{canceled & shredded!}

I have a little but typical-of-Gussy random story to share. Oh, who am I kidding? This is going to be semi-long.

I had a rewarding experience yesterday.

Zack was setting up the router for our wireless internet and I was sewing and prepping new products. Let's just say I had a lot of time on my hands. I decided that since I was already sitting there, and it was after 9 p.m. {free cell minutes}, that I would tackle the credit cards sitting next to me on my desk. They needed to be canceled and shredded!

I'm going to be completely honest with you all.

Are you ready?

We have one credit card balance. It is from when I was in college {bahhh!, too long to be carrying around, but that is our situation}. It has a balance from purchasing my iMac and a D-SLR. Yeppp, not a proud moment here, but it's the truth! And I'm proud to present the truth.

However, and please remember this because you can experience it, too, I HAVE NEVER PAID INTEREST ON THESE TWO ITEMS! I was sure to sign-up for a 0.0% APR for 12+ months and have done balance transfers to continue the zero-cost credit card experience.

That's right, I haven't paid these companies a dime {aside from balance transfer fees, which are at most $50}. If you dig, sometimes you'll be surprised at what you find.


{I better stop with the facts and figures or I'll get myself in trouble because I'm not a cred-card guru girl, just a sewing Gussy girl.}

With doing credit card transfers we've obviously had to open up new credit cards because the promotional periods have expiration dates, but we have never used them. In fact, our most recent card isn't even activated! The only debt Zack and I brought to our marriage were student loans, this credit card, and a car loan {which is now paid off, thankyouverymuch!!! :) }

I am so incredibly proud that we do not use credit cards. If you are in the same boat as us, I'm incredibly proud of you, too. If you aren't in the same boat, I'm incredibly proud you're still reading this! Please stay with me here...

I haven't used a credit card since 2005? 2006? I believe Zack has never used one, but I can't recall. It is an incredible blessing to not be slaved to a credit card company. Would you like to be free of that? I bet you would {and you can!}.

Like I mentioned above, I was sewing last night and I decided to call these companies to cancel the credit cards. They all have $0 balances and are doing one thing for me: making me freak out over potential credit-card fraud. We don't use them; I glance at the monthly statements to make sure the balance stays at zero, but I don't need to be wasting time on this when we don't even use them.

I have ruffles to sew, right?

Right :)

I needed to make four calls, which lead to my rewarding experience:

"Hi, I'd like to cancel my credit card. {pause} Because I have a zero balance. {pause} Because I don't need it. {pause} Because we use our debit cards. {pause} No, thank you, I'd like to cancel my credit card please. {pause} Thank you.

One company definitely argued this with me. Because I was prepping items I had the call on speaker phone. Zack eventually came up to my phone and said "Ma'am. Ma'am! We'd like to cancel the card please."

Maybe if my voice was deeper I could have done that, too? What do you think? ;)

Another company actually said to me, "Can I ask you something? What will you do in an emergency if you don't have a credit card?"

My reply: "Pay with cash! Hello, use our emergency fund?!"

{What will you do, Mr. Credit Card man?}

A third company simply said, "OK" after I told him I wanted to cancel. That was National City. That bank deserves some applause from Gussy for not arguing with me. Seriously. I'm applauding them.

As I type this I'm sooo giddy to say that all four cards are canceled, shredded, and out of our lives forever!

I was told last night on the phone, But our cards are fee-free!

No {laugh}, they're not, because fee-free doesn't mean interest free. And if they have interest, that is not free! I may not like math, but I know the value words have.

Credit = expensive.

The fact is we have enough money to buy the things we need and want, pay our bills, and save with cash. We sit down twice a month and go over everything. Most times we have to organize, push-and-pull, maneuver things around to buy something big, but we can and we do it with the money we already have, money we've already earned, and when it's purchased it's paid for. We are not a slave to our purchases. I bet if you sit down and look your finances over you can figure out a way to let go of anything that slaves you.

So that is my Gussy has a lot to say story. Do you have a story to share? I love to be inspired but it; I hope you can find something inspiring in your life, too.

{snow + sew + sale}

I woke up Saturday morning to the sound of scraping.
I took me a minute to figure out what it was. Ya know, once I was fully awake and all.

Do you want to know what I heard?

Are you sure? Really, really sure?

A woman was scraping ice and snow off her car.

Yes friends, Saturday morning greeted all of us in The Frozen Tundra with snow. God sure has a silly sense of humor, doesn't He? :)

It's not even the middle of October and already snow has fallen. My goodness, they weren't lying when they said, I hear it's cold there! ;) I suppose if I take a few minutes to think about it it's not so crazy. It has been super cold here these past few days. And by cold I mean in the thirties. I know some of you live in Texas and can't bear the sixty-degree weather. And, Kim in Florida, 90 degrees... really?!

