blog in 2013, 2012, and 2011. I like accountability so here you go, 2017 goals:

Health/Fitness/Running

-Do not purchase junk food for the home. Limit treats to special occasions. Eat Whole 30 85% of the time (eat healthy except occasional, purposeful deviation).

-3 non running workouts per week (CourtsPlus or West Fargo Moms on the Run).

-Run the Fargo Half Marathon on May 20, 2017. Run 200 or more miles in 2017. Run 3 times per week.

Marriage

-12 dates per year, 1 overnight trip.

Kids

- 3 one-on-one dates per kid this year.

Social

-Attend one social event where I can meet new people or get to know acquaintances better.

Spiritual

-Join a small group and attend weekly or bi-weekly for at least 3 months.

Financial

-Refill emergency fund.

-Pay cash for vacations.

-Buy a camper.

Personal

-Get Orion to school before 8:15am everyday. Being on time or early makes for a great start to my day.

-Get Orion to bed each night by 8:30pm. Getting Orion to bed earlier will give me some free time each night but still allow me to fall asleep around 10pm each night.

Home Projects

-Finishing staining trim, doors, and cabinets upstairs.

Travel

-Disney cruise.

-1 trip to Colorado.

-1 trip to North Carolina.


Those are my goals for 2017. What are your goals? What do you think about what I am trying to achieve this year?

Our Journey to Debt Freedom Part 2

If you missed part 1 you can read it here.

We were sick and tired of being sick and tired. We were done with college, deep in debt, and not earning nearly as much income as we thought we would be. We felt like we were barely keeping our heads above water and living paycheck to paycheck like most Americans. 

We first heard about Dave Ramsey from a coworker of mine at the law firm I worked at in 2008. She let me borrow a copy of the book, "The Total Money Makeover" and it all started making sense. I had Nate read the book too. We eventually got our own copy of the book so we could make notes, re-read, and photo copy budget sheets to stay on track. This introduction was a good taste of what we needed to do but it took us several months to truly get fired up.

Nate graduated in December 2008. Just as the economy was tanking. He looked for an engineering job in Colorado for 6 months when we finally decided to take a job offer in Maryland in early 2009. Once in Maryland we were earning a professional salary instead of being broke college students and it was time to get to work. I started a full-time nanny job about 5 months after we moved and we were a two income earner family for the first time ever. 

Dave Ramsey said you need to tell your money what to do. We started making a written budget but struggled with sticking with it. Every time we fell off the horse, we just got back on again. It was slow and steady progress. We tried the cash envelopes several times during our time in Maryland 2009-2011 but could never quite get it to work as it should. We started hammering away at our credit card debt, paying big chunks at a time. It felt good to not have that huge burden hanging over our heads. In 2011 Nate received a great job offer back in Colorado with a raise, in a city we thought could be our forever home. By the time we moved back to Colorado in June 2011 we had paid off $28,000 in credit card debt and $20,000 in car loans, $48,000 in loans in less than 3 years since we first heard about Dave Ramsey. All while not earning more than $80,000 combined income for our family of 5. Eliminating all debt except our student loans was an amazing relief and there truly is peace without that burden on your shoulders.

I'd like to say we just kept at it and knocked out those $80,000 student loans right away but that's not our story. I had wanted a 4th child for many years and we had both agreed we would wait until Nate could advance his career and our finances were stable enough I could stay home full time until the baby was in kindergarten or 1st grade. Originally we thought we'd pay off all our student loans first. During a week long Yellowstone camping trip in July 2011 Nate said he didn't want to wait anymore, he was only getting older, and let's go for it. Needless to say, I got pregnant our first month trying and 9 months later we were blessed with our final addition to our family. I did stay home with Orion at first. While Nate received a raise we were without my income. We got lazy about budgeting and saving, busy focused on getting ready for the new baby and didn't make significant progress during late 2011 and early 2012.

I went back to work full time in June 2013 and we started paying extra towards our debt. Essentially my entire income should have been going to student loans but it didn't work like that. We never were good about sticking to a written budget during this period and had a lot of two steps forward, one step back. We had a really good household income and were frustrated that we weren't making headway like we'd like to. We decided to take Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at our church fall of 2014. That was one of the best decisions we've ever made. The structure, discipline, and accountability of the class were keys to our success. We learned new things from the book and video but mostly from the facilitators and other classmates. We were determined to finish paying off the rest of our student loans ASAP. Some months we made thousand of dollars in extra payments, some months it was only $1200 or $1500 but we kept chugging along. We made goal boards for our bedroom and kept those goals within sight each day so we knew what we were working towards.

