Christmas Countdown

I have been waiting for this week for quite a while now. It's the first installment of Fun Dollars on my Christmas Countdown. Now that I have the Fun Dollars Summer Challenge done, I can start putting money towards the holiday season. In December, we have our first family Christmas with two children who are able to unwrap presents this year. Last year, Lily was almost 1, so she didn't really understand what was happening. This year, she will be fully aware that something is going on and she'll want to be a part of it.

I also know that this Christmas will be our first to visit family back east since Carrick was Lily's age. So plane tickets will also be a part of this season's spending. Not to mention that Lily's birthday is the week after New Year's, so there isn't much of a break for the bank in the present department. We know this ahead of time, which is why I am being to proactive about Christmas.

My normal pattern for Christmas is to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to start any sort of Christmas shopping. I began this tradition long ago, before children were in our lives. So letting go of my normal shopping and spending habits to be more financially responsible is the real challenge for me. I want this Christmas to be magical, which doesn't necessarily mean buying more presents for the kids, it means enjoying the season and all it has to offer.

My goal this time around is to have presents for important people in my life purchased and wrapped before December. I want to use the month of December for focusing on my children, my family, and the dearest people in my life. I will probably do some shopping in December, but it will be leisurely and enjoyable.  I refuse to let the phrase "hustle and bustle" enter my holiday vocabulary.

How do I intend to do this?

I am so glad you asked!!!!

I had this wonderful epiphany when my parents were visiting just a few weeks ago. We had the opportunity to go to Jerome (an art community in the hills), Uptown Sedona (the Down Town Disney of our town), and Old Town Cottonwood (a leftover of the Wild West days). At each of these locations, I thought to myself, "I live around here, and I never go to these places." As we shopped each day, enjoying the smells of cafes, and the unique boutiques, I came across things that made me think of people close to me.

That's the way to go Christmas shopping. When you see something that says, "Oh this is so Aunt Margaret," you should buy it for Aunt Margaret. Giving a gift is a way to remember and celebrate the people who matter to you in life. When you see something that reminds you of them, chances are, they would enjoy it as a gift.

In that vein, I plan to go shopping as the first purchase of Fun Dollars with each installment from now until December 22 (my last round of Fun Dollars for 2014). On each shopping trip, my aim is to buy at least one Christmas present for someone in my life. I'll take a day, head out to these adorable, locally-owned venues and walk around with Lily in a stroller. I'll have lunch, enjoy the day, and be proactive about Christmas.

Oh yes... and the Fun part....

Since I am working again, I can use my work money to pay for the cleaning lady. That frees up $40.00 each pay cycle. So I will be setting aside $10.00 out of each pay cycle to put towards the Fun Dollars New Year Challenge! Yay!!! I will have $100.00 to give to someone to kick start their own Fun Dollars in the New Year. Use it to pay off Christmas bills, use it to visit family, use it to buy $100.00 worth of champagne for a bash on New Year's. The choice is yours. You don't even have to do Fun Dollars to win it. This time, it will be a surprise...and I'll announce what it is in December. So keep reading....you never know who might get lucky and win the $100.00 Fun Dollars.

Happy Reading, and Happy Spending!

She Works Hard for the Money

Hardly...

I decided a long time ago that I was not going to pursue a career, so I have taken a string of easy, comfortable, mediocre-paying jobs. I wouldn't call myself lazy, but I would call myself "not driven". I just haven't found what truly sparks a fire inside me yet. Also, I refuse to give myself to start down a career path that doesn't light up that soul fire. If I am going to spend more time with my job than I do with my kids (or close to it), it has to really be worth it, and so far, that job has not crossed my path yet. So for the time-being, I am going to continue working at easy, comfortable jobs.

About a month ago, I was walking back to the car after dropping Carrick off at school and I started talking with one of my mom friends. Her child is in Carrick's kindergarten class. The boys also spent two years at the same preschool. We know the same moms and run in the same circles enough that we have become acquainted with each other.

So, as we were chit-chatting about life on that particular school day, I was telling her about how I had to go back to work this fall. I sighed and rolled my eyes, "I'll probably end up waiting tables." In a tourist town with retired millionaires, serving tables can be very lucrative, but it's just not a job that I feel like I am best suited for. I have served tables before, and sometimes, it got downright disastrous. I remember serving a guy a side salad before bringing out his entree...a salad. I had no idea that what he ordered was a salad. I remember watching him eat his entree with this look on his face like, "Didn't I just eat my salad? Now I have to eat this even bigger salad?" I am not a good waitress by any stretch of the imagination. But I can do it to make money for the family.

So, my friend asked me, "is that what you really want to do?"

Of course I replied "No," then added, "But what choice do I have? I am going to apply somewhere that has a breakfast and lunch shift so that I am guaranteed to be out by the time school lets out. What else will work with that schedule?" Sedona is a small town, and part of the agreement I had with Corey about work is that whatever job I took had to be in town. My last job before Lily was in the picture was super-fun and flexible, but it was also a 15 minute commute. So, the wage I was receiving barely covered gas and daycare. It's a struggle I'm sure many parents face; I have to somehow work and earn enough to cover the cost of childcare and have some left over to help out with the family.

