"Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You dont fail overnight. Failure is a few errors in judgment repeated every day." - Jim Rohn

Failure isn't the absolute worst thing that can happen to you - if you learn from it. If you don't learn and continue to fail, well that could be a problem.

As I mentioned, I finished BFF Dave's "Total Money Makeover" book. I really enjoyed the book. It helped me learn and to open myself to new financial outlooks.

In the first chapter, BFF Dave talks about how you are the source of your financial problems - and to change those problems, you have to not only change yourself/habits, but also reflect on how you got yourself into your situation.

So, how did I get myself into debt?

1. I bought a condo.
In 2007, I graduate from grad school and moved to Charlottesville. While searching for a place to live, I thought, "Well, hey! I'm an adult now. Sure, it sounds like a GREAT idea to buy! It's practical and it's cheaper than renting." In theory, yes it seemed like a good idea, but on a $32,000 salary, a $1040 mortgage plus $199.55 HOA fee was actually pretty stupid. But, I managed. I got a credit card, even worked a part-time job for a few months and made things work.

Then, 2009 happened. I was pretty unhappy with my job. I was job searching but I was having an absolutely awful time finding a job. So awful, in fact, that one of my rejection letters - I kid you not - was mailed to me with a sticky note that read "rejection letters" still attached to it. I was discouraged. I had a Master's degree, and at this point, some experience and couldn't find a job. It was a tough decision, but I accepted a temporary position working with my uncle. In Maryland.

In case you were wondering, yes, Maryland is kinda far from Charlottesville so we moved!

I will always wonder what might have been financially had we not moved to Maryland and had been able to keep the condo, but I've also learned that I can't dwell on the things that I can't change. All I can do is learn from those situations and move on. I'm moving on.

The condo ruined my credit. Tried to ruin me. But it hasn't.

2. I took out student loans.
Student loans = the devil. No, seriously, if you look up "devil" in the Dictionary According to Ashley, you will very clearly see the definition: devil, noun - loans of a student, used to pay for education.

In college, I should have worked more hours at my work study. I should applied for an on-campus residence life graduate assistanceship. I should have worked a part-time job. But I didn't. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

Instead I took out student loans.

Me, circa 2002-2007: Yippee! Money! Woo! Yay! The government looooooves me! Woooooo!
Me, circa 2009-present: Devil. Student loans. Suck. You, yes you. #$!@!& [insert random assortment of choice four-letter words.]

(Random aside? I totally missed my calling as a theater or acting major seeing as I'm clearly dramatic.)

I've moaned and groaned about the amount I owe, and my point right now isn't the amount. It's that I could have prevented the amount, or kept it a little more reasonable. But I didn't. Putting on my big girl pants, moving on and literally paying the price.

3. I bought a new car that if I had been smarter about, I probably didn't need.
Catastrophic engine failure. That's the term Peter and I use to describe what happened to my shiny, adorable Hyundai Elantra. Overheating is apparently a bad thing. BUT, had I showed Peter or the guys working on my car my extended service contract, I probably could have had Kasey (yes, my Elantra had a name. Don't judge me.) fixed for around $100 bucks.

I don't need BFF Dave's advice to know that I made a stupid decision to buy a new car because I *wanted* a new car. I didn't NEED a new car. I have a new car, a Kia Sportage (her name is Lola. Again, no judgement.) and I absolutely love it, but I think I would love NOT owing $8500. Just sayin'...

4. I like pretty things. A lot.
Sigh. Sex and the City. You liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiied. I, unlike my favorite girls, do *not* get to spend all day drinking, eating and chatting. I, unlike my favorite girls, do *not* have a beautiful, expansive (read: expensive) wardrobe yearning to be worn out to the most fabulous locations.

Before meeting Peter, I shopped a WHOLE lot more than I do now. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I would buy things and not try them on, thinking (read: hoping), Oh? This dress is on super awesome sale? It's a size smaller than what I wear? No biggie! I'll lose weight and find a great place to wear it! Yay!

Just so you know, it is a biggie, I didn't lose the weight and there was never a place to wear it.