Another thing that we took away from Financial Peace University was truly using the cash envelope system as designed. Cash hurts to pay with. You are handing away some of your hard earned money instead of mindlessly swiping your credit card. The thing with cash is when it is gone, it's gone. This was a huge wake up call to me. Especially in our spending money category. Nate and I started out with $40 per week each for coffee, treats, lunch out, or we could save it for something for ourselves. We soon realized our budget didn't have that much extra so we cut back to $20. Thinking through our purchases and stopping when money was out was an important thing to learn. We also used cash for groceries, restaurants, and entertainment. It was fun to stretch the budget and have money left over.

June 2016 was another milestone for our family. Another big cross country move and another promotion for Nate. Our house in Colorado had gone up significantly in value and we were able to buy a new house with $85,000 or 25% down and keep our payment the same as well as take the rest of our equity and pay off the remaining balance on our student loans. It was an amazing feeling! We truly feel like it has been a marathon and a hard one at that but we have changed our family tree!

Instead of living paycheck to paycheck, giving into instant gratification, we now can plan, save, and spend money on the things we want to enjoy. We are putting money away in retirement and want to start investing. We have a fully funded emergency fund and 20 year mortgage with a very low rate. Someday soon our mortgage will be paid off too and we will not owe anyone any money. Our way of thinking about money has changed. We won't finance anything again. If we need a new car and we don't have cash for what we want then we'll lower our standards. If we want to take a nice vacation, we'll save for it. It takes planning, effort, and discipline but most importantly I hope we are teaching our kids these lessons now so they can start their adult lives without the heartache and stress of digging out of significant debt. Just because everyone in America is doing it, it isn't right. You can save up for your purchases, you can get ahead, you can win with money, and you then can bless others with your money too.

Visiting Ramsey Headquarters August 2016 on the way back from visiting family. We get to do our debt free scream live on air during the radio show 11/8 3-4pm CST!

Our Journey to Debt Freedom: Part 1

Debt Free!

Our path to debt freedom was a long and windy one but we finally made it June 28, 2016! We are completely debt free except our mortgage! How'd we get here?

Part 1: Stupid Mistakes

Nate and I both grew up with similar backgrounds. We weren't poor, we always had food on the table, and a roof over our heads but we weren't wealthy growing up either. Our parents didn't travel a lot. I got a few new clothes when school started and at birthdays and Christmas but our parents couldn't afford expensive or fancy things. Both Nate and I got married young and had kids young. Both of us knew if we wanted to go to college we'd be paying for it ourselves. I don't remember being specifically taught about money as a kid. 

As a young adult and as a single mother I bought into American way of instant gratification. I can put it on the credit card and pay for it later. I can finance the new car because I need something reliable. I can rack up thousands of dollars in student loans because I am going to go to law school and make good money and it will be easy to pay off the loans. How else I am going to get a better job or get ahead or ever be able not to struggle financially if I don't go to college?

Instant gratification is a terrible American cultural lie. You do not need what you want, when you want it! You can save for it, work hard, work a 2nd job, buy 2nd hand, or wait. It won't kill you, I promise. A lot of the credit card debt I racked up was as a single mom on monthly budget shortfalls from having too high of living expenses for the income I was bringing in. I didn't live a lavish lifestyle but I could have made better choices. Reduce grocery cost, buy a used car, find a cheaper apartment. The thing was at the time I didn't want to. I justified all these as necessary things at the time. I had to live in a safe neighborhood as a single mom. I had to have a reliable car that didn't break down. Both are true but there is a middle ground.

After owning 2 used cars that were horrible and broke down non-stop I decided to lease a new Honda Accord. Piling money into used cars wasn't something I could afford but I also couldn't afford a lease. Leasing a car is a horrible financial decision as you take on all the immediate depreciation of a new car but technically don't own the car in the end. I ended up buying out my lease with a used car loan and drove that car 8 years until I was pregnant with my 4th child and we couldn't all fit in a 5 seat vehicle. It was a great car and I got good trade in value when I traded it for my van but I don't even want to know how much I paid in interest and how much lost value I took on by leasing it.

