Saturday, June 30, 2018

Week 19 - Week 26: How To Stay Focused On Your Debt-Free Journey

How To Stay Focused On Your Debt-Free Journey


Week 19- Week 26

I know I have gotten a little behind in doing my week by week posts for my #52weeksnailmailchallenge. Even though I have not been posting weekly for a few weeks I have been sending out my weekly cards to family and friends.


June is a very special month for my husband and I.  We are celebrating 30 years of marriage and I wanted this to be an extra special and memorable occasion.  So, we are giving gifts to each other for 30 days.  At the same time, we are spending more time together working on our debt-free journey.

We held our first garage sale in May and had a few people show up and sold a few items.  Yay!  I also have been posting in Facebook groups on a weekly basis and have sold even more things to folks in several counties.  WooHoo!  It really feels good to be getting rid of things we don't use and having them go to families that will use them.


I am seeing the floor again in my garage storage area along with opening up space along the wall of the garage where bigger items were before.  
The fact that people are keeping their word and actually showing up at the time they say is truly refreshing and it is encouraging me to keep going on this debt-free journey. 

So, here's how we stay focused on our debt-free journey.

First, I use my Living Well Spending Less planner and write down the main 3 goals for the year, the month, the week and the day.  This year was pretty simple.  There are 3 main goals that I write down each month.  

1.  Selling off unused items around the house

2.  Working on my Etsy business and blog posts (MarketsofSunshine and PioneerFundraiser)

3.  Mailing my cards and letters each week
 #52weeksnailmailchallenge

Second, we discuss our progress each night along with what we are grateful for that day.  This helps us stay focused and keeps us positive.  At the end of the day we can see our hard work paying off with good results. 

I have to admit it took some doing to get my husband on board with this whole new way of doing things.  He is not a goal setter or planner keeping kind of man.  But, he has slowly seen the light over time.  Now, when he hears the ka-ching on my phone from my Etsy shop getting another sale he gets just as happy as I do.
When I tell him someone is coming to pick up xyz item that sold on Facebook he does a happy dance right along with me.

The hardest thing has been to have him let go of his possessions like his bike of 30 plus years.  His tools and equipment that he might need for a future job etc...

Third, I say a prayer for what I am grateful for at the end of each day.  Having faith that you are not doing things on your own power but on that of God's, is why I know we will be successful and reach each and every goal that we write down.

As you can see it does not have to be complicated to start a debt-free journey.  You just have to be committed and communicate with your partner every day.

I am starting fresh with my newsletter starting in July 2018.  It will have four main themes each month as follows:
  • Gluten free recipes
  • How To's
  • Customer Reviews, Sales and Product Launches
  • PDF Worksheet for budgeting and organizing
 Thanks for taking the time to read this week's post at Markets of Sunshine website.  If you have something you need help with that I focus on just leave me a comment below.  Or, open your newsletter and leave a comment there.  I will get back to you as soon as possible.




                                    Sending You Sunshine,
                                    Marsha J.
 






Sunday, June 17, 2018

Week 18: How To Use The Cash Envelope System - Customer Review of Markets of Sunshine Products

Week 18: Customer Review of Markets of Sunshine Products

I received this wonderful hand written review from a local customer who uses my cash envelope wallets for her budgeting system.  I just had to share it with you.

Here is what she had to say in her own words.

"Cash envelopes system has worked for me.  Being organized for me is a no brainer.  However, keeping track of where the money goes on eating out and extras was a challenge.  Until my good friend introduced me to the C.E.S. (cash envelope system)
I love the portability and personalization it gives its user.  I have four wallets I use for these catagories:
car maintanance
savings (don't touch)
fun money
grocery

How it works for me is every paycheck I take out the alloted portion my husband and I decided to set aside. Then everything else goes in the bank to pay our rent and other automated bills...
Now in just two months we've saved money in the bank and our envelopes are adding up funds too.  It's amazing and I couldn't be happier to use this way of saving.
I ordered mine from Markets of Sunshine.  She offers a wide variety of patterns.  So it's extra cute and offers personalization.  Plus free shipping!  and she always throws in a free goodie" 💜💜💜 K.R. Florida

 How To Start Your Own Cash Envelope System Budget

1.  Start by writing down the categories you want to save money for as our reviewer did above.
2.  Use a budget app to tell your money where to go  (I use EveryDollar)  
3.   Now head over to Markets of Sunshine Etsy shop and purchase the set you love the most, (click here)
4.  Once your receive your wallets label them for the categories you made in step 1.
5.  Each paycheck you receive put the money in each wallet that you designated in step 2.
6. Stick to your budget and don't cheat.  This is the only way you will succeed and reach your goal of telling your money where to go. 

I have $400 saved in my emergency wallet that I keep on hand for hurricane season.  I have my $1200 in the bank for emergencies on things like a new appliance etc...  I have one wallet for fun money (going to garage sales and thrift stores and state parks)  One wallet I use for receipts of local purchases in case I need to return something and for my Ibotta cash back app that I redeem the day of the purchase. (click here to sign up with Ibotta)
  Later, I move them to a zip lock bag for tax time. We keep a savings account in another bank.  My husband is in charge of that account and I take care of the household budget bank account.  So, get started today with your own cash envelope system with one of our stylish wallets and envelope sets.

Sending You Sunshine,
Marsha J.