Financial Peace University - Debt Free 2014

Scott and I invested in purchasing the Financial Peace University home kit for Christmas last year. We started the session in January and that started a crazy journey together. If you know anything about Dame Ramsey's Financial Peace University, it has baby steps to getting out of debt and growing yourself financially.

Baby Steps:
1. $1000 in an Emergency Fund
2. Pay off all debt with debt snowball
3. 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
4. Invest 15% of income into ROTH IRA or retirement
5. Begin college funding for children
6. Pay your house off early
7. Build your wealth and give!

We had baby step 1 knocked out! Though, it was difficult to move forward to step 2 paying for a wedding though.

It took us until June to get back on track. Now here's where some tricky things come into play - neither of us got a paycheck in June. So we plan and intend to pay off debt but are stuck in place until pay comes at the end of July. The goal though is to pay off ALL student loans, the new car, and credit cards within 2 years! The house will be in the mix of this at some point but that is still on hold until I am placed in teaching.

July 2012 is our official starting point. The goal is to be debt free by December 2014.
Ready, Set, Go

Control Freak

The idea of Locus of Control  – If you can’t control it use creativity and flexibility, work around it! Find a solution! It’s our responsibility. And this idea totally makes sense. We are here to change the status quo. Of course there will be hurdles but our problem solving; our creativity is what will make the distinction of good and great teacher.

I wish I had heard this term previously because I think it is a great lesson to apply to any part of life. You definitely cannot control everything, but what you can control, you take care of and make it the best it can be.

 It is midsummer – July to be exact. I have not been placed. I received transitional funding and we are not even touching it to ensure I don’t have to pay it back if I don’t get placed. It is one of the most stressful times right now for Scott and I. This past month neither of us earned a pay check. I won’t be paid until mid-late August. He won’t until the end of July. We’ve got one month left of budgeting like crazy before funds start coming in, but the worst thing is that I have not been placed. The whole scene in Atlanta is incredible. It seems like all the districts are either in a hiring freeze or have turned away from TFA. It’s a really tough situation to be in, and the only response I am getting is we are working on it. The update this week – principals are on vacation for July 4 week. Lame but understandable. Here is where the locust of control comes in… I cannot control when I get hired but I stay invested. I continue learning all I can for my students and collecting everything I need for my class. Most importantly, I pray. I pray because I feel like God has brought me this far for a reason. God has placed me on this path to make a difference and I pray he will let me bring the biggest change I can by placing me this Fall.

I had many people negative and positive telling me about Teach for America. And I do understand both ways, essentially it is a gamble. I quit my paid job for a career that may not even pull through. But I think things happen for a reason, and Teach for America is just another stepping stone in my journey.

Black Belt Scholar

There are a few things that make a teacher incredible, ways to essentially grade yourself on a rubric to see if you are on the track to success in being the best teacher for the students. One is the Culture of Achievement (I’ll go in more detail later) which describes how engaged your class is with the material and their level of understanding. It is a goal of TFA  that all teachers create a culture of compliance and on task, meaning the students are understanding materials and students are staying on task. There is a general interest of the subject. I personally float around this area- sometimes better, sometimes worse. Another way of measuring is your ability to plan, invest, and/or execute with your students. I am still growing in planning and execution, but Alex and many of my peers say I am really good with my investment. You know you are always hardest on yourself, but I am still on the so so about how I feel regarding my investment plan. I created the Black Belt Scholars Program in which students can earn smiley stickers by staying on task, participating, having moments of maturity, etc. With every 4 stickers a student can earn a rank (a color ribbon). By the end of the summer, if they all earn black then there will be a mini black belt ceremony. I will tell you my students are definitely about getting those stickers! Several are super excited about getting their “black belts” in a few days. I feel like my connection from the Black Belt program to my classroom vision is disconnected – but it may be because I am disconnected from my classroom vision which is ever changing. Not sure best way to approach that but maybe to write the vision on a white board that can be changed… But these type of things are to be implemented for my classroom in the fall. I’ve actually been thinking, since I do have a full year to work with to try and incorporate character building lessons with Black Belt Scholar to truly have a holistic program incorporating behavior, academia, and social skills. This character initiative would involve a word of the month, perhaps Power Up activities based on the word, if possible incorporation of the word into daily use of labs and activities, and maybe a student of the month that demonstrates the word (this would include if possible a letter from me, letter from the parents, and a letter from the principal).

