Let’s just start with the fact that I just blew my normal budget for the months of February and March. While this is a bit of a set back just understand that I thought it was bound to happen. February and March always tend to be expensive months for me because I’m either on a ski trip with friends, hosting friends, planning a trip, or buying a place. Really, for some reason I spend a lot of money around this time of year. I’m happy to say that this year I have some cool things going on!
- Started doing renovations and minor repairs that I haven’t dealt with in the little place. I will be replacing the windows in my bedroom (they don’t open) and putting in laminate flooring. I would prefer wood or bamboo but I live in a ground level unit so laminate is better in that situation. As I take of things I feel happier in my home.
- I’ve started redecorating!! My place needs new energy. I’ve already painted my bathroom and replaced the accessories. I do need to paint the accent color this weekend but it looks so.much.better. I can’t even believe how much nicer it is. I will have a handyman come in and replace the shower fixtures in a couple of weeks. To go with these renovations I purchased new bedding, decor, and I got a new t.v. the old one died after a long life.
- My mom’s birthday-I bought her an Ipod Nano that she promptly called an Ipad. She’s too young to make that mistake. Sigh. She loved it!
- Getting my teeth cleaned and other normal health related visits.
- My home insurance policy just restarted for the year. I’ll probably just pay the whole year.
- Wedding Gift-I am several months late with this gift but we do have a year to do this.
- Donations-I donated to two causes that I believe deeply in this month. I don’t tithe so I do look for opportunities to donate to causes that I believe in. Both are education related and that’s awesome!
- Guests! I always have guests in the Spring. Last week Tonya from Budget and the Beach blazed through on a world wind visit. Then, my other friend from L.A. came in on Sunday. Then, another friend is coming to visit from Taiwan.
- Baby Gifts-I have three friends having babies in the next 4 months am looking for nice gifts now.
- ME!!-I will be picking up several clothing items after a year of No Shopping. I have a very specific list and budget. The budget is $1000 dollars less than what I normally spend. I’m trying to cut that by another $300 dollars.
- Office Supplies-I am reorganizing my house and may have mentioned in Monday’s post that I have a few bags of paper work. I would like to do a huge shredding event in the next week or so but needed a better way to store my paperwork. So I decided to purchase a metal filing cabinet. And hanging files. I also needed a new flash drive and need to purchase an external hard drive to back up my files. As I make more money freelancing I also want to have a drawer dedicated to all freelancing and side hustle invoices, etc. I’ve already dedicated one of my bank accounts for all side hustle monies. I think this will make filing taxes much easier next year.
- Restocking my pantry for next winter-Yes, you read that correctly! I spent the past year using up my previous stockpile. It is now time to begin my new stockpile. I have begun buying the following: soap, body wash, toothpaste, tooth brushes, vaseline (I use that in addition to lotion), dental floss, cleaning products, and laundry detergent.
- Trips-I plan on visiting my Grandma that will be around $250 for the plane ticket. I also am planning to go to FinCon14 in New Orleans. I haven’t worked out my budget yet. I do plan on working the deals.
There are several things that will be different this year.
- I only have 1.5 trips scheduled so far. I will be going to FinCon14 and to visit my Grandma. I haven’t made plans to go on any other trips for this year. I am in the process of scheduling a BIG trip for January/February of 2015 I’ve already confirmed that accommodation has been covered. I just have to cover the plane ticket, food, and fun. I’m looking to churn some points to cover the ticket.
- I have a year of successfully paying off debt under my belt. I still have a long way to go but I don’t feel consumed by fear anymore. I feel consumed by the fire of excitement, drive, focus. I am dreaming of the future again.
- Am focusing on Extreme Self-Care-I’m really working hard on caring for myself better than I have been. As a result, even though I am physically tired I am mentally able to work on the things in my life that I want to improve. I feel a lot better about life in general and am able to tackle the parts in my life that I feel that I’ve been neglecting.
- Overall budget has been streamlined-I no longer pay for a $160 storage unit, $105 a month for my phone, and I’ve paid off a number of my credit cards.
- Savings-Finally have one! I now have money saved and continue to add to my savings. I feel really proud of myself as saving consistently has been an issue (unless I was saving for travel).
- I BELIEVE-I finally believe that I am capable of taking care of my debt and more than capable of changing my life for the better. After treading water for so long it’s a heady feeling.
So, even though I’ve blown my normal budget I’m ok with it. I will spend the next couple of months working more, cleaning things up, saving more money, and getting things done.
How do you feel when you’ve blown your budget? What do you do about it?
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I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.
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Thank you so much again for hosting me! You are an amazing tour guide! 🙂 I think my nighttime crankiness was due to getting a stupid cold on my trip. 🙁 As far as your budget, does everything haver to happen at once? LIke the shopping for clothes AND the stockpiling AND the renovations? Just wondered if that could be spread out a bit? Anyway, I have trouble reconciling that whole nurturing myself and saving money issue. Meaning I’d love to do some more, ahem, maintenance on myself like a pedicure, brow wax, hair cut, etc, but all that adds up, but at the same time also makes me feel prettier. I have to ask myself what is more important at the moment and prioritize from there. Right now because of taxes, the car, and having just traveled I need to save like a mo fo! 🙂 I guess should get better at painting my own toes. 🙂
You were fine! No worries. Your suggestion to space the projects out totally makes sense…Sadly, some of these projects are happening after years of procrastinating. So all of the home related projects are way overdue. The painting and redecorating have been pretty reasonable. The flooring will be a little expensive but the carpet is disgusting and ruined from a leak. The windows are years overdue and I can’t go through another summer without them. Also, I’m just in the frame of mind to get sh$t done. I have dragged my feet for too long on things that are important and unfortunately what will happen is my super power to delay things forever will kick in. Then, 5 years from now I will be upset that I didn’t do it. I’m in a super focused frame of mind. This time of year is always expensive for me. Now, I just roll with it.