I help make these.

So my friend, who is an artist, told me how she needed help in her studio. She was willing to pay me enough to cover Lily's daycare costs (plus some extra) and give me hours that work with Carrick's kindergarten schedule. The most important aspect of this job, however, lies in the work that's needed. Making jewelry (and helping out with clerical tasks), is not as emotionally and physically demanding as serving tables. When I was telling Corey about this potential job, I informed him that it would leave me with enough steam leftover to keep up with the house and kids. Aside from pay, that is the most important aspect for both Corey and me. Whatever job I take, I can't let the house go, or be too tired to care for the kids. Since Corey works 85% from home, the state of the house matters.

With great joy and anticipation, I counted down the days until Lily started daycare, and I started work. After being out of the workforce for 20 months (I left when Lily was born), I felt ready. This Tuesday, the day finally came. Corey and I both took Lily to her first ever day of daycare. I was able to keep up with the domestic needs of the house and family as well as earn some cash. However, I still won't clean the toilets, so I gladly paid my lady $40.00 this week. She mopped too. After two days of work, I was relieved to walk in to a clean house. She even made our bed this week. At least someone works hard for the money. Not me, I enjoy working, because there's nothing hard about it.

Cleaning Lady-$40.00
Balance this pay cycle- $1.00
Happy Spending!

mmmm......hashbrowns

And after a night out, where wine was free and friends wanted to buy us drinks, I drug myself to Burger King for some hot, greasy hash browns. Nothing like hash browns after a party. I feel this way so rarely, but I do know what to do, just in case... drink water, and eat hash browns.

I also kind of forgot that I had a doctor's appointment in the morning as well. If that had been on my radar, I might have toned it down a bit at the dinner/auction. 3 drinks has a way different effect on me, now that Corey and I are not buying alcohol regularly. This particular doctor's appointment was my first (non-pregnancy) checkup in over ten years. Even semi-hungover, I was still given a clean bill of health. Not too shabby. I just gotta stick to what I'm doing that keeps me healthy, like not drinking in excess.

Hash Browns at Burger King- $2.00
Balance this pay cycle- $41.00
Happy Spending!

Transparency

I firmly believe that any relationship requires transparency. If you are not real, if you are not honest, if you are not true, then any bond you strive to build will be built on a foundation with weaknesses. Lies and deceit become cracks in the foundation, and eventually, it crumbles. Whether you're talking about a person to person relationship, a person to self relationship, or even a person to object relationship, transparency must be present from the beginning.

Which brings me to the Fun Dollars Summer Challenge. I would love to sit here and tell you about how swamped I was with entries, my inbox bursting with emails, but it wasn't. Maybe $50.00 wasn't enough to motivate people. Maybe people are scared to look at what they actually spend.  I am choosing to be transparent with you about what happened with the Fun Dollars Summer Challenge.

It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I have to hold true to my ethic about transparency. I must be 100% honest with my money and with my readers; no secrets, no lies. I could easily make up a story about a person who wrote an amazing entry and won the $50.00. The truth is, no one would be the wiser. But I would know, and I would be laying down a foundation for Fun Dollars with cracks in it. That's not what I want, so here's the truth.

No one entered. Not a single person wrote to me about their experience with Fun Dollars this summer. I literally tried to give away $50.00 and couldn't. I had been anticipating this week all summer long. I dreamed of reading emails about inspired readers who are now taking the steps toward financial responsibility. But no one sent those emails, no one shared their story. So what happened to the $50.00?



Yet another layer of transparency...

I had a fabulous night out. Yep, we paid for a babysitter with my saved-up Fun Dollars. I had it stashed in a hiding place since last week so I wouldn't spend it. Then I found out last Friday that Corey had been asked to represent his company at a dinner auction. It was for the Sedona International Film Festival, and his company is always a title sponsor, so they bought us the tickets. Instead of going to the bank for the money to pay the sitter, I just counted on using the Fun Dollars, and getting more from the bank after choosing a winner for the Challenge.

Can you tell which one is the $15.00 dress
and which one is the $150.00 dress?

The best part was wearing my $15.00 Fun Dollar dress that I wore to the wedding back in July. The
people that attended this event were the president of the Chamber of Commerce, the top realtors
in town, the Mayor of Sedona, and various millionaires. I did not feel a bit out of place in my $15.00 dress. I wore it with confidence, knowing that it was something I had purchased, for me, with my own money. Last night was a prime example of Fun Dollars put to good use.

I don't even plan on recovering my babysitter money. I'm choosing to let the babysitter be a Fun Dollars expense just because everything else about my night out was free. Also, since I don't have to pay anyone else the money, why not spend it on something fun?

Babysitter for the night- $50.00
Balance this pay cycle- $43.00
Happy Spending!

Last Call!

All submission for the Fun Dollar Summer Challenge need to reach me by midnight tomorrow (Sunday, September 7, 2014). I will announce the winner in one week. Good luck!