Student loans, the golden ticket to success in America! No way! Nate and I both bought into the lie that the only way to get ahead was through a college degree. While I enjoyed my time in college and I am proud that I graduated with my Bachelors degree there are ways to do it without going into debt. Even 9 years after graduating from college I don't make that much more than I did at the bank without a college degree. Nate has an engineering degree and has seen huge jumps in his salary because of his degree. He almost doubled his salary out of college and over the past 8 years has almost doubled it again. Having a degree for him has paid off but he could have gotten a degree slower without going into debt. That is what I wish I did, continued to go to college part-time and cash flow my degree. If I get one point across do not take out student loans! I repeat do not take out student loans. They will haunt you forever. There may not seem like there is another way but there are other ways, scholarships, work study, full time work and part-time college. 

When we started attacking our debt we had $128,000 in debt! Staggering amount for two young adults with minimal income and 3 kids. Our debt broke down into $28,000 (half Nate's, half Michelle's) in credit cards, $20,000 ($10,000 left on two car loans both bought new), $80,000 student loans ($35,000 Michelle, $40,000 Nate). It was utterly overwhelming! 

In Part 2: I'll fill you in on what we decided to do about it.

Progress Towards Goals

It's already September and I haven't posted an update regarding my progress towards my 2013 goals. I have a bit of a tradition of posting my goals on my blog and updating a few times throughout the year. Here are my 2013 goals.

1. Get finances on track. I'm doing okay in this area. I do well with YNAB for a month or two then have to make a fresh start. I think it is important to tell your money where it's going not to simply react. I definitely can continue to improve in this area.

2. Get housework under control. This has not happened. I went back to work full-time 3 months ago so I even have less time. I've been trying to avoid it but finally I scheduled someone to come clean my house next week. They are going to come twice this month, then hopefully I can cut back to once per month. Laundry is still horribly behind. I am bad about doing a daily task though now my days are filled with work and driving kids to and from their activities. The kids have been okay about doing extra chores for money. The kids have been starting their own laundry. I guess I've made some progress in this area.

3. Teach Brennan and Wynter to cook better. We need to be more consistent. They have cooked several meals but not every week.

4. Attend church at least twice per month. Since I work at church I'm there at least 40 hours per week, some weeks more. Sometimes I am so busy and we're so shorthanded that I do not attend a service all week. I try to make getting myself into service a priority though.

5. Go on monthly dates with Nate. Be more engaged with each other on a daily basis. We've been doing a pretty good job of dating each other. We had a full day date in March skiing. We had an overnight date in May for our anniversary and we had an overnight date last weekend. We could improve on being more engaged day-to-day.

6. Sew more. No progress in this area. I joined a quilt-along in April, bought all the supplies to make Orion a crib size quilt and then did nothing.

7. Take a photography class. i took a photography 101 and 102 class and loved them both. I need a lot more practice to be the photographer I want to be.

8. Get back into running! Still something I want to do but haven't made happen. I looked into the Team Challenge program but it only meets in Denver, which is unrealistic for me. I need others to run with and encourage me. Hopefully I'll find a program that will work with me soon.

Thanks for keeping me accountable! 

2013 Goals

It's three days into 2013 and it's time to post my goals on my blog. It's a bit of a tradition around here on There Must Be More to Life Than Dishes and Laundry.... In 2011 and 2012 I posted my goals on my blog and updated throughout the year as a way to help hold myself accountable. So here are my goals for 2013:

1. Get finances on track. Update YNAB (You Need a Budget, budgeting software) at least every other day. Stick to the budget we have set up in YNAB. Try to save money and cut expenses from budget where possible. Make only weekly trips to the grocery store and twice monthly trips to Target and Walmart (you can't spend money if you aren't at the store). Menu plan on Sunday and make list to prepare for Monday shopping trip. Stick to list when shopping.

