Wednesday, October 01, 2014

The Wardrobe Resolution Recap & Financial Planning for the Future.


Well, 30 days of my spending freeze has passed!  Boy did it go by fast!  Of course there were a ton of temptations out there, but I did my best to avoid them as much as possible.  I unsubscribed on Facebook, Instagram, and email from all of the boutiques and different shops that I followed.  Any time I see a suggested post on Facebook that says “so & so likes XXXX Boutique” I select “I don’t want to see these posts” and unsubscribe from those too.  They make it practically impossible to not see that kind of stuff!  Now if I could just get all these fashion bloggers to quit blogging such cute outfits I would be set! ;-)

I did end up making one clothing purchase.  My cousin plays rugby for ISU & they had a fundraiser for their team.  The only thing that they sold were clothing items so I bought a plain, grey, crew neck sweatshirt that says ISU Rugby for $20.  I’m planning on continuing this resolution for another month and hopefully beyond!  I want to try to live by the motto "memories over materials" and I feel as though that will be a little bit of a challenge for me.  I like "things", like clothes, purses, shoes, etc. we all do, but with babies on the brain and a new home, I think that I need to shift my focus a bit. 

Our next big step is getting ourselves adjusted ahead of time to life with a house payment again.  One nice thing about my work is that we have a credit union that will take a payroll deduction out and put it in an account.  It’s always been an extra savings account for me, but now we are going to use it to make sure that we have the money for our house payment each month.  It’s nice because I don’t have to take the money out myself, I will just get the remainder of what’s left after the money comes out so there’s no way for me to not put in the allotted amount.  We are planning on starting this now so that we have a few payments ahead of time and so that we can adjust to the change.  Right now all we are paying is interest on the money that we've already drawn, but come January, we will be in full-fledged payments and we need to be ready. 

Financial planning really is the key and we all have budgets.  Joe’s job is not a straight 40 hours per week.  Sometimes it’s 8 hours a week, sometimes its 60 hours.  It makes budgeting a challenge, so we are trying to be as proactive as we can going forward.  If found this great Budget Binder from Thirty Handmade Days that I’m planning to use once we’re in the house & getting bills again.  This is also where the wardrobe resolution comes in for me.  It helps me avoid frivolous and impulsive spending on things that I just don’t need.  

Another thing we will need to learn to do is say “no” more often.   This past weekend, for instance, we spent $75 on dinner Saturday night which was fine, but then we ended up going out and spending another $50 on a cover charge at a bar, drinks, & ATM fees.  We ended up having to decline an invitation on Sunday to August Hill for an Ultimate Wine Taste & dinner because it would've been another $75+ day for us and we can’t and shouldn't be burning through money like that.  This will be the biggest challenge I think for us because right now, being childless especially, we have the time and we enjoy going out.  Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy our commitment free weekends too and bed at 8:00pm on a Friday, but life is busy sometimes, especially at our age, weddings, baby showers, milestone birthdays, vacations, weekend getaways, camping trips, etc.  It all adds up.


For someone like me (& Joe unfortunately) who spends impulsively, I’m ready for this challenge and ready for the adjustment.  We are also planning on a large garden for our own homegrown produce that can be canned and frozen and of all things, healthy!  I’d eventually like to have chickens of our own for eggs, and Joe wants to keep bees, all things that will help us live within our means, but will also be rewarding for us.  I'm sharing this so that I can better hold myself accountable to these changes that we are going to make, and I'm always open for suggestions too!

19 comments:

  1. Way to go! My hubby really wants to plant a garden in the spring, however I don't have a green thumb at all haha I can barely keep our basil and mint alive. Our neighbors have chickens and their eggs are delicious. Plus they named them after their favorite SOA characters it's hysterical - Chibs, Jax and Tibs!

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  2. You have inspired me to try this myself! I have always been an impulse buyer. I LOVE shoes, clothes, purses, etc. However, having to pay for three rounds of IVF immediately after we bought our forever home (having no idea we needed fertility treatments), really cuts a chunk out of the budget. You are making me want to hold myself accountable and save, save, save! Kudos to you and good luck!

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  3. I really love reading these kinds of posts - congratulations on doing so well with your challenge last month and I'm sure this month will be no different!! I love that motto - memories over materials, it's true and I should definitely practice that more!! I'd rather take a vacation than buy another dress!! Can't wait to hear how October turns out for you!!

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  4. Yay for making it through your 30 day spending freeze! You're making me want to set some September goals for myself. I need to learn to say no more often too. I'm horrible at double booking myself for things because I feel bad saying no. So proud of you for continuing this challenge!

    <3, Pamela
    sequinsandseabreezes.blogspot.com

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  5. I love that motto--memories are so much better, anyway!

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  6. Loved the budget binder I think I might start it. I have to hold on expenses but it's so hard lol.

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  7. memories over materials - well said!! i am starting to learn that as well, and hope to be better in the future. i love shopping, it makes me happy, whether its clothes, books or house stuff. i did well with clothes this month, but not books or house stuff, so hopefully i can buy nothing this month. i am definitely an impulse buyer, my husband is a save all the money and never buy anything kinda guy, so he's teaching me to be better ;)

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  8. That motto is great! I'm going to check out that budget binder, I'm always feeling like I could be better organized. Way to get a jump start on planning for the house, it's always a good feeling to be ahead of things!

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  9. It sounds like you have a great plan!! We could easily spend money through our entire weekend also. Once I started writing down every single thing we spent money on it got us in check for sure! I still do that to this day. It really opens your eyes to what we could be saving money on :)

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  10. OH my goodness, Esty has become my weakness! Good for you on taking responsibility and cutting down on spending. It is not an easy task by any means.

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  11. Oh girl - I love this post. I am ALL about financial planning and spending wisely - so glad to hear you motivated! So awesome - keep us updated! Nice work on the wardrobe challenge too - that is awesome!

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  12. Impressive and inspiring! I 100% agree with the saying "No." to all the extra-curricular's, but it's SO HARD!! I want to do all the fun things!

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  13. Why is having fun so dang expensive right? We try to save by having a glass of wine in before we go out to dinner and then not drinking or just having like one drink with dinner. The drinking really adds up!

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  14. Love this post! My husband and I are guilty of eating out too much too and we are hoping to buy a new house sometime in the near future, so we really need to start budgeting! Let us know what works for you and if you have any other tips! Nice work on the no clothes spending month!

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  15. I agree...we burn through money on the weekend like there was no tomorrow. I'm trying my best to cut back on unnecessary expenses but having trouble with the Hubs. Great job on coming up with ways to help you out in the long run. We use to have chickens and we loved the eggs because J wouldn't get a headache. Unfortunately having dogs and chickens wasnt an option.

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  16. We're revamping our finances as well. Fun. Yay for your FET date!!

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  17. What a great post- my husband would be all about this for me too! I wonder if I could do it? Thanks for the inspiration!

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  18. I am totally with you on needing to say "No" more. Having friends is expensive lol! I'm a total extrovert so it's much harder for me to turn an invitation down than it is for my husband. This month I've been better about no scheduling so many hang outs or at least more low key ones at home. It all adds up so quickly!

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  19. I love your dedication! Michael and I are terrible about budgeting and spending! We need to learn to say no too! Great job on your no shopping resolution!

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