6 New Things You'll See on #TMB

Helloooo, again, everyone!

I am back and you may have noticed... This Messy Business has a new look! It's pretty fantastic. Stream-lined, simplified, and easy to manage. Now that we've got a new look, we're also going to have some new content. I'm super excited about it!

Here are 5 of the things you'll spot on the new and improved #TMB.

1.  You'll still see house updates! I love my little house and plan on still sharing any and all updates that I've got going on. It may not be anything major, like a kitchen remodel, but it'll still be great and fun!

2. Finances! and our Debt-Free Journey. We are working on becoming totally debt-free (except the mortgage) by 30, so you'll see some tips on how to stay motivated, what happens when you lose steam, resources, and money saving help. This will be linked under the "Lifestyle!"

3. Clean living. We are also making a shift towards more clean living and eating in our house. From changing products to investing in our community and learning to grow our own herbs. We are working to minimize, simplify, and live more with less. Check out the "Cook Book" tab for recipes!

4. Fashion! Though we want to minimize and live more simply, I still love my clothes and shoes! So, that's gonna happen. You'll see more posts about that and more! Another one for the Lifestyle tab!

5. Colorado lifestyle and adventures. We are looking to take advantage of the great country and county we live in! We are going to go on some fun adventures this summer from helping with weddings, to camping, hikes, wine tasting, or whatever strikes our fancy. Find these under the"Lifestyle" tab.

6. Teacher Tips. I'm a high school English teacher and High School Speech & Debate Coach. I absolutely love my job. But it is hella hard sometimes. I'll be posting ideas on how to manage and balance teaching, life, and staying sane. Check these out under the "Teacher's Corner" tab!

Have something else you'd like to see featured on the blog or advice as i get restarted? Let me know in the comments below!

Find me on social media:

De-Trash Your Trailerhood: Manage It.

****If you are seeing this content on http://manufacturedhomefacts.com/ please be advised it is there without permission! thismessybusiness.com is the OFFICIAL and only site I publish on!***

Here is the first phase of our mission to start de-trashing the trailerhood, or rather, my trailerhood but these are applicable anywhere I'd say. Keep in mind that as we do this some of our steps may get out of order depending on what we are working on.

When I first moved into my trailer it looked straight up trailerhood (for the duration I will be saying "hood" but I mean that in terms of a trailer park/manufactured home community).

Here's a little reminder:

I don't have very many original pictures since it was not my original plan to start a blog. I know. That was dumb. I'm kicking myself for it now. But you can sort of see that the wood is rotting in places, the stairs are weird, there was rotting lattice attached to the porch and some of the flashing was gone from the roof overhang.

Here's what it looks like presently:

You can see even in this picture that the grass is over grown, the rails are filthy, and my aspen tree is totally dead.

Even this big mulberry bush is trying to escape from the picture.

Porch is cluttered with planting materials and is very, very dirty.

This side wasn't so bad even though all the paint was peeling off my bench and it was looking a little wonky.

Loads of cobwebs all around the front entry is also not very inviting. It works out okay on Halloween though!

The main point of showing these somewhat embarrassing photos of my house is that maintaining your exterior is crucial! It not only adds value to your home but also increases the curb appeal, and allows you to identify potential issues early on rather than waiting for it to totally fall apart. 

So for a total investment of $0.00 dollars we are going to start our detrashing by cleaning up the outside of the house considering that is the first thing people see when they drive by, and often the only thing.

To-do list:

• Mow the lawn
• Pull weeds that are mega tall.
• Fill containers with pretty flowers
• Repaint the peeling paint on the deck.
• Clean off the cobwebs 
• Replace the icky light
• Repaint the bench and clean furniture.

Keep in mind that water is (nearly) free, you can get a decent broom at the dollar store, and if you have to buy paint you can get it for only $15 dollars at Lowe's or even WalMart.

Check back on Friday and I'll show you the steps I've taken so far!

Living Single: Monthly Update

Back in March I started talking about how I wanted to start working towards financial freedom, especially since I'm now out of college and don't have that extra interest backed cash coming in every few months. (High five to those student loans!) What is starting to become a challenge is the fact that those student loans have to be paid back.

I know. Crazy. I don't remember being told that. Damnit.

