Introduction

Background information is always a good idea when presenting a new idea, I'm not new to blogging, but this blog is new for me.  Let me explain a little about why this blog exists.

Recently, my husband, children and I moved into my best friend's house.  My husband and I are staying in the dark, damp, musty basement and my children have moved into a room much smaller than they are used to.  We've gotten rid of a lot of furniture, knick knacks and other various non-essential items that we've carried from one home to another over the last 22 years of our marriage.  We've lost a good chuck of what is familiar to us and replaced it with the unknown, the shared, the "not yours."  My oldest son will be leaving for US Navy boot camp in a few weeks and will escape most of this transition...but he'll be on a much different transition, and in some ways a bigger transition, than us.

My father, who lived with us for 8 years, is now sharing a small two bedroom apartment with my brother Michael not far from our new "home." This is a much  needed break for us...and a much needed change for my dad.  He'll now have someone to spend his days with and can maybe start enjoying his own life a little more...and create better, lasting, bonds with his grandsons. 

So, why are we doing this?  Simple...financially, we SUCK!  We've been carrying debt with us since we got married.  My  husband was in the Navy and creditors were throwing credit cards and financing at us.  No one actually taught us how to manage any of this.  When we maxed out a credit card, we just got a new one...and the cycle continued for many, many years.  And now...we are at the bottom...can't pay rent, buy food, car payment, insurance, student loans, cell phones and still function.  We've had a few major setbacks...and it's all snowballed to a point that we simply cannot do it anymore.  We were robbing Peter to pay Paul...well, Peter shut us down! 

Now, it's time for us to grow up and be financially responsible adults...reduce our expenses, pay off old debt and learn how to live within our means.  My goal for this blog is to chronicle this process, write a little something once a week, and research a financial topic that I plan on using to help us.  The first few months will be interesting as we have some big personal changes...my son leaving, a trip to Texas for me, and then my son's boot camp graduation in early fall...not sure how much money I'll be saving in that time...or how much debt I will be paying off...but I'm starting the process now.