The Countdown Begins!

One week from today and I will be prepping to go back to work. I thought I was ready, but now that the time is getting nearer, the more sad I get. I'm really going to miss my time with the kids and Rikki.  The kids are all at really neat stages and I've been enjoying being part of their every day.

My three munchkins!

I'm excited to go back to work, but a big part of me is nervous.  There have been so many changes since I've been gone that I'm not sure what I'm coming back to.  My role and the role of some of my staff have changed so now there are new things to worry about.  Two people have left so I now have to get to know two new people on my team. I'm sure things will work out fine, but it will be a transition to come in just as we're starting our busy season.

This weekend, we stuck true to our pact of not spending money.  We celebrated Uncle Rommy's birthday at his house.

We also took the kids to Heritage Park in Cerritos and then to get frozen yogurt at the mall.

Playground fun

Such a pretty park

Lexi walking to the fort

One of the village buildings

Olivia is finally comfortable on the big girl swing

One of the many areas to play

Enjoying their yogurt at the mall

More playtime at the mall

At the end of the day, Olivia expressed how this was "the best day ever!" which reminded us that we don't need to spend a ton of money to make our kids happy. How blessed are we to have kids that are just happy to be with us!

Financial Goals

Rikki and I are pretty lax when it comes to our budget -- we pretty much buy what we want, when we want. We bought our house about 8 months ago and even with a big chunk going to the mortgage and the added utility bills, we still don't really budget. We bought brand new furniture and appliances, built an awesome deck, made some minor renovations, and started to decorate the place.  We did it all so fast, faster than we anticipated.

Fast forward to today and I'm wondering where all our expendable income went. We're doing fine, but our financial cushion just isn't looking as healthy as it once was. I'm sure that will all change when I go back to work, but it got me thinking about budgeting better and setting the path to our financial and life goals.

Here are some of our financial goals:

1. Be 100% debt free
2. Pay house off early
3. Retire early
4. Buy investment properties
5. Put more in our travel account
6. Invest more in stocks
7. Put more in the kids' college funds
8. Have a bigger emergency fund

Luckily, we're not completely off in these goals. We have at least taken the steps to set up these accounts, but we definitely could do better.  So starting today, we decided that we would be more mindful of our spending. We probably spend $50-$200 a day on random stuff (curse you, Target!) on top of our normal spending of gas, food, groceries, etc.  That seems crazy pants!

So today, I'm proud to report that we spent NOTHING! We'll see if we can keep this up. Stay tuned for the updates!

On a happier note, we took the kids to the park today and they were happy that they climbed the chain ladder.

Daddy pushing the girls on the swings

Olivia is always happy to be at the playground

Alexis celebrating her climb to the top

We had a pretty fun day without spending any money. I think this will be good for us!