The Babe has been working......

To help us lose our broke status, I take portraits of children and families on weekends. I tried something new to help out an organization I used to volunteer with, the Junior League of Boston. I shot their ball at the beginning of March and have been up to my ears in editing as it is way out of my comfort zone. I also did a shoot yesterday for a one year old in Lowell. Interested in seeing? Visit my photography blog.

And of course, if you're interested in any photo work and are in the New England area, feel free to visit my website! :)

But for real...these things keep me very busy.....and bring in some money here and there which helps us in the grand scheme of things! So at the moment....I'm mum. But don't worry, I have plenty of ideas in the hopper...I just need to get them down on paper! ;) More later this week!

Cash is King...I am the Queen

The bloke and I have paid off a lot debt over our relationship. I came into the relationship knowing he had a lot of debt and knowing we'd have to pay it off together. Luckily we got hitched and I moved to the UK, I could not imagine paying off sterling in dollars..back when it was $1=.50 sterling). Once we were out of the debt hole, a year and a half into our marriage...we felt rich. I mean, no more paying debt?! So we were uber responsible and lived off one salary and squirreled away another....we bought things with our credit card and paid it off every month. And because we had that other salary going to the bank...seeing the high balance on the credit card didn't bother me.

Fast forward to now, where high balances paralyze me with fear. Proper fear. We charge a lot of items on our cards for the miles (worth it yes...but tell me when we can afford to travel again mmkay?). Every month I'd watch the balance grow and grow and I'd get a pit in my stomach...forcing me to extremes (like creating this blog, how about them apples?).

Finally I've decided to take the biggest step in our financial freedom so to speak. We're on the cash only system. It's a new month and I've planned out what needs to be in our account to get us through to mid month....and then what we'll need to the end of the month. (some call this budgeting-GET OUT!!!). I've moved the rest into savings (Thank you US tax return HAH!) and we will live off of what we have. The credit card is RETIRED.

As if by magic, my credit card had to reissue my card due to the data stealing that happened a month ago...so this has forced me to move all of our automatic payments to our bank accounts...and the credit card will be used for work purchases only. (That $5,000 flight to Singapore? CHA CHING Miles!) I already feel great about this. In fact...I love looking at my bank balance every day and seeing money leaving it (Don't lock me up ok?). I feel in control again and it is the best feeling ever. I know exactly where I am every day...and where we have to cut back. So, here is to a month of ALL CASH.

Have any of you made this change recently and benefited from it? What are the struggles you've encountered along the way? Do your partners buy into the 'Cash is King' mentality?