5. Credit card + binge eating = Fat and broke
It is embarrassing how much money I used to spend on food! What is more embarrassing is how much food I used to eat! I remember living in the sorority house, driving to Taco Bell and ordering a 7-layer burrito (with no guacamole, because clearly, eating the ONE part of the taco that might offer some nutritional value would just be silly) with nachos and THEN going next door to Wendy's for fries and a chicken sandwich. Sad but true. I'm trying not to cry as I type that, because it's so embarrassing BUT because I'm all about reflection, I'm reflecting...and it's no wonder why for so long a 258 pound, sad - and broke - girl stared back at me when I looked at myself in the mirror.

So, what have I learned?

Lesson 1:
A little hard work never hurt anyone, and can help you in the long run.
Solution: Part-time job.

Lesson 2:
Pretty things are pretty. If you have room for them and can afford them.
Solution: De-cluttering and selling some minor things.

Lesson 3:
Do MUCH more research and have down payments for large purchases.
Solution: Spend more than three weeks searching for next home in the future and save, save, save before purchasing either a new vehicle and/or home.

Lesson 4:
Budget and plan not only money for food, but calories for the my daily intake.
Solution: Plan meals in advance and take into consideration cost as well as nutrition contents. Also? Hitting the gym never hurt. Also, also? Coupons rock!

Facing yourself in the mirror and realizing how much work you - yes, YOU! - have to do to make some serious changes is really, really tough but it is awesomely liberating. I highly recommend it, especially if you have some hard changes you need to make whether it be financial, healthy lifestyle or a combination of things!

Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit of the Fitness.

So, I figured it was time for a new blog name.

"Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit of the Fitness."

Fitness is a catch-all term that appears in many forms for me:

-financial fitness
-food and fitness fitness
-intellectual fitness
-family and friend fitness
-marriage fitness
-happiness fitness

Mkay so it's kind of a stretch. By I like it. So there.

Financial fitness: being in control of my finances and working to become debt-free.

Food and fitness fitness: being physically fit and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight for my height.

Intellectual fitness: reading, reading and more reading. research. doctoral degree. learning. always learning. webinars. etc.

Family and friends fitness: better communication, more frequent communication, spending more time together.

Marriage fitness: being strong as a couple and growing together.

Happiness fitness: do things that make me happy because is there anything better than happiness? nope. but happiness and a glass of wine is pretty close :)

BUT I'm not entirely sold on the new name. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

"One of the habits of highly effective people is that they begin with the end in mind." - Stephen Covey

I've always been a fan of figuring out where I want to go (the end picture) and working backwards to get there.

So, the end result = being debt free.

Alright, what debts do I have?

As of today, the 10-day pay off amounts of my debts include:

Toyota Financial Services for the Sportage ~ $8449.07
Direct Student Loan Servicing ~ $46,601.98

(It's ok to cringe at the student loan total; I did.)

This makes my debt total (if paid within 10 days; let's be real - the student loan payback amount is scheduled to be more like $85k. double cringe): $55,051.05

This morning, I made a lofty set of goals (I know, I know...more goals? Seriously? Yes, seriously. Don't judge me.) based off of my upcoming birthdays, the biggest, loftiest one being:

I will be student loan debt free by age 35.

There. I said it. It's in writing so it has to happen. I have 8 years and 9 months from March 2011 to make it happen. Also, that's 105 months, in case you were wondering.

Other goals include:

By November 2011 - age 27
-Be at goal weight (50 pounds to go!)
-Run a 5k
-Run a 10k
-$5000 in savings
-$1000 in my 'need to pay for it' fund (i.e. car taxes, tires, etc. - NOT the same as my emergency fund)

By November 2012 - age 28
-Maintain weight loss
-Have car paid off (will end up being 1 year and 5 months year)

2013-2018 include focusing on continued savings in various savings accounts :)

By November 2019 - age 35
*HAVE PAID OFF STUDENT LOANS*

Side note: I apologize in advance for all of the cool, fun things I may have to say no to along the way - dinners, weekends of fun, traveling, cable, internet, etc. But, I have some lofty goals to accomplish and my priorities are very clear. Thank you for your support and understanding!

Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

"The difference between a dream and a goal is a plan." - Dave Ramsey

One of my favorite songs on Miranda Lambert’s “Revolution” cd has a line that goes, “I’m not easy to understand but you know me like the back of your hand. I’m your girl and you’re my man. And we’re makin’ plans…”

Not to be too lovey-dovey, but I think it’s very fitting for a number of reasons. One, I adore my husband and he loves me more than I ever thought possible. And two, we are legitimately making plans. And I think Dave Ramsey *whom (or who?) I just decided shall now be known as BFF Dave* would agree that we have dreams that have morphed into goals because we have a plan. And those of you who know me, you know I have to have a plan. While I can fly by the seat of my pants, I am so good about writing down what it is I need to do to get to where I want to be – and I’ve been making progress on my plans!