2. Get housework under control. Since Orion has been born this is the area I am struggling most with. There simply are not enough hours in the day when you have 4 kids, including a demanding baby. I know the housework can wait (and it has) but being better organized and proactive in this area is one of my goals.
    -Wash, dry, and put away two loads of laundry daily.
    -One small task daily: Mon. grocery shop, Tues. and Wed. work at church, Thurs. sweep and mop living and dining room, Fri. wipe down cabinets, sweep and mop kitchen and bathroom, Sat. clean bathrooms, Sun. vacuum master bedroom and Orion's room.
    -Assign 2 small additional weekly chores to each big kid in exchange for $1 extra weekly allowance.
    -Big kids now responsible for starting at least one load of their laundry per week with goal by end of the year to have them each washing their own laundry.

3. Teach Brennan and Wynter to cook better. Both enjoy cooking but I need to work with them more so they have experience making meals on a regular basis. For 2013 each of them will pick out and make a dinner every other week. So far this is working great and they are both very excited about it. I think learning to cook is an important life skill and at 12 it's time for them to learn more than they already know.

4. Attend church at least twice per month. In a perfect world my goal would be 3 times per month but Nate works 1-2 weekends per month and we do things like ski or other special events on the weekends sometimes too so twice per month is a realistic goal.

5. Go on monthly dates with Nate. Moving towards every other week dates as Orion gets older towards the end of 2013. Be more engaged with each other on a daily basis. We both have a bad habit of spending time doing separate things side by side. This year I want to talk more and spend more quality time on a day-to-day basis.

6. Sew more. I bought a sewing machine last year. I've sewn a few things but I'd love to learn to sew better or at least attempt more projects this year. Sewing is still very intimidating to me.

7. Take a photography class. I got a DSLR for my mother's day gift from hubby. It take amazing pictures but I don't know how to use it so I'm hoping a class will help.

8. Get back into running! I love running. I truly do. Finding time and getting started is hard right now with everything on my plate. My goal is to run the May 2013, Bolder Boulder 10K. I think having a race to train for and finding running partners will be key in me keeping this goal.

Hopefully by publishing these for all to see it will help keep me accountable.

Confessions of the Formerly Habitually Late

My name is Michelle and I have a problem. No, I'm not a alcoholic, I'm habitually late. I've always been late for as long as I can remember. This problem bothered me some, mostly I was bothered by the consequences of being late to important events. Mainly I accepted it as a personality flaw and went about my life. You can't change who you are, right?

Last year in writing my goals, I set a personal goal to be more on time during 2011. And guess what some amazing things happened. Not only have I made some great improvements in this area. I now often show up early to meetings or events. There is nothing that makes a person who has been habitually late more happy than to be the first person to show up to a meeting or event. In the past 6 months I've often been the first one to show up to meetings with friends or events. Just this week hubby and I were the first ones to show up to the hospital tour and even beat the instructor there. Once it was 3-4 minutes before and none of the other 6 couples or instructor were there I even began to wonder if we were in the right place. Waiting for other people who are late doesn't bother me in fact it makes me happy to be the first one there. Each time is a tiny triumph for this formerly habitually late person.

So what have I been doing differently? There still aren't enough hours in the day. I still want to try to finish one last thing before I leave. I still underestimate how long it takes me to finish that one last thing. I also still underestimate how long it takes me to get places. The biggest thing I've changed in the past year is building in a time "buffer". If I think it will take me 15 minutes to get somewhere I plan to leave 30 minutes before. This way if I leave 5 minutes late and hit 5 minutes of traffic, I'll still be a few minutes early. If I think it will take me an hour to get ready for something I give myself an hour and half. It has been working great for me. Every time I have somewhere to be I add some extra time onto my leaving time and have been really successful at not being late. Sometimes I'm right on time or a few minutes early, sometimes I'm 10 minutes or more early, and sometimes I'm still late but the improvement for me personally has been amazing.

Giving myself more time to get places and get ready has really lowered my stress level. Since I was habitually late I didn't stress about it too much since it was my way of life. Now that I am on time or early 8/10 times I realize how much less stressful being early or on time is. Hubby generally runs on time so I think being more on time has made him happier too.

You too can recover from your habitual lateness. It just takes some extra planning and thought on your part and a desire to make being on time a priority. I'm not perfect but I love the improvements I've made and continue to delight on each on time or early arrival I make. Next time we meet for coffee, don't worry I'll be there 5 minutes early and silently delighting in my little triumph.