Just spare me the numbers, OK?

Sigh.

To add to the craziness of the recent snow falling, our apartment is hot like an oven and we usually sleep with the window open a few inches. Yes, the window was open the night it snowed. Have I mentioned our apartment is hot?!

{Unbelievable about the snow, yet so true!}

It really was perfect timing, however, because on that fine, snowy Saturday my mittens arrived in the mail.




I love them dearly.
They are so adorable that I want to put them in a glass box and stare at them all day long. Instead, I'll wear them.
{To order a pair for yourself click here.}

Zack and I went out Saturday evening and, of course, I wore them. And I smiled the entire time I wore them, too. Ha ha! Me, my mittens, and the Hubbster. We explored the city of Minneapolis on a quick dinner trip to Chipotle.

***

Back up a bit to earlier in that day.
I really had a great Saturday. It was soooo relaxing. I can't remember the last time I sat down, in our new apartment, and thought, What should I do this fine Saturday?
After last week, working so hard during the day and then coming home to sew for a few hours every night, I finally took a break.
I calculated I worked 65 hours last week. Eeekk!

Can I be honest?
I even feel a little guilty about taking some time off from sewing.

How horrible is that?!
I totally needed the little break; Zack and I needed the little break.
Last week we went to Zack's work to watch a sporting event, aka: party!!! Then on Tuesday I baked 4 dozen cookies for my work. We also had time to watch two movies.

It was pure bliss to enjoy life a bit more.

One night last week we decided to move my iMac into the living room because I was spending all my supposed-t0-be-free time in the office, sewing and answering emails.

It was horrible. I felt like not only was I neglecting my amazing, sassy red couch, but I was missing out on enjoying my home with my husband. I felt like a stranger in my own home. Blah.

Taking a break allowed me to take a full breath of air. It took away a lot of the stress of getting so much done. I felt like I had this never-ending to-do list of sewing, when really, when I think back, it's not something I want to be stressed about. About a year ago, while I was sleeping, an Angel tapped me with her wand and gave me the desire to sew.

About two months ago God blessed me with an honest-to-God amazing job in a really sweet city. I no longer need to be ball-and-chained over the income that Etsy provides because it is taken care of.

I know "it" has always been taken care of, but this way is somehow easier to wrap my hands around. The concept of seeing the way it's taken care of, instead of going to sleep, month after month with a little bit of uncertainty... No one wants uncertainty in their life. Please know I wholeheartedly believe in God and never did I doubt His ability to provide, or my faith in the Faith...

It's hard to explain; losing something {like your job} that has so much "control" over earthly things really knocks the wind out of your sail.

{I almost wrote knocks the wind out of your lungs but decided to think hard and remember the right phrase. But sometimes I like to make up my own phrases: When worse comes to shove, ha ha.}

Over the summer that wasn't something I could say... admit that our bills were taken care of.

But today I can and I'm going to rejoice over it! And you know what, just to add to the awesomeness of how our lives have turned for the better, my Etsy sales have since increased, they are consistent, and it's even more delightful to sew!

I'm a happy Gus.

Encourage yourself to find the positive in your life and it will be easier to see the positive.

***

A few things before I stop having so much to say ;)

1. If you haven't entered the Gussy Giveaway, please enter now. It's already surpassed the last time I offered this type of giveaway {where the number of comments left equals the percent-off won.}

2. There is FREE SHIPPING on all items in my Etsy shop. Everyone loves a little sans shipping, right? Receive anywhere from $2 - $6 in savings.

3. It's survey time. Again, if you haven't already, please two minutes to answer ten questions about my Gussy products. It would make my day to hear your anonymous comments :)

It's like a quiz, but way more fun.

***

OK, just one more {picture}:




HAPPY MONDAY ♥

{weekend recap + sewing + you'll have to read this to know the rest!}

What a great, great weekend. Zackary and I spent it at our home and definitely spent a lot of time relaxing. Friday night, his aunt called and we talked for over an hour.

Oh, Gussy ;)

Saturday, I did some housework, met a girlfriend for coffee and we chatted for over 3 hours! Yeah :) Afterwords I did some sewing. Then Zack grilled chicken for dinner and later we went to celebrate a cousin's birthday. We had brownies and ice-cream. MMmmmmmmm.

That brings me to Sunday. I didn't set the alarm clock and we woke up well into the middle of church.

:(

That was a little sad because we like where we've been going and only go like once a month. We're out of town a lot... Once we got going yesterday we went to a restaurant called Toast. Zack gave me a gift card to Toast for my birthday. They are open for breakfast and lunch; I enjoyed a chicken salad panini, Zack ordered something with potato cakes and eggs, plus toast.

I did some more sewing, Zack vacuumed my car and cleaned up the garage. I cleaned the inside of the car.

