Eventual Millionaire

Day 8: $12,800

I may be a bit practical here, but this is what I would REALLY do with $12,800. I would max out both Roth IRAs and my sons ESA. That would equal $12,000. With the other $800 I would buy great inset bookshelves and start buying some great books! (I use the library right now, but I would love to have a library of my own!)

Today I am grateful for..
-Birds singing in the morning
-looking for a mentor and meeting some REALLY great people
-the excitement and sadness of our impending move

I had been wondering why the Millionaire Mommy Next Door blog hadn't been updated. She updated this morning with this post "I'm not MIA, but my sister-in-law is..." My thoughts are with you and your family!


Day 7: $6,400

A trip to Spain for a month. My husband and I had been planning to take a trip to Spain for a month this November. Plans changed because of the house situation, but I would love to go. We had planned to rent a small apartment near Barcelona, and bring my son. The total trip cost would be about $4,500 for everything (Apartment rent, flights for 3, dog kennel costs, extra food budget). The remaining $1,900 would be used for an upgrade on an apartment and fun things to do. We already have the flexibility because we can work from where ever there is an internet connection! This is something that we would like to do soon!


Today I am grateful for..
-Getting a ton of things done before 8am
-Watching all of my neighbors drive into work and realizing I used to do the same thing
-Having my husband come home early
-Fresh strawberries from my mother-in-laws garden

Day 6: $3,200

More business ideas! I have a prototype for a device that helps me stay present and "in the now". I have worked with a patent attorney already and have quite a few more steps that I am waiting to do until we allocate the money for it. So this again is something that could make money that I want to spend money on! This stuff gets me really excited. I love action, and accomplishing things, especially things that seem difficult. It's always worth it to try!

"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." -Thomas Edison

Today I am grateful for..
-laying on the grass looking up at the sky in the evening
-Blueberries for dessert (that stain EVERYTHING! but it's adorable in streaks on a toddlers face!)
-Cute little sleepers for 18 month old boys on clearance for $3.99

I had mentioned awhile back that I was starting up my own business. I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur since I have been little. My husband is one, and has only had one real job his entire life (when he followed me to college and moved 8 hours away from our home!). That was also only for a few months. Watching many of my friends have their own business is an inspiration. It allows them to manager their time better, and be passionate for what they do. It has created a mroe fulfilling life for each of them.

For the past year I have been really thinking about what inspires me, and what I would like to do. I did not like my previous job, as much as I liked the people, I did not like the headaches they caused. I remember an old coworker saying to me when I was really stressed out, "It's just cable Jaime, it's not like we are curing cancer or anything." Well now I understand that completely. The past year while watching my son, I have had the chance to really investigate anything I want. I realized that I tend to read about health, finances, spirituality (such as Eckart Tolle), metaphysics, marketing, and general books about how people work and get along.

I went on a cruise in February and realized my favorite part was talking with our friends about life and how they can improve theirs so they are not as stressed. I was in the Caribbean with 90 degree weather and beautiful surroundings and my favorite part was chatting with people inside the ship! (Am I just crazy?)

When I came home, I realized that there is a profession that wraps all of these ideas together. I am creating a life coaching business. I have been investigating it since February and last month I decided to spend the money for classes. I joined Coach University and I am now working on my ACC certification with the ICF. This is exactly the type of career I want. I can work my own ours, help people, and learn about the things I love to learn about. Wish me luck!

Day 5: $1600

With $1,600 I would buy 6 months with a mentor coach that I need for my certification.

I have had sessions with a few already though the money has not been in my life to pay for it yet. My husband and I are going to discuss finances again after we move into the rental in July.


I am grateful for..
-My husband having a day off!
-Taking a nap while my son is sleeping
-The stillness I experience while I sit downstairs and my son and husband are still sleeping

And thats perfectly great for me because I am! I say that joyfully. I am so happy right now. I have been experiencing really joyful days, and pleasure in the simple things like picking wildflowers with my son, or going for a walk. The only thing that could be better right now is my husband working less, and having a house to settle down in. Both of those things money can help with.

Day 5: $800

When I was doing this in my head, I only got up to day 4, so today I had to really think of what I would buy for $800. A new lawn mower since ours just broke. Also I would love to pay for a big party for everyone of my friends and family now that we are moving. I wouldn't have a house, so I would probably borrow my brothe in laws and have it catered with music and everything! My friends kids and my son haven't been all together before so it would be a blast! The new push lawn mower would be about $300 and the party would be about $500.

I am grateful for..
-My sons happy personality (especially after being a colicky infant!)
-That his grandmothers love him
-My nice comfortable bed after a long day of working hard

Day 3: $400

I think I would get an iPhone. I have had my eye on it for awhile, and might eventually get one. My current phone is working, but I have been planning to go to a paperless calendar/to do system. I've been researching a ton of new phones and the iPhone still seems the best from AT&T. (I wish I could get a fake iPhone! I would rather get the $130 from Sprint, but I don't want to change carriers) So the $400 would be spent as: $299 for an iPhone 16GB and the rest of the $100 would go towards the fees and internet for the first few months. (iPhone requires you to spend $30 on internet for at least the first month to activate the phone, then you can cancel it)

That's it for today!

