Remodeling This Life

2 weeks ago, hubby learned that all year long there had been a challenge going on at work that he didn’t know about. Actually no one knew about it. Their boss told them all that my hubby and one other guy were the only ones so far this year not to be late for work. Because the work hubby does is outside, his schedule fluctuates with daylight throughout the year (he’s kinda like a farmer!) so he’s either had to be at work at 5:30 a.m., 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. everyday. And he works weekends too. So, it’s no easy feat. But he has always been a morning person and so it hasn’t been too difficult for him. Not only is he not ever late, but he’s usually 30 minutes early. One day he was there only 5 minutes early and I got an early morning call from his boss wondering if he was okay. Yeah, he’s okay, just he’ll be on time today
So the point of my hubby and this other guy being the only two who were never late all year is that the boss was giving $500 for it. So because there were two of them, they’d be splitting the money come today if neither of them was late through the end of the month. Enter all the jokes and evil plans for me to go slash the other guy’s tires.

Aside from one close call when Bug was playing with the alarm clock and hid it, things went well. He made it today on time and was handed $250 at their morning meeting.

Yay!

I am so proud of my hard working and responsible hubby who shows up early or on time to his job everyday even though he hates it.

I found at Moolanomy that there’s a Share Your Investing Story for a Chance to Win a Free Book Giveaway and the submission deadline is tomorrow. So, I’ve decided to squeeze in at the end and share mine. Thanks to Paidtwice which is where I got the referral for the contest.

So, here’s my story. My father is an investor. He ran a business with my mom and they retired at 50 from their hardwork at their jobs and diligent long term investing on his part. I’ve talked aboutmy journey to understanding and appreciating finances the way he always has .

I would say that about 5 years ago, I became interested in the stock market, started paying attention when he’d have Bloomberg TV on, I started receiving Marketimer in the mail and reading that. My dad would get me books, like The Little Book of Value Investing and others. But I still didn’t really get how to go about investing in the stock market, it was scary to me and I didn’t feel capable.

Then, my dad surprised my brother and I at Christmas in 2005 by telling us he was giving us each a dollar amount. It was to use toward learning about the stock market. He wanted us to get interested, dive in, test the waters and find out what it’s all about. He made it a contest and said that he wanted us to be competitive, seek out what we wanted in a stock and see at the end of the year how we each performed. No reward other than our profits and pride.

For 6 months after that, the money he gave me sat in my Vanguard Money Market Account because I just wasn’t ready yet. I had made one Index Fund purchase but wasn’t ready to go with an individual stock yet. I watched my index fund go up and that helped me gain the confidence to bite the bullet and buy a stock. It was scary, it was exhilarating, it was fun.

2 years later, I’ve bought and sold a couple stocks and held onto a few more for that duration. I feel knowledgable about the stock market, the risks, the benefits. I have learned patience and the power of saying ohm after a bad day. I try not to check everything too often because the point of this whole process was to wait and invest long term so what does it really matter what happens in one day? And since I feel very good about the strength of the stocks I own, I can just sit back a bit.

I have had so much fun doing it, learning about it and I have come to enjoy the hunt for a new great stock purchase. So, 2 years later - my dad contributed to our funds again this year - and I’ve seen as of today a 26% gain on my money. Not too bad! Oh and since I’m sure you’re wondering, I’m killing my brother in this contest Who said I’m not competitive?

1. Think about your values and write down those that really matter to you. What is important? Spending time with family? Becoming wealthy? Learning new ideas? Traveling? Maintaining excellent health? Socializing with friends? Getting Organized? Decide what your priorities are and cut out the rest.

2. Declutter - Not using it? Throw it away! Even better, Give it away! You’ll feel good, I promise
3. Learn to say “no” - Realizing it’s okay to say no, to not do everything for everyone all the time and to put yourself and your needs first will add time to your day, eliminate stress, and help you accomplish what you really need to do and what’s important to you.

4. Automate Bill Paying - I know I’m probably the only person alive who still hasn’t done this. So, really I’m just talking to myself here
5. Stop checking your financial portfolio - this one is courtesy of my dad! Stop stressing about the day to day ups and downs of your investments. They’re for the long term and checking them regularly just adds stress.

6. Make time for yourself - Take a bath, go for a long walk, take a class, read a book, do something just for you each day!

7. Drive less - consolidate car trips, cut back on activities, walk, ride bikes. You’ll save on gas and stress!

8. Make a list of goals - pick a few very important to you things to do well and work toward them

9. Do it yourself - I know, not everyone has the time, energy or skills to do a lot of things themselves, but what you can do yourself or can teach yourself, do! Grow a vegetable garden, make your own cheese, bread, whatever…sew things yourself, remodel a room in your home to make it your place of relaxation. You’ll feel a sense of pride and probably save money while you’re at it.
10. Ask yourself - before you do something, check in with yourself. Is it true to who you are? Is it making your life easier? Is it helping you simplify?

I received this quote in an email today about “The things we learn when we have kids” and the quote is this:

“You finally realize that true joy doesn’t come from material wealth.” — Anonymous

This is so so so true for me. For the first year of my 3 1/2 year old daughter’s life, I was a working mom. My hubby stayed home with her and played an integral part in raising her to be the amazing child she is today. But to me, while working, there was nothing more valuable than being with her. So 3 days shy of her first birthday, I quit my job, we sold our house and started on our new path. Things were a little iffy there for a bit. It took us a little while to settle down. Hubby got offered a well paying awesome job and then had it withdrawn, we moved twice, and we finally bought our house where we are now.

A lot of sacrifices came with our choices. We bought a house that we could pay cash for which is why we’re in the midst of remodeling We skipped things like cable TV, new cars, and the list goes on and on. So I could stay home. So that we could make do and still be investing in our future wisely.

And this morning was one of those times that I thought “this is what it’s all about”.

Monkey was nursing. Nudie. And playing with himself and laughing. It was quite funny.

And Bug woke up today and wouldn’t open her mouth. She was talking with her lips sealed. So everything was coming out “mmmm m mmm mmm mm mm”.

FINALLY I got her to speak and she says all incredulously “A MONSTER STOLE MY WORDS WHILE I WAS SLEEPING!!!”

I live for this stuff. And no paycheck in the world could replace the value of these moments I get to have with these two amazing kids everyday. I feel so so blessed.

My lovely and talented and intelligent friend Paid Twice has tagged me with her 5 Classes to fix my life meme

I am honored and humbled.

So, what 5 classes would I take to fix my life? Plus one with Ms. Paid Twice?

Well, I’d be honored to attend Photograpy 101 with her. I love to take photos and I don’t even pretend to have an artistic eye for it. I do love to take pics of my kids and I’d love to learn more.

Landscaping 101 Oh boy does my yard need landscaping!! I have no idea where to start. We bought this house with a few nice palm trees, a nice orange tree, and some lovely flowering bushes. But I really like the idea of making my own garden with flowers and I’d LOVE to cultivate a veggie garden.

Composting 101 I want to start this ASAP and have added a composter to my Christmas list. It’s all a part of my plan to make soil for my gardening.

Rock Climbing 101 My hubby is a long time rock climber. He’s been to Nepal and climbed the likes of Amadablam and some other wonderful climbs that I’ve seen in pictures of Half Dome and The Shortest Straw in Yosemite. I’d love to jump in and do it like he does. To have the guts to strap myself into harness and just have fun. I think it would be amazing and terrifying all at once. I’ve tried in the past and been too chicken but I’d love to try again.

Marathon Training 101 I’m really good at running 5 miles, even 8 miles. I really just would love to join a club, a teacher, someone who could help me over that hump and past the spot I’m at to move forward, run comfortably and complete my first marathon

Stucco, Fence, House Renovations, etc… 101 Ah hahaha if only it were so easy as knowing how to do this stuff on my house to get it done. I really do want to just have the stucco, fence and all house remodeling done. But, alas, it’s just not happening this week. I do aspire to learn more about home remodeling and I am really excited to take on a few projects to help things along but I wish I knew more and could do more to get this house done already!!

Now to tag…

BeThisWay
MeOnlyBetter
Teri
Lisa