February Updates!

Goal one: Financial Fitness

Without giving away TOO much personal information, I’m ecstatic to say that I am making progress in my baby steps from BFF Dave (can you tell I’m drinking the BFF Dave kool-aid?)! I am moving onto baby step number 2: debt snowballing!

I am also reading “Total Money Makeover” by my BFF Dave. I love his no-nonsense approach. Though he is a bit harsh at times, it is very necessary to read. For example, he point blank says you (aka me, myself and I) are the reason for your money problems. Too often we (read: I) try to blame others or even things that happen as the reason but really? I made those choices. I knew what I was doing. Did I know what the outcomes would be? No, but I could have prevented some of my problems. I am my own problem and you know what? I’m FIXING myself therefore fixing my problems – with a plan.

Sometimes it's difficult but I know it will be worth it in the end. As BFF Dave says, you have to learn to say no. This past weekend I was fortunate to spend some time with some great friends from grad school. But I also knew my financial limitations. I enjoyed myself and stayed within my budget. In fact, I spent a little bit less than I planned. You know what I did with the leftover amount? If you guessed, "put it into savings?!" you would right on the money (pun totally intended).

Starting with March, I will be paying $325 on my car payment. If my math is correct, I will still be paid off within two years; however, I will need to raise my payments again down the road. Also in March, I will start receiving my small yet helpful paychecks from my part-time job, so I can continue to save AND pay off debt. I am still working on funding my “being prepared” fund – which for me is drastically different from our emergency fund. I will need tires in the spring which is coming up soon as well as paying my car taxes. Time to start preparing!

Goal two: Create and maintain a healthy lifestyle

I finished 30 day shred and I’m slowly losing weight. I have to often remind myself that I’ve made some really awesome progress and that in time, the rest of the weight will come off. I’m so excited and ready to just be healthier. It’s very motivating. I’ve said since the beginning that I would be so upset if one day the doctor told me one day that I had health problems that could have prevented by something as easy as diet and exercise.

I LOVE the treadmills at the gym where I work. They are super fancy. I know I couldn’t afford a gym membership right now, so I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to use their facilities.

Goal three: Broaden my intellectual horizons

The fact that I’m reading a nonfiction, non-Jen Lancaster book is really quite an accomplishment :) I’m excited to finish “Total Money Makeover” and look forward to picking up more financial books. I completely believe that the more that I read, understand and learn through books, resources, websites, etc. the better I will become at my money management skills. In fact, Caroline mentioned the Dave Ramsey Radio Show and I now listen to him instead of the radio at work starting at 2pm. Sometimes I’ll even listen to the archives of his show.

AND I can’t believe it but I’ve actually MADE PROGRESS on my doctoral application. YAY! I have two recommenders confirmed, my writing sample and resume submitted and I’ve requested my transcripts. I am trying not to get my hopes up because I don’t want to be terribly disappointed if I don’t get accepted to the program; however, it’s hard not to get excited about the opportunity to further expand my education horizons.

We are moving right on into March and I’m dubbing it “Makeover March,” as I’ve got so many things on my “to-do” list! Next post: Plan for Makeover March!

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always received."

WARNING: This is loooooooooooooong.

“Everyone leads the exact life that he or she wants to be living,” is a quote (or something like it) that I’ve heard many times and I believe that in a lot of ways, it’s true. If you don’t like something about your life, change it – or at least be working towards making things better. If you are unhappy and you aren’t willing to fix it, then you are content with being unhappy.

Do I like living in a small, one-bedroom apartment and having OODLES of student loan debt? HECK NO. Are Peter and I working to fix things so that we can eventually have a debtless-life and enjoy a home of our own? ABSO-FRICKIN’- LUTELY!

Though, I feel like I’ve fallen off my goals that I made from my birthday. If anyone remembers them all, I’d give you a cookie, but since I have to look back at them, I’ll just repeat them below:

1. Save $5000
2. Apply to SU Org Leadership Doctoral Program
3. Read 26 books
4. Fully run a 5k
5. Get to goal weight
6. Make an additional $30 payment each month towards student loans
7. Make an additional $25 payment each month towards car
8. De-clutter/organize life at home and work
9. Commit to working out at least twice a week
10. Write a book

And somewhere in there I also said that I would post weekly updates. Oops?