So I have heard a lot of buzz around about Dave Ramsey and even recall my parents following his lead when I was a kid. I found his website {here} and found a lot of great advice. I wanted to know more! So I used my fabulous Google Chrome set up, seriously, I heart the Googlie; and found a ton of videos online.

I spent all morning on Sunday watching these videos and getting some great tips and steps to success. One thing that I noticed is that though a lot of his info is tailored to families and people in relationships (#singleladyfun) there's some things that I can incorporate into the single lady life I'm living.

For instance setting up a budget. My new favorite thing is Google Drive. You can create all kinds of documents just through Google without having to buy expensive software that if you're like me, you can't really afford at the moment. Plus it's fairly dumdum proof which I appreciate.

In my Google drive I set up a folder for all my "budget" goodies. Everything from paying off student loans, car, credit card debt, monthly budget, and a spending register. However I have no clue how to use or set up a spreadsheet.... I'm an English teacher... numbers are not me friend.

So in the truest nature of Google... I googled it! Managed to find some great resources and even found a preloaded spreadsheet that you can modify and fill in the blanks with your amounts, etc. (Shown in screenshot above) Here's the link if you want to try it out for yourself: Budget Spreadsheet

This page explains how to use the budget planner and even gives a pretty thorough tutorial if you need it. Plus it's just a great website for people like me who are starting out and want to get ahead in this money game. Check it out here: 20somethingfinance.com

For my debt repayment spreadsheets (sorry no screenshot) I used this one: Cardan Avalanche Spreadsheet. It was great because it allowed you to put in the interest rates and see how paying extra has an IMMEDIATE impact. For example if I pay even an extra $100-$200 on my student loans each month I end up saving a couple THOUSAND dollars in interest over the life of all of my student loans which is roughly 15 years for the federal loans.

Plus the handy thing about Google Drive... They've got an app for that! This is what it looks like on my Samsung Galaxy SIII. Of course my phone is an android or Google based phone which makes it easier but the app is free and easy to use, the larger documents take longer to load if you're not on WiFi but it you are using the register to track your purchases it's handy so you can just get on it, add it in, done.

I am a girl that loves clothes, shoes, nail polish, purses, and buying dog treats and toys. So for me the hardest part of this whole process has been just simply doing this:

I think if I can demonstrate enough discipline I can do it. I know I can do it, but it's not going to be easy. If you have any tips/tricks/words of wisdom or advice. Please feel free to share! I'm all ears. 

*PS. Google didn't ask me to do any of this. I was just sharing awesome things I found, for free, that work. :)

Homemade Laundry Soap

With my new found vow to start living smart and single I've been trying to find ways to really save some cash, every little bit helps I think. One thing that I've always wondered about is making my own laundry soap. My Mom tried it once awhile back but she didn't like the recipe she used.

I found this awesome recipe on Pinterest. The author lays out the directions very specifically and I can't stress enough that following those directions closely and exactly makes a huge difference. The recipe calls for three main ingredients (well four if you count water but that's sort of obvious):

• 20 Mule Borax ($6)
• Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT baking soda, very different) ($3)
• 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap ($1)

(all pictures from Google search, mine sucked lol)

I found all of these ingredients at WalMart except for the Borax, that was at Albertson's for me but they are all in the laundry area. Should be a total of about $10 dollars. Not bad considering a regular size thing of Tide is $12.00. 

I am going to suggest you just go directly to the recipe site{here} because the directions are very long and specific and I don't want to mess them up. 

I will tell you that grating the Fels Naptha soap was the biggest pain in the hinny. I just used a grater that I got at the thrift store so that if it got nasty it wouldn't hurt my feelings. I sat and grated the entire bar and watched about 2 and a half episodes of "The United States of Tara" on NetFlix. So it took a little time but I think it was worth it. 

The mason jar on the blender trick was freakin' fabulous and I will be using it again! I didn't buy lids for my jars (whoops) but here's how mine looked in the end:

I put plastic over the tops and tightened a rubber band around them. So far I've washed a load of whites and a load of colors using this soap and they came out smelling good and looked nice and fresh! I will still use my Woolite Dark on my denim jeans because I love them as dark as possible but so far I have been impressed and I think I will keep making this stuff! Especially since all I would have to buy next time is the Fels Naptha, $1 vs. $12. Easy math even for an English teacher. 

