After 5 days of visiting family and family visiting us for Christmas, I had high hopes for this week to get caught up. It didn't happen. I posted on Facebook Tuesday, that I caught that annoying cold that's going around. My favorite things this week that I just can not live (or breathe) without are Mucinex D, Aleve and a box of tissue.
I am a glass half full kind of girl so on a positive note, other than my cold, 2014 has been good so far and hopefully 2014 will be the best yet. We have some exciting stuff going on this year. Speaking of, do y'all do resolutions?
I wouldn't say we do resolutions but we do take this time to get refocused. Its a time to update the short term and long term "to do" lists as well as make new financial goals. Many changes happened for us in 2013 and I never sat down to make a new budget. Oops. No time like the present.
With the downpayment on the house, paying for all the updates, and me not working for 4 months, our savings account has us hyperventilating and its time to update the budget and get serious about saving again. There is a lot left to improve around the house and Europe is calling my name so I am in full on Dave Ramsey mode right now. I apologized to Blittle in advance for when I start to get obsessive and crazy because lets be honest...we all know its going to happen and sometimes its not pretty.
Our big expenditures are groceries (I try to cook everything from scratch, no processed foods) , gas (we both drive trucks with V8 engines), and what I call MISC. MISC are those miscellaneous purchases that sneak up on you and kill your budget. You know... getting a Starbucks or other treats, stopping by Lowes to get whatever little thing you need, spending $100+ at Fishing Tackle Unlimited on fly tying supplies...those things. Also, some months we struggle with going out to eat too much. I love to cook but we often get in a food rut and sometimes I can get
I started a new Pinterest board for budgeting resources and help. Be sure to go check it out! Even though budgeting isn't new to us and I know what works, it is nice to see new ideas and helpful tips. Its also inspirational to read some of the stories these people have and read about what they achieved. If they can do it, I can do it. The Budget Board has everything from savings on groceries and meal planning to couponing and budget organization. If you know of any great links or boards let me know. I also have been adding lots of new recipes to my Low Carb/Paleo Board to help us get out of the food rut and I went back to my weekly meal planning. I am always on the hunt for easy, healthy, fresh ingredient recipes so feel free to share if you have some. :)
In addition to staying on budget, there is a long list of goals I have for the house and for the business as well as some big events already planned. Just a few things I am looking forward to; my brother getting married, hopefully catching my first tarpon in June, Europe and an updated master bathroom. I can't wait to see what 2014 holds for us. Good luck to all of you with your goals and resolutions!
Have safe weekend and stay warm! Hopefully, I will be showing you the 3 Drexel pieces next week. They are so close to being finished. Keep your fingers crossed that my headache and congestion stays under control.
The dog food storage armoire has a small feature today over at Life in Velvet, A Prudent Life, Well-Groomed Home, & Addicted 2 DIY. They all have great lifestyle and DIY blogs and feature furniture and other DIY projects every week. Be sure to visit each of them.
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This is a great post! So true about the Misc category of little budget killers! I just started following your board...I've gotta do much better sticking to budget in 2014! Thanks so much for linking up at Thursday STYLE!
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