I know, I know, such an exciting life! :) Guess that is what happens when you are home for the first and only weekend of the month: there's cleaning to be done.

Yesterday evening Zack actually asked me if he could schedule in a back rub with me. Since you like to be prepared and then that way maybe you'll put a good amount of time into it, he told me. Ohhhh, so funny, so funny! I should check with him to see what day works best.

We have some good news to share: Zack is working this week with his uncle. We've been waiting and waiting for work -- and it's finally here. Although it isn't permanent by any means -- only for 2 weeks -- it is something! We made a list tonight of the top 10 cities by economic to live in and I plan on spending a lot of time applying for jobs in those cities. It is beyond my understanding where we are supposed to be. I've mentioned this before, and while I haven't shed much light on the situation before, it is a serious situation. We have until the end of August to be in a new home.

No plans on where that home is.

Not sure how we'll have any income by then.

But, not too worried about it. God has a plan and it just hasn't been revealed to us yet. I'm hoping one day soon He fills us in but until then I'm just excited to not be worried over the uncertainty.

There is a large adventure planned for us. We could stay in the same town, move to another town in Michigan, or move to another state. Any state, really. Zack has experience with graphic design and video editing; I have experience with writing, editing, and proofreading. If anyone knows of a thriving company looking for talent in the aforementioned areas, please let me know. We both graduated from Central Michigan University and can move for a promising job.

In fact, we're moving somewhere. Just not sure where yet {our lease is up the end of August}.

I've been keeping busy sewing and am hoping it will continue to provide supplemental income. If you have a friend or family member that needs a gift idea, please send them to GUSSY! If you own a small gift store and are looking for new merchandise, contact me! We can talk wholesale! :) Or, if you have a Facebook or Twitter account, feel free to mention GUSSY and my Etsy shop! I would be so appreciative of your support: www.maggiewhitley.etsy.com.

Like I've mentioned before, I need three more sales on Etsy before I can do another giveaway. I'm looking for a reason to celebrate and making it to 100 sales seems like a fun reason! I'm at 97... spread the word to your friends and then we can celebrate success GUSSY style. I've been given a few really neat ideas for a giveaway, I'm sure they'll be well received.

Since Zack is working outside the house this week, he was sure to mention to me how productive I'll be all day today with him gone. No one to sing to me, beat box to me, whistle, run into in our tiny home :) -- that sort of thing. One thing is for certain: it will be weird!

For the last five months, off and on, we've spent most of our days together at home. Losing a job -- one, two, and finally three times -- means you finally just sit back and think, God, where am I to be? How am I supposed to provide for my family? Show me Your will. So with Zack gone tomorrow it will be a new "normal" for us. We've really been praying hard for a new normal to come our way. It can be a lonely world being an unemployed citizen. Lonely, sad and feeling a little helpless. Or a lot helpless some days. Right now we have steady income. But... that is going to end soon. And unfortunately what needs to go out monthly will still need to go out. I know when I started sewing in November, then heavily sewing in February when I lost my job, I never thought I'd be where I am today. Never, ever, ever. I knew nothing about sewing!

See, look at this zipped pouch. This was one of the first things I made:




And here is a picture of something I made over the weekend:



Whoa, Gus.

Thanks for getting some color in your life ;)

Also, please stop talking to yourself. Thanks.

Looking back, I can see my growth. It is humbling and amazing, and a little embarrassing! But whatever. I've made progress, that is the point.

Gussy isn't someone to sit back and not take action, so I learned how to sew a zipper in by watching tutorials online, without a zipper foot -- booyah! ;) I learned of a local fabric store that sells the most amazing and unique buttons, and I got to work. Zack nicknamed the sewing room The Sweat Shop, listened wholeheartedly when I asked for his opinion, and spent more time than I ever dreamed of congratulating me and telling me positive things about my sewing talent.

I found someone to sew GUSSY labels for me.

I started keeping track of my expenses. I knew what was going out and what was coming in.

I made connections; met people online and have been blessed for all the GUSSY referrals they've passed out.

I guess what I'm trying to say that while I wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring I knew I had a sewing machine with a drawer of fabric and sass, and I was going to put it to work. I look for jobs by day, sew by night.

Actually, I still don't know what tomorrow will bring, but it isn't here yet so I'm not thinking to far long. Sure, there have been days when all I've done was cry. Not having a job and not being able to find a job that will pay the bills is really scary. And, I'm only 24. I have my whole life ahead of me, yet I'm experiencing this now? Seems silly.

But...

Better now than later on I suppose. Better now while our family count stops at 2 instead of 6. Right?

No: Better now because that's God's plan.