I realized the other day that I need to start monitoring my feelings after purchases. Usually I feel guilty for going out, but the other day I felt amazing. I realized because I considered it a date with my partner, and not just eating because we were lazy. The purpose was so powerful for me. That resonated with me and made me really thing about when it’s worth it to spend money. I think this list looks great, but would also suggest thinking about what’s not necessary if you already went without? I think traveling to see family and friends is important! Also, lovin’ the extreme self care 🙂 Keep up the good work.
Isn’t it interesting how taking a step back and considering the emotion surrounding what you’re doing could make all the difference in your decision. Sadly, M. a lot of the spending is stuff that I have delayed and now I can’t stand it anymore and want to get these things DONE. I find that constantly avoiding doing what I need to do for me is the opposite of extreme self-care. My .25 cent life coach spends almost a whole chapter discussing things that drain our energy I’m getting rid of all of them. It’s quite a list. I’m so happy that you had a lovely date with your person! Did he sing to you? What’s it like dating a musician? Are you his muse? I’m so nosey!
Haha, he’s a bass player. He does sing me some songs, and shares his music with me. We even have a collaboration we’re working on (I sing!). It’s pretty nice 🙂 Glad you are taking care of business and yourself.
Nice!
It looks like things are going well and I can definitely feel your excitement! I love doing flat/house renovations, but it’s near to impossible in rented spaces so I’ve been sitting this one out. Hopefully, when I move next to the place I know I will stay in for a long time, I can decorate the place a little… on a budget, of course, as putting in big money into someone else’s house is plain silly 😉 Enjoy decorating and good luck with all your other exciting plans for this year!
The redecorating and painting has made me so happy!I’m not done and it’s going to take a few more weeks to finish up the projects but I’m already noticing a huge change in my energy. It’s ridiculous that I’ve waited so long to make these changes. I just wasn’t ready. Thank you for the kind words I appreciate them!
I feel like I’ve been blowing my budget left right and center lately, so you aren’t alone! Sometimes it’s helpful to know that you’re with good company 🙂
Your friends are having some major milestones! Babies, weddings, etc. I can’t remember the last time I went to a baby shower, but it tends to come in batches.
As long as you aren’t worried about it and you’re still aware of your budget, then I think you are fine!
My budget always gets shot at this time of year. I can count on it like clockwork! That’s ok, since I know that it’s going to happen I just roll with it. If you start seeing a whole bunch posts about side hustles you’ll know why!
I feel like my budget has been blown because of my upcoming trip to Greece in May. I was planning for a trip this year anyway, but nothing this big. However, I have been shafted a few times this year regarding potential trips, so I kind of felt I needed this. I’m also justifying going to Greece with not going ANYWHERE, not even out of the province last year. However, it should be paid off by the time we go. I have been trying to work more overtime lately and have been picking up teaching extra classes to help pay for it.
We’re also doing some renos on the house. We just finished painting this weekend and it looks so much better. Why were the 1970s so full of pastel colours? UGLY.
GREEECE!!! I’m so excited for you. That is so awesome. I love big trips like this one. These are the types of trips that are worth the sacrifice of not going anywhere else for a year. I am amping up side hustles and freelancing in order to balance everything out. I just decided to not stress out about it too much.
Wow, it sounds like you’ve had a lot of expenses recently! About the pregnant friends thing — doesn’t it seem like everyone is either pregnant or just had a kid right now? Both in the blogosphere and on Facebook, everyone seems to be knocked up!
I wouldn’t stress about it, especially since you knew this time of the year would be expensive. It sounds like a lot of awesome spending 🙂
Everyone is knocked up. The best thing is my bff’s baby is due the same week as my birthday/her husband’s/and another one of her best friends. It’s kind of hilarious! I want the baby born on my bday, so I’m crossing my fingers. I’ve just decided to go with the flow and not worry about it too much.
I feel disappointed when I blow my budget, especially if its a repeat performance. I do my best to stop this emotion, re look at my budget and I usually come to the conclusion that it’s only a few dollars I’m off by in each category.
I’m learning that having these negative, self-deprecating thoughts about blowing my budget get me know where. I need to learn from what I did incorrectly, stay positive and know that I can achieve financial freedom.
I’ve just thrown my hands in the air and just let it go for March. Now, I’m getting refocused and will be really working my budget like crazy starting on April 1-no joke.
Your budget may be a little blown but that’s okay. It sounds like you are motivated and taking care of business over there! It’s definitely okay to redirect energy ( and money) into making yourself a more successful version of you. Can’t wait to see what else you have in store.
I’m motivated but I’m not sure when I will sleep! That’s ok. Sleep is for the weak.