Money Class & House for Sale

I am just over a week shy of my 31st birthday (I cringe when I type that) and to be honest, I really never budgeted my money. I have always been frugal where I don't buy something unless I can justify it two times over. Some times, I have such bad buyer's remorse I am hardly home before I am turning around to take it back. Now that John and I are responsible for more than just ourselves, we have made a conscious effort to be smart with our money. We decided we might need a little outside help.

Fortunately, we discovered the Community Partnership of the Ozark's "CASH Financial Literary Initiative" through Sawyer's daycare Lighthouse. They did a presentation at the last family education night at his school and it sounded like the perfect way to get on the right track. We started at the beginning of August for the 4-week class (every Tues. from 5:30 - 8:00) and besides the obvious perks of learning where our money is going, they also offer FREE dinner and FREE childcare....how could we turn that down? AND here is the real kicker...after completion of the 4 weeks, you start a free savings account and if you save up to $100 over 3 months, they match it $100. John and I could both do it. So in 3 months, we will have a free $200 and another $200 we saved.

Yay, we passed!

We just graduated Tuesday and could not have been happier with how it turned out. We discussed how to set up a balanced budget and make it reasonable for our family. One of the most valuable tools we walked away with was our spending journals. This is a small binder we keep on us at all time and write down every time we spend money (gas, gum, fountain drinks, Starbucks-yikes!). Our eyes were opened to the little things we buy that we don't even realize. Every bit counts and cutting just a couple of those things out each week make a huge difference. They brought in guest speakers from area banks to talk about anything money related from buying a house to filing for bankruptcy. Nothing is off the table and no one judges. John and I highly recommend the class, even if you don't think you need it, I bet you learn something! After you graduate you can also start attending the Savings Club, which offers more financial education and encouragement.
Here is the site for more info: http://www.commpartnership.org/what-we-do/by-division/neighborhood-development/cash-financial-literacy/

On a related note, John and I have decided to put our house up for sale because we have outgrown the space we are in. It is actually hard for me to admit this because I feel like if I type it, it is real. I bought this house the Fall of 2006 when I was just 24 years old and was my first house out on my own. I got married, had my first child, all while living in this house. So, as you can imagine it is emotional for me. We aren't in any hurry just want to start the process now before we decide to expand our family even more. We aren't opposed to renting it either. This class was very helpful in getting us ready for this next big step in our lives as a family of 3.  So if you know anyone wanting a cute 2 bed, 2 bath house in central Springfield...give us a call :)