Budget recap - April

When you read through Dave Ramsey's book and browse the forums on his website, most people concede that their first few budgets are a complete joke. They're usually not accurate, there are a lot of categories that are over/under, and you usually tweak it a bazillion times.

Michael and I are no exception. Although I've kept a "budget" for years, it's never been really strict. And it was always more like a list of our bills and when we'll pay them, but any income above our bills was not budgeted so it was just spent on "stuff."

In looking at April's budget in review, I have to admit that we've become self-proclaimed masters! Our budget is really close to what we projected and in any category that we went over or under, I can pinpoint a specific incident or change that occurred that caused the overage/shortage.

Take a look for yourself:

We went slightly over on food in general, but not by a lot. Our travel was higher because Michael paid for his luggage from his tour and we're waiting for reimbursement. And we purchased some spark plugs for the car which sent us over a bit on the car repair category.

We went under in fuel because the last few weeks, Jill put gas in our car even though we didn't ask her to, so that was nice. Had she not, though, we would have spent $25 each time for $50 total - putting us right at our budget.

And we spent way less on Entertainment- we budgeted $200 for when his parents came to visit, but for the most part, their stay was relaxing and uneventful. We had to work so that didn't leave a lot of time to do much so we didn't spend nearly what we thought we would.

The $40 "shopping" was because I lost my running sunglasses and needed a new pair. I expected to spend around $40 but found some on sale and spent a little less.

I'll be curious to see where we come in at in May.

Soon I'll be able to update the debt payoff total on the right side of the blog. Seriously, I can't wait... we hit a MILESTONE this month and I can't wait to announce it! Hurry up Shitty-bank, cash the checks I sent you!!! :)

On a fitness-related note- I can barely lift my arms after those sumo deadlift high pulls from Tuesday. My forearms, biceps, triceps (from the dips), back, and chest are all incredibly sore! I LOVE IT!

Tonight I headed to the gym right from work to do CrossFit's "Elizabeth" workout. The workout calls for the following:
21 cleans
42 tricep dips (actually only 21 ring dips, but if you don't have rings or can't do a ring dip, you have to 2x's that many regular tricep dips, hence 42)
15 cleans
30 dips
9 cleans
18 dips

I did the cleans with a 55 pound bar which I'm really proud of because they are tough. I could only do 3 at a time during that last round of 9!

My time for "Elizabeth" was 9:24!!!

If I thought I couldn't feel my arms today, tomorrow is only going to be worse!

Here's a video from YouTube of a clean:


Kelsalynn

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Correction

Today we received Michael's first "full" check for his new job. We weren't sure how much it would be after taxes and such, but we could estimate. I guessed low just in case - and that way we weren't planning on having more money and being put in a rut.

It ended up being more than we estimated (kind of figured it would be), and before we spent it, I wrote another check to the student loan company!

I've also decided that Citibank is now called Shittybank.

My total between yesterday and today is now $3,025!

I'm going crazy not being able to update my payoff bar on ther right... soon, very soon my friends.
Kelsalynn

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Large snowball - take that Citibank

Finally TODAY the issue w/ my payment to Citibank was resolved.

It's just so annoying dealing w/ people sometimes... if you recall, I sent in a payment, it was cashed, yet it was never applied to my student loan balance.

Things that make you go hmm...

I call. They tell me to fax a letter.

I do.

A few days later I call to ask for a status update and they say they never received a letter.

I guess the fax confirmation I received meant nothing.

I fax it again- that was last Thursday.

Yesterday I call (3 business days later) and ask for a status update.

No fax received.

WHAT??? And trust me, I verified the fax # the first time this happened, so I know I'm sending it to the right place. Again, I have a fax confirmation that it went through, so what's the deal.

Ask to speak to a supervisor, tell him I'm faxing it directly to him, which I do. Finally today the payment was applied to my account. About time. Just so frustrating.

Anyway, I've been waiting for this whole thing to get figured out until I sent them anymore payments.

Finally this afternoon I wrote and mailed a check for

$2,850!

Wahoo!

That's a pretty big snowball to throw at the debt right?

I can't wait to get Citibank out of my life once and for all!

Of course, as promised, I'm not updating my totals on the debt payoff bar until I actually see the payments clear the account properly. Trust me, I'll draw your attention to it when it happens b/c I'll be pretty excited about it!

Tonight I had a great workout-
5 rounds of:
21 sumo deadlifts to a high pull
21 tricep dips off the bench

I did the deadlifts and high pulls with a 30 pound bar. I should have done it with 45 pounds, but just didn't feel up to it. My total time was 9 minutes 30 seconds. Then I did 10 minutes on the stair mill, intervals at level 8.
Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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On my way...