Hot Lunch

I finally stopped by the office at Carrick's school to ask about his lunch program. It occurred to me that the spare Fun Dollars I had saved up had helped fund Carrick's lunch for the week that my parents were visiting. Every day, I would scramble around, searching for $2.75. The paper money came out of my purse, and the coins came out of our coin stash. I didn't really realize it before, but I was using Fun Dollars to buy him hot lunch.

I didn't want to mess with groceries or packing a lunch while my parents were here. I just dropped him off each morning and picked him up each afternoon. Even though it only takes me five minutes to pack a lunch, I was focused on other things. Taking lunch out of the morning equation meant a little more time spent with family. Sound silly, I know, but when family lives 1,500 miles away, every second counts.

Carrick and Dedah hiking

Also, Carrick spent a few mornings over at the hotel before school. His favorite thing in the world when his "Dedah" is visiting is to eat breakfast with him. So dining on a waffle from the breakfast nook at the hotel was pure bliss to this little five-year-old. Telling Dedah all about his dreams, about his teacher, and about what wonderful things he was going to do at school that day filled his breakfast time with my father. I would gladly pay $2.00 to be able to give him a small window of time with Dedah before school. I'm not going to try to recover the money. I am happy knowing that it went to a good cause.


Now that I know about the online account, I can set that up for Carrick. No more scrounging around for things to pack in a cold lunch, or digging in my purse for $2.00. I can just use my debit card to plunk more money in his account as needed and he won't have to carry Ziploc bags of money to school every day.

There is so much to learn when a child goes to school for the first time. Preschool pales in comparison. I just have to put on my big girl britches and be a real mom. I have a kindergartner now.

Missing Fun Dollars- $10.00 bottle of wine, and $10.00 for 5 hot lunches.

Happy Spending!

A Healthy Goodbye

Oh boy! Family visiting is always a bittersweet thing for me. On the one hand, I get to spend precious time with people I love, but on the other hand, I know that I will have to say goodbye at some point. On one hand, we get to eat out (and have extra help with the kiddos) but on the other hand, I eat way more than I normally would (and it might not be a part of my "normal" diet.) On the one hand, we get to do fun things like explore Uptown Sedona, or Jerome, but on the other hand, I spend more Fun Dollars than I plan on using.

I love every visit from family, and I go into each visit knowing that I will eat and drink more than what I am used to, I will spend money I don't mean to, and not have as much "normal" time doing things like grocery shopping. I know that no trip will last forever and that at some point, a goodbye is in order.

First, let's talk about all that extra spending I did. As many of you know, I am about to gift someone $50.00 out of my own pocket. Since Fun Dollars are mine to spend any way that I want, I want to share the fun by giving someone else half of my Fun Dollars for one pay cycle. I have been saving up for the past few pay cycles to fund this gift. But when my parents were visiting, I mingled my saved Fun Dollars with my expendable Fun Dollars. I think it might have gone towards bottles of wine, but I'm not sure. This is a spending behavior that seems to occur every time there are visitors. I am not particularly sad or disappointed about it, it's just something I have noticed. So, I can be more aware of it the next time family is in town.

Which brings me to my next point, saying goodbye. I have done this enough times that I have found new ways of dealing with the sadness that accompanies the departure of family after a visit. I used to dive into a tub of ice cream, or splurge on a bottle of wine that Corey and I would finish in a night. Pretty much anything to dull the pain of loss would do the trick. Since I have been eating differently, I have noticed that my moods are better managed without the need for "poisonous" indulgences. In reality, my body is looking for a sugar high or the dullness of alcohol to numb the pain. But since I am now used to "running on a cleaner system", my body doesn't seek out these methods for coping.

I kid you not, as soon as I left the airport after dropping off my parents yesterday, my body said, "Feed me a salad!" I even considered for a moment my freedom of choice in Flagstaff (where the airport was) with only one child in the car (Carrick was back at school). I could go for a mocha at Starbucks. I could get a Long John covered in chocolate at Dunkin' Doughnuts. I could even binge on a double scoop waffle cone at Baskin Robbins, but none of those options really sounded good to me. I truly wanted a salad. And in honesty, I felt better about my choice and about saying goodbye as I ate my Wildflower Salad topped with salmon.


Lily slept in my lap and I enjoyed every mouthful of my salad. I put her in the car when I was finished and we drove to Old Navy. That's where I did my "consolation shopping". I used family money to go clothing shopping for Lily. Yes, I know that I could go to Goodwill, or wait for a clothing swap, but I wanted my girl to have some actual new clothes for when she started school. It will be her first time in daycare next week, and I knew how fast she would go through clothes. Playing with other children, feeding herself lunch, I would need to bring a change of clothes for her every day. Also, she deserves some non-hand-me-down clothes too. I had no time limit to shop, so I just pawed through all the summer clearance items for little girls. I even found a swimsuit for $10.00 that I bought for myself. All said and done I spent $20.00 on a week's worth of clothes for Lily, and I felt 100% okay with my parents leaving.

No ice cream, no wine, no chocolate, just a salad and some (necessary) shopping. That's a much healthier way to say goodbye.

Lunch at Wildflower- $7.00
Balance this pay cycle- $93.00
Happy Spending!