I realized that in the past few days I have been writing more on my blog than in my journal. I suppose since a blog is a web log that makes sense. I never was the type of person to write in a journal. I was an artist kid that drew and painted but writing was not a strong talent of mine. (My first C in school was sophomore year in High school for Writing!). I starting writing in a journal last year, and it contained, books I wanted to read, and goals I had. It started progressing from there. I read somewhere that just writing for writing sake helps with personal development, and even though I am a horrible writer, they were right! It is amazing how you can work out problems on paper much more easily than in your head. I now try to write at least a page every day and it helps me clear my head.

So today is Day 2 of the Money Experiment for me. The Millionaire Mommy Next Door is also writing 3 things she is grateful for, so she can balance out the wanting more money with appreciation for what she already has. I think that is a great idea, so I will be doing the same.

Day 2: $200

Buy some shorts! I own two pair total and they are both too large. I have never worn capris but they seem like a great thing. I would most likely spend $100 on shorts and $100 on new tank tops that look somewhat professional. Since I am starting my own business I want to look the part every time I meet someone, and not look like I threw something on because I had nothing to wear. (we'll see if I can actually do this at some point because I am also saving for an iPhone!)

I am grateful for..
-the freedom to work at my own pace and schedule
-the sale of my house! (fingers crossed)
-my sons adorable dirty feet after a day of playing

There is an experiment going on at Millionaire Mommy Next Door Here is the information: "For the next 30 days, I'll open my mind to receive increasingly more money. On day one, I'll decide how I'd like to spend $100. On day two, I'll double that amount to $200. Day three, double again and I'll have $400. And so on, doubling every day for the next 30 days. I'll list how I'd like to spend every penny, with no repeating of items during my month-long spending spree."

I've been doing it along with her but not writing it down. I realized it's hard to keep track of the date! So I've decided to actually complete it here.

Day 1
$100

I thought with $100 I would like to get a haircut and buy some quality volumizing shampoo. That should equal about $75 (I get a cheap haircut usually about $30). With the last $25 I would like to get some sandals.

It turns out that the day I thought of this I found the perfect pair of sandals for $15 at Marshalls! I still need a haircut, so hopefully that will come soon too!

We are losing about $50,000 from the sale of our house. We had put $25,000 down when we bought it and then we paid off a $25,000 home equity loan. When I think about it, or when my friends and family talk about it, it hurts. Most of my friends and family think we should have told the buyer to get lost. I thought about it a lot. I think there are ways to get past the amount of money, and realize what I am gaining.

1. I know that I took my time to make the decision. It wasn't cut and dry. We weighed the options carefully.
2. I am gaining a freedom. I don't have to think about all of the problems my house has. If we said no, all of the problems would have been mine to fix, and then I would be hoping I would get more money from another buyer.
3. No longer being in a state of waiting. The waiting it what kills me! I have been waiting for 11 months to sell the house. That means cleaning it everyday in case there is a showing, not having family photos up, not wanting to leave the house for a long period of time.
4. Realizing that it is just money. I've made it before, and it will come back into my life. Money is a tool. We seem to attach a lot of emotions to it, but in the end it is just a tool. I also like to think that I am an abundant person and I know eventually I will be a millionaire (even if it's only when I hit 65 because of my Roth IRAs!)

I am excited about the move. We are looking for places to rent. We are going to kick butt these next few months and see how fast we can come up with a down payment. It's been funny in the past, whenever we are saving for a house, extra money just seems to show up. We always seem to have more than my budget suggests. I love that feeling, so we'll see what happens this time!

So we are still progressing bit by bit to sell our house. Nothing is final yet. If it does go through though we would still have the same closing date. As the time passes on I realize I have 2 weeks until closing. I told myself that I would not pack until he puts the second half of the deposit down... I'm still waiting for that. So that means... I will have less than two weeks to pack my entire house and get everything ready for us to move, and we have no idea where we are moving to yet. Sounds FUN!

I still think we will most likely rent. I really do not want to rent, especially because we are talking about having another baby, and I would rather have a new baby in a house that is ours. But we should be able to get somewhat cheap rent, and then we can save up more money for a real downpayment. It will also give us some wiggle room because our insurance won't cover prenatal anything if I were to get pregnant. We still have our 6 month emergency fund too. In my head I keep hoping that our side businesses will take off and we will be able to buy a nicer house in a year!

I suppose we will see what happens next. First things first... where do I live right now? It looks like we may need to stay with friends and family for awhile until we find a place! Wish us luck!