Alright, so you can’t have goals without a plan to get there. You can reformulate a plan without taking time to assess where you are, where you want to go and what you need to do to get there.

This blog is a little bit of assessing where I am as well as where I want to go. The next installment will talk about what I need to do to get there.

Goal one: Financial Fitness

My number one goal that I listed for the year was to save $5000. It’s a lofty goal, but hopefully if I’m savvy enough, I can make it happen. I have been busting my butt trying to save money. Sometimes it’s easier than other times, but there are some weeks where we just HAVE to have to pay for something, or Mollie needs to go to the emergency vet, or you know we need food and fuel.

To aid in my attempt to save money, I recently started a part-time job (and by recently, I mean yesterday). I started searching in December, and had hoped to have a part-time position in place by January; however, it took a bit longer but I’m thrilled that I was able to start within the first part of February. I will be working 5am to 10am every Monday at LA Fitness Gym and I could not be happier! It is a great place to work that will also support my health goals (more on those later), plus it fits into my current work schedule. For my job and Shenandoah, I come in late to work one day a week so I can stay late. Sure, it’s gonna be tough waking up at 4am on Mondays and working from 5am straight through to 7 or 8pm, but it WILL be worth it! Another great quote that I’ve mentioned before is that “to live like no one else, you have to live like no one else.” I’m willing to make sacrifices and work extremely hard so that a. I reach my goals and b. to live the life I want and deserve.

I have been working on funding a few separate accounts. By no means am I a financial guru, but I have been reading a lot of advice columns, speaking with friends about their budgeting and financial goals and it’s great to have so much support!

My savings goals are separated into many categories, for which I have multiple accounts set up for those respective goals:

1. An emergency account of $1000 as a serious crap happens fund. Some call it a rainy day fund. This is the account that I absolutely will REFUSE to touch unless something huge, ridiculous or monstrous comes along BUT because I have other accounts set up, hopefully that won’t happen.

2. A ‘being prepared for taxes, tires, etc’ fund. I know that in May Peter and I will need to pay an insane amount of taxes on our cars (thanks, LoCo [Loudoun County] for the double taxation…we fought a war against that!), that we will need to pay to file our taxes and I will need new tires in the spring. My goal is to get about $1000 saved into this account and it will be a revolving account for big ticket payments, or things that we forget about…or will be saved for next year’s round of taxes.

3. To fund my savings account that is attached to my checking account to about $250 for serious “OH CRAP” times. In January, I started using the envelope system. I got away from that in February, but will be getting back to it with my next paycheck. I have been budgeting out the month’s expenses and each time I get paid, I give each line item (such as dinner with friends, fuel and groceries for the week, hair care, food or supplies for Mollie, social fun, etc.) an allotted amount then put that amount into an envelope. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. The amount in my savings attached to my checking will be for those unforeseen weeks where perhaps I budgeted too low for gas – and considering it is up to $3.15 a gallon here and rising, there may be weeks where my gas budget will need a little help from the “OH CRAP” fund.

4. Last, we have a long, long, LONG term savings account that hasn’t really received much funding (I’m working on parts 1, 2 and 3 right now), but eventually, we’d like to buy a house as I mentioned so this last long, long, LONG term savings account will be where we (eventually) start saving for a down payment.

Because it is financial related, I’ll go ahead and talk about goals 6 (additional $30 payment on my student loans) and 7 (additional $25 payment on my car). After reading a lot from Dave Ramsey and some other experts in the financial world, my new plan of attack is to pay my car off early. Currently, it is scheduled to be paid off in April of 2014; my plan is to have it paid off in April of 2013. Then, I will take that amount I was paying on my car payment and apply that to my student loans. Dave calls this “snowballing” your debt. I’d like to snowball it over a cliff, but ya know…apparently people like to be paid. I borrowed the money and I intend to pay it back.

