March is Underway

The month of March is well underway. St. Patricks Day is coming, the first day of spring is near and the hope of a better financial life lays ahead. What are you doing about your financial future this month to get out of debt, organize your money and get financially fit?

This is what I am doing...I have this month's spending plan on course, I have sold some more stuff on E-bay and Craigslist, I have signed up for overtime at work, and have accepted another teaching opportunity for this summer. All of these sacrifices of time and energy are going to be well worth it as I pay off debt, live within my means, and try to do everything I can to become debt free!

I started some herbs and vegetables indoors this past weekend with one of those small seed pod greenhouse. You can buy them at the large home improvement centers in your neighborhood. You just add water, watch the pods expand, and add your seeds. I keep the mini greenhouse indoors by the window. I planted tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini squash, onion and thyme. These should be sprouts by spring and will go in the vegetable garden to save on our grocery bill.

I also followed the bread recipe from The Simple Dollar, and made a great loaf of bread! Boy, the house smelled wonderful, and this morning's toast with jelly was delicious! Thanks Trent at The Simple Dollar for the great recipe! It cost very little to bake this delicious bread.

The spending plan is working well since I now am using Mint.com for my money management. I love this website! It is tracking my expenses, investments, assests, debt and even my monthly spending plan! I recommend it highly and it's free!

I also am enrolled in a second business. I am working from home in a network marketing business that is different than what I am used to. However, it is paying me weekly now, and I am putting this income towards my debt!

So between my regular job, my business, sales of stuff, and overtime, I am well on my way to debt freedom! Tell me how your journey is coming, and with the Month of March in full swing, take the time and do the little things that can change your life and make you financially fit!

Herbs, Fruits, Nuts & Vegetables

I live in Southern California, so our growing season is long. As we wrap up winter here, our thoughts on our ranch turn towards spring. We've been on this property for almost three years now and have planted herbs, fruit trees, nut trees, berries, and have a vegetable garden every year.

We will track our costs involved so that we can see what we spend and what we save on. Gardening is a hobby for me and my wife, so this is not a scientific study. We know how expensive fruits, nuts, vegetables, and herbs can be at the market. Plus, homegrown taste so much better!

This year we will continue by starting the vegetable garden by planting what worked last year. The tomatoes and squash did very well. However, the corn, bell peppers, lettuce, carrots and cucumbers faired poorly. I think we will not plant corn, but will try again with all the others. The seeds we purchased last year were very cheap. I think this had a lot to do with our lack of abundance last year. So this year, we have budgeted a little more towards our seed inventory.

As for the herbs, the rosemary, lavender, mint, and parlsey have done well. I would like to add a few more herbs, so I will read up on what we can add in this zone in Southern California.

The trees have done well. Some are new like the avocado we planted last year. This one has survived the few nights of freezing temperatures. The first one we planted didn't. We have several citrus trees, including lemon, orange, and lime. We also have fig, asian pear, olive, and cherry trees around the property. The nut tree is a pistachio that is thriving here.

For the berries, we have a blueberry bush that likes it protected against the house. We would like to add some more berries, so I'll be online looking for them.

Since we live in an area that is full of wineries and vineyards, I had to plant a grape vineyard. I have cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel and chardonnay grapes. The vineyard is small, but it's fun growing grapes of different varieties used in wines.

For more good ideas about home gardening, Get Rich Slowly did a post about magazines that discuss self suffiency. I found it very enlightening on what is out there. Happy gardening.

March's Spending Plan

I am going to regularly post information on next month's Spending Plan (budget) for several reasons. First, because it is relatively new for me to make a spending plan. Secondly, I believe when I post a spending plan the day before the new month, it helps me focus on creating this new vital habit and puts my spending plan on the forefront.

So last evening, I finally put my financial information on a great website. I found Mint.com through other readers' comments on other blogs and I highly recommend it! Its layout and ease of accessing and entering information is fantastic.

As for my spending plan, I use a zero based budget, where every penny has a place to go. As with any spending plan, there will be adjustments throughout the month, as income and outgo changes.

March's Spending Plan has more money for my debt snowball because I paid off my last credit card last week! I will roll over this amount add it to the minimum on the next debt...the IRS! Other than that, all the other expenses are the usual. The best part is seeing the list of creditors I owe getting shorter and shorter!

Remember, do the Spending Plan! This is key to see where your money goes regularly. The financial websites will show patterns and give suggestions on where to save. But you are in control to live within your means and stick to your Spending Plan. This will help you on the road to financial freedom!