New Tires! BFF Dave would approve.

So today, April 13th 2011, I am getting new tires on my kia sportage.

Why on earth is this important?

It's quite the accomplishment really. Since around October/November, I've been on a crusade to save money, reduce spending and payoff debt. It - in one word - sucks. It's hard, it makes life even more difficult than it already was and it can sometimes be frustrating.

Today is one of those moments where I feel like my hard work is paying off. New tires are not cheap. Peter put a little bit towards them because he wanted to make sure I had very good, very safe tires but I saved $530. I DID IT. For three months, I've tucked away $10 here or $20 there. Our tax return was small, but we decided to put that towards the tires. Whenever I spent under my budget on groceries or other things for the month, that went towards my tires. Instead of buying a new shirt or new pants, I threw that money towards my tires. Whenever I had any spare money at all, it went into my "Tire Fund" envelope.

Other than housing or the down payment on my car, these tires are probably the largest purchase (in terms of the amount of money) that I have made. I know that perhaps $530 doesn't sound like that much money, but to me, it's a mini-fortune! AND I SAVED IT!

The best part about it, is that I paid cash for new tires without having to add to my enormous amount of debt - woo hoo! Yay! This is my first of hopefully many 'paying cash' milestones :)

I *really* needed this accomplishment because I've been really down the past week. I started last week with two additional sources of income. While not much, they did provide a nice little bit of padding for my savings account. This week, both of those side jobs have ended - which is fine. We are going to be ok; these jobs were helping to fund my next savings goal ($2000 saved) so it will just take me a little bit longer to get there.

Another thought that weighed heavily on my mind was the possible government shutdown. Neither Peter or I work for the government; however, most of his customers where he works are government contractors or employees. If they had shutdown, it is highly likely Peter's income would have suffered.

But it made me question how would we survive if either of us either lost our jobs or if we were laid off for an undetermined amount of time? It is a really scary thought! My goal after reaching the $2000 saved mark is to try and get enough in savings that we would have one-month of expenses stowed away for our emergency fund. I know that BFF Dave wants you to have your debt paid off before working on your three to six month emergency fund, but life is way too uncertain and we must all be prepared for the unexpected.

So, more cuts will be made to my budget. Through couponing, planning ahead and looking at various grocery store sales, my goal for the rest of April is to trim $30 each week off of our grocery budget which would lower our grocery budget each week to $50. It will be a challenge, but through savvy shopping and proper planning it is totally doable!

Goals for the remainder of April:
1. Register and pay for BFF Dave's Financial Peace University class being offered in Leesburg starting in May.
2. Cut grocery budget by $30 the last two weeks of grocery shopping for April thus allowing me to pay for said class.
3. Using the final round of paychecks from the side jobs to reach $2000 goal.
4. Plan out May's budget.

I can do this. I will do this. And again, I do apologize if I seem boring or ridiculous about saving money. I'm just so determined to be debt-free by the time I'm 35...and considering I have approximately $55,000 (remainder on car + student loans), I have a looooong way to go. I refuse to waste money right now.

Everything I spend money has a line item in my budget. If it's not in the budget, it doesn't happen. You may be thinking, but Ashley if you are saving money, the doesn't that mean you can spend it? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Emergency funds are intended for emergencies, not for going out with friends, new clothes, shoes, random things that look nice. Emergency funds are there when true catastrophes happen (job loss, death in the family, major illness). If you don't have an emergency fund, I highly suggest you start one. BFF Dave suggests a $1000 fund to start (or even $500 depending on your monthly income and expenses). Currently, we live paycheck to paycheck. If either of us were to miss out on a paycheck, our ability to pay our bills would be jeopardized so trust me when I say this: if we can get an emergency fund, you can too!

Looking for ways to save money? Perhaps some of these thoughts will help:
Do you really need cable? Internet? Nope. (We don't.) Those are luxuries, not necessitates.
Do you really need to spend a ton of money on groceries? Nope. Be a smart shopper!
Do you really need a fancy coffee drink every morning? Nope. You will survive. I promise.
Do you really need a new pair of pants? Nope. There will be plenty of clothes to purchase - when you are out of debt.

Also? Every time I feel discouraged or feel like I'm not getting anywhere, I'll just look at those new tires and receive an instant dose of encouragement.