My car payment is a very reasonable $257, but I have been consistently paying $280. For my February payment and going forward, I will pay $300. When I have trimmed other areas of my budget to allow for money to be freed up, I will raise that payment to $350 and be well on my way to

Why in the world am I sharing THIS MUCH of my personal finances with you? Well, I know a lot of my friends are in the same boat as I am and I’m hoping that together we can find ways to encourage each other and to reach our financial goals. Plus, a tip I’ve always lived by is share your goals with other people so that there are other folks holding you accountable. I wanted to call this goal financial freedom, but I went with financial fitness. Why? Because to me, calling it financial fitness means that I’m constantly working and evolving – and fitness is hard work. Being financial fit is equally important to me as having a healthy and fit body, so this area of my life takes a top priority.

I’m jumping all over the place (but it’s my blog so I can do what I want, right?) and since I just mentioned fitness, let’s talk about goals 4 (fully run a 5k), 5 (get to goal weight) and 9 (commit to working out twice a week).

Goal 2: Create and maintain a healthy life style

As I’ve written in my That’s Fit blogs, I’m learning every day how hard and sometimes how easy it can be to lead a healthy lifestyle. I have a loooooong ways to go, but I’ve also come a heck of a long way.

I am currently looking for a 5k to run in the spring, but my friend Auzar and I have talked about running and training for a race together so I’m SUPER stoked! Yay for a running buddy J I am averaging running two days a week, so I am also meeting my goal to work out AT LEAST twice a week. Why the emphasis on AT LEAST? I owe it to myself to move my body and get fit and I need to get to the gym no less than four to five times a week. Saying AT LEAST makes me go even on those days I don’t really feel like going…it’s my blog and my logic. So there.

I am going to get to my goal weight. My weight fluctuates (as everyone’s weight does) so as of this morning, I actually have about 53 pounds to go to reach my goal. Divided by eight months between now and November, that means I need to lose approximately 7 pounds each month. It’s doable, just have to get back to actually making progress.

For lack of better terminology…
Goal 3: Broaden my Intellectual Horizons

I am so behind on my book reading (goal 3: read 26 books)! I’ve only read three books; I should be finishing my 7^th book by now if I were sticking to the every other week finishing a book schedule I thought I would be following. I’m hoping that by eating healthier, exercising more and making adjustments in my life, I will have more energy and more time to sit down with my books again.

Alright. It is beyond time for me to stop procrastinating and finish my application (goal 2: apply to doctoral program). Geez. Ridiculous. I guess for me to finish my application, I need to look at what I still need to submit – before the June 1^st deadline:

1. 1^st Letter of Recommendation

2. 2^nd Letter of Recommendation

3. And yes, a 3^rd Letter of Recommendation

4. And essay or writing sample

5. Official transcript from Virginia Tech

6. Resume

So, none of that sounds *too* painful. The transcripts are easy as going on HokieSPA and filling out the request and submitting payment. Honestly the most difficult part will be finding the recommendation letters. Not that I don’t think I’m recommendable, I do, I just don’t like inconveniencing other people to help me. Does that sound weird? So, yes, it’s time to get my act together. I mean, I am going to be a doctor after all (hopefully).

As for my goal (10) of writing a book? Hmm, I’m stuck on this one. It would be really easy to write about my life, but I think maybe my mom and maybe Ashley would read it. As much as I love Jen Lancaster’s memoirs, I’m seriously not as funny as her, nor do I really think people care about what happens in my life – no matter how much I want to think other people might enjoy my tales and find them humorous. But, I’m still plotting out how this idea may fit into my goals.

Honestly, I feel like goal 8 (declutter/organize my life at home and work) really fits into each umbrella goal. I can’t keep up with my finances or a healthy life without carefully budgeting my time, keeping my files straight and keeping a clean home. I waste so much time at the grocery store – and waste so much money – when I don’t go to the store with a plan and a menu for the week. Keeping a handle on the clutter in my life as well as working on my organizational skills will aid in every facet of the goals I am working towards. Also, how on earth can I even think about working towards a doctoral degree without careful organization?

You may have noticed that I’ve streamlined my goals my new (and sort of improved since now I have a more definite plan of where I want to go) goals are:

1. Financial Fitness

2. Create and Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

3. Broaden my Intellectual Horizons

I feel like lately I’ve been very sedentary towards my goals, so it was time to make some changes – starting with this blog. No matter if it is a work situation or a life challenge, it’s always important to make reflections. I will start blogging on a more regular basis. That’s a fair pledge. Perhaps it’ll be once a week, but it will be no less than monthly.