Debt Payoff Update for February 2016

In our Debt Payoff Update for January post we talked about our car situation, and how our van broke down right before Christmas. I have been researching used vans (we will definitely have to have at least one van) for our family. Our van is still sitting at the repair shop, and we haven’t decided if we are going to fix our old van, or save our tax return towards purchasing a newer vehicle.  Make sure to scroll to the bottom to hear our story of faith in regards to our business (See all of our Debt Free Journey posts here).

We have also saved our portion of our family’s beach vacation we take each year.  Knowing that our summer plans are made and paid for are a huge blessing.  Now we are looking to have the cash saved for Christmas, and then once we have that completed, that will be most of our major, expected expenses for this year.  However, we will be focusing on having a Minimalist Christmas for 2016. Once this money is saved we will focus every extra penny on saving for a “new to us” car.

We have already used about $500 of our Flexible Spending Account. This year I decided to increase it to the full amount of $2,500. That is another reason why we should see a reduction in healthcare costs this year. We have also worked very hard to use our Young Living essential oils to support our immune systems, and praise the Lord, we have had no sick visits this month! Woot woot! We are really starting to use homeopathic remedies whenever possible, and hopefully all of our organic eating is paying off!

A huge praise is that Debt Free Spending has been invited to the red carpet premiere of The Jungle Book! Make sure to check back often for blog posts as Stella will be visiting Los Angeles and writing all about this amazing journey!

Debt Payoff Update for February 2016

How we made changes this month to save and earn extra income while we are spending as little as possible:

• Spring photo season is starting, so we had our first two spring photo shoots this week and last week. Photography is one of our side hustles that helped us become debt free. I’m so glad we’re finally making extra income from this again, since we don’t do a ton of indoor photography in the winter months, due to the expense of backdrops and props.
• I started my own Etsy shop last month, and I’ve actually had one sale so far. I’m currently reading everything I can get my hands on about how to grow your Easy business.  I really like Etsy: Start Your Own Etsy Business Using the Strategies Given and Make Money Easily and Quickly for Kindle, because it’s free, and I’ve already learned a lot about how to run my Etsy shop. While I only made $6 from this business, it’s a start in the right direction, and it’s better than having no sales.
• 
• Our  Young Living business produced over $770 last month.  We have started sharing our love for Essential Oils locally, and we have been so blessed by so many local families wanting to get healthy as well.  We also continue to support over 340 oily family members nationwide.

Prayer Requests & Praises:

• Please pray that we can totally save for Christmas then start saving for a new car. This has been the most difficult financial goal this year, because it seems so large.
• We are still praying about whether we will have any more children or not. This is a difficult decision for many families, but with our infertility history there is extreme fear and excitement at the same time when thinking about closing this chapter in our lives.  Please pray that we will know the Lord’s will and which direction to head. We tend to throw all the doors open and let God close them.
• My dad did not have his foot amputated last month because his sugar was very high. He has been able to reduce that, and we are looking at a new date in April or early May. I will post when I know a definite date!

How can we pray for you? Comment your prayer request below!