we have one car

in 2011 we purchased two brand new cars. they were beautiful and had all the bells and glorious whistles (i miss you bluetooth capabilities). in 2013 we realized how stupid we were…

we were paying more for those cars than our rent! why? because i thought i was fancy. 

so, we got rid of them. it took time and it was far from easy, but well worth it. now we have one car-- yes, one.  it is paid off and we are completely debt free (other than our newly acquired mortgage—we hope to pay that off as quickly as possible).

having one car isn't glamorous by any means. on a typical work day i have to wake up an hour earlier, wipe the sleep from our kids eyes, throw them in the car, drive my husband three miles to work, drive home, get myself and the kids ready, take one child to pre-school, take the other to day care, and drive to work. are you tired yet? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 because that is just our morning routine.

i’m sure our friends think we are crazy. or extremely poor. we’re not. but we made a decision that we wanted to live our lives differently. learn from our mistakes and NEVER be in debt again.

we do plan on buying a second vehicle soon. but is something we have budgeted and have been saving for.

are you on a debt free mission? do you have trouble with budgeting or saving? i did until i started using my budget binder. within my budget binder i have a monthly  and bi-weekly (first pay-period and second pay-period) budget. it allows us to see our estimated expenses versus our actual expenses.

you can download my forms by clicking the links above.

if you're too good for pen and paper, e-mail me. i'd be happy to share my editable word documents as well.


XOXO
-Bri

something new

we are two weeks away from closing on our new home. 

which means our current home is in extreme disarray.

there are boxes everywhere. bags of linens and throw pillows piled high in our office. stacks upon stacks of wall art and photo frames all over the house. meanwhile i am sitting here, unshowered, and unbothered by the amount of things i am currently avoiding. it's chaos. 

but joyful-grateful--holy crap-we-just-bought-a-brand-spanking-new-house chaos! 

my pinterest has never seen more action and i'm pretty sure my friends and family are sick of me sticking my phone in their faces with photo updates. 

"look! they installed my toilet!" 

"omg! look! i have wiring for ceiling fans!" 

pretty much every little detail has been shared for the last four months. 

this is why i am here, with you. i want to share my journey. 

turning this house into a home for my beautiful family and friends to enjoy. 

join me!