March Madness {Nesting Time Style}

I have enjoyed so many of the

creative and inspiring 

projects I've seen in blogland this month,

so I thought it would be fun to 

document some of them in this little post of mine.

I'm not really into watching basketball

at this time in my life

{though I was somewhat of a baller back in my day, haha}

so for me, March Madness is all about craftiness.

Enjoy the following great ideas.

I hope they inspire you as they have me!

First up, this cute springy art from Jen at Tatertots and Jello

Umm, kinda jealous that these curtains are homemade,

with NO sewing involved! Wish I would have thought of this!

{your best beautiful blog}

Friends, pretty sure it doesn't get much more creative

than this wall art made of T.P. rolls

{Bon Temps beignet}

I LOVE this mudroom makeover...

I am dreaming up something similar for our entryway...

{counting our blessings}

I had to show this burlap wall art...

clearly it was made with me in mind,

seeing as how it features my last initial and all!

I love it, and I might have to make it!

{i heart my glue gun}

I've been seeing lots of silverware art.

I like it.

{Signal Hill Interiors}

My eyes are starting to droop,

so I'm going to have to call it a night.

These six projects are only the tip of the creative iceberg

but I don't have time to show ALL of the

projects I love.

In other news... we paid off our car today!

Yippeee!!! One less payment to make each month,

one less debt on our plate!
Progress is progress.

Now... do we use the money that we were paying on the car

to save for when my car dies and we need a new one (I've had it since high school!)?

Or,

do we continue with the debt snowball 

and apply that extra money we were paying on the car

toward our next smallest debt, which would be a school loan?

Hmmm... any advice?

Happy nesting peeps!

{After all, it is Easter season :) }

Mission: Get out of Debt

I have come to a conclusion.

Debt stinks.
Many of you have probably come to this conclusion as well.

For the longest time,

we complained about our debt.

We talked about managing our money better.

I created hypothetical budgets.

But all of the complaining and planning

never translated into action.

Month after month,

we found ourselves borrowing from our small

savings account.

Until one day...

our savings account ran out.

I believe this would be our "rock bottom" moment.
{financially speaking}

But then... something clicked.

We created a budget and got serious about it.

We cut WAY back on our debit card usage,

and we said HELLO to cash.

"Cash is king," as Dave Ramsey would say.

(If you haven't read this book, you probably should)

We now budget our money using these:

{Glass jars with labels stuck on them- we have 13 of them total}

And WOW!

We couldn't believe the results in our first month on this plan!

In our first month, we were able to achieve Dave's baby step #1:
gain an emergency fund of $1000.
Did you hear me people?
One thousand in savings in one month!
This was huge for us!
{Where was all of our money going before... that's what I'd like to know!}

For the first time in our marriage,

we began to feel like we have a hold on our finances

rather than our finances having a hold on us.

While we are walking in much more freedom

than we were 8 months ago,

we look forward to the day when we are

debt free!

{Don't worry, I'll let you know when that day comes!}

I can't claim that I'm as frugal as I could be.
I don't clip coupons
{but I might take after my friend Andi and follow her advice here, and start!}
and I quit shopping at Aldi.
{I got tired of having to hit up two grocery stores with a baby tagging along.}
But, I'm happy for now with the progress we've made.

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." ~ Proverbs 22:7

For some great money saving tips and motivation, check out these sights:

www.daveramsey.com

www.groceryshrink.com

www.moneysavingmom.com

http://notmadeofmoney.com/blog

http://christianpf.com

If you've got a "getting out of debt" success story, I'd love to hear it!
Leave me a comment with your story, or a link to your blog post about it, if you have one!

Because a debt free nest, is a more blessed nest!
Happy nesting!