Daily Life of Institute

The thought process of TFA is as follows: Teach very basic info, throw teachers into the classroom, then help them learn from mistakes, and then give more tools! It's definitely a lesson learned and I truly appreciate the way they do it as well. We learned literally how to lesson plan and create a goal prior to our first day of teaching. Materials we learned through out sessions in Institute seemed to build up on each other. With every new thing everything started to connect; think of it as if you were handing me puzzle pieces and I was getting enough to finally start to see the big picture. 

My CMA (supervisor) Alex is truly an incredible person if you ever have the chance to meet him... He teaches in New Orleans and I believe he is transformational! Alex provided us with a notebook on the first week to write stories, take notes, have students write in it, or journal about good things my students did. I used it for all the above and even did reflections on journals that people wrote. I am going to type up a few of the day's reflections on here for you to see my thoughts... 

DAY 1 Reflection

The hands system works awesome (finger system if a student needs to use restroom, sharpen pencil, ask question, etc)! I never would have thought but it is true, kids love cheesy things! I feel like the BMS (Behavioral Management System) is stupid - well maybe just unnatural.. I need to try narrating maybe it will help. My students are fantastic though! Very smart and Polite! Overall today went well. I need to figure out why my boys take so long to test take... 

That was it. At this point I was teaching 7th grade life science; I was overwhelmed, and I was excited. I was all ready problem solving how to make these more effective students. It was definitely an overemotional day and was even better when we arrived back to GA Tech to a group of TFA members congratulating us on our first day of teaching! The energy from them really fed into the fire and excitement for the next day.

Day 2 was definitely more student focused on their futures and their goals.

DAY 2 Reflection

Today was amazing! All the kids were involved in our diffusion and gummy lab! I had 2 female students reach their orange rank today J One wants to be a teacher and I think she will definitely get there! DC (names initialed/changed) is so smart and she understands all the concepts really well! She wants to be a nurse, and I hope I can guide her to that path. I’m struggling to reach out to KS and AC. Tomorrow I’ll make sure to find a way to give them smileys. I also want to help DM become more refined. She is a great student, very smart, but can be too dramatic. If she channeled differently, she would do even more amazing! I’m going to do my best to get ahead in my lesson plans AND study for the GACE. I asked the students what college they want to go to, and I will use this as motivation too. I want to print the logos and tape them to the desks so it serves as a daily reminder to them.

KD asked me after class if I was going home – I responded no, that I was going to work on the lesson plan for the next day. He responded cool. It was a super simple conversation but completely amazing considering KD was one student I was worried about in regards to being invested in class. I was super excited...

Things began to make sense as the week went on with more growth, learning from mistakes, and trying new things. The following week was a drastic change, one I would never have imagined. Due to lack of students and too many teachers, classes were combined. Monday I started with a brand new group of students teaching 6^th grade science. My class size grew from 8 to 16! It was a huge difference in the level of understanding and maturity too. I decided, earth science being my specialty that I would start the first day with a bang. I planned a sedimentary lab using playdoh.

DAY 6 Reflection

Today is definitely a new beginning! Started 6^th grade Earth Science with 13 new kids and I taught them sedimentary rock. We did a lab where they had the opportunity to create the “rocks” with playdoh, rock bits, and sand. Overall it was awesome! I was worried I had the bad kids, the bullies, the rebels (gossip travels around teachers)…. I talked to some students at lunch and they just don’t like science, but of course math is easy for them! Well, they were awesome for me. I believe I got them invested and did not have a problem because of it. Alex overheard “science is going to be awesome” and I overheard “she is a cool science teacher” J  I am so pumped! I am going to work on my key point connection, giving instructions, and keeping engagement with fun materials.