Just got home from work- it's another beautiful day here in AZ- mid 90's, sunny, you know, typical.

I just made some soup that looks amazing... I'm going to let it simmer while Michael and I go to the gym and do the following workout-

it's called "Nifty Fifty"---

50 box jumps
50 pull-ups
50 kettlebell swings
50 walking lunges
50 knees to elbows (captain's chair)
50 push press
50 back extensions
50 wall balls
50 burpees
50 double unders

I can't find that I've ever done this workout before so I'm pretty excited! It looks tough.

Something happened last night that hasn't happened in quite some time- neither Michael nor I worked out.

Typically speaking, one of us might feel UNmotivated to workout but we're lucky, the other one is usually motivated enough for both so we end up going.

Last night, neither of us were motivated at all, so we skipped out.

Oops.

I guess it's bound to happen every now and then right?

I'll post later tonight on how badly the above workout kicks my ass!

Okay, I'm back from working out and let me just tell you... oh wow. I fricken love the Nifty Fifty. Love it.

My total time for the above was 20:20. Not too bad huh? It was tough though- super tough. Michael and I almost threw up even!!!

Kelsalynn

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because I have to

I just can't resist sharing this video with all of you.

It's one of my favorites!

ENJOY!

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You want me to do what?

And you want me to do HOW many?

The CrossFit workout from the other night called for 100 inverted burpees.

I had to watch the instruction video on that, because I know what a burpee is, but I don't know what an inverted one looks like.

All I knew was that 100 burpees would have been hard enough... then you go and add the word "inverted" in front? It can't be good.

Before I show you what these ugly things are, I'll tell you that I did all 100 in 14 minutes 36 minutes.

Here's how you do an inverted burpee:

To be honest, my body felt the "inverted burpee" much more than I was expecting... after a while, your shoulders start to throb from the handstands and your hamstrings start to get sore too. Your abs are engaged the entire time and after about 50, you really start to notice.

Afterwards, I did the elliptical for 15 minutes then stretched really well.

A great workout--- I really liked it but you definitely have to feel comfortable w/ stares and weird looks because I got a lot of them tonight.

Whatcha gonna do?

Kelsalynn

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Patience

I've often read and heard people say that once you get started on the Dave Ramsey debt snowball, the hardest part of the whole thing is the waiting... waiting to get your next check so you can send just a little more toward debt, or until you see your check clear your account so you can update your totals.

And for me, impatient Kelsa, it's even more true!

So much that I tend to cheat sometimes... you see that debt payoff bar on the right? Well, I tend to update it when I send in the payment b/c I've never had a problem with it being applied properly. So when I send in a $500 payment, I update my spreadsheet totals, see the new % and update my bar to the right, forget waiting for it to actually be applied to my account.

That worked up until now.

The last two payments I sent to Citibank for my student loans have cleared my checking account (i.e. the checks were cashed), but they are not showing up online as reducing my student loan balance.

Things that make you go hmm...

So I call and talk to a nice lady by the name of Regina. She confirms that there are no payments showing up in my account (it's not just a website issue).

Luckily for me, I'm uber organized so I have copies of the checks and the letters I sent with the checks and even copies of the backs of the cashed checks. I'm sending it all in and I'm sure they'll fix it, but still... gosh dang it, I want to see my balance GO DOWN!

This is improving my patience... which is something I need.

I also realized that I need to wait until the payment actually clears before I update my payoff bar and spreadsheet. That really sucks, but that way I can prove it was applied properly and I'm not cheating!

Hopefully they get it resolved soon... I don't like waiting- especially when it has to do with my money!

Another thing I realized today is that back in September, when we first started this Dave Ramsey debt snowball plan, our minimum payments were $790.08/month. For May, the total of our minimum payments is $231.90! That means we've reduced the total amount each month by $558.18!! Of course, we're still sending in that much, but it's no longer a requirement! It feels amazing to think about how much money we'll be saving each month at the end of this year.
Kelsalynn

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Possible solution #3?

I did 5 rounds of 3 rep back squats tonight-

105
115
135
155
165

Michael thinks I probably could have done 175 pounds on that last round and I agree.

This past weekend, Michael and I went car shopping. We're doing most of our search on Craigslist, which I'm realizing really sucks. There are just so many shady people on there and it's just awkward for the most part. One car, we were totally planning to buy. We test drove it, left and talked it over. We called her to ask if it was still available and she said yes, so I told her we were going to come buy it and she said okay. We were 10 minutes away and when we got there, we saw two people test-driving it! So we pull up and tell her we're here to buy the car and she says okay, then proceeds to sell it to the other people. Argh.