Alright, I feel a bit better :) Thank you for reading and sharing in life with me and Zack. We'll make it through, and it definitely helps that we're not alone :)




And stay tuned... I've got Sweat Shop pictures to show you! But here is a sneak peak in the meantime :)

{oh boy...}

I'm taking a little break from The Sweat Shop to give you all an update. First, I'm finally finishing two projects that I started earlier this week. Since I had The Bachelor to watch on Monday, and Wednesday I had the day off work, not much got done. So sorry :( Anyways, I have two projects a-l-m-o-s-t done. It's a really good feeling. I also have some knitted things to put on Etsy because, as some of you already know, my shop is pretty pathetically low. I have had time to knit at work because we are so slow that I am feeling really uncomfortable with the fact that I have a job. I'm there for 8.5 hours and I do maybe four jobs. Not a good feeling, not at all. So I'm getting ready to update my shop. The dozen-a-day sales thing is killing me :P 

Back to the point of this post. A lot of weird things have happened this weekend and it's hardly the weekend. My stomach is just in knots.

• My husband lost his job yesterday. We have absolutely no clue how WE are going to fix this, but have absolute faith that God knows how to fix it. This job loss is settling funky in my stomach. Also worth mentioning: my hours have been cut at work. I'm down to 32/week, hence my day off work every Wednesday. Thank the LORD for unemployment, right? My friend told me 10% of Michigan is laid off. Uggh.

• My husband lost his cell phone snowboarding today. He went with a group of people he used to work with for networking purposes. {I hate this past-tense stuff!} He just called me to say his cell is MIA. In a time where it seems like everything is going wrong I really have to fight  myself to think otherwise. 
  

Zack and I have not been happy with our cell phone provider. Even though our contract isn't over for another year, even though it is SO EXPENSIVE to buy another phone, something good must come from this. We have seen it with our own two eyes that we will be taken care of. God has always taken care of our families... He'll take care of us.

Please pray for us. We are young and, with some recent unexpected expenses, we haven't had enough time to keep our savings account full. The rubber-band has been snapping at us a lot these past few months. It finally broke.

Now, I must get back to sewing. The mini-facial my iron has been giving me feels pretty darn good ;)

Thanks for reading.

{faith + resources = zero worrying}

Zack came home from work tonight with a {Venti} Carmel Macchiato. MMMMmmmmm, it is so delish :)

I think he was trying to sweeten me up for when we go through a new monthly budget;) Ya see, this needs to be done monthly because our bills are never the same monthly {compare your spring gas bill to a winter month gas bill. See?} Also, in the event that we actually pay OFF a debt, then we need a new monthly budget because we have found extra money to go towards other bills. One day, hopefully in a few years, this will all be cleared. And it's going to be so freeing.

I'm going out on a limb here to talk about money at a young 23-1/2 years of age.

Money. 

OK, here we go:

Money and setting a budget can be very hard because it is too easy to tell yourself, I can buy this because just added $300 to our savings account. 

That's not how our family rolls. 

In all actuality, we can't buy that. Unless it is in our budget, I mean.

Zack and I are taking a Dave Ramsey church-hosted class called Financial Peace University, based off his book, Total Money Makeover. 

It is a 13-week class that teaches you to pay with CASH, to save money, to wisely invest and how to tell your money WHERE TO GO. It is seriously amazing. WHY? Because we are in control. Having a budget isn't very fun. It's hard to make, it takes commitment and absolutely NO SECRETS. But next year at this time it's going to be great. And the year after that will be even better. The only way to overcome financial issues is to face them head-on. This way, Zack and I can't argue with one another and get mad at each other for unexpected monthly bills. It's all on the table. The good and the bad. 

It is really freeing, actually, because we know EXACTLY what we owe, how much we make, how much we give ourselves for dates and fluff spending. We know certain months are more expensive because of gift-buying/travels/extreme coldness outside ;) Basically, we are clued in to life.

Jesus hates when we worry. He basically stomps on that word. Yuck. I was told that people spend 80% of their time worrying about something that doesn't ever happen. Eighty percent --that's a big number. 

Here's something to toss around:

Money isn't evil. Having money isn't evil. God wants us to enjoy life with a God-pleasing life. But don't be fooled: Loving money IS evil.

1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

The Bible spells it out for us. Now, I know there are times when your bills exceed your income. The first time we did a budget that happened to us. We simply had to go through it again and change the numbers around. We made it work, and you can make it work, too. Here are some resources that can help you lay out a plan of action. Once they are filled out, you need to pray, you need to give it to God, and you need to focus your energy on fighting this battle. Remember, you are in charge! It doesn't need to be a battle! Don't be overcome by it.

Resource #1: Monthly Cash Flow Plan

Resource #2: Basic Quickie Budget

Resource #3: Irregular Income Planning

Each link will bring you to a online document that you can print and fill out. 

It is the first step to gaining control :)

Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

 Psalm 31:6 (NIV)

6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD.

That is the word of God. We need to believe in it. 

Have Faith!