Teach for America - Metro Atlanta Corps 2012

Metro Atlanta Institute 2012. Wow. I can't even begin to fathom the incredible journey I've taken thus far, and I still have a week of institute left! It's incredible to think I have been teaching summer school for 3 weeks… legit, in front of a classroom! The experience has tested me, stressed me, and impressed me. I have met some incredible people that I will probably be close to for the rest of my life! I can't even imagine what Scott thinks I'm doing or what my family thinks for that matter but maybe this will help explain a bit more. It started with a week of instruction for us... 

5:40am my alarm clock goes off and surprisingly I didn't hit the snooze. It may have been my nerves but I was up and ready in no time. I catch the bus at GA Tech to ride to my school site for the first time - King Middle School, named for MLK Jr. Not knowing a single person yet when we arrive, I am freaking out in my head. We arrive and walk into a room filled with roughly 35 corp members and staff. That first day we shared our personal stories with complete strangers and began to investigate the strange world of teachers, and to my surprise I was excited, I was ready for the rest of the adventure to begin. That night I even had an hour long conversation with my aunt (also a teacher) trying to dig up as much advice as I could, to be the best that I could. That was the goal to be the best... things definitely change!

The achievement gap seems like such a common sense but there is sooo much under the surface that most people don't realize. Ignorance is bliss right? But that's not fair to children, especially those that don't even have the opportunity to do as much just because a single teacher would not invest in them. We heard story after story about students who could not read that were graduating high school (not sure how the teachers passed them!), the cheating scandal in APS, and even the fact that they predict the number of needed jails by 3rd grade reading level is outrageous. But it’s all true and it’s a shame that while our country is focused on passing pointless laws, fighting unnecessary wars, we have a huge movement on our hands to change the future of not only our children but our nation! The best nation in the world and we are struggling to educate our students in STEM... Really? (but that’s another rant) We also heard story after story of the local community wanting teachers who were excited, willing, and those that will make change. That's where TFA steps in, where I think my calling is to... 

TFA is pushing for transformational leaders, not only having students pass classes, but truly changing their future possibilities, AND having those students advocate for themselves and others. Setting HUGE Visions and even BIGGER goals! The thing that pushes us over the edge I believe is the passion, the fire we all have to fix the problem. My spark - Every child deserves to be encouraged and loved to be better. Every child has the right to be whatever they want, and I may be the only one to provide that opportunity in their lives. We saw some examples of students and teachers on that path - it only inspires me further! One Day is Today is the motto because Every Day Matters!! (I saw a shirt that said Carpe EVERY Diem and I want it!!)

So that being said, what have I done? How have I grown? What have I changed if anything? What will I do? So many questions and I think the best way to answer is just to tell you my story. 

House Hunting Continues

House hunting is definitely an emotional roller coaster!  You fall in love with a house but its not a guarantee you will get it. It's a long waiting game - well torture game. You would think a bank would want to make the money and get rid of the house but instead it seems to be on the backburner. AND then you have those realtors who make it a game, dangling an awesome home over several potential homeowners and investors. I know its a game of free market but how can I even compete when I cannot pay as much as others. Are you going to deny me a good house in a good neighborhood because I don't have the income? And by good I don't mean a pool, huge yard, and fancy cars... I am talking about safe, no shootings, no flood plain, etc. This first time home buyer is getting discouraged being outbid by investors and having houses taken from under my feet.

We put an offer on a house.. cute little place with a small but private back yard. I know we had to be one of the first to put an offer but you know how it goes.. The Realtor is waiting to receive offers to essentially choose the best. Should you not at least consider the offers that came in first?

It's a double edged sword. Scott and I are frustrated enough but it is a lesson in trust as well. God will provide. He has the right house for us and we have to have patience and trust in Him.

