I am ready for this project! I am a stay at home mom of 4 and have a husband who has a pretty good job, but we still have CC debt and not enough savings. Every year I pledge to pay off our CC debt with our tax refund and every year I do, but end up running the debt back up. It is time to break the cycle. I want to show my kids financial responsibility and teach them that happiness does not come through material possessions. I know that this will effect my life in so many ways. This will improve my relationships with my husband and my kids. I also think this will keep us healthier (we buy too much junk). This will also help us become better people, we will focus on what really counts by giving of ourselves, not giving each other "more stuff". I can wait to see all the wonderful things that could be a result of this project!

My goal for FTJ is to save more and spend less! I am a SAHM of two. My husband makes a good salary. We need to cut out all the misc. expenses that add up so quickly: going to starbucks, lunch out, picking up dinner instead of cooking, those trips to Target when you run in for "a few things" and come out with lots more. I would love us to have a nice cushion in our saving acct to fall back on. I would like to see us plan for upcoming expenses rather than just go out and make purchases on a whim.

Jennifer

I have always been a saver to the point I have been able to stay at home for over 6 years with our boys. But with the recent economy changes, we have eaten through our savings and my DHs job is cutting out OT. This will get DH on the same page with me regarding our finances.

I would hate to lose the ground we have on the boys' educational funds, our retirement and our fun money. DH is 90% on board - he is interested in all the aspects of the project, not just monetary.

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Hi, I'm a stah mom of two little girls. My husband has always taken care of the finances. We've gone through some hard times, so I will be taking over in the new year. Hopefully, to relieve some of the stress of him. My goals are to get some money in the bank for emergencies and to also pay things off. I hope to learn alot from this project and can't wait to get started!!!

Heather

I'm Stacie and love to spend money.. Cash..
We only have our motage as debt plus monthly utlities. But I spend way to much on every day stuff..goceries, a trip to walmart and kids clothes..or just sale stuff I don't really need.
I have some big goals for 2009 and need to save more $$$$>> My goal is to pay cash [mostly] for 2 cars. Don't need to be brand new. Save to finally put our addition on, and pay down our mortage.

Dh has a great job and I have my own business, I will have to cut on spending on stuff I don't need for my business too! Just basics..

Hi, my name is Tracy and I am a sahm (for 8 years now) and I run my own in home daycare business. This site has helped me so much the last year or so in moving towards my ultimate goal of simple frugal wholesome living ...BUT...I still need that push to be more disciplined in the financial aspects of my goal. I babysit for mostly teachers so my summers are light on kids AND money ..one of my goals is to establish a savings account so that I don't have to worry so much about paying bills through the summer ...and of course I really want to cut down on our cc debt. My dh is self employed as a residential real estate appraiser...so business has been awful and we have gone through most of our savings just to keep afloat. I read the posts last year for this project and was really sorry I hadn't tried it...so I am thrilled it is going to continue!!

Hi! I'm Valerie and I'm a SAHM to two boys and I babysit a couple of kids in my home to bring in extra money. My big goal for 2009 is to have all our unsecured debt paid off. We'll have one cc paid off this month! I hope to get crazy Dec spending back under control with this first spending freeze. I'm usually very frugal, but we ate out way more than usual last month (beyond our planned b-day and anniversery outings) and I was in the stores way more than usual for Christmas shopping and the "wants" started up again! I thought last year's FTJ project was fun as well as helpful, so I look forward to this bootcamp too!

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Debt payoff:
debt: 4593.95

Hi. My name is Terri and I am a SAHM to 4 children, 15, 10, 6 and 4. My problems all started when I stopped working 10 years ago, but still spent money like I had a job. I have made great strides thanks to Dave Ramsey, but I am not where I want to be yet. We still have CC debt, a car loan and a mortgage. Hopefully, this program will help me better understand why we spend money and where we can cut corners. I am pretty frugal for the most part and my husband has a good job. So, I can't figure out where all of our money is going. I am hoping to learn something to pass along to my children so as they venture out into the world, they will not make the same mistakes I made. Can't wait to get started.

I'm Cristin, I'm 25 and am new to the frugal lifestyle (any tips are welcome, as I'm still learning). I grew up in a wealthy family where I got everything I wanted without having to do chores or get a job. So when I started having to buy things for myself I went credit card crazy to keep myself in the lifestyle I was accustomed to. DH and I both came into the marriage with a boat load of debt but we're doing fine until he decided to leave his well paying job to persue his childhood dream of being a police officer, which I fully supported, but it cut our income by $1800 every month. Adding to the problem was havng a brand new baby in the midst of the job change. I'm a full time student and have stayed home with her when I wasn't in class and I recently have taken a full-time job on the weekends to allow me to contiune with school and to stay at home with her during the week. We despratly need the money as all the bills are on the very of disconnect/repo every month. I've been cutting back where we can, and have discovered the sale papers and coupons recently, all of which have been a big help, we've also signed up for a debt managment plan out of desperation, and we've had be bailed out my my parents and grandparents and number of times in emergencies as we have zero savings, so I'm hoping this bootcamp will get us back on track and keep us above water until I graduate and can get a good paying job. In addition to getting our bills and debt under control I'd like to start an emergency savings, to pay back my family, and start saving for a house, and stop living paycheck to paycheck!

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Once in a while, in the middle of ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale.

I'm living mine.

Hi Bootcampers! I'm Connie. I am a wohm, married to a wonderful man for 20 years, and we have three sons who are 12, 9 and 9.

Dh and make a comfortable living and we've always been pretty frugal. Given the current economic uncertainty in the world, I would like to up our EF. We've tapped it twice this year (both planned) and I'm not comfortable with it's current level.

I participated last time and learned so much. I do want to track our money better in terms of knowing exactly where it goes. I also want to stop letting the little amounts slip throug my fingers - writing down every single penny last time really helped with that!