2012 Goals

Last year writing out my goals on my blog and updating on my progress throughout the year helped keep me accountable so for 2012 I'm doing the same. Some are personal goals, some are financial goals, some are fitness goals, and some are family goals.


1. Be more patient with my children. Generally speaking I am a relatively patient person but I know I could grow in this area this year. Honestly now that my kids are older my expectations for them are high and I get frustrated when they do things like ignore me over and over again or fight non-stop with each other. These and other behaviors are not acceptable but my response needs to be more patient and I need to institute appropriate consequences for the misbehavior, and not lose my temper or yell. I think this is a very important goal for me this year with the new baby coming in May.


2. Spend more quality time with my husband, go on dates more, and make it a priority to spend at least two weekends with him this year completely kid-free. Last week we had a nice treat, 24 hours kid-free. I can't even describe how it refreshed my soul. Hubby and I had a wonderful date and lots of time to just be a couple and take a break from parenting. We got about halfway through The Love Dare book last year and we need to make it a priority to finish it over the next couple months. I'd also love to get involved with a small group or marriage study at church if there is one available that fits our schedule.


3. Make more local friends. Spend more time with my long time friends. I'm a people person, plain and simple. People feed my soul and I need that interaction with friends on a regular basis. I'd love to meet more local women to get together with regularly. I'd also love to get together more regularly with my long time girlfriends who I love spending time with but most live 45 minutes away or so. A little progress in both regards this year would make me happy.


4. Learn more about parenting tweens and teens. I feel very unprepared for the challenges that lay ahead now that I have an 11, 11, and almost 9 year old. Babies, toddler, preschoolers, I'm an expert at, but teens they are almost alien like creatures. Luckily none of my kids have gotten to the stage where they "hate" me and think everything I do is wrong. Both 11 year olds have attitudes though drastically different due to gender and personality. The 9 year still hasn't hit the attitude, pre-teen stage yet but I told hubby we've got 1 more good year out of her at most before it starts with her too.


5. Stick to a budget! I am awful at this. I make a budget, I'm frugal, yet we still overspend. It is vicious cycle. Life with three kids isn't cheap but we should be saving and paying off debt quicker than we are. My number one financial goal this year is to stick to a budget. Nate is now helping more with the finances instead of all of it resting on my shoulders and we implemented a new system to track the budget this year so I am hoping it works.


6. Find little ways to cut back on spending. Cut grocery bill down even more, restart The Grocery Game, 2nd hand shop for the kids as much as possible (in 2011 I had great luck with consignment sales and a local consignment shop), cut back on eating out, and any other little way I can figure out. It may only total up to $100-$200 per month but if that can be paid towards student loans and less interest the impact is magnified.


7. Fully fund a 6 month emergency fund, then start paying down student loans. We're having a baby in May. We have a lot of large expenses the first half of this year, $3000 deductible and co-insurance for delivery, a new car that seats 6, finishing a bedroom in the basement for Brennan, and re-decorating Phoenix's old room for the baby. These things are going to take a lot of our extra income for the first 6 months of the year, not to mention everything the baby needs like furniture, gear, clothes, etc. Being realistic my goal would be to have our 6 month emergency fund fully funded by the end of April. Given the expenses we have coming up this year, after our emergency fund is fully funded my goal for our student loans would be to pay $10,000 towards student loans by the end of 2012. That isn't much at all considering the huge amount of student loans hubby and I have but it would be a start in the right direction. I think that amount could at least pay off both of our private student loans and leave us both with only Federal Stafford loans which have low interest rates and the most flexible repayment terms.


8. Get back into running. I was running until about 13-14 weeks pregnant but then it got cold here in Colorado and I can't seem to get the motivation back. I was really hoping to keep running my entire pregnancy and run a fall 2012 half marathon but that goal may be too big for this year. Plus the half marathon I wanted to run is now when we'll be out of town in September. Running a summer 5K and a fall 10K and training well for them are probably better postpartum goals. This will leave me ready to train for a spring 2013 half marathon and the Colorado Marathon is my first choice. It will also leave me very well trained to run a fast (for me) 2013 Bolder Boulder. Running the Bolder Boulder has been my dream since I got into running but this year I'll only be a couple weeks postpartum so it will have to be delayed until 2013.

So those are my goals for 2012. Thanks for helping keep me accountable!