Support One Another

One thing couples struggle with is the concept of I instead of Team. It is not all about you or me it's about WE! Well part of being a team is being supportive of each other. I took a bold step in applying for Teach for America. If you know anything about the program, it has A LOT of uncertainty. I submitted my resignation letter in February to leave in May. And I applied for a job for fall in March, though I may not hear if I even have a job until Fall semester starts. I essentially will be teaching for free over the summer and paying for family housing with no income guaranteed. It is really nerve wracking and on top of that few people, especially parents, are not exactly the most supportive of the uncertainty. It takes a lot of trust in God on my part that I am doing the right thing and a lot of trust in me from Scott. This trust alone can only be shown in a marriage, in love. I will never truly be able to understand his devotion but I will always try to do the same for him. I know I don't give myself enough credit for what I do, but it scares me to think about teaching in front students. To think their futures are in my hands, that anything and everything I do will sway them for good or worse. I hope for the first however only time will tell. It scares me but it motivates me to do even more, to be better. To do more for them and to be the best. I think his support goes deep enough to trust in God that everything will work out but to also know that I will be a great teacher.. I think he thinks its what I am meant to be and it is humbling.

House Hunting Begins

House Hunting is definitely stressful - no matter what anyone tells you! I'll try and walk you through the process and we go through a series of mistakes and successes. Fortunately my uncle is a realtor, so he has been able to coach me from another state on the general process. The first thing you need to do when going to look for a house is to get pre qualified for a home loan. Essentially you should get 3 (THREE) pre qualifications to see which company gives you the best deal. It is suggested to do a commercial bank, one of the large banks (Wells Fargo/Bank of America/Etc), and one of your choice. The one we decided on of the three was Fidelity. The lady we are working with just turned out to be the most responsive and educational with us. For the pre qual you will need your W2's, a pay statement, your bills, and bank account statements (a few other documents will be needed based on the company). After they have made their calculations, you will receive a letter stating how much you qualify for and this amount should be what you base your home search on!

Ok, now that the pre qual has been taken care of you can find yourself a realtor. Now, I cannot explain perfectly the difference but I will try to explain my understanding... there is a difference between real estate agent and realtor. A real estate agent is working trying to sell as many houses as possible. A realtor has gone through extra training and has signed a national pledge to be customer focused. So yes, a realtor is also trying to sell houses but they are doing it on the interest of the customer. A realtor is also typically paid by the seller not by the buyer.

We found a local realtor who has so far been phenomenal. She definitely has my interest in sight and does what she can to put me first. The realtor will send us links to houses and we converse about homes until we schedule a date to go out to see them.

After we find a home she will take care of all the paperwork and we just sign the documents. Stephanie is also very good at explaining what things are. Especially with my uncle being so far she is easy to get in touch with and explains what different loans are, what escrow is, what we need to be looking for, and explaining the rest of the process.

We had our first outing with her last week. The houses progressed from worst to best. The worst - well one room had a dog locked in it, and I am pretty sure the dog was never EVER taken out... The second was a nice layout but the kitchen was outdated and the carpet/tile... well it was in the wrong decade for sure! The final house was perfect by far, especially for our price range. We put an offer but as everything, it was too good to be true. Someone had put an offer before us and we lost the house.

Scott has drill for the Army this weekend and won't be in town. My parents and I are going to do a preliminary drive around to see what other houses are available and taking lots of pictures. We will see what we can find before going out with Stephanie again next Wednesday! Maybe we'll be able to put in another offer!

Date Night

One piece of advice I have for any newly wed couple is actually something we picked up at
premarital class, and something we've noticed most healthy married couples do. Funny thing but Scott and I have made it a priority to have a date night once a week. Yes - you can date your spouse! We do a bit of everything from every price range. We've gone to that expensive restaurant and we've also done the redbox movie night. Make it what you want but make it something that you both enjoy. Take that extra time to talk about life, about how you're doing, and things that have happened since the last time you were able to slow down time together. Funny to say but we don't see each other as much as before the wedding. Life seemed to take off and between work and school we see each other every night but it may be for a shooter amount of time, and it is really tough. That makes the date nights more important and more of a priority for both of us.

