Since I didn't spend that much during the holidays (a whopping $15 for two 4 by 6 inch picture frames) I didn't break my budget overdoing the peak consumer season.  However, my finances are in disrepair from a year of happy spending (house toys, my best friend's wedding, lots of trips and travels all while Jeff was on and off employment status) and so the upcoming year is going to be my big year of saving.

With a few notable exceptions, I have kept my plans for the upcoming year to a minimum.  I wanted maximum flexibility for spontaneous plans with friends or adventures in the wildernesses not too far from home.  Now that a new opportunity has sprung up, I'm doubly happy I gave myself plenty of space.

A pared down calendar is synonymous with less spending for me.  This coming year will be a time for me to focus on saving, paying down debt, and taking advantage of my skills and passions to earn extra income for the previous objectives.  Sure I have a couple of more elaborate plans during the course of the year, but they may not pan out either.  I'm keeping things open to possibilities.

Fortunately, we received a lot of gift cards to the movies for Christmas so that gives us something to do for free (other than the gas to get to the theater).  We also got some Amazon bucks to get some pretty toys or time wasters.  I may just use mine for household items that have been on my wishlist for awhile, like curtains for the bedroom or living room; or maybe more jars for canning deliciousness.

To earn some extra cash, I'm planning on throwing a yard sale in a couple weeks.  This means I'll have to buckle down and turn my living space into a chaotic staging area before things can be moved out front.  However, it'll be good to go through all our junk and make a bit of extra money.  Ten percent of whatever we make will be spent on something fun, another 10% will go into savings, and the remainder will go towards any past due household bills or credit card debt.

Also, I'm slowly whittling away at my existing commissioned yarn projects.  I completely missed my self-imposed deadlines, but I'm closing in on finishing.  I will working on smaller projects that I can mass produce easily for sale.  I may not get everything up on Etsy before the next holiday season, but I'd like to build some stock to take advantage of the buying season.  Income from this will be handled the same way, 10% fun, 10% savings, and the rest to bills.  All other crafting time will be focused on making stuff for the debut performance of Piper.  With her parentage, she's guaranteed to be the quirky and outrageous show-stopper.

I won't be pursuing yoga teacher training this year, but I intend on maintaining my once a week class schedule.  I may look at offering an additional class at night during the work week, but I'll base this off of demand.  Some people asked for bellydancing classes, but this is a big maybe.  I'm also playing with the idea of asking a bit more for classes, while offering a "discount card" deal.  During the first four months of me opening my home to classes, there were a lot of last minute cancellations.  I don't mind this at all, life happens.  But I hope by raising a single class price while offering a multi-class card will help encourage attendance and allow me to continue to invest in my own growth and training.  All income will go towards my own continuing education with a professional teacher, investing in props for students, and maintaining the space (like paint and carpet cleaner).  If I offer bellydancing classes, the income breakdown will work the same.

I have one more trick up my sleeve, but it hasn't quite panned out yet and I'm not ready to jinx it yet.  However, I hope to share more about it soon!

A New Challenge

A few weeks ago, I was broke.  Again.  For like the umpteenth time.  I've been fortunate in that I always have enough to pay all my bills, but future projections always looked grim.  So I took a closer look at my spending habits.

What I found, shocked me, although it really should not have.

Suffice it to say, I've been enjoying my income the last few months or so.  It has never really been mine to enjoy, through previous arrangements I've always had to share it with someone else.  I love that I was able to save up and pick out and purchase a new couch (my first piece of furniture that I've ever owned that wasn't second hand or purchased by someone else) and I was frugal and got a fantastic deal on it (I even got a free display case thrown in that now beautifully contains all of our digital media, including gaming systems).  But with the newfound freedom comes the need to be more responsible.  I don't have anyone else to be accountable to.  And I've definitely taken advantage of that.  

I don't have expensive tastes, but I do like to go out to eat (A LOT!) and I love to spoil my friends when I can.  I love to pick up little somethings, or treat friends to dinner, or help them out financially when I have the means to (sometimes when I don't).  That's not to say I'm Miss Moneybags now, but when I was struggling I had a lot of friends who weren't "made" but more comfortable than I was treat me to dinners, help me with projects, and lent me a $5 here or a $20 if I needed help with gas just because they loved me and wanted to spend time with me.

So back to how I'm broke.  I looked at my budget, and by far the biggest offender in dollars spent was eating out.  So I looked through and totaled up just how much I was spending on restaurants (this doesn't include groceries!).  I'm usually super-secretive about my money, but I think I need some more transparency, so here it goes:

It's condensed so you can see the bill for each month on the far-right of the image.  Here's the text breakdown:

• January: $386.15
• February: $341.20
• March: $285.83
• April: $210.87

Note that this doesn't include cash purchases.  Other than the withdrawal, I don't track where my cash goes exactly.  I actually was doing REALLY WELL this month.  Before this past weekend I had only spent about $85 for the month on the 15th.  I completely BINGED financially over the weekend.  I went out for sushi Friday night, Table Moutain buffet Saturday night, and rounded out the weekend with dinner before we saw Wicked.  That's over $100 I spent in just ONE WEEKEND eating at restaurants!  How freaking insane is that?

In two weeks, Jeff might be out of a job again (his temp assignment is ending, but we're still keeping our fingers crossed that they find more work for him at his current assignment).  Which means I'll need to carry the household alone for a little while.  I am EXTREMELY fortunate that I have the capacity to do that and still put a little bit of money in savings, including retirement.  But things are still going to be tight, and eating at restaurants has to go.  Frivolous spending will need to go.  Projects will no longer have the luxury of being completely spontaneous.  I might even revisit taking the bus through the summer and cutting back on social plans and visits during the week to save gas during peak consumption season so we can still afford gas to go on hiking trips at least once per month. (Yes, I know there are plenty of places to go closer to home, and trust me, they will be explored!)

So what's my challenge?  

• To be more honest with myself about my money and introduce a little transparency. Detail every financial transaction and keep every receipt for a month, every month.

Being accountable for years did me a lot of good.  It got me out of debt in record time and allowed me to save for a house and major appliances for said house.  And if I did it before on less, I can definitely do it now.

• Limit eating out to two or three times per month.

I prefer eating at home anyway.  I have better control over what is put in my food.  I don't have to wait as long to arrive at my kitchen table, the whole family can participate in meal preparation rather than being bored at the table, I don't have to wait every 20 minutes for my drink to be refilled, and the couch is just a few feet away after the meal saving me lots of dollars on unnecessary gas consumption. I just don't like the cleanup (I seriously feel like a slave to my kitchen!), and I bet if I asked the household (and even guests, because my friends are the most super duper awesome people!) to help me clean up after a meal I get:

1. The best company the world has to offer;
2. The job goes by at least half as fast!

So no more excuses!  And because I've been trying to incorporate a modest "minimalist" and clutter-free lifestyle (still a work in progress), my purchases for things I don't use is pretty much non-existent or at least has been diverted to going out to eat.  

You know, wait.  I'm going to stop and have a moment of pride over the fact that in the last 8 months I made a dramatic change to my spending habits.  Okay, sure it's really just a shift, but for someone who loves to acquire stuff, I still think the moment is worth celebrating.  This path is certainly NOT easy.

I'm really lucky that I really only need to make a couple minor lifestyle changes in order to maintain a level of comfortability that I still find enjoyable and fulfilling.  I know a lot of people aren't as blessed and there may be a time when I need help again.  Life's a cycle.  I just hope that I continue to make the best decisions possible for myself and the life I *want* to have.