Then we met some guys at a Walgreen's to test drive a Saturn they had posted. They pulled up and got out of the car and I'm pretty sure they were stoned as hell. They looked totally high. The car was t-rashed! Michael and I joked that they were selling the car because they needed drugs. haha

Needless to say, it's just frustrating. And the worst part is that we don't really want a second car... it's just that we were thinking during the summer months here in AZ, it's more of a necessity.

That's until I came up with a different solution.

Michael has to be to work at 6:30 AM so I'm going to leave with him and have him drop me off at the gym, which just so happens to be right across the street from my work. I'll exercise and take a shower from there, then walk across the street to work each morning.

After work, I asked a few colleagues if they would mind taking me home. These are co-workers that I know have to pass by my street and live less than a 1/4 or 1/2 mile from me. They all obliged.

It's not a great solution, and I wouldn't want to do that permanently, but it will work for the summer months at least.

Now that we don't plan to spend $2,000 on a car, guess where that's going????????????? DEBT BABY!

Cha-ching!

I'm going to wait to send it in just to make sure this is our final decision, but I look forward to the day where we can say we're debt free!

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Really? I improved? Shut up!

I haven't exactly felt very in shape lately.

I've been doing "okay" with my workouts, but they haven't been very intense and I just haven't felt with it really.

Tonight I did a workout that I did the first week of February.

The workout called for:
100 feet of lunges
21 pull-ups (level 12 assist)
21 sit-ups
100 feet of lunges
18 pull-ups
18 sit-ups
100 feet of lunges
15 pull-ups
15 sit-ups
100 feet of lunges
12 pull-ups
12 sit-ups
100 feet of lunges
9 pull-ups
9 sit-ups
100 feet of lunges
6 pull-ups
6 sit-ups

Back in February, it took me 13 minutes and 45 seconds.

This time around, I did it in 12 minutes 7 seconds! So, I got faster! YIPPY!

I really don't have a lot going on to talk about... I'm boring.

Kelsalynn

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Update

I updated my debt payoff bar today...

You can't really tell, that's why I have to draw your attention to it.

I sent an extra $500 payment to my student loans!!!

It increased my debt payoff from 61% to 62%. Big whip right? Well, every little bit helps and every little bit gets us closer to our year-end goal.

This $500 was just "extra" from cutting corners in other areas of the budget- groceries, gas, etc.

This student loan only has a balance of $1400 remaining so I will definitely pay that off completely by the end of April. That means I only have two student loans left! YIPPY!

My current debt balance is $23,125.79--- I can't wait to change that first "2" to a "1" and be under $20,000! For some reason, once we're below $20K, I feel like it will happen so fast!

It's amazing to me that we have $23K of debt when 6 months ago, we had $60K. Not too shabby!

Making progress,
Kelsalynn

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Grumpy

That's me lately.

Grumpy.

I'm not sure why and I feel bad because I've been snapping at Michael.

He got home over a week ago, started a new job, we went on vacation, his parents flew in for the week and they left yesterday.

Maybe I'm just exhausted? I sure feel exhausted. I also haven't had any "alone" time since Michael got back and that doesn't help any.

With Michael's last job, he worked until 7:30 or 8:00 so I got a couple of hours, or at least one hour, alone each night after work. I also got Saturday mornings... then he left for tour and I had a lot of time alone. I guess I shouldn't say "alone"... since Jill moved in, she's been around obviously so it hasn't exactly been as nice as normal.

But now with Michael's new job, he works until 6 or 6:30 every night and even gets done at noon two days each week... my alone time went from a little bit each day to never.

And I'm taking it out on him...

and everyone around me if I could, I just know that he's stuck w/ me either way.

He's taking a nap right now and it feels nice to just sit here, blog, and watch a movie that I'm only halfway paying attention to.

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Too much fun not to...

If you remember from Christmas time when I sat down to watch The Dark Knight w/ my mother-in-law, it was pretty frustrating.

She comments non-stop.

I blogged all about it here.

Well, for your viewing pleasure, I bring you her annoying comments all over again!! This time, we're watching the MSU v. UNC Final Four match up.

If you watched the game, you'll know exactly where in the game I'm starting this...

The guy w/ the mask just broke his nose. (no he didn't)
Where's Michael?
Oh! He's bleeding! (no he wasn't)
Is that the trainer?
His eyes are watering, is he crying?
He's making my eyes water.
He got a foul for that?
SHOOT IT!
OH NO!
Come on State!
This is bad.