Naming Myself

About a week before the wedding, you are supposed to go to your local probate court to apply for a marriage license. Please check your local government regulations for required documents etc. Many hassles later, we acquired it and were able to continue with our wedding. What they don't tell you is that after the wedding, the officiant hands you the signed copy to take back to the probate court to get a marriage certificate. Well, this information wasn't posted and I wasted valuable time and gas in getting necessary things done.

Last Saturday (3 weeks after the wedding), I went to the nearby DMV to get my name changed. I had the signed copy of the marriage license not the certificate (oh and they use certificate and license interchangeably as if they are the same thing, when they are not!!), my birth certificate, and drivers license. Turns out they don't need the birth certificate, however after an hour and a half waiting, we were denied because I did not have the right paperwork. The gentlemen at the counter did tell me I could come straight to the window next time. Needless to say, we left and I started crying I was so upset.

Monday during lunch I drove to the probate court. I made a mistake the first time and paid to park (pay attention to the signs!!). I paid in a free parking for 2 hours. I was in and out within 10 minutes! Scott also did not need to go with me which was great with our crazy schedules. I had enough time to drive to the DMV too, but as you know something would go wrong - it was closed!!!

Frustrated, I knew Georgia had something against me changing my name. Well, I decided to try one more time. Tuesday during lunch I drove back to the DMV with a heavy determination. Upon arrival, I noticed the parking lot was packed and a line stood outside trying to just enter. I feared the worst looking at my clock. I waited in the line for about 20 minutes to just sign in. I sat down inside looking at the numbers being called. I held B402 in my hand.. they had just called B364. I knew it would never work, I didn't have the time. I looked around to see if the same guy from Saturday was there, and to my delight he was! My heart jumped up and pulled me to the counter. I waited as he helped out a gentleman. He had a smile on his face so I knew he was in a good mood too. Once the man left, I stepped up and told him he had asked me to come to the counter on Saturday. He grabbed my ticket and looked on the computer. He said I'm glad you came up, you saved over an hour wait! I was so excited I couldn't help but smile! Within 7 minutes we were done and I was walking back to my car texting pictures to both sets of parents and my husband. It was a huge sign of relief knowing that I can now take steps towards doing things we want like purchasing a home!

Dance the Night Away

The night of the wedding was a blur. We couldn't talk about anything in the car except how perfect everything was. It was such a surreal feeling - to be married!! Just calling him husband and vice versa..

When we got to the hotel, we realized my bag was at home. It would be at least half an hour before my brother would arrive with it. I was exhausted. The hotel room had a living room area separate from the bedroom and we both got into the room and sat down then sat. We must have just sat for 5 minutes in silence just letting the day catch up to us.

We left everything but one small basket. It was probably the most beautiful basketball, picnic style with plates, utensils, food packaged for us from the caterer, and a bottle of sparkling cider to top it off. The only problem was the dress. I refused to eat until a change of clothes arrived (the hotel did not have a table to eat at). Scott knew I was getting a little frustrated. It was 10:30pm and we were hungry and couldn't do much. He took out his phone turned on music and reached his hands out towards me. I grabbed his hands and we danced. We danced two or three songs barefoot, twirling, and just enjoying each other. Time flew by but it was the perfect way to end a night of the most amazing day I will probably ever have!

A New Beginning

March 3, 2012, at 5:25pm, Scott and I started our new life together as one, and this is the blog of our new story. From the ups and downs of buying a house, making decisions, and the hidden tales of newlywed couples, this blog is sure to entertain you and provide insight that may even come in handy!

If you want to check out our story before hand, please click on this link here. There is valuable insight as to the planning and execution of a wedding!