Living Single

Ever since I graduated from college and started working in the school district things have gotten a little crazy... (Pouka's "yo' crazy" face)...

It got so crazy that my room started to look like this everyday and I considered it to be "clean." Holy crap.

I've decided that something needs to change. Stat. I can't keep living in a mess. Another thing that I did was have some honest time with myself. Since I've graduated from college the harsh reality that I won't be getting $1,000.00 every four months in student loan payouts has finally hit. I realize now that I have to be more financially responsible. I've been reading a lot about the Dave Ramsey debt get-rid-of program. Most of it is geared towards families so I'm trying to adapt it to work for single lady life.

First step is that I created a binder to keep track of bills, register all spending, keep Sebastian's documents, and roommate agreements all together.  

.

I'll give you more details on that in a minute. The first thing that I did in my honest moment time was to add up all of the debt that I have accumulated. Ouch. At 22 (23 next month! Woot!) I have $28,500 in student loans, $110,000 in home debt, $9,000 on my Civic, and about $5,500 in credit card debt. That's a total of about $153,000.00. Ahhhh geessshhh. I'm a little embarrassed to even be blogging about this, but I think it will help me keep on track. 

So I've decided to set up a three year budget plan spread. (Excel would be prettier to use but my computer is dumbdumb so I just wrote it out.) The whole premise is to set up tangible goals that would motivate me. A big one? No roommates. I've had roommates for 5 years and I am totally over it. I want to have a guest room and an office and space. 

**All this is contingent on that fact that I will unmarried in three years, which is extremely likely.lol.**

Another thing that I added in is my budget for each month. Subbing is a day by day thing and I tend to work most days but sometimes there are months (like this month where there is a week off for Spring break) that I won't be able to make as much. Also working for the school has my paydays once a month instead of biweekly like I was used to.

I put my expenses into a very specific order starting with housing, car, cell phone and car insurance, credit cards, grocery money for the month, savings, and finally flex money that I can spend on shoes or whatever else I feel so inclined. 

I've grown up in the generation of debit cards and I have been trying to switch over to a cash only budget. Ouch. In order to keep myself accountable I have my bank account app on my phone as well as keeping an actual register. Something about writing down what I've spent is a bit of a reality check.

I added tabs to keep it all organized.

                                  

I keep track of all the house hold bills so I can monitor usage (especially with the electric bill). Plus when tax season comes I can send all of these bills to my Dad, we process the house as a rental which means that these can be written off. Or something like that.

                                   

Another PDF (source at the bottom of the post) allows you to make a list of home costs. Which obviously I love. Allows me to prioritize projects and household things I need to save for.

                                              

Sorry these next pictures are sideways, it wouldn't let me flip them over. So just bear with me. lol. The folders have all the roommate rental agreements and other documents inside, which are crucial to keep track of.

                                  

Sebastian is a purebred so I have his AKC certificate and his shot records. That way if I do decide to breed him I can prove he's got his shots.

I've also been keeping my receipts together and putting them into an envelope so I can really hold myself accountable, plus a lot of receipts have coupons on the bottom. Which I appreciate.

I've also been keeping a book for coupons and my rewards cards so that I can start saving money, even the littlest bit helps.

In order to keep on track I've resisted the urge to not replace my roommate that's moving at the end of this month. I absolutely hate going through the process of finding a decent roommate but I know that if I don't have that extra income my debt situation will only be worse. My parents did the Dave Ramsey plan when I was a kid and I've seen it work, I just hope I have the self control necessary to keep on track myself. I'm also looking for a second job that I can work until I get a full time teaching position which would start in August of this year.

Following my budget plan will allow me to:

•  be down one roommate by the end of this year, 9 beautiful months from now, and then no roommates by the end of 2014. 
• pay off credit card debt by the end of 2013
• have my car paid off by the end of 2014 or middle of 2015.
• have adequate savings
• be able to travel in the summers instead of getting a second job. 

These things excite me! I could have the freedom to decide whether or not I want to have a roommate. Plus I would still be able to keep upgrading my furniture and doing home projects. If I don't have cash to buy something than I can't have it. Which is why I'm going to sell my dining set in order to make the money to buy the new furniture I want rather than putting it onto a credit card or something like that.

Wish me luck! If you have any success stories/advice on how to make this work even better please please let me know!

You can find all the amazing PDFs for print out here.