(she moved from the living room to the kitchen, everyone else was in the living room, but it doesn't stop Jane)
Do you have two wooden spatulas?
Do you have two wooden ones?
One is a spoon and one is a spatula. I like two spatulas.
Does your burner not work? (it does)
What temperature do you put this wok on?
Oh crap.
Rats.
Where's the ____? (I didn't hear what she asked for)
You can stir that.
Green peppers, onions, chestnuts...
Okay, start stirring.
We need to set the table in a few minutes.

(back to the TV/ living room area now)
Who's that?
Vera Wang? (It's a Hartford commercial of someone who MIGHT look like Vera Wang if you had no idea who Vera Wang was...)
Oh no, he's hurt!
Michael, what's wrong with him?
Oh, it hurts!
Are they laughing at him?
Where is it?
Oh, I missed it, I was watching the wrong foot.
I still missed it. (3rd replay)
Look how big his feet are.
Uh oh, what happened to him?
Did he break it?
Awwww... it hurts... oooh. (as if she can feel it)
Oh, no, miss it guy. (UNC free throw)
Come on!
(GASP!)
Foul?
Come on guy...
Come on, you can do it.
(gasp)
Ya! (made the shot)
Come on! Shoot it from right there.
Foul on State?
Oh.
Come on.
Ouch! How'd they fall?
Do you want some dessert?
He missed?
Come on kid.
Missed again!
Go!
3-point right from there!!
NO!
State, you don't deserve to win.
Was that 3-points just a second ago?
gasp! missed!
Do you think they'll catch up? (there's 1:40 left in the game)

Look at those Michgan State fans behind them. Do you think they're upset? (no, they're gleaming w/ excitment for getting this close and losing...)

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Full Race Report

I think you all got to witness me having a little pity party for myself in my last post. I wrote it right when I got back from the race, before showering, before napping.

After I woke up from a two-hour nap, I felt a bit better.

I'm still not happy with my time of 2:15:18 for today's half-marathon, but I have accepted it at least.

Here's the details of the day:

The hotel where we stayed moved breakfast to start at 6 AM instead of 8 AM since they were one of the race's sponsor hotels. I thought that was really cool of them. We woke up at 5:15 and headed down at 6 and had some eggs, sausage, yogurt, cereal... a little bit of everything, small portions.

We drove the 1.5 miles to the race start and were one of the first cars there (crazy right?). We got a great parking spot less than 100 feet from the start/finish area. Hells yeah!

__________________________
The Havasu Half Marathon is a small race- less than 1,000 runners but it's pretty new. I think it will get a lot bigger each year. The race started at 7:30 AM so when we got there at 6:30, I was shocked that we were one of the only runners there. That doesn't usually happen. We sat in the car and watched the sun come up over the mountains until 7:00 when we started warming up.

The race was very well organized when it came to the "important stuff." The water stations were plentiful and well-stocked. The start went off without a hitch and registration was painless. The course was well-marked with volunteers everywhere directing us and the course was really quite beautiful.

Now it's time to add the "fluff" to the race though... get chip timers for accuracy and widen the course. It's pretty skinny so if it's going to get bigger, it won't be able to hold more racers. Improve the goodie bags from local vendors coupons or discounts too and try to get more people at the expo (I think there were 4 booths?). Also, the volunteers along the course were helpful, but that's about it... there was no cheering and locals didn't really seem to even notice us... get some bands, get some cheerleading squads, or just promote it more so all the traffic that we're running by beeps/honks their horns and screams out their windows!

Like I said- the basics were there for this race so I commend it for that...

__________________________
Okay, back to my personal race this morning.

My goal was sub 2-hours. Considering my fastest half-marathon before today was 2:28:00, I was planning to run it quite a bit faster than ever before. I knew I was bighting ofF a lot, but I feel like I'm in pretty good shape, so as long as my body played nicely, I thought I could do it.

A sub 2-hour pace equates to a 9:09/mile.

Here are my splits:
1- 8:42
2- 9:17
3- 8:57
4- 9:18
5- 8:59
6- 9:48 (stopped at a water station to take some Gu & guzzle some water, still felt strong here though so I figured I could make up the 30 seconds & I wasn't worried about it)
7- 9:18
8- 9:38
9- 11:08 (knee seized up on me, took one minute to stretch, still figured I could make up the time in the final miles, told myself it was better to take a minute to stretch now than be in pain later... ha, if only I knew...)
10- 9:24
11- 10:13 (running through pain during mile 10 and 11, but not excrutiating, just making the most of it)
12- 12:52 (calf cramp)
13- 16:28 (absolutely nothing I could do here... knee pain was debilitating at this point, tried to run .25 miles but positively could not)
.1 - 1:13

Total time = 2:15:18
Average pace = 10:18/mile

It's frustrating to look up at those splits and see that I lost this race in the last two miles. I know I wasn't going to be under 2 hours, but even if I was able to maintain a 10:00/mile pace, my time would have been 8 minutes less. That's a pretty big impact.

_____________________________
Where do I go from here?
When I posted earlier, I had pretty much given up running... telling myself my body was just not meant for it.

But I've changed my perspective.

I need to take it down a notch, focus on shorter distances and my form. My calves cramp up because I'm pushing from my toes instead of letting my legs pull themselves up and behind me. My knees hurt because my IT bands are tight and cause a lot of friction and swelling that after 2 hours, becomes debilitating. My IT bands are tight because I don't swing my hips enough.

These are all things that a lot of people do without realizing it, but for some reason, my body doesn't adjust accordingly like others. Most peoples' bodies compensate for these types of errors in form by strengthening offsetting muscles or ligaments, but mine doesn't.

So, back to basics... back to square one. I need to work on improving the above issues so I can compete in long distances.

I'll use 5Ks and maybe even 10K's to work on my form... not for time, but for form. One thing is for certain, even if I'm not happy with a 10:18/mile pace this morning, I can't deny or forget that a pace like that is a HUGE improvement for me. I never thought I'd be able to run a 5K at that time, let alone 13.1 miles! CrossFit forces speedwork and as a result, my speed has improved substantially. Now I need to TEMPORARILY take two steps back and work on my form.

I'm INCREDIBLY sore this afternoon and can barely walk. My calves feel okay, but my knees- wowsas... they're killing me still.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Pissed

No, I didn't hit my goal of 2 hours at today's half-marathon.

Time = 2:15:18

No, I'm not happy about it.

I'm frustrated.

Frustrated that my body is just not meant to do this. I look around and see all of these people who have TERRIBLE FORM yet have no problems. I try to have proper form and my calves, hips, and knees just don't cooperate.

I honestly don't know what else to do. I'm obviously not meant to run, or at least physically I'm not.

The quick of it (full race report to come, but I need to take a shower first):
Started off great... felt great
Ran great until about halfway... started to get some aches and pains in my calves and my knees.

Pushed through it until mile 8 or 9 (can't remember) when my knee just buckled. I'm glad Michael was with me b/c he saw it. I'm not making this shit up. It just BUCKLES (it won't bend).

I ran miles 9-11 in pain but still at an okay pace. I knew I probably wasn't going to hit my 2 hour mark, but there was still that chance b/c I know I'm in good enough shape cardiovascularly to really push hard at the end. So, I just kept on, doing what I could with the pain.

At mile 11, calf cramp.

At mile 12, knee buckle... a good one. A dabilitating one.

Do you know how frustrating it is to WANT to run but you can't?

Argh. I'm sick of it.
I'm sick of racing and finishing in this manner. I'm sick of being less than a mile from the finish but physically not being able to run.

Michael says, "But you have heart Kelsa, that's what's important."

Bull shit. Take my heart and give me a lower half that doesn't suck big time.

I'll post my splits and a full race report shortly... you'll see when I tanked w/ my splits first hand.

Kelsalynn

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Two days

Just a couple of days left and I'll be running a half-marathon...

should be interesting to say the least.

Look for the race report Saturday night or Sunday night, depending on our computer access at the hotel.

Since the race is just two days away, I won't be working out tonight or tomorrow. Plus, we're leaving right after work tomorrow (at noon actually, we both have half days) so tonight I'll be busy packing.

Not only that, but Michael's parents are flying in tomorrow for the week and they're staying at our house, so I'll be busy cleaning tonight as well! Yikes... Michael's stuff is everywhere right now too since he just got home. His suit cases are still being unpacked and there's a lot of laundry to put away.

I did do a little workout yesterday though... first I ran a quick mile on the treadmill- nothing fast, just a nice, slow, easy jog. Then I did a CrossFit workout that called for 5 rounds of the following:

30 sit-ups
25 back extensions

My time = 13:03

13 minutes is pretty quick considering I did 150 sit-ups and 100 back extensions.

Then I sat in the jacuzzi for 15 minutes and let the jets hit my calves. Yesterday they were really bothering me, which makes me even more nervous for Saturday's race. I'm guzzling water and going to get some bananas